Author: Andrea Cordonier
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Driving Miss Crazy in Paris
I realize, on Saturday afternoon on the 6th level of the underground parking garage Gare du Nord Paris, that I haven’t driven a standard in three-and-a-half years. Read more
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A Sign
This week I received a sign I’d been waiting for. I wrote here and here about the McCarney family that owned my house between 1918 or so and 1976. Patricia McCarney, one of four siblings, lived in the house – nicknamed Rustic Manor – until she entered the convent. John, her nephew, spent summers at the… Read more
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I Say A Well, Septic and Smart Meter For All
As we’ve sweated through day after day of 30+ weather and the Rideau Canal slides into a Stage 2 drought, water is at the forefront of my mind. I’m writing a house manual for friends who are staying here over the summer and the lead paragraphs focus on water conservation and energy use. Until we… Read more
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Full Body Chills On a Hot Summer’s Day
Several times a day my neighbour passes the house walking her toy poodle. It’s an odd day if she hasn’t stopped and chitter-chattered about this and that. But yesterday she had a particular tale to tell. On the weekend she attended an outdoor wedding on the grounds of a picturesque stone home built in… Read more
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CurioCabinet: Studiolo Gubbio
In our family, turning six entitled the birthday child to a five-day trip to New York with Mamma. It was a mutually beneficial ruse: I enjoyed a big-city adventure roughly every eighteen months and they got my undivided attention and an itinerary to match their interests. The Metropolitan Museum of Art became a staple. Set… Read more
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Page 23
Think those models in furniture catalogues don’t have a life? Think again. Amazing what lengths some people will go to for style. A short film by Jeroen Houben, Tim Arts, and Stefan van den Boogaard made during the 48 Hour film project in Utrecht, 2011. Discovered via http://www.shortfilmfests.com. Read more
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My $24 Wall
Just like corporate ladder climbing, my mantra is “Up or Out.” Any unused stuff in the basement, shed or carriage house must be used, up-cycled, repaired, or hung on the wall this calendar year or it’s going straight out the door. It’s crazy to be storing things that never see the light of day, or… Read more
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A Tree Grows in My Bedroom
“Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?” – Walt Whitman A bitter, alarming storm blew up the river and through the village a few weeks ago. Swaths of trees were felled in an instant, looking like a gaggle of giants had stomped through. The rain blew… Read more
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Live Where You Are….And Love Where You Live
On her site, Musings of a Kitchen Witch, writer Thalassa weaves a gorgeous story of the irrefutable role of geography and place in her world. It is reproduced here with her permission. ************** Spirit of place is defined as the tangible (buildings, sites, landscapes, routes, objects) and the intangible elements (memories, narratives, written documents, rituals, festivals, traditional… Read more