dunesifter

An hour ago, the handyman cleared 15 black bin-bags full of garbage from the cottage across the street and nailed up a ‘For Rent’ sign. He also informed us that the tenants had skipped out without paying the rent. 2 minutes ago, a muscle car screamed past, braked to a stop and reversed into the... Sign in to see full entry.

The headline is addressed to the owner of the cottage across the road from us; the cottage the cops kept arriving at and taking people and plastic bags of guns and dope away. That particular tenant left (‘left’ sounds so much better than ‘booted out,’ doesn’t it), just before Christmas. Another... Sign in to see full entry.

Yesterday the ice breaker crunched its way up the main channel in our part of the St. Lawrence – on the second day of spring. Perhaps there is life after winter. Perhaps there is hope. Today there were more miracles; in one day the Red-Winged Blackbirds, the Grackles and the Robins returned. The sun... Sign in to see full entry.

Today it is 9f and with the wind-chill it is - 40f. That is seriously cold as in flesh freezing cold. The type of weather where taking off a piece of clothing inside a house, results in static electricity so bad that you can see the sparks fly. The type of weather where trying to close a car door... Sign in to see full entry.

In the past few days, I have heard various arguments regarding the alleged finding of Jesus’ bones. I have listened to a few theories regarding Mary and the examination of her alleged hymen, hundreds of years later. I didn’t see the report of this examination; I just couldn’t stop shaking my head.... Sign in to see full entry.

You’ll have to excuse my ignorance – and the oncoming heavy sarcasm - regarding the so called bones of Jesus being found under a concrete slab in Bethlehem. When I came to Canada, I came across a burial plot with my name on it. Was it me under there? How could I possibly prove I was alive? I knew my... Sign in to see full entry.

Is religion simply a marketable commodity? The question hit me this morning. Ell was at church delivering some salmon sandwiches she’d made for the funeral of a church member, and I was idly looking out of the window at the driving snow and wondering what life was all about, when a car drew up. The... Sign in to see full entry.

British academics have been studying a Roman coin that has re-surfaced from a collection in Tynecastle. It shows a not too flattering image of Cleopatra – to put it mildly. The silver coin from 32 BC shows a thin lipped Cleo with her chin pointing upwards where we have always seen her in films and... Sign in to see full entry.

It is minus 25 centigrade again today. The sun is shining and it is a glorious day – as long as you stay inside or are wrapped up so that only your eyes can be seen. Last week the river finally froze over from here to the States, but with the occasional gaps of open water. On Sunday, the wind was... Sign in to see full entry.

Imagine the entrance to a doctor’s surgery. The main door opens from the street into an L shaped lobby, but not an ordinary L shaped lobby. I know - think of the L on a Lexus automobile. It is that shape, and you are approaching that shape from the right of the L. L < from here, OK? When you open... Sign in to see full entry.