Marion Agnew

You make cake. Apparently. This is pumpkin spice cake, dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The plate is Spode Christmas Tree,* of which I have plates and bowls and other random bits and bobs--salt and pepper shakers, candy dishes in many odd shapes. Most of them came to me courtesy of my father, who (apparently) enjoyed selecting random pieces and, in my adult years, found Christmas china a safer gift than books, since I often bought my own. I've been trying to cull books, since they seem to accumulate around here, but it's tough going. For one thing, it feels cruel to remove books from our house when I just brought one into the world . And for another, some books leave our house fairly easily and rapidly, which means that many of the ones left are special in some way. I have whole sets that my father gave to me in hardcover over the years. I haven't read James Herriot's veterinary series in decades, but my set (with my father's dated inscriptions) w...

As we near the Saturday launch for Reverberations: A Daughter's Meditations on Alzheimer's , I have the opportunity to talk about the book, my mother, our family, and writing. It's been a lot of fun to chat with interested people. Here's some official links: On CBC Radio's Thunder Bay morning snow, Superior Morning, with Lisa Laco. The November issue of Thunder Bay's arts and culture magazine, The Walleye.  The "Five Questions" is the interview with me, done by Susan Goldberg, an awesome writer and interviewer. And just yesterday, an interview with Heather Dickson in Bayview Magazine.  Lots of neat photos accompany this one. I keep saying how grateful I am, and it's true. For my parents, my siblings and their children and grandchildren, and our extended family of cousins. For my husband and his children and partners and grandchildren. For the support from teachers, librarians and library programs, health-related programs, and arts progr...

'Tis the season to think about consumer goods. Lots of stories in the zeitgeist about shopping, budgeting--holiday extravagance and how to avoid it. But I've been thinking about the goods we have and use every day. Last night I noticed that I'm usually surprised when we run low on coffee filters, even though we use at least one a day, and I KNOW that we do.  On the other hand, I'm rarely surprised when we're low on dish soap--also used daily, also by me. That set me thinking about other pairs. I'm surprised when I use up a tube of lip balm. I'm not surprised to use the last Q-tip.  I'm surprised to use up a glue stick. I'm not surprised to come to the end of a roll of tape. We're low on cinnamon--surprising. Black pepper, cloves, chili powder, and curry also fall under the same "we never use the whole jar before they mysteriously disappear" assumption. (I also don't remember buying chili powder, so how old IS ...

I had a filling replaced this morning. Now that it's over I plan to lie on the couch and be dramatic--my hand on my forehead, repeating "all the drilling!"--until the numbness wears off and it's safe for me to eat lunch. Meanwhile, here's this bit of news. Hope to see you there!