Darlene Foster's Blog

Thursday Doors: Valencia, Spain

Posted by: Darlene on: February 19, 2026

In: Doors | Spain | Travel
122 Comments

Another favourite Spanish city of mine is Valencia. It is the third-largest city in Spain, located about 2.5 hours south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast. It has a rich history and amazing architecture. It is also very modern and combines the new and the old very well. There is so much to do and see in this city. I have chosen some of my favourite buildings, windows and doors. But I have barely scratched the surface. Some of these pictures were taken from a bus, so may not be of great quality.

The Bank of Valencia beside a modern office building

The law courts building

I love the artwork by the windows in this building

The old market building by the seafront

One entrance to the Valencia Cathedral

The gates to the main cathedral

Traditional Valencian dancers in front of the cathedral. My favourite picture!

I realized I had too many pictures for one post, so I’ll share more at a later date.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of a fabulous city.

Thursday Doors is a weekly challenge created by Dan Antion for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments on Dan’s blog post. Check out all the other amazing door posts.

Tags: Dan Antion, Doors, Spain, Spanish cities, Thursday Doors, Valencia, Valencia Cathedral, Valencian dancers

My Entry for Story Chat Digest

Posted by: Darlene on: February 13, 2026

In: short stories | Writing
81 Comments

I am delighted that my short story was accepted for Marsha Ingrao’s Story Chat Digest. Hop on over and check it out. Don’t forget to read the chat in the comments. Story Chat Digest is an opportunity to feature your short story and have it critiqued by readers.

Story Chat Digest: “Three Sheets to the Wind” by Darlene Foster

Tags: guest post, Marsha Ingrao, short stories, Story Chat Digest, time travel, time-slip, writing

Amanda in Ireland Excerpt & Review

Posted by: Darlene on: February 9, 2026

In: Amanda Travels | Books | reviews
45 Comments

Sally Cronin, book marketer and indie supporter extraordinaire, invites us to share an excerpt of one of our books on her blog. Here is mine, along with a fabulous review of Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog.

Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2026 – Share an Excerpt – Boost one of your books – #Adventure #Travel Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog by Darlene Foster

Tags: Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog, Amanda Travels, Amanda Travels series, book review, books, excerpt, guest post, Sally Cronin, Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Thursday Doors: Gaudi’s Barcelona

Posted by: Darlene on: January 29, 2026

In: Doors | Spain | Travel
125 Comments

Barcelona’s most famous citizen is Antoni Gaudí, a brilliant architect and designer (1852-1926). And he is everywhere. I love walking along the city streets and coming upon one of his buildings. Today I’m featuring some of his designs.

The most well-known and impressive structure is his Sagrada Familia, started in 1882 and is now almost completed. It is the world’s largest unfinished Catholic church. I have visited many times in the past twenty years, and it has been fascinating to see the progression.

One of three entrances to Sagrada Familia. Note the intricate details around the door.

These doors display the Lord’s prayer in Catalan. A more recent addition to the church.

Another cool house is Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera, built between 1906 and 1912 as a private residence for the Milà family. I love the wrought-iron balconies and the fascinating chimneys on the roof.

I’ve featured Casa Batlló before, but here is one more picture of the front.

An interesting door inside Casa Batlló

A visit to Park Güell is a real treat. Originally, Güell and Gaudí envisioned the site as a private residential development of luxurious homes with modern amenities. This idea failed, and eventually the site became a municipal garden for all to enjoy.

Gaudí’s imagination is evident throughout the park, with many unique buildings scattered among the greenery and abundant wildlife.

This is the workshop of Antoni Gaudí, on the site of La Sagrada Familia. It contains some of his plans, drawings and notes. It was also part of a school he set up for the workers’ children.

I hope you enjoyed a brief look at some of this brilliant man’s work.

Thursday Doors is a weekly challenge created by Dan Antion for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments on Dan’s blog post. Check out all the other amazing door posts.

Tags: Antoni Gaudi, architecture, Barcelona, Dan Antion, Doors, europe, Spain, Thursday Doors, travel, windows

Robert Burns Day

Posted by: Darlene on: January 26, 2026

In: Events | History | People | Travel | Writing
71 Comments

On January 25, 1759, Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. A poet and lyricist, he is regarded worldwide as the national poet of Scotland. He passed away at age 37 on July 21, 1796. His birthday has been celebrated around the world since 1802. If you have ever attended a traditional Burns Night Dinner, you know how much fun they are. I have only attended once, but it was memorable.

He was born in a house built by his father and was baptised in the Auld Kirk the following day.

Robert Burns spent most of his life as a farmer, despite writing 700 poems during his lifetime.

I was fortunate to spend an afternoon in Galloway. Throughout the village are quotes from the famous author.

At the Auld Kirk there are paving stones with quotes from his most famous poem, Tam o’Shanter. The church is featured in the poem.

At the museum is the desk of Robert Burns, where he penned many of his works, including Auld Lang Syne. A song many of us sing at midnight, when the new year begins. It always brings tears to my eyes.

Whether you celebrate Robert Burns Day or not, take a minute to say Happy Birthday to a farmer and a poet who has stood the test of time.

Tags: Auld Lang Syne, poet, Robbie Burns, Robert Burns, Robert Burns cottage, Tam o'Shanter, writer

Thursday Doors: Barcellona II

Posted by: Darlene on: January 15, 2026

In: Doors | Spain | Travel
118 Comments

The last post showing doors in Barcelona went over well, so I thought I would share more. I’ve been to Barcelona a few times, so I have a lot of pictures to share. I’m afraid I don’t have names for all the buildings, and some pictures were taken out of the hop-on-hop-off bus window.

I love shuttered windows and balconies of buildings lining the streets of Barcelona.

This is the old bull ring. Since bullfighting was outlawed in Catalonia in 2011, they have turned this building into a shopping centre!

I love how Barcelona blends the new structures with the old. This is by the port with Columbus pointing the way to the New World.

There are many old churches scattered throughout Barcelona.

A huge door at the entrance of a building. At one time, this would have been the home of a wealthy family. The doors were large enough for a horse and carriage to enter the courtyard.

I love this walkway between two buildings, which I found in the Gothic Quarter

There are many museums in Barcelona, housed in old buildings that are often situated between apartments and bordering squares with cafes and restaurants.

A door into a museum

A statue welcoming everyone to the museum

A window display from the inside of the Barcelona Museum of History, looking out onto the square

An interesting structure from the window of the bus.

I hope you enjoyed more photos from Barcelona.

Tags: architecture, Barcelona, Dan Antion, Doors, doors of Barcelona, europe, museums, Spain, Thursday Doors, travel

Thursday Doors: Barcelona

Posted by: Darlene on: January 9, 2026

In: Doors | Spain | Travel
116 Comments

Barcelona is my favourite Spanish city. There is so much to see and do. It’s a vibrant city, and the energy is contagious. Here are just a few pictures of doors, windows, and buildings that caught my eye during one of my many visits.

Casa Batlló, one of Gaudí’s amazing creations.

One of the windows inside Casa Batlló

Windows of Sagrada de Familia. The details are incredible.

The building housing the Gaudí Exhibition Museum is interesting. It was built in the 12th century as a hospital for the poor. Gaudí himself was a patron and would often visit the sick there.

I enjoyed the displays, but was fascinated by the old building.

Doors to the Barcelona Cathedral with a young couple on their way to get married.

People dancing in front of the Barcelona Cathedral

A unique building on Las Ramblas

Whimsical figures welcoming visitors to the hotel.

I’ll continue to feature more doors from Barcelona

Tags: Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona, Barcelona Cathedral, Casa Batlló, Dan Antion, Gaudi, Gaudi buildings, Gaudi Museum, La Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, Thursday Doors

A New Year and New Aspirations

Posted by: Darlene on: January 3, 2026

In: Amanda Travels | Books | Dreams | Writing
116 Comments

“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.”

-Vern Mcellan

Whether you danced the night away or had a quiet evening at home, I hope you brought the new year in with joy and hope for a fabulous 2026.

It’s that time when I set my goals, aspirations and hopes for the coming year. I love doing this as it gives me some things to look forward to and some things to work toward. I’m also a chronic list maker, so just writing these things down makes me happy!

Studies prove that if you write a goal down, it is more likey to come to fruition. Here is a little story for you. I worked with a fellow who was originally from a war-torn country. As a young man, he dreamt of immigrating to Canada, so he wrote on a piece of paper that his goal was to be living in Canada by a certain date. He applied to immigrate, but it is a slow process. Then his country was thrown into yet another civil war. He forgot about his original goal, because every day the only goal was to survive. There came peace for a while, and he carried on living, happy that he survived when many hadn’t. One day, he got a call from the Canadian Embassy saying that he had been approved for immigration, and he had one year to move to Canada. As he was packing his things, he came across a piece of paper with his original goal written on it. The year he had set to be living in Canada was the year he got the OK to immigrate. I get a chill every time I recall his story.

Here are my goals for 2026, in no particular order:

Write the first draft of Amanda in Thailand: The Spirit House (working title)
Put together a cookbook for children called Amanda Cooks Around the World. It will include recipes from all the places Amanda has visited.
Start posting on my Substack account.
Continue reading in Mom’s Five-Year Diary
Read/listen to 60 books
Read books from my bookshelf. Some have been there a long time!
Get back into a regular yoga routine
Visit at least one new place, or revisit a place I haven’t been to for a while.
Spend time with old friends
See family in Canada
Organize my recipes
Find a book club that works for me. I love discussing books with well-read people.

I also like to pick a word for the year. This year I pick kindness

And because I like lists so much, here’s a daily one:

Whether you set goals or not, may all of you have a joyful 2026!!

Tags: Amanad in Thailand, Amanda Travels, aspirations, books, dreams, goals, goals 2026, travel, writing

Just How Was 2025?

Posted by: Darlene on: January 1, 2026

In: Amanda Travels | Dreams | quotes
124 Comments

Can you believe we are at the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century? As is my habit, I like to reflect on the year that has just passed and review the list of goals I made at the end of the previous year. Not everything goes according to plan, but that’s life. For me, it’s essential that I set goals to keep me moving forward.

Here are the goals I set for 2025. Let’s see how I did.

Finish writing Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog and publish it.

Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog was released on October 1, 2025. This is the third book I have self-published, and I am very pleased with it. The reviews have been wonderful. Knowing folks are reading and enjoying my books keeps me going.

2. Read some pages of Mom’s 5-year diary every day.

I read in Mom’s diary every day for the first few months and loved it. Then I got distracted and stopped. So I only get 1/2 a point for this one.

3. Blog about Mom’s diary

I wrote a blog post about Mom’s diary, which was well-received.

Mom’s Diary

4. Go someplace I haven’t been to before.

I didn’t travel much this year, but I visited Alloway in Scotland, the birthplace of Robert Burns, a place I had never been before. It was a wonderful experience.

The Childhood Home of Robert Burns

5. Clear out emails and files on my computer

I tried, but it seems the more I clear out, the more come in. I am not sure how to get on top of this. Sigh.

6. Sort out papers in my office

See above

7. Check out other marketing ideas like Book Funnel

I explored a few more marketing ideas, but didn’t find anything that worked. I organized a blog tour for Amanda in Ireland, which was a lot of work but successful. I have come to the conclusion that my blog is still my best marketing tool, thanks to my supportive followers.

8. Have the front of the house repaired and painted

This was done, and it looks so much better.

9. Read or listen to 58 books

I read/listened to 60 books this year, and I am so pleased. That is the most books I have read in one year!

10. Start book #12, Amanda in Thailand: The Ghost House (working title)

I have written the first chapter of this book and am ready to start working seriously on it in January, 2026

11. Don’t let other people influence how I feel

This is a work in progress, but I feel I have come a long way.

12. Keep in touch with family

This is important to me, and I think I do a pretty good job of it. Yesterday, I chatted with my 86-year-old Aunt in Canada on Messenger, and she commented on how much she appreciates that I keep in touch with her. Our family is quite spread out, but I’m happy that we can keep in touch via social media. We had a cousin and her husband from Canada visit us, which was wonderful. I love family and friend visits.

We lost a few people dear to us, but we are at that stage of life. All in all, it was a great year, and I’m happy with what I accomplished.

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year!!

I’ll be following up with goals for 2026 in the next few days!

Tags: 2025, goal review, goals 2025, holidays, life, New year, New year's Eve, writing

Goodreads Challenge 2025

Posted by: Darlene on: December 30, 2025

In: Books | reviews
76 Comments

I am delighted to report that I read 60 books in 2025! My goal was 58, so I exceeded my goal by 2 books. This total includes print, digital and audio books. I read a good mix of books, most of them 4 or 5 stars. You can see all the books I read here