With all the restrictions on travel these days, some of us may be feeling the pinch of not being able to take vacations we’d saved and planned for before COVID-19 hit. My friends Debbie and Terry had to cancel a gourmet cooking expedition to Tuscany. I had to cancel a writing retreat in Paris. We can get a bit of relief watching Rick Steeves on…
I went to the mall and got homesick!
The indirect fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic hit me in a very peculiar way this week. I went to Sherway Gardens in Toronto to pick up some winter socks and slippers and decided to grab a bite of lunch in the second-floor food court. Many of the tables and chairs have been removed so it’s easy to physically distance. As I sat there enjoying my…
Linda Grant gives us permission to love fashion and helps us understand its value
Ten years ago Linda Grant wrote a book called The Thoughtful Dresser, The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter, which gives us permission to enjoy being fashionable without being burdened by the guilt and sin of vanity. Grant’s book was recommended by Sue Burpee in her High Heels in the Wilderness fashion blog which is an excellent resource for baby boomer…
It’s the time of year to fatten up and protect our nuts
This is the busy season for our three-and-a-half-pound Yorkie. Yorkshire Terriers were originally bred to hunt and kill rats in the coal mines in Yorkshire, England and those hunting instincts are buried deep in her DNA. We have four columnar oak trees loaded with acorns in our back yard and the squirrels are constantly making mad dashes between the trees and along the top of…
Shopping just isn’t fun anymore
Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 means many retired baby boomers will not be able to head to warm, sunny destinations this year to escape our shitty Canadian winters. I’m one of them. So, for the first time in many years, I’m spending the winter chez moi which means I’ll need to buy a winter parka. Which also means, a trip to the mall. It’s no…
COVID-19 pandemic reaffirms the lessons of our parents, if only we’d listened.
The baby boomer generation grew up in times of prosperity and economic growth. We often reflect on how different our childhood was from what young people are experiencing today in terms of materialism and lifestyle. Conversely, boomers had so many more advantages than our parents, most of whom grew up during The Depression and carried that experience with them throughout their lives. They instilled in…