When tragedy strikes close to home

I’ve now lived in Canada for almost five years and although England will always be one of my ‘homes,’ my English and Canadian lives rarely intersect. Last weekend was different, though, and I was reminded that despite being geographically distant, my English...

Hello summer and time to refill my creative well

English Rose wrote her last exam this week so is now off school until September. My weekly ballet class and choir practice are on hiatus for the summer, and my neighbor’s peonies are blooming in pink profusion. And ever so slightly, my family’s usual routine has...

Celebrating grandmothers

Earlier this week, English Rose bounced into the house with the kind of teenage excitement usually reserved for a meme, ‘tea’ (gossip between friends), or afternoon at the mall.  “Look what Grandma J gave me,” she said, gesturing to the colourful bracelet on her...

My life in laundry

As you may have seen on Twitter, Tech Guy and I got a new washing machine last week. Not only did it mark a milestone in my complicated relationship with laundry but, and in a clear indication of advancing middle age, few things in recent years have brought me so much...