Wildfires and Writing

  Red shadows shimmer from a red sun as smoke blankets our skies this week. It’s all because of the more than 180 wildfires currently burning throughout B.C. Everything is hot and tinder dry (including me!), thanks to an extended heat wave. Such unpleasant events always accelerate the climate change conversation. Unfortunately conversation alone won’t change anything. The David Suzuki Foundation

Missing in action?

There’s a friend’s wedding, and…. You probably know me well enough to know I didn’t plan ahead, so I’m going to leave you with a nice summery/stormy photo to admire over the weekend instead of a scatter-brained wordy post. See you here on Monday. 🙂 .

From the Archives: Beta Readers

One of my favourite (and best) beta readers was my dear Aunt Norma. Now that she’s gone I’ve been thinking back to all the reading she did for me, and remembering her insight and tact, her encouragement and wisdom. Beta reading isn’t easy, either for the writer or for the reader. I’ve drawn from the Archives

The Solstice and Seasonal Turnaround

“Late dawn. Early sunset. Short day. Long night. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year.” * In last Friday‘s post I mentioned Sunday would mark several things — the fourth Sunday in Advent, the beginning of Christmas week, and the Winter Solstice. Someone on Facebook

When the power goes out…

“Let there be light; and there was light!“ [Genesis 1:3] Regular visitors here will have discovered the absence of Friday’s post. That was just one of the by-products of a windstorm that caused a thirty-hour power outage affecting our area. Our daily habits require adequate light for reading, use of our computers, the Internet and television, garage doors

Some days are more conducive to writing than others. (Or are they?)

Bitter wind rattles the windows and flings icy pellets at the glass. The rhododendron leaves are curled into themselves, huddled against the cold. It’s wild and wintry outside … a good day to stay home, turn up the thermostat and catch up on the writing we’ve been meaning to do all week. Of course, it’s also a

Fall Snapshots: Wind Whispers

From the time of my childhood, wind and waves have always invigorated me. Put me on a shore somewhere and let me listen to the pounding surf and lift my face to the onshore wind and I come away totally refreshed. At home the wind isn’t often strong enough to hear. Occasional breezes will flutter the branches in

Fall Snapshots: Changes

The meteorologist revealed the delightful news yesterday that our October had twenty-two days of rain. Not steady rain, of course, but days that received a measurable amount, along with warmer than average temperatures. Maybe that’s why the usual autumn colour hasn’t materialized around here. Usually by now the garden has shots of scarlet, orange and gold, but

A wedding weekend overflowing with family, friends and faith

It was that kind of weekend — the only two warm sunny days sandwiched between two weeks of rain — ideal timing for a glorious outdoor family wedding. There is no writing application hiding at the end of this post. Instead, please indulge me while I share a few photos. My head and heart are filled with memories of a sweet

Summer Snapshot: Sunshine

Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you. [Walt Whitman] ~   Like a plant that starts up in showers and sunshine and does not know which has best helped it to grow, it is difficult to say whether the hard things or the pleasant things did me the