Lately, a song will take up residence in my head. I’m not talking an ear-worm that lasts a few hours, but ones that stay days, even weeks, always playing in the background. They aren’t happy songs. Currently it’s Hurt, not the Nine Inch Nails original but the cover of it that Johnny Cash did in … Continue reading Songs in My Head- Part 1
Seven years ago today, I was on my “trip of a lifetime,” my first solo overseas trip and (I thought) one last big adventure before settling down on my well planned path to a comfortable retirement. Kowloon harbour on a water taxi. Despite having no words in each other’s language besides “thanks!” We communicated quite … Continue reading Riding the Wheel
I didn’t have a dance party on my 60th birthday. That had been the plan. Crosbie, whose standing joke was that I was his older friend (by one month!) was all for a joint party. We knew where (Moose Hall) although we hadn’t decided between the local band that did covers of 70s and 80s … Continue reading Keep on Dancing
“Scott! Look at this! It was made in Barbados!” I’m holding up a leotard/unitard/one piece shorty exercise outfit. Exuberant tropical flowers, red, orange, pink, are splashed large across a white background. What’s surprising is not so much that it was made in the country we now live in, but that I’d bought it 25 years … Continue reading Beautiful Barbados Broad
We drive over the Malahat. They have added bright orange posts between the north and south bound lanes of this coastal mountain highway, to prevent turns on and off it in dangerous places. As we come to each of these, I remember the fatal accidents: here, two motorcyclists; there, three members of a family in … Continue reading Surrounded by My History
“Are we halfway up now?” I sat on the rough bench, and Kevin, our guide for the climb up Gros Piton, looked at me pityingly. “A quarter,” he said. To be fair, I had been living on Barbados for a year and a half. The highest hill there is 343 m, and it is in … Continue reading The Pitons of Saint Lucia: Long Hard Climb
Today, I had the chance to run over the surf asshole. He’d fallen off his board right in front of me, when I was already catching the wave. I didn’t. I veered to the right (on a left breaking wave) , stayed on my knees, didn’t stand till I was past him, then broke left … Continue reading Work in Progress
If you count my bra (something I never wear in Barbados) I have 5 layers of clothing on my upper body. I’m still cold. The wind cuts through me, and the damp penetrates even when I’m sheltered from the wind. Why did England in February seem like a good idea? I suppose it’s better than … Continue reading Getting Acclimatized
The DNA results came back. I’m 100% Finnish. It was a surprise— I expected some Swedish, maybe a little Russian. Family myth had that there was some Roma in the bloodlines. Yup. No measurable amount of anything but Finnish. I’m 100% Canadian. I was born there, educated there, from kindergarten to all three of my … Continue reading 100% Finnish. 100% Canadian. Or Bajan?
We had a hard time finding coffee. In March 2020 it was because nothing was open. So novel that I took a picture. March 2020 We’d arrived two days before and all seemed normal. Restaurants were open but there was hand sanitizer on the counter, and only every second table was being used. Yes, there … Continue reading Two Trips to Tofino: Pandemic Progress
Brave Travels 