Ken's 3 Day Birthday Celebration  

Family Fun For My 50th

On my third and final day of "Fearless at Fifty" celebrations, I joined with my family at my mother's home, for our annual gathering. 

As with all the shindigs the past three days, the Big 5-0 was a major player when it came to decorations and birthday cards. Fortunately, all my family cards were light-hearted (like: "Life Begins at 40 so you're only 10 years old" or "In Giant Redwood years, you're only about 3 1/2").

We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner (with leftovers for me to take home) and a yummy birthday cake with candles that spelled out the words "OH NO THE BIG 5-0".

Top it off with gifts and merriment and it was the perfect finale to my birthday celebrations. What a great family I have.

Quacking Up at "The Duck"

For Day Two of my "Fearless at Fifty" celebration, I went to "The Duck" with Becky Lee , Susan Edwards and her pal Gail. It was Live Blues Saturday afternoon, two-time Juno winner Jack Dekeyzer was performing and the place was packed.

We met an array of revellers who seemed quite interested in us and a hot hunky guy - who gives hot stone massages - and followed me around like a puppy dog, much to the envy of the girls LMGAO. High adventures at the Duck -WOW what a wild birthday!

More About "The Duck"
info above from the Golden Phesant (aka "The Duck" website)

The Golden Pheasant Tavern – affectionately known as “The Duck” – is one of the few surviving hotels from yesteryear, when more than a dozen such establishments were located in St. Catharines , Ontario . Not only has the Golden Pheasant prevailed, it is one of the few taverns in the city to have operated almost continually from the time it was built in 1921.

Although not as large as some of the other now long gone Niagara Region hotels of the era, the Golden Pheasant has retained the rustic and hospitable 1950s charm instilled by the Castellan family, something that was retained when extensive renovations were done to the building in 1992, when a 480 sq. ft. addition was added to the building. A spacious outdoor patio followed in 2007.

Today, the Golden Pheasant is owned by Jack Kizera and his wife Holly. The now retired GM worker bought the establishment in 2005, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Although some renovations are on the schedule, Jack says he has not intention of changing the building’s character.

“I want it to remain the same as it is, a nice friendly atmosphere where people can enjoy great food and have the best live entertainment in the Niagara Region and work from there,” he said. “I want this to be the place that when somebody asks where they can catch a good band and grab a decent meal the answer they automatically receive is ‘The Duck’.”

Visit "The Duck" website for events listings and more -click here

OH-OH! It's the BIG 5-0!!

There's no escaping reality. It's my 50th birthday and the girls at work weren't about to let this milestone pass by without a little fanfare. I'd seen them in action before, when my colleague Diane Murray celebrated her 50th in August. Every item on her desk had been gift wrapped -EVERYTHING! Her desk, chair, computer, mouse -Hell, even the mouse cord! What would I have in store for me when I opened the office door today? I put on my brave face and entered the building.

[remember you can now click on pix for larger versions]

Anticipating they would be staying after work the night before to do their magic, I had left a note for them: "BE GENTLE: I'm old, frail and heavily-medicated." As you see here, the birthday gremlins had been hard at work. My desk and work area was wrapped in toilet paper, streamers and colourful balloons. As my nickname at work is "Princess", they went with that theme, presenting me with a Princess sash, a hat, a wand and Princess stickers.

In addition to a birthday card signed by the entire staff of Talk Wireless, the girls also had a special card from them to me. On the front of the card was a close-up of a woman's eyes with text resembling that of a horror movie. "It's Coming!, It's Huge! You Can't Run and You Can't Hide!" When you open the card you hear a shrieking scream and the words "The Big 5-0!" LMAO. Good one ladies.

After several photos and hugs we returned to work. Thankfully the girls had indeed "been gentle" to me. The toilet paper decor was a breeze to remove and within a few minutes my work station was back to normal.



I want to sincerely thank Pam Wanamaker, Diane Murray, Christine Manjeh, Connie Bering and Katie Lacey for the wonderful "surprise". Each of you mean so much to me and I am so happy to work with you. A Princess couldn't ask for a better group of friends.

Can’t tell you who else has a birthday today

 He asked me not to say.

  Really,

    I promised him it would remain a

     Secret, on this special day.

So I won’t be able to tell you

  Not allowed to say anymore

    Only he and I will ever know, cuz that’s

      What friends are for.

WHEW, I’m glad I can keep secrets~ LOL!

   EXCLUSIVE   

Go "Figure"!

It's become somewhat of a tradition. The last Saturday in September, immediately following Niagara's Wine Festival Grande Parade, I meet up at a local downtown bar with "my girlfriends" Becky Lee, Shannon Convery, Jody Edwards, Elena Vani and Pam Krause. Usually the anticipation of hangin' with the girls and drinking beer in a crowded parking lot is thrill enough for me. This year we had a two more reasons to celebrate. First off, was the addition of our pal Julie Boyce to the gang. But even more exciting was the opportunity to catch the band everyone had been talking about for weeks. That band is The Figure Four.

As it "figures", the group is comprised of  "four" talented musicans. Michael Chess -lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Gary Borden -lead guitar, rythmn vocals, Rob "Red Rocket" Carroll -lead bass guitar, soprano vocals and Chris "Burney" Burnett on drums.

In wrestling, the term figure four is defined as a grappling hold, which is exactly what the guys from The Figure Four had on their captive audience, that windy, chilly afternoon. The band's range in music is endless. Rock, Funk, Country, Blues & Hip Hop, The Figure Four covers it all, bringing their own unique flavour to each. Mixing the genres up with amazing ease, much to the delight of their admirers. According to their MySpace site "The Figure Four have given rockers all over a reason to believe that rehashing old material is far better than writing new crap".

In an exclusive online interview, lead vocalist Michael Chess tells scribbles the group has been jamming together for almost 10 years now. They reign from St Catharines, Thorold, Dryden, Winnipeg and "Helix's tour bus", Chess tells us.

The Figure Four are popular attractions at bars, casinos, weddings, stag & does, golf tournaments, corporate events and charitable fundraisers. "A unique element of the band is being able to cater their music and performance specifically to an event and crowd. With an arsenol of hundreds of songs, the band thrives on taking requests, never playing the same set twice and continually striving to give the people what they want." [from The Figure Four promotional bulletin]

When asked what one of their most memorable events were, Michael told us that for him, it was performing at former Toronto Maple Leaf, Wendal Clark's Celebrity Golf Tournament.

In their spare time, Chess says the band likes to "drink and giggle" -we assume the first has a lot to do with the second.

The girls and I were so impressed by the Figure Four's hand-waving, hip-girating, sing-along show at the Chilli Pepper that Saturday afternoon, that we followed them to their next performance later that day at Cat's Caboose. We weren't alone. I recognized many FF groupies at the second show.

When you're this great, once is just not enough.

Become a "Friend of the Figure Four"

Join their growing facebook group for exclusive pix and listings of upcoming shows. Click here.




The Figure Four can be seen at the following venues:

Cat's Caboose -Fri. Oct. 15th & Fri. Nov. 12 (9:30pm start)

Cracker Jack's -Sat. Nov. 13 (10 pm start)

Special Thanks to...

Michael Chess -for providing scribbles information on The Figure Four.

& Katherine Emily -the band's "personal papparazi', for allowing us use of her kick-ass photos.

 Weddings 

Lost in This Moment With You

It was an outdoor fairy tale wedding for Robin Miller and Tim Whyte, on a hot Summer day in August.

"Peacocks roamed the grounds displaying their beautiful colours - this was the inspiration for my peacock theme" says Robin, on her facebook page. "Seating arrangements were hung on grape vines from a large tree -thanks Jill"

[remember you can click on pix to view larger version]


"Our programs doubled as fans - which came in handy in the hot hot heat! I published our engagement photos in an album that we used as a guest book" the new Mrs. Whyte added.

I just loved the amazing photos taken on the Whyte's wedding day Aug. 21st. Everyone and everything looked just like a page out of a storybook. Truly beautiful. And speaking of beauties. I was absolutely blown away by the mother of the bride, Janet Miller. She looked stunning! "Robin was our Princess and I was the Queen" Janet joked, when I emailed her on how impressed I was by the pix.

Thank you for allowing scribbles to post your wedding photos Robin and allowing us all to get lost in the moment with you and Tim.

Wedding Bells Continue to Ring

Our Talk Wireless friend Dave Thompson wed his sweetheart Kate on a windy Saturday afternoon, Labour Day weekend 2010. A small and cozy affair, the couple exchanged vows in front of family and friends, with Lake Erie as their backdrop.

When I asked him if it was windy out that day, former "Big Dog" Dave told me that was an understatement. But even dark clouds and gale-force winds, couldn't stop the happy couple from tying the knot.

Congratulations to you both.

The Boy and the Box

My nephew Graham Clark-Storie (who will be 5 later this

month) is now in his second year of Kindergarten and loving every minute of it. A recent "homework" project was to find a cool box and decorate it. It will be his "treasure box", a place to put things he, ummm, treasures. 

His mommy Jane asked me if I had a box they could use and of course, I did. Sister Jane tells us they spent several hours getting lost in the decorating of the special box. They used markers, glitter, stickers and crayons, and we're not sure who had more fun, mother or son?

For a future Show and Tell at school, Graham will get to show off his creation and elaborate on what they used to make it so darn awesome.

Great job Graham and Jane, Uncle Ken gives this project an A plus!!

Get Your Motor Running

By day, our friend Laura Degraaf is a mild-mannered customer service rep at Talk Wireless in Niagara Falls. But when the clock strikes 5 (and the weather permits) Ms. D becomes a free-spirited biker gal. She's not alone, her BF "New Ryan" also loves to hit the road on his bike (and recently quite literally -OUCH!)

Studio Images Photography recently offered to do a photo shoot with Laura and her bike and here are a few of the results.

Awesome photos of an equally awesome girl. Thanks for allowing scribbles to post these sample pix Laura.

A Bit Under the Weather

When we feel ill we sometimes look a bit green. When you're a bearded dragon lizard -known to be a bit green around the gills to begin with - you turn pale white when you're under the weather. That's what our pals Megan Fox and Andy Tinneberg recently discovered when their reptilian companion Gary was not feeling well.

Megan tells us they took Gary to a reptile veterenarian clinic. "He's going to be okay! yippy! We need to force feed him with calcium powder mixed with water... from a syringe! Picture that! haha.. we'll be feeding him like a little baby"

Glad your little guy is going to be ok Megan and Andy.

  Update:     

Megan tells scribbles: "I meant to thank you for Gary's post! He's doing much better... he's eating his calcium-ified crickets! We have to put crickets in a plastic baggie and "shake n' bake" them with calcium powder. it's hilarious, they're all running around the cage, pure white! I think it's easier for Gary to spot them too, so that helps."

   EXCLUSIVE   

Balloon Hats and Lots of Laughs

The staff of Talk Wireless enjoyed a well-deserved night out recently, with a staff dinner at Margaritaville in Niagara Falls. In addition to refreshing cocktails and mouth-watering meals, the gang was kept amused by a lady on stilts, who made everyone their very own personalized balloon hat.

Unfortunately, I missed the big event, due to a cold, but as we see above -thanks to scribbles ace photographer Laura Degraaf -a good time was had by all -and in the case of our cleverly masked pickle biter, some more so than others. LMAO!!!

That's a Wrap!

Whenever there's gifts to unopen, my beloved kitty J.R. is never far from the scene. A bit out of focus, here's my crazy cat doing what he loves most, playing in the tissue, after I finished opening my birthday gift from Rob. Oh J.R., you are a such a silly boy!

Hit Me Baby One More Time

There's many reason I'm loving our new web host Blogger. In addition to the great layout and how easy it is for me to update posts, Blogger also offers me a chance to take a look behind-the-scenes to see what pages you have visited the most.

In our first week after launching Sept 20th, we had over 750 hits to our site pages (I was thrilled to find that out) And just where are you visiting the most?  The stats gathered reveal Your Business page has received the most hits of all our new pages. Running not far behind is our new Star Struck page and Funny Stuff (which doesn't surprise me, as our previous site's Funny Photos page was also one of your favourites.)  The page with the fewest visits? Our new Life Times editorial page. Maybe it' a bit too wordy for a quick peek, but I encourage you to check it out if you're looking for a few good belly laughs.

Thanks for all your rave reviews and returning to scribbles over and over. The higher the hit counters go, the more I'm encouraged to bring you more!

"The Munsters" Return to TV
 
Creepy comedy family The Munsters are heading back to the small screen in a new TV show with help from director Guillermo Del Toro, according to reports.
 
The original series, starring Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo, ran for two years between 1964 and 1966 and it spawned several films before it was revived in the 1980s for a spin-off called The Munsters Today, which ended in 1991.
 
Now executives at Universal are reportedly planning to bring the ghoulish group back once again, with Pan's Labyrinth director Del Toro taking a behind-the-scenes role in the project.
 
Bosses at TV network NBC are said to have commissioned a pilot episode, according to EW.com.


This just in:
"Eddie Munster" Slams Redo Idea

The Munsters star Butch Patrick has criticized plans to bring the creepy comedy family back to TV - insisting a new version of the classic show is "not going to do well".
 
The former child star, who played Eddie Munster in the 1960s TV show, is outraged by reports suggesting bosses at America's Universal studios are working on a new series based on the original program, which starred Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo.
 
And Patrick is adamant a new format will not be popular with viewers.
 
He tells TMZ.com, "Honestly, it should be left alone. I think it shows they are desperate for content. Unless they get (comic) Brad Garrett to play Herman, it's not going to do well."

We Welcome our Newest scribbles fan:

Julie Boyse


I first met Julie Boyse this Summer. Like me, Julie had been invited by the Convery gals (Becky, Shanny, Susan, Jody) to join them for a "Girls Weekend" at their family cottage "Maggie's Cove", in Pappaneau Lake, ON.

I knew right off I was going to like Julie, when she offered to help me with my numerous bags (it's a fact, "Just Jack" does not pack lightly...LOL) . I loved Julie's free-spirit, she was big on the outdoorsy stuff like helping keep the campfires burning & feeding the wildlife and she was a real pleasure to be around.

This weekend I met up with her and the girls again, this time out after the Wine Festival parade, at Chilli Pepper's bar, where we all enjoyed the group The Figure Four. I didn't miss the opportunity this time to grab Julie's email info so I could officially add her to scribbles mailing list. Welcome Julie,  I hope we meet up again soon and remember "No Visa, just Debit and You take garbage outside, OUTSIDE"  LMAO!!

A Recommendation for My Milestone Birthday
by Chris Snow

"OMG  50....Who knew???  LOL
You should make a list of 50 things you want to accomplish within that year..and see how you do !!

I recommend avoiding sky diving and that sort of thing LOL

Easy stuff like
-Eating a whole bag of chips in one sitting
-Catching a Miss Conception Sunday performance - I'll join you  :)
-Writing Adam Lambert a love note  lol
-Coming and seeing me in my new Theatre show - Scream Queens (shameless self-promotion)

There - I've knocked off 4 items for you already LOL"

[Editor's Reply: Chrissy you always come up with the greatest ideas -although this does somehow remind me of a recent movie...heehee, still, it is a great idea. And I LOVE the 4 ideas you came up with -although I already polished off the bag of chips in one sitting and have sent so many love letters to Adam Lambert he's getting a restraining order against me...LOL- I WISH!!  Be sure to tell me more about "Scream Queens" as I think I'll put that one on the top of the list...And gotta admit, one of the reasons I added this post to scribbles was to have an excuse to use your fabulous profile pix I ripped off your facebook page- It's the bomb, like YOU!! Love ya]

 EXCLUSIVE  

It's a Girl!!

By Neil Blythin
Proud Papa

"We are very pleased to announce the arrival of our daughter, Kiera Mae Blythin. Born Wednesday Sept. 22 at 10:14 am. She was 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mom [Ginger] & baby are doing great; and big brother William is thrilled to finally meet 'baby bonn-it' (toddler-speak for 'peanut')."

Congratulations Neil, Ginger & William -scribbles is thrilled for you all -Readers click on pix to view larger version.

Remembering Garrie Nugent
by his Life Partner Trudy O'Neill

Garrie Nugent was born Feb 27/47 in Toronto, where he grew up. He started driving tractor trailers in his late teens and hauled anything from food to oil.  He was one of the first drivers to haul a train and give input as to how they handled and any problems with them.

He has 2 boys David and Patrick and one grandchild Ashley, he was very dedicated to working and making sure his family was taken care of.

We met in the spring of 2000. He was my "old man" and I was his "kid". Garrie was most happy when he was driving especially when showing me parts of Canada I had not even heard of.  We especially enjoyed going to Forks of the Credit Rd and Sauble Beach.  We would spend every Sunday going shopping and watching Nascar.  We would bet on who's driver would win. 

About 2 years after we met Garries health started to fail and his license to drive big trucks was taken away. 

He took great pleasure in being with our dog Teddy. Teddy was his little man and even though Garrie had a lot of trouble walking, he took a few minutes each day to get on the floor and play with Teddy. Teddy in turn curled up beside Garrie when he laid down.


After several years of suffering, he passed away Aug 31/10. He was 63. I miss my "old man" very much.

KUDOS TO THE CAST OF SCREAM QUEENS

Alexis -Angie Knuth

Richelle -Darrell Baker

Nadine -Darryl Bell -as Chris Snow

DeeDee -Carolyn Jones

Tonya -Terri Pentlichuk

Bianca -Julie Turner

FOR AN AMAZING SHOW

These Six Queens Were a Real Scream

After scribbles recent interview with Chrissy Snow I was even more intrigued to catch her in Dunnville Community Theatre's production of Scream Queens. This was my first DCT live show and "Sister" Jane joined me for the show.

Scream Queens the Musical by Scott Martin was directed by Mandy McIntyre and Nancy Gimblett. It ran live at DCT Nov 4-6 and Nov 11-13.

Meet the Scream Queens. Deedee, Richelle, Nadine, Bianca, Tonya & Alexis. Six babes from Horror movie fame. Tonight is their convention and throughout the evening we will get to know them more intimately through song, slapstick and video montages.

The fearless queens of scream even get the audience involved throughout the show. At one point "volunteers" are brought up from the crowd by each girl. "Darryl Bell-as Chris Snow-as Nadine" selected me to join others as zombies chasing them around the stage. My first visit to the theatre and here I was up on stage already...LOL!

It was a night of laughs and exceptional talent and scribbles was thrilled to be there and catch the show. Making it even more memorable -we had front row seats thanks to Sharon Janzen  Rhonda King and we were also joined by our friend Nick Mehta, making Jane & I's front row seats all that much better! 

 Find out more about future shows

Visit the Dunnville Community Theatre here

photo Nancy Erskine

"What the Flock"?

Joan Storie laughs out loud as a group of hungry ducks gather around her to grab some food from her stash. The pix was taken while Joan and Bob Miller (who shared this photo with us) were visiting Happy Rolph's in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Click image to view larger version of this pix