Two remarkable things happened this week. One remarkably good, the other remarkably bad. Let’s start with the remarkably good. Ricardo Miranda, Alberta’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, got married to journalist and communications specialist, Christopher Brown, this week. Premier Rachel Notley officiated at the wedding and had the privilege of
Continue readingTag: celebrations
Susan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas!
The politicians are on break and so are we. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Soapbox family. Wishing you and yours the very best for 2019! Oh, and here’s the newest addition to the Soapbox family…meet Rudy the rescue dog!
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: HAPPY THANKSGIVING
It’s been an intense week (aren’t they all). Today let’s pause and reflect. We have much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. A turkey to serve cranberry sauce. Perfect.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Girls Just Want to Have Fun…at the Calgary Stampede
“When the working day is done. Oh girls, they wanna have fun.”—Cyndi Lauper After a rough few weeks Ms Soapbox and her family dug out their cowboy hats, found some denim shirts and went stampeding. Ms Soapbox decided to retrace the steps of the all-time Stampede champion, Premier Rachel Notley,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Overheard at Rachel’s Cocktail Party
It was packed, absolutely packed, at Rachel Notley’s cocktail party at Hotel Arts in Calgary last Wednesday. The event was billed as an evening of cocktails and conversation with Rachel Notley and her caucus. Tickets were available with a minimum $250 donation and the place was jammed. Ms Notley gave
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Thoughts on Politics at Easter
Easter is not usually the time to reflect upon grumpy whiners; but given Jason Kenney’s mission to rebuild the conservative movement in Alberta this might be a good time to consider where the conservative Roman Catholic leader of the Opposition would take Alberta if given half a chance. The Conservative
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Why Do We March?
Of the 120,000 people who attended the Women’s March in Canada, 10,000 marched in Alberta and 3,500 marched in Calgary. They were repeatedly asked, “Why do you march?” They replied they were concerned about equal pay, violence against women, protecting human rights, and ensuring the ugliness of Trumpism doesn’t seep
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas!
While Ms Soapbox was trying to get the dog to sit still for his annual Ziggy under the Christmas Tree photo Mr Kenney was busy telling The Sun how he was going to prevent bozo eruptions in the UCP…and had a full-blown bozo eruption. It started slowly. Mr Kenney said
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Happy Easter!
We will have plenty of time in the coming weeks to talk about the miserable state of the world (it’s getting pretty scary out there, isn’t it?) but today I want to talk about my favourite celebration, Easter. Hot cross buns, painted eggs, bunnies; what’s not to love? Beyond the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Why I Marched in the Women’s March on Washington
On Saturday morning Ms Soapbox boarded the Red Arrow bus from Calgary to Edmonton to join her friends supporting the Women’s March on Washington. My journey was considerably shorter than the one taken by Edmontonian Michelle Brewer who joined the horde of Canadians traveling to ground zero—Washington, DC. But it’s
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Double Dose of Christmas
This Christmas was unusual…even for the Soapbox family. Missy* our eldest daughter is a nurse working in Victoria. She was scheduled to work over Christmas which meant that for the first time ever the Soapbox family was not going to be together on Christmas Day. No problem we said, we’ll
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Stampede!
“Sometimes you need a little break”—Ms Soapbox’s Mom The fun started when Ms Soapbox’s sister Roz and her husband Jay came to town. They flew in from Vancouver where it rains 168 days a year–to spend a week in Calgary … Continue reading →
Continue readingScripturient: World Poetry Day
Today, March 21, is World Poetry Day. Do you care? Not that I’m cynical about poetry – I think it’s important stuff. Poetry is far more important than, say, hockey. The Kardashians. The Oscars. The budget. The latest iPhone or iP…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Art of Conversation
The Soapbox family had Christmas dinner at a friend’s house this year. The guests included a former federal cabinet minister, an HR executive, two city planners, a philanthropist, a lawyer, an engineer, an animal lover and a legal assistant. They … Continue reading →
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Rules-of-the-Universe-Do-Not-Apply Christmas List
The politicians on a break and so are we… Ms Soapbox is curled up in front of the fire playing with her Christmas List. Like most of us she has pretty much everything her little heart desires—a comfy home, loving … Continue reading →
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Soapbox Family’s Christmas Tree
Ms Soapbox spent Boxing Day reading, playing Battleship and wondering what to do about the Christmas tree. The Soapbox family has a fake tree. Every couple of years Ms Soapbox yearns for a real one. Ms Soapbox has had an uneasy relationship with Christmas trees ever since she was a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Turkey Day at the Soapbox House
“There’s no such thing as too much turkey”.— Mr Soapbox Mr Soapbox is a peculiar man. He’s a wonderful cook who rises to any occasion but when it come to Thanksgiving (or Christmas for that matter) he believes that it’s unnatural to allow the celebration to pass without roasting a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Honour and Dishonour on the National Day of Honour
On May 9, 2014, amidst the pomp and circumstance of marching bands, dignitaries and aircraft buzzing overhead, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the crowds gathered on Parliament Hill that the names of the 158 soldiers killed in Afghanistan would be engraved “on the hearts of all Canadians who cherish freedom,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Susan on the Soapbox Wins a Clawbie!
As some of you may know, Susan on the Soapbox was nominated for a Clawbie (the Canadian Law Blog Awards) by ABlawg, an excellent law blog produced by my alma mater, the University of Calgary law school. This morning while I was cleaning out the basement, I learned that the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Traditional Christmas Blog
The Soapbox family, like your family, does not live in a Norman Rockwell painting. Our Christmas traditions run the gamut from Dolly Parton Christmas carols (don’t ask) to an amazing Christmas dinner prepared to perfection by his nibs, Mr Soapbox. We thought we had all our traditions down pat…and then
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