Real Estate in Barrie and area

My son James and daughter-in-law Tracey are both Real Estate agents in the Barrie area. In this picture James was enjoying seeing their faces on the back of a bus for the first time - all part their marketing plan. If you or anyone you know is looking for a real estate agent please contact James Scott at James@yourhomeinbarrie.com

Spoken like a proud mother I know but hey it's my blog!!

CA

"Remission" is a wonderful word

I have not blogged about my friend (I am going to call her "D") because this is her story to tell if she chooses to share.  Watching her deal with cancer this year has been an incredible journey and I have been so totally impressed with how she has handled cancer from the diagnoses, surgery on Valentine's Day for Christ sake, and so many steps forward with two steps back leading up to today when she heard those magic words. "You are in remission."  What began in January is behind her now - almost - and by year end she can start a New Year with regular check ups like the rest of us "survivors" have to live with.  The key word is "live."

D you are my hero. Your attitude has been outstanding, your energy to stay positive so evident, your caring for others during your own difficulties not lost on anyone. Walking this journey with you has been a gift you have given me.

Love
Carol Ann

Dinner at the Bisogno home...

  Clare and Gene always put on a good - no make that great - dinner whenever they invite friends over.   Clare sets a table like no one I know and she loves every second of it.   She served the most incredible lasagna and a lemon pie to die for.  Clare knows that I have always loved, and talked about, my mother's lemon pies - how thoughtful of her to have one for us yesterday.  This was my first full meal since whatever-that-flu-bug-was that had me laying low for over a week - today I feel 100%!  Life is good.

A gift from Lexi

You would never know from these pictures that Lexi was feeling unwell last weekend and actually had a flu bug -which she passed on to me! Any ideas out there how we (grandparents) can avoid catching all of the bugs these little kids bring home to share?

This has been a very long week and not-well-yet...

I took Lexi's picture in the jolly-jumper on Saturday and as you can see she was in great spirits and having a grand time.  She was snoozing through dinner on Monday evening so James sent the second photo with the caption,"Can you sleep like this?"

Brother and Sister

I love these two photos.

I captured Jalen and Lexi having a bit of 'brother and sister' time at the dinner table last evening....just before the birthday cake came out!

Jalen turns seven years old!

And you can guess what he wanted for his birthday.............jersey and hat! (among other things)  More pictures to follow later..............

Swissair Flight 111

Did you see the television coverage, and the print media coverage, this week regarding the questions now being raised about the Swissair Flight 111 crash that killed 229 passengers and crew near Peggy's Cove Nova Scotia some thirteen years ago?  A retired RCMP, Tony Juby, filed his last series of complaints in 2007 and eventually the-powers-that-be refused to deal with them.  He is currently retired and is free of the restrictions that forced him to remain silent until now.

I lived in Halifax at the time and remember vividly the strangers from around the world who came to our city in search of answers about the death of their loved ones.  Many couldn't speak English but we knew what they wanted and we helped them as much as we could.  They walked around in a fog and I don't mean the fog in Halifax on any given day. Imagine how many of these family members feel now after having been told all those years ago by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada that an electrical fault in the overhead wiring caused a short circuit which in turn caused a fire in he cockpit - and that led to the aircraft slamming into the Atlantic ocean. Simply put - a safety issue.

No one is using the word bomb - it's called an incendiary device for the moment.  For the moment.

I for one am sick about this and hope we all have some answers soon.

One more shout-out to Four Points - to Agnes!

In all of the pictures I received from Four Points by Sheraton in Halifax I don't think Agnes is in any of them.  That would be because she was behind the camera.  She put away her day job to be the hotel's on site photographer for the event.  Agnes was everywhere and seemed able to capture the vibe of the event without staging any photos.  I must send this on to my publisher Agnes...thanks for this.  Not that I want to suggest you give up your day job young lady but you could be a professional photographer for sure.

Four Points by Sheraton in Halifax - fundraiser in pictures as promised

I know I blogged about this event a few days ago but I promised pictures - here they are.  I won't name everyone because I am already leaving important people out by not posting pictures of everyone - that would be over 100 people!

The silent auction was a real success and I was totally impressed with the donations to the auction.  Well done Halifax!  Every successful company/business/hotel has a "head guy" and just above my picture you will see the Four Points by Sheraton Halifax big-guy-Bill.  Often when the top guy takes the mic he/she is less than comfortable.  Not so with Bill.  His timing was perfect, his humour appreciated and understood by all and he knew exactly when to be at the mic and when to sit down.  Impressive Bill!  Finally I have to mention Jeremy - pictured on the left with me.  Jeremy was my contact leading up to the event and during my stay in Halifax and I could not ask for a more professional and impressive person to work with. I see lots of success in your future young man.

Chocolate Shooters!

I met Amy at the Four Points by Sheraton Halifax recently. We had a bit of a contest to see who could eat the most "Chocolate Shooters" and as you can see Amy won hands down.

To be fair we may have staged this picture a bit. Perhaps she only ate SIX not SEVEN of these fabulous deserts!!

We had so much fun and have been in touch a few times since the event. I wonder if I will ever hear from Amy again after posting this tell-all-photo?

Love
CA

Linkedin is a useful business site group to join

If you have not checked it out www.linkedin.com check it out for yourself.

Linkedin is a good way to connect with other small business owners and to reconnect with business people from other careers. I have reconnected with may former Bell employees and just today I joined the Linkedin fiction writing group.

The Linkedin site doesn't necessarily bring work to you but it does open doors.

Carol Ann

Have you been to Vegas?

My friends Tom and Carol Bond just returned from a five day vacation in Vegas - and they loved every second of it. For years friends have been telling me to go - I keep saying there are other places I want to visit.  Maybe I should go?

CA

Four Points by Sheraton Halifax - Connect for a Cause raised $9,000.00!

Four Points by Sheraton Halifax held their first annual fundraiser - this year the proceeds went to Ovarian Cancer Canada and what an evening it was!  My contact leading up to the event was Jeremy Theriault and we were in contact almost daily as we got closer to the event date.  Emilie Chiasson who is the Atlantic Regional Manager for OCC and I were on CTV Morning with Heidi Petracek and Sept 8th unfolded from there. My hat is off to everyone at Four Points from the GM, Bill Brown (who was very funny by the way - his timing is excellent when he is at the podium and he kept the evening moving perfectly) to the many staff team members who worked their full day and then dressed up and volunteered their time for the entire evening - a great team. It was such a delightful event to be part of and my first time working with OCC.  

Now I don't normally talk about food but I have to show you the menu - Scanway Catering put on the most amazing meal topped off with - in my case - Bailey's in my after dinner coffee!!  The food was absolutely delicious, the servers were right on the mark and presentation was perfect. Check out www.scanwaycatering.com and  www.fourpointssheraton.com in Halifax. I have some pictures coming so will be back to this event in a few days.  I would do it again in a New York minute!!

Love

Carol Ann

Alyssa Patterson

On June 2nd (or around that time) I blogged about Alyssa Patterson receiving the first Comfort Heart Studentship Award which would allow her to work in the lab this summer. Recently I followed up with Alyssa to see how things went - her reply is an excellent example of what a wonderful, intelligent and committed young lady she is.  In part she shared..."I had a wonderful experience in the lab this summer.  I learned a lot about cancer research and chemistry and I found it to be a very stimulating, challenging and interesting experience...."

Heading back to Halifax

Having just left Nova Scotia after an entire month, I am flying back tomorrow to speak at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel. The hotel is hosting a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer Canada.  The event is Thursday evening so if you live in the Halifax area please join us. You can get details from the Ovarian Cancer website.

At the air show with Jalen et all

Jalen and family met Connie and I at the air show yesterday - long hot day and my first parking ticket - I might fight it - long story. Jalen is excited to be starting Grade 2 this week - growing up so fast!!

Lexi meets Connie!

Connie met Lexi for the first time this weekend and brought little Lexi a lovely pair of leopard-print boots - and they might fit her in a few years.  In the interim I will decorate with them!  As you can see, at day's end it was a "hard day at the office" for Lexi!

Jalen and Lexi have grown in the month I have been away!

I really missed my grandchildren during my NS vacation!  They have grown  so much and both had stories to share. Lexi has definitely found her voice!!

Final images

Last day - last evening - last night - early morning before Connie and I left for Toronto.