Around this time of year my vacation plans would be complete or close to complete when I procrastinate. This year is very different, we decided to forego a vacation and stay at home. There are way too many risks with travelling during the pandemic, we visited Jamaica in March so technically we already had a…
How do you Celebrate 26th Anniversary
In my book any anniversary is cause for celebration, I think milestones should be a time to reflect give thanks and be happy. My 26th anniversary was yesterday, with so much happening I almost forgot about it until a few days before. I knew we could not have a big celebration as we try to…
New Year Old Me
January is coming to a close, the old me is very much still doing all the things I’d hoped to change. I did not make any resolutions so this in not me whining about breaking them. Each year I decide to do one practical thing to make be a better person. It is not usually…
How Much Complaining is too Much
I am one of those people who don’t like complaining, I find constant complaining gets you nowhere and in most cases does not find solutions to issues. The reason complaining came to mind was due to my recent bout of pneumonia. I knew something was off with my health, winter is here and with it…
My Place in My Space
Last month I could not find the inspiration to write, I had so many ideas of things to share but for what ever reason could not get it together to sit and commit my thoughts to paper or the computer. I find that my inspiration comes from being joyful and fully immersed in life. I…
Jamaican Beaches of my Childhood
Next week I will be spending my vacation in Atlantic City, New Jersey where we have plans to spend a day at Wildwood beach. This is a beach I visited a few years ago and absolutely loved. This experience was so different from my childhood visits to beaches in Jamaica. The dolphins swam close enough…
A Day at Port Stanley
Last year I wrote about visiting lakes around Ontario as part of my summer fun. This year I wanted to do more exploring, I had a late start but better late than never! The last two weekends I spent Saturday at Port Stanley, this lake is in Southwestern Ontario, Elgin County. It was my first…
Montmorency Falls and L’ Affaire est Ketchup
During my visit to Quebec last month I had the most wonderful time at the falls and a quaintly delightful restaurant called L’ Affaire est Ketchup. At first glance you would think this restaurant is all about ketchup. No, the restaurant is named after a Quebec saying that means “everything is good”. Our waitress explained…
Bonjour Quebec City
Today is Canada Day , what more fitting way to celebrate Canada than to write about my recent trip to Quebec City. I wrote in an earlier post that my upcoming 25th anniversary was coming in June and I wanted to visit Quebec City. I was definitely looking forward to this trip. The day was…
A Great Father’s Day at Rattlesnake Point
In the past I struggled to find ways to make Father’s Day different and special for my father and husband. My father lived in Jamaica, and for the past fifteen years it was always a phone call to say Happy Father’s Day to my dad. It seemed so insignificant to use a phone call show…
Anniversary Celebrations – I dream of Paris
I was invited to a 50th wedding anniversary recently and it was fantastic to celebrate with the happy couple. My husband and I know the couple very well and have seen first hand how they adore and respect each other. My parents celebrated 50 years together in 2012; my siblings and I held a family…
My Weekend in Columbus Ohio
Do you like road trips? I like road trips, short ones not the ones where you drive forever to get to your destination, arrive tired spend a few days then turn around and do it all over again to get home. I like six or eight hour trips, long enough to enjoy the scenery, have…
How do you react in an emergency?
It was the coldest day of the year a couple weeks after a monster snow storm dumped a massive amount of snow on us when my neighbour rang my door bell and told me he saw thick black smoke coming from my backyard. He was shoveling snow from his driveway when he saw the smoke,…
Another Year Over
As another year is coming to a close I look back at the past in great detail, memories, mistakes and misfortunes. They stream through my mind in technicolour. I want to quickly make them a distant memory and move on to the new year with new goals. Despite wanting to move these memories to the…
Summer Fun – Crystal Beach and Port Dover
The summer is coming to a close and we had fantastic weather in Toronto. Those sunny hazy days in mid July were great for hanging out at the beach and soaking up the sun. Our family decided that we were going to challenge ourselves to visit the top five rated beaches in Ontario. Quite a…
Finally the Ice Cream Shop!
In a previous post, I wrote about going on an adventure to find an ice cream shop that my husband and I visited when the kids were young. Well… we set out on a drive, followed familiar roads and found the shop – The Flavour Fox! This summer my husband and I decided to spend…
A right turn, an unexpected place
There is a wonderful ice cream shop by the lake that my husband and I visited a lot during the summer. Â They sell the most amazing gelato in almost every flavour you can imagine. Â This place was special because you can buy your ice cream and walk a few short meters to get to the…
Pictures that make you say hmmm
Like most people our cell phones have become more of a memory capturing device rather than a communicating device. I was going through the photos on my phone and found a few that made me wonder what was I taking? Other times the pictures made me wonder in amazement at the beauty of nature. I…
Chasing dreams, following your heart
Recently I thought about my dreams and aspirations; when you reach mid life that seems to be a topic that is constantly in your thoughts. Have I realized my full potential? Did I achieve all the milestones I envisioned for myself? Those are some tough questions to think about but this post is not about…
+When things go wrong
Things go wrong often, you can cry or you can fix them, laugh about them later and grew from the experience
I Gave up Sugar for 40 Days
For the Lenten season I usually try to give up something significant, in the past I gave up carbs and chocolate but I have to say giving up sugar was not as bad as I thought. This was surprise as I love sugar it is one of the main reasons I don’t lose weight easily….
Waiting or Living in the Moment
As I get older winter seems to last longer and longer. It doesnt help that I live in the Great White North with four distinct seasons, there is no escaping winter. I feel like I am in a constant state of waiting… waiting for Spring. Waiting for the weekend, for vacation, waiting for happiness. My…
Giving myself Permission to Slow Down
Today has been an epiphany of sorts, I made a conscious decidion to give myself permission to slow down. This was enlightening for me and may be for you too if you stop to catalog your daily acitvities. My day starts with devotions, I don’t plan to give that up as it grounds me and…
Are you making time for fun
I read an article in a magzine about having fun, not just a little fun but really having fun. The article got me thinking when was the last time I really had fun. I realise we have to make time for fun as often as you can. The last time I had fun was New…
2022 – My Year in Review
If you use Spotify to listen to music, you receive an annual review of your most listened to music. It is quite interesting to see what music or artist you spend a lot of time listening to,. My number one artist was Dave Koz, he is a smooth jazz artist that I listen to when…
Time means something different for everyone
For the sprinter every second counts, a race is won or lost with seconds between first and second place runner. For the race car drive it is the millisecond that counts, a race is is usually down to a fraction of a second past the other driver to get to the checkered flag to determine…
Toronto to Collingwood Fall Views
Nothing says fall like changing colours on tress and shrubs. Despite living in the suburbs there is an abundance of greenery in my area, the walking trail is great to see the bright yellows and reds that mark the onset of cooler weather. The real beauty of the trees is best observed where the tree…
Backyard Gardening
This year I added vegetables to my usual flower plants for my garden. The soil in my backyard has not been very good for planting vegetables, I decided to use pots to plant some seeds I collected from cooking. I wanted to start small, see what worked and make notes to improve next year. I…
The Canadian National Exhibition CNE is back – fun for the whole family
This weekend was. perfect for the CNE, the popular end of summer fair is back afer a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. For many Canadians this event is the last hurrah for children and parents before the kids back to school. This event lasts for three weeks ending on Labour day with a…
A Really Great Day
What makes a really great day for you? Maybe you have not thought about what a great day looks like. I am not talking about your dream day, I am taking about a feel good day when you enjoy a few of your favourite things. Not a day at the spa or going on a…
When Life hands you Lemons 