DryFeb: Pressing pause on alcohol for 28 days, again.

Inspired by my folks, one of whom is a cancer survivor, I’ll be participating in DryFeb. The Canadian Cancer Society asks people to consider giving up alcohol (getting sober, drying out, abstaining, whatever you wanna call it) for any length of time during the month of February to raise awareness and funds for the Cancer Society.

To learn more: Click Here.

Goes without saying how much I hate cancer. Most of us have had a close encounter and/or lost someone because of it. Could there be a future without cancer? I think so. I do.
Trying something healthy to help people living with cancer for a few weeks: sign me up! Join my team & let’s document our experiences.

Join the “Dry Babies” and get a little dry, have a little cry! Let’s go! I’m ready!

This is my second year participating in DeyFeb. Last year, the team was called “Oh God, What Have I Done?” and we raised a wack of dough and got healthier together.

The first few days of DryFeb 2021, I actually got quite sick. Hoping for a different outcome this year. Follow my progress and consider trying it yourself as part of Team Dry Babies!

This year, I will also be trying to lose weight and improve my overall health with DryFeb. My physical health has been in decline the past few months because of my rheumatoid arthritis. I am awaiting ortho surgery & have near-future plans for a double hip replacement. These procedures and my recovery will be aided by me dropping a few excess pounds. Since weight loss is a typical side effect of cutting alcohol from one’s diet, I’m excited to see where DryFeb 2022 takes me.

Check out our past achievements:

35F: Christmas Wishlist

Give a gift to the men in need at the Ottawa Mission.

Here is a wish list of their Most Needed items - should you with to purchase anything from this list, it will be sent to my radio station (CHEZ 106, Rogers Sports and Media, located at 2001 Thurston Drive). CLICK HERE to buy something today & I will deliver it for you. You are also able to direct shipping to your house.

Air Purifiers. So hot right now.

These could be considered modern day ‘snake oil’ but when something very smelly sprayed my cottage and I couldn’t get the stink out… I gave this Hamilton Beach model a whirl and have since used it to rid the sour milk stink from our car (which was extreme) and refresh common areas in our house with great success! I am convinced that these things are the real deal but buyer beware: there are many brands and models out there to choose from. Lucky for me, I seem to have chosen wisely out the gate.

The Best Underwear: Period.

I had always been interested in ditching tampons and pads but they just seem to be a necessary evil. Until someone recommended Knix and flipped the script on free bleeding. You heard me. Comfiest underwear (and bras) ever. I would like one of each of this Canadian owned businesses’ offerings. They often have good sales, too. Not sure which size or style to purchase? Gift cards work.

Smart Devices make Life Easier.

Some people love ‘em, others hate ‘em and almost every tech company you can think of has something voice-activated on the market. Here are some of my favourite brands and suggested items that really elevate my quality of life. I’m physically disabled so every step matters in terms of pain management, energy conservation and accessibility.

• Google: hub, mini, chromecast and display.

• Globe: light bulbs and LED strip

• Wyze: camera and plugs

• Geeni: outdoor plug, smart strip (power bar) and wall tap

I tried getting into IKEA’s smart home line (Tradfri) but my experience with their hub, dimmers and bulbs was excruciating. Would not recommend.

Everyday Things.

Lip chap, toothpaste, gas & grocery cards, hair elastics, a good travel mug, socks, winter weather accessories or heated items for maximum comfort. Little things that get used every day always make a great gift because… they get used frequently and are likely to need replacing or replenishing.

There’s nothing terribly flashy about My Wishlist this year. If you are hoping to purchase a gift for someone like me (35F, mom, FT career, commuter), I would suggest grabbing something that helps to make their life easier. I think this advice could apply to anyone on your shopping list at any time of year. Pandemic life has been tiring. If you can’t think of anything your giftee needs, consider donating to a favorite charity in their name.

Here are some of my favourite charities: the Ottawa Mission, CHEO, Minwaashin Lodge, the Food Bank, the Ottawa Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society. Leave yours in the comments below!

Quick December Post

Hoping to keep this post super short because I am so low on energy it is next level draining just purely existing. I am actually using voice to text commands to post a blog for the very first time! So far so good.

Automated things are an absolute dream if you are living with a physical disability. Especially on days like today where going outside and doing your absolute best not to wipe out on the ice is exceptionally draining. Yes I realize that I have use the word draining frequently in this post and it ain’t over yet!

Luckily I do have some holidays on the horizon and I am having a positive time both spiritually and physically, to the best of my ability. Just waiting on some surgery for my foot at this time, my hips will hopefully be able to wait another few years. All anyone ever tells me is that the joints that you are born with are incomparable to the steel ones they are replaced by so I am doing my best to make the most of these deformed bones and worn out joints. Everything has an expiry date so all my decisions are based on quality of life.

Been feeling super tired lately. Been really feeling a lot of pain in my lower extremities which are kind of things you need if you want to be able to walk, climb stairs, get by without the aid of a chair, etc. The time is up for my right foot! Sorry pal. A joint fusion awaits.

I’m trying to be proactive in planning my recovery. Since I won’t be able to drive the first few weeks & there are stairs at my workplace, I will likely be working from home. These last few nights I’ve been working on putting together a proper home studio. It might not look like much but the sound quality rivals that of my studio & I can do all the same stuff I do at work from the comfort of my home.

I’m anxious to test it out, too, so if you want any voice work done - let me know!!

Hope you & yours are doing well this month. Looking forward to some pain free days myself. I know they are just around the corner.

Vocal Issues and RA

My voice is affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis. It just is. I can’t “take a lozenge” or realistically do anything to improve the strain on my voice due to inflammation and pain. Not exactly ideal when you’re meal ticket IS your voice, which it is for me.

I’ve been living with Arthritis virtually my entire life (diagnosed in 1988) and I talk about it more now in hopes of letting other kids know that they are ‘normal’ and can achieve what others think is ‘impossible’. It’s not a matter of ‘thinking positively’ either, though I’m sure that couldn’t hurt. It’s about finding the right medical team, appropriate treatments (which can take years and do more harm than good), surgery and other methods of accommodating the painful, draining disease which often causes other painful, draining diseases or infections. If the RA itself doesn’t, the medicine almost certainly will.

My voice is struggling this week. I feel okay, overall, but it’s grading - to be told that my product (my voice) isn’t cutting it and to try again, try again, try again. The truth is, the more that I re-record or re-attempt something: the worse it will get.

If you accept me for my personality, you must also accept me as I sound. Some days I sound smooth. Other days, I sound rough. It has been this way my whole life and awareness is appreciated. You don’t have to like me or accept me, we all have our preferences and there’s nothing wrong with that, but at 35 - this is how I sound.

30 Years of Road Apples with The Tragically Hip

The Hip's sophomore album Road Apples is being celebrated with a 30th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue which includes the original album remastered, Hoof-Hearted (outtakes, demos and alt. versions) and Saskadelphia (Nov. 5) + Live at the Roxy and More (Nov. 12).

In this interview, Johnny Fay (drums) and Paul Langlois (guitar) of the Hip share how it feels for them to be individually revisiting that period in time (1990-1991), whether or not it's uncomfortable sharing such personal mementos for album reissues such as this, the decision to tour one last time with Gord, future plans and more. This interview was a powerful experience for me and I sincerely thank the Hip and Universal Music Canada for the privilege.

From Universal Music Canada:

Created to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s second studio album which became their first record to hit #1, the Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe editions were carefully crafted with input from each living member of the band. The outcome is a deep dive behind the scenes of what made this album one of the most beloved in The Tragically Hip’s vast catalogue. With all tracks completely remastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville, for the first time, fans will hear music from the band with all the grit, vibrancy, and passion of their original recordings, second only to being in the recording studio with them. 

The physical box set editions, (CD and Vinyl), of the release will contain special Dolby Atmos, 7.1, 5.1 and binaural mixes by Richard Chycki of Road Apples and 5 cuts from Saskadelphia, ensuring fans have a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Fans and collectors will also appreciate the brand-new artwork for each of the packages within the physical box sets.

The expansive deluxe editions the release are jam packed with rare and more previously unreleased and never heard before pieces of music chronicling The Tragically Hip’s Road Apples era, including: 

• Road Apples, the original album re-mastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville.

• Saskadelphia, as released earlier this year.

• Live At The Roxy Los Angeles, May 3rd 1991, originally recorded for a Westwood One radio show, often bootlegged and sought after by fans for many years. It has been re-mastered and expanded and includes the rare “Killer Whale Tank '' version of New Orleans Is Sinking. This legendary Roxy show is now a double vinyl album.This album is available exclusively in physical product.

• Hoof-Hearted, an album of previously unreleased demos, outtakes,and alternate versions. Fans new and old will appreciate the intimate and rare items from the band’s personal collection, as well as fan collections that are part of the physical deluxe box set editions. Included in a 36-page booklet are essays from Bruce Dickinson (who initially signed them to MCA Records in the U.S.), and from producer/engineer Mark Vreeken, both of whom played pivotal roles in The Tragically Hip’s career; reproductions of original handwritten lyrics from Gord Downie’s personal notebooks, never seen photos from Kingsway Studio recording sessions and the Road Apples era and a touching tribute to late producer Don Smith along with further commentary from the band.

Recorded in 1990 in New Orleans at Daniel Langlois’ The Kingsway Studio in an old mansion that looms over the French Quarter Neighbourhood by a group of young men from Kingston, Ontario, singer Gord Downie, guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay, Road Apples, was first released in 1991. Guided by producer Don Smith and engineer Bruce Barris, the band created an album that yielded an avalanche of gritty rock ‘n’ roll with a relentless quality to it, like a stream of blues that struggles to be contained. Road Apples contains some of their best-known songs including, 'Little Bones’, ‘Fiddler’s Green’, ‘Long Time Running’ and ‘Three Pistols.’ Road Apples is now approaching double diamond certified status in Canada.

About The Tragically Hip 

Critically-acclaimed for more than three decades, The Tragically Hip has been at the heart of the Canadian musical zeitgeist, evoking a strong emotional connection between their music and their fans that remains unrivalled. A five-piece group of friends including Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Downie (vocals, guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar) and Gord Sinclair (bass), who grew up in Kingston, Ontario, The Tragically Hip have achieved both mass popularity with more than 10 million albums in Canada and over 1.5 million sold in the U.S, as well as peer recognition through 15 Juno Awards – picking up their last two for Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for Man Machine Poem. 

Their studio catalogue includes their self-titled debut album The Tragically Hip (1987), Up To Here (1989), Road Apples (1991), Fully Completely (1992), Day For Night (1994), Trouble At The Henhouse (1996), Phantom Power (1998), Music @ Work (2000), In Violet Light (2002), In Between Evolution (2004), World Container (2006), We Are The Same (2009), Now For Plan A (2012), Man Machine Poem (2016) and Saskadelphia (2021). 

 A National Celebration was the final show of The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem Tour recorded on August 20th, 2016 at the K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, and is their last performance as a five-piece band. 

Through their career the band became a cultural touchstone in Canada, who despite their accolades and numerous recognitions, will always be proudest of the humanitarian work they have done over the years through numerous charitable organizations and causes.

Follow The Tragically Hip:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok