I can’t count the number of times I’ve said “Have a Happy New Year” to folks I’ve seen during the holiday season.  Was 2011 “happy” for you?  Despite the heartache of coping with the passing of one of my sweet little Yorkies, I can say with confidence that I made some “happy” in 2011. 

If you have to stretch your brain to come up with some happy times from the past year that’s ok too.  I’ve found that one of the best ways to take your “happy times inventory” is to look back at your photos. 

Maybe you don’t take pics but chances are someone you know does and you’re likely in some of those photos.  Check out Facebook.  You’re bound to find yourself in one of your friends’ pics on FB.

Revel in the good times!  Dig deep if you have to BUT COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT MADE YOU SMILE IN 2011! 

All the very best in 2012 and start making some happy right now!

  “Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love Clarence.”   I have a wonderful life!  Thank you for being a part of my life in person or online.    Merry Christmas and All the Very Best in 2012! ~~ Kathryn ~~   “Glory to God in [...]

Darren Conners is the winner of ALS Ontario’s “Make It Write” Short Story Competition.  Thank you to everyone for your amazing stories!  Deciding the winner was a tough job! Congratulations, Darren! You write beautifully and I’m humbled by your honesty and candor.  Thank you so much Darren and please remember God is only one prayer away.  As a young child, Darren was [...]

Heaven has come to Byron on a divine cloud of chocolate.  Last Saturday, Chocolate Makers Matthew Scanlan and Kristen Heidt shared their decadent chocolate creations at the opening of their new Forrat’s Chocolates & Lounge, a classy cabaret of chocolate haute couture. You’ll find yourself sinking into one of the soft leather couches with a [...]

All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floor. From Haunted Houses By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  Successful Toronto business woman Karyn Climans, owner of Tail Wags Helmet Covers, whose writing and business savvy I admire, posted this heartwrenching yet inspiring true story on her blog last week.  Karyn thanks for sharing this thought provoking story — life can literally change on a dime.  Life is Precious You never know what’s [...]

  I am a middle child.  And like Andrea Horwath, the second oldest of four siblings “wedged into the backseat of the family’s Ford LTD” I too travelled the busy streets of Hamilton and Stoney Creek in my father’s Ford with my three siblings.  In fact, my dad’s Ford LTD was as bright a blue as [...]

  I closed my eyes tight and thought back to the first time I saw a black woman.  Wildwood, New Jersey.  1965.  We pulled up to the motel in my Dad’s shiny black Chevy. “Look at all the balconies,” my older sister gasped.  “Do we get one?” “Yep.  We sure do.”  Dad handed my mother [...]