Curtains is a musical that ran on Broadway and was so well received that it picked up 8 Tony Award nominations. Now you can see it here in Montreal. David Hyde Pierce won one for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a musical. It makes for a delightful de-stressful night (or matinee) out as it is  a murder-mystery-musical-comedy. It is is being performed by the Lyric Theatre, which has entertained us  since 1965.

The show  takes place in 1959 on opening night of “Robin Hood of the Old West”.  The “leading” lady is not terribly good at leading in that she can’t remember her lines and isn’t very good at acting, singing or dancing. Someone makes sure her opening night is her closing night as she is murdered during her curtain call – so the whole cast is cast under suspicion. The sub-plots twist and turn around the zany characters.

Since I grew up on Broadway, I can’t resist a show.This one has fabulous  choreography; The cast does  an amazing job of precision dancing. A fun song was “The Woman’s Dead” with a surprise reprise at the beginning of the second act  (Look for the dead lady, Helene Charbonneau as one of the most expressive dancers in the rest of the play).

The cast punches out the clever rhymes in  “Thataway”, Jonathan Eidelman sings from his heart “I Miss the Music” and Adam Gallay and Ange J Murphy do a delightful singing/dancing duet. Nancy Stewart is really comfortable on that  stage. Kevin Kibby has the best witty lines and enjoys tossing them at you.

The Lyric Theater has 44 in this cast (including the Lyric Theatre Singers) as well as 13 in the orchestra. It is directed by Bob Bachelor, musical director is Jean-Francois Trudel,  choreographer is Mary Sarli,  set and lighting is by Mark and Tina Bye, and Karen Pearce had fun gathering all the period costumes.

Who doesn’t need some laughter in their life? Do make room for this in your busy schedule.

Location: DB Clarke Theatre, 1455 boul. de Maisonneuve
Dates: May 31, June 1 &2, June 8 & 9: 8pm;  June 2 & 9: 2pm
Tel: 514-743-3382
Prices: $22-$42
www.lyrictheatrecompany.com

The Lakeshore Weavers Guild is sponsoring the Provincial Weavers Conference.  The conference is related to the fiber arts of weaving, spinning and knitting. For $2 you can visit the vendors and see the exhibits from the different guilds in the province who are showing their handwoven arts and garments. You can buy some supplies too: yarn, fiber for spinning, weaving, bobbins, shuttles, spinning equipment, etc.

If you want you could register for the congress on Friday evening. You also have the option to register for the conference to take part in the workshops on Saturday. You do need to become a member of the Quebec Weavers Association to register for the conference.

Cash is your best option.

Location:  Holiday Inn Pointe-Claire, 6700 Transcanadienne
corner:  Boul. St-Jean
Hotel Tel: 514-697-7110
Dates:  June 1,2,3
Hours:  Sat 10-5, Sun 10-12

Provincial website:  www.lestisserandsduquebec.com/congres-en.html
Lakeshore Weavers Guild:  www.tisserandsdulakeshoreweaversguild.org/

Claudia Belair will be interviewing me live on the radio this Wednesday on her show “Food, Fashion and Fun with Claudia Bélair” . If you want to learn a bit more about how my book,  Smart Shopping Montreal came about and some tips on how to save money, these are the questions I will be answering:

1) Where did you get the idea to write this book?

2) How do you get all your information?

3) Your book also gives consumers helpful tips on becoming a successful shopper. What would you say is the single most important tip a consumer must know when shopping?

4) In your book Smart Shopping Montreal there is a treasure load of information for consumers to consider. There is information on Farmer’s markets and Flea markets, which season to buy certain products, a month by month summery of the best places to visit along with the best discounts. This must be an never-ending workload for you. How do you handle going about updating your book? How often is Smart Shopping Montreal updated?

5) You also have written, along with your husband Stan, who is your co-author the following: Drive I-95, Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia. Would you like to tell me a little about those books?

6) You also have a blog called Sandra’s Shlog, could you tell me a little more about that?

7) I know that you also give lectures for the Greater Montreal Convention and Tourism Bureau groups and for the Independent Book Publishers Association. You have also been featured in Enroute magazine as one of their “Remarkable People, in l’Actualite in their passionate people feature and in Chatelaine as one of Canada’s smartest shoppers. These are quite the accomplishments. You must feel very proud to be recognized in this way, how do you feel about it?

8) For those who wish to buy your book, Smart Shopping Montreal, where can they purchase it?

Location: 100.1 FM Radio Lasalle
Date: Wed May 30
Time: 12:30-1
www.100-1fm.com

You know how frustrating it is to be stuck in automated voice systems. Christian Allen publishes cheat codes to bypass these prompts in the  automated voice systems for 8000 companies like: Walmart, Facebook, United Airlines, Delta, Bell Mobility, eBay, Levi’s, Panasonic and on and on.

The site looks amazing but I have not tried anything on it. Let me know if you use it and if it works.

http://gethuman.com

I will be on the radio with Beta Wayne on CINQ-FM Radio Centreville Consumer. For the Spring season, we will be discussing different aspects of shopping for re-freshing things in your home: wood refinishing, cleaning blinds, selling furniture on consignment (or buying), buying wood tiles, linoleum, matching paint colors.

And other Spring subjects like fixing luggage or buying new luggage, boot and shoe repair, and even FREE legal advice.

All of the places mentioned are found in my Smart Shopping Montreal book  which you can buy at www.smartshoppingmontreal.com.  The show will be podcast and available for a week on their website.

Location: 102.3 FM
Date and time: Saturday Apr 21: 12:30-1 pm

Sometimes when you wind up in legal hassles and need some legal information or advice and you  may not have the money to hire a lawyer, you need to know where there are places to go for help. The law is very complicated for the average person to understand. There are times when you will need to sit down with someone to get some legal assistance to face decisions you may have to make. It might be anything from separation or divorce to a quarrel with a neighbor over your property to the setting up of a new home business or estate planning.

The Bar of Montreal has its legal fair happening April 16-19,  so you could start there. Besides their interesting event, there are other suggestions about where to find free or almost free legal advice and legal help throughout the year in my Smart Shopping Montreal book.

Each April for the past 15 years, at the Bar of Montreal Salon Visit Droit, the public and community organizations that work in connection with the justice system have gathered together to help the public better understand the legal system. Not only is the entrance Free, but the most popular activity is the Free legal consultations, where you are able to ask questions (over 100 lawyers help out) about:

– starting a company
– writing a will
–  recouping money owed
– labor law
– rental board problems
– immigration
– criminal law information
– learning about bankruptcy, etc.

Don’t forget to bring all the documents related to your problem. During the event there are mock trials, theatrical activities, quizzes and over thirty exhibitors to check out.

Location: The Bar of Montreal Salon Visit Droit, Grande Place of the Complexe Desjardins, 150 Ste. Catherine St. W at Jeanne Mance.
Dates: Mon April 16 – Thurs April 19
Hours: 9:30-4:30
Phone: 514-866-9392
Address the rest of the year: 1 Notre Dame St. East, Suite 9.80.
www.barreau.qc.ca

Stores that have a wide range of  shoe sizes and widths are hard to find so it’s painful when they close. Chaussures Bilodeau has been selling men’s shoes (3-20 B-6E) and women’s (1-15 4A-2E)  and now everything in the store is 50% off as they go through bankruptcy proceedings.

They have tons of brands: Acton, Aravon, Blondo, Beautifeel, Clarks, Crocs, Drew, Dunham, Florsheim, GoEast, Irish Setter, Jomos, Manz, Naot, Neos, New Balance (up to 4E), Red Wing, Rieker, Rhode, Roberto Cappucci, Shoes for Crews, Theresia, STC  Tiger, TTG, TendersTootsie, Worx,  Wolverine.

After 18 years fitting people with problem feet, the personnel here are qualified to help you choose the right shoe for you.

Location:3000 boul. des Laurentides, Laval
corner: Bellerose
Tel:450-967-2552
Hours: Regular plus Sun 9:30-5
www.chausseurbilodeau.com

Jeannette’s Needlecraft Shoppe is the place to go to get that magic new yarn. Knitters are going crazy over scarf yarn called “Pirouette” by Patons Yarns. One ball makes a scarf, and anybody can learn to knit with it. It comes in seven colors.  Two of the colors have a gold shimmer in the yarn and two others have sequins in the yarn. All colors are multiple color shades. The pattern is included free of charge with purchase.  They will show you how to proceed with the pattern.

They also have another scarf yarn for beginners called “Bohemian” by Patons Yarns. It is also a very easy knit and the scarf pattern is included free of charge with purchase of the necessary yarn to do the knitting (two balls of yarn for each scarf). Pirouette is $9.49 per ball and Bohemian is $8.99 per ball.

This yarn has taken off like no other that they have ever seen in the past. Perhaps it’s a good gift for Mother’s Day, for busy fingers during summer vacation or getting a head start on holiday gifts for next December.

One on one help and personal service is available from this husband and wife team who sell exclusive tramme needlepoint kits (yarn included), DMC 6 strand cotton floss, knitting yarns and patterns as well as a large selection of painted needlepoint canvases from Margot and Royal Paris including hand painted Judaica designs (e.g.talit bags, tefillen bags and kippahs).

They also specialize in upholstering of needlepoint (especially chairs and footstools), the finishing of cushions (all trimmings included), mounting tapestries, and finishing talit bags and needlepoint kippahs.

You can get all kinds of custom framing expertly done in the shop too. They have been happily serving four generations since 1958.

Location: 5015 Coolbrook Ave.
corner: Queen Mary Rd
Phone: 514-486-2800
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-5, Sat 9:30-4
www.jeannettes.com
jeannettes@videotron.ca

Comfort and Protection Plus has some new solutions for moderate to heavy incontinence and for light to moderate problems too. For heavy solution, the Unique Wellness brief is very different from the regular pharmacy brand in that it has three ultra thin layers of material allowing it to hold 2,600 ml of liquid discharge. The brief does not get soaking wet as you might imagine because of the patented construction technique (Incontek) which was developed actually by NASA for the astronauts while in space. The Wellness Brief’s unique layering takes the wetness away from your body, and it also protects you from embarrassing odors. All of the moisture is retained away from the skin in a separate layer and what is actually against the skin feels dry.

The design and materials have had wonderful success on the U.S. Space Station where they are known as Maximum Absorbency Garments. The technology is known as InconTek and features triple layers of absorption, making it perfect for overnight usage, bowel movements or wear for extended time periods. The side tabs are re-fastenable and the leg design is comfortable yet snug for added leak protection.

The advantages of the brief are as follows:
– You only have to change a maximum three times per 24 hour period which allows you more freedom to go about and enjoy your day. If there is a care giver involved there is less work required to look after the individual.
– It has a wetness indicator telling you when it is time to change.
– From a cost point of view, while one Unique Wellness brief is a little more expensive than one mass market brand, at the end of the day if you only have to use three briefs compared to seven to ten and then an overnight brief, then you are saving a considerable amount of money.
– The prices include delivery direct to your home in the Greater Montreal area: including South and North shores, Laval, Repentigny, Hudson etc. They are not available in retail stores. This brief has never been available in Quebec and they are the exclusive distributors.
– Comfort and Protection Plus offers a no hassle re-order system whereby, if you want, they will automatically set up a rotating delivery schedule every 21-30 days depending on the level of incontinence of the individual. This means you will never be out of briefs and you will never have to call in a panic to re-order. If you are an adult child looking after an elderly parent this feature should ease your mind and give you less to worry about.
– The carton is generic and does not mention what is actually included in the box rendering their service discreet and professional.

For light to moderate incontinence, CAPP is also the exclusive Canadian distributor of Kleinert’s which is a line of incontinence products, made by a US manufacturer, in existence since 1869 – over 143 years! Kleinert’s is a proud supplier to the Department of Veterans Affairs in the US and its system of VA hospitals.

The patented disposable Safe & Dry system of Ultra Thin Gel Pads, when used in conjunction with their 100% cotton washable waterproof brief, is designed for people with light to moderate incontinence and is a very affordable solution. The Safe & Dry Ultra Thin Absorbent Gel Pad is both extra wide and long and absorbs 330 cc of liquid and is very easily changed

100% cotton briefs are treated with the patented process of Fabrapel, a hypo allergenic finish which provides water and stain repellancy, and retards odours while establishing comfort and confidence. The brief is comfortable, quiet and does not create heat as do vinyl or plastic pants.

These products are available in Canada for the first time and are not available in retail stores.

www.ComfortAndProtectionPlus.com
info@comfortandprotectionplus.com
Phone:  514-819-8088