August 10, 2026Monday, August 10, 2026

Just a thought… There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. [Amanda Gorman]

Tomorrow would’ve been my parents’ 70^th wedding anniversary. With my dad’s passing last summer, I thought it would be an appropriate date on which to take his and Mom’s ashes to their final place of interment in Black Diamond (now combined with their hometown of Turner Valley to become “Diamond Valley”) near Calgary.

I’m grateful to have decided instead to make it next month, since our trip would have included a stop in Kelowna, where two of my sisters reside and are nervously watching the progress of huge fires all around them. Like yours, my heart is with theirs and all who are fleeing and fighting the fires that ravage our country these days. For all of the wildlife and domesticated animals trying to stay safe. For every soul. We watch and wait with them, and if you want to make a donation, here is the link.

Thanks for considering it – there are so many requests these days. The thought of people releasing their horses hopefully to stay safe in the wild is heartbreaking. I’ve seen ads on local sites in Kelowna asking for people to shelter their livestock for them. But really, there are so very many such wrenching decisions being made.

It’s an abrupt turn here, so forgive the lack of a smooth segue, to the video that I made for you this past weekend. Perhaps it will bring to mind calmer skies and smooth waters not being dipped in by the daring hero pilots of water-scooping aircraft.

Back when first I saw Pender Island, BC, accompanied by my Gracefully and Frankly partner Lisa Brandt who has an acquaintance who lives here, I fell in love at first sight with Magic Lake. You’ve seen pictures of it on my website, I’m sure. Here’s another for good measure.

A smooth manmade body of water, it is one of the sources of fresh water for residents here and we are grateful to have it.

But at the behest of my sister-in-law Sue visiting from Kingston, I took the plunge on the weekend. I’m not one for temperatures below 30C when I swim, so it was with a lot of trepidation that I got my butt into that lake. And I tell you, it was immediately so welcoming that it enveloped me in peace. In no time I was swimming underwater, eyes closed, bathed in tranquility. If I’d had a floatation device I’d had stayed in for an hour.

Lucky for you, this brief video sums it all up. Shot from afar so Rob wasn’t seen to be shooting strangers also on the dock, it’s not the highest resolution but you sure get the message. Life is short – summer is shorter – make memories while we can. And that’s what this weekend was about, made even more special when I was immersed in gratitude for the fresh air and lack of uncertainty and danger we are fortunate to be enjoying.

I wish that for all Canadians of the two- and four-legged varieties. May the coming days bring rain. I know I sure won’t dare complain. Thanks for coming by, and sharing a brief moment of pure joy.

Click here to watch the video.