Meanderings with Trudy

This is a great summer read, light-hearted and fun, just perfect for a read at the beach or on a dock by a cottage somewhere.  I hope you enjoy the antics of Angus and Daniel, but more, this book makes me think a bit, giving thought to the kind of politician Angus proves to be. What if we had more like him as leader? What if, indeed? At any rate, please send comments to me at  meanderingswithtrudy...

Today, I'm talking to my friend Donna Scotten. To say that Donna is a world traveller is an understatement. She and her husband Jim have travelled extensively for their whole lives, from the beginning of their relationship, then with their son in tow, and now, as retirees.  “We're free spirits, we love adventure and variety...” is how Donna explains the spirit she shares, and continues to share, w...

On this, the last PauseCast episode for the season, we talk summer… what we hope to do, or be, for the coming summer break. Considering summer from a place of intention. But also, how to find our way into rest, and joy, and experiences that enrich our lives and memories to sustain us through those long winter months. As David Whyte says in his great book “Consolations”: “Rest is the conversation b...

One of my favourite things about summer is sitting outside at a cottage in the early morning and listening to the world come alive. That's what I'm bringing you today on this bonus episode. Bruce's university friend owns this cottage on Bob's Lake, just outside Minden, Ontario. Allan lives in the UK but returns to Canada several times a year for his fix of "home." Bruce and Allan met as young men...

It's been a cold May, and I'm hoping for a warmer June. We're getting ready for our summer break but first... on today’s podcast we do a little review of where we’ve been this season, and offer a taste of where we are going in the month to come. It’s the last month of regular programming, with a summer break from July to September coming in which I will rest, and travel, and think of new things to...

This month’s book review looks at life and choice, through the eyes of a woman contemplating leaving her marriage, or staying put. She meets up with a woman of incredible wisdom and understanding, and with her guidance and support, our author moves through this transitional time, back into her own self. This book, "Tales of Wisdom from an Unconventional Woman: A Walk on the Beach" by Joan Anderson...

It is my privilege to meander today with my friend Cheryl Marita, and we explore her book “Touching the Veil: End of Life Stories Through the Eyes of a Nurse.” This podcast looks at joy in the everyday, and Cheryl’s work as a hospice nurse does that for her… it brings joy to her everyday, that’s clear. After a career spanning almost 60 years, and at 79 years of age, she continues to work as a hosp...

Angie and I regularly look at what we consider are the ingredients of joy. Ritual is one we go back to again and again.  Today, I ask: what happens when ritual becomes empty? When Easter weekend, past just last month, is no longer connected to its Christian origins? When Christmas is all about the presents, not the love we all have capacity to share or the birth of a child, born to die for our sin...

Today, you’ll hear from me as I launch this month of May. I recap a bit of where we are going, and I leave with you a taste of summer to come… via a walk on the beach I took in Lagos, Portugal. Please, share this around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts; and give us a review. If you have comments or questions, please send them to  meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com . E...

The forest across from us teems with life all year, but no time is more magical than the spring when the frogs mate in the forest swamps. We don't always time it right to hear them, but this year we got lucky!  I hope you enjoy this bonus episode... Episode links: This podcast is supported by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc. Royalty free music is called  Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma As always, th...

Cleats bite into the icy path and the ice snaps in response. The forest path, packed down by months of winter boots, is slick, and slippery, even with the cleats on. It always amazes me how the different types and depths of ice and icy snow make all kinds of crunchy sounds as I walk. You can hear the stream as it flows, coming to life with all the water running off the forest and into the creak. I...

It’s a relevant topic for our stress-filled times of economic and political upheaval, and for our every day “hurry hurry” lifestyle, so the topic seemed apt. I’ve faced burnout in my past, and I talk about some of that here as we unpack the stress cycle and what to do when you’re stuck in that space. I haven’t talked much about this before, so this is a new experience for me. I hope you’ll find th...

These novels are seeped in Canadiana – set in Montreal, Quebec in 2012, the novel explores the emerging fentanyl problem in Canada and the havoc it wrecks on people in Denny’s life. The first in a series of detective novels, this is a great tale, I read it in a few sittings. With a background in poetry, Chris has a deft hand in painting scenes, truly bringing us into feeling the scenes he's painte...

On today’s PauseCast, we catch up with Angie as she shares with about her father’s passing. And in this conversation, we talk about all the things that make life precious to us – love, loss, community, ritual, grace, honour, and so much more. Please, share our work widely, give us a review or a drop us a few stars. If you have comments or questions, please send them to  meanderingswithtrudy@gmail....

So, I decided that this month, I’d look at the issue of burnout.  In Canada, like the rest of the world to varying degrees, we’re facing a sea change with America no longer willing to play the role they’ve played since the end of World War II. With tariffs applied to our long-standing trade, and threats to annex us, Canadians feel this new threat to their core. And people simmer in the stress of i...

This gentle book explores the deep knowledge coming out of the Indigenous way of living on the land. Using stories coming from her Potawatomi ancestors, Dr. Kimmerer shares traditional ways of gardening and harvesting, as well as some of the origin stories of her people. She then weaves these together with knowledge from botany and Western Science, showing us that both traditions have legitimacy....

While he'd started soaring as a teen, Ian sought it out again when he immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1980. In reconnecting with the soaring community, he built lifelong friendships, now more than 40 years old. His life is richer with soaring in it - the connection to nature, the challenge of an ever-changing environment of wind and temperature, and the alchemy of mixing science and creativi...

Episode Notes Episode link: Chapman Coaching Inc. As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc. Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called  Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

Discerning happiness versus joy is where Angie starts, as we wrestle with these big questions. “But happiness is a short-lived drug when it comes from outside of us,” she reminds us. And we meander from there, landing in a formula of “love is a noun and a verb + begin again + community” as one tonic for getting through these perilous times. I hope you enjoy this wee chat. Please, share our work wi...

It's about choice. Knowing who you BE, understanding your habits in who you are, how they get in your way, and how to develop a way to choose. We all have habits of being that were grooved into us long ago. In how we were raised, in who we are when we're born, and in what we go through in our lives. These are unconscious, and help us navigate our world. Just as we outgrow our jeans, we can also ou...

My break went well, full of writing, and a little travel. I talk a bit about that.  I also explore how I find calm, and make way for joy, despite the crazy that is so much of our world right now. As usual, I’ve dipped into "Embers" by Richard Wagamese, and also “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” for inspiration. Coming out of that, I have an invitation for you to consider… What beauty do y...

Episode link: Chapman Coaching Inc. As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc. Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called  Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

Today I offer you my year end/year beginning ritual, which is how I stay on track all year. I also offer a wee recap of how I think things have been going on this podcast this year… and I talk about what I’m planning for my break between now and the first week of March when I return with new material. Invitations and housekeeping, that’s mostly what I have for you today, but that’s ok, sometimes s...

In this fourth week of the month, I’m offering you another book that I love. This week I bring you a rip roaring tale about the early years of the 21st Century, and how a driven journalist finally found his way into a more calm and balanced life through mindfulness meditation. This book plays two roles for me. First, it's just a good story about affairs as they unfolded in the US in the early days...

I met many lovely women while on my writing retreat in Tuscany this past October. Jacki Rowe was one of them and I’m grateful to her for sharing her heart and her festive traditions with me on this wee meander. While I’ve met Jackie as a writer, she also ran a very successful company for 25 years, an occupation which kept her away from home and occupied more space in her life than she might have l...