OK friends,

I asked and you answered!

Top 9 quick, everyday tips to save you money:

#9:  Lose the landline.  Go cel only.  (Yes, I realize Commander Adama would have something to say about that.)

#8:  Use Groupon, already!  (but for heaven’s sake use your bacn e-mail!)

#7:  What.  You’re paying for e-books you download?  That’s so 2010.  Download them from your library instead, for free!

#6:  Spaghetti Jars — use your imaginations.  They could be vases (use a glass cutter to remove the rim), they could hold cotton balls, they could hold candles (fill part way with sand or pretty stones), they could be filled with cookies!  (orrrrrr…. co000okies)

#5  Clothing exchanges.  I haven’t done one in years, but despite being the heaviest person in the room (and I’m not that heavy) I used to walk out of them with at least one smokin’ hot outfit

#4  Geocache as a date instead of going to the movies|parking|popcorn|softdrinks|$$$

#3  Menu plan.  Menu plan.  Menu plan.   Classic and golden and I know when I do it, not only do I save money (proper food instead of last-minute-grabs at Shoppers, yes, it often comes to that for me) but I also find life less stressful when I’m not having to make hasty, pricey choices.   Bonus points for making extra of a meal to have as a late-getting-home-from-work supper.

#2  Coffee here, there, and everywhere as long as they’re made by you in your multiple bodums that you have everywhere you are – work, home, and yours truly has been known to take them to the library (shhhhh!)

#1  Plug in to regular, local deals like this.

photo credit:  Paul Swansen

I’m ashamed to admit it, but this money coach has been known to purchase mint water. Profligate.  A silly way to spend money.  And contravenes my commitment to a bottled-water-free life.

I’ve mended my ways!

When I saw a baby mint plant at the local nursery (yes, we have one in Yellowknife) I knew I should probably buy it to regain my  self respect.

The northern light has nurtured it over the months.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

And does this not look refreshing?   Score one for the money coach; begone expensive bottled water!  And if anyone else has ideas or recipes (beyond Mojitos) for mint, I think I have more mint than I can handle if I use it for water alone).

You don’t know Saltspring Island til you’ve hauled your you-know-what and your tent and your sleeping bag and your cooking utensils up the hills to Ruckles park.  I think that’s what it was called.  I was too done-in to commit it to memory.  But after recovering from the work-out trauma the weekend was sure fun — tooling around everywhere.

It must have been fun because a few years later I did it again.   I joined my uber-fit and athletic (my antithesis) roommate and her uber-fit and athletic friends for a cycling weekend on the Kettle Valley Railway tour.  Over abandoned train trestles over rushing rivers and right.along.cliffs we went, and up and down the mountains.  And up and down mountains.  And …. anyway, it was spectacular, and I didn’t slow down the pack to the extent that we had to cut it short or anything.  If anyone has done it recently: Is that kinda crazy cowboy still living on the trail?  Who lives in as rustic and cowboy-ish a cabin as can be imagined?

I can’t imagine I’ll be doing those kinds of grinds anytime soon, unlike my pal Doug who, for his retirement, decided to pretty much cycle around the world.   <  beats me  >  .

But these?  These I’d consider.  And what’s not to love – budget friendly, eco-friendly, and you get way more in touch with the area than zipping by in the car, non?

Cycle around London via Barclay’s Bikes I saw a bunch of those bikes when I was there and the looked in great condition.

6-day tour of Green Gables land (PEI).  Someone who did it said the food is incredible as well.

Touring the backroads of Ireland looks lovely, and I think the hills aren’t toooo steep, are they?

Anyone out there done a bit of tourism via a bicycle?  Where?  Worth it?

Photo Credit:  sludgeulper

Art of Contentment posts are about appreciating what is, and experiencing life as richly as possible, as a small act of freedom from the relentless pull to buy more.

Summer’s here way up here in Yellowknife – boy is it ever - and I am determined to take in every summery experience possible.

So I hitched a lift with a friend and visited the local swimming hole of choice for locals. I haven’t been since I was a teenager in my pre-Vancouver life. It’s something alright. Unless you’re one of my BC readers (and even then, I’d only begrudgingly cede) , I bet you ain’t never swum at a place like this before. Keep scrolling below the fold, btw.

THE SAFE(ISH) SWIMMING AREA. COOL AND CLEAN AND CLEAR WATERS.

I DIDN’T HAVE THE NERVE. WOULD YOU?

SAFE ISH BECAUSE JUST AROUND THE BEND, SUPER-CLOSE, IS THIS

OH. YOU WANTED A CLOSER LOOK? YOU GOT IT!

AND, SOMEONE TELL ME —–> OFF ONE OF THE TRIBUTARIES — IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS???

AND AFTER THE DRAMA, THIS VISTA:

Can you hear the ducks in the pond?

How ’bout the lazy sound of bees, or the bugs on the water?

Or the airplane far off in the distance?

Can you feel the warmth of the northern, summer sun?

My 2 daschunds and I spent a glorious hour on a park bench and by the end I felt as tranquil and at ease with the world as a person can ever hope for.

Thank you, nature.