happy new year from wmtc

Wishing you all love and good health. 

Wishing the world justice, solidarity, and peace. 

 

happy new year from wmtc

happy new year from wmtc

 

View this card on Greetings Island

happy new year from wmtc

 

Peace, Love, Good Health, and Solidarity to all.

Here's to a peaceful and healthy 2022.

happy new year from wmtc

Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2021. Peace, love, and vaccinations!

Click here to open the card.

PS: This is my new favourite e-card site. I will post about them soon.

happy new year and new decade from wmtc

For the second year in a row, I didn't even bother with the wmtc i hate christmas tradition. I didn't see any shopping fervor, didn't hear or see an onslaught of ads. (Hooray for streaming!)

We put up holiday lights, enjoyed two days off (hooray for vestiges of colonialism!), and "the season" passed quietly. I can't bring myself to say Merry Christmas, but if anybody minds my "happy holidays," they don't show it.

New Year's Eve was even quieter. I did the whole look-back thing in late November and early December, as we passed all the one-year marks of our move west and huge lifestyle change. 

One bit of small-town and remote North Island life did bother me during the holiday season: all the restaurants are closed, and there's no prepared food to buy. If you want to spend a few days holed up at home, you have to plan ahead and cook. I did... but I would have liked a break. This is the price we pay for living in Port Hardy. It's a great bargain.

Allan and I began a new chapter of our lives in 2019, so the fact of the new decade feels almost irrelevant. It will be interesting to see how I'll feel about 2020, as things settle into a routine, and the I can't believe we live here possibly wears off.

That's the small, personal picture. I've been trying to write about the larger picture for months. Coming soon.

The only bad part of 2019: saying goodbye to Diego

happy new year from wmtc

Whatever your mood

this holiday season

I wish you

a year full of

joy, love, and good health...

...friendship, peace, and solidarity.

happy new year from wmtc

"Hey Diego, wanna hear a secret...?"

It's been an exciting year here in wmtc-Joy of Sox-land: me working full-time in my new career, completing a year as a youth-services librarian, Allan publishing a new book, which was well received and got great reviews.

It looks to be an exciting year ahead, too: I was recently elected head of our library workers' union. Our membership finally has an appetite for a stronger union, and we have a revamped leadership team to show for it. I expect all my accumulated experience and skills will be put to the test as I navigate some brand-new territory.

Other than that, let's see. Read a lot, wrote too little, watched a lot of things on Netflix. Suggested lots of books to lots of people, answered a ton of questions. Helped some great teens read, discover, create, and socialize. Went to Paris with my mother. Participated in an inspiring socialism conference.

Took the dogs - both in good health - to the park at every opportunity. Sat in my backyard and drank iced coffee, also at every opportunity. Paid off a lot of debt, enough to start thinking about our next big trip.

I'm looking forward to a lot more of the same, plus one huge change: 2015 is the end of the Harper Government.

I wish you all a wonderful year ahead, full of good friends, good health, good books, and unexpected joys. Happy New Year!

happy new year from wmtc

On January 1, 2013, I was still in library school, and working as a library page. Allan's book proposal was still sitting on a publisher's desk. We were living at G's Court, and had no thought of moving.
In 2013, in order of appearance:
- Allan got a book contract,
- I got a promotion from page to circulation clerk,
- I finished my Master's degree,
- We went to Spain (plus London and Paris),
- I got my first librarian position, part-time,
- I broke my foot,
- Our basement, Allan's office, was destroyed by a sewage flood,
- We moved,
- The Red Sox won the World Series!
- Allan wrote a book!, and
- I got my first librarian position, full-time.

In 2014, I'd like to: work as a librarian, live in one place, and have all my friends and family (including the non-human creatures, of course) enjoy good health, all year long.

Here's to a quietly productive year to all who want it, and a year of change for all who are after something different. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Here's to a happy, healthy, revolutionary 2013. Love to all.

happy new year: peace, love, revolution

Happy New Year to everyone in the wmtc community - friends and commenters, lurkers and loyal readers. Thank you all for being here.

I wish you health, peace, and joy in the coming year. I wish the world continued revolutions.

happy new year from hsi canada

wishes for 2011: political and personal

When we state our wishes and dreams - out loud, in public - we open ourselves to ridicule and snark. So many people claim to know the future with great certainty - which is, of course, impossible.

Wishes and dreams are too important to scoff at. All positive change begins in our imaginations. If we can't imagine something, we can't create it. Our dreams may not become reality, but I'd rather work towards a dream than ridicule dreamers.

In 2011, I'd like to see...

1. The end of the Harper Government.

2. A provision enacted by Parliament allowing Iraq War resisters to stay in Canada - and for those now in the US to be allowed to move or return here if they wish.

3. The beginning of the re-building of a liberal Liberal Party and a truly progressive New Democrat Party.

4. A full withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. (Remember, I said "dream".)

5. Bradley Manning released from prison.

6. A widespread understanding of the difference between support for a free Palestine and anti-Semitism.

Personally, I'd like to get...

1. A better day-job, allowing me to:
1a. pay off debt, and
1b. have a little money to travel.

2. A part-time library job.

3. A new sister for Tala. (That one's easy!)

Here's hoping 2011 is good to almost everyone. I hope Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, Peter MacKay, Lawrence Cannon, Vic Toews, Bev Oda, John Baird and the rest of them have a very bad year.

Happy New Year!

happy new year and updates

For those who follow the personal side of this blog, here are some updates.

I'm writing this on my new netbook! It's this one, a Lenovo IdeaPad S10, in black. I don't know if another used ThinkPad would have been a better buy, but I really need something small and light, and I'll just have to see how long it lasts. The screen is excellent and the keyboard is almost full size (about 80%). My typing is a little clumsy right now but I'm sure I'll adjust in no time.

We bought a six-year-old dryer from a friend. It works great, and I feel a whole lot better about all the energy I'm not using.

I stopped looking for new gloves, and resigned myself to wearing old ones that I don't like. Then, in the supermarket, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some cheap imitations of the ones I loved and lost. Only $9.00! I snapped them up, and am happy. I also made a note to myself to order the real thing from L.L. Bean before next winter, when there's still a selection.

Those are all the updates I can think of, at least until I get my grades.

Happy New Year, friends of wmtc! Thanks for being here. I don't know what I'd do without you all. I wish us all peace of mind, good health and strong community for 2010.

This time next year, may all the US war resisters be living safely in Canada.

i may hate christmas, but i dig new year's eve

I never cared that much about New Year's Eve.

When I was a teenager or in university, I went to parties, even hosted a party one year when my parents were out of town. But as I got older, I didn't like the forced hilarity, the pressure to have something lined up, the implication to feel dejected if you didn't.

Allan and I always stay home New Year's Eve, with a bottle of champagne and some fun food. Our anniversary is January 3, and we always save our celebration for that.

But my attitude about New Year's Eve changed on December 31, 1999, and from a TV broadcast, of all things. We had the TV on all day, watching people around the globe celebrate that giant odometer click. From the Fiji Islanders to Australia, through Asia, then the great cities of Europe, then over to Newfoundland, to New York... I don't think I made it past Chicago!

But I really caught the spirit of the moment: the whole world celebrating one occasion. Not religious, not nationalistic, just a vast human community.

Incidentally, on that night, I discovered there was a North American time zone east of Eastern! Embarrassing but true; I never knew that. After the celebrations in London and Dublin, I thought New York and Montreal were up next. But no, there was St. John's! What can I say. Now I not only know where Newfoundland is, I've been there.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year, and a 2009 full of the best things in life: peace, friendship, creativity, and a new Canadian government.

Thank you for reading wmtc this year and for being part of this community. Most of all, thank you to everyone who made a phone call, sent an email, wrote a letter, attended a meeting, joined a demonstration, talked to a friend, or took any other action on behalf of war resisters in Canada. May 2009 bring all our hard work to a joyous conclusion.

Happy New Year!

* * * *

Two updates brought in from comments.

Please vote in my reader's poll!

And a note about New Year's, which I should have made explicit in this post. I actually find this date meaningful in my own life. To me New Year Eve is is a time to look back on the previous year, where I've succeeded and where I've failed, what's happened to me for better or worse, and to look ahead with a fresh start.

In 2001, I remember feeling some closure on all the horror and sadness of that autumn.

At the end of 2002, we knew we were leaving the United States.

At year's end in 2005, we celebrated our first New Year in Canada, and said goodbye to the year we lost Buster.

And when I think much farther back, I realize I've felt this way most of my life. It's kind of cool.

This year, I look ahead to great change - for Canada and for the war resisters.

happy new year and two decisions

We ended 2007 with two notable decisions for 2008: our annual party, now in its third incarnation, and this year's vacation.

Wmtc3 will be Saturday, June 7. No conflict with Pride Week or Canada Day, and hopefully no rescheduling. Those who care about such things, please mark your calendars.

And. . . we're going to Newfoundland! We'll certainly get to Nova Scotia on a future trip, but Newfoundland is calling me. And I'm answering!

The trip will be in late June, when it should be warm enough, but not crowded. I don't know if Newfoundland ever gets crowded with tourists, but it's always better to travel when kids are still in school.

It looks like we'll get 10 days there, not counting travel days on either end. Two Newfie-descended friends have told me I need at least two weeks, but 10 days will have to do. You can never do everything, anywhere you go. We'll be sure to make it a memorable 10 days.

I've only just started to read about the area and think about what we want to do. I know that quaint small towns and long, scenic drives are in store, and hopefully we'll see some whales.

I definitely want to go to L'Anse aux Meadows, the archaeological site of the earliest known settlement in North America. We both love that kind of thing, and I won't miss an opportunity to visit any UNESCO World Heritage Site, anywhere.

Newfoundland is actually home to two World Heritage Sites - the only Canadian province that can make that boast. Gros Morne National Park is the other one. I have to investigate how accessible the park is to people like us who are not backcountry trekkers.

I'd also like to visit Cape St. Charles, the easternmost point in North America (if we exclude Greenland, that is!), for perhaps a silly reason. I've been to Land's End, the westerly most point of the UK, and the closest land point to North America. I was there by myself, on a memorable journey in 1985 (a few months before I met Allan). I like the symmetry of it.

I'm excited! Anytime I'm looking forward to traveling someplace I've never been before, I'm happy. My wanderlust is so intense, and it never gets fed often enough.

Any suggestions or information about Newfoundland is welcome. Great photos and info here.

happy new year

Happy New Year!

My love and best wishes to you all. May your new year be filled with joy and adventure, peace and contentment.

2007

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to a peaceful and productive, happy and healthy 2007.

For some people who may be reading this blog, here's to receiving that letter in the mail - and to making the move north! Here's to Canada.

* * * *

Today's our last day before we move, so I'll sign off for a little while. Feel free to chatter away in comments.

"an idea whose time has come"

Howard Zinn writes:

The war against Iraq, the assault on its people, the occupation of its cities, will come to an end, sooner or later. The process has already begun. The first signs of mutiny are appearing in Congress. The first editorials calling for withdrawal from Iraq are beginning to appear in the press. The anti-war movement has been growing, slowly but persistently, all over the country.

Public opinion polls now show the country decisively against the war and the Bush Administration. The harsh realities have become visible. The troops will have to come home.

And while we work with increased determination to make this happen, should we not think beyond this war? Should we begin to think, even before this shameful war is over, about ending our addiction to massive violence and instead using the enormous wealth of our country for human needs? That is, should we begin to speak about ending war—not just this war or that war, but war itself? Perhaps the time has come to bring an end to war, and turn the human race onto a path of health and healing.

The always-optimistic Zinn ends his essay with this simple statement:

My hope is that the memory of death and disgrace will be so intense that the people of the United States will be able to listen to a message that the rest of the world, sobered by wars without end, can also understand: that war itself is the enemy of the human race.

Governments will resist this message. But their power is dependent on the obedience of the citizenry. When that is withdrawn, governments are helpless. We have seen this again and again in history.

The abolition of war has become not only desirable but absolutely necessary if the planet is to be saved. It is an idea whose time has come.

Read the essay here. Happy New Year, Mr Zinn. You continue to inspire me.

happy new year

Happy New Year, everyone!

Not much to say this morning. Maybe some of you do.