Apr 26, 2017

KIDS | Splish Splash, I Was Taking a Bath


YOU | Baby on Board


 




YOU & ME | Family Affair at Easter




YOU | Easter in the Valley 2017



KIDS | Enjoying Their Annual Photo with Bunny


INSPIRING |


REVIEW | Trans Canada Highwaymen


Take four guys from popular Canadian, namely, Moe Berg from the Pursuit of Happiness, Chris Murphy of SloanCraig Northey from The Odds and most recognizably, Steven Page of The Barenaked Ladies. Get them to perform each other’s songs together and you’ve got the Trans Canada Highwaymen.

This unique grouping debuted a 19 city tour on Wed. Apr.19 at First Ontario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. As per usual, I was there with our friend Shelley Stewart, who is a huge fan of all genres of music.

Between songs, the guys exchanged banter about them getting together, or what the next song meant. 

Other times they used a projector screen to show Moe, Chris, Craig and Steven being asked questions or showing images of old records, ticket stubs, chart ratings, classic pix, cool collectible kinda stuff.

The show was as anticipated. Trans Canada Highwaymen showcased the guys talents and gave you the bonus of having 4 “groups” combined into one new group. So, four times the familiar hits. WOOHOO!  That part was pretty cool.

And they were having fun and including us in the experience. There’s nothing worse than going to a concert and not being included in on the fun. They could have easily talked among themselves and acted like we weren’t even there, but they didn’t do that. It was them sharing their stories WITH us. It was great. And being the first show of a new tour made it extra special.

Another great night out with Shelley, first at Gord’s Place [no Chicken Bites for me, this time around it was a nice Bacon Cheeseburger with those delicious home cut fries...damn, I want another one right now!]  and then at the Performing Arts Centre for Trans Canada Highwaymen, likely the last show for a while, as the live stuff shuts down for the summer.

The Performing Arts Centre also features the Film House, which airs new and rare movies, and is fully licensed. It will be open most of the summer. 

If Trans Canada Highwaymen are appearing near you, they’re worth checking out.

VIDEO  |  

Here's a video taken last summer in Niagara-on-the-Lake ON, when the Trans Canada Highwaymen performed at a popular winery.

IN MEMORIAM | Brenda Baldwin



Celebration of Brenda's Life
Sat. Apr. 29  [12 - 4 pm]


Brenda Baldwin's mother Lorraine Hachey-Aleo welcomes all of Brenda’s friends and family to a Celebration of Brenda’s Life (in lieu of a service/viewing) This Saturday April 29th from 12 pm till 4 pm Four Points by Sheraton Niagara Suites. 3530 Schmon Parkway, Thorold, Ontario

Please celebrate Brenda Baldwin, share your memories and love.


BRENDA BALDWIN'S OBITUARY
BALDWIN, Brenda Anne It is with profound sadness that I her mother, Lorraine Hachey Aleo announce the passing of my beloved daughter Brenda on April 21, 2017 at the age of 45 at her home. She will be lovingly remembered by her all her family and her many dear friends. She was honoured to be the Imperial Crown Princess VII (Icon) of the Imperial Court of the Waterfall Empire of Hamilton, Niagara and Tri Cities. She is reunited with her grandmother Adrienne Landry and her furry companion Bootzie. 




VIDEO | The iPad Magician

SCRIBBLES VIDEO | We Pick Our Egg Hunt Winner

Apr 21, 2017

PETS | One Scene. Two Very Different Perspectives


New $10 Bill Celebrates Canada's 150th Anniversary

The Canadian Press 
Published Monday, April 10, 2017


OTTAWA -- The Bank of Canada has placed an Easter egg on its website promoting the new $10 bill.
If visitors to the website enter the right series of keys, [...something special happens.]
The central bank unveiled the design for the new $10 bank note last week to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
The key sequence to unlock the secret is known as the Konami code because it was first included in a video game by the Japanese company of the same name in 1986.
The cheat code has since been used in dozens of other games.
The code is: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a
"The Bank of Canada's web team thought the Konami code was a fun way to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation," Bank of Canada spokeswoman Josianne Menard said.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT BANK OF CANADA'S WEBSITE
(You can view the new $10 bill and don't forget to enter the code highlighted above, using your keyboard,  Don't worry, it's perfectly safe)

Apr 17, 2017

VIDEO | By Accident or by Fate? Woman & Dog Rescue Each Other

YOU | We're Hungry

PHOTO COURTESY DARIN SHERK

YOU | They're Going the Distance

YOU | Scribbles Pals in Local Newspaper

Our friends the Dennis family were recently featured in the Welland edition of Niagara This Week, in an article about World Autism Awareness day.

Here's the story and photo, as featured in Niagara This Week, April 4th.

Raising the flag for autism awareness

Autism Ontario flags raised at City Halls across Niagara

by Lydia Versluis Niagara This Week - Welland

WELLAND — Special flags are being displayed at city halls across Niagara Region this week.

The flags, raised Monday during a series of ceremonies throughout the region, have a special purpose: to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following World Autism Awareness day.

Heather and Rodney Dennis were at Welland City Hall for the flag rising with their daughter Alina and three-year-old twin girls, Kayla and Maia, who are in the process of being diagnosed with autism. They also have a son who is also on the spectrum.

Typically, no two cases of autism are the same.

“I don’t know what I’m going to wake up to everyday,” said Heather. “I just hope for a good day.”

World Autism Awareness Day fell on a Sunday this year, so some activities were moved to Monday. This year in the Niagara region alone, 100 flags flew in support of individuals with autism at municipal offices, schools, community partners and more.

Last March, the Ontario government announced that key autism therapy, intensive behavioural intervention, which is designed to change or improve behaviour, was to be cut off for children over the age of five. The decision was overturned by June last year after receiving little support, helping parents with support services.

“They’ve overturned that decision, so the kids can go up to whatever age. I think it’s 18 and depends on their needs,” says Angela Roy, who is a mother of a teenager with autism.

Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that affects tens of millions of individuals around the world. In Ontario, there is a wait of two to three years to get fully diagnosed on the spectrum and it is estimated that 100,000 Ontarians are diagnosed with ASD, making up almost one per cent of the population.

There are many support groups in the region are designed to help parents with any questions or concerns they may have.

“They actually chat about different things — they will often have a facilitator who will talk about different agencies that are connected and explain where you could go with your kids,” Roy said.

The Niagara Region Chapter for Autism Ontario hosts a number of annual fundraising events to support the programs and services offered in the area. To find out more information about what they do, visit autismontario.com/client/aso/ao.nsf/Niagara/niagarahome.

VISIT NIAGARA THIS WEEK'S WEBSITE -CLICK HERE

INFO | Fruit & Veggies Can Help You Heal


Apr 15, 2017

KIDS | No Yolking, He Loves Decorating Eggs

PHOTOS COURTESY TAMMIE HOLDITCH

EASTER | "I'm Sure Happy We Have an Easter Bunny"

This Easter drawing and Easter Rabbit story were written and drawn by me, "Kenny Leavoy" when I was just a little kid (yes, that's me on the left.) These classics first appeared in Scribbles, April 2013.




Apr 14, 2017

Apr 9, 2017

YOU | Justin's Ring Goes Gaga in the Big Apple

JUSTIN PRESTON'S AMAZING RING STORY - IN HIS OWN WORDS: 

"During the summer of 2010, many years ago. I lost my graduation ring in the sand at Crystal Beach*, because a of hole in my shorts pocket. 

I had customized it without my mother's permission because Lady Gaga truly inspired and helped me get through high-school which many at that point would not understand why I did this. With the cost being super expensive. I was still able to get this ring for everything I did in high-school as my mother was truly so proud of me and supported me all the way.

[I thought] I would never be able to get this ring back, checking every pawn shop, calling places all around the Niagara [to see] if this ring was sold or melted since prices were very high. I got no calls back, [and was] super heart broken. I gave up searching... almost forgetting.

[One day] I decided to share my story online with being bullied and trying to take my life several of times when I was younger. When I posted my story I never expected for so many replies, so many emails with support from people all around the world.

O
ne email stood out to me as it was a lady in New York - the same area where Lady Gaga was from.

She emailed me and asked if I'd ever lost something very special and close to my heart. [I looked at] this email thinking it was spam [but then] I decided to write back.

Not in a million years [did I think I] would be reading an email asking if I lost a gold ring
and if it was mine. If I was the real "Justin Preston" that was engraved inside the ring and to identify everything on it.

One thing I could never forget was the way I personalized and customized my 14k gold "#LadyGaga" ring.

How the ring was found was that [while visiting Crystal Beach] her daughter was playing in the sand and was making a castle when she discovered my ring. She was super young and had no idea what it was. She placed it with her toys ... when this family started packing up from their cottage to travel back to the United States from their summer visit to Canada.

[Upon returning home] the mother noticed my ring and was trying to search for me for years.

Two years later ...on this very day March 28th, 2012, Lady Gaga's birthday, I got my precious ring back.

This lady drove all the way from New York City
to Buffalo to drop my ring off to my mother's friend who traveled to the border and placed it back in my hands.

I can never forget March 28th 2012 as how grateful and emotional I was knowing there are still good people in our world."


[*CRYSTAL BEACH IS LOCATED NEAR FORT ERIE, ON]