My Little Piece of Serenity

“Enter as Strangers...Leave as Friends.” It is a simple sentiment but when you actually experience that sentiment the impact is so much more powerful than those few words. These are the words that greet you as you walk through the beautiful double doors (the I want in my future house) and into Rosebud Country Inn. These words are posted proudly above the dining room and what I didn’t realize or expect when I first saw them on my very first visit how true they are. Every time I enter this cozy bed and breakfast the sign is always the first thing I notice and it always puts me right at ease. It always makes me feel like I’m not just entering a hotel but I’m entering a home.

I have fallen in love with this little B&B and a large part of that has to do with one of the owners, BJ. She welcomes you to the bed and breakfast like you would a friend into your home. (In fact now having visited multiple times we even get hugs). She is one of those women that is so perfectly suited to running a B&B because of her personality. She has the confidence and joy that you see in people that are doing what they love. She is friendly, bubbly, charming, funny and incredibly generous and sweet. She will bend over backwards to make your visit amazing. Whether it is saying yes to a special breakfast request (mmm…orange French toast) or helping arranging a picnic dinner so that I would have food when everything else in town was closed, BJ is always willing to go above and beyond. She goes a long way to helping make you feel special and pampered while you are visiting. It doesn’t matter if it is your first visit or your 4th (or I’m assuming your 10th or 100th) I have little doubt that each visit will always be amazing and a one of a kind experience and that speaks to the brilliance of what BJ has done with this inn.



Me, Anne, BJ, Rose and Hedy

Of course as great as BJ is there is so much more to this little inn that has kept me coming back. Last night, I spent my sixth night (spread over 4 visits) and I’m still just as impressed. I love the fact that when you walk into your room, waiting on your bed is a little treat bag full of stuff to pamper you. Each and every time I have come the scents contained in this bag have been different as well which creates a nice surprise even though I know it will be there for me. The rooms, themselves, are gorgeous. Of course don’t even get me started on the beds. I don’t generally like any beds that aren’t mine but I dream of the beds at the inn. Not only do you come back from the theatre to find the comforter turned down and a little chocolate waiting but they are so comfortable I can almost imagine myself doing nothing but sleeping. I joked before going out in the summer that I was going to skip a couple nights of sleep just so I could really enjoy the sleep the first night I was there. Now as if that isn’t enough to really know you have a good vacation spot but how about a good morning cup of coffee or tea served to your room before breakfast? Well that happens at the inn too. It blows me away (even though I don’t drink coffee first thing in the am) that everything is organized enough to get all the rooms some coffee before they come down for your breakfast. When we are out there at Christmas it creates a great moment of friendship when we can sit around in the lounge or one of our rooms and enjoy a little time together before we head down to breakfast. I really believe that it is these little details that make this place so special to me. They are the details you take for granted but I know if I showed up and didn’t have them I would be so disappointed. Those little touches make you feel like you really matter and aren’t just someone filling a bed.

I can’t talk about the draw of this little inn without talking about Rosebud itself. It is a tiny little place in the middle of Alberta. I think it is actually probably one of the prettiest places in Alberta. I may be a little biased though because I love the way I feel when I’m there. There may not be a gas station but they have a theatre that constantly blows me away. I have experienced more emotion sitting in the seats watching the small stage that I have in any other theatre. As a lover of seeing live performances I have loved going out to the Rosebud Theatre for the last four seasons to see the different plays put on and am very much looking forward to experiencing my fifth season.

The town revolves around the plays. The local residents get involved with them and it gives it a very down to earth feel. But it does not take away from the quality of the shows, so please don’t get that idea. You can tell that the theatre and the town are very proud of the performances that go on. I think it is the town involvement that has created a culture of creativity. I consider myself to be a creative soul and I love creating things whether it is with my writing, my photography or even my scrapbooking and so when I see the support that seems to exist in this little town for the arts I have a great deal of respect for everyone there. I think it is that support and openness to the creative world that has left the air just charged with creativity. It is that feeling that I seek out. When I am out there I have more ideas flow, I have more desire to create and I can produce things that I’m not sure would happen otherwise. I love how inspired I feel when I’m in Rosebud.

I could probably go on and on about the things I love about my time out in Rosebud. I can’t help but gush when I really love something. However let me end this blog with some of my favourite photos from Rosebud and the inn, I mean a picture is worth a thousand words right. All I can say is if you are looking for a place to visit that is close to home but will make you feel like you have been to another world try opening your heart to Rosebud, I don’t think you will be disappointed. Who knows you might just find me wandering with my camera down the streets.

For more information please check out these sites:

Rosebud Country Inn

Rosebud Theatre

Also please check out the Rosebud Country Inn Youtube video and be sure to ‘Like’ them on facebook.

Remembrance Day

I have been doing a lot of thinking about Remembrance Day and its meaning over the last few days in light of hearing last week about the fact that in some school students can opt out of Remembrance Day services. Now let me just say before I get dragged over the coals that I completely understand the idea behind the option and I firmly believe religious freedom is incredibly important. It is those freedoms that wars have been fought to protect. This blog entry is about why Remembrance Day is important to me and why I think it is important that children should take part in it. Although the services may be religious, to me Remembrance Day is not about that. It is about paying respect to the incredibly brave men and women who have fought and continue to fight to let us keep the freedoms we believe in.

I remember going to school around November 11th and seeing poppies fill the halls on all the students and teachers. I remember bringing my quarters to school so I could buy poppies (always at least one a day because they just tend to disappear on you). I also remember being lined up into the school gymnasium for the Remembrance Day assemblies. We sang O’ Canada, listened to a recording (or someone in band as I hit junior high and high school) play The Last Post, stood silently for the minute of silence and finished with hearing The Rouse. I also have vague memories of hearing the poem In Flanders’s Field but couldn’t tell you if that was in the assembly itself or just in the classroom. I don’t remember actually understanding what was going on though, especially in elementary school. I knew that we were supposed to remember the soldiers and I knew that both my Grandpa and Grandad had fought in World War II but like any kid it didn’t really affect me because it was in the past.

As I got older I still kept going to the assemblies. I started to get into the history and began to read anything I could find on aspects of the World Wars. I also began to be more aware of the world around me and started to see that we were still fighting wars all over the world. (It’s a strange world when you realize history is still happening and that the things you thought were in the past are actually still going on – but that is a blog for another day.) As I became more aware, Remembrance Day also became a connection not only to the history I was learning but also to my own family history. It made the day a little more special and important, at least while I was in school.

When I graduated high school the assemblies stopped happening. I went off to university and started to really get into history. I spent hours reading story after story and textbook after textbook. I was fascinated especially as I began to learn more about the Canadian connections to important war changing battles. Sadly, although I did get to the odd ceremony, it was never a priority for me to attend. I would always think of my grandfathers on the 11th but usually the day would pass with me just happy to have an extra day off to get an essay written or a day to sleep in.

That changed for me though when I went to Europe in 2008. Actually that trip changed a lot for me, when it came to how I think about and experience the history I had long studied. I was walking in the spots where the battles had taken place that I had studied. I was visiting gravesites full of graves from the soldiers that had made the ultimate sacrifice to do what they believed in. I really began to realize just how many people lost their lives and the huge scale of what went on during those two wars.

One of the most powerful moments of my trip was when my tour guide took us to Juno Beach. It wasn’t a planned part of the tour but the guide knew I was Canadian and offered to take us if the other people on the tour were ok with it, which they were. As I stepped onto the sand of a very pretty beach I got goosebumps on my arms. At that moment as I stood there it was just a beach but I knew that on June 6, 1944 it was a battleground. The Dday landings played such a huge role in ending World War II, it was awe inspiring to be standing there knowing the history the way that I did. I was standing where thousands of men, Canadians as well as other members of the British Commonwealth, had fought so hard. I tried to imagine what it must have been like on that day of the landing and tried to match that with the calm that I was experiencing while I was standing on the beach. They just didn’t quite line up. In that moment, standing there, I could really feel the history, physically and emotionally. It was a very moving moment for me and one that I will not ever forget. (Here is some more information on Juno Beach)

After the stop at the beach, the tour guide took us to the Canadian Cemetery at Beny-Sur-Mer. Throughout my vacation I had been going to commonwealth grave sites, where you would see maple leaves on some of the tombstones but nothing could compare to walking around Beny-Sur-Mer and seeing all the graves with maples leaves. It made for a beautiful picture but it also created another connection for me to the stories I had studied and learned about.

This was the truth behind the battle fought. War means loss of life, no matter how you look at it or spin it. When I came back from that trip Remembrance Day had a new meaning for me. I started going to Remembrance Day ceremonies. I finally understood on a deeper level how important November 11th is to me. For me it is a connection to my family history, to my country’s history and just simply something that I feel is important to remember. It has nothing to do with religion for me it is a matter of respect. So many gave up their lives for my future I can spend a few hours each year remembering all of them. I am grateful that people exist that are willing to fight to protect and defend people like me.

As I end this blog I just want to share my hopes for the future. It is my hope that all people will continue to remember and value the importance of November 11th. I hope that one day we will find a way to get along with each other and actually find world peace so that Remembrance Day can stand for finally achieving peace. I also hope that since we no longer have any World War I veterans left in Canada, and the numbers of World War II veterans continues to dwindle people will continue to recognize and value what they did for us. I hope that children will be taught the importance of the day and learn to value the gifts we have been given. Lastly I hope that even if the option is there to opt out of remembering that people will continue to choose to do it.

In remembering our history we learn the value of where we are today.

Wintery Good Will

You know winter has arrived when you have to wake up early, not to work out but to shovel snow and this is the case in Calgary as we have now been hit with a full-fledged winter storm. I think I have shoveled more snow in the last two days than I did all of last year (payback no doubt for such a mild winter last year). I will admit that as positive as I try to be, shoveling snow can have a tendency to leave me feeling cranky, so when I got up this morning the last thing I wanted to do was shovel the snow. The grown up in me knew that I didn’t have a choice though so I put on my mp3 player and headed out. What I saw surprised me (and no it wasn’t the amount of snow, although seriously it’s only the beginning of November…eek!). When I looked across the quiet street I saw one of the neighbours shovelling the sidewalk for his home and the two on either side of him.

I should step back a little and explain a little something about me and snow shovelling. A few years ago I started to shovel my neighbour’s sidewalk. It only added maybe five to ten minutes to my time outside so it didn’t seem like a big deal. The theory in my head behind me starting was that if I put that good will out into the world and was a snow angel for my older neighbour maybe someone would do the same for my Nan. Now several years later my Nan has someone that we pay to have come out and do her yard but seeing my neighbour shovelling the sidewalks on each side of his house made me smile because he is a fellow snow angel. Even though I’m sure I had nothing to do with it, part of me can’t help but wonder if he had seen me doing my neighbour’s walk and decided to give it a shot himself. I know the neighbours around here do notice because more than one of them has told me how sweet I am for doing it but I just shrug it off but maybe I am having some influence on the people around me. And maybe this one guy will now keep being a snow angel for his neighbours. And then maybe someone else will see him and start doing their neighbours. Before long we could have a city full of snow angels.

I have never wanted to be famous or anything like that but I have always wanted to do my part to make the world a better place even if it is just for my neighbour next door. So when I see someone else following my lead (even if I don’t know if he is doing it because of me) I can’t help but smile. I can only speak for myself, but each time I finish shovelling Mrs. Kay’s sidewalk I feel really good about it. I know that it helps her and helps her family. She has told me how much she appreciates it but in spite of all that I can’t help but feel a little selfish because I do it because of how good it makes me feel.

So as we settle in to those long winter months I would challenge everyone out there to take a few extra minutes and shovel your neighbours’ sidewalk. You never know how much of a help it will be to them and how good it will make you feel. So be a little selfish this winter, put your favourite music in your ears and shovel an extra sidewalk or two.

Photo Wednesday: Brave Young Men

As this will be my last photo Wednesday before Remembrance Day I wanted to share a couple special photos.  A few years ago, on a mission to get photos for a scrapbook, I took over my parents spare bedroom and scanned over 500 photos from their albums and from my grandparents albums.  These are two of the photos I found.

Grandpa is the top row third from the left.

Grandpa is the bottom row fourth from the left.

These are a couple of photos that I had never seen before.  The only picture I had seen I have included below, it was of him in his uniform.  Most of you know I love history and specifically World War history.  I have spent hours upon hours reading and learning everything I can about the two wars that shaped our world.  Part of the reason I am so driven to get this infomation is because I never really got a lot of information about my Grandpa's time in the war.  I never felt comfortable enough to ask him and since it wasn't something he ever talked about I never got to hear the stories.  What I do know is that when I look at these photos I feel pride for him.  When I look at the photos of these young men I can't help but wonder what became of them and who they all are.  I'm sure there were a great deal of stories between all of them.  I may never know the truth behind those faces but I hope to find out at some point.

I would also like to share two more photos.  These are the individual photos I have of both my Grandpa and my Grandad in their uniforms. I'm grateful that both of them fought in World War II and both of them survived, when so many did not.  

Grandad - Ralph Taylor

Grandpa - Ken McBryan

I hope you have enjoyed a little piece of my history.  I also hope everyone will take a few minutes on November 11 this year to remember all those who have fought and still fight on our behalf.