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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 6, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Everything was missing but love By Jill Davis Editor in Chief Halton he Christmas card was pale blue and white and contained loving words for my husband. Like all the cards I purchase, I look for the one with the best words first, then the picture or drawing. Trying to find both is not always easy -- especially when it comes to purchasing cards for the male members of my family. Apparently men like wooden duck decoys, boats, lighthouses or cartoon bears and trees. This card, however, was just what I wanted. Like many shoppers, I decided not to select the card that I was reading, instead choosing one from the middle of the pack. That way it wouldn't look as if it had been opened one too many times. I didn't think about the card until Christmas Eve when I went to sign it. Glancing at the front cover it was very obvious that a word was missing, a very important word. It seems I had not noticed Husband was missing. It simply read, For My. It didn't matter how many times I studied the words, Husband was definitely not there. The frosted paper did not allow for improvisation. My husband, who has a wonderful sense of humour, thought the card was screamingly funny, especially coming from an editor. He tried to ink in the word husband, but sadly it was impossible. A couple of hours later, as Christmas Eve began to draw to a close, my beloved decided it was a good time to make a cheesecake -- one of many desserts to be served the following day. He is the culinary genius in the household and set about making said confection. With his head in the fridge, I could hear a muffled cry. "There were two packages in here," he said. "I know I bought them." For a few very long minutes we stared inside the fridge wondering what had happened to the cream cheese. Like the word husband, it, too, was missing. Fortunately, a variety store was still open at 10 p.m. and the baking went ahead as planned. On Christmas morning, I happily opened a gift from hubby. Each year, he has always given me a large box of makeup. It's the kind of makeup you can only purchase if you buy one of the company's signature perfumes. Like a kid making a selection from a tray of chocolates, I am just as excited when I open the makeup box. However, this year it was slightly different. The makeup box was completely empty. Yes, the carrying case was there, but alas nothing else. Could my darling have removed it after receiving a Christmas card that read "For My"? He saw my puzzled expression and peered inside the case. "Where's the makeup?" he asked. "Missing," said I. "It has gone with the cream cheese and the word Husband." Both of us started laughing. But what was not missing from Christmas was the joy of being with our family. While makeup can be returned, cream cheese purchased and another card given, what can never be replaced is looking around the dinner table and being enveloped in the love from the people who mean so much to us. From our house to yours, have a happy and healthy new year. Jill Davis can be reached at jdavis@haltonsearch.com. Jill Davis RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America T THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Scarlett came for holidays and spread more than good cheer The Christmas that never ends. With the gift that keeps on giving. It was a fine Christmas, dear readers, filled with festivity and frivolity and family. In retrospect, it's the `family' part of the celebration that I'm beginning to regret. To the point where I'm contemplating celebrating alone next year in an isolation chamber, or on a remote desert island. Allow me to explain. We traditionally gather at our home with my wife's side of the family on Christmas Eve. This year, some guests arrived a few days early, just to set off the season. One of those guests was a little girl, all of two-plus years who, we soon discovered, was intent on spreading more than mere Christmas cheer. Cute as a button, and sick as a dog, this tyke immediately went about sniffin' and snortin', honkin' and hackin' up all over everything, distributing untold insidious germs across the landscape. Now, normally, we would have demanded this young influenza incubator leave our home immediately, but she is too cute to banish, plus she's incredibly entertaining. Although born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, she occasionally speaks with a heavy southern accent, replete with an adorable drawl ­ to the point where "I need help" becomes "I need hayalp!" For six days this pseudo southern belle, this little Scarlett O'Hara, was in our home. Coughing and sneezing on all surfaces. It was pretty obvious to all of us that, by the time she departed, we were as doomed as doomed can be. Granted, we didn't get sick right away. Andy Juniper Probably because we were too busy to get sick. Our Christmas, you see, was extended into an endurance test, with more house guests and more celebrations that seemed unending. Suffice to say, for the whole week after Christmas ­ a week we'd both taken off in order to get some "down time" ­ our dishwasher was running non-stop. And so were we. If we weren't preparing a meal for the masses, we were cleaning up after a meal for the masses. Eventually, of course, all things pass. Our house guests departed, and we had a chance to put our feet up and, well, start sneezing. My wife came down with it first. And let me tell you, this is no ordinary bug. You know when people are sick they sometimes say they feel like they've been hit by a bus? Well, with this bug, you have moments where you wish you'd get hit by a bus! On New Year's Eve, suffering under the imposing weight of this illness, my wife was TKO'd well before the bells rang in the new year. Next our daughter was felled. And then it was my turn. Now, as I write, it's a new year. And our Christmas holiday continues. No one has returned to work, no one has returned to health. I know what you are thinking: oh, stop your whining, Mr. Columnist Writing Guy, it could be worse, your entire household could be on a Lice Lookout. Well, dear readers, funny you should think that because we are also under a Lice Lookout. Seems young Scarlett may have spread more than mere Christmas cheer and influenza. Seems her babysitter had plum forgotten to mention to her mother that the daycare she attends experienced an outbreak just before the holidays. It's a new year. Christmas continues. And we need hayalp! -- Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.