It’s HOME time again

Another issue of Saskatoon Home magazine on the streets and in the racks this week. I’ve got another cover story, paired up again with my pal photographer Heather Fritz. Thanks to Chris and Jillian Popplewell for letting us come inside and hear the tale and have a look at their fantastic reno and addition. My husband and I watched the project progress from just two doors down and we’re among the happy neighbours to have this home on our block. This issue is loaded with lots of other good stuff, too. Oh, hey, you might see some people you know on page 50! Mmm, pickles. Read your copy on line or pick one up at various locations around our city. All our stories are selected by our Reader Panel; if you’d like to be a panelist (it’s really very easy), just let us know. Enjoy HOME and enjoy summer!

Go a little wild this week

The 4th annual NatureCity Festival gets underway today, so don’t forget to check out all the interesting and fun things to do. My pal Candace Savage has been the force behind this festival; read the CBC piece and she was covered in the Star Phoenix a few days ago while playing in the South Saskatchewan sand. So much to do every day all week! We’ll be all about bees on Saturday at Cabela’s at 7 p.m. with our beekeeper buddy Barry Brown. Come on over; there will be prizes!

Photo by Michelle Berg.

My mom

We had a good chat with my mom (and dad, too) for Mother’s Day. I’ll be heading to Whitehorse for a visit so we can celebrate that, her 85th and my 57th all in one under the Midnight Sun. When I was in grade one (Sultan, Washington), Mom came in from the farm one afternoon to sit in on my class. She sat there with such perfect posture, looking beautiful, and the girl next to me leaned over and said, “Your mom looks just like Mary Poppins.” We went to see Sound of Music when it first came out not long afterwards and, sure enough, she really did look like Julie Andrews. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. See you soon!

HOME style dills coming soon

If you’re like Saskatoon HOME magazine foodie Craig Silliphant, that is to say a pickle fanatic, you’ll want to pick up the summer issue! No one says you have to wear a suit when you’re pickling, but he stylishly offers the how to’s of garlic dills, sweet refrigerators, and there’s a bonus salsa recipe that my husband Rick has perfected. The pickles are my domain after years of mentoring by our good friend Yvonne Brown. Amanda Soulodre, Saskatoon HOME publisher and Craig came by for a lesson and lots of samples. You’ll be ready to try your hand at it when the cukes are ready! Plenty of other great stories in this issue, too, due to hit the streets in early June.

 

How nice!

Well, this was a nice surprise! As the communications coordinator, I created Dialect, the magazine of the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living, for 27 years. The SACL is marking its 60th anniversary in 2016, so I was around for just about half that. Communications and Marketing Manager Travis Neufeld included a wonderful retrospective on the publication in the spring issue. I was always the ‘kid’ on staff; sort of weird to read a piece about my career and realize I’m one of the old guys!

Congratulations, SACL, on 60 years of making the lives of people with intellectual disabilities better, and supporting inclusive communities.