Hello China!

October 19, 2026 / edebock / Leave a comment

If you know me personally or you’ve been reading Following Augustine for a long time, you might recall that my husband and I lived in China for a period of time back in 2013. We lived in the city of Dalian in Liaoning Prefecture and taught English at Liaoning Normal University. It was a wonderful experience and had we not had very elderly parents and very young grandchildren back here in Canada, we probably would have stayed longer.

Over the past few months, I’ve been very happy to notice an increasing number of readers from China finding their way to my blog. If you are one of them, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here!

I have many very fond memories of our time in China. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to travel as tourists to several parts of the country during school breaks and before we returned to Canada, but it was living and experiencing everyday life that we enjoyed the most.

Simply looking out the window of our fifth storey apartment and watching the constant activity on the little street below never failed to fascinate me.

While there was a giant supermarket within easy walking distance, I loved shopping for most of our groceries at the morning street market just around the corner.

We prepared most of our meals at home, but we also loved eating out. A couple of favourite little restaurants close to home had English menus available, but going out with our students introduced us to many new and unfamiliar foods.

I could go on and on about all the things we saw and experienced, but I’ll just share a couple more memories. If you’re interested in reading more about our time in China, click on “China” under the title “Categories” in the margin to the right if you’re on a computer or below if you’re using your cell phone.

One of my fondest memories will always be the moment I came face to face and hand to paw with a giant panda at the Dalian Forest Zoo.

And I will never forget dancing with a stranger on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Zhongshan Park!

If you are reading this from China today, I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below or send me an email at debock2@gmail.com.

Seasonal changes

October 13, 2026 / edebock / 4 Comments

I love to hang onto summer for as long as I can, but after looking out my window at this for several days in a row, I knew that the time had come to do my semi annual closet switch. I decided that I would make the seasonal change as soon as we got home from spending the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with our daughter and her family.

Then this happened while we were there and that definitely confirmed my decision!

This is the time of year when I put away my spring/summer wardrobe and bring out fall/winter, but it’s also a time to cull my wardrobe and get rid of things that should no longer take up space in my closet. That could be because they’re worn out, because they no longer fit as well as they once did, or simply because I no longer enjoy wearing them. If they don’t speak my style adjectives, classy, casual, comfortable, confident, and authentic, they need to go.

This year, in addition to putting several items into a donate pile, I had another option for some of the pieces that I no longer want to keep. I put them aside to take to the new consignment shop that opened in our area this summer.

As I put each new season’s clothes into the closet, I turn all the hangers around. Then, when I wear an item, I turn its hanger back the right way. At the end of the season, if an item is still hanging backwards, it’s a clear signal that I need to consider whether or not to keep it. Unlike some, however, who advise getting rid of anything that hasn’t been worn during the current season or in the past year, I sometimes hang onto pieces that I haven’t worn for quite awhile. Over the years, I’ve occasionally enjoyed resurrecting some of those items and have even shared a few of them here on the blog.

While a seasonal closet change is essential for most of us living in a northern climate, there is one change that won’t be happening here this year. Our clocks won’t be falling back an hour in late October or early November. Despite the fact that Albertans voted in favour of continuing the twice yearly time change in a so-called binding referendum in 2021, our provincial government has made the decision to eliminate seasonal time changes and adopt year-round daylight savings time. Although I like the idea of having sunlight for an extra hour during winter afternoons, many object to the fact that darkness will last later into the mornings. Needless to say, they’re unhappy that their vote appears not to have meant anything and it definitely makes me wonder whether or not our government will adhere to the outcome of next week’s referendum on whether or not there’s enough support to move ahead on the issue of Alberta separating from Canada. But, enough about politics! I have strong feeling about the topic of separation, but I’m not ready to air them here.

Although I never like letting go of summer, there are some things that I do like about this time of year. It’s bittersweet because we know that the long, cold winter is just around the corner, but the sunny, golden days when snow doesn’t fall are glorious. As I turn my closet, I look forward to wearing cozy sweaters and boots again and this fall I’m finally able to start wearing my new leather jacket. It’s also a time to return to routines and activities that were suspended over the summer months.

Do you live where there are four distinct seasons each year? What do you like or dislike about seasonal changes?

Ottawa, our national capital

October 3, 2026October 3, 2026 / edebock / 2 Comments

I’ve always said that our small town is a good place to come home to, so I came home for exactly one week in September before heading to the airport and flying away again! This time. my destination was Ottawa where I spent the weekend attending a CNETS (Canadian Neuroendocrine Tumour Society) conference.

When the conference was over, I spent last Sunday afternoon showing my young Alberta Patient Support Group co-lead some of the sights of Ottawa before she flew back to Alberta. Our hotel was located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, so we set off on foot. As soon as we reached the corner of Wellington Street just a block or two from Parliament Hill, we noticed that the street was closed to vehicle traffic and there were police officers stationed at every corner. Curious, we asked what was happening and discovered that we had happened upon the annual Police Officers’ Memorial commemorating the five Canadian police officers and one correctional services officer who were killed in the line of duty over the past year. That explained the large contingent of police officers from various locations across the country who appeared to have been staying in the same hotel as we were.

After lingering awhile to pay our respects, we continued on our way. Centre Block, the main building on Parliament Hill which usually houses the House of Commons and the Senate, is undergoing a massive rehabilitation project that started in 2018 and is expected to last until 2031. I liked the fact that the protective enclosures wrapping much of the building while major masonry and structural work takes place is printed with the appearance of the portions that are hidden.

My companion, who had never visited Ottawa before, was visibly impressed by the massive size and the architecture of the buildings on and surrounding Parliament Hill.

Continuing our walk, we stopped nearby to view the famous flight of eight locks that lower boats from the iconic Rideau Canal down to the Ottawa River. The castle-like Fairmont Château Laurier hotel towers above.

Continuing on, we made our way to the busy ByWard Market district, roughly a four block area that buzzes with shops, eateries and bars. There, we enjoyed lunch on the patio of an Irish pub. Since she is celiac and we’re both diabetic, neither of us indulged in a BeaverTail, the famous Canadian treat made of hand-stretched, deep-fried dough shaped like a beaver’s tail.

On our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, we stopped to look at the Women Are Persons monument that usually sits on Parliament Hill, but which has been relocated for the duration of the renovations. The life-sized, interactive bronze statue depicts the five Alberta suffragists who, in the late 1920s, successfully fought to have women legally recognized as “persons” and eligible to hold public office under Canadian law. The monument depicts Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby as they might have responded when their victory was declared on October 18, 1929.

We also stopped at the National War Memorial and paid our respects at the grave of Canada’s unknown soldier.

When our mini tour of the national capital was done, rather than flying back to Alberta right away, I picked up a rental car and drove out to the town of Russell, about 40 km southeast of Ottawa, to spend a few relaxing days visiting a friend that I first met 57 years ago when we both lived in Yellowknife, NWT. Although the sun refused to shine while I was there, we enjoyed some lovely drives around the countryside to see the colourful autumn leaves.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, our small Alberta town is a good place to come home to, but we still have a couple of shorter, much closer to home trips to make. In spite of the fact that the days are getting shorter and the nights colder, we’re going to take the trailer out one more time before hubby winterizes it and then we’re going to be spending Canadian Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family. After that, maybe I’ll stay home for awhile!