to carers

It is Mother's Day here in Canada and a few other countries, but I'd like to honour not just mothers, but all people, young and old, who care for their families, friends, patients or strangers! You make this mixed... [Continue Reading...]

red hearts and lanterns

    Red is for hearts and lovers and friends this weekend - Happy Valentine's Day! or Hauskaa Ystävänpäivää and Happy Friendship Day as the Finns celebrate it. Red is for the colour of the maple leaf on the Canadian... [Continue Reading...]

Happy New Year 2010

My husband and I will be home tonight with sleeping granddaughters. We'll enjoy a a quiet evening with a late simple supper of turkey soup, then some games or a movie, accompanied by some Christmas baking and chocolates, some... [Continue Reading...]

happy winterfest

Happy Christmas, Hauskaa Joulua, Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, God Jul or Blessed Midwinter! Wishing all of you a joyful holiday, full of cheer with those who are dear, as well as some quiet moments for gratitude and peace. Many... [Continue Reading...]

safe arrivals

Our middle daughter and our granddaughters arrived late this afternoon safe, sound and tired from their long flight from London, England with only slight delays but nothing like during last year's snowstorms. How excited we all were to see... [Continue Reading...]

Canada in Copenhagen

Taking a break now and then from posting pretty frost pictures and writing Christmas letters, I've been checking into reality: the news on the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Others have been far more eloquent than I could ever be, so here... [Continue Reading...]

home fires burning

Thanks to Erika for posting my video onto her Flickr account! The past few days we've been without home heating, that is, a central heating system we take for granted in most homes in the developed world. Ours is... [Continue Reading...]

Film: Recipes for Disaster

If you live in the Vancouver area, you will want to see this important film: On April 16, view the third and final film of DOXA's Documentary Film Series in the lead-up to our May festival. Recipes for Disaster follows... [Continue Reading...]

SAVE the CBC

CBC is Canada's own publicly owned radio and TV broadcaster, a part of the very heart of Canada and its culture, connecting us all from coasts to coasts. It's currently being decimated by Harper and his government, after already many... [Continue Reading...]

a new day

Tom Montag and I have collaborated once again to create a postcard with a short poem called A New Day for Postal Poetry. Though they accepted this some time ago, the editors Dana Guthrie Martin and Dave Bonta have... [Continue Reading...]

together for peace

It's been very foggy for several days here in Vancouver and matching it is my brain fog caused by a head cold. It's a bit like being tongue-tied. So once again, I'm using the words of others here, this... [Continue Reading...]

cease the fighting

    Pablo Picasso: Guernica 1937 (from artquotes.net)     I rarely write about politics and wars here yet I must say that I've been unable to put out of my mind the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Mainstream and alternative media... [Continue Reading...]

New Year's Hope

'Tis the sixth day of Christmas and another New Year's Eve before us, how the year flew by! As I drank my breakfast tea over our local newspaper, the editorial pleased me in putting some of my own thoughts... [Continue Reading...]

solstice time

At [10:04 a.m. Pacific Time] on Sunday Dec. 21, 2008, the northern hemisphere begins its tilt back toward the sun, marking the winter solstice in this part of the world and slowly leading to longer days. This may be... [Continue Reading...]

fairy happy birthday

    We've just had a delightful iChat (video chat) with our youngest granddaughter Niamh on her third birthday. She opened her birthday presents in front of us, then promptly began to paint with the watercolours and paper we gave... [Continue Reading...]

remember peace

        It's Remembrance Day here, and the weather matches the sad occasion. Each year on this day, I reluctantly acknowledge this day, understanding the sacrifices made by so many soldiers in wars. I am sad for the millions of... [Continue Reading...]

Save the Planet: Stop Harper

I feel passionately that the current elections in Canada and USA are one of the most critical in our lifetime. Against previous promises to myself not to talk about politics on this blog, I have already posted one long piece... [Continue Reading...]

Arts funding cuts

UPDATE Oct.7th: Margaret Atwood answers questions on the election at Globe & Mail. Gotta love her!

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a low-carb diet

Thanks to an email alert from the local Finnish community, last night my husband and I enjoyed an interesting creative documentary film on CBC Newsworld's Passionate Eye : RECIPES FOR DISASTER, a Millennium Film of Finland production, directed by John... [Continue Reading...]

two candles for Finland

In honour of Finland's 90th Independence Day (Itsenäisyys Päivä) today, I have lit these two candles in a window, as is the custom there. "Why two candles? Well, one is for home, the other is for country. This silent... [Continue Reading...]

goodbye, Uncle T

Yesterday, my cousin A phoned to let us know that her father, my uncle on my mother's side, passed away. He'd turned 84 only a week earlier, so T lived a long life. A good man, T was my... [Continue Reading...]

long weekend storm

The Remembrance Day long weekend in British Columbia turned into an unforgettable one, weather-wise. A large area of the province from the coast to the interior was hit by a powerful storm, from Sunday evening until Monday afternoon. Falling... [Continue Reading...]

PEACE

Remembrance Day makes me angry...

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frights and feasts

As you are out tonight chasing ghosts and goblins, watch out for what may be underfoot.

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more witchiness

Thinking about witchy trees has been making me see even witchy seeds.

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oil spill

For over a week now, we've been appalled over an environmental disaster that occurred in the Greater Vancouver area. Last Tuesday, July 24th, there was a huge oil spill in Burnaby, a suburb just east of Vancouver, on the south... [Continue Reading...]

a queen's birthday

She reigned for 63 years, seven months and two days -- the longest reign ever. She was five feet tall and monarch to one-quarter of the world's population. She was 81 when she died. Her own sons lifted her... [Continue Reading...]

garden tour

Every mother, grandmother, and friend who has been like a mother to another - You are invited on a little tour of a few highlights in my spring garden:         Here are the winter pansies in a pot by... [Continue Reading...]

Congrats, Grads!

One of the more splendid events in the merry month of May is graduation. This year we join many proud parents of sons and daughters who are graduating this month from institutes of higher education. Our daughter Erika has... [Continue Reading...]

earth day

Happy Earth Day, every day! Do you realize that the environmental movement has been around for many decades? It has had its ups and downs in support, but it seems to me that this year there is a greater... [Continue Reading...]

diversions

I've recently come across some great links on a couple of interesting subjects - the first an important environmental story and the second a fascinating linguistic and ethnological one. 1. At Biodynamic Farming and Gardening I found out about a... [Continue Reading...]

spring!

May the longer days put a spring in your step, dear readers in the northern hemisphere. As if in honour of the vernal equinox this evening, today we've had a respite from the November-like monsoons. The sunshine is a... [Continue Reading...]

International Women's Day 2007

Today we are celebrating the achievements of women around the world on this International Women's Day. It's an important way to remember the struggles of women who fought for equality for their sisters and coming generations of women. My... [Continue Reading...]

The Big Storm

Our internet is finally back tonight after three days down, so now I can let you know what excitement we've had here! We've experienced the worst windstorm in the 30 plus years we've lived in the Vancouver area. Of three... [Continue Reading...]

snowing

It is snowing here! Will be back with photos tomorrow, I hope. I love the snow, but not everyone does.... [Continue Reading...]

Nov.16th

November 16th will always be an especially significant day for us...

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Sept.11, 1906

It's hard to avoid all the nauseous revisiting of the events of five years ago, even in our Canadian media and present government. Unwilling as I am to be drawn into this again, especially since I avoid the subject of... [Continue Reading...]

soccer balls!

Here's something fun in honour of the World Cup finals this weekend, from Anthropology.net - "The World Cup, globalization, and cultural representations in the form of soccer balls!" Togo, Ecuador, and Australia have the most beautiful designs, imho. Which... [Continue Reading...]

Happy Walpurgisnacht

"Ah, it's May Eve", I wrote last year, "Almost anywhere else on the planet this would not be so very significant, but in Finland it means "Vappu", a kind of Finnish "Mardi Gras meets the Rite of Spring", with... [Continue Reading...]

this earth

What a glorious sunny day yesterday, with more ahead! Despite my cold, I was drawn outdoors to check the amazing growth in just a week. Everything is green and lush, the tulips are glowing in their riotous colours, the... [Continue Reading...]

cherry blossoms & snow

A new cultural event taking place right now in Vancouver is the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, a celebration of the 36,000 cherry trees in the city's parks, boulevards, and private gardens, more than in any other Canadian city. According... [Continue Reading...]

WET!

Weather is a popular subject as it affects everyone. Well, our suffering has been rewarded! Vancouverites can now boast that two records have been broken! One is for the most rainy days in a given month, that is 29 of... [Continue Reading...]

arts & culture in Canada

As some readers may know, Canadians have been subjected to another election campaign and will be going to the polls on Monday, January 23rd. An issue that has not been discussed by any party is arts and culture. CBC has... [Continue Reading...]

Merry Christmas, Hauskaa Joulua

Warmest wishes to all for a Happy Christmas, Hauskaa Joulua, Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, Happy Chanukah, Matunda Ya Kwanzaa and Happy Holidays.... and Peace on Earth! Thank you, dear readers, for your support and friendship throughout the year -... [Continue Reading...]

EU Flag's 50th

Living in North America, I don't seem to hear enough about European news, especially about the European Union. So it's very interesting to me to learn that recently there was an installation of possibly the world's largest flag in... [Continue Reading...]

New Orleans

Like everyone, I've been following the terrible tragedy of New Orleans in news and blogs, feeling deeply but not writing much myself. So many of us who have visited New Orleans have been recalling it, thankful for having had that... [Continue Reading...]

September

back to school a new year new pencils and notebooks new shoes new sweater new hopes and fears for little children kindergarten elementary school for teens first high school then university or tech mature student back to university life... [Continue Reading...]

freedom blogs

I rarely touch on politics in my own little blogworld, but thought this international effort worthy of a mention: Reporters Without Borders selected around 60 blogs that, each in their own way, defend freedom of expression. The organisation then asked... [Continue Reading...]

Hubble is 15

Happy 15th Birthday to Hubble, showcasing nature's greatest artworks for 15 years.... [Continue Reading...]

Stolen Art

You may recall my posts last month about Pnina Granirer's exhibition and my visit to her studio. Some time ago, I was horrified to learn that two of her works have been stolen. This is a terrible thing for an... [Continue Reading...]

International Women's Day

To all women in the world today, International Women's Day... [Continue Reading...]

ArtsNow for Olympics 2010

The monthly Opus Visual Arts Newsletter (in print and online) provides useful information for artists such as calls for submissions, some arts news and, my favourite part, an always thoughtful and well-written editorial by arts advocate Chris Tyrell. Sometimes this... [Continue Reading...]

Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster

I don't usually touch on political and world events here, but the magnitude of the human and economic disaster in the countries around the Indian Ocean compels me to join many others in expressing early disbelief, horrified awe and shock... [Continue Reading...]