Elegance. Defined as the quality of being graceful and stylish in appearance or manner; style. Doesn't sound too hard, does it?

Let's wander back in time to a beautiful July day in 2021. My soon to be husband's request was for our beach wedding to be elegant and simple. For his blushing bride to rein in her more "feral" tendencies for one day and exude the beauty and elegance of which he was quite confident I was in possession.

I took his word for it (about the possession of beauty and elegance) and vowed to pull this off. Isn’t this how the biggest messes in the world begin?

I had every intention of behaving in an elegant and sophisticated manner on my wedding day. The dress was carefully selected with the help of my older sister Andrea. She reined in my inner drag-queen when we narrowed it down to two final dresses and (I quote) “It has to have buttons down the back. All the best dresses do!” It was simple and understated elegance from the front with a flash of pizzazz in the beaded sheer back and the sophisticated white buttons and a train. It made me look very statuesque and caused me endless anxiety over how I would carry this off.

The plan was that our piper and drummer would, after entertaining the waiting guests for a wee while, proceed to the patio doors behind which I was carefully hidden from view while being able to watch everyone gather and prepare for the ceremony on the patio at the Long Beach Lodge. They would turn to face the waiting guests, and begin piping “Highland Cathedral” while proceeding down the walkway. As a specific part of the shrubbery was passed, I would emerge at a sedate distance behind them and glide in a most elegant manner down the brickwork pathway and around the grasses to our makeshift aisle and the stunning backdrop of Cox Bay Beach. (Fans of "Bridgerton" can surely hear Lady Whistledown's voice in their heads at this point.)

Here I would join my darling David and the officiant and formalize our marriage. There would be oohs and aahs. This would then be followed by some toasting with the quaich (kway-ich - the "ich" being very Scottish and hairball-ishly pronounced), some merrily blown and environmentally friendly bubbles instead of confetti, and sunshiny walk down the beach for some group photos amongst the rocks with the sea and mountains as a backdrop--our “mini Scotland” for my homesick husband to be--and the perfect backdrop for the boys in their magnificent kilts.

After which, my wedding dress would be carefully laid aside in a garment bag to travel with us on a post wedding trip to see my parents and surprise them with us in all our wedding finery on a wee visit. That was the plan, anyway...

Reality can be such a beach. 

The morning dawned magically misty with a fine drizzle. Very atmospheric although we had been hoping for sun.

My friend Jane joined me for reassurances and hand holding while a highly skilled team of makeup artist (yes, a team of ONE - Rhonda Grahame from Cedar and Rose, Tofino, BC) turned yours truly from the usual, basic me into Mrs. David Noble--a carefully coiffed and beautiful new bride with eyelashes that cows would kill for! Rhonda also adorned Jane with curls and a look that would give men a cardiac arrest mid-stride! Where was she for all our costume nights in Nunavut? All of this while giggling as we watched all the ceremony space preparations. Cheekily, we asked each other how long should we wait before texting our own darling KT that we wanted everything moved precisely 3.274 inches to the left? 

With perfect timing and a dramatic flair that would have made Elizabeth Taylor envious, the sun broke forth in full resplendent glory just as the guests began to arrive at the ceremony space to find their seats.

Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men always go astray.

It wasn’t the elegant bridal entrance to pipe and drum where it went wrong.

It wasn’t the braw and handsome men in kilts awaiting me at the altar. David flanked on his side of the floral arrangement by Christopher, his younger son, and on my side by James and Eric Funk, my oldest and youngest sons. There were gaps as we were missing Dave’s older son Michael and my middle son Ross, causing twinges of longing and wishes that both had been able to come. But still, those that came, were perfectly attired.

Nor was it the vows, although I shudder about the teary puddle I made while trying to say mine. Crying is not for weddings….

The toast with the quaich  also went smoothly. Nary a drop of the sparkling apple beverage spilled on the pristine gown or David’s handsome kilt.

The bubbles were mildly delayed as the guests fumbled with trying to get the pesky wee vials open quickly but they were still a pleasant and a lovely way to end the wedding.

It continued on, most successfully. Nary a hint of disaster anywhere. 

The merry band of guests joined us on our saunter down the sandy shore for photographs to the sounds of the pipe and drum again. Joe and Mike outdid themselves musically and there was many a giggle over how many TikTok or YouTube videos we might feature in. Perfect!

We clambered up onto the rocks without splitting any seams or tripping on any hems. There was a wee debate about whether this was good for the boys’ new brogues, mostly brought on by our sons and not we - ahem - responsible adults. Elegant photos were taken by one and all. Couples took and received lovely shots of themselves as well, as we milled around setting up different photo groupings. Again, we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect setting or a sunnier day!

It was gorgeous! I carried it off with barely an eye roll from my beloved husband. He was all proud and indulgent smiles and... and... therein lies the rub.

The guests and our musicians were meandering back to the hotel patio, full of charcuterie and fruit, for a wee nibble preceding supper.

David was deep in discussion with our videographer Mike and our photographer extraordinaire, Paul, had kidnapped our rings for a few photos of the rings on their own.

This left innocent little me wandering the sand, watching surfers and sailboats, and staying on the drier sand above the tidal line. My eye wandered over some treasures washed ashore by timeless waves. A bit of bull kelp, some popping wrack (a particularly amusing bubble-wrap-popping type of maritime weed), some empty and weathered mussel shells, the odd limpet shell or barnacle covered rock, and a poor, stranded, desolate, completely helpless jelly fish… 

(Dave interjects: couldn't she resist just for one day? JUST ONE DAY? Seriously? Oh Lordy...)
​
It was the fault of the jelly-fish. In his tiny gurgling voice asking me would I be so kind has to relocate him from this hot desert plain back into the pleasantly cooling surf? Would it be too much bother? Being a kind hearted sort of jelly-fish rescuer, I complied. After all, he was a particularly interesting reddish jelly-fish. Not like those run of the mill clear ones that look like so many lost breast implants lying on the beach. No, this was a jelly-fish of the finer sort. A red one. Clearly, royalty was involved. 

In my head I could faintly hear a gurgling slow motion version of “La Bamba” being sung by this poor stranded soul as I scooped him up, and gathering a handful of pristine and elegant ivory wedding dress in my hand I strode heroically and purposefully into the shallows where I restored Julian Jellybaby IV to his watery domain. I fancy that I heard an ever so posh gurgly voice thanking me effusively as the ebbing waters pulled him out to sea. 

(Dave interjects: Jelly-fish cannot speak. Everyone knows this. Crabs, octopi, tidal pool guppies: well, maybe they have a shot at Serbo-Croat. Jelly-fish? Nada.)

The tiny wavelets lapping at my toes and ankles felt so cool after the warm sand, and a delightful sailboat was performing magnificently as it rounded the point to proceed southwards toward Long Beach. I could feel the salt spray on my nose, the breeze stirring my hair, the cooling water around my... KNEES? 

I gathered my skirts to wring them out, and started back toward the beach. Dave, Mike and Paul were in a row looking on incredulously, albeit Dave looked slightly less shocked having had more experience with me than our media team...

"How in seven hells did you manage to...?" asked my beloved.

"It was the jelly-fish!" I protested.

"The... what?" the stunned Scot responded.

"It was dying. I had to rescue it."

"Dearest, there are millions of the wee jelly fiends-- billions--all over the world and they are regarded as pests by almost all sensible people. They are over-populating the world. A cull would be a good thing."

"But it was talking to me!" I defended myself.

"Oh my Lord. The sun has addled my love's brain. Again. Un-freaking-believable. See here, give me a kiss."

I kissed him before adding one more defense tactic. "Well, I was completely unsupervised..."

Dave sighed and audibly rolled his eyes at me (they actually squeaked) before taking me by the hand to dance and run back down the beach to finish the rest of the wedding celebrations with our guests.

Guess it’s a good thing I had another dress to wear to dinner. 

The moral of the story, however, is that the "road to hell is paved with good intentions", or "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear", or "never leave your wife unsupervised near a beach, some water, and random wildlife of the squishy variety"....something like that.

I've been very pleased to get to know one delightful Ms. Courtney Hexham who is an up and coming book creator that you may enjoy.

So far she has two books out there and I have a short review of each for you before we get down to the nitty gritty about this colourful persona!

Hazel and Jade 
​A delightful book where Hazel goes on a trip and makes friends with an Iguana while on a Christmas visit. Hazel learns so very much about iguanas and makes a friend for life! Simple illustrations convey the story wonderfully and children will clap when Hazel makes a new friend! A fun read!

This story was inspired by the real Hazel, from the UK, and a real Iguana named Jade, from the US. The book is dedicated to their families.

The Firefly and the Frog
A firefly helps a frog to find some inner light and shine brightly! Engaging illustrations and simple rhymes will be sure to entertain and capture the hearts of young readers!

The inspiration for this title was a frog-obsessed friend who requested books for her baby shower. Courtney saw a video where a frog swallowed a firefly and then was lit up, and so the story begins...

But what do know about the delightful Ms Hexham? Let's find out, shall we?
​
I asked her if she had always wanted to be a writer. The short answer? Yes! She has always been a writer and a creator. She loves art and bringing stories to life, and in fact studied screenwriting. She submitted a screenplay to the Interlochen Center for the Arts and was accepted into their Creative Writing camp. She later attended the cap for performance, musical theatre and fine art. She also studied media production, design, and journalism in college and obtained an MBA. 

She loves to learn a little bit about everything and infuse creativity and positivity into every aspect of her life!

As with most of my fellow writers, Courtney struggled to find the right platform for publishing. Her goal? To make the books affordable--a big thing in the current economy--and fairly priced. Like many of us she tried several methods and examined proofs, got feedback from her "mom" friends, and settled on self-publishing through Amazon. 

She is currently working on a longer book of stories about her own "adventures" as a child and I must say I am looking forward to it.

Courtney experienced a lot of bullying in elementary school, and that drew her to social psychology and a passion for boosting kids' self-esteem and sense of belonging. She says: "Our formative years have a huge impact on how we view the world and our place in it. No child should ever question if they belong or are they worthy of love and acceptance, no matter how they look or their circumstances." I agree with Courtney on this whole-heartedly!

​​One of the first things I learned about Courtney is that she is a Black transracial adoptee. "Transracial adoptee", for those unaware of the term, means she was adopted by a family of a different race.

This is where I asked her to produce some fun facts for us and here is what she said:

• She is half Zambian. Her parents met in Zambia and she is blessed to have great relationships with her birth family
• She was a competitive figure skater from ages 8 to 13
• She could eat sushi every day and not get tired of it
• Courtney's favourite colour is purple and her favourite scent is lavendar.

To learn more about Courtney and what she gets up to, refer to the graphic below!

No matter what title this has, Kara Johnson has created a real tail wagger!

Beautifully written and illustrated, this story shows the true chaos and joy that is any puppy's "go to" mode!

The story follows Doc and Honey as they journey through life with their family.  For animal lovers both young and old, this will become a favourite read!

Doc and Honey are based on Kara's family's dogs. Just like in the book, they were Christmas gifts. Doc passed away before Honey, and she made the move with Kara's family to Texas only to pass about six months later. But this is not a sad book--oh no! At times laugh out loud funny and quietly endearing, Kara assures me that everything in the book actually happened! 

Her son was dragged through the neighbourhood as Doc raced after another dog while Kara shouted "let go of the leash"! Honey ate everything she could...even things not meant for a puppy! They truly did  escape and end up doing yoga in the park!

Kara was born and raised in Southern California, and her family moved to Texas not that long ago. Clearly fond of animals, Kara once had 6 dogs, 3 horses and 2 tortoises at the same time but now there are only three dogs left in the family pack. Kara (much like myself) appears to have an (ir)rational side that wants to adopt every stray and, also like myself, has a rational side (I call mine Dave but let's call hers Mr. Johnson) that steps in to prevent an over population!

I asked Kara how she got into writing and her response was, "I'd actually call myself a story-teller and not a writer. There's a huge part of me that is experiencing imposter syndrome! I truly can't believe I put my book (that was intended for my adult children to remember their childhood dogs) out there for others to see."

I for one am glad that Kara did! What is next? Kara, and her imposter syndrom, has two novels in editing now. She loves romance books and just had to give it a try or she'd regret it forever.

Well Kara, that's not imposter syndrome talking! You are a writer!

Today we are off for a magical drive in the Little Red Truck in the beautiful colours of autumn!

Kathy Brandon's latest work is full of cozy fun and added value items for interaction with your littles! The story takes you on a visit to Nonna and Papa's to visit with them and their dogs! Many adventures will be had in the little red truck, as you work in the garden and enjoy the fall festival.

Your imagination will conjure up the sounds and smells cleverly described in the book and the illustrations are a feast for the eyes. 

Don't forget to look for the little red truck--it's hidden somewhere in the pictures on every page along with some fabulous visitors. That is part of the fun, as the end papers will provide a list of those visitors you might be looking for. 

The author has also included some activities and discussion questions to help turn story time into something deeper. 

The Adventures of Nonna and the Little Red Truck in Autumn will deliver truck loads of adventure!

Kathy Brandon has been an educator for three decades and loves to share her passion for equity and access to books. She spreads STEAM and literacy education to inner-city schools and her local communities and wants readers to be able to see themselves in the pages of her books. 

She splits her time between Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with family, friends, dog and grand-dogs as well as three grandsons who are the inspiration for her Little Red Truck series.

Jennifer Kasitz, the illustrator, is also an educator, artist, mother and seeker of nature inspirations. Her love of people, animals and plants is clearly evident in the delightful illustrations. Her art can be found at the citybirdart.com link button below.

I sent Kathy Brandon a few questions which she generously took the time to answer!

Kathy Brandon has always found reading to be a way to go on adventures, see the world, meet fabulous people, and give her a safe place to go in her imagination. She hopes her books allow readers to the the same, or to remember a fond time with a family member.

She was inspired to create this title as a follow up for her first book (The Adventures of Nonn and the Little Red Truck in Summertime), where she used many of the activities she does with her grandsons in the Midwest, just in a new season. There will be a total of four books in the series, covering the amazing activities you can do in your diverse and inclusive communities. It was very important for Kathy to have children see someone they may recognize from their lives in the pages.

"As an educator of reading, I wanted an interactive and engaging book. My grandsons are always asking questions. I wanted to come back to some of the simpler moments the adult reading the book might reflect on with their own parents or grandparents. To show this generation how interactive, kind, fun and creative they can be in their own communities while highlighting a community event..."

Nature has been Kathy's happy place for a long time, engaging all her senses and exploring the world around her is pure joy and she wants that for everyone. It is vital that we care for nature so it can be here to be enjoyed for future generations. This book allows and encourages the wonder and inquisitiveness that children bring to all that they do.

She is also raising some awareness in the book for "Empty Bowls", and initiative that brings in art from local children (pottery, quilts, etc) and makes meals to serve. All proceeds then go to a local food pantry. It is an amazing initiative and sounds like one I could also get behind. She has more information on this in her end pages.

You will note in the images above the links to reach out toKathy and learn more about her and her books!