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The Lansdowne Letters: Happy Thanksgiving
This is the Thanksgiving weekend in America,and it is my favorite of all the American holidays.It's a time for family and friends to get together, share a bountiful meal, and reflect on the blessings...
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IWSG: Wednesday, December 6, 2017 ~ Hello from Surprise!
It's the first Wednesday of the month:the day when members of theInsecure Writer's Support Groupshare their writing strugglesand writing successesand offer their encouragementand support to fellow...
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IWSG: Wednesday, January 3, 2018 ~ A Timely Question
It's the first Wednesday of the month:the day when members of theInsecure Writer's Support Groupshare their writing strugglesand writing successesand offer their encouragementand support to fellow...
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Hello 2018!
Hello 2018! New year! New start!December was a lost month for my writing and bloggingMy daily life crowded out any time and energy for creativity.A whole lot happened. Terry and I made some...
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The Lansdowne Letters: Melting Ice and Spring Fever
The days grew longer and warmer as May flew byin the spring of 1961 in Lansdowne House.We watched the ice and waited impatiently for it to melt.Everyone hoped that break-up would be short,but it...
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The Lansdowne Letters: A Mother's Touch
What is your most compelling memory of your mother?For me, it is my mother's soothing touch when I was sick.I'm thinking of her a lot as I write this post because I may have the flu,and I'd give just...
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A Walk Along Piney Creek
Before I retired I tried to imagine what it would be like not to have to work.It was inconceivable, because I had to work,often sixty plus hours a week at school,and then there was the second (third?)...
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The Lansdowne Letters: A Home with Amenities
Are you a fan of HGTV's Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, or one of its other renovation shows?I often listen to them in the background and tune in for the big reveal.It amuses me when buyers and...
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Eight Miles High
I'm eight miles high during the next two days.I'l be back with my IWSG Day post on Wednesday, February 7thand a Northern Post on Friday, February 9th.I'll try to visit posts and comment in airport...
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IWSG: Wednesday, February 7, 2018 ~ Under Different Suns
It's the first Wednesday of the month:the day when members of theInsecure Writer's Support Groupshare their writing strugglesand writing successesand offer their encouragementand support to fellow...
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The Lansdowne Letters: A Picnic Unlike Any Other
The days rapidly grew longer and warmer as spring filled the land,but the rotting ice lingered in May 1961, and Lansdowne House remained cut off from the Outside.Rotting IcePointe-du-Chêne, New...
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The Lansdowne Letters: Stages in Ice
And then it was gone!After long weeks of waiting, break-up was over in Lansdowne House on May 23, 1961.An Ice Free Lake AttawapiskatLansdowne House, Ontario, CanadaPhoto by Don MacBeath, 1961© M....
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The Lansdowne Letters: Canoeing Lesson
Sometimes my narrative gets ahead of my father’s letters,and sometimes my father goes back to a previous event.A little of both occursas I share the rest of his letter datedThursday, May 25, 1961when...
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The Lansdowne Letters: An Unexpected Trip
With break-up over, my father resumed writinghis Lansdowne Letters to his extended family.Carbon paper, the technology tool of the day,enabled him to type multiple copies of his May 25th letter,and...
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IWSG Wednesday: March 7, 2018 ~ Bubbly and Flames
It's the first Wednesday of the month:the day when members of theInsecure Writer's Support Groupshare their writing strugglesand writing successesand offer their encouragementand support to fellow...
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The Lansdowne Letters: The Voyageurs
“Oh yes, Louise and Roy came with Duncan and me.”This throwaway sentence in a letter my father wrotereferred to one of the most spectacular days in my life.It was Victoria Day in Canada: Monday, May...
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e kala mai iaʻu
e kala mai iaʻuThat means "I'm sorry" in Hawaiian.I've been having trouble connecting to the internetat my hotel, and I've been spending timeat the Apple store trying to keep up with blogging.It's been...
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IWSG: Wednesday, April 4, 2018 ~ Back to Reality
It's the first Wednesday of the month:the day when members of theInsecure Writer's Support Groupshare their writing strugglesand writing successesand offer their encouragementand support to fellow...
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The Lansdowne Letters: The Delousings
I wouldn't be sharing my family stories todaywere it not for my paternal grandmother,Myrtle Pratt MacBeath.When my father began writing his Lansdowne Letters,he asked his mother to save them.© M....
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The Lansdowne Letters: Riding High
In early June 1961 my father was riding high in anticipationof his new job as a supervising principal with the Indian Affairs Branchof the Department of Citizenship and Immigration in Sioux Lookout.He...
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