Articles written by H. Graciela Dyer

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About me - H. Graciela Dyer

I'm a British-born Canadian, now living in London, England.

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Society & Lifestyle > Lifestyles Living a simple life: 2 of 96
A BBC television series called Victorian Farm depicts a re-enactment of rural life as it would have been lived in the late 19th century. It's mesmerizing to watch the female historian and two male archeologists, who were transplanted from their 21st-century lives for a year, living at a pace that many of us, particularly the... More..
Home & Garden > Home Repair (Other) How to find the perfect contractor: 6 of 22
We've all heard about construction calamities and home improvement nightmares that begin with optimism and end in tears. It's these stories that highlight the negatives and foster the illusion that the goal of every contractor is to defraud and disappoint an unwary public. By taking control of your remodeling project from th... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Snowed in: 10 of 27
"What's the point of snow, mom?" my son asked me one day, years ago, at the end of a particularly brutal Montreal winter. He was tired of being stuffed into a snowsuit each morning before being taken out to tackle snowbanks and slushy puddles. At the time, I probably responded with a short lecture about the plants needing a ... More..
Style & Beauty > Vintage & Bargain Clothing Tips for dressing on a budget: 4 of 10
Although the word "budget' was never mentioned when I was growing up, pretty much all of my clothes, screamed "cheap!" "hand-me-down!" or, most shameful of all, "rummage sale!" When I began to earn my own money, I decided that living on a budget was less a matter of limiting my options than refining my needs and adapting my ... More..
Travel > Canada A visitor's guide to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: 2 of 4
With a provincial population of just over half a million in an area slightly smaller than the state of California, Newfoundland and Labrador has wilderness to spare, and tourists are showing up in the province in increasing numbers. Some go to fish, hunt, sail, kayak, hike, or simply to enjoy the novelty of being in a place ... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Bilbao, Spain: 1 of 2
"First eat, then work" goes the old Basque proverb, but if the activity in Bilbao's imposing Mercado de la Ribera is a faithful indicator of Basque reality, work takes priority. The homemakers of Bilbao, bent on their task of shopping for today's dinner converge on the entrance of what is reputed to be Spain's largest covere... More..
Food & Drink > Restaurant Reviews Restaurant reviews: O Noir, Montreal, Canada: 1 of 1
If you're looking for a restaurant where you and your lover can smooch and feed each other without being noticed, O Noir is the place to go. The restaurant opened its doors in September 2006, and offers two dinner sittings each night in a room so completely devoid of light that to call it mere darkness underestimates the tot... More..
Style & Beauty > Personal Grooming The best way to pluck and shape eyebrows: 3 of 3
When considering whether to pluck your eyebrows, it's important to remember the words of the circus sword swallower: "Don't try this at home." At 14, I was desperate to change my appearance in a way that would make me seem more grown up. My options were few, however, since I wanted, at all costs, to avoid calling forth scorn... More..