PHoto op for the Padres Hamper fund

St. George's chapel has a hamper fund for families associated with the military. This year the "lay person" co-ordinating it is Frankie Jane Giller and the Padre is CLC Brad Busch. I had the opportunity to learn a bit about it the morning as I took a photo of tow cheques being presented to the fund. One cheque for just over $1000 came from the Legion in Toledo, a small community near Smiths Falls. Padre Busch was in his clergy robes for the presentation. The Base Thrift shop also donated $1000 to the Hamper fund. This cheque was presented by  a representative of the Thrift shop. More financial support is needed. For further information contact Frankie Jane Giller at   FRANKIE-JANE.GILLER@forces.gc.ca       or brad.busch@froces.gc.ca

Four degrees of separation

My husband and I have always had separate interests. Bruce has focused on hockey, golf and softball while I have tended to enjoy theatre, political activism social action and supporting my child's activities. Bruce often tells me who he plays golf with but the names do not stick in my brain as I do not usually meet his partners. However  today I spent most of the day with a lady I had met a couple of times. We had originally found out that I knew her next door neighbours, Elaine and Jack Chalmers, friends from church.Upon further discussion we found out that our husbands played golf at the same golf course: Twin Rivers,    in Petawawa.  Well it turns out that my husband   has played golf many times with Gill Patrick and Dan Patrick and Tom Mohns. Petawawa  is a very small town.     

Four degress of separation

How long does it take to meet your spouses colleagues from sports activities? Is there an unknown law that says that female and male friends do not connect? Well that philosophical questions was partially explored today as I met the spouse of one of my husbands frequent golf partners! Lorraine Patrick and I had met a couple of times at a group in town. Today we spent most of the day together and talked about what we had in common. Both of us had relatives who live in Montreal- the South Shore, both of us had husbands who work of AECL. Both of us also had husbands who play at the same golf course. I also know Lorraine's next door neighbours, Elaine and Jack Chalmers.  We both asked our husbands if they knew each other. Yes and they have played golf together. So by that logic it can take up to 9 years to meet the spouses of my husbands golf partners! Bruce has been playing at Twin Rivers in Petawawa since 2002.  Now how much longer before we meet in real time???

leaping forward by drivng to Ottawa and getting lost

My recent leap forward was my weekend in Ottawa.I never do things the simple way. Since I am still not comfortable driving on the 417 or driving around downtown Ottawa I decided to drive to my Saturday workshop in China town via the 148 high way in Quebec. I find driving through Pembroke then across the provincial bridge to Quebec saves my sanity. It  takes my 21/2 hours door to door taking the 148 to Gatineau then across the bridge to Island Park driveway and along the Ottawa parkway to down town. I find it less stressful than driving on Hwy 17 to Kanata then taking the long through roads such as Robertson road to avoid the heavy traffic on 417. I found a place to park close to the workshop for $4 a day on weekends!    

Words words words

Today will be a contrast in the use of words. The Petawawa Grannies are having a fund raiser at Heritage Manor in the afternoon:  Good words for Africa.  Fun scrabble benefit. Members of the community are helping raise money for the Stephen Lewis foundation.
we will be visiting and playing with the residents plus hopefully a 12 year old scrabble whiz will educate us!
in the evening I am going to attend Yuk Yuiks comedy show at the Petawawa  civic centre.

Paul Hanna September 18 1983 to October 3rd 2005

Today is always hard for our family. My son was bipolar. He was diagnosed when he was 17 and spent many months in  Manitoba Adolescent Treatment centre in Winnipeg. We moved to Ontario in 2001 and he completed is high school. He went on to Fleming college in Lindsay where he completed the two year program in Environment technician. He appeared to do well. However he was found in his room on Monday October 3rd 2005 in the beginning of his third year.

Fall changes

This September has been wet. I  went for a walk after dark today and  found it very spooky.. Lighting in our subdivision is poor -few street lights, lots of trees and no are few side walks so I walked with an old flash light which did not give up much light. The side walks were wet from the rain and so was the road. Everywhere it was misty. Little traffic however a cop car drove down  Laurentian as I was walking home. I think that the leaves will just fall this year. They have started turning but we have not had a good frost yet. Some of the maple leaves are only turning brown or orange then falling due to the rain and winds. I hope that the weather brightens up tomorrow.   

Constant change at St. George's chapel- service and officiants not always as expected

Do you like surprises? Is your denominational back ground, Presbyterian, United, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist or Apostolic? Well it is possible that you will find a home at the Protestant base chapel. I  have been attending it since 2001 and am constantly surprised. Today we had a beautiful bulletin created by the Presbyterian chaplain Padre Daniel Forget. However on the front cover it said Officiating chaplain Padre Murray Bateman. At the end of the bulletin there was a special note from Padre Forget thanking   Padre Bateman, who is Anglican for taking the service. The note said:  I am glad that Padre Bateman was kind enough to replace me at the last minute, allowing me to represent the chaplains of CFB Petawawa at the Funeral service of the mother of our Chaplain General Padre Dave Kettle. Padre Kettle is Presbyterian.


Padre Bateman preached on Perhaps and being a simple saint= being a servant and being of service. It was a very meaningful service. We are fortunate to have chaplains willing to fill in at a moments notice.

Variety is the spice of life

I attend the Protestant chapel at CFB Petawawa. I am not military,however my father served in the British army and Merchant Navy during WW 2 and my father in law served in the Canadian Air Force during WW 2 so I have some family connection to the effect military life can have on relationships. I decided to attend the chapel at it follows the chaplain branch system of having a Catholic chapel  and Protestant chapel that caters to all the other denomination. So I enjoy the variety of services that each chaplain brings to the congregation.In the last few weeks we have had an Anglican Communion service, a Lutheran service with a baptist "Dedication" of a baby  and a Wesleyan Methodist service. We have been fortunate in having duets sung at two of the service by the choir members.  

St. George's chapel planning a series of Prayer services for the troops -first one was on July 17

On Saturday July 17 St. George's chapel held their first evening prayer service for the troops in Afghanistan.It was fun event as Sandra Easter the Chapel Life coordinator  make the service upbeat by interspersing prayer with  well known songs led by Ian Easter.  Members of St. Francis of Assisi chapel clergy participated in the service. My friends Cheryl and Bill Jackson from St.Luke's church in Pembroke knew all the modern songs which impressed Ian Easter.!  We sang " How Great is our God", "Holy, Holy, Holy", "It is well with my soul" "Gracious and Compassionate" , "Blessed be your name" and "Shout to the Lord", a good mixture of Ancient and Modern. Sandra Easter used prayers from the Lutheran, Catholic and Baptist traditions.She  also made sure there was a direct connection with the chaplains and soldiers in theatre as she  contacted Padre Carol Bateman who is Afghanistan and asked her to tell us who we should be praying for.  I really like the connection with Padre Bateman as she is very practical in her approach to religion and life. The most poignant part of the service bulletin was the front cover as there was a photo of "The Padre Prayer circle following a Canadian ramp ceremony at KAF" Sandra Easter had taken the time to point out the Canadian chaplains who were at the ceremony and the culture of the other UN forces in the group.
The next Task Force 1-10 prayer service will be on Thursday August 19th. It will also be a reminder of Dieppe.
 

Life at CFB Petawawa from 1938 to 1955

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Camp Petawawa developed from a place for soldiers only to a community with schools, churches, stores, movie theatres, curling rinks and hospitals. In the early years families lived in h huts. Slowly there were homes built. however life in those years was military structured and close knit. it was a unique life style that created a life long bond between the civilians and the military who lived there. I would love to hear more stories about that life. I plan to write about it for the 150th anniversary of Renfrew county. If anyone is interested in telling me more tall tales please phone me at  613-687-1476 or email me.  

Day one of our adventure

We are preparing for our two week adventure Italy. Our first week will be in Pisa and the second week will be at a b&b in Chianti. We return on July 16. So expect us to be sun burnt and tipsy! Bruce will be getting educated in science at the University of Pisa while I get educated in culture.
First stop Ottawa then Montreal then Frankfurt. Arrival  in Florence tomorrow morning.

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THE CASE OF THE MISSING PASSPORT

Well few months ago I misplaced my Olympic mitt and blogged about it. Now I will tell the story of the missing passport. The old saying it is always where you left it works double for me! I am notorious for losing items. I am also notorious for packing at the last minute. We are going on a trip tomorrow to Italy. I have been reading about it for weeks and doing the background work to prepare. However I only started packing last night! I knew where my passport was so did not bother looking! Famous last words. My passport has a file in one drawer where it is supposed to stay. However we went on a trip in January and I had the passport in a secure holder with string that goes over my neck. I am also notorious for leaving papers in groups before filing them away. I am also notorious for bringing home lots of souvenirs in the form of books and brochures, ticket stub etc. I left all my Mexico travel stuff in a box to put away later. Later has now arrived! I was frantic – dumper every box of junk in the study, emptied several filing drawers to no avail I cleaned under our bed as well...Desperate measures were called for! I moved the couch in the study! Well it was amongst the dust bunnies! It must have slipped out of the special holder. So lesson learned- put Passport away immediately upon return from any trip!

Update: if this is Wednesday it must be Petawawa

I have been away a lot for the last few weeks and have not blogged! I am going to Italy on Friday for two weeks so will post a couple of message prior to leaving!  The trip is to Pisa for a week and to Florence and area for the second week. Any suggestions welcome!
Last week I attended the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers gathering in Toronto.It was downtown at George Brown College. The accommodation was a Ryerson college. We had a market place event at St. Lawrence Market. Most of the area was dead due to the G20  preparations. We did see a motorcade drive by with heavy police protection. It seemed overkill .

Friends in high places

As many of you know I have been volunteering at the chapel on base for many years. This morning I received the Base Commanders Commendation. I was told about it last Thursday by the Base chaplain so thought the recommendation came from the chapel however I found out after wards that a member of the congregation and former base commander Lt. Col. Bob McBride wrote the recommendation! Thank you Bob.
The text of the award states:
Base Commander’s Commendation is awarded to Hilda Young in recognition of her outstanding contribution to chapel life at St. George’s Church. For several years she has been the driving force behind community relations within the chapel. She organized a newsletter and has faithfully published this for over 5 years using her own resources. She routinely provides articles to the Petawawa Post and Pembroke Observer. Her dedication encompasses maintaining a pictorial history of the chapel which she shares with the entire congregation. She has stepped in on many occasions when others would not and has served faithfully as the Chapel Committee Secretary. She is a fine example to all within the congregation of St. George’s and a credit to her faith.
It was presented by the Base Commander Lt. Col Rudderham

WALKING IN THE WOODS –An adventure

WALKING IN THE WOODS –An adventure
By Hilda Young
First I would like to thank the 9 am ladies walking group for an unusual morning. Secondly I would like to thank my chauffer to Deep River Lorelei Dean and thirdly I would like to thank my husband Bruce Hanna for his vote of confidence.
Why all the thank you before my story? Well this is a humour piece to lighten the mood after an adventurous trip to Deep River on Thursday May 6th However I do not know the entire story. I was the catalyst for the event!
Yes, I was lost in the woods or should I say abandoned momentarily, this morning.
The 9 am Ladies walking group is well known in the community, I joined it as a long distance member last fall with a friend from Petawawa. At times the journey from Petawawa seemed long but it has become a fun event with company...
Margaret Miller, the group leader started out at a leisurely pace stating we would be going into the woods as someone had been there recently and said the trails were good. Famous last words! I dutifully took off at a good pace with Pat Meadowcroft, my partner. We kept up as the group meandered through a few residential streets then crossed over near the Anglican Church to Banting Drive. At that point I was lost but continued walking. A group of us chatted about our location. We thought we were going east. We kept walking along the power line then though the woods. I was hot. So I told Pat to continue walking as I planned to stop and take off a couple of layers. A few people walked by making comments about the heat. I was left alone! I continued walking but soon lost sight of the group as there was a fork in the road. I saw them go down one road at a steady pace. I thought I would try to connect at the next turning so took the wider trail. The trail was wide and reasonably well marked so I kept following the D loop ski trail. The trail went south I think towards an open area which became the parking lot of the Hospital.
Initially I did not hear any noise so thought that the group had left me behind and walked back to the Bean House. I was fine. Once I arrived at the road I planned to walk back to town. However I did here echoes calling my name and tried to get closer and called hello. When I started back along Banting Drive I went back into the woods as I heard voices. Eventually Margaret Miller found me. Apparently I was lost and the group broke up into two to look for me!
I heard part of the story as I walked back with Pat Meadowcroft again! When we arrived back at the Bean House my husband Bruce Hanna laughed. He said I was fine .If there was a problem I would have been heard at the Bean House as I tend to have good set of lungs when I am scared!
So thanks ladies for an interesting diversion. Next time let’s make sure that we keep the buddy system!

Battle of the Atlantic Sunday and 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy

Tomorrow at chapel we will acknowledge the Canadian ships that were sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic.I will be bringing a poster from a few years ago to chapel plus an insert from Canadian geographic that tells the history of the Canadian Navy. It is a neat moment as I know one of the cartographers on the map, Steve Fick. The Tulip Festival starts next week in Ottawa as well.It is celebrating VE Day on Friday May 7th with a street party on Elgin street! The Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa will also be celebrating the 65 anniversary of the end of the WW 11.
It will be a fun busy month.

Galilee Centre Arnproir and the National Guild conference April 21 to 25 2010

Well I survived my first Guild conference! I had been hearing about the annual conference for years so finally decided to go. St. George's chapel CFB Petawawa was the host Guild. Doris Graves our Guild President was attending her 19th conference so she held my hand through the process. Paul Graves drove us down from Petawawa with a full truck load of goody bags, a camp fire, several cases of bottled water and juice plus our own suitcases. We stopped at the Timmies in Arnprior for lunch. We arrived at proximately 2 pm to spend the next couple of hours delivering goody bags, room names labels and water to 30 plus women form across Canada.
The noise level increased as groups arrived from Ottawa, Gagetown, Greenwood, Shearwater, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Trenton, Bagotville, Kingston. The evening Meet and Greet was also part of our host duties so several members of our Guild drove down from Petawawa for the evening.

Connections through the ages

It was windy in Pembroke today. My new walking friends had planned to meet at Cafe Ole then walk along the river front. However we decided to find shelter from the wind by walking through town. We walked up one of the cross streets in downtown Pembroke-Moffat and kept on walking to the end. Moffat starts off downtown in the commercial area then crosses close to a couple of churches and winds its way along the Indian River. It is a peninsula on both sides of the river- an oasis of older homes hidden away from the downtown traffic. I had heard via some mutual friends that Suzanne Nadon and Rick Metcalfe, a United church minister couple, had purchased some land at the end of the street and were planning on building their retirement home, insulated with strawbales. Well the rumour was correct as we found them hard at work. One of my walking friends actually knew Suzanne many years ago so they caught up and we had a tour of their property as we climbed over the tree roots and admired the country in the city!

Showcase 2010

Petawawa Grannies had a booth at Showcase, our annual home show in Petawawa. We focused on selling Pashminas, Cashmere Shawls, Grandmothers' Necklace, Traditions, Kids say the cutest things! and tote bags. We also promoted the house concert at Jean Ostrom's home on Sunday May 30th at 7:30 pm. Jean has invited St.Barnabas Church Music team to perform a concert to benefit the Stephen Lewis Foundation. It will be a fun event at her bed and breakfast at 928 Rantz Road Petawawa.
The Showcase is an idea place to network! I met people whom I had not seen in years and was teased by Bob MacKenzie, known as Scouter Bob or Santa Claus.

East er Weekend 2010

Where were you? was a common question as Bruce and I played hooky Easter weekend and went to Ottawa for the first time on Easter weekend. We stayed overnight at Jocelyn's house in Glouchester. Friday evening we took Jocelyn to the Met Bible church for her practice then went for a quick supper to a nearby restaurant. We returned easily in time for her 6 pm concert on "The Power of Grace". WE were impressed by the number of musicians that contributed. AS we are from mainline churches we only knew two of the hymns! Amazing Grace -with chains we knew part of .
AS we drove back to Jocelyn's place she phoned some friends of ours, the Grahams who invited us to drop by. We enjoyed a quick visit with Wendy and Jim Graham and a late snack of 1-1 pizza!
Saturday was spent touring Westboro, trying out the driving range in Orleans and making a family dinner for Jocelyn and her two room mates from Mexico and Egypt. We had some interesting discussions around the supper table. WE ended the day by watching the latest Harry Potter movie.
On Sunday we drove to the church for the early 9 am service. It was packed in the sanctuary and they had to ad chairs in the open area! Again- only knew a few hymns but were impressed by the number of out reach programmes in the church. I looked up the book that Pastor Rick Reed quoted: The Resurrection of the Son of God" by NT Wright and found out it was written by an Anglican bishop of Durham!
The church reminded me of the one Jocelyn went to in Red Deer, "Living Stones" and also the large modern Mennonite ones in Steinbach.

In the increasingly secular world it is encouraging to see the number of people who attend the service. However I still prefer singing some of the old favourite Easter hymns such as Jesus Christ is risen to day!

WE drove to another friends for lunch. Ada and Bill Hallett live in New Edinburgh, on Springfield road, near the Indian Embassy on one corner and a Second cup on another. WE had a lively discussion about different types of religious denominations. The Halletts attend an Anglo Catholic church in Ottawa: St. Barnabas, in the centre of the city, near the old Met Bible church building. Bill said the church has a good choir that may win a major competiton. He enjoys the incense and old fashioned service. Their church is also growing. They have members who drive in from Shawville.

We completed our weekend in Ottawa by driving Jocelyn back to her church for another choir practice then driving home to Petawawa. During the weekend we also visited an aunt who was in the St. Vincent centre for rehabilitation. It seems we touched on the extremes in present day Christianity: a very conservative church, a very modern church and also connected with people who compromise and go to a combined Anglican/United church. So there is room for all points of view within our family as we try to be tolerate and open to different ideas.

LIVING ALIGNED EVENING WORKSHOP SERIES With SHAWN MACDONELL and LINDA VANDERLEE

LIVING ALIGNED EVENING WORKSHOP SERIES
With SHAWN MACDONELL and LINDA VANDERLEE

By Hilda Young

Do you feel like you're chugging along on the wrong track in life? Maybe you're in need of some guidance to figure out where it is you want to go. Shawn McDonell and Linda Vanderlee have partnered up to offer the Living Aligned Evening Series in Ottawa.

“Energy meets experience” is the vision statement for the Living Aligned Evening series of workshops co-facilitated by Shawn MacDonell, founder of Creativision and Linda Vanderlee, owner of Rendezvous Rupert. Shawn MacDonell, 25, is from Shawville Quebec, a small community in the Pontiac. He is full of youthful enthusiasm and creative ideas. Rick Valin, one of Shawn’s former teachers and apprentice coaches said, “he is self motivated.” Rhonda Morrison, Outaouais CEDEC director said, "he was born an entrepreneur. He is intuitive.”

Linda Vanderlee, 50, chose to live in the small community of Rupert, close to Wakefield Quebec, where she has renovated a century old barn into a retreat center. She said that she tends to experience life challenges first then learn the theory behind them! During her life journey she has lived, worked and traveled in East Africa, Canada and Mexico. Her clients have included Carlington Community Health Services and Citizen and Immigration Canada.

Together the two make a formidable combination, as both believe in what they can bring to others' lives. Shawn's upbeat attitude is grounded in strong community support, enabling him to connect with all ages. Linda has life experience and a laid back attitude that compliments Shawn’s youthful creativity. Together they reach out and create abundance versus a scarcity mentality and stimulate others to find meaning within their own lives. Shawn encourages people to embrace technology while Linda feels enjoys connecting with people one on one.

The Living Aligned workshops series was originally conceived by Linda Vanderlee as a weekend retreat format, however as she is partnering with Shawn the set up has changed. The introductory evening will allow people to explore their connections with both Linda and Shawn. Following that will be four evening sessions in which they will explore 4 topics at a deeper level.

Linda’s philosophy is summarized as follows:

"Our beliefs determine our perspective. What we believe is what we tend to live. Remarkable things happen when a small group of individuals who share an interest in choosing to live an authentic life spend time and conversation together."

Creativision is an organization that strives to help others work with, develop and use their passions in a way that is meaningful to them and earns them a living. Creativision works on many different levels and is grounded in years of story and resource gathering and sharing.
The workshop series will be of interest to adults of all ages in transition looking to make changes in their life style or looking to define themselves better. On Tuesday, March 30th there will be an introductory session from 6 pm to 9 pm at Heartwood House 153 Chapel St., Ottawa. Cost $30. The mini sessions will touch on the four themes: Creativity, Beliefs, Vision and Support that will be explored jointly by Linda and Shawn over four Tuesday's, April 13, 20, 27 and May 4. For more information and to register visit the Rendezvous Rupert website at http://www.rendezvousrupert.org/node/209 or call Linda at 819.459.3580.

 

Padre Greg Bailey OSG ( Order of the Silly Grin)

On Wednesday evenings Padre Greg Bailey conducts an Anglican communion service at St. George's chapel. Last night his service focused on St Patrick's Day. However he did tell a method to deal with people that he learnt when he was in Manitoba. Padre Bailey tells more about the initials OSG Order of the silly grin and how they help him deal with life.
"OSG":
It came from Dean Harry Hobbs about 1978. And while he used it to refer to the inability not to smile when the Spirit is upon you, I think the idea of using it to diffuse human foibles and unpleasantness can be a strong witness in the fight to love one's enemies. It's all about serving with a gentle spirit after the example of Matthew 11:29.
I will remember that sermon for a long time as it gave me a coping technique for life and a glimpse into how Padre Bailey, a chaplain ministers to his soldiers.

Change and learning how life continues to evolve

Image via Wikipedia

Well I am learning what I can do and what is out of my control. it is an ongoing process as I live in a constantly changing community. My husband works for a crown corporation: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited at Chalk River, in the Ottawa valley or Eastern Ontario. We live in Petawawa, which is home to a military army base. Soldiers from CFB Petawawa are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

I am an onlooker in both situations. I have learnt to laugh at some of the personalities involved and to take a back seat. I have also learnt alot about compromise. It is a challenging community to live in.

Hilda's Care plan

Just made my first visit to the dietitian at the Petawawa Centennial Family Health Centre. Judy is about my age so can relate to my problems. It felt good. I have a follow up visit in one month. Using the internet I have already been sent my Care plan.My goals are to 1: to approach my weight goal of 161-165 lbs
to gradually increase my present activity level to walking 30 minutes per day as tolerated.
I am making this public so I have accountability.
I need to do this to deal with my problems with my hips and arthritis and my energy level.
I am not as young as my new friend Shawn MacDonell!

Creativision Coaching and Consulting: Small Towns and my trip to the Eastern Townships

Creativision Coaching and Consulting: Small Towns and my trip to the Eastern Townships

Curves Pembroke is selling Grandmothers Necklace

Well I tried several times to change a posting but I was told that it had bad characters in it so will see if this publishes.
Now to talk about my day. I just returned from Curves Pembroke. The current promotion there is the annual March food drive. If you bring in a bag of groceries for the local food bank the enrollment fee is waived! That is a saving of $200. So far this month 400# have been donated.

Today I also brought 4 copies of Grandmothers' Necklace for sale. Cost is $21 including tax. All profits go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation- Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.

Leap forward step 2

Well I now have three followers. I will try to keep them entertained with some humour! I spent Saturday in Ottawa. It was my second trip in a month alone. I took the Quebec route again so it seemed easier however I was not in the turning lane when I needed to take the Island Parkway entrance from Gatineau so drove in abit further then turned around . I managed to get a little lost again as I drove past the War Museum and missed the merge lane at Wellington. Eventually I found my way to the parking lot near St.Peters Lutheran church. Another minor adventure as I tried to pay for parking. I could not read the instructions as the paper was washed out . I tried all my credit cards but it would not accept any.. walked away, phoned my daughter then tried again.. -When all else fails read the instructions. I had to turn the credit card with the black signature sign up! Hurray- it worked the first time!
My mini adventure continued as I had lunch with my daughter at the Scone Witch then spend 30 minutes exploring the area around the parking lot.
this blog will be continues

Return of the Red Canada Olympic mit

I am known for leaving items behind! Recently I attended a book launch in Deep River. As usual I had extra stuff with me including my pair of medium adult Olympic mitts. A friend asked who they belonged to at the event. I was told to be careful with them and hid them as they were hard to come by! Dutifully I hid them in my hoody.At the end off the evening I climbed into the vehichle of another friend who gave me the ride to Deep River. They asked me if I had everythng.. yes..mitts and all...

However when I unpacked at home one mitt was missing. I phoned the Bean House and the Deep River contact - no mitt. Well-it's gone I thought . I tried to replace it last weekend but Zellers was sold out.
I attended another event - World Day of Prayer in Petawawa where the Grandmother's Necklace book was being sold. Eileen Barber my driver from the Deep River event asked me if I had lost a mitt--Yes--. She found it in the back of her car and could not remember who had had a mitt. So my lost mitt is found...

Leaping into Pulse

Yesterday I took a major step to overcoming my fear of driving to Ottawa. I drove alone on the Quebec side - little traffic.It was slower but I got where I wanted to be in time. I still have to conquer driving on the 417 in the heavier traffic but I will get there. I titled this blog Leaping into Pulse as my reason for going into Ottawa was to attend an evening workshop that is a follow up of the Leap program I took last fall. Shawn McDonnell of Creativision was the coach for the leap program.He has started a group in Ottawa of 12 people who will get together to brainstorm solutions to common business problems. Our first meeting was last night at The Code Factory on Queen Street.

Shawn has an ability to attract people to him.His constant upbeat attitude gets everyone energized. His Passiontoaction philosophy is just what I need now.I am looking forward to getting to know the other members of the group.

Grandmothers Necklance was launched!

As a member of the Petawawa Grannies I attended the first two launches of Patricia Elfords anthology "Grandmothers' Necklace". It was a fun experience. More than 60 people crowded into the Rotary room at the Petawawa library to hear readings from most of the writers in Eastern Ontario who contributed to the book. It was a great beginning as many books were sold. On Monday 22nd there was another launch in Deep River at The Bean House coffee shop which was also well attended. Copies are available for purchase in Petawawa at Coates engraving 3584 Petawawa Bld 687-1064. cost $20. All profits will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.

Pillows, pjs and puppets

I have seen many productions of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream starting with the obligatory trip to Stratford's Shakespearan theatre while at Waterloo Collegiate high school in the '60s however last Friday was the first time I had seen it performed in pjs with puppets for the play within a play.
I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the high school drama students. The puppet ideas worked well. Congratulations to the school.

GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE LAUNCH

WATCH FOR A LAUNCH NEAR YOU!

GRANDMOTHERS’ NECKLACE
is an anthology created in honour of grandmothers. Over 60 professional, and some gifted non-professional, writers and poets of varied backgrounds from across Canada, the United States and Ireland. Joyous and wistful, hilarious and serious, the collection is too rich to be scanned all at once. Appreciate it a few gems at a time.
Through Patricia Anne Elford, one of the Petawawa Grannies , the Editor and Compiler, ALL profits go to Grandmothers to Grandmothers, a branch of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, www.stephenlewisfoundation.org , to assist the grandmothers of Africa, aged anywhere from their 40’s to their 80’s who have lost their adult children and are raising their grandchildren, alone, under unbelievably impoverished circumstances. These children were orphaned due to the death of their parents from AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses.

GRANDMOTHERS’ NECKLACE ISBN 978-1-5542-468-6 Essence Pub., Epic imprint, 200 pp $20.00 Cdn, incl. taxes
Can be bought on-line now, in many stores later.

Small town connections

I am a frequent customer at my local Shoppers drug mart.Most of my trips to the store involve getting photos printed of personal and chapel events. Today is Shrove Tuesday so we had our annual Pancake supper at the chapel.I thought I would be efficient and get the photo printed immediately. "Tina" the head cashier for the shift and the "photo expert" said the photos turned out ok but one was blurry as I was focused on the garbage can and not the man. (Actually two were blurry) Anyway "Tina" recognized "Bob" as she used to clean in building B12 on base. She also recognized Sharon Slaney and her mom.
So a lesson in living in a small town. Make sure your photos of anyone local are clear and tell a story as you never know who will be printing the photos.

VALENTINES WEEKEND 2010

This year Valentine focused event took place on Saturday and Sunday.However I started the upbeat mood by shopping at my favourite bakery in Pembroke, Barley's bakery. The owner creates decadent cookies and pastries with cream. As a Valentine theme he made small shortbread cookie decorated with butter cream and topped with coloured icing.I bought 6-two red, two white and two chocolate. That was our treat for Friday night.
On Saturday I purchased two jam cookies decorated with regular icing and red colouring that said "I love you".
On Saturday we attended a "Sweet heart" dinner at the chapel catered by Mom's Cafe- a German themed take out. Kai's "Mom" made the Black Forest Cake fresh that afternoon! Our main course was a German buffet: sauerkraut, red cabbage, spatzle, Ceasar salad, home made sausage, roladen, and wiener schnitzel. The seating area at the back of the chapel had been decorated by Doris and Paul Graves. Jill Wright had cleaned the cupboards to try to deal with the mouse problem.. Part of the decorations were carnations.
On Valentines day itself we had a valentine focused service at chapel. Robin Major who was preaching presented his wife with a red rose during the sermon!
Our final public valentine event was Sunday night in Renfrew when we attended the 50th birthday of a friend who was born on Valentines day. Sue McSheffrey also shared her birthday with two other female relatives.

Networking in Renfrew county

I belong to a variety of groups from "right wing" to "left wing" depending on the political or religious point of view of the group. I find that I blend into the culture of each group at a different level as I like to explore personalities and historical backgrounds. On a given day I can attend a "church group", a political event or a social event. Some of my friends are also part of the same groups. As women we tend to support other womens groups. One of the first groups I joined in Petawawa was WIN- Womens Initiative Network of Renfrew County. I was intrigued as a Pot luck dinner was advertised at the Petawawa Presbyterian Church in October 2001 to celebrate Womens History Month. The guest speaker was CB Pappin who talked about her mother coming from England as a child.
I met Barb Clarke at that event and heard the name JoAnne Brooks mentioned in relation to the Women's Sexual Assault Centre. To make a long story short JoAnne Brooks and I went to Waterloo Collegiate Institute school in Waterloo in the late 60's! I am still making those types of connections as I attended a meeting last night and mentioned Rainbow Heritage Garden to some attendees who were friends with the owners! This county is like a village!

"I saw your photo in the paper"

The old adage a picture is worth a thousand words is continually being reinforced as my publicity skills have more impact when I sent photos to the paper than when I just send a write up.I was away for about 10 days. When I returned several people said that their friends saw their picture in the paper. I was asked why I had not put the newspaper photos on the bulletin board... . The photo on my banner was taken by Jennifer Cummings the reporter at the Petawawa Post. She sent me the photo and gave permission for me to send it to the local daily paper the Pembroke Observer. It was published in colour at the back page so got people's attention. Our community is fortunate as we have a weekly paper that covers military community and other local events and a daily paper that also covers community events. Both papers encourage submissions from groups.
Let's celebrate community.

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Canada supports and hosts the Winter Olympics

Today I purchased my second pair of red Canada Olympic mitts! The first pair I bought for my daughter in Ottawa who said she could not find them at her local HBC as they were continually sold out. I thought a $10 investment in the Olympic games was a minor one but a visible one for me to make.I also donated another dollar.I plan to watch the opening and closing ceremonies and most of the events with Canada in them. I remember watching my first Olympic games on tv when we lived in England. That would have been in 1960 and we only had a black and white tv. The bobsled and the luge were the most fascinating.
I also remember going to Norway in 2004 seeing the site of the Lillehammer Olympic games. It was amazing to see how small the community of Lillehammer is yet is was still able to host the event with support from neighbouring communities. Looking forward to February 12th when the games begin

Launch of Grandmothers' Necklace!

An Anthology of poetry and prose by men and women
-by grandmothers, about grandmothers and intergenerational relationships and aging
-amusing, sentimental , surprising, thought-provoking
-by 61 professional and talented non- professional writers from across Canada and the United States and Ireland.
-Come to enjoy readings and light refreshments, meet local writers, get an autograph or two in the copies you buy, and help a very important cause at the same time.

All profits go to the STEPHEN LEWIS FOUNDATION, through the Petawawa Grannies, to help the incredible grannies of Sub-Saharan Africa who are courageouslhy raising orphaned grandchildren under extremely difficult conditions.
When: on Saturday February 20th 2010
from 1 pm to 3 pm
Where: Petawawa Public Library
16 Civic Centre Road
Petawawa,On K8H 3H5
Rotary Room 613-687-2227

How to sell Pashmina

I am a member of the Petawawa Grannies. We raise money for Grandmothers to Grandmothers part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. 90% of the money raised goes directly to grandmothers in Africa who are raising their grandchildren because the
in between generation have died of aids.
I have been selling Pashmina shawls since last November to women in my community. I have also sold alot through the Pembroke Curves franchise. To increase visiblity I had the local newspapers take photos and promote the success. So far I have sold over
$4000 worth at $10 a shawl!

Once more with feeling

Well blogging is a new method of connecting that I am just exploring.I have created a new blog based on the Leap program theme which I intend to use to motivate me. On my recent holiday to Mexico I purchased a book at the airport store: The Element by Ken Robinson: How finding your passion changes everything. I thought it very appropriate considering the Leap Program theme. I enjoyed reframing my life.It has energized me.Now I need to clear up the "food problems from the trip"! Shawn MacDonnell or Creativision is a great guy.I am glad that my coach Shawn, and mentor Karen Brisebois want to keep us going.
So now to take the next step in developing my vision.

Whiskers an Hats what do they have in common?

What do Whiskers and Hat have in common?
They are part of the new nick names for my husband Bruce Hanna who likes to wear hats and has a mustache. The complete nick names courtesy of street hawkers in Chichen Itza “Mr. Whiskers” and in Playa del Carmen“Mr. Mexican Hat”. These were part of our memories from our visit to the Mayan Riviera last week.
. It was a real experience in contrasts as the “hotel Rivera” was protected from the “riff raff” as it was like a gated community within a gated community. In the hotel area there were security guards to protect the tourist however in the towns there were plenty of “hawkers” trying to get the attention of the ‘gullible” tourist by calling out to them in English – buy cheap. “Mr. Mexican Hat” was called out on our last day in Mexico when we were doing a last shopping spree. We ignored it but I found it amusing. The Mr. Whiskers was our last entreaty before we went to our bus as we left the tourist trap that is Chichen Ita as vendors selling all types of handicrafts offer silver, masks, clothing etc for a dollar. Our friendly hawker wanted to sell t shirts.