New hope and Colouring The World Orange

Orange is not my colour. At best, it makes me look sallow. At worst, ill. Yet, this month (dubbed NERVember by the International Pain Foundation), I’m taking pride in wearing orange to raise awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS, also known as Reflex...

Quilts for a cause

I don’t sew, knit, crochet, embroider or do any of the other handicrafts at which women on both sides of my family tree excelled. In junior high home economics, sewing was painful for both me and my long-suffering mother. Mom made many of her own clothes and was...

Writing workshop for North Grenville Writers Circle

On 1 October 2018, I was invited to speak to members of the North Grenville Writers Circle (North Grenville Public Library, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada) about traditional publishing.  It was great to meet so many enthusiastic writers at all stages of their writing...

Disconnected from a connected world

If you follow me on social media, you know that I was unexpectedly offline for most of last week when work to lay underground fiber optic cables cut existing cables that deliver landline phone and internet service to my home. As someone who is almost always connected...

Back to the barre

For most of my adult life, a pair of worn ballet slippers has lurked at the back of my wardrobe—a poignant reminder of something that was important to me as a book and dance-loving child and teen, but that I’d lost sight of as the years slipped by.  Those shoes...