pupdate, pressure, and poor customer service
Diego at the beach Three weeks after losing Tala, Diego became violently ill. The usual home approaches didn’t work, but when the trip to the vet didn’t work, I was…
personal
update from the land of the missing white dog
We miss Tala a lot. Of course. Need it even be said. Somehow I have gone from abject grief to poignant acceptance quicker than I expected. I have no idea…
tala
We must say goodbye to our sweet Tala today. At the vet yesterday, we got the worst possible news, and we know we must do this right away. I’m grateful…
Introducing PolitiCoast
There’s not much going on here these days but if you’re still following this feed, make sure to check out my new project: PolitiCoast – a Canadian politics podcast. Our…
Old habits, old junk
The past couple of weeks I have been trying to turn my office (one of our spare bedrooms, once upon a time) back into my office. A working space I’ll…
what the strike meant to us, in our own words
Image: "We Hit Them Like A Wave" -- Diane DaviesAfter CUPE 1989 ratified our new contract, I said I would write about the intangible gains we made through our strike,…
what the strike meant to us, in our own words
Image: "We Hit Them Like A Wave" -- Diane DaviesAfter CUPE 1989 ratified our new contract, I said I would write about the intangible gains we made through our strike,…
we have a new contract
Our ratification vote meeting was an experience we will never forget. The line to sign in snaked all around the building; it took more than an hour for everyone to…
happy birthday to me
Apparently I have been alive on this planet for 55 years. That seems completely impossible. Yet there it is.As always on my birthday, I feel incredibly fortunate to be alive…
pupdate: happiness is a cancer-free dog
Tala's stitches were removed last week, and we got the full biopsy results: clean margins all around. The surgeon says she does not expect to ever see us again. A…
The gems of Salomé
I was perhaps 11 or 12 when I first encountered Oscar Wilde’s play, Salomé. Some of it, at least. At the time, I knew nothing of Wilde, his writing, or…
hooray for tala
Tala is doing great! Of course she was exhausted and a bit wobbly when she came home, but now she's well rested and back to herself. And she looks a…
in which i ride an emotional roller coaster and get off at the top
Short version: Tala has had surgery and has a very good chance of remaining cancer-free. Whoo-hoo!It's been a crazy couple of days. Monday afternoon we hear the biopsy results. Tuesday…
i’m not ready for another broken heart, or, nothing says mortality like your sick dog
Tala has cancer. As it happened with Cody, We found a lump. First I was sure it was a cyst, then I was hoping it was a cyst, now I'm…
last day and home
We spent our last day in Oregon poking around downtown Ashland, looking at scarves and jewelry and used books. We don't shop much when we travel, but there were a…
random observations on southern oregon, great kitchens, family love, and absent eagles
This morning we woke up at 3:45 a.m., packed up the car with binoculars, cameras, sandwiches, and coffee, and drove two hours in the dark. According to our guidebook and…
the rest of the trip
This is the view from my brother and sister-in-law's new home in Oregon. Last year B+SIL retired, pull up stakes, sold their home in New Jersey, and moved to the…
leaving vancouver: in which we discover the scary truth about canadian passports
This was an eventful day! We started at the Acme Cafe, for another BOGO breakfast. The food is great even without the discount. But a free goat cheese-portobello-sun dried tomato…
vancouver, day four
Our last day in Vancouver was a full one. It included a library, great art, a meet-up with an activist-friend... and noodles!I didn't want another breakfast at the hotel, so…
He’s My Man: Leonard Cohen
I’m sure most people are still trying to understand Trump’s win, but seriously, they’re missing the meaning of Cohen’s loss. He made the personal epic, but in the right way.…