Posts filed under ‘Life in General’
A New Honour for “Love Every Leaf” Subject
Congratulations to Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, who has been promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada “for her influence and contributions as a landscape architect who sets new standards of excellence through her environmentally responsible landscape designs.”
Members of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects will have the opportunity to hear her speak at the organization’s 75th anniversary conference this week -where I too will be speaking.
CSLA member or not, you can read all about Cornelia and her work in Love Every Leaf. Don’t I wish that my late father-in-law, Humphrey Carver – a CSLA founding member who was keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary CSLA – could know about the connection that has been forged between his old friend Cornelia and me!
Add comment August 11, 2009
Facebook Frustrations
My apologies to anyone who has gone in search of my South Africa or Europe photos, only to be asked, annoyingly, for Facebook login information. I specified that I wanted “Everyone” interested to be able to see the photos, but apparently Facebook doesn’t interpret “Everyone” the way I do. (Facebook may soon lose me; it has proven annoying in more ways than one lately.) If I get around to posting them elsewhere, I will let people know. In the meantime, thanks for your interest!
Perhaps my next posting will be about my novel in progress, that is patiently awaiting my return.
2 comments April 15, 2009
7 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me
My sister Janet tagged me earlier this week. I’ve decided to use her challenge to “play along” with her as an opportunity to write about some of the things I’ve only thought about blogging about this month.
1. Perhaps a children’s writer should not admit to this, but for years I’ve felt rather “bah humbug” about Christmas. It’s a complicated season for blended families blessed with kids and grandkids and other family members each with his or her own hopes and expectations of what Christmas should be. This year has felt less complicated, maybe we’re finally getting the hang of what’s do-able and what isn’t, and I have found myself enjoying all the colourful lights as I walk the streets of our new neighbourhood. Who knows, I might not even grumble as I don my silly paper hat at the dinner table this December 25th.
2. I am one of the lucky few who have seen a portrait recently created by Irma Coucill that will soon be seen by thousands. Irma has done portraits of every American president, every Canadian prime minister (including 80+ of Pierre Trudeau), (more…)
1 comment December 19, 2008
A Sister Visit
Today my sister is coming. I’m pretty excited because she hasn’t been here since the day after we moved in, when she did a great job helping me get our new kitchen organized.
We instituted what we call our “sister visits” a number of years ago, when we discovered that much as we enjoy visiting in various family contexts, there’s something very special about spending time together, just the two of us. Janet will stay overnight, as she usually does on a sister visit, giving us lots of hours for chatting, walking in the woods, and whatever else strikes our fancy – sometimes shopping, sometimes playing a game of Scrabble or Blokus, sometimes baking cookies (we usually do that on our pre-Christmas sister visit). Maybe this time we’ll do some yoga practice together, decide on some new photos for our new house’s “Rogues Gallery”, now that the hall wall is painted and ready for the family pics.
Janet also reminded me with her “WordPress.com vs WordPress.org” blog entry (at www.janetbarclay.com) that we might also be looking at personalizing the appearance of my blog, so come back soon!
1 comment October 17, 2008
Settling In
We moved house a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve had lots of people ask how we’re “settling in” and how we’re enjoying the new place. I’m really enjoying getting set up here, but I’m also very much looking forward to just “being” here – writing, reading, doing puzzles, and of course taking Keisha for walks in the woods. The walks are the only “normal” thing that happens because my head and time are still so taken up with setting this place up.
Yesterday, for example, (more…)
3 comments October 3, 2008
