My Annual Christmas Plea! Christmas is fast approaching——a time of love and a time for families. It can also be a time of unimaginable sorrow if you are mourning a loved one, especially if that loved one is a child. Throughout history, women have lost children for many different reasons. Difficult births resulting in stillborn […]
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No Place Like Home During my life, I have been lucky enough to have travelled to many different countries and have stayed in a multitude of different hotels through the years. Some were 5-star or better; some mediocre and some (in my youth) hostels or cheap hotels. They all have one thing in common. They
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Our Freedom! This is the time of year when we honor all those who have served to protect our freedom. My father served in World War II; My Uncle was at Dunkirk; another uncle lost his life at age 19; a family friend was an Air Force pilot. Other members of my extended family have
Val’s Book Reviews A Traveller’s Guide to Historic British Columbia (revised) by Rosemary Neering Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2023 $34.95 / 9781770503700 Now revised and updated, Rosemary Neering’s A Traveller’s Guide to Historic British Columbia is a fascinating historical journey through the province. She begins the book with some powerful words: “More than 30 years ago,
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Chloe’s Box This is a story about a toy box. It belongs to Chloe, and it always will. On Chloe’s first birthday, my husband (Grumps) made the box for her. We kept it at our house and filled it with toys. As she grew up and then her younger sister Aubrey came along, the two
An Important Day in History Two of the most important events in ancient and modern history happened on this date—September 28 — although neither are celebrated worldwide today or even thought about much. The first was the birth of Confucius, one of the most important people in ancient China, born on this date in 551
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New Beginnings To me, this time of year seems more like A New Year than January 1st does. It is a time for new beginnings—a new school year, starting university— and even if you are well past those years yourself, thinking about when your children were starting school. Now with grandchildren entering the world of
Val’s Book Reviews Owls, Doughnuts, and Democracy by Jason A.N. Taylor Victoria: independently published $7.99 (e-book) / 9798333346148 My first impression of Owls, Doughnuts and Democracy was that it was simply a bizarre book of political ramblings by the author—and not the type of book I would normally have sought out. After a beat, I
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Val’s Book Reviews The Imposter by Johanna Van Zanten Las Vegas: Histria Books, 2024 $29.99 / 9761592113767 Johanna Van Zanten has created an intriguing story spanning two World Wars in Europe in her second novel The Imposter. Like her first novel (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) The Imposter explores the overwhelming decisions that
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Val’s Book Reviews Let’s Eat: Recipes for Kids Who Cook by DL Acken and Aurelia Louvet Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2023 $40 / 97817711514132 If you have been searching for a cookbook for your children, Let’s Eat – Recipes for Kids who Cook by DL (Danielle) Acken and Aurelia Louvet, is the one for you. These
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