Category: Lifestyles
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Arrested Developments
So there I was watching Arrested Development reruns when the Bluth family model home flashed up on screen. It’s the running gag where the turreted McMansion sits alone in desert-like surroundings, where the family lives amongst the staged bowls of plastic fruit waiting for prospective buyers who never come. And I laugh, of course, because it’s… Read more
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A Reasonable Expectation of Undisturbed Rest
[pullquote]I am awake, but ’tis not time to rise, neither have I slept enough…I am awake, yet not in paine, anguish or feare, as thousands are. ~ 17th Century religious meditation for the dead of night[/pullquote] With winter darkness falling at 5:00pm, I’m lucky to remain vertically upright until nine. After a hard day’s labour,… Read more
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The Farmer By the Side of the Road
It was clear by the tire impressions left in the tall grass that others had stopped at that same place by the side of the road. I’m guessing they stopped for the same reason we did: to ogle the dozen or so brand-spanking new lambs in the farmer’s field. Located just west of Kemptville on… Read more
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The House of Alone-ness
For being alone is not only the worst we can experience; it is also the inevitable moment of some of our greatest experiences. In the solitude of our selves we learn something that is otherwise unavailable to us – how to become who we are. – Thomas Dumm, Loneliness as a Way of Life On… Read more
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Does Your House Give You the Creeps?
Google never fails to surprise me. Seemingly innocuous searches yield the most curious results. This morning’s internet wanderings produced a YouTube video about paranormal activity in a house not a stone’s throw from mine. Burritt’s Rapids was founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1793 and is one of the oldest communities on the Rideau Canal… Read more
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There’s a Reason for Those Signs
On Sunday night, just after dark, we were heading home along our usual route with Husband in the driver’s seat. We were travelling at ‘rural’ speed, par for the countryside, but not terribly wise for this time of the year. Being the passive, obedient wife that I am (snort!) I resisted the urge to remind… Read more
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Bon Echo: Natural Inspirations (and Aspirations)
My foothold is tenon’d and mortised in granite/I laugh at what you call dissolution/And I know the amplitude of time. – WALT WHITMAN, 1819-1919, carved on a rock face at Bon Echo Provincial Park, Mazinaw (Massanoga), Ontario I am intrigued by, and not a little envious of, the concept of an artists’ retreat anchored deep… Read more
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I Smell Summer
Today was, without a doubt, a great day verging on perfect. It was hot, the blue skies were deep and I bore witness to the indubitable arrival of summer. The grass was trim, my twelve ‘Madame Lemoine’ lilacs saturated the air of the formal fragrance garden, the peonies and iris waited with bated breath… Read more
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We Are What We Sit On
Between birthday party pickups, Husband and I popped into our favourite used bookstore this weekend, walking out with full arms and empty wallets. The store is literally crammed floor to ceiling and floor to floor with untamed stacks of fascinating, and often very unique, books. I fantasize about one day walking in and asking Mr.… Read more