Fifty-one years ago this summer, my family left the home my dad built with his own hands, with a bit of help from his own dad, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for a different life in British Columbia. Weeks earlier, Dad had hooked up our Scamper trailer to his white Oldsmobile and headed for BC for
Yesterday afternoon, we attended the Moving On ceremony for our granddaughter's Grade 7 class. The kids were in high spirits as they should be. Finishing elementary school is an occasion worth marking—for Makiya, her mama, and, this year, Gerry and me. We did it. We shepherded our granddaughter through seventh grade and made the required
I don't know where the week has gone; I lost a day somewhere. This morning I had a minor medical procedure that threw the cadence of the entire day off. I'm not getting much done. Ah well. It's a wet and stormy afternoon with thunderstorms and hail forecast—the kind of day that's perfect for curling
There's something beautiful happening at one of the homes in our cul-de-sac. It belongs to an older woman who lost her husband sometime before we moved here in 2014. I used to see her regularly heading out for a walk on the nearby hills, but I don't see her often anymore. There was a water
I’ve known for some time that I don’t hear as well as I should. It’s become a habit to turn to Gerry in all kinds of situations and ask “What did he/she say?”. I became especially aware of the problem when Makiya and Laurinda (temporarily) moved in with us. The three of them were united in
I read a post this morning on Christy Woolum’s blog, Gathering Around the Table, called Ten Things Savimg My Life Right Now, where she shared 10 things helping her through the bleak mid-winter. Her post was in response to Anne Vogel’s post on her blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy, and invitation to others to do make
Mesmerized, I watch the snow blow across the surface of the frozen river. In the distance, a small animal runs across the ice toward the shore. A fox, maybe? Downriver a short distance, there's an office building on the opposite shore. I worked there a lifetime ago but it's owned by a different business now.
Thirteen years ago today, an early-morning phone call from my daughter letting me know she was in labour, sent me scrambling to book a last-minute flight from balmy Seattle to frigid Calgary. I made it in time to be there when my granddaughter was born and I fell in love with her the moment I
On this the last day of the year, it seems fitting to take a literal look back at some ordinary days of 2021 with twelve photos and a few memories. We welcomed the start of the year with a mild January. We went outside and took the dogs for walks on balmy afternoons. We did
Hands held. Driveways shovelled. Laughter shared. A chocolate offered. A gift given. A sacrifice made. A candy bar cut in four pieces. Serious conversation. Meals cooked. Tears. Hugs. Prayers. Clean bath towels in bathrooms. Notes written. Dishes washed. Questions asked. Mincemeat tarts. Vegetables chopped. Ringing bells. A coffee shop. Text messages. Windshield washer fluid poured
We curl up in the living room in the morning—me with a mug of yerba mate and her with a mug of soy milky frothy chocolatey coffee, and enjoy mother-daughter conversation for an hour or so. When we've exhausted every topic (well, almost, and only for the time being) I head to the kitchen to