Grand Openings and Re-Openings

What a crazy couple of weeks since I started the new job..busy but wonderful at the same time. On January 13 we had our Grand Opening. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was done by all the local dignitaries...Mayor Maxine was there and city council and other politicians. We were running around all morning setting up for the appetizers we were serving. We had white and red wine for refreshments. Gary (Food Services Coordinator) did a lovely Asian-themed water feature (see Photo).
Traditional Lion dances came to give good luck to Glen Pine as we will have a huge number of members from the Asian Community...perhaps this will give me a chance to improve my cantonese speaking skills (or not!). Because Glen Pine is so contemporary and trendy, our itinerary was very upbeat. State-of-the-art facility was the tagline and we welcomed the community with flowers, chocolates and great food. Of course at the end of the day, we were all simply exhausted but happy with the success of the event.


But prior to this, we had a pressure surge through our complex which resulted in a busted hot water tank so in all this chaos we were boiling pots of water for baths. It was a very frustrating process getting the hot water tank replaced. We stayed home on Monday, Chrissy's birthday, and it could not get done.

Today, January 19, Helga picked me up around 6:45 a.m. and we went up to Dogwood to help Gary prepare the food for the grand re-opening luncheon. It was lots of fun laughing and eorking together in the kitchen. For me, it was a weird feeling walking back into Dogwood. One part of me misses the comfortable environment but Dogwood is steeped in oldness and tradition. It was wonderful to see all those member who were all rushing to hug me and tell me how much they missed me. Once again, it was crazy busy as we were serving luncheon. But it was fabulous...we made 6 types of sandwiches and wraps, fancy squares and fruit for dessert.

So now...a chance to sit back and relax a little. Darcy was out of town on his birthday on Wednesday, Jan 16 so we have today and tomorrow to spend with him as he leaves again for Calgary on Monday morning until late Wednesday again. Feeling so tired but maybe we should do something fun. There's a few movies that are out I would like to see but we will most likely stay at home in front of the TV.