Category Archives: Uncategorized

Evan Mendonsa is five years old, and he has just completed his third week of kindergarten. He is beyond excited about school. “It’s fun!” he enthuses with the big grin of a shiny new student. He can recognize a few … Continue reading →

It’s been nine and a half years, almost, since he died, and though I wrote a book of poetry called Companion Spirit about his continued presence in my life since then, it still sometimes surprises me when he turns up. … Continue reading →

Traveling home from Canada is always bittersweet, partly because it means vacation is over and partly because I’m looking forward to getting home to (this is embarrassing) my cats. I know they sit around waiting for me, looking for me. … Continue reading →

A word or two about surfing in British Columbia. Some of you are probably thinking what Dick and I thought a decade ago when we learned about this: Surfing in British Columbia? Isn’t that like water-skiing in Death Valley? Like … Continue reading →

Dick loves this name of this family of roses. He says it with great enthusiasm on the last two syllables—flori-BUNDA! We are amazed by the array of plant life in Tofino, B.C. It is a rainforest, after all, but still…. … Continue reading →

You may note the Canadian spelling above. As soon as I hit the border, I am compelled to add the letter “u” to words that do not require it in the U.S.—like “colour” or “harbour.” Also the letter “s” must … Continue reading →

There may be finer desserts in the world, but since my first trip to Vancouver Island in 1999, I will kill for a Nanaimo Bar. They are unheard of in the U.S., much like hard cider, which Canadians also love. … Continue reading →

So the reason Dick and I have driven up to Vancouver Island to be here for the last weekend in July is, as I mentioned in an earlier post, to come to a family reunion. Actually, it’s a two-family, international … Continue reading →

I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.   —Emily Brontë Emily … Continue reading →

Dick and I have been coming to Victoria, B.C., so regularly now for the last decade that as soon as we exit the MV Coho, the ginormous car ferry that brings us from Port Angeles, WA, across the pond to … Continue reading →