published in Achieving Your Dreams, Family, Food, Gratitude, Inspiration by Maryanne | May 30, 2018 | 2 Comments
Keep Your Eye on the Prize (and the Prime Rib on Your Head)
Maryanne at Fanny Bay Inn, BC
“I never lose. I either win or learn.”
– Nelson Mandela
Oh what a night…
If there was ever any concern about turning 50 being the start of a downward slide into old age, this past weekend dispelled that fear. In fact, it would appear I may be sliding in the other direction 🙂
My little brother, Carleton, and his wife, Valina, spent the weekend with me and Sadie in our beautiful Qualicum Bay rental cottage, north of Parksville on Vancouver Island. I am staying in these different places ostensibly to get a feel for various communities in which I may one day set down roots. In reality, I’m having a ball staying in funky homes, exploring the surroundings and fraternizing with visitors and locals alike.
Case in point was Sunday night.
It started out in style with a ride in Carleton & Valina’s convertible mustang…mature big sister (that’s me) in the back, gleefully snapping selfies while baby brother/designated driver adhered to the speed limit under the watchful eye of his co-pilot/wife.
Carleton, Valina & MA, Fanny Bay Inn
Dinner was at the Fanny Bay Inn Pub where there was live music AND a meat-draw (they don’t have those in Sidney)!
“Valina,” I said, as we took our seats, “I am going to WIN that prime rib!”
So when the guy from the Lions Club came around selling tickets, I bought nine of them for $5.
Sure enough, twenty minutes (and a beer or two) later, they did the draw and one of my ticket numbers was called. You’d think I’d have won the lottery. I leapt up from our picnic table with a squeal then screamed, “I WON! I WON!”
As I was running (in strappy wedges) up to the front to collect my prize, some guy in the crowd yelled, “Put it on your head! That’s the tradition!”
So I threw my arms around the fellah who sold me the ticket then grabbed my prime rib, hoisted it in the air and placed it on my head. I turned around to face the crowd and there’s little brother, proudly snapping photos of his sister’s big moment. It was priceless.
The cheeky photo-bomber in the photo at the top is the Lions guy who sold me the ticket.
And the moral to the story is, perhaps, this:
If you want to a win a prime rib, you have to buy a ticket (or 9). If you want to win at life, you have to get in the game. Keep your eye on the prize, show up each and every day and do the work and eventually, things fall into place and/or you win a slab of beef.
Speaking of keeping your eye on the prize, here’s your friendly neighbourhood ball-obsessed retriever in action at the local swimming hole:
Sadie at Rosewall Creek, BC
Have a great week and we shall do the same! I suspect a scrumptious prime rib dinner is in our future 🙂
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here. As a thank you, you’ll receive a short but saucy e-book entitled, Dive into this Chicago Deep Dish – Ten Bite-Sized Steps for a Yummier Slice of Life.
published in Dreams/Goals, Family, Food, Gratitude, Inspiration, Travel, Writing by Maryanne | September 7, 2016 | 8 Comments
Deux Pope à Paris 🙂
MA & Tracey Pope in front of Louvre
“I guess it goes to show that you just never know where life will take you. You search for answers. You wonder what it all means. You stumble, and you soar. And, if you’re lucky, you make it to Paris for a while.”
– Amy Thomas, Paris, My Sweet; A Year in the City of Light
Salut!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. I sure have! My sister-in-law Tracey (my brother Doug’s wife) arrived on Saturday morning and over the past few days, we have seen enough magnificent architecture and stunningly beautiful art to knock a cow over backwards.
Arc de Triomphe
An archway on Notre Dame Cathedral
Eiffel Tower
Paris apartments
We’ve mastered the metro and become experts at choosing the best café in any given neighbourhood to sit and watch the world go by – glass of wine (or beer or cafe creme) in hand. The food, of course, is exquisite and the people-watching is fantastique!
MA at a cafe, Latin Quarter
Beer cheers, Latin Quarter
We even spent some time with the, er, remains of people past – 6 million of them – when visiting the Catacombs far below the streets of Paris.
Bones in the Catacombs
Skulls and femurs stacked high
Spooky shot of Tracey in Catacombs
MA & Tracey spooky selfie
Here are a few more of my favourite pics of Paris so far:
The Siene
Stained glass window in Notre Dame
MA (in matching red beret) on crazy swivel chair in Centre Pompadou (modern & contemporary art)
A beautiful sight…no caption needed
We are off to the Louvre today 🙂
Oh and I am still getting some excellent writing done, just in case you’re concerned. Hah! What I do is get up early and write for about an hour every morning before we head out to wander the streets and see the sights (and eat more delectable delights). Très bon.
Au Revoir!
Previous Paris blogs by Maryanne:
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and the Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her weekly blog, please sign up here.
published in Change, Childhood Hunger, Family, Food, Inspiration, Mothering Matters, Whatever Floats Your Boat documentary by Maryanne | July 2, 2016 | No Comment
This is the 9th & final Mothering Matters blog for the 2016 campaign:
Tackling Childhood Hunger One Lunch at a Time
“If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.”
– Buzz Aldrin
For this final Mothering Matters blog for 2016, we wanted to highlight an organization that reflects the concept of “mothering in the broader perspective.”
As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. And sometimes it takes a community to feed a child – or three thousand of them, which is how many lunches the organization, Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids, often makes in a day for children who would otherwise go hungry.
So we asked BB4CK Executive Director, Tanya Koshowski, for her thoughts on how tackling childhood hunger links to the theme of Mothering Matters.
Please click here to view the 90-second video Tanya and her team made in response to this question. We LOVE Tanya’s message!
If you’re interesting in supporting BB4CK, each lunch costs only about $1 to make, thanks to the help of their in-kind partners. So a small donation goes a very long way 🙂
For further information about the Mothering Matters blog series, here is the link.
If you would like to receive the Mothering Matters blogs (when the next campaign starts in spring 2017) and/or read the other blogs, please click here.