2012 Holiday Newsletter

  The main news this year was the arrival of Andre Barrett Pagnutti on April 17. We named him for my paternal grandfather, André Chenail, and my maternal grandmother, Shirley Barrett, and tried to encompass his French-Canadian, British, and Italian heritage. We’re also embracing his aviation connections as you can see in this photo! FromContinue reading “2012 Holiday Newsletter”

Happy Holidays!

  And now the making of that photo… Getting the antlers on the dog and getting him in position was pretty easy. He takes direction well, especially when there are treats involved. Wrestling the cat into the Santa suit was a different story. And getting him into the “sleigh” was nearly impossible…the dog is gettingContinue reading “Happy Holidays!”

Survival of the “Feetest” in Toronto

On a recent trip to Toronto I was able to get together with a good friend from my undergrad years at McGill University, Katie Reed. We met at her shop, Sole Survivor, in Kensington Market. Katie, who is 28 years old, has owned and operated this cobbling business for two years. As a young woman,Continue reading “Survival of the “Feetest” in Toronto”

Tablets That Pass the Test

There are so many tablets on the market that it can be difficult trying to decide which one to buy. Here, guest blogger and tech-toy junky Doug Pagnutti gives his take on which pass the test for the average consumer: My favourite one so far is the Asus 10″ Transformer. The tablet itself is prettyContinue reading “Tablets That Pass the Test”

A Week of Waiting Rooms

This past Sunday, September 6, 2009, my wonderful mother-in-law, Dawn Kenny, passed away. Last November this upbeat, energetic woman was diagnosed with an exceedingly rare form of cancer, cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) at the age of 48. There has been no shortage of exclamations from friends and family: “It’s so unfair!” “How can it be?!”Continue reading “A Week of Waiting Rooms”

The Metcalfe Genes and Training

For those of you who don’t know, my mother is a super-hero: she is an incredibly good researcher and advocate who can clearly and concisely get her point across on paper and in a meeting. Since I was a child, she has used her gift to right wrongs and keep people (like me) safe fromContinue reading “The Metcalfe Genes and Training”

The votes are in: The Masked Avengers have won!

We are two days away from the American election and it’s getting pretty exciting. The local middle schools here in Green River, WY have already held their mock elections, participating in the National Student/Parent Mock Election Day. The elections were pretty close, but the Republican McCain/Palin team won at both schools (161-103 at one andContinue reading “The votes are in: The Masked Avengers have won!”

Meanwhile back home in Canada…

There are definitely some interesting political happenings here in the US – what with the presidential race and all that… But in my book nothing beats good ol’ Canadian politico-cultural satire. My dad – ever trawling the Web – forwarded this video to me. If you have ever lived in Quebec or another part ofContinue reading “Meanwhile back home in Canada…”