This morning Jasper was a bit moody and blue when I dropped him off at school. We’d spent the day at home yesterday because Simon was sick with a bad cold and it’s easier to have both of them at home at once. I’d gotten a lot of work done, but we managed to watch a bit of a movie, mess up the house, and slip out for lunch at Subway. So this morning as we skittered across the cold parking lot toward the school I reached for a quick fix for his funk. “Look, Jasper. Just think about how weird it is that that bright thing up there is…

The double-bagged kitty litter now has to be split between two bags because it is too heavy for the garbage people to pick up curbside. This is too much interaction with Puddy’s sullied clumping gravel. If there’s a lesson here, I’m missing it. Suzy got her sister JD a ticket to see Leonard Cohen at the NAC in an advance ticket sale. This morning people were lined up to buy tickets when they went on sale for everyone else. Apparently they were sold out upon opening, even online, and are now being scalped on the web for $2000. Upon hearing this, I told Suzy she and JD should cash in,…

I’m still learning. This weekend I discovered that it’s just too risky to try to carry a black garbage bag-full of kitty litter up from the basement and through the house en route to the trash can. Double bag it. In bed with me now as I write is “Audacity of Hope” and “Tantric Sex for Dummies.” Audacious indeed. With Suzy asleep beside me, it’s probably also hopeless. I also have some new toys (no, not in bed with me, and not those kind): This new Vaio laptop, and a Buddhist singing bowl with mallet. I can’t make either work properly. And from the “simplify, simplify” department, check out the…

Did you know that the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich is made with Kraft Cheez Whiz? Note that the good folks at Kraft spelled Cheez with a zee (not zed or s). And Whiz? Who came up with that? I also discovered tonight that Philadephia Cheese Cake is made with Kraft Philly cheese! More processed cheese! Someone has to look into this. What’s with the processed cheeses? The waiter told me tonight I could replace the whiz with gorgonzola if I preferred. That’s a start. But it’s not Philly. I’m in Pennsylvania for the first time tonight. And again, I’m amazed by what I see. There’s something about American cities. Downtown…

The news popped up Friday with about a dozen other messages on my Blackberry. Subject line: Aunt Grace. I knew she was dead. After all, she was 96. And just last week another aunt, Margaret, called to tell me that Grace was “very, very frail.” Grace is (or was) actually my Great Aunt. My dad’s aunt. She went 96 times around the sun but lived no further than 25k from where she was born. It’s the end of an era, in a whole lot of ways. She might call it the end times. Aunt Grace was a very sweet lady – a real “lady” in the old fashioned sense. She…

I’m in Edmonton tonight. It’s 12:30AM where I came from, and I have an 8AM meeting. I managed to squeeze in a 7k run on the treadmill, but there was no way I could get the TV on. The remote was asking me questions for which I had no answer. So I just decided to go to bed. But I couldn’t figure out how to turn the bedside lamp on. Now I find I have to hit the letter i key extra hard to get it to appear. Geez. But I sa d that would wr te here, so w ll l ve up to my prom ses. Good n…

One of the best parts of my job is being able to meet and work with smart and creative people, leaders in their fields. Today, for instance, my colleague and One Change Assoc. Exec. Director John Mulvihill and I spent an entire day with Richard Earle, David Basch and Mark Chinoy of the Regis Group here in Leesburg, VA — bashing and remodeling the One Change concept and trying to figure out how to make it global. Before coming to my fledgling NGO, John was Deputy Secretary General of the Canadian Red Cross. He managed the Red Cross through the Hep-C blood crisis and dispatched teams to assist people in…

Welcome to Leesburg, Virginia, the town where the US government retreated when the British (aka Canadians) stormed Washington and burned the White House. I’m here for two days of facilitated strategic planning — which is more exciting than it sounds when you’re planning to, well, take over the United States. I’m in a Hampton Inn tonight, a wee step down from the Fairmont San Francisco of last week, but I’m not complaining. It’s the crusty remnants of snow banks outside my window that bother me the most. It seems there’s snow everywhere lately. Folks in San Fran were talking about their unexpected Christmas snow, the people I’m meeting tomorrow said…

San Franciso is so awesome. The streets are dry. No need to work out. Just walking gets the heart racing. A street car clanged loudly at me today because I was driving the wrong way in its lane headed steeply down to the bay. Nobody, but nobody, drives a standard. But I’m tired. After three days of networking, speeches, a CBS interview, and talking in San Diego, I have two more days of the same ahead. And although I love my job, I feel a bit tapped. But I’m also overwhelmed by how lucky I am. I get to travel all over North America talking to people about how to…

Once, when I was maybe 10 my mom made me eat a raw onion when I asked her for 25 cents to buy the new Hubba Bubba grape. I did it. Another time, my grade two teacher Ms. Ferguson called me to the front of the class and offered me 25 cents if I hiccupped one more time. I didn’t. Photos: First winter at Walden Cabin in PEI (1995), and in 2007.

Sister-in-law JD’s looking for a dog. She found a hot prospect tonight on UsedOttawa.com, mixed in with listings for old CRT TVs and IKEA furniture: An 18-month-old Corgi. The ad’s a bit dodgy for a doggie posting. First of all, the owner posted what looks like a catalogue picture of a corgi. And it states emphatically that the dog is wonderful with “considerate children.” Upon reading the ad I was instantly taken back to the late 70s and remembered the hot rashy feeling of my wrist after Frisky gnawed on it. God love her she meant well and never broke skin, even though she scared the crap out of lots…

People are scared. This hit me today in studio at CBC as I was doing a live-to-air segment on Newsworld (interviewed by Suhanna Merchand from Toronto) about concerns that UV radiation from CFL bulbs can cause sunburns and other medical conditions. I’m often called to give this kind of interview, and I’m increasingly comfortable doing so, even though it’s weird to sit in a dark closet with just a camera and try to act as if you’re having a friendly chat. The other issues I’ve been asked to address since 2006 are legit: Mercury, safe usage, energy savings/empowerment of communities … But the radiation issue is different, and I think…

Tonight seems like a good time to share the story of my first trip to Washington, DC. I love Washington, and am there frequently lately with the project. It’s exciting to get to know a city — to find a favourite bookstore, a little hotel where you can get to know the desk staff, and even find an unpretentious clothes store that sells top notch shirts. My first time to Washington was in 1996. It was August and I was in town on business with the Canadian Psychological Association, where I was Managing Editor of the journals division. I’d been sent to CPA’s American partner org, APA, to discuss the…

It’s day 37 of the Ottawa transit strike. There’s no sign of a deal. But it didn’t really affect me until yesterday (aside from a slightly longer commute and new carpool company, which is actually quite pleasant). Yesterday I came home and was annoyed to find that my housekeeper hadn’t come to clean the house, as she does every two weeks while Suzy and I are at work. The place is overdue. Ceta hasn’t been here since early December, before the holidays. I’ve been keeping up with the tree needles and the laundry, but we count on her for a twice-monthly scrub. And we’ve set her up with other friends…

I’m looking for a good slow cooker baked beans recipe, preferably one that includes molasses. I was proud of myself yesterday because I’d gotten organized enough to soak a large bowl of black-eyed beans for a full 24 hours before I carefully layered them with sliced plum tomato, onion and brown sugar and a few healthy chunks of fatty pork tenderloin in my slow cooker. I set it to Low and went to bed, but was horrified to discover in the morning that I’d forgotten to plug it in. Slow indeed. So I’m ready to try again, but want to use molasses. What a great word! I’m really craving molasses…