Canadian Living December 2013

Last year on Dec. 25 my husband and I woke our then-eight-year-old son at 4:15 a.m., went to check if Santa came (he did!), opened presents, grabbed our suitcases and rushed to the airport with just enough time to catch our 6:45 a.m. flight to Bermuda. Our first mistake: expecting the airport to be vacant. Our second mistake: thinking everyone would be as merry and full of joy as we were. Take it from me – the Toronto International airport is not a festive place on Christmas morning. Thankfully, we weren’t there long, and by 9:30 a.m. we’d landed in Hamilton, our destination’s capital city. The Bermuda airport was a magical place, full of friendly faces and warm welcomes, and as we drove to the spectacular Fairmont Southampton, we knew we…

INSPIRATION NATION I’ve been reading your magazine for many years; I always find each issue full of great articles and recipes. In your November 2013 issue, I particularly enjoyed the stories about Jann Arden (“Midi and Me”) and Catherine Denny (“Shades of Insanity”). These two women inspire me. Jann Arden is so down to earth, and boy would I love to sit down and chat with her someday! And I related to Catherine Denny; I too suffer from bipolar disorder. Though I’ve been on medication for years, I still need to practice constant positive cognitive therapy. It’s been a struggle, especially since my husband of 20 years passed away last August, but I still keep trying and refuse to give up. Thank you for your lovely magazine! –Jennifer Verigin PUBLIC OPINION I’m an…

WHEN NELLY FURTADO GAVE TWO BIG GIFTS TO GIRLS ACROSS THE WORLD, SHE DIDN’T EXPECT SHE’D BE THE ONE TO FEEL GRATEFUL. AS TOLD TO SHELLEY PAGE Giving is the secret to happiness in my life: Nothing makes me happier than giving time, energy and love to my daughter. Helping young artists realize their potential is deeply satisfying too. And now, my circle of giving has grown beyond my wildest dreams. It includes amazingly brave girls from Tunisia, Gaza and rural Kenya, as well as their communities. I feel blessed. Let me explain. Two years ago, I donated $500,000 to build a girls’ high school in rural Kenya. The funds were matched by amazing Canadian kids who held bake sales and penny drives. I also pledged a similar amount to fund Girls…

CAROLLERS WITH A CAUSE This Christmas, while the average teen is compiling a wish list of games and gadgets, three brothers will be working to make the holidays brighter for families across Canada. Musical trio the Brothers Dubé will be performing from the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train for donations to local food banks. The train travels through Canada, reaching more than 150 communities every year. Since 1999, it has raised about $7.4 million and three million pounds of food. But this is nothing new for the brothers: They perform music and acts of giving all year long. The brothers, Quinn, Jan and Liam, started performing six years ago at the ages of six, eight and 10. Their mother had breast cancer, so they posted covers of her favourite songs on YouTube to…

FOR THE SHORT STORY FAN Hellgoing(House of Anansi Press, $20) by Lynn Coady Since Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for being the “master of the contemporary short story,” it has unofficially become the Year of the Short Story. If you’ve read all of Munro’s works, try Lynn Coady’s collection: It’s hard to believe the humanity that can be captured in so few words. This peek into many tangled lives got Coady shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. FOR THE HOCKEY BUFF WHO LOVES THE FIGHTS The NHL: 100 Years of On-Ice Action and Boardroom Battles (Doubleday Canada, $35) by D’Arcy Jenish For many hockey lovers, the fights define the game. But you may be surprised to learn that the most brutal NHL battles were fought in the boardroom. Since the NHL…

FUNNY MAN STEVE PATTERSON KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO SHOW THAT SPECIAL PERSON WHO PUTS UP WITH YOU JUST HOW GRATEFUL YOU ARE. ’is the season for giving and being grateful. Hopefully you’ll get to spend time with family and friends, sharing lots of food, fun and laughter. But when thanking those you visit for the holidays, don’t forget to save the most thanks (and apologies) for the person who has to spend all their time with you: your significant other. In my case, it’s my wife, Nancy, who is also my manager, so we’ve affectionately dubbed her “wife-ager.” Nancy fields the barrage of “interesting” requests that a comedian gets, from offers to perform with Playboy Playmates (a gig that sadly got away) to contracts with comedy festivals, television productions and…