Connecting Lake Simcoe's Community

What is the best of the holiday season for you? Food,  presents, decorations, social events, spiritual renewal? Or just the chance to spend some time reading and relaxing?

There’s lots in the special Nov-Dec 2014 Holiday issue of Lake Simcoe Living Magazine to help you enjoy the season, from gift ideas specially chosen by Art Director Jayne Finn to a Christmas story by John Forrest, decorating suggestions, recommended reads and instructions on building an ice rink in your own yard — a place for family and friends to have fun and get some exercise in the crisp winter air.

As Andria Louca reminded us after her wine-tasting visit to the Holland Marsh Wineries, the best wine pairings are not the food that goes with each wine, but the people with whom you share it.

This year, the best of the season for me will be getting together with family and friends. I plan to make opportunities to slow down for a few minutes, and to renew ties with people who are important in my life. With so much of my time taken up in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day living, sometimes the whole year goes by in a blur, with all of the seasons passing too quickly — and sometimes the people slipping away, always too soon.

Marlene MacPherson, creator of the delicious, healthy and time-saving Cook Once, Produce Twice recipes published in many issues of Lake Simcoe Living, was one of those people. Despite a second diagnosis of cancer, she seemed to have boundless energy and a tremendous zest for life, as well as a smile that could light up any room. Marlene was 48 when she died in October.

Please look on the website for the new “Road to Sustainability” blog by Lakehead University-Orillia about some of the fascinating work being done by university researchers — including some of the students — in Orillia classrooms and in the field across the Lake Simcoe Watershed.

Whatever you consider the best of the season, I wish you lots of it — and a wonderful holiday time.

See you at the lake!