Kelly Waterhouse

There are two things I will experience every Christmas season without fail: mixed nuts and mixed emotions.

It’s fair to say that when it comes to communication by text (or any other form of written conversation, or like, conversation in general), my spouse, the Carpenter, is monosyllabic. 

I don’t know if you can read the joy in this column. I can’t convey it accurately with words, but I want you to feel it, experience it and share it with me when you read the following statement. Ready? 

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I walked through the door of the church I was christened in, but when I saw the sign outside saying “Open for Prayer,” it was an invitation I felt called to accept. 

I didn’t want another device. 

I always smile when I see a man in a store holding the purse of the woman he’s with, while she tries on clothes or flips through the racks. 

As my Grampa Jack used to say, “The world is going to hell in a handbasket.” 

Sometimes, the only way to get something done around my house is to ask my husband, the Carpenter, if he would like me to go ahead and start the project without him.

I’ve been a seeker of validation for much of my life. 

I believe the kitchen is the heart of a home and the dining table is the centre of gravity for all who live in it.

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Since our move to the country, I’ve…

Well, now I’ve done it. I’ve dived in head-first into the pool and I have no idea how to swim these shark-infested waters, but I assure you, victory (at least in my personal pool) is all mine. Game on.

Maybe it’s the country life, but I feel I have come a long way in terms of my personal phobias of some of nature’s creatures that I have encountered this summer. 

Summer, I’m not ready to say goodbye to you, yet. Give me just a little more time, please. 

One thing I wasn’t prepared for when we moved from town to the countryside was just how vast and fascinating the sky would become for me. And when I’m still enough to take it all in, it offers an opportunity for a big-sky perspective on life. There’s always time for that.