The GrovesLine

just a place where i hang my thoughts out to dry

Category Archives: Health


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Rocky Mountain Ski Bum

Not a bad place to hang your hat!

Not a bad place to hang your hat!

One of the best things about retiring from my old job is that it has opened up a wealth of time and freedom to go skiing — a lot.  In the first sixteen years that I lived in Calgary, I went skiing about once or twice a year.  In the two winters since I quit speed skating, I’ve been close to sixty times. It’s so nice to finally be able to enjoy my backyard – the spectacular Rocky Mountains.

Of course I don’t lament all those years I spent not skiing, as I was happily engaged in my occupation at the time, but now that I can get out there regularly, I appreciate it so much. Continue reading →


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Old Habits Die Easy

stretchThey say old habits die hard, but these days, as my life and I continue to evolve, I beg to differ. Having been beholden to the endless gritty details of high performance for so many years, one would think that it would be hard to drop the many habits ingrained in me over two decades.  Not so. Continue reading →


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Shaken Heads & Heads in the Sand

I’m really not a big fan of professional hockey. Short of catching the odd period of Leafs hockey, because I’m partnered with a lifelong (i.e. diehard and delusional) Leafs fan, I tend only to pay intermittent attention to the bits of news that trickle through the sports media.

I do, however, love watching Olympic hockey. I confess too that my heart was aflutter even last weekend as the juniors made a valiant, albeit unsuccessful, comeback seem possible during the third period of the semi-final game against Russia. That was exciting.

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A Concussionary Tale

It is a coincidence, really, that my one-year concussionniversary happens to be on the same day that The Sydney Crosby is slated to make his much anticipated and ballyhooed return to action in the NHL. It’s serendipitous enough though, that I have had to re-write some sections of this blog post to account for what can only be considered the highly dramatic events surrounding Sid the Kid’s celebrated departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins injured list. Continue reading →


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Summertime… and the living is easy

I’ve been singing this song a lot lately. I can’t even look at the words without singing it in my head. It pretty much sums up the last two months of my life: summertime and the living is easy.  Every once it a while I randomly belt it out at the top of my lungs… fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is hi-iiigh… Can’t you just hear it? I really like to draw it out, make the words last forever. I don’t think Scott appreciates my singing as much as I do, but that’s his problem.

Powderface Ridge, near Bragg Creek, AB.

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