29 Apr 2022
Ginkgo. Number one on Anthea’s SHOPPING list. Followed by blueberries, oranges, eggs, dark chocolate, coconut, broccoli, turmeric, pumpkin seeds… Anthea loads the car and just before backing out of the parking lot, remembers to double check her list."Damn…forgot the ginkgo.” She shakes her head. She has no time to go back.
Arriving home ginkgoless, Anthea forces herself to smile at the irony....
17 Mar 2022
She uses sunscreen. She is a skier. Downhill. Snow glare, especially during spring skiing, demands skin protection. She slathers on the sunscreen. Today it is Clinique. Perhaps containing PABA, oxybenzone, and definitely octinoxate. She does not read the labels. She is a trusting consumer and an outdoor enthusiast. She has no idea of the danger she is doing to her skin. Or to her body. She may be...
18 Feb 2022
Vetiver, the soothing essential oil. The oil of tranquility. Renowned for many of our skin woes. We chose to include it in our ESP shampoo/soap bar because of its virtues on both hair and skin. Vetiver a.k.a. Khus. It is Hindi, meaning glad.
Scrubbing head to toe with one soap bar is a happy clean. In the past, soap bars used to be the head- to-toe solution. People washed their hair and body...
07 Oct 2021
PFAS are forever. They may be in your shoes. You may be wearing them in your jacket or coat. Especially if water or stain resistance is desired. PFAS’s are in our food packaging, lubricants, carpeting, waxes, non-stick cookware. These polyfluoroalkyl substances make products water, stain and heat resistant. Unfondly called ‘forever chemicals’, lasting for years. Decades. And they are found in...
20 Sep 2021
Baby bum sore and red.Daddy lifts him out of bed“When you wake up from your dream,I’ll soothe you with a diaper cream.To make you feel clean and calmDaddy trusts this diaper balm.”
B H T he does not knowAnd B H A a baby’s foeParabens and LanolinToxins hidden deep within.Fragrance? Not considered greatThis diaper balm is not first rate
This dadddy was just unaware. No parent would purposely...
08 Sep 2021
My truck was attacked by eggs. Granted, it was stalled at the exit to a traffic lane, in the centre of the Pointe Claire Plaza parking lot, red lights flashing, and most certainly demanding that cars make a detour. I had momentarily deserted the stranded vehicle to return to the Metro to borrow a phone. I am not married to my cell so I had left it at home, alone.
My van looks like a delivery...
01 Sep 2021
Masks can pull double duty. The other day I was able to hide my horror upon seeing this wee poodle dressed up in a tutu, sailing around in a bike basket through a mall parking lot. Pink nails to boot. TuTu, fortunately maskless seemed to be enjoying her front-line perch and the admiring stares of passersby. Her puff ball tail was hidden, but most likely wagging, as she proudly displayed a four-...
24 Aug 2021
If you are young and wild and ill-informed and you see a U tube video on how to get high on mouthwash, you may just decide to indulge. Not the smartest of moves. But there you go. People err.
Or, maybe you are hanging out at the park and one of the guys starts sharing a bottle of the original Listerine, via the cap that’s doubling as a shot glass. It’s cheap. Smells great and gets you high. ...
16 Aug 2021
Chafing is challenging. When skin rubs against skin, or clothing, especially in summer when we have so little control over humidity and heat, the sweat ducks get blocked and those little red bumps, the unmanageable itching, the swelling, and the irritations surface. Ouch!
Inner thighs, groin, under the breasts, fingers, toes, armpits, buttocks… sometimes in embarrassing areas that we prefer to...
15 Aug 2021
We are RV camping Near Karabeka Falls, not far from Thunder Bay. It is a summertime high, crowded with happy campers and hordes of happy mosquitoes.
Our neighbours seem to be enjoying their camping experience. Since our campsites are almost kissing, we cannot help but see and hear each other.
Our neighbours: Father, reigning at the picnic table, Pabst in one hand, Deet in the other. Mother,...
