Nurse. Teacher. Crafter. Photographer. Canadian; I am a woman who wears many hats, but what defines me the most is being a New Zealander and a mother. — “Why on earth did you leave New Zealand?” This is often the first question I am asked after the inevitable clarification of where my accent is from — usually confused with being English or Australian; even after almost 28 years living in Canada, I can’t shake the twang!

Is your healthcare system as messed up as Canada’s? — Covid-19 has not been kind to health systems worldwide; overloaded emergency rooms (ERs), inundated patient-care units, and frazzled, vulnerable staff are just a few examples of how bad things quickly unfolded when the virus took a stranglehold worldwide. Here in Québec, our health care system was fraught years before the…

They didn’t fool me, but don’t let them fool you either. — The first thing I do before heading up to my apartment after work is to check the snail-mail box. It’s usually empty — or full of advertising rags. Today there was that usual annoyance and a couple of brown envelopes. We all know what that means, right? One was anticipated…

There are two different opinions on the matter. Here’s mine. — Trudeau spotted singing Bohemian Rhapsody days before Queen’s funeral; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) headline My Canadian newsfeed was full of the incident, and the story also appeared in Stuff, New Zealand’s top media site. Our young Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was filmed standing around a grand piano at a five-star…

But the Christmas stuff is already out! — What the heck?! Despite rollercoaster temperatures, I refuse to ditch my sandals or wear a sweater, yet the stores are starting to put out Christmas decorations. I’m not amused! Can’t we appreciate and relish the transition from Summer to Fall? The crisp air, gorgeous orange leaves, and the anticipation of trick-or-treaters? Apparently not! Mr. Materialistic Moneybags is always on our case, provoking us into events scheduled for months ahead with the supposed philosophy that ‘the early bird catches the worm.’

I welcome feedback on writers’ experiences. — I’ve decided to make a book of all the stories I wrote about ‘When I was a kid.’ There are a few; many short forms and a few longer ones. The memories came flooding back as soon as I started writing a year or so back. Incredibly, stories by fellow…

When I was a kid, I sang in a church choir — Don’t run! I’m not going to preach religion to those of you who despise the subject; I’m merely sharing the rather wonderful musical experience I had as a child that all came flooding back after watching Her Majesty’s funeral. She had a great musical taste. I’ll ‘fess right off the…

Am I the only woman on the planet who does? — Don’t get me wrong; I love shoes. Rather, shoes don’t love me. How I yearn to have a large selection of sandals, boots and dress shoes to accompany my wardrobe. But it will never be. I can walk into a shoe store, survey the displays and know within a minute…