Spencer, A Film Review

As the new ‘Diana movie’ Spencer unspools this week at Muskoka’s Norwood Theatre, audiences are treated to a modern-day fairy tale, quickly labled a “fable” onscreen in an early scene of the latest film by Pablo Larrain (Jackie). Kristen Stewart as Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, speeds toward Sandringham in a topless Porsche, wind messing with that iconic hair, narrowing English hedgerows whizzing by. That her path toward the monarchy’s military-like Christmas estate is closing in as she drives—and a dead pheasant lies unheeded on the road—is foreshadow enough to let us poorlings know, clearly: this isn’t Kansas anymore; Diana, like Anne Boleyn before her, is about to get it in the throat.

Read more

Lynda Lynn Welcome to the Sun

Lynda Lynn’s Lovely Watercolours

Muskoka artist Lynda Lynn communes with her muse in the “landscape and beauty of the natural world.” She spends time in “quiet uninhabited places or in the expansiveness of a long view”. When searching for new material, Lynda may find herself deep in the woods, by a roaring waterfall, overlooking a quiet lake and distant rolling hills, in the deep shadows of sunlit snow, or basking in the blazing fall colours of Ontario trees. Read more about Lynda Lynn’s watercolours in MuskokaStyle.

Read more

Movies That Say “Muskoka Summer”

Some movies just say “summer”. Case in point: Netflix mass 2020 hit Outer Banks, a teenage caper that ripped through last summer like a rogue schooner, leaving us A) wanting a tan, and B) wishing we owned a slick white boat with a bimini cover. Other flicks (old and new) that say “summer”: Blue Crush (Kate Bosworth), Palm Springs (Adam Sandler), To Catch A Thief (Grace Kelly), Top Gun (Tom Cruise), and The Talented Mr. Ripley (Matt Damon/Gwenyth Paltrow). With most of us more than ready to bust out of this pandemic, here are some releases COMING SOON that’ll finally help us bring on summer:

Read more

Summer Reflections by M Vanderpas

Endless Summer: Art of Margarethe Vanderpas

Summer never ends in a Vanderpas painting. The artist—on display now at the Muskoka Arts and Crafts Summer Show — captures the light, colour, and flow of lake water in a way that makes you feel you could step right into it. It may be autumn or a frigid day in February — no matter. With …

Read more

The Time to Shop Local is Now

This is a different kind of holiday season for everyone. Online shopping has soared in popularity with the ease of buying and shipping offered all in one place. However, if you’ve been relying on the big selling engines like AMAZON, please remember that your local businesses are also turning to online selling or phone-in orders with curbside pick up and delivery. Check out what’s available in your own neighbourhood and support those small business operators who’ve relied on walk-in traffic in the past.

Read more

Housekeeping, A Book Review

The Christmas season is all about bringing people together and spending time with loved ones, which makes Housekeeping by American author Marilynne Robinson a perfect must-read modern classic for the season.  Written in beautiful poetic-prose, Robinson’s novel takes place in the small, isolated town of Fingerbone where two young orphans, Ruth and Lucille, live with their strange, …

Read more