Tl; dr: Greetings Island is the best e-greeting-card site. * * * * I love greeting cards — birthdays, anniversaries, thank yous, “glad you’re my friend”. I used to love spending time choosing unusual and relevant cards for family and friends. No Hallmark drivel, and no holidays that are meaningless
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wmtc: in which i inadvertently discover a downside to working at home
I’ve always loved working at home. I loved it when I first started writing fiction and working as a freelance proofreader in 1985, and I loved it even more when I started writing for magazines in the mid-90s. As much as I find great satisfaction in my new career as
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Happy New Year From Dead Wild Roses
We Survived. Let us celebrate our perseverance and fortitude in dealing with 2020’s challenges. Thank you to my friends and followers who read and comment on my blog. I’m glad we can come together to share our arguments, thoughts, and opinions. Take care friends, all the best to you
Continue readingwmtc: art in our new home
When we were in Salt Spring Island, we went to the Saturday Market, and I instantly fell in love with this man’s work. Salt Spring artist Lorne Tippett uses wine-barrel stays to create a hanging frame, and carves the designs from reclaimed wood. We splurged and bought one. It’s not
Continue readingwmtc: cooking with cookie!
We had a bit of excitement last week, and I realized I shared it only on Facebook. I’m sure wmtc readers want an answer to the burning question, What is Cookie up to now? This is what she’s up to! She Who Cannot Be Contained must have put her paws
Continue readingwmtc: apologies to sir elton: itch, itch, the itch is back
Remember the severe hives I complained about? That condition is now officially chronic idiopathic urticaria. Translation: long-term hives of no known cause. After struggling through our mini-vacation in Victoria and Salt Spring Island, I called the dermatologist’s office and pleaded my case. They very kindly squeezed me in as an
Continue readingwmtc: a little story about learning to play piano
Recently I was unable to play piano for three weeks — a combination of the unbearable hives (now about 75% gone!) and being on vacation. Since beginning Pianote’s “Foundations” course in March, for four months I never missed a day of practice, and after that never missed more than the
Continue readingwmtc: in which i implore the goddess of antihistamines to smile upon me
I am so grateful to be home, and to have several more days off before returning to work. All four of us are happy to be back. What a joy and a privilege to have a home that I love! Seeing the dermatologist in Campbell River on the day we were
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu days 8 and 9: monday and tuesday on salt spring island; whether or not to leave a negative review for an airbnb
I’ve spent the last two days reading, blogging, scratching, and occasionally eating and sleeping. There were other things to do on Salt Spring Island, but I was too uncomfortable to do anything. It was very nice to have uninterrupted time to read and write. Tomorrow we’ll take an early ferry
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 7: salt spring island (sunday)
Today’s big news is that the GP Dermatologist in Campbell River will see me on the day we are driving through that town, on our way home. Which is two days from now! I’m so relieved I could cry. I called and pleaded my case — to be honest, just
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 6: salt spring island (saturday)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? Perhaps not as dramatic as all that, but yesterday was a tale of two days, for sure. We had a leisurely morning — well, when you barely sleep, all mornings seem long — and drove the dogs over
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 5: victoria to salt spring island
I am having the surreal experience of looking through photographs of the wildfire devastation in Washington State, Oregon, and California, and seeing the names of towns where much of my family live. They are all personally safe, and as of right now their homes are intact. It’s very scary, both
Continue readingwmtc: consolation-prize mini-vacation featuring special guest urticaria: day 1 and 2
This is the time when wmtc turns into a travel journal, which I write almost entirely for myself, for a record of my travels. First of all, we were supposed to travel in April, an ultimate road trip that would take in everything I could want in a vacation, from
Continue readingwmtc: laura and the angry itch: recent experiences with both sides of the medical divide
As my Facebook friends know all too well, I have been struggling with severe urticaria — hives — for two months. I have been going out of my mind with unrelenting itching. My skin is on fire. For six weeks, I had no idea what had caused the urticaria, and
Continue readingwmtc: another blog, for anyone who is interested
I’ve decided to have bariatric surgery. I made the decision towards the end of last year, and I started a separate blog so I could write about it. Initially I wanted to keep this very private. I just wasn’t ready to share it. But there’s a lot of stigma around
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Alberta Teachers Need to Consider Strike Action
In Alberta our current government is off the rails. They are enacting austerity programs that are targeting the public sectors of our society during a pandemic. The quarrel with Alberta doctors over their working conditions during this exceptional time exemplifies the negligence of this UCP government. This same radical right
Continue readingwmtc: in which i reflect on the joys of summer in north vancouver island, especially during the pandemic
In 2015, Allan and I moved into an apartment, for the first time since leaving New York City in late 2005. We had rented a series of houses for 10 years. Now the market had changed and it was clear there were no houses for rent in our price range
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate: prison break, cookie style
I’ve been putting off the recall training. We have equipment, and we have advice, but we don’t have a plan — because we haven’t made it a priority. Honking big flashing neon note to self: make it a priority. This morning I when called in both dogs from the backyard,
Continue readingwmtc: katy bowman’s nutritious movement: will it change my life? i’m working on it
One of my principal goals for 2019 was to improve my level of fitness. I had been only sporadically active for 10 years — beginning with starting graduate school while working two jobs, then segueing into becoming president of my local union — and it had definitely negatively impacted my
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