October Journal
October 2019 Journal
This month can be a busy one for both family events and Halloween festivities. Take a few minutes to reflect on the things that often overwhelm your little one, and come up with a loose plan of action that will help them to cope a bit better. If big family get togethers are difficult, do lots of talking before the event about what to expect and how to signal that they need a break. Or if Halloween is still a bit scary and sensory-overloading (children under 4 especially are still working out the differences between fantasy and reality) then perhaps be mindful in how you pick and choose your October activities to match the parts of the season they do enjoy. Remember also that we really don't know anyone's 'story', and the children knocking at your door on Halloween night are doing their best on what is an overwhelming night even for children without special needs. Taking the time to think about a holiday from your little one's perspective can make all the difference!
✥Bird Banding at Ruthven Park has been on my must-do list each Fall for the last few years. The park is a not-for-profit National Historic Site featuring miles of trails, a butterfly garden, and the 1845 Thompson family mansion that looks out on the Grand River (with daily tours available). The site is also notably used by a team of bird banders who participate in the Canadian Migratory Bird Monitoring program and work closely with the Canadian Wildlife Service. During migration season, they humanely catch and band migratory birds, record information about them, and release them to continue their journey. If you visit most mornings you can join the banders while they collect birds from the traps, go in their hut to take measurements and attach the bands, and participate in their release! All the details are available here, but if you have any questions before your visit just email Rick.
✥It Takes a Village Hamilton always have the best seasonal lists, and this month they feature the 5 best pumpkin patches in our local area. They include everything you need to know: address, cost, important details (like farms that only take cash), and the parts your kids will love best. We try to hit the pumpkin patch with our extended family each year and it's always a fun day out for the little ones!
✥I recently came across this goldmine of information if you are interested in hiking Hamilton's many trails. October is a great season for trail walking, with beautiful scenery and lovely cool temperatures. Hamilton is home to more than 100 waterfalls, and part of the nearly 900km Bruce Trail that runs along the escarpment. Tourism Hamilton has created an amazing resource with all the details you need in order to start exploring, including amazingly detailed maps! We will definitely be expanding our usual hiking spots in October.
This month I was so excited to speak with Nicole Alexander from the new online marketplace ShopHamOnt. Nicole is already well known on Instagram as Hamilton Hippie, and has been blogging about everything that happens in the Hammer since 2017. She shares yummy local treats, product reviews, fashion finds, and GTA events (big and small). Recently she joined forces with Sarah Killins from Kased Communication to bring this Hamilton online maker's marketplace to life.
“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L.M Montgomerynne Of Green Gables
In the northern hemisphere, October offers this perfect balance between what has been and what's still to come. It's typically warm enough to spend time outdoors, picking apples and pumpkins or enjoying the changing colours on a hike; but it's just crisp enough to hint at the season of hibernation that's approaching. I've always really enjoyed the 'in between' seasons of Fall and Spring, the feeling of moving through a transition, of watching things unfold or fold back up. October is also the month to visit with family (Thanksgiving is 'practice Christmas' as far as I'm concerned), count our blessings and revisit our childhood sweet tooth at Halloween. There is still so much beauty to be found outdoors this month, and I hope these ideas help you to truly enjoy the weeks ahead!
Slow Seasonal Intentions
Take a few moments out of the month to live unplugged
✥Live in airplane mode - Have you ever taken a phone 'detox'? It's really the easiest way to unplug and reconnect to your family and friends. Simply set aside a time in your mind that you would like to be completely invested in things other than your phone - perhaps during the day when you're home with kids, in the evening eating dinner with your family, or at a time when you're hoping to do something creative. It can be as easy as placing your phone out of sight in a drawer, or if you need the extra motivation just switch on airplane mode for a short time. Family dinners are an excellent time to start, and Thanksgiving weekend could be your chance to really focus with no distractions at all. I will also blog about how to check your screen time and set limits within your phone this month over at Stone Family Living
✥Know your 'home forest' - This is a concept I learned from a colleague who ran a forest program at our school, but I'm not sure of the origin. It refers to the area of "free green space" closest to where you live - for example, I am walking distance from Felker's Falls, and I call those trails our home forest. Think of the place where you often go to hike, or just be in nature. As you're passing through this month, while the space has entered a transition season, set the intention to know more about it. Choose a plant or leaf or tree (take a photo if you need to), research and learn it's name or where it came from, or how it will change as winter creeps in. This real understanding and purposeful engagement with nature adds to our desire to protect it in a positive way - include children in this intention, it's so important for them!
✥Autumn Clearing - Spring seems to be the season in which we throw open all the windows after a long winter, and clear out all the dust and clutter. In our area however, the summers can be so hot that if you have air conditioning the windows likely haven't been open for weeks. Fall is my favourite season to let the fresh air in, even when it starts to get quite crisp (hello sweater weather). Our winters are so long, I don't want to lose a second of open window season! For the same reason, set the intention to clear out a small area of your home this month, like a cupboard or a junk drawer. Many of us don't have the time or space to conduct a full "Marie Kondo" clearout in our homes, but by tackling one little job at a time, you can still make a difference heading into hibernation season where we spend so much time indoors.
Mindful Media
Inspiring us this month
✥If I Were An Animal (docuseries, children) - If you've ever wanted to sit down with your little ones and enjoy any of the animal documentaries on Netflix, you know the sudden panic when the circle of life plays out in front of their eyes! Luckily, we stumbled across the series If I Were An Animal, and I'm so glad we did. Each episode is narrated by children and combines drawings with footage of real animals and their babies. They're only 20 minutes long and our toddler gives them two thumbs up!
✥Indie Songs For The Whole Family (Apple Music playlist) - I love searching through premade playlists on Apple Music when I need a break from curating our own library. We came across this playlist when we were looking for something upbeat the kids would dance to, but not actually "kids" music! It's just over an hour long and offers enough variety for the whole family to enjoy if you are indie music lovers. As a bonus, our wedding song made the list :)
✥Indie Songs For The Whole Family (Apple Music playlist) - I love searching through premade playlists on Apple Music when I need a break from curating our own library. We came across this playlist when we were looking for something upbeat the kids would dance to, but not actually "kids" music! It's just over an hour long and offers enough variety for the whole family to enjoy if you are indie music lovers. As a bonus, our wedding song made the list :)
Simple Connections
Setting the intention to connect with a little one in your life
#OneSmallChangeAtHome
Use the hashtag to share your best tips for becoming a zero-waste household
Knowing how important it is to make changes in our household consumption is one thing, knowing where to start is something else entirely! Hopefully this is a way we can learn from each other and try to implement one small change at a time. We plan to tackle one area in our lifestyle that we'd like to change each month, also spreading out the cost of becoming low waste.
Last month we committed to saying no to plastic bags. Our purchase was a set of upcycled dry goods/produce bags from Low Waste Living. Overall we did pretty well, the odd bag came in but we did our best to find another use for it in the house. This intention should stick fairly easily now that we have the produce bags and 30 days is often all you need to create a new habit. The craziest thing is, once you see plastic you can't unsee it - every item that comes into our house in any type of disposable packaging, I find myself brainstorming ways to switch it out.
I know that the bathroom is a big offender for plastic packaging waste, so this month we've turned our attention to soaps and shampoos - although there are many more changes to be made (toothbrushes, razors, etc). Yes, most recycling programs accept empty shampoo bottles. But the fact remains that plastic will never go away, and it has a limited "recyclable" life. (If you haven't watched the CBC Marketplace episode on plastics yet, watch it here) Not to mention what we are starting to understand about the effects of the chemicals in your typical shampoos and soaps on our health and the environment.
If you're unsure where to begin, the easiest rule is just to replace once you've run out. We were both coming to the end of our shampoos/conditioners/face washes so we went on the hunt for an affordable, sustainable replacement. Lush seems to be the most convenient option since there is a store quite near to us, they're incredibly helpful in person, and they have tons of options. They will also happily hand out samples of anything you want to try at home before committing to the product as they are a bit pricey. After chatting with the staff for about half an hour we left with 4 shampoo bar samples to try, and a purchase of 1 hand soap bar, 1 conditioner bar, and 2 face soap discs.
I will do a blog post later in the month outlining how we found the products and whether we decide to stick with Lush or try the other local options I have discovered. In the meantime, I will link a few articles I found helpful while I was researching!
I know that the bathroom is a big offender for plastic packaging waste, so this month we've turned our attention to soaps and shampoos - although there are many more changes to be made (toothbrushes, razors, etc). Yes, most recycling programs accept empty shampoo bottles. But the fact remains that plastic will never go away, and it has a limited "recyclable" life. (If you haven't watched the CBC Marketplace episode on plastics yet, watch it here) Not to mention what we are starting to understand about the effects of the chemicals in your typical shampoos and soaps on our health and the environment.
If you're unsure where to begin, the easiest rule is just to replace once you've run out. We were both coming to the end of our shampoos/conditioners/face washes so we went on the hunt for an affordable, sustainable replacement. Lush seems to be the most convenient option since there is a store quite near to us, they're incredibly helpful in person, and they have tons of options. They will also happily hand out samples of anything you want to try at home before committing to the product as they are a bit pricey. After chatting with the staff for about half an hour we left with 4 shampoo bar samples to try, and a purchase of 1 hand soap bar, 1 conditioner bar, and 2 face soap discs.
I will do a blog post later in the month outlining how we found the products and whether we decide to stick with Lush or try the other local options I have discovered. In the meantime, I will link a few articles I found helpful while I was researching!
#ExploreHamOnt
Sharing some of the best things to do in Hamilton and the surrounding area this month
✥Bird Banding at Ruthven Park has been on my must-do list each Fall for the last few years. The park is a not-for-profit National Historic Site featuring miles of trails, a butterfly garden, and the 1845 Thompson family mansion that looks out on the Grand River (with daily tours available). The site is also notably used by a team of bird banders who participate in the Canadian Migratory Bird Monitoring program and work closely with the Canadian Wildlife Service. During migration season, they humanely catch and band migratory birds, record information about them, and release them to continue their journey. If you visit most mornings you can join the banders while they collect birds from the traps, go in their hut to take measurements and attach the bands, and participate in their release! All the details are available here, but if you have any questions before your visit just email Rick.
✥I recently came across this goldmine of information if you are interested in hiking Hamilton's many trails. October is a great season for trail walking, with beautiful scenery and lovely cool temperatures. Hamilton is home to more than 100 waterfalls, and part of the nearly 900km Bruce Trail that runs along the escarpment. Tourism Hamilton has created an amazing resource with all the details you need in order to start exploring, including amazingly detailed maps! We will definitely be expanding our usual hiking spots in October.
Community Spotlight
Getting to know the work of a fellow Hamiltonian
If you've ever had the thought that you'd like to shop local but didn't know where to start - this website is it! Their mission speaks to our family's goal of living with intention (conscious consumerism + supporting local businesses) along with a focus on sustainability. I'm so excited to see all the local Hamilton vendors in one spot! Nicole was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the new venture and what to expect when you ShopHamOnt...
Explain to us how the ShopHamOnt marketplace works.
Shop HamOnt is hamilton's first online maker's marketplace, this means that you have 24-hour access to shop the best artisan/handmade goods from Hamilton, the GTA, and the surrounding area. Customers can pay with a credit card, through Paypal, google pay or apple pay, all payments are securely processed. Once the payment has been processed, our vendors fulfill the shipment and you get your local products delivered right to your door!
What can we expect for the future of the marketplace? And how can new vendors apply?
We are always expanding! Just last week we brought on three new vendors, Pink Posh Fox, Pink Peony by Kirsten, and Sarri Knot Sarri! Vendor applications are always welcome. We already have vendors from surrounding cities, like Kitchener and Mississauga, we would love to continue the geographic expansion. Applications can be found on our website shophamont.com
What inspired you to branch out from blogging and create this online shop?
I have always been passionate about shopping locally and sustainably. I wanted to find a way to monetize my blog that aligned with my values and provided people access to products that I love and believe in! Shop HamOnt was the next logical step and I am so excited to see where this venture will take us!
Thanks to Nicole for answering my questions!
Follow along with her adventures in the Hammer on instagram @HamiltonHippie
and start your journey to shop local in her online collective ShopHamOnt
Save 10% if you're ordering within Hamilton!
and start your journey to shop local in her online collective ShopHamOnt
Save 10% if you're ordering within Hamilton!
Wishing you and your family a happy October... remember to be gentle with yourself.
Nicole xx
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