I have a fondness for step by step instructions told with simple illustrations. For example, over the last 30 or 40 years I've paid particular attention to the little diagrams attached to fresh pineapples. Let me show you a few examples I've saved. This label was on a pineapple I prepared a couple of weeks ago and…Read More

Halifax has been working to improve the quality of fences around downtown construction sites. This includes a commitment to make the pedestrian experience less fraught (no more disappearing  sidewalks). Have you noticed things getting better? Me neither. While recently walking in Copenhagen, we passed a number of construction sites and a few of you might be…Read More

These days it feels like the answer to most questions about the future of Halifax is "When the Centre Plan is approved." One of the Core Concepts of the plan is pedestrians first: the needs and comforts of pedestrians would be foremost in the planning process. We just spent nearly three weeks walking in Copenhagen, Denmark which is ground zero for a…Read More

Fenwick Tower has been in the news lately: first bits were blowing off in the recent big winds, and now I realize the name of the building has been changed to The Vuze. It got me thinking about the tallest building in the Maritimes (33 stories) that has been universally hated since it was built 45 years…Read More

Pneumonia has struck! But I'm on the mend which got me thinking about some delightfully mended objects we have around the house. Take this gilded fruit stand, perfect for a mound of December clementines. But turn it over and obviously one handle was broken in the past. A strong repair, using two metal staples, has…Read More