The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Happy Things Friday: 18 July (Lake Edition)

This was our week at the lake visiting my parents.

These family vacations just keep getting better, especially now that the kids are older. There’s a new kind of ease to it all. With fewer…

Top Things to Do in Wolfville, Nova Scotia – The Best Places to Eat, See & Explore

It’s a bit embarrassing how long it’s taken me to write about the place in Nova Scotia that’s closest to my heart.

Wolfville!

It’s small — just over 5,000 permanent residents — but overflowing with charm,…

Nova Scotia, Travel
Jul, 16, 2025
38 Comments

Should I Keep Going? My One Line a Day Connundrum

In 2022, I started a One Line a Day journal, and for a long time, I loved it. Recording a sentence or two about each day felt like creating a time capsule of sorts…

Happy Things Friday: 11 July

This week flew by!

John is feeling better (hooray), and so we hosted a family for supper one evening. It was the epitome of summer entertaining: BBQ and potato salad (which I LOVE), barefoot kids…

Never Have I Ever…Part 9

Made homemade yogurt.

Participated in a parade (I’ve watched a few and have always been underwhelmed).

Eaten dandelion greens.

Owned chickens.

Laminated anything.

Taken an item to a pawn shop. (Or bought an item at a pawn shop.)

Entered a…

Never Have I Ever, Personality Insights, Random
Jul, 09, 2025
60 Comments

Gratitude in Practice: Dr. Gillian Goddard and Women’s Health

I’m thrilled to introduce today’s guest poster.

If you’re currently riding the hormonal roller coaster known as perimenopause, allow me to introduce your new best friend: Dr. Gillian Goddard. Gillian is an endocrinologist based in…

On My Shelf: Books I Read in June 2025

All in all, June was a great reading month — from wartime epics to thrillers to cynical memoirs to finishing up an especially long book (the Bible). While I’m expecting things to slow down…