09/02/2026
It’s September already and the kids are back to school. I thought I was going to be so productive and glad to have some personal time in the morning, but no- I just slept in and relaxed a lot. So while I feel guilty for wasting my day, I really think I needed it.
We had the pleasure of hosting Cupid’s Heart last week, along with our own local talent Brando making his debut. That was a lot of talent for one stage, let me tell you!
If you had’ve told me that Cupid’s Heart would cover songs like “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. when they have a cello player in the band, I wouldn’t believe it was possible- but there you go. (Or even just the fact that anyone knows all the words to that song!😅)
The fact that all of these musicians shared their talent without even charging a cover charge was a generous leap of faith, and I hope it all worked out for them because I would love to have them back someday.
A little birdie told me that a local “music advocate” tipped them off to try to set up a show with me, and for that I am very grateful. I’m glad she was also able to get to the show to enjoy it.
Brando put on an amazing set to warm up the crowd. He’s such a showman, and he even showed off his saxophone skills. It was something to see! He enticed a lot of support through those doors, so I can’t thank him and his band enough! I hope he is itching for more and I hope he does a headlining show on our stage one day.
After Cupid’s Heart packed up their van, they helped me finish off the leftovers from the kitchen to save me some cleanup, and then we all watched the lunar eclipse together. It was a pretty magical night.
Karaoke was eventful in all the wrong ways for me. (It WAS a full moon, after all!)
The bathroom sink sprung a leak while I was being visited by the liquor inspector about another bogus complaint. I supposedly “consistently serve alcohol after hours.” Nice try.
I did take advantage of the extended service hours during FIFA a few times, so maybe someone thought I was breaking the rules. So as I am vehemently denying the accusations, people keep coming to tell me there is a leak in the bathroom. Finally, one of them impresses the urgency to me, “The sink is leaking…. It’s bad! The whole bathroom is flooded.”
The inspector left me to deal with my plumbing issues, so I went in and saw the extent. I tried to turn off the water but the valves wouldn’t budge. I asked one of my regular customers if he knew how to shut it off, and he tried but couldn’t get the valve to move either. All the while, my sister is incessantly mopping, trying to keep the water at bay.
I ended up having to call my husband (who was sleeping and dealing with an arm injury) to come and save the day.
I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty sexy to see him arrive so quickly and turn that thing off with one hand.
You know what they say….. bad luck comes in threes! Some guy decided to sing karaoke for the first time and mic-dropped. (So cool! 🙄) It broke, so we are now down a microphone and I’m not very happy about it.
It’s times like these that really test your love for the industry.
But then I had the pleasure of hosting the Branch 54 - Haileybury Legion volunteers for their appreciation dinner on Sunday. The way it was brought to me was the legion president informing me that they would be having their dinner here. He didn’t ask me if I could do it; he told me I was doing it.
He has been such a great supporter of my business and we have had a lot of great conversations; some of which I have voiced my insecurities as a cook. He is a coach; a pep-talker. “You just say yes; you’re going to do it and it’s going to be awesome!”
So knowing what he knows of me, this time he didn’t even give me a chance to worry about it.
I pulled it off with minimal panic and it went so smoothly that I was partially panicking afterward that there had to be some disaster around the corner, but it never came. I guess I actually know what I am doing now! 😅
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude to Don for giving me the opportunity and trusting me to pull it off; and to all of the volunteers who came down to spend their evening at the tavern. I hope everybody had enough to eat and enjoyed eachother’s company.
I will be closed this weekend for my annual
Labour Day weekend with Sam Roberts Band. This is my wedding anniversary gift from Anthony every year, and I desperately need a little break from the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on lately!
It’s free pool today (Wednesday), and I’m also open tomorrow (Thursday), but no karaoke this weekend.
Come on over and try out the new dart board; shoot some pool; eat, drink, and be merry!
