Yearly Canada Day tradition 🇨🇦 Grateful to live in such a beautiful place, on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Salish people, surrounded by beauty. Our spread includes Canadian vegetables, chips, the best of Canadian music on the stereo - although, I must admit, our wine is French 🇫🇷

Research on the patio - French style 🍷🥖

After beach writing...

Tuesday afternoon 🌞 Beach writing

Perfect Sunday for reading and writing 🥰

The best kind of thank-you gifts 😍

Friday afternoon - discovering secret treasures 🥰📚

I've been busy - performing, writing, revising, research, a judge for the Book Awards for B.C. Authors & choreography. This summer, I want to read novels, scribble notes at outdoor cafes, cook nourishing food, meet up with friends, go exploring and fill the well. That's a plan. Happy Friday ❤️

"This day we write" ✍️ This is the mantra for the Surrey International Writers Conference which is back this year, and I'm pleased to be back writing with them again. But this mantra is also a daily mantra for me and writers all over the world - for every day, we write ❤️

A gorgeous afternoon for some writing and a smoothie 😍

Taking myself on a date night to see Carley Fortune, celebrating her new book and talking about "writerly" things ❤️

Working out choreography for Romeo and Juliet on a sunny Sunday afternoon. This cast will amaze you with their moves 💃🧑‍🩰

In honour of my recent cat rescue from a tree adventure, I bought this ink to celebrate - because life is meant to be celebrated with little pleasures Swipe left to see what a cat's eye ink looks like - a subtle green with flecks of gold 😻

Theatre memories ❤️

The weather changed dramatically with thunder and lightning strikes, so I woke with a headache. Eagle arms and breath work to the rescue to bust up that tension in the upper back, shoulders and neck. Back to the writing desk today, so headache be gone 🧘‍♀️

Today the weather called me out to play ☀️

Poetry in the clover 🌸🌞

Getting ready for my summer reads with the latest release by Canadian author Carley Fortune. This book takes place right here in my gorgeous province on the west coast 😍

Friday afternoon ☀️☀️ Working hard, hardly working #writer #research

Happy Beltane - the gaelic May Day celebration marking the beginning of summer, and the west coast is certainly delivering it this weekend ☀️☀️

"Sometimes the whispers in the silence have messages for us, and we need to distinguish those whispers from the leaves in the breeze..." It's been awhile since my last post because RA stopped talking to me. Or did she? jgchayko.com/old-lady-in-...

Current writing view 🌸❤️ - front window, study and deck 😍😍

Today is Earth Day. Today I will be more conscious of the footprint I leave behind in this beautiful world we take for granted. The earth speaks every day - most of the time we don't listen. Today, take a moment to stop and listen. Imagine how powerful it would be if we did that every day ❤️

Am I the only writer who after submitting feels they need to down a martini? Why is it so stressful, even for such a little piece?

Searching for enlightenment while filling the well. Today I spent the afternoon at the Buddhist Temple. There is a restorative energy that stays with you when you leave, like an imprint on the soul ❤️

Recovering from a migraine means no writing on the computer, no big thinking projects like the grant I'm writing, not even edits on my crime novel today - just light essay scribbling in a notebook, some soothing peppermint oil and light reading in a cozy blanket. Recovery days are precious ❤️

And the music plays on... Thrilled to go back to my Shakespeare roots and choreograph a new project this summer... with a twist 🤩 Details to come 💃🩰

Even at 37,000 ft it’s author at work! @jgchayko.bsky.social

I’m this digital age of computers and ai replacing people and offices, the busiest place this Easter in Toronto is a pen and paper store. @jgchayko.bsky.social

Two authors hanging out at Wonder Pens - and adding a couple more fountain pens to the collection 😆 Happy Easter 🐰? Sure 😊

Does the picture look familiar? 😄 @mileslavkulich.bsky.social

Today's definition from "The Devil's Dictionary." Experience: "The wisdom that enables us to recognize, as an undesirable old acquaintance, the folly that we have already embraced."

One of my favorite things about writing is research. I have travelled around the world and to places in my own backyard for research. Recently I read a pile of letters from my grandfather to my granny - behold, the house where my granny lived in the 1930's. Built in 1926. I love my work. ❤️

Spring reading 🌼💕

World Poetry Day 💕

My TBR pile is growing but I went to the bookstore today, & couldn't resist this enchanting book, both in concept and cover. Yes, I know, I have three writing projects and I'm a judge for the Book Awards for BC Authors, but I can always find time to read 😍

George and Charlotte Hay fight their way through the obstacles of stage and screen in Moon Over Buffalo with Vagabond Players at the Bernie Legge Theatre. www.vagabondplayers.ca/moon-over-bu...

Learning some fencing and stage fighting techniques for Moon Over Buffalo. Opening in two weeks 🎭 www.vagabondplayers.ca/moon-over-bu...

Airport wisdom 😄

Morning view 🥰

Morning yoga view 🧘‍♀️❤️

From the flatlands to the mountains, we had to come to the other side of the Rockies to see snow on the peaks, and then tuck ourselves into a cozy little lodge for the weekend.

Carol Burnett played this role on Broadway in 1995. I'm hope to bring those comic vibes to my role alongside an amazing cast and crew. Moon Over Buffalo runs February 19th thru March 8th. Vagabond Players at The Bernie Legge Theatre. www.vagabondplayers.ca/moon-over-bu...

Today is all about poetry. Sometimes you just need that palate cleanser, to spend the day in beauty.

It's going to be a rainy walk to the theatre for tonight's rehearsal, but for now it's a perfect day to stay in and work on a spooky, dark story.

How 2025 made some people feel

A little bit of wardrobe fun for New Year's Eve 😆 🥂

2025 was a vintage year, a full-bodied glass of creative living through writing, theatre, travel, new opportunities, changes, challenges, and a few unexpected spills along the way. 2026 is lingering in the vat, soaking up the skin of last year, and aging into a new vintage. Happy New Year 🥂

Work lunch 😆

Counting my blessings 💞 Holding gratitude for a truly exceptional year and celebrating life. Sending love from my heart to yours and hoping you hold space for your own celebration no matter how small you deem it - it's significant because it's yours ⭐