The List: 10 things local comedy legend Catherine O’Hara can’t live without

1 | My Muskoka cottage
When I was growing up, my parents rented a cottage every year, and I inherited their love of the country. My husband and I are so fortunate to have found our cottage 20 years ago.

2 | Scrabble
This summer I scored my best word ever—176 points—when I used I, N and G to straddle two Triple Word squares. Okay, now I’m just bragging. Watch me lose my next game.

3 |My ladylike shitkickers
I found these Harley-Davidson Ashby harness boots in Calgary when I was shooting there last year. I wear them all the time.

4 | My 24/7 music
I grew up around music. My dad had the radio tuned to the big-band station every morning. My mom was a stay-at-home singer-songwriter. My sister Mary Margaret is a musical angel. So I always have music on wherever I am—or else I’ll be humming something catchy.

5 | My Hudson’s Bay blanket
I’ve always loved these, and I finally got one when I took part in the closing ceremony
of the Vancouver Olympics.

6 | My Neutrogena Sensitive Skin SPF 60 sunscreen
When I was a kid, my sisters and I slathered ourselves with baby oil and baked in the sun for hours. I cooked the back of my legs so badly one year, I had blood blisters that lasted for days. Smart, huh? I’m lucky I still have a face to save.

7 | My bespoke cocktails
I’m a serious bartender and love the old-fashioned celebratory cocktail hour. I make a lovely libation with booze, simple syrup and limes freshly squeezed with my juicer.

8 | Fresh flowers
I always have flowers. Lilacs, peonies, roses, hydrangeas, lisianthus, zinnias, gladioli, wisteria, tuberose, lilies… I adore them all.

9 | My cup of tea
I drink Red Rose in Canada and Tetley British Blend in the U.S. I used to think making tea in a cup was sacrilege. But now, unless I have guests, I make my tea in a giant cup I bought while on location in London. It’s almost the size of a teapot, so I hope not to offend any purists.

10 | My Epson PowerLite projector
I love it for watching movies—although as an actor, I find it scary to see what a face looks like in big, fat HD.

Photographs: O’Hara by Norman Wong; Scrabble, flowers by iStock; Blanket courtesy of Hudson’s Bay Co.