Living

? Lifelong Landscape Design by Mary Palmer Dargan (Gibbs Smith Publishers, 207 pages) $35 A garden can be a reflection of the health and well-being of the people who nurture it.

HOW did this happen? (How does it happen every year?) I just had my flip-flops on, making a late-summer trip to the farmer's market, and now here I am: pretending the sound of cash registers ringing is sleigh bells.

"OMIGOD, it was so embarrassing!" "What happened?" "Well, there we were at my in-laws when Reagan decided to throw a major tantrum.

PER capita I'd imagine we North Shore folks are among the most active on the planet. The very thought that something as grueling and tortuous as the Grouse Grind would become as popular as it is says everything about our mentality.

AS Christmas approaches, new tech products pop up and despite myself I get into a buying mood. But thanks to being raised Baptist and having a journalist's wages, I usually hold off. Usually.

WITH the holiday season just around the corner it's time once again for my annual gifts for gardeners list.

FRESH cranberries are available now and they're terrific for all kinds of recipes (frozen ones are good too, but I think the fresh ones have a slight edge in flavour and texture).

CANADIAN furniture and home decor store Urban Barn is inviting shoppers to join in blanketing the country in warmth. With every $5 donation, the retailer will donate a new fleece blanket to a local homeless shelter within the community.

LOOKING forward to the holidays? So are the scammers. As many begin to make their holiday gift list and charity donations, unscrupulous scammers are gearing up to deck the halls with their tried and true holiday scams.

WHEN North Vancouver's Ryan Lenarduzzi agreed to spend a night outside in downtown Vancouver in support of homeless youth, he knew it would make an impact on his perspective; however, he was unprepared for just how much.