Peek-a-boo

*knock knock knock*

Yoo-hoooo! Anyone home??

*sticks her head in the door and looks around*

In the off chance that there was someone still hanging around here, waiting for a golden morsel to drop from my plate (off chance? that’s the understatement of the century), I just thought I’d pop by for a quick hello and to tell you that: alas, no, I have NOT embarked on a tour around the world in a leaky boat (although I must say, that does sound tempting at times).

I’ve been busy with wedding plans and–oh, who am I kidding? We’re doing a destination wedding; most of the plans have already been made. What I’ve really been doing is having a bang-up time writing about them over on my other websites (taunt, taunt, taunt). Didn’t want to bore you with talk of tulle and stuff. You know how it is.

However, if you’re still hanging about here (and wow if you are – you deserve an award for patience!) then hey, drop me a line. I just might show you the trail of breadcrumbs leading to my usual hangout.

purplegables (at) gmail… you know the rest.

Zoom goes bye-bye

Another airline bites the dust. Jetsgo, CanJet (still operates charters but not commercial flights), Harmony… This is getting quite worrisome.

Why do I care so much? Well, I used to work for one that also went the way of the dinosaur.

I feel badly for not only all the customers (who will undoubtably get all the sympathetic press… I feel ESPECIALLY badly for the poor wedding party who now can’t get to their wedding destination) but also all the employees who are suddenly out of a job, in an industry where jobs are scarce.

Best of luck, guys. I feel for you.

What is this airline industry coming to?

Feist on Sesame Street

Thanks to my lovely, thoughtful friend Jill for this delicious treat.

Oh Feist, just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any more adorable…

Can’t wait to see her in concert August 5th at Deer Lake Park.

Peonies

Peonies make me happy. Almost as much as lilacs.

I treated myself today and got a bunch of peonies to keep me company at the office. By 5 pm I was almost drunk on the fragrance of summer.

When I was in grade twelve, I was on the Grad Committee and, along with my friend Jenny, charged with decorating the barn-like room (albeit on a lovely golf course) which housed our grad reception.

Since our budget was modest to say the least, we decided to go wandering around the neighbourhoods of our lovely little town of Okotoks looking for peonies in people’s gardens. Then we’d knock on their doors and ask them if they would kindly donate their peonies to the Class of 1995.

I can’t believe I actually did that. I’d totally forgotten about it until I started writing this.

What’s more, would you believe that I still have a vase at my parent’s house which holds five papery-thin dried out old peonies from that grad ceremony thirteen years ago?

I’m sure that tomorrow all I’ll be able to think about is my grade twelve grad. How funny. And what a long way we’ve come.

Anne turns 100

I have an Anne of Green Gables calendar pinned to the wall of my cubicle at work.

I bought it in P.E.I. last summer. I’m sentimental, I know.

It serves as a daily reminder of the dream-come-true holiday that my boyfriend (now fiance) whisked me away on… and that I’ll never ever forget until the day I die (and probably even afterwards).

I don’t know if you realize the importance of that trip, even if I spent a whole day trying to describe it to you. Let’s just say it was years and years and years worth of day-dreaming come true.

According to that calendar on my cubicle wall, almost twenty years, in fact. Twenty years since I fell in love with Anne Shirley of Green Gables fame.

And TODAY, it’s been one hundred years since that red-headed snippet was ‘born’.

June 10, 1908 – that’s the day that Anne of Green Gables was published.

At least, according to my “official” Anne of Green Gables calendar, that is. According to this article,

“She arrived on the Island on June 20, 1908, not in a carriage from the train station, but in a small parcel from the local post office, postmarked “Boston.” In it was the first copy of Anne of Green Gables [...]“

Whatever the actual date, the fact remains that Anne turns 100 years old this year. One hundred years of delighting girls and boys, women (and possibly even men) all over the globe with her enchanting ways and beguiling charm.

I, for one, have been fundamentally affected by the writings of L.M. Montgomery. Reading those books… living them… has, in no small way, defined the woman I am today.

It gave me great satisfaction to be able to tell Lucy Maud this last August, as I stood over her grave in Cavendish, P.E.I.

I like to think she knows.

At any rate, the evidence of it is in my heart.

I dedicate this month to Lucy, and to Anne.

I have much to say about both, so stay tuned.