Dec 30 - Dinner at Ulla

Two old friends, much wine
And a marvelous dinner
at their daughter's place

Dec 29 - Hasta La Vista, Dear Ian

My friend, this can't be
the final conversation
Too much left to say

Dec 28 - Emptying

New spaces revealed
Walls bare, furniture missing
As though we're fading

Dec 27 - Late Christmas with the Up-Island Gang

No one would suggest
That my family is quiet
Once the red wine flows

Dec 26 - Man, I Used to Love Stat Holidays

It's wrong to work on
Boxing Day, but so it goes
when you're self-employed

Dec 25 - A Sentimental Time

Champagne for breakfast
Cinnamon buns, a few tears
My kind of Christmas

Dec 24 - The Shopping Spirit Overloads the System

Nobody's happy
When the bank machines break down
In the grocery line

Dec 23 - A Late(ish) Night on the Accordion

How is it he sleeps
Through the sounds of squeeze box and
me, mere feet away?

Dec 22 - Cultural Gaps at the Christmas Singalong

We launch into a
song about six white boomers
The Aussies look blank

Dec 21 - Wrapping Up These Years Here

Three coffee dates, one
flash mob, a vigil and lunch
So many goodbyes

Dec 20 - Kassie's Eggnog Party

Big house, perfect tree
We sing songs and eat too much
Buoyed by the season

Dec 19 - Sometimes Family Dinners Aren't Fun

Beware of gifts from
people who keep score. You will
always owe something

Dec 18 - I Give a Christmas Reading

Christ Church Cathedral:
Even an atheist feels
God in this moment

Dec 17 - Marching for Sex Workers' Rights

Our red umbrellas
Brighten the streets as we pass
Sunshine on our songs

Dec 16 - Marion's Dog Comes to Work

I usually forget
the names of people's dogs, but
not you, Joshua

Dec 15 - Should Have Picked an Action Flick

Movie night at last
How to know that "J. Edgar"
Would put me to sleep?

Dec 14 - Back to Work on Insufficient Sleep

A day of meetings
Was probably a mistake
On a jet-lagged brain

Dec 13 - The Cuso Diaspora

Funny how five days
Can connect you to people
Safe travels, SKWID pals

Dec 12 - Maybe This is a Cuso Test

Ghosts in the machine
Toilets down, dishwasher lost
Hey, we can manage

Dec 11 - An Enlightening Afternoon with a Real Honduran

Thank you, Ricardo
For easing some of our fears
About this new life

Dec 10 - My Brain Hurts

What is it about
a day of hard thinking that
wears a person out?

Dec 9 - The Start of Our Group Training Session

We're like wary cats
when we first meet, but by lunch
we're making farm sounds

Dec 8 - Five Days in Ottawa

I look for skaters
on the Rideau Canal, but
it's too warm for that

Dec 7 - No Secrets Anymore

The word is out now
It spread like fire on Facebook
Have you heard? They're gone

Dec 6 - Am I Making Headway?

The desk went today
Two dressers, the stereo
All gone. So much left

Dec 5 - The To-Do List Grows Exponentially

A thousand thoughts bounce
loose in my brain, leaving me
with no room to think

Dec 4 - Owen's First and Last Visit to Cyber City

He doesn't like the
Hurricane Simulator.
Not too surprising

Dec 3 - A Grandparent Weekend in Nanaimo

We are veterans
of cheapish hotel rooms stuffed
with hyped-up young boys

Dec 2 - On the Drive to Courtenay

The crows were flying
upside down today, wings spread
to catch the sunshine

Dec 1 - A Peculiar But Moving Event

Who could plan to spend
World AIDS Day making music
to lift the sorrow?

Nov 30 - Champagne at Sarah's

We toast to changes
- houses sold, new adventures,
eight cats down to six