Signs of Success

October 27, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Ric and I took a road trip to Strathroy, Ontario last Friday, to catch up with old friends. We met at Alla’s Pierogies & More, a cute little restaurant with three tables and of course, the exuberant host: Alla. Afterwards, we visited Mykola at his trendy bakery for tea and treats. Alla and Mykola’s families […]

Speak Up

October 18, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We are not there yet: there being that utopia where equal rights set us all free. What more can I say? (The featured quotation is from a post I wrote in 2016: Stop Blaming the Woman.)

War – Not War

July 7, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Somedays, words elude me. I want to say the war continues in Ukraine, but ‘war’ is not the right word. It suggests two-sided, as in a dispute that has escalated and come to blows. What happened in Ukraine is not that. It is an act of terrorism and greed at its most heinous. Ric and […]

For Ukraine

June 28, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Set Fire To The Rain

April 21, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

The war in Ukraine continues, and from the comfort of my sunroom, I still do what I can to help. Today, I am waiting on the arrival of our fourth family – two brother-in-laws, whose dream to land in Toronto, find work and lodgings, and then bring over the elder’s wife and child, proved unattainable. […]

Muskrat

April 14, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Went to the river to clear my mind. It’s been a rough couple of weeks helping Ukrainians. Some, feeling they can’t make it in Canada, or missing family too much, have gone home. Worse than that, we uncovered human trafficking. One employment trafficking, and another procuring young women for the sex trade. I have felt […]

Sunflowers and smiles

January 23, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

A local craft shop owner makes votives in yellow and blue with sunflowers on them and all proceeds go to Ukrainians. A BC retailer saw her work online and ordered 100 candles, selling them at $5.00 each. Ryan Reynolds saw the effort and doubled the intake. She sent much of the proceeds to a non-profit […]

Heart Full

January 20, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

When can we meet? The message is from Alla, whose bright voice messages always made my day back in the Spring, when I helped her family of five find flights and a host. We are opening our little bakery…we will be very glad to see you. Another message from another family, who with my help, […]

A Ukrainian/Canadian Christmas Celebration

January 9, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

More than 150 people gathered yesterday in our local Presbyterian Church to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas. I am too tired to say much more than I am warmed to my core and so grateful for all these people, who have come into our lives since our decision to host a Ukrainian family. The photos capture it […]

Chilly Reflections

November 18, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Although my body is healing, my heart is aching still. The requests for help from Ukraine keep pouring in, and the response on our end is drying up. Three families arrive in the next month, and one is already here, with nowhere to go. Three more have reached out. I have no answers. Just ache. […]

I dream that I am teaching again, and having assigned the class independent work, I am spending time connecting with each student to see if they are grasping the material. It’s my favourite part of teaching, and I wake up wondering if I’ll ever have that feeling again. So rewarding. It is bittersweet, growing old. […]

Fatal Fury

Really wasn’t your faultthis fury that overcame –Words evoked onslaught,a raging river of pain. Didn’t mean to push you,miscalculated my aim,swimming in swamp watersnot a recommended game. You floundered, gurgled,cursed me by name –our love story, now viralbrought an alligator fame. (Image my own. Tale is totally fictional, I promise.)