Dwelling Places

June 5, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

I call the featured image the Back Door Only Cottage. Homes fascinate me. Behind each door or window there is a story waiting to be told. Or not – even more intriguing. Despite the weathered appearance of this bird house, the occupants seemed happy enough. Fire escapes make me think big city, but this was […]

Into the Woods, Nostalgia

June 4, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I search for her in wooded places,where trees are guardians,and wildlife reigns Where light dances with shadowsand children’s hearts are free to imagine. Wooded areas, especially when there is a stream, take me back to childhood and the countless hours spent in search of nature’s wonders. (For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: nostalgia. […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #51: Green

June 3, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

“It’s not easy being green,” Kermit the Frog sings. I suppose not if you are green with envy. “I have to smoke,” my father would say. “I’m too green to burn.” I am in love with the multi shades of green that mark our Spring season here in Ontario, so I have decided to make […]

Acceptance and Endurance

June 2, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Some things are put in our path to battle, some to test our faith, and some to teach us acceptance. I wrote this while waiting to see the specialist, not knowing the outcome. Seems my lesson, this time, was as Jazz noted in the comments this week, was endurance. Happily, I made it. Inspired by […]

Okay…?

June 2, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Proscenium’s Friday Follies

Lessons in Acceptance

May 28, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

When my eldest sister was diagnosed with acute leukaemia and given a month to a year to live, I had to scramble to be there for her. You see, I was deathly afraid of hospitals, and almost fainted the day she had her spinal tap. I had to find a way to conquer my phobias […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #50: Acceptance

May 27, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“The doctor was adamant that it’s cancer, and I’ve researched it. If it is, it’s not good.” Weeks of repressed fear gush forward, and I find myself crying, mid restaurant, my husband seated across from me. “We just don’t know yet.” he responds softly, taking my hand. “We’ll deal it with one step at a […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #49: gadget

May 20, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

The first time Ric cooked dinner for me, he pulled out a tall, slender stainless steel pot with a glass lid and a basket inside. I’d never seen anything like it. “What is that?” “An asparagus pot!” I haven’t stopped teasing him about it, being the pragmatic woman that I am. I would soon discover […]

We Canadians Are So Polite

May 19, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(This sign is posted in the window of a local café. I submit it here for Proscenium’s Friday Follies, not to suggest that it is folly, but just that it struck my funny bone, as it depicts the stereotypical Canadian politeness.)

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #48: Compassion

May 13, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

“Compassion becomes real when we recognizeour shared humanity.” – Pema Chödrön. As a young woman, I braced myself against the world by adhering to black and whites – a judgmental stance that was not conducive to relationship building. More self-protective than self-righteous, this attitude only served as a wall, confining me to loneliness. Then in […]