Well, another hour of daylight means winter is on its last leg. Here in beautiful Victoria the signs of spring come on early and come on strong. The towering B.C. cedars are growing greener by the minute and the cherry blossoms (one of my favourite things on the planet) are bursting open with the white [...]

And so the Olympics have finally come to a close. Those were the longest two months of my life, although I have to admit being completely impressed by Team Canada, especially our women representatives. The marriage remains relatively intact, a feat deserving of a gold medal (me, not him). If I’d had the budget I [...]

Yesterday I saw buds on a few trees. No big deal, right? Except yesterday was February 15th. Today, while Rusty was off golfing, I spoke to my mother who is toughing it out on the Rock in the North Atlantic: Newfoundland, ground zero of the Polar Vortex. Gale winds, ice pellets, freezing rain, snow drifts, [...]

True, I once abandoned my home country for France and Switzerland, but that doesn’t mean I can’t muster up a bit of national pride as the Olympics get under way. I like to back a winner and Canada “owned the podium” at the Vancouver Games, so I expect good things again. This year, there’s a [...]

According to Chinese astrology, I was born in the year of the monkey. Makes sense, as those of us classified so are said to be fun loving, cheerful, energetic, charming, humorous, clever folks. In fact, one zodiac source I read said give a monkey a boring book to read and she’ll turn it into a [...]

Oh that guy I live with takes a fair bit of ribbing whenever I spend time at my keyboard. What can I say, he’s a treasure trove of blog material. But today is different. Today I shall pay un petit hommage to my better two-thirds and I’ll tell you why later. He started out like this…

Uprooting your life can be a daunting endeavour, especially if you do it repeatedly as I have. Kids, don’t try this at home, remember I am a professional idiot. But in the grand scheme of gambles I’ve made, I’d say the payoffs have outweighed the perils. Sure, I’ve seen many wonderful people come and go [...]

One of the best things about living on the West Coast of Canada, well, apart from the balmy winter weather (I’ve been keeping mum on that out of respect for my Newfie peeps battling an apocalyptic winter) is the mix of many fascinating cultures, what with Canada being so wonderfully diverse and all. Last week [...]

Well, I don’t know about you, but I had me some swingin’ holidays. I took a little leave from work and so began my first holiday as a working person that didn’t involve being on call. At one point a fit of nostalgia took hold and I thought about heading to the nearest Emergency Room [...]

I’ve featured some of my favourite men here before, Rusty taking centre stage of course. He’s easy fodder for humour, plus he’s the only man I have. To be sure he’s European at heart despite his love of fleece and hatred of skinny pants and scraggy facial hair. Just in case you forgot this gem [...]

Every now and then I get to missing Europe—history everywhere you look and the museums of Paris a mere train ride away. I’ll give the French this: they know how to show off a bit of art. Canada is relatively new by any cultural standard, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t riches to be found [...]

There may not be a single sign of Christmas in my house, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the season. Au contraire mes amis, I love a town done up in lights and all that crap. While Canada does Christmas well enough every year, I have to say this is [...]

Even though I don’t officially celebrate Christmas, I can’t escape it. The lobby of my building looks like a garland factory explosion and the stores are packed to the rafters with harried shoppers marching like zombies to the beat of the The Little Drummer Boy. That’s how I know it’s time to do my annual [...]

Breaking news: I survived a two day trip to the Arctic (aka Calgary). Oh of course I survived because the majority of my time was spent indoors discovering some top notch mental health services for children in Alberta. Plus, tagging along after amiable work colleagues and a superb working dinner at The River Café, how [...]

When I decided to leave Europe and return to Canada, my decision was based on specific criteria. Glorious Victoria, British Columbia, home of sea and mountain vistas; a charming town of enough people to make it interesting yet few enough to avoid big city fatigue. More importantly, a town that very rarely sees a Big [...]