Category: Uncategorized

Happy birthday, Dylan Thomas!

This Friday, October 27, would have been Dylan Thomas’ 109th birthday, and although the Welsh poet lived barely 39 of those years, his words and spirit changed my life. I was not even born when he died in New York in November 1953 under mysterious circumstances. He’s still with me, such as in the Spring when the trees and flowers come to life, and these words emerge:

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.

… Continue reading

Swimming With Otters

Evening swims off our little beach on South Pender are among my greatest joys.

Summer and early Fall evenings are sweet for solitary swims. The water’s placid, and the air is still. Swallows dip and dive, and a few seagulls call in the distance. The sky, with its soft colours, reflects off the water’s surface. The golden hour.… Continue reading

Abundance: Pender’s Season of Apples

It’s hard to overstate my reverence for The Apple!

A perfect globe, a happy fruit that sits perfectly in hand. Its gentle heft, its smooth skin, even with imperfections, is beauty in itself. It’s a joy to behold, coloured brightly with reds, greens, yellows and a multitude of hues in between. Bring it to your nose and breathe in its fragrance.… Continue reading

Positively Fourth Avenue

Vancouver’s Fourth Avenue used to be a rag-tag collection of funky used clothing shops, esoteric bookstores, leather sandal makers and vegetarian restaurants. Higgledy-piggledy. There was a smattering of old residential homes in poor condition, built in a bygone era. In the late 1960s, when I first saw the neighbourhood, it was a hippy haven. I was barely 11 years old and wide-eyed.… Continue reading

Harumph! Author Says Leave Baking to the Professionals?

Many modern bread books are formulaic: they take a unique angle — such as current trends in the bread world, an author’s professional experience or a historical perspective — then present a tantalizing selection of bread recipes aimed at the home baker.

Safe, entertaining, and informative.

Maybe it’s time for a shake-up in the bread world.… Continue reading