Read or snooze
Beer or cooler
One sip. Two sips
Backstroke. Sidestroke
Swim or snorkel
Canoe or kayak
Throw the ball or let the stupid dog nudge it in the water for the hundredth time
If only every decision in life was a dock decision.
Category: lifestyle
Dave and Laurie’s High School Reunion
This past weekend, Dave and I attended our high school reunion. It had been 41 years since we graduated and I was looking forward to catching up with old friends.
Dave was a harder sell. Dave has this theory that only successful people go to reunions. The last time we went to a high school reunion, Dave swiped the name tag of some guy named Harry who graduated a decade earlier and told everyone he was a lawyer.
A bit of back story. Dave and I met in high school. He moved to Port Credit in Grade 10 and was one of six Daves in my Grade 10 history class with Mr. Gatto (I can still name all six Daves to this day). He asked me out skating in Grade 10 and even though I liked him, I turned him down because I had just got a bad perm that day and was too embarrassed to go out. We ended up friends, started dating after university, and the rest, they say is history.
Back to the reunion. A bunch of us met up at a local bar on the Friday night and it was as if no time had passed. Even though we had all aged, our personalities hadn’t changed a bit.
There were your fair share of success stories–people who ran their own businesses, and led interesting life journeys or had exciting careers, but there were some sad stories as well, friends who had experienced loss or challenges. Many had a parent who had recently passed away or who was suffering from dementia.
We shared laughs, told stories and enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives.
What struck me the most though was just how privileged we were to have grown up in such a well-to-do neighbourhood and to attend a high school that offered incredible opportunities, including a full music program, outdoor trips and extracurricular opportunities.
As we exchanged numbers, texts and photos, I left feeling grateful–grateful for being able to share this special time in our lives with these wonderful people.
I know we all won’t necessarily keep in touch, but I hope some of us at least can make some more memories together someday soon.
Here are some of my favourite pics from the weekend.
My buddies playing in one of the bands at the talent show
Me in front of my “Athlete of the Year” picture (note the bad perm in the photo)
The comfort of routine
I have a confession to make: I’m a creature of habit.
On the weekends, my morning ritual is to sleep in, wake up, grab a coffee and read the morning papers or flyers (yes, I am a dinosaur). Since I’m not a morning person, it takes me at least an hour or two to get moving. Once up, I’m good with starting my day, whether that’s running off to hockey, walking the dog, meeting a friend for coffee or working around the house.
I come by this trait honestly—I inherited it from my father who was the very epitome of routine. Dave used to say you could set your watch by Dad and know the exact hour and minute when he would walk the dog, read the papers and have his first rye of the day.
I used to feel like I had to apologize for my habitual tendencies until I read an article from Northwestern Medicine linking the positive mental and physical health benefits of having routines. The article stated having a routine can help with stress, sleeping better, eating healthier and being active. Routines can help us achieve balance in our lives and make time to do the things we love and that keep us healthy.
Of course, my routines are the butt of my family’s jokes, but even that has become weirdly predictable and reassuring.
I couldn’t care less about the science and what my family says. For me, there is just something so comforting and relaxing about the routines I love. They are a safe haven in a crazy world. Even writing this blog on Sunday mornings has become a welcome routine.
This week’s #HappyAct is stick to your guns and the routines you love. Gotta go. My second coffee of the morning awaits.
Six winter cures to get you through the rest of January and February
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- 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!
Clare and her friends looking at fish from the porthole at the Aquatarium in Brockville
Happy Birthday to me
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.
The top 12 happy acts of 2023
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:
- Need some R&R? Call a cottage day
- Already dreading going back to work on Tuesday? Join the movement and read The case for the four-day work week
- If life is a blur and you need to be reminded how lucky you are, scroll through The Camera Roll of Life
- Discover why I want to be a drag queen when I grow up in Drag yourself to a drag show
- Find out why Kettlemans is my everything bagel in Dear Kettlemans
- Take a bite out of the big apple, by special guest blogger Ray Dorey
- See what happens when you cross a cheap party dress and a dryer in Add a little glitter and glam to your life
- For the poetry lovers, Reflections
- 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
- 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!
How to be a happy shopper this Black Friday
Black Friday and the holiday shopping season is upon us. Canadians are being lured by savvy marketers with promises of up to 70% off, Black Friday Deals and Super Savings you can’t pass up.
While some people refuse to cave to the consumerism of the season, most of us succumb to varying degrees to the shopping craze this time of year.
Which begs the question. Does retail therapy make people happy? The science shows the answer is yes.
A 2014 study from the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that retail therapy not only makes people happier immediately, but it can also fight lingering sadness.
Even just the anticipation of making a purchase or treating ourselves to something we desire releases dopamine, the hormone neurotransmitter in our brain that makes us feel good.
The choices we make when shopping can restore a feeling of personal control and autonomy which helps in fighting feelings of sadness and anxiety over the things that are outside of our control in the world.
In another 2014 study by University of Michigan, researchers showed that purchasing things you personally enjoy can be up to 40 times more effective at giving you a sense of control than not shopping, and those who actually purchased items were three times less sad when compared to those who only browsed.
Shopping also stimulates our senses, creating pleasure, especially this time of the year when the stores have festive displays and merry music playing.
But before you go filling up your virtual or actual shopping cart, remember these caveats. For every instant hit of pleasure, there is a corresponding pang of potential regret when it comes time to pay the bills. You need to calculate whether the pleasure from the purchase would exceed the pain from the cost, and whether you can afford the purchase at all.
The Journal of Consumer Psychology study showed that even just the act of filling up your online shopping cart, then abandoning it, can create the same pleasure as if you had actually made the purchase.
In the end, spending less money may be more rewarding.
This week’s #HappyAct is to be a smart, savvy and happy Black Friday shopper. Find a few bargains and enjoy the small hit of dopamine, but don’t do anything you’re going to regret later.
Special #HappyAct Experiment: Go online this week to one of your favourite retailers and fill up your shopping cart with a bunch of items, then close down your browser without making the purchase. Did you feel happier just browsing? Leave a comment!
Living the dream
I have a couple of friends that when you ask them how’s it going, they always say sarcastically “Oh you know, just living the dream”.
Just once, wouldn’t it be nice if when we said, “Just living the dream” we meant it?
If we had time to pursue our passions instead of spending all of our time at work?
If we lived within our means without financial worry?
If we lived a life of purpose and service with all their intrinsic rewards?
If we lived life with zest instead of just existing?
If we were thankful every day for every blessing, big or small?
Sounds like a nice dream to me.
Eight tips for saving money
I’ve been obsessed lately with the cost of living. I just got back from a girls’ weekend and I’m sure my friends were heartily sick of hearing me go on about prices and how expensive things are.
So I’ve decided to stop talking about money, and take action instead. Here are eight tips for saving money:
- Cash in rewards points.
- Look for special promotions and deals. For instance, in honour of National Movie Day, Cineplex, Landmark Cinemas and some independent movie theatres are offering $4 movie tickets this Sunday, August 27.
- Use up gift certificates sitting in your wallet.
- Review your streaming packages and tech and see if you can streamline your services. We haven’t made the leap yet to get rid of our landline and satellite TV, but with services now like Stack TV, now may be the time.
- Forage for food. This may sound drastic, but a few years ago, I made a pledge to start eating more off the land. In July I pick raspberries, in August, I make garlic scape pesto with my garlic scapes, and in the fall I pick apples from the local fields and make crisps and apple sauce. It’s not as crazy as it sounds.
- Look for “free” days and times at museums and exhibits. For instance, in Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada, The Canadian War Museum, The Canadian Museum of History, The Canadian Museum of Nature and The Bytown Museum are all free on Thursday evenings from 5pm – 8pm
- Reduce food waste. Buy less perishable food, and get creative with leftovers. Stir fries, soups, quesadillas, burritos and bowls are all great ways to use up leftover meats and vegetables.
- If you need to buy something, consider used, which is also environmentally friendly. Fall is a great time for garage sales, or shop on Facebook marketplace. Luckily vintage clothing shops have come back into fashion.
How are you saving money in this crazy inflationary environment? Leave a comment. And be sure to read my earlier post “How to Not Spend Money and Still Have Fun”.
The secret to living well
There is a Tibetan proverb that says,
“The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.
I’ve had it backwards this past year.
I’ve been eating double, walking half, spending triple and watching Netflix without measure.
Time to start living well.
Happy Act 