So do we! 🙂

You can't quit until we do that Nose Hill story we've talked about doing for 8 years! Which means you can never quit... 😉

Coping mechanism! An old conversation... and some wise advice?

This week: a drawing book comic about a remembered conversation.
samhester.substack.com/p/coping-mec...

Electoral Boundaries Commissions - Elections Alberta The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act requires that a commission be appointed during the first session of the legislature, following the second general election after the commission’s last appointme...

The electoral boundaries commission website has been taken down but the commission’s interim report, final report, and public submissions are available on the Elections Alberta website: www.elections.ab.ca/resources/re...

drop some KITCHENS

Budapest's Matthias Church, with some dry brown branches in the foreground.

The Danube river on a grey day in 1991 Budapest, with a ferry boat on the water and the Matthias Church in the distance on the far bank.

In 1991, on a grey, misty morning, I took these photos after attending Easter Sunday mass at the Matthias Church in Budapest. It felt like such a hopeful time for a country that had been through a lot. Feeling hopeful for Hungary today, too!

Flashback to my old life A Calgary sketchbook and a few digressions

This week in The Drawing Book, some reminiscences about Calgary in 2002... along with a few digressions.

samhester.substack.com/p/flashback-...

The Men They Couldn't Hang - Green Fields of France YouTube video by Paul A May

In the 80s, local university radio station played a cover of "The Green Fields of France." Tried to find it, eventually gave up, but it stuck with me forever. A couple of years ago I picked up the search again. It was by The Men They Couldn't Hang, & it made me cry!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr6O...

Work/Life and the Country Bunny I want an army of rabbit children to clean my house!

Hi Drawing Book readers! I had some new comics ALMOST ready for you, but I ran out of time, so it'll have to wait for next week. Instead, here's last year's story about a remarkable old children's book, "The County Bunny & the Little Gold Shoes." Happy Easter!

samhester.substack.com/p/worklife-a...

Black and white comics panels showing some snowy neighbourhood scenes, including a tall skinny vertical panel showing me looking up at my roof and a woodpecker looking down, in a "silent faceoff."

Noisy woodpeckers hammering the roof of my house all day, reminded me of this old #comic from the Ramsay newsletter back in March of 2014! I kind of enjoy the woodpeckers at this time of year. But I am glad all the snow is melting!

Oh - I LOVE this! Thanks!

Live from Hester's new digs In 2002, I moved to Bridgeland. Here's the story in my old sketchbook journal

This week in the Drawing Book, an old comic about how I moved to the #yyc neighbourhood of Bridgeland, back in 2002
samhester.substack.com/p/live-from-...

Me too!

The Classic Problem The work/life balancing act is the same as it was twenty-five years ago.

This week in the Drawing Book: an old #comic about my life as a 20-something wannabe artist. That was twenty-five years ago... funny how some of those things never seem to change!
samhester.substack.com/p/the-classi...

Ah that's a relief, because we want the Shire's tax dollars to go toward public transit planning. I know the technology is still a few hundred years away, but that's probably how long it will take to confirm the route...

Ah yes, sounds like the new Mayor has inherited some problems. Honestly I think he has been spending too much time on that new tree-planting program. Good thing you are holding him accountable!

Oh no!!! Let me guess, it's about urban planning in Mordor. "Gorgoroth government says no to cycle tracks on plateau." "Black Gate fails to meet accessibity standards." "Repairs to Cirith Ungol archway go over budget." "Shelob's lair: municipal or provincial jurisdiction?"

A paper spread out on a table that says "top o' the mornin' to ye!"

This is not a thing I did when growing up, either (although my mom tells me her dad used to put green food colouring in their toast at breakfast. Toast??!) Anyway, in my attempt to get with the times, this year I left this message out for my kids to see in the morning. Your leprechaun trap is great!

It is so frustrating that so many people are experiencing their own isolated versions of these struggles... makes it harder to get anywhere, & also harder to raise awareness! So thanks for talking about it when you can. I feel the same responsibility, but also waiting till I have more capacity!

Thanks Karen! Your event looked great, thanks for all that you're doing! I was busy today (as usual) juggling work and family stuff, but hope I can make it out to some more community things one of these days!

I've had a couple of concussions and yes, there are lots of things in common! I hope you will keep getting better and I love your response to that question. Thanks! We are all in this together! 😊

Thanks for sharing! Most people have no idea about long covid, so it really makes a difference to share info & resources. And that's so hard to do when you are dealing with health troubles yourself! So thanks again. Also, really appreciating your new pod (the one that cares about its listeners!) 😊

Drawing of some crocuses growing out of some melting patches of snow, with the text "long covid is a real thing!"

It's the end of #LongCovidAwarenessDay, so here's a picture I drew last year.
It's my 22nd month with long covid. I'm doing much better, but still really wish that I, & so many others, did not have this! Stay safe out there, friends! There's so much going on out there, we need you to stay healthy!♥️

A black and white sketch of a woman (me) walking her two dogs at night.

This week in The Drawing Book, a little tale of a long-ago midnight adventure in Calgary.
samhester.substack.com/p/what-i-lik...

Why Science Communication Needs Visuals • Association of Science Communicators Visuals have revolutionized scientific understanding throughout history—and that’s why we must resist the temptation to delegate them to mindless algorithms.

In this blog post for the Association of Science Communicators, I make my argument for why science communication needs visuals, and why I think it's not something we should delegate to machines (even if we could) 🤖

www.associationofsciencecommunicators.org/2026/visuals/

#scicomm #SciArt #SciViz

With cool pics, I should add

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has ordered The City of Calgary to issue a Boil Water Advisory for approximately 500 homes and businesses located in the community of Spruce Cliff, and limited areas of Wildwood and Rosscarrock, effective immediately.

Read More newsroom.calgary.ca/boil-water-a...

Since I don't see it in the replies, I feel obliged to mention the strait with the best name: the Hecate Strait! Named after a boat. But the boat was named after the goddess/witch!

maps.app.goo.gl/JqhC178CuieE...

Journeys of Sam & Frodo Comparing my real-life adventures to LOTR, in this old comic strip

This week in the drawing book: An old comic comparing my real-life adventures to "The Lord of the Rings."
samhester.substack.com/p/journeys-o...

I've ranted enough about my worry that not enough #yyc people know we are heading into a month of water restrictions, starting tomorrow. So I'll just end with my DIY graphic, reminding you that today is a good day to do the water things!♥️