I am now taking orders for the Hello Twenty Twenty-Four Desktop Calendars. They make great teacher and co-worker gifts and fit perfectly into a stocking!

And speaking of stockings… 2024 marks my sixteenth year of making calendars and my eighth year selling them to support a critical cause or organization. This year, $5.00 from every calendar sale will be donated to “SnookieSocks,” wool socks for people experiencing homelessness.

About #SnookieSocks: When was the last time you had to take your boots off, outside, and discard your wet socks because your feet were freezing? Many Homeless have to do this almost daily to keep from freezing. The donations will go directly to the purchase of wool socks for the homeless and are led by Ken Snook and Aerobics First. (Learn more)

Calendars are $15.00 each ($10.00 if you don’t need a case/stand).

If you are interested in one (or more!), please send me an email or DM before December 1 **and let me know if you want a case**. Please e-transfer payment to meghanrushton@icloud.com. When the calendars are ready, I will contact you and make arrangements for pickup. 

**Non-local shipping costs are additional, so please don’t send payment until I have the cost of mailing.**

Everyone near and far should receive their calendars by December 20.

I hope you enjoy this year’s calendar as much as I enjoy making them.

Thank you for your support!

xomeg

Past donations have gone to Barry House, the Emily Fry Society, Hope For Wildlife, Feed Nova Scotia, Welcome Housing and Support Services, Shelter Movers and the Canadian Association For Williams Syndrom.

Not one person asked for it, but Summer is very much over, so I should probably post an update about the 100 Days of Summer 2023 results.

100 Days of Summer 2023

1. Sleep on the covered porch on the Wallace River
2. Tea with my nieces at The Rose & Kettle Tearoom
3. Run up (and back down) Flamingo Drive
4. Replant my plants 
5. Roast some (veggie) dogs at Flat Rock
6. Jump off Flat Rock
7. Try paddling David’s C1
8. Train for Chicago
9. Run 5k to the 5k Cafe
10. Hike Amethyst Cove 
11. Barbie Movie with Melissa
12. Host a backyard pizza party
13. Eat a pie at the Famous Town Pie Shop
14. Sit around a fire
15. Order a pizza pie and eat it outsides (park/beach)
16. Jump off a dock without knowing the temperature of the water
17. Play board games or cards outside
18. Scoot around on a scooter
19. Eat corn on the cob
20. Post run visit to Nature FolkWellness Collective
21. Paint something
22. Go on a lake walk with Anna
23. High tea at Fawn
24. Swing from the river rope
25. Dinner on the waterfront
26. Sushi in the park
27. Go flower picking 
28. Day trip to the valley 
29. Morning swim
30. Night swim 
31. Hike to the secret beach on Gaff Point Trail
32. Go sailing 
33. Make peach cobbler
34. Surprise someone
35. Send flowers to a friend 
36. Hear bagpipes
37. Drink my morning coffee outside
38. Go for a run and jump in the water right after
39. Make jam
40. Eat from a food truck
41. Only use the clothesline
42. Try a new ice cream flavour 
43. Dear Friends with dear friends
44. Take a dip in the Lido
45. Better my BBQ skills
46. Go to a farmer’s market
47. Wear sunscreen (daily!)
48. Take a “lunch” walk – get fresh air (daily!)
49. Take a yoga class
50. Do the Sackville thrifting loop and Kaisers with Sarah and Jonathan 
51. Go on a Ghost Walking Tour
52. Run through a sprinkler
53. Squeeze lemons, make lemonade
54. Go to the ocean after work
55. Go to a beer garden after work
56. Swim in an outdoor pool (Halifax Common Pool)
57. Ride the ferry
58. Have a lobster roll
59. Have fish tacos
60. Find and photograph lupins
61. Tread and talk
62. Bike across the bridge
63. Run across the bridge
64. Meet someone halfway on the bridge
65. Go to a Wanderers game
66. Go to a Roughriders game
67. Pop a wheelie
68. Do a cannonball
69. Hike around Wentworth
70. Play pickleball 
71. Make rhubarb crisp
72. Make rhubarb pie
73. Run the Salt Marsh Trail
74. Neighbourhood stalk a new neighbourhood 
75. Hike Little Meander Falls
76. Go to Meander River Farm & Brewery after
77. Jump off our dock
78. Visit a general store 
79. Make Strava art
80. Go to The Fog Company
81. Eat peas from the pod
82. Sunset paddle board/or kayak
83. Walk the sandbars at low tide
84. Stroll through the Public Gardens
85. Prom watching
86. Make a cheese board
87. Celebrate with sparklers
88. Watch a sunset
89. Watch a sunrise
90. Watch 500 Days of Summer
91. Watch an outdoor concert
92. Scuba dive
93. Play washer toss
94. Run to ice cream
95. Relax at Sensea Nordic Spa
96. Catch up with friends at the armview
97. Swim at a waterfall
98. Attend a festival
99. Run a track
100. Ride the Lehave ferry

For those counting, that’s 90/100 items done! Despite the rain, so much rain, Summer was beautiful, and I have a lot of people to thank for that! May the sun shine bright throughout the winter, and may hibernation give us all lots of energy for next Summer!

Here are my lists from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014

It’s been a while since I’ve written a ten things list, but I’m in the mood to procrastinate (and complain), so I bring you ten things that drive me crazy (but maybe shouldn’t).

1. Conversations in cars while driving: Have you ever noticed in movies and television shows how much they don’t look at the road while driving? I am screaming at the TV, “Look at the road!” and if/when they (almost) crash, I am not surprised, just disappointed. 
2. When people do not remove the pricetag from things like garbage bins, containers, laundry baskets, etc.: Purchase and tear the sticker or tag off!
3. Carry-on luggage: To be fair, it’s not the luggage; it’s the airlines who charge for checked baggage when they should be charging us for carry-ons. It’s a proven fact that people automatically become 20% dumber and more annoying when they board a plane. It takes way too much time to load a plane full of people incapable of quickly finding a spot for their oversized carry-ons that they can barely lift over their heads. And then, airlines make YOU feel guilty because THEY overbooked the flight and do not have space for all the carry-ons.
4. Things you love that were once good but now suck (I’m looking at you, Instagram): I just want to look at pictures silently, no reels in my feed, no sponsored ads, no suggested content like the good old days. 
5. Listening to podcasts at a regular speed: 1.5 or 1.75 for me! (Yes, that’s a flex). Also, speaking of podcasts, the ads are getting out of control, and if there are no ads, there is Patreon or Spotify-only content. I hate Spotify, but I subscribe to a few podcasts on Patreon because I’d try to support a few of my creative people directly.
6. Drivers who wave politely at pedestrians (and bikes) to proceed walking as if to say, “Even though YOU have the right-of-way, I am letting you know that I will grant you this and not run you over.” As a pedestrian, I refuse to wave back because I do not have to. As a driver, I do not wave at other cars when they have the right of way. Also, stop rolling stop signs, stop stopping in front of stop signs, and start looking left and right before turning!
7. People who do not move over on an escalator: Stay to the right if you want to stand on an escalator.
8. 17-month planners. WHY??? The system is broken. There are 12 months in the year, not 17, and I will never understand the logic behind this flawed design. 
9. Double spaces and misused hyphens: Do kids even know the beauty of an em dash?
10. Movie posters when the actors’ names at the top do not line up with the photo of the actors: This is probably my biggest pet peeve, and it has driven me crazy since my days of hanging out at Video Difference, looking for a rental. I totally judge a movie by its cover.

What about you? What drives you crazy?