COLUMN: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED… “People my age remember the days when the door was never locked.” It was a family gathering. Six of our children from Ottawa, New Jersey and Vancouver were there to support my husband, Don, and his surgery for cancer. We rented three apartments for the gang, and each apartment had… Read More Where are those keys?
by Kate Douglas On March 26th I will celebrate my tenth anniversary of quitting smoking and, as a result, I feel much healthier than I did ten years ago. Here’s the article I wrote for the Muskoka Newspapers in 2006 and I think it is worth reading for those of you who are trying to… Read More
By Bessie Grimes “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Hester blinked. She was; but who was this aggressive woman who hadn’t bothered to say hello? “Yes,” she replied. “I’m Hester. May I ask your name and position here?” “How dare you! Who are you to ask? Everyone knows me! Wait until Eric’s ant farm invades your… Read More It’s All in the Attitude
By Doris Villemaire My father Clarence Brazier was born in Magnetawan, ON, into a farm family of 6 children in 1906. His father (my grandfather) had an unfortunate accident with dynamite while blasting stumps; as a result my grandfather became blind and was no longer the family breadwinner. The family dynamics were changed forever. My… Read More It’s Never Too Late to Learn Something New
Dec 2015 Many of us have been told to be thankful for what we have – for food, clothes, the roof over our heads… We’ve heard of sayings like, “Count your blessings…” and others that encourage the message of gratitude. And many of us are thankful – it seems the moral thing to do. However,… Read More Gratitude: Not Just an Old Cliché
Dec 2015 By Anje Bruch-Hilkers How does the health care system in Canada work? I did not even ask when I came to Canada almost 20 years ago now. Who needs doctors and hospitals when you are healthy, right? I would find out. One morning, I burnt my belly, by spilling hot tea on… Read More Tough Challenges Call for Tough Decisions
By Bessie Grimes: It all started the day four-year-old Susie visited her Grandma. “She has a cat; a nice one that purrs all the time. She let me pet it.” Howard and Isobel looked at each other. Howard’s mother didn’t have a cat. She hadn’t had one for years. “Are you sure you weren’t just… Read More Optical Illusion
By Shirley Cambray: I didn’t want to leave my owners but they moved from the farm to a high-rise apartment in Toronto. Not the life for me. They were kind and took me to the park every day to exercise in the dog run, but one day I’d had enough and I just kept running. … Read More A Day With Tucker and Friends
By Bessie Grimes: Susan Bentley, President of the Fatso Club’s Banquet Committee, set out the guidelines for the October Feast. “You know the rules. Each person spends a minimum of $100.00 on the dish of his or her choice. Each dish must contain at least 1000 calories per serving and be as rich and decadent as possible.… Read More Maple Syrup Pie
“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of a dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy Most of us know that exercise is good for us. We’ve heard about the many benefits of being active, such as, increased energy, stronger immune… Read More How Does Fitness Improve Your Mental Health?