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A slightly older friend — he turned 60 in April — sent me a meme this week as I prepared for my own big odometer rollover.  The meme (the red text below) made me laugh, but also made me think abo...

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Come Curious, Leave Inspired. That was the tagline of the 2026 Eden Mills Writers Festival. I think it delivered.

YouTube video by celia chandler

Joy! A commodity in short supply This week I experienced it in abundance: I joined the Alt Vox choir, a group that sings hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

YouTube video by celia chandler

Hey Robot! Stop crawling through my blog… That’s what I thought when I first noticed you last December. Honestly, if I’d known how to write ‘fuck off ‘in your robot language, I would have.

Congratulations to Celia Chandler, whose 100-word story “Thrive!” (below) has won our Drabble of the Month contest for the month of September. She has won a cash prize of CA$25. Celia w…

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Today’s post is the 49th of “I eat, I read, I watch,” my column highlighting a solo dinner and my reading and watching accompaniments. Don’t just eat alone - dine solo! You’re worth it. And it’s not h...

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In August 2016, Jack had just finished a gruelling six months of cancer treatment. While cancer hadn’t affected him physically yet, the chemo and brain radiation left him sapped. We were gearing up fo...

YouTube video by celia chandler

“There’s a 2-week cooling period,” the agency volunteer told me. “Sure, but I won’t need that,” I said. Jack used to say ‘only a cow doesn’t change its mind:’ he’d seen me set my compass in one direc...

The Crosstown transit line along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue was 15 years in the making, plagued by delays and overspending. But since it opened in February, it's given those of us in the City acce...

Want Neapolitan Pizza from a prize-winning pizza maker? Head to Weston Village Farmers Market tomorrow between 2 and 7.  But go early— La Pizza Pedlar sells out.

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For weeks now, Nothing but Flowers by Talking Heads has been the backdrop to my every day. This earworm wasn’t planted aurally though: smoke from wildfires triggered the internal loop. When Talkin...

YouTube video by celia chandler

When Mom died last August holiday weekend, it was a celebratory day — for her anyway. She asserted control over her own life again by choosing to end it in the way she wanted. I’ve honoured that decis...

Weston is lucky to have Thames River Melons coming to our market every week, something they’ve been doing for over 30 years!  That’s right, they’re the most longterm vendors at the market!  ...

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I’ve become one of the countless menopausal women experiencing interrupted sleep. I’ve written about this before—how I can get to sleep and I can even get back to sleep, but I’m awake multiple times i...

Two weeks ago, I appealed to you to support the Weston Village Farmers Market. I talked about how important it has been to me as a way to feel a part of a community and how sad I am to see such poor a...

For all that’s good in the co-op housing model—and there’s lots*—there’s nothing as inspiring as the Diversity Scholarship. Twenty-two years ago, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT) ...

You’ve read about my New Brunswick vacation, but of course it’s a conference that took me there. The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) is a membership organization of housing co-o...

When I moved to Weston 15 years ago, the Farmers Market was already three decades old. I didn’t know anyone but when I went down to the parking lot where 22 John Street now stands I saw the same faces...

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New Brunswick—the undiscovered middle child/gem of the family, causing no problems, getting no attention. If you mention New Brunswick to Ontarians, you invariably hear how they stayed in Edmunston en...

YouTube video by celia chandler

New Brunswick—the undiscovered middle child/gem of the family, causing no problems, getting no attention. If you mention New Brunswick to Ontarians, you invariably hear how they stayed in Edmunston en...

After a long day of work, in the old days, if I’m being completely honest, I might have reached for a box of KD. I don’t go there anymore but the need for creamy carbs hasn’t gone away. So this time, ...

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You read that right: I’m a non-hugger. For the first 35 years of my life, this was a non-issue. Hugging just wasn’t a thing people in Huron County did in the 70s and 80s, or even during the 90s whe...

New research suggests a device that has come to define modern life may be playing a role.

The Crosstown transit line along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue was 15 years in the making, plagued by delays and overspending. But since it opened in February, it's given those of us in the City acce...

If you look hard, there’s always something on hand when you need a fast dinner, like the night I made salmon cakes. I started with a bit of diced onion in a mixing bowl to which I added a can of salm...

The Crosstown transit line along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue was 15 years in the making, plagued by delays and overspending. But since it opened in February, it's given those of us in the City acce...

‘Look after your knees,’ my mother said when I asked her what advice she would give to her 55-year-old self. I laughed. That was a few years ago. My knees were fine then. If you know me, you know I s...

I bought myself a well-named Wonder Oven. When your kitchen is as small a mine, every bit of countertop real estate is precious, so this was a big decision. I even gave up my DeLonghi espresso maker, ...

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The Crosstown transit line along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue was 15 years in the making, plagued by delays and overspending. But since it opened in February, it's given those of us in the City acce...

A mini-memoir,   by Bidi, guest blogger  ( as told to and translated by Celia)    I’m 10 now, 70 in your years. That’s as old as Jack would have been if he...

The Crosstown transit line along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue was 15 years in the making, plagued by delays and overspending. But since it opened in February, it's given those of us in the City acce...

New York Times subscriptions get more expensive the second year (surprise!) but by then you’re addicted to the Spelling Bee (more on this another time) and the recipes so there’s no going back. These...

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On May 13, 2016, Jack and I eloped after seven years together and in the fifth month of his lung cancer treatment. The decade since has been an extraordinary mix of good, very good, bad, and very bad.

For decades, mom and her hairdresser had as close a relationship as you can have. They met weekly for a wash and ‘set,’ a word that doesn’t even exist for most of us. Every six weeks, she’d have a per...