Welcome to Life, Inspired — The Weekend Review. This is the weekly column where I take a step back from the recipes so you can have a wider look at what’s been inspiring me, moving me, or just catching my fancy out there in the life beyond my kitchen.

Inspiration Regained … The Story of A Walk

I’ve been feeling sluggish and generally blah lately, and I know that’s largely due to an almost complete lack of exercise since early January. Yes, I know, it’s all excuses, but January was Baby Month and February was Real Estate Month, and both were extremely cold. I’ve been so distracted from my normal routines that I’ve started to feel lost.

I don’t know about you, but once my good habits are broken, it seems to take a gargantuan amount of energy to restore them. For the past week or so, I’ve been telling myself that I need to get back to exercising, but that wasn’t getting me out the door. This morning, I tried to write this post and just couldn’t settle to it. I knew then that the time had come to make myself get moving again.

Mother Nature helped me resolve my exercise impasse. It’s been a sunny day, and the temperature actually rose above zero, to somewhere around three degrees Celsius. And then a friend called to say that the walking paths at Springbank Park were clear of snow. That was the final incentive I needed.

What can I say? This walk was the tonic I craved. I wore a spring jacket over my walking gear. A spring jacket! Not an ounce of down anywhere on that garment. It’s the first time in months that I haven’t been out looking like a version of the Michelin Man. And on my feet? Running shoes. Real shoes, people, not boots! People were out in droves on the pathways, and it seemed that everyone was smiling. Yes, it’s late winter and there’s lot of snow about. but seriously, I could feel and smell spring in the air.

And so, I bring you blue water, blue skies and sunshine. And ducks! Lots and lots of ducks, with much quacking as a soundtrack for my walk. I returned home feeling energized and inspired, and will be heading out to the park again tomorrow. I’m back!

Weekly Recap

I’m going to keep today’s post brief so I can spend some time working on plans I have for the blog. But first, here’s a recap of the recipes I posted during the past week. First was a bit of nostalgic baking, with a classic banana bread. I used to make it all the time for my family, and making it again brought back lots of memories. I took that banana bread to a luxurious level with this cinnamon-scented maple butter. With maple syrup season upon us, you’ll be glad you have this recipe! And I capped off the week with a pot of fast and easy — not to mention delicious — creamy parsnip and sweet potato soup. That recipe comes with a bonus case study on how you can make this for last-minute company.