Fluffing the Garland
I’m a little behind schedule this year, what with the wedding and the dog with blown knee and all, but I’m finally getting around to fluffing the garland. It’s a chore, this fluffing business, and a thankless job, but garland just doesn’t look its best without a good fluffing. My garland has been fluffed more […]
Thirty years and counting – Christmas in the New House
We are gearing up to celebrate our thirtieth Christmas in this house – the house we still refer to as the new one. Thirty Christmas trees, mornings and turkeys – the house is so far from new it’s laughable. We moved into this house in 1987 – other than the fact it was November, I […]
Throwback Thursday – Dec. 7/17
Richmond Review Nov. 1997. BC Parent December 2000 Remember the Elmo I watched the Elmo raze of the Christmas of ‘96 with a certain smug fascination. My children, long past the toy wishing age, had asked for things ‘sporty’ from the big guy. Gone were the days when I had to push my [...]
The magic of the season – gifting and gratitude
Last year, at about this time, our then four year old granddaughter misplaced her favorite stuffed toy – Purple Bunny. The hunt for that bunny became the stuff of family legend. Everyone searched high and low for the old rabbit, and when it seemed Purple Bunny had successfully entered the wild, everyone started scouring stores […]
Camping in December
I’m camping on the family room floor for the third night in a row. I have a snoring Boston Terrier curled up on one side of me and a Chesapeake bay retriever wearing an Elizabethan collar sprawled on his pillow on the other. Both dogs are wondering why the hell we are not upstairs in […]
The 100th Post. Leap and the net will appear
It turns out that Thursday’s post, a throwback to 2002, was Grammaniaonline.com ‘s one hundredth episode. A milestone. I’m doing a dazed happy dance. An idea I decided to run with back in May is still running. One hundred posts – it appears I have been talking your ears off for seven months. You’ve learned […]
Throwback Thursday – Nov. 30/17
2002 Holiday issue BC Parent A Christmas Story I noticed the mega stores sneaking Christmas decorations between aisles of school supplies back in August. I was still contemplating how I’d lose fifteen pounds to look good in a bathing suit. Santa Claus peeked between rows of binders and scientific calculators, his ample paunch teasing the […]
Shining a light on that which is best left in the dark
I splurged and bought myself a new makeup mirror a couple of months ago, Costco had a whale of a deal on a ultra magnifying, lighted number that I couldn’t resist. I’m of an age where the odd eyebrow hair looses its way enroute to my brow and sprouts in unflattering places on my face, […]
Mourning in the morning
I’ve slept on the sad news about Chester, the false killer whale, twice. Twice I’ve awoken to the fact he really died and twice to the fact my heart is really broken. I’ve written about grief before, I realize it is the price I pay for the awe I feel; for the love that fills […]
Human Care
I am heartbroken today – love did it to me. Love and connection. My darling false killer whale, Chester, passed away this morning. One of my favorite friends at the Vancouver Aquarium – he represented everything good and possible for animals living in human care. He was loved by many. There will be more than […]