After trashing slobby Costco shoppers for thundering around and eating their way through the store (see "More cheesieness", August 16), I now share that shameful distinction. Yep, I noshed my way through the aisles this afternoon.
Problem was, I had only eaten a bowl of clear soup for lunch and was a tad too hungry to have ventured there in the first place. Could not bypass the delicacies waiting tantalizingly at the end of each aisle. A lot on offer is pretty good and the nice ladies in the white gloves preparing the stuff aggressively encourage shoppers to sample. But I never thought I'd succumb and join the hoards who dine there. I could feel my mother turning painfully in her grave as I enjoyed little bruchetta's and slices of tortilla.
Daughter Susanne chided me. "Mum, you have to eat that blog about how awful people are who do what you're doing right now." She was right, hence this blog.
I write with sincere apologies to my friend "Hairburner".
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
What was she thinking!!???!!
Why was the Duchess of Cambridge, wife of the future King of England, going around topless?! You would think they would have figured out by now the camera lens can spy more than a kilometre. I mean, come on. But apart from that, why was she topless? How tacky.
Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth's grandmother, would undoubtedly have conceived all her children while fully-clothed. The late Queen Mother would also have observed proper decorum in the bedroom and so would have her daughter, Elizabeth II. Try to imagine The Queen sunbathing topless. Impossible. Even reckless Princess Margaret wore a one-piece on her raucous holidays in Mustique.
I don't fault the press. "That's their job, they have to spy on us, so one can't complain" Who said that? None other than Prince Phillip during a recent television interview. Hear, hear.
I see that William has sued the French press. The better idea would have been for Ms. Middleton to have been "proper" in the first place.
Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth's grandmother, would undoubtedly have conceived all her children while fully-clothed. The late Queen Mother would also have observed proper decorum in the bedroom and so would have her daughter, Elizabeth II. Try to imagine The Queen sunbathing topless. Impossible. Even reckless Princess Margaret wore a one-piece on her raucous holidays in Mustique.
I don't fault the press. "That's their job, they have to spy on us, so one can't complain" Who said that? None other than Prince Phillip during a recent television interview. Hear, hear.
I see that William has sued the French press. The better idea would have been for Ms. Middleton to have been "proper" in the first place.
Hot water
You know when you turn on the hot water and it starts out hot(tish), but starts to run tepid? "Is there no hot water?" you say, as you keep running it, convinced it will get hot again any minute. But no. After you run and run it until it is stone cold, you realize that, yes, there is no hot water. Frig.
That was 10 p.m. last night. So, down I go to retrieve the fridge magnet we got in the mail a while ago. "Mr. Plumber, 24-hour service -- senior's discount!".....it reads. Perfect. I call. "Well we certainly can't possibly send anyone out now," the guy says. "So, it's not really 24-hours," I smart-assedly reply. "Well, not tonight. We'll be there before 10 a.m. tomorrow," he says. So, that was that.
See, don't advertise something if it's not true. But we did get the senior's discount, so that part was true. It's amazing how we take water -- hot and cold running -- for granted. Young girls are raped and murdered all over the world walking to the local well for water every day. And when I say "local" I mean it's five or 10 kms away. Not really "local".
"The water in our toilets is cleaner than most of the world's drinking water," Father Henessey used to preach as we sat in our comfortable pews on Sundays, dying to escape the relentless homily and get home to our cocktails and lunch.
I also have to catch myself in the grocery store when I get pissed off at some old bag in my way. Here I am in a grocery store bulging with food (the store that is, not I), my purse stuffed with the money to buy anything I fancy and I am in a bad mood. What's wrong with me!?
Man, we are very spoiled.
That was 10 p.m. last night. So, down I go to retrieve the fridge magnet we got in the mail a while ago. "Mr. Plumber, 24-hour service -- senior's discount!".....it reads. Perfect. I call. "Well we certainly can't possibly send anyone out now," the guy says. "So, it's not really 24-hours," I smart-assedly reply. "Well, not tonight. We'll be there before 10 a.m. tomorrow," he says. So, that was that.
See, don't advertise something if it's not true. But we did get the senior's discount, so that part was true. It's amazing how we take water -- hot and cold running -- for granted. Young girls are raped and murdered all over the world walking to the local well for water every day. And when I say "local" I mean it's five or 10 kms away. Not really "local".
"The water in our toilets is cleaner than most of the world's drinking water," Father Henessey used to preach as we sat in our comfortable pews on Sundays, dying to escape the relentless homily and get home to our cocktails and lunch.
I also have to catch myself in the grocery store when I get pissed off at some old bag in my way. Here I am in a grocery store bulging with food (the store that is, not I), my purse stuffed with the money to buy anything I fancy and I am in a bad mood. What's wrong with me!?
Man, we are very spoiled.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
What a dummie
There I am, in charge of the camera, taking pictures (supposedly) of B presenting his tennis award to "The Most Improved Junior" at the closing banquet of the Calgary Tennis Club. Problem was, no film in the bloody camera!
My fault entirely.
A few weeks ago, B asked if it would be a good idea to sponsor an award for the most improved junior at the tennis club. Absolutely, I said. What I liked about his idea was it could be won by any kid, regardless of sex, level or age. He presented it to the board and they immediately agreed (why would they not). So, the plaque was made.
Come the night of the presentation yesterday, the young 11-year-old winner stepped up, B presented the plaque and I held up the proceedings with my photo-taking palaver and antics. Except, as I said, there was no film in the bloody camera. I am using the Canon Rebel we gave to daughter Susanne when she graduated from Queen's. She gave it back a few years later. But it requires actual physical film, so you kinda have to have that in the camera. Duh! You know, I wondered what the hell that funny-looking icon meant when I looked into the top of the camera? Had never seen it before?@!!
Also lost are the wonderful shots I had others take of me swaning around in my gorgeous emerald green palazzo pants. There we all were, lining up, posing and focussing the shots -- all to no avail. The worst was the shot the juniors' instructor asked me to take of her and her prized pupil, both grinning proudly from ear-to-ear. "I'd love to have a copy of that photo for the album here," Dorothy will say next time I see her. "Well, er, you see, the problem was.......," I will blather back.
So, now have to arrange a meeting of our young champion and B again at the club before the snow flies. Hmmmmmmmmm....how will I tell him about this latest fiasco???????
My fault entirely.
A few weeks ago, B asked if it would be a good idea to sponsor an award for the most improved junior at the tennis club. Absolutely, I said. What I liked about his idea was it could be won by any kid, regardless of sex, level or age. He presented it to the board and they immediately agreed (why would they not). So, the plaque was made.
Come the night of the presentation yesterday, the young 11-year-old winner stepped up, B presented the plaque and I held up the proceedings with my photo-taking palaver and antics. Except, as I said, there was no film in the bloody camera. I am using the Canon Rebel we gave to daughter Susanne when she graduated from Queen's. She gave it back a few years later. But it requires actual physical film, so you kinda have to have that in the camera. Duh! You know, I wondered what the hell that funny-looking icon meant when I looked into the top of the camera? Had never seen it before?@!!
Also lost are the wonderful shots I had others take of me swaning around in my gorgeous emerald green palazzo pants. There we all were, lining up, posing and focussing the shots -- all to no avail. The worst was the shot the juniors' instructor asked me to take of her and her prized pupil, both grinning proudly from ear-to-ear. "I'd love to have a copy of that photo for the album here," Dorothy will say next time I see her. "Well, er, you see, the problem was.......," I will blather back.
So, now have to arrange a meeting of our young champion and B again at the club before the snow flies. Hmmmmmmmmm....how will I tell him about this latest fiasco???????
Friday, September 14, 2012
If you can't find it, make it
That's always been my fashion mantra. But before I get into palazzo trousers, I want to say a few words about the passing of former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed.........
PC Premier from 1971 to 1985, Lougheed was also known as "the blue-eyed sheik" for his development of Alberta's oil industry. Under his leadership, Alberta went from a have-not province to a have, thanks to oil. For that he was revered and almost worshipped here.
Nevertheless, he was a true-blue Canadian and was very conflicted when the hated Pierre Trudeau introduced the National Energy Strategy. "As a Canadian, that was the hardest day policy-wise of my 14 years. It really was confrontational. I didn't enjoy that," he said later in an interview.
Unlike so many people here, he was not simply a unidimensional Albertan. "I am truly sorry the federal government does not have annual, open federal/provincial conferences, as we used to in the 70's and early '80s. As a country, Canada needs open, transparent fed/prov meetings for the benefit of the federation," he said last year...(or words to that effect.) Trudeau led these conferences, although I believe more to show the country he was "in charge" than to allow the provinces to shine.
The irony is that it was Lougheed who turned Alberta into another Quebec. B, with his hands-on PCO fed/prov background, has always maintained Alberta and Quebec are very similar. "Both are very demanding in promoting provincial jurisdictions and agendas. The Western premiers at the constitutional conference of 1978 were by far the most impressive at advancing sound provincial positions. One couldn't help, however, feeling that Lougheed was the most 'Canadian' of the three," said B this morning.
Classy to the end, the family announced a couple of days ago that he was "gravely ill", code for he'll be gone in a few days, giving the media ample time to get the obituaries ready so reporters and editors would not have to be up all night.
____________________________________
But back to palazzo pants.....
I get an idea in my head about what I want to wear to a certain event -- always starting with the accessories and shoes, never the dress. I then branch out. I have always loved palazzo pants; they hide a multitude of sins. Having owned a few pair, I know how versatile and go anywhere they are. But do you think I could find them? No. They are apparently not currently "in fashion". But then, neither am I.
So, off I trotted to "Fabricland". Settled on emerald green rayon -- because rayon drapes beautifully -- and started to search for a pattern. "Simplicity" had one that only called for one pattern piece and an elastic waist. That's the trick, buy a pattern without pockets, zippers or complicated waistbands. Afterall, you only want the pant draping under an overtop, so who cares about anything else!?
Another cheap and easy fashion tip when you are out of outfits? Make an evening shawl. I do that every year at Christmas...hit a fabric store, buy a fancy bolt and presto-chango, with nothing but straight sewing and 10 minutes, you have a fabulous new outfit. Girls, you gotta learn how to get the most bang for no bucks.
By the way, wondered what the history of palazzo pants was?
"Palazzo pants for women first became a popular trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The style was reminiscent of the wide-legged cuffed trousers worn by some women fond of avant-garde fashions in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly actresses such as Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. During the 1960s, some upscale restaurants resisted modern fashion trends by refusing to admit women wearing trousers, which were considered inappropriate by some proprietors. This posed a problem for women who did not want to wear the skirt styles that were then in fashion. Some women opted to circumvent restaurant bans on women in pants by wearing palazzo trousers as evening wear." That's what wikipedia says.
So, now I am set for the closing party at the tennis club.
PC Premier from 1971 to 1985, Lougheed was also known as "the blue-eyed sheik" for his development of Alberta's oil industry. Under his leadership, Alberta went from a have-not province to a have, thanks to oil. For that he was revered and almost worshipped here.
Nevertheless, he was a true-blue Canadian and was very conflicted when the hated Pierre Trudeau introduced the National Energy Strategy. "As a Canadian, that was the hardest day policy-wise of my 14 years. It really was confrontational. I didn't enjoy that," he said later in an interview.
Unlike so many people here, he was not simply a unidimensional Albertan. "I am truly sorry the federal government does not have annual, open federal/provincial conferences, as we used to in the 70's and early '80s. As a country, Canada needs open, transparent fed/prov meetings for the benefit of the federation," he said last year...(or words to that effect.) Trudeau led these conferences, although I believe more to show the country he was "in charge" than to allow the provinces to shine.
The irony is that it was Lougheed who turned Alberta into another Quebec. B, with his hands-on PCO fed/prov background, has always maintained Alberta and Quebec are very similar. "Both are very demanding in promoting provincial jurisdictions and agendas. The Western premiers at the constitutional conference of 1978 were by far the most impressive at advancing sound provincial positions. One couldn't help, however, feeling that Lougheed was the most 'Canadian' of the three," said B this morning.
Classy to the end, the family announced a couple of days ago that he was "gravely ill", code for he'll be gone in a few days, giving the media ample time to get the obituaries ready so reporters and editors would not have to be up all night.
____________________________________
But back to palazzo pants.....
I get an idea in my head about what I want to wear to a certain event -- always starting with the accessories and shoes, never the dress. I then branch out. I have always loved palazzo pants; they hide a multitude of sins. Having owned a few pair, I know how versatile and go anywhere they are. But do you think I could find them? No. They are apparently not currently "in fashion". But then, neither am I.
So, off I trotted to "Fabricland". Settled on emerald green rayon -- because rayon drapes beautifully -- and started to search for a pattern. "Simplicity" had one that only called for one pattern piece and an elastic waist. That's the trick, buy a pattern without pockets, zippers or complicated waistbands. Afterall, you only want the pant draping under an overtop, so who cares about anything else!?
Another cheap and easy fashion tip when you are out of outfits? Make an evening shawl. I do that every year at Christmas...hit a fabric store, buy a fancy bolt and presto-chango, with nothing but straight sewing and 10 minutes, you have a fabulous new outfit. Girls, you gotta learn how to get the most bang for no bucks.
By the way, wondered what the history of palazzo pants was?
"Palazzo pants for women first became a popular trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The style was reminiscent of the wide-legged cuffed trousers worn by some women fond of avant-garde fashions in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly actresses such as Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. During the 1960s, some upscale restaurants resisted modern fashion trends by refusing to admit women wearing trousers, which were considered inappropriate by some proprietors. This posed a problem for women who did not want to wear the skirt styles that were then in fashion. Some women opted to circumvent restaurant bans on women in pants by wearing palazzo trousers as evening wear." That's what wikipedia says.
So, now I am set for the closing party at the tennis club.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
A different kind of fashion statement
When I saw it on the silent auction table a few years ago, I knew I had to have it. But the hooded sweatshirt with "Ottawa Police" emblazoned across the front, along with the force's official crest, evidently appealed to a lot of us at that charity dinner. I put a bid in, but had to keep running back to see if anyone had upped it. A few bids later, it was mine.
When they saw it, both my sons laid claim. "A woman doesn't need to walk around in an Ottawa Police hoodie," they said. Obviously, I hadn't raised them correctly. Yes, boys, this woman does.
I wore it to the pool this morning and it's amazing what an effect it has on people. Young men who might have pushed past me now stepped back and held the door. The receptionist on the desk said, "Whoa, Nancy. What's that police shirt all about?" "I'm full of surprises," I replied, not willing to tell her how I got it. In the locker room, other women stared. "Yikes, she must have been a policeman back in Ottawa," they had to be thinking because it is the real mccoy, not a fake.
I plan to wear it more often. You get a lot of respect when people think you are a cop.
When they saw it, both my sons laid claim. "A woman doesn't need to walk around in an Ottawa Police hoodie," they said. Obviously, I hadn't raised them correctly. Yes, boys, this woman does.
I wore it to the pool this morning and it's amazing what an effect it has on people. Young men who might have pushed past me now stepped back and held the door. The receptionist on the desk said, "Whoa, Nancy. What's that police shirt all about?" "I'm full of surprises," I replied, not willing to tell her how I got it. In the locker room, other women stared. "Yikes, she must have been a policeman back in Ottawa," they had to be thinking because it is the real mccoy, not a fake.
I plan to wear it more often. You get a lot of respect when people think you are a cop.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Another victory for the old broads
Walking down the produce aisle, she stared and gave me a half smile. "Weird, what's that for?" I said to myself, as I ignored her and picked up a lime. She was very tall, long hair, good-looking and in her mid to late thirties. Suddenly, she turned and walked back. "Excuse me, I'm not gay or anything," she weirdly prefaced, "but I just have to say you are a very beautiful woman." Stunned, I looked around to see who she could possibly be talking to??? No one but me. I then looked for her accomplice, who was certainly picking my pocket while she distracted me with the extravagant compliment. Nope, no one there.....and own her hands were jammed into her jacket pockets, so she wasn't about to rifle through my bag.
Standing there in pedal-pusher leggings and a T-shirt, fresh out of the pool, completely makeup-less and sporting unstyled wet hair, I was dumbfounded....in the extreme. And although rare for me, I was speechless. "You don't even need makeup," she added. Thunderstruck, as AC-DC would proclaim, all I could stammer was "thank you very much." "You must be a good person," she said as she walked away....."except when I'm not," I managed to reply. We both laughed. She made my day -- or even my year and the next couple of decades.
I hesitated about blogging this because it will undoubtedly be construed as self-serving and congratulatory, but I decided, what the heck, why not. It shows that even old broads can still hang in there and be appreciated -- however rarely. If you read this blog, you will know that I follow Ari Seth Cohen's 'Advanced Style' blog, dedicated to fashionable women of-a-certain-age. I admire women in there 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s who can put it together and look good. My grocery store encounter was also a compliment to them.
I also think it says something about Calgary. People are friendlier here -- and aren't shy about showing it.
Standing there in pedal-pusher leggings and a T-shirt, fresh out of the pool, completely makeup-less and sporting unstyled wet hair, I was dumbfounded....in the extreme. And although rare for me, I was speechless. "You don't even need makeup," she added. Thunderstruck, as AC-DC would proclaim, all I could stammer was "thank you very much." "You must be a good person," she said as she walked away....."except when I'm not," I managed to reply. We both laughed. She made my day -- or even my year and the next couple of decades.
I hesitated about blogging this because it will undoubtedly be construed as self-serving and congratulatory, but I decided, what the heck, why not. It shows that even old broads can still hang in there and be appreciated -- however rarely. If you read this blog, you will know that I follow Ari Seth Cohen's 'Advanced Style' blog, dedicated to fashionable women of-a-certain-age. I admire women in there 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s who can put it together and look good. My grocery store encounter was also a compliment to them.
I also think it says something about Calgary. People are friendlier here -- and aren't shy about showing it.
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