Le Voila!

So yesterday was a hugely busy day. It began with my Mixed Media Bracelet Workshop at Place des Arts which turned out to be an enjoyable afternoon. We had a bit of a wrench thrown into the works, but luckily my students were incredibly understanding and flexible and we were able to just carry on and make the best of it. There was laughter, especially when I hammered my finger but good (but hey, I laughed too!) which is always an important part of any workshop and lots of creativity. Thanks Ladies for a lovely afternoon.

When I got home, my husband had dinner waiting and friends had arrived to help us with painting the upstairs. They got started while I made a quick trip to Home Depot to see about the paint for my studio. I took that piece of scrapbooking paper I bought a month ago with me and the nice gentleman at the paint counter had no problem matching it exactly for me, using this machine that reads the colour sample you bring in. (Very cool!) When he had it all mixed, he brought it over and opened the can to show me. I just grinned and said "That right there is happiness in a can!" I don't think he realized how incredibly happy I was to see that paint, the exact colour I wanted and know it was about to go on the walls of my new studio.

I took the paint and headed for the checkout and on the way I was thinking about what great service I had had from Home Depot yesterday. Earlier in the morning, I decided to try calling in a pint order so my husband could get started painting the living room while I was off teaching. They were very accommodating and filled my order quickly and without any problems. I decided to tell the manager how impressed I was with the staff in the paint department. I always like to tell the manager directly because people who show pride and integrity in their work deserve to have someone capable of giving them a raise hear it. I asked the checkout girl if there was a manager available and she got that look like 'Uh oh!" but I smiled and reassured her I wanted to give compliments, not complaints. She got right on the phone and asked one to come down.

And this folks, is where the magic of the universe steps in. The manager came out, we looked at one another and there was instant recognition between long lost friends. Yes, the manager was someone I had not seen in 10 years, someone I really liked and had lost touch with! So we stood there having a super quick catch up and then I got to the part about how great the paint department staff were and that I would not hesitate to buy paint from them again and how nice they were to me. Had I not listened to that little voice inside my head that said "You need to give these folks their due and repay their kindness." this moment of reunion would never have happened. As one of my favourite quotes says (forgive me, I can't remember at the moment who said it) "It's one of the lovely compensations of this life that the more you give, the more you get to keep for yourself." This is the magic of my life, for which I am enormously grateful.

When I got home, the gang had finished painting first coats on some of the other rooms so we broke open the studio paint and got to work. I cannot tell you how much I love the colour and now I am excited to get the furniture in there and get it all set up! It still needs another coat tonight, but YAY!! One step closer to bliss!