Pocketful of Memory Cards

Hubby and I have been sharing a rotten cold for more than a week now.  My brain has been so muddled that until this morning, I'd forgotten all about the comfort drink that has become a staple of cold soothing in our family.  I call it "The Recipe" in memory of the Baldwin Sisters of Walton's Mountain fame.  You may recall they were always offering samples of " Papa's Recipe " to anyone who might need a little lift.  It was used for medicinal purposes only of course, but I think the sisters dipped into it on a daily basis.   My recipe is very simple, and moonshine free.  Fill a mug with a cup of boiling, water half a cube of McCormicks Chicken Flavoured Vegetable Bouillon, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger (the pre-grated stuff from a jar will work also) and the juice of one lemon wedge. I wish I could say The Recipe has the power to cure your cold, but alas, it cannot. There is something about sitting in a comfy chair and sipping the warm fl...

On this gorgeous summer afternoon, my friend Anne Louise and I collected our writing materials and sat under one of the giant weeping willows in Kinsmen Park .  What a beautiful location for inspiration!  As a bonus we were treated to live music from a nearby guitar player.

Today I'm most grateful for: 81.   my husband, who thought it was fair that after he spent five days golfing, he should treat our daughter and I to two nights at Sparkling Hill Spa/ Resort . How did he ever come up with such a wonderful idea??? 82.  the fact that I have a daughter who enjoys spending time with me and I look forward to having a wonderful relaxing couple of days with her.  The view from our room at Sparkling Hill just before the snow started falling.  83.   the usual suspects who showed up for the short notice Friday Night Happy Hour at our place the other night.  Good friends, good food and good wine.  It doesn't get much better than that! 84.  some exciting and promising research that recently came to light. It's the first time in my 36 years of being diabetic that I've allowed myself to believe there could be a cure in my lifetime. 85.  the wonderful core group that has begun to gather regularly at the d...

What a gorgeous day it was today.  The temperature hovered around the zero degree mark, but the sun shone all afternoon.  While I was running some errands downtown I decided to wander over to Stuart Park to see what was going on.  Oh how I wish I'd had my skates with me.  Starting this afternoon, I'll be storing them in the car.  The ice on the artificial outdoor rink was like glass and there weren't that many people around.  I'm trying to keep my photos down to one per day so out of all the photos I snapped this afternoon, this was the one that made me smile.  The Yacht Club marina is opposite the rink and I was tickled by the sight of these seagulls walking on water. For more photos of what I saw today, follow the link to my travel blog "From the Valley and Beyond".

At 8:30 Tuesday morning we boarded a zodiac along with ten other people, to look for whales and visit a nearby hot spring. We headed out to Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound where whales had been recently observed. I'd say we saw at least 10 grey whales feeding not far from the island.  We kept a respectful distance and were quite thrilled to observe these magnificent creatures in the wild.  We also saw some harbour seals but they blend into the rock shoreline so well, they could hardly been seen on camera.  After the whale watching we headed farther north to Maquinna Provincial Park   where our guide dropped us off gave us instructions and told us when we'd be picked up a few hours later.  The 2 km hike through the beautiful lush rainforest was via a boardwalk which made it much easier to navigate some challenging terrain. I don't know how it started but there are some really neat carvings on many of the boards along the way.  Mo...

One of my favourite things to do mid afternoon on a sunny summer day is to visit Kinsmen Park .  I love to set my chair in the shade of any one of a number of massive willow trees, kick off my sandals and rub my hot feet on the cool green grass.  You can watch boats and people troll up and down the lake, admire the sailors and paddle boarders or relax into an imaginary world, with something cool to drink and something good to read .