Pickle Barrel
IT’S DAUNTING to know that Mag
Ruffman is not only a cottage
industry — she could also build the
cottage! Born and bred in Richmond
Hill, the actress, author, columnist,
comedienne and homeimprovement
guru invited my
husband and I to drop by her
picturesque farmhouse for a chat on
a recent Sunday afternoon. Upon
arrival we were greeted by a
beaming Mag, her distinguishedlooking
hubby Daniel Hunter, and
their three adorable felines —Buffy,
Zephyr, and Lily the barnyard cat.
To welcome us, Daniel, the family
chef, rustled up a heaping platter of
yummy, warm cranberry scones.
“My husband is quite the Renaissance man!” Mag enthused.
Ruffman is instantly recognizable as Olivia King Dale from Disney’s Emmy-award-winning Avonlea series. Nimble with power tools, she’s hosted two humorous how-to shows A Repair To Remember, and Anything I Can Do, served up with huge dollops of humour. And let’s not forget the quirky relationship show Men On Women.
A few years ago, while vacationing in California, on hiatus from filming Avonlea, Ruffman met a handsome American carpenter at a Halloween party. Three weeks later they eloped to Reno. What could have been a whirlwind romance became a merger of kindred spirits. Eventually they became contracting partners.
After several years of commuting back and forth across the border, they finally moved to Canada, eventually settling in with her parents in her old stomping grounds north of the city.
“My mom had lived happily in Richmond Hill since she was just a toddler,” she says fondly. “Except for four years, I’ve spent my life here as well. When we moved in with my mom in Richmond Hill, we lived in her basement. We were trying to produce 55 episodes a year. It was mental!”
Ruffman has fond memories of growing up in the 905.
“My Avonlea co-star R.H. Thompson and I both went to McConaghy, and to Richmond Hill High School,” she says. “He’s 10 years older than me so I didn’t really know him. But he lived three doors down from me… and I had a huge crush!”
As Daniel and Mag continue our tour of their homestead, we’re enthusiastically shown rooms in various stages of progress. Some are in the midst of being painted, while some are being renovated, like the horse stalls, which are being converted into office space.
Ever the perfectionist, and honest to a fault, Ruffman endearingly points out flaws, such as a few imperceptible scratches on the glass of her picture windows. All we can see is the breathtaking view of their abundant meadow, which stretches to the horizon. It’s easy to fall head over heels for the place! On the coffee table there’s a bowl filled with inspirational notes.
“We read and discuss a few each morning,” Ruffman says. “It’s a positive way to begin the day.”
We bask momentarily in this idyllic setting… until Ruffman insists we lick her lamps. Huh? Well it makes perfect sense, once she explains that they are made from 250-million-year-old salt-crystals, from the dinosaur era no less! And yes, my husband and I can vouch that they’re very salty-tasting.
Daniel and Mag are thrilled with their workroom/tool shed, which they admit is larger than their first apartment. Then we finally head across the field to her inner sanctum — her writing room — to chat. It’s a tiny, rustic cabin, complete with a wood stove. Mag can often be found tucked away here, enjoying her solitude. She prefers no modern accoutrements, like a telephone or computer, and writes on a notepad.
“I think better when I write in longhand, it just flows,” she says.
Currently, Ruffman is penning a biography of her dear friend Steve Smith (of the Red Green Show).
“Weirdly enough, I had a recurring dream about this,” she says of her new project. “I said to myself, ‘Oh well, why fight it?’”
They go for relaxing boat rides, while Smith, now retired, records his thoughts on her tape recorder.
“He’s such a philosopher, and he has a very unusual approach to life, which I think is quite valid, and also quite helpful to people,” she says. “It’s a fun project. I’m glad I didn’t dream about Meatloaf!”
Ruffman says that Daniel, who now manages her career, is actually the visionary in the family company. “He has all these great ideas. I just do the creative stuff. He does the producing and budgeting. He works the cameras and does all the editing. He’s an amazing force of nature.”
One imagines the light bulb moment when it occurred to them to parlay her experience in the entertainment industry, her workshop skills and her ease with power tools, plus her zany sense of humour, into a marketable package for television, Internet and print media. Tool girl was born!
Due to popular demand, Ruffman will be releasing her series Anything I Can Do on DVD this month. “We wouldn’t do it if people didn’t want it,” she says. “I’ve been inundated with requests from fans, from as far away as Japan.”
According to Ruffman, the DVD should be available on amazon.com and, hopefully, in ma and pa shops around Richmond Hill.
“I’m also really keen on seeing how-to videos on the Internet,” she says. “That’s a big focus for us.”
Ruffman is concurrently working on a new instructional book, 67 Ways To Feel Good About Your Home.
“I was going to call it 67 Things You Are Going To Have To Do To Your Home Eventually — So Why Put It Off?” she says with a laugh.
Her first book was a primer for repair-project newbies entitled How Hard Can It Be?
“There’s also my lullaby album for charity,” she says. “I have been gradually amassing a bevy of celebrities to help me sing my way through lullabies from all over the world, for all ages. I’ve always liked to go to sleep to music, but it’s usually too uptempo. These will be soothing. Who wants a freakin’ bluegrass number right as you’re hitting REM sleep?”
Not satisfied with just these endeavors, Ruffman also has a line of ergonomic tools that she’s currently designing for women.
Other ventures keep her in touch with her fans, as well as with her Avonlea chums. Her mother passed away in February, and three weeks later, Mag found herself required to keep a prior commitment to give a speech on relationships, to singles, at the Royal Ontario Museum. Still emotionally raw, she says, “I think it was probably the most inspired I’ve ever been.”
Since it was a tremendous success, she was invited to host a reunion at the ROM with her Avonlea castmates. Thinking it was just a small matter of rounding up the headliners, she accepted. When co-star Jackie Burroughs insisted that everyone be invited to participate, the project grew exponentially. Cast members flew in from all over the globe.
“It was truly moving,” Ruffman says. “It’s nice to know the show still means so much.”
While Ruffman clearly enjoys riding the wave of celebrity, she’s more inclined to be found curled up with a glass of white wine in front of the fireplace with her husband and pets. Or else hunkered over her workbench, power tools in hand, tackling her next project.
“I know it’s odd for us to start
taking out walls and putting stuff
up,” she admits. “I guess we’re an
unusual couple. It’s how we relax.” 
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