Some people travel. Some people work. And many people I know are taking time off right here in Ottawa, in their own back yards.

There is something special about not working in your usual environment. It’s like a new take on the same old. Maybe it means morning coffee outside in your PJ’s. A late shower – or none at all! Dinners (and lunches) out are popular destinations. Day trips abound: Kingston, Thousand Islands, Montreal, Toronto, camping and likely a friend’s cottage. Thank goodness for friends with cottages!

A staycation is less about the destination and more about the attitude. It’s about allowing yourself to be lazy if you want to and do things on your own schedule instead of someone else’s. Mostly, it’s forgetting entirely about planning and going with the flow. And that alone is true relaxation.

The Diane & Jen team hopes you are enjoying Summer 2016!