Book of the month – June 2026

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The Correspondent

Virginia Evans

When I requested this debut novel through the interlibrary loan system, I was something like 85th on the waiting list! Obviously, like me, many others had read the positive reviews and were eager to get their hands on it. While I waited and my name slowly climbed up the list, I wondered if I would actually enjoy it. Could an epistolary novel, one written entirely in letters and emails, truly tell an engaging story or would it be a disappointment?

The day finally came when the the library called to tell me that the book was in and once I started reading it, I had a very hard time putting it down! The more I read, the more I loved it! In fact, I read most of it in one day. As my usual bedtime approached, it was easy to tell myself that I’d read just one more letter. Of course, one letter became two and two became three. After several more letters, wisdom finally prevailed. I reluctantly put the book down and went to bed, but I eagerly picked it up and finished it the next morning.

Sybil Van Antwerp is a mother, a grandmother, a divorcee, and a retired lawyer who lives alone. When the book opens, she, like me, is in her early seventies. She has always been an avid letter writer, feeling that she can express herself better through the written word than orally. She regularly writes to her brother, Felix, her best friend, Rosalie, and her daughter, Fiona, but she also writes to her neighbour, her eye doctor, a customer service representative, and the dean of a university faculty who won’t let her audit a class she desperately wants to take. She even writes to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books. Through the letters that she writes and the responses that she receives, we learn a great deal about her life both past and present. We learn about her losses, her regrets, her fears, and the struggles that come with aging, but we also see kindness and generosity. In other words, Sybil comes across as a real, imperfect person just like the rest of us.

This is definitely a book that was worth waiting for!

Camping with caterpillars

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Hubby and I spent the past four days camping at Cross Lake Provincial Park about three and a half hours northwest of here. Amazingly, in spite of the fact that Alberta has been experiencing near-historic rainfall over the past month, we enjoyed four days of beautiful sunshine and it wasn’t until we were tucked into bed in the trailer last night that the rain began to fall again.

In addition to all the rain, Alberta has also been experiencing a massive infestation of tent caterpillars, a natural phenomenon that peaks every 10 to 12 years. Located in the boreal forest that encompasses almost the entire northern half of the province, the campground was overrun with these hairy little critters.

Although we love to spend most of our time outdoors when we’re camping, we ate our first supper in the trailer to avoid the caterpillars and when we were outside that evening, we literally had to tuck our pants into our socks to keep them from crawling up the inside of our pant legs!

One place where there were no caterpillars was out on the water. The main Cross Lake Provincial Park campground offers 130 lovely powered sites, but across a wide bay and accessible only by foot or by boat, is rustic George’s Point campground with seven tent only sites. For the first of our two kayaking excursions, we packed a lunch and paddled over to George’s Point for a picnic. We were the only ones there and this is the view that we enjoyed.

While kayaking, we saw families of ducks and loons as well as gulls and other water birds, but we were especially delighted to spot a bald eagle. There’s no way to keep a kayak perfectly still on the water, so taking good photos, especially those that require zooming in, is extremely challenging. Needless to say, I’m pretty happy with this one…

When we got back to our campsite later that day, it was lierally like walking into a horror movie! Every surface was crawling with caterpillars… thousands and thousands of caterpillars! Thankfully, we’d heard from another camper that there weren’t many of them on the far side of the campground where there were more evergreen trees and less of the deciduous ones that the caterpillars feed on. The campground was far from full, so we asked and were given permission to move. It was a lot of extra work, especially for hubby, but it was definitely worth it. Although there were still a few creepy crawlies, we were able to enjoy the remainder of our stay.

We weren’t able to do as much hiking as we might have as many of the trails looked like this…

Thankfully though, although we had to carefully skirt around a couple of huge puddles, the trail from the campground to French Creek, which flows out of the lake, was passable and we even found the only geocache located in the park while we were on that hike.

Now we’re home and it’s raining again, but at least there are no caterpillars here!

HOOFING IT again!

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Once again, HOOFING IT, the annual CNETS (Canadian Neuroendocrine Tumour Society) fundraiser for NET cancer research, is up and running. Between June 1st and September 30th, 2026, the Canadian neuroendocrine cancer community will be working together to raise $60,000 to fund research grants! I wasn’t actually planning on participating this year as I really hate asking the same people for money again and again, but then I read about the recipients of last year’s grants and I was reminded just how important this campaign is. Without the research that led to the various treatments that I’ve received over the past 13 years since I was diagnosed with NETs, I probably wouldn’t be here today!

Once the shock of being diagnosed with a little known and poorly understood cancer, for which there is no cure, wore off, it became important to me to do what I could to raise awareness of the disease and to advocate for more research and greater access to improved diagnostics and treatment. I also believe that no one should have to fight cancer alone. That’s why I co-lead the Alberta NET patient support group and why I’m once again HOOFING IT to help raise funds for NET cancer research! 

 

In addition to raising money to fund much-needed research, the HOOFING IT campaign also encourages participants to be physically active. There is a component to the program that allows us to track a wide range of activities and to earn points for them. Some patients aren’t well enough to engage in physical activity though, so that part of HOOFING IT is entirely optional. Personally, I’m not concerned with tracking my activity or earning points. My goal is to walk or hike at least 5 days a week until the end of September and to raise a minimum of $1300, $100 for each year that I’ve been fighting this cancer.

That’s where you come in! If you’re able, I’m hoping that I can persuade you to visit my fundraising page and make a donation. Charitable donation receipts will be issued for all donations of $20 or more, but no amount is too small! Every cent that is received will be directed to neuroendocrine cancer research. We need to know what causes this disease. We need better diagnostics, more effective treatments, and ultimately, we need to find a cure!

Brave or resilient?

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As a cancer patient, I’ve often been told that I’m brave. I know that people mean well, but that descriptor has never sat very well with me. To me, brave is the firefighter who enters a burning building to save lives or the person who jumps into deep water to rescue someone in danger of drowning. Bravery is defined as the mental strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty. It’s often impulsive or heroic. That doesn’t describe me or my thirteen year journey with neuroendocrine cancer.

Recently, a person whose opinion I value highly told me, “You’re so resilient!” and that word rang true to me. Resilience is a long-term process best described as the ability to endure, adapt, and survive adversity and recover from difficult experiences.

Those who know me well know that I’m a self-professed word nerd. Words matter to me. For more than a decade, the word stable, as in “no evidence of new or progressive disease” which was the final line on my latest CT scan report, has been a favourite word of mine. Now resilient has become another favourite!

So, how does a person build resilience? Becoming resilient is a lifelong process, not a one-time event. Life is rarely easy for anyone. Most of us experience a variety of difficult and upsetting events and circumstances over our lifetimes and I’m certainly no exception. Long before I was diagnosed with cancer, I endured a series of other tragedies and traumas, including the loss of a preschool daughter to leukemia. In each case, I chose to keep putting one foot in front of the other and living life to the fullest extent possible. That wasn’t easy, it wasn’t brave, and I couldn’t have done it alone, but it did help prepare me for life with an incurable cancer. I learned to accept circumstances that I couldn’t change and I also learned to depend on the God who loves me and who promised to take care of me.

In 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, the apostle Paul, who suffered many hardships, wrote “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” That’s resilience!

What is self-care?

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This is a post that’s been rattling around in my head since I spoke at the ladies retreat at our church in April. I mentioned self-care in my afternoon talk that day, but I wanted to develop the idea more fully here.

First of all, I want to be very clear about what self-care isn’t. Self-care is not selfish! In fact, it’s essential. It helps us stay strong and healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally so that we’re able to handle the stresses of daily life and be there for others.

Self-care needs to be intentional. It’s much more than just a bubble bath or even a one-time spa escape, although those are wonderful ways to relax! Self-care involves making lifestyle choices that nurture body, mind, and spirit. It includes getting enough sleep, eating a nourishing diet, getting regular exercise, and seeking medical care when it’s needed. Self-care isn’t always glamorous or fun, but going to the dentist, starting a new exercise program, or choosing a reasonable bedtime are all ways of investing in your overall well-being.  

There’s much more to self-care than just taking care of our physical bodies though. As holistic beings self-care needs to address every aspect of our well-being. We need to make choices that also help us live well mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to self-care, but there are some common factors. We’re fundamentally wired to be social beings. Close connections with other people are essential to our well-being. We need to make time to connect with family and friends, but most of us, especially those of us who are introverts, also need alone time. Like many things in life, it’s about finding the correct balance; balance that works for you and is good for your well-being.

Emotional self-care means taking care of your feelings; your inner wellness. It means means recognizing, understanding, and managing (not suppressing) your emotions. It includes actively challenging negative self-talk as well as knowing your limits and setting appropriate boundaries. It also involves taking time to relax. That might mean escaping into a good book, watching a favourite show, engaging in an enjoyable hobby, or spending time in nature. Pursuing fulfilling and meaningful activities that give your life meaning and purpose are also essential to emotional wellness.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention soul-care. Although there’s overlap between how we take care of our emotional and spiritual selves, soul-care also involves specific faith or tradition based practices that nurture our relationship with our Creator and allow Him to fill us. This might include scripture reading, prayer, meditation, or journalling as well as being part of a community that provides encouragement and accountability.

As strange as it might sound, one of the most spiritual things that we can do for ourselves is rest. That’s why God introduced the idea of Sabbath. There’s a big difference between being “tired” and being “depleted.” If we’re simply tired, a nap can solve the problem, but when we’re “depleted,” we need something more. So, if you find yourself feeling overworked, overwhelmed and over stressed this is your invitation to slow down and focus on how you might better engage in self-care. Quality self-care has been shown to improve mental health, enhance self-esteem and self-worth, increase optimism, and lessen symptoms of anxiety and depression. It can also help build resilience so you’re better equipped to handle life’s many stressors and challenges. 

Exploring Saskatoon in style

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Today I have a little bit of Fashion Friday and a little bit of travel for you all in one short post! Hubby and I spent three days this week representing our church at a denominational conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. While most of our time was spent in meetings, we had some free time to do a bit of exploring on Wednesday afternoon. We decided to spend it walking a small portion of the Meewasin Trail, a scenic multi-use pathway that stretches over 105 km in and around the city, mainly along the South Saskatchewan River.

A big question for me was what to wear when I would be spending a significant amount of time in an air-conditioned venue, but also a couple of hours walking outdoors in 32ºC (90ºF) heat!! Here’s what I chose.

The white jeans were a thrift store purchase several summers ago and have appeared on the blog before, but the open-weave crocheted top, worn here over a white cami, is a recent acquisition purchased at a new consignment shop in our area. The sunglasses in my left hand and the hat were very important accessories on such a hot, sunny day and I also wore my Ecco Yucatan walking sandals that provided much needed support as we ended up walking 7 km (4.3 miles) on paved pathways.

We accessed the trail and started our walk across the street from the historic Knox United Church. Built between 1912 and 1914, it is a designated municipal heritage building.

Another historic building along our route was the iconic Bessborough Hotel, Saskatoon’s castle on the river, which is presently closed for major interior renovations.

A little further along, we passed some much more modern architecture.

The beautiful Zhongshan Ting pagoda in Victoria Park was donated to the city in 2015 to commemorate the first Chinese immigrants and their contributions to early Saskatoon.

Fragrant blossoms and the presence of many pairs of Canada Geese were signs of the season. This fellow kept a close eye on us as while his partner grazed and we were careful not to annoy him. While these large birds become very comfortable in urban areas, they can also be highly aggressive, especially during their spring breeding and nesting seasons.

For the last bit of our walk back to the vehicle, we left the riverside and walked along Spadina Crescent. There, we came across one of the most recognized and photographed landmarks in the area, the Tribute to Youth statue. The life-sized bronze sculpture featuring five children with interlocked limbs forms a sphere and captures a sense of childlike play and energy. They definitely appeared to have more energy than I did at the end of our 7 km walk!

Dressing intentionally for medical appointments

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It’s been quite awhile since I last published a fashion post or said anything about my health on here, so I today I thought I’d tell you how I dressed intentionally for two medical appointments earlier this week. I did, of course, want to look well put together for a trip to the city, but there were many other factors to consider as I reached into my closet that morning.

The first appointment was for an ultrasound on my left ankle to take a look at a growth that I noticed recently. It’s likely another schwannoma (benign nerve sheath tumour) like the one behind my left knee, but we need to know for sure that it isn’t something more worrisome. Since spring is finally here and the forecast called for a warm day, it made sense to wear sandals and pants that easily exposed my ankle for the test. Also, capri pants are back in style for 2026 which makes me very happy!

When we arrived at the Cross Cancer Institute for my second appointment, a routine CT scan to check on my neuroendocrine cancer, I had hubby snap a few quick photos for this post.

When I dress for these CT scans, there are many things that I take into consideration. First, there can be absolutely no metal on anything that I wear into the scanner. I have very few pairs of pants that don’t have metal on them somewhere… zippers, buttons, snaps, or grommets. I usually have to change into a pair of baggy hospital pj pants for my scans, but this particular pair of stretchy capris are completely metal-free. They were a win for both appointments!

The animal print t-shirt ticked several important boxes. Like the pants, it has no metal bits or pieces. I do wear an underwire bra though, so that has to come off. I could don a hospital gown, but I much prefer to wear my own top. In order to do that, I want it to be loose enough and made of dense enough fabric that the unfettered girls aren’t too obvious when I’m sitting in the waiting room. Also, I have to have an IV placed in the crook of my arm to deliver the contrast dye during my scan, so a cap-sleeved top like this one works well for that. This time, I also wanted to wear a top with a high neckline to cover two fairly large moles on my collarbone area that were burned with liquid nitrogen a week earlier as they were still looking pretty nasty.

The jean jacket was simply a topper to complete the outfit. It came off for the scan, of course.

Although I like my outfits to meet all five of my style adjectives… classy, casual, comfortable, confident, and authentic… the primary thought behind this one was practicality. It warmed my heart, however, when the receptionist at the first clinic told me that I looked elegant! Her compliment reminded me how easy it is to make a positive difference in someone’s day. She went on to comment specifically on my blue and silver earrings and brooch. If you look closely, you can see part of one of the earrings in this photo.

With the exception of my sandals, and earrings (and of course, my undergarments), this outfit was entirely thrifted. The brooch, which elevates the jean jacket from ordinary to eye-catching, cost me a whopping 25¢ several years ago!

The Devil Loves Prada 2

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Since we don’t live close to our grown children and their families and weren’t going to be seeing any of them yesterday, hubby suggested earlier in the week that we should go out for dinner and a movie on Mother’s Day. I chose The Devil Wears Prada 2. Considering the fact that it’s been 20 years since the original movie was released and close to that long since we had seen it, we decided to watch it on Disney+ on Friday evening to refresh our memories. I’m glad we did. While the sequel, with its return of the original cast, could be enjoyed as a stand alone, it definitely features character callbacks and references to the original.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as sequels are often disappointing, but in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The script writers did an admirable job of handling the 20-year time span and I loved seeing 76-year-old Meryl Streep still rocking the big screen. The movie also showed very clearly the major changes that have taken place in the world of journalism and the magazine industry over the past two decades.

Of course, how could I not enjoy a movie about fashion and writing? The often flamboyant outfits were a sight to behold, but one piece especially captured my attention. I absolutely loved Miranda Priestly’s (Meryl Streep) cropped and tasseled Dries Van Noten jacket!

It’s interesting to note that the jacket almost didn’t make it into the movie. Apparently, it sparked quite a controversy with some in the studio wanting to axe it, but Meryl Streep herself convinced them that it was an important addition that fit the scene very well. It has rightfully become a fan favourite and I foresee similarly embellished jackets becoming a trend!

I also enjoyed the portions of the movie that were filmed on location in Milan, Italy as they brought back wonderful memories of our very brief time there in 2019. Glimpses of the magnificent Duomo reminded me of our astounding time on its very ornate rooftop and watching Meryl Streep walk the length of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a very high end shopping mall that we also walked, was definitely a fun moment. You can read about our afternoon in Milan and see more photos here.

At one point in the movie, Stanley Tucci’s character, Nigel makes the rather disparaging comment, “Look what TJ Maxx dragged in.” For those of you, especially amongst my Canadian readers, who aren’t familiar with TJ Maxx, it is similar to our Winners and is, in fact, owned by the same parent company. Obviously, the off-price retailer wasn’t impressed with the snarky line in the movie, but rather than respond in a negative way, they saw it as a “can’t miss” opportunity. Flipping the script, they hired Tucci and came out with this absolutely brilliant ad.

So, if you’re wondering if The Devil Wears Prada 2 is worth seeing, I say yes!

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

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Hubby and I reached a new milestone on Friday. For the first time ever, we became the grandparents of an adult when our grandson, Drew, celebrated his 18th birthday! I have no idea how the time went so fast, but this sweet babe is now a fine young man!

Drew and his siblings are Métis. He, in particular, has taken a keen interest in their Indigenous heritage, so yesterday we took them to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a remarkable site that teaches about the Plains native culture.

Located about two hours south of Calgary, Alberta, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is the most outstanding and best preserved example of a unique communal hunting technique employed by the Plains people for thousands of years. At sites like this one across the North American Plains, Indigenous tribes used natural barriers such as coulees, depressions and hills to funnel bison herds into prepared drive lanes ending at a precipice over which the bison were stampeded to their deaths. The carcasses were then butchered in camps set up below the cliffs to provide food and materials for clothing, tools and dwellings.

The seven-levelled Interpretive Centre at Head-Smashed-In was built into the hillside just south of the jump site in such a way that the fragile archaeological deposits were left undisturbed. As recommended, we started our tour at the top where we walked the 200 metre upper trail to the viewpoint overlooking the precipice.

Working our way down through the seven levels of exhibits, we stopped at the theatre on the third level to view an excellent 15 minute film re-enactment of a buffalo jump.

We had planned on walking the 1.2 km interpretive trail below the cliff after finishing inside, but a storm had blown in and it was raining, so we missed that part of the experience. It was still an excellent day and well worth the trip.

Book of the month – April 2026

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Moon Road

Sarah Leipciger

Divorced for more than two decades, Yannick and Kathleen have not seen or spoken to one another for nineteen years when they receive the news that human remains have been unearthed on Vancouver Island. Could this be their daughter, Una, who disappeared without a trace over twenty years earlier? This unimaginable shared loss brings them together for a cross-Canada trip from Ontario all the way to the Pacific Coast.

As they bicker their way across more than two thousand miles of Canadian Shield, prairie, mountain, and forest in Yannick’s old pick-up truck, a history of love, loss, headstrong children, and hopeless searching reveals itself.

It was the cross-Canada trek, a route that I have traveled several times myself, that first drew me to this book, but it was superb character development  that kept me turning the pages. Kathleen is strong, single-minded, and independent. After all the years that have passed, she still keeps a running count of the number of days that Una has been missing, maintains a Find Una Facebook page, and hosts an annual party to keep the memory of her disappearance alive. Yannick, divorced several times, is a bit of a lost soul, restless, unsettled, and feeling his age in creaky bones and aching joints.

I’ve seen valid comparisons made between Moon Road and Elizabeth Strout’s novels, but truth be told, I enjoyed this one more. It’s a thoughtful and moving story that I found difficult to put down.

Moon Road was the first of Sarah Leipciger’s novels that I’ve read, but I’ll definitely be looking for her two earlier ones, The Mountain Can Wait and Coming Up for Air.