Our House in the Middle of Our Street

                                                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 ...

Lady and the Tramp, Disneyworld 2023 We spent a week in Florida doing bucket list items! I hardly took any pictures but we enjoyed Magic Kingdom (though Stefan will never forgive me for waiting in line for Dumbo), toured the countries at Epcot, and rode Hagrid's motorcycle rollercoaster at Universal Studios.  Lukka interacting with 3D tech at Kennedy Space Center We saw unbelievable rockets at Kennedy Space Center (though the rocket launch was cancelled) and even had the chance to experience what a shuttle launch would feel like!  Saturn V - the same rocket that took humans to the moon We also walked around Disney Springs at night, and did an airboat tour to see alligators!      Ani keeping watch for gators on the airboat tour   It was busy, full, hot , and so so good. Thanks to Stefan's parents for an amazing week in Florida!

  Whistler snow peaks I am so woefully behind in my Titles posts that I will (mostly) just be getting right to it. This past school year was an intense literary one, and while I read aloud some amazing novels, most of them classics or Canadian historical novels, I didn't have much time for things like documenting and writing about found authors, etc. Thankfully, I kept my Pinterest board alive and documented everything completed in my Leuchtturm notebook that I keep religiously for a few years before its completely done.  That, and finally, my third check - my two libraries' borrowing history section! Reading Black Books by Claude Atcho - Not to start off with a bang, but this I knew when I completed this book it'd easily be one of my top 10 of the year. I found this book via a webinar by the Trinity Forum with the author and had the library purchase it. It is one of the best literary criticism anthologies I've ever read, and not only that, the writing itself is aca...