No matter where we go, the urge to use a toilet is a compelling companion. For some, finding toilets that can be zero’d in on while travelling the world becomes a quest. Places of blessed relief no matter the city. Hubs is one of those and the whole family has benefitted over the years.   

As if my senses weren’t heightened enough from what my eyes were beholding in Jasper’s Horseshoe Canyon, my ears could hear the gentle work of bees busying themselves to keep this miracle of explosive colour alive. These are industrious sounds drowned out by the continual background hum of man-made noises that I no longer notice…

On our second and last day at Horseshoe Canyon hubs and I took a walk. Similar to a hike in that every step or two involved a rock, boulder or fallen tree, we wandered for an hour or two. As a writer I was wracking my brains for adequate descriptive words to bring the stony…

  I must have been feeling reckless again or perhaps the empty nest was getting to me! No, I’m not coo-ing over babies! My youngest, the barista, wants a kitten like crazy and I agree.  If we are going to take on the responsibility of becoming pet owners again, a cat is the best animal…

  Today is our wedding anniversary. If you ask me I’ll say it’s on 24th but hubs proves me wrong every year and still I am caught a day early. He shows me calendars online and the Thursday in October 1984 always fetches up as 23rd. I really do prefer the 4 over the 3!…

Flowers in my house bring a little bit of the outside indoors although I do have family members who don’t approve of picking flowers from their gardens and, at the other end of scale, those who don’t like any flowers in their house that have not grown in the wild. I take what I can…

In contrast to my State Fair  visit I joined a friend for a quiet morning at the Dallas Arboretum where artist Dale Chihuly is on exhibit. The car park hinted at record crowds but when we got inside they weren’t immediately evident.  It was mother-child day and they were all coralled for a special event…

I am not keen on large crowds and continuous noise, I need quiet time.  In our flat in London we managed to achieve absolute silence sometimes and our youngest daughter was perturbed by this. I think our children are unable to deal with the challenges silence brings.  I wonder if they keep busy with work,…

Years ago during a continuing battle with the ballet school to respect our Sunday morning mass we had to cave on the Wednesday night service.  Even the staunchest atheist knows Wednesday is not a sabbath. The owner of the ballet school said, “I am sure God will understand that you need to be here at…

On the tube a long time ago last year I was on my way back from taking one of my children to Heathrow, after a trip that was way too short. Sitting opposite me were a well dressed elderly couple with two large bags.  They were on their way home after travelling, I had heard…