Posts by Rick Juliusson
Narrowing Down “Anywhere in the World”
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? For most people, that’s either a dreamy party game or a one-shot, two-week opportunity to hit that beach or volcano or mardi gras. For us, it’s an ongoing question – making one selection does little to narrow down the options for the next…
Read MoreWhen the Kids Come Home to Visit
How do we show love for our children after they leave the nest? One way is rolling out the red (or, in this case, green) carpet when they grace us with a visit. Yesterday morning, as Zekiah and three roommates were having a last swim at Tamarindo Beach then hopping a bus up the mountain…
Read MoreShe Walks These Hills (in a bright flowery scarf)
I keep thinking I should miss you, Margaret. Sitting here today in this meeting house, last week in your own home where Shakespeare and Bach and Jesus Christ Superstar danced together, embraced in the brazen bosom of your beloved broccoli forest. But you’re still here, aren’t you? Our silent worship on the porch on the…
Read MoreTwisted – A Morning Cloudforest Walk
Vines cascade and dance down from branches, take root, then twist and claw their way back up and strangle the host, becoming a new gnarled twisted “Strangler Fig” tree you can climb inside. Orchids clutch the side of.a tree and blossom proudly. Thick twiny wood vines curl like horror movie fingers. Two and half hours…
Read MoreOld Friends
Two mornings in a row, we were kicked out of some of Vancouver’s finest establishments. No, I don’t mean the Surrey pub crawl for Zekiah’s 19th. I mean quiet little coffee shops in North Vancouver and White Rock. Young managers who aren’t used to throwing out rowdy old folk like us. My roots run deep…
Read MoreCry, the Beloved Cowichan
Who says you can’t go home? – Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Nettles In 2008, life was crazy. We’d put our 4- and 6-year-old boys to bed then work side-by-side on our laptops until midnight – Sarah running two businesses, me leading a non-profit (ACCES) and serving on too many boards. We bought a hot-tub just…
Read MoreWaterfalls Everywhere!
A friend today reminded me of a story I once told her that rings of youthful (and hopefully lifelong) positivity. I was 25, driving from Connecticut to Ohio with a beautiful girl who suggested we picnic at a waterfall she’d heard about. She pulled out the map (yes, paper!) and bravely started detouring us through…
Read MoreFamily: Can’t (and do) live without ’em
Having lived away from our home bases for all but 4 of our 25 years together, we’ve become experts at lightning strike visits. Packing as many loud gatherings, quiet washing-the-dishes-together chats, and helping-move-furniture-chores into a short visit as possible. Drinking full (or rather, chugging quickly) from the cup of family love to sustain the next…
Read MoreToo much Stuff!
Phase One is over. “Elvira,” our trusty electric vehicle who carried us over 6,000 miles in 3 months, is now parked comfortably in a Minnesota storage unit while we have flown to British Columbia with just carry-on bags. Let’s burrow through the packed paraphernalia and evaluate what we did and didn’t need to enjoy a…
Read MoreQuebec City
Three nights in Quebec City – not enough to see everything, but enough to drink it all in, absorb the magic and uniqueness that is North America’s only fortified city (it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site). Taking our own advice from an earlier post, we broke up a long drive out of Nova Scotia into…
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