Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  view from along the Pitt River dyke I'm on Christmas Vacation (ahem) and am finally getting to the last 3 sections of book reviews. Sadly, because  this was so long ago, I don't remember much about these particular books or magazines except the Rembrandt one, but here goes!  Canadian Geographic: July/August issue - The magazine I read cover to cover every other month, this issue did not disappoint. It included information on the Atlantic cod referendum, along with an article about a female scientist who studied a large (now fast disappearing) glacier over 100 years ago. The photos were staggering to see the difference in just one century.  The Carrying by Ada Limon - Although I don't remember specifics about this book of poetry (or the next), I'm pretty sure I found both of them via Padraig O'Tuama from Poetry Unbound podcast . I remember really enjoying this book of poetry, and that it was reflective both of America has been in the last few years, but also sear...

I have *so* many trips to attend to on the old blog. I am now keeping most of my traveling records on my Instagram, but this geriatric website seems a permanent spot for some of the excitement. It's my goal to (this Christmas break) catch up on many years of travel!  This trip was a GSW to where our friend Ali was stationed - in Albuquerque, NM, along with some close-by Sante Fe adventures! We did 4 states, 2 national parks, a protected wilderness, did an international event, took horse rides in the desert, tore up Moab on a side-by-side, went to a million (?) museums, and had delicious New Mexican food.  Every single one of these photos, I believe, was from my friend Emily or Ali. The only one I took (I think?) was the picture OF them during sunrise at the Arch.  Nothing is in order, either! Just bear with me (wipes brow from 2022).  Day 1:  We drove to Sante Fe to visit Meow Wolf (WEIRD and I loved it), visited historical Sante Fe (the buildings are beautif...

 Although this mini-vacation for our family was near 6 months ago, I'm catching up on my blogging over Christmas break, and hope to reach back into two years (wince) of vacations as I'd like to document them here, for my own purposes. I'm setting the publishing date to the day after we returned. It'll be our little secret.  The pictures aren't in any particular order.  a short and easy hike: Hidden Grove in Sechelt Day 1: After dropping off our dog at the kennel in Aldergrove, hopping on the ferry and finding our airbnb, we rode our bikes around Kinnikinnick park twice and then around the neighbourhood for the only off-road biking (the good stuff was too hard for 3 out of 4 of us). We hung out at Sechelt Pier before eating at PKLS Burgers.  Best unique milkshakes:  PKLS  Burgers. The long list is a bit daunting but every single one was absolutely worth the exorbitant cost.  view from the Soames Hill hike lookout, an easy hike with final steep incl...

 Finally, I'm sharing just a few photos and bits about our 2021 family vacation to Sooke, BC (only 18 months later!). Sooke is on Vancouver Island; near the southern most tip. It is about an hour's drive to Victoria, the biggest city on the island, and about an hour's north-westerern drive to Port Renfrew, which touches the tip of the Carmana Walbran Provincial Park .  We stayed at this wonderful little house (fawns! quail chicks! hummingbirds! in the morning) right outside and it had a great ocean view and was so tranquil on a bit of property. Because we found this listing last-minute and it was brand-new, they had offered it at a discount and we scored big. I think we paid roughly 100$/day. It's now quite a bit more, but if you have the budget, it's a beautiful house.  an orca skeleton at the Royal BC Museum Orcas: Our Shared Adventure exhibit was at the Royal BC Museum, and the first section was all about the science of the whales, and the second part was about...

  Very few of the books above were completed in January, but (most) were done by February. I'm already quite behind in getting my monthly book titles out but I want to be a bit more faithful with posts.  A lot of my completed reading right now is tied with my kids' home school curriculum. We're studying the Ancients this year and we have SO many good books that we're reading. You'll see them below in the Read-Aloud section.  The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet - This memoir is a story about a young widow who sailed all up and down BC's local waters with her 5 children (!) on a small, 25-foot boat each summer. The descriptions of the places they went back to each year, the unusual events and people met along the way, the wildlife run-ins, and the navigational ability of this woman was incredible. Each chapter is a mini essay and although the author puts the essays in chronological order, the book does not always feel cohesive and sometimes the kids' ages ...

This is nearly 6 months after the fact, but better late than never. I wanted to write about our Cumberland vacation in July because I wanted to share this wonderful little town (and larger Comox Valley) with anyone interested in an outdoor-focused, local(ish) vacation.  We travel light, and expect most of our activities to be somewhat free (hiking, biking, swimming) with our money mostly going to a nicer Airbnb rental and a few treats/meals out in the week. We mostly make all our food, and that helps keep our costs low. This was a really affordable trip for our family of 4, and frankly, the majority of our money went to our lodging and the ferry ride (oof), our splurge was surf + boogie board, wetsuit rentals.  We found so many of these great spots from friends who had been in the area, or had previously lived within a 20 mile radius. Always ask a local!  With our large Europe trip cancelled because of Covid, I wanted to go to the Island because it would feel like we "wen...

Every year I type out a list of 10-20 items that I want to complete in the year. Some are silly, some are big, some are (potentially) life-changing, but they are written here, and written in my journal at home that I use near-daily, so they are around and 'out there'. It helps keep me accountable to plan intentionally our weekends, fitting things in I want to make space for, whether they're an afternoon roller-skating or following a specific way of eating for 30+ days. If it matters to you, make space for it.  People ask me how I accomplish so much, and I *know* it's because I plan ahead of time, and am intentional about putting it on the calendar weeks, if not months in advance. Maybe once in a blue moon it's days in advance. Having the life you want takes a lot of work and a lot of thought, it doesn't happen by chance. How few things in your life that you're proud of, that you worked hard for, just fell into your lap? Yeah, I can't think of very m...

August books in the windowsill  August was a bit of a lame reading month. The top picture does show quite a smaller stack than most months, and the (top) bookclub pick didn't even get picked up until September. In fact, I only finished one book this month by myself and one book with the kids as a read aloud! One of these books I read about 10 pages per day (though didn't finish it) and one I completed t oday, on September 1st , so you'll see it next month. In the words of Donald Trump, "SAD!" * The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline - I can't remember where I first saw this book-more than likey at my local library on the teen shelves- but I finally read this YA Indigenous dystopian novel. How's that for a genre? I really enjoyed it. The year is 2049 and the world has gone through an apocalyptic change due to climate change, and everyone has lost the ability to dream...except the Indigenous peoples, who are on the hunt to be harvested for their d...

view from the top of Salt Spring Island, BC I always love making an intentional list for the year ahead, but as I've been reflecting on the past year in my personal time, along with reflecting on our past half of our homeschooling year thus far, I've staretd to jot some 'things' down for this year as in years past, but I haven't been able to fill up the whole list and I have no idea why.  Maybe it's that I don't feel I have the brain space, maybe because it's nearly Feb. 1st already and I'm feeling behind already, or maybe it's because I just haven't let it sit and stew enough. That's ok. I'm learning to just go with it. I have about half.  I add to my list in my bullet journal, I more than likely won't remember to edit this post but (shrug), Oh Well. Such is life!  19 in 2019 (or, ahem, a few less) 1) Watch Lo & Behold technology docuseries with Lukka. We watched Cosmos last year and that was a wonderful ex...

looking into 2019 like Yes, I totally used this photo at the beginning of the year, too, but I love it. It represents looking forward, of course, at the year to come, but also a great reflection of what happened within a year that just passed.  There is nothing special about New Years to me, aside from the fact that I have, at one time in my life, been a big List Person. As the kids grow up and our days get fuller, them going this way and that, it becomes imperative that I write down some sort of tangible activities we can do together (or I can do on my own!), and experiences I want to be intentional about getting to. Science says writing things down means they are more likely to happen.  Even if I only get to half my list-half is better than zero any day! So, here's my 2018 list, and here's what actually happened :  I tried to make an honest effort to be in more photos as opposed to being the one always taking them. I made Stefan do more selfies wit...

This reading month was a little crazy: no reading at all while finishing up a big project and then a lot of reading while taking a break from life for about a week, then sporadically through the holidays. A little unbalanced, I suppose, but I did finish enough good books for me to call it a decent reading month!  I'll be back early January with my 10 Favorites of the year, along with what did and didn't happen on my 18 in 2018 list, along with a new one for 2019. Now, onto the book list: * He Who Dreams by Melanie Florence - This was a quick little YA book that I saw was the Langley Book of the Year on an endcap and with the topic (pow wow dancing) and big font I figured I could read it in a few sittings. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I'd pass it on as a recommendation. The language was a bit too simple though the theme was well-done and positively executed. * Dear Farenheit 451 by Annie Spence - I laughed out loud with this book so much, and had zero exp...

looking into Vancouver from Jericho Beach I first saw this type of list from Sarah VonBargen's blog Yes and Yes , and I immediately understood the practice. I'm pretty sure I've been doing lists in this vein for at least 6 years on the blog, and I love it. Every year I leave a few blank to fill in at later dates, but here's my tentative "18 Things in 2018". What are you really hoping to do in 2018?  1) Be in More Photos (and all the moms said "preach!") 2) Getaway on the Sunshine Coast 3) Visit the Night Market in Richmond   4) Visit Britannia Mine ( completed !) 5) Go to Shop Suite during the Christmas Season (I have yet to find a worthy handmade market up here but I've heard good things about this one!) 6) Buy a better swimsuit (for the love ). 7) Visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in De Smet with Grammy + kids. (Booked our airbnbs for #7,8!) 8) Take the kids to Ashfall Fossil Beds . Same trip as a...