Homelessness is a big problem in Canada. When I did some research recently, this is the quote I found on the Stat’s Canada’s website. “In 2021, we asked Canadian households if they had ever experienced some form of homelessness in their lifetime. Over one in ten (11.2%) Canadians or 1,690,000 people reported that they had. …
Welcome to my blog. If you are new, I’d love to hear how you found my blog. Did you stumble upon it, or was it an intentional visit? I’d love to know whose reading or if I’m just mumbling out into space these days. I know we are in February and Valentine’s was just yesterday …
Happy Valentine’s Day! As I write this post the news is sharing another horrific story of a person being killed and others being injured during a rally in Kansas City. (The Kansas City Chief’s football team just won the Super Bowl Game this past Sunday) What I don’t understand is why do these things keep …
(Note: I am not a Doctor, nor am I a mental health provider…the following is just a layman’s experience dealing with depression) This new year, 2024, started painfully for me. Literally. As I mentioned in a prior post, I had a bad ski accident at the end of our Christmas holiday so for the month …
The Healing Powers of Humour and Cinnamon Coffee Cake Read More »
Happy New Year! Dear family and friends, Welcome back to my blog. It’s been an age. On this blustery winter day, I thought what better time than now, to dust the ‘ole cobwebs from my blog and write a few thoughts before we move fully into this new year. (2024) Before I can do so …
Dear friends and family, Thank you for joining me today. It’s late fall in my part of the world and I’m finally taking some time to share my latest passion. “Buying items that others don’t want; also known as THRIFTING!” Have you heard of it? Are you doing it? Has it transformed the way you …
She left through the night I know because the next morning there was an earthy smell in the air A crisp breeze was gently blowing my curtains It saddens me to think I didn’t say goodbye Mostly her visit was glorious Long days of lazy, relaxed goodness barefoot trips to the garden to collect juicy …
Dear family and friends, Welcome back to my blog. I hope you are all well. I know I haven’t been blogging for awhile now ( a l o n g while) but if anything can bring me back to writing, it’s the excitement I get when a loaf of my own sourdough bread comes out …
Simple Sourdough Bread Making and Life’s Purpose Read More »
My dear blogging friends and family, it feels like forever since I last wrote but it’s been a busy spring around here. While the world is being shaken like a snow globe with war in Ukraine and economic unrest, due to record high inflation, we are taking a moment to celebrate our son. Last week …
Welcome blogging friends and family. I’ve been wanting to write about the bedroom refresh we did last fall all winter. Where does the time go? Before spring takes a good hold on me and I’m out in the garden, I’m going to carve out some time right now and tell you all about it. First …
Happy first day of Spring my dear blogging family! For most of my life the first day of spring was synonymous with my mother’s smile and laughter. You see, it was also my mother’s birthday. Our family used to gather together for afternoon tea and cake, or dinner and an evening of music, and celebrate …
Last fall my winter goal was to start pulling together my memoir. I’ve been writing pieces of it with my writing group for the last six years and I thought I was ready to piece it together but it just didn’t happen. Sometimes I think, like making good soil from compost, a bit more decomposition …
A Must Read; “Five Little Indians” by Michelle Good Read More »
Remembering an old photo from the early 60’s, I could almost hear the booming countdown; “Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One,” and then a jubilant chorus of voices singing, “Happy New Year!” In the photo, men and women were dressed to the nines, wearing their holiday finery. Silly party hats perched …
Although summer is my favourite season with those endless sunny days, there is something profoundly moving about winter and the magic that comes with winter’s solstice. It’s funny that I should say moving, since winter solstice actually means, “sun stand still.” It is a time of quiet reflection. It’s a space where we can slow …
Dear blogging friends and family. I hope this post finds you well. I haven’t been doing a lot of writing on my blog, but I have been writing. Every two weeks I meet with my writing group and we write about all sorts of things. Recently, one of my writing buds suggested a mouse trap …
Until recently I’ve been in a deep funk. This Covid 19 pandemic is dragging on, and on, with no end in sight. This past summer we experienced another depressing season of wildfires and choking smoke, reminding me that our planet is crying in crisis. I’ve been reflecting on whether global warming can even be reversed …
“In a world of more than seven billion people, each of us is a drop in the bucket. But with enough drops, we can fill any bucket.” ~David Suzuki~ Dear family, friends and blog readers, Now that we are safely on the other side of summer and cooler days are with us, I’d like to …
A month ago we were returning from the west coast, after helping our son Harrison move into his new place. Harrison is starting his fifth year living in Victoria, the capital city of our Province. He’s been enrolled in the University of Victoria’s Gustavson business school. This is a coop program, where you study academically …
Welcome friends, family and blog readers. With National Truth and Reconciliation day happening tomorrow, I thought I would write a piece for my blog. At Hope’s homestead I’m not just wanting to chat about the environment and becoming more sustainable, or even sharing one of our family’s latest recipes, lately I’m finding this blog is …
Welcome! Come out of the cold and sit by the fire. I’ll pour us a cup of tea. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here too, but as the year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the past and to tell a story. The story I want to tell is about connecting …
Remember Christmas letters? Those lovely catch up notes that people used to stuff into their Christmas cards. Maybe some people still do, but I think for the most part, this is a thing of the past, like Christmas cards themselves. The few cards that I receive each holiday season, usually only have the signature from …
Last winter, I felt like a dry piece of cold toast. that no amount of butter or jam could make taste better. Our days were spent whirling from one activity to another like robots on auto-pilot, until they all blurred together with me chanting, “something has to give.” I knew what I wanted to drop …
Welcome to my blog and Hope’s Homestead. It’s nice to see you. If you are new here, yah! If you haven’t been here in a while, you’re not alone as neither have I. Ha! You’d think that with the current state of the world, (everyone isolating at home due to the COVID-19 global pandemic) I’d …
My Dad, Marvyn Derwent Clark, was born in Freedom, Alberta on April 29, 1920, during the last big flu pandemic. It was a time, when almost a quarter of the earth’s population, was infected with a deadly influenza. The Spanish flu, as it became known, was responsible for the death’s of possibly 50 million people …
Before you were born you whispered to me, “be brave, let go, allow goodness to come.” And so I jumped and you fell from the stars into my arms. Ever since the world is a little brighter. Keep shining my beautiful Diamond Girl. ~Lee Reynolds~ I can’t sleep. A new day is dawning and I …