I’m sure you have heard about the thera­peutic effects, both physical and emotional, of pets in humans. I can attest to that effect from my own personal experi­ence, especially since the time I have been dealing with multiple myeloma.

A golden doodle, which is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, came into our family as a puppy in 2012. This was about three years after my multiple myeloma diagnosis, so the dog did not know me when …

We just celebrated Thanksgiving this month here in Canada. It’s an op­por­tun­ity for families and friends to gather together, have a feast of their choice, and pause to reflect on their blessings in life.

This year, I felt very positive, and I was grateful for so many things in my life.

I felt very different in the autumn of 2009 when I recently had been diag­nosed with multiple myeloma. I was depressed and in a mild state of panic. …

Last month, we were all reminded of the role the solar system plays in our lives. The moon’s orbit crossed the path of the sun on August 21, blocking sunlight for a few minutes from reaching those parts of the earth in the path of the eclipse. In North America, many millions of people experienced a total or partial solar eclipse.

I went for a walk in the morning before the scheduled eclipse. Two ravens sat overhead in spruce …

The dictionary defines ‘perfectionism’ as the refusal to accept any standard short of perfection.

So what would the meaning of perfectionism be in the case of someone with multiple myeloma?

I think that one aspect of perfectionism in multiple myeloma could be a desire to be in a stringent complete response – that is, not having any blood test or bone marrow biopsy results that would indicate the presence of multiple myeloma.

This is an admirable goal, but is it …

In mid-July, I went hiking with my husband and a visiting cousin from Los Angeles. We decided to hike to Parker Ridge, in Banff National Park, even though it is a 187-mile (300 km) drive from Calgary. We hadn't hiked this path since 2008, when we were driving from Jasper National Park to Calgary, along with my mother.

There were several reasons why it had taken us so long to return after a nine-year gap, apart from the distance …

I have been busy at home here with gardening, childcare, office work, and craft­ing. I nevertheless decided to make some time and read some books that I had been interested in for some time now.

I am glad that I did spend some quality time reading, in between other activities. Perhaps the fact that we are near the summer solstice now and thus have a lot of daylight makes it easier on the eyes to read! By reading just …

At the end of April, prairie crocuses in bloom, I planted pansies and car­na­tions in planters, and then another winter storm dropped more snow on us – our version of April showers! Now, two weeks later, and after having some warm and sunny days, my garden is springing back to life. Little bulbs, such as Siberian squill, are in bloom, and the daffodils are in bud.

It’s hard to believe that two months have passed already since I last wrote …