Fireworks in Vancouver – Celebration of Light: Want to start your week with a bang? Here’s a look at the opening night of Vancouver’s annual fireworks display. Along with 400,000 other Vancouverites, we made our way down to the waterfront Saturday evening for Japan’s entry to this year’s festival.

Celebrating the People of IAAP Summit 2017: This is my video postcard of appreciation to all involved in the International Association of Administrative Professionals’ Summit 2017.  It was a pleasure to be one of the speakers at this conference held last week in New Orleans.

Summer in the Air: Vancouverites love our annual Celebration of Light, but not everyone crowds into English Bay. Here’s one of the other  viewing spots, where we get to enjoy the sunset and the silhouette of mountains while waiting for dark.

Inside New Orleans’ French Quarter – Take a Spin on the Historic Carousel Bar in Hotel Monteleone: I stayed in this luxurious, historic hotel for part of my stay in New Orleans, and was happy to bring friends to this whimsical, elegant lounge.

Colourful Ducks at New Orleans’ Audubon Park: Audubon Park is home to southern live oaks, magnificent trees. I’ll have more on those moss-draped beauties in another post; for now, here are some fine feathered friends who live on the park’s Bird Island.

Fancy a move to New Orleans? Have I got a house for you: Colonel Short’s Villa, in New Orleans’ Garden District, has a storied past. This home is situated at the corner of Fourth and Prytania Streets, and has 9,800 square feet of southern charm and luxury  – along with a most unusual fence.

The cast iron fence depicts corn (as in, on the cob) and morning glory. The fence – which must be close to a couple of hundred feet in length, could distract from the magnificent magnolia tree or the house itself. I’ve seen the interior pics, and it’s a stunning home. The 2015 list price was $6.5M; it was reduced to $5M in 2016. Even if the price hasn’t since been reduced, the price per square foot is a bargain by Vancouver standards.

 When you need a brief change of scenery from your day …

… feel free to turn to any of my Real Moments’ Brain Breaks. As mentioned in my introductory Brain Breaks post, these brief and electronic brain breaks reflect the world around us. If you’re in the midst of a demanding day, they’re a means of taking a brief pause to recharge and refresh.