Tractor Breakfast

Below is a story that I wrote that was recently published here.

The air was brisk on Saturday October 23 when tractors of all shapes and sizes started gearing up for the Tractor Breakfast and Bake Sale at Kirkwall Presbyterian Church. With the leaves in shades of red and gold, people from neighboring farms and villages took a break from their activities to ride on into Kirkwall, Ontario to share some stories, have a hearty breakfast and show their support for the church.

From John Deere to Massey Ferguson, over 13 different types of motorized tractors from farm machinery to your small lawn tractor made the ride. Several participants also brought pedal tractors, die-cast tractors, homemade wooden and tin tractors. Breakfast-goers came from all around including the communities of Aberfoyle, Cambridge, Crieff, Clyde, Morriston and Sheffield.

The Tractor Breakfast was the brain child of congregation member, and tractor enthusiast Howard Hill after hearing of similar events happening in other areas.

"The church is in a rural area and has lots of farming background," said Mr. Hill who was happy to see Reverend Tom Billard on a tractor for the first time. "Us guys like driving our tractors and need an excuse to drive them."

The event brought in over 130 people, young and old into the church located in the heart of Southwestern Ontario in hopes of raising funds and awareness for the church. Mr. Hill talked to local businesses and farms with regards to coming to the breakfast and donating goods for door prizes. He was seen donning a bright yellow jacket calling numbers throughout the breakfast with many happy cheers from the winners.

Members of the Tractor Breakfast Team, including the entire Women’s Auxillary, worked hard on the event, preparing a hearty meal as well as baked goods. The meal included locally produced eggs and maple syrup which were provided by members of the church congregation.

“The ladies worked so hard to bring the food,” said Rev. Billard with pride. “We have a lot of talented people here.”

The Tractor Breakfast is one of many events for the Kirkwall Presbyterian Church which has set a very high goal of an expansion on the back of the church which was originally built in 1887. The expansion is the largest of it's kind in over 100 years, says Rev. Billard. “It means we’ll be able to be more accessible to our entire congregation.”

As the Sheffield Presbyterian church was amalgamated with Kirkwall, some of the churches weaknesses started to become apparent. Accessibility was an issue and there became a strong need for an elevator. The children’s playroom and Sunday School area was also too small to accommodate the growing number of youth coming to the church each week and there has become a need for a dedicated meeting area.

“The nursery and the multipurpose room will allow for a better children’s program,” said Rev. Billard. “It will help us reach out to families.”

Nine-year-old Zakary Schmitz agrees. When asked about how he felt about the addition, the blonde-haired boy smiled and said “It’s going to be much bigger.”

The plans include: building an elevator that will lead up to the sanctuary, accessible washrooms, a meeting room and storage space. After talking to contractors in January, Scheidel Construction broke ground at the start of October and is being watched over by the Board of Managers, the Session and the entire congregation.

The church has been working hard for the past year to raise the funds for the addition but this hasn’t been their sole focus. They congregation banded together for Haiti after the devastating earthquake rocked that country by raising funds, knitting and donating blankets and washcloths. After the recent tsunami in Pakistan they raised over $1500. In the summer, the church hosted a Corn Roast and a Chili Luncheon to raise fund for the Canadian Food Grains Project.

“Our congregation is very hard working and action-oriented,” said Rev. Billard. “They put their faith into action.”

The next big event for Kirkwall Presbyterian Church will be an annual Robbie Burns Dinner. A local favourite that takes place at the end of January with proceeds going to the Presbyterian World Service and Development. Last years dinner raised enough money to put in a well in Malawi, a landlocked country in the heart of Africa.

With all their hard-working determination and community spirit, the congregation is still short on the amount of money needed for the construction and many future events are in the works. If you would like to help Kirkwall reach their goal, donations would be greatly appreciated. Any donation over $10 will be issued a tax receipt.

Please send donations to:
Kirkwall Presbyterian Church
c/o Jeanette Jamieson
2055 8th Conc. W
Cambridge, ON, N1R 5SZ

Flash Mob!

I was going to write about the Cambridge Santa Claus parade that happened last night but something more interesting has piqued my interest. Flash Mobs!

I don't know if I mentioned it, but this summer when my hubby and I were talking about going to the Taste of the Danforth, I found out that there was going to be a flash mob. If I learned the steps, i too could've participated. Sadly, I didn't find out until about a half hour before we were slated to leave. (We also didn't end up there but that's another story.) I was interested as I had heard of these things but hadn't really paid much attention. I never thought I'd ever see one, let alone be in one.

This morning someone who I follow in twitter posted a link to a flash mob. This mob broke out into song in the middle of a mall food court. It was gorgeous. The acoustics in the food court and the wonderful voices were amazing. I had never heard of a singing flash mob.

So of course being in the holiday spirit from the parade, I decided to see if there were more Christmas flash mobs. I found loads of them on Youtube. Most of which involved dancing. They were in Times Square, in train stations, shopping malls. They danced to so many different themes. The dancers ran from the very young, to fairly old. All ages took part as long as they could learn the steps.

My favourite one that I found was from Central Station in Antwerp, Belguim. They preformed to The Sound of Music. Perhaps it is because this is one of my absolute favourite movies of all time, but the song and the dancing is amazing. I also loved the reactions of the people who were just walking through the train station and had no idea what they were walking into. Click on the video below and bask in the glory.

The Great Election Debate

I can't believe how hard it was for me to decide on a candidate in my ward for this municipal election that's happening tomorrow.

I won't tell you who I'm voting for - but I will tell you how exciting it will be to see the outcome.

I'll be honest - I didn't vote in the last election. It was really hard because at the time I was living out of the region of Waterloo and really had no idea what the issues were. I didn't really pay attention to what was going on around me in that I had an apartment and we never got the newspaper. I also didn't get out and enjoy the town I was living in so it really didn't matter to me who got voted in.

So the last time I voted was 8 years ago. I was living in Ward 4 - voted at St. Peters elementary school and voted for Ben Tucci. I felt he was really standing up for us and I liked the idea of someone with experience on council. I had met him on a professional level and he seemed to really care about the people in his ward and he knew what he was doing.

Fast forward to this year - I'm back in Waterloo region, living in my own house in the brand new Ward 1. The ward is huge - covers parts of Hespeler, Preston and Blair. There are so many different issues and so many different types of people living and working in this ward. I guess it shouldn't have been a shock to have the most number of candidates running - Ten. Yes 10 candidates. All thought long and hard before running in this election.

Some even got out pounding the pavement a month in advance to get the word out. All have walked through the neighbourhoods knocking on doors and trying to win votes. There is no clear leader and no clear loser in this race.

For me, there are a few things that really stand out to me in a regional election and more specifically my ward.

#1 - I want someone who knows what's going on in my ward. If they lived there, grew up there or their kids go to school there - it means a lot that they understand the needs in our area.
#2 - That they don't focus on one area more than the other. As our ward covers Hespeler, Preston and Blair - the candidate that is going to win my vote should not focus so much on one area that they seem to forget the other.
#3 - I want someone that understands local politics and has experience in some sort of council. I know all the people running in my ward are fairly new, but some have run for different councils or headed committees in the past. I want someone who can speak up when needed, and sit back and listen when necessary.
#4 - I want someone who is a good speaker in public. I don't want someone who is going to be nervous and have a shaky voice. That's not going to instill confidence in their performance.
#5 - I want someone who WANTS to be there. If they can't come out to debates, or they say that they don't want to be a career politician - that means they aren't really wanting to win. It makes me question their motives.
#6 - I don't want someone who is slinging mud at other candidates. I want a clean fight. I want to hear what you can do - and not what you don't like about the other guy. I guess that's more geared towards the mayoral race and the regional race.

One of the things that really worries me about a candidate is if they aren't informed. They need to understand the limitations within their role on council and what the history of the council has been. If someone comes in that hasn't lived in Cambridge long, they better really know their stuff. If they've never shown an interest in politics before, they won't get my vote.

I asked on twitter the other day who people thought I should vote for. the majority of responses said "Election? What election?" I had two people offer up suggestions, but only one of them backed it up in facts. I take all input into consideration when it comes to something like this. Some really important things are coming up for our area. I want to know what people think so I can make an informed decision.

This was why it was really good for me to find the Cambridge Citizen. It's a local website that has some political commentary. They've opened it up for all candidates to write in and participate on discussion boards. I've loved seeing politicians becoming real people. Actually commenting on things that I have to say.

I've never felt like my opinion mattered until this year.

A friend of mine is running for School Board Trustee - and I'm going to vote for him. We met online, and really that means nothing to some people, but through online conversations we met fact to face. He's one of those people that surprised me. He looked me in the eye, he asked my opinions and really listened. I want people like that involved in politics in my area. I think Colin Carmichael is a wonderful candidate and I really hope he gets in. See his website here.

The first candidate running in this election that I talked to actually came out to an event this summer. She was running for regional council and I was really impressed that she came to a local event and actually talked to EVERYONE there. She handed out her business card and got people engaged. As a teacher, Atinuke Bankole is used to talking to large groups of people. I was a little surprised to see her out so early, it was August after all, but she got me thinking. I've never really given elections much thought on the regional level, but she really made me want to. I watched her video from the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and I was really impressed. She knows a lot about politics and I think she would be a really fresh voice for Cambridge at the Regional level. To see her website go here.

I'm not trying to endorse one way or another. How you vote really needs to come from your heart. I just know that it's been really exciting this year to actually get involved. To feel that I have a voice and that my voice is going to be heard on October 25th.

I am from Cambridge.
And I AM voting on election day.

My night at the Chainsaw

There is something so comforting about being the sober person in a bar.

Went out last night for a friends birthday. She's a fairly new friend, but I've felt like I've known her for ages. I know in my heart that she would do anything for me if I needed her to - and that includes picking my drunk ass up off the floor.

For her birthday she had one request - she wanted to go to karaoke. Knowing some of her history - I know that this girl used to be a karaoke host - or Karaoke Jockey in the past. She was a regular at some fantastic karaoke nights. She understands how important the levels are and how sometimes the crowd can make the night. As she moved back to this area of the province recently, she put it out there to the Twitterverse that she wanted to go to karaoke and where should she go. Nearly every person that responded told her to go to the Chainsaw. Which sadly - does not have a website for me to direct you to. Or if they did, I couldn't find in my half-hearted attempt to find it in the top 3 pages of google results.

Anyhow - my hubby has gone to karaoke there on a couple of occasions and really enjoyed that sometimes people were willing to dance for you if the song was right. Even he agreed that this was a great place to go.

As I knew the hubby would be one of the few boys in a sea of girls, I knew it was safer if he could relax a little over some wobbly pops. It didn't seem fair that the birthday girl had to drive either since she should be able to kick back and relax and so I decided to be the DD. Younger me would've fought tooth and nail to avoid this fate, but older me knows how much fun it can be.

As the sober person in a bar you can watch everything and everyone. More than half have no idea that you are watching their drunken behaviour and those that do could care less. I was able to sit back and laugh at all the craziness going on around us, and even at our table while everyone seemed to be having a great time. The mood of the place really helped me to enjoy myself and I was very glad I wasn't drunk or I might have been one of the girls on stage singing the B52's love shack and screwing up the words.

We arrived at the end of some "love bingo" being run by the Love Shop and the University so we saw some really interesting things. From blow up man dolls to battery operated boyfriends. As they streamed out you could find condoms on the floor, which of course needed to be passed onto the birthday girl. Safe sex is important after all.

Slowly the sex toys were replaced by all sorts of people with all different tastes and styles. From the girl "Candy" with the frizziest white and pink hair ever, to the man in the cowboy hat and NASCAR jacket, to the older lady with a Travis Tritt t-shirt to the cast of the Jersey Shore at the table beside us. There was a girl wearing all back but with hot pink shoes, hot pink belt and hot pink earrings. There were many girls wearing skirts so short you could almost see their underwear and metalheads with incredibly long locks, bullet belts and screaming voices.

there was such a mish mash of people and everyone seemed to be getting along. (In the case of the jersey shore couple beside us - possibly getting along too well for a public setting until she poked him in the eye with her fingernail.) I was struck by how strange it was to see such an interesting group of people together. From the barely of age, to the senior citizen - everyone was there to have a few drinks, sing a song or two and generally have a good time.

I think the Chainsaw is trying to meet all of their clientele's needs and it was nice being in a positive atmosphere. From the worst singers to the best, everyone was just happy that you tried.

Of course no trip to a karaoke bar is perfect. The music levels were off, the speakers were regulated to one defeaning speaker rather than several spread around so that it doesn't blow out the eardrums of your patrons. The KJ didn't really do a great job of keeping things in order as he tried to add new singers to the rotation. As no one used the microphone stand, more and more people would trip on all the cords.

But the negative aspects of the night don't overshadow the smile that was on my friends face as she came off the stage from singing a hot little number. Her voice was amazing and everyone there couldn't help but cheer and catcall when she was up there. It was like she turned into this amazing diva that I knew was inside her but couldn't fully see the depths of until she was belting out a tune. It was electric.

Oh yes, being the DD when you have people who are genuinely having a good time, means that you can't help but have a good time. I'll have to remember that the next time I have to drive for girls night :)

The financing wait game

My heart is racing.
Mind is spinning.
We are buying a new car.

Why does the financing have to be the scariest part? We come off the elation of making a big decision only to be in a room with the money guy. He hmms and haws over your personal finances. You feel so naked, exposed as everything is scrutinized. He says he needs to send it all in and then the waiting game begins.

Feeling a little violated you head home and wonder, am I good enough? Do I pass muster? Am I a risk they want to take?

I've bought two other new cars, both times were good. Both times I didn't need a cosigner. What if this time I do?

It's true, I have barely used my freeing card since buying the house but I sure used it before that. It was my best friend when buying stuff for my job. And stupid me never put the reimbursement cheques onto the card. The debt just built up and up. I never missed aayment, and always paid more than minimum but what if that isn't good enough?

So here I sit and wait. Naked and exposed.

But man, she's a pretty car. Hyundai Elantra Touring. Atlantic blue. Check her out.