Karen Toews
Scripting Vibrant Living Beyond An Empty Nest
Category: In Action
End-of-Summer, Photo-Visit Blitz
My late summer’s pilgrimage to western Canada was two-fold: first in British Columbia with my husband’s family, then visiting my kin in Alberta. We travelled by air to the furthest south-west part of British Columbia – Abbotsford – for a Toews reunion: delicious in… Continue Reading “End-of-Summer, Photo-Visit Blitz”
Photo-blog: Cape Breton pulls out the stops for Mom and Son hiking
“Hey Mom, I have a two-week window to come see you and Dad: end of June into July.” Yahoo! Our son Brad was coming to see us. I love these calls from our kids – other family too for that matter, as everybody lives… Continue Reading “Photo-blog: Cape Breton pulls out the stops for Mom and Son hiking”
Hello 70’s
June 22nd I turned my life-calendar ahead to another decade: the 70’s. Seventy feels like a ridiculously big number that makes me wonder, how on earth did this happen already? This is how. I have been busy doing life with a web of family… Continue Reading “Hello 70’s”
Treasures and the Tide
The summer of 2022 in Nova Scotia gave us exemplary, spectacular weather. September raised the bar with beautiful warm days, leaning into its East Coast pattern of saving its grandest days for the fall season. To soak in the ocean’s warmest time capsule of… Continue Reading “Treasures and the Tide”
Photo-Blog: First Visit to Newfoundland
I bought a new bike to replace my older, heavier one. That was in March: when the weather and roads were still not compatible for a test run, but I needed a carrot to shore up motivation and spirit that my hip and back… Continue Reading “Photo-Blog: First Visit to Newfoundland”
A Photo-Blog: What’s in a Flag
The Canadian national flag was inaugurated in a public ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa on February 15, 1965. Before this, our national flag was the Union Jack and the Canadian Red Ensign flew from government buildings: both emblems attached to our British heritage. In… Continue Reading “A Photo-Blog: What’s in a Flag”
Do first Solo Campout – 2021 ✓
My wish to do a solo campout had simmered long enough. This was the year I made it happen. Conditions were right: I had a beautiful destination in mind (important detail to me), I could easily explain my whereabouts to local hikers, and ‘warm… Continue Reading “Do first Solo Campout – 2021 ✓”
Sole Sisters Hike Mont Mégantic
Winter, 2021. I was on a Zoom call with my husband’s sister. She and her husband live in another country two time zones away, share life in a communal family household, and were then working from home. Not surprising that we rarely connect; my… Continue Reading “Sole Sisters Hike Mont Mégantic”
Are we having fun yet?
Twelve of us in ten boats were paddling the Atlantic shoreline near Canso, Nova Scotia. We had navigated through rocky inlets, shoals, surf, the wind’s wanton shifting in direction and velocity; we’d schlepped gear to where we could find suitable camping spots. We’d been… Continue Reading “Are we having fun yet?”
asking questions, being the real me
If I were to identify a question of the year that I’ve been asked and have asked it’s “how are you feeling today (i.e. living with Covid-19)?” Today, I feel cloistered. Strict policies like stay the blazes home put my comings and goings on… Continue Reading “asking questions, being the real me”
Karen Toews 