Posted on in Food and drink, Hobbies

Hail to the mason jar

Grapes and beans in mason jars

Ever since I can remember, my chosen vessel of choice has been the humble mason jar.

My love affair with mason jars began in my university days, when my girlfriend Caralee and I would drive up each weekend to Kitchener Waterloo to stay at the Weber Hotel, the name we gave to the party central townhouse a bunch of our guy friends lived in going to Laurier and Waterloo.

When we arrived, the entire kitchen counter would be covered with dirty mason jars. It became a Friday night ritual to wash the jars and the rest of the dishes in preparation for the weekend party festivities.

It’s been a long time since my university party days, but my vessel of choice is still a mason jar.

The mason jar was invented in 1858 by a New Jersey-born tinsmith named John Landis Mason who was searching for a way to improve the relatively new practice of home canning. In the early days of canning, jars were soppered with wax and corks which was messy and didn’t have a tight seal. The revolutionary screw top lid of the mason jar created the perfect seal, keeping food fresh.

Mason jars are cheap, practically indestructible, and can be used for just about anything. Some of my friends they are the best way to keep berries and vegetables fresh. They’re also eco-friendly because you use them again, and again, and again.

Here are some things you can do with mason jars:

  • Store buttons, pushpins, and paper clips in them
  • Use them for crafts like candles and birdfeeders. See this website for ideas
  • Throw all your loose change in them
  • Fill them with ingredients for soup for a lovely homemade gift
  • Make rainy day (or retirement!) jars and put ideas in them for family trips and outings

And that’s just the beginning. The website Cotton Creations lists 60 different uses for mason jars.

It’s canning season. This week’s #HappyAct is to pay homage to the humble mason jar. Cheers!

Pink lemonade in a mason jar
Berries and grapes in mason jars

Ed. note: One of my Facebook friends posted the two photos above of the items she keeps in her mason jars in the fridge. I had downloaded the photos but can’t remember who posted them now, so whoever you are, I hope you don’t mind me sharing the photos and thanks for sharing your love of mason jars!

Posted on in entertainment, family, Food and drink, health and wellness, lifestyle, travel

A day at Nordik Spa

Four ladies in spa robes having lunch at Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC

Last week, Dave’s sister and I took the girls to Nordik Spa in Chelsea Quebec.

It was a combination graduation gift and final girls’ trip before Grace and Clare leave for university this fall.

A day at Nordik is the ultimate in indulgence and relaxation.

As you walk up the several flights of steps to the impressive main lodge with massive wooden beams, you are welcomed by the sound of trickling waterfalls and the smell of burning wood in the fire pit cradled by bright red Adirondack chairs.

I’ve been to Nordik once before with my girlfriends and I remembered it takes an hour or so to fully embrace the spa experience.

The spa is divided into three main sections, Borea, where you can talk in whispers and low tones, Panorama, where you can chat freely and Kaskad, where there is complete silence. Thermal hot pools, some with waterfalls are interspersed with cold pools and saunas. Lounge chairs, hammocks, hammock chairs, and reading pavilions with wood fires are available for those who just want to sit and read and relax or listen to music.

Nordik spa is designed around the ancient Nordic ritual of thermotherapy, a treatment that alternates between hot and cold temperatures, followed by a rest period.

Thermotherapy deeply cleanses the body, eliminates toxins and can help with injury, chronic pain, rheumatism, arthritis, depression and sleeping. To truly embrace the full spa experience, you’re supposed to complete the entire cycle three times.

We started the morning in the social area with its infinity pool and magnificent views of Gatineau Park and the city of Ottawa. It was a cool, cloudy day, so the warm bubbles of the thermal pool felt wonderful as we chatted and caught up with Dave’s sister.

Clare embraced the full spa experience, opting to do a cold plunge next, but I figured I get enough cold water immersion experience swimming in my lake, so I went for a sauna and some hammock time instead.

Grace’s favourite was the heated rock bed sauna. It was so relaxing, a person fell asleep and was snoring!

After a few hours of thermal pools and saunas, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in their Finalandia restaurant. One of the things I love most about Quebec is you never get a bad meal and their restaurant is excellent. We enjoyed a cheese board, roasted red pepper hummous, broccoli soup, brisket sandwich on focaccia bread topped off with a tiramisu cheesecake and warm chocolate brownie with ice cream.

As the afternoon sun finally peeped out, we finished the day where we started, chatting in the thermal pool and looking over the gorgeous views of Gatineau Park.

Grace kept asking me what we should do next, and I would reply, “Whatever you want, that’s the beauty of this place.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to pamper yourself at a spa day. Enjoy!

Four ladies in front of the entrance to Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC
Posted on in community, sports, Uncategorized

Try a new sport like Stocksport

Stocksport lanes with stocks and daube in the middle

I once worked with a fellow who said never try a new sport after 50. He said if you’ve played a sport like hockey or skiing all your life, you can keep doing it well into your 70s or 80s, but never start a new sport after 50 because it was a recipe for disaster.

I’ve recently started playing stocksport or ice stock with our local South Frontenac Stockport Club.

Ice stock is a winter sport that originated in Austria and Southern Germany. It’s like curling, but instead of throwing rocks, you throw stocks into the house. In the summer, it’s called stocksport when you play on a concrete surface and in winter it’s known as ice stock when you play on ice.  

Teams of four slide their stocks to get closest to a round rubber target that looks like a puck called the “daube” which is placed in the middle of the house. The daube moves which makes the game more interesting and adds an extra layer of strategy from curling. You also can switch out the plates on the stock to make your stock go faster (for take-outs) and slower.

Ice Stock Sport has been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games on two occasions.

While stocksport isn’t widely known in Canada, there is a devoted group of stockers and our little club punches well above its weight, sending members to the World Championships and competing internationally.

For anyone looking for a new sport or pastime, I’d highly recommend it. It’s a highly social game, so it’s a great way to meet new people in your area, easy to learn and play (I’m already getting the hang of it), and fun.

What I love most about our South Frontenac Stocksport Club is how warm and welcoming everyone is. The club includes people from ages 10 to 80 from all walks of life. Everyone is treated equally and greeted with a smile and encouraging word, no matter how new to the sport you are or how good you are.

Yesterday the club held its annual tournament. My team placed third out of eight teams, winning the bronze prize (our choice of coolers, awesome!)

This week’s #HappyAct is to try a new sport. To learn more about the South Frontenac Stocksport Club, follow them on Facebook.

Competitors throwing stocks in stocksport
Competitors pointing at stocks in tournament
Posted on in lifestyle, retirement, work

Goodbye alarm clocks

Coffee mug on my back deck

If you read last week’s post, you’ll know this weekend marks my first days of being officially retired.

I made some retirement pledges last week, but forgot one very important one: I pledge to never set an alarm again unless it is to catch a plane or train.

You don’t need to be retired to make this pledge.

I’m not a morning person. Either is Clare. Our morning routine was to eat silently together at the breakfast table, then barely say a word to each other during the car ride to work and school.

I learned years ago I was much happier when my life wasn’t being ruled by an alarm so I stopped setting one.

It’s easier to do than you think if you go to bed roughly around the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. (If you’re on irregular shifts, I’m guessing it would be far more difficult).

Your body naturally self-regulates and on weekdays, I would wake up within a 15-minute window each morning.

There will be days when you sleep in and have to rush around a bit, but for me it was worth it to never hear that blasted alarm go off.

This week’s #HappyAct is to stop setting an alarm. You’ll be happier for it.

Photo: Enjoying my first coffee retired in my beautiful new mug my friend Allison gave me as a retirement gift.

Posted on in health and wellness, lifestyle, money, work

My Retirement Pledge

Me at a work event booth for South Frontenac Township

I’m retiring this week. After working for the past two years for my local municipality, I’m hanging up my keyboard (well, at least my work keyboard) and making plans for a future that doesn’t involve paid work.

It’s exciting and daunting at the same time and I realize how lucky I am.

I’ve made some pledges to myself, and because I am a firm believer that if you write down your goals or say them out loud, you’re more likely to stick to them, I am sharing them with you here today. Here are my retirement pledges.

I pledge to…

Not feel guilty if I feel like doing nothing
Embrace each day as a gift
Spend more time in my garden and at my lake
Get more exercise

Help my community
Take advantage of all the events during the day on weekdays I couldn’t attend when I was working
Never spend another minute in a meeting or on Zoom
Spend more time with the people I love

Listen to more live music
Spend less time on my phone
Pursue my passion of writing
Not worry about money

Go outside every day
Visit friends who I haven’t seen in awhile and make some new ones
Travel and embark on new adventures near and far
Take better care of my health

This week’s #HappyAct is to make your own pledge, even if retirement is still a distant dream. What would you pledge to yourself?

Posted on in family, holidays, relationships, travel

When your children become your friends

Clare and Grace and their Uncle Don at a local brew pub

There is a time every parent dreams about and longs for–the moment when your child becomes your friend.

In the early days, the dream is a distant mirage, obscured by dirty diapers, sippy cups, jolly jumpers and sleepless nights.

As the years go by, the dream becomes more tangible and in focus. Your children learn to walk and talk, and before you know it, you are watching them march their chubby little legs up the four or five steps of the school bus on their first day of school.

Years pass and you see their unique personalities and independent spirit emerge. They spread their wings until one day, in a heart-wrenching gut punch, you realize they don’t need you anymore.

But then something wonderful happens. You become friends.

Friends who enjoy spending time together, sharing confidences and conversation, laughter and tears. A friend who you know will always love you and who will be there for you no matter what.

The best type of friend possible.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Dedicated to my new best friends and lovely but whacky daughters Grace and Clare. Here are some pictures of all of us from this past weekend on a family trip to Cooperstown, New York with their boyfriends and my brother Don.

My daughters at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York

Top: tasting the local wares at Woodland Farm Brewery outside of Utica with their Uncle Don
Above: At the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

Guy holding plaque that says as far as people know we're just a normal family

Devon holding a plaque that says “Remember as far as anyone knows, we’re a normal family”

Boy and girl on a bridge overlooking a river

Clare and Kaden in Little Falls, New York

Our family at the Baseball Hall of Fame

All of us in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We’re already talking about where we’re planning to go next year.

Ed note: For more on Cooperstown, read Ray Dorey’s guest blog, Make a pilgrimage to Cooperstown

Posted on in dogs, lifestyle, nature, pets

Dock decisions

Woman standing on dock beside a lake

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.

My dog Bentley with his football on our dock
Posted on in Technology and social media, work

Is remote work doomed? Blame Zoom

Zoom offices in California

This past week, Fortune magazine published an interview with Matthew Saxon, the Chief People Officer of Zoom on the pending one-year anniversary since Zoom mandated employees who live 50 miles or less from headquarters to return to the office a minimum of two days a week.

Saxon characterized the decision to mandate a “structured hybrid” work model in August 2023 a “success” that has led to efficiencies and creative solutions.

The Chief People Officer, who once promised workers could work remotely indefinitely, justified the abrupt about-face, saying the hybrid work model was better for productivity, corporate culture and their customers.

The article has created ripples in an already turbulent and tenuous relationship between workers and employers.

It seems to me that employers who are issuing return-to-office mandates want it both ways. When it is critical or convenient to let employees remotely, as was the case during the pandemic or when there are bricks and mortar changes, it’s okay for employees to work from home and they trust them to do their jobs and be productive. But the minute those reasons fade, they want employees back in the office.

It’s hypocritical and a bit of a slap in the face if you ask me (and in case you were wondering, Saxon works primarily remotely).

Some say it’s the beginning of the end of remote work. One thing is for sure, it’s the height of irony.

Posted on in arts, entertainment, family, pop culture

Watch a busker

North Fire Circus performs at Kingston Buskers Rendezvous

It was a beautiful night for a buskers rendezvous.

Last night, we went to Kingston to see the fire and night shows at the 34th annual Kingston Buskers Rendezvous.

Kingston is one of the best places to watch buskers, with its spectacular backdrop of city hall and the marina at Confederation Basin, the shops and patios of Princess Street and the historic buildings in Market Square lit up at night.

The girls were hungry (of course!) so we stopped first for a drink and a bite to eat at the Toucan on Princess Street and were pleasantly surprised to get a table on the patio right away without having to wait.

After fuelling up, we strolled down to Ontario Street and caught Steve GoodTime’s fire juggling show. He was very funny and had the crowd eating out of his hands.

One of the talents you need as a busker is being able to pick good-natured people out of the crowd to participate in the show. We spotted our friend Jenn and her daughter across the street from us in the crowd. Sure enough Steve GoodTime picked Jenn out of the 500 or so people watching the show. She danced for the crowd before holding his guitar and lighting his firesticks.

We wandered up to Market Square next. This year they billed the main Buskers After Dark show as “an immersive journey into the beating heart of urban creativity”. There was a DJ, graffiti artist, the North Fire Circus and a group called Dr. Draw and the Strange Parade who were incredible.

Dr. Draw played electric violin and had a terrific band complete with horns (even a tuba!) They played a fusion of musical genres from Irish, classical, pop and rock while North Fire Circus performed light and fire acts to the music. My favourite number was a slower version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Market Square was magical in that moment.

This week’s #HappyAct is to watch a busker. If you’re in the Kingston region, there’s still time to catch the Grand Finale of the Kingston Buskers Rendezvous tonight at 6 pm at Confederation Basin.  

Busker Steve GoodTime performs for the crowd
Busker Steve GoodTime performs for the crowd

Photos: North Fire Circus and Dr. Draw and the Strange Parade perform in the beautiful historic Market Square at night. Above: Steve GoodTime juggles for the crowds on Ontario Street. Here’s our friend Jenn dancing for the crowd!

Posted on in family, photography, relationships, work

Celebrating life’s milestones

Author's daughter receiving her high school graduation diploma

It’s always a lovely moment when you get to celebrate a special milestone in a person’s life. Whether it’s a graduation, wedding or retirement party, it’s an honour and privilege to share their special day and celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.

This past week we attended three celebrations, the retirement party of someone I had worked with for almost three decades, Clare’s high school graduation and a pre-prom gathering with some parents to take photos of our kids before they headed out for their big night on the town.

Each celebration left me smiling and feeling joyous. My friend Edward’s retirement was a gathering of old friends and co-workers. We were all so genuinely happy for Edward and it was wonderful to see so many friendly faces I hadn’t seen in some time.

My favourite part of retirement celebrations is always watching the reactions and expressions on the faces of the children of the person retiring as they realize their parent is more than just their dorky Mom or Dad, but an accomplished professional, beloved by their co-workers.

This wasn’t the case for Edward since three of his four kids actually worked at our company for a period of time, but it was still nice to see them all there honouring their Dad.

The next celebration was Thursday afternoon, when hundreds of proud parents gathered in our local high school auditorium to watch our kids receive their high school diplomas.

It was the 150th graduation ceremony of Sydenham High School, and while we knew parents and students had stood before us for the past 149 years, we still felt like our kids were the most special of all, having survived COVID, octomesters (ours was one of the few high schools during COVID where the students took one course, 6 hours a day), and more.

The third milestone was watching this same group of kids get ready for prom. The girls were stunning in their long dresses and up-dos, and the boys donned their best black suits. We all snapped photo after photo as they posed with their friends and boyfriends, without a care in the world, for one day at least, before heading out for the formal dinner and dance. If your heart could pound out of your chest with pride, it did yesterday for us parents.

This week’s #HappyAct is to cherish and celebrate the milestones in your life. There are a few more milestones ahead for our household this summer. Soon we’ll be empty nesters as Clare goes off to university this fall, and I’m retiring fully in August to join Dave.

Clare and her friends toasting on the dock
Clare and her friends dressed up before prom on the dock
Clare and her boyfriend dressed up for prom