Home Remedy: Honey Lemon Ginger Tea

Here’s a short and easy home remedy I use or rather drink when I’m sick, Honey Lemon Ginger Tea.  All you need to do is add fresh ginger to a mug, a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of honey (or sweeten to taste), and then mix and mash it all together.  Then add a bag of honey lemon tea or substitute chamomile tea, and pour boiling water.  Let it brew for a few minutes, knowing that the longer it stays in the stronger it becomes (especially the ginger can become very spicy).  I like to keep the mug close to my face and let the vapors unclog my nose.  The benefits of ginger are its anti-inflammatory properties, and it also helps as a decongestant.  I like to drink a couple of mugs a day when I’m sick and they usually always help me feel better, so I hope it works for you too.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXMJXqjywl4

Ratchet & Clank

The first time I played Ratchet & Clank was when I didn’t consider myself a gamer.  I would buy a console off the buy and sell ads for cheap, play the games it came with, and then sell the console right after.  During this period I must have played Ratchet & Clank because I always remembered how good it was.  But like I said, I wasn’t a gamer so I never beat the game and just sold the console right after.  Thankfully years later I came back to video games and I knew I had to have Ratchet & Clank in my collection.

As we’re currently celebrating the 20^th anniversary of this game (released on November 4, 2002), I decided to play it again.  This game feels like a N64 game such as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day with their action platforming, comedy and puzzles.  It also has spaceship battles like the one’s found in Star Fox.  In fact some areas thoroughly impressed with what they were capable of doing back in 2002, such as walking up walls and upside down (similar to Super Mario Galaxy).  This game is near perfect, but my only complaint is that it requires some grinding to buy or upgrade certain weapons (thankfully you can remedy this with a lengthy cheat).  Other than that, this is a beautiful and fun game that every video game collector must own.

Ratchet & Clank Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratchet_%26_Clank_(2002_video_game)

Insomniac Games: https://insomniac.games/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvf1E2DsAdA

Passion Flakie

Growing up in Canada there were certain staples of Canadian treats that every child had in their 80’s and 90’s lunchbox.  For me at the top was the Flakie (eventually it changed names to the Passion Flakie).  This delicious pastry was made with a flaky crust similar to Filo, with sugar added on the top, and then it was filled with whip cream and an apple-raspberry filling.  Unfortunately as a child, I would always eat them crushed because I wasn’t careful.  Thankfully as an adult I can now enjoy them straight out of the box in immaculate condition.  The best part is, they still taste the same and they bring me back to childhood.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZb8lE7FGxs&t=10s

Vachon Passion Flakie Pastries: https://www.vachon.com/en

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Dreamer Edition

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Dreamer Edition for the Nintendo Switch released on September 20, 2019.  The Dreamer Edition includes the game and an art book.  At the time I wasn't the biggest Link’s Awakening fan, nevertheless I was still excited to get this game because of the Nintendo Direct release trailer; which featured an anime video of Link being shipwrecked.  I bought the special edition the day it released and also the lone Link amiibo as well.

Flash forward years later, and I have played the game already and my opinion of the game has changed dramatically.  Initially I really hated the game because the maze like dungeons confused me a lot.  I can’t change my first impressions, however the real value of this game is the re-play.  And it’s in the re-play that I have fallen in love with this game.  Once you know what to do, and where to go you achieve a sort of buzz from the flow of the game.  Despite the updated graphics and console, the game still plays exactly the same as the original release; making this a bonafide timeless classic.  Link’s Awakening is now my favourite 2D Zelda game.

The Legend of Zelda: www.zelda.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nognSBwk9m0