Stephanie Mitchell

I had dinner this evening with my partner in a little neighbourhood pub in Mission. I didn’t even catch the name of it. Oh, wait. Google Street View tells me it’s the 14th Avenue Pub. This is going to sound like a restaurant review or at the very least a writeup fot The Hitchhiker’s Guide … Read more

Try Googling that phrase. You’ll get almost four and a half million hits, from song lyrics to book titles to lines in a poem to comments on photos to – whatever. Isn’t it strange, then, if it’s that pervasive a notion, that we so rarely actually let ourselves do it? We always look for what … Read more

It’s a quiet night in the Mitchell basement. My partner is house-sitting her daughter’s house during their honeymoon. She has taken Lacey, the dog, with her for company. Spot, one of our cats, is pretending to be sociable and cuddly on my lap but she’s really looking over my shoulder at the dove cage so … Read more

Tonight I am grateful for good friends who are there for me when others cannot be.

Today we welcomed a new member of our family into our home. He is very tiny, very cute, very loud for his size and has a mischievous sense of humour. He is active and chatty and really a delight to have around. And as long as we keep him caged he can’t really cause any … Read more

This is going to be so materialistic and un-philosophical. Also kind of old hat to most of my geek friends. Sorry. I upgraded my phone yesterday, Yes, I got rid of my old rotary-dial steam-powered cellphone and sprang for a nice new shiny smartphone. And before you think, “Wow, Stephanie, you came out of your … Read more

New Year’s Eve always features THE countdown. Whether we watch the Times Square Ball Drop (appropriately delayed for our time zone), watch it in some other way, or even – as our family occasionally does – stands outside on the lawn, pots and pans at the ready while someone watches their cellphone for the exact … Read more

It has been a busy few days. Let’s see… An 8-hour drive in torrential rain – NOT grateful. Arriving safely – grateful. Follwoing a GPS that thought it was in Timbktu – NOT grateful. Having a GPS that eventually did get it right – grateful. Visiting a very dear friend – grateful. Arriving to find … Read more

Boxing Day involves a lot of things: sales, gift returns, leftovers, visiting – and of course goodbyes, This Boxing Day involved a particularly special goodbye though. Darren, who sings with us in our vocal ensemble, Collage, is leaving very shortly to take a position in California. Today they hosted a farewell open house. Darren is … Read more

Christmas is so full of things for which to be grateful. Family and friends around us, good food and far too much of it, fun, games, laughter, surprises, more food, more friends – the list just goes on. There’s the the crush of shopping, the rush of wrapping, the panic as you check that list … Read more