Tea. Toast. and Trivia.

S3 E20: The Trio on Letter Writing

Steve Carell once said, “Sending a handwritten letter is becoming such an anomaly. It’s disappearing. My mom is the only one who still writes me letters. And there’s something visceral about opening a letter – I see her on the page. I see her in her handwriting.”

I am joined by my mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah, to discuss letter writing.  In our last podcast discussion, we discussed the art of cursive handwriting style.  There is beauty in the curving lines and connecting letters.  But there is much more about cursive writing to celebrate. I like the idea that cursive writing improves our neural connections and interplay of the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

When we use cursing writing, we enhance our memory retention and improve our fine motor skills.  Think of it as an exercise program for our minds.  What better way to hone our cursive writing skills, than by writing letters?

So put the kettle on and add to the conversation.  We would love to hear your thoughts on Tea Toast & Trivia.

I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Thank you for joining Frances, Sarah, and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops are great places for book readings. There is something extraordinary about hearing the voice of an author reading their stories. Their voice and intonation are nuanced by the many hours of effort putting pen to paper.  They created the characters, structured the plot, and lived every twist and turn that creates bumps in the storyline.

Living in the reality of Covid-19, book readings at public libraries and bookstores have been curtailed.  We are learning to embrace technology in new ways.  Welcome to the podcast series, “Authors Reading their Books”, which will recreate the reading spaces in a virtual venue.  I invite you to put the kettle on and join the conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am thrilled to introduce D Wallace Peach who has graciously agreed to be our guest author reading from her novel, “Liars & Thieves, Unravelling the Veil Book One”  is available on Amazon.   I am looking forward to meeting up with Diana and entering a world of fantasy and imagination.   I am ready for the adventure! Are you?

“A trip to Orkney gives you the opportunity to look back in time: through both world wars, crofting, Norse and Neolithic eras. Locals say if you scratch the surface of Orkney, it bleeds archaeology. Venturing further back, the rugged landscape affords glimpses into the geological heritage that physically shaped our islands many millennia ago.” Lorna Brown, See Orkney Tours

Join me as I travel across the ocean to Orkney, where the fresh sea air and rugged landscape captures the spirit of daring souls.  I am delighted that I am meeting up once again with my friend, Lorna Brown of See Orkney Tours, who was our family’s intrepid guide through the mists of ancient Orkney.  We touched the Standing Stones of Stenness and traced the prehistoric path of the Ring of Brodgar.

The last time we met up with Lorna was on the white sandy beach that leads up to Skara Brae, a 5000-year-old Neolithic village. Skara Brae is the best-preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe, which offers a unique window into the lives of the farmers who lived there between 3,100 and 2,450 BC.

In March 2021, I travelled virtually with Lorna back to the 19th and 20th century to see how farming continues to be a vital part of Orkney’s history and present-day activities.  It was a sunny, winter day when we met up, perfect for our adventure. So, come back with us, fill up a thermos with hot tea and bundle up with a warm coat and walking shoes.

Thank you for joining Lorna and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.  A special thank you to you, Lorna for sharing the stories of Orkney and for promising to come back.    Until then, dear listeners, you can meet up with her at See Orkney Tours.  As the world continues to experience travel restrictions, it is good to know that we can still travel the world virtually, from our dining room tables.

Until next time we meet, keep safe and be well.

S3 E17: Kim Mooney on Hidden Daughter-Secret Sister, A Story of Adoption

I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am delighted and thrilled that my long-time friend, Kim Mooney, has joined me on Tea Toast & Trivia to discuss her book, “Hidden Daughter-Secret Sister, A Story of Adoption.”

Kim has a degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in leadership. Her career has been an eclectic one, moving between teaching and hospital administration and back to teaching.  She retired in 2018 after fifteen years of teaching at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.  In addition to her academic responsibilities at Royal Roads, Kim ran a consulting practice for fifteen years.

With her first published story in 1970 came a prize—a typewriter. A few short stories and a series of poems were written on that machine and then it was set aside in a drawer. This is her first published book.

Thank you for joining Kim and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. “Hidden Daughter, Secret Sister” is available on Amazon.

And a special thank you, Kim, for sharing your profound and valuable insight into the psychological repercussions of adoption and how they can be addressed.  As always, your candour and compassion come together to encourage a deeper appreciation and recognition of what it means to be family.

I invite you to meet up with Kim on her website Kim Mooney and on Goodreads.  You will be inspired by Kim’s journey from her life as an emotionally insecure child in 1950s Canada to a determined adult searching for her roots.

I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.  I am delighted and thrilled that my friend, Joan Dunnett, writer of “Tides of Change,” and I have once again bridged the 7,059 kilometres between Edinburgh and Vancouver to discuss, Sir Walter Scott, who is remembered for his extensive literary works and political engagement.  Many of his works remain classics of both English literature and Scottish literature. Famous titles include The Lady of the Lake, which was a narrative poem, and the novels Waverley, Old Mortality, Rob Roy, The Heart of Mid-Lothian, The Bride of Lammermoor, and Ivanhoe.

Joan Dunnett has read all of Sir Walter Scott’s books and has just recently re-read Waverley.  In a recent e-mail Joan wrote, “Waverly was Scott’s first novel, and in many ways is a good starting point. The main character, Edward Waverley, is a ‘romantic’ sort of person, and I wonder if he is meant to resemble Scott himself.“

Joan accepted my invitation to share her thoughts on reading Sir Walter Scott and has joined me to encourage us to place Sir Walter Scott on top of our “to be read” books for 2021.

This promises to be an extraordinary discussion. So, put the kettle on and add your thoughts on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you for joining Joan and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you, Joan, for sharing your enjoyment of the books of Sir Walter Scott. And a thank you to my dear blogger friend and frequent podcast guest, Liz Humphrey from Leaping Life who introduced me to Joan and recommended, “Tides of Change.”  I am adding my recommendation to Liz’s and invite you to meet up with Joan Dunnett on Goodreads.  You are only an internet click away from being swept away on a daring adventure.

I am thrilled that I am meeting up with Dr. Leith Davis, Professor of English at Simon Fraser University. She is a co-founder of the Department of English’s Master of Arts program with Specialization in Print Culture and is the Director of Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Scottish Studies.

Leith is the author of Acts of Union: Scotland and the Negotiation of the British Nation (Stanford UP, 1998). Music, Post colonialism and Gender: The Construction of Irish Identity, 1724-1874 (Notre Dame UP, 2005). She is co-editor of Scotland and the Borders of Romanticism (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004) and Robert Burns and Transatlantic Culture (Ashgate, 2012).  She is currently working on a monograph entitled Media and Cultural Memory in Britain and Ireland, 1688-1745.

Leith is a collector of stories – stories that have been kept safe in the folds of history waiting to be heard. Today, she shares her thoughts on the Jacobite Memoirs of The Rising of 1745 from the manuscripts of the Late Right Rev. Robert Forbes, A.M. Bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church

This promises to be an extraordinary discussion. So, put the kettle on and add to your thoughts on Tea Toast & Trivia

Thank you for joining Leith and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you to Leith who opened the doors of the past and shared the profound stories of brave men and women who witnessed a pivotal transition in history.

I invite you to meet up with Leith at the The Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University, which was founded in 1998 as a joint venture between faculty and individuals in the community. The Centre, located at SFU’s beautiful Burnaby campus, provides a focal point for faculty, students, and all who are interested in exploring Scottish history and culture and the connections between Scotland and Canada in the contemporary global landscape.  It is a place where the past reaches out to our time and reminds us to live boldly, with courage and hope.

I am thrilled that Teagan Geneviene has joined me on Tea Toast & Trivia to discuss the launch of her book, “Dead of Winter”. The adventure is coming to readers in a series of Journeys. I have read Journey 1, Forlorn Peak and Journey 2, Penllyn and now await, with great anticipation, the next installment, Journey 3, The Fever Field.

Teagan makes brilliant use of serialization to enhance a reader’s experience. What began in 1836 with Charles Dickens’ “the Pickwick Papers” is making a comeback in our timeline. Serial novels encourage us to savour the narrative, to reflect with expectation to what comes next.

I have been looking forward to this conversation with Teagan.  Journey I and Journey II explore themes of resilience and coming of age within a world that is in transition.

Thank you for joining Teagan and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you, Teagan, for introducing “Dead of Winter” in our virtual reading room.

I invite you to meet up with Teagan at https://teagansbooks.com/ You are only an internet click away from meeting up with Emlyn, her teacher Osabide, and The Watcher. There are more adventures yet to come!

Teagan on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13707141.Teagan_Geneviene

You can also visit Teagan at:

S3 E12: Mary Jo Malo, Celebrating World Poetry Day

I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am delighted to meet up with my friend and poet, Mary Jo Malo. We are bridging the distance of 3,420 kilometers between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Vancouver, British Columbia to discuss poetry and a poet’s calling. Driving time is 31 hours, Zoom time, 31 seconds.

We will be marking World Poetry Day, which occurred yesterday, on March 21, 2021, which was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999. UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.

So put the kettle on and celebrate poetry on Tea, Toast & Trivia.com. This promises to be an extraordinary conversation.

Thank you for joining Mary Jo and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you, Mary Jo, for sharing your insight on poetry for World Poetry Day.  You inspire me to celebrate poetry every day.

Dear listeners, I invite you to meet up with Mary Jo on her blog, This Shining Wound, Original poetry by Mary Jo Malo.  It is a place where the music of words dwells.

Until next time, keep safe, be well.

S3 E11: The Trio on the Art of Cursive Writing

am joined by my mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah, to discuss the art of cursive writing. Cursive handwriting style undoubtedly has an artistic flair. There is beauty in the curving lines and connecting letters. But there is much more about cursive writing to celebrate for it improves our neural connections and interplay of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. When we use cursive writing, we enhance our memory retention and improve our fine motor skills. Think of it as an exercise program for our minds.

So put the kettle on and add to the conversation.  We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com

I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Thank you for joining Frances, Sarah, and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Until next time we meet, dear friends, keep safe and be well!

“Sending a handwritten letter is becoming such an anomaly. It’s disappearing. My mom is the only one who still writes me letters. And there’s something visceral about opening a letter – I see her on the page. I see her in her handwriting.” Steve Carell