It’s coming… and it’s big and it’s scary and it’s…my birthday. I don’t usually shy away from turning another year older. But this is the year I turn (whisper please) …
A business owners’ journey: A year in reflection
Starting your own business is daunting especially when you have no idea how to begin. But in September 2011 I entered a self-employment program put on by MNP Calgary. It …
A site to see in the midst of winter
In the skiing world, alpine gets all the glory. I love downhill skiing – it’s exciting and thrilling to send yourself down a steep slope while balancing on two planks. …
Emotional words
I’ve been teaching a Life Writing workshop. For Class Two we talked about emotional writing and how to convey sentiments without using words like angry or happy. Those words are …
Happy New Year’s from Germany
In 1993 I spent part of New Year’s Eve in a small mountain town near the Black Forest in Germany. The other part of the night I spent in a …
Searching for Santa Claus
Santa Claus was not part of my family’s Christmas. My parents decided they wanted the birth of Christ as the main focus of the holiday and not Jolly Old Saint …
Christmas in South Korea
One of my first Christmases away from my family was when I was teaching English in South Korea. It was 1997 and the Korean currency, the won, had fallen. I …
Oh ugly Christmas tree
Since my husband and I live in a smaller apartment in Calgary we don’t have room for a large Christmas tree. Instead, we have a tiny artificial one that we …
Clichés and stereotypes
I’ve been teaching a short story life writing workshop at the Kerby Centre, an older adults’ activity hub. For our sixth class, we talked about avoiding clichés and stereotypes in …
Lost without an address book
I’ve lost my address book. I must have put it down on a Calgary post office counter and then walked away. Without my address book. Now I’m lost. It wasn’t …