Category Family
Mer Bleue Once Again
We were there Christmas Eve when it was unseasonably warm – two months later than our usual last visit for the year. Yesterday was Easter, and it was also unseasonably warm, so we headed back to Mer Bleue. We avoided the wooded trails, which were certain to be all mud, and stuck to the boardwalk. […]
Irish Musings
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. He is the patron saint of Ireland, and in his honour people will drink themselves into a stupor, consuming vast amounts of beer that has been dyed green. A friend suggested we go out this evening, then we remembered what day it is. Social event postponed. I have no desire […]
Bric a Brac III – The Cowboy Hat
They call it the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” which may be marketing hyperbole, but I suppose there’s an element of truth to it. But the Calgary Stampede hat on my desk didn’t come from Calgary, I got it in Toronto. I have been to the Stampede, and if you like small-town country fairs it […]
Bric A Brac I – The Zamboni
As a recovering pack rat I know I shouldn’t be buying more junque. There is enough useless stuff in my house. But from time to time logic needs to go out the window. On my desk and shelves, in my home office and in my office on Parliament Hill are some objects that have a […]
Ghost At The Door
Families frequently have secrets. Sometimes not even deliberate ones. Once upon a time of my mother’s “secrets” scared me. Or should that be scarred me? In the summer of 1967, when I was 11 years old, my family lived in Montreal. It was Canada’s centennial year and the centrepiece of the celebrations was Expo ’67, […]
The Truth About Cats
To say I have a love/hate relationship with my daughter’s cats would be an overstatement. It’s not really that extreme most of the time, though I do think they would be very tasty if barbecued. The black and white one might as well be brain dead, he is too stupid to come inside out of […]
The Last Holdout
When the National Hockey League locked out its players at the start of the 2012-13 season I was annoyed. And not just because billionaire owners were having trouble coming to terms with millionaire players. I was annoyed that they would wait until almost the beginning of the season to begin contract negotiations. These people don’t […]
NewYear’s Eve
It’s the end of a year. Time to reflect. What was good about 2015? What wasn’t? I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve like I have every New Year’s for the past 28 years or so, getting together with a small group of friends to talk about the year and pray for each other. We actually […]
Christmas Tree Decorations
The Christmas tree seems to be a little more lopsided than usual this year. Ordinarily I would say that was my fault. The division of labour in my family is that I get the tree and ornaments out of storage, set up the tree and attach the lights. My wife and children then place the […]
They Ate Their Horses
I published this post on Remembrance Day last year, but wanted to publish it again because for me it brings the First World War home personally. Today we remember. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the guns fell silent. The bloodiest war in human history to […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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