Cara asks “What do you like most about Ottawa?” I’ve lived my whole adult life, as well as portions of my childhood, in Ottawa. The resulting sense of familiarity is intimately tied into everything I like about Ottawa, as well as everything I don’t like. I like that whenever I
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knitnut.net: I did a bunch of things
I’m taking a brief break from the Ask Me Anything series to tell you that at 7:50 this morning, my favourite son will turn 30 years old. (He’d still be my favourite even if I had more than one, but I probably wouldn’t say it out loud.) It doesn’t seem
Continue readingknitnut.net: Homemade pottery
Here’s the rest of the pottery we made at Chandler Swain’s Pottery Camp. Mostly I see these pieces as funny little wobbly things that we made with our very own hands. Their charm lies in their obvious lack of proficiency. The day we picked them up, I made stuffed green
Continue readingknitnut.net: Hostile corporate messaging
Further to my post the other day about Fabricland, here’s a photograph of the sign that hangs over the check-out area. I know it’s hard to read, so I’ve transcribed it for you. It’s especially fun if you read it out loud. Shout whenever you get to the all-caps
Continue readingknitnut.net: Ottawa Citizen outs mentally ill man
On Saturday the Ottawa Citizen ran a story called Pleas to help mentally ill son ignored, mother says. It was in Hugh Adami’s column, The Public Citizen. Complete with names and a photograph, this article provides detailed personal information about a 22-year-old man who lives in Ottawa’s shelter system. The
Continue readingknitnut.net: We know how to have fun
Here are some of the things we did this weekend: Spent a day out at Chandler’s, painting and glazing the rest of our pottery pieces. Went to the International Puppet Festival in Almonte, which features the shortest and best parade ever. Went to the Garlic Festival in Carp, which proves
Continue readingknitnut.net: New neighbours, old garbage
Remember when you were a little kid, and a new family would move onto your street? You’d stand there watching the moving truck being unloaded, looking for clues about the children, how old they were, and what sex, hoping they’d have one just like you, someone with the potential to
Continue readingknitnut.net: A pool of fresh blood
Every morning I go for a long walk along the bike path and I encounter all kinds of other people walking, biking, roller blading, skateboarding, running, and dog-walking. On Sunday I encountered a run-down, rickety sex worker at the intersection of Merivale and the bike path. She was skeletal and
Continue readingknitnut.net: I got laid off again
I got laid off last week; today’s my first day of unemployment. There were three weeks remaining on my three-month contract, but we started running out of international tax returns a couple of weeks ago. One day the work cart was empty. They sent us all home without pay for
Continue readingknitnut.net: Great Glebe Garage Sale 2012
Lamaze Peekaboo Flower We had a lot of fun and this is what we got: Skates for GC A stuffed snake for Rosie, who loves stuffed snakes and has amassed quite a collection already Magnetic poetry (Basic + Genius + Movie kits) A sweet little cast iron teapot, which violates
Continue readingknitnut.net: Blogging in point form
Lately I’ve been falling behind. In April I went from a four-day-a-week job and two contracts on the side to a five-day-a-week job and four contracts. It’s temporary – the full-time job is over at the end of June, and then I’ll be looking for more work. In the meantime,
Continue readingknitnut.net: Duncan’s twice-yearly annual checkup
There has been a cluster of cat deaths among my friends lately. Several good friends have lost beloved cats, and they’re grieving. It doesn’t seem to matter if the cat was old or sick or the writing was on the wall…grief is grief. It’s hard and it hurts and my
Continue readingknitnut.net: Weird encounter at the bank
GC and I want to travel a little, maybe go to Newfoundland or New Orleans or San Francisco…anywhere, really. But when we have money we don’t have time, and when we have time we don’t have money, and sometimes we have neither. So we decided to start tucking a little
Continue readingknitnut.net: The right place at the right time
First off, I’m happy to report that Cindy Lou was found and captured on Friday afternoon as she was running down the Queensway! It’s a miracle she wasn’t killed. Two police officers were trying to catch her when someone from Genesis Dog Rescue came along and managed to snag her
Continue readingknitnut.net: Cindy Lou Who needs you
There is an amazing drama unfolding in Ottawa. You might have heard of it. Remember a few months ago, when GC and I were looking for a dog and we had that bizarre experience with Friendly Giants Dog Rescue? Well, we didn’t lose faith in the rescue community, in part
Continue readingknitnut.net: I actually kind of like my new job
At my new job, I phone people. Don’t you think that’s ironic? I’m phonophobic, yet somehow I ended up with a job that involves phoning taxpayers all over the world and asking them questions in an effort to sort out their residency and world income and so on. I
Continue readingknitnut.net: Safe injection sites: Treating people with addictions like they matter
Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, could stay open despite the Harper Government’s objections. The arguments hinged on whether addiction was primarily a health issue or a crime issue. If it were a health matter it would fall under provincial jurisdiction; if it were
Continue readingknitnut.net: Heartwarming goodbyes
CCOC (Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation) wasn’t just a nice place to work. It turned out to be a nice place to leave, too. On my last day of work, they took me out for a lovely lunch and presented me with a swap box (!) filled with goodies like antique
Continue readingknitnut.net: The meaning of life
I’m working at home this week and next. I like walking to work, so I go for a walk each morning before I get started. We’re not talking a quick spin around the block, either. No. GC and I recently downloaded the app Walkmeter for our iPhones. We can now
Continue readingknitnut.net: New Job
The place I’ve been working since September – Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation – is great. It’s a private non-profit housing organization, and I was a tenant of theirs for years. I’ve always liked the organization, and I couldn’t ask for better colleagues. But, it was always intended to be a
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