They’re not huge, but they’re mine. — A few months ago, my husband and I decided to borrow my mother-in-law’s SUV to move our hundreds of books from Canada to Michigan, ahead of our international move. The whole point of this exercise was to save money on moving costs. We had a seemingly perfect plan. …

That’s easier said than done. I know, because there’s a pizza in my fridge I’m starting to jones on, and it’s only nine a.m. — As a species, humans tend to see solutions to their own problems as possible solutions for the whole world's problems. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. I know that I am healthier when I don’t eat bread or any kind of starch. I glow with health and energy when…

Life has interfered with this plan. — Life felt like heaven. This was supposed to be the summer of my life. I was finally leaving Toronto, a place that I haven’t really enjoyed living in since the 1980s when I was a young university student. We were moving to Michigan. Woo hoo! First of all, my husband and I were fortunate…

Life just can’t all be about sandwiches and chocolate mousse, right? Self-awareness is important, so as my 62nd birthday gets closer, I need to look within. Sometimes what I see isn’t pretty. Like the fact that I basically live to eat. My favorite activities after eating are planning menus, shopping…

My favorite nights of the week are taco night and burger night, so I have a long way to go. — Changing your diet at any time is difficult. It seems like you have to learn proper dietetic principles from infancy or forget it; you will be stuck craving all the wrong foods for life. That’s because food choices are emotional. We remember the foods our parents or grandparents gave us…

And what to do when you have to deal with one — Bitch used to be an innocent word that distinguished a female canine from a male canine, or dog. It became, however, a loaded term that denoted ill temper or nastiness in women. Bitch is a word often used to put women in their place. It’s used to insult someone, usually…

And what I won’t. — My husband and I are about to move to the United States from Canada. This was a wrenching decision. Between us, we have three children here, none of whom will be moving with us. …

Humanity needs a new playbook. Traditional texts can help us, but we have to read them critically. And knowledge of our history is key. — Will Smith’s Outburst at the Oscars brought the issue into focus. Watching last night’s Oscar show I got to thinking about humanity’s propensity for aggression. I’m referring specifically to Will Smith’s violent reaction to Chris Rock’s tasteless joke about Jada Pinket-Smith’s alopecia.

I didn’t tell my parents. They just wanted me to go back to sleep and leave them alone. Then they hired a hypnotist. —