A minister was retiring, and after his final sermon, he stood at the door of his church to say farewell to his parishioners. One old woman told him, “I’m sure our next pastor won’t be as good as you’ve been.” The minister was flattered but tried to be modest. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine. What makes you say that?” “I’ve been here for the last five pastors,” said the lady, “and each one has been worse than the one... [read more]

With winter upon us, many of you probably already have your furnace running. If you haven’t turned it on yet, or haven’t done the maintenance yet, here are some quick tips. 1. Turn off the gas and electricity to the furnace. 2. Vacuum the furnace interior everywhere you can reach. 3. Change the air filter. 4. Check the fan belt for wear--glazing, cracking, or fraying. The belt should be taut. Tighten by loosening the attachment bracket and moving the... [read more]

An elderly husband and wife noticed that they were beginning to forget many little things around the house. So, they decided to go see their physician to get some help. Their physician told them that many people their age find it useful to write themselves little notes as reminders. The elderly couple thought this sounded wonderful, and left the doctor's office very pleased with the advice. When they got home, the wife said, "Dear, will you please go to the kitchen and get me a dish... [read more]

If you spend most of the winter outside Canada, you may want to explore the opportunity to rent out your Canadian home while you’re away.  Renting out your Canadian residence can have a number of benefits, including helping to cover the costs of your winters away. The extra income can be used to supplement or even offset the cost of your winter home or rental. Another benefit is that your home will be lived in and therefore you won’t have to find someone to inspect it daily... [read more]

We know it well as the standard symbol for e-mail, but where did it come? History says that the @ symbol was created by medieval monks. During the Middle Ages, each copy of a book was painstakingly transcribed by hand. The task went to monks, who developed ways to reduce the number of pen strokes for common words. The result was to loop the “t” in the word at around the “a.”   [read more]