01 Jul 2025

13 Canadian Food Inventions

Q. Happy Canada Day! For those who live in Canada: what will you be eating to celebrate? What are some foods that were ‘invented’ in Canada? . A. Since we’re writing from BC, we’ll start in the deep woods… If you are hiking in the forest and want to avoid

30 Jun 2025

Summertime

Q. 🎶 And the livin’ is easy 🎶 The sun is back. Now, is it here to stay? How have renowned artists captured the glorious sunny season? . A. A sampling… . Edouard Manet. On the Beach. 1873 . Johan Antonie de Jonge (1874-1927). Staand meisje en andere kinderen op

26 Jun 2025

Walk Away

Q. We’ve been living vicariously through the glorious photos of a friend hiking in The Dolomites. Doing so led us to wonder: which hikes across the world do people particularly enjoy? . A. In 2021, Zalando analyzed 5 million Instagram hashtags associated with famous hikes around the world. Find the

22 Jun 2025

A Taste Of Your Own Medicine

Q. Is someone offering you ‘a taste of your own medicine?’ Well, that’s not good. Sounds like a threat. But why is tasting your own medicine a bad thing? Whose medicine would you rather taste? How did this medicinal idiom come to represent unwelcome revenge? . A. Thank Aesop. We

20 Jun 2025

Happy Campers?

Q. Where are you on the camping to glamping to no doors/no windows/no thank you continuum? What is on the mind of would-be campers this summer? . A. With summer but inches away, ‘camping’ searches are spiking on Google. Some particularly hot topics: • Easy camping dinners • Foil dinners

17 Jun 2025

A Plum Job

Q. A ‘plum job’ is an excellent job. For some, this might mean high prestige. For others, this is a job where one can make a whole lot of bank without having to work so hard. How did plums find themselves in gilded easy street? . A. The expression ‘a

15 Jun 2025

Painting Father

Q. Happy Father’s Day! Here’s to all you amazing Fathers, and to those celebrating their Dads in person, at a distance, or in memoriam. We’ve seen lots of examples of artists who have painted their mothers. How about painter fathers? Do they make their way onto the canvas? . A.

12 Jun 2025

You Still Here?

Q. Come summer – and particularly given a tough economy – people are more likely to be hosting guests in their homes. How do you feel about houseguests? What, starting at 0 days, do you see as the ideal length of stay, even for guests you like? . A. A

10 Jun 2025

Painting Nature

Q. With an abundance of beautiful possibilities, how do artists settle on certain natural elements or scenes as inspiration? . A. To explore this question, we talked to Anne Griffiths, a talented Canadian painter who is known for her striking landscape paintings. . As Griffiths told us: ‘My paintings do

07 Jun 2025

For The Birds

Q. For those of us glued to our bird ID apps and binoculars, it feels rude to pick our favourite birds. But pick we shall. Do you have a bird that you are particularly excited to see? Which birds get the most people plaudits? . A. Let’s look to the