I’m sitting at the Blackbird Bakery across from 33-year-old Polek Rybczynski, and his almost two-year-old son Tae, leafing slowly through a proof of his coffee table book, Valley of Light. It’s the final stage of a project that began in 2014, when he committed to a personal practice of taking one photograph of the Pemberton…
The best place to be is in the kitchen. Being cooked for.
Technically, I’m a vegetarian. Have been for over 20 years. Pretty much since I was in a position to say “this is what’s going into my body, and this is not, “I’ve taken a left turn at eating anything that used to have a heartbeat. But when Chef Randy Jones says “try this” and slides…
Forget you Siri. I don’t want a robot PA. I want a doula.
I read an article that said the single best way to win the dinner party (ie make a positive enduring impression) is to ask people what they do for a living, and then say: “That sounds hard.” Apparently, this social ninja move is the fail-proof opening gambit. Three simple words to bypass tedious small…
Would you take a wellness workshop from your dentist?
Last I heard of Pemberton’s stalwart dentist, Anne Crowley, she had put on a backpack and was about to solo trek across the country. I didn’t really expect her to be offering an eight-week wellness course at the Pemberton Community Centre, starting Jan. 18. “I made it to Lillooet,” she said. She’d set out with…
Some stuff I learned in 2015
I’m a slow learner. But this is what I managed to piece together during this most recent solar orbit. I learned that productivity is a con (and I should really stop clicking on all those headlines that offer happiness and productivity hacks), that hope is a radical act, and that writing is still my best medicine,…
What 13,000 year old human footprints on a BC beach taught me about living in the moment
This, from the latest issue of Coast Mountain Culture, which can be hard to find on the ground – being such a luscious piece of print yumminess that it gets scooped up quickly. So, here’s one of the pieces I penned for the Holy issue. Ancient human footprints unearthed on British Columbia’s Central Coast challenge…
Got stress? Try impromptu living room dance parties. Science rates it.
I’m working on a new stress management strategy. Gritting my teeth and just getting ‘er done has backfired. Compulsive clenching has begun to undermine the fillings in my molars. So much for the grin and bear it approach. So, impromptu dance parties it is. I mean, how good does it feel to crank the tunes,…
It’s called flow state because you just can’t force it.
“Babies can’t do that.” This is currently my kid’s favourite phrase, and frankly, our best leverage to attempt to manipulate him, great big two and a half year old that he is, into doing our bidding. “Oh, well, putting on pyjamas is for big boys. Babies can’t do that.” Babies don’t wear sunglasses, he noted…
Choose hope. It doesn’t make you a pussy, it makes you more productive.
I reserve the right to remain hopeful. 6 days in to a new government, and 3 weeks past the election, I’m declaring it, as though it’s a constitutional right, a mantra and a magic spell all rolled up into one. I felt hope crest like a rogue wave the morning after the election, and it…
Give good face, like it’s the only one you’ve got.
I went hiking with a bunch of ladies over night at a cabin up the Duffey. Most of us had kids, so the hardest work of the weekend was just getting out of the house. By the time we were on top of the mountain, we were giddy with freedom. Or altitude. That’s where we…
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