See and Be Scene

Last Saturday night a local band with SOUL held a CD release party at The London Music Club on Colborne St. in London, Ontario. Ever since I purchased an Open House Arts Collective anthology CD last year entitled "OH" I have been super impressed with London's best kept secret - its musicians and bands. Every original song on the CD was written and performed

by a local London band and they were FANTASTIC!

The Cool Mothers did not disappoint. The lead singer, 51 year old Pete Tangredi, has more energy than the engergizer bunny and in trying to keep up with him I severely wrenched my neck - how long does it take for the effects of whiplash to go away - my Advil bottle is empty!!

Pete cites some of his musical influences on THE COOL MOTHERS website: The Beatles, David Bowie, The Kinks, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Lou Reed, The Ramones, Bob Marley... all favorites of mine so it's no wonder I loved them. The band is funky to say the least and all the influences from rock to punk to reggae can be felt as well as heard. And it didn't hurt to see that they are all "mature" musicians but oh so young at heart. Never say never - releasing their first CD at this time of their lives must be especially sweet - and it is getting constant play at my house:)

If you'd like to check out their music I have provided their myspace link:
www.myspace.com/thecoolmothers - my favourite "We Need Each Other".

Haiti: WFP Readies Op To Feed 2 Million Quake Victims

Haiti: WFP Readies Op To Feed 2 Million Quake Victims

I know where my givings are going this month - please give what you can too.

Toronto Mirvish Package Weekend = Good deal!

View from the CN Tower

My daughter and I recently took a wee trip to Toronto a week before Christmas. With our busy lives we don't spend a lot of time together anymore so this Christmas I decided to give us the gift of some mother/daughter time by purchasing a Mirvish dinner/theatre/hotel/Toronto attraction package.

It turned out to be a VERY GOOD deal. And so nice to be pampered for a couple of days. Kazi and I reconnected over martinis at Fred's Not Here and had an amazing meal: Jump Up spicy soup, roasted sole (I think it was the whole fish! and bread pudding in rum sauce), laughed and cried at The Sound of Music, got a free upgrade at the Sheraton Hotel (complete with valet service, free appetizers and free breakfast) away up on the 42nd floor - you know? you can get some really great shots of the big city from the 42nd floor:)

Sunrise from the Sheraton Hotel

Sunset from the 42nd floor



My happy child in the big city

The King Tut Exhibition at the AGO

We also took in the King Tut exhibition at the AGO as we have always had an interest in everything Egyptian and of course what weekend is complete without a little mother/daughter bonding at the Toronto Eaton Centre. We both managed to find something to wear on New Year's Eve and called the weekend a great success.

We've decided we should do this every year and cut down on gift buying as we had so much fun. It's not easy as your child gets older, goes to university, gets a boyfriend and works two jobs to find the time to chat and enjoy time together so sometimes you have to "create" the time. I'm so glad my new partner (also time-consuming:) came up with this idea of a weekend in Toronto. I was feeling that my daughter and I were growing apart but it was just like the old days when we travelled together all over the country for her Highland Dance competitions (but less expensive)!!

So if you're looking for a way to reconnect with a loved one, or are looking to cut back on "stuff" as opposed to substance I recommend taking a trip. It doesn't have to be an expensive cruise - a weekend could be just what you need!

The Sisterhood aka Ya Bunch of Mothers!

Rock Band Chick!



Sisterhood of the Travelling Pendant



Ahhhh, the Sisterhood...conjures up visions of spells, enchantments, cackling over an open fire, calling out to the moon, dancing naked under the stars......And you know? I'm not even kidding:)


Well...we weren't completely naked!

We kicked off the Year of Celebrations 2010 by getting together over Christmas and New Year's Eve. It was time well spent: eating waaaaaaaaayyy too many cookies, drinking waaaaaaaayyy too many glasses of wine, laughing our faces off at things no one else could understand, and most fun of all??

ROCK BAND - THE BEATLES EDITION!!!

Who knew?? I hafta get one of these for myself. I'd seen Guitar Hero before but never really saw the appeal. But Rock Band? Drums, guitar and singer all working together. First I tried the guitar - it was really hard trying to follow the colour-coded notes on the screen while strumming and getting the timing just right, then I tried the drums and I ROCKED! (It's always been a dream of mine to be the drummer in an all-girl band!) I loved it! Later I went back to the guitar and with much practise I improved until I was averaging between 80 and 90% accuracy. I can see now how kids get addicted.

So the sisterhood has decided to take the show on the road. At some point during the evening someone yelled out "ya bunch of mothers" (can't remember the exact context) and we jumped on it as the perfect name for our all-girl band.

So watch for us - we may be coming to a city near you!

Sisterhood of the Travelling Sun Pendant

These are my girls. These are the girls who are my best friends. This is my sisterhood - the people I talk to when no one else will do, when you need that heart of a woman who listens and understands, who holds you when your heart is breaking, who laughs with you because they "get you" and your whacky brand of humour. These are my sisters with hearts of gold and I couldn't live without them.

This is me. This is me celebrating New Year's Eve with the people I love best. This is me with a whopping big SMILE on my face. This is me with my special gift - a sun pendant crafted by one of the sisterhood.

Similar to the idea of the "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants" but a whole lot more practical since none of us are the same size(!!) my special homegirl Julie (Jules) presented me with a necklace: "you get to wear it first", she said and then I asked "for how long and who do I give it to next?" and she said "it's up to you!" What a wonderfully creative way to represent the tight bond that we share and I feel so honoured to get to wear the pendant first.

Back in the summer we spent some time together at my trailer in Bayfield and we started calling ourselves "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Trailer Trash" but I think "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sun Pendant" sounds so much classier, don't you??

I dedicate this post to my sisterhood (also known as "Ya Bunch of Mothers" but that's another post)!!

New Year's Day - 2010

Today we had our first significant snowfall and it was extra nice as we weren't driving anywhere. YAY. Last night, or this morning I should say, we drove home from a party through freezing rain, luckily only a few blocks.

This afternoon Michael and I had started dinner preparations as we were having a neighbour over but he was so excited about the snow we turned the stove off, put on our snow gear and headed outside to play.

I could say we have resolved to have more fun this year - but we have fun all of the time. We did lay in bed a long time this morning figuring out what our New Year's traditions would look like next year and we decided that we would stay in bed all day long, eat a big breakfast in bed, write in our journals, read, and watch movies.

Gee, wish I didn't have to wait another whole year before implementing this plan!