The lights will go out across the land on Saturday, March 28 at 8:30 PM EST for Earth Hour in support of action on climate change. Millions of Canadians took part last year, and this year promises even higher involvement – sending a strong message that we care about the health of our planet.

Let others know that you plan to take part to help spread the word. And don’t stop at turning off the lights for an hour. Energy conservation should be a daily, continual focus – to the point that it becomes a habit. That’s the message Earth Hour is meant to deliver.

For information on specific, practical and often cost-saving ways to reduce your footprint, check out the World Wildlife Fund website called The Good Life.

Save energy when cooking by turning off the heat source several minutes before the food has finished cooking. The heat retained in the walls, racks, and enclosed space of an oven or barbeque, or the pot or pan and element or burner, will help maintain a sufficient temperature to keep foods cooking for quite some time after being turned off, saving significant energy.

The Brier, Canada’s annual curling extravaganza, will be held in Calgary this year from March 7 to 15. If you’re planning to bone up on your knowledge of the game, better hurryyyyyyyyyyyyy, haaaaaaaaaaaaard before the first rock is thrown. Did j’a know these curling terms?

House - The rings or circles that make up the target in curling consists of a 3.5 m (12-ft) ring, 2 m (8-ft) ring, 1 m (4-ft), plus a centre circle.

Button - The circle in the centre of the house.

Tee Line - The line that passes through the centre of the house parallel to the hog line and backline.

Hack - The foot-hold from which the stone is delivered.

Hog Line - A line 10 meters (33 ft) from the hack at each end of the ice.

Skip - The fourth and last player on a team to deliver a stone during an end and who usually plans strategy during the game.

Weight - The force or momentum applied to a curling stone during delivery.

End - A portion of a curling game that is completed when each team has thrown eight stones.

Raise - When one stone is bumped forward by another.

Shot Rock - The stone closest to the button at any time during an end.

Biter - A rock that barely touches the outer edge of the twelve-foot ring.

"May the Good Lord take a liking to you... but not too soon!"

March Break Ideas – Who can’t use a few more ideas for keeping the kids entertained during the spring school break? This Canadian Family site has some excellent suggestions for those spending time at home or away.

Famous Canadian Women - This site shows all the postage stamps made to honour Canadian Women. It's a great way to celebrate Women's Day, March 8th. Each stamp is depicted in colour and includes a brief bio on the women. Really interesting!

Start Plants from Seed – It’s been quite a few years since I last started plants from seeds, but I think the time is right to try again. I found this site to cover everything needed – very informational. Why not try it yourself? There’s nothing like growing something from seed to give you a sense of accomplishment.

Spring Cleaning – I’ve always found a lot of satisfaction from spring cleaning. It’s as if you sweep the last of winter away as you clean, allowing room for spring to take hold. This site has some very useful tips for your spring cleaning tasks.

March in Canada means the end of the hockey season for many children who make the game their winter sport of choice. Hopefully it is a time for positive reflection on a season that brought unabashed enjoyment of the sport of hockey while providing an environment that allowed your son or daughter to grow in their knowledge of the game and thereby increase their level of play.

But before we can begin focusing on other activities for our children, we have one more task to complete before closing out the hockey season; coach evaluation. I use the word ‘task’ to describe the process because many view this assessment as a chore to be avoided if at all possible. Perhaps it would be more appropriate if we viewed this as an opportunity and an obligation.

Coaches are often volunteers, giving freely of themselves for the simple reason that no one else offered to do the job. Given this, one might view those who question a coach’s approach and ability as being unfair. But if we provide feedback in a positive and constructive manner – the same way we want coaches to deal with our children – the result will be more effective coaching, improved instructional guidance, and most of all, true enjoyment for a higher percentage of the players and a heightened level of confidence for all.

So take some time to fill out an evaluation form or write a letter or email to the league to let them know how you felt about their coaches, good or bad. The tendency is to complain, rather than evaluate. But it’s just as helpful to say how pleased you were with the coaching as to voice disapproval.

"Knock hard. Life is deaf."
~ Mimi Parent

All computer screens accumulate dust, dirt, and fingerprints over time. Keeping your screen clean will keep the image as clear as possible and increase your enjoyment of the computer. But how you clean depends on which type of screen you have.

CRT’s - The old style large CRT monitors are easily cleaned because they have a glass screen. Any Glass cleaner and soft cotton cloth should do the trick. But don't spray the screen directly. Spray a cloth with the cleaning solution then wipe the screen.  You can use the same damp cloth to clean the outside of the monitor case, as well.

Flat Panel LCD’s - LCD thin screen monitors, used in most laptop computers and new desktop computers, have a plastic surface rather than glass, so they require some extra care as they can be easily scratched or damaged. Be sure your cloth is free from any debris that could scratch the delicate surface. Before using a cleaning solution, make sure it doesn't contain ammonia or strong cleaners which can cause the surface to yellow and become brittle. As with CRT monitors, apply the liquid to the cloth.

General Screen Cleaning Tips:

• It's best to stroke the cloth across the monitor in one direction when cleaning, moving from top to bottom.
• Turn your monitor off when cleaning so you can see the smudges and dirt better.
• If liquid is ever accidently dripped onto a monitor that is on, turn it off immediately and allow it to dry thoroughly before turning it back on.

Synthesizer – Stefan, age 11, says, “This website lets you make a sort of music by choosing different sounds and arranging them so they sound really wild. It’s fun and easy to do, too.”

Goodnight Stories – Russ, age 6, says, “This website has all sorts of stories to read or to play with. I like the fill-in-the-blank ones. You put in words and it gives you the story with them in it. They’re funny!”

Kaleidoscope Creator – Zoe, age 8, says, “This site is really fun! It has shapes moving around in a circle and you can change the way it looks to make it really cool. It’s really neat to see the way the shapes change as you move your mouse over them and choose different patterns.”

Under the Sea - Jacob, age 12 , says, “I really like the ocean and all the creatures that live there. This page of the Daily Planet website shows you some really cool short videos of underwater creatures.” 

One regular home maintenance suggestion many homeowners neglect is the resetting of their electrical circuit breakers. Perhaps we forget or simply don’t know where they are. Or maybe it’s because we don’t see any tangible benefit. But before you put this chore off ‘til next year again, consider the reason why it is suggested in the first place;

Circuit breakers are mechanical devices which are subject to deterioration due to wear, corrosion, and environmental contamination, any of which could cause the device to not trip when it should, posing a fire hazard.

To reset circuit breakers, simply open your electrical panel, confirm that you do indeed have circuit breakers rather than screw-in fuses, then simply turn each one off then on again.

Of course, this will cause some home devices with timers or clocks to require resetting. That’s why it’s a good idea to reset your circuit breakers just before you reset your clocks for Daylight Savings each spring – March 8^th this year.  And don’t forget to change the battery in the smoker detector, too.

“Nouvelle Cuisine, roughly translated, means: I can't believe I paid ninety-six dollars and I'm still hungry.” ~ Mike Kalin

“I can speak Esperanto like a native.” ~ Spike Milligan

“Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.” ~ Groucho Marx

“Up to the age of 18 a woman needs good parents, from 18-35 she needs good looks, from 35-55 she needs personality and from 55 on, she needs money.”  ~ Holly Armstrong