Fried, J. & Hansson, H. (2013). Remote: Office Not Required. Crown Publishing Group; New York. Given my interest in work life and the work place, I picked up this book hoping to identify some of the pros and cons of being a remote employee. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of 37signals (now called…
Author: marialegault
I spend my time hiking in nature and reading great novels.
Why I’m Following #SOCHI2014
After many years of self-imposed oblivion towards matters pertaining to sports, news, and world events, I am awakening to the importance of events like Sochi 2014 with a kind of bleary dull-headedness. (I’m also acutely more aware of pop culture scandals than I have been at any previous time in my life; but then again,…
Bruce Peninsula National Park – Tobermory, Ontario
I was a little divided about what to title this post – although my review is technically of the Bruce Peninsula National Park, my experience is really with camping at Cypress Lake. Luckily for me, most people regard the two locations as synonymous and when they think of ‘Bruce Peninsula National Park’ they also think…
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
Hardy, T. (1996). The Woodlanders. Wordsworth Editions Limited: Hertfordshire, London. Full of multiple romance triangles and natural splendors, The Woodlanders marks the beginning of controversy in Thomas Hardy’s novels and remained as one of his personal favorites throughout his lifetime (Wikipedia article). Set in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, the novel chronicles the…
Spooky Hollow Nature Sanctuary – Norfolk County
As many of my regular readers will have guessed, Norfolk County is one of my favorite places to hike – land of the declining tobacco industry, quaint port towns, and nature sanctuaries preserving rare or endangered species (Norfolk County, 2014). Though I love all of Ontario’s Southwest, Norfolk has a special place in my heart…
Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race by Todd Buchholz
Buchholz, Todd. (2011). Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race. Penguin Books Ltd.: New York. You get an immediate impression of this book in the Preface – if you’re the kind of person that reads over a Preface before starting into a book (I do; some might find it to be a bad…
The Death of a Great Cat – #RIPColonelMeow
I know you’ve reached your saturation point of pop culture knowledge this week – between the constant, blaring headlines over Justin Bieber’s purposefully bad behavior, Pharrell’s hat at the Grammy awards, Super Bowl ad speculation, and Vin Diesel’s viral dance video – but let’s talk internet meme here. I was terribly saddened today to learn…
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Although you may know Mark Twain (aka. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or just Clemens for short) primarily as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this all-important American author also penned a strange tale entitled Pudd’nhead Wilson (Wikipedia article). Anyone who attempts to read this story should use a…
The Nourishing Power of Quotes
I have oft had cause to feel downhearted, for one reason or another, in the depths of Canadian winter. Brain functioning, pleasure, and physical energies all seem to plummet when the temperatures dive into the negatives and the sun is an infrequent visitor to the sky. Thankfully, quotes from famous authors, thinkers, and philosophers are…
Youth Mobility and the Love – Career Balance
This week marks the first in which Will, my partner in crime and hiking, is working full time with Dillon Consulting Limited out of their Oakville, Ontario office. His job title, Field Biologist, thrills us both with its weight and heft. I am fascinated by his descriptions of the work culture and his experiences with…
Backus Woods – Norfolk County
Although it’s literally – 25 degrees outside right now in Southern Ontario, fantasies of warm, balmy days out on the hiking trails are dancing through my head this evening. I have been particularly moved to a summery nostalgia while looking through pictures taken in Backus Woods – a significant natural ecosystem as well as a…
Reconnecting with Healthy Eating
There was a time when I felt closely in touch with the world of health and nutrition. I took a strong interest in the topic throughout my teens, and was generally aware of what different types of foods did inside the body. More recently, I’ve either lost that knowledge or chosen to forget it –…
Maria Legault 