Louise Sproule's Blog

People in the region are struggling to find ways to keep cool and comfortable as a week-long heat wave threatens to keep temperatures hovering around the 40 degree mark.

In both Ontario and Quebec, temperatures once again soared well into the 30's on Wednesday, July 7, with the humidity making it feel more like 40.

The United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) are officially open for business - tourism business, that is.

The counties celebrated the official kick-off of the 2010 tourism season in Prescott-Russell on Friday, May 28 with the opening of a brand new tourism information centre (TIC) in Limoges.

I was just talking to the head librarian in Vankleek Hill this week and she reminded me that the library has lots of great videos available for week-long loan-out, plus there are lots of magazines available for you to borrow.
If you are planning renovation or need inspiration or simply cannot afford to buy all the magazines you would like to read, remember that wherever you live, your municipality's library probably is purchasing a lot of magazines, books and other items to make them available to you.

Spent time this week thinking about the great service at so many businesses and how there are many businesses trying new things. If you are in Vankleek Hill on Wednesdays, try something different for lunch at Limes Cafe (right across from Review offices). Suree's Thai lunch was great today: curried beef, rice and stir-fried greens and vegetables, preceded by a delicious soup. Our Wednesday Thai lunch has become something that at least a few of our staff do each week.

I have been writing this blog about upcoming community events but have ignored this for a few weeks now.
I think there are two things that have always surprised me about our region:
1: People don't seem to know about events, special concerts and festivals that take place right in our back yard.

2. People don't seem to know about the best places to shop, the specialty products offered in our small towns across the region and don't know where to find what they're looking for. The result: a lot of spend hours and lots of gas driving to the city, looking for things there and ultimately being unhappy with what we buy for the amount of time and money we have spend finding it and buying it.

Here is a story that is of interest. Sometimes I think that we have set aside kindness to pursue wealth. We live by the rules and forget about our humanity. Here is a well-written article about the plight of a senior, and even as I write that, I realize I hesitated to say "old" as if it has become an insult, somehow. It shouldn't be that way.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/709181--one-old-man-died-shame-o...

This weekend is traditionally a slower news weekend for us, meaning that there are not many events organized on what is usually a weekend devoted to staying at home or spending time with one's family.