• I write books.

    I do! It's true. I have written for all sorts of different audiences. My first book was literary adult fiction and I've written many many books that have fallen into the category "juvenile fiction" and "YA fiction". I talk about my books and writing in general on my other site, which is at www.karenrivers.com. (I don't know how to make that a live link, so you may have to copy and paste.) (Sorry.) THIS site is about me, my hair, my kids, my appliances, and that time that I rode my bike down a cliff and then got stung by a bee. It may not all be appropriately awesome (or even slightly interesting) to kids, so if you are young, LOOK AWAY. That said, there is nothing harmful here, except the occasional swear, which I ask you to edit out with your eyes. Blink blink.
  • I take pictures.







    More Photos
  • Is it safe to eat raw bacon?

    No. You shouldn't eat any raw pork products. You could get trichinosis and no doubt a number of other food-borne illnesses. With the recent change in food safety standards, I'd frankly cook the crap out of any meat product I purchased before eating it. Even if it's already cooked. Seriously. Keep in mind that I am not a raw bacon expert, I just play one on the web.

  • I Flock
  • Categories

On keeping whales in captivity.

A long time ago – 1999, to be exact – I wrote and published a YA novel called Dream Water.   I wanted to write a book about a group of teens who (as children) had witnessed the worst possible thing I knew, and how they continued to deal with the trauma of that through [...]

In which I talk about the tragic loss of my friend.

Last Saturday, my friend Martha Ralph was killed when a stolen Honda cut her off on the Malahat.   She was on a motorcycle driven by her long-time boyfriend, Larry Machnee.    They didn’t have a chance.   He died on the scene and she died later that day in hospital.
When I found out, I [...]

The Bachelor: The Women Tell All, Mostly They Say Stuff Like “It’s really hard to watch this!” Which Is True for All Of Us.

This episode was prefaced with a commercial for an upcoming news story about the best wiener.   It featured video footage of a couple of dozen bloated sausages sizzling on a barbecue.   WHY this made me laugh so hard is a mystery that could only be solved by Miss Marple, but I did start [...]

The Bachelor: Episode 7. In Which Jake Proceeds To Ruin One of My Favourite Places on Earth.

The funny thing is that watching other people kissing makes me really uncomfortable.   It’s just one of those things that ain’t pretty.   It’s AWKWARD.   It’s embarrassing.   Needless to say, I’ve spent much of this season of The Bachelor contemplating how our fireplace (which is below the TV) really is an eyesore [...]

My BABY is GROWING UP TOO FAST. Stop the presses!

Well, it happened.   The Bun — who is FOUR, btw, not SIX as one would expect in this situation — has lost his first tooth.   I know, right?   WHAT HAPPENED?   It seems like just yesterday we were all in a lather because his teeth were just coming in and he was [...]

The Bachelor: Episode 6. Wait, how can it be Hometown Week already? He barely knows these people! AND WHY DO I CARE?

Holy Hannah, time flies.   I’m sure this season just began with a bunch of cheesy schmaltz about “cloud nine” and now, lo, we are on the cusp of the finale and I have to admit that I was wrong because apart from the first couple of episodes, Jake has managed to mostly keep his [...]

This is a post about Costco, and also about the LUMPZ. Sort of like a two-for-one deal.

I went to Costco yesterday with my parents because they have a membership and I am far far far too cheap to buy my own, and also because shopping with my parents makes me feel young again as though I am too young to be able to shop for real grown up items on my [...]

Some stuff about school, in case you are FOLLOWING THIS STORY CLOSELY.

It was kindergarten registration this week which means that I went into a tailspin of angst about what is THE RIGHT THING TO DO.    The Bun is currently in a private school that we can’t really afford long-term and that does full day kindergarten, which we don’t really want, and separates the boys from [...]

The Bachelor: Episode Five. WHEN IS ABC GOING TO ADMIT THAT THEY PICKED THE WRONG DUDE?

I was drinking last night when I watched this, I’ll admit it up front.   I’m kind of a one-glass-of-wine-then-I-get-dizzy-and-have-to-lie-down person, at least I am lately, so the fact I had TWO glasses of wine last night may affect my ability to be completely objective about this episode.   Also, I have a wicked bad [...]