Hello from Vancouver, British Columbia! I’m here in BC visiting my daughter Laura this week, and I’ve seen just how far and wide the love for Canada’s team extends across this huge country
Welcome to the 135th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a simple living challenge for the week. Along with cheering on Canada’s team, this week’s edition looks at the downside of too much matcha, how bottled water is harming your health, and the environmental impact of soda pop.
On my mind this week: The Blue Jays really are Canada’s team
Last weekend, I wrote about the agony and the ecstasy of October baseball and how it felt like the entire country was rallying around the Toronto Blue Jays in their bid to make it to the World Series.
Well they did it and the excitement level ramped up significantly this week.
I’ve been hearing for years that the Blue Jays are Canada’s team. But this week, I’m in British Columbia visiting my daughter Laura. I saw first hand just how far and wide the love for this team extends across the country.
Laura and I are in Vancouver for the weekend. Last night, we wanted to watch Game 1 of the World Series so we made dinner reservations at a sports bar. The place was packed with Blue Jays fans and every TV in the place had the game on.
The excitement level in that bar was unbelievable. People were glued to the TV screens, cheering on every pitch, every hit and every strikeout. When Addison Barger hit that grand slam in the bottom of the 6th inning, the place erupted.
It amazed me that, in a bar over 4,000 kilometres away from the Rogers Centre in Toronto where the game was taking place, fans were every bit as invested—and every bit as excited—as fans in Ontario.
Yes, the Blue Jays truly are Canada’s team. And in a year when Canada-USA relations have been frosty at best, it feels like this series is about more than baseball.
Let’s go Blue Jays!
Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- I’ve had a lovely visit with Laura and my grand-kitty Luma this week.
- On Wednesday, Laura and I went for a hike at Tsutswecw Provincial Park in the Shuswap area. It was a lovely day. I was amazed to see salmon swimming in the river. And the fall colours were beautiful. It’s interesting that the colour change in the BC interior where Laura lives is more yellow. Here in Vancouver, and in Ontario where we live, the colour change is more red and orange.
- We went to a local bar on Wednesday evening with my cousin and his wife. It was trivia night. We were terrible at it, but it was fun.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week.
Is too much matcha bad for you?
I’ve been adding a half teaspoon of matcha powder to my breakfast smoothies for years—long before TikTok and GenZ made it trendy and the increased demand made it harder to find matcha.
Matcha has many health benefits, but very high consumption over a long period of time can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb iron. Experts suggest sticking to no more than one cup a day.
(Source: Huffington Post)
Bottled water is harmful to your health
We know bottled water is bad for the environment, but it could also be harming your health.
Researchers estimate that people who rely on bottled water may ingest up to 90,000 more microplastic particles a year than those who drink tap water. Plastic bottle walls and caps shed tiny microscopic fragments that are small enough to enter the bloodstream, cross the blood-brain barrier, and accumulate in organs.
(Source: SuperAge)
The environmental impact of soda pop
A litre of pop requires 2.7 litres of water to make. And that doesn’t count the water used in agriculture to grow sugar or corn to sweeten that soda. Even worse, a single cup of coffee can require 140 litres of water.
By far, though, the biggest environmental impact of pop is packaging. Packaging contributes 59% and 77% of pop’s footprint. And beverage companies Coke, Nestle, and PepsiCo are among the major plastic polluters in the world.
If you’re not ready to give up pop, consider switching from plastic bottles to aluminum cans, and recycle them. Aluminum can be recycled infinitely without losing quality, and recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed to produce new aluminum.
(Source: Earth911)
This week’s simple living challenge – Delete unwanted apps
Simplifying life is a big part of living more intentionally. With that in mind, I kicked off the year with 52 ways to simplify your life this year, including a downloadable checklist of weekly tasks.
This week’s challenge is to delete unwanted apps from your devices. You’ll save time searching for the app you want, and reduce your storage needs.
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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Interesting article about the water bottle. I’m a tap water guy, but my wife is all about water bottles, so I might need to dig a little more on that one. Thank you.
My personal opinion is that the bottled water industry is a money making scam. They have convinced people that it’s better for them than tap water, but the facts don’t back that up. Thanks for reading, Edward.
Agree. When there is nothing else, they are useful, but buying them when you have clean water available makes no sense. My pleasure, Michelle.
Go Blue Jays! Love reading of your sports bar experience, Michelle! Enjoy your trip to the west coast!
Thanks Wynne. On my way home this evening. These visits are always so short. 😢
Cheers to a wonderful visit with Laura…loved the pics…and appreciate the reminder about a teaspoon of matcha in my smoothies! I forget about that. And…go Blue Jays! 😊💝😊
Yes, I started drinking green tea after my cancer treatment but didn’t like the taste. I was so happy to discover matcha.
The Jays had a tough game last night, but they have shown us their ability to bounce back.
Enjoy your Sunday, Vicki! 🤗
You, too, Michelle! xo! 💝😊💝
Like you, I’m very mindful of plastic waste. Still, I can also find humor in the advice we’re constantly bombarded with. Drink plenty of water! Avoid drinking tap water. There are harmful minerals there. Who knows what you might be putting into your body? Drink plenty of water! Drinking water from plastic may not be healthy for our bodies. Drink plenty of water! 😊
I may be an American, but I’m rooting for the Blue Jays. The Dodgers constantly knock out my team (the Padres), so that’s reason enough for me to pull for Toronto. Oh yeah, not to mention my namesake George Springer plays for the Jays. 😎
All the conflicting information is confusing and somewhat amusing, isn’t it? When it comes to microplastics, though, scientists are learning more and more all the time about harmful effects.
Ah yes! We love George Springer! Go Jays!
The opening game of the World Series was incredible! Too bad about Game 2. It’s going to be a fight to win and fingers crossed for the Jays!
Yes, we only saw the first half of last night’s game because we had tickets to a concert. I do love the early game starts here on the west coast. You can watch the game and still get to bed at a decent hour or get out for the evening. I’m flying home tonight though so back to Eastern time. Go Jays Go!