Home and Garden

It's no secret that there's an ongoing condo boom in Ontario—just look around you. Our cities are going up vertically, and that means more and more people are enjoying high rise living. So if you are joining the crowd and thinking of buying a condo, here are some tips to make your purchase a smooth one:

By: Dan Hopkins
With spring not too far in the distance, Canadians of all ages and stages are coming closer to finalizing their new home moving plans.

Anything but basic baths
While they may purchase a smaller floor plan, mature adults are looking for ways to turn ordinary rooms into extraordinarily indulgent experiences.

Whether you're planning to sell your empty nest and downgrade to something smaller, or just want to enjoy all the rooms in your home again, redecorating a child's room has many advantages.

Buying a new cell phone can be an overwhelming endeavour with all the technology jargon to decipher. Smartphones have become powerful devices that can perform many more functions than a regular cell phone.

Canada is seeing a surge in the popularity of adult lifestyle communities as retirement destinations. These properties are considered perfect for those 55+ who want to maintain an independent lifestyle and healthy balance while being within a community of their peers.

In a study by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and Hill's Pet Nutrition veterinarians cited dental care as one of the most important things a pet owner can do to increase the length of their cat or dog's life.

Have a safe and Happy holiday season. Merry Christmas from Fifty-Five Plus Magazine and Coyle Publishing.

Canadians are no stranger to the cold, and most would agree that lots of time goes into preparing for winter. A recent survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Direct Energy found that only 25 per cent of Canadian homeowners listed booking a furnace maintenance as a priority. Meanwhile, 57 per cent of those surveyed said they feel concerned or angry about their upcoming winter heating bills.

While it may seem daunting to check off everyone on your holiday gift list each year, there are some gift ideas that are sure to please everyone—and you may not even need to set foot inside a shopping mall.

The holidays are a great time to celebrate family and friends, but the holidays can also be stressful. Walter Gretzky, Canada's favourite hockey dad – and this year's Christmas Seals Ambassador for the Ontario Lung Association – offers some coaching tips to help you stick-handle your way through the season

Ancestry.ca, Canada's largest online resource for family history, recently undertook a national family history survey. The surprising results revealed that 65 per cent of Canadians can only trace their ancestry back 100 years, and 44 per cent don't know when their family first arrived in Canada.

Special occasions such as weddings, trips, birthdays, anniversaries and many others, are filled with memories worth keeping. Chances are you'll find yourself returning to these moments and reliving them time and time again on your own or by sharing them with others.

It's a time of celebration, joy and sharing. It's the Christmas holiday season our most treasured time of the year. Unfortunately, this important time can also be one marked by tragedy if precautions are not taken against accidental fire.

Preparing for holiday meals and gatherings can be a lot of work, so get Santa's little helpers involved this year. Baking with kids not only creates treasured memories and new traditions, but it gives children the opportunity to develop math and reading skills as they measure and follow directions.

For generations, Canadians have been celebrating the holidays with family and friends. And for generations, Canadians have been sending out Christmas Seals with their holiday greetings and gifts as a way of showing how much they care.

Funeral planning is, without a doubt, a sensitive subject. Nobody likes to think about their own death or the death of someone close. Yet, when we avoid thinking about our funeral, we are simply leaving it for our loved ones to handle at a time when they may be least able to do so.

The resonating silence of a house or a leisurely drive past a soccer field can often make an empty-nester weepy. When teens leave home to begin their adult lives, many parents experience sadness and a sense of loss. The truth is that this transition isn't just survivable—it can even be beneficial.

Carbon monoxide is called the “silent killer” because humans cannot see it, smell it, or taste it. And since exposure to this deadly gas mimics the flu, making it very hard to diagnose, it is little wonder that CO is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in North America.

While many Canadians have switched to environmentally preferred transportation alternatives and are drinking from eco-friendly water canteens, Canadian families and businesses should also be considering the environmental implications of their everyday behaviours within their homes and offices.

If everyone in Canada wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or gift bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks.*

Fitting cleaning into a hectic family schedule can be a challenge—but during winter months it's essential to help control the spread of germs and the influenza virus.

Feel that cold air? It won't be long now until we're all dealing with sub-zero temperatures and wind chill that takes your breath away.

There's a lot to consider when buying a new floor. What style and colour will suit you best? What type of floor do you need—hardwood, laminate, or cork? What about plank size? And let's not forget about price.

There is no getting away from it. Technology is all around us, and has become an integral part of how we communicate, share information and even socialize. And while the online world is most often associated with younger generations, those over the age of 65 are the fastest growing segment of society using the computer for personal use.