Winter Cold and Olympic Gold

You know the feeling… that curl-into-yourself-to-try-and-get-warm kind of feeling when you’re shivering and sure your teeth might chip from all their chattering? My rhododendrons are feeling that way in our record low temperatures this week. Now, before someone reminds me that a windchill of -14 celsius isn’t exactly bitter compared to what others have  experienced

What constitutes success for a writer?

I’m not keen on being in the spotlight. My comfort zone is more behind the scenes. But since the mid-1970s I’ve lived with show quality purebred dogs. For years I subdued my nerves and stumbled around the show ring with our Shelties. Eventually a good friend (who later became an all breed judge) rescued me,

When the clouds roll in (or, dealing with disappointment)

You plan a weekend at the lake, but awaken Saturday to unexpected rain. Or maybe you prepare a surprise birthday dinner for your hubby, only to learn that a meeting has come up and he can’t make it home in time. Things don’t always go according to plan. I watched several Olympic events over the

Preparing for the Olympic Games

I’m ready! The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games is today and it marks the start of my July 27th  to August 12th epic television viewing marathon. (Actually, I’ll be without access to a TV for part of the time, but you can be sure it won’t take me long to get caught up on any

Barbed Beauty and a Bicycle Ride

. Sunny buttercups and their many memories of childhood. Bouquets clutched in tight fists, holding one flower under my chin waiting to be told how much I liked butter. We thought the fields dotted with floral sunshine were beautiful. No one told us that the invasive weed known as Creeping Buttercup was poisonous when eaten

Go, Canucks, Go!

. There’s no getting away from it. I live in metro Vancouver, I’m a Vancouver Canucks fan, they’re in the playoff finals, and TONIGHT is the first playoff game. So, yeah, I’m waving a Canucks flag, and no, there’s no writing analogy to be gleaned from it. At least, I don’t think there is. There

Is Writing Professionally the Ultimate Publication Goal?

Snow filters through the trees and fills the recently shoveled pathway. It’s been snowing lightly since sometime last night, tiny flakes descending from a glowering grey sky. It isn’t a blizzard – nothing like the mounds of white powder that buried Mt. Washington Ski Resort on Vancouver Island earlier this week. They had a record-breaking