I love sports. Let me clarify, I love WATCHING sports but I've never been a particularly athletic person. Who am I kidding, there's no "particularly" about it, I'm not athletic at all. I never played organized sports when I was young, and in school, gym was a weekly nightmare where I developed sharply honed survival skills by avoiding dodge balls aimed at my head by gung-ho G.I. Jane types who didn't appreciate my lack of athletic prowess—especially when they got stuck with me on one of their teams. However, I was good at other things and I didn't worry too much about the fact that I couldn't hit a ball or slide down a mountain with a couple of boards strapped to my feet. Then I met my husband...my tennis-teaching, squash-playing, scuba-diving, rollerblading husband. One of the first (and last) times John took me rollerblading, I ended up clinging to the railing of a wooden bridge and dragging myself across it hoping to get to the other side before he could glance back over his shoulde...

It seems that prominent groundhogs in Canada and the United States all agree -- without a shadow of a doubt, we’re  in for six more weeks of winter. Actually, here in Montreal, it seems like winter has yet to arrive. Oh, sure -- it’s been cold, bitterly cold at times, and  bone-aching damp, but we’ve only had one dumping of snow to speak of, and that was well before Christmas--last year, in a previous decade, for Pete’s sake! So far in 2010, I think we’ve had more rain than snow. To tell you the truth, if I wanted to live in Vancouver, I would have moved there a long time ago. And even though I can’t wait to get my Yamaha back on the road, I kinda miss those long, drawn out winters of  yesteryear, when the snowbanks were piled so high your couldn’t see over the tops of them (okay, I was a kid at the time, maybe the banks weren’t that high) and you’d be able to make tunnels and forts in them until you were blue in the face (well, at least a healthy shade of red, with the ...

I’ve been taking the bus and metro to work in downtown Montreal on a nearly continuous basis since 1986. As you might expect in a city this large, I’ve come across countless characters  along the way, from Superman—a lost soul who spent his days wandering the downtown streets and subway stations in full costume before disappearing from the scene —to a short, elderly,  mustachioed Italian gentleman who wore a checkered suit and matching fedora, and belted out show tunes such as New York, New York, often on bended knee with arms spread wide. And let’s not forget the Great Antonio, who’s original claim to fame was that of strongman, capable of pulling municipal buses up and down city streets by virtue of his own brute strength—and, if allowed to continue, probably would have kept the entire transit system running on time, a feat yet to be accomplished to this very day. Of course, with the passage of time, interesting characters come and go. But, up until this week, one of these ...

I resisted for as long as I could. Friends, acquaintances and co-workers tried to convince me to join them but I stood strong and refused to submit to peer pressure. But, as is the case with many forms of addiction, I decided to try it, just once, and now I'm hooked. Facebook has cast its spell over me and I'm helpless to resist. It began innocently enough: I created a profile, sent a couple of "friend" requests and thought, "I can handle this, no problem." I began accepting invitations to play online scrabble, I was involved in games on several fronts and although I was logging on once (okay, sometimes twice) a day to take my turn, I still had it under control. Next came "Cafe World" which quickly lost its charm, but even I couldn't have predicted the hold that Facebook was about to exert over me, in the form of "Farmville." I'm now logging on several times a day and the work is never done, there are eggs and milk to collect, crops to be harvested, animals to be tended to, cottages, b...

The Olympic Torch is wending its way through British Columbia (travelling between Golden and Cranbrook today), and, surprisingly enough, I’m actually looking forward to the Games getting under way. I don’t know whether it’s because my Habs are playing so lousy or that the way the game in general is being played these days is a disgrace -- insert potential deadly cheap shot of your choice here: I don’t care how great a player you are, you’re a thug if you do something like this and should be barred from hockey for life-- but I can’t wait to see some good hockey on TV again.If our Olympic men and women can match the intensity displayed by our Junior team against the States during the recent Junior tournament, we’re all in for a treat. And this time around, my family and I get to cheer on an athlete we actually know: Catherine Ward, who played college hockey here in Montreal on the same team as my daughter, made it on to the women’s Olympic roster this year-- Go, Wardie!Having been somewh...

In a week where Haiti was hit by a second quake (an aftershock of the first) and NHL legend Jean Beliveau, a beloved icon here in Montreal, suffered a stroke, along with yet another week of never-ending grey weather, (we haven't seen the sun in these parts for a month), I was feeling a little blue and went looking for more light-hearted fare to blog about. What I found was an interesting mix of humerous and downright bizarre items...1) Did you know that yesterday (Jan 21) was National Squirrel Appreciation Day? Yup, apparently you should head out to the backyard with a fistful of nuts and share some quality time with your neighbourhood furry-tailed rodents...2) Now, hold onto your squirrel-skinned caps because yesterday was also National Hug Day! So while you're out there chattering away in squirrel-speak why not grab the friendly little feller and give him a squeeze? 3) This one made me laugh ...and cringe at the same time.......According to Reuters: If requested, a willing staff-memb...

I've been enjoying our Canada and more of our Canada for a couple of years now.  I can say it's the only magazine I read from cover to cover, and so does my husband.  It is then passed down to our 7 year old daughter.  She cuts out all of the beautiful pictures and posts them all over her room.Times have been a little tough money wise, so we have to cut.  Unfortunately, my subscription is one place where the cut has been made.  It breaks my heart, but I'm so glad to be able to come and see so much beautiful stuff on this web site.  For those that can't afford a sub, it's second best.I will always be a fan, and will renew my sub the second we can afford it again,Thanks Our Canada!

  It’s been a hell of a week. Another Canadian casuality in Afghanistan (sigh). Plus, the first murder of the new year in my home town took place--the victim was stuffed, intact, into a suitcase and left on a downtown street corner.  And, of course, the nightmare in Haiti.What can I say? In order of appearance: maybe it’s time to bring the troops home; in a suitcase--how awful is that; let' say a prayer and give generously.   Actually, I’d rather not think about it. Any of it.  Time for something more uplifting; here are a few items that actually brought a smile to my face over the past little while…UP-- a great movie from the folks at Pixar!The Mighty Quinn Sullivan--a youngster who cures the blues and plays 'em, too.Young@Heart--an inspiration to young and old alike that I stumbled upon playing on PBS late Saturday night after my weekly hockey game.  Here's links to couple of their numbers on Youtube:  ...

It may sound trite, but sometimes significant world events have a way of making us take stock of our lives and help us put things in perspective. The devastating earthquake in Haiti this week that claimed tens of thousands of lives and virtually destroyed an already struggling country, stunned the world. I must admit, as I watched the horrifying images emerge and read the details of the disaster, it made me stop and think about all the petty things I complain about on an average day; bills to pay, too busy at work, life stress etc. (which I realize we all do) but when something like this happens you can't help but feel that none of those things matter. Mixed in with my horror at what those poor people are going through, not to mention the grief of those who have friends or family in Haiti, I also felt profoundly grateful for all the blessings in my life, and how I should remember to count those blessings every day because you never know, life can, and does, change in an instant. I supp...

Starting the new year off with a hangover was not the auspicious beginning to 2010 I was envisioning, but, hey, you have to pay the piper, right? The annual New Year’s Eve dinner party at our friends Maureen and Kernan’s place is always a treat, bringing together as it a does a great combination of friends and family, fine food and drink, lively conversation, an abundance of laughter, good music (with the exception of too much Abba, Kernan), and, after midnight, what passes for dancing. This year’s edition had the added benefit of being a pajama party, so by the time we rolled home at 4 a.m.—with my wife guiding the sleigh and my red nose lighting the way—we were ready to fall right into bed. As you might expect, January 1, 2010, was a non-day, which was just what the doctor ordered. To be honest, it was actually the high point of the week to come. Catching up on all the news I had been avoiding over the holidays just seemed to cast a dark shadow over everything. Although I had heard a...