Lizard Love

 Healsville Sanctuary, Australia, January 2013

 

Knife Skills

A few years ago we splurged with some Christmas money on a set of decent knives.  Heaven!  Those blades went through Anything.  But over time, through constant use and lack of care, they became just as dull as every other knife I'd ever used.  Painfully dull.  I tried to sharpen them myself, but just ended up nicking up the blades.  Sharpening knives is not as easy as they make it look on Masterchef!  So the other evening over dinner with a Korean friend, we were lamenting the lack of the kind of knife-sharpening store found in North America and the woman said 'It's too bad you never see the knife-sharpening truck anymore.  It used to drive around the neighbourhood with its loudspeaker on and people would bring out their knives and he'd sharpen them, but they're never around now.'  And voila!  Not two weeks later we were going out for an afternoon walk and there it was - the knife sharpening truck!  If only everything we wished for out loud would materialize so conveniently!

Busan, Korea, September 21, 2014  

Nesting

A dusky moorhen tending her clutch. 

Healsville Sanctuary, Australia, January 2013

Echidna!

Healsville Sanctuary, Australia, January 2013.

Adorned

Haedong Yeonggung Temple, Busan, August 29, 2014.

Mao and Max and the Bedroom Paparazzi

This morning, at our house.  Photo stalking payback for the 4:30am 'PLAY WITH ME!' wake-up call.  Busan, Korea, September 14, 2014.

In Memory

Rest in Peace, Kari-Lynn.  Dear cousin, you will be missed.

 

It is with great sadness that the family of Kari-Lynn (Yamniuk) Vos announce her sudden passing on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, at the age of 35.
Kari will forever be remembered by her husband Steve Vos, her son Cohen Vos, parents Karen and Ernie Yamniuk, father and mother-in-law Herman and Vicky Vos, brother Ryan (Christine) Yamniuk, sister Kristy (Terry) Edwards, sister-in-law Angela Vos, and brother-in-law Daniel Vos. Kari will always be fondly remembered by Grandmothers Merline Yamniuk, Aileen Ray and Marie Bessette, her 3 nephews, 1 niece, and her extended family. Kari was a friend to many and she will be dearly missed.



When the Fields are Ripe and Ready for Harvest

Rice and lotus growing together at Junam Wetlands, Changwon, Korea, September 2013.

By the Water

Haedong Younggung Temple, Busan, August 29, 2014

The Daunt Waterway

The Daunt Waterway is in the middle of the UN Memorial Cemetery, between the area where the graves are and a large park-like green space.  It is meant to represent the thin line between life and death.  Although it's quite narrow, the water is impeccably clean and has a beautiful school of ornamental goldfish that swim the length of it - perhaps a couple of hundred meters altogether.  It is named for the youngest soldier buried in the cemetery - a 17 year old Australian named J.P. Daunt who was killed in the Korean War on November 6, 1951.  This isn't a fabulous picture of it, but every time I'm in the cemetery I am moved by what it represents, and also by the fact that it was designed and built by an extracurricular student group from one of Busan's universities.  Makes me shake my head to think that J.P. Daunt was probably not even old enough to go to university when he died, although he still managed to go half way around the world to fight a war.  How many young people like him have there been throughout history?

Busan, Korea, August 30, 2014    

Haedong Younggungsa

Haedong Younggung Temple, Busan, August 29, 2014

Friends

Teenage friends (one married, in the sari, the other not) near Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, January 2005.

Temple Kittens

Hiding around the grounds at Haedong Younggung Temple, Busan, August 29, 2014.

Back to School!

Inevitably, when school time rolls around again, the little Buddha offerings for scholastic achievement really multiply! 

Haedong Younggung Temple, Busan, August 29, 2014