Bring DNTO to London!

Sometimes the most incredible things fall into place randomly. And sometimes social media helps the process along.

For example, one day I was simply retweeting some great songs by an artist I love and he sent a song out just for me! And that led to a friendship and a campaign to bring him to London. A year later, it worked. Reid, Carolyn and John came to London and played at the East Village Coffeehouse.

Similarily, we (LdnOnt) brought CBC Q and Jian Ghomeshi to London through the power of social media.

So, it should come as no surprise to me that the following story unfolded as the result of a few tweets.

Last week CBC's Definitely Not The Opera asked their twitter followers to tweet photos of themselves with celebrities. Well, anyone that knows me, knows that I have plenty of those! I chose a select few and sent them out into the twitterverse. Immediately they were favourited and retweeted by DNTO. And a few minutes later, they replied to say if there's a good story behind my pics, please contact their producer.

I sent a message off to let them know that I'm not completely crazy or a stalker, but just something Lisa & I do once a year.

Well, we've had a few back and forth emails and it turns out I just might convince DNTO to take the show on the road and come to London! I mean, if it worked for Jian and Q, why not for SookYin and DNTO? How fun is that? Well, for a CBC fan like myself, it's a hoot.

And, as a side note, David Spade (the REAL David Spade) favourited my tweet that included my pic with him. It's always fun when you get feedback from a celebrity!

So stay tuned as this story unfolds. Can't wait to see what's in store!

Initiated Into The Club

I can remember following my brother around when I was a little girl, intrigued by all the things he knew about. He had seven years on me, so he was a wealth of information - particularly about things related to nature.

Countless times we would walk across the road and go fishing in the ditch. As we sat on the culvert, our neighbour Don Simpson would come over with a big smile on his face and ask in a most serious tone "are you catching anything today?" John would give him the report and I would just sit there swinging my legs.

I cherish those memories with John and was always happy to tag along.

This year (as I blogged about here) I joined John and his kids Josh and Kaelyn for an afternoon of ice fishing. It was my first time and I had a hoot. When buying my license, I decided to pay the extra $10 and be covered for a full year rather than just one day. We didn't get the opportunity to go out on the ice again, but plan to join John & co. on some of their fishing excursions this spring/summer.

This weekend, I was presented with my very first fishing rod. I felt like I was officially "in the club" and this was my initiation.

Can't wait to do some fishing this summer! Thanks John & Josh.

Memory Lane

It's funny how, despite our expectations to the contrary, time does not stand still. When you're a teenager or even in your 20's you're living in the moment, life is good and getting older seems like a lifetime away.

I've been feeling nostalgic lately with subtle reminders of the passing of time and this weekend was a great example. We gathered yesterday for an awesome Easter dinner, egg hunt for the kids and some family time. After dinner John had the idea to watch an old VHS tape of a fishing trip he took with Dad and his friend Joel over 20 years ago.

The men and some of the kids watched the video while the rest of us chatted or played a game. I occasionally looked up to catch a glimpse of a lake, a forest or the highway. When that video was over, we started rummaging in the drawer under the TV to see what else was in there. We found Mom & Dad's 25th anniversary party, Christmas 1991 and one that contained Connie carrying the Olympic torch in 1988.

As we put those in the VCR, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and gathered around to watch. What fun to see how we looked 20 years ago! There were lots of other family and friends that popped up and the room would burst into laughter, exclaim "look at her hair" or let out a collective "awww".

I must admit, I got a little teary when Grandad came on the screen and especially when I heard his voice.

It was great fun to relive some memories from the past and it was such a reminder of how time moves on. John remarked that he is now the same age as Dad was in one of the videos and I pointed out the same to Abby.

Can't wait until next time we get together. I have a great tape in my basement I'm going to bring :)

Yolkswagen

I love breakfast food. Really. It's my favourite meal as far as selection goes. Bacon. Eggs. Pancakes. Waffles. Fruit. Coffee. Juice. What's not to love about ALL of those things?

I also love VW's Beetle. I think that is obvious. It has been my favourite car since I was a wee girl and I've been driving a Beetle for 12 years now.

This photo popped up in my twitter feed today and I had to share. How cute?