Personal Interests - Page 6 of 7

Six words

By Janet Barclay | May 3, 2015 |

In my early days of blogging, I was challenged to take part in a meme where you summarized your memoirs in only six words. Here’s what I came up with: Her mother’s daughter; her own woman. I was very excited when someone from SMITH Magazine, who have since published a series of Six Word Memoir books, asked…

Cancer touches all of us

By Janet Barclay | April 25, 2015 |

The daffodil is one of my favourite flowers. Its resemblance to the sun and its appearance in the early spring bring hope after a long dreary winter. Perhaps that’s why it was chosen to symbolize strength and courage in the fight against cancer. Speaking of cancer, I don’t think I need to explain what a terrible…

Going back in time

By Janet Barclay | April 13, 2015 |

I was planning to go out of sequence on the Reading Challenge, jumping right to “a book that was originally written in a different language” with Nana by Émile Zola. I’d read Germinal and L’Assommoir when I was studying French in university, and enjoyed them thoroughly, and having read that Nana is the most popular of the series, I…

An attitude of gratitude

By Janet Barclay | April 11, 2015 |

The power of positive thinking isn’t a new concept by any means. Clearly if you focus on the good stuff that happens, you’ll notice it more. Conversely, if you focus on the negative, you’ll see more of that. A couple of years ago I noticed that a lot of my Facebook friends had a gratitude…

This city I call home

By Janet Barclay | March 29, 2015 |

I’ve been living in Hamilton for over 25 years now. That’s less than half my life, but longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. In fact, I’ve lived in my current home longer than any of my previous residences! When I first moved here, Scott used to quiz me by naming places and having me tell him…

A tribute to June Barclay

By Janet Barclay | March 25, 2015 |

One year ago today, one of the sweetest people who ever lived breathed her last breath. In her memory, I’m re-posting something I wrote about her back in 2002. She had a framed copy of it on her wall when she passed away. A Very Special Lady They got married just before he went overseas…

Venturing into unknown territory

By Janet Barclay | March 15, 2015 |

The third category listed in the 2015 Reading Challenge is “a book in a genre you don’t typically read.” Since I’ve broadened my reading horizons so much in the last few years, I knew that choosing a book would be a challenge in itself. After all, if there’s a genre I don’t read, I’m probably just not interested in…

My Tribute to "High Fidelity"

By Janet Barclay | March 8, 2015 |

Earlier this year, I received a surprising email from a potential client. I wasn’t surprised to receive the email – that happens frequently, and I knew this one was coming – but by what he asked me. In addition to the usual questions about areas of expertise, rates, and availability, he wanted to know which five songs…

Reading Current Books

By Janet Barclay | February 22, 2015 |

The Girl on the Train & Ms. Rapscott's Girls

I’m never been on top of the latest releases, usually picking up books on sale or secondhand, or reading something that’s been passed down or lent to me. In addition, my book club chooses books that have been around a while to ensure that we have no trouble getting them from the public library. When I noticed that a…

For My Inner Child

By Janet Barclay | February 13, 2015 |

We don’t get much mail these days, and when we do, it’s pretty boring: bills, cheques (well maybe those aren’t boring), reminders to book various medical appointments, and so on. But yesterday brought me not one but two lovely surprises! An advance review copy of Ms. Rapscott’s Girls which I won in a Goodreads giveaway.…

TED Talk: How books can open your mind

By Janet Barclay | February 4, 2015 |

If you’re not familiar with TED, it stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, and their tagline is Ideas Worth Spreading. The first TED conference was held in 1984, and now thousands of independently organized TEDx events are held around the world every year. Each TED Talk is only about 10-15 minutes long, and most (if…

The Happiness Project

By Janet Barclay | January 31, 2015 |

So far my 2015 Reading Challenge is right on track. Yes, I realize it’s still January, but I’ve completed the first challenge: a book I’ve been meaning to read. I first heard of Gretchen Rubin and her happiness project in 2008, when my friend Alex Fayle interviewed her for his Someday Syndrome blog. After the…