Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer and photographer from Ontario. She’s a graduate of Athabasca University, having completed her Bachelor of General Studies degree in 2018.
A regular contributor to The Voice Magazine since 2013, Barbara has also contributed to other publications including Chicken Soup for the Soul and Maclean’s. Barbara writes in several genres, including non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. She’s grateful to The Voice Magazine for providing the opportunity to explore an array of topics and writing styles, and she remains dreadfully sorry for those awful haikus.
Barbara has a fondness for travel, used bookstores, everyday absurdities, and oversized wine glasses. Originally from urban Southwestern Ontario, she now lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario with her indulgent and supportive husband, Leo.
You can follow Barbara on Twitter @theregoesbarb, or contact her at theregoesbarb@gmail.com.
Applications for AUSU’s spring award cycle opened April 15. Up to twenty-six AU undergrad students will be selected to receive awards of up to $1000 each. Undergrad students at AU can apply online for these awards, including scholarships and bursaries, from now until May 31. A brief description of each award follows (visit the AUSU… Read more »
In the March 31 article, Bird Course—Part One: Birdwatching Basics, I mentioned that no special equipment is needed to get started. Birds can be found in and around any outdoor area—anywhere they can find food sources, nesting materials, or shelter. Each species has its own needs and habits, and you can see birds in and… Read more »
Spring arrived late afternoon on March 20—according to the calendar anyway. Here in eastern Ontario, there’s still snow on the ground, and we can expect a few early-spring snowstorms over the next few weeks. It doesn’t yet look like spring. Except for the birds. As if on cue, some of the birds who spend summers… Read more »
When Casey Hatherly, who also goes by the name Ever, appeared topless at the Juno Awards show in Edmonton March 13, she breathed new life into the practice of streaking as a form of protest. Hatherly disrupted the awards show by hopping up on stage, naked from the waist up except for a pair of… Read more »
The first two winters of the pandemic provided ideal conditions for cross-country skiing: just the right amount of snow, and not much else to do. My husband and I went for a ski almost every morning. We’re fortunate to be able to ski right from our back door—across our yard and then on to our… Read more »
Lay down and go to sleep! A phrase we may have heard when we were children, or said it ourselves to our own restless toddlers. “Lay down and go to sleep!” But wait, is that right? Or is it “Lie down and go to sleep”? I flatter myself that I have a good grasp of… Read more »
One winter the world’s largest country made an unprovoked attack on a neighbouring country. Countries around the world were shocked and appalled. Promises of assistance and artillery flooded in. But not one promise of aid was kept. The invaded country fought alone. It was November 30, 1939. Finland. The Winter War had begun. Finland repelled… Read more »
One year later, I ponder the bizarreness surrounding the Freedom Convoy. By “bizarre” I am not referring to the Freedom Convoy protest itself—by comparison that was the most normal element. Bizarreness describes the conditions that prompted the protest, and the way seemingly normal people were led to believe things and exhibit behaviour that—outside the duress… Read more »
You never know when you’re going to get the lift you need. On Thursday January 27, I drove the Franklin Blvd bridge over Highway 401 in Cambridge, Ontario. I was feeling a bit distracted because I was visiting Cambridge to deal with a family member’s health issues. I was 600 kilometres away from home, away… Read more »
Book: Can I Come Home Now? A True Story of Childhood Trauma Author: Barbara Godin Can I Come Home Now? A True Story of Childhood Trauma, is Barbara Godin’s honest and heartbreaking tale of her early life. Godin’s book, published this autumn, fills in the gaps left from her early memoir, Glimpses in Time, and… Read more »