Erin's Journals

Just a thought… You spend your entire life in your bed or in your shoes. So they’d both better be comfortable. [Author Unknown…but hear, hear, whoever she was!]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

Thanks for coming by! I hope you had a great weekend, and our thoughts, of course, were with those marking Orthodox Easter yesterday, especially those in and displaced from war-torn Ukraine. Our hearts are with them.

To MUCH less important things…. It was a gentle and fulfilling weekend here and I’ll tell you more about it on Thursday – gotta pace myself – but it occurs to me that there was a bit of a cliff hanger (were you dangling by a shoelace?) after last Thursday’s journal. Right after gentle facials at the hotel spa, I limped to Winners and grabbed a $40 pair of Nauticas. They’re so bright that the added bonus was if the ferry went down later that day, they’d be sure to spot me from my shoes. Nice thought.

Also some curious folks on Facebook asked how the ferry travel works, and I thought, well, why not do a deeper dive (so to speak) and fill you in a bit on island life?

It took some adjustment for two people who were living in a city, literally on a subway line (our last condo was on Bloor in Toronto), to settle in a place where you really have to map out where you’re going and give yourself a lot of extra time. For example, the Malahat Highway is the main way for us to get up and down Vancouver island; summer construction, a snowstorm or a rollover can cause hours of delay with nothing to do but sit.

Here’s how our crossing to the mainland worked, though: to go to Vancouver for a 4 pm get-together, Susan and I got to the ferry at around 11:40 am. We purchased our “foot passenger” tickets from a dispenser, then traversed a very comfortable walkway to board the ferry. We had several choices for the 90-minute sail to Vancouver: you can sit in train-style seats that are placed in well-spaced rows, or go to the restaurant and grab some lunch (which we did). There are quiet spaces and a children’s arcade (neither of which was open at the time we rode), and a beautifully-stocked store, which is where I bought not one but two rain-proof coats during an earlier crossing. Great stuff.

When you disembark in Vancouver, you go straight to your ride, or in our case, a machine in the terminal that dispenses tickets. We bought a three-zone one to get us downtown, boarded a bus and then got off after the second stop to catch the train which can go downtown or to the airport. It was all pretty seamless and cost about $35 from home to our hotel. Not bad at all, considering Air Canada wants $299 one way, although you can take a float plane from Victoria to Vancouver Harbour for just about $170 with one bag included. So you see, it takes longer, but is super economical and when you’ve got a friend with you, the time simply flies.

It’s a great plan if you’re mobile, don’t have a lot of luggage and have a bit of flexibility. Oh, and Rob, being so much older than I, actually gets to travel for free on Tuesdays through Thursdays. How do you beat that?

Living on an island has other challenges: everything is more expensive because it has to get here by air or ferry, so there’s that. The housing is astronomical, as it is everywhere, but even more so here in paradise. Even further up island, prices have increased by percentages in the near triple digits.

The only real hardship (for us anyway) is when we take a trip, as we are in one month: finally getting to host that riverboat cruise along the Rhine with AMA Waterways! We get all the way back from Switzerland and then have to sit for four hours (I’d say “interminable” but it’s actually in a terminal so does that cancel the word out?) to wait for a 10-minute flight home to Victoria. We can almost see our house from there. But no…we have to wait. And with cancellations and changes being the only constant over the past several months, we’ll be lucky if THAT flight even goes.

I’m not complaining – it is what it is. I will be whining out of exhaustion once we get through customs in Vancouver, as we will only want to climb into our bed.

But considering how long we’ve been waiting, I guess four hours more won’t kill us. And yes, we’ll be masking every step of the trip.

Have a gentle week – I’ll be back with you Thursday and don’t forget that tomorrow, Tuesday, is Snooze Day – we drop another fairy tale for you on Drift: one I call Defying Gravity. Talk with you then!

Just a thought… Did it ever occur to you that you have fingertips, but not toe tips? And yet…you tiptoe, but you can’t tipfinger. Hmmm…. [Author Unknown]

Hello from another destination that is not my studio – and I hope if you haven’t watched these video journals yet, you’ll take the time to click and watch today – it’s actually from a Vancouver hotel room. You can watch it on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

My friend Susan Knight (former boss when we were both at Ocean 98.5 in Victoria) and I came over for a get-together with our new voice talent agency – new to us, that is – TaDa Voiceworks. OF COURSE we had adventures: getting successfully to our hotel after a ferry/bus/train ride, only to get stood up by an Uber driver, then calling Lyft and going to the wrong of two Tap & Barrel restaurants! Luckily we spotted the error (ours) and had our driver take us to the correct one.

Anyway, the video is shot yesterday morning prior to a nice spa facial, lunch with a dear friend and then a ferry ride home.

But in between all of those gentle adventures came the realization that an old saw I’d heard is NOT true: the great thing about shoes is that “my waist line may change, but my shoe size remains the same.” Well, not exactly.

You see, for the last two years of Covid, my foot attire has consisted mainly of slippers (yes with good insoles) and Skechers. But for this trip I pulled out a pair of new-ish patent loafers that I’d worn just once before.

BIG – size 10 – mistake. It wasn’t long into our first leg of the trip that Susan noticed what I was trying to hide: I was limping. Yes, those shoes that had seemed so comfy when first I put them on Tuesday morning, were hurting me – big time. (And they weren’t even the first pair I’d tried on that hurt that day.)

I hobbled through most of the day in those too-tight shoes, hoping to find a shoe store at some point after the meet and greet, but not having any luck. Yesterday morning, one of our first stops was at a Winners, where I picked up a pair of sneakers so white that if the ferry sank, they’d find my feet just from the eerie glow they emitted. No bother; they were priced right and they were comfy.

See, the problem is that my feet are used to being “free range.” I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to wear grown-up shoes again, but I get the feeling that the next time I fill a few bags for Diabetes Canada’s May “Declutter Canada” event, there will be plenty of much-loved but seldom-worn shoes.

I’m not complaining; my younger sister Leslie is just coming through the other side of a bout with Covid that has run through her house and I wouldn’t trade shoes with her, no matter how comfortable, no matter what.

Have a gentle weekend. I hope you’ve had a chance to listen to this week’s Drift with Erin Davis sleep story: The Fairy Frog from the Book of Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. You can listen here or wherever you download podcasts and, of course, it’s free, thanks to Kathy and Kim at enVypillow.com…also a super comfortable fit.

Just a thought… Do not fear failure, but rather fear not trying. [Roy T. Bennett]

This is one of those journals I really hope you’ll click on to watch, either at YouTube, or at my Facebook page. Nevertheless, here’s a written take on today’s yummy yummy journal.

I had two store-bought cakes in the fridge for Easter dinners, but for some reason I was inspired to bake and create something. I’ve always wanted to take flower arranging and cake decorating classes. Maybe this year….

Anyway, I bought a cake mix and followed the Betty Crocker website instructions, but two layers looked just too…short. So Brooke and Phil were out and picked me up another one. Golden Moist, it’s called.

I added food colouring to the divided batter, and hoped for the best. How would the colours mix with the “golden” tones? Hmmm.

Then I had to think about icing it. Bought Betty Crocker whipped icings for that, too: white and chocolate. I wanted this cake to look like an Easter basket. Aim high, Davis!

After the four layers had cooled, I “cemented” them together with white frosting – two of the layers filled with a raspberry jam mixed in. Then I looked up how to ice it without all of the cake coming off on my knife or spatula and learned about something called the “crumb layer.” You put on one thin layer and let it set; this will be the one you actually decorate. Then the loose bits of cake, the crumbs, are sealed in.

Then I sat my butt down on Saturday in front of the Jays game with my old ceramics turntable (just a Rubbermaid plastic thing that was supposed to be a spice spinning thing) and began the work – one large flat knife and some green icing, chocolate icing and a whole lot of patience.

The top was supposed to be green coloured coconut, but we have some non-lovers of coconut in the family here, so icing grass it was to be!

And here’s how it turned out!

I put a Lindt bunny on top and I can’t say that my icing or coloured-in Tic Tac eyes really added to the whole thing (nor did the Sharpie art on its face, I’m sure) but I tried.

To me, the whole mystery was going to be how those layers came out in terms of colours!

I wasn’t disappointed! I think in future I would use a cherry cake mix for the pink layers (although they might not be as moist, so I might be playing with fire – or a flop – here). But all in all, it was good.

And how did it taste?

As good as it looked, I’m happy to say.

Thank you for coming by today and I’ll have another journal for you here on Thursday. By that time, we should be just about out of cake!

I hope you had a lovely Easter and Passover weekend and there’s a new Drift Story tomorrow (free as always): The Fairy Frog from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. Be well.

Just a thought… The care, therefore, of every man’s soul belongs to himself. [John Locke]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to listen to the Psychiatrist-in-Chief/Chief of Staff of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group this week. I only WISH it was for me; the chat was part of next month’s Mental Health episode of the Canadian Real Estate Association podcast I host called Real Time and this one, pardon the pun, really hits home.

Now with Easter and Passover almost upon us, no matter your religious or spiritual beliefs, this should be a time of reflection, of stopping to recognize sacrifice, and of hope.

In a religious sense it may well be, but for me, and maybe for you, too, that hope is elusive. That so desperately sought-after feeling of a fairy godmother waving her wand and saying, “All right everyone – awaken from your two-year sleep and throw off your masks, it’s all going to be okay. The dragon is gone, the plague has passed and we’ll all live happily ever after…” is just wishful thinking.

On Tuesday, Canada’s Dr. Tam said to put the masks back on. Yeah, good luck with that; there might be a truck tantrum, replete with defiled flags flying for “freedom.”

In reality – mine at least – the masks should never have come off in public and, yes, it’s exhausting. Being well-informed can feed the feeling of anxiety that many of us have had for weeks: for example, it’s a fact that the Omicron variant BA.2 is here in Canada (with 3, 4 and 5 showing up in South Africa now). Then there’s XE, which combines the “greatest hits” of the original Omicron (BA.1) and its variant BA.2. All we can do is watch with interest and foreboding the effects of the variants on other countries and pay attention to the science of when they’re expected here.

Of course, rather than hear from actual government health experts (with the exception this week of Dr. Tam) we now rely on foreign statistics, hospital numbers here, anecdotal evidence and waste water analysis: actual buckets of poo that are giving us more information than our governments.

But it’s not all Chicken Little and the sky falling. Any of the people we know of who have contracted the virus recently – those who are, of course, triple-vaxxed or even double-boosted – have said that they felt cold-like symptoms, if any at all. Which, when you set aside the concerns of long Covid, sounds like the best case scenario. Except that with those milder symptoms we could inadvertently be spreading it to people who are vulnerable: the very young, the very old, the immune- and health-compromised. I’m terrified of that responsibility.

As so many of us gather this Easter and Passover with gratitude and hope in our hearts in this season of renewal, forgiveness and new life, I’ll share the advice of the Chief Psychiatrist I mentioned off the top: be charitable in your heart and compassionate to those who won’t get a vaccine, won’t wear a mask. Love your neighbour, and love yourself.

And eat chocolate. (He didn’t say that, but I’m pretty sure it’s usually good advice.) Just not the Kinder stuff that’s been recalled. A ton of it – even Advent calendars. Here’s a link. 

Yeah, we got caught on it. Even I ignore expiry dates, but not recalls. Death by Chocolate should be an ice cream flavour, not a coroner’s finding. Have a good weekend and I’ll be back with you next week.

Just a thought… It only takes a moment for the destiny to flip over. [Jyoti Arora]

As usual, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

And it’s Monday. I hope your weekend was restful; ours had plenty of excitement with our Toronto sports teams. Phew – what a home opener for the Jays! Didn’t see many masks,  though, but what are you going to do? Take care of yourself, that’s all. Seems that’s what we do now.

Of course, our hearts are with the people of Ukraine, as we wonder when the rest of the world is going to step in and stop Putin; none of us has forgotten what is happening there, and we’re helping in whatever way we can. May we all stay safe and sane – here, abroad, everywhere. And grateful for what we have, including our health.

So being Monday, I thought today I’d share with you a story of such incredible luck – call it that, or fate, or just something you wish would happen to you – as we bring you: The Kind of Story That’ll Make Your Day.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged again! I’m kidding. They have yet to invent an instrument to measure the tiny amount of interest I have in that story. No, THIS is The Kind of Story That’ll Make Your Day. Ready?

Now, you may have heard this story. It came out last week and I jumped on it as soon as it did, but then, so did everyone else, so I’m a few days late. But this is my take on it – see what you think.

We take you to Tarzana, California, a suburb of Los Angeles that is on land that was formerly a ranch owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Who’s that? The creator of Tarzan – thus the name. But you may have known that.

It is in Tarzana, California this month that something pretty incredible happened.

A woman named LaQuedra Edwards went into a grocery store to purchase lottery tickets. LaQuedra had a system: she would put $40 into the machine to get her scratch & win (or more likely lose in most cases, as we all know) and she entered the Vons grocery store, all really to do just that. But as she stood at the machine, a stranger bumped into her.

We’re not sure what words, if any, were exchanged – this person was described as “rude” – but somehow LaQuedra ended up pushing the wrong number at the vending machine. Instead of her usual $40 selection, she got one $30 200x scratcher ticket. And I’m guessing she was disappointed, possibly even angry, but she bought ten dollars’ worth of smaller tickets, finished up her business at Vons and was on her way.

Back in her car, LaQuedra got busy scratching. And it was there, according to the folks at California Lottery, that LaQuedra’s scratcher revealed she had won.

LaQuedra didn’t really believe it at first. She says she went on her way, getting onto the 405 Freeway. That was not her best move, nor was continuing to look down at her ticket, which she admits almost got her into a crash. Boy, that would be about my luck. But, hopefully, not my carelessness. Anyway, judgment over….

Finally, she pulled over and, in her words, looked at it again and again. Then she scanned the ticket with her California Lottery app to be sure. LaQuedra still didn’t believe it, but it was right there: she had won 10 MILLION dollars.

This is where you ask yourself: How does something like this happen? Was that rude stranger who bumped LaQuedra and then went on his or her way on out of the store an angel in disguise? Did a higher power have bigger plans for LaQuedra, or was it just simple luck? Fate? What was it? Some rando bumps you and you hit a button and change your life.

Fortunately for Ms Edwards, she stayed safe on that highway and collected her winnings, with which she plans to purchase a house and start a non-profit. The grocery store will get $50,000.

But if I was Ms LaQuedra Edwards, I’d ask them to check their cameras and maybe keep an eye out for that bumpy stranger and give her or him a nice tidy sum as well. I don’t know, 50-100 thousand?

Easy to spend when it’s not mine, but wouldn’t that truly be the best and happiest ending to The Kind of Story That’ll Make Your Day?

Yeah, I thought so too. Talk to you this Thursday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find someone to bump into. Or better yet, have ’em bump into me.