Despite what the groundhog predicted in early February, there’s no sign of an early spring here in Ontario. Last week and again this week, winter travel woes disrupted my plans. Welcome to week 9 of The Sunday Spark—a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week.

This week on The Sunday Spark: making the best of winter travel woes, why flying isn’t always the fastest way to travel, plastic-free chewing gum, zero-waste stain removers, and protecting yourself from fraud.

The Sunday Spark – Week 9

On my mind this week: Making the best of winter travel woes

For the second week in a row, my travels were disrupted this week thanks to a dose of nasty winter weather.

Last week, a winter storm passed through the area the day before I was scheduled to fly to Chicago. The combination of freezing rain, ice pellets and snow led to a mass of flight cancellations and delays. I got lucky, though. My flight was scheduled after the worst of the storm had past. After a very slow and icy drive to the airport, I was able to make it to Chicago in time for my meeting.

This week, I wasn’t so lucky. I had meetings in Milwaukee on Thursday and Friday. The trip there went smoothly with no significant delays. After a wonderful dinner with colleagues on Wednesday evening, I checked the weather forecast for the rest of the week and was a little concerned about a massive winter storm that was looming back home.

Sure enough, a couple of hours into my meeting on Thursday morning, I got a text from Air Canada saying my flight home on Friday evening had been cancelled. They had booked me on a flight home on Sunday morning. Ugh. The idea of sacrificing my weekend in an airport hotel wasn’t the most appealing.

When life hands you lemons…

All of this served as a reminder that, no matter what we try to tell ourselves, we are not in control. Our best laid plans can be disrupted by weather, illness or any of life’s unplanned challenges.

I’ve learned that, when the unforeseen happens, it’s best to just roll with it and make the best of things. When I heard of my flight cancellation and unexpected weekend in Chicago, I started thinking about using the weekend to relax, catch up on on reading, and possibly sneak in a quick visit with my friend Cher from The Chicago Files.

In the end, I called Air Canada and they were able to get me on a flight from Chicago to Toronto Thursday evening before the storm hit. So, I made a quick getaway arrived home safely just after midnight on Thursday.

Although I missed out on dinner with colleagues and friends on Thursday evening, I was able to call in to Friday’s meeting from the safety and comfort of my home office.

All’s well that ends well. As for that Groundhog, let’s just say I’d like to get my hands on that little rodent and have a serious chat with him about his weather forecasting abilities.

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

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 took advantage of travel time to read. I finished another book and started a new one.
• Before my travels were disrupted, I had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday evening with colleagues from my professional association and an engaging meeting on Thursday. That definitely made the trip worthwhile.
• I had a great sleep in my hotel room on Wednesday night—something that rarely happens when I travel…or at all.

Three things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

Flying isn’t always the fastest way

People often think that flying is the fastest way to travel but sometimes that isn’t the case.

For my trip to Milwaukee this week, I decided to try something different. Non-stop flights from Toronto to Milwaukee are only offered in the summer. Instead of booking a connecting flight or renting a car and driving from Chicago, I decided to give the Airport Express bus a try. The bus travels frequently between O’Hare Airport and the Milwaukee Airport.

Not only did the bus save $500 compared to the cost of a connecting flight, but it took the same amount of time. Flying time to Milwaukee from Chicago is about 20 minutes. But, when you add on time for boarding and taxiing to and from the terminal and the runway, I think the bus might actually be faster…not to mention kinder to the planet.

Fraudsters are everywhere

A new survey released this week by TD Bank reported that 72% of Canadians have been targeted by email or text message fraud, and 66% were targeted over the phone. (Source: Financial Independence Hub)

The survey also showed that less than half of us have taken any measures to educate or protect ourselves against fraud. It’s so important to remain vigilant to protect ourselves from fraud. See 15 ways to protect yourself from fraud for tips to protect you and your money.   

Chewing on plastic?

I’m not a fan of chewing gum so I’ve never really it much thought to its environmental impact. Did you know that prior to the 1940s, chewing gym was primarily made from chicle—material extracted from the sapodilla tree? Since then, plant-based chewing gum has been replaced by synthetics. Today, most gum gets its chewiness from plastics. (Source: Earth 911)

The good news: plastic-free chewing gum does exist but you might have to look beyond your supermarket to find it. To learn more check out this article from Earth911.  

Sustainable living tip: Stain remover bar

This week’s sustainable living tip is one of my favourite eco-swaps of all time—my stain remover laundry bar.

There are a lot of laundry stain removers on the market. Most of them are expensive, packaged in plastic, and full of chemicals. This was one of the first zero-waste products I tried and I can’t say enough good things about it.

In Bars! The Simplest Plastic-Free Swap You Can Make! I shared some of my favourite bar products. If I had to pick just one favourite, it would be the Pure Soap Works stain remover laundry bar. It is plastic-free, made from natural and biodegradable ingredients, and works just as well as any other stain remover I’ve tried. At a retail price of just over $2, it’s a bargain. I wrote about this bar in an early blog post in 2019 and believe it or not I’m still using the same bar almost four years later. That’s what I call value for money.

If you can’t find the Pure Soap Works laundry bar, there are other brands that make similar products. Give one a try and let me know what you think!

I’d love to hear about your winter travel woes, and your thoughts on any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.