Nov 29 - I'm Not Sure Why I Thought I Feel Compelled To Start A Course Of Chinese Herbs, But What The Hey

I boil bitter tea
feeling strangely enthralled by
how awful it is

Nov 28 - A Mysterious And Classic Childhood Illness Comes Upon Us

R has chickenpox
We come by with drugs and songs
to soothe her upset

Nov 27 - The Girl Getaway Leads Us To The Qualicum Airport And Then It's South To The Four-Day Luxury Housesit Off Prospect Lake Road

Morning sunrise. Brunch.
Mall shopping. Lost in the woods.
Penny, where are we?

Nov 26 - On The Three-Cousins Road Trip And Birthday Getaway To Qualicum Beach

60's closing in
But we can still get stupid
We gave peace a chance

Nov 25 - In Which The Fates Both Align For Me And Against Me In The Dead Run From The Coast Plaza To The Richmond Airport

Blind luck gets me home
Running, stressing, boots clomping
Later, Hitler 'stache

Nov 24 - Trying To Prepare For The Next Two Weeks While Maintaining A Certain Amount Of Gratitude For Having A Place To Stay At All

The thing about Mom's
is that there's nowhere to run
So many people

Nov 23 - In Which R Makes Significant Progress At Trusting That The Water Will Keep You Afloat

To float is to feel
like this: Boneless. Letting go
of the nameless dread

Nov 22 - I Shake Off This Haze And Get Back Into My Morning Walk Habit

Hey, old gym people!
Hi, mystery Facebook friend!
Gorge walks are catchups

Nov 21 - That Point Where You Realize You Have Over-Gathered And Could In Fact Produce A 5,000-Word Article With All Those Interviews You Did

Chinatown puzzle
Pieces sorted by colour
Words everywhere

Nov 20 - A Day That Looked Rather Nightmarish For Scheduling Purposes In Fact Goes Quite Smoothly As We Move Back Into Mom's For A Couple Of Weeks

Deft turns of packing,
cleaning, putting R to sleep
Plus two social gigs

Nov 19 - Sometimes The Only Way To Relieve The Nameless Dread Of Too Much Work Is To Do It

For the self-employed
Weekends mean more time to work
Chinese food cheers me

Nov 18 - Some Graphic Designer Would Faint At What I Did Today

Butchering logos
Dogwood here, words there, leaf plucked
Facebook said I should

Nov 17 - The Dog's Brief Moment Of Happiness At Seeing Someone Arrive To Take Her Walking Is Tempered By The Realization That The Wee One Will Want To Hold The Leash Again

Austin rolls her eyes
Not really, but I swear she'd
do it if she could

Nov 16 - A Chinatown Exploration To Get Kid-Ready Chopsticks And A Cheap Pinwheel Leads To An Elderly Asian Giving R Money In A Puzzling But Sweet Exchange

A quarter for R
Perhaps this old woman knows
Her middle name's Joe

Nov 15 - We Respond To An Emergency Call From Rachelle After A Visitor Yanks A Delicate Door Ever So Firmly In The Wrong Direction And Blocks Off Half The House

Spatula in hand
Paul loosens the French door jam
Roam free, Grahamites

Nov 14 - Busy, Sure, But Not To The Point Of Stopping A Sunny Bird Walk Through My New Favourite Taxpayer Expenditure

Deadlines are looming
But you can't sacrifice sun
in this long, grey stretch

Nov 13 - The Tricky Process Of A Long Drive Home With A Restless Toddler In Pouring Rain is Made Trickier By An Accident At Nanoose, Though Our Backseat Passenger Saves The Day With 100 Creative Verses Of "Wheels On The Bus"

Precise departure
Alas, some car hit some car
Paul must entertain

Nov 12 - The Usually Peaceful Nymph Falls Walk Is All About Wild White Water This Time

The river runs wild
Heart-stopping in its power
Forest is afloat

Nov 11 - Three Adults And A Small Child Pack Into The Prius For A Three-Day Weekend Away

North to alpacas
Cousins and puppies await
The rain thunders down

Nov 10 - A Nice Woman At Mom's Pool Shows Up With Accessories Bound To Please An Adventurous 18-Month-Old Girl

Pool-noodle floating
Warm water, sun through the glass
She will sleep tonight

Nov 9 - Results Of The US Election Envelope Us In Grim, Grey Gloom

Not just bad news: Grief
How could this awful man win?
Fog rolls in. Fitting

Nov 8 - In Which I Brace For This Terrible U.S. Election Day By Reminding Myself That Not Everything Is Ugly

Sun's height is perfect
Low and golden, bedazzling
all that it touches

Nov 7 - I Discharge The Parental Debt And Eat A Plateful Of Quite Delicious Desserts And A Scoop Of Surprisingly Tasty Turnip And Apple Casserole

Four hours' driving
makes toe bones ache and necks stiff
Great potluck, mind you

Nov 6 - The Day's Events Take An Unexpected Turn But It's All Timed So Perfectly That It Was Probably Meant To Happen

His frazzled-dad vibes
I feel them from the sidewalk
Come on, girl, let's roll

Nov 5 - Sometimes Life Is About Giving Up A Bunch Of Your Time Because People Have Been Very Kind To Your Mother

Take one for the team
Penance: Two days of my life
But the slide show's nice

Nov 4 - It's A Good Day When Work Feels Like Fun

Chinatown wander
Interviews, barbecued pork
Long live this cool place

Nov 3 - Final Day Of A Long Week Of Documenting Every Half-Hour Of My Activities, Moods And Purchasing Thoughts In Exchange For A Generous Chunk Of Air Miles

What has this taught me?
That I don't buy very much
But damn, I'm cheery

Nov 2 - There's A Certain Kind Of Peace To Having A Day Fun Enough To Keep You Away From Facebook

Mammoth exhibit
Swimming pool. Shoe-shopping. Poo
Memorable day

Nov 1 - One Of Those Days When I Forget That Thin Skin Is An Epidemic Among Many I Interact With On Social Media

Chinatown research
Mixed in with Facebook fighting
over Standing Rock

Oct 31 - In Which We Wait And Wait For No-Show Trick-or-Treaters And Then Dive On A Bunch Of Tiny Chocolate Bars While Watching A Fairly Mediocre Movie

Bring on the cute kids
None arrive. Poor Jack Scarface
Lived and died unseen

Oct 30 - A Surprise Morning With Rosetta Before The Rain Settles In For The Rest Of The Day

"Brrr!" she says. Agreed
Though the seals don't mind, plumped up
on costly herring