Blue Rodeo and The Wine Bar

Yesterday I was too tired to blog. I take about one nap per year and yesterday was my nap for 2016. Sunday night was such a great night out - prior to going to the "Blue Rodeo" concert I treated myself to a $15 glass of wine at The Wine Bar, a funky, comfortable space where I received excellent service in addition to cozy ambiance.

I sat on a lovely leather couch with a fireplace to my right filled with candles. The wine was called Butterfield Station - an excellent CabSav 2014 blend. Smoooooooth!!

This was the first time that I attended a concert by myself. 
It was a bit of an experiment for me to see if I could have a great time on my own - a single, almost sixty-year old woman. Would I encounter any discrimination? Would I feel invisible? Would I feel comfortable? I'm of the mind that I should be able to go anywhere and feel comfortable, but in reality that doesn't always happen. You wouldn't believe  (or maybe you would) the number of women who say to me "oh, I could never do that, not by myself!"
I have experienced ageism and gender discrimination over the past couple of years. It's enough to make a person just stay home! However, that is not satisfactory to me so I've decided to push the boundaries somewhat.

The young female bartender was very welcoming I am happy to report. She came over and lit all the candles, was super-friendly and I really enjoyed the lounge-y feel of the small seating area with leather sofa and coffee table. I took out my iPad and made some detailed notes of the positive experience.

So here's the gist of my quest - there are a lot of social expectations in existence, rightly or wrongly. I want to challenge those expectations in my own little way. Why can't an (almost senior) single woman go out and have a great time on her own without thinking that a) people feel sorry for her; b) she's weird; c) she's a loser and d) she has no friends.

Here's how I feel about that:
a) Don't feel sorry for me or any other 60 year old woman going to events on her own. I sure don't feel sorry for myself. I had great anticipation for the concert and went an hour early so I could enjoy a really good glass of wine first. HOWEVER, I did think about what I would say if anyone (friend or family member) asked me who did I go with? Would I tell the truth (me, myself and I) or would I make up a mystery friend? I plan to tell the truth!! Because I happen to think it's just fine to go places on my own. (And I have experienced those pity-filled looks from people when I say I went somewhere alone because that's just NOT how things are done!!)
b) What's wrong with weird? But truly, I don't think it's weird to attend an event alone if I want to. I had been out with people 6 nights in a row previously to the concert and was more than ready to do something on my own.
c) Am I a loser? I know that over the last couple of years I've felt like one after losing my relationship, my home in PEI and having to recreate/remodel my "future" after retiring. I went through a depression and experienced a lot of anxiety but I'M BACK BABY, I'M BACK, better than ever. Every day my enjoyment of my life increases. In the last few months I've joined an activist group, a book club and a volleyball club. I walk/hike, go to yoga and group meditation. I've gone to all but 1 of the oscar-nominated movies, had dinner and too much wine with friends on several occasions, been out for breakfasts and lunches, renewed two friendships, spent time with family, been out for coffee(s), been to workshops and sit-ins, donated to charities and have purchased gifts for Christmas 2016, learned how to crochet, completed several carvings AND I'm going to Ireland!!

So, I feel less like a loser every day. I should have never felt like a loser in the first place but society has certain unwritten rules: you must be married or in a committed relationship in order to be happy, you must be outgoing and busy every minute of every day, you must accomplish things, women must be super-moms and employees, we must spend beyond our means so as not to look (or feel) deprived. I could go on and on.
d) Have I NO friends? I do have friends, sometimes it feels like I have too many friends after I've been out 7 days straight and I need time to unwind and recharge.

I have a plan to return to this topic frequently over the next year or so. I'm going to rate my various solo experiences that are outside of my comfort zone and that challenge society's mores. Sunday's experiences were wonderful! I'm off to a great start!

Greg Keelor

Jim Cuddy

I want this guy's job!

Jim - still yummy after all these years!

Mike Boguski - so immensely talented!

One bonus of going alone - I had an empty chair on my left and right - lots of room for dancing!!

Sunday Vibes: Blue Rodeo - "Hasn't Hit Me Yet"

It seems like I just posted yesterday, but alas, no. Time has been slipping and sliding away as I go to yoga, meditation, volleyball, dinner out & laughs with friends, activism, and tonight I get to see my favourite Canadian band "Blue Rodeo"!!! Then I plan to spend a few nights at HOME!

February has been a great month and amazingly I haven't run out of money yet. I don't know why but I feel like February is over and I have to keep reminding myself that there is still a week to go before my pension shows up again. So the shortest month is feeling like the longest month. Weird.

Last night Julie, Troy and myself went to Ben Thanh's for a scrumptious dinner and I have leftover pad thai in the fridge for dinner :)  I tried to eat healthily by having fresh spring rolls instead of the deep-fried kind but there's no way my pad thai could be considered a healthy choice! Or the multiple glasses of wine once we got home.

Winter is hard on my waistline - I found that some of my jeans were a lot little snug last night when I was trying to figure out what to wear. I usually wear black or navy tights which fortunately AND UNfortunately can expand to accommodate the ebb and flow of my muffin top. Jeans are not so forgiving.

I need to get more active and spend less time eating! That's hard at this time of year, at least for me. Being inside so much has me checking the pantry for goodies :(  I need SPRING!! I'm pretty faithful to going to yoga and volleyball but I need to walk/hike more. It's just so much easier to pick up a book and a big bowl of popcorn than it is to get all bundled up and head out into a stiff cold breeze!

Speaking of a cold breeze.... on Friday we got some inside info that the premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynn, was going to be in London so some of the members of the Council of Canadians took the "Ontario Hydro is Not for Sale" message right to her door.

We waited in the cold about 2.5 hours before she came outside en route to her black SUV with its blacked out windows and security detail. She saw us, had to hear us as we were so loud, but we were not acknowledged. However, we were acknowledged by the various news teams that were invited to hear her announcement (inside).

Fighting for democracy in the cold!

Waiting to be seen and heard by Ontario's Premier.

We're not giving up!!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Yes, it is indeed time for a workshop update. Over the past few weeks I haven't been in the workshop nearly as much as I'd like to so this Wednesday Workshop update post (WIP - work in progress) will hopefully spur me on to become more productive.

I just find that time gets away from me and before I know it it's time to make dinner. This is another busy week, though all of my activities are in the evening. Which is good because then at least I have my mornings and afternoons to be productive.

Last night I went to my book club and I got a FREE book! The leader of the book club is a librarian and gets advance copies of books before they are published - yippeeeeee! I chose a book about England's "flower sellers" at the turn of the 20th century - it looks really good :)!! Tonight I am learning about proportional representation at our monthly Council of Canadians meeting. (sounds a little dry but there are SNACKS!) Tomorrow night is yoga and group meditation, Friday is volleyball, Saturday I'm hopefully getting together with 2 friends for dinner and a movie and Sunday night I'm going to the "Blue Rodeo" concert.

None of that explains why I'm not getting into the workshop more often. Last week I did spend 3 afternoons in the workshop as the weather was horrendous. Which reminds me that the week before last the weather was up above 10c (setting record highs around here) and so I was outside hiking a lot. OK, that explains things somewhat.

There are just so many choices of things to do around here - recently I've been doing the weekly Los Angeles crossword puzzle which can really take up a LOT of time. And I'm reading a huge trilogy blah blah blah...OK, enough excuses - here's what I've been working on...
...oh, but first a photo of a junco on my fence! Isn't it sweet?

Ok, getting back on track again...I completed the soapstone carving below - it was a thin scrap of soapstone so the back of it is flat. I was trying to figure out how to display it - it could just sit flat on a table or shelf but then I had the idea of putting it into a shadow box...

...so that's what I did! Though I have to say it's extremely hard to get a decent photo once it's in the box! You'll just have to take my word for it that it looks freaking AWESOME!! (hee hee!)

The piece below was also a thin slab of soapstone - I used the stone to the best advantage that I could
the front...

...the back...

...and the cross section...you can see how thin it is - if it juts out on one side it indents on the other!

This is my current piece and I am not happy with its shape at all so will get back to it after I eat some lunch.

Does it look phallic to you because it does to me!!!

Back to the workshop I go!! Unless anyone is interested in a phallic shaped piece of soapstone?!?

Are you getting creative these cold winter days?

Just Another Money Monday

Not a whole lot going on around here. Yesterday was a lovely sunny day with temps hovering at -24c when I got up.....BRRRRRRR!! I took the opportunity to clean another 8" of snow off of Dougie the Dodge and shuffled him around the parking lot once the snowplow finally showed up. Today, in Ontario, it's Family Day and unfortunately the sunshine was short lived and it is gently snowing once again.

So...what is my family doing today? Well...let's see...Luna is sleeping, Lily is sleeping, and Kazi is sleeping!! Hopefully things will get a little livelier a little later! For now I'll enjoy the peace of sleeping cats and daughter. I have my new to me $3 radio set to CBC so that is keeping me company.

We're already halfway through February!! How is the money/budget stacking up so far?

• after a week of NO Spend days (the one advantage of having 2 feet of snow drop over the past few days!!) my misc budget stands unchanged at $177. It should be about $290 but I used a chunk to pay for flight/medical insurance for my trip to Ireland. I did it as a challenge to myself to spend as little as possible this month - gee, thanks Mother Nature - it's hard to spend when you can't get out your front door! I have a few upcoming plans for spending in the next week or two (going out for dinner next Saturday, plus $10/weekly for yoga and $2/weekly for volleyball) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that $177 will be enough to get me to March! That's a bit of a stretch but I'm going to try! (I'll have to stay out of Michael's!! and stop buying yarn!!)
• I did buy some Valentine's goodies for Kazi but used cash - I think I still have about $30 in my wallet. (I'll try to save that for dining out)
• My mini-money fund (a container I throw my loonies and toonies in) stands at $130. Once I reach $150 I'm going to go exchange for some euros.
• I saved a bit on my utilities this month; set aside $75 for Union Gas and it was only $53, set aside $75 for London Hydro and it was $69. That helped pay for Turbo Tax and my wee Goodwill spree. 
• My misc $$ has been spent on: new album by Lucinda Williams on iTunes, $25 spent at Michaels on yarn & a Christmas gift, $11 at Walmart (batteries & light bulbs), $5 to go see "Brooklyn", $21 at Goodwill, and flight/medical insurance.
• Gas budget stands at $120 remaining out of a budget of $160, and the food budget stands at $156 remaining out a budget of $280. I have about a half a tank of gas and will go grocery shopping tomorrow. I will probably end up with a bit left in both of those budget lines and if so that will go to savings.
• I used money saved since Christmas to pay for my flight($709) and one of our BandB's($342 for 3 nights in Galway) so have no debt so far for my trip. 
• Thankfully this is the time of year when interest earned on RRSPs starts to appear so that will help out with upcoming trip expenses. AND it's the 15th so I can Netfile my tax return today - the $200 refund will go toward purchasing more euros. 
• I have purchased February's Christmas present - a crystal making kit from Michaels for my great-nephew but I have NOT made my charitable donation of $25 yet. I really am squeezing my misc budget this month!! I can do it, I know I can!
• Oh, I just remembered I'm going to see my favourite band next Sunday - Blue Rodeo - but I paid for the ticket in November so there will be no expense for that, except maybe parking.
• My other bills remain pretty much the same: Bell Mobility is $79 monthly, internet is $84 monthly, my insurance has renewed and is the same amount - $270 monthly and Kazi pays $175 of that for her car, hot water tank rental is $34, property taxes went up $6 monthly but the city budget isn't finalized yet so that may change, my condo fees went up by $7 and Netflix remains the same at $8 monthly. The two small increases were covered by my pension raise of $30. 
• I increased my monthly savings automatic transfer from $350 to $400. That will increase again once I start receiving CPP (Canada Pension Plan) hopefully to $900 a month. That'll pay for a few trips!! 
• RSPPs: I have two coming due this month and they are going into my RSP Savings Account. From there I can withdraw $5000 to go into my TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account). Of course the gov't takes 10% right off the top so I'll only receive $4500.  The RRSP interest I receive more than makes up for that otherwise it wouldn't be much of a tax shelter would it? Way back when I was contributing to my RRSPs the adage was "pay now or pay later" so I always contributed the maximum. Now I'm in the "pay later" phase though I am very thankful for all those wonderful refunds (of my own money!!) I received over the years. 

Well, wasn't that an exciting post! I wish you sunshine wherever you are and hope your Monday is a happy one.