When I was in my early forties, I purchased my first La-Z-Boy recliner. It was a concession to fast-approaching middle-age and a recognition of the importance of function over form. Newly single at the time, I spent many leisurely hours reading books or watching television so comfort was essential. That chair was dark green chenille and it served me well for many years. Thirty years…
Here’s how we break the Trump and COVID-19 two-issue news cycle
Remember when we used to get news from around the world? About all kinds of different issues? Is there still a functioning world out there? I’m starved for news on Harry and Meghan (well, not really, but you know what I mean), or what is the latest scientific evidence on cancer-causing teas or breakfast cereal. What’s happening in Europe? Is Brigitte Macron still wearing her…
Carl Hiaasen’s Squeeze Me is a brilliantly satirical take on Palm Beach and the Presidential lifestyle
Trump lovers will hate Carl Hiaasen‘s new novel Squeeze Me and call it offensive to the President. Trump haters will laugh their asses off as they recognize the ridiculousness of it all. Hiaasen is the popular native Floridian and author of humorous crime fiction that usually features a cast of eccentric characters engaged in hapless crimes and other adventures for which Florida has become famous….
Baroness von Sketch: Catch it while you can. That’s an order!
The good news is that the new season of Baroness von Sketch Show starts this week on Tuesday, October 6th on CBC. Check your guide for local times. The bad news is this is their fifth and final season. If you haven’t been following this hilarious half-hour sketch comedy show by four brilliant Canadian women, then, where have you been? Living in a cave? Get…
What this boomer learned from the September 2020 issue of Vogue magazine
The September issue of Vogue magazine is traditionally a really big deal. It’s so prized, so anticipated, so revered that in 2009 an entire documentary film was created specifically in its honour called, what else, The September Issue. And, for the past seven years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve penned an annual bitchy critique of Vogue’s September Issue. The 2020 edition arrived discreetly in my mailbox recently…
Take a trip to rural France without leaving home
With all the restrictions on travel these days, some of us may be feeling the pinch of not being able to take vacations we’d saved and planned for before COVID-19 hit. My friends Debbie and Terry had to cancel a gourmet cooking expedition to Tuscany. I had to cancel a writing retreat in Paris. We can get a bit of relief watching Rick Steeves on…