by Sue Horner | Nov 5, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Of course the world is buzzing today with the good news that Barack Obama will be the new president of the United States. I’m hopeful it will mean good things for the neighbours, too. What strikes me about this election (besides how painfully long it dragged on)...
by Sue Horner | Nov 3, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I have author/historian/actor/broadcaster Studs Terkel to thank for a shining moment of glory. Studs (real name Louis) died on Friday at the age of 96. During a game of Trivial Pursuit, my opponent practically rubbed his hands with glee at the question he was going to...
by Sue Horner | Aug 21, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Summer is my season, so even though I enjoy different seasons, this time of year always makes me feel a little down. I’m expecting to feel a little bluer than usual just over a week from now, when our youngest heads off to university. Many people talk about how...
by Sue Horner | Aug 6, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Remember when flying used to be glamorous and exciting? You’d look forward to your trip. Flight attendants were cheerful and helpful, and gave out blankets and pillows so you’d be more comfortable. On long flights, you’d get a hot meal chosen from a...
by Sue Horner | Jul 24, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Can you explain to me what on earth I was thinking? When I packed my bags for a visit to Calgary last week, I deliberately put a bottle of wine for my cousin in my carry-on bag, for safekeeping. That’s right. A container with more than 100 ml (3.4 oz) of liquid....
by Sue Horner | Jul 1, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I helped a friend bottle wine the other day, after which we were lured over to the nearby “fresh cut fries” stand. I had never had poutine, that fries/gravy/cheese curd snack people rave about, so that’s what we had. (It was OK, but really, I prefer...
by Sue Horner | May 12, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The Friday edition of the Toronto Star led into Mother’s Day with several essays about moms. One by Toronto writer Elyse Friedman was particularly funny; it captures the desire to do right by your child and the guilt and fear that you might not be doing so by...
by Sue Horner | Feb 22, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The Toronto Star wine critic, Gord Stimmell, alerted me to the fact that tomorrow is Open That Bottle Night. Started by Wall Street Journal columnists John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter, the event is basically a call to wine enthusiasts to stop waiting for a special...
by Sue Horner | Jan 24, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
It seemed an incredible cosmic coincidence that I would start blogging on the very same day as the informative, insightful and strategic Les Potter, but as I found out when Les posted his one-year commentary on Tuesday, it was merely close. Well, two days apart is...
by Sue Horner | Aug 2, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My dog is known to police. I found this out from a hanging door tag left by the local Humane Society while I was out. “Please call the officer below re: incident involving ‘Jake’,” it said. Uh oh! While I was away one weekend, Jake had stayed...
