loriannlivingstonNov 27, 20193 minTurning to come 'round rightThese November days remind me of winter in England. Those perfect winter days when the frost settles on the bushes, but it’s not too...
loriannlivingstonOct 30, 20194 minForest bathing: Day 4Forest Road outside Stratford to Lisbon Cemetery: 22k This is my last hike likely this year. I have done 72k of the 113k of the Avon...
loriannlivingstonOct 23, 20194 minLosing the markers: Day 3Perth-Oxford Road, near Line 113, to Forest Road at Hwy 7, Stratford: 20k Another October Sunday full of sunshine, brightly coloured...
loriannlivingstonOct 16, 20195 minYour journey is your own: Day 2Wildwood Conservation Area to Perth-Oxford Rd., near Line 113: 16k This is the third instalment about my walk on the Avon Trail, a...
loriannlivingstonOct 9, 20195 minFive things I learned from walking the Avon Trail: Day 1St. Mary’s to Wildwood Conservation Area: 14km At 113 kilometres, the Avon Trail winds from St. Mary’s to Conestogo. I’m practicing for...
loriannlivingstonOct 3, 20195 minThe Avon Trail: my own mini-CaminoI threw my own party for my 40th birthday – a bona fide ceilidh complete with caller, live band and lots of friends and family. My...
loriannlivingstonSep 18, 20196 minTests and tornadoes: a Huntsville taleRecently, Facebook reminded me of my Irish in-laws’ last trip to Canada, 10 years ago. There were pictures of my parents, looking so much...
loriannlivingstonSep 11, 20192 minVulnerableLike many people, I remember exactly where I was when the planes flew into the World Trade Center. A new reporter at the Minto Express in...
loriannlivingstonSep 4, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: vignettenoun vi·gnette | \ vin-ˈyet , vēn-\ Definition of vignette 1a: a picture (such as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually...
loriannlivingstonAug 28, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: porchporch noun \ ˈpȯrch \ 1: a covered area adjoining an entrance to a building and usually having a separate roof 2: obsolete : PORTICO I...
loriannlivingstonAug 16, 20193 minThe objects to which I cling: my London Tube mugI purchased this little mug as a souvenir on my very first trip to the UK. It was 1992. I’d graduated from the University of Waterloo...
loriannlivingstonAug 7, 20192 minThe objects to which I cling: the wooden cheeseboxes I have two of these simple round boxes, each the same size, about two feet deep and the same across. They’re blonde wood bent into a...
loriannlivingstonJul 30, 20192 minStreet exchangeI wrote this in 2011, and stumbled across it recently. I've had many moments like this in my life, and I've come to see them as...
loriannlivingstonJul 24, 20192 minThe objects to which I cling: the yarnwinderThis is another antique in my house, a beacon to a bygone era, when clothes were created from scratch. It’s also one of those items my...
loriannlivingstonJul 17, 20193 min The objects to which I cling: my great-grandmother’s trunkThere are heirlooms in our house that I grasp with the strength of the stories they hold. They are beautiful to me because they are old,...
loriannlivingstonJul 8, 20192 minSanding floorsMy nose is dry and stuffed. My ears ring. My anxiety rises as a result. When I look around the room, I can’t decide if my glasses are...
loriannlivingstonJun 5, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: integritynoun : /ɪnˈteɡ.rə.ti/ (HONESTY) - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change Selling and...
loriannlivingstonMay 8, 20192 minWordie Wednesday: amuckrun/go amuck (also amok) 1. to rush about in a murderous frenzy: The fanatic ran amuck in the crowd, shooting at random. 2. to rush about...
loriannlivingstonMay 1, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: modus operandinoun mo·dus ope·ran·di | \ ˌmō-dəs-ˌä-pə-ˈran-dē , -ˌdī\ plural modi operandi\ ˈmō-ˌdē- , ˈmō-ˌdī- \ Definition of modus...
loriannlivingstonApr 23, 20191 minThis is your brain on shrubs: How being outside and among trees improves children’s mental healthOne thing I'm appreciating about freelance writing is that sometimes it takes a very long time for a story to come together. This one...