Climb for Hospice

Ok, ok, ok. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again: BETTER STILL DAY SPA KICKS BUTT!!

Yesterday, spa owner/operator Laura Gardiner presented me with a cheque to the Delta Hospice Society for $423.40 – her entire collection of tips for the month of May. Isn’t that just so phenomenally fantastic? I am still humbled by the generosity of this community, and this is yet one more reason why. A home-business making a start, and being thoughtful enough to make a donation like this. You know what? Better Still Day Spa deserves the attention, don’t you think?!

SO… if you’ve got it in your head that you need to treat yourself (or someone else!), than take it from the heart and call Laura at Better Still. You’ll be so happy that you did.

In other news…

I attended a volunteer meeting at the Delta Hospice the other night, and was given a Residence Volunteer Handbook to look through. It outlines what you’d expect: dress, decorum, scheduling, and the like. But something caught my eye and almost made me snort out loud, disrupting the meeting…

The Delta Hospice site is a lovely, well-laid out facility with gorgeous gardens. And, as you may recall, they have bunnies. Lots and lots of bunnies. They didn’t mean to have bunnies, but the bunnies did the ol’ ‘Build it and They Will Come‘ thing, and as soon as all those tasty flowers, plants and grasses went into the ground on the site, the bunnies made the Hospice their Mecca. Hoards of bunnies flowed across the street from the Leisure Centre grounds, and fluffified en masse the Hospice gardens.

Bouncing, happy, fat bunnies flit through the gardens, their bellies laden with expensive greenery planted by soon-to-be frustrated landscapers. However, the general consensus at the Hospice is this: we’d rather have bunnies than flowers. And so, the bunnies get to stay.

And as cute and snuggly as these little soft bags of bunny goo are, they tend to leave a not-s0-fantastic trail of… ummm… well… poop.

SO! In the Residence Volunteer Handbook, one of the doodies duties for volunteers to undertake  is “Bunny Poop Patrol”.  That just made me laugh like a schoolgirl when I read it. Man, I am totally going to get a jacket made for that volunteer. Instead of  saying SWAT TEAM on the back, it’ll say BUNNY POOP PATROL. Maybe I’ll donate a broom, too! One that can fit into a holster of some sort! The volunteer can swagger around like a security guard, deftly sweeping unwelcome poops off the sidewalks, before spinning the broom and putting it back in the broom holster attached to their belt.

Awwwwwwwww, yeahhh…

Wheeeeeee!

What a world we live in! In the past week I have had an email from my friend who is traveling in Chile, an email from my brother who is wandering around Nepal with his lovely girlfriend, and this morning I received a phone call from my pilot friend who was walking around Hong Kong between flights.

Ducklings happily invaded the Delta Hospice, a friend of mine found a nest of baby bunnies in her yard (thankfully before the dogs did!), and HER friend watched as a baby cow fell off the back of a truck at a stop light (he’s ok!).

You just never know what to expect from day to day, do you? Thankfully, I am now fully prepared to capture whatever life throws my way – everyone, meet Gary.

That’s right, Gary is my new Handycam! As many of you already know, the Nikon D40 met with its sad fate while I was hiking up The Stawamus Chief trail. I knew I had to replace my camera, but wanted something different this time. I have a good point-and-shoot, so since Ali and I figured that we needed to do ‘video diaries’ while on Kili, a Handycam was the way to go.

Why is it named Gary? I have no idea. It just is.

So anyway, now I am going to spend the next 15 years trying to figure out how to use the thing. I am not what one would describe as ‘tech savvy’, and can become easily confused when I attempt to use my blender. And NO, my blender does not have a name. That would just be silly, now wouldn’t it? Sheesh… what kind of weirdo do you think I am!?

And so, with that fabulous news, I bring you ANOTHER Kili Gala Raffle prize that will be available to win at the June 5th Kili Gala… The Kili Gala is the fund raiser that Ali and I are throwing at the Ladner Community Centre on the evening of June 5th. We’re going to have drinks and dancing and a fab raffle draw in an attempt get closer to our goals of raising $10,000 for our respective charities (mine is The Delta Hospice Society, and Alison is raising funds and awareness for the Heart & Stroke Foundation). Tickets are only $20, and 100% of net proceeds will be going to charity, as Ali and I are paying for our Kili trip out of our own pocket. SO COME ON OUT!

Sami Christanson is an incredibly talented artist and designer. I met her a few years ago when I saw her work displayed at the Ladner Sunday Market. I loved her style and wondered if she would be able to paint a portrait of my dog Jake, who had recently passed away. She did. Incredibly well. So well in fact, that I cried and cried and cried when I saw the painting for the first time. She captured him perfectly. And so the next year I asked her to paint a portrait of Luna… AMAZING. Now, keep in mind, Sami is only 21 years old. Can you believe that?! All that talent stuffed into such a young person. She’s just going to get better and better…

Aside from being talented and just totally awesome, Sami is also very generous. She has donated TWO paintings to the Kili Gala Raffle Draw! So, on June 5th, you have an opportunity to get an original Sami Christianson piece of artwork. Seriously… this chick is going places. I just know it. Your grandkids are going to sell her paintings to an art dealer in 20 years and make a bajillion dollars. Mark my words, Sami is going places…