Nicki Chen's Blog, page 4

Old Friendships & Christmas Cards

Movin’ On: When Lee, my fifth-grade boyfriend, moved, we didn’t think to exchange addresses. He was gone. That was that. When I graduated from high school, I assumed I’d see my high school friends again—as long as they came back home for the summer or attended our reunions. And most of them did. Graduating from […]

Satisfying Story Endings, Fictional & Real

In the evening, I often watch a drama on TV. Yesterday it was Law & Order–not for the violence. No. I watched it, because I knew that by the end of the hour, the mystery of who committed the crime would be solved. They would be caught and found guilty and Justice would be served. […]

A Rainy-Day Walk through West Hylebos Wetlands

It was my middle daughter’s birthday week, and the forecast was for rain. Daughter #1 brought a big chocolate cake with cherries and whipped cream frosting, and we’d chosen a dim-sum place for lunch. So we could have skipped the walk. But we came prepared with rain gear. Why skip it? Besides, rain in Western […]

Happy United Nations Day

During most of my kids’ schooling, from pre-school through high school, their biggest school holiday celebration was UN Day, October 24 (today). What else could an international school celebrate? With such a mix of students from all over the world, they couldn’t celebrate any one national holiday or a religious holiday of any particular religion. […]

End of Summer Interlude and “On Children”

After high school, your children fly away to college. After that, they fly away on other adventures and to jobs and husbands or wives. If we’re lucky, they come back … for a while. Last week was one such time. It was the last week of summer, and my youngest daughter flew over from the […]

When Something New Comes into My Life, I Look for a Book

The something new I’m talking about is something that’s more than a simple fact I can google. No. It’s something really big … like marrying a guy from China. I figured I needed a book for that. I suppose there could have been other ways to respond to my lack of in-depth knowledge and understanding […]

The Impetus to Take on a New Project

Why? Why do we take on big, difficult, unnecessary projects? Why would we decide to take up quilting or train for a marathon or plant an enormous flower garden too big for a single family? After walking through the grounds of Powell Woods Garden, I couldn’t help but wonder who created this place? And why? […]

A Good Day for a New Roof

A Sunny day, not too hot. The plywood was already here. They’d dropped it off on Friday. Dropped isn’t exactly the right word for it. With the help of a truck-mounted crane, they lifted a large pile of plywood off the truck and up onto my roof. From inside the house, the sound of it […]

Housesitting

Most of the people I know just turn down the heat and lock the door when they go on vacation. If they have pets, they ask a friend to take care of them. If they have a garden and indoor plants, they arrange for someone to water them. Some people set their lights to turn […]

Loving the Beach … despite Sharks, Jellyfish, & Sunburns

All my life I’ve lived close to saltwater beaches. In Western Washington, we have lovely beaches. They’re great for picnics, beach walks, beach combing, sandcastles building, and testing your balance with driftwood walking. The area is a paradise for boaters and photographers and anyone who enjoys an ever-changing, long-distance view of water, sky, and mountains. […]