1st World Problems

 Why am I allergic to the outside? It's that time of year again, runny eyes and nose, constant sneezing, and a runny nose.  It's not covid, it's pollen. And snow mold.  I love spring. Rain is my favorite weather. Lilacs are my favorite wildflower. Sitting outside is back, as are barbecues and camping. We get to shake off the dullness of depression and winter and I can break out my jorts and sandals.  There is something about the hope of spring that just seems to make everyone a little happier. Dare I say that it puts a spring in their step? Yikes, that was bad. I just love a dad joke. As the days get longer and warmer it means that I get to do more of something I love very much.  Sitting around a fire or wrapped up in a blanket, or both and looking up to the stars can fix a lot of problems. And if you're spending with people you care about, you can start fixing the world's problems as well. It is one of the most peaceful ways to spend some time. Speaking quietly...

 How many times do you think you've watched your favorite movie or TV show? And how many more times do you think you've watched it since the advent of streaming services? Or, has your old favorite been replaced by something new that you found because of streaming services? In some ways streaming services have shortened and lengthened our collective attention spans. When my husband and I are not in the middle of streaming some show, and he has no idea what he wants to watch, I usually wind up being the chooser.  He will sit and go through every platform, and click endlessly because there are far too many choices.  When left to my own devices, and no one else is watching with me, I will usually choose between three categories. True crime, musicals, or something I have watched far too often. Maybe there should be a fourth category here where I smash the first three together, think Sweeny Todd.  When it comes to streaming services, I think we all fall into the trap of co...

 Here we go Friday! For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, we are going to a card night tonight. In fact, we are even hosting it.  I must say I am excited. Card night has always been one of my favorite things. For those of you who are unfamiliar a cards night is just a time when friends get together, play some games (card or board it doesn't matter), have some snacks, and just visit. It's been so long since the last one that I had to look up the rules to one of my favorite games and watch a YouTube tutorial.  Since it's the first one in a while, and we are currently experiencing yet another spring snowstorm, I am not actually sure how many people will show up. But I know that I will be there, as will my husband and daughter. And that is a good start.  Sometimes returning to the simple things and just meeting your friends and loved ones across a game table fixes more than you think. It's just a time to enjoy each other, talk about what's going on in ...

 I'm feeling a little feisty today. Maybe it's the sudden snowstorm that came through last night, maybe it's the longer days.  Remember February? When all of the goose convoy (noisy, angry, left a lot of crap around that they didn't pick up) decided it was a great idea to park in downtown Ottawa? You know, the people that were trying to overthrow a democratically elected government? With the memorandum of understanding? The one that said that the current government would step aside and let the members of the convoy lead the country? Yeah, those guys.  Well, it seems that at least the leaders of that group are having a heck of a time.  Tamara, who started the GoFundMe that raised $10 million was back in court today, arguing that the ban she was given to not use social media basically is too broad and not fair. I wonder if they will ask her where the $8 million that was removed from the fundraising before it was shut down went. Maybe partially to fly her husband in on ...

 What are you grateful for? It's not Thanksgiving, but why should that day have a chokehold on expressing what we are grateful for? I feel like for most of us the low-hanging fruit is family, but let's not stop at the easy grabs.  What else are you grateful for? I am grateful for the healthcare in this country. Could it be better, sure. But we have it, and no one here goes broke after a trip to the emergency room. Nor do we have to do research to see what ER takes our insurance. Bigger picture. Our hospitals are safe places. No bombing, no emergency evacuations.  I am grateful for our government. Before you get all hyped up, I don't mean the specific people that are in power. I mean our type of government. We get to vote, no one meets us at the polling station to tell us we already voted, and no one in the polling station has a gun to ensure you vote the way you are supposed to. The vote doesn't always go the way you wanted, and you know what? You get to complain about ...

 Here we are in third winter.  And we made the mistake of taking the winter tires off of the car last week, during fool's spring. So I guess this one can be blamed on us, we really should have known better.  I have lived in this city for most of my life and somehow I am still not prepared for the weather curveballs that get thrown at us. I have looked up why we get our share of uneven weather, and it would seem like living this close to mountains might have a lot to do with the swings that we get.  Which also leads to the migraines that a lot of us suffer from. I usually get mine as the pressure is changing right before the weather does. Sometimes it is immense pressure in my sinuses that make my eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my skull. Then there is the ever-popular ice pick through the top of my head. Sometimes they come with a black spot in one eye, other times lights have super trippy jagged rainbow-colored auras, other times it's all of the above....

 You may already be aware, but just in case, this weekend is Easter.  I think for most of us, the church aspect of this weekend may be a thing of the past. Now it is more about the chocolate eggs and various pastel-colored items.  Growing up, Easter was not a big thing. I knew the basics, Jesus dies, he goes into a cave, the cave is empty, Jesus comes back, miracle. I knew that it meant Lent was over and whatever we gave up was feasted upon gleefully.  The biggest religious moment for me was always the showing of Jesus Christ, Superstar that was always on TV somewhere. I must say of all of the musicals I love, this one has a special place in my heart. I don't know if it was all the dancing hippies in the desert, the movie in a movie side story, Yvonne Elliman's voice, or the end with all the fringe and shiny people. It just makes me happy. Sidebar: My kids are older now, so usually when I am watching something, they are in the same room watching something else. When ...

In 103 days My mom, my daughter, and I will be taking a trip.  During the trip, my mom will turn 65. And for her milestone birthday, we are going home together.  We are going without many plans. Well, I should rephrase that, I am going without any real plans. My daughter has a few. She has only been to Newfoundland once, but she knows what she likes and it would seem custard cones are near the top of that list.  The idea for the trip started kind of thanks to this blog. My mom reads it (Hi Mom!) and picked up on my wanting to learn more about her family. I know the basics, I can name names and for the most part, I have the main players down. But there is a difference between knowing the names and seeing where it all happened.  My mom and I have always been close, mostly because for a long time we were it for each other. And my daughter is just like us. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and act tough. We love deeply and get hurt easily. We run our mouths a little more...

 Who else remembers Canadian Heritage minutes? And the shorts between movies on the movie and on public television? I was listening to music this morning and a song came on that sent me all the way back to childhood. Who else loves " The Log Driver's Waltz "? I have memories of watching tv after school and waiting for something to end just so I could see the shirt cartoon.  I loved how it started with archival footage and then when to the simply drawn cartoon . At any given moment, even now, I can sing this song. From beginning to end (with a few mumbled lyrics in the middle if I forget a few words), I think almost all Canadians my age can do the same thing. Then there are the Canadian Heritage minutes. There is a large swath of us that still makes jokes about the smell of burnt toast. Beyond the camp of teaching history through one-minute vignettes, they were shockingly effective. Through them, I learned about Jennie Trout, how the Winnie the Pooh got his name, and that ...

It's a no-motivation day over here.  I have sat here and stared at this blank screen for a few hours now. I even did two loads of laundry in an effort to distract myself. So now I am just going to free write and see where it gets me.  This week has been a bad one for sleep. Between the windy nights and the pressure changes due to the weather, I have spent the last few nights laying in the dark and overthinking. The ideas that come in the middle of the night are always genius level, at that time. Then when the sun comes, it chases the genius part away. As does the motivation to go through with all the plans that I make while waiting for sleep.   At least insomnia is one of those things that most of us have experienced at one point or another.  And the gift of shared experience will take you pretty far. People for the most part try to be understanding when it comes to this sort of thing. They have a little more patience when your brain is stuck in a lower gear....

 I am trying something new. Every time I have an overly negative thought about someone or something, I try to come up with more positive to come up with about them/it.  I am not trying to work with toxic positivity, but to see if it changes my perceptions of the space around me. It makes sense to me that if there is such a thing as physical momentum, why wouldn't there be mental or psychological momentum? Have you ever had one of those days that starts a little off, and then rapidly goes downhill from there? A in you start by getting toothpaste in your eye somehow, then you open the fridge door and something flies out at you. Everyone in traffic is an idiot and nothing goes your way? I am sure we have all had one of those days, maybe not that day specifically, but something similar. I still am not sure how I got the toothpaste in my eye.  The other day, I had a series of similar events. This time, instead of raging and everything else going wrong after the third mishap (a...

 One of the best feelings is when someone you love steps outside of their comfort zone and allows themselves to be celebrated for something they work hard on.  My husband is a shy guy, hates being in the spotlight, and pushes others forward when he should be getting the kudos.  He is also a super hard worker and is just a really solid dude. It is usually those guys though that aren't thanked for all that they do, and because they don't toot their own horns, it is rare that anyone  recognizes their contributions. In fact, these are the people that wind up being taken for granted and burned out.  The charity we volunteer with has an ultimate goal. That goal is to get kids with certain disabilities, burns, and a few other issues free healthcare, no matter what kind of insurance coverage their family has. My husband has kind of a unique position within the charity. He is what is known as the hospital chairman. It's a fancy title for being the guy who helps the famil...