Husband baked a gluten-free sweet challah for me for Rosh Hashanah, and I brought home a sweet (non-GF) challah for my husband and daughter. Starting 5786 with love and sweetness. Shana tova!

Wishing friends a sweeter year to come. Happy Rosh Hashanah. שנה טובה

It doesn’t feel sufficient to continue to wish everyone a peaceful and calm weekend. It is surreal to witness the loss of free speech and the unraveling of democracy in the USA. Watching closely and anxiously from Canada, and thankful that we have the government that we have.

“If you don’t move and protect the rights you have, you lose them.” — Maria Ressa

RSV vaccines have arrived in our office! Hooray for being able to keep our patients healthy in family medicine! Covered by OHIP for anyone 75+ and others who are high risk. Next up, for Ontairio, Covid-19 boosters and flu shots. Sleeves up and elbows up, Canadians ❤️💉

Update re #RSV vaccine in Ontario: Recommended for: 💉Everyone 75+ 💉 60-74y in congregant living (retirement home, LTC) 💉immunocompromised 💉homeless 💉First Nations, Inuit, Métis 💉Pregnant people 3rd trimester 💉Infants < 8 months If you got the RSV vaccine last year you do not require a booster.

How is everyone doing? The world needs so much healing right now. Have a peaceful, calm, healthy weekend. Timeline cleanse with a happy puppy in Canada. Shabbat shalom, friends and colleagues.

Husband went to send a birthday package to a friend who lives in the USA today and couldn’t because of tariffs. We already won’t cross the border to visit them. Now this. Fine, hosers, they’ll get their gift when they come to Canada. Our gift: a classic Bob and Doug McKenzie vinyl album. 🇨🇦❤️

As a family doc, I’m recommending the updated COVID and flu vaccines to all my patients when they become available this autumn, including pregnant patients, young children, and seniors (to whom I will also recommend the RSV vaccine). Elbows and sleeves up for important public health measures 🇨🇦💉

End of a busy week. Three cheers to my husband for baking a GF challah. Truly appreciate that I come home to such a treat. Ready to light the candles and unwind. Have a peaceful, healthy weekend. Shabbat shalom, friends and colleagues.

Excellent news here in Canada: There will be an overhaul of the Ontario vaccine registry to tackle measles resurgence and modernize Ontario's outdated vaccine records. The Covid-19 vaccine registry has been very helpful. Keeping track of all routine vaccines is very smart. Elbows and sleeves up 🇨🇦💉

This was cathartic. I learned a lot about the education system through my work as a school board trustee in Ottawa. It was an honour to represent my constituents. No surprise that they were shut down within days of my resignation. I hope they aren’t reinstated before addressing their dysfunction.

What happens in the state of Florida does not stay in the state of Florida. If they remove school vaccine mandates, INFANTS AND CHILDREN WILL NEEDLESSLY DIE ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. Vaccines save lives. Don’t mess with population health for political points. Same goes for Canadian provinces.

Doctor here: September friendly reminder to mask in health care. Easy peasy, as always, for staff and patients.

Spotted on the trans Canada highway outside of Halifax: Car with Washington State plates has bumper stickers “I ❤️ Canada” and 🚫 Trump. Elbows up!

Meanwhile in (most of) Canada, we’re pro-public health, preparing to give Covid-19 boosters. The K.P.2 COVID-19 vaccine has been withdrawn from market prior to the new updated vaccine for autumn 2025 (made in Canada!). In our clinic, we’ve booked flu & Covid-19 jabapalooza early Nov. Sleeves up! 🇨🇦💉

Visiting the museum of immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax. My grandparents, Joseph, Rose, and aunt Fran (Feiga) arrived in Canada on the Scythia in 1948 as Holocaust survivors from a German displaced persons camp. When we react to antisemitism in Canada and around the world, this is our story.

This week in Ottawa, Canada, a woman was stabbed at a store because she’s Jewish. The man who attacked her had a social media pattern of extreme antisemitic content. Don’t respond “but what about…” Check in with Jewish friends and colleagues. We are not OK. Shabbat shalom feels insufficient.

We made it! Ocean to ocean, and prairies, lakes, mountains. Ottawa to Vancouver Island, BC, work stop in Ottawa, then to Cavendish Beach, PEI. Every km of this mother-daughter Canadian road trip was phenomenal. 🇨🇦

We resumed our road trip, for the final days of our daughter’s summer vacation. We drove to BC and back. Now heading across Quebec to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI to finish our epic Canadian road trip. (NFLD next summer). The drive along the St Lawrence River is breathtakingly beautiful.

There are ways to legitimately protest politics and wars. And then there are people who just want to get in your face to intimidate and insult (and make wild antisemitic assertions). I’ve had more than enough of the latter, for a lifetime. Blocking if you insult my religion, nationality, culture.

Breaking: Ottawa’s Capital Pride parade was just cancelled because of a group of people who inappropriately chose to hold a Middle East protest in a space that should have been for celebrating and supporting 2SLGBTQ rights Last year’s most groups withdrew from the parade due to similar antagonism.

End of week swim in Dow’s Lake, Ottawa. As the news headline said (before they edited it), not as gross as you’d think. Have a lovely weekend, friends and colleagues. Shabbat shalom wherever you are.

Friday reminder to mask in health care. Also a friendly reminder that LGBTQ rights are human rights. Happy Pride to everyone in Ottawa (celebrating with trans march tonight and Capital Pride on Sunday). BTW, if I lose a few thousand followers because you don’t like PPE or you are a bigot, a bientôt.

Friendly reminder that your fever, cough, fatigue, aches, gastric symptoms may be the highly contagious new COVID-19 variant, XFG, aka “Stratus.” COVID-related emergency room visits are up among all age groups, as the current wave spreads in the U.S., Canada, globally. September will be rough.

This morning mist hung over the warm lake. Tonight, we light the Shabbat candles as the crickets chirp. My heart is filled with the calm and quiet. Have a peaceful weekend, friends and colleagues. Shabbat shalom

By mid-August, summer’s seen through a rearview mirror. In June, we thought we might have to cancel our mother-daughter Canadian road trip. “This must be upsetting,” my MD said, as I switched from physician to patient. Next journey: hysterectomy in October; 3-30% chance of endometrial cancer.

A case of measles has been identified by #Ottawa Public Health with potential exposures to the virus for others in the community. Further spread could occur 21 days following exposure. #Measles is preventable. MMR vaccine is safe and effective. More info re Ottawa sites: ottawa.ca/en/city-hall...

Resurgence of COVID-19 symptoms among our family medicine patients. Known resurgence in the USA. And no access to local testing (public health reporting is limited to long-term care, hospitals, child care). Buckle up, Canadians: It is only August; September may be a doozy.

Cannot give up on calm and peace. Wishing good health and safety to everyone around the world. Shabbat shalom from our tranquil shore.

Our mother-daughter Canadian road trip has come to an end. The last few years were very hard for us—hate within Canada and toxicity in politics—followed by physical health issues. Self-care required stepping away from politics and taking time to marvel at the best Canada has to offer. Thankful. 🇨🇦

Saying goodbye to Lake Superior as we make our way east on our epic road trip. Most national and provincial park campsites have been fully booked, which park rangers confirm reflects a marked increase in Canadians exploring our great country. 🇨🇦

Looking out at Lake Superior, at Neys provincial park. A classic Canadian view painted by the Group of Seven. Haze from distant fires obscuring the shoreline. 🇨🇦

We’ve left the ocean, mountains, and prairies behind us. All of Canada is stunning. It feels most like home, however, to be back to watching the sun rise over the Canadian Shield. 🇨🇦

Made it to Kenora today - Husky the Muskie! Love Canada. Happy to be back in Ontario 🇨🇦

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg - a necessary departure from nature to civilization on our trip across the prairies. Thanks to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada Strong, national museums are also free for youth this summer. 🇨🇦

Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. Saturday morning walk in the Omminik marsh. Parks Canada is the best. 🇨🇦

Have a peaceful, healthy weekend, friends and colleagues around the world. Shabbat shalom. Last night we had the treat of a dark sky observatory in Cypress Hills interprovincial park, to marvel at neighbouring galaxies. One of the students working at this observatory turned out to be from Ottawa. 🇨🇦

According to man running the gas pump in Mankota, Saskatchewan, the number of Canadians driving through has doubled this year, exploring Canada (elbows up!). Husband signed his guest book. Leaving SK now and heading to Manitoba 🇨🇦

It is just so gorgeous in the Saskatchewan prairies. Have to keep stopping our car to soak it all in. 🇨🇦

My Canada includes Alberta. 🇨🇦

Meadows and mountains of wild flowers. Revelstoke National Park, BC. Hiking in Canadian bear country is daunting, but it is worth the effort. Slowly making our return journey, taking in the beauty around us. 🇨🇦

Wonderful stay in the wilds of Vancouver Island. Starting our return drive to Ottawa, via everywhere beautiful, today… 🇨🇦

Canadian adventure continues: A barnacled boulder in the Pacific Ocean, Juan de Fuca provincial park, BC. 🇨🇦

We made it!!! Mother-daughter Ottawa to Vancouver road trip. Canada, we love you 🇨🇦❤️

Just when you think it can’t get any more stunning, from pristine lakes, to Canadian Shield, prairie fields, Rocky Mountains, you enter the Okenagan Valley. All along our road trip from Ontario to British Columbia, the border to the USA snaked just south of us, and we sang love songs to Canada. 🇨🇦

We made it to beautiful British Columbia! Five more hours to Penticton to visit family, but it will be night in the east coast by then, so wishing everyone a peaceful, happy, healthy weekend now. Shabbat shalom.

Good morning from Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta 🇨🇦

We crossed the Alberta prairies today, to the mountains of Waterton Lakes National Park. Must push on. So many fabulous parks. Previously visited Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore. We will visit Kootenay, Glacier, Yoho on our way home. Hopefully, daughter spends a lifetime exploring Canadian wilderness.🇨🇦

So long for now, Saskatchewan. We will be back soon (catch you on our return trip next week!) Onward to Alberta…🇨🇦