www.imagesthatclick.com

Perry Thompson is a long time friend, business associate and my brother in law. He is one of the leading wedding and portrait photographers in the world, shooting everywhere his clients take him - Japan, Paris, Italy, Mexico, Hawaii, Jamaica, New York, LA, and across Canada. He also owns and runs www.kidsphoto.ca a new business venture with a great vision - great images for all! This past year, Perry was nominated for his outstanding business venture at the Retail Awards ceremony in Montreal.

Gail Conzatti is a friend and an inspiration. We met at the Edmonton gift show a few years ago. After watching her being inundated with sales for three days and never running out of steam, I decided it was time to introduce myself. As a result I have now become a huge fan of her bags! In fact most friends know that I carry nothing but! My favorites are the Weekender and leather Soho, while the fabric “Grab an go” gets on the plane with me whenever I travel. You may not be lucky enough to become a close friend of Gail’s, but you could own an Essential bag, like the lime green one I have… did I mention Halle Berry carries this style too? www.gaiahandmade.com or www.kairos-designs.com

I keep thinking that my friend Shelly MacGregor is going to start offering massages again, but I don’t know how much good that would do since we no longer live in the same city. Although she does not personally work as a massage therapist anymore, she now owns and manages www.apexmassage.com Apex Massage is one of my stops in Calgary when I go for a visit, but if I don’t get there for some therapy, I need not worry, Shelly can always send a therapist to me. www.spagoes.com I met and started to get to know Shelly thru a great volunteer group www.artemiscalgary.com Artemis is a dynamic group of women who are involved in the community and have a great time making a difference.

Although I resisted my first meeting with John Prudence, I am glad that we met. John is someone I consider to be a mentor and always has sound advice for me. His approach to business is inspiring and I always look forward to chatting with him.  His company handles branding, design, web hosting etc. www.artyfactscanada.ca As one of the busiest people I know, John always seems to have time for me and always seems to have great information, ideas or feedback for me whether business or not.

My friend, Vennie Lau, is another inspiration. Vennie was a big help with moving to New York, without her support and help I don’t know that I would have ever made the transition! One thing everyone needs is incredible people in their lives and she is just that.  What’s her deal? She has worked on design projects all over the world. She is sought after for her incredible design sense and exacting taste and attention to details. The only thing that will be disappointing to you is her website is not up. I am hoping that this will motivate her to create a small sampling for the Internet of what she is capable of. www.vldg.com

Another talented woman in my life is Tracey Retallack. She showed up at my door one day and started working for me. We became fast and furious friends. Besides her incredible ability to “scat” her way out of any stressful situation, she is a fabulous talent. Check out her jewelry site - www.metallack.com

In 1995, I lost my brother to suicide. Time is the only thing that seems to bring any solace with a loss so great. There is so much information available on this topic; in fact, by googling “suicide prevention” I received 2,930,000 sites available with information. www.save.org is one of them.  And just by fluke, I saw a site about an over night walk thru New York to raise funds for suicide prevention. So once I read thru the site I will probably be registering for the walk in June. Don’t worry, I will hit you up for a donation for the cause, but if you want to beat me to it, visit www.theovernight.org

This year for Christmas, a close friend gave me a gift certificate for www.kiva.org I thought this was fantastic! You may have heard of this before, if not, it is referred to as MICRO-LENDING. My loan went to Sevinc Ibadovao who is an internally displaced person (IDP) from the Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan Lachin. The great thing about this is it allows anyone who has access to the Internet to help people in need worldwide.  My loan was $50 and once it has been repaid, I can donate that amount to others…. If it never gets repaid, the funds can be looked at as a donation. To think that you can help change someone’s life for only $50! This same friend, Kent, has this idealistic idea about a stronger, kinder, safer USA. He tries to tease me about the shortcomings of my Canada, but I know he is just jealous of my countrymen and I. His idea www.freedomservice.org for a more helpful, tolerant and caring USA, I find incredible.

One of my favorite events of the year is The Calgary Stampede - www.calgarystampede.com I am usually one of the artists featured every year. It is also one of the best 10 day parties I have ever attended!!!!!!! YYYEEEHHHAAWWW!

I grew up on a farm in Canada. I know how much hard work it is to live on a farm but also know that everything tastes way better too. The Edgars lived close to us and now make their produce available at their gate www.edgarfarms.com
They belong to a growers collective that my sister was involved with at one time www.innisfailgrowers.ab.ca

I have a couple of friends who grew up on farms; their names are Todd and Tim. I have numerous art pieces from Todd, all of which have found a good home with me. www.farmboyfinearts.com

My favorite topic… PIE! www.piecouncil.org I like apple, cherry, peach - for sure, raspberry, raspberry/rhubarb, and strawberry/rhubarb, pecan, chocolate pecan and mississppi mud pie too. You might think of me as the “Bubba Gump” of pie.  Sometimes I like a crust top, but other times a crumble topping is fantastic. Fresh out of the oven is best, but I will eat pie cold too! Then there are the pudding styles and the top of my list there, is banana/coconut cream topped with whipped cream. Lowest on the pudding style pie list is lemon merange and key-lime, but I have to say that if they were placed in front of me, they would disappear, too. I appreciate any main course made in the shape of a pie and especially if it has a crust! But my favorite pie ever… SASKATOON pie! Especially if my Mom makes it, she makes the best pie in the whole world!             www.saskatoonberry.com                    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm PIE!