My crush on Mike Holmes could turn into a flaming hot romance. Or, at the very least, I want to bake chocolate chip cookies for him. My husband would approve.
I’ve always loved Mike Holmes’ TV shows about home renovation. Before he got syndicated and started appearing in everyone’s home in North America, before everyone else fell for him, we had something special. He tended to all my (housing) needs. He listened to me. He wanted to ‘Make It Right.’ He always did.
I introduced him to my husband, and they began a bromance. I wasn’t jealous. Things were getting done around the house. Getting done right.
I’m not saying my hubby didn’t know how to do things right around the house. He’s actually a fantastic handyman. But now he’s adding what some would call feminine touches; the extras he used to to guffaw at when he saw them on ‘girly’ home renovation shows.
This past weekend, we watched Holmes Inspection. At the end of the show, an elated woman showed the viewers her closet, complete with dark chocolate baskets that kept everything in their place.
A few years ago, my hubby added wooden shelves and a cabinet to our closet. It was gorgeous, but within weeks, we were just stuffing our clothes, my purses, and other knick knacks on the shelves. I honestly had too much going on to even think about baskets. So it’s my fault too. But this is supposed to be a funny story about the men we love, so let’s get back to that.
Months of girly home renovation shows did nothing for my husband’s imagination, or that closet. But one hour with Mike Holmes and my dear husband was hammering and sawing away in the basement, improving his closet renovation with the passion of a man inspired by art.
That’s not all. Last night, he came home with six dark chocolate baskets under his arm, another dozen in the car, and a smile on his face like a kid’s on Christmas morning.
These were practically the same baskets he had laughed at when some other home renovation experts showed them in their shows. Turns out those home-reno amateurs are easy to ignore. It’s not so easy to ignore Mike Holmes.
And that is why I love the man, and invite him to our home (to make renovations, of course) any time. I know there must be a long line of adoring women who feel the same way.
I’ll wait for you, Mike.
Beautiful Baskets copyright HGS
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Hey lovely subscribers and readers! Here is an 8-minute clip of part of the Oct. 1st reading I did for the PWAC (Professional Writers of Canada) Reads event at Paragraphe Bookstore in downtown Montreal, with writers (L-R) Beverly Akerman, Julie Barlow, Olivia Kona, and MC Kathe Lieber,( also reading but not on stage: Eve Krakow). Thanks to the organizers of PWAC Reads and to Veronica Louis for videotaping the event.
In this clip, I am reading from ‘Leap,’ (2010, Lulu.com, iBooks, Nook, Amazon) some poems from my upcoming collection Carry On Dancing (Winter Goose Publishing, March 2012) and poems from The Groovy Granny for kids, available on Blurb.com and as an epub in iBooks.
Thanks for watching! Hope to read in your city soon. Contact the League of Canadian Poets (poets.ca) to learn about their reading programs and how I may be able to visit through Poetry Canada Tours.
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I’m thrilled to announce that California-based Winter Goose Publishing has offered me a publishing contract, which I have accepted. ‘Carry on Dancing’ will be out in print March 2012, and as an ebook for the Kindle and Nook a few weeks after that.
My dealings with everyone at Winter Goose Publishing http://wintergoosepublishing.com (@wintergoosepub on Twitter) have been so positive. I’m impressed with this small publishing firm’s vibe, work ethic and all the projects they’ve done so far. I’m excited about working with them.
More as this story develops…
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This explains (much better than I ever have been able to!) why I have always felt so strongly about donating half the proceeds from my first two poetry collections to Unicef’s Gift of Education. I’ll keep giving a portion of the proceeds from those two books to Unicef’s Gift of Education Program, to give educations to girls (and boys) in developing countries. I am blogging today about http://girleffect.org/give in hopes that you too can spread the word. If you can’t give, then please blog or tweet about the incredible campaign that is The Girl Effect! Please watch this video and visit other posts for the Girl Effect campaign http://www.taramohr.com/girleffectposts/ Take two minutes, and change our world.
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I cannot thank you enough for the star-ratings and reviews you’ve been leaving for me this past year on various websites.
I now have a good collection of reader reviews of ‘Leap’ on Lulu.com, on the U.S. iBooks, Canadian iBooks, and Amazon.com. I suppose I should be collecting these reviews all in one place, so, here goes!
Oct. 3, 2011
*****
arkofthetwilight
on Lulu.com 'Leap' featured in iBooks under 'Great Canadian Poetry' August 2011
“What to say about Leap? Heather Grace Stewart pitches her poetry somewhere between the world we see and regret not having the strength to change as adults, and the world as it can only be experienced through the eyes and words of a child. At times her work betrays an honesty and sadness that breaks the heart both through shocking honesty and the capacity to make people understand her unique but identifiable feminine standpoint. I will never regret my purchase of this collection. Heather Grace Stewart is a rare and brilliant talent, no matter which poetic medium she turns her hand to.
October 3, 2011
“Buy and read Leap by @hgracestewart, it’s a fantastic collection and easily worth ten times its $2.99 price tag.”
Poet Adam White, on Twitter
A wondrous synthesis of technological and organic beauty.
Painfully raw in parts, utterly hilarious in others – always sincere.
A great read altogether.
Shawn Halayka
June 2011
*****
This book is fabulous!
by Larry Leitner
Leap is the second compilation of poetry by this talented Canadian. As with her first book “Where the Butterflies Go”, She is able to take you on a journey of the emotions of life. She is able to see life more clearly that almost anyone I have read. There are times she is able to see it through the eyes of her young daughter who happens to be on the book’s cover. There are poems about Loss, Love and Life in general. There will be tears, there will be laughter and everything in between. Beautifully illustrated by Ms. Grace Stewart’s own Photography.
“These accomplished but unforced pieces, engage, entertain and enliven.” Tom Phillips, UK poet and reviewer, Various Artists
“..so direct, political and feminine by turns that it can take your breath away. A must for new and already hooked fans.” -Sally Evans, poet and Editor, Poetry Scotland.
April 2010
By Kimberly Jurado
Wow! From the cover photo to “page from my notebook” in the back, I thoroughly enjoyed this work of art! Refreshingly modern poetry with timeless sentiment woven throughout. Autumn Will, Valley, and Five Thousand Friends (FUN social networking poem) are three of my favorites from this collection of real life poems and photographs. I discovered the author through an Internet search for “facebook, friends, poem” and her work has intrigued me ever since! A big thank you to Heather Grace Stewart for being in tune with the world and for believing in the power of poetry to connect people — whether they are friends, strangers or even a world apart.
Mar. 28, 2010 By Elisa Lorello
Heather Grace Stewart has outdone herself with this collection. These are modern poems for a modern world, full of humor, sincerity, moxie, and sensual beauty. The accompanying photographs add a sense of wonder and depth, and make you want to jump into every scene. Heather Grace Stewart has taken the Leap into greatness, and we cannot help but follow in her footsteps. A must-own for every woman (and man, too!).
Mar. 25, 2010 By Adam Taylor
Buy this.. now! Don’t walk, don’t run…. LEAP! As always Heather captures tiny pieces of life and magnifies them into their most radiant and decadent. A pleasure.
*****
Apr. 28, 2010 By Robert Gervais
The poem ‘Forever August keeps calling me back to my copy of Leap. By way of contrast, I love the black and white instantaneity/foreverness of ‘Coping.’ Heather Grace Stewart has a fine hand that knows how to dip into the emotional well and then paint outside the lines, outside the box, outside of herself, where everyone else is. She has a gift of looking inside a minute, seeing what makes it tick and then explaining it to us. Bravo.
*****
Mar. 8, 2010 By movemout Absolutely love this book! Heather is such a gifted poet. She captured me from the first words, I could not put this book down until I had read it all. Now to read it again and again and savour it. Thanks Heather, what a wonderful gift to the world!
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Heather Grace Stewart 