It's The Year of the Ox starting February 12th, 2021 ~And as your resident Chinese-Scottish-First Nations gal, I do have something to say about what's to come!!Sometimes I believe that all of these influences, predictions & tendencies are a wee bit stern and The Year of the Ox is no different. I had "hoped " for a more gentle year, as we have just passed through 2020, gosh, I wish I could predict an easier year.As I read through my favourite author's notes about what we could expect for this Year of the Ox, I thought, ok, if we really...

It is inexplicable how intertwined our health & beauty are, and how when we are taking care of ourselves, we boost our natural beauty.I've been thinking a lot about that as we collectively face our second year in this pandemic & how by simply making healthy choices, we are protecting our health, we are boosting our immune systems & we are looking our very best.Lemons in our drinking water helps it become more alkaline & therefore protects our bodies from disease ( apparently the germs prefer an acidic environment which eating cookies & such will provide, ha! )Going for a...

It's early December ( yeah!!!!!! ) and yet, I'm feeling homesick for my Vancouver, for the way things were, for my family home, waking up on Christmas morning, the excitement of Santa & the smell of the sea salt in the air in BC...I'm yearning for yesteryear when my dear old sweet Uncle Syd would bring me a beautiful box of Frango Mint Chocolates, just for me!!I have always LOVED traditions, the beautiful wrappings of gifts, the delightful fun of ALL the excitement of what Santa might put into my stocking, from toothbrushes to clementines & wee things that were...

It's our Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, and I am here in Montreal pondering all that I have to be grateful for ~ Good health, a sweet puppy, a precocious chatty budgie bird, a roof over my head & food on the table.We are on a second wave lockdown here in Montreal, numbers are rising, more restrictions until the end of October and we are not allowed to invite family & friends over for Thanksgiving, so no traditional Thanksgiving this year, no turkey, no stuffing, no fixings.I could be grumbly about it, but I'm so darn grateful for all that I have. I...

It is Yom Kippur ~ The Holiest Day of the Judaic Calendar. It is also my 8th Anniversary of Life. At the end of Yom Kippur, in the Jewish Tradition, one hopes that God has forgiven them. Eight years ago, I was fighting for my life, incarcerated at Montreal General Hospital ~ five days into my admission into Emergency with " acute abdominal pains." On Yom Kippur, in my ill stupor, I could hear the doctor yelling at the top of her lungs in the Emergency " If we don't operate tonight, she will DIE!!!!!!! " The good Dr. Dan...