Emmy woke up at 7 and we had a nice day until it was time to brush her teeth and she got cheeky and then a toy broke and then she had a full on meltdown and locked herself in the bathroom until her Mom get here. I was barely holding on to my temper. Once Malcolm and Danika and Gwen arrived she did calm down and ended up even laughing. I truly think it was a panic attack based on the broken toy. Danika and I have messaged about it and we are working out ways to talk her through these moments.
I was tired out after she left! Mom and I watched Thirteen Lives about the soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand. It was directed by Ron Howard and really good. After that we went outside and mom read her book while I cleaned up the deer damage and cleared out one of my flowers beds. The hollyhocks have thousands of seeds. I will have to watch for where they sprout up. My guts were very unhappy with me. I am not used to white bread anymore and ate too much of it yesterday. It started to warm up outside and I was worn out so we came in and watched Outbreak Onboard about the Ruby Princess cruise ship that brought Covid19 to Australia and New Zealand. It was an interesting hour long documentary. Shameful the way it was all handled. Next was dinner and the newest Elvis movie. That one was for mom although I enjoyed it as well and Tom Hanks is really something as Colonel Tom Parker. Tonight I shall sleep deeply and be ready for the week ahead.
I was up early and readied to head to town to assist and oversee the set up at Rotary Park. I was shocked to see that something had gotten in and rampaged through my yard. I suspect it was at least one big Buck but it was a mess out there, I should probably check the scat in the morning. I am shocked that branches off the maple were ripped off and the cherry tree was destroyed. Both hammocks were also damaged.
Once downtown, I was happy to see Jim was set up for sound, people were all happy and I was able to wander down to the first part of the day. I live streamed the reveal of Bud’s Bench. Bud Abbott was one of the founding members of Cranbrook Community Theatre in 1964 and an avid volunteer in the community into his 97th year on the planet, leaving us the following year. The bench is amazing as it has a QR code that takes people to all the volunteer opportunities in Cranbrook.
I then headed to the park and took over the mic until Peter arrived with the coffee and I was happy to see Maureen was available to do the introductions in my absence. I was able to tell my Bud story and them headed for Kimberley.
Bud’s great-great grandchildren
I slipped into the church, grateful to find a seat. The pastor was still sermonizing and that was followed by a beautiful eulogy by Rosie and Mark and then a few people shared. I also got up to share my love of Auntie Ollie. I was ever so grateful to have made it and shared the time with everyone. We had a delicious church lady luncheon and then Danika dropped off Emmy and we all headed to the family home. SO MANY COUSINS! It was really wonderful to hang out with family from age 4 to 90 plus. They are my non-blood family as they are all related to my stepmom, Barb but are closer than blood, possibly as we choose to stay close. There is talk of a reunion next summer and I look forward to it already. We had so many good laughs, that is the legacy Auntie Ollie left behind, so much love over all the generations.
I picked up Emmy, who had gone with Ash to have dinner with the younger boys at Bill and Deannes for dinner and brought her home for a shower before bed. She loves attending Nana’s salon, and lets me brush out her hair and braid it with no complaints. She easily tucked into my bed and fell asleep. Mom and I watched The Con, this one being about an 18 year old who passed himself off as a Dr!
Today was productive in a relaxed way. I had my client from Victoria stop in for a great visit as he is up for a wedding, another client from Kimberley stopped in to discuss his file and I set him up more efficiently and then home to have Mom arrive. She came up for her Aunts memorial tomorrow and will stay with me for a week or so. We just hung out watching 2020 about the Queen, had some dinner and then had popcorn and watched a movie I had recorded. My thumb is super sore today and I can’t tell you how hard it was to do up my bra this morning!! Nice to just relax before the full day tomorrow.
The sad news of the day was the passing of Queen Elizabeth II
This woman has had quite the impact on my life. I attended Queen Elizabeth Elementary school in the neighbourhood of Queensborough in New Westminster, dubbed the Royal City. Her presence was ubiquitous. We sang God Save the Queen at every assembly, studied under her portrait on the wall and understood that she was special. It was only many years later that I truly understood what her service to the world entailed and what it likely cost her being in that position. She was 96 but the sadness is there, the deep loss. I feel for those all over the world who are mourning her, especially the citizens of the UK. It will be interesting to see how King Charles III rises to the position and if the structure of the monarchy will survive.
It was annoying to have people joke and run her down on the day of her death. It is not the time. I am grateful for the memory of her, of shaking her hand as a young child, to have grown up seeing her grace in the face of all things. I am sorry for her grandchildren the most.
In other local news, my friend ML received her birthday card today. It left Cranbrook on April 19th and made it to Salt Spring Island 4.5 months later! I could have walked it there. As i was wrapping up my day, the janitor brought me a parcel that had arrived. It was my inflatable furniture that I ordered off Indiegogo months ago. It was worth the wait as it is high quality, sturdy and comfortable and takes less than 5 minutes to self inflate. Only took a little longer to deflate as well. I love it.
I was very tired but made myself go to my Shield Maidens class, even wore my slippers. Wasn’t long in before I took a stick hard on my left thumb and had to ice it for the rest of class. I know it will be fine tomorrow but I am glad it wasn’t my dominant hand. Joel gifted me with a stick bag as I don’t want them rolling around in my car but I didn’t need the fancy one for sale. It is perfect!
It really is amusing what a difference having a plan forming for my future makes for my mood. The trick is to get working towards the goal but not be rash. I am refraining from taking new clients although they are reaching out weekly now. The best I can offer is training and set up of files. I will get everything tidied up that I can, start working more from home so that I am used to working on my laptop and second screen and make big lists in triage order. The home mode is to get outside things done first and then start at one end and move to the other, sorting, purging, painting and finishing details I have ignored. All of this gives me minor anxiety and tons of hope for adventure and opportunity. I am good to go to other places in the world without being reliant on anyone but also glad I have various friends and family in several areas of England for a connection. I also need to be careful about my recent use of gummies for sleep assistance as cannabis is very illegal still there. That is a risk that I will not take. It’s a shame though.
The hardest decision I made today was to bow out of emcee duty for the Bud’s Bench placement and celebration on Saturday. I am committed to being there early to help set up and do the initial stage manager duties but will leave just after it gets rolling at 11 in the park to head to Auntie Ollie’s Celebration of Life in Kimberley. I was ignoring how much it would mean to be there and Ashlée reminded me last night. Family first. I will not regret missing the gig and I will hear the stories and see the pictures. Being with family and remembering Auntie is more important.
I was so happy to get a what’s app pic from my friends in the UK showing me a sign. Well, they were sharing it as they saw Yoda in the sky today but I see it as a calling. The spot for you, this is.
I got to work and people were friendly and said they heard good things about the weekend. And then as I settled into my office I loudly hear a speaker call asking for coffee orders. It was made very clear they were going to get one for reception and I heard a friend ask if he should come ask me if I wanted one but there was sudden silence and no one did. I mean, I don’t actually need anyone to buy me a coffee. It was just fucking rude. I have asked on more than one occasion if there was something that needed to be fixed and assured no. So I am going to try to let it go, and let their toxicity poison them. It is making me consider giving my notice to a particular client so I will not have a need for an office there at all. It is my ultimate goal, and my contract just agrees to give notice so… sooner than later, I guess. Working from home for the winter wouldn’t be so bad anyway. Not much gets dropped off there anymore since the mere presence of my drop box in the store room seemed to be causing issues. Grumble grumble sigh.
I did get a few things done, including entering the income from the weekend and readying the deposit, paying the few invoices I was given and replying to insurance and payment questions. Tomorrow I have a meeting about a client that I requested be at my office space but it seems I must go to one of their offices. I know the two people I meet with flat rate bill so it would seem unreasonable for me to have to bill for travel time. I will go for a very specific length of time and see how it goes. People with two businesses I would like to support in Kimberley have reached out on a referral from an accounting firm to see if I could be their bookkeeper but I just don’t have the capacity. I am going to see if my friend would like to take them on as they are currently using Sage which she seems very familiar with.
After work I dropped off the chair bag Bill B couldn’t find when he finished his volunteer shift on Saturday night. I met his wife and she is just a huge breath of fresh air. I adore great natured older people, so inspiring.
Dinner was easy to make and tasty but I seriously want to snack the night away. I am going to have to make some low call snacks available like when I first started Noom. I have started seeing myself as slimmer in the mirror but it is the body image issue I have always had. I look relatively the same in the mirror whether skinny or fat. I only recognize my true shape in photos. I saw photos of myself that Murray took and I am way fatter than I think I am. I guess I’d better pare down the diet again and get off this plateau.
Hmmm, I am starting to think that I should transition to home as it will be more like what it would be living abroad.
Sawyer slept well, we got up and had breakfast, I made a coffee and we piled up the pillows against my headboard and watched a sweet movie called Oddball. It is a true story and I do love those. Definitely a family movie for all ages. We played a lot of Wii Fit, and Super Mario Bros before making some food and then watching another movie about dogs, but this one had Golden Retriever puppies and was a little bit lame but the dogs were cute. It was called Golden Winter and I think Sawyer liked it. We had a lot of good talks and got outside a bit as well. He tells some tall tales but also tells me the things he does that he shouldn’t and says I am the best Nana ever. It was nice to have him. Once he left I made some dinner and am planning to change the filters on my water softener, clean the fish bowl and put away some laundry.
Three years ago today was my first full day in the UK. The Hearndens took me to Brighton so I could put my feet in the English Channel . We played on the pier, had the top down on the car and explored lovely shops. I even made it to my first official Dr. Martens store. It truly was the beginning of things changing in my mind, that I am more suited to a vagabond life. Not a hundred percent, I think I need at least a base to store my treasures (Fluevogs) but I want to see more of the planet and if I could manifest Peru for my 50th I think British Isles for my 60th is looking promising. From the greater London area one can go in so many directions reasonably inexpensively and definitely in a short time compared to the need for a couple weeks minimum if one is to go to Europe from Canada on vacation. There is a part of me that wants to drive on the other side of the road, get a Triumph tattoo, and live simply. I was thinking a furnished flat but really, bringing personal items and scouring rummage sales and thrift stores, throwing in a new mattress… feels like taking back my youth and rediscovering my own style, not just the one I have ended up with. The dream continues. Next there shall be lists and I shall make do with what I have and start selling that which I have not used enough. I plan to sell off my whole pool set up as I did a lot of work to maintain it and it has only been used twice. I asked bear if he would be interested in a good deal for it all if they come and take it away. It is a good depth for the number and age of the kids. I am to let him know what I want for it. I have to be careful as I tend to feel empathy and practically give things away. I should check if he has any carpentry skills and maybe trade him for some labour around the property… hmmmm.
I am doing this early as I want to chill and go to bed early. This is the most of my day unless something extraordinary is still to come that I am unaware of.
I feel that I should clarify or create a disclaimer to make it clear that all ‘reviews’/opinions contained within this blog are purely mine. I may know of people who agree but I do not speak for anyone else, ever.
This was the shirt I bought from Tennyson King. I love it.
I didn’t crawl out of bed until noon and as I was having my coffee I texted Rae to see if they all could come for a pool party and bbq. Unfortunately she was working until 7 and suggested I call Roger. He already had plans to take the boys out to the cabin and go tubing. I admit I cried a little bit when I got off the phone. Roger did call back and say he could drop off Sawyer.
Sawyer and I had a perfectly lovely day together. He helped me hang the clothes and then bedding on the line, change out the tent, sweep after I mowed and pick up blown down branches.
I took the cover off the pool and he was in like a fish. He would get out once in a while and lay in the sun to warm up. At one point I came around a corner and he was standing on the pea gravel with a funny look on his face.
Me: hey sawyer, what’s up
S:
Me: Did you put rocks down your pants?
S:
Me: does that feel good?
S: nods
Me: okay, just don’t let any go up your butt, and get them out before you go back in the pool
That’s how this Nana rolls. We had fun in the pool together and then came in for showers where 4 rocks fell out of his trunks.
We watched The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl as we ate popcorn and cuddled on the couch. I am having sharp pains in my shoulder and can’t understand why. Sawyer offered to massage it and for 7, he has strong hands.
The only thing I worry about is that he said he can’t read and that they are not teaching him to at school. I suspect that can’t be true. He did teach me that tomatoes used to be called poison apples because people got sick from lead poisoning. He learned it from his Dad. I asked Google and it is true, the rich ate them off pewter plates and got very sick making people think it was the tomatoes that were the problem. He clearly retains interesting things and relays them correctly.
He is a little love bug and I am enjoying all the hugs and cuddles. I also like that he loves good healthy snacks and playing Little Big Planet with me.
I was up and met my guest this morning. She was very nice and appreciated her stay. Once I had confirmed the income from the day before and readied the float and myself, I headed to pick up ice at Arbys and made my way to the park. It turned out to be a very hot and heavy day. The crowds were smaller than usual even with the Saturday market but there were many families and a generally great atmosphere.
The first performer of the day was Matt Blais. I really enjoyed him as I love singer songwriters. The guys were whining that he should have talked less and sung more but I do disagree. He was a fabulous kickoff to the day.
Next was Brass Roots, a collection of 12 Professional Musicians from the East Kootenays conducted by Evan Bueckert. They drew their own following and were well received. Several of them, including Randy Marchi, took the time to tell me how well I was doing as emcee and they really appreciated my enthusiasm. It was a nice thread running through the day as I was told I have a real presence doing this. I’m glad. I hope I get more opportunity.
The next performer was one I was really looking forward to, Tennyson King. He is a Chinese Canadian bass player who had a keyboard player with him. I was not disappointed. He had a voice like butter and although I didn’t always love the heaviness of the bass beating against my chest on two songs, overall I was impressed and even bought one of his tank tops with his picture on it.
Next was Jon Burden and the Bleedin’ Hearts. They were a whole lot of fun and just as they were nearing the end of their set I saw the bass player trying to get my attention. His little girl was with him and he was motioning to see if I could take her to the loo. She was very sweet and I was happy to help the poor child. I shall always remember little Hazel and her sweet spirit.
Next up was Split/Shift. Although they got people up dancing, I was not entirely impressed with their attitudes and they brought beer out of the beer garden. One of the guys was highly unimpressed that he couldn’t drink his draft on stage… argh.
Black Diamond played next and it was a bit of a cluster as they insisted on using their own drum kit, had hired a film crew and well, just took up too much time so they started late and we are not too sure they were pleased that their time had to end as scheduled. We only allow 30 minutes between acts to allow for change overs and sound checks. It would have been more professional to stick with the contract we had and that is all I can say about that.
The final act of the night was Punch Drunk Cabaret. I loved them and had been looking forward to this group. They came down from Edmonton today and were road worn but gave us an amazing performance with a whole lot of style. I highly suggest checking them out online. They were also just really nice guys and I hope to see them again.
In between all the acts I talked up all things fest and sponsors, urged people to eat from our food trucks, introduced the demos from Rocky Mountain Martial Arts again and loved seeing people come donate to Josh and take pictures with him. I hope he does well in Wales next month.
I was glad I wore my favourite music patterned dress and wedge sandals. I felt pretty and confident and had my performer tank filled. As the ‘face’ I also got a lot of positive feedback for all we had accomplished there, a few complaints, found items and the occasional report of trouble. I couldn’t believe I was seeing three women walking into the middle of it all drinking Bud Lights. I do think they’d already had a few too many by that point. It was great to work with my fellow Board members and out volunteers to make something like this come together. Although the crowd was smaller for most of the day, as evening approached more and more came and I figure there were 5-600 at the peak of it. I was intrigued by how many older people also stayed to the end.
The music ended around 10:30 much to the chagrine of those still there and by that point I had changed into my flats, shorts and a tee to help with tear down. Jesse came to help and he was a great assist on the stage while I helped with other things. I had to wait so he and I could deliver the tents back to the GroundFloor. I was glad we had those sturdy tents as the wind had kicked up fierce at one point causing a bit of chaos for the other tents set up round the park. By the time we dropped off and I got home it was 12:30, a very full day indeed. It was worth it and I discovered artists I want to hear more of but it will be nice to rest tomorrow and NOT talk.
Up and off to the office to run a payroll and take care of a couple clients before it was off to set up the site for Peak Music Fest 2022 at Rotary Park. My neighbour Jessie met me at the office with his truck to pick up the two fabulous tents leant to us by Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies.
We all spent from 11:30 on setting up the whole site. We usually only use the front half of the park for Summer Sounds but we had everything set up beautifully using the whole area this time. At the back in the shade was our food truck vendor site with a bunch of picnic tables, one large area was used for Cranbrook Arts Council who had wood stacking chairs that had our logo on the backs and then people could donate and paint a chair to take home. Kya Dubois who designed our poster this year had a booth where she demonstrated her talent continuing to work on a painting she has been doing at our events all summer. The beer garden was in a new location allowing more people to see everything and opened up the shade under the big trees for more viewers who bring their lawn chairs and blankets. Key City Theatre was there to share their upcoming season as well.
Once I was done helping with set up I went to have something to eat and then stopped at home to change my shirt and get ready to Emcee the event.
The opening act was the Ka Kin Nana Drum Group, consisting of young cousins from our local First Nation, they were a fabulous start to the Festival. They taught me how to say their name correctly and put on a lovely show of the traditional drumming of their ancestors. It was very well received.
Next up was Doggone Brothers, a duo of Michael Hepher and Clayton Parsons. They were so much fun, guitar and banjo, old school uplifting music from these young men.
Alderbash was next, they got people out of their seats and moving to the music. It was so much fun to see all the young families out and so many kids dancing.
Garuda was very unusual, with their Indian style Sitar music and curious instruments. It was interesting to hear Ferdy playing something unique like this.
The night was wrapped up by Leather Apron Revival who brought their rock and roll to the stage leaving everyone feeling good.
In between acts, Rocky Mountain Martial Arts put on demonstrations that drew the crowd in. Josh Sutherland is a 16 year old from Cranbrook heading to the world kickboxing competition in Wales next month and the crowd loved him. I was so proud of Guru Joel and the crew and am so happy they agreed when I suggested they do this.
Another special booth was Ankors who are a local group specializing in harm reduction. They offered drug testing and Naloxone training. So great to have a safety program and to have them there to help take away the stigma.
I have to say, I had a fabulous day. I am exhausted and couldn’t seem to drink enough water. The smoke really rolled in and my lips were burning even though I drank Litres of water. The feedback was overwhelming. Seems I do pretty great as an emcee and being that person, I also had tourists and locals alike come up to tell be how much they were enjoying it all. I am proud of our little group of volunteers for putting this on.
At the end of the night, my friend Bear came with his friend Mike to be our paid overnight security. I was stunned to hear about the changes in Bear’s life. He is in his early 30s, has 5 kids with another one due any time and in July with no notice, his older brother died and he has custody of his 5 kids as well! That is a lot to take on. Apparently his bother had cancer but didn’t tell the family. I can’t even imagine going from 5 kids to 11 in a matter of months. He is making a plan to buy a property out of town and build to fit them all. It makes me glad I thought to reach out to offer him the job for tonight. If anyone needed a Go Fund Me, it’s him.
I have an Airbnb guest tonight and I just left the door open and the lights on, texted her to make herself at home and let her be. She has kept me in the loop and seems to have been fine. I missed seeing her tonight and am not sure I will in the morning which will be a first for me. She seems to have been comfortable with it all though.
The grandsons all showed up showed up down there tonight as well. Will was first and took great pride in being the Water Boy, emptying two full bottles as he went around with the cart. Sawyer and Lukas also showed up and then Gene, with many hugs to share. Later Gene and Lukas brought down their newest home stay student who arrived tonight as well. It was so great to see them all.
Must sleep, tomorrow is going to be very full! 7 acts!!!
It is getting late and I should get some sleep. Today was a lot, jumping from one thing to another with all the things work, volunteer and family in the next couple weeks. I confess to escaping in my brain several times wandering down the rabbit hole of should I sell and vagabond or sort and store only. Once I have made it to the middle of the month I will begin to simplify and make lists. Pros and cons of all the options are in order. There was much to do to take tomorrow off for Peak Fest. I am glad it is a long weekend as I will need a couple days after this. I was thrilled to have friends drop off a perfect Solomon Jacket for me to take to Luis. The Philips are so giving and I appreciate them. It fit well and Luis said it was warm. It is a cross country ski jacket so light weight and warm, perfect for Fall and Winter. It was very hot again today. It will be a challenge for the festival but at least it cools down at night. When I got home, I made up the tent trailer as Cindy is arriving some time tomorrow. Then I made a sticky rice bowl that was good but not the healthiest for me. I do love rice, but not brown rice. For the second time in as many weeks we got a hug in the paper for putting on the music in a park. That is lovely feedback. Off to bed now as I have to run payroll again in the morning and then, On With the Show!
triumphgal 