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…

  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…

Every year, librarians across the province read like crazy (I expect they always read like crazy) and nominate their favourite 100 books by Canadian authors for that year. Those 100 books are celebrated and then by committee they’re whittled down to the best. It’s called the Evergreen Nominees. I’ve just read one of the 10…

You know those reality shows about hoarders?  I tell you, when they come on television, my first husband grabs the remote and clicks away with the plaintive cry, “I can’t stand to see this.  It makes me really anxious.” I always thought his anxiety came from sympathy for those with this affliction. Maybe not.  Maybe…

Well, I tell you, I was ‘ticked off’ when the Longterm Care place that is now mom’s home called with a recent problem.  Mom had received a ‘bill’ from the Police Association of Ontario and she was quite agitated, trying to find a chequebook, envelope and stamps.  She has none of these things anymore as…

When Rob Warman called to tell me that the Veterans Club of Barrie was initiating its first female president in its 74 year history, I didn’t know whether to applaud or cry. 74 years??? Women have long participated in the armed forces and in both war and peacekeeping efforts, so you can appreciate my reaction. …

When I was a little girl, say four or five, I got to see my Grandpa Douglas three or four times a year.  And when we had alone time, I remember so clearly sitting beside him, his hand on his knee.  I would reach over and take his knuckle between my two fingers and squeeze…