Yum!

April 17, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Travelling is a challenge when food allergies are a concern. While in Ottawa, we stumbled upon a The Mill Street Pub, a restaurant overlooking the river, that offered gluten-free pizza, and it was delicious! Our youngest granddaughter, on her second birthday, preferred the watermelon to cake. There is nothing more satisfying than watching someone enjoy […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #35: Balance

February 11, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I don’t think I’ve possessed good physical balance since that time I went down in tennis and cracked my kneecap, despite physiotherapy’s best efforts. Now that chronic illness has been added to the mix, I’ve learned to live without that certainty. I’m wobbly; what can I say? Balance in other areas of my life, however; […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #33: Upside-Down

January 28, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Strong-minded, I am not easily swayed. In fact, I like to say that life has to hit me over the head with a frying pan in order to get me to pay attention. Another analogy I use is that I have to be tied around the ankles, dragged to the fire and hung upside-down – […]

Nailed It Dad!

January 11, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Did you try some of the soup, Mom? I glanced around at the many pans, ingredients, and baking paraphernalia lining the kitchen counters; not to mention my son-in-law and granddaughter who where firmly planted at the stove. No, I messaged back. It’s a little busy here. An unexpected trip back to Ontario landed me smack […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #25: Un-lived Lives

November 26, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

“I met one of my un-lived lives at a party last night” is the title of a post on bone&silver’s blog. I loved this post, and idea, so much I decided to make it the focus of my challenge this week. How precarious are our lives, or are they pre-charted? Does destiny hold all the keys, […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #24: Deviation

November 19, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. – Frank Zappa For several years running, I was invited to speak to the Sociology of Deviancy class at our local university. Each visit, I opened by joking that I was never quite sure whether the invitation was a good thing or not. Truthfully, though, I […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #11: Point of View

August 13, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

We recently attended a dramatic version of To Kill a Mockingbird in Stratford, Ontario. Written by Harper Lee in the late 1950’s, this has been one of my all time favourite reads. Although some of the language is antiquated and no longer acceptable, the themes of the novel are timeless. Atticus Finch, the patriarch extraordinaire of the […]

Hunger (Haiku)

August 1, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge is sates & fuels. I used glut in place of sates. To participate, click on the link.)

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #5: Books

July 2, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

I can remember the exact moment that the words jumped off the page and hit me between the eyes with such an impact, my head snapped back. I was still married to my ex-husband, and had retired to the bedroom to read before sleep. The children were all finally asleep, and I had started the […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #1: Shift

June 4, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Challenging myself to do better is an ongoing process. I am interested in personal growth and a deeper connection with others and life in general. This quest leads me to be more introspective, and to ask the big questions. I guess you could say, I am a seeker. As a teacher, I offered my students […]

Where Are The Dogs?

Contemplating risk –a reunion with a former selflooking for an exit When did I become a snakerestrained?When did I become persona non grata? I slither between storiesconvince myself I can flydistraction a ruse I have big cat energyoverstepping boundariessocially adverse A faulty jeweldreaming of abundance but there’s a dragon to disarm My mother’s burden on my […]

Turning (tanka)

Mother

When I had a mothermy hair would cascadein curls of auburn perfectiona red velvet bow to accentuate the wave And I’d wear my bestnewly sewn frockwith lace at the neckand fishnet stockingsand patent Mary Janes And the girls giggling with delightwould skip hand-in-handto the school promand the boys shyly perchedagainst the back wall would wonderhow […]