With summer on the horizon, many of us start thinking about vacations. If we want to include other generations — adult children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews — in our plans, we need to confirm arrangements soon. Multi- or intergenerational vacations require a considerable effort in conceiving, coordinating, executing. I’m not talking about adult children visiting us […]
TOP TV VIEWING OF 2018
Last year I discussed the value in couples watching TV together. While it passes the time pleasantly in an evening, good shows also generate conversation with our partners, friends and family. Because of its social benefits, TV viewing scores high as a pastime, despite being a rather sedentary activity. Just as we can join Book or […]
FUN FACTS FRIDAYS: FOUR SEASONS
Today, on winter solstice 2018, my post discusses the seasons. Four seasons occur because of shifting sunlight, not changes in temperature. The astronomical start of a season is based on the position of the earth in relation to the sun. A solstice or an equinox marks the start of each season. Twice a year the earth’s axis is […]
SPECIAL OCCASIONS: FETE OR FEAR?
I don’t have cherophobia, an aversion to happiness, but may have acquired a mild case of situational phobia, a fear of specific situations. As year-end nears, for instance, I anticipate the special occasions — Christmas, our wedding anniversary on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve — and admit to feeling slightly anxious. Perhaps it’s because we cannot […]
PICKLEBALL FOR ALL!
The worst thing about pickleball — reputedly the fastest growing sport in North America — is its name. It sounds childish. Rightly so. A trio of men initially devised the game to amuse their children, on a summer’s afternoon in 1965 on Bainbridge Island WA, a short ferry ride from Seattle. They named it after […]
LOSING A SIBLING
Laurie — my only sister and the eldest of seven children in our family — would have turned 70 this year. If she had not died suddenly, unexpectedly, at age 27. On International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (November 17), I recall the circumstances leading to Laurie’s disappearance from our lives. In May of 1975, […]
FUN FACTS FRIDAYS: MOVIES
Before Hollywood, New Jersey was the centre of film in the U.S. Thomas Edison owned a majority of the patents on motion picture cameras and, through these patents, controlled who could make films. Independent filmmakers found the restrictions stifled innovation so they fled to Hollywood in the early 1900s. The physical distance from the Edison […]
GREY UNION OR GREY DIVORCE
Canadians continue to see a steady increase in life expectancy; between 1921 and 2017, men’s went from 58.8 to 79 years of age, women’s from 60.6 to 83 years. Concurrently, grey divorce is also on the rise. The longer we live, the more time we will spend with our life partners. Some couples don’t relish […]
MeToo REMEMBERED
On October 15, 2017 the MeToo hashtag, indicating the movement against sexual harassment and assault, went viral on social media, with 4.7 million people in 12 million posts using it on Facebook alone in the first 24 hours. I was one of the millions. A year later I’ve chosen to write about my experiences, because […]
FUN FACTS FRIDAYS: COFFEE
Monday, October 1 marks the 4th annual International Coffee Day, a global celebration of coffee’s journey from the farm to our local shops. Many people, myself included, rely on coffee to start their day right. Apparently the rich aroma gives us added pep, making it beneficial to “wake up and smell the coffee.” The origin of […]