There are so many ways to approach the subject of food, it may have to be in two posts. I could do it by the meal: brekkie, snacks, lunch and dinner, by the odd signage translations, or unusual offerings. How about we start with breakfast and snacks. Our accommodation, no matter luxury or basic, included…

That was the name of our China tour sold by UTO Vacations, based in Ontario, Canada. Background: These are super low cost trips, subsidized by government and businesses, requiring visits to factory “museums” to hear a sales pitch, followed by a shopping visit in their showroom. There is no obligation to buy, and travellers are…

65?! Making it to this official marker of old age, in numbers of years  I’ve  successfully  outlived two grandparents and one parent. Beating the family averages, I was lucky to celebrate it twice, thanks to crossing the international dateline. This was taken on Birthday #1 in Chongqing China, at an airport Burger King. Lots more…

Seeking more compact, portable means of ceative expression is an ongoing goal. Gone are the days when I travelled with a suitcase dedicated to one 21 colour fair isle project, AKA Alice Starmore’s Marina. A close runner up is when we walked 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago and I insisted on carrying 13…

I’m dating myself here. That song, Sailing, by Christopher Cross brings back warm happy memories of the early months of C’s and my relationship. Truthfully, the only thing about sailboats that takes me away is painting them. It’s a thing here in British Columbia – boat portraits. Pets, houses, wedding flowers and boats, I’ve had…

I’ve done it. Twice. Fallen prey to the advertising efforts of two family search companies.  Who can blame me? I know almost nothing about my father’s side of the family as my only surviving relatives are my sister and an older cousin. My goal was to build a family tree in order to discover if…

Elephants Watercolour on Arches 300# paper Unframed size: 16×20 Painted with techniques learned in class with Lian Quan Zhen This is the painting I was working on in my last post, while sitting by the pool in California. I hadn’t thought about getting it home, but luckily it fit in my suitcase sandwiched between two…

After our recent family sadness,  Christmas in the desert gave us time for much needed R&R. We made no advance plans allowing each day to unfold. Our first sunrise promised sunshine and warmth. Down time for me, meant plenty of opportunities for artwork. I was able to take in a class with my favourite local award…

A tiny pink knit hat has a place of honour on our tree in memory of baby Sage.  Parents M and KC, our daughter and SIL, lost their little girl at 21 weeks gestation at the beginning of the month. There are so many words to describe this time in our lives,  but I’ll leave…

Not your typical cake story, this one has solid history and there is an effort afoot to preserve its legacy. It has all the elements of a page turner: tragedy, hope, love, survival  and an eye to the future.  This story starts with Alex Buckman, the president of Vancouver Child Survivors of the Holocaust. In…