Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

Season 3 Episode 43: Dan Antion on Random Thoughts, Life Lessons, Hopes and Dreams Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia! Thank you for listening in! I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am delighted that Dan Antion, blogger, writer, woodworker, cyclist, photographer, geek, and I are connecting Hartford Connecticut and Vancouver British Columbia.  This promises to be an exciting conversation so put the kettle on and stop on by TTT to join the conversation. Thank you for joining Dan and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you, Dan, for sharing your stories and your passions that present opportunities for observation and exploration. I am also sending my gratitude on the wing to Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene, my writer and blogger friend who introduced me to Dan. I invite you to meet up with Dan on his blog No Facilities Random thoughts, life lessons, hopes and dreams. I invite you to meet up with Teagan at Teagan’s Books . Stay tuned for a podcast

S3 42: Susan Abernethy on Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England and Regent of Portugal “Amidst all the commotion created by King Charles II and his flamboyant mistresses, there actually was a Queen. She was Catherine of Braganza, and she led a very interesting life in England as the King’s wife and later as ruler of her country of origin.” Susan Abernethy, The Freelance History Writer Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. My blogger friend and historian, Susan Abernethy from the blog, The Freelance History Writer, has returned to discuss the complex life of Catherine of Braganza, the subject of soon to be released book. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for joining Susan and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you Susan, for offering us fresh insight into the life of Catherine of Braganza. Bold, strategic, and

Season 3 Episode 41: Happy Thanksgiving “Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.” “Come, ye thankful people, come” 1884 Henry Alford Tune “St. George's Windsor" by George Job Elvey Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Happy Thanksgiving! I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. October 11, 2021, marks the celebration of Canada’s Thanksgiving Day. Autumn, with its crisp winds and changing colours, ushers in moments of reflection and a feeling of warm nostalgia.  It is harvest time, when visions of canning vegetable and preserving jams and jellies remind me of family and community gatherings.  What better time to commemorate thankfulness? Thank you for celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with me on Tea Toast & Trivia.  A special thank you to my brother, Brian for his rendition of the hymn “Come, ye thankful people, come,” which was set to

Season 3 Episode 40: Liz Humphreys and Elisabeth Van Der Meer on the Midpoint of the #KaramzovReadalong “For all is like an ocean, all flows and connects; touch it in one place and it echoes at the other end of the world.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. The #KaramazovReadalong has reached a milestone in our journey.  We are at the midpoint of the book. “For all is like an ocean, all flows and connects; touch it in one place and it echoes at the other end of the world.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Liz Humphreys from Edinburgh, Scotland, and Elisabeth Van Der Meer from Porvoo, Finland have joined me to look back on what we’ve learned, and look forward to what may come. You may recall that a few months ago, I received an invitation from my blogger friend and book aficionado, Liz Humphreys to join her on a readalong of The Brothers Ka

Season 3 Episode 39: Sally Cronin on Short Stories and Reading “A New Beginning” Our Legacy Writers seek to inspire those of us not yet great to leave behind a legacy of worth. Fame and fortune are not required if we are remembered for our acts of kindness. Sally Cronin “Life is Like a Mosaic: Random Fragments in Harmony” Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. 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 for the past months, book readings at public libraries and bookstores have been curtailed.  We are learning to embrace technology in new ways.  Welcome the podcast series, “Authors Reading their Books”

Season 3 Episode 38: Tina Do on Poetry in a Global World Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am excited and thrilled to connect with my friend and poet, Tina Do, to discuss the poet’s journey in a global world. Tina Do is a Vancouver-based poet, unashamed dinosaur aficionado and Master of Arts student at Simon Fraser University living and working on the unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the Səlil̓wətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwitlem) and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Tina was honoured with her first publication credit from The /tƐmz/ Review and was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2020.  Her poetry will be featured in the forthcoming Best Canadian Poetry, and Canadian Literature. These days, you can catch her reading up on whether or not dinosaurs had lips and trying not to over-love her plants. Tina and I

S3 E37: Miriam Hurdle on Poems of Gratitude and Beatitude Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in! I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.  I am delighted and thrilled that poet and writer, Miriam Hurdle and I are connecting California and British Columbia to discuss how nature’s capacity for healing has ignited her poetic journey.  Miriam’s book of poetry, “Songs of Heartstrings: Poems of Gratitude and Beatitude” is an exploration into the breadth and depth of the human experience, of feeling the joy of being alive, of living with hope even when faced with difficult pathways. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for joining Miriam and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a special thank you, Miriam, for sharing your love of poetry, art, and music.  You have inspired me, and I know that you have inspired readers and listeners to see life as a symphony, to emb

Season 3 Episode 36: The Trio on Safety Nets Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia! Thank you for listing in! I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you Today’s podcast is a look back to a time before COVID-19 changed the trajectory of our global journey. I came upon an audio file that was located in an old file that was hidden and forgotten in my digital filing system. It seems that, even in our world of organizational efficiencies, things can be misplaced. Perhaps it was meant to be lost until the timing was right. My mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah, discussed the idea of safety nets and how they have evolved over time. Little did we know that in a few months after we recorded this conversation, we would learn how to create safety nets in a virtual world. A safety net is defined as a safeguard against possible hardship or adversity, a system to help those who have serious problems and no other form of help. So put the kettle on and add to this discussion on Tea

Season 3 Episode 35: Valerie Peachey on Beginnings, Adventures & Life Stories Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in! I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.  I am heading over to Spain to meet up with Dr. Valerie Peachey.   I have been looking forward to connecting with Valerie ever since my friend and neighbour, Chris, said that Valerie was a kindred spirit and introduced us via e-mail. It was one of those serendipitous moments when you know that a friendship is about to happen. Dr. Valerie Peachey is a non-traditional, semi-retired university professor. Having grown up in many countries around the world, Spain is now home. She is passionate about helping others create and realize their dreams. As a highly respected educator/leader, she believes that open pathways, flexible and well-designed learning opportunities, can yield transformative results. Individuals gain increased opportunities to reach their personal and pr

Season 3 Episode 34: Karen Saunders on Books, Book Clubs & Belonging “A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” Madeleine L’Engle Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. 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, Karen Saunders, has joined me on Tea Toast & Trivia to discuss how book clubs build compassionate communities and encourage life-long learning. Karen called New Brunswick home. That is, until her family decided to settle on the other side of Canada in North Vancouver, British Columbia.  Karen is passionate about literature, languages, and books.  She attended the University of Victoria and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts, a double major in English Literature and French Language.  In 1983, Karen obtained a Master of Library Science from McGill University, Montréal, QC.   Dur

Season 3 Episode 33: Shehanne Moore on the Writer/Publisher Connection Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am you host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am beyond thrilled that I am travelling over 7,000 kilometers to meet up with Shehanne Moore in Scotland to discuss the connection between a writer and publisher. Shehanne, also known as Shey, is a published author of stories that detail the best and worst of human behaviour, as opposed to pouts and flounces.  She set up Black Wolf Books, a small royalty paying publisher, presently taking submissions by invitation only. Today, Shey shares her thoughts on how to foster an authentic relationship with a publisher motivated by a mutual desire to publish books that resonate with readers.  Shey is a storytelling who understands the process required to bring those narratives to readers. Thank you for sharing this moment with Shey and me on Tea Toast and Trivia.  A special thank you,

Season 3 Episode 32: Susan Abernethy on Adventures in History “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?”  Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. My blogger friend and historian, Susan Abernethy, from the blog, The Freelance History Writer, and I have bridged the distance between Denver, Colorado and Vancouver, British Columbia to discuss why we should study history. Susan Abernethy has a degree in history and is a member of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association and The Historical Association.  Her blog, The Freelance History Writer has been continuously publishing historical articles since 2012, with an emphasis o

Season 3 Episode 31: Dave Astor on Misty’s Adventures “What greater gift than the love of a cat.” Charles Dickens Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Dave Astor and I are once again bridging the 3,923 kilometers between New Jersey and Vancouver to bring you the first podcast in the Misty series.  Every morning, without fail, my mother, Frances, and I meet up via Facebook with Misty and Dave on their adventures. This morning, when we went into the woods, Misty advised that he thought that theatrical productions may be coming back. Misty is a futurist, making brilliant predictions about the future based on current trends. Following Misty is not for the faint of heart.  You will walk on fences, jump from opens grates, run across the grass, meet up with deer, and trudge through the snow.  Misty reminds me that living in the now, embracing the power of being present creates a sense of well-being and of being whole. I am thrilled that Dave has graciously agreed to share Mist

S3 E 30: Julie Riso on Awakening to Nature “Each day brings a new surprise – another songbird’s voice, new buds emerge, and, finally, wildflowers. Marsh marigolds first, then violets. The drowsy flight of butterflies and bumblebees. Awaken, sleepyheads. The bewildered emergence of the little furry ones. They stare at me with curiosity, and then skitter away, remembering that my kind is to be feared. The early petals wither while new blooms unfurl. Each one more flamboyant than the last.” Julie Riso, Beneath the Winter Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am delighted and thrilled that my blogger friend and writer, Julie Riso, from her blog “Wish I Were Here” and I are connecting Vancouver and Northern Michigan for a discussion on awakening to nature. Julie has created a space that welcomes authentic conversations.  She writes that many years ago, she chose to follow an unmarked path – the o

Season 3 Episode 29: Marina Kanavaki on Art Towards a Happy Day Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you. I am thrilled that my blogger friend, artist, and musician, Marina Kanavaki, and I have bridged the distance between Athens and Vancouver to discuss how music and art bring joy and beauty to our lives. What would take 12 hours and 41 minutes flight time has take 12 sends by WIFI to join Marina and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Music was Marina’s first love. She would crawl up on the piano stool and put her ear on the keys to hear the sounds and their combinations.  Then painting came into Marina’s life, influenced by her father, who was an artist.  His guidance and strong support allowed her freedom to explore her creativity. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for joining Marina and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Marina’s a

Season 3 Episode 28: Tommy Douglas & All About Canada Tommy Douglas “Courage, my friends; ‘tis not too late to build a better world.” Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. This podcast is all about Canada, my home.  It is also a story about Canadians. So put the kettle on and add to the discussion on Tea Toast & Trivia. I leave you with this thought by Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas “We are all in this world together, and the only test of our character that matters is how we look after the least fortunate among us. How we look after each other, not how we look after ourselves. That’s all that really matters, I think.” Until next time we meet, dear friends, keep safe and be well.

S3 E27: Sally Cronin on Writing, Marketing and Telling Your Story Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in! I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. I am delighted and thrilled that my blogger friend and writer, Sally Cronin and I are connecting Ireland and Canada, a distance of over 7,000 kilometers.  What would take 10 hours flight time has taken 10 seconds in the magic of WIFI time. Sally is a storyteller.  As a child, she used poetry, song lyrics and short stories to bring narratives to life.  She is an indie author and proud to be one. Her greatest pleasure comes from those readers who enjoy her take on health, characters, and twisted endings… and of course come back for more.  Sally’s support and encouragement of the indie community is legendary.   Today, we will be exploring writing, marketing, and telling your story. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast &

Season 3 Episode 26: Liz Humphreys and Elisabeth Van Der Meer on the #KaramazovReadalong Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. “Love is such a priceless treasure that you can buy the whole world with it and redeem not only your own but other people’s sins. Go, and do not be afraid.”  Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Today we are working with the magic of technology to bring together Edinburgh, Scotland, Porvoo, Finland, and Vancouver, Canada for a special event – the launch of the The Brothers Karamazov Readalong. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been on my “To Be Read” stack of books for several years but I have hesitated, waiting for the right moment. Then serendipity arrived in the form of an e-mail message from my blogger friend and book aficionado, Liz Humphreys from Leaping Life, announcing that she was organizing a #Readalong of The Brothers Karamazov to coincid

S3 E25: Roberta Eaton Cheadle Reading “A Ghost and his Gold” Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. 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 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 Roberta Eaton Cheadle who

Season 3 Episode 24: Liz Humphreys on 14 Weeks with Dante Alighieri “Into the eternal darkness, into fire and into ice.”  Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno, The Purgatorio and The Paradiso Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. My dear blogger friend, Liz, from her blog Leaping Life and I have once again bridged the 7,059 kilometers between Edinburgh and Vancouver to discuss her profound 14-week journey with Dante Alighieri. I vividly recalled her January 10, 2021 blog post which started out, “It’s a funny old life.  Who would have imagined a connection between one of history’s most iconic and enduring works of literature and a modern novel about travelling the world in a converted bright pink ice cream van.” Doesn’t that sound like a great first line to a novel? Liz has a way of igniting my curiosity. There is always an adventure happening on her blog, “Leaping Life.” I am th