NG Photography Club

Music therapy is a major part of Rock My House Music Centre programming. At Rock My House, we believe that music is for everyone. Our strong focus on bringing music to men, women and children with special needs sets us apart from other, more traditional, music schools.

Rock My House founder Kevin Eamon is very passionate about the benefits of music therapy for a very personal reason. When he was a child, conditions such Attention Deficit Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder were practically unheard of and rarely diagnosed. For Kevin, undiagnosed and unknowingly suffering from ADD, drumming became his salvation. Playing drums for hours upon hours eased his social anxiety and depression. Music became his own form of therapy. He called it his Drum Therapy. Who would have thought all these years later that Music Therapy would become a recognized form of therapy, supported today by a wealth of scientific research.

Music and Drum Therapy has been used to treat various disorders, such as substance abuse, cardiac conditions and Alzheimer's. Music and Drum Therapy has been proven to:

• Reduce anxiety and depression

• Lower blood pressure

• Reduce stress

• Improve self esteem

• Manage/distract from pain

As leader of Rock My House’s therapy programs, Kevin personally works closely with local community living organizations, giving hour-long group classes throughout the week. Groups join him in the Rock My House events room where they are encouraged to play various rhythm instruments and listen to some of their favorite music.

Rock my House will be celebrating their 10 year Anniversary. Follow them on Facebook to be the first to see the fun events they have planned.

669 South Drive (South Gower Park) Kemptville 613-258-5656 kevin@rockmyhousemc.com

12-9 Monday through Friday Temporarily closed on Saturdays. Closed on Sundays.

Bubbles. Explore and learn photography tips and tricks with the North Grenville Photo Club - JJ Blais

The necessity of learning life skills

by Brandon Mayer

Why do we need to get meat from animals? Why can’t we just get it from the grocery store?

No, I am not that dense, but apparently there are some people in the world who genuinely ask that question. Living in a farming area hopefully ensures that all people reading this are aware that all meat comes from animals, but not everyone is so fortunate.

There are no doubt people who oppose farming and eating meat. Veganism is now stronger than ever, with many following vegan practices for both ethical and environmental reasons. What a lot of people fail to realize is that small farming operations, particularly farms that raise animals only for their own food and food for family and friends, are usually anything but cruel. On all of the farms I have ever visited, the animals are treated like family. Yes, they are sacrificed for meat in the end, but only after a life filled with care. Humans are both the most dominant and the most gentle meat eaters in the food chain.

Is it possible for every family to raise their own livestock? Of course not, but knowing where our food comes from is important for anyone to know. Something that anyone can do is grow a garden. I am very happy that when my oldest son heads off to high school next year, his school will have a greenhouse. The school also has an auto shop, wood shop, home economics room, and all manner of other hands-on learning opportunities. The importance of these skills is underestimated. Add in lessons on how to manage home finances and file income tax returns, and high schools could really be onto something when it comes to preparing our youth for the future.

Schools have real value when it comes to teaching people how to think. Academic subjects like math and language provide basic skills that will be necessary later in life, but the more complicated subjects often exist as a formal “exercise” for the brain, and a way for students to demonstrate that they know how to learn. These subjects are valuable, but so are courses that teach life skills. A balance is necessary. Perhaps it’s time to make life skills courses mandatory, too. The alternative may be a generation of kids who think that taxes file themselves, cars have three transmissions, and we should all buy our meat from the grocery store to save the animals.

Baldwin’s Birds Two for the price of one!

As yet another sunny cold day beckons us and our garden birds seek to find a morsel, or even a beak full of food once again. They never waver from this vital process in their constant fight for survival, so we, as observers of them as they go about their normal day of life, get to enjoy them too. Provided we are disciplined enough to maintain for them at least one source of food to come to, we are never disappointed in that respect.

When I look at the constant variety of birds that visit the gardens locally here, and have a chance to make a comparison with those visiting my bird loving brother in an English country garden (There must be a song title there!), then I realize how lucky we are to get so many more than he does. He and his wife are always amazed at the beautiful colors of our birds, even when they are in their winter colors. When getting to writing my articles for you every week, and using my own current pictures to show you, I get to go through all my pictures of the week and to appreciate how lucky we actually are, in every respect, with the birds that most of us just take for granted. I hope, too, that you find and get the same pleasure from their presence as I do and are able to capitalize on the experience every day, just by looking and watching them through your own window.

I hope that the picture that I have included this week made you take another look at it, because your first glance at it was probably a hasty one and you've just missed something! I'll leave you now to try and see what I am talking about! Enjoy and stay safe and well.

Cheers, John Baldwin

Fire the Canons! It’s Daylight Savings Time!

The Kemptville Storm U11 HL1 team is off to the finals after winning their third game against Smiths Falls. It went to a shootout with Emily Wellon scoring the winning goal

In a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris in 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." In his advocacy for people to wake up and leverage the day, Franklin joked there should be a tax on window shutters, candles should be rationed, and canons should be fired at sunrise!

But it was the small town of Port Arthur in northern Ontario that first changed the clocks by enactment on July 1, 1908.

In recent times, one of the main arguments for shifting the time to align with the sun focuses on energy savings during evening hours. But dozens of studies have shown the effect to be negligible.

Now, the health implications of Daylight Savings Time (DST) are becoming the hot topic, with researchers investigating its impact on everything from sleep patterns to heart health.

The effect of DST on sleep is significant. Numerous studies have found the time change can disrupt our sleep patterns, leading to sleep deprivation and increased fatigue. This is particularly true in Spring, when we lose an hour of sleep and our bodies struggle to adjust to the new schedule.

The time change and associated disruption to sleep patterns can have more serious health consequences.

One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of heart attacks increased by 25% on the Monday following the springtime change. This is powerful evidence that disturbed sleep patterns can be highly stressful on the cardiovascular system.

Mental health can be another victim. One study published in Sleep Medicine found the springtime change was associated with increased symptoms of depression, particularly in people who already had a history of depression. The study’s findings further suggested that the disruption to sleep patterns might even trigger the onset of depressive symptoms.

One strategy to mitigate these problems is to adjust sleep patterns leading up to the time change. For those observing a regular nighttime routine, this means going to bed and waking up 15 minutes earlier each day in the week leading up to the change. Even for those without a firm pattern, making the effort to shift forward in advance – both physically and mentally – should help.

Another strategy is to prioritize good sleep. Create a comfortable sleep environment, establish a regular sleep schedule, and avoid caffeine and alcohol in the hours leading up to bedtime.

Are you tired of the debate about DST? Worse, are you “tired all the time”? You may need to take a closer look at the benefits of getting a good sleep. Sleep scientists can present compelling evidence showing how being tired leads to increased risk of traffic accidents, for example. Studies also link poor sleep with obesity, diabetes, cancer and dementia. Abnormal sleep and psychiatric conditions go hand in glove. Don’t forget the function of sleep as a sort of garbage collection system. During sleep, the body rejuvenates the brain by sorting “keeper” information from “trash”. Sleep also helps the body clear out and clean up waste in the cardiovascular system while refueling immune function.

If there is a good argument in favour of DST, it might be Franklin’s suggestion to fire a canon each morning at sunrise. That would surely get people on their feet and outside to take a look. An early morning experience in the outdoors –whether it be a walk or even just a few moments of quiet contemplate about the new day – is an excellent step to good health.

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