Go to the Water

Today is June 30, 2024. Somehow, we have managed to get through half of this year at the speed of sound. As I write this, I am looking at blue sky and sunshine. That is a lovely way to start a day, a week and the last day of a month.  I am taking some time to reflect on the last six months.  Completing the renovations throughout my condo, was a major undertaking for me. I find as we age making decisions becomes harder. I have always had a voice in my head that says, "make a decision and don't think about another choice after you do". I have to say, I am not sorry about one thing that I changed. There are still some cosmetic things to be done, but for right now, I am done.  Going twice a week to the gym, has been so rewarding, I just get up and go. I don't look for an excuse, I just go. For me, to write that, is profound. To make this kind of commitment is odd for me. I have in the past, started and stopped an exercise program more often than I want to admit. I think i

I read an article that said, 1/3 of Canadians are eating gluten free. It is not because they have been diagnosed with Celiac, it is a choice they are making for better health. They have a variety of reasons; I believe the main one is that they feel better without gluten.  I went gluten free once. Not sure what the reason was, but it lasted 1.5 days. I went all in and bought the gluten free bread and some mixes for treats. The bread was horrid and the mixes equally as bad. I don't usually give up so quickly, but there had to be a better way, such as starving. I don't think at that point in my life, I was ready to understand gluten-free, let alone eat that way.  I recently had a wonderful house guest that chooses to eat gluten free. She was ever so kind as to tell me to make what I wanted, not to worry she knew what to stay away from. When I have guests my go to foods are "solid carbs". Bread, buns, cinnamon buns, cheese buns, cookies, cakes and the list goes on. Oddly,

Lionel Ritchie said to a contestant on American Idol, "If you respect yourself the world respects you. To get respect you have to command it". My standard when it comes to respect is, "you have to give respect to get respect". Sadly, I feel that we are watching as respect for others is disappearing in our world. Respect should be one of those standards that is universal, everyone has it, and holds it in high regard.     “Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something.”   – Ashton Kutcher I love this quote by Ashton. Right now, I am watching several people in my life work on making their lives better. For a variety of reasons, they have had a blip in their life path, and they have decided to work on solutions. No one is spared having crappy things happen to them. Bad things do happen to good people. During those times there is little choice except to dig deep and make decisions to have a better life. I admire how people deal with difficult

When you have several blogs that aren't quite ready, and you can't get them ready, what do you do? You write about the weather, throw in a few pictures, and call it a post. If you are a farmer or a senior, you love, love, love to talk about the weather. Every conversation will start with, "so what's your weather like". A quick check of the phone app keeps everyone up to date and ready for any conversation.  An early morning "Shelf Cloud" Manitoba is known as "Windy Manitoba". Last Sunday, the winds were 40 km with gusts up to 80 km. Although, we have had an abundance of rain, there was dust storms happening everywhere. It was actually hard to believe, but I witnessed it. The poor plants that are just starting to grow are really getting a beating.                                                      I had an interesting conversation at the gym. We were talking about the long grass outside the gym. I commented that there would be lots of hay.  On

Today the community of Dauphin will be unveiled a monument that will honor the lives lost a year ago in what is known as one of the deadliest crashes in Canadian history. Twenty-five people left Dauphin for a fun day at the casino in Carberry. The bus they were traveling on collided with a Semi-Trailor as they crossed Number 1 highway. Fifteen people lost their lives at the scene and ten were transported to hospital, in critical condition.    Unlike most tragedies, in the days that followed, it seemed that very little information was released to the public. This may have been a choice of the families, or there may have been little to report. Now a year has passed, and I am reminded how quickly we move on in our lives.    Recently, a lovely article came out about one survivor that has returned to Dauphin after six months of recovery and rehabilitation. The news clip is interviewing her children about the accident and the months that followed. As you can understand it was a difficult tas

It saddens me to hear people say, "we used to do that before Covid, but we don't anymore". I recently heard a former colleague say, "We haven't traveled by plane since Covid". This was a family that went on an elaborate family trip every year. One thing that seems to be what I consistently hear people comment on is, they don't have people over like they used to. I hate to even put the word Covid in my posts, but it seems to have a place in this one to help explain my point. Life changed because of Covid, and we need to change it back.  I heard the statement, "do as much as you can in a lifetime". My family's ages stretch from 8-90. Things at 8 are certainly different than at 90. I just look at the opportunity's children have today. They are extremely comfortable on a plane. They attend concerts, and sporting events right along with adults. The choices children have for activities are unreal. So different than baseball or hockey in my ki

A mantra is: a statement, word or slogan that is repeated frequently. A personal mantra is a phrase or affirmation that you say to yourself to motivate or encourage yourself.  I just read an article about the mantras that famous people use. None were born wealthy, they created their own wealth and success, through hard work and dedication, and perhaps a mantra repeating in their head.    Oprah leads the list. She uses the mantra that she got from Maya Angelo, "When you know better you do better". Anyone that knows anything about Oprah knows she lives a life of doing better.  Mark Cuban is a member of the TV show, "Shark Tank", owner of the Dallas Mavericks and is a well-known investor. The mantra that he uses came from his dad, it is, "there are no shortcuts". His Dad always told him, "Do the work, out-work, out-think and out-sell your expectations because there are no shortcuts".  J.K Rawlings is the author of the Harry Potter books. She was onc

I recently visited a home for women aged 18-29 that were recovering from addiction. There are many different types of recovery programs, this one was faith-based. To live in the house, the women had to follow the house rules, and a rigid daily routine. They contributed to the house by doing daily tasks. If they are successful with their recovery, they will graduate. They now have a chance to live an addiction free life,  and as I like to say, "let life lead them".       My understanding is that there are several different ways that women can enter a recovery program. There are referrals, voluntary admission and some are mandated by law.  As I have shared, I am not religious, I am spiritual. For me, my god of my understanding is God. I recently had a conversation with an Aboriginal Faith Healer. It was interesting because he said I didn't pray enough. He also reminded me that God, the Creator, gives us what we need, not what we want. We have to work at getting what we want

As a rule, I have several blogs that are almost ready to be posted. A little tweaking and they are published. Well, today that is not the case, nothing is near ready. Today's blog is about my last 24 hours of baking.   My business partner is trying to raise money for a family trip they are taking this summer. Her family had a garage sale this weekend and she wanted to set up an iced tea and baking stand. I love it when kids want to make their own money and I had no problem providing the baking. Her Mom thought about 36 items would be good.  Friday came and I prepared 12 cinnamon buns, 18 pieces of brownie and 12 rather large chocolate chip cookies. A new recipe, and I have to say the very recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies, I have been searching for. I made my delivery, and they went on sale at 4:00. At 4:30 I got the SOS the baking was nearly gone. I zipped home and made 12 raisin tarts, and a large batch of those chocolate oatmeal quick cookies that have many names, I call them &q