One day after school, a daughter complained to her dad that she was tired of struggling with her dyslexia - she had to work twice as hard as her classmates.

Her father held back his tears and led his daughter to the kitchen, then repeated an old lesson. He filled three pots with water and heated them on the stovetop. Once the water began to boil, he placed a small potato in one pot, an egg in the second pot, and some ground coffee in the third pot.

After 20 minutes, he turned off the stove, put the cooked potato in a bowl and had the daughter poke it with her finger. He peeled the egg, then held the third pot out so she could sniff the coffee. She smiled at the familiar scent of her dad’s morning coffee.

“The potato, the egg, and the coffee beans all faced the same adversity: boiling water,” her father explained.

“But each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong but came out soft and weak. The egg was fragile but grew hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. They changed the water and created something new. So - which are you?” he asked his daughter.

“Are you a potato, an egg, or the coffee? Sweetheart, challenging things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.”

The teen smiled, gave her dad a huge hug, grabbed the hard-boiled egg as a snack and left to go do her homework.

As she left, her father blew an invisible kiss that landed on his beloved daughter.

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National Author’s Day, Nov. 1. Write or tweet a thank you note to your favorite authors, purchase new and old books alike, or work on your own writing project.

National Nachos Day, Nov. 6. Pull out your favorite nachos dish or snack and raise a chip in honor of nachos creator Ignacio Anaya.

Armistice Day, Nov. 11. Commemorated every year to mark the armistice ending World War I, which took effect "on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918.

Thanksgiving Day for The U.S, Nov. 25. Enjoy some turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries, or whatever you like. Just remember to give thanks.

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Sometimes you might feel as if you’re in a rut. The symptoms are many: procrastination, lack of control, confusion, burnout, perfectionism—the list goes on and on. To pull yourself free, follow this advice from the BusinessMatters.com website:

Create a plan of action. Decide what you need to do and how you’re going to do it. You wouldn’t start your car without knowing where you want to go, would you?Take the time to plan your route so you have a firm idea of what you want to accomplish.
 
Make a list. Write down the most important thing you can do today to further your goals, and then add one or two more things. Doing this helps you focus on priorities and continually move forward. If you achieve your first goal, then move on to the next one. Start each day with a list of things to accomplish so you don’t run out of things to work on. 

Manage your time. You might think you have no time to do something. Is it true? Keep track of what you’re working on, so you have a good idea of how long tasks take. Doing this helps you budget your time and energy more efficiently so you don’t fall into the trap of having too much time or too little time to get things done.

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On a dark and stormy night, a man named Sid was hitchhiking on a quiet road. The wind blew loud moans across the countryside, and the trees rustled menacingly in the darkness. Sid was getting nervous, and he breathed a sigh of relief as a car from nowhere came to a gliding stop by the side of the road. Sid jumped into the back seat and started to offer thanks, but he realized that the front seat was empty. Then, to his amazement, the vehicle began to move!

Slowly it crept down the road. Sid’s eyes bulged as it came to a curve, and a floating hand seemed to reach through the window to turn the wheel. For a moment, Sid was paralyzed with terror, convinced that something mysterious and terrible was happening. Finally he gathered his nerve, threw the door open, and jumped from the car. In his fright, he ran without stopping until he made it to the next town.

He found a restaurant and staggered inside for a drink to quench his thirst. About 15 minutes later, two men, wet and cold, entered the establishment. As they were ordering food and drinks, they looked over and saw Sid.

“Hey,” said one of the men to his friend, “isn’t that the idiot who got in your car while we were pushing it?”

Happy Halloween!

Gino Pezzani

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Halloween is a holiday that children and their parents enjoy together. But keeping your costumed trick-or-treaters safe while they go door-to-door is paramount. Follow these tips to ensure that your kids will have a Halloween they remember for all the right reasons:

Choose costumes in light or bright colors. Whether you buy a costume or make one, be sure it will be visible after dark. Put some reflective tape on goodie bags to help them show up when your kids walk down the street.

Eat before going out. Serve dinner or a good healthy snack before your kids hit the neighborhood. They’ll be less likely to gorge on the candy they collect if they’re already full.

Plan your route. Determine a clear and safe path through your neighborhood ahead of time. You should accompany small children, of course, and discuss safety with older kids going out as a group. Always carry a flashlight and cell phone.

Inspect candy before eating. Check through treat bags when children return home, and separate out any candy that looks suspicious. Don’t let kids consume too much at one time— ration it out they don’t get sick and unable to have yummy treats for days to come.

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Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales increased 0.7 per cent in August to $61.8 billion. Sales rose in 6 of 11 subsectors, but were led by higher sales at food and beverage stores (+2.4 per cent) and motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.6 per cent). Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 0.9 per cent in August. In volume terms, sales were up 1.1 per cent. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales rose 2 per cent in August. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 5.9 per cent in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales rose 3.3 per cent month-over-month and were up 7.4 per cent year-over-year. 

In August, Canadian e-commerce sales rose 11.1 per cent to $3.5 billion, corresponding to 5.2 per cent of retail sales. This percentage remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels, but is lower than during core months of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 



Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-retail-sales-august-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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Here’s a fun, creepy recipe from CountryLiving.com, guaranteed to spook people at your Halloween gathering! Ingredients:

4 (1 liter bottles) cold lemon-lime seltzer

3 tubs lime sherbet

Black food color spray (optional)

Stir 2 liters seltzer and half of the sherbet in a punch bowl until blended. Float scoops of the remaining sherbet on top of punch. Pour remaining seltzer over scoops. (It will create a foamy top.) Lightly spray foam with black food color, if desired.

Be sure to use a clear punch bowl to reveal the ghoulish beverage.

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Creative ideas don’t come from nowhere. You need to actively seek them out; don't wait for some muse to strike you with inspiration. Here are a few tips for sparking your imagination when you need to solve a problem or develop something new:

Think when you’re tired. When you’re tired, your inhibitions and inner censor aren’t as powerful, and you might generate something unexpected. Instead of tackling problems first thing in the morning when you’re fresh, let your mind roam later in the day when you’re feeling fatigued.

Exercise. In addition to contributing to your physical well-being, exercise can stimulate your creativity by helping your mental health. In experiments, participants who work out to exercise videos tend to come up with more ideas and solutions to problems than counterparts who merely watch the same videos.

Have a little noise. While silence is best for detail-oriented tasks, ambient noise, such as music or the bustling of a coffee shop, has been shown to enhance creative thought. Don’t play loud heavy metal music or work next to a construction site, but set up an environment where some quiet activity around you will spark your mental muscles.

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“Take your vitamins!” Your parents probably told you this, and although mother knows best, doctors also know a few things about what your body needs. Their research indicates that too much of a good thing can have negative effects on your health. Check with your physician if you take any of these common vitamin supplements:

Vitamin A. In the proper amounts, vitamin A is essential to reproductive health, good bones, immune functions, and can be beneficial to people suffering from such conditions as celiac disease, pancreatic disorders, and Crohn’s disease. Vitamin A deficiencies, usually caused by malnutrition, can lead to problems in vision, skin disorders, and infections such as the measles, and other health issues. But such deficiencies are rare in the U.S. and other developed countries, so there’s probably no need to overdo it.

Vitamin C. In its natural form, vitamin C has been known to boost immune functions, but despite its popularity, no evidence firmly links it to prevention of such ailments like the common cold. It is important to the growth and repair of bodily tissues, and it contains antioxidants that might help fight cancer. Because it’s water-soluble, your body will eliminate any excess vitamin C it doesn’t need, but too much of it can cause stomach cramps, nausea, and heartburn. Excessive doses could produce kidney stones.

Vitamin E. This essential nutrient is frequently recommended because of its antioxidant qualities, but except in rare cases of vitamin E deficiency, evidence is slim of any clear medical benefits of a supplementary dose. In one study of the effect of this vitamin in fighting prostate cancer, results showed a 17% increase in the rate of cancer among subjects taking higher doses. Your best bet is to focus on naturally occurring sources of vitamin E in cereals, fruits, and green leafy vegetables - such as spinach - meat, and nuts.

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Three men set out on a journey. Each one carried two sacks - one around their necks and one on their back. The first man was asked what was in his sacks. “In this one on my back,” he said, “I carry all the kind deeds of my friends. By doing so, they are out of sight and out of mind, and I don’t have to do anything about them. They’re soon forgotten. This sack in front carries all the unkind things people do to me. I pause in my journey every day and take these out to study. It slows me down, but nobody gets away with anything.”

The second man said he keeps his own good deeds in his front sack. "I constantly keep them before me,” he said. “It gives me pleasure to see them.”

“The sack on your back seems heavy,” someone remarked to the second traveler. “What is in it?”

“That’s where I carry my mistakes,” said the second man. “I always keep them on my back.”

The third man was asked what he keeps in his sacks. “I carry my friends' kind deeds in this front sack,” he said. “It looks full. It must be heavy,” said an observer.

“No,” said the third man, “it is big but not heavy. Far from being a burden, it is like the sails of a ship. It helps me move ahead.”

The observer added, “I notice that the sack behind you has a hole in the bottom. It seems empty and of very little use.”

The third man replied, “That’s where I put all the evil I hear from others. It just falls out and is lost, so I have no weight to impede me."

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