Ask Me Anything #9: What do you like about Ottawa?
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…
A. Ottawa
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…