Late last month, a sudden cold snap swept down from the Arctic and caused tem­per­a­tures here to plunge to almost 30 degrees Fahr­en­heit (15 degrees Celsius) lower than nor­mal. From a nice warm autumn, with lovely golden leaves and even some flowers still in bloom, a heavy snowfall blanketed the land and caused a sparkly landscape. The prob­lem was that it was really cold. We scrambled to find our parkas, mitts, hats, and boots.

We had winter tires put on …

Last fall, as my hus­band and I were getting ready to leave the house, we saw a bobcat walking on our deck. At the same time, we also noticed a large porcupine sitting in a crabapple tree that overhung the deck.

We had never seen a bobcat or a porcupine on or near our deck, and seeing them was unnerving to me, even though we've not en­coun­tered these two animals in our garden since then.

Along the same …

Recently I finished a needlework project that was a lot of work. It was a wedding sampler for my daughter and her hus­band who got married in 2014. Why did it take me so long to finish it, I wondered.

I realized that I had a lot going on in my life in the last six years, in­clud­ing treat­ments for mul­ti­ple myeloma. I also realized that doing stitching helps me to relax during stressful times.

I keep a detailed list …

It was such an awful shock to be diag­nosed with mul­ti­ple myeloma, and to be suffer­ing from ver­te­bral fractures and a high count of myeloma cells in my bone mar­row 11 years ago this July, that it drove all other con­cerns out of my mind and that of my dear hus­band and care­giver, Dilip.

For quite a long time after my diag­nosis, we were so taken up with the treat­ments and learning about the dis­ease, the stem cell trans­plant, and …

It’s been a long winter here in the foothills of the mountains. How­ever, since my last column in April, spring has sprung. We can finally enjoy gardening, walking outdoors without winter clothes on, and generally see the season unfold.

This year has been dif­fer­en­t though. The merriness of seeing the flowers and greenery of spring is subdued by the fact of being many weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a time of un­cer­tainty, worry, and even tragedy for some. …

Several months have gone by since I last wrote about my current myeloma treat­ment regi­men con­sist­ing of Darzalex (dara­tu­mu­mab), Revlimid (lena­lido­mide), and dexa­meth­a­sone.

As you may remember from my last treat­ment update, my Darzalex in­fusions were scheduled to be admin­istered once a week for eight treat­ments, then once every two weeks for another eight sessions, and then once every four weeks there­after. I am now on the once every four-week schedule.

Overall, I’m happy to report that I …

Coronavirus dis­ease 2019, or COVID‑19, has been all over the news here in Canada lately as the virus spreads to North America.

Fortunately, so far in Canada, the rate of infected and diag­nosed patients is still at a low level. In order to prevent the spread of COVID‑19, how­ever, large gather­ings have been cancelled.

The Juno's, Canada's annual music award cer­e­mony, were cancelled this month, and the National Hockey League (NHL) has suspended its season early. Even the Toronto …