I was in my twenties the first time I got paid for my writing. I had submitted a poem (or poems?) somewhere and it (or they) were accepted for publication. I don’t remember what I submitted or who accepted them. What I do remember is receiving a cheque in the mail and using it to…
It’s the last Friday of September, already; the month whizzed by in a blur. Oh, how I’m looking forward to October and a different pace—though I’ll have to make it intentionally so. I hate to use the “b” word but I can’t help but attach the busy label to the coming month as Gerry and…
I don’t remember what I was doing on August 3, 2023, but I know what I was doing on August 3, 2008. Starting a blog, that’s what. Fifteen years ago I started a blog called My Own Velvet Room after a favourite book from my childhood. It still exists, though I migrated to this space…
Still coming down from the high that the Saskatchewan Festival of Words was last week and more than a little surprised and grateful that little ol’ Moose Jaw is home to this event. I’m inspired as a reader, writer, and person by the sessions I attended and chewing on next steps (apart from diving into…
It’s been another week full of experiences and it’s about to get better. But it’s also been a week of melancholy—I saw it coming—so I’m gentle with myself. Walks in the beautiful Wakamow Valley provide healing balm. We traveled to Regina and immersed ourselves in the Beyond Van Gogh experience with friends, enjoyed lunch at…
