Savour more than just the meal

Morrison's Sign

Special guest blog

I could have went to Tim Horton’s this morning. I could have ordered a breakfast bagel and a double cream large Dark Roast. Yeah, I could have done that. Hell, I could have went through the drive through. Wait, there’s also Rotten Ronnie’s as an option, they have great coffee.

I went to Morrison’s Restaurant. That unassuming nook across from Market Square with the flashing sign reading Sea Food and Steaks.

A place where Nutritional Information need not apply. This is the place that could have been up the road from that nuclear bomb shelter, Ford Fairlane parked out front, a couple of “Hoods’ leaning against the car making plans that end in Daddy -O listening to a radio warning of a Cuban Missile crisis.

It’s not. It’s in Kingston. Downtown. Today.

I read the menu, but didn’t have to. I knew exactly what I wanted. “

Give me the Three Egg Special, over hard.”

The old lady in the white T-Shirt wrote it down. She wrote it down? Yeah, that’s exactly what she did. She didn’t have to. Everybody orders that.

I swear it was five minutes later when she came back.

The breakfast came with home fries. Not the frozen McCain’s crap. This was the real thing that resembled quasi mashed potatoes.

Boo freakin’ ya!

I sat there and savoured the bacon bliss. Inhaled it before my fork sliced through the cholesterol carnage.

Then I sipped the coffee. No flavoured wussy latte stuff. This could have stripped the paint off of that Fairlane. I thought about putting ketchup on my eggs. It was tempting but I wanted it straight up, no frills, just a slathering of salt and pepper. Ok, a lot.

My world is all black and white today. Salt and pepper. Today, I’m getting my news from the Globe and Mail print edition. When the news was as current as yesterday.

For a moment, that coffee tasted sweeter than my wife’s kisses.

The toast? Wonder Bread. Nothing from Texas style. it was either white or brown.

She put butter on it. Not margarine. Butter tastes great!

Sitting there staring at the empty plate waiting for the bill to come, I thought about those mornings when my grandmother would make me bacon and eggs. The sun shining through the kitchen window, the dog licking up a fallen piece of bacon and the smell of Maxwell House instant coffee. Yeah, those were the best days of my life.

Then I think about my wife’s kisses this morning. I think about our son’s wave and smile as he crosses the gate leading into the school yard, ”Bye, Daddy!

No, the best is yet to come.

I asked the old lady what kind of coffee it was.

“Mother Parker’s. We only serve the best here.”

This week’s #Happy Act is to go get a Two Egg Special and savour more than just the meal.

Mark is a dad, husband, screenwriter, brew master and die hard Cubs fan who was recently named the “Unofficial” blogger for the Chicago Cubs in Canada. You can check out his blog or follow him on Twitter @canuckcubbie.

Host your own awards show

Man and girl with awards
Dave accepting the Swinnie for Loudest Farter and Clare for Best Hockey Player

It’s the end of the awards show season, a time to recognize and celebrate the best of the best. We held our very own awards show last weekend, the “Swinnies”.

It was the brain child of my very creative and brilliant daughter Grace who is forever coming up with awesome ideas for us to do as a family.

As awards shows go, it was epic. Clare sang the national anthem (note to awards show producers —this should be how every awards show starts).

There were over the top musical performances, wardrobe malfunctions, someone even tripped on the red carpet. The acceptance speeches moved us to tears…of laughter.

My favourite moment was when Dave accepted his award for Loudest Farter, when during his tearful acceptance speech, Clare asked, “What, did you just smell your own stench?”

This week’s #HappyAct is to hold your own awards show. Make it epic. And don’t forget to watch the Junos tonight honouring the best in Canadian music.

Dog with award
Bella won the Swinnie for Best Idiot–a shoe in

Enter a contest…and win it!

We need to go to Vegas, baby. This week, lady luck was in the house as the Swintons raked in three prizes.

I came home one night to a nice message on my answering machine saying one of our local councillors, John McDougall put my name in a draw for people who volunteer in our community. I won a $25 gift certificate to our local gift shop, Nicole’s gifts—thanks John!

So I’m shopping at Nicole’s yesterday for presents for my sister-in-laws for their birthdays (shop local everyone!) when Nicole says to me, did you come in to pick up your prize from Christmas? I had won another draw and came home with a stocking of gift prizes!

The jackpot came on Friday when Clare’s picture of her landing an eight-pound pike ice fishing was chosen as the Friday photo winner for Ontario Out of Doors magazine. She won a $100 Canadian Tire gift card, which will come in handy when it’s time to buy new skates and hockey equipment next year. It made my day.

This week’s #HappyAct is to enter a contest. In a world where nothing is free, but online contests are a dime a dozen, it’s easy to enter to win. Have you ever won anything? Leave a comment and share your story.

The best investment you can make

Warren BuffettIt’s RRSP season, a time when Canadians take a few minutes away from dreaming of warmer temperatures and travels south to consider where to invest their money.

For investors, this weekend is big for another reason. Yesterday, Warren Buffett, the President of Berkshire Hathaway released his 50th annual letter to shareholders. For those of us who have an interest in the world of investing, Buffett is “the bomb” and his annual letter is a must-read, full of gems. I’ve included a few highlights and interesting facts from this year’s letter at the end of today’s blog.

While Buffett’s fortune of $73 billion may make him a happy guy, I think he’d agree with me that the best investment you can make is not in any one stock or company. It’s in yourself.

I can’t take credit for this advice. I was on one of my favourite social media sites, Quora the other day and saw this question: What’s the best investment a 20-year old can make? The cool thing about Quora is anyone can post an answer. One wise millennial beyond her years posted this answer: to invest in yourself.

Warren Buffett always says don’t invest in what you don’t understand. No one understands you or knows what is best for you than yourself.

This week’s #HappyAct is to make the best investment you can make by investing in yourself. Follow this advice and you’ll enjoy every bit as much of success as Warren Buffett.

From Buffett’s 2015 annual letter to shareholders

  • Wondering where to invest your money? Buffett believes in investing in businesses with intrinsic value. Berkshire Hathaway increased its ownership in 2014 to 7.8% of IBM, 9.2% in Coca-Cola and 14.8% of American Express
  • The per-share value of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 was $19. Today it’s $146,186. That’s an annual compound rate of return of 19.4%
  • “Gender should never decide who becomes CEO”
  • 39,000 people attended the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting in Omaha last year. This year it’s on May 3. Buffett gives tips on how to get there and where to shop to help attendees save money. For example, one of his companies, the shoe company Brooks will be selling special commemorative running shoes!

Make some new daytime BFFs

I have three new best friends. Their names are Kelly, Michael and Ellen.

I’ve spent every morning with my new best friends this week. That’s because I haven’t left the house. After going on about how much I love winter, I came down with pneumonia.

I’ve never had pneumonia before. I expected to be tired, but I didn’t expect to spend most of my waking hours lying down. The fatigue was unbelievable. After twenty or thirty minutes of even sitting up, I was exhausted.

As the week went on, I wondered what the heck I was going to blog about after such a dismal week. Sure, there were a few highlights. Watching the squirrels and birds at the feeders on the back deck. Sharing every couch and bed with my two big dopey dogs. Witnessing my kids’ after school routine where they burst through the door, and then proceeded to rampage through the cupboards for snacks. (One day Clare ate a chocolate pudding, a hot dog, then a bowl full of pickles in that order).

I came to the conclusion that the highlight of my week was watching morning talk shows. My new BFFs became Kelly Ripa, Michael Strahan and Ellen Degeneres.

Here are some of my observations after watching a week of morning talk.

  • Everyone dances. Whether you’re the host, a guest or in the TV audience, at some point, you’ll be expected to dance
  • 99% of the studio audience is women, which begs the question, what do men watch in the daytime? (guys feel free to leave a comment to enlighten me)
  • It’s not enough to just talk with celebrities any more—you have to get them to do some kind of stunt or play a game
  • You can win lots of free stuff
  • Every show has its own cool mug. I think I might start a new collection–a new mission in life

This week’s #HappyAct is to grab your favourite mug, curl up on the couch and watch a daytime talk show. Make some new daytime BFFs. And Kelly, Michael and Ellen—let’s do lunch—call me.

 

Fifty shades of happy

This weekend is Valentine’s Day. It’s also the opening of Fifty Shades of Grey, the much anticipated screen version of E. L. James novel.

Some of my daughter’s friends read my blog, so bear with me as I indulge in a little wordplay to keep today’s blog G-rated. Today, we’re going to talk about developing your musical talents.

My journey into Fifty Shades of Grey started with disdain. I had heard the book was poorly written and just one musical scene after another, so I had no interest in reading it.

Then one cottage weekend I got curious. I watched as all my friends, even the guys were seduced under its covers. One by one they picked it up, ran their fingers over the pages, and became breathless as they read it in earnest. Hmmm, time to see what all the fuss was about.

I have to admit, I was surprised. I fell in love with all three books and not for the reasons you are probably thinking.

Sure the musical scenes were fun, a bit repetitive maybe, but what I found really interesting about the books were they tapped into a fundamental conflict of women in today’s society. As young women we are taught Victorian values of chasteness and purity. As human beings, we are creatures of desire, passion, and love. To me, the brilliance of James’ novel is her portrayal of the struggle of the main character as she disputes Victorian values and embraces her musical talents while seeking to understand her own limits and desires.

I’d also like to say a few words in James’ defence on the writing. Personally, I think the books are well written. Any writer that is able to lure you into their world and keep you hostage there so you are compelled to keep reading the next chapter or page in my mind is a good writer. The characters are also interesting and if you had kept reading, there’s intrigue and action with helicopter crashes, car chases, and more. I also think it’s brilliant how James finished her third novel.

Say what you might, it’s hard to argue with success. More than $100 million in book sales and the 56 million YouTube views and counting for the movie trailer.

Love or hate it, this week’s #HappyAct is to tie a few shades on: read the book, go see the movie (although I hear some of the initial reviews panned it) or create your own fifty shades of happy this Valentine’s Day weekend by spicing it up with your partner. May you make beautiful music together.

Fire up the stove

Man lighting wood stoveLast weekend, when it was -24 outside, we had friends overnight camping in Frontenac Park. Our friend Tom Rae has camped every month in the park for the past three years. We love Tom—he’s like our very own Survivorman. I’ve been on canoe trips with Tom and have seen him make bannock on a canoe paddle—his latest project was to make homemade moccasins.

On that bitter cold morning, I was thinking of “the boys” while driving downtown and hoping they made it through the night. They survived but Tom said it was the first time he couldn’t get warm, they got little sleep and packed up at dawn to head home.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love the cold and have actually really enjoyed this winter. Dave calls them “Thunder Bay” winters—bright, cold, clear days with not too much snow. But as much as I love spending the day outside playing shinny on the lake, doing a bit of ice fishing, skiing or hiking, when night falls, there’s no place I’d rather be than curled up in front of my wood stove with a glass of wine.

Who doesn’t love a fire and watching the flames dance and swirl, and the tingling feeling as the warmth seeps into your bones. I even love the sound of my wood stove—the low hum of the fan, the hissing and sputtering sounds it makes as the heat courses through the pipes, and the crackle of a log catching fire.

This week’s #HappyAct is to fire up the wood stove or fireplace and watch the flames flicker to life. And Tom and the boys—the offer still stands: any time you want to bail on the winter camping thing, you know where we are—I’ll have the wood stove fired up and cold beer in the fridge!

Two men winter camping in park
Dave and our friend Tom Rae camping in December in Frontenac Park

Whistle while you work

Panda in tree saying he hates mondaysSpecial guest blog

I was joking around with a co-worker recently, pointing out that she has spent about 65,000 hours at work. Granted, she has been working for 35 years, but, when you actually see a number like that you realize–that is a lot of time.

Even the significantly smaller number of 8 hours (your average work day) takes up a third of your day and about half of your awake time.

So, what if you are unhappy at work? According to my numbers, about half your life will be wasted.

There have been times in my career when I was unhappy at work and counting down the 47,000 or so hours I had left until retirement. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the job, or the people, or the idea of contributing to society. It was that work got in the way of ‘real’ life. It got in the way of family and friends. It was time consuming.

So I made a change. I dismantled the wall between work and ‘real’ life. I realized I was wasting so much time and negative energy on something that, maybe, wasn’t so bad. I had to be there, so why not embrace it?

I did. The change was more than I expected. According to the numbers I expected to be 50% happier, but, in reality I became 200% happier. I’m not sure exactly why my happiness multiplied exponentially, but, now I wish I’d figured this out ten years ago.

What exactly did I do? The main thing was to change my perspective. I will admit, this is easier said than done. I guess for me I just accepted that work was part of ‘real’ life and I should treat it that way. I started taking things a bit more seriously. Not only doing what needed to be done, but, living up to the same high standard I set for myself at home.

I also broke down the mental barrier I had built up with the people around me. I used to be of the mindset that you leave work at work, and that included the people. But, when I started opening up and getting to know my coworkers outside of work (Facebook is a wonderful place to do that), that is when things got fun. Now I’m not spending a third of my day, and the majority of my adult interactions, with people I barely know, but, I’m getting to spend the day with friends.

My #HappyAct challenge is for you to reevaluate work. Find a way to get connected with your job and the people around you. Good luck.

Contributing author: Mathew is a very productive and sarcastic cubicle citizen who reads way too many Dilbert comics. He blogs about his life outside of work at theplaceunderthepine.blogspot.ca.

Ed. Note: Great post Matt and so true! Consider these stats from Officevibe.com:

  • Seventy percent of employees believe having friends at work is the most crucial element of a happy work life.
  • One-third of adults have met at least one of their closest friends through work.
  • Seventy-four percent of women and 58 percent of men say they would turn down a higher-paying job if it meant they wouldn’t get along with their co-workers.

 

On frozen pond

Man standing with hockey stick on a rink on a lakeI wish I had a river so long. I would teach my feet to fly.” When Canadian Joni Mitchell recorded her iconic song The River in 1971, she was actually living in California.

Since then, The River has been recorded by 452 other artists, everyone from Blue Rodeo, Sarah McLaughlin to Idina Menzel, many of them Canadian artists.

There are times in our life when we all wish we had a river to skate away on, but I think Mitchell’s song resonates because it taps into our icy Canadian veins and our love affair with a frozen pond or rink.

For me that song evokes many memories, of skating on the Credit River as a child, skating all 7 kms on the Rideau Canal as a university student from the bars downtown to school, and watching in wonder as my own children found their wings and learned to fly on our frozen lake.

I remember one time BK (before kids) Dave and I hiked into Moulton Lake in Frontenac Park with our skates. It was early in the season, probably only four or five inches of black ice. The sun was rising and there were three deer at the end of the lake. The only sound besides the crunches of our skates carving into the pristine ice was the loud caws of crows soaring above, expressing their displeasure that we had disturbed their peace.

On frozen pond, I am free.

This week’s #HappyAct is to spend time outdoors on a frozen surface. Here are some pics from our frozen pond and some frosty happenings in the region to check out.

  • All 7.8 kms of the Rideau canal is now open in Ottawa, making it the world’s longest skating rink. Winterlude starts January 30, 2015 and continues to February 16.
  • Yesterday was the eleventh annual Skate the Lake in Portland—this tiny town on Big Rideau Lake in Eastern Ontario hosts this annual event where you can skate in 5 km to 50 km races on their oval—I plan to be there next year!
  • And something for skaters to add to their bucket list. Arrowhead Provincial Park north of Toronto has created a “fairy tale” 1.3 km ice loop through majestic pines, see this story for details.

people and dog walking on frozen lake

 

girl with hockey stick on frozen rink

 

Age is just a letter

This week is my birthday, and let’s just say it has a zero in it. I’m OK with that, because to quote my favourite line from Dumb and Dumber To, “Age is just a letter, Harry”.

I remember once my father-in-law telling me that despite being in his 80’s now and feeling all that the number 80 entails, in his mind he was still 17, looking for the next adventure and ripping it up with his buddies in Harriston.

We may age in our bones, but not in our hearts and minds.

This week’s #HappyAct is to repeat after me, “Age is just a letter, Harry.” You are never too old or too young to try something new, do something silly, learn, grow, love, fail or set out on your next adventure.

Here are some of my other favourite lines from Dumb and Dumber To—watch it on video when it comes out. While I know some critics panned it, I thought it was hilarious and even funnier than the first one!

“Water under the fridge”

Hook, line and sphincter”

“I’ve always wanted to go to India and volunteer at one of those leprechaun colonies,” “I think you mean Ireland.”