Four years ago, I first heard of an amazing museum to take my daughter to, called “The Strong National Museum of Play”, located in Rochester, New York. It is the biggest museum of its kind, in the United States, and is served to attract demographics of all ages.

As soon as you step in, there is a 100 year carousal, aka “a merry go round,” and an old school diner. When you first get into the exhibit area, you enter a world of interactive zones, where the kids can play. It is divided into different sections, including areas devoted to Sesame Street, arts and crafts, super heroes and super villains, fairy tales, and the list goes on. There is also a stocked grocery store where the kids can shop, check out and scan their items.

Aside for the areas for kids to play, upstairs is an archive consisting of over 72,000 artifacts, including old toys, action figures, board games, and doll collections that are all displayed in glass cases. Some toys displayed include model airplanes, Star Wars, and Barbie dolls. In addition, there is fully operating arcade that includes popular pinball and video games as well as air hockey and domed hockey. Seeing all of these artifacts and playing my favourite video games is like a trip down memory lane. Other activities include visiting the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden that is open all year round, which contains over 1,000 tropical butterflies, or a walk through the outside garden, during the summer months.

Every time we come back, I think it will be the last time, and that my daughter will be bored of it, but we end up staying longer, and she can’t wait for the next visit. There is always something new to discover and learn, and this museum truly has something for everybody. It is definitely worth the trip to Rochester.

I have a lovely 88 year old aunt, who has a number of issues with her feet, ranging from a small size, to bunions, to a high instep. As a result, it is often very challenging to find shoes shoes that fit her.  In fact, aside from visiting just about every shoes store in Toronto, we have even traveled to Buffalo, and still have had no luck finding comfortable shoes in her size.

In an effort to help her out, I did some online searching, where I came across Miller Shoes, in Hamilton, Ontario. It is a family owned company that has been in business since 1926, with the original store located in downtown Hamilton, and a newer location “on the Mountain”, that specializes in children’s and casual shoes. Miller Shoes specializes in hard to find sizes, including wide and small feet for both men and women. They offer boots and shoes in a variety colours and fresh new styles. The feature brands include Bernie Mev, Ros Hommerson, Rockport, Ecco, Hunter, and the classic Australian Uggs, and they recently began selling Michael Kors, Frye, and Sam Edelman.

Once you step into the store, you will notice an old style atmosphere, with shoes stocked up to the rafters and enough knowledgeable sales clerks to help you find what you are looking for.

The store was very busy, but don’t be mistaken, once you are helped, you will be taken good care of to ensure that you find your perfect pair of shoes and leave happy.

Brian Miller is the third generation to run the business, and I learned this as he just so happened to be the person who assisted my aunt with finding her shoes. He was patient and pleasant to work with, and his efforts paid off, as we were successful in purchasing two pairs of shoes.

While we certainly came to Miller Shoes for the small sizes, they also have reasonable prices and great customer service. It is nice to support an independent and a smaller business so between their niche, pricing, and customer service, it is worth checking them out!

Brian Miller

1289 Upper James Street
Hamilton, ON L9C 3B3
(905) 387-7463

millershoes.com

Several weeks ago, I was looking for something to occupy my daughter while she was off school, and had come across a company called Pawsitively Pets in midtown Toronto, near Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue.

Since my daughter is into pets, I looked into this organization for fun, safe, and educational programs. As it turns out, they have a number of programs including summer camps, school breaks, holidays, weekends, after school, and even to give adults a date night!

The programs are all animal related, and usually involve animals that are rescued or adopted from shelters. The children spend part of their day learning about nature and learn about the responsibilities of taking care of pets. They will also get to take part in creating arts and crafts, such as learning how to making a dog bowl or a bird feeder.

Parents can pay by the day, the week, or purchase a monthly package.

Every time we get home, my daughter couldn’t wait to get back the next time.

The founder of Pawsitively Pets for Kids, Jennifer Ego, is a wonderful woman. She is energetic, and was very accommodating to my daughter’s schedule. She was also able to find a spot in the program last minute.

Not only do they have programs during the day, they also have programs during the evenings. This way, parents can spend that extra time on a date night. Date nights are offered on select Friday evenings for kids four to 10 years old to be dropped off at their location from 6 pm to 9:30 pm. The cost of the program is twenty dollars, and includes a pizza dinner, animal interactions, crafts, and activities.

Be sure to check out this location whether it is for a day or during your child’s next school break. The place can be a bit of a zoo, but after all, that’s the whole purpose 🙂

Leaside Location

202 Parkhurst Boulevard, Toronto ON M4G 2G3

416 901 4776

https://pawsitivelypetskidscamp.com

Normally, I use this blog to mention outstanding business and organizations, but this time I’d like to highlight something a little different…

Many years ago, radio was the way of entertainment. People used the radio to listen to a variety of their favourite shows, hear the news and listen to music. One hundred years later, radio is new again. Even though you don’t get the full television experience, the radio has its own excitement and benefits to it because it is purely audio.

Recently, my wife told me that I HAD to listen to a podcast known as Serial.

With over 1.2 million weekly listeners, Serial has taken North America by storm. Serial is a spin-off from The American Lifeand is based on a true story (sorry….I don’t want to give anything away).  It was originally aired over the span of 12 weeks, one chapter each week, with every episode about 45 minutes in length, and contains no commercials. You can access the show by simply downloading the free podcast, every week, or listen to them all online at www.serialpodcast.org.

Usually, you hear people talking about a new television show or a new website they have discovered, but as a result of Serial people are once again talking about a radio show.  From AM to FM to Satellite, radio has thrived over the years, and now it seems to be revitalizing itself once again.

Take a break from surfing the net and give Serial a listen. The first season has come to an end, however, you can download all episodes or listen to all episodes online at www.thisamericanlife.org or www.serialpodcast.org.  Prepare yourself for the second season with an all new story airing some time this year!

Most of us think of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as “The Taxman”, but they do more than just conduct audits and collect taxes.

Not too long ago, I called the CRA looking to get information about how to close a corporation. My previous experiences with them have not been the greatest. I know that the CRA receives a high volume of calls, so being placed on hold is understandable. However, based our past history, I expected to be placed on hold for longer than normal. Furthermore, there have been multiple occasions where in order to get the information I needed, I was transferred to several representatives. In some instances, I had to further research even after talking to the representatives because I was given insufficient information.

I’m not one of those people who will criticize a company, or in this case, a government agency without showing a light at the end of the tunnel. I mention my previous experiences because when I recently called the CRA, I was pleasantly surprised to get in touch with a representative who was not only very helpful with answering my inquiries, but also took the time to walk me through the process of closing a corporation.

Things went much smoother than I expected; the representative expedited matters to other departments which made the overall progress faster and, in the end, saved me some quite a bit of money.

Unfortunately, there was a short delay though it was not their fault. One of the reasons that I needed to close the corporation was for its tax returns. The CRA representative have been sending the tax returns to the wrong address. Their record had the wrong address. This minor hiccup was resolved quickly, and the tax returns were eventually sent to the right address.

Although I did get the necessary information and insight on how to go through with closing a corporation, I would recommend getting a lawyer involved to go through all aspects of this process.

1-800-959-5525
Canada Revenue Agency – Business Inquiries

If there is something everyone should have, it’s a good hair stylist, and for the past 25 years, I’ve been going to Robert Ashley Hair Design & Aesthetics, where the owner, Robert Ashley Forester, has kept me looking my best.

Robert (or Ashley as he’s known to his customers) opened the salon 30 years ago after learning his trade at the House of Lords, and currently has six hair stylists and one esthetician working in the salon. The salon is a fantastic place for the whole family, with women coming for blowouts, colouring and fancier styles, guys coming for a quick buzz cut, and the kids getting a lollipop along after their haircut.  Not only do they give great haircuts and provide exceptional service, they do so at reasonable prices.

One of the reasons I’ve been going to Ashley’s salon for all these years is his flexible schedule.  He frequently makes accommodations for me to fit an appointment in during my busy schedule, and in a few instances, he has actually opened 30 minutes earlier, on Saturdays so I can come by before he gets busy. What’s more, although his salon is closed on Sundays and Mondays, the only time Robert has opened his store on a Sunday was to cut my hair for my wedding day. Not only did he go above and beyond to accommodate my special request, he made me look great for this special occasion.

Ashley and his talented team not only give great service, they also do a lot of charity work.  Aside from sponsoring various sports teams, for children, they occasionally have Donation Days, where they donate a portion of the day’s sales to a worthy cause.

After all of these years, my experience at Ashley Hair Design has not changed.  The only thing that has changed is my hair.  I like to joke around with Robert saying “I should get a discount for having less hair,” to which he responds with “I have to spend half the time looking for your hair, and the other half to cut it.”

Robert Ashley Forester
Robert Ashley Hair Design & Aesthetics
​777 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto,  ON  M6C 1B7
416-653-0067
www.robertashleyhairdesign.com

During the summer, I decided to take a trip to the east coast of Canada with my wife and daughter, along with another family.  During our trip through the Maritimes we found ourselves in Cape Breton to drive along the Cabot Trail.

Up until this point, my wife and I found the food to be very underwhelming at all of our stops along the way. My wife is a chef, and I have experience in the food and hospitality industry, so maybe our standards were a bit high, but we were both looking to find better food during the course of our travels.  When we arrived in Cape Breton, there were not many dining options available, so we weren’t expecting much from the Seaside Restaurant, but we were all in for a lovely surprise…

The Seaside Restaurant is an amazing dining option attached to the Island Sunset Resort. The restaurant itself is simple, but offers a beautiful view of the sun setting on the ocean for all of it’s guests. They also featured an open-kitchen concept where you could see the food being made fresh and right to order.

The real star of the Seaside Restaurant was the menu and the quality of their food. They featured a diverse array of menu items ranging from pasta dishes to steak, and rack of lamb to seafood.  If the food wasn’t a good enough reason to love the Seaside Restaurant, then the service was another!  The servers were very accommodating of the two children by serving them half portions of the pasta dishes and including drinks and deserts.  As for the adults at the table, we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals, with everyone agreeing that the coconut shrimp was delicious, the seafood linguine was well-made, and the rack of lamb was to die for.  To cap off our lovely evening at the Seaside Restaurant, we all decided to order some home made desserts.

Once the bill arrived, I was expecting a bit of a steep price for all of the delicious food that we had, but I was very surprised to see that everything was reasonably priced.  Aside from some great scenery. the delicious food at the Seaside Restaurant is one of the reasons why I would definitely return to Cape Breton.

Island Sunset Resort & Seaside Restaurant
19 Beach Cove Lane
Belle Côte, NS  B0E 2B0
902-235-2669
www.islandsunset.com