People will stare.

 

People will stare.  Make it worth their while. Terrific advice...don't you think?

It takes just as much effort to look like a slob as it does to look presentable.  If your hair isn't washed, put on a cute chapeau.  If you don't feel like fixing your face (not that it needs to be fixed but it's such a quaint expression) a swipe of powder and a tinted lip balm will take you from Wintery washed out to polished in under one minute.  A long coat hides a multitude of sins (even jammies tucked into tall boots for a midnight run to the drug store - trust me on this one). 

It has been another whirlwind few weeks - meetings for every committee under the sun, lobster dinner, business excellence, civic awards, young professionals, politics etc.  Oh and on top of that I have Royal Ribbons to run and business is pouring in...so I'm hopping all day long.  Not to mention my little part time job - I got a message last night to come to work on Saturday morning.  Good thing I have a wardrobe ready to take me anywhere!

I discovered one of the moms from the Little Prince's school just got her yoga certification so I took her very first class last night.  I am thrilled to have yoga in town again! 

I took the Danish exchange student to a community dinner that is put on by the poverty coalition.  It started at the seedy hotel and was frequented by welfare types and drug addicts but the guy in charge has done a tremendous job of building it up, getting people the help they need, and cleaning up the hotel.  Now the dinner is open for anyone to come so we stopped in, had a bite to eat, chatted with some people and helped clean up. The Cheeky Reaper and I are hosting a fundraiser for this group - we have 150 tickets to sell to a movie screening and champagne reception so it was nice to spend time with the people we are doing it for and some of the people on their board of directors. 

I am getting my hair cut this afternoon.  I've been letting it grow out a bit over the winter but I think I will cut it back to summer length again.  I just don't have the time or inclination to blow it out every single day.  Stay tuned to find out how it went with my stylist!

Comments keep bloggers inspired...please take the time to say hello!

Have a fabulous day!

OOTD - Cold weather clothes

A week before Christmas I spent the afternoon at the liquor store ringing the bell for the Salvation army.  This is the third year I have done it and I am always impressed at the array of characters who will stop to chat before heading in to get their 'message'.  December in Canada can be a bit hit or miss so I decided to wear warm clothes and take a lighter jacket.  It worked well and I managed to stay warm enough for a couple of hours before moving the kettle inside for the last part of my shift.

 

Embroidered cords, Christmas turtleneck, Birdseye sweater, and accessories.  The leather bracelet was a present from Adrienne of The Rich Life and I wear it allllll the time.  Pearls, natch.  I always feel like a big preppy whale when I wear this sweater, it's not figure flattering at all, but a handsome businessman in town saw me wearing it and told me I look just like his first girlfriend.  The sweater will be staying.

 

How it translated in the cold December sunshine!  By this point I had a pocket full of miniatures - someone stopped to help a liquor store employee clean up a dropped case of booze, each bottle had a miniature attached to it so the employee gave them to the helpful passerby...who stopped to share them with me!  

My mittens were custom knit locally.

 

The local chocolatier was having their machine serviced when I stopped by so he came an hour later to deliver me a spicy hot chocolate!  Yum!   Small town life is great!

Have a fabulous day!

Bye 2012!

2012 has been a wild year for us, and it has flown by in the blink of an eye!  Life has been so busy I didn’t even get to mail out Christmas cards this year but don’t worry, I have them all ready for next year and will have them to the post office by December 1^st (which sounds like a lifetime away!).

2012 started slowly for us, Royal Ribbons was doing well and picking up after the holidays.  I filled my calendar with lunches and book club and Civic Awards meetings as well as worked on plans for the Business Excellence Awards night – I was asked to join the committee and since I had the time I agreed to help out.

February was spent working on big changes to the Civic Awards program and ceremony.  We spent almost a year revamping the entire event so we had lots of meetings to discuss bylaws, logos, scripts etc.  Fortunately we had a very mild winter so getting out and about was easy – I don’t think I wore my boots once!

March was busy with committee meetings as all of the awards nights were coming up quickly.  I also turned 41 and seem to have firmly crossed the Rubicon.  I was invited to a volunteer dinner in town and it was nice to be the one being waited on for an evening.  It’s always great to see so many people dedicated to their community gathered in one spot!

The Little Prince turned 4 in April and amid the flurry of events we had a nice little family party for him at home.  A few of my friends came by for cake and champagne…and photos with the Thomas mural!

May found me on a plane, on my way to Scotland for a week.  I had a great time staying in Stirling and got to see lots of cousins.  In true Scottish fashion, it rained all but one day but that’s alright, I had loads of fun anyway.  

In June it was time to get back to business…Royal Ribbons was a year old and I was enjoying meeting new people and making lots of great contacts.  I also provided lunch for my Rotary Club while they worked at the Habitat for Humanity site which is such an amazing experience.  I got to meet the woman the house was being built for and can’t think of anyone more deserving.  At this point I ended up with some sort of stomach flu, which is a great weight loss program…after about 10 days I managed to get out on my wobbly Bambi legs to attend a monument dedication, in the sun and heat…I didn’t last long!

July is when everything changed.  Policing in our town was up for debate and the people didn’t like it.  I attended a council meeting that made me so angry I offered to join forces with the biggest curmudgeon in town to fight town hall.  We were at risk of losing our police force and a committee was formed, I was named chair and within 24 hours we were on the front page of the newspapers, money was pouring in and the town know they had a fighting chance.  6 weeks of fundraising, meetings, flyers, newspaper and radio advertisements, sign blitzes, interviews, letters to the editor, t-shirts, a march led by our local pipe band, a rally, and my speech to council in front of a packed gallery – the vote was deferred until December.  It was supposed to happen on September 11^th – the irony did not go unnoticed – but we were faced with having to wait more than three months to find out if we would be able to keep our police force.  

In the middle of all of this, my parents moved to town – just in time to see me in the papers each week, I was presented with my Chamber of Commerce plaque, the Little Prince attended a teddy bear picnic, we went to a Big Band concert in the park, the Little Prince played on a soccer team for the first time, our Danish exchange student arrived for a year, we found a new school for the Little Prince, dropped the ceremonial puck at the local hockey team's opening game, attended the fall fair, I took up shooting, provided the meal at a weekly poverty dinner, took the Little Prince to a Wiggles concert, went to a wine tasting (and was poured into my house at the end of the evening), celebrated Thanksgiving with our parents and our exchange student, and did a flight in a fellow Rotarian’s private plane with the exchange student so she could see the area in the fall from the sky.  I was also juggling other committee commitments as well…sometimes having to work with the politicians I was fighting against – life is nothing if not complicated!

Fortunately another councilor decided December was too long to wait and asked that the vote be on October 30^th.  This left us 6 weeks to fill so the police committee got to work on a few information brochures and I spent my time gently lobbying a councilor and the deputy mayor.  Coffees, phone calls and talks in the hallways of town hall have become the norm.  Fortunately, when the vote came down, after an hour of debating in council chambers, one of the councilors decided to listen to the people who elected him and changed his vote.  Town hall erupted in applause as it was finally decided we would be keeping our police force.  I felt like I could breathe for the first time in months!  We all went to the pub for champagne, speeches and to hang out with the cops.  I turned to address the police chief at one point during my speech and saw him wipe a tear away.  This is how important the fight was for our town.  

In November I reconnected with friends I have missed for a few months, got to work on choosing next year’s outbound exchange student for the Rotary club, started plans for the 2013 Christmas committee and started thinking about the holidays.  We saw the holiday train go through town and I’ve decided to try to get it to stop here next year.  We attended the candlelight walk through town and the lighting of the park, and the Santa Claus parade.

In December I worked a lot, took the exchange student to Toronto for the Christmas Market and dinner at my favourite spot, met with the head of the poverty coalition to talk about forming a board in January, organized a pot luck dinner for the Rotary club, rang the bell for the Salvation Army outside the liquor store (I knew I would see most of the people I know), went to the Little Prince’s school pageant, took a stuffed animal for the hockey team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss and wound up in the paper again for helping out…and then everything came to a screeching halt when the Little Prince got sick, then fell down and did something to his ankle that has left him in a cast for a few weeks.  He spent more than a week in bed and I wasn’t sure he would manage Christmas…but the little guy rallied and managed to smile while opening his presents and got to see his grandparents.  I took a few hours away on Christmas day to serve lunch to the poor as a friend of mine organizes it each year.  It was lots of busy, fun work and quite a few of my friends did the same, donned an apron and provided a nice meal for people who wouldn’t have one otherwise.

I have been busy getting Royal Ribbons back on track; I added a few new products and have plans to add more in 2013.  The latest is custom mugs which I spent a day traveling all over the city to prepare for and in one day got enough orders to put me in the black – I’m calling it a success!   Life is still all about meetings and lunches – I get calls from all over the place from people asking me to help them take on their own town hall – so I keep busy, which is fine with me!

The Little Prince is doing well in Montessori school and he is making lots of friends there.  The Suburban Prince has been working away , doing his thing, and I have taken a part time job at a local funeral home, as well as joining a few more committees.  

I am exhausted just proof reading all that!  Yes, I tend to bite off more than I can chew but isn’t that what makes life fun?  2013 will be another wild year I’m sure – and I am looking forward to it!

From my family to yours, all the very best for 2013! 

2008 was the worst and hardest year of my life.
2009 was about picking up the pieces and survival.
2010 was about figuring it all out.
2011 was meant to be epic but I can't remember much of it!
2012 was my year.  I found my stride, proved what I am made of and plan to take that into 2013 to accomplish more, bigger, better things.

Look out world! 

Happy New Year!
Happy Hogmanay!


 
Have a fabulous day!

What a week...or so!

Happy Monday!  It has been a wild 10 days - I managed to survive the Wiggles concert and the arena has free wifi so while the Little Prince danced and sang, I replied to hundreds of emails and kept in touch with the real world.

While we were there I got a message from the Cheeky Reaper that he had a huge visitation that night and was on his own at the funeral home so when I got home I did a quick change and went to help him out.  I'm realizing if you want to see who's who...go to the big funerals!

On Saturday I called a police committee meeting and I really thought it would just be an hour - I got home 5 hours later!  The official meeting lasted 90 minutes but then my Spiritual Advisor came to the bar and we got to talking then I had to drop by the Lincoln Lawyer's (new character in this movie I call my life, he looks like Abe Lincoln, and is the lawyer for the police committee) house with a document.  His wife makes the best coffee and she knows I will never turn one down....aaaand after coffee we got into the raspberry beer and before I knew it I was strolling in the front door after 7pm. 

 

I went to have a chocolate from the little box I left on the coffee table.  Seems a certain Little Prince found them and decided to do a taste test!

On Sunday I went skeet shooting in a farmer's field.  I came home achy and the next day had a nice bruise - the big shotgun just about knocked me over!  And yes...I can hit a moving target.

On Monday I went to my Rotary meeting and then I think I stopped at the bar to chat with some committee members - tho I can't remember...it's all becoming a blur!

Every morning at 8:30 this farmer takes his horse out for a jog - I used to wonder how anyone could live in the country...I'm turning into one of them.  I'm way more Hunter wellies and riding jackets than I ever thought I could be.  I used to read Marie Claire...now it's Garden & Gun.

On Tuesday morning I had a meeting (at the bar, surprise surprise) with a member of the board that represents the police to council, then Hermes Scarf Friend came up and we had lunch in the cozy corner (a little semi private room with one table right at the front window of the bar) and chatted for a couple of hours.  We made plans for the exchange student, gossiped and decided we need to do a drinking tour of town again soon.  At this point I realized I needed to have a nap or I wouldn't make it through the rest of the day so I went home and rested for a while.

On Tuesday evening I went to the council meeting to make sure nothing shady was going on then stopped by the...wait for it...bar (I'm sure you think I'm some sort of lush by now but I assure you, as soon as I walk in the wait staff will come over with a club soda and lots of lime for me).  There were all sorts of interesting people there so it was a fun hour of chatting and deciding we all hate the same person.

I spotted this little beauty in town a few weeks ago - my dream car!  It was a gorgeous day and it took everything I have to resist asking the owner if I could take it for a spin.

On Wednesday I spent the whole day dealing with media - from 5am I was emailing reporters and making arrangements for interviews - then I had to do a photo op, then go to the radio station to record the new ad for the police committee.  I stopped by the...you guessed it...bar to chat with my Spiritual Advisor (with just a few days left before the vote everyone is spending a lot of time thinking and talking about it).  Everyone knows my car so anytime I am in the bar there will be a stream of people coming in to talk, pass on information, say hello...so an hour later I got home and needed to lie down.  5am is very early when I have evening plans the same day!

That night we went to a soup dinner party - just my luck tho, I was allergic to three of the 4 soups and don't like the 4th one. I filled up on cheese and crackers and didn't make a fuss.  The people sitting next to me were the strangest couple.  She is about 6'4" and he is just slightly taller than my 5'2". I also suspect she was once a man.  Anyhoo...when another one of the wives started talking about her cat I knew it was time for me to go home. 

Our Rotary exchange student is the loveliest girl and I'm not kidding when I say I am going to have a hard time giving her back to her parents.  I tend to invite her out with me more than I am expected to (I'm her guardian and counselor but she doesn't live with me) but she is just so nice to have around.  I took her to the mall with me and stumbled upon these - you know you are getting old when this prompts the sudden donning of sunglasses.  And these weren't the brightest ones they had!  As the exchange student was trying things on it made me smile, then cringe to think when I was her age I would've been going gaga for all the neon in the shops.  Preppy or not, no one got through the 80s without something neon.

My parents went to Florida for a few weeks and I didn't ask them to bring anything back...to be honest I just didn't get organized enough to do the research and make my list.  They will do the leg work as long as I provide item names and numbers, store addresses and phone numbers etc.  Anyhoo...I did have a few things shipped to them - a box of ribbon so I could avoid the customs bill and a couple of Android tablets (half the price they are in Canada) - but this is what they bought for me!  Wahoo!   I'm known for my club soda (or soda water as it is called in some places) and everyone knows to follow the trail of empty blue cans if they want to find me - well, my mom asked the Lilly staff person what the little thing is, which surprised me as it's not like we don't have koozies here, anyway...she was told it's "for your can of club soda".  My mom knew at that moment she had to get it for me to go with the monthly planner.

On Thursday I did my usual running around, customer calls, seamstress meeting (I get all of my clothes tailored) and then had a civic awards meeting.  It was decided the Little Prince and I will be placing the committee's wreath on the cenotaph on Remembrance Day. He has watched me fight for democracy all this time with the policing issue and it is the perfect opportunity for him to come and see why I have put myself and my family through this.  We will have some talks about the people who have given their lives in the name of democracy so I hope he takes something from it.  It's a bit of a big deal and a privilege to be able to represent the committee and take part in the ceremony.

After the meeting I went to...the bar...and everyone was shocked to hear I was meeting the Suburban Prince for dinner as we never seem to be in the same place at the same time!  I had to wait for a while so I chatted with the regulars before I sat at my table and one of them was nice enough to think I needed some vodka in my club soda so he sent one over.  How nice is that!  

This week there is a 'town hall' meeting for the public on Monday and I will need to be there as police committee chair ready to ask questions of our elected representatives.  On Tuesday there is a special council meeting and the supposed final vote is to be that night.  We are supposed to find out once and for all if we will be keeping our police force.  We have spent 3 months trying to get just one councillor to change their vote, I am cautiously optimistic as these people have to know there will be either a riot, or a parade.  If we get what we want I will be the first one to jump up and lead the standing ovation.  I've also made it clear that if the vote goes wrong, I am no longer responsible for holding people back.  I have prevented riots, talked people out of burning down the mayor's house, kept people from picketing and storming town hall...if it goes wrong, I am stepping aside and letting the chips fall where they may.

It's Downton Day!  Episode 7 is tonight and I wont give any spoilers but I will be here at 4pm watching the live stream, armed with a handkerchief.  I will post this link to the new ep once I have it.

And that's my life in a nutshell - I have spent the weekend at home, alone, not going anywhere, recharging and getting organized again.  It has been nice to stay in my jammies and not have to be 18 people all at once!

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Have a fabulous day!

Friday Friday Friday!

 Happy Friday!  It has been a wild week - my life is such a roller coaster!


- On Monday I dropped the Little Prince at my parents' house and went to a Rotary dinner, I managed to sneak out before the presentations and had a quick coffee with the Cheeky Reaper before going home for the evening.

 

Looking for a tiny little runway

 

 I can see my house down there!

- On Tuesday Daddy Warbucks too the exchange student and me flying in his little plane which was awesome, as always!  We spent an hour flying around town and checked out all the buildings we know.  We were then invited back to his house for a glass of wine and a chat.

I had to leave in time to get to town hall for the council meeting - policing was on the agenda and it didn't go as we had hoped.  The fight isn't over as the final vote has happened so now I am scrambling to figure it all out and get a press release out today.

I was also told my Spiritual Adviser has stage 4 cancer and I broke down in front of town hall.  Fortunately there were some big shoulders there to dry my tears.

- Yesterday I ran errands and attended the police board meeting - it's amazing how many groups are involved with policing...there's the police force, the association or union, the police services board and council.  It can be very confusing to the newbies!

- Today I get to spend my afternoon attending a Wiggles concert. I don't want to go but I am doing it for the Little Prince.  I am told it is 90 minutes of pure hell but it does eventually end.  Oh the things we do for our children!  Sometimes I question my decision to be so old when I had my son, a Wiggles concert is no place for a woman of my age. And I'm told the bar is closed in the venue.


- Tomorrow I have a police committee meeting and I hope to go shooting at some point over the weekend - must kill all the little clay pigeons!


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Have a fabulous day!

It's a crazy life...but it's my life!

Happy Monday!  It has been another crazy week!

The police vote was supposed to be this week but has been deferred until October 23rd.  Two of the councilors put a motion forward to delay it...which is good and bad.  The council meeting this week was awesome...lots of anger in the crowd and people shouting out.  There is a lot of passion in this town about keeping our police force!  I thought we would be done but no...now we get another 6 weeks of campaigning.  We have had to shift our strategy a little bit and have spent the weekend at the fall fair with our tent and flyers.

I have been asked to drop the ceremonial first puck at the season opener for the local hockey team this coming Friday night.  This is something the mayor is traditionally invited to do but since most of the town would like her removed from office, she hasn't been asked to come.  Most of the police committee will be there but it is meant to be me out there on the ice with the owner and the two captains for the photo ops - I decided I will take the Little Prince out with me to do it to represent the committee.  It's makes for a nice message when a mom is out there fighting for her community....and the Little Prince loves the spotlight!  Unfortunately the owner of the team doesn't have much of a marketing plan and I've ended up writing his press release and had to tell him what to do with it - no, not that!

I helped in the Rotary canteen at the fall fair for a couple of hours at the fall fair and someone brilliant scheduled the mayor to work there at the exact same time.  I am her biggest political opponent right now and it's to the point I doubt we will ever be friends again.  I think she felt uncomfortable enough and decided to work outside at the grills rather than spend any more time with me in a closed room than absolutely necessary.  She kept looking at me like we were going to have a nice friendly chat...not bloody likely.  The day I heard she tried to get the chief of police call off the escort for our march was the day we stopped being friends.  Putting her own political agenda ahead of the safety of the people who elected her is just wrong wrong wrong.  And low.

I was just asked to drive a car in the Jazz Fest parade next weekend - I'm getting very tired but it's for a guy who is so nice and he works so hard to bring the arts to our town - I'm told there will be a big stereo in the back of my car so I should bring ear plugs.  The Little Prince will be pulled in his wagon by someone in our group so I hope he is ok with that! 

I had a lovely lunch with the Cheeky Reaper.  It was nice to run away from home for a couple of hours - we decided to go to another town as between us we probably know everyone in town and wouldn't be able to just relax and chat over lunch.  We tried this little restaurant a mother and daughter run from their house and it was quite nice!  Perfect for lunch and a chat.

I watched the new episode of Downton Abbey and I am giddy with excitement!  Poor Mr Bates...stuck in prison for most of the season no doubt.  I promise to do my very best and not spill any details...tho it will be hard to keep it all to myself!  If you are watching S3 and want to chat about it...email or message me!

Autumn seems to be here...I got up this morning and it was so chilly I asked the Suburban Prince to build a fire...he didn't do it, but still...it feels like a snuggle in front of the fire sort of day.

I have added some new designs to my button/magnet/pocket mirror collection and will be adding more each week - if you would like something custom created for a wedding, party or business please let me know!  Small and large orders are welcome...and I am still creating custom, personalized ribbon and am slowly but surely expanding my custom product empire!  For ribbon or button information please email RoyalRibbon@yahoo.com


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Have a fabulous day!

It has been a long, long time...

It has been months since I wrote a real blog post!  This summer has been so busy and with everyone leaving the blogisphere it has been hard to stay motivated.  But, here I am, determined to give it another try!

I started the summer with every intention of expanding my business and adding new products.  Instead I wound up as chair of the committee to keep our local police force.  I had no idea what I was doing but I took it on...because that's the kind of crazy person I am. Suddenly everyone knows my name, I am interviewed by reporters every week, councilors and police chiefs take my calls, and the mayor probably hates me.  Well, it's her own fault.  Oh and in a couple of weeks I am supposed to drop the puck at a hockey opening game. 

We held a march and a rally last week and it was a huge success!  Hundreds of people came out in the rain and we gave out balloons and pins so they could show their support.  We had a pipe band and a police escort (much to the mayor's annoyance) and we walked from the top of town right past the police station to the park where we spoke from the back of a pickup truck about the important of democracy.  After my little speech I went up to council chambers to deliver a speech on behalf of the people of our town.  I toss around phrases like 'legitimate public consultation' a lot these days.

I miss cocktails at lunch.

Things have become more manageable now so I am back to focusing on business and family.  Last week I tackled the mountain range of laundry that has been waiting for me for week, and launched three new products in my shop!  I am now carrying buttons, magnets and pocket mirrors - all of them can be customized!

This is the first set of designs - based on Downton Abbey of course!  The full set of 15 drawings is on my Royal Ribbons site and are all available as magnets, buttons or mirrors...feel free to mix and match!  It's time to start thinking about stocking stuffers...

I am the counsellor for the Rotary exchange student from Denmark.  She is a very nice girl but it was a busy busy time at the end of August when she arrived.  I had to get her registered for school, bank account, library card etc.  On top of the police committee!  But we managed and she is having a great time - I made us smores on the beach at a corn roast a couple of weeks ago and she loved them!

The Little Prince has moved from nursery school to Montessori school...he seems to have adapted without any trouble and dove right in.  I thought there would be sobbing and clinging but nope...he barely said 'bye' to me when I left him there!

Besides all that, I shot some guns, did some day trips, did some needlepoint, saw a big band concert, and kept plugging along with my family tree research. 

I am looking ahead to the fall fair next weekend and Thanksgiving in a few weeks - all the holidays seem a bit early this year!  I need to start thinking about pumpkin pies, turkey, and a big ham!  Every year I think I will try some new things but I always stick with what works so I am afraid there will be nothing new to show or report this year, which is a shame because Pinterest is such a resource for ideas! 

I joined Tumblr - I have no idea why tho.  I checked it out and couldn't figure out the point...now I have come to terms with it even tho I still don't really understand it.  But, there are lots of Downton fans there so we talk about Season3 and all we think will happen.

And that's all I have to report for the moment. I hope you had a great summer and I can't wait to read all of your autumn posts!

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Have a fabulous day!

Business Excellence Awards

Shortly before I left for my trip to Scotland I attended the Business Excellence awards in my town.  I was on the committee and Royal Ribbons was nominated for an award.  It was a very stressful time as the Civic Awards ceremony was only 10 days before this event and the workload to make all of this happen was enormous!  Well, maybe not...but I find it impossible to get anything done when I am home alone with the Little Prince.  I'm sure all the moms of small children know what I'm talking about!  Anyhoo to make matters worse, this event was held in the gymnasium of our local rec centre...not pretty at all!  We had to figure out how to make an ugly gym look like a gala on a budget of 500.00!

Fortunately we have a good relationship with the people who put on the hospital gala (Hermes Scarf Friend sits on that board and I know the uncle of the chair of the hospital committee - small town life!) so we were able to use decor from their event this past autumn.  Knowing this little detail I strongly suggested we run with a 'I love NY' style theme so everything would be black, white, and red...the same colours the hospital used six months ago.

We raided the hospital's storage unit for anything we could find to pretty up the place and this is what I came up with for the dessert table I designed and assembled....

Yes we moved the stuff out from under the tables. The silver backdrop is sheets of silver streamer type stuff....we had to put up 4 layers to make it look solid - thank goodness for tall people!  The lampshades are on huge martini glasses...I could've used a drink about that big by the time this photo was taken!

One of my cardinal rules was broken here - the table cloth isnt ironed.  It bothered me all night.  But I was in heels, a dress, and didn't have my iron with me.  If this had been at my house the table cloth would've been ironed. 

Feather boas fill up a lot of space!  Inexpensive and effective!

Everything was red, white or black (dark brown)!

I found red and white striped paper bags so people could take candy home with them.  For some reason we didn't have dessert plates (it was assumed people would use a napkin but I felt if they didn't have a plate they would treat the table like a trough and never leave it....so I went out and got a stack of red paper plates).

Making the best of what little we had to work with.  We had a few extra flower centerpieces so I commandeered them for my dessert table.  The bowls on stands are assembled from pieces found at the dollar store.  I bought white dishes and plates, martini and champagne glasses and epoxied them together to make an inexpensive cake/candy stand!

Our local chocolatier was also our caterer and he donated all these yummy chocolates.  And when I say yummy I mean I assume they were...the guests at the event seriously demolished the dessert table...not a scrap was left and I didn't get one of these chocolates!  He was kind enough to make them red on the top to go with our theme!

I had one of our local bakeries make us chocolate cupcakes with buttercream and red pearls to stay in the colour scheme!

I found all kinds of red, white, and black candy at the bulk store.  Jelly beans, licorice cigars, chocolate covered pretzels, yoghurt covered raisins...

Mini tarts filled with raspberry jam! At least I didn't have to cart any of it home!

The next day was the Little Prince's 4th birthday party so it was a hectic weekend full of cake!

Oh...and I didn't win.  The guy who did win was a shoe-in...but he can't win next year so there's the playing field will be more level!


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Have a fabulous day!

Friday's Random Thoughts....or something like that

Happy Friday!  I hope you had a faboo week and have something fun planned for the weekend!  I have been so busy this week with appointments for eyes and hair and toesies not to mention a few committee meetings, errands, laundry and ribbon.  I have barely had time to write this post and it's not my best work but it's up and in English!

Tonight I am attending the volunteer dinner put on by town council.  I have never been before so I hope it is nice.  Hermes Scarf Friend is my date as she was invited too so I am looking forward to lots of chitchat!

Speaking of HSF - she got some upsetting news from the neurologist last week.  After all this time without any seizures she expected an 'all clear' and to be told she can drive again.  Nope.  He told her she wont be driving for at least a year, maybe two!  She told me she started crying and he asked her what's wrong. Ummm ok.  So she is still trying to survive without a car and getting rides from everyone.  What a pain for her!  She also has lots of test coming up as well as concerns from her MRI...hopefully it's all benign problems and can be easily fixed!

The Civic Awards committee met last night to go through all of the nominations and choose the winners.  We managed to get through it with minimal arguing, no one fell out, no one is angry and we are still a committee (unlike last year's fiasco!).  I am very excited about a couple of the winners as they are friends of mine and I know the deserve the recognition.  We use a scoring chart to make sure we stay objective so even tho I know them, I was able to remove my feeling from the judging.

I got my hair cut yesterday...short.  Well not a buzz cut or anything but much shorter than it was.  I just felt like a shorter, easier cut for the summer.  Longish hair is nice but oh my goodness what a lot of work it can be!

The Little Prince is all better now and back to his usual cheeky self.  Last night he saw a scratch on my hand and was very concerned.  He asked me what happened and after I told him said, "Poor mommy.  You should go to the hospital to find out what's wrong!"  LOL  After reading about the time Curious George ate the puzzle piece and had to go to the hospital he has been looking for any reason to go too!  Silly thing!  My life tends to revolve around Curious George's adventures...remember the horse & carriage ride?  George.  Fire Hall visit?  George.  I draw the line at going in a hot air balloon just because a curious little monkey did it.

My birthday is on Sunday and everything is ready and in place!  Lunch reservation has been made, shopping list is ready, the cake is in the works...unfortunately the bakery in Toronto is not open on Sundays so they are seeing if one of the other businesses will keep the cake for me so I can pick it up the on day I am in the city.  Complicated, I know...but it's the only bakery in the city that I could find that makes this one specific type of cake.  Photos coming next week!

I'm sitting here trying to come up with something funny...I'm usually easily amused by the world but I don't think I've had time for a sense of humour this week!  Anyhoo have a great weekend and enjoy all this summer-like weather!  I will be heading to the tanning salon for a little jump start on my tan!


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Have a fabulous day!

December Recap!

The last month has been a blur of activity and shopping.  I so wanted to blog more but I just didn't have as much time as I needed.  Blogging takes a lot of work...research, taking photos, photo editing, layouts etc.  There just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes!

I am spending this week puttering around the house, getting closets tidy and organized, all the laundry done, writing cards to my penpals and all the little things that get neglected when our minds and bodies are off celebrating.

I feel like Christmas rushed up at me this year...yes I know I have had a whole year but, with the basement renovation taking almost an entire year, my storage room was held hostage until almost December.  As it is, the basement still isn't finished but we needed to take a break.  Since I didn't have a lot of planning time and everything was such a mess I decided to do very minimal decorations and barely decorated the Christmas tree.

Did you know if you don't putz with garlands, little filler ornaments and all that other nonsense a tree can be decorated in less than 1 hour?  No?  Neither did I.  The best part of all of this...it will take me a short amount of time to get it all off the tree. 

I decided this year to get every single piece of Christmas decoration into the living room and get it all sorted out, get rid of what we don't use and organize it by theme.  Perhaps a project for the new year so it can be done as it is coming down.  

The month kicked of with our Civic Awards pot luck meeting.  We all brought a dish and the chair of the committee hosted it at her house.  We had our meeting, patted ourselves on the back and got down to the business of breaking bread.  It was nice to socialize with the other committee members as we are usually busy getting to and from commitments.  The chair of the committee is almost 80 and is described as me in 40 years.  I knew we were soul mates when I saw her datebook is monogrammed.  I took coffee and cake in to her 80 year old husband who was in the den watching tv....he was also doing needlepoint.  We were all having such an enjoyable time I ended up missing a Rotary cocktail party that was on the same night. 

Royal Ribbons was busy up to the first week of December.  I got all of my orders printed and out the door and catered to my last customer of the year with a smile on my face.  I love my personalized ribbon business but I was happy to have my time freed up a bit so I could focus on other things.

We had our Rotary Christmas dinner at one of the local restaurants.  The meal was so-so but the brussel sprouts were amazing!  I ate mine, the mayor's and some of Hermes Scarf Friend's date's servings.  I was telling HSF about one of the much older man who is always verry, verrry flirty with me.  Always telling me the colour I have on is so flattering and then some.  I noticed none of the other women got a Christmas kiss that night!  HSF asked me if I had never noticed I probably remind him a lot of his wife.  No, in fact, I had no noticed that...but come to think of it...I see the connection.  HSF said he is bound to adore anyone who is well mannered, has short blonde hair, is pretty and well spoken...she said I look just like she probably did 40 years ago.  The quilted riding jacket completes the look.  Ok...not so creepy now!

Neighbour and I went to see the 'New Year's Eve' movie and I loved it!  I thought it was a great holiday movie and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We have to see Dragon Tattoo and Twilight soon!  With all of the schedules we need to factor in, it's hard to get a night everyone is free!  PS...I always forget just how insanely cute Zac Efron is.

I attended the Chamber of Commerce cocktail party for all of 20 minutes.  Enough time to do a lap, grab a drink, eat some nibblies, say hello and get on my merry way!  I suspect a lot of the members did the exact same thing as it was a bit quiet when I was there.

I managed to have lunch with HSF a few times - usually to discuss business as we are on several of the same committees so it's a handy way to eat and accomplish the discussions we need to clear up before meeting with other committee members.  Oh and we like to gossip.  Small town life!

It's hard to believe my parents' Christmas party was less than 3 weeks ago.  It seems like a hundred years have gone by!  I have an outfit post from that night coming soon.  The Little Prince charmed the crowd when he was finally comfortable enough to sing his Christmas song for us.  We all cheered and clapped when he finished and he loved it so much he sang it again!  And again!  Six times.  I finally had to stuff some chocolate in his mouth to get him to stop!  I spent some time chatting with my mom's oldest friend and finally got the story of why her daughter divorced her husband.  Turns out he started his own business and she didn't like being home alone as much as that entailed.  Charming.  A young man tries to make a better life for his wife and child and gets divorced for it. 

We joined my inlaws for brunch with Santa at the country club.  The food was really good but I find these sorts of buffets are wasted on me.  I wish we could just buy half of the buffet.  After we ate we went to my inlaws' house to open presents.  One of mine was a fleecy long housecoat...something I would never wear.  It was returned when we passed the mall on our way home.  I got a gift card so I will pick out something from the MAC counter or some such thing.

We spent a day in Toronto going to the Eaton Center, the Christmas Market and dinner at my favourite restaurant in Yorkville.  I realized after that I forgot to go by T&Co to see if they had the carousel windows here too.  I always make a reservation at the restaurant as I like to sit at the same table every time.  It looks out onto Yorkville Avenue and at this time of year there is always lots of hustle and bustle.  I fondly remember one year it was snowing and the street looked so beautiful with everyone rushing home laden with shopping bags....

Strings of street lights  

Even stop lights

Blink a bright red and green 

As the shoppers rush home with their treasures

...the Little Prince came with us this year for the very first time and he had a ball being his mommy's city child.  He loved the subway and taxis!  He needed to be changed into dinner clothes so the Suburban Prince took him to the car and I headed to the restaurant...to order a glass of something civilized. 

I took our sometimes babysitter out for lunch and a catch up.  We are both so busy we hardly ever have time to just sit and chat for no reason at all.  She recently got engaged to our contractor so we had lots to discuss...wedding plans, flower ideas...bridesmaid drama....she is 15 years younger than me so I have a very different perspective to offer.  Hopefully she doesn't make herself crazy!  The cafe we lunched at is always beautifully decorated for the holidays.  I wonder if the frog is for sale!

The library book club met a few days before Christmas to discuss the latest book.  I didn't even crack it open.  It was some sci-fi sort of thing and that just isn't my style.  I did arrive with cupcakes and enjoyed everyone's company...most of whom hadn't read the book either!  We don't get a say in the books that are assigned so we end up stuck with book the weird organizer likes.  What I did learn is Tim's has 'kegs' of hot chocolate - but they must be ordered in advance.

I took a shift at the LCBO ringing the bell for the Sally Ann kettle.  It was so much better this year as I was actually inside the store.  Last year I was outside for a couple of hours and almost crying by the end of my shift.  As I was on the sidewalk last year I didn't pay a lot of attention to who was going in the liquor store.  Want to see everyone you know all in one afternoon?  Hang around the entrance of the liquor store!  This year I noticed there are a lot of people who need booze like a hole in the head going in and spending their welfare cheques. 

We took the Little Prince to get his picture taken with Santa.  I find it incredible how many malls have done away with with taking photos or have removed Santa altogether!  What's that about??  The mall by us has a great Santa and the Little Prince did an awesome job hanging out with him.  The mall had a great idea and offered people a memory stick full of photos for one price.  We ordered that and the photographer went crazy taking over 50 photos for us.  Santa just kept going and wanted more photos taken!  At one point I realized my son could probably be a model and decided to look into it in the new year.

 I had the hardest time shopping this year.  None of the people in my life need or really want anything and I hate wandering the malls.  I prefer to know exactly what I want to buy and get it online or find it online and go right to the store to get it.  I hate shopping...I like buying.  Why is it people who don't want anything still insist on presents?

Our local theatre has a fundraiser each Christmas and it is a bit tourist draw.  Local businesses decorate Christmas trees and they fill the theatre all season.  Tickets are purchased, filled in then dropped into the box that goes with the trees one would like to win.  I got a phone call a couple of days before Christmas to tell me I had won a tree!  I love it!  I was hoping if I had to win a tree it would be this one!  The photos just don't do it justice!

A friend of mine organizes a Christmas lunch for those less fortunate or alone on Christmas day.  I found out he has been paying for it himself (for 100 people!!!!) so I got to work and spread the word to my contacts to see if anyone would help him out.  I managed to get all of the potatoes donated as well as lots of turkeys...and some cash donations.  He was overwhelmed at the generosity and it was so nice to see how happy he was!

I spent a few evenings wrapping presents.  Considering how few things I bought for people I don't know how I had so much to wrap...but I might've gone a little bit overboard buying clothes and books for the Little Prince.  Thank goodness for gift boxes that come already decorated!  I did have fun using my own personalized ribbon tho!  I think it is the perfect finishing touch!

My parents came on Christmas eve and stayed over night.  It was a nice relaxing day as I prepped all the food ahead of time and instead of a big turkey, I made a turkey casserole.  It was all yummy and I didn't have to spend the day in the kitchen!  It makes a huge difference when my inlaws aren't here.  It's not that they aren't pleasant...they are just needy.  Even the Suburban Prince agrees we need to impose a time limit when they come over as they would say for days if we don't kick them out!  After my parents had been with us for 24 hours I told them the B&B is closed and they got their car packed, coats on, hugged us goodbye and went home!

We had our neighbours in for dinner on the 27th.  I kept it super simple with ceasar salad and lasagne.  Before they arrived I made a plate of baking and told the Suburban Prince to take it to the elderly couple across the street....40 minutes later he got home to find our friends and me sitting in the living room having cocktail wondering if he really did vanish into thin air!  Turns out the neighbour offered him a whiskey and he is just easy led astray.

Tonight I am going to the mall to exchange some presents I am not in love with, have a light dinner and finally see Twilight.  I plan on doing very little for the rest of the month.  We will, as usual, stay home for New Year's Eve.  I will see about making a nice dinner for us to enjoy while watching the concerts from all over the place.  I remember the year I was pregnant Denis DeYoung was performing at Niagara Falls and he was great!  Hopefully we will catch some good shows this year.


Have a fabulous day!

How a spoiled princess gets to a Rotary conference!

Last weekend my Rotary club was hosting the district's annual conference but we don't have a place to hold a conference in this town so we had to have it in Collingwood which is about 4 hours away.  I was thinking I wouldn't be going as I could only make it on the Saturday and 8 hours of driving in one day just isn't my idea of time well spent.

Enter my pilot friend.  He had offered to take a group of Rotarians up to the conference on the Friday afternoon and since I asked nicely, and make him custom ribbon and treats for his plane he agreed to take me on the Saturday morning.

In case you are wondering how I come to know people with private planes and get flown around...I make nicenice with everyone and ask for what I want.  Life is as simple as that!  I asked my pilot friend and if he had said no, well then...I wouldn't have gone.  But he is a nice man who is easily bribed so he agreed to meet me at his airport (yes, his airport) at 9am on Saturday.

Pilot friend needs a code name...Daddy Warbucks?  The Red Baron?  Any other suggestions?

Let's have a look at this plane.  The bottom arrow is the 'step' and the top arrow is at the hand grip.  I am 5'2" and had a moment when I wondered if I would need a boost or a box to stand on.  Fortunately I was wearing pants with a little stretch so I managed to get up there with minimal embarrassment.  The object is to put one foot on the step, grab the hand grip, then step up onto the wing near the door.  I should point out this turned out to be a lot easier than getting down from the plane, in high heeled boots.

The plane has all the bells and whistles including auto pilot, traffic alerts, gps and heat (which I found is important as it's chilly up there in the big blue sky!).

The screen on the left shows the horizon, altitude and speed...the one on the right shows our route and the geography around us.  Another amazing feature this plane has, which the pilot called 'The Wife Pleaser', is a parachute.  I don't mean a parachute for the passengers...the plane has it's own parachute.  My blood pressure dropped dramatically back to a normal level when he told me about this and showed me how to use it.  One never knows when the pilot flying the plane might have a problem and be unable to land safely - pulling the chute and turning off the power to the plane will let it float down to the ground safely.

Ready to take off.  Pilot friend has a hangar and runway across the road from his house.  Another benefit of living in the country...there's lots of land!  It's completely hidden from the road, easy to get to and has it's own parking lot.

 

 The moment one realizes...no one is flying the plane!  It was on autopilot so we got to chat and learn about the plane on the way to Collingwood. 

The cars are so tiny!  We were about 24,000 feet up which sounds like a lot but isn't really but the cars, houses and sheep still looked teensie!

Checkerboard farms.

 

Pilot friend asked me if I wanted to fly the plane and, since I'm not an idiot, I said YES!  He told me what to do, took it off autopilot and I took over.  I wasn't very daring as my goal for the day was staying alive (sing along with me!), so I focused on keeping the plane in the air, going straight and in the right direction.  I did learn it's easier to fly by looking out the window than at the controls and screens.  But then I've never been very good at video games!

 

We got to Collingwood, borrowed an airport car and went to the conference.  Yes, I almost forgot we were doing this for the good of Rotary.  When we got there they were between sessions and on a coffee break.  Perfect timing!  So we got cookies and warm bevvies and figured out which sessions to sit in on.  But not before making our way through the crowd of very excited Rotarians and so many friends I haven't seen for a while (who were all suitably jellybean knowing I was flown there).  My chocolate chunk cookie and I chose to go to the microfinance and microcredit session and I am so glad I did!  I am sure we have all heard of Kiva (I have countless Kiva loans out there in the 3rd world) and this session explained the Rotary system of microfinance and how loan officers on the ground, in the trenches so to speak, help people save, get loans, learn about business and get out of the dire conditions we all have seen on tv but are fortunate enough to not have to endure.  Yes, I know...run on sentence.

After that session we had lunch and got to see all kinds of awards being given out.  Because this was a district conference for 55 clubs, getting an award is a bit of a big deal.  Awards were given for literacy programs in schools designed by Rotarians, monies raised by Rotarians to help eradicate polio, awards for amount and length of service.  I saw a man I thought looked familiar then realized he is Jack Layton's son, there to accept an award given to Jack who was also a Rotarian.  Agree or disagree with his politics, he was a true Rotarian and devoted his life to 'the people'.

After lunch we saw a presentation by Jamie Fraser (not that Jamie Fraser) of Dignitas International and he spoke of his time in Africa working as a doctor.  When he came back to Canada he was so affected by his experiences (some of them were very unpleasant and spiritually damaging) he knew he needed to continue the work, so, he has devoted his life to changing how the 1st world views AIDS in the 3rd world.  He has been fighting to get governments to provide the same treatments as anyone in Canada would get.  This is so important as the 3rd world will always be the 3rd world if something doesn't change.  Eradicating AIDS in Africa means countries wouldn't be as dependent on the 1st world.  Isn't that what we all want?

 

After the presentation there was a big walk in Collingwood to promote our efforts to eradicate polio worldwide. Pilot friend/Daddy Warbucks/Red Baron and I chose that time to leave as neither of us had planned on staying for the dinner and gala.  When you know that many people in a crowd it takes a while to actually get out the door.  I was happy I got to see our friends who do so much good work in Laos before they left - we wont see them again until April at the earliest!

Pilot friend is in agriculture and used to own grain elevators in Collingwood so he asked if I wanted to see how one works.  We arrived just in time to see a truck of corn being weighed, tested then unloaded into the elevator.  The machinery is huge and everything reeks of ethanol.  We got to taste the corn, which is very dry and grainy when it's not cooked on the fire and slathered with butter and salt.

The farmer bringing the load of corn in saw my badge and said 'I see you are a Rotarian'.  I said we both are (pointing to pilot friend) and he was asking what we were doing up there and told us he is a Rotarian in another district.  We are everywhere.  My one regret is I didn't ask the farmer more questions about how they harvest the corn and get it off the cob...so unlike me!

We got back to the Collingwood airport, gave back the loaner car, inspected the plane and got on our way back home.  Lots of autopilot and chatting about pilot friend's family history in the area and maybe a teeeeeensie little bit of gossip about a mutual friend.  We did a lap of our town and it was so neat to see town hall and the park from the air!   My camera battery was dying so I didn't get any shots of town but let's hope there is another chance!

 

I managed to squeeze in one last shot before the battery died.  We were about to land at pilot friend's airport when he told me other pilots this he is crazy to land between the trees like this.  Charming.  I suggested he not tell people that until after the flight is over!  We landed safe and sound, disembarked and got the plane put away.  The Suburban Prince and Little Prince arrived about a minute after we landed so they missed the plane coming in but did get to see it in the hanger and chat with pilot friend for a few minutes. 

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday in October!

I got home and then had to put a load of laundry in an go get some groceries.  It's a hard splat back to reality!  That's the problem with being a spoiled princess - real life is a bit hard to stomach!  To add to that, we got a call around 9pm that the town is in a state of emergency because our water station had two pumps break and we need to conserve water.  As in....odd numbered houses get to shower on odd numbered days and we have to go get cases of water from the rescue and emergency volunteers set up in town.  The good news is I have lined up for water in 3rd world country so doing this didn't seem so bad.

Have a fabulous day!