Author: Kim Siever

I live in Lethbridge with my spouse and 5 of our 6 children. I’m a writer, focusing on social issues and the occasional poem. My politics are radically left. I recently finished writing a book debunking several capitalism myths. My newest book writing project is on the labour history of Lethbridge. I’m also dichotomally Mormon. And I’m a functional vegetarian: I have a blog post about that somewhere around here. My pronouns are he/him.
Posted on

Vancouver Christmas trip

This Christmas, we drove out to Vancouver to spend time with our extended families. This was the first Christmas since 2016 and the first time since September 2018 that we had been to Vancouver. Ash stayed home, but Regan, Ace, Quillan, and Siobhán all came with us.

We stayed overnight in Spokane on the way there and back, and also stopped off at the temple in Seattle, where we were married back in 1995. The trip through Snoqualmie Pass was pretty stressful, as we drove through a snowstorm. Luckily, shortly after we began our ascent, two snowplows entered traffic in front of us. We stayed behind them until we passed through the storm. The trip back had much better weather.

We stayed at a hotel in Langley, and spent most of the time in Surrey with Kim’s family; although, we went out to eat with Mary’s dad at IHOP in New Westminster on Saturday night. We spent a few hours with Kim’s parents Friday night, then had family photos on Saturday; spent a couple of hours at Kim’s parents on Saturday; attended church with Kim’s parent and two of his siblings and their families; had brunch with his parents after church; then spent most of the rest of Sunday with Kim’s family having a meal, opening presents, and playing games.

During our final leg home, on Tuesday, we hit a huge puddle in Cranbrook, which tore the protective fabric covering our battery under the vehicle. While it was being serviced at Canadian Tire, we took everyone out to eat at East Side Marios.

One thing we learned from the trip is that Kim’s arthritis won’t allow him to drive long road trips anymore without leaving him in a lot of pain.

Posted on

We got a new cat

With the loss of our cat, Lily, we decided to get a new kitten. Her name is Horatio. She will be a companion for Sparrow, who is Ash’s cat, unti Ash moves away, and will be our mouse catcher after Sparrow is gone.

Posted on

Kim injured his knees

On the 11th. Kim took an electric scooter to a church meeting but crashed it a few blocks from the church. His right knee was in pain all day, so he went to the ER at Chinook Regional Hospital to have it looked at. After 3 hours and some test, the attending physician determined that there were no broken bones and the ligaments seemed fine, but that he’d have to go for a follow up at the Southern Alberta Acute Knee Injury Clinic, which he did today.

The good news is that the kinesiologist confirmed that he had no broken bones and the ligaments don’t seem to be injured. The bad news is that the pain he’d been experiencing over the last week and a half is because of an arthritis flare up, caused by the injury.

He already had osteoarthritis in his knees (as well as ankles, hips, back, and neck), so that part wasn’t new. However, the kinesiologist told him that he had to adjust his activities if he wants to preserve knee mobility.

For example, no more kneeling or squatting for long periods. No running, or jumping, or sitting crosslegged, or any activity that is high impact or twists his legs. He also must be careful how he carries heavy loads, not squatting too low and being careful how he walks with them.

His flat feet also put extra strain on his knees, as they try to compensate for his feet rolling into the inside of his step. He has to get new orthotic inserts and buy special slippers to wear around the house.

Posted on

Mary got a new job

Mary has been offered a job as a sessional instructor at Mount Royal University in Calgary. She will be teaching remotely and be covering two sections of the introduction to women and gender series course.

Currently, the contract is just for this semester, but it’s possible it could be extended for additional semesters depending on how this semester goes.

We’re all excited for her!

Posted on

Lethbridge Corn Maze field trip

I took Quillan and Siobhán to the Lethbridge Corn Maze as part of a School of Hope field trip. This was the first time for both of them going through the corn maze, and they loved it. Wish we had brought water though. We stopped off at the Park Lake playground to play a bit on our way home.

First time at the corn maze for these two. Park Lake
Posted on

Quillan’s baptism

Today was Quillan’s baptism.

Regan did the baptism. Mary gave the talk. Mary’s mum and Naomi each gave a prayer. Mary and Eve were witnesses. Regan and I did the confirmation.

It was quiet, with everything going on with COVID-19, but it was still nice. Quillan’s teacher, Cheryl Fletcher, was there, as were Sandi Earl, the Primary president; Cam MacLennan, the ward mission leader; and Ryan Peterson, the bishop. Sinéad didn’t come.

Posted on

Mary’s undergrad convocation

Mary convocated today. Six years after starting her undergrad, she finally finished. She graduated with great distinction and with a combined major in English and women and gender studies.

My parents, her mum, Naomi, and Sinéad were there. All of our other children were there, too.

It was so nice to see here walk across the stage. We switched places today.