More tales of family fun and run-ins with nature at the cottage. In the sequel to Cottage Daze, James Ross is back with more tales from the family cottage. Organized by nature’s changing seasons and containing sections covering nature, family, activity, and the cottage, Ross combines wry humour with a genuine love for adventure and respect for the natural world — although the local wild animal population can try his patience. Ross’s anecdotes are full of good spirits and sound advice, whether he is describing a visit from his daughter’s special friend ("The Boyfriend Cometh"), the tricky practices of boating ("Dressing Up for Kayaking"), or encounters with wildlife both big and small ("The Frog Whisperer"). This book is the perfect companion to the time-honoured tradition of wilderness family getaways.

The comfort food of cottage life books — satisfying, unforgettable, and inevitably nostalgic. Cottage Daze celebrates life at the cottage where the cottage is the main character, and family, friends, pets, and fellow cottagers are the supporting cast. Whether writing about cottage routine ("First Ski," "Of Mice and Men," "Cottage Guests"), cottage tasks ("Splitting Wood," "Boat Launch"), nature ("A Gathering of Loons," "The Sting," "Autumn Spell"), cottage fun ("The Cottage Duel"), or cottage touchstones ("Start the Day," "Bonfire," "The Perfect Storm"), the stories are told with humour, compassion, insight, and nostalgia. Who doesn’t remember sitting in a frigid lake, trying to help a youngster get up on water skis for the first time, launching a boat while the whole world seems to be watching, or getting caught up in a nest of wasps? This collection of stories, elegantly organized into four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), will make readers laugh, cry, and long to be at the cottage a "must have" for every cottage bookshelf.

This special bundle contains both of James Ross’ essential companion volumes to the great Canadian tradition of life at the cottage. Who doesn’t remember sitting in a frigid lake, trying to help a youngster get up on water skis for the first time, launching a boat while the whole world seems to be watching, or getting caught up in a nest of wasps? These collections of stories, elegantly organized into four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), will make readers laugh, cry, and long to be at the cottage a "must have" for every cottage bookshelf. Cottage Daze Still in a Daze at the Cottage

One of the most iconic villains in the history of television, the enigmatic Cigarette Smoking Man fascinated legions of fans of the 1990s hit TV series, The X-Files. Best known as 'Cancerman', the readers of TV Guide voted William B. Davis 'Television's Favourite Villain'. The man himself is a Canadian actor and director, whose revelations in this memoir will entertain and intrigue the millions of worldwide X-Files aficionados.

Whether you're a regular cottage-goer or have fond memories from childhood, Cottage Daze will bring the warmth of the campfire and the musty pine smell of an old cabin to life no matter where you read it.

Hamilton Spectator columnist Paul Benedetti’s essays paint a wonderfully funny portrait of family life today. Paul Benedetti has a good job, a great family, and successful neighbours — but that doesn’t stop him from using it all as grist for a series of funny, real, and touching essays about a world he can’t quite navigate. Benedetti misses his son, who is travelling in Europe, misplaces his groceries, and forgets to pick up his daughter at school. He endures a colonoscopy and vainly attempts to lower his Body Mass Index — all with mixed results. He loves his long-suffering wife, worries about his aging parents and his three children, who seem to spend a lot of time battling online trolls, having crushes on vampires, and littering their rooms with enough junk to start a landfill.

The author's columns of the antics of her four offspring in small-town middle-America were only the beginning. While teaching English and German for 18 years, she took students to Washington DC and the N.Y. World's Fair as their sponsor, saw her children out the door while teaching at Batavia High School and West Aurora High School in the Chicago suburbs, and then completed a Masters of Theology from Bethany Theological Seminary. From there she went to the University of Chicago Oriental Institute, focusing on Syro-Palestinian Archaeology, spending 10 summers in Israel and Jordan. It was at Chicago that she met her current husband, they now live in Trophy Club, TX. From then until her retirement in 2010, she was Sr. Technical Editor for the Flora of N. America project. Now retired and in her 80's, the author felt it was time to revisit these stories to relive these fun-filled years once again and make them available to her extended family, friends, and anyone that enjoys the daily humor of family life.