Remember old cartoons that depicted First Nations settlements with a circle of tipis and a totem pole in the middle? A cultural anachronism for sure, as those two items belonged to Native American groups located in completely different regions of North America. I live in the region known for its totems, constructed by Northwest Coastal Aboriginal…

Driving from the Coachella Valley to Phoenix, we stopped for gas. I asked permission to take a picture of the sign at the cash register: The clerk said boob money is a major issue. Who knew? Then we saw a massive building complex way off in the distance in the middle of nowhere. Next came the sign…

Living in our new-to-us soon-to-be partially torn down and rebuilt house has been an adventure in waiting, but it looks as though demolition will happen in May. It's a good thing. Fiction:                         Fact: Here, it's time for a new roof, siding, insulation, drywall…. During…

Packing disasters, the more you travel, chances are you've had your turn with a suitcase spill or some other packing mishap. A burst bottle of non-aerosol hairspray? A broken zipper spilling your dirty laundry onto the carousel for all to see? I've had a few myself: I packed a hostess gift for my friend,  two bottles…

My baby blue bike was a gift from my daughter and husband a few years back. Totally unexpected, it brought back exciting memories of my first two wheeler Schwinn in the same colour. Complete with plaid seat, basket and rubber bulb horn, what a wonderful surprise. They thought it would be a good means of…

This is the first year in seven that I have seen significant rain in the desert. Truthfully, we have experienced rain here once or twice, for part of a day, but this year we've had six rainy days. Not in a row, but often enough to interrupt with the usual sunshiny routine. Without the walking,…

While cooking together over the holidays we shared mixed messages from our grandmothers. When you're baking: To save eggs (no doubt from the days of rationing) use one fewer egg and you won't notice the difference. And probably a form of post war overcompensation, my grandmother's rule: always add an extra egg for a richer cake.  It…

The weather in the desert has been unseasonably cool and grey. We've even had several occasions of rain, one for twelve hours straight. Better than the frigid and grey back home that has kept a solid sheet of ice on sidewalks and roads for weeks. There was a video on Vancouver's news of two guys…

This photo sums it up, we call it our Christmas still life: KC, L and I went geocaching and added in some pomelo, tangelo and orange picking. The hand squeezed citrus was combined with prosecco for Christmas morning brekkie. Pictured above are our drinks of choice: Laphroig for M, C and KC, B and L, beer…

BC, our home, is in a deep freeze. Having lived there more than half my life, I don't think I've seen many stretches where it gets under -7C (19.4F). "Oh muffin!" you East and Midwest family and followers are crying. I can hear you. I can hear you from sunny California. Heh heh (evil laughter).…