Around the dining room table

The forecast was for rain. All day.

Weather disagreed with the forecaster and shone its magic all day long, late into the night.

The forecaster is smiling today.

Rain falls. Weather weeps.

And I sit in bed, listening to the birds chirp, watching the rain drip wet against the window as Ellie, the wonder pooch, sleeps beside me.

Yesterday in the sunshine, I played.

With paint and ribbons and strings of pearls, along with my friend Tamara, I pasted and glued and crafted and created.

Cowboy hats.

For this years, Tip Your Hat -- it's the third annual charity hat auction on behalf of This is My City, a initiative that creates and engages every Calgarian in the conversation around homelessness through using the arts as the medium to build bridges.

And yesterday, Tamara and I did our bit. We were to have been five but only the two of us were able to turn up at my dining room table to create.

It was fun. We shared laughter, conversation, ideas. We shared a glass of Fieldstone Wine's Blackberry Currant (delicious!) and painted and glued and glittered the afternoon away.

And when we were done, it didn't matter that we were only two with five hats. All five hats were adorned and affixed and astonishingly fun!

And to prove it.... here's a short video on our final creations!

Have a wonderful Sunday. I will -- today is Alexis' birthday dinner. Family and friends will gather together around the same dining room table (sans plastic sheet and art paraphenalia) to share once again, laughter, conversation and ideas. How blissful is that!