Four days in Chicago with my business forum and in meeting with clients (Gretchen - it was GREAT to meet you in person!).
So many gorgeous flowers along Michigan Ave.
Shopped 'til I dropped.
Boated with friends through the locks and down the river in downtown Chicago on a gorgeous yacht.
And was SO happy to get home to my cozy bed and lovely family!
So after a Friday night and Saturday of seemingly endless work [laundry, setting up this website page, driving to and fro], I deemed Sunday to be Fun-Day and packed up my kids for FortWhyte Alive. It was a beautiful Fall prairie day.
We wanted to take a horse-drawn wagon ride, but opted instead to rent an electric golf cart and tour the facility that way. Little did my family know that Crazy Heidi was at the wheel. We kicked butt as we screamed past the wagon and left them in our dust!
Do you have these creatures where you live? My husband had a client once who gave him some bison burgers; they were pretty tasty. This is FortWhyte's herd of bison:
My kids loved these little guys, called Prairie Dogs. They are notorious escape artists, so the pen is protected by an electric fence. And don't we know it - youngest daughter made the mistake of poking her fingers in last year and getting a nice little shock!
The prairies are especially gorgeous during the Fall. After living here for most of my life, I'm still delighted every Fall at the variety of colors. I love this photo, with the wide open land and sky for as far as the eye can see.
Today will be a great day at Botanical PaperWorks. I am meeting with our managers and I never fail to be surprised and pleased with the projects they initiate and the progress they make. I am a lucky General Manager to be working with this talented group
It's Sunday night and I'm waiting in the Quebec City airport for our Air Canada flight to start boarding. John and I are on our way home after four lovely days here, enjoying French cuisine, walking around the historic Plains of Abraham and revelling in each other's company. I think I've put on a few pounds, what with the five mini-croissant that I ate for breakfast (they were MINI!) and the pate and maple syrup mousse that I downed yesterday. But who cares - this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Tomorrow, I'll post pictures, including a story about meeting Celine Dion up close, along with her husband and young son. I have a picture of that, plus pictures of the Chateau Frontenac where we stayed, the afternoon tea that we enjoyed on Friday and much more.
For now, I'm going to grab my iPod and my copy of Vanity Fair and catch my plane!
Hey there! It's the end of my official summer holidays and the start of being back in the office and I'm excited to be here. I've missed the great people at Botanical PaperWorks and I've missed the daily excitement of being part of a growing and interesting (actually, FASCINATING) company!
You may be wondering, "What was Heidi doing during the last three weeks?". Well, I......
also, I....
Throw in some time at the cottage, with one trip to the hospital after my youngest daughter had a close encounter with a rusty pole, and the holiday was memorable, interesting and fun (not the hospital part!).
If you have a minute, please send me a note about what you've been up to. Email me a photo and I'll post a collage later in the summer. Holidays are good!
I'm back from my trip to the Rockies and wanted to share these photos of the most beautiful wildflowers:
How lucky are we all to be able to see this natural bounty!
We're in Drumheller now, touring the dinosaur museums, hiking and hanging out with the cousins. Eleven kids to eight adults. It's busy and fun.
Hello from Banff! I'm spending a few days there with my family this week and we're having a great time. So far, we've seen a variety of wildlife including black bear, elk and these deer:
Yes, the photo is quite blurry, but those creatures run FAST!
The wildflowers here are incredible and I'll be posting my photos when I get back, early next week. On the gondola ride in Lake Louise, we saw every color imaginable - pink, red, purple, yellow, white. As a lover of wildflowers, this is a huge treat to feast my eyes on all of this beauty.
Today, we're off to the Upper Hot Springs in Banff, to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel to check out the magnificent architecture, maybe take another gondola ride and walk around Banff township for some shopping. Have a great day!
