Intentional living
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Potato leek soup
My husband and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Roast chicken, potato and celeriac purée and a medley of colourful roasted vegetables. My brother and sister-in-law made the trek from Ottawa with my two nieces and nephew. My daughter was home from university. The grandmothers were happy all kids and grandkids were present. Eleven family members packed around our table. We all had many things to be thankful for as we went around the table: family, friends, health, peace, homes safe from hurricanes and tornadoes, good food, a week off school, swimming, donuts, molasses Halloween candy. It was a good long list. After dinner we played the game Listography.…
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Joyful Caramel
It’s Caramel here. You know I love to run fast and jump high. My legs are not long, but they are springy. I bet I would be good at Hurdle Jumps. I get good air. I can leap up 3 stairs at once. Easy. I can stop super fast too. I skid to a halt, point my nose in a new direction, and bam, I am off again. That’s how I am so good at chasing squirrels out of my yard. You might say it’s my super-power. Put a cape on me and I could fly. Get this? Now when I get ready to run or jump, my family yells…
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Disconnecting at the cottage
It’s a warm evening at the cottage. We finish dinner and start to discuss our post-dinner game choices. There are three generations this evening as my Mom is visiting. A boardgame? Cards? My niece proposes another option: “Anyone want to go for a swim?” She is a mermaid at heart. “I’m in,” I reply. The two of us quickly change into our bathing suits and head for the lake while the others settle on Euchre. Floating in the water I ask my niece what she likes about the cottage. “Freedom,” she says. “I get to do what I want. No school, parents telling me to do things.” I get it.…
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El Présente
“You think of it, all you have is the present moment. The past doesn’t exist anymore, the future hasn’t happened.” I was chatting with a gentleman I often see on my lakeside walks. It was a brilliant sunny late February day, a canoe out on the lake. The gentleman I was talking to is in his eighties, an avid walker, always greets me with a smile, and I learn in this conversation, a fan of Marcus Aurelius. He has a well worn copy of the Roman emperor’s personal essays that he’s consulted over the years. We were talking about the Stoics and the almost mind bending challenge to live in…
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Happier Together
Today, March 20, marks the UN International Day of Happiness. This year’s theme is Happier Together reminding us that “lasting happiness comes from feeling connected and being a part of something bigger.” I feel more grateful with each passing year for my relationships. My family, my friendships spanning decades and my newer connections. I have not always been great with maintaining some relationships and I am trying to be better. This was an important take away from a Happiness Habits course I took (and enjoyed immensely) in the fall with Action for Happiness. It’s a six week course and relationships are one of six topics covered (others are gratitude, self-care,…
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Musical moments and memories
The other day I put on an album I hadn’t listened to for some time: Natalie Merchant’s Ophelia. By “put on an album” I mean stream on my iPhone. Back in 1998, the year it was released, I would have removed the shiny CD from its case, placed it on the tray of my CD player, gently pushed it shut, then pressed the play button. Click. I loved that CD/cassette combination player with matching boxy speakers. It took up a large portion of the living room shelving unit in the house I rented in Ottawa with two roommates. We played that CD often. It was in regular rotation along with…
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Andy the Architect
It is the year anniversary of the passing of my dear father. Sharing this short piece (in the style of G&M Lives Lived) in his memory. I miss him and proud to call him my Dad. Andrew Scott Bruce: Architect. Family-man. Skier. Cottager. Advocate for heritage conservation. Born June 10, 1939, Toronto; Died January 6, 2023, Oakville, of health complications from Alzheimer’s; aged 83 Andrew Bruce was always known as Andy. And Andy always knew he wanted to be an architect. This ambition was set in Grade 7. By the time he was in high school at Runnymede Collegiate in Toronto, he was doodling designs in his textbooks. Andy was…
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Go with love
The first stop on the French Way of the Camino de Santiago is Roncesvalles. It feels momentous to arrive in this small village. You’ve made it over the Pyrenees, left France behind and arrived in Spain. It’s Buenos Dias and Buen Camino from here on out. Another momentous occasion in Roncesvalles is the pilgrims mass in Iglesia de La Colegiata de Santa Maria. This intimate gothic church has exquisite stain glass and fantastic acoustics. The church fills with locals and eager pilgrims from all over the world embarking on the 800 km walk to Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrims may set out from home on an individual journey but quickly become…
