Category Family
My Mother’s Pet Peeve
It is one of those days. I’m up to my ears in work, metaphorically speaking anyway, and don’t want to take the time to finish one of my half-written posts. But if I don’t have something in this space every day my mother thinks I have died. Such pressure. So today a rerun of post […]
Me and The Arrow
Sixty years ago today an event took place that changed Canadian society, the effects of which are still felt, something which would have a major impact my life, though I didn’t know it at the time. In a move that was either absolutely insane or fiscally prudent, the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker canceled […]
Christmas Feast
I took a step of faith and invited people for Christmas dinner. By Christmas Eve, with meal preparations well underway, I was doubting the wisdom of that. I’ve hosted a Christmas feast many years, but lat year we went to a friend’s place for Christmas dinner. While we have had many people over for a […]
The Waiting Room
I have posted this before. It was written three years ago today, when the future was a very big unknown. There has been much change in my life in the past three years – change that would not have happened if that surgery had been unsuccessful. It seems appropriate therefore to post it again, for […]
Lost in Translation
As an anglophone struggling to survive in Germany, Google Translate is my best friend. I carry it with me everywhere on my phone and consult it frequently. I know though that it cannot always be trusted. My daughter was visiting, and I took her to the local mini-golf course, the one no-one except me ever […]
The Family Photo
This portrait is in the municipal museum in Lippstadt, Germany. I keep meaning to share some of their collection with you and then get distracted and it doesn’t happen. Last night though I was going through some old photos and came across this one of one of my wife’s ancestors. Back in the 18th century […]
Who Needs Grammar?
Many years ago, I had some friends who moved to an Arabic speaking country to open a business. That meant learning the language. I don’t remember much of what they used to say about that country, but I do remember the pronouncement that “Arabic is stinking hard,” a sentence with I would nod appreciatively but […]
Comfort Food
My son came for a visit last week. I assumed one of the reasons was to enjoy some of my cooking. Why else leave sunny Rome for cloudy Sulzburg? I asked if there was anything he would particularly like, and he said no, which left it up to me. I enjoy cooking. It’s partly […]
The Kids On The Bus (Cultural Differences X)
When I was a child there were no school buses in our neighborhood; we had to walk to school. My mother tells me I was insistent on walking alone on my first day of kindergarten. I had not yet turned five. Supposedly she trailed me at a distance to ensure my safe arrival. Unnecessary really […]
Thought For The Day
It’s not me. But to keep peace in the family I’m not going to say who it is. Maybe it is you.
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