Somehow, Winnipeg arose in our conversation. There were three of us at first, shooting the breeze at last week’s Medicine Beach bread pick-up.
By the time others joined us, we learned that everyone had grown up in the Peg or spent large swaths of time there — except me.
In the late 1960s, my family stopped there on the way home from the Maritimes, where we often visited our eastern relatives in the summer.… Continue reading
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourisher in life’s feast.
– William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2
Hello again, and Happy New Year!
We’re now into 2024 and just starting the sixth year of The Happy Monk Baking Company.… Continue reading
Listen to this song by the gravel-voiced crooner and barfly poet Tom Waits. It’s “Emotional Weather Report” from one of his earlier discs, “Nighthawks at the Diner”. If you like, you can follow along with the lyrics as you listen.
The droll way Waits delivers the song, which equates a television weather report to his emotional state, is perfect.… Continue reading
It’s hard to overstate my reverence for The Apple!
A perfect globe, a happy fruit that sits perfectly in hand. Its gentle heft, its smooth skin, even with imperfections, is beauty in itself. It’s a joy to behold, coloured brightly with reds, greens, yellows and a multitude of hues in between. Bring it to your nose and breathe in its fragrance.… Continue reading
Happy Spring!
After a long, wet winter, spring’s light and warmth are a welcome relief. But, for me, it’s also a mixed blessing. A stirring time of year when the earth’s renewal is no longer a mere promise but something tangible.
There’s a different cast of light now. That patina of green you see around the trees and brush is a sign that the sap is stirring, that the weather is warming.… Continue reading