Author: Laurie Swinton

Blogger, writer, interested in communications, social media, lakeside living
Posted on in environment, global relations, Historical

Hopeful for the future: flattening the curve of climate change

panel on biodiversity at the Kingston Climate Change Symposium

I didn’t expect to walk away from a climate change symposium feeling hopeful.

Hope is a good word. It inspires action.

The seventh annual Kingston Climate Change Symposium was held in person for the first time since Covid at the Grand Theatre at the end of January. More than 400 people from all different walks of life attended. That in itself gave me hope.

The key note speaker was Bob Macdonald from CBC’s Quirks and Quarks and author of one of the latest books on climate change, The Future is Now.

His message was optimistic–we now have the technology and the know-how to solve the climate problem. From micro-nuclear technology, to solar, wind and electricity, we’ve come leaps and bounds in our ability to develop alternative clean energies and make existing energy sources like oil and gas cleaner.

I came away hopeful that we are listening and learning from Indigenous cultures and peoples about how we are all connected to each other and to Mother Earth, and how we need to deprogram ourselves and our colonial attitude to the land and treat it and its creatures with respect and we must approach this work with open minds and open hearts.

I also came away feeling positive about my personal actions in thinking globally and acting locally, from the geothermal heating/cooling system we installed in our house, to buying my first hybrid vehicle, to all the trees I’ve sold and planted in my lifetime, to participating in one of the world’s largest citizen scientist projects, the Christmas bird count every year. One individual’s actions can make a difference.

Macdonald finished his talk drawing a parallel between the world’s response to COVID-19 to our response to climate change. In both cases, the global community had to come together to flatten a curve–in the case of the pandemic, of transmission of the disease and hospitalizations, and in the case of climate change, rising temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions.

During COVID, scientists developed vaccines in record time, governments acted swiftly, businesses pivoted and the populace took action to protect the spread.

The science of climate change and the technology to address it has advanced. We now simply need the collective will of governments, business and people to take action.

I’m hopeful we will flatten the curve once again.

Posted on in community, entertainment, health and wellness, mental health, Technology and social media

Me and Elmo sending hugs

Elmo from Sesame Street

A few days after Bell Let’s Talk Day, everyone’s favourite furry monster from Sesame Street, Elmo asked a simple 9-word question on Twitter (X): “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

It unleashed a tidal wave of responses, over 55,000 to be exact including celebrities like Chance the Rapper and Rainn Wilson and the usual brands trying to capitalize on what’s trending. They were raw, sad, and hurting. Here were some of the replies.

man's tweet about his wife left him
Oreo cookie tweet "ran out of milk"
Man's tweet about being depressed and broke
man's tweet asking Elmo if he has a mortgage
man's tweet saying he feels like oscar the grouch
Rainn Wilson's response to elmo of being at a crossroads
man's response to Elmo
Depressed winnie the pooh
Dominos pizza oven on fire

As I was reading the comments of people pouring their hearts and souls onto the page, I felt tears well up in my eyes. How can there be so many people feeling so sad and hopeless in the world? Even the brands didn’t try to sugar coat it with Oreo leading the pack saying we ran out of milk.

The one that resonated with me the most was the GIF of a stick character in fast motion getting out of bed, going to their computer, working all day, then going back to bed and doing it over and over again. That’s the way I felt when I was working from home during COVID.

Elmo sent this beautiful note to everyone who took the time to respond:

Elmo saying he's glad he asked and checked in on people

So to all of you reading this who may be feeling sad or disheartened right now, me and Elmo send hugs. I’m giving out free hugs all this week to anyone I see who needs one (the best Valentine’s Day present someone can give).  

Here’s to sunnier days, sweeping the clouds away where the air is sweet, friendly neighbours meet and every door opens wide to happy people like you and me.

Love Laurie and Elmo

Posted on in arts, entertainment

Take in the best in Canadian film

Yesterday, they announced the line-up for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

If you’ve never been to this local homegrown festival that features movies and special events that “spark curiousity, ignite discussion and provide a fresh experience of Canadian film”, you’re missing out. It just keeps getting better and better, with screenings in three downtown theatres and other venues with unique live performances.

There are so many things I love about this festival. First, there’s the films themselves. If you’re like me and want to scream every time you see another Marvel or Avengers sequel or prequel or postquel or whatever they’re calling them, the films you’ll see at the KCFF are a refreshing change. They’ll make you laugh, cry and most of all, think.

Over the years, I’ve seen some incredible films, from the insightful and stirring Scarborough about three families in a low income neighbourhood in Toronto, to the drama Norbourg, the true life story of Vincent Lacroix who defrauded investors of millions of dollars in Quebec, to lovely romantic comedies like The Swearing Jar.  

Then there’s the venues and the city itself. The opening night feature film is shown at the Isabel Bader Centre for the performing arts, an amazing venue and The Screening Room in Kingston has done a super job elevating the movie-going experience in an intimate way. The festival is a wonderful excuse to explore downtown Kingston and grab a bite to eat in many of our excellent restaurants.

My favourite part of the festival hands down is the Q&As and guest appearances by the directors, producers, writers and actors. These segments are always fascinating—to see the inner thoughts and workings of the people who bring Canadian film to life and sadly, the barriers and challenges to making films in Canada.  

I’ll be spending the next few days checking out all the screenings, but here are a few you won’t want to miss:

  • The Queen of My Dreams: this year’s festival opener at the Isabel, a moving story about the complicated bonds between a Pakistani mother and her daughter
  • The Movie Man, the story of the Highlands Cinema in Kinmount, Ontario with a bonus short about our local (and now sadly closed) Classic Video store in Kingston
  • Float: a romantic comedy filmed in Tofino, BC
  • The Sadies Stop and Start concert film, followed by a live performance of the Band at the Broom Factory

This week’s #HappyAct is to come to Kingston and support Canadian film by taking in some screenings at the festival.

Posted on in entertainment, Food and drink, lifestyle, travel

Six winter cures to get you through the rest of January and February

My friend looking at a shark

It’s deep in the heart of January. I look out my window and see dullish grey skies, and a heavy blanket of melting snow and ice from a week of ice storms and rain. It’s the very definition of blah.

If you’re one of the lucky ones, you have a trip booked south to some spectacular warm destination with sandy white beaches, crystal azure waters and breathtaking blue skies.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones staring down another two solid months of cold and grey, I offer you these winter cures guaranteed to lift your spirts.

  1. Grab your swimsuit and the kids, and spend the afternoon at your local indoor pool. If you have some money to splurge, find one with an indoor waterpark or slides—we used to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge and always found an afternoon inside the warm, balmy swim park as the snow gently fell on the domed glass the ultimate cure for the winter blahs
  2. Have a hot toddy or specialty coffee, the perfect COVID cure. Our “go to” in the winter months is an Irish coffee with Bushmills and Baileys—the perfect combo
  3. Channel your inner Scandinavian and have a spa or sauna day. Check out Nordik spa in Gatineau or Stoked Sauna Co., a new sauna experience in Kingston on the patio of the Frontenac Club that offers sauna and outdoor firepits for cooling off
  4. Plan a day at an indoor garden, conservatory or aquarium. The Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara, Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto or Aquatarium in Brockville are all excellent options (read my blog posts Discover an undersea world and Play tourist in your own town for more)
  5. Get creative and sign up for a local arts workshop. We are very fortunate to have a world-class arts facility right in the heart of Kingston, the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. Check out their line-up of winter workshops with offerings like this one “Make a live edge charcuterie board” with local wood artist Nick Allinson
  6. Splurge on a scrumptious night out. Kingstonlicious is on now and features signature and tableau d’hote meals at some of Kingston finest restaurants. Check out the $60 tableau d’hote menu at Chez PIggy featuring roasted dry-brined chicken with peasant salad or the three-course meal for two for $60 at Harper’s Burger Bar featuring nan’za, lamb curry, and coconut alfajores. 

This week’s #HappyAct is to choose your ultimate winter cure. Be sure to check in next week for #7 on the list!

Girls looking at fish from a porthole

Clare and her friends looking at fish from the porthole at the Aquatarium in Brockville

Posted on in work

The second key to job satisfaction in a post-pandemic world

person busting out of a cage

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post called The key to job satisfaction in a post-pandemic world. My theory was it wouldn’t be hybrid work, a pay cheque, benefits or perks that would make people satisfied at work, it would be the work itself.

I now believe I had it half right. The other half of the equation is autonomy.

Autonomy at work can mean many things. It can mean the ability to direct your own work, manage your own schedule, and decide when and where you work.

Workers today are demanding more autonomy over their work. And if a company isn’t willing to meet them halfway, they’re leaving in droves.  

It’s no surprise many companies return to work programs and mandates have been utter failures. In “Forget Flexibility, Your Employees Want Autonomy”, a Harvard Business Review study found that 59% of workers said they would not work for a company that required them to come into a physical office five days per week. The study researchers concluded, “Mandates feel like a violation of autonomy, which is one of the most important intrinsic drivers of threat and reward in the brain.”

Sadly, some companies have resorted to monitoring employees in an attempt to maintain control in remote working environments. But another study has shown that this can backfire, because employees resent the lack of trust and autonomy.

In “Your Employer is Watching: How surveillance of employees by their employers is undermining the future of work, the Toronto Star reported on a Glassdoor survey of 2,300 North American professionals that found 41% reported feeling less productive when monitored.  Surveillance exacerbated stress, eroded trust and hindered performance.

The article cited another Harvard Business Review study that found employees who otherwise would have been model employees were more likely to engage in various “rule-breaking behaviours” when monitored.

The message to employers is clear. Workers today want a say in the work we do and how we work in a work environment that values autonomy and trust over surveillance.

Beware the company that ignores the will of the masses.

Posted on in health and wellness, inspiration, lifestyle

Happy Birthday to me

Author and friend in front of a lighthouse

Why is it so many of us hate birthdays?

I’ve always been rather agnostic about my birthday. I like getting presents and eating cake, whatever the occasion, but when you are an adult, a birthday never feels like a day to celebrate for some reason. It’s probably because for many of us, it’s just another day and reminds us of our age and of all the negative physical aspects of aging.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I saw on Facebook yesterday a post by a friend of mine that started with the words “Happy Birthday to Me”. She shared that she was celebrating another year, another day, another opportunity to enjoy life, and was so thankful for all the blessings in her life.

It was so refreshing to see someone truly embrace their birthday and its true meaning: a celebration of being alive.

So this year, I’ve decided I’m going to celebrate my birthday, not with balloons or cupcakes or presents (although a Dairy Queen ice cream cake would be scrumpdillyicious).

I’m going to celebrate me…still here, still dreaming, still contributing, still loving, still planning my next adventure, still laughing, still alive.

Posted on in community, inspiration, mental health, relationships

The High Beams Story

quote "Give compassion, every day the average person fights epic battles never told just to survive"

If I had one wish for 2024, it would be for the world to be more compassionate.

Yesterday when we were driving to Cobourg for hockey, there was a person driving a bit erratically. As we passed them on the highway, I looked over, expecting to see someone on their phone and noticed they looked distressed.

 

We started talking about a post we’d seen on our local community Facebook group about high beams. Someone posted an apology to people driving on the highway the night before, saying they just had their new car in for servicing and something happened and they couldn’t unlock their high beams so they were blinding everyone on the drive home. Apparently it’s a known issue with a certain make and model of car.

 

I can only imagine how many people that night were cursing under their breath, calling them an a**hole and worse, thinking they were doing it on purpose or were just a bad driver.

 

It’s a good reminder that you never know what is going on in a person’s life and to be compassionate.

 

So the next time someone is short with you or does something that ticks you off, remember they may be having a bad day or fraught with worry, or something else may be going on that deserves your compassion instead of your censure.

 

Remember the high beams story.

Posted on in holidays, inspiration, lifestyle, writing

The top 12 happy acts of 2023

Drag queen performing

It’s all too easy to reflect on the sad news stories of 2023: the war in Ukraine, Gaza, the summer of smoke and wildfires, skyrocketing inflation. Brighten your day by looking back on the top happy acts of 2023:

  1. Need some R&R? Call a cottage day
  2. Already dreading going back to work on Tuesday? Join the movement and read The case for the four-day work week
  3. If life is a blur and you need to be reminded how lucky you are, scroll through The Camera Roll of Life
  4. Discover why I want to be a drag queen when I grow up in Drag yourself to a drag show
  5. Find out why Kettlemans is my everything bagel in Dear Kettlemans
  6. Take a bite out of the big apple, by special guest blogger Ray Dorey
  7. See what happens when you cross a cheap party dress and a dryer in Add a little glitter and glam to your life
  8. For the poetry lovers, Reflections
  9. Read my tribute to two of the greats: Buddy Guy on his farewell tour in See a legend live, and the late great Gordon Lightfoot in The Summer Side of Life
  10. And if you need help choosing a New Year’s Resolution, shoot for a better Crap Joy Ratio or Climb the ladder of happiness

Thanks once again to all of you who read my blog each Sunday. Here’s to many more #HappyActs in 2024!

Author and her husband
Posted on in community, family, holidays, relationships

The greatest gift of all

Fishing trophy

Like many fathers, my Dad wasn’t exactly into Christmas. After my Mom passed away, he’d decorate the house by putting one teensy weensy bow above the fireplace, declare to anyone in the room who was listening “Festive, ain’t it?”, then promptly fix himself a rye and ginger.

Every year when we asked Dad, “What do you want for Christmas?”, his response was always the same: “just the love of you kids around me” (and a six-pack of beer).

Fast forward twenty years, and Dad’s words were echoing in my head throughout the day yesterday. We hosted our annual gathering of the neighbours. There was lots of smiles, laughs, and good cheer even though there was less to be cheerful about this year, singing, sharing of food and drink and enough presents to fill up Grinch’s sleigh.

Our neighbours Kim and Bruno gave us one of the best Christmas presents ever: a custom fish trophy made with Bruno’s 3-D printer, four identical lures, one for Dave, Clare, Grace and me and a year-long fishing tournament challenge: to see who could catch the most fish with the tried and true Berkley Flicker Shad 7. What a wonderful gift: a year of fun on the water and friendly jibes to see who is the best fisherperson in our family.

Not to be outdone, my neighbour Charlene gave us a wonderful gift basket but in it was my second favourite present ever: a mug that says “Most people never get to meet their favourite player—I’m raising mine”. Charlene always picks out the perfect mug or cup for us every year.

Our cottage neighbours brought some beautiful gifts as well, but their best gift was when their son Daniel sat down on the piano and played Chopin and Christmas tunes as the kids sang along.

As I sip my coffee this morning in my new mug, and dream about the first warm days when the ice is out and I can make my first cast in the soft light of the morning, I think my Dad was right. The greatest gift of all is having the love and laughter of the people you care about around you.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

coffee mug with saying on it
some of my wonderful neighbours
some of my wonderful neighbours
young man playing the piano and young boy singing
Posted on in dogs, family, pets

Happy Gotcha Day

Golden retriever with a top hat

Three years ago today, this big beautiful boy wagged his way into our hearts and lives. He arrived a week before Christmas fresh off a plane from Egypt.

Every dog has their own unique personality and spirit, but Bentley is special. He instinctively knows which one of us needs him most. This past week, when Dave was as sick as a dog with the flu, Bentley barely left his side and when Grace comes home tomorrow, I’m sure he will be snuggling up to welcome her home and make up for lost time.

He’s stupid, loveable, stubborn, lazy, ball crazy and we love him to bits.  

Happy Gotcha Day Bentley.

golden retriever
Dog and toilet paper

The time he was drinking the toilet water and caught the toilet paper roll.

Golden retriever
Grace and her dog

Grace and her best buddy