Last Sunday, thousands of Barrie residents crowded the downtown cenotaph. They applauded veterans, old and young. They applauded the cadets who will come after us. They applauded the Silver Cross Mother. They applauded Al Zaba who took the salute as the memorial services came to a close. Thirty six hours later, Al Zaba was gone,…
Did you rake leaves last weekend? Clean gutters? Pick up branches felled by Hurricane Sandy? Sweep out the garage? Realize you need 25 more bags? Yup. I’m sore. But the yard looks wonderful and the roof is swept clean for winter (I hope). It was Sunday afternoon and if I could just push through a…
It was one of those weekends longed for by grandparents… a whole two nights and two days with a two year old. (yes, I’m serious) Preparation includes totally clearing your calendar. And that was the thrill for me last weekend when 32 month Harper came to stay. An anniversary weekend away for kid three; and…
When Julia Whiteguard left her high-pressured job in logistics, it was to give birth to her son. Like all expectant parents, Julia expected a healthy, happy child to arrive in her life. She got the happy little boy that is enriching her days and his food sensitivity and allergy challenges have changed Julia’s life and…
May Court Club of Barrie is part of the country’s oldest volunteer association, founded in Ottawa in 1898. Now, 114 years and many, many communities later, you’d be hard pressed to count the thousands of acts of kindness done by May Court members across this country. The Barrie club, founded in 1970, has 134 members…
Imagine if you could make a financial donation to an organization that would generate interest from your original gift and give money every year to your specified cause? That’s what happened in Barrie on Tuesday when the Barrie Community Foundation presented cheques in the memory of Bill Porter and K’Leigh Cundall. When Bill Porter passed…
My friend, Mary Ann, and I used to walk a long distance to our weekly Girl Guides meetings. Along leafy tree-lined streets, across our main street, down a couple of side streets to the Legion Hall. Girl Guides met in the basement. In summer, it was always dark when we walked home. In winter it…
Bad karma: we can’t find that page! You asked for {%sh404SEF_404_URL%}, but despite our computers looking very hard, we could not find it. What happened ? the link you clicked to arrive here has a typo in it or somehow we removed that page, or gave it another name or, quite unlikely for sure, maybe…
The first time I met Allen Lloyd, I was a bit perplexed. It was 2003 and he’d just moved to Barrie to take on the outreach position with Canada Revenue Agency. We were talking about entrepreneurs and about how so many don’t know how to build a meaningful relationship with the CRA. That was…
I don’t know about you, but one of my great challenges is slowing down. Even if I sit on the sofa, complex knitting project in my lap, my mind is making lists of people, places, and things. Part of it is living in a city. Part of it is being self employed. And part…