Author Archives: Risa

There’s a pretty nice house under there

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Risa

We finally moved into our home for real once we got rid of the mattresses (ew) and cleaned a minimum of rooms for livability (2 bedrooms, a bathroom, the kitchen, and the dining room which, lacking any other furniture, also … Continue reading →

Posted in Innismar | 9 Comments

Contractors. Our New Best Friends.

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Risa

All of my conversations with contractors went something like this: Contractor: Yes, I can do that job. When do you want me to come? Me: Can you be here in an hour? Contractor: Hahaha Me: I’m not joking. Our first … Continue reading →

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Renters. How much do they suck?

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Risa

Four years ago, we bought a charming country farmhouse (“Innismar”1) on Big Island, in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Because we weren’t quite ready to move here, we rented the house for four years to “S” and her partner/boyfriend/husband, their 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Innismar | 12 Comments

1001 Movies, Part 15. Lockdown Edition.

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Risa

The race is on between 3rd wave COVID case records and vaccine rollout, and so far COVID is winning. We’re over a year in now, and I have no doubt you are wondering “which movies are the best for day … Continue reading →

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1001 Movies, Part 14. A Murderous Affair.

Posted on March 25, 2021 by Risa

A lot of the movies we’ve watched lately involve themes of murder, which seems about right for the times, given how Covid has murdered our social lives. Here, then, are a few. [Updated: I neglected to include ratings. This has … Continue reading →

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1001 Movies, Part 13. This Is Why We Have Rules!

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Risa

Here is a quick refresher of the Barrett/Zaleski (mostly Barrett) family movie rules. They are standing the test of time pretty well, although Nicolas Cage in a strong contender to replace Kevin Costner in rule 4, mostly because of Face/Off. … Continue reading →

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1001 Movies, Part 12. Head to Head.

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Risa

It’s hard to write funny when we are in our 10th month of COVID isolation and boredom, and I apologize in advance for that. At the same time, there’s a vaccine (actually at least three of them) and we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | 2 Comments

1001 Movies, Part 11. Watch This Instead edition.

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Risa

I present to you ten more movies, and just in case you (unlike me) don’t actually have 25 hours at your disposal, I have offered up some alternative viewing opportunities. One or the other should appeal! A Streetcar Named Desire … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | 1 Comment

1001 Movies, Part 10. Siskel and Ebert edition.

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Risa

Today, I shamelessly steal from my old movie critic heroes, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. This assorted collection of 15 movies almost catches me up to the present. However, COVID rages on and we have a PVR loaded up with … Continue reading →

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1001 Movies, Part 9. The Good, the Bad and the Weird.

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Risa

It is a lame, uninspired choice to use Good/Bad/Ugly as a movie rating system so I made a slightly adjacent choice. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is not so much my kind of movie (although there was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | 4 Comments