Lise's Ramblings

Last weekend, Islanders lugged odds and ends out to the curb for the 14th annual 70-mile yard sale . Every year, junk migrates from one home to a neighbouring one, and proximity to the ferry means that some stuff even makes its way across the Northumberland Strait to settle in Nova Scotia. Before Kajiji and eBay, people parted with unwanted belongings primarily through yard sales, consignment shops, flea markets, thrift stores and moving sales. Even in today's electronic age, there are diehard garage sale shoppers who will go to great lengths to find the right bargain. These individuals are early risers, expert hagglers and persistent seekers. (I'm convinced my mom doesn't even need to slow down her car to spot a Fisher-Price piece to complete one of her precious 1970s toy sets or a spoon to match a rare silver service.) Rummage through your attic, unearth boxes from your basement and reach back into the recesses of your closets. Chances are you'll discover...

Sing it with me now: Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli, lolli, lolli… Lollies. That nickname is more pleasing than the North American label: suckers. Lollipops may be tiny and simple, but they still pack a punch. Parents bribe children with lollies. Waiters and waitresses ply diners for extra tips by giving them suckers with dinner bills. Trick-or-treaters visit neighbours to collect loot, lollies included. Nearly any flavour will do the trick, so just pick your type of lollipop. Sour lollies. Gum-filled lollies. Classic lollies. A bouquet of Tootsie Pops .   Fizzy lollies. Laura Secord lollies. Powdery lollies.  Cake lollies (à la Starbucks). Giant pinwheel lollies.  Maple leaf lollies.   Even when they serve up a canker sore, lollies are       AWESOME! Bonus blog content:  Pop quartet The Chordettes recorded the chart-topping "Lollipop" song back in 1958.  A hit rap song by the same...

Do you cringe when you see misplaced commas, semi-colons and quotation marks? How about if you spot excessive ellipses and adrift apostrophes? Have you ever had a heated discussion about the serial comma, or better yet, debated whether that extra comma should instead be called an Oxford comma?   Punctuation pundits pose some odd questions, but punctuation itself shouldn’t raise questions. Punctuation should clarify the meaning of a sentence. Years ago, a legal tiff between Rogers and Bell Aliant quantified the high stakes of punctuation gone awry: a million dollars . The battle stemmed from a single comma in a contract agreement. Usually the stakes aren’t quite as high. For example, a colleague once invited me to join everyone in a meeting room to enjoy Halloween candy. His invitation, a sticky note on my computer display, read: Join us in the boardroom. Lets eat, Candy! Eeek! I hope nobody has ever nicknamed me Candy. Back then, I didn’t work with anyone by that name ...

Mix some liquid dish soap with a little water. Now insert a plastic wand topped by a circle into the mixture. Blow ever so gently through the circle's opening. TA DA...colourful bubbles drift away from you. Yay! Oddly enough, my most vivid memory of blowing bubbles is from my university days. We were in my grandparents backyard with a plastic stick draped in straps. After dunking the contraption into a bucket of soapy water, I slid the straps apart to start a bubble of astounding proportions. (Okay, truth be told it took a few attempts before I managed to get the massive bubble.) After many more tries, I nearly succeeded in making a bubble that wrapped right around me. I encourage you to give it a whirl. I'm not sure the name of the toy my grandparents had, but flickr has a photo collection of extreme bubbles from brands like Beeboo and Dip Stix. Want to make some extreme bubbles of your own? Some words of advice: shake off the excess liquid and don't rush or...

Last Sunday marked the 10 th anniversary of 9/11. Countries, communities, families and individuals held tributes and memorials to pay their respects to all who died that day and to honour everyone who took great risks to help others.   That tragic and momentous day rocked the lives of many and it continues to touch people from all walks of life. For today’s blog entry, I wanted to focus on moments that alter the course of your life, but for the better. You know the ones I mean: ·         a child’s birth ·         going away for school ·         a first kiss from THE one ·         … That’s exactly what happened to me twenty years ago today, when a shy French Canadian guy kissed me in the Mont réal  apartment I shared with Melanie on rue de la Montagne. Who knew the world could shift in such a swift...

Sniff, sniff, sniff. Who hasn’t been lured to a mall food court by scents wafting from a Cinnabon? Even if you don’t cave, that sugar-and-spice combo causes your nose to perk up. Cinnamon donuts (mini-beignes) and cinnamon rolls at farmers’ markets and mom-and-pop bakeries are that much more enticing. You fool yourself into thinking the treats are somehow wholesome, because of where you buy them. Then, since they’re small and delicious, you wolf down far more than you should.  Source: BeaverTails media kit www.beavertailsinc.com  Well it takes a whole other level of self-restraint to resist BeaverTails ―a.k.a. Queues de castor―in Ottawa , Halifax, Vancouver and other Canadian cities. That smell of warm cinnamon causes even the healthiest people to crave a cinnamon, sugar, dough and butter delicacy. You’re even more likely to give in to those BeaverTails when you smell them late at night and if you’ve been out drinking. Come to think of it, I ate my last Beaver...

By major, I don't mean in-town green spaces, but rather the vast areas where we can connect with nature. As Canadians, we are fortunate to have access to so many exceptional national and provincial parks. People flock to these parks to hike trails, swim in lakes, pitch tents, picnic, stroll beaches, canoe, kayak, sailboard, observe flora and fauna, and build campfires. Fond childhood and teenage memories from two Ontario provincial parks―Ipperwash and the Pinery―continue to fuel my drive to explore more of Canada ’s protected areas. There, dedicated park employees strive to guard endangered species and sensitive ecosystems from invasive plants and diseases. They maintain park facilities and staff interpretation centres for all to enjoy. Even though summer is waning, don’t let that keep you from the parks. Many are accessible throughout the year, so visit them despite the onset of cooler weather. You just might gain a better appreciation for the parks when ...

Mental health is something most of us take for granted, at least until someone we care about struggles with a mental health disorder. Depression, extreme anxiety and other serious mental illnesses affect more of us than you would think. Twenty percent of Canadians will personally experience some form of mental illness. Mental health issues can strike suddenly or creep up on you. Youth, seniors and people in their prime are at risk – there’s no age discrimination. I don’t mean for this to be a downer entry amidst my usually upbeat blog posts. I just believe that too many of us fool ourselves into thinking that we’re superhuman, so we suppress or ignore signs, thoughts and behaviours pointing to our mental health burdens. We pay attention when other body parts tell us we’ve stretched beyond the limit, yet we neglect our noggins. Fear, shame, denial, exhaustion and countless other emotions can impede our ability to judge if we’re mentally fit or not. Even if you’re convinced ...

As students and teachers head back to classes today, doesn’t it remind you of all the unknowns of a new school year? Those final days in August served up countless questions.      Will my best friend be in the same class as me? If not, will I meet new friends? Am I going to like my teacher? What will I learn this year? (In my case, what books will we read?) Will anyone have the same lunchbox, pencil case, outfit…as mine? You know, the fruits from that back-to-school shopping expedition for new supplies and clothes. Will I score a desk in the right part of the best row? Will I have a zit-free and good-hair day for the first day of school? Where will my locker be and how far will it be from homeroom? What should I hang inside my locker door? Is the same bus driver going to pick me up at my stop? Will I find my classroom before the bell rings? And for those extra awkward years requiring you to switch schools… What if I don’t like my...

Funny how you can’t appreciate how desperately you needed a fresh toothbrush until after you toss your frayed one. This chore is just as important as re-applying sunscreen or replacing smoke detector batteries, yet your new toothbrush is inexpensive, takes mere seconds and feels goooooood. Soft, upright, relatively germ-free bristles. Who knew they could be so         AWESOME?!?!