Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  a gorgeous early sunrise in Fort Langley As noted earlier, this list is compact and July - Dec titles' posts are being completed (finally. Hallelujah!) over my Christmas break. Onto the Fall! The kids and I have read some excellent classics this year so far, with more on the Winter/Spring horizon.  Revenge of the Librarians: Cartoons by Tom Gauld - This was a silly little comic book that was almost like the Far Side but with Librarian/book people humor. Read it in one sitting, laughed a lot. LOTS of book references; for the literati that's enticing.  Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - Ok. Another comic book (non-fiction) that was SO fascinating I actually made Ani read it for part of her Science work. This book describes in words AND helpful drawn pictures how the internet, electricity, and water systems are all around us and yet I knew next to NONE of this information. When any of these systems don't work, our lives basically come to a standstill, so I'd guess that most pe...

Dan explaining his film vision to us at the Goonies/Oregon film museum Last Fall, the GSW went on a 'spouse trip' down to Oceanside, Oregon for a week of relaxation, meals together, some fun outings, and nonstop laughter. It was a blast!  the view of the stacks at sunset We would take daily morning walks, have breakfast together, and plan our day. We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory, went to the Goonies and Oregon Film Museum, played at the beach tons, and even got a professional photographer to take friend pictures for us! our 7 hour road trip on the bike - a first Being on the bike for 7 hours straight was a bit much for me - we had to stop every couple hours so I could stretch and get some feeling back into my legs. If we were to do this again, I'd probably rather cap it at 5 hours a day or less. I almost fell asleep back there - it was so relaxing and smooth! My carsick friend also enjoyed a few rides on the bike around the curvy coast.  foggy mornings in Oceanside,...

                                                summer's evening scene on the Glen Valley dyke trail  I've prepped this months ago, but I'm writing this post (and sharing it on it's proper share date, ahem ) on December 29, 2023. I just can't seem to get these posts up on time, at any time, during my very active life. I have a good life, but those who warned me the teen years are just a different kind of busy (mostly driving) were telling the truth. These two weeks of school break I decidedly am doing only about 3 things, and outside of that, have 16 days of REST. Reading, catching up on my computer tabs (I think the highest point was over 60 (!!), cue embarrassmen t), and getting these forsaken book posts out.  I like to record my reading, and I like sharing it with others, I just have to have time, and BRAIN...

                                                              view from the Pitt River dyke trail  Well. It is now October and I am just getting these up because ...who knows why?! My summer wasn't extremely busy, but I never had time that I wanted to commit to doing some of these 'old' blog posts. I really write them for myself, to remember the books I read and what I thought/felt about them.  This is turning into my 'poetry and comic book' year, as I've read more poetry books and a brand new genre to my reading - comic books, than I ever have before. My kids have always loved comic books but when I found out about Drawn and Quarterly , I immediately put a whole bunch of holds in at the library. One of them even won a nomination on Canada Reads 2023 ! (T...

  sitting in the shade at the beach! It was HOT while we were there In June of 2023 we were finally able to visit a more tropical location so Stefan could snorkel! He's always wanted to do this, and with a friend's help (if you know, you know!!) we were able to spend a beautiful but hot week just outside of Puerto Vallarta. It was very cheap for us to fly (direct from Abbotsford!) and when we were dropped off by our Uber we realized why - this is not tourist season. It was roughly 90s-100 each day and when I say humid, I mean...I've never felt humidity like this before. Thankfully we learned how to cool off (shade, looooots of liquid, not really doing anything between 2-5), and we enjoyed our stay immensely! one of the best restaurants we ate at - the service was incredible! There are two restaurants we really remember and the one above was one of them. The other one we ate at 3 different times! It was in our neighbourhood and only two 'walls' and a roof over top. ...

 In my haste to get this published quickly, I totally forgot an intro paragraph! You have been waiting for what feels like half of your life to learn and drive a car, and here we are. You spent weeks reading the actual Learning manual from the DMV (!) and you quickly aced the test. Reading the manuals has never let you down in the past, and it shows how dedicated you are when you are motivated to learn and do the thing you want to go after!  You are a bright young man who has a tender side (but only a few get to see it!) and you've learned so much about communication, hard work, integrity and more all while keeping a very full course load at school and finding time to hang out with friends. I am the real winner since I get to see nearly every bit of it up close, day-in and day-out. Happy Birthday, Lukka! We love you.                                        ...

                                                   a little pond near our house in early light                   Again, I don't remember what order these were in, so here it goes!  The Open-Air Life by Linda Aekson Mcgurk - I really enjoyed Mcgurk's " There's No Such Thing As Good Weather " and although I enjoyed this one, I already knew quite a bit of the practical suggestions because I'm an avid nature person already. I think the suggestions in this book for year-round nature immersion are good ones if one doesn't know where to start! And long-live the cold dips! Canadian Geographic (Mar-April) - I read and enjoy this bi-monthly magazine and am reminded of some of the stories about changing land formations by water erosion, and also learning about the ...