Hi Reader,

September always feels a little different.

Summer trips start winding down, school is back in session, routines return, and that wide-open feeling of July and August starts giving way to calendars, schedules, and all the things we need to remember.

It can be easy to assume that means there’s less room for adventure or creativity.

Lately, though, I’ve been reminded that creativity can fit into very ordinary days.

I’ve been spending a surprising amount of time thinking about puzzles.

Which clue is too obvious? Which one is too hard? Can someone solve this in a few minutes? Does it actually feel fun?

I’ve been creating the activities for the Burlington Adventure Hunt, a new scavenger hunt I’m hosting in September, and there has been a lot more experimenting involved than I expected.

An idea that seems great in my head sometimes falls apart once I try to turn it into something another person can actually solve.

So I change it. Move things around. Try another idea. Make it simpler. Make it harder. Occasionally scrap it completely.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I realized something.

This is creativity too.

We often think being creative means being able to draw, paint, write beautifully, or make something worthy of displaying.

But creativity can also be solving a problem.

Playing with an idea.

Trying something simply to see what happens.

Looking at the same thing three different ways.

There doesn’t have to be a masterpiece at the end.

Sometimes the fun is simply in making something.

Creative Escapes

Creative Escapes are simple ways to slow down, experiment, play, and see the world a little differently.

You don’t need to be an artist.

You don’t even need to consider yourself creative.

You might take a photograph from an unusual angle, doodle something you see, invent a story about an old building, collect interesting textures, make up a game, write five silly lines, or turn an everyday object into the beginning of an idea.

The finished result really isn’t the important part.

The value is in the process: slowing down, paying attention, experimenting, and seeing where an idea takes you.

Want to explore this a little further?

I’ve put together a guide called Creative Escapes: Finding Joy in the Creative Process.

It explores what creativity can look like in everyday life, why it doesn’t have to be about talent or making something perfect, and simple ways to start noticing, experimenting, and creating more often.

👉 Read Creative Escapes: Finding Joy in the Creative Process​

Come Try the Burlington Adventure Hunt

And speaking of puzzles…

Registration is now open for The Burlington Adventure Hunt 2026: Crack the Code.

On Saturday, September 26, teams will work their way through a series of puzzles and activities before using what they discover to crack the final code.

📍 Burlington Community Club
📅 Saturday, September 26, 2026
🕑 2:00–4:00 p.m.
👥 Teams of 2–6 people
🎟 Pay what you can, with a suggested contribution of $20 per team and a minimum contribution of $5 per team

There are only 15 team spots available.

Register first and wait for your confirmation email before sending payment.

👉 Register for the Burlington Adventure Hunt​

I’m very excited to finally let other people loose on the puzzles I’ve been staring at for weeks.

And one other little behind-the-scenes update: the Rediscover 2027 calendar is finished.

I’ll share much more about it later this fall, but I’m really happy with where it landed this year. It feels very much connected to the kind of everyday adventures we’ve been talking about here.

Next month, we’ll move into Memory Keepers and explore simple ways to hold onto the little stories and moments that are surprisingly easy to forget.

As routines settle back in this September, I hope you can leave a little room for something playful, curious, and creative too.

Until next time,

Nancy
Rediscover Nova Scotia