Hello and welcome to Weekend Coffee Share #63! I’m glad you’re here. Please come on in, help yourself to a cup of coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate at my coffee station and let’s chat.
Week 13/ 52
On January 2, 2022, I wrote that this year, I continue to focus my energy on Health, Home, and Leisure to live a healthy and enriched life. April 1 is a good time for me to reflect on how well I’ve aligned my actions with my intentions in March.
Health
In March, I continued my wellness routine. Indoor practice includes meditation, language lessons, strength training and yoga. Outdoor fitness includes cycling and walking; both have increased in frequency as the weather improves.
When I cycle or walk on a nature trail, it’s a time for heightened sensory awareness and health booster – the colors around me, the variety of birds, the sounds of birdsong, the views of Lake Ontario, and the sight of new buds on trees in spring along my route.
Home
Family – As we moved into spring, outdoor social events gradually returned. I celebrated two family birthdays with an outing to see five Winter Stations at Woodbine Beach. Spring inspired me to bake before the summer heat arrives. The banana muffins and blueberry muffins turned out yummy and were devoured.
Friends – A lovely evening out to celebrate a longtime friend’s birthday gave us the opportunity to admire three beautiful art installations. A coffee date with another longtime friend included a visit to see six amazing black and white murals.
Community – On March 21, Ontario lifted masking requirements in most indoor settings. Toronto welcomes back major in-person events and festivals this spring and summer. I intend to volunteer at selected events to support my city.
On March 20, I volunteered to help at the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K Race, awarding participants medals at the end of the race. The event successfully raised money towards supporting athletes with physical and mental disabilities and the Red Cross Humanitarian Relief Funds For Ukraine.
Leisure
Bird watching – The common birds in spring have returned in good numbers: American robins, European starlings, red cardinals, red-winged blackbirds, red-breasted nuthatches, to name a few.
I was pleased to see about twenty Trumpeter swans by Toronto Outer Harbour. Their black bills distinguish them from other swan species. The bright yellow numbered wing tags mean the re-introduced Trumpeters are from Ontario.
Blogging – I wrote four blogs and hosted four Weekend Coffee Share linkups:
- Cycling The Lower Don Trail
- Visoleil, moonGARDEN and Dreaming
- These B/W Murals Revive History
- Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring 2022
Reading – I read seven engaging books; listed below by author’s last name:
- Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (family grief)
- The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (detective)
- The High Road by Terry Fallis (humour)
- Operation Angus by Terry Fallis (humour)
- Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls (fantasy)
- Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (time travel)
- Small Bodies of Water by Nina Mingya Powles (memories, essays)
Overall
March was a fulfilling month that ended my first quarter of 2022 on a positive note. Throughout winter 2022, I maintained a good fitness level with regular exercises, stayed connected with my family and friends, contributed what I could to my community, and enjoyed several leisure activities.
I’m grateful for my good health, joyful moments and fun experiences in March. April is off to a beautiful start.
How was your March?
Shared with #TheChangingSeasons.
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Natalie the Explorer 
Loved reading about your lovely March. I enjoy seeing the sights you see when you’re out and about. Not much happening here, but that’s normal. And don’t I enjoy writing the word *normal* and meaning it!
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Thank you, Ally, for your kind comments. I hope this Spring brings you good weather and a satisfying amount of fun and relaxation.
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Hi Natalie – it sounds like you found a good balance of activities to tick all your boxes for the first quarter of the year. I’ve enjoyed all your photos and that last one of the cyclamens is particularly pretty – I pinned it in honour of March. 🙂
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Hi Leanne, I’m pleased you like my photo of the cyclamens to pin it. The first quarter of 2022 has been good. I try to focus on what I can do every day and that seems to work.
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Hi Natalie, It seems like you had a great month with different activities. Glad to hear about your wellness routine and that you are in good health. All the pictures are great including pink cyclamens…
Have a great weekend!
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Thank you, Amila. Variety is my spices of life, and having good health is the best foundation for everything else. Have a great weekend!
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Sounds like a great month. That nuthatch is so cute. I’m starting a new aspect to wellness today by doing a challenge by a gal I follow on IG. I’m excited. Have a great weekend
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Kirstin, Good for you to start your wellness challenge. I look forward to hearing more about it. Happy weekend to you!
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From baked goods to flowers, city sights and nature at it’s best. Looks like you had a good month, NAtalie – thanks for sharing the beauty with us.
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Thank you, Dan, for your kind comment. I try to focus on what I can do every day for my health, home and leisure. it seems to work.
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Agree with the others – sounds like a good month! Did you enjoy Small Bodies of Water? I really enjoyed it.
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Yes, I also enjoyed Small Bodies of Water. Beautiful writing from Powles’ life experiences. I hope she gets to travel to NZ this year.
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Hi Natalie! What a wonderful month you had! I’m inspired by how intentional you are with your self-care and organization around the activities you have prioritized as you live your best life. Your muffins look delicious and those birds you watched are simply gorgeous! I can’t wait to see how April unfolds for you. Thank you for hosting the Coffee Share! I’m excited to begin participating again after a long absence. Hope you have a lovely weekend!
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Melis, Thank you for your kind comments. I try to focus on what I can do each day for my health, home and leisure. It works for me. I’m glad you’re able to join us at Weekend Coffee Share. Were you a regular participant before I started hosting in 2021? Some of the coffee share participants have been with the linkup from 2014. I look forward to reading your blog.
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Hi Natalie, I’m glad you’ve found a method that works for you 🙂 Yes, I participated in the coffee shares from 2015 to 2019. I took an unintentional (though apparently needed) break from blogging for a couple of years but am so happy to be back and a even happier to see these posts still happening! Thank you for hosting us 🙂
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Hi Melissa, The WCS linkup had four hosts in approximately six years before I started hosting. I hope to keep the linkup going for a while and active participants help make it possible. Thank you for joining us 🙂
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Yes, it did bounce around quite a bit. I was happy to find it still being hosted at all and am so grateful to know your intention is to keep it going for as long as you can. It seems like we have a good group! Hopefully we can keep it active for years to come!
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Love the big balloon light installations – seen those in Singapore -just so joyous. I have a friend who runs as a guide in the Achillies race. The world is just amazing sometimes. I thought Notes on greif was very good. As did my mum, (my Dad died a few years back). I also gave it to a friend who recently lost her mum. Good book.
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I appreciated the light installations during our winter months here. So great that your friend runs as a guide in the Achilles race. The slogan for the event is ‘Running beyond disability’; it’s inspiring. I’m sorry to hear about your Dad. It’s thoughtful of you to give Notes on Grief book to your friend who recently lost her mum.
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Way to go Natalie, ticking boxes all over the place and those pink cyclamens are just gorgeous! I imagine you are looking forward to your spring and summer months. I love the variety of your activities. Thanks for hosting us for your #weekendcoffeeshare – always fun to see what’s going on.
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Thank you, Debbie, for your encouragement. I try to focus on taking care of my health, my home and having fun. I enjoy a variety of activities so I choose something different every day. I’m very happy that spring is here.
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Your March sounds incredibly full and enjoyable. Wishing you the same for April!
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Thank you, Donna. March was enjoyable and went by quickly for me. Wishing you an amazing April!
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Natalie, your post is filled with inspiring ideas and written so succinctly. Your April flowers are gorgeous. I’m a fan of all your posts.
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Thank you, Marsha, for your kind comments. You made my day! As the weather improves, I’m spending more time outside and I’m writing shorter blog posts 🙂
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That’s the way to do it. More pictures, less words.
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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of your first quarter of the year here on your blog. I really like your positivity! Keep it up!
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Thank you, Maria, for your encouragement. I greatly appreciate your presence on my blog and at the weekly Weekend Coffee Share linkup. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Hi Natalie! It sounds like you had a enjoyable month. In the past March has always seemed like a long month as I wait for spring. This year it flew by in a blur. Your photo of the Pink cyclamens is stunning. Having a great weekend!
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Hi Jill, I felt the same about March this year. I’m happy you like my photo of the pink cyclamens. They were so fresh and beautiful, I couldn’t resist photographing them. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Glad March was good month for you and that you were able to continue to focus on those areas that are important to you (actually, to all of us if we stop to think). I hope you are having a great weekend and have a wonderful week ahead! Oh, and a fabulous April 🙂
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Thank you, Trent. I try to focus on taking care of myself, my home, and having fun. The news around the world can be distracting and harmful so I limit my exposure to it. Have a great weekend and happy April!
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Great post and lovely March. Thanks for sharing Natalie.
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Thanks, Shari. Happy weekend!
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Great stuff Natalie. I continue to appreciate your work maintaining our weekend meet ups.
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Thank you Gary for your participation at my weekly Weekend Coffee Share linkup.
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You did a fabulous job keeping all areas of your focus in mind!
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Thank you, Joanne. Now to continue in April.
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I am so happy major events and festivals are reopening in Toronto this spring and summer. I am glad you will be helping your community. Volunteering for the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day race sounds like quite a fun way to do that.
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Astrid, Yes, it felt good to help at the race. I signed up to volunteer for a few more events this year.
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Really like the bird photos.
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It’s challenging to get a good photo of the nuthatches as they move quickly. I was happy with the photo I got. The Trumpeters were easy. They walked right up to me.
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It’s been a great start to the year for you – balanced in so many of the key categories. I read The Long Call in Feb and really enjoyed it. Anne Cleeves is a master of the genre to be sure. Have a great week.
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Jo, I enjoyed The Long Call, too. I requested the second book, The Heron’s Cry, in that Twin River series. Have a fabulous week!
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I have it on reservation at the library too…who knows how long it will take to come in!
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I have a feeling my anticipation is worth the wait 🙂
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A well-rounded and well-balanced March for you, Natalie. I’m happy to read that the weather allows more walking and cycling again and that in-person gatherings with friends and family are becoming more normal and frequent again! I’m following your example of learning Spanish daily with DuoLingo, by the way. Whenever I have internet anyway. 🙂
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Thank you, Liesbet. I try to reduce my exposure to news and focus on taking care of my health, my home and having some fun. Good for you to learn Spanish. With your travel in Mexico and South America, you get the exposure and many opportunities to practice the language. Atm I continue with Duolingo as a form of brain exercises. When I was in South America, I could tell my Spanish vocabulary has improved from one year to the next by taking Duolingo lessons and without opportunity to speak Spanish at home.
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What a great review Natalie. Loved reading about more getting out and about now Spring is here and limitations are ending. You are a great citizen doing what you can to contribute. I am “late” to the link up today but made it! Mine is a 3 month wrap but about the WEATHER!!
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Thank you, Denyse, for your kind comments and for linking up. I felt good to volunteer at the Achilles race for a good cause and to contribute to Toronto’s recovery. I look forward to reading your post.
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You sure do make a blustery March into sunny events. Thanks for the update.
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Now onwards to April and to make it amazing 🙂 Thanks Antoinette for stopping by.
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You had an amazing March. Very nice. Thanks for hosting and I hope that your April is just as good.
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Thank you Patrick for your kind comment and for linking up. Have a great weekend!
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Hi Natalie,
What a wonderful March! Mine was a good month too! The waterfront trail looks so pretty and fun to be on and the pink flower at the end is gorgeous. I finally posted a coffee share in a timely manner! YAY! It was my therapy for this weekend. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! ❤️
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Hi Diana, I’m glad to see you at the linkup and that you had a good March, too. Spring flowers have started to bloom here. I’ll be over to your blog shortly. Have a great week ahead!
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Anything from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is on my TBR list. The mask mandates have lifted in most parts of LA like restaurants, grocery stores, and other shopping areas. It was such a nice change.
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I think people who have experienced or are grieving loss of a loved one would appreciate Adichie’s Notes On Grief book.
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Hi Natalie,
Thanks for all the wonderful photos. My favourite was the swans, although I question whether humans should be sticking chunky plastic tags on them. I wonder if they annoy the birds?
We have finally had a few days of sunshine. It’s been a miracle.
We have also managed to dodge covid again after our son’s close call onboard the ship while he was away.
Take care and have a great week.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena, The Trumpeter swans were almost driven to extinction early in the 20th century. Biologist Harry Lumsden began a provincial reintroduction program in the early 1980’s to re-establish the Trumpeter swan population in Ontario. The program is managed by bird experts so I presume they know the wing tags don’t bother the swans. Good to hear you dodged covid. Take care and have a great week!
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That’s awful the Trumpeter swans there were almost driven to extinction. I wonder about humanity at times…many times. Sounds like they need the tags and people need reminding to look after our animals.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Sounds like you had a great month! Love the trumpeter swans–they’re so cool!
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Thanks, Janet. The Trumpeter swans are beautiful and make unique sounds. I’m glad their population has been reestablished after almost driven to extinction early in the 20th century.
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What an excellent way to structure wellness goals and make sure that we’re focusing on the areas of life that most promote our well-being! I hadn’t thought about dividing my intentions into the three categories as you have, but I think it’s so helpful for formulating clear intentions and promoting reflection.
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Thank you Elisabeth for your visit and comment. I find having these three categories easy to remember and help me stay focused on what’s important. Welcome to Weekend Coffee Share. I hope your week is going well.
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Disciplined and useful, Natalie. Not much time wasting on your shift. Wishing you a wonderful April.
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Thank you, Jo. You have a wonderful April, too.
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So glad to share in your month, Natalie!
and your muffins both look so delicious!
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Thank you, Ju-Lyn. I’m a beginner baker and use easy recipes like banana or blueberry muffins.
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We are not so beginner bakers in our household and we still love baking muffins! They are bakes which keep so well and convenient to eat & share.
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Yes, I like baking muffins for the same reasons.
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