Canada, Here I Come

It's been years since I've traveled internationally (thank you, pandemic). Later this week, though, I'll be heading to Canada. To Surrey, BC--my first time there! I'm grateful for the chance to attend the Surrey Writers' International Conference. It'll be a lot of fun, and I'll need to turn on my conference mode. Since it's been so long, I had to make myself a checklist of items to think about: -Passport: Oops. I found out that my passport had actually expired, so I had to renew it. … [Read more...]

Where the Ginseng Grows

"You have great physical powers and an iron constitution."--fortune cookie I recently received a gift of ginseng tea from my family. Ginseng's genus is panax, coming from the Greek word for "all cure." It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years. A finicky plant, it doesn't like being exposed to direct sunlight. That's why growers will provide a shading structure for the sprouts, shrouding them in 75% shade. Ginseng also needs "virgin soil" because it utilizes all … [Read more...]