Christmas Cards

Do you send Christmas cards?

I had stopped for a really long time.  Before that, I was the person who had the letter written in October and had all my cards addressed and stamped to go out in the post December first. We would receive so many cards that we had a specially designed wreath just to display them all. Then over the years, we stopped getting a lot of cards in the mail and friends and family chose to send virtual greetings or not to send at all, so it seemed like there was less meaning in putting in all the time and effort and expense into sending cards.  

One year, I quipped, "sure would be nice to get something in the mail other than flyers and bills." and I even mentioned to Hubby how much joy it brought me to receive something in the mail that was personal and didn't require payment.  He simply responded with, "why don't you give that feeling to other people?"

He was right.  

So, I set out to reform my card list.  That was a chore.  Some people on the list had passed, lot's moved and some had grown up to have families of their own.  Just making sure I wasn't leaving anyone out or spelling names wrong was another adventure.  I had once had a really cool adobe type list where I could add the date and whether I'd sent or received cards.  Surely there must be something similar for this new tech world.  I mean, there must be an app for that right.  Well sort of.  I found an app for my iPad simply called The Christmas Card List.  For me this works perfectly.

I remember being a kid and sitting with my mom at the dining room table as she addressed cards.  There seemed to be an art to choosing just the right design and poem to send to each person. It took what seemed like hours just choosing and writing.  When I was in a store this past weekend, there was a couple picking out Christmas cards.  I overheard their conversation about who they needed cards for as they looked and selected.  It was very sweet.  I tend to buy a box of cards that are all one design so then everyone gets the same card.  That's kind of like wrapping all your gifts with the same paper.

I've done that too.

Sunday night after all the hustle and bustle of the shopping day I sat down with the box of cards and my card list app.  I had bought more than enough Santa stamps and I even had some American stamps left.  Sometimes the thought of the task takes more time than the actual task, but I felt good at the end of it.  It's a part of the season we seem to have forgotten about and it's important to continue to let our loved ones know we are thinking about them. Addressing the cards helped me reminisce about friends and family over this last year, which has been a hard one for not only me, but many others.  Maybe a joyous Christmas card will be winging its way into your happy mailbox soon! 

Any Way The Wind Blows

There hasn't been much going on in the CFL lately.  Pieces of news have been few and far between.  They've resorted to articles about players pets and who can be named best dressed CFLer.

Meanwhile...

* crickets *

...a dog barks in the distance...

🎵 a birdie chirps...

With this lull in activity every off season I find that my own rabid fan status wains and I wonder over to other activities and my influences change.  Some people turn to other sports - Saskatoon Rush, Nascar and hockey of course. Many of you haven't known me a long time but March seems to be a time for when I explore.  There was the Dean Martin infatuation of 20-something.  We won't discuss the whole vampire thing. Last year I researched my family tree and actually found a cousin living in Montreal who I didn't know existed. This off season was going along like normal and then in February I watched (finally) Bohemian Rhapsody and it seemed like everything changed for me.

I've made no secret that while I write this blog and am administrator for ABC Rider Fans, that in "real life" I am a piano teacher.  While I've always maintained that music is what I do - it's not my life...it's an illusion because it really does consume my life.   Where I am able to strike a balance is that I only teach after school hours so while you are likely gearing up to go home after your work day, I am gearing up to start teaching.  'Tis the life of a musician I suppose.  What these hours allow me to do is follow football during those off times except when I need to do research or find music or actually come up with a plan or strategy for my lessons, which by the way is unpaid time but I'm dedicated and I do it happily.

So there I was coasting through CFL off season and coping with some other health things that always seem to crop up at this time of year but you know everyone has "stuff" to deal with.  One of my students...my best student if I'm honest (and fav but don't tell the others!), is playing Bohemian Rhapsody for the SAM music festival in May which runs close if not at the same time as Roughrider training camp.  We had decided on this selection before Christmas so it had nothing to do with my off season doldrums but everything to do with the reason one quiet Saturday night I decided I should watch the movie.  I called it Professional Development. I actually streamed A Star is Born the same night but for whatever reason (I'm heartless?) it had zero effect on me, yet the story of Freddie Mercury made me feel a whole myriad of things that I can't even begin to sort out or explain in any form.

I was 18 when Mercury died from Aids in 1991 and when I think back to "me" back then I often refer to myself as a stupid teenager.  Maybe I was just oblivious? I remember the news but life went on.  I didn't realize until now how excruciating that event actually was.  Is it possible to mourn someone nearly 30 years later?  Well just like I seem to be stuck in this musical cycle, many football fans are stuck as well.  Bring back Dressler is one of the newest cries.  When will Rider fans move on?  Are we still in 2009 mourning too?  The Roughriders need to continue to move on to the future instead of looking back.  Unlike, Queen's front man, most football players are replaceable even if we've loved their character and personality.  To everything there is a season.  The show must go on.

With most things in my life even when I don't think music plays a roll it's there in the background noise.  If you're still with me here and wondering what any of this has to do with the football blog you've grown used to reading well it made me realize how much I've grown in all ways and continue to evolve and how fortunate...blessed really, I am to have a slightly successful page which is somewhat accepted by a mostly male dominated sort of hobby and industry.  No one ever told me I couldn't and I always knew I could do things, mostly artistic types of things with extreme ease.  I can do anything! I've often said. So while Roughrider football is an obsession in my life, music is a thread weaving itself deeply through it.  A team wins a championship - We Are The Champions.  A Calgary Stampeders game comes to an end - Sweet Caroline.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders score a touchdown - Green is the Colour.

"Like" and "Follow" ABC Football on Facebook for my latest musings.

When the city of Regina hosted the 2013 Grey Cup they knocked the halftime show out of the park by having flying snowmobiles and a rocking Hedley (at the time) group.  Randy Ambrosie said that the Riders pitch was so good they could have landed the Olympics so naturally that makes me question what kind of half time show was pitched.  Does the halftime show need to be Canadian or should they reach farther into the stars to bring the most epic halftime ever?  Can both be done?  What's your opinion on this and who would you like to see as the 2020 halftime show? 

This time of year - March, the cold snap finally comes to an end and we are looking for signs of life.  While it'll be a while until we see daffodils here in Saskatchewan, birds are returning and the snow is sinking as the sun grows higher and higher in the sky.  Our beloved CFL teams will be re-awakening after all the moves in free agency.  The CFLPA negotiations will get settled.  Soon it'll be draft day. Some people are already looking forward and talking about training camp in Saskatoon.  Our passion is renewed.  The season is renewed.  We feel anew.

I'm ready for the next chapter.

Go Riders.

Groovy Dog

After seeing an ad in the newspaper on January 7th, 2000 we drove to Weldon, SK and adopted Brandy from a family whose last name was Haldane. She was the last puppy.  She was born November 11th, 1999.  

A dog for the millennium.  She was my Christmas present that year.  She's been a gift every year since.

Through our 14 years together she has taught me some valuable lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Greet every loved one as if you haven't seen them in years.  We should be excited for those in our lives and we never know how long they are really there.  Everything can change quickly.  Never let a day go by without telling a loved one you care.

Nothing counter height is yours.  If you leave your drink unattended or drop food they belong to the dog.  In fact, nothing on the counter may be yours either.  That is especially true if it is slightly dangling over the edge of the counter or too close to the edge.  Leaving a steak on an open barbecue is definitely an invitation.  Always push the chair in to the table when you leave or you might be missing something off your plate when you return.  Also, none of the blankets in the house are yours.  They all belong to the dog who will promptly curl up on them and never give them up.

Embrace the change of the seasons.  Stop and smell the flowers.  Eat peas straight from the garden.  Stomp in the autumn leaves.  Plop your feet in the puddles.  Feel the mud between your toes.  Dash out the door on the first snow fall and frolic in the flakes.

Take time for yourself.  Indulge in a spa day.  Have your hair done.  Get a message.  Have a pedicure.  Buy some new clothes.  You will feel like a new dog.....er, person after.

Breakable Christmas ornaments have no business hanging on a tree.  This is especially true if they are hanging down low because they will fall onto the floor and crash into a gazillion pieces.  Some breakable ornaments may be hung at a higher level however, the tree may fall over at any time smashing them to smithereens.

Go for car rides.  Travel.  See the world.  Drive with the windows down and let your hair blow in the wind.  Dip your toes in the water.  Find a new spot and make it yours.  Enjoy the sights.  Smell the air.  Be inquisitive.  Escape.

Protect your turf.  Keep an eye out on your neighbourhood.  Keep watch.  Make sure no one is sneaking around or messing with your stuff.  Patrol your yard and make sure everything is as it should be.

Remember when it's garbage day.  Always empty the garbage.  Inevitably a dog will Houdini itself into the garbage under the sink and spread it through the house if you don't take care of the garbage in your life.  This may promote the installation of child proof locks on said kitchen cabinet but a dog is always aware and one must ensure the door is always firmly closed.

Accidents happen.  Sometimes you poop on the floor but there's no point being upset.  Yes it's embarrassing but don't dwell on it.  Clean up your mess and move on.  No one else thinks about it anymore so why should you.  Everyone makes mistakes.

Be loyal and love deeply.

Know when it's time to go.

My little Brandy~puppy the Super Dog was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma on December 27th, 2013 and after a short rebound she went to Puppy Dog Heaven on January 27th, 2014, where she was greeted by her friends, Gonzo, Gunther, Lucy, & her mortal enemy Squeak the Cat.  She was The Mom's angel and The Dad's fur seal and will be greatly missed but forever in our hearts.

Mommy & Daddy love you baby puppy.  More than you will ever know.

The Time I Sold My Soul To Retail

In what feels like another lifetime, I was a sales associate in a woman's clothing store.

Hubby and I had just built our dream house and I needed to supplement my income to contribute more to the mortgage.  Normally, I would take the summer off from teaching, but that summer I got myself a part time job at Cotton Ginny.  I shopped in that store.  I loved the clothes.  The people I worked with felt like family.

It was good that I had that part time job because when Hubby was transferred to Saskatoon my job at Cotton Ginny was able to transfer too.  I needed a break from teaching piano.  No one understood how burnt out I was but no one talked me out of working retail.  It was an easy job for me.  It was like shopping except I didn't have to buy the clothes!  I worked hard.  I was loyal.  I was told by the District Manager that what I did for the store did not go unnoticed.

My position was considered part time even though I had been getting full time hours.  What I didn't know when I transferred was that I had taken someone's spot who was on maternity leave.  This person, I called "Friend" and we worked together, but as I later found out, she held a grudge against me for taking over her position.  I had no idea all this was going on.  The manager.....it was a revolving door.....liked to play games.  She liked to try to make me look bad and she liked to do things behind people's back.  In my time working for the company there were 3 managers at this store and this one was the final manager.  I can't imagine she was a likeable person in other areas of her life.

That summer, the company began reorganizing.  We were told that they were creating an Assistant Manager position in our store and everyone else would be part time and given no more than 20 hours a week.  Imagine that!  After having full time hours.  What a kick in the butt.  What happened was I was pitted against Friend.  There were many things I did that were considered my responsibility that she didn't know how to do.  It was poor timing, but due to a family engagement I went on a weeks holiday.  When I returned, Friend suddenly knew all of these things.  Not only that, but she flaunted her new knowledge in my face.

We interviewed for the job.  Friend got the job.

Manager told me that she had wanted me to get the job but staff found me condescending.  Right.

So I gave notice and got an Assistant Manager job in the store across the mall hallway.  I worked there a year.  Being an Assistant Manager was a good and yet horrible experience.

I saw the Music School Director in the mall one time.  She said to me, "You're working here?  Come see me."  Well, that wasn't the immediate sign that made me go see her, but it wasn't long and I did.  It was obviously meant to be because a full time piano teacher had just up and quit.  I was immediately hired and given a full schedule of students.

I worked retail for 5 years in total.

I used to miss the comradery.  I liked chatting with shoppers.  I loved having a new wardrobe all the time.  I gained much more though.  I gained weekends and holidays off.  I gained a shorter work day with more money.  Most importantly I got my life back.

Cotton Ginny closed.  The company went bankrupt.  I saw Manager and Friend move from store to store within the mall.  Staff seemed to do that in search of a better job.

This whole experience happened about 8 or more years ago.  Today, I went shopping at that very mall.  Some of the stores have changed.  I was shocked to look in the Dawgs shoe store to see Friend hustling her butt in her retail way.  At another time, I might have stopped and said hello.  Not anymore.  I've moved on.  It makes me sad because I wish she could have as well.  If she was so determined she should have tried for something better.  I can't imagine....even fathom....still working retail and being the person I am now.  I know that teaching piano is what I was truly meant to do with my life.

My manager in my home town said to me, "You are better than this Sandra."  I didn't understand what she meant.

But now I see it.....

.....and she was right.

3.14

A Cow Pi.  Would that be mince meat?

Today is Pi Day.  A day to think about Pi = 3.14.

I would rather think about PIE.  It's round, golden, crispy, flakey and filled with a mixture of your hearts desire.  Homer would say "Mmmmmmmmm pppppiiiiiiieeeeeee."  My favourite flavours include cherry, pecan, peach, rhubarb, huckleberry, chicken pot, shepherds and pizza. 

Pizza pie.  *giggles*

That's amore.

When I was a little girl, my Mom and I would bake.  I'd watch from my perch on a stool on the other side of the counter while my Mom rolled out pie dough into perfect rounds.  I remember lot's of apple pie in my childhood even though Dad's favourite is banana cream pie.  There was always scraps of pie dough left over.  Mom would moosh them together and roll them into rounds for me.  My pie.  Then we'd spoon jam.....usually strawberry jam.....over the dough.  It would get folded over and pinched and would get baked in the oven as well.  That was great childhood pie.

I don't care for ice cream with my pie.  It melts.  The pie gets soggy.  You can never get all the ice cream out of the dish.  Who wants soggy watery pie?  Not me.  However, if Cool Whip is on hand then pile it on!  I prefer my Cool Whip straight out of container.....not stirred.  Never stirred.  Just straight up.

My preferred method of eating dessert such as pie is with a spoon.  This has become controversial at family gatherings.  Oh, Sandra wants a spoon.  Ugh!  Everyone gets a fork and then I have to pipe up and inquire, "May I please have a spoon."  The nerve!  I think it runs in the family though because my brother likes to eat with plastic forks.  Anyhow, my point is also that if you have no choice how the pie is served and does indeed have ice cream on the top.....how the heck to you eat it with a fork?

Spoon. 

A spoon is indeed the correct eating utensil.

One time I took my nephew out for a treat.  We went to Tim Hortons.  Nephew was maybe 11 at the time.  Those were the days when Tim Hortons had pies and cakes.  Nephew ordered pie.  He told me about an uncle from the other side of the family who had visited.  The uncle was a great cook and by the sounds of it a pie connoisseur.  Nephew rattled off all sorts of concoctions and flavour combinations that his uncle had made.  He ended the story by saying, "Yup, he makes good pie."

I never noticed if Nephew used a spoon or a fork.

10 Thought Tuesday ~ Christmas Past ~

Dad with his Stocking - Xmas 2010

1.  One of my most favourite Christmas memories is from when I was a little girl.  I would go stay at Grandma & Grandpa Dean's house while Mom and Dad "kicked up their heals."  One time I sat with Grandpa and we looked at the Sears Wish Book and the Consumers Distributing book and he had me write a letter to Santa Claus and I had to list the page numbers and item numbers of the things I wanted.  That Christmas they gave me a Sandy doll and all the furniture for a house.  It was pretty awesome.

2.  My Dad's work, the Prince Albert Daily Herald, held an annual Christmas party.  It was on a Sunday afternoon and we'd gather in the Bridge Room of the newspaper.  Santa would come!!!  Dad would say "I think I hear something."  Then Santa would come down the hallway all Ho-ho-ho-ing and all us kids would get exciting.  He'd sit in a big chair and hand out gifts and treat bags and sometimes he'd come around and talk to everyone.  After we'd have cheese burgers, pop and ice cream in those little dixie cups with the wooden spoons which to this day remind me of the reed on my clarinet.

3.  I was pretty lucky.  All Christmases at my parents house were warm and special and full of magic.  One year it was full of an upset stomach too.  My sister in law makes these peanut butter corn flake bar things....they are delish.  She made me my own personal bag of them and brought them over Christmas morning.  I ate the whole bag.  *hugs stomach in remembrance*

4.  I'd always know when Dad was done his Christmas shopping.  When he'd arrive home from work he'd come into the house and directly into the basement where he'd stash his presents.  I don't know where the hiding place was but he'd stash them well.  If they were for my mom he'd usually ask me to wrap them.

5.  One year when I was older my Dad wanted to get my Mom a "Luda" coat.  They were a fashionable item....very light weight and extremely warm and came with a hefty price tag.  So to find out if she really wanted one he had the store phone and pretend that Dad wanted one.  Well come Christmas morning there were two identical boxes under the tree.  They had given each other new coats! It was funny because I was the only one who knew what each other was getting and that all this speculation and secret shopping was going on!

6.  Christmas morning was the only time Santa would put candy canes on the Christmas tree.  Mom and Dad would usually be up early to "stuff the bird" and get the turkey in the oven.  Santa always filled my stocking and many times it was over flowing.  One time Santa forgot to put something in it.....and Dad found it later and gave it to me.  It was a CD....back when CD's were really expensive.

7.  My first Christmas as a married woman was exactly one week after our wedding.  We went to my In Laws for what I'd call an old fashioned Christmas.  We gathered at Uncle Rod's house for Christmas Eve which was wonderful in itself.  But during the time we were there a massive amount of snow fell blocking the roads.  Grandpa Johnson road the tractor down the road while the cars created a caravan back to the house we were staying in for the holidays.  I remember Hubby's aunt being very excited and recalling how it reminded her of being a little girl and riding in the sleigh with the horses ringing their bells leaping through the snow.

8.  In the fall of 1999 Uncle Rod had a stroke.  He was very very lucky to have survived.  He made what I'd call a miraculous recovery but wasn't expected for Christmas Eve dinner.  This was a year that the whole entire family was home.  The table had 22 place settings that year.  Then a car pulled up and down the walk in the snow flurries came Auntie Wendy and Uncle Rod.  It was such a blessing to have them come that year.  It still brings tears to my eyes.

9.  A Christmas Eve ritual at my parents was to go visit my Grandma Mathers.....my Dad's mom, early in the evening.  Grandma 'Mokey, as us kids called her because of her dog Smokey, but none of us could say it, was a fun place to visit.  There seemed to be an unlimited supply of bottled pop in the basement.  There'd be an unfinished puzzle on the table along with a half read romance novel.  Going to Grandma's house was something my Dad and I always did together.

10.  Two Christmasas ago, I surprised my parents, or rather, Mr. Claus surprised them.  He left two stockings addressed to Henry and Darlene.  When I met my Dad in the kitchen that morning he had tears in his eyes as he said, "You shouldn't have done that."  To which I replied, "I didn't do anything, Santa did."  Then he said, "No one has ever done that for us before."  It was such a happy Christmas and it was so much fun to watch them go through their stockings.

A Man & His Dog - Christmas in Norquay 2011

F O R T Y

It's only a number.

Forty is the new twenty.

You're only as old as you feel.

Except lately I've been feeling like I'm falling apart.  I have the hypothyroidism to deal with.  I swore I wasn't going to go into my forties weighing as much as I do, but thanks to this little diagnosis my wishes and efforts just didn't work out the way I wanted.  I tweaked something in my back a month ago and now the pain comes and goes.  I have tendinitis which gets aggravated from random work...anything from housework to gardening.  Oh yeah, and then there's the sun allergy which prevents me from enjoying the outdoors.  I worry about everything.  I worry that worrying about things draws things to me.  And now I have convinced myself I have reached the age to which "breast health" is a bigger issue.

I cried on Hubby's shoulder tonight.  I sobbed and even then I couldn't let everything go.  He reminded me that there are plenty of people in worse situations than me.  I know that's true.  

I think being sick this week just messed with my head.  I was lonely and sick.

*shrugs*

This is not how I wanted to remember turning 40.

Do you remember two years ago?  I celebrated my birthday in the Minor Emergency Clinic.  I had an allergic reaction to something unknown and was covered in hives.

Good times.

LOL

A memorable birthday from my childhood is my 10th birthday.  I was able to sign out a ukulele from our school music class for the weekend.  This was terribly exciting to me.  It was also one of the last times I remember both Grandma and Grandpa Dean being there for my birthday.  They gave me a 10 speed orange bicycle.....you know, the kind with the curvy handle bars.

Last Saturday, my In Law's hosted a family barbecue.  We had hamburgers, coleslaw, cucumber salad, tomato salad and baked beans.  We sat in the yard in lawn chairs while different people ribbed me about turning forty.  When the weather cooled off we went inside.  There was a chocolate layer cake and a chorus of Happy Birthday.  I told them I was glad they didn't put candles on the cake because it would burn the house down!  Everyone laughed.  I received a gift of a fuzzy white blanket and a new set of drinking glasses which we desperately needed but had already bought for ourselves.  It was fun.  I felt appreciated by people who don't usually show those types of emotions.

Hubby tells me that my present might arrive late.  All I know is that it's arriving from Amazon.  We have reservations at an Italian restaurant for Saturday 5pm.  Il Salici boasts authentic Italian cuisine.  

I have it on good authority that they have cannoli!!!  Birthday Cannoli.  Happy Birthday to me!

Summer Nights

I was sitting on the newly arranged love seat sipping my morning coffee staring out the picture window at the pouring rain.  The wind is gusting to 80 kms and Brandy can't go outside without becoming a wet soggy dog.  Even though today will only hit a high of 17*C, it made me remember.....

I was about 10 or 11, maybe even 12, and it was a hot hot evening in my parents house.  They didn't have air conditioning then and wouldn't until I was closer to 15.  It was the kind of sticky humid heat that made you uncomfortable to be inside and outside.  Mom and Dad had some kind of fan that often sat in the doorway of the front door.  You had to put water in it.  I don't know if it worked but I know that summer it got a good work out.

We had been somewhere, I don't recall where.  Maybe at my grandparents or just out for a drive as we often did that when I was a kid.....just to find relief sometimes.  It was about 11pm.  My parents had opened all the windows in the house and were sitting out on the front step because it had finally cooled down outside or at least it was cooler than being inside.

Magnum PI was on the TV.

.....and I was torn.  I wanted to watch TV but it was hot.  From inside the living room I could hear the murmur of my parents conversation  on the front step.  They encouraged me to go outside and I did go in and out a few times.  Mom thought Tom Selleck looked pretty good with that mustache and I always secretly thought maybe that's why Dad had a 'stache too.

On a night like that we sure would have appreciated rain like we're getting today.

It was also on a hot evening like that I'd see my grandparents car pull up outside.  They drove a '77 Grand Prix which would later become mine on my 16th birthday.  We'd all pile into the luxury sports car and head to Dairy Queen.  Mom, Grandma D and I would wait in the car.  I'd always get a hot fudge sundae while Grandma would get strawberry.   Thinking about it now and I can almost smell that new-car-grandparent smell.

My own parents are older now than my grandparents were then.

Such great memories from a rainy late summer day.

Attack of the Pod Person

It began innocently enough on a December afternoon as I sat perusing a reward point website which was in conjunction with the diet my sister in law coached me for and which I had used in my ongoing weigh loss battle. I had accumulated many points. I was very excited to use some of them to claim a bracelet from Eclipse. It was a replica of the one given to Bella in the movie with a brown wolf dangling from one end and a “diamond” heart pendant from the other. I really wanted to use up all my points because I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to get the products from across the border. I happened to click onto the electronics tab next. Appearing before me was a selection of iPod Shuffle's in various colours of the rainbow. I chose green. When faced with a decision of colour, green was always the answer. 

 

♫ Green is the colour.....Football is the game.... ♪

When it arrived I was forced into installing all the necessary Apple programing. All I intended was to use it for music and maybe hook it up in the car for long trips. But on further investigations into iTunes.....I found out I could also use it for Podcasts and Audio Books. With all this investigating I became fluent in the “i” language. iRock.

I recalled as a kid listening to old style mystery radio shows late at night and often they'd put me to sleep. So I did a search in iTunes for these types of radio programs and to my delight I found out many of them were free to subscribe. Since it was just before Christmas I looked for Christmas programming and happened upon a selection of Abbot & Costello doing some Christmas shopping as well as Red Skeleton and the Martin & Lewis Show. It was only 3 shows but I downloaded them to my green pod and whisked them off with me to my parents for the Christmas holidays where on the Eve of the Chubby Dude arriving we hooked up the Pod to a “ghetto blaster” and listened and laughed to these relic radio shows. It was memorable.

Once Christmas was over I still wanted to enjoy these programs and decided I really enjoyed the Martin & Lewis programs the best. I found someone on iTunes who had made podcasts on a regular basis and quickly subscribed. I went back to the very beginning.....waaaay back to 1949.....a time warp. The comedy was clean and truly funny and I found myself often chuckling in the darkness waiting to fall asleep. Often Dean Martin's voice would swoon me to sleep.

♫ I'm at heaven's door.....Innamorata ♪

Honestly the only memories I had were of Dean Martin. I really knew nothing of his partnership with Jerry Lewis. I remember seeing some of the Dean Martin roasts on TV and had vague memories of The Dean Martin Show from my childhood and always thought he was a boozer. I am not one to leave a stone unturned and after Googling found out a great deal about them. I began watching clips on Youtube from the Colgate Comedy Hour and even ordered some episodes from Amazon. One DVD included a movie At War with the Army. This movie opened up a whole new era to appreciate and enjoy.

I've really found that I was craving this type of entertainment in my life. I find there is very little on TV to watch and music these days are somewhat of a disappointment to me. Plus, I am always looking for a new way to express music in my teaching. I may not teach this specific style of music but it really does impact us today. That's what I love most.....is finding something from another time and space and applying the concept to what we do today. Did you know that Elvis heard a Dean Martin song and wanted to record it? Then that song became his 2^nd big hit? It's true. Here's another thing I discovered. I am not the only person yearning for this type of programing.

Why have I told you this big long story?  I watched all of the movies featuring the duo of Dean and Jerry . I also wanted to tell everyone how one little decision changed my life over the last three months. Had I never clicked on that link on the reward page and ordered that little green Pod you would have never had to endure all my crazy ramblings over these weeks and months. At the same time, my eyes have been opened along with my heart to a time and place that only half exists on audio and film even though the impact is woven intricately into the tapestry of Hollywood and television. It leaves me wondering if what we see and hear today could also stand the test of the passing of 60 years.

He Danced Into My Life

When I say Hubby danced into my life, most people laugh, but its not entirely meant as a joke. It is the truth. The night was meant to be a girls night out. Myself, my friend Barb who was visiting from Edmonton and another close friend, Jane, who was freshly broken up were going out to just have some fun. It is an important fact that I was only 18 at the time and the legal drinking age was 19. Its also important that the place we were going was known for letting in underage people.....yet I wouldn't really know about that until years later. I had borrowed Barb's old driver's license in case I was i.d.'d. In those days they didn't require pictures. If they had, Hubby and I probably would never had met.

 

There was a live band playing that night. The name escapes me now but they were pretty good from what I remember. We sat and had drinks. It wasn't too long before a guy came over to the table. He had the bluest eyes I've ever seen and I was mesmerized. I had no idea he was talking to me. This was not Hubby. Barb grabbed his arm and dragged him off to the dance floor. I shrugged and went back to my drink. Pretty soon another guy was at our table and he was talking to me and I did accept to dance with him. This was Hubby. His dancing style was 'unique' but it didn't matter because the night was all about having a good time. What I distinctly remember about him, besides the dancing, was that when a dance was over he'd put his hand on my back to urge me back to our seats. It sent shock waves through me every time.

The evening ended with me driving all my friends home. The 'guys' didn't have a ride so of course I offered. We discovered they all boarded at the Bible College and were sneaking back in after curfew. We all exchanged numbers which Barb got all confused.....she wasn't good with names and we parted ways.

That was that.

It was a few weeks later and long after Barb had gone home that Jane and I were driving around one night. There wasn't a whole lot to do. We were driving down a particular street when Jane said 'Isn't that the guy from the bar?' And when I looked in my rear view mirror.....it most certainly was. He was walking very fast. I made a U-turn and headed toward the park where Future Hubby was taking a short cut.

If you ask him he will tell you I just appeared before him.

I actually pretty much chased him through the park on foot and cut him off at the pass.

I asked him where he was going and he said the 7-11 to return a movie and grab a coffee. So I offered a ride. Jane and I waited in the car until he returned. When he came out he did not have a coffee. That always struck me as funny. When I returned him to the College we again exchanged numbers and may have made plans to see each other again. That part is foggy, but I do know that we began seeing each other casually for coffee or movies until we really were dating.

Our very first official date was supper at an Italian restaurant followed by the movie Dances with Wolves.

I had no idea what my feelings really were for him. One night Jane said to me “are you kidding? You should see the way he looks at you.” What I knew was that he listened to me. He looked me in the eye. He opened doors for me and treated me the way my father always told me a 'real' guy would treat me.

A year and a half later we were engaged. He proposed to me in his hometown church, after he had asked my father for his permission,  where he said the following: This is where I asked God into my life and now, I'm asking you into my life. We were married a week before Christmas 1992.

Our lives have not always been perfect but our love has been constant. Without Hubby I would have never seen the ocean, learned the game of football or moved from my home town. He's made me more adventurous and constantly reminds me how to live life to the fullest. 

 

Hubby may not sparkle but he knows how to make my life twinkle and I feel truly blessed that he danced into my life.

The Day the World Kept Turning

Through my early morning grogginess I could hear the newscast. My brain was foggy and just before I moved to slap the snooze mutton I heard the following:

A plane has hit the world trade centre.

There were no details – just the phrase and it didn't make any sense in my sleepy head and I finally reached out to push snooze.

Ten minutes later, the radio alarm sounded again and this time I did wake up - Wake up to confusion – that is. The radio still had no details as I quickly got ready for my retail day. It was another time and place. Once ready I descended the stairs to the main floor of my dream house. I switched on the television to more confusion. It took the clues from the radio and TV for me to comprehend some kind of story of what had happened on that beautiful sunny autumn day of September 11^th, 2001.

I phoned Hubby who was working.....commuting weekly.....an hour and a half away. “A very bad thing has happened.” He said leaving a pause. “I can't talk right now.”

I called my parents after that.

I left for work at the Gateway Mall. Everybody was talking about what happened and trying to make sense of it all. Mall traffic was really low and sales were slow. The UPS man brought us our shipment and he gave us an update from the news. There was someone from the bookstore who brought in a printout from a Nostradamus book.

What you have to understand is that September 11^th has a different meaning to me. Yes, this was a horrific event in America's history and it left our souls forever changed. Yes, I felt immense sadness for the lives lost. Yes, it was incredibly shocking. But for me and my family September 11^th is a day of celebration. It is my Mom's birthday.

That evening at my parents house CNN was on TV and we kept watching the buildings fall. It was all so overwhelming. And here we were to celebrate a birthday. We turned it all off. We ceased talking about it. We opened presents and ate birthday cake just as we would on any other birthday.

Ever since I have mixed feelings on this date. This big bad event happened and amongst the sadness, remorse, and guilt we kept living. We kept living while other lives were abruptly halted. The world grieved as others lived. On that September 11^th, 2001 there were babies born, anniversaries celebrated and family birthday parties held.

Its just a date. A date that so easily could have been September 10^th or September 12^th.....but, no, it wasn't – It was my Mom's birthday.

This year, as we remember the anniversary of those lost in that terrorist attack, also know that for many the world did not stop.....know that it kept revolving.....and keeps turning.....on that beautiful autumn day.

Yesterday is the New Today

I thought of this topic one day last week. I heard of some up and coming musician who is planning on doing a remake of a hit song from the 80's.....only in a hip hop style..... and I thought to myself first, “Shoot me.” and then “man, doesn't anyone write original songs anymore?” That thought was still floating around in my head today when it was Retro Day in the CFL, while watching my 1960's clad Roughriders get thumped the title for this blog whipped into my head like one of Anthony Calvillo's passes. Yesterday is the New Today. But before I donne my classic 80's shoulder pads and back comb my hair, let's have a serious look at just how NOW the good old days are.

Monday is the anniversary of Neil Armstrong's 1969 walk on the moon. “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind.” Back then, what did people think the year 2009 would be like? Even Star Trek.....the original was based in the year 2000. Did we really think that we would be able to beam from one place to the next? Did we dream that a black man would indeed be in the white house? That Beatles would invade North America?

So humour me. Pretend that you are a time traveller. You've hopped in your DeLorean and travelled from 1960 to the present day, arriving first thing in the morning for me to greet you. I take you with me, in my little blue Honda, as we go throughout my regular routine. First we'd take a trip to Starbucks.....and not on the Battlestar Galactica either. I'm sure that would be enough to send you packing since you wouldn't be sure what all these newfangled drinks are. You'd be totally freaked out by cell phones not only going off all the time but from the noisy songs they scream out at you.....you'd be jumping back in that DeLorean and searching for that information highway faster than a barista can froth cream.

They say that if you were born after 1980 there are several things you won't know life without. One of them is the VCR. Gosh, I remember when our family first brought ours home just in time to record Thriller on the Saturday afternoon video show. What about the microwave? I don't even remember how I cooked back before there was a microwave. And what about computers? In 1960 they took up entire rooms and now they fit right in our back pockets doing everything from taking pictures to recognizing our phone numbers with the tone of our voice.

Yup. Times have changed haven't they?

Sure life was a lot simpler back then. Even in the 80's which were really my growing years. We were more innocent. We looked to the future for advancement. We knew our neighbours names and were more active people. We valued family time and it didn't involve seeing who the best drummer was on the Wii. We are more efficient at our jobs now. That's one of the best benefits from all these new technological thingies. Imagine what your work would be like writing everything by hand and sending actual mail. The only issue is that we have become so much more productive at our jobs that we don't get all that extra free time that we dreamt about in the good ol' days because now we have twice the work load just to help us earn that five dollar latte we need to get going every morning.

Things are different aren't they? I supposed that's why its fun to look back. I guess that's why it makes us happy to reinvent our favourite things from the passed too. They say that there is a natural cycle to everything and what is old will become new again. So don't throw out those tie dyed shirts or bell bottoms.....and you just might wanna hold onto those 8 Track tapes too because you never know when yesterday will be the new today.

I've Got Your Number

Note:  The numbers quoted in this blog are no longer in use.  Please don’t try to contact anyone with these numbers.....unless you know the folks who actually have them!

The other night as I was drifting off to sleep I started thinking about the telephone.  Telephone numbers to be exact.  I was trying to remember old telephone numbers of people I don’t call anymore or have moved away.  I was surprised that I indeed could remember some of these. 

What started me thinking about this was that my brother had purchased a phone booth at an auction sale.  I wondered why he felt the need for his own personal phone booth.  Then I said “A-ha!  It’s because you need a place to change into your Superman outfit!”  Nope, that wasn’t it.  To this day, I don’t know why he bought a phone booth.  Go figure!

In kindergarten I learned how to use a phone.  The phone company had brought in phones to teach us how to use them.  They were rotary phones.  Remember those?  We were shown how to dial and then we were told proper etiquette for answering the phone and making conversation.  I remember sitting in the story telling area of the kindergarten classroom carefully dialling my home phone number, making sure that the dial went ALL the way back before attempting another number.

It was probably around that time that I committed my grandparent’s phone number to memory. 763-7070. If I ever needed anything and couldn’t get in touch with my parents I was supposed to phone Grandma and Grandpa Dean.  That is a phone number I will never forget.  Even after Grandpa had passed and Grandma moved into an apartment building, she kept that number.  I think that number is still programmed into my bedroom phone even though Grandma has been gone for 7 years.  763-7070 means comfort.  It means they’ve got your back.  They are there for you.

The next number I learned, besides my parent’s home phone number was my Dad’s work number.  764-4276. He was Pressroom Foreman at the Daily Herald newspaper.  I rarely had to use that phone number, but when I did it was because he was supposed to pick me up from school and was late.  Dad is retired now, but he’s always there at home to rescue me if I need it.  Why, it was just last year he enrolled me in CAA so I would have some place to call if I had car trouble.  And you know that I do have my share of car trouble!  Dad’s rescue service….open 24 hours a day.

There are other numbers which are committed to memory like my brother’s phone number or ex-employer numbers.  But there is one important number that I will never forget.  764-5495. I called this number almost every day or maybe more than once a day when I was a teen.  It was my best friend’s phone number.  She lived only a few blocks from me and we would phone and say “meet ya at the corner!”  We had a good friendship.  Until we had a falling out about 10 years ago.  We live in the same city now but we don’t talk on the phone.  We email, but it’s hard to let bygone’s be bygone’s. 

There is a number which I REALLY should know, but can’t remember.  The last two numbers were 1’s…..I think.  It’s my Hubby’s phone number when we were dating.  He lived in a little bachelor suite.  Maybe I don’t remember the number very well because he was never really one for talking on the phone for a long time.  The phone for him was an instrument to say he was coming over to see me or to ask me out on dates.  We never really gabbed on the phone.

A funny thing about my old phone number from my home town.  764-3770. It was just one number different than Bill’s Taxi.  We used to get people phoning for cabs all the time.  Lot’s in the middle of the night too.  Well, this one time when it was about -30*C someone wanted a cab ride.  So Hubby, being frustrated with it all says to the phone “OK, we’ll be right there…..wait outside.”  Could you imagine?  It wasn’t long after that that the calls stopped.

Now days, phone numbers say so much about us.  Or do they?  I have most of mine programmed into my phone so I don’t really have to know them.  I just have to punch speed dial and off it goes. 

I don’t even have a cell phone.  I know! It’s shocking.  I don’t have the need for one.  I am never far from a phone…..I don’t need to carry one around with me.  People complain these days about not having any privacy and yet they are always a phone call away from everyone.  If I don’t answer my phone, I am not home…..and nopers, there is not another number you can get me at.

What would young people do these days without all this telecommunication stuff?  They don’t need to know how to use rotary phones these days…..everything is just a push button away.  Who needs a phone booth when you have your own personal phone, which not only is a phone, but a camera and a mini computer right in your pocket?!

It was fun thinking about all these numbers that night.  I didn’t get too far because I soon bored myself into dream land.  I think I even had a dream about a rotary phone, but I can’t be sure because in the background a song kept playing over and over and….. 

Jenny Jenny who can I turn to

(867-5309)

For the price of a dime I can always turn to you

(867-5309)