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April in the World

Galiano Here I Come

I’m just recovering from a bout with Covid, having managed to evade it for over 3 years. I contracted it on Mother’s Day when my stepmom, Gail, started feeling rocky toward the end of brunch. She went home, tested herself, and found out she was positive. Three of the six of us other than Gail at the brunch were infected. I had a difficult several days and then rallied quickly, even without Paxlovid, but am left with no sense of smell and a reduced sense… Read More »Galiano Here I Come

Gorgeous Grizzlies and their Humans

I’m writing from a floating lodge in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary in Northern British Columbia, quite close to the Alaskan border. We arrived yesterday via float plane from Prince Rupert to a lodge run by a small staff of mostly locals that can host 10 guests at a time for 3 day/3 night stays in this remote wilderness.  When we left Vancouver on the flight to Prince Rupert, I could see out my window that the waterways around the airport and as we headed… Read More »Gorgeous Grizzlies and their Humans

About April

I split my time between Berkeley, California, where I was born at Alta Bates hospital, and Galiano Island, British Columbia, where my husband, John, and I have a house. I love to travel and have also lived many other places. I have two grown children, my daughter, Kelsey, who is a surgical resident in Portland, OR, and my son, Fraser, who is a data engineering manager in San Francisco. Kelsey is married to Garet and Fraser is partnered to and lives with Jae. All of… Read More »About April

Berkeley Bound

Tomorrow, I will be flying back to SFO from Kelowna via Vancouver.  I feel slightly terrible to be getting on a plane the day before Thanksgiving as virus cases escalate everywhere but I had always planned to come home at this time so I figure if I don’t come back now, it’s not clear when I will be able to.  I’m packing my own lunch to eat in the Vancouver airport and will be masked, wiping surfaces, and spraying my hands regularly along the way. … Read More »Berkeley Bound

Whistling from Whistler

After the election, I received at least one thank you for having helped Biden squeak out a win by our not staying in Vancouver that night and risking a repeat of 2016.  John and I were happy to make the sacrifice of heading to Whistler and are gratified that it worked.  We had a nice couple of days despite some rain on day two and three.  The Nita Lake lodge, where we’ve stayed once before, is a gorgeous retreat at any time of year.  It’s… Read More »Whistling from Whistler

Holding Our Breath

A heartfelt thanks to those few of you who have commented on my blog, either by putting a comment on the blog itself or by sending me an email after reading it.  Sometimes it feels as though I am blogging into the void as I’m only aware that one or two people are out there.  Any acknowledgement I receive is so appreciated.  My most regular commenter is Susie Haddon so THANK YOU Susie!  But also, to anyone else who has let me know that they’ve… Read More »Holding Our Breath

Very Vancouver!

Ahh, life on the 28th floor in the West End of Vancouver is a big change from being in Vernon or wine tasting in the Southern Okanagan.  It’s urban living and we’ve been here a week now and are loving it.   On our first full day, we took a walk and a water taxi to Granville Island and then back to have a drink at the bar at the Sylvia Hotel.  It was a gorgeous evening and we had an amazing view of English Bay.… Read More »Very Vancouver!

Waking up, falling down, and tasting wine

My Intro to Wake Up workshop ended a couple of Tuesdays ago.  However, I’m not sure I can now consider myself “woke” in that it is an ongoing project to become a better, more aware person around the subject of racism and bias in our world.  But at least it’s a start.  The last three sessions were on the topics of reparations, intersectionality, and ally-ship.  I found the topic of reparations particularly powerful and, from the readings, became convinced that finding ways to provide economic… Read More »Waking up, falling down, and tasting wine

Chillin’ in Vernon while Dealing with Dread

Autumn is here and right on cue, the weather has turned cloudy with sprinkles here in Vernon.  Luckily, the smoke cleared so we can breathe freely once again, literally if not figuratively. We arrived back at John’s house just over a week ago and it’s been a tough time in the news cycle.  First, I read the hair-raising New York Times/Pro Publica articles on climate migration, the first a prediction on migration throughout the world and the second including even more detailed modeling on people… Read More »Chillin’ in Vernon while Dealing with Dread

Orcas and Otters and Water Tanks, Oh My!

I’d been starting to feel some survivor guilt being up here in the beautiful, clean air while my friends and family suffer through terrible air quality in the Bay Area.  But that changed as we woke up Saturday morning to find that the smoke from Oregon and Washington had arrived at Vancouver Island during the night and the clear air had turned hazy.  We left Hornby Island a day early and are now back in Vernon where the air is equally dismal with smoke from… Read More »Orcas and Otters and Water Tanks, Oh My!