Marie LesowayBut why? It’s because of a chemical called anthocyanin and how it absorbs or reflects sunlight. And why am I talking about roses? Because it’s Valentine’s Day. Roses (especially red ones) have been associated with Valentine’s Day for centuries. But the history of the rose is far older than the history of the holiday. Read … Read more
Today is St. Nicholas Day. It was kind of a big deal for Ukrainian Canadian prairie kids when I was growing up. There was usually a St. Nicholas Day concert put on by the Sisters who taught after-school Ukrainian school. Sometimes there would be a parish dinner or supper as well. St. Nick would make … Read more
Our garden yielded a bounty of tomatoes last summer. My Ron made several batches of wonderful homemade spaghetti sauce that we froze for the winter. But there were still more tomatoes, so I decided to make soup. Cream of tomato was the plan, so I could use the cream left over from Thanksgiving. There was … Read more
Fall is the season for pumpkin pies. And we can thank prehistoric mastadons for them!
Labour Day in Canada has a long history. It’s worth celebrating!
Had she lived, today would have been my mama’s 102nd birthday. It would also have been my parents’ 77th wedding anniversary. My parents got married on Mama’s birthday because my grandfather, Mama’s dad, thought that would be an auspicious day. But poor Mama found herself in a predicament when it came time to sign the … Read more
I recently came across this quotation by Brandon Sanderson: “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.” Truth be told, I’d never heard of Sanderson. (He’s an American fantasy writer.) But his comment made me think about storytellers and stories. I agree … Read more
I heard an interesting idea on CBC Radio the other day, on one of the summer reruns. Canadian novelist Katherena Vermette was talking about her latest novel, The Strangers, which I liked a lot. It’s about family—grandmothers, mothers and daughters—and the complicated ties that bind generations together. Vermette made the point that girl babies are … Read more
Special things help us remember special people. But telling their stories is even better.
Junk—like beauty—is in the eye of the beholder. With a bit of science and creativity, junk can be transformed into useful things.