Are you ready for the season?

We welcome our first Christmas party of the season tonight.      and so the holiday season begins………

 

 

Sunday Brunch offers a lovely alternative for those who want to enjoy good food and friends, early in the day.

Gift Certificates are available at the Front Desk for dining, overnights, sightseeing flights, Spa services or dollar values.  Nice stocking stuffers.

Guys, if you are looking for the perfect gift – don’t hit the malls – call us for info on Spa Boot Camp in February; Gossip Girl Weekend in April; Wild Women’s Weekend in November; Spa Days or Romantic Weekend Getaways……you can’t go wrong!      

                                                                                                

 

Wilma Anderson Awarded Employee of the Year

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are so proud of Wilma – her acceptance speech at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada Tourism Awards was wonderful – everyone was in tears!  Wilma challenged the audience of politicians, tourism operators and association members to mentor someone and make the industry stronger.  She was a natural at the podium…….Greg and I were awed by the ease in which she spoke, as was the crowd……so many of those in attendance came to shake her hand and congratulate her – claiming her message was right on!   We nominated Wilma for Employee of the Year and a panel of judges from across Canada chose her as a finalist for the honour.   The Awards were presented at a black tie dinner at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel (a grand hotel) in Ottawa.  Senator Nancy Greene-Raine and her husband Al were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award (our own Peter Elmhirst was a past recipient of this award).  Wilma is shown here accepting her award, with Greg and presenter, with Senator Nancy Greene-Raine, with Minister Maxime Bernier, with  Senator Dan Lang (Yukon) and with David Goldstein, President & CEO of TIAC –  it was lovely to see the banquet staff, hotel employees and strangers congratulating Wilma as we were leaving the hotel.    Well done Wilma!  Did I tell you how proud I was?

Happy US Thanksgiving

Our American friends celebrate Thanksgiving today – turkey, football and family……followed by Black Friday (shop till you drop for bargains).  Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilma (Guest Services Manager and Purchaser) and I are off to Ottawa for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada Awards banquet – we nominated Wilma for the Employee of the Year Award and she is one of the three national finalists……fingers crossed – I’ll be reporting this evening.

 

Nightfall on Rice Lake

Nightfall on Rice Lake…last night we had freezing rain; woke up to frosty lawns….the sun would not let up and the day ended with calm water and bright stars.  Safe travels to all our American guests heading home for Thanksgiving.

 

Stats now in on the garden harvest…..Jerusalem Artichokes  100 lbs;  potatoes  244 lbs;  eight ball zucchini  226 lbs;  tomatoes  672 lbs;  cucumbers  400 lbs;  tomatillos  30 lbs;  Brussel Sprouts  18 lbs – just to name a few items……..the total harvest was 2,289 lbs.  Not bad for a little garden!  We have been able to feature all the products on our menu (fresh or preserved).

 

 

Art on the Plate

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halibut never looked so good…..Dorset created this dish for the dining room this evening.  It was as tasty as it was pleasing to the eye. Dorset hails from the island of Grenada – his creations are made with love and an island zing.  Perhaps you should visit the Hearthside Room and say hello! Try the duck….

 

Christmas parties are booking up, despite the cutbacks and uncertainty in the corporate world – if you can’t reward or recognize your employees with a lavish party you may want  to consider inviting everyone to Sunday Brunch – there’s something for everyone @ only $24.95 per person.  Call and book your gang.

 

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

      

Today was a sunny, crisp, play football kinda day on Rice Lake.  It was one of those days that made you want to call a friend and share a laugh.  Hopefully these happy critters will make you smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything is funny, as long as it happens to somebody else.   Author unknown

Happiness can’t buy money!    Author unknown

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.    Woody Allen

Mirth is good medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.    Henry Ward Beecher

Laughter is an instant vacation.  Milton Berle

When people are laughing, they’re generally not killing each other.   Alan Alda

I’ve always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, “Ain’t that the truth!”   Quincy Jones

Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he’s got his laugh on the right end.     Max Eastman

You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.    Stephen King

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.     Arnold Glason

Laugh at yourself before anyone else can.   Elsa Maxwell

If you don’t laugh at trouble, you won;t have anything to laugh at when you’re old.     Edgar Watson Howe

Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.      Carol Channing

 

Please share your favourites……………..

Still Wild

The wild women were up early for stretch class and zumba…lots of energy before Sunday Brunch and a bittersweet departure.  Many took advantage of just one more spa treatment.   Great to see different groups of women, all ages, connecting and developing networks.  Thank you to everyone who made this weekend a success – including those super wild women.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In The Spa, Holly (manicures, pedicures, facials), Randy (Reiki, Lomi Lomi) and Martina (acu-puncture, Tui Na massage, hot stone massage) stop for a photo, inbetween treatments – they were chock-a-block this weekend.  Cindy (manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing) and Jeff (Registered Massage Therapist) also had a full schedule.  Still smiling….well done!

Wild Women Enjoy the Day

                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that was a full day….what a wonderful group of wild women!  Join us for Gossip Girl Weekend in April.

Wild Women and Rodeo

Wild women descended on Elmhirst’s Resort this evening for a weekend of spa treatments, good food, horseback riding clinics, cooking classes, Bling Bling Geocache Hunts, pumpkin demolition, wine tasting and more……..groups of ladies getting together (friends, relatives, co-workers) for a weekend away says one thing and only one thing…..fun!

Stay tuned for snapshots of the weekend as it unfolds.  Wish you were here?  Join us for the Spa Boot Camp week in February or Gossip Girl Weekend in April.

 

Meanwhile up at the barn, it was rodeo day – time for inoculating and tagging cattle.  The newly constructed system was designed to Temple Grandin standards, ensuring the cattle move through the shoot in a circular pattern, with high sides and no distractions, creating less stress for the animals.  I can wholeheartedly report the herd was very healthy looking and they gave the new structure a cloven hoof up!  The story of Temple Grandin is fascinating……it’s also a movie with Clare Danes.

 

First Snow

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as the sun was setting the snow started to fall…..our first snowfall of the season…..it was magical – fearing it may not last very long I raced outdoors, to enjoy the blanket of white.  I’m ready to start thinking about winter….school holidays, Homecoming Weekend, kiteboarding, snowmobiling and cross country skiing, skating on the lake, horse-drawn sleighrides and sitting by the fire…..we are so fortunate to have four seasons!

 

 

 

 

 

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