Life Where We Are

What if what you need is to travel alone?

Quiet days. No one’s agenda but yours. So much space and time for exploring your own needs and wants.

Sometimes a solo trip is the best trip you can take.

The secret to cooking for one? Stop pretending you don’t deserve something special.

I can only drive through Tim Hortons for a Farmers Wrap a few days in a row before I tell myself to smarten up! (No offense, Timmy!)

This week I stumbled across Caspian Supermarket and they fresh traditional flatbread. I’m talking baked on the walls of a wood burning oven and so fresh you can eat it plain out of the bag on the drive home.

The flatbread called for some sheep feta, so I stopped in at Kalamata Grocery where they have a really good selection of massive blocks of the freshest feta.

The next morning I made a 7-minute breakfast that was so good I inhaled it at the counter by the stove.

What’s next? Always on the search for inspiration to cook at home and especially to keep the egg ick at bay.

Everyone’s summer favourite, Dirty Sodas are now on the menu at Lic’s in Calgary!

I can’t explain why they hit so good but they manage to quench my thirst and take away my blues at the same time.

If you don’t see a flavour combo that you like on the menu, you can design your own dirty soda. So really, the choices are endless. Want to add boba? You can do that too.

Priced at 4.50 for a regular and 5.50 for a large.

I’ll be back all summer!

My 50 year old self remembers my 20 year old self curling up with a book and not even noticing her hips and back when she uncurled a few hours later.

I have switched all of my reading over to Kindle but for some reason I needed to hold ’s book about perimenopause in my hand. Maybe the weight of it is similar to the weight on my shoulders when I think about women’s health.

I am both empowered and overwhelmed as I realize how much information I need to learn in order to advocate for myself during midlife.

It feels grassroots and scrappy to walk into my doctor’s office equipped with scientific research and not ask them what I need, say what I need.

I’ve taken up the fight so that my future self will be able to still curl up with a book and then uncurl with more ease.

I had the kind of Mama that rearranged the entire house every time Dad was out of town.

Massive heavy dresser? “No problem,” she’d say, “let’s just walk it.”

And that’s how I became an expert level furniture walker.

She also taught me the stick a towel under one edge and scooch it method. And the put your back against it and push method.

I grew up knowing my Mama could do anything… and she would.

Best value in Calgary? Definitely the best way to start a Thursday night out.

Bodega Tapas Bar by Sabor has been open in Calgary for one year. The spanish tapas selection that I had was incredible.

I can see a table of four sharing a bottle of wine and some bites and then deciding to stay for a few hours and order sangria for the table with some more courses. Or maybe a date night?

I loved it! Have you been?

Self-reflecting at 50 can be a harsh practice, especially when life has handed you setbacks. I can be brutal with myself when I only look at the gap between where I thought I’d be and where I am.

So I’ve been turning my head from looking back over my shoulder and realizing… the gap between where I am and where I’m going can be just as big.

Trying to guilt my teenager into taking the dog for a walk in the rain…