October 18 is World Menopause Day, and I’ll be taking the plunge to raise funds for Sinai Health, for research to help women facing health issues before, during and after menopause.
Why am I doing this? I’m just old enough that menopause was barely talked about when I went through it. I had massive fibroids, and very heavy and long periods that came about every three weeks. At 48, I had a complete hysterectomy, including ovary removal. My menopause was more of a meno-screeching-halt.
It was the time when doctors believed the hormone replacement therapy increased the risk of things like breast cancer, so it wasn’t even an option.
I wore sleeveless tops, often carried a fan, and was never without a handkerchief for my sweaty face. I put down the sleepless nights to work stress and my teenagers.
It’s probably not a coincidence that it’s about then that I began winter cycling: rage at the local transit system and an opportunity to be properly cool and look kind of badass were powerful motivators.
Younger women are much more open about perimenopause and menopause, which is great. And I’m thrilled that Sinai Health is studying menopause.
It has been a while since I went for a cold water swim. I’m looking for doing it again for a good cause.
Diane in a shark hat and Star Trek bathing suit, and Nadine in her Star Wars hat and a purple bathing suit decorated with yellow fish lounge against an ice shelf in Gatineau Park lake in 2019.
I love Halloween because it has so many of my favourite things (Ghost stories! Snacks! People going all in on their weirdness! ) but the early part of Autumn is always really busy for me and I often end up feeling like I jumped from the end of August to the last week in October without any time or energy to plan Halloween fun.
BUT NOT THIS YEAR!
This year I am absolutely determined to have as much fun as possible in October.
How am I going to do that?
Well, I’m not much of one for going to parties so I won’t be going that route but I do have some really appealing plans:
I have already planned a ghost story writing workshop and a spooky storytelling event* later this month.
I’ve planned a couple of artsy-craftsy Halloween events with my community arts organization so I’ll get to be creative and hang out with lots of other people who love this season.
I have already assembled my Halloween-themed collage/junk journaling supplies so they’ll be handy for playful creativity all month.
I’m making two zines – Advice from Monsters and (Some) Ghosts are Helpful – which will let me combine drawing and writing and some silly spookiness.
I’m on track to finish the ghost story that I’m writing (it’s about a haunted mirror that someone picked up on the side of the road.)
I’m slowly putting up Halloween decorations all month.
I’m making a bit more time for my favourite spooky podcasts/YouTube channels** – including taking slightly longer walks and doing slightly longer workouts so I can finish an episode or two.
I’m doing some practices from Yoga for Witches by Sarah Robinson – I know that title sounds like it could be flippant but I am finding it to be respectful to Yoga and to pagan practices so far.
I’ve got big plans for making soups and breads and cookies. (This one is less Halloween-focused but definitely seasonal!)
My Halloween costume is already in the works.
I’ve added Halloween music to my playlists. (Current Fave: Alanis Morrissette’s version of Donovan’s Season of the Witch. (It’s part of the soundtrack for Yaga, a show that starts airing this month.)
I’ve already started wearing all of my Halloween themed clothing.
I was leaning into my own whimsy when I added my Halloween scarf to my outfit to perform at the Tales from Near and Afar at the St. John’s Storytelling Festival on Friday night. Photo credit: Jeanene Walsh. Image description: Thanks to Jeanene Walsh for the fun photo of my story adventures on Friday evening. Image description: a photo of me, a middle aged white woman with shoulder length brown hair (but the lights overhead make my hair look purple in this photo), dark framed glasses and red lipstick. I am wearing a black shirt and a grey scarf with ghosts, witches, and pumpkins on it. I am in the middle of saying something into a microphone and I look very sincere.
I know, I know! That’s a lot of things*** but I was doing a lot of those things anyway, I have just switched to the Halloween (or at least Fall) version of them.
The idea of this list doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. Instead, I feel excited and I like having so many things to look forward to.
The things on my list are all so good for my well-being – creativity, fun, exercise, journaling, good company, choosing clothes and music and foods that make me feel good – that even if I don’t finish them all, I am still going to feel good in the process.
And, finally, it feels great to know that I am not going to reach the end of October in a big hurry, wondering where the time went, and feeling out of sorts because I have nothing planned to celebrate Halloween.
Instead, I am celebrating Halloween all month and having a bit more fun every day.
*The storytelling event is on Wednesday, Oct 28 at 8:30PM Newfoundland time, you can join us via Zoom if you’d like. You can also join my ghost story workshop but I don’t have the time confirmed for that yet.
Diane posted a check-in on her #26in2026 and that’s prompting me to check in on mine. After all, fall is my last chance. I knew it wouldn’t be good. It’s been a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer and lots of things we planned just didn’t happen. So many bad things happened that we started saying we shouldn’t even plan anything because we were certain something new would happen and cancel our plans. At this point, some things won’t happen because of busy schedules (travel, 100 km bike rides), and others won’t happen because the weather for them has passed (Snipe sailing, bike packing, river tubing). The Ice Cream bike ride tradition won’t happen because Slickers has closed for the season.
Other things are possible, but not likely–like riding 3000 km this year!
But I can still make some things happen, like a spa day!
Go on a 100 km bike ride. ❎ Unlikely to happen this year!
Spend an afternoon at the beach. ☑️ Sandbanks in August
Ice cream bike ride at the farm. ❎
Big Island bike ride at the farm. ☑️
Go on a bike packing mini vacation. ❎
Develop a morning mobility routine. ❓Update: I’ve got several. And I do them sometimes. But there is no regular morning mobility happening. Not yet!
Read 20 novels. ☑️
Ride my bike 3000 km in 2026. ❓Update: I’m at 1,262.5 km, and there are only 13 weeks left in the year. I’d have to ride more than 130 km a week to make it.
Work out 400 times, incl dog walks and physio. I’ll track workouts in this group and you can join too. ❓Update: This one I will make. I’m at 339 now and there are 94 days left in the year. Easy peesy!
Have friends over more often and worry less about my house. #ScruffyHospitality ☑️
Learn to swim at least 6 lengths of the pool, without taking a break. ❎ Update: I might get there yet. I’m at 3.
Visit at least one other Canadian province, besides Quebec. ❎
Do another lazy river tubing trip, maybe when Catherine is visiting. ❎
Ride 62 kms on my birthday with friends. ❎ Update: I did a 65 km bike ride a few weeks after my birthday. Does that count? It was the Spinning Wheels ride from London to Stratford, not a birthday bike ride with friends though. On the day we thought we might do one, it rained and we were at a memorial service for a friend the next day. It’s been that kind of summer.
Dance! ☑️
Plan a couple of weekends away with my adult kids. ☑️
Go on a short trip with my mum and her little dogs. ☑️
Nutrition advice, especially if it’s surprising or counterintuitive, should always be taken with a grain of salt (maybe use the kind with iodine? you make the call). I mean, who among us decided to embark on a diet of mainly twinkies after seeing this post online? I’m hoping no hands are raised out there…
Earlier this year, there was a flurry of posts about a new-new study, done by HARVARD and THE MAYO CLINIC (so it has to be legit, right?) showing that “a Dairy Queen Blizzard eaten after training raises muscle protein synthesis 43% more than the classic chicken breast and rice.”
For those of you unfamiliar with DQ’s menu offerings, here’s what they’re talking about:
FB post from Iron Ladies saying that DQ blizzard spikes muscle protein synthesis 43% higher than chicken and rice. FYI, the Iron Ladies aren’t a group of nutrition experts promoting essential minerals in our diets.
Huh. You might think this is a funny internet jokey thing. However, the Iron Ladies’ post provided supporting details:
Key findings:
A medium Oreo Blizzard straight after the session produced a 43% higher MPS reading at the 3-hour mark than a 40g protein chicken and rice meal
The proposed mechanism: a large insulin spike from the sugar, a casein and whey dairy blend, and fats from the mix-ins, described in the paper as “anabolic napalm”
Participants who stirred in extra cookie pieces and ate it from the cup while still sweaty reached +51%, which the authors call the “primal Blizzard ritual” effect
Chicken and rice group: a respectable early bump, then a flat line after 90 minutes.
Lab quote: “The Blizzard delivers fast carbs for glycogen, dairy protein for sustained release, and enough joy to flatten cortisol. Chicken and rice is what you eat when you have made peace with sadness.”
After reading more, I’m even more convinced that this is an internet jokey thing. Why? Well, I’ve never read a phrase in a scientific paper like “anabolic napalm”. Also, the last quote is too funny. Scientists aren’t trained to be funny.
Turns out,
THIS IS, IN FACT, AN INTERNET JOKEY THING.
THERE IS NO SUCH STUDY.
SOMEONE MADE IT UP AND POSTED IT ONLINE.
I’m shocked.
One of my favorite quotes from the film Casablanca, which, by the way, significantly predates this fake non-study. If you don’t know it, check out a clip here.
Here’s the thing about nutrition and fitness: human metabolism is complicated, food is complicated, and measuring effects of food on human metabolism is double-complicated and super-contextual. It turns out that, under constrained circumstances (e.g. lacking better options), eating say, a pop tart or sugary cereal with milk after a heavy workout may provide some muscle recovery needs. Are there foods that better support recovery and overall nutritional needs? Of course there are, and we have loads and loads of studies to show which ones, what macro- and micronutrients to look for, etc.
One so-called junky food that has been shown to have post-workout beneficial effects is chocolate milk. In this PubMed meta-analysis from 2018, scientists looked at 12 studies comparing chocolate milk with sports drinks on its effects on various post-recovery biomarkers. They concluded:
CM [chocolate milk– they can’t even bring themselves to write it out in full] provides either similar or superior results when compared to placebo or other recovery drinks. Overall, the evidence is limited and high-quality clinical trials with more well-controlled methodology and larger sample sizes are warranted.
Okay, this is half-hearted and mild advice. But I’m going with it. What do you think?
I don’t think the studies had this in mind as recovery drink, but doesn’t it look yummy? Sprinkles are optional. Thanks Israel Pina for Unsplash.
Take-home messages:
Nutrition is complicated.
But, don’t trust messaging that relies on non-existent studies.
Still, sometimes results come out that are counterintuitive.
Which brings us back to: nutrition is complicated.
My Garmin suggests light exercise breaks and time outside, and I actually do get outside quite often for walks, especially between buildings on campus. I also walk Cheddar in the evenings, so I feel like more outdoor time and more wlaking isn’t the answer.
What I want to know is what do you do to de-stress? Do you have an end-of-day de-stressing routine that works for you? I’m pretty good at putting my phone away, but what else? Advice welcome!
Note, I can’t read in the evening, though I can and do listen to audiobooks and watch shows. My current faves are Slow Horses, Dark Matter, and Ted Lasso. Just finished Ride or Die, Dalliance, and Strange New Worlds. And like everyone else, I’m desperately waiting for a new season of Pluribus.
We have had some spectacular rain over the past week in London, Ontario.
I got to give my new rain boots a good test. I bought the boots and this is not a paid post.
A black rubber ankle boot with a neoprene upper and leather pull tabs.
In the spring I had bought Michel clogs from kamik. They are a Canadian footwear company. He is really happy with the insole structure, fit and how grippy the soles are so I decided to give the company a try.
I have beefy calves so I prefer an ankle boot. I especially like that the insole and tread are well structured.
There’s a small wedge on the back of the heel that you put your other foot on for a hands free take off. Perfect!
The boots have an anime look, which I also love.
I’m a proponent of the adage “there’s no bad weather, there’s just bad gear.” We are expecting a very wet fall and early winter because of El Niño, a weather phenomenon that brings warm, moist air over the continent. I also have movement goals I am looking to meet.
My kids got me an MEC raincoat many years ago for Christmas and it is still going strong. This is partly because I only wear it when it’s really coming down.
A black and white photo of a rainy day with a person holding an umbrella
It might be growing up in the woods, my time in the military or that I’m eccentric but I’d rather get a bit damp from a light rain than sweat in my raincoat. I often joke that “I won’t melt” but also “there’s infinite dry clothes at home.”
Despite some quite rainy days this week, Michel, Lucy and I got our two walks in each day. Sometimes we lucked out and were walking between showers but there were also a few downpours.
Our neighbourhood crossing guard always remarks that we are out every day, no matter what. It feels good to be equipped to keep the promise to myself of walking every day.
My red and white dog, Lucy, sitting on grass in dappled shade. She’s a real handful!
I first wrote this in 2011 when I turned 50. I shared it again when I turned 60. There’s been lots of changes in my life since I last shared this. Some were really positive, while others were not (deaths of family and friends).
There’s nothing I would change except do/use/see more of what I love. I often think of this Mary Oliver insight: “Joy is not meant to be a crumb.”
ID: Martha, a white woman with silver grey hair wears protective eyewear while watching the eclipse. She is wearing a blue striped sweater and a silver necklace and has a big smile on her face.
1. Life isn’t a to-do list. Create a bucket list if you like, but don’t be so focused on the end that you forget to enjoy the road to your destination.
2. Life is sometimes saying to heck with the list and spending time with a loved one. Even if you have to burn the midnight oil later.
3. Letting go isn’t about losing things. Letting go is about making room for something new.
4. Life is knowing that no matter where you are, the people you love will always live in your heart. As the poet Andrea Gibson said: In the end/I want my heart/To be covered/In stretch marks.
5. Three squares a day does not mean brownies, Nanaimo bars and date crumbles (even if they do have dairy, fruit, and grains).
6. Mom was right when she said eat your veggies. Dad was right when he said reading was important. One feeds your body; the other feeds your soul.
7. If you do your best, people may not notice. If you do your worst, they surely will.
8. Being a grown-up can be fun. Yet when something you do is no longer fun, stop doing it. Remember there’s a difference in having to do something and wanting to do it. One breeds resentment; the other sustains a feeling of accomplishment.
9. Make sure your goals and dreams give you a sense of purpose you can live with. Know your limits. But don’t aim low, either.
10. Don’t expect others to take care of you but don’t be afraid to ask when you need help. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
11. Chocolate may help when things are tough, but friends are better. Have someone in your life — be they your family, your friend, or your partner — that you can call at 2 am and say, “Help me.” Be that person for someone else.
12. Remember, there is nothing so big that you have to carry it all by yourself. There is no problem that doesn’t have some kind of solution that will help make things better. Starting with a cup of tea always helps. Making cookies doesn’t hurt either.
13. There is beauty in the smallest object. Flowers, even a dandelion and buttercups stuck in a juice glass, add something to your day. Micro joys are how we survive macro grief. It doesn’t have to be big to give you comfort and over time all of those mini-joys form a blanket to keep you warm.
14. Be connected to nature. Walking in the rain won’t cause you to melt.
15. Building a snowman, no matter what your age, is always an opportunity to be creative.
16. Be an explorer. Travelling doesn’t mean having to leave your city or country. It can mean leaving your neighbourhood to see what’s just beyond the next block.
17. It is amazing what laughing every day will do to change your outlook.
18. Focusing on what you have is always better than brooding on what you don’t.
19. Change is always possible, and in many cases, usually necessary. If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.
20. Achieving perfection isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. Joy, on the other hand, is. As the singer Nightbirde said, “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
My cycling distance goal for the year was 3000 km . I’m at 1278 km, and there are only 13 weeks left in the year. I’d have to ride more than 130 km a week to make it. That seems highly unlikely.
If I change my annual goal to 2000 km for 2026, and I’ve ridden 1278 so far, that’s 722 left for the year. Can I do that?
Yes, I can! There are exactly 13 weeks left in the year, so that means I would need to ride 55.5 km a week.
What’s the plan? I usually bike to school two or three days a week, and that gets me about 15 km. And then there’s Zwift. See you in Watopia!
I like to do yoga in bed or bedtime yoga (various YouTube videos), and chair yoga (also YouTube). I try to fit in lots of little physio exercises with a Theraband and blocks as well as calf stretches and heel raises.
Tracy
All the yoga, push-ups, air squats (with a jump if so inclined), kettlebell swings, burpees. And of course 90% of the ab work.
Laura
Push-ups. Active hangs. One-legged calf raises. Shrimp squats. Downward-facing dog.
Nicole
Stationary bike, Yoga with Adrienne (particularly her yoga for runners), push-ups, ottoman step-ups, 108 Sun Salutations.
Also, this is my old post about just this kind of thing:
Mostly because of the school year, fall always feels like an opportunity for new beginnings. It’s also a great time to check in on progress and do some course correction on earlier goals, if you want.
Back in January my 26 in 2026 looked like this. How’s it going and what do I want to change?
I didn’t camp much more at the cottage: between work and driving restrictions following surgery there just wasn’t time. However, I did get proper furniture installed and have actual cupboards and shelves to store the essentials, so it’s getting really easy to stay overnight when I want to. The electricity project is moving forward nicely so I should have power soon.
The canoe is still sitting up onto its blocks, but I have permanent stairs, a new lifejacket and a boating emergency kit so it will happen next year for sure. In the meantime, I have purchased an inflatable kayak so I can go out even if my friend isn’t around to canoe with me.
I’m way behind on my 1,000 km cycling goal but my e-bike finally has a new battery after two years of trying to figure out what was wrong, so I’m starting to get back into the cycling habit. I’ll be happy if I hit 500 km and I’m pretty sure I can do that. I didn’t get my bike set up for winter cycling, but winter is coming so I’ll try to sneak that in before the end of the year.
I have already hit my goal on books read, but only at half my goal on magazines. I’m determined to get there!
Cooking goals have been a mix. I’m cooking more vintage recipes, but making very little use of my medieval cookbooks.
I am debating giving up one of my gardens. It felt like too much this year, though my garlic harvest was the best ever.
I was at 61,173 M as of Tuesday, so I’m pretty happy with that. I still have three months to go and I’m getting into the habit of having a short swim at work in addition to longer weekly swim practices, so I might just hit 100 km. Not bad considering I wasn’t allowed to swim for over a month.
Crafting, sewing, decluttering Mom’s without adding to my own clutter, something artistic, meeting up with friends, vacation, relax: fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, mostly fail, fail. Some things got done, but not nearly enough.
I am being more conscientious about monitoring my health, eating more fruit, trying to spend more time with Mom, volunteering less, and doing more stretch and strength exercises. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but I’m going to count all of these as successes.
Summary: between now and the end of December, do more biking, reading , swimming, relaxing, and a bit more cooking.
Oh, and keep saying hello to all the good dogs I meet, even if I don’t actually pat most of them.
This happy dog may not be real, but at least she stood still for a photo (unlike a half dozen others I saw that day). I like how she’s ready for the changing of the seasons, dressed as a ghost, holding a pumpkin bucket in her mouth.
