Camaraderie

During my performing years I spent a great deal of time learning repertoire, performing operas and concerts, travelling to engagements, and bringing up a child. I would meet other performers for brief sojourns and keep in touch, but I never experienced the fun and camaraderie of girlfriend time. My sister has always been my best […]

Vancouver weekend

Vancouver has always been a healing city for me. After my divorce in the Yukon, I moved to Vancouver and started a career as an opera singer. (See my book Aria: Song of Life for details of my adventures). After a few years, I moved back to Toronto and went to the university there. Then in […]

Invasion of the Body Parts

When I buy a new car I expect it to run for a few years before I have to fix anything major. It is the same for household appliances, bikes, computers, roofs, grass. You name it. Everything has a design life or so it seems; even us. The list of parts and repairs that we […]

Generation Gap ?

This being a senior (Yikes! see first blog) does have its pluses. One, is being a grandparent. The ‘I love you Nana’ from Rose 9 years, and June 6, naturally fills my heart with joy, but there is nothing as delightful as watching the girls entranced at a play. Well not just any play, but The Lion,The Witch and the […]

Oh Canada

Years ago, too many to count, I went to Newfoundland to give a performance that was recorded by CBC radio. It was a re-enactment of a Jenny Lind concert, and someone had left the tap running in an adjacent bathroom. When I listened to the recording, all I could hear was ‘drip drip’. I don’t […]

Lists: Bucket or Otherwise

I have always made lists. It’s the only way I can remember to do all the things I need to accomplish each day. Calendars are great for engagements, but daily lists are a necessity for me. I have pads all over the house so I can jot down my to-dos, and I often find old scraps of […]

Those Knees

About forty years ago I drove an adorable little red Fiat 850. It attracted and distracted a large pick up truck, causing its driver to go through a stop sign, and hit me broadside. My windshield shattered, and my left knee hit the dashboard. That’s when my knee problems started. It wasn’t until I fell […]

Sun Savvy

I had never slept in a bathtub full of cool water before, but after my first really bad sunburn in Nassau, that’s where I spent the night. I was a newlywed and was on my first trip to the Caribbean. My brother-in-law, who was dark skinned, and tanned easily, mixed a concoction of iodine and […]

Skin Talk

I smile a lot. Smiling makes me feel good, and when I smile people are drawn to my face not my neck. I am not fond of my neck. Of course I also smile a lot because I am happy, but back to my neck. If I could walk around holding either side of […]

Suddenly 70

Somewhere I lost 30 years, and this just amazes me. I am no longer a sexy 40-year-old who can stop traffic on a busy street. It seems only a few years ago that I met, fell in love, and married my husband, Charles. We joked about staying together for a 30-year renewable contract, and both […]