Tuesday, May 29, 2007

We attended a wedding on the weekend. A friend and co-worker, who is asian, had this huge wedding. It was held on the grounds of one of the local ritzy restaurants. The grounds are beautiful and the restaurant is on the shores of a small lake. The weather cooperated by being sunny but only pleasantly warm, rather than scorching hot. The bride was beautiful, her gown lovely and the whole afternoon was perfect. We were able to visit with some old friends and enjoy the company and ambiance. There was an opportunity to dance and enjoy good conversation so a good time was had by all.

There was a second reception in the evening at the Kiron Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. This reception was quite different as it was all about the food which was wonderful. We had a 12 course meal, predominantly seafood! This was a first for me as I'm not much into seafood unless it is lobster or crab. I enjoyed shark fin soup and several other delicacies.

The bride changed three times during the reception - once into an absolutely stunning traditional gown which she bought in China last year. The groom wore a tux and it was nice to see them actually enjoying their own reception. So often it is so stressful for the couple that they can't enjoy their own day. That didn't seem to be the case here though.

My husband and I had booked ourselves into a room at the Hilton as it was a long drive home after a long day. We were both so glad that we did that. The day was exciting - it had started with the ceremony at 11 am - and it went on until almost midnight. We were both too tired to have driven any distance, especially after all the wine we drank. We finished our evening up at the lounge in the hotel for a night cap, or two, prior to retiring for the evening.

I have to say that I've been to many weddings, but I think this was the classiest by far. It was well organized without being stuffy or too regimented. I won't forget it for a long time.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007


Here are a few more of my designs. I just need to stay off the darn computer so I can get more work done!
This one on the left is one of my new favourites. Didn't I tell you you'd be seeing
more of it?
I've finally finished my page for the Whimsy book over on CC Swaps. I'm very pleased with it.

The page with the flower on it is the front. The image I used on the back came on the same sheet as the Alice image. It's not really something I would normally use but I quite like it. I think you'll be seeing that image more in the future!






Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Where has the month of May gone? I cannot believe that it is almost the end of the month already! I can remember when I was a child - the days seemed to go on forever but now they just seem to fly!

I put my hummingbird feeder up and the hummers are back! I do so love those little birds. They are really cute - so feisty and territorial when the feeder first goes up. At first they buzz around and fly off but as time goes by and they get more used to having people around, they tend to be less skittish. We have the feeder by our basement window so it provides entertainment for the cats and gives the hummers a little bit of a buffer between them and the patio.

My garden is finally in, and almost complete. I still want to pick up a figurine of some sort for the garden. My all time favourite would be a heron sculpture but they are fairly expensive and I'm not really sure how durable they are so that probably won't happen. There's a terrific garden centre - or so I hear - out in Maple Ridge. It's called Trice Farms and I've heard rave reviews about it so will have to make some time to go out there. Not really sure what I want except I do know, I do not want any of those ugly little gnomes!

We're off to a traditional Asian wedding on Saturday. One of my husband's co-workers is getting married. It's a day long affair - ceremony at 11 am, then a celebratory luncheon. I believe this is mostly for friends and such. Then there is the big reception which is being held in Richmond at one of the seafood restaurants. It's going to be something like 12 courses and the bride will be changing into a traditional chinese gown for that reception. I don't really know how many people will be there but I think this one is more for family etc. I'm looking forward to it.

I will be playing some golf on Thursday. This is my first round since we came back from Palm Springs. I'm looking forward to it, particularly since the weather is supposed to be really good. My score might not be so good but I'm sure the exercise will do me good!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The weather here on the coast has been spectacular - a good thing for those of us ready for summer, but a bad thing for the flood watch. Not too much happening on that front so far. The troops moved into Abbotsford to set up a base camp and start to prepare but so far nothing required of them other than that. Guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

I put my garden in - it's not much mostly plantings in a couple of beds and several large pots but it always makes me feel that things are right with the world when I can get that finished. I allotted myself an hour to complete the task - 3 hours later I was still working on it and have just about finished. My daughter and I went to the garden shop this morning and picked up 10 bags of mushroom manure. My beds are looking a little sterile and dry. I know from experience, that once I put the compost down, all the little plants will perk right up. They really like that stuff. Does you heart good to see it!

I finally decided on the paper for my page in the Whimsy swap over at CC Swaps. I had one page picked out and then decided to make one more trip to the store to see if I could find something more to my liking. I chose a nice classic looking, almost toile-y looking paper. My initial choice was a beigey-yellow, this one is more a corally red. Funny thing is that I seem to gravitate to colours that are a little more intense. I've decided on several elements for the page - I still have some tweaking to do - but I think it's coming together quite nicely. This time I put a little more thought into the design so hopefully I've saved myself some labour. I was pleased with my last effort but it was way too much work! I could easily have saved myself time and frustration had I put a little more thougth and planning into my initial design.

Friday, May 11, 2007

We're under a serious flood watch here in the Lower Mainland. The experts tell us that the snowpack up in the mountains is 165% of what it usually is and the melt is just starting. They say that if it get's too warm too quickly, then we are in big trouble! I work in a neighbouring city and the estimates there are, that worst case scenario, some areas could be under up to 4 meters (or 16 feet) of water. Now isn't that special?!?

I've been consciously ignoring the warnings, thinking that I'm far enough from the Fraser - almost a mile away and approximately 100 feet above, so this isn't going to affect me. Wrong! A co-worker who is dealing with emergency preparedness gave me some cold hard facts that scared the beejesus out of me. For example, I live on a flood plain and there are very serious concerns about my town. They say if it gets bad, that 95% of my little piece of paradise will be under water. Add to that the fear of contamination due to all the industry along the Fraser, and we could well have to deal with contaminated water flooding our homes. They also say, if evacutated, we may not be able to return to our homes for 6 to 8 weeks. That's enough to give anyone nightmares! My stamp lady, who lives on acreage on the other side of town, had the RCMP visit her last week. They were taking a head count, trying to determine how many people live in each residence, how many adults, kids, elderly, giving out pamphlets about disaster preparedness...that sort of thing in case the area needs to be evacuated.

She has pets and livestock. They told her they would evacuate her family and pets but no livestock. Pets aren't allowed in emergency shelters so for those people, like myself, who have no family here, what do I do with my pets? When asked what provisions she had made for her goats, her aviary, chickens etc, she told them she planned to move them to her sundeck which is about 15 to 20 feet above ground. They told her that wasn't a good idea because no one would be allowed back in once evacuated - who was going to feed them? Shades of New Orleans!

The Mounties told her that this was her notice of possible evacuation and that the next time she saw them, they would telling her to pack up and get out NOW! How scary is that?!? They told her if it came to that, then she was to open her barns and her aviary and let the animals go. She's concerned about her doves and chickens - she says the hawks will get the doves! My comment to her was that if she let them go at least they would have some chance. Better that the hawks get them than they drown in their cages! I can't think of anything worse than that! The RCMP officer said the same thing. He said that instinctively the animals will try to find somewhere safe. No higher ground nearby but at least they'd have some chance.

I live in a 3 story townhouse and have 2 pets. There is no way that I can do all the things they suggest - moving appliances, etc. I've tried to discuss it with husband, but he refuses to take any of this seriously. He says he has lots of beer, I have my tequila, we have water - so hey, no worries! He says it's just the media "fear mongering". This from a man who should clearly know better! I swear he's in denial! Unbelievable! I know he's being a smart ass but sometimes I could just choke him!

The "window of opportunity" for the greatest risk of flooding is from May 15th to the end of June. I've discussed this with my adult daughter who lives with us, explained to her that while her dad chooses to fiddle while Rome burns, that I am going to make preparations. I have no idea what to expect ! My efforts to get ready may be inadequate but at least I'm thinking about it and trying to prepare. She and I are both in agreement - "stuff " can be replaced but we will NOT leave our pets behind. If necessary, I will take them to work with me! I've already made that announcement at work and that didn't seem to be a problem, so that's one less thing to worry about. I've already told husband I think he's a fool - and I mean that in the nicest possible way! He's been warned that my golf clubs will be saved - because I will be moving them to higher ground - and that he can expect his to float away. He's also been advised that when all he has is a pair of underwear and a toothbrush, that he will get no sympathy whatsoever from me! I've also put him on notice that if he's thinking he'll get his toothpaste or toilet paper from me, that he better be prepared to make a deal because it will cost him dearly.

Entrepreneurship at it's finest!


Here are a couple of new designs. They are pretty representative of my style. I'm pleased with them and I think I can modify the sentiments to work with just about any occasion.

I'm also working on a spread in my art journal. I found an image in my collection that totally suited what I wanted to do. I also have a verse running around in my head and the two just went together so well. The collage started out as a 30 minute collage - it's 75% finished but there is still something missing . I can't position the verse the way I want to and it just will not come together for me! This 30 minute collage is now a 90+ minute collage and it still isn't finished. UGH! I finally had to walk away from it. Hopefully when I return to it, something will inspire me. It's one of those things where I don't know what it needs, can't describe what I want, but will know what it needs when I finally find it.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

It's been a busy several days. I worked frantically to get my Mother's Day cards ready and into the store in time. No need for the frantic antics, just poor planning on my part. Once that was done, I started to focus on the wedding cards. My guy sells tons of my wedding cards and I have a hard time keeping up with the demand at the best of times so being behind the eight ball is not a good thing. I also have to get some production going on Father's Day cards and Birthday and other occasion. It would be so nice to actually be able to get ahead of the demand and have some stock on hand but then that would tax my time management skills to the very limit.

On another front, at work they have finally hired a partner for me. Woooooohoooo! I've been working, for the most part by myself, since the end of December so it will be nice to have the team consist of more than one person again. She's a very nice lady who works in another department so we know each other well. She's bright, hardworking and direct. We are very much alike in the directness department so we should get along famously. Thank God for directness and assertiveness! It is so refreshing to deal with someone who doesn't play stupid games with you. I am sooooooo very tired of working with people who don't mean what they say and don't say what they mean.

I also went out on a limb and organized a "girls only" dinner club. No kids and no men!! I assembled a group of about 12 ladies, mostly a lot younger than I. We met for the first time on Monday night and it went very well. We started out with Appies and drinks and plan to move on to theme nights etc. The plan is to meet at my place every 6 to 8 weeks - early start, early finish - so it should work out well. I had been toying with this idea for awhile but had only thought of it in terms of couples and then I had this brain wave to do it with the girls. We all work together and, despite the infighting and pettiness that sometimes surfaces, we really do get along pretty well. There have been some problems of late - all brought about by relationships with men, I might add - so this is my attempt to calm the waters and seek "world peace" in my little corner of the universe. It might backfire - let's hope it does not!