The Joy of Family

How has everyone survived the holidays?  Mine was certainly a whirlwind of activity!  But what a joy it was to have both of my sons and their families visiting us this year.  To have them over, at the same time, rarely happens as one lives in Oregon and the other in New York.  So, needless to say, that was my very best Christmas gift.  That, and meeting my newest little grandson for the very first time!  I was one happy mom and grandma, that is for sure!

One thing happened, while we were opening gifts together, that I want to share because it was very special and comical at the same time.  My youngest son and his wife opened a rather large gift.  Much to my surprise, it was one of my framed photos that had been on display at the Quality Bayside Resort in Parksville, where my sons were staying.  (Fabulous place, by the way.  They went out of their way to ensure my family's stay was perfect.)  My son's wife came over to give me a big hug and to thank me.  With a puzzled look on my face I said, "I had nothing to do with it!"  She looked over at my other son, who started to laugh.  My eldest son had seen my photo hanging on the wall at the hotel and decided to buy it as a Christmas gift for them!  How special is that?!  We all had a good chuckle over that.  My sons never cease to find ways to surprise and impress me.  If you like, you can click HERE to view the photo my son purchased.  (I can't post the photo here because it warps when I try.... very strange indeed!)

My business partner, Cheryl, is enjoying her winter home near Yuma.  I must admit, however, that I do miss her.  But I'm glad she is enjoying herself with her 'second family', basking in the wonderful warmth of the climate and the people.  I don't believe there is one day when she isn't doing something!  She gets invited out to dinner by people constantly, she goes to the local quilting group, she gets involved in the numerous events that take place in the park... what a gal.  Her energy never ceases to amaze me.  And she is no spring chicken either.  (And she is probably going to kill me for saying that!)  Anyhow, she is indeed an inspiration to all who are lucky enough to know her.  (There, hopefully that makes up for my last comment!  Whew!  But it is true.)

So, do we have any new creations on our site?  Certainly!  Here are a few to feast your ocean-loving eyes upon... 

 Antique Copper & Seashell Bookmark

 Ocean Treasure Bottle

 

Gift Box

Handcrafted Seaside Bookmarks

TICKLEBERRY STRIKES AGAIN!

TICKLEBERRY TELEGRAMS - ALL-OCCASION CUSTOMIZED SINGING TELEGRAMS

For those of you don't know, besides A2Sea Creations, I also perform Singing Telegrams. I have a singing telegram to perform in Duncan this Saturday, in fact. The poor girl! She has no idea what's coming!

I recall my very first singing telegram. Few people know how it all started. Well, I'll just tell you!

It all began in Mackenzie BC, back in the fall of 1980, when a mother of a friend of mine called me up and asked if I had ever performed a singing telegram. I hadn't. So she asked me if I would consider doing one for her daughter's birthday. She wanted this birthday to be very special and unique. I told her I would try but I couldn't promise anything, seeing as her birthday was that very day!!!

So I spent the next hour hunting and scrounging up anything I could find that, if put together, might resemble a clown costume. And seeing as it was my friend I, too, wanted it to be special. So I wrote down as many things as I could about my friend. I took those notes and made rhymes for it all. Then I proceeded to put the poem to music, utilizing a song I had already written considering my time was so short.

So somehow, by some miracle, I managed to get it all together by 8:00 that evening. I arrived at my friend's door with guitar in hand, a funny outfit, a big grin and I sang her a song all about her. She loved it and was deeply moved, actually!

MY VERY FIRST CLOWN OUTFIT (Dig the eyebrows! And so skinny! Sigh..)

Word soon got around (small town) and the next thing I knew, I had another gig! The only problem was, I had come down with laringytis! What bad luck! But I figured I'd better go anyways because if I cancelled, that would have been worse for my reputation. So I managed to croak out my song. Next thing you know (as if things could get worse) my clown nose fell off and rolled under the restaurant table! Good grief! Well, much to my amazement, everyone thought it was part of the act, as I am under the table trying to rescue my nose, and they are laughing like crazy! And no one seemed to care or notice how terrible I was singing!

So I continued doing telegrams and I soon found myself singing in the post office, in stores, pubs, homes, convention centres... once, I even found myself singing down at a log boom!

I am quite picky about my telegrams... I love making them very personalized and unique for each person. I so enjoy making people laugh. I will probably do it until I 'croak'! In fact, I saw this tv documentary where they showed a headstone you can buy that laughs as you walk by it. Talk about having the 'last laugh'! I gotta have one of those!

I also compose and record wedding songs for couples. It brings me a lot of satisfaction to be able to take part in a couple's lives in such a special, memorable and personal way.