in which i reflect on many one-year anniversaries of a big life change
It’s November. Here at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, the days are getting mighty short. It’s not cold — most days still reach 9 or 10 C — but…
personal
in which i reflect on many one-year anniversaries of a big life change
It’s November. Here at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, the days are getting mighty short. It’s not cold — most days still reach 9 or 10 C — but…
picket lines, pupdates, and the 51st parallel: 10 things on my mind
It’s been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a…
island day trip with mom: grant bay and winter harbour
As we enter the last week of my mother’s extended visit, we took one last day trip, out to Grant Bay, on the west coast. As I’ve mentioned, there are…
pupdate: did i say progress? i spoke too soon
Remember this? Recall from canned salmon and dehydrated liver treats? Worked once. Didn’t work a second time. On our next visit to Storey’s Beach, both dogs were completely absorbed in…
island day trip with mom: alert bay
This week’s day trip was fascinating, meaningful, and so much fun. We went to Alert Bay, toured the U’mista Cultural Centre (us for the second time, my mom for the…
pupdate: in which cookie decides to make a bit of progress
First there was Incident With a Fish Head. Then there was this. What is that dog doing, you may ask. She’s chasing tiny fish. She did this for two hours.…
weekend trip with mom: a few days in the comox valley
I thought it would be fun for my mom to see a different part of Vancouver Island. I didn’t want her going home thinking the whole island is a sparsely…
island day trip with mom: sointula
This week’s day trip with my Mom was the town of Sointula. One of my libraries is located in Sointula, so I’ve been there a couple of times, but had…
extended mom visit
My mother is visiting from Oregon. That visiting from Oregon part still looks weird to me, since for my entire life — and her entire life until a few years…
why it is interesting and significant that i own a piano
When we were negotiating for this house, through realtors, the former owners asked if we were interested in keeping their piano. I had noticed the old upright as soon as…
pictures of our new house are one (extra) click away
Allan took some photos of our house while it was still empty. If you are so inclined, you can see the pics here: Our House. So go do that now,…
in which we are officially homeowners
It’s official! We are homeowners! The former owners left us a plant and a card! Is that amazing? The card says they hope we are as happy in this house…
in which cookie gets hold of a fish head, is attacked by an eagle, and almost makes me cry
This weekend we took Kai and Cookie to the beach both days. The beach was Diego’s favourite place in all the world, so it was sad to be there without…
diego
We said goodbye to our Diego yesterday. We had surgery to repair a ruptured knee ligament (ACL) about six weeks ago. He recovered quickly and was doing really well. And…
"we don’t actually know what will happen, but know we may be able write it ourselves": rebecca solnit on hope and why it matters
I missed this when it ran in 2017, but I found it when I needed it. Rebecca Solnit writes in The Guardian: Last month, Daniel Ellsberg and Edward Snowden had…
pupdate: running on the beach, jumping over the fence, and awesomely coming back to us
Things are going really well with the new pack of five. Having three dogs isn’t that big a deal! Who knew? But I should qualify: it’s not that big a…
pupdate: first run on the beach, and puppies in love
We had been waiting to take Cookie for a run at the beach — waiting until she was more bonded with us, until she had a bit of training, until…
in which we become homeowners?!
We are buying a house! The list of things we said we’d never do is really beginning to pile up! An SUV, a third dog, and now this. All our…
pupdate: two kids and a bemused senior
This action photography is brought to you by Allan. Don’t worry, we are not neglecting Diego. I just didn’t have any good shots of him, and I wanted to get…