Baileys and Electricity

A storm came through.  It was nestled in between Christmas and New Years.  The winds whistled and whipped through the landscape at racetrack speed.  Trees toppled and power failed.   Thousands of people suffered the outage in Ontario.  Driving through the powerless countryside, we noticed countless poles with orange flags.  Not only were the power […]

The Most Coveted Seat in the House: The Canadian Chronicles, Winter Edition

I knew that I was a big fan of indoor plumbing, but after 2 weeks with spotty access to the stuff, I know now  that it’s one of my favorite forms of creature comforts.  My numero uno kind of indoor plumbing hands down would have to be the toilet.  Take away the running water in […]

Canadian Chronicles: And Yet, It Doesn’t Suck

When you watch someone take their very first bite of a s’more as their face is dimly lit by flickering bonfire–it doesn’t suck.  The cooking and prepping and bedmaking and tidying and seems to fade into the distance when there are happy faces around the bustling dinner table. When the moon hangs low in the […]

The Canadian Chronicles, Part 2: Beds, Breakfasts, Best Buds and Tired Bones

When we disappear from our normal life into the Canadian Wilds, we re-emerge in an old fishing lodge that sleeps 11–if you put everyone in a bed.  We can sleep 7 more on various couches and futons.  Heck, lots more people can sleep on the floor if we squeeze ’em in. This is not to […]

The Canadian Cottage Chronicles, Part 1: Mermaid Goes Fishing

Once a year we leave our civilized home and head for the boonies of Northern Ontario, Canada.  Our lakeside cottage is named the Cambrian Cabin, but has been called the Big Red Barn by young Margaret Wise Brown fans, and houses our boat Old Smokey.  We go days without showers, weeks without pedicures and a […]

Walmart: My Americana

EcoMoms everywhere who have ever been Walmart junkies can sigh a little sigh of relief. I read a snippet today about Walmart’s reusable bag giveaway, and I was happy to see my old favorite Canadian-make-me-feel-like-I’m-back-in-the- States-store was attempting to go green. Truly, when I moved to Ottawa, Ontario in 1993, I had to ask myself what kind of freaky […]