45 years ago in York, England, a girl from the Canadian prairies married her handsome Yorkshireman. And there has never been a dull moment since! We´ve taken risks, travelled much of the world and had lots of laughs. We´ve lived through happy and turbulent times, collected amazing friends and have some wonderful memories. Not willing to be conventional, we even had a Dougal the Dog wedding cake. A few snaps of our wild and crazy life.
Paris. France 2018Liverpool, England 2017Spain with Dot, 2017Spain, 2017Mediterranean Cruise 2015Orihuela Costa, Spain 2014Budapest, Hungary 2012Germany, 2012Cozumel, Mexico 2010Covent Garden, England 1998
Everyone loves a beautiful bride! I know I do. I´m always excited when I stumble upon a bride while travelling. Here are a few of them.
Barcelona, Spain
Outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral, the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, I came upon a bride getting ready for a photo shoot.
Getting the gown just rightDon´t they just look adorable?
Aix-en-Provence, France
In Aix-en-Provence, we came upon a bride in the courtyard outside the town hall, waiting for a civil ceremony. One of the flower girls was having a rest.
Almost time.
Genoa, Italy
As we left a cathedral in Genoa, the bride had just arrived.
Notice how enthralled the little girls are.
I know I have more, but these are a few I was able to find in my thousands of pictures.
Have you encountered brides or weddings on your journeys?
I missed my two fur babies while I was away, but they were safe at home with hubby. Fortunately, everywhere I went, pets were available to cuddle, play with and walk. My granddaughter has a menagerie of animals at her place. Here’s a few pictures of the pets I spent time with.
Lexi and Roni at my granddaughters placeLexi, her first doggyLexi loves her pillowKisses for RoniRoni and her favourite toyThumbelina with her auntyMotorhead looking very handsomeTimothy, an elegant old man helping out in the office
She even has goats to play with.
Wiener BeanGoat love. Granddaughter with her goats.Me with Pickle and WienerLola the pug, my son’s cute family dog
I got to walk my friend’s granddogs too.
PandaWalking the labyrinth with PandaBeauCharlie
But I was very happy to come home to my two girls.
You can imagine how excited I was when my friend suggested we take a drive to Banff, about an hour and a half from Calgary. The excitement grew as we drove through the picturesque foothills and came closer and closer to the majestic Rocky Mountains of Canada.
Foothills outside Calgary with Rocky Mountains in the distanceGetting closerWow! I had forgotten how incredibly amazing these mountains are.
We parked the car and went in search of a good place to have lunch when we encountered a gathering of Stony-Nakoda First Nations people preparing for a traditional dance performance. I am always amazed at my luck when ever I happen upon these cultural events. We were treated to an incredible performance by many members of the Chief’s family. This made my day!
Adorable in a jingle dance dressPerforming the jingle dance
I was delighted to see a jingle dance performance as I mention this dance in Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone
A gorgeous traditional dress with intricate bead workAn impressive performance by the Chief’s grandsonThis splendid dance took my breath awayAnother beautiful traditional dressSome family members keeping the dance tradition alive for us to enjoy today.
The importance of family was highlighted when we were privileged to witness a baby naming ceremony for a great nephew, recently born.
A traditional baby naming ceremonyI was honoured to have a picture taken with the chief and his granddaughter in her jingle dance dress
Banff is Canada’s first national park, established in 1885. It is the most visited park with over three million visitors a year. The town of Banff has many wonderful museums, craft shops, and restaurants. We had a great lunch at Nourish Cafe. Although some say it has become too touristy, I feel Banff still retains its mountain village charm.
The town of Banff nestled in the mountainsWe had coffee at the impressive Banff Springs HotelAnd visited the original Cave and Basin hot springs where hot water filled with minerals seeps from the rocks Every where we went, we found incredible views.
And on the drive home, the mountains seen from another view.
Thanks so much Sheila for this wonderful day. A day to remember!
After two long years, I finally made it back to Alberta, Canada. As I landed in Calgary and saw the prairies unfold below me, I burst into tears. It was so good to see my family and friends again. I was given comfy beds to sleep in, yummy meals, pets to snuggle and great conversations. Four generations of women spent valuable time together at my granddaughter´s place. We celebrated mom’s life at a local park by talking about her life and how much she meant to each of us, and by sharing food, conversation and laughter. She would have liked that. Here´s just a few photos of the trip.
Mom’s sister and brother along with my brother and I celebrating mom´s lifeThree generations of amazing women, all mine!Grandkids and grand dog. Love them to bits. With number one daughterWith number one sonMy excellent chauffeur in Medicine Hat, the youngest grandson with his first car.
And I woke up to goats outside my window!!
Goats on the prairie. Wiener, Pickle and BeanWith my grand goats
I did a book signing event at a wonderful bookstore in Medicine Hat, called Unlimited Characters.
A book signing at Unlimited Characters in Medicine Hat, Alberta. A great turn out.It was so great to see the prairies
A good friend took me to Banff for a day trip. What a treat. I had forgotten how amazing those Rocky Mountains are. I will do another post just about Banff soon.
The road to BanffWith a good friend at Bow Falls, she treated me to a fabulous day in Banff. Those Rocky Mountains make a great backdrop.
And I got to see cousins I hadn´t seen for a long time.
Cousins are the best!A dear cousin in her lovely back yard. She gave me a place to sleep and drove me around Calgary. And I found the most amazing outhouse! I need to put this in a story somewhere.
It was time well spent and I have all these wonderful memories to keep me going.
I finally got away for a few days! I was fortunate to visit the Isle of Arran, in Scotland. The island is a magical place with lovely beaches, manor houses, castles, old churches, standing stones, charming coffee shops, art galleries and lots of sheep. There is a story around every corner. I went to meet writer friends, do some writing and chill. I did all of that and more. I expected rain and got sunshine. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of how wonderful Arran Island is.
The fabulous view every morningThe two hundred year old manor house I stayed in.With many perfect places to writeEarly morning beach walkCastle Lochranza. Note the heather on the hills. So many sheep. I love them!So cuddly. I just wanted to hug them. Old farm house on the moorMachrie stone circle, the site of an ancient burialYou can’t be in Scotland and not search out some standing stones. I was astounded when I came across these ancient standing stonesYou know I had to touch them. Alas, I did not find myself in another century being rescued by a dashing Scot in a kilt.Holy Isle in the background. An ancient spiritual heritage as far back as the 6th century. It is now a Buddist retreat.There was cake, lots of cake!And a very special dog. ❤
It was a wonderful getaway, just what I needed. I returned home inspired.
Now I’m getting ready to go back to Canada, to see my family after two long years.
Note: Most of the pictures are mine but a couple may or may not have been taken by a writer friend who knows I like sheep.
“When I got [my] library card, that was when my life began.” ― Rita Mae Brown
Do you recall the first time you stepped into a library? I do. I felt like I had entered Nirvana. All those books, and I could borrow them for free! I would pick out a stack of books to take home to the farm, read them and the next time we came to town, return them and bring home another stack. I must have borrowed most of the books in the children´s section of the old Medicine Hat Library.
The Old Medicine Hat Library
A new modern Medicine Hat Public Library was built in 1964 which was very exciting. This is the library I took my children to. My grandchildren and great grandchildren now visit this wonderful place. I still get that happy-all-over feeling whenever I enter. I had the pleasure of doing a presentation and book reading there. I felt I had gone full circle.
The current Medicine Hat LibraryDream come true, doing a presentation at my home library.
I was lucky that my love of libraries started early in life. I have since frequented many over the years. Everywhere I have lived, the library is one of the first places I visit. Here are a few that are dear to my heart.
The Vancouver Public library
The Vancouver Public Library, located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, is my all time favourite. This building, designed after the coliseum in Rome, opened in 1995, not long after we moved to the Vancouver area. It is often found on best libraries to visit lists. Every time I walk into this library, I am filled with awe. I always felt it was a place of refuge in a busy metropolis. I was invited to present workshops for the summer book camp at VPL four years ago. A great opportunity I will never forget.
The main branch of the Vancouver Public Library
Calgary also has wonderful libraries and I have spent time in many of them. The newest Central Library opened in 2018 and it is state of the art. The new library was recognized as one of “The Worlds 100 Greatest Places of 2019” by TIME magazine. I was delighted to find copies of my Amanda Travels series on the shelves.
The newest downtown branch of The Calgary Public Library.Family friendly and interactiveWith a North American Bison created out of letters of the alphabetThe most exciting thing for an author is to see her books on display at a library
I try to visit libraries when I travel. They are the heart and soul of the city. When I visited Liverpool, I stopped in at the central library and was very impressed. The reading room was straight out of Harry Potter. In fact two children came running out of the room wearing Hogwarts robes!
A list of popular books on the path to the entrance of the Liverpool Public LibraryI could live in this reading room.
The library has a fabulous collection of vintage books including a 1611 copy of the King James Bible.
And a handwritten draft of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.– Albert Einstein
I´d love to learn about your experience with libraries and about your favourite one.
Today is the last official day of the blog tour and I wish to thank everyone for your amazing support. I hope you have all found new and interesting blogs to follow and made new friends and followers. Thank you to everyone who offered to be part of the tour and a huge thanks to all of you who read, liked, commented and shared the posts. You are all amazing. Today I am being featured on Lisa Day’s blog, Book Time, where she asks me some great questions. Say hi to Lisa, a fellow Canadian who loves words – editing, writing and reading them. She reviews many great books!
I am the last stop of the Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady blog tour.
Sadly, my copy of Amanda in Malta hasn’t yet arrived, however, I have been following along with the other 11 bloggers on this blog tour so I got a sense of both Amanda, the main character, and the questions I wanted to ask its creator – Canadian author Darlene Foster.
Foster said growing up on a ranch in Alberta inspired her love of reading and seeing the world. Now retired, she has house in Spain where she spends time with her husband and rescue dogs, Dot and Lia, while writing full time. She also travels, meeting interesting people and getting inspirations for her series about Amanda, a 12-year-old girl who travels the world, learning about the people and culture while solving a mystery. Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady is the eighth book in…
The love keeps pouring in for Amanda in Malta. Here is a fabulous review by Patricia Tilton from Children´s Books Heal. Patricia writes well thought out reviews of children´s books and I am so pleased she enjoyed this adventure. I often make book buying decisions for the youngsters in my life by reading her blog. Please check it out.
Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady (The Amanda Travels Series 8)
Darlene Foster, Author
Central Avenue Publishing, May 11, 2011
Suitable for ages: 8-12
Themes: Malta, Travel, Adventure, Mystery, Theft, Friendship
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Amanda receives a postcard from her best friend, Leah, and is surprised to learn that she is in Malta with her Aunt Jenny. Reading between the lines, she senses Leah is in trouble. Desperate to help her, Amanda strikes the lottery when she’s invited to travel to Malta with her classmate Caleb Sorenson and his parents.
Amanda is intrigued by this exotic island in the middle of the Mediterranean, full of colourful history, sun-drenched limestone fortresses, stunning beaches and fascinating birds. But…who is killing the protected birds? Who stole a priceless artifact from the museum? And why is Leah acting so strange? She couldn’t possibly be involved in these illegal activities, or could she?
Today the blog tour takes us to Meggie’s Adventures,travel, thank you notes and other stories from Meg King-Sloan. Meg blogs about things she loves. When Meg was younger she had lots of interesting adventures. These included collecting postcards and other souvenirs, watching butterflies, and going to the beach with her family. Some things never change though – she still loves candy (especially chocolate), ice cream and flowers! Sounds like Meg was a bit like Amanda when she was young.
Amanda in Malta by Darlene Foster – Virtual Tour
Darlene Foster is introducing her new book with a virtual blog tour! This is the latest exciting adventure from her Amanda Travels series. If you’d like to see what other bloggers involved in the tour have written you can check out this post from Darlene’s blog.
Darleneexplains the purpose of including food in her stories:
Traditional food is important to every culture. I like to have Amanda try the local food when she travels. Children need to know that people eat different food in other parts of the world and they should at least try it. It bothers me when travellers insist on eating food only familiar to them. Amanda likes to cook and try out recipes so she collects ideas as she travels and makes them for her parents. Read more and an excerpt here
Darlene Foster's Blog 