Diane the Wild Wanderer
It's a small world. Live large.
Postcard story: Help
The rambling old house was the prettiest house she’d ever lived in, of all the houses of all the relatives who had taken her in. It was right on the Bow River, no fence or anything; the long back yard just suddenly dropped off to become rushing water. “Don’t you ever...
Miss Taken: I am woman hear me … self-deprecate?
For one of our first outings together, my Little Sister proposed swimming. Outside Me said "sure" and Googled the nearest swimming pools. Inside Me said "argh!" and wondered if a burkini would be overkill. Of course I have body image issues -- how sad is it that I...
“Before that I don’t die”?
My email today contained one of those random nostalgic gifts our social media-connected world sometimes brings. My high school French teacher was going through poems she'd kept and found one of mine from grade 11, so she passed it back to me with some kind words. I'm...
Not a bucket list
A year ago today I lost the most important person in the world to me. I wasn't sure if I'd want to mark the anniversary, because every day is marked. Every day I think of him. I find comfort in nurturing the parts of me that were also part of him. In the wise...
Quotable Lonely Planet’s Iceland
Some of my favourite bits of my favourite brand of guidebook for my favourite 22-days-away holiday destination: "Immense glaciers and wiggling fjords, unspoiled wilderness areas ripe for exploration, a clean and icy sea where humpback whales surface, roll and dive...
Why Iceland’s cool
The countdown is on: 46 days until my long-delayed vacation to Iceland. And 46 more days of fielding the question "Why Iceland?" It's become a popular destination -- my flight sold out though I'm travelling in shoulder season -- but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by...
Interview with author/actor Quinn Cummings
This weekend I got to interview Quinn Cummings; the archive of our talk is below. I first "met" Quinn via Twitter where she expanded my vocabulary and exposed herself as a fellow cat magnet and admitter of awkward acts. She also happens to be an Oscar-nominated...
Be kind, refined
David Foster Wallace's This is Water gave the broad perspective of living a life of empathy and compassion, and the Cleveland Clinic -- who do some amazing things in healthcare communications -- puts it in action in a hospital setting with this powerful video ... the...
Yay! Science!
I don't like a lot of clutter on my fridge but I do have a few magnets I love. Bonus: one holds tickets to the next event I'm attending, and one covers a mysterious dent in the stainless steel that was either caused by a visitor's bike or Foster my fat cat trying to...