Nouns

Nicknames for people, places and things… nouns.

[names used to represent real people and real places and real things]

Maggie Turner: That would be me, the protagonist of my own life story.

Attila: My treasured friend, keeper of my heart, partner and husband.

Country House: The rural Northern Ontario home Attila and I share, named after my Great Great Great Grandmother Maggie Morrison (her real name). We moved there in 2004 and lived there until 2015.

Mist Cottage: A small house in a town near a city in Southern Ontario, where we moved in 2015.

Luna, Janus, Imp, Elf, Tink, Benny, Bim and Soot: Luna my eldest daughter, Janus her husband, Imp and Elf their twin daughter and son, Tink is their youngest daughter, Benny and Bim their trusted four legged canine friends and housemates and last but not least Soot the forbearing feline of the family. Benny passed away the summer of 2014, of Lyme’s Disease.
Update December 2020: Benny, Bim and Soot are no longer with us, RIP furry friends.

Terra, Lares, Sunny, Sky, Willow, Cheech and Chong, Dash and Maci: Terra, my youngest daughter, Lares her husband. and Cheech and Chong their four legged feline friends and housemates. Dash is a greyhound mix dog, and Maci is a black lab dog. Cheech passed away in 2016 after a long and well lived life, having been found, as a kitten, alone on a railroad track in 2001.  Dash went to a new welcoming home, as he found the children too challenging to deal with.  Terra and Lares now have three children, twins, Sunny a girl, and Sky a boy. Born prematurely, they spent the first six weeks of their lives in NICU, and Willow, a full term baby girl born two years later.

Emmi, Otto, Lilt and Skipper: Attila’s daughter, her husband Otto, and their daughter Lilt and son Skipper.

Caitrìona: An older woman of great fortitude, loyalty and love. A guiding star in the celestial navigation of life.

Carl: A quiet man with a quick wit, who has seen much and endured. Carl passed away in 2016, RIP dear friend.

Harriet & Hogan: Harriet, a woman of dreams and deep loyalties; to be near her is to feel at peace and her husband Hogan, a gentle giant.

Katharine: Harriet and Hogan’s daughter.

Rymal: One of the healthiest guys I know, physically and spiritually. Always open to new ideas and a real pleasure to work with.

Wilson: A well read man who enjoys communication. Wonderful to spend time with and a good companion on any project.
Update: December 2020. Wilson has been suffering with ill health for some years, and has recently been diagnosed with ALS.  He bravely carries on with the help of Catriona.

Helena: Helena is a woman who is quick to laugh and has a way of brightening any situation by her mere presence. A shining soul.

Annie and Frank: Annie, a good friend who moved to England to share a life with the estimable Frank

Em and Henry: Em and Henry, friends in the “North” who welcome our visits into their world of family and community. Henry knew my grandfather

Auntie Mame and Mike: Auntie Mame, a longstanding and dear friend who understands and Mike, her best friend.

Carpe Diem and Hoover: Carpe Diem, a fellow ex-academic and her partner Hoover, gamers for life.
Update December 2020.  We lost Carpe Diem a few years ago to a rare form of cancer.  RIP dear friend.

Dolittle and Mrs. Beeslee: Neighbours across the road when we lived in “the city”. Dolittle loves animals, and indulges his eccentricities with dry wit and humour.

Magarac: Neighbour across the road when we lived in “the city”. Generous, hard-working, the survivor of WWII concentration camps, although not Jewish. An elderly man with a twinkle in his eye, skip in his step and an impish smile.
Update December 2020: We moved away from the “the city” in 2004 and have lost touch with the neighbourhood and neighbours there.  It is quite possible the Magarac is still going strong, what a spirit!

“The City”: a city in Southwestern Ontario where we lived in a lovely modest house in a lovely modest neighbourhood.

Tank: A very large vehicle we purchased in 2015 to pull a little travel trailer called Iris.
Update December 2020: Tank has been taken off the road due to loss of income, which is due to the Covid-19 global Pandemic.

Iris: A travel trailer. Iris is a 1977 Triple E Surfside trailer, 14 feet long. Really she is a glorified tent on wheels, perfect for tooting about.

Grace: A travel trailer. Grace is a rather large and hulking 5th wheel, built in 2001, purchased in 2017 used. Grace sits comfortably at our Rideau Camp, a bush lot in Southern Ontario.

Traditional Camp: A bush lot we purchased in 2014 near my Granny’s house, with a view of the fields owned by my Great Grandfather. This is a view I have gazed out at all of my life, a source of continuity and comfort in my life. There are no services on this bush lot.

Rideau Camp: A bush lot we purchased in 2016 on the Canadian Shield, which is a landscape near and dear to both Attila and myself. It is a lovely place to sit and listen to the trees and the wildlife.  There are no services on this bush lot.

I refer to many people by their actual names, not by nicknames. If I have used nicknames somewhere and forgotten to list them here please let me know and I’ll update the list.