Category: Geography
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This Belongs in Your House
Dear Claire: The days are shortening, the nights are cool and I am, slowly, packing away my summer things for another year. When I see this dress hanging in my closet – the one you admired – I can’t bear to banish it to the basement. It reminds me too much of you, Ellen and… Read more
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A Rich Interior Life
Based on the storybook exterior, I anticipated a magical interior. And knowing the artists/potters Claire and Andy Squire, I expected it would be personal, handmade, intriguing and fun. Their living space, workshop and gallery are housed in La Maison des Sangliers, an iconic 15th-century, half-timbered building bordering the village square in Noyers-Sur-Serein, France. Like most… Read more
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Dear Mr. Gopnik
16 September 2012 Mr. Adam Gopnik, Author, “The Table Comes First: Family, France and the Meaning of Food” c/o The New Yorker, New York, NY Dear Mr. Gopnik, I discovered Through the Children’s Gate on a trip to New York for Number Two Son’s 6th birthday. So it seemed fitting that I bring along The… Read more
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Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
I don’t care that the official last day of summer is the 21st of September or that it is still hot as Hades here in Rome. For me, once the calendar flips from August to September, fall begins. The kids prepare for school, marking the start of my new year. Two more sleeps and we… Read more
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Celebrating Happiness
It seems the entire population came out for the annual summer celebration of village life in Noyers. I took the little ones home around midnight and my eldest wandered in around 1:00am. Apparently there was still a crowd of people in the square until 3:00am, when they shifted to the local after-party. Getting together en… Read more
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The Sounds of a House
I’m in bed and Husband’s downstairs making coffee when we hear a jangle of keys and the turning of the front door handle. A young man lets himself into the house and is startled to find it occupied. He hastily explains that a neighbour told him that the house was empty and it was okay… 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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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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More Urban Than You
Last summer we attended a barbecue at a friend’s house in Westboro, Ottawa’s hip neighbourhood filled with yoga studios, coffee houses and Montessori daycares. It was a stunningly gorgeous blue sky day, the spread of food looked amazing, and our kids happily wandered off in search of other kids to play with. I’m generally happy… Read more
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You Can Go Home Again (Hint: Try Knocking on the Front Door)
Note: this entry was written in mid-February but posted today. For the past two weeks I’ve been back in Vancouver for my annual journey “home.” But this year was different. I returned to find permanent lodging and care for my father, whose Alzheimers has taken a significant turn for the worse. I simultaneously advocated… Read more