Deb living out her curse

The reason for all the animals you see on this page is because of an ancient curse placed on Deborah's head by her mother: "When you have a place of your own, you can have all the pets you want!"

Deb plotting to get pets when she grows up

    And so, over the years I have been owned by lots of pets...many cats, budgies, lovebirds, cockatiels, Australian Red-Rumped parakeets, turtles, rats, degus, and lately dogs...greyhounds and Great Danes.  Luckily Steve enjoys pets as much as I do.
    I grew up in Montreal.  I speak French and Spanish.  I have travelled to England, France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Monaco, Colombia, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Cuba, Hawaii, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and extensively in the U.S. and Canada.
    My current interests are:  teaching, click-training my pets, cooking, sewing, reading, scuba diving and sailing. I enjoy listening to baroque music, anything by Bobby McFerrin and some of Randy Newman's gems, and traditional African Church choirs. I love listening to a-capella singing.
 
 

My childhood was happy and stable. I attended Parkdale Public School from kindergarten to grade seven. A defining moment for me happened in grade one after a bout of chicken pox. When I returned to class, my teacher, Miss Ferguson, hugged me!  I remember finding this amazing, that this person missed me so much! After that, school became a joy for me.  It still is.

My teenage years were tumultuous and regretably, I gave my parents a run for their money.  At seventeen, I ran away from home and set up house with two acquaintances from high school, downtown near the university in a cockroach-ridden apartment. Eventually I obtained my teacher's certificate and was hired by the South Shore Regional School Board.  Around that time I became interested in finding out the reason my sister's birth was mismanaged (she was left with cerebral palsy) which led me to the Montreal Women's Health Collective and eventually to midwifery.  I was privileged to attend eight home births.

All of this came to an end when I made the decision to move to Toronto, after Bill 101 (the language law) was passed in Quebec.  At that time teachers were being laid off in Toronto.  I was lucky enough to be hired by Manufacturer's Life and trained to be a life insurance underwriter. While indulging my interest in medical information, I also had the opportunity to become a volunteer fitness instructor in their employee fitness centre.  Manufacturer's Life also provided me with an outlet for another hobby I had acquired - pottery.  Each year they ran an employee craft sale at which I was able to sell my pots and make room for more.