Secrets We All Keep
We all keep secrets. It seems to me that we have to do it. Sometimes, to protect someone. Other times, to protect ourselves.
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The Many Ways Gratitude Makes Life Better
We mention gratitude, or its cousin “luck”, in this house every day, never taking our circumstances for granted. It’s Thanksgiving weekend for our friends in the US where being grateful is the order of the day. The challenge: to keep that perspective all year long.
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Reverse Mentorships Make Perfect Sense
Memories of my early days in radio are a bit like a game of whack-a-mole. One vivid recollection will pop up and then, months later, that one will have been “whacked” and something else will emerge. I attribute this to a combination of heavy beer drinking back then, and those days being so darn long ago.
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Showing Off – ImPort Stanley
My ride-or-die Erin had some professional engagements in the GTA last week. After joining her for her appearance on CTV’s The Social (which I watched from the green room), I brought her back for a few low-key days in Port Stanley. She’d never been here, and I was so excited to show her our home turf.
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Poking the Emotional Bears in All of Us
Recently, I tried out a headline analyzer. You plunk in a headline for a blog post and the analyzer tells you whether it’s going to attract clicks. For example, the analysis says the headline needs, “more emotional words”. So, you write it again to improve the headline’s percentage score.
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Remembering the Lost Patrol
Friday’s regular ImPort Stanley post is taking this week off. It’s Remembrance Day. I’ve just discovered that one of my late relatives is part of a legendary military tragedy that took the lives of 27 men.
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Faking Self-Confidence and Happiness Works
Attending public appearances was a regular part of my long broadcasting career. Emceeing, live broadcasts, presenting awards – staple ingredients in the stew of being in the public eye and trying to grow a following. Early on, I would get so nervous that I’d nearly throw up before I went on a stage.
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It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…No, it’s a Bird – ImPort Stanley
One of the best places to watch migratory hawks, sometimes in the thousands, is a two-minute drive from Port Stanley.
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Cuddles: A Cat Out of Sorts
It’s not just because of all the doorbell ringing on Halloween last night! He is not a fan of the drop-in visit.
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Guilt Tip
One thing the pandemic has taught us is the value of the nation’s workers. Grocery store employees are essential. Nurses and PSWs are indispensable. This causes me to wonder how essential oils were placed in such a category. But I digress.
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Pretty Fly – ImPort Stanley
If you were anywhere near here last week, you saw the flies. Clouds of them. Thanks to my neighbour Carol for capturing the image above as they emerged from the lake. When not flying, they crowded in clusters on anything from buildings to rocks. They ruined people’s morning coffee on the patio and evening dinner on the deck. They’re gross but harmless, and short-lived.
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Have the Heart to Poop on a Grimace Emoji!
The emoji. Some people love them, some hate them, and even the seemingly inoffensive ones are causing problems between generations.
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Real Estate on the Water – ImPort Stanley
…“Invest in real estate. They’re not making any more of it.”
My Dad
This is Sixty
SIXTY! Sixty??? Sixty. My birthday was on Saturday. It was Thanksgiving, the day I was born, October 8, 1962. My arrival put thoughts of turkey dinner on hold. A story I heard many times over the years.
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Fall Colours Train Trip – ImPort Stanley
Finally, we got aboard the Port Stanley Terminal Rail and took a two-hour train ride to see the fall colours.
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Opening Up to Therapy While There’s Still Time
In Roz Weston’s raw and intimate memoir, A Little Bit Broken, he writes about his first experience with therapy. (I don’t know whether he had more experiences. I’m still reading the book.) Tiny spoiler alert: Roz clearly needed therapy but didn’t return after one session. I get it. I didn’t go back after my first session either. My mom wouldn’t let me.
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Falling for Autumn – Import Stanley
Hummingbirds were slow to discover our feeder but once they did, they must have gone onto Hummingbird Trip Advisor and given us 5 stars.
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