The Chipperfield Chronicles

Sweeping Up ...

2008-05-15T05:26:00.004-05:00

Ross shook hands with the auctioneer at the door, thanking him for the many tasks that were part of an emotional day. He watched as he crossed the street and hopped in his truck and drove away.

Glancing at the cheque in his hand he shook his head. His mind crowded with many thought, but atleast the money raised through auctioning everything off would save the building and their home. Tucking it in the back pocket of his jeans he picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor.

"Might as well tidy the place up for the potential buyer," he thought as he started pushing the broom across the wooden floor. Memories of what was and could have been swirled around him like the dust that floated around the head of the broom. The methodical motion of pushing the broom back and forth over the the old wooden floors helped sooth the ache that he felt.

Lost in thought he failed to hear the door open until J-- was standing beside him.

"Hey buddy," J-- said softly.

Ross looked up and wiped away a tear, "Damned dust," he said as he wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Yeah, these old buildings can kick up a lot of dust," said J-- softly, a slight smile crossing his face, "Got any coffee?" he said hopefully.

Ross sighed, "I do, but I've haven't even got a cup to put it in ..." his arm waved around the now empty building, only the 'Chipperfield Bros' sign was left hanging over the wall between the kitchen and the front.

"No worries," said J-- with a chuckle, "I brought my own," with that he pulled a burgundy mug out of his pocket, "call it a little souvenier from my last visit here."

Ross laughed, "you stole a mug? No wonder we had to have the auction to cover our losses." He took the mug from J--'s hand and stepped behind the now empty counter where one last pump carafe stood, "Your regular?"

"Yup," said J--, leaning on the counter facing Ross as he continued, "I had been hoping to get a set of 8 of those, but I only managed to snag that one yesterday when I was here, and I couldn't bring myself to come and watch the vultures pick the bones today."

Ross nodded as the hot black liquid filled the mug.

"It's like this everytime a business closes in this town," observed J--, "the folks who wouldn't darken the door while it was open show up to snag a few bargains."

"Bargains?" scoffed Ross as he poured cream into J--'s mug from the tiny cardboard container sitting along side the coffee carafe, "A closing out auction sale is no bargain ..."

"It is to the vultures," laughed J--, "Remember when the furniture store closed? Ninety percent of the people who were there never came in when it was running. But they sure as shooting showed up when it was closing. That's just the way this town is. They don't like change, and they would rather pay more going to Brandon to buy the exact same thing because it's the Big City, and it must be better ..."

"Even if it comes off the same freight truck," said Ross dryly.

"Exactly," said J-- pausing to sip his coffee, "Gawd, I'm gonna miss this ..." he lifted his mug with a smile.

"Yeah," said Ross quietly, glancing around the now empty shop, "Me too." his voice echoed in the emptiness, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Hmmmm," J-- sipped his coffee again before speaking, "it was a good idea, and it met a need. But it was too little too late for a town that wants to die."

"What do you mean?" said Ross, his face looking surprised.

"Look around you Ross," said J-- with a serious gaze, "there's a reason there are so many 'for sale' signs on houses here, and why Main St has more hair salons and empty businesses than healthy active ones. And now they want to build a 100 room hotel and arena. Seriously, how will this town survive when we keep closing the doors on business after business. We're becoming like Basswood, Clanwilliam, and Rapid City."

Ross stared at J-- without saying a word.

"You can see it can't you?" marvelled J--, "that our town is slowly dying? We've lost the Internet Pharmacy, the furniture store, the fried chicken outlet, the jewellery store, the florist and now the coffee shop. How much more evidence do you need?"

"I hadn't thought of it that way," observed Ross, "I was so caught up in trying to save this place, I hadn't thought about what was going on up and down Main St."

For a long moment neither man spoke, as J-- sipped his coffee and Ross was lost in thought. Ross broke the silence.

"But there have been new things open on Main St," he said hopefully.

"Sure, a half dozen new hair salons," laughed J--, and the old tractor supply building has new tenants, but nothing that will pull traffic off the highway, and keep people here on a Saturday to shop. Hell, I hate to admit it, but when I was a kid this place was happening on Friday and Saturday nights. We used to come down town early just to get a parking spot. But now you could fire off a howitzer on Main St most Saturday afternoons and there would be no damage to any one or anything. I tell you, this town is dying."

"I hate to think that," observed Ross, "I had always hoped this place would be part of reviving the town and drawing people in." Picking up the guest book he flipped it open and observed the many names and places represented there, "I mean, look at this," he held up the guest book, "It has visitors from around the world, and our regulars were always here."

"But you let small town politics come into play," observed J--.

"Huh?" muttered Ross looking up, "what do you mean?"

"When The Rev stopped feeling welcomed here, it was the beginning of the end," said J-- softly, "the people who fear change, and who want everything to stay the same and who want to control EVERYTHING prevailed and put and end to the potential that people like The Rev brought to our communty. He was an outsider."

"So am I," observed Ross, "but it wasn't that he was no longer welcomed," he paused as he chose his words thoughtfully, "there were other factors ..." his voice trailed off.

"Other factors?" J--'s face cracked into a broad smile, "the rumours and gossip about all the things he supposedly did? All of which you and I both know were complete bullshit. Or was it that he stood up to the dysfunctional and toxic people in our community and wouldn't let them get away with treating him the way they did? Or was it that he represented change to a town that isn't interested in having ANYTHING change now or ever? Or was it simply he ruffled too many feathers by being who he was and speaking out on things he felt passionate about?"

Ross stared at J-- and said nothing.

"Or was it the fact that he saw the cracks around here and wasn't willing to say nothing because he liked you and Bonnie and wanted to see your business succeed inspite of a dying town?"

Ross shook his head, "He just couldn't let it go ..."

"Let what go?" asked J--, "that he tried to help people and the community? That he ultimately did NOTHING wrong, but was railroaded out of town by a group of church people who have done this to a half a dozen ministers before him?" J-- paused, "come on Ross, he was your friend and you joined the mob that wanted to drive the monster out of town too. And the rest of us did nothing to stop them. It was just like the movie Frankenstein. They grabbed their pitchforks and torches and after a few ignorant proclamations, the mob went after him."

"It wasn't that at all ..." said Ross quietly.

"Come on Ross," laughed J-- dryly, "the guy had his life threatened, one of our so-called upstanding citizens sent an email dripping with lies to his friends, he had his van tire slashed, his house and van got shot at, they trashed his reputation, they accused him of affairs because he was friends with one of YOUR employees who was in a shitty marriage, the anonymous comments on his own blog and the whispered nonsense through town ... it WAS LIKE THAT. No on deserves to be treated that way, and yet everyone from the Church leadership, through to the Town Council played a role in it. It was like everyone took secret delight in watching it happen ..."

"He could have just walked away," said Ross looking down, avoiding J--'s eyes.

"Ross. You can't be serious?" J-- shook his head, "he loved this town. He had a dozen friends. He wanted to help this town become something more. He didn't want to leave and let the mob win."

"But he wouldn't listen," Ross' voice gained some strength, "we tried to help him ..."

"Sure, you offered him a job, then fired him without the decency of a conversation before," J-- shook his head again, "then you threw salt in his wounds by saying 'we value your friendship'. Think about it Ross, you let the viciousness of small town politics prevail. You let the bullies in our community control your business," pausing he glanced around, "and it turned out well didn't it?"

"It wasn't The Rev who did this," observed Ross, his face reddening.

"Fair enough," said J--, "but he was the canary in the coal mine. We drove him out of town, and with him went a lot of enthusiasm and support for this town. Talk to people in town, we're not just a town that is divided, we're a town that has no will to live. I hear "To hell with it," over and over. No body is interested in seeing this place live any more. And it is because we've let the lunatics take over the asylum."

Ross stared at the counter where the cash register once sat, pausing before replying, "We never wanted to drive him out." said Ross softly, "but he wouldn't respect the boundaries we asked him to observe."

"Boundaries?" scoffed J--, "true friends don't need boundaries. Boundaries are for keeping your enemies out, or for hiding things away. True friends can talk to you about anything, any time, and your support and care for them is unconditional. I know that The Rev offered that to everyone, and in return we treated him like Frankenstein's Monster and drove him out of the valley."

"But he wouldn't let things go ..." said Ross glancing up at J--, "We asked him ..."

"He wouldn't let it go because he could see the truth behind it," said J--, "he made some mistakes that he more than paid for, but he also had the ability to see through the situation and name the truth. Especially when it came to incompetence and the two-faced-ness of too many people around here. Remember what he said about his visit to that place in Ontario? The director said his ADD coupled with his high intelligence made him like a shark. He would pounce on the idiotic statements being made and leave the person angry because they had been embarassed by the young upstart who very much an outsider."

"But that was the problem," said Ross, "he couldn't bite his tongue and leave things alone."

"What wouldn't he leave alone?" asked J--, "God knows this town is filled with people who have attained thier positions because they have been the last one standing, not because they are particularly skilled or capable. People like The Rev are a threat to folks like that. Their inabilities and shortcomings are laid bare, and they react in fear. They have too many skeletons in their closests that people like The Rev could inadvertantly expose for all too see ..."

"That's not it," said Ross plaintively, "you don't understand."

"I grew up in this town," said J-- laughing, "I've had a long and winding road in this life. Don't tell me I don't understand. The problem is, I DO understand what's going on here, and I think we need more folks like The Rev who are willing to rock the boat and expose some of the dirty little secrets that keep this town rolling."

J-- paused to sip his coffee. Tipping the mug back he drained its contents with a smile, "Dang that was good." offering the mug to Ross he asked, "Got any more?"

"One last one for old times sake?" said Ross smiling, though his eyes were clouded with sadness.

"You bet," laughed J--, "might as well go out on a high note."

Ross pumped the coffee and nodded his head whistfully, "Guess it's not been a high note has it?"

"Could have been," observed J--, "if we would have had the courage to stand agaist the mob and stop the nonsense once and for all. But that takes a lot of courage. It's hard to tell your neighbour and friend that they are being a horses' ass. It's easier to turn on the new comer and drive them out of town."

"Kind of like Ibsen's play "Enemy of the People"?" observed Ross.

"Huh?" said J--, "Not familiar with that story."

"Oh, it's about a little town in Norway," said Ross, "they have hot springs that offer healing to people who travel from all over the world to soak in them. Then one day the young doctor or someone realizes that the water is poisoned and that it could kill people if something isn't done. But the only thing to do is shut down the springs."

"So what happens?" asked J--.

"The town leaders will not hear of it," said Ross, "they won't risk the reputation of the town by listening to this new comer who clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. So instead of listening to his wisdom and his suggestions the town father form a mob and drive him out of town ..."

"Was the place called Minnedosa?" asked J-- with a laugh.

"Maybe," said Ross, "The bit I can't remember is whether they drive him out of town, or if they kill him?"

"Kind of a difference in outcome isn't it?" said J-- wryly.

"Well, I remember the Arthur Miller play 'The Crucible' has the outsider killed, but I can't remember if Ibsen has him killed or just driven out of town." Ross shrugged.

"Most mobs want blood, and won't be satisified until they have the head of the outsider to parade around," said J--.

"Unfortunately that is too true," agreed Ross, "driving the outsider away isn't enough. They have to suffer too."

"I think The Rev has suffered enough," observed J--, "his reputation is in tatters, his job is gone, his circle of friends have vanished, his career as minister is very much in doubt, and his marriage fell apart, and everyone has held to the lies and the bullshit telling each other that because they keeping saying these things they MUST be true."

J-- glanced around the shop, "So, any idea who is gonna rent this?"

"Nope," said Ross sadly, "There isn't much interest in putting a business on Main St any more."

"Oh come on," laughed J--, "when they build that new hotel and arena complex this town will be hopping."

Ross shook his head glumly, "I don't see how we can build something like that when the hotels we have in town can't make enough to fix themselves up now ... it's just idiocy."

"Like I said - 'the lunatics are running the asylum', and we've let it happen." said J-- dryly, "so, where have all the girls gone?"

Ross sighed as he answered, "I don't really know," he shook his head, "I couldn't bring myself to even talk to them after we had to lay everyone off last week, it just hurt too much."

"I thought you always took pride in calling this place 'a family'?" asked J--, "sounds like a dysfunctional family to me."

Ross shook his head, "We thought we had a family, but ..." his voice trailed off.

"Maybe The Rev was right about that too huh?" said J-- shaking his head too.

"Maybe," observed Ross, "maybe."

"Too bad for us ..." said J-- with a shake of his head.

"Got that right ..."agreed Ross, "maybe the town will finally figure it out before it's too late. Maybe they will hear the voices of people who want to see the town grow and prosper and who aren't interested in playing politics, but who want experience, knowledge and background to determine who gets the jobs and opportunities rather than who is owed a favour."

J-- started laughing, "I've been in this town for 70 years and I've lost track of how many times I've heard that said."

"Ain't gonna happen will it?" said Ross.

"It ain't gonna happen," observed J--, "there will always be a town here. But the glory days are over. Just look at Rivers. That's where we're heading ... and folks like The Rev wanted to warn us and help us avoid that fate ..."

"But ..." added Ross.

"Exactly," said J-- tipping back his coffee and once again draining the mug, "I need another coffee ..."

"Pot's empty," observed Ross without even glancing at the silver pot.

"Hmmm," answered J-- with a smile, "sounds like we may need a road trip."

Ross nodded.

"Got some fences to mend along the way?" asked J--, his smile broadening.

Ross nodded.

"I've got the number," J-- pulled a business card out of his pocket, "shall we call him, or just show up at his office."

"Let's just show up," said Ross, "if we phone he may decide to be 'unavailable' when we get there."

"Good Idea," laughed J--, "Oh," he lifted the mug, "I'm keeping this."

"Go ahead," Ross answered, "consider it a souvenir."

"Thanks" said J--, "it was fun. I'm gonna miss this place."

"Me too," said Ross, "me too"

The two men paused at the door and took one last look around the now empty space.

"It was a good run," said J-- softly, a tear welling in his eye.

"It was ..." agreed Ross, wiping a tear from his own eye, "It didn't have to end this way."

"No it didn't" replied J--, "but no one had the courage to stand up and stop the nonsense and stand up for The Rev and others who have been brutalized by the "good" town folks."

"Hypocrites aren't they?" said Ross.

"Every last one," observed J--, "Oh and the stories that could be told about the skeletons in THEIR closets."

Ross laughed, "Reminds me of the closing scene of Brecht's play "The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui..."

"Getting all literary on us today are you?" laughed J-- softly.

"Sort of," said Ross pulling his keys out of his pocket, "In the last scene of the play, the main character who is a parody of Hitler, stands before a chanting mob then everything goes black and a single spot light hits him. He tears off his moustache and muses on the power of the farce that lets us laugh in the face of tragedy the he says: 'Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again' ..."

"Hmm," J-- stepped through the door out on to the sidewalk glancing up and down the nearly deserted Main St, "maybe we need to kill the bitch before she bears another generation that wants to let this town die ..."

The click of the front door lock echoed within the empty building. Ross and J-- stared at each other for a moment saying nothing.

"Shall I drive?" asked J--.

"Yeah," said Ross, "I need to think about what I want to say to him ..."

"It's never easy to say sorry," said J-- as he stepped towards his car.

"Got that right," said Ross opening the door and getting in to the car.

J-- pulled away from the curb and pulled a tight U-turn in the intersection, ignoring the sign and breaking the law. It was a chance he was willing to take given that there were no more than a half a dozen cars on the entire length of Main St. Heading south his car left a cloud of dust and exhaust that got caught up in the breeze and slowly dissipated in the wind leaving nothing behind but the soft rustle of the wind down a deserted Main St of a town that once seemed some filled with potential and hope ...

-------------------------------------

(author's note - The Real Chippefields is, for now still open on Main St, and Minnedosa for now is still a functioning town ... and even though the characters here are based off of real people and real events ... this is a piece of fiction ... try to stop confusing the two, but to those who feel uncomfortable by what they've read here (assuming they actually made it ALL the way through), take a moment to remember that even fiction has a ring of truth, and that sometimes the morales of our stories offer a lesson if we dare to heed it ... there is truth underneath ALL of what has been written here ... I'll leave it to the intelligence of my readers to hear the lesson, and glean the truth and to leave the rest behind for the wind to carry away ... As for me, the online Chipperfields is closed ... I am no longer welcomed in the real Chipperfields, and the welcome mat to Minnedosa has been rolled up and I've been soundly beaten with it ... so, my journey will continue to lead me elsewhere ... Like J-- said "It was a Good Run" ... and there is much about it I'll miss ... but at the end of the day the toxic, small minded, vicious and cowardly people have prevailed ... I'm done. Thanks and may your journey be a good one.)

One Last Greeting ...

2008-03-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY !!!.HAPPY BIRTHDAY JODI!!!!MAY THIS YEAR CARRY YOU TO THE PLACE YOUR HEART TRULY YEARNS TO BE ....... FIND YOUR WINGS AND SOAR ....NEVER LOOK BACK,AND NEVER DOUBT THAT YOU AREDESERVING AND WORTHY OF SO MUCHMORE THAN YOU KNOW ... .HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!.

The One Month Challenge Draws to a Close ...

2008-03-16T08:10:00.006-05:00

The Jewish Prophet Hillell said - "that which is hurtful to ANOTHER, you do not do - EVER"

Jesus used Hillel's wisdom and said - "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Even modern service clubs like Rotary have taken the concept of justice and fairness to heart by crafting things like their 4-Way test that has the members of the club asking themselves simple questions about the nature of the transactions and decisions they are making, and whether they are hurtful to another ...

The implication is, that if something you as a person do is hurtful to another - DON'T DO IT.

Like Gandhi said - "be the change you seek ..."

Long ago I discovered not only Fair Trade, but a number of companies that actively promote Fair Trade and bring high quality products to the Canadian Market. One of the first was Level Ground Trading from the Victoria area. Their coffee Cafe San Miquel, (dark roast) has long been a favourite of mine. Over the last ten years I have ordered THOUSANDS of pounds of their coffees (and likely consumed several hundred personally), visited their production facilities, talked to them on the phone, and written several papers on their work.

Along the way I've contacted and built relationships with other companies like Bean North, Just Us, Marquis Project and of late a little company in Manitoba called Green Bean Coffee Roasters ... all the while looking at how I could promote these companies and their products to the community around me ... I've done this in my ministry, and of late have been doing it as a friend and employee of Chipperfield Coffee Company in Minnedosa ...

This past month Chipperfield Coffee Company engaged the One Month Challenge promoted by Fair Trade Manitoba. It meant serving Fair Trade products to the customers where ever possible. We started with coffee, and a limited selection of tea, and expanded into chocolate and other products. The reception by the community seemed good ...

The idea of supporting Fair Trade was one that was welcomed by many in the surrounding community. The idea that 20-30% of the final purchase price of a bag of coffee goes DIRECTLY into the hands of the producer appeals to many ... could you imagine doing that for a loaf of bread, or a box of corn flakes?? Not too mention other agricultural products!!!

But moreover, the simple fact that every step of the journey of fair trade products from the fields to our table, are premised on JUSTICE, FAIRNESS and the right of HUMAN DIGNITY is what fuels this movement. The emphasis on caring for and caring about the people involved is central - Fair Trade is about MORE than economic justice for the poor third world farmers, it's about ensuring that EVERYONE involved is treated with dignity and treated fairly, and that at the end of the day are not left hurt in any way.

They are noble and lofty goals. And the actualization of those goals by the companies who bring Fair Trade products to our tables is what has always motivated me to be a Fair Trade promoter. The entire journey from field to table must be about dignity for all, fairness for all, and justice for all.

That is why I cringe when I see companies like Safeway, Wal-Mart and Starbucks involved in Fair Trade. This is NOT just about getting the product into the hands of consumers. It's about EVERY STEP of the journey being based on more than profits.

Foundational in ALL of this is the understanding that people MUST come before PROFITS, and that the dignity, fairness and justice are not just lofty concepts but basic human RIGHTS.

So, it is with a broken heart that I watch this One Month Challenge draw to a close because on one hand it has been successful. Patrick from Fair Trade Manitoba reports that 800 plus participants in the Fair Trade Challenge consumed OVER 17 000 cups of Fair Trade Coffee in the last 30 days, and those statistics do not include the coffee sold in places like Chipperfield Coffee Company to people who were NOT actively participating in the challenge!!!!

But, I carry a deep personal grief in this. As this challenge draws to a close my association with Chipperfield Coffee Company has also come to end ... my place there as employee, customer and ultimately friend has been savagely consumed by the mob mentality of small town politics that demanded the owner/management protect their business and profits over people and principles ... after two and a half years of abuse, the mob wasn't happy taking from me my job, my reputation, my security and my self-definition ... they will not be content until I have NOTHING LEFT. Fortunately, they will never take from my my pride and my principles.

At the end of the day I can still look in the mirror and have no twinges of regret or remorse for any thing.

It's a sad day on many levels, but then as I have come to realize over and over in recent days - this ultimately is NOT my loss ... Fair Trade is about Fairness at all levels ... and it is about embodying the very principles that were spoken by the likes of Hillel, Jesus, The Rotarians who crafted the 4-Way test and others who understand Gandhi's idea of being the change you seek ... not just when it is convenient, but ALWAYS !!!

Today I will pour my cup of Fair Trade Coffee, obtained from The Marquis Project in Brandon, shortly knowing that in ALL things I HAVE endeavoured to live those principles in my life, both personal and professional ... and that WILL never change ...

Home Routes Returns!!!

2008-03-12T09:57:00.002-05:00

Bonnie and Ross and the staff at Chipperfields are delighted to be able to offer yet another concert in the 2007-2008 Home Routes Concert Series they have been hosting.

Last month the Shoppe rocked to the sound of Canadian Musican James Gordon, who along with a local singer, entertained a sell out crowd.

On Monday March 25th Chipperfield Coffee Company is once again pleased to hold a small venue coffee shop concert, this time with Toronto based singer Kate Goldman.

Who is Kate Goldman you ask???

Well ...Who is Kat Goldman?

Perhaps the mystique lies in the fact that Kat Goldman is one of Canada's best kept secrets.

A Toronto native, Kat Goldman packed up her bags and traveled down to Boston Massachussettes when she was 20 years old. There, she picked up a guitar and began frequenting the fervent Cambridge coffeehouse scene, also becoming a regular busker in Harvard Square.

Kat returned to Toronto in 1996, and started doing shows of her own in Toronto venues. Producer Gavin Brown (Sarah Harmer, Billy Talent) heard her music and went gaga. He wanted to work with her...and so began their collaboration on "The Great Disappearing Act", Kat Goldman's coming out studio record.

This was truly a break-out achievement in her career.

Suddenly Kat was opening for Sarah Slean, Martin Sexton, the Waifs, Regina Spektor, Al Stuart, The Strawbs, Dar Williams, Jonatha Brooke, and Eric Anderson who after seeing her show, called her a "Canadian Flower".

Is it any wonder that this "Canadian Flower" was then picked up by Shawn Colvin/Dar Williams/ Suzanne Vega's management out of New York City?

As Kat put it, "Suddenly I was working with the people who managed the careers of my very own heroes. I began playing some of the best venues in NYC- The Bottom Line, The Bitter End, and The Living Room".

In September of 2004, Kat decided it was time to move down to New York City, the hub of creative industry.

However, one week before she was to leave, she was struck in a near-fatal freak accident.
While stopping inside a bakery, a car came crashing through the storefront window, pinning her against the back wall. Her injuries resulted in multiple surgeries and Kat spent the next 2 years recovering and learning how to walk again.

She has now emerged this year 2007 with her triumphant sophomore album "Sing Your Song", described by Dar Williams as a record that "the world would not be the same without".
Perhaps in time, Kat Goldman will no longer be Canada's best kept secret.

For more information about Kat Goldman - click here ...

To get tickets, stop by the store, or give them a call - 867 5751 ... and plan on an evening of quality entertainment in the best little coffee shoppe in West Man !!!

From their fields to our table ... a local connection!!

2008-03-08T21:18:00.002-06:00

This past week at Chipperfields, one of the Barista's noticed that the Just Us Coffee "Breaking the Silence" being served as part of the one month challenge, has its origins in the Lake Atitlan area of Guatemala. Kirsten was excited by the realization because a few months ago, she and a group of 12 others from the Minnedosa Covenant Church took a mission trip to the Lake Atitlan area.

Kirsten sent me an email along with the photos above describing her trip as follows:

Myself and a group of twelve people from Minnedosa Evangelical Covenant Church went to San Juan, Guatemala for ten days.

San Juan is on the edge of Lake Atitlan and we actually had to cross it on boat to get to the other side, where San Juan is located.

While we were there we held a 2 day VBS (vacation bible school) for the children of a school, that was on a Saturday and Sunday. Then for the other five days we did a work project in the morning, and taught classes in the afternoon.

For our work project we built a retaining wall 6 feet deep, 2 feet wide and 21 feet long. We dug the trench by hand, hauled rocks and mixed and hauled the cement. We had a paid foreman that instructed us and hired two workers, but the only tools we had were shovels, hoes, buckets and a wheel barrow.

It was very tough work and the temperatures were quite high.

In the afternoon we taught classes such as art, carpentry and choir.

I taught choir class, and taught them how to use small percussion instruments. We also taught them to sing the chorus in English and shared with them a little about Canada.

We did fun things, one including a ride on a zip line 200 ft above a canyon.

Pastor Dan travelled with myself and another girl to also went to a center for disabled children and adults for an afternoon. It was awful to see the lack of things they had. These people did not have proper facilities and lots of their needs were not able to be met because of lack of money, some did not have enough for a small wheel chair for the children and they had to be carried...

The facility was run by volunteers and one paid worker.

Many of us also decided to sponsor a child from the school that we were at, many of them are still unsponsored and need sponsors, but we were able to sponsor a few. and it is neat to be able to actually meet the child you sponsor and get a picture with them.

The area was very beautiful.. covered in trees, and all around there were mountains.. obviously not ones like the snow covered ones in Alberta ... but they were covered in trees ... there were lots of coffee crops all over.. and often you would see corn crops or other crops on the side of the mountain ... we had no idea how they harvested or planted them.

It was a beautiful area.. and they people were so unique and kind.

The children were delightful and we learned a lot about their culture with the help of our translators, because they only spoke Spanish and a dialect which I can't spell.

They were very welcoming and really appreciated what they had, which was not much.

Lots of people barely got by, and lived in very tiny houses, rundown houses, but they never once complained.

Thanks Kirsten, for telling us a little bit about a corner of the world that NOW is more than just a label on a package !!

Enjoying a GOOD Cup of Coffee ...

2008-02-27T08:14:00.002-06:00

A long time ago I learned the value of a good cup of coffee ... there is much that goes into its creation, from the land of origin through to the serving it on a very distant table ...

The first step is the beans ... a good quality plant like the Arabica, will produce a good quality bean - which is the foundation on which everything else lies ...

Next comes the farmer ... I am unapologetic and unabashed in my commitment to Fair Trade, particularly when it comes to coffee ... ensuring the family growing the beans and harvesting them are paid fairly and justly for their efforts is VITAL ... how can it be a good cup of coffee if the family who carefully grew and tended the beans receive only pennies for their efforts ???

Then by choosing Fair Trade coffee (tea, sugar, chocolate and other items) we are offering a commitment to not ONLY the family growing the coffee, but to the WHOLE community around them, and even the region in which they live ... Foundations, loans, business initiatives and numerous other ways in which companies like Just Us, Level Ground, Kicking Horse Pass, Bean North and OTHER Fair Trade enterprises improve the living conditions in the country of origin ...Knowing that MY coffee helps the farmer, his family, and his community only adds to the GOODNESS of the beverage ...

AND finally, the last ingredient in a good cup of coffee is the setting and the company ... having a place like Chipperfield Coffee Company where you can claim a table and enjoy a hot cup of coffee with a cluster of friends around the table is an extraordinary gift ... THAT is what coffee is supposed to be ... from the first green sprout pushing up through the soil in a distant field, through to the hot rich beverage shared over a table among friends - a GOOD CUP of Coffee is about making every aspect of coffee a positive thing ...

It kind of takes "good to the last drop" to a WHOLE new level ... and right now, Chipperfield Coffee Company is very proud to provide its customers, and the community of Minnedosa the opportunity to enjoy just such a cup of coffee each day with our Fair Trade selection - a rich and delicious variety of some of the BEST coffees from around the world !!!

Check them out - I guarantee you WON'T be disappointed !!!!

Fair Trade Coffee - Good from the first to the last drop ...

2008-02-24T10:10:00.002-06:00

"Why should I choose Fair Trade coffee?"

It's a simple question, to which there is a simple and a complex answer ...

The simple answer is - Fair Trade Coffee helps to make a difference in the lives of producers half a world away. The concept of Fair Trade means the producers are paid a FAIR price for their commodity, rather than the global market price, which is usually pennies on the pound ...

So, when you buy a Fair Trade coffee you are ensuring that the producer in the country of origin is recieving a premium price for his coffee (about 25 to 30% of the final purchase price DIRECTLY in to his hands. But more than that, when you purchase a Fair Trade Coffee, you are also ensuring a broad community and economic development for the region where the coffee originates.

Some coffees, such as Just Us' Breaking The Silence are the direct result of development projects in the country of origin, while others like Cafe San Miquel, reinvest their profits into education, business and other development opportunities in the communities that produce the coffee beans ...

If, by drinking a cup of coffee, you can help put a young women through University doesn't it make sense to use Fair Trade ALL the time??

Bonnie and Ross think so ... in their ongoing commitment to provide the customers of Chipperfield Coffee Company with the absolute best coffee available they have begun exploring the possiblities of Fair Trade for thier store ... as a result they have expanded the variety of available Fair Trade products in stock ... AND ... as they've joined Manitoba Fair Trade's One Month Challenge they have offered a Fair Trade selection on the daily menu for the last week and a half ...

With every cup, customers and staff at Chipperfield Coffee Company are making a difference in the lives of people in the far flung corners of the world ... how cool is that???

Come and join the revolution !!

The WONDERFUL World of COFFEE !!!

2008-02-19T22:26:00.003-06:00

As part of the ONE MONTH CHALLENGE, Chipperfield Coffee Company is pleased to introduce to customer a WIDE variety of Fair Trade Organic coffees and teas ... In addition to the four Level Ground selections that have been available, Chipperfields has introduced Cafe San Miquel, the Colombian Coffee that began the Level Ground success story. Available in both regular and decaf, it is a familiar coffee to folks in the Minnedosa area, and is a natural fit for the selection available in the Fair Trade Boutique being created by the management and staff of Chipperfield Coffee Company.

In addition to the selection of coffee and sugar from Level Ground, Chipperfields is also pleased to introduce a number of Fair Trade Organic coffees and tea from Just Us Coffee Roasters Cooperative based in Wolfville Nova Scotia. Throughout the OMC, patrons will be introduced to a number of FTO coffees from around the world including one called "Breaking the Silence" that brings a together fine coffee and a development project from rural Guatemalan in one cup !!!

Over and over, Fair Trade products offer us as consumers, the ability to connect with the world and make a positive impact on the lives of producers and their communities, while we enjoy a high quality product that is worth every drop ...

But most exciting is the new connection with a Coffee Roasting Company located just outside of Clandeboyne Manitoba.

Green Bean Coffee Imports is a small entrepeneurial enterprise working to introduce coffee drinkers in Manitoba to what can best be described as "Artisan quality coffee beans". Roasted in small batches, Green Bean provides a diverse selection of coffee custom roasted to order. Taking imported green coffee beans, owner operator Derryl Reid, roasts up small batches of coffee for his customers in the Winnipeg area.

Chipperfield Coffee Company is pleased to be the first distributor of this new Manitoba company outside of the immediate Winnipeg area ... by sharing this distinctive, high quality product with their customers, Chipperfields is offering something found few other places !!

If you haven't tried one of our Fair Trade Coffee varieties, consider sampling one of the daily menu selections throughout the One Month Challenge, and if you find something you like, pick up a package of beans to take home ... you will ensure a quality cup of coffee, both at home and while you are visiting the shop ... and you will help change the world ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME !!!!

The Smile Says it ALL ...

2008-02-17T23:56:00.002-06:00

Today the REAL Chipperfield's played host to a special gathering ...

J-- turned 75, and with his family and friends gathered around,

a time of laughter, visiting, refreshments and fun ensued.

The place was packed ...

... I think J--'s smile says it all:

Happy Birthday Buddy !!!

And may you have MANY, MANY more !!!!

James Gordon and his music

2008-02-16T14:06:00.004-06:00

While it is NOT James Gordon singing below - this IS a song that he wrote ... and on Friday the 22nd, James will be performing LIVE at Chipperfield Coffee Company at 7pm ... tickets are limited and are $15/each.

Consider coming out and enjoying a delightful evening of music by one of Canada's premier folk musicians ... for now, enjoy one of his beautiful musical creations the song Frobisher Bay, I don't know ANYTHING about this video - the camerawork is a bit shaky, but the voices are AMAZING - and the young woman doing the solo is incredible - enjoy !!!

I couldn't have said it any better ...

2008-02-13T22:33:00.003-06:00

It's one of those moments that could have been avoided if it had been dealt with differently ...

The sadness being felt is real ... and it is something that shouldn't have happened ...

Thankfully over at "Things I've Learned" Jaydee has shared her thoughts and said it so eloquently, all I can offer is a hearty "Here!! Here!!"

ARE YOU IN ????

2008-02-11T23:40:00.000-06:00

I/we hereby:

- Pledge that for 30 days starting February 14th, 2008:
- the only coffee I/we drink will be fair trade coffee.
- the only tea I/we drink will be fair trade tea.
- the only chocolate I/we eat will be fair trade chocolate.

I/we will shop fair trade for other types of products when these are available.

AND I will agree to complete seven short on-line surveys that will gather information on my/our participation in the One-Month Challenge.

To JOIN - click here - and follow the links !!

Wha'chya doin?

2008-02-04T22:06:00.000-06:00

J-- was sitting at the table by the window enjoying his cup of Organic Manitoba tea, the infuser sitting by his right hand, still half full of the amber fluid. He glanced up as the door opened and The Rev strolled in. He smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Hey stranger," J-- said standing and offering his hand, "long time no see ..."

The two shook hands as The Rev laughed and began to remove his coat.

"Yeah," said The Rev hanging his coat alongside J--'s on one of the bar chairs by the front window, "It hasn't been THAT long ..."

"Got a day off?" asked J-- as he sat down at the table and folded up the newspaper.

"Yeah," said The Rev as he turned towards the counter, "something like that ..."

Returning a moment later with a large cup of Chipperfield's house blend in his hand he pulled out a chair and sat across the small table from J--.

"So, what does 'something like that' mean?" asked J--.

"Oh, I'm trying to stay up here one day a week to get paper work done," said The Rev, "so I'm not being disturbed."

J-- started laughing, "yeah like that isn't a complete recipe for disaster ..."

"Exactly," said The Rev, picking up his coffee and taking a sip, "my cell and my home phone has been ringing and I am getting a tonne of emails in my work AND personal server. I'm getting less work done than if I was in the office right now ..."

"Good time for a break," said J-- lifting the mug of tea in salute.

"Exactly," said The Rev, "when the going gets rough the best place to go is for coffee with an old friend."

"Hey," said J--, his smile morphing into a frown, "careful with that 'old friend' business," he glanced around the shoppe, "folks might get the wrong impression ..."

"You got a birthday coming up don't you?" asked The Rev.

"Yup," nodded J-- in agreement, "another week and I turn the big 7-5!!"

"Congratulations," said The Rev smiling, "you don't look a day over 74!!"

"Thanks," snickered J--.

The two men were laughing as Ross wandered up to the table, "Mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"No," said J--, "it's your store. You can sit anywhere you want."

"Well, almost anywhere," said The Rev.

"Yeah," agreed Ross sitting down at the table. He leaned back in the chair and turned to J--, "so, did he tell you about our awesome showing at the Trivia Night this weekend?"

"Come in last again?" asked J-- with a wink.

"Not this year," said Ross smugly. As he spoke The Rev reached into his black nylon briefcase and pulled out a small trophy.

"Check it out," said The Rev setting the trophy on the table in front of J--.

"Consolation prize?" asked J--.

"Nope," said Ross proudly, "FIRST PRIZE ALL THE WAY !!"

"Really?" said J-- as he picked the Trophy up and read the gold coloured plaque on the base, "That's great."

"Yup," said Ross, "the Chipperdoodles came in first."

"Impressive showing after last year," said J--, "that last place finish was hard to take for all of you ..."

The Rev and Ross both laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but winning the trophy this year is sweet revenge," observed The Rev.

"So where are you gonna display this beauty?" asked J-- holding the trophy up in his hand.

"Up on the mantel," said Ross seriously, his hand motioning to the ledge above J--'s head.

"Along with full page ads in the Trib announcing our win," said The Rev with a smile.

"Talk about your sore winner," laughed J--.

"So a spinning, lighted display for the trophy would be a little too much?" said Ross looking confused.

The Rev and J-- looked at each other across the table and began to laugh, neither committing to an answer ...

(Just for interest's sake ... The REAL Chipperdoodles team won the recent Kinettes/Kinsmen Trivia night and DO have a lovely trophy that will soon be lurking around the REAL Chipperfield's somewhere - rest assured we've talked Ross out of the illuminated rotating display case play Queen's song "We ARE the Champions!"!! and the Chipperdoodles team was responsible for creating the trivia questions for the Basswood Hall Trivia night last week too ... thanks to the combined wisdom of the real-life Jaydee, Bonnie, Ross and The Rev!! We're just sorry that Jaydee wasn't part of the K/K Trivia night ... Maybe NEXT year !! But for now - she can share in our victory nonetheless !!!)

Scenes from the Guest Book

2008-02-01T22:57:00.000-06:00

Not satisfied with a simple signature,

a recent visitor left a work of art,

and perhaps a statement on how much he enjoyed

his visit to the REAL Chipperfields ...

I hope they come back again ...

Happy Birthday !!

2008-01-27T14:21:00.000-06:00

This is the year where my circle of friends and I move into the fifth decade of life by marking our big 4-0 Birthdays ... I won't run through the inventory of those of us who have marked this aspicious chronological event ... Instead, I will simply note that around Chipperfields (the REAL place) the inspiration behind the character of Dani marks her 40th (or her 39th and holding) Birthday TODAY.

So to the real life Dani - I wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and may you have many more as you begin this year so full of exciting plans and dreams ...

Have fun girl !!!!

Promotion Ross Style

2008-01-18T23:47:00.000-06:00

"I got an idea," Ross pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with J-- and a couple of the morning regulars who enjoying the warmth of the gas fireplace behind them and the sunshine pouring through the windows in front of the.

"An idea huh?" said J-- with a sly smile, "haven't we warned you to stay away from them?"

The regulars around the table laughed as Ross shook his head.

"No, this is a good one," he insisted.

"Let's hear it," said J-- placing the Brewit tea pot on his mug and decanting another shot of Organic Manitoba tea.

"Well, do you remember the old shampoo commercial where the young woman said "I told two friends, who told two friends, who told two friends ..."

"And so on and so on and so on," chimed in J--, "and then they showed the screen with more and more pictures of the gal ..."

"You've seen it?" asked Ross excitedly.

"Yeah sure," said J-- looking confused, "I saw it back in the 70's when it was on. But what does it have to do with your idea. Or is remembering it your BIG idea?" a grin passed over J--'s face as he lifted his mug up and took a sip.

"Wasn't that the commercial where the old guy came out and said 'I was so impressed that I bought the company?'" asked one of the regulars.

"Nay," replied the other regular, "that was a razor commercial, and it was the old guy who used to own the New England Patriots."

"Bet he's not as impressed now," said the first regular, "with the success the Pats are having."

"He's dead," observed the second regular.

"His Pats winning did him in?" asked J--

"Nay, he's been gone for a long time," observed the second regular, "but when he owned the Pats they couldn't win if the other team decided not to even show up. So this season would be a bit of a shock for him."

"What does all of this have to do with a shampoo commercial?" asked Ross confused.

"Huh?" said J-- with a stunned look crossing his face.

"What does talking about the Pats have to do with my idea?" asked Ross again, still looking confused.

"Nothing," answered the first regular, "we're just chatting about stuff. You're the one who brought up an old tv commercial."

"What's next?" asked J--, "Haul out a Marlin Perkins' double to do a spoof on Mutual of Omaha?"

"While Jim headed up river to wrestle the deadly Little Saskatchewan Man eating Alligator," said one of the regulars in his best imitation of Perkins, "I stayed behind and sipped the finest dark roast blend of coffee at Chipperfields."

"Don't forget the Carrot Cake," offered the second regular happily.

"Oh yeah," said the first regular, "just like the mummy alligator chomping down on its lunch, you can stop by Chipperfields to chomp down on a slice of delicious homemade carrot cake."

The three men at the table shared in a laugh.

"No, my idea isn't just remembering an old commercial," said Ross trying to reclaim and tame the conversation, "my idea uses the old commercial though."

"You gonna get one of the Chipperfield girls here," with his thumb the regular gestured over to the counter where JayDee was busy preparing a customer's order, "to go on camera and say - "it was so good I told two friends, who told two friends, who told two friends ..."

J-- and the other regular joined in the chorus, "and so on and so on and so on ..."

The other regular sipped his coffee before speaking, "I still think the Perkins idea could work though ..."

Ross paused before speaking, he glanced at the regular shook his head slightly then opened his mouth to speak as his face began to redden, "I wasn't intending to run a commercial or any thing like that," he paused and shrugged, "but now that you mention it ..."

The three men around the table began to laugh again.

"So, what's your idea?" asked J-- again, "or are you gonna make us guess?"

"Well, my idea is kind of like that old commercial," said Ross, "but instead of a tv commercial, I was going to encourage my customers to go and tell their two of their friends to come by and check us out, and then get each of those customers to tell two of their friends who will then come by and tell two of their friends to come ad check us out ..."

"And so on and so on and so on ..." J-- interrupted as he glanced around the shoppe, "so do you think you have room to accommodate the crowds that could result if all those folks showed up at one time."

"Not too mention the supply of coffee," added one of the regulars helpfully.

"Or the water," said the other regular, "I heard if you have too many five gallon jugs of water refilled at once you over tax the water supply."

Ross gulped, "I wasn't thinking every one would show up at the same time," he glanced over his shoulder nervously towards the office window where Bonnie was busily working beyond the blinds, "and the water thing only happened that one time when we filled 20 five gallon jugs in short order. And the water supply recharged in an hour ..."

"So do you think the word of mouth might actually work?" asked J-- intrigued.

"It couldn't hurt could it?" replied Ross.

"As long as it isn't another one of those schemes like the mail order Holy Water stunt you pulled a year or so ago," said J-- with a laugh.

"Hey that would have worked," offered Ross, "I just needed a little more time to get it off the ground."

"Yeah whatever," laughed J--, "let's not go there ..."

Ross nodded in agreement, looking visibly relieved.

"But I am curious about your notion of telling two friends who tell two friends," said J-- leaning in closer to the table, "and so on and so on. How do you figure this could work."

"Well, it's just using the old word of mouth thing," said Ross, "I want to encourage my customers to tell others about this place. Especially those folks in town who haven't darkened the door in our two and a half years of business."

"Sounds reasonable," said J--, "But don't you think if they haven't been here yet, they likely aren't gonna come in because everyone is talking about what a great place this is?" he waved his hand over his head in a grand flourish.

"Yeah, you can't make someone have good taste in coffee or tea," said one of the regulars.

"But you can through word of mouth," offered Ross hopefully, "encourage folks to stop by and check us out."

"That idea is crazy enough it just might work," said J--.

The two regulars stared at him with smirks on their faces.

"That's all I can hope for," offered Ross quietly, "That and everyone who stops by telling two more friends about us ..."

"I'll get started on it next time I'm bowling," said one of the regulars.

"And I'll tell everyone I meet next time I go down to Timmy's in Brandon," said J-- with a big smile.

Ross' eyes widened in wonder, "you serious?"

"Nay," said J-- holding the final syllable, "I would, but they're the wrong kinda people for a place like this ..." He paused to take a sip from his tea while he smiled like the Cheshire cat at Ross.

Ross just shook his head.

Dinner Time ...

2008-01-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

Dani and Ainsley were standing behind the counter. The shoppe was unusually quiet for a Sunday night. They had most of the closing check lists done, so they took the lull to catch their breath and chat ...

"So, what have you done this weekend?" asked Dani, "aside from work."

"My family and I went to visit family up in Russell," said Ainsley, her face beaming with a big smile, "we left right after school and spent the night at the hotel there."

"Did you go swimming or skiing?" asked Dani sipping her coffee, her eyes locked on Alexis'.

"Both," said Ainsley, lifting her steamer to her mouth and taking a small sip before speaking, "we all went swimming on Friday night, then on Saturday we went skiing before the family supper ..."

"How was it?"

"It was nice," said Ainsley with a shrug, "but I prefer the hill here in Minnedosa. It's a little easier to navigate, and there are fewer hot doggers here."

"What about boys?" said Dani in a whisper, her eyes sparkling with mischief, "were there lots of boys up at the ski hill?" after a pause she smiled slyly and sipped her coffee as she winked at Ainsley over the rim of the mug as she spoke, "Bet there were lots ..."

"SHUT UP," said Ainsley, a red blush washing over her cheeks, "I don't want to talk about THAT ..."

"Oh there were boys ..." said Dani with a laugh, "otherwise you'd tell me."

"SHUT UP," said Ainsley, the red deepening on her cheeks.

"So," Dani, "what did you eat up there? When you weren't too busy flirting with the boys..."

"Shut up," Ainsley's face grew serious, but the grin pulling at the corners of her mouth and the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her mirth.

The two of them shared a laugh before Dani asked Ainsley again, "So did you guys go out for supper up there, or did you just eat at the hotel?"

"Oh we went to that pizza place that everyone talks about," said Ainsley eagerly, "Dad wanted to talk to the owner about advertising in Brandon, so we went there for dinner on Friday."

"How was it?" asked Dani, she reached up and adjusted the cordouroy hat perched on her head.

"It was good," said Ainsley, then with the snort of a stifled laugh she continued, "but get this. We ordered a pizza with a bunch of topping, but dad had an itch for fresh mushrooms, so he asked the waitress if they had fresh mushrooms to put on the pizza."

"Yeah?" asked Dani, leaning in slightly to listen, "and?"

"Well," Ainsley smiled as she continued, "She said 'oh yes sir, they are fresh mushrooms. I just opened the can when I came on an hour ago ...'" she paused and laughed, "can you believe it?"

"What did your dad say?"

"Not much," said Ainsley, "he was just shocked ..."

"I guess," said Dani.

"Dinner time with my family," said Ainsley turning to greet the customer who had just entered the shoppe, "it is what it is ..."

"Oh My God ..."

2008-01-02T09:30:00.000-06:00

The usual assortment of regulars were gathered around the tables up front and handful of other patrons scattered throughout the shoppe. Bonnie was deep in a conversation with a young woman about the selection of tea available. Behind the counter Dani and Ainsley were busy filling orders for the customers standing by the counter.

It was by all accounts a typical winter morning, the shoppe was filled with the delightful chatter of conversation interspersed by the gutteral growl of the espresso machine. Suddenly the conversation stopped with a dozen pairs of eyes watching as Ross stolled passed on the sidewalk outside the front windows.

The espresso machine fell silent causing Dani glaced up with a perplexed look crossing her face as she wondered what had suddenly silenced everyone in the shoppe. She noticed that almost all eyes were cast towards the front windows of the store as though they were anticipating the arrival of someone or something grand. She was glancing about the shoppe when the door opened and Ross stepped into the shoppe with a broad grin across his face.

Dani's face lost all expression, though her eyes crinkled at the supressed smile and laughter she was fighting desperately to restrain.

"Morning," Ross offered his greeting to the table of regulars at the front by the fireplace.

They returned his greeting with smiles, shaking heads and quiet snorts as they glanced away.

As Ross rounded the corner of the counter two sounds greeted him simultaneously. The first was a loud shriek-like exclamation from Bonnie, the second was the sound of a coffee mug shattering on the floor as it dropped from her hands.

"OH MY GOD!!" exclaimed Bonnie as the mug fell, "What the hell is that?" she shuffled her feet as coffee splashed around her shoes. She glanced down at the remains of the coffee and mug uncertain what to focus on first.

"I got it," exclaimed Dani from behind the counter as she grabbed a cloth and dove into the clean up at Bonnie's feet.

"Thanks," muttered Bonnie as she wondered why Dani was giggling.

"No problem," Dani's words sounded choked and forced.

Bonnie looked back up at Ross as she stepped clear of Dani who was busily cleaning up the coffee.

"What?" said Ross, his jaw dropping as he struggled to comprehend his partner's reaction.

"WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Bonnie's words escaped her lips like a hiss as she clenched her jaw tightly, desperately trying to restrain herself.

"I was invited to go skiing this afternoon with J--," said Ross glancing down at the new wind suit he was wearing, "and my old suit didn't fit properly, so I when I was in Brandon I bought this one." His arms offered a Vanna White like motion over his purchase, which he was obviously proud of.

"You bought THAT?" Bonnie's eyes widened with shock tempered slightly with revulsion.

"It was on sale," offered Ross sensing something that was yet unspoken, "I got a good deal on it."

"It's not the cost that concerns me," said Bonnie.

"Then what is it?" said Ross obviously confused.

"It's just ..." Bonnie stood staring at Ross. She was at a complete loss for words as she tried to offer an explanation to her partner for her reaction to his clothing choice.

"OH MY GOD," Ainsley's voice cut through the moment of silence, "YOU LOOK JUST LIKE A TELETUBBIE!!" her laughter stifled further comment.

"That's it," sputtered Bonnie with a laugh.

"I gotta go," shrieked Dani as she gathered the shards of the mug and rocketed to the kitchen. The sound of her laughter was untempered by her exit.

"I look like a what?" asked Ross looking somewhat perturbed. His mood was not helped by the laughter of the customers and regulars scattered around him.

"You look just like the Yellow teletubbie," said Ainsley wiping away the tears from her eyes.

"What?" said Ross dumbfounded.

"In that yellow suit, you look JUST like him," Ainsley offered as she leaned on the counter beside the cash register to steady herself as she shook with laughter.

"I do not!" said Ross firmly.

"Yes you do," said Bonnie laughing, "I just didn't know how to tell you."

Ross turned and glanced at his reflection in the mirrors lining the wall of the shoppe, "OH my God! I do ..." his voice trailed off as he turned side to side and took in the vista of himself shrouded in the bright yellow fabric of the wind suit he has been so proud of a moment ago, "I hadn't noticed it at the store ..."

The murmur of laughter rolled through the store as Ross stared downcast at his reflection.

"I guess I shouldn't wear this then," he pulled from his jacket pocket a matching bright yellow knitted toque that he slipped on his head. The pointy top lacked a tassle, and instead the long knitted fabric had a knot near the end that made it look remarkably like the zig zag that sat on the head of the yellow teletubbie.

"OH MY GOD," shrieked Dani as she came back out of the kitchen, "now you really look like that freaky little Laa-Laa."

"Oh damn ..." Ross stood crestfallen as the entire shoppe roared with laughter.

The door of the shoppe opened and in strolled J-- wearing his bright purple windsuit complete with a matching purple hat that had a huge oversized purple tassle on top. The hat was perched on the top of his head with his ears poking out in an elflike fashion underneath its brim.

"Morning all," said J-- with a smile as he rounded the counter.

"Oh Look Laa-Laa," said Ainsley as she resumed her laughter, "Tinky Winky is here now."

Ross looked like we wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry ...

Dani erupted into another peal of laughter with the words, "OH MY GOD!!"

Bonnie shook her head and walked away, "Have fun you too ..." As she rounded the ice cream cooler she paused and glanced back at J-- and Ross and said, "Teletubbie 'Bye bye'" with a wave and a smile.

Happy New Year !!!

2008-01-02T00:35:00.001-06:00

What a gift ...

2007-12-08T23:40:00.000-06:00

The temperature outside was minus 27C ... inside I was sitting at the table closest to the fireplace and enjoying the heat on my back as I sat reading through some material on Community and Economic Development ...

As I read about mapping and assessing the assets of a community, I paused and glanced outside ... Main Street was deserted ... You could count on one hand the number of cars that drove by in a 20 minutes period and still have a couple of fingers left over. A couple of days ago I sat at the same table and heard a couple of Minnedosa's long term residents muse about how the town was buzzing on Saturday nights NOT that long ago. One remembered his parents driving the car downtown in the afternoon to get a parking spot outside the Dominion Cafe that night. The other talked about what there was to do on a Saturday night ... BOTH agreed to "how much things have changed."

Tonight there were almost no cars in front of either bar ... and until 11, the only cafe open was Chipperfields ... but even it was almost deserted ...

This is a community with much to offer ... Chipperfields Coffee Company (the real place on Main St) is a gem within this town. The food and beverage selection is simply top notch. The staff and management offer exceptional service, and pride themselves on putting their customers front and centre. The coffee, tea, and gift item selection is eclectic, funky, and just plain fun. And lately the focus on the creations of local artisans, photographers and entrepeneurs means you can buy unique gift items while supporting your neighbours.

But what makes Chipperfield Coffee Company (the real place) a community asset is the emphasis on being a business AND a place for the community to gather. The recent string of concerts, including the most recent appearance by the MCI Jazz bands, have brought together a variety of people to enjoy a night out while staying "home." And the availabilty of the shoppe for gatherings, meetings, and just hanging out means that a broad spectrum of Minnedosa society can come and go in the historic building that has been many things to many people ... Lately though, it has been a warm and friendly place to come and sit a spell and enjoy some of the best Minnedosa has to offer ...

I'm not sure how I would "map" Chipperfields, but I know that it is a significant Asset to our community. Looking at many of the communities around us that used to be bustling places on Saturday night, but now are nothing more than a highway sign pointing to the village site where once vibrant thriving business stood, there's a pressing need to breath life back into our town and our region ... otherwise, our highway signs might as well say "we were once here ..."

Tonight in the comfort of Chipperfields I realized how much potential our town really has ... Maybe one day that potential will be realized.

And we will have the dedication of the staff and management of Chipperfield Coffee Company not only to thank, but they will be showing us the way ...

Tonight at the REAL Chipps: LIVE JAZZ !!

2007-12-06T21:13:00.001-06:00

The MCI Jazz Band lead by Mrs Barb Dowsett came and played two fabulous sets in front of a
packed house tonight ... It was a special evening filled with music, good coffee and great conversaiton.

Thanks to Barb and the kids, and Ross and Bonnie and their staff for making these concerts happen ... Chipperfields is much more than JUST a coffee house ... thanks to the melding of music and the Coffee House, it is well on its way to becoming a must stop locale for musican in and around Minnedosa !!

It's all a matter of size ...

2007-11-16T00:07:00.000-06:00

Ross strolled out from the kitchen, pausing briefly at the ice cream cooler where slid back one side of the glass panels and helped himself to a bowl of Cherry Vanilla. He was plopping the third scoop in the dish when he noticed J-- watching him intently.

"Um," Ross hesitated and glanced around the shoppe before continuing, "didn't have any lunch," he observed in a forced tone, "just a bit peckish today."

J-- laughed as he spoke, "Sure Roscoe, whatever. No need to convince me. I'm not your conscience."

Ross slid the panel closed as he laughed. Then stepping towards where J-- sat on the couches, he pulled a spoon from the dispenser at the prep centre. Taking a large spoonful of ice cream he grinned as he sat down, "Gotta sample the product, otherwise I can't honestly recommend it to the customers, right?"

"Like I said," laughed J--, "whatever!!"

J-- glanced at the magazine in his hand then looked up and with a serious face asked Ross, "What kind of car do you drive?"

A surprised look crossed Ross' face as he answered, "A Toyota. Why?"

"Oh, just the article I'm reading," said J-- lifting the magazine up in his hand, "It claims there's a connection between a man's ego, the size of a part of his body and the size of the car he drives."

"What?" Ross' jaw dropped and the spoon slipped from his fingers into his lap, "It says that ..." His voice trailed off as the question lingered.

"Well, it says that the bigger the car, the more fragile the man's ego is, and the smaller the guy's .."

"It's doesn't say THAT," interrupted Ross.

"Sure right here," J--'s index finger marked a place in the magazine, "I'll read it to you."

"No, that's okay," said Ross his face reddening, "I'll take your word for it."

"Okay, " J-- chuckled, "So what do you think it says about the guys tooling around in those enormous over powered four by fours?"

"I don't even want to think about it?" laughed Ross, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey," J-- called over to a customer sitting at a table by the fireplace, "what kind of car do you drive?"

Confused, the young man answered, "A Mazda. Why?"

"Hmmm," J-- furrowed his brow thoughtfully while his eyes twinkled mischievously, "so, you a confident guy?"

"I guess so,"

"Got a girl friend," asked J--.

"Married," observed the young man, holding up his left hand and motioning to his wedding band with his right.

"Wife got any complaints," asked J--, smirking slightly.

"Only that I work to0 much."

"Any complaints," J-- glanced around the shoppe and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "in the bed room?"

"Not that it is really any of your business," said the young man, his confusion giving way to irritation, his voice growing strongly emphatic, "BUT NO!!"

J-- turned to Ross and smiled, "See!! Like the article says ... " his index pointed to magazine.

"The article said what?" enquired the young man.

"Oh," replied J--, "it says there's a direct connection between the size of a man's car and his ego and the size of his ..."

"J--!!" Ross interrupted, "can't you just show him the article?"

"Oh yeah," answered J--, as he handed the magazine over to the young man, "hadn't thought of that."

"Sounds reasonable to me," said the young man taking the magazine, and laughing. "But what kind of car do you drive old man?" he asked J--.

J-- pointed out the front window to the Volkswagen parked on the street, "That's mine."

"I take it you agree with the article," observed the young man.

"Absolutely," laughed J--, "absolutely."

The Little Bantam Rooster ...

2007-11-08T10:02:00.001-06:00

"So tell me what you think," said Jaydee as she slid the papers across the table top towards J--.

"What is it?" asked J--, his eyebrows arching hopefully.

"A little short story I've been working on," said Jaydee smiling, "if it's any good maybe I'll work it out as a children's book or something."

"Nice," said J--, "give me a few minutes and I'll let you know." He picked up the papers and glanced at them as Jaydee moved back towards the counter. Smiling he began to read her words:

He strutted around the Barn Yard, certain that he was THE rooster, and that all others were beneath him and worthy only of his contempt.

He was a proud rooster. The farm yard was his domain. Everyone cowered before him. His cock comb glistened in the sun, his tail held high spoke of his confidence.

His was the only voice that heralded the breaking of the dawn. He was and remained the king of all he surveyed. The other fowl knew how important and powerful he was, and none dared challenge his superiority.

And so this morning with great flourish he stepped into the sun, prepared to stroll like a King amongst his loyal subjects.

He headed to the feed dish. There was no need to push his way through the crowd of cackling hens. They would move for him. He was the important one, and he and they knew that.

So as he stepped up to the edge of the battered bowl lying among the weeds he cleared his throat with a slight cackle that caused the hens closest to him to glance back nervously, then with profuse apologies they stepped aside and granted him access to the feed.

"Ah," he thought as he proudly stepped forward, "this is THE WAY it should be. The proper etiquette must be followed ..."

"Thank you," he squawked with great pomposity.

The hens murmured in reply.

Later in the day, as he strolled around the yard he noted that the farmer was lifting a cage out of the back of the battered old truck he drove around.

"What's this?" the Rooster asked himself as he approached the gathering crowd of hens watching the action intently, "what he doing?"

Around him was a shrill chorus of "I don' know ...", "Looks like a new rooster ..." and most cutting to the Bantie the phrase, "Oooohhhh, isn't he handsome?"

A feeling of apprehension and fear gripped the rooster as he watched the farmer reach down and open the cage and set free a flurry of red feathers that zoomed across the farm yard directly at the Rooster and Hens.

Later, while he was nursing his wounds under the apple tree, the Little Bantam rooster would remember only the WALL of red that crested over him like a tsunami. He had never seen a rooster so big and powerful. He had never realized how tiny he himself really was. His importance in the barn yard evaporated in the twinkling of an eye, as the Barn Yard gained a new monstrous sized Rooster.

Suddenly the little Bantam Rooster realized that he was not only a tiny physical presence, his irrelevancy also broke over him with a harsh redefining of everything he held dear ...

Bitter tears welled up in his eyes as he sat under the tree watching the new kid on the block strutting so proudly in HIS barn yard ... yet even as he nursed feelings of revenge, the painful twinge of his wounded limbs an pride reminded him that he simply lacked the abilities to do ANYTHING about it beyond nursing his bitterness privately and secretly ... He picked himself off and strolled off towards the duck pond hoping they haven't heard of his downfall, and would perhaps help him plot his revenge ...

J-- finished his reading and looked up to find Jaydee standing expectantly by his table.

"Well??" she asked hopefully.

"Not bad," said J-- with a smile, "it's good. It needs a bit of work, but it's good."

"I know," said Jaydee smiling broadly, "but what do you think?"

"I like it," said J--, "it reminds me of people I know who have the small man syndrome happening."

"Huh?" Jaydee looked confused, "what do you mean?"

"Oh, the guys who are small in stature and have a whole bag of issues because of it," said J-- laughing, "They are like little Bantam Roosters, strutting around thinking they're important until a bigger rooster, or the barn yard dog lays a beating on them. They are just laughable to watch."

"Oh," a realization broke over Jaydee, "I know people like that!"

"So do I," J--, lifted his coffee to his lips and took a drink, "and unfortunately, they are all too able to find ducks willing to work with them against the rest of the barn yard ..."

"Ain't that the truth?" said Jaydee, "But back to the story. What do you really think?"

"I really like it," said J-- smiling, "It's a good start. Keep working at it."

"Thanks," she said as she went back to work, a smile etched on her face.

We're back ...

2007-11-07T15:47:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this scene in the movie ... this image speaks volumes and has become a cultural icon ...

So, I could think of no other image that is SO well suited to the resuming of The Chipperfield Chronicles ...

Yes!! The Chipperfield Chronicles are back ... some of the old gang will make periodic appearances, and I will definitely do my part here to promote what remains a delightful and spectacular presence (in Real Life) on Main St in downtown Minnedosa ... BUT ... and this is very important ... the intent here is to tell stories.

FICTIONAL stories ... things that really DIDN'T happen ... Stories that are MADE UP ... Stories that are the figment of my sometimes twisted imagination ... STORIES that have absolutely NO BEARING in the truth or reality as YOU or I or ANYONE may envision it.

One of my favourite insults comes from the TV show WKRP in Cinncinatti, where Mr Carlson's son comes to the radio station after being tossed out of a private military school. In one scene he, Les and Herb are in the staff room and Les and Herb push him to find out what Mother Carlson has said about them.

Arthur junior announces that she has called Les "Obtuse" and Herb was "addle minded". Both men excitedly look up these new "compliments" in a dictionary ...

Well, I feel the need to stress the simple FACT that this BLOG is a place of FICTIONAL (feel free to look the word up if you have to - that helps clarify things) STORIES !!!!

The reason for this clarification is BECAUSE there have been more than JUST a few people who have taken the stories here as REALITY, and have acted accordingly. I would say they have exhibited behaviour that is both OBTUSE and ADDLE MINDED in the process ... but that strikes me as a tad redundant ... because those who have exhibited this behaviour won't understand what words like Fiction, Obtuse, addle minded and reality mean any way ... so, it's a waste of my breath, or in this case, my keyboarding !!!!

So - as we begin ... This will be a place of made up stories ... they may or may not involve the old crew ... there may or may not be similarities to real life events ... that's the nature of fiction. If something strikes a chord for you - ask yourself WHY??? BEFORE you jump all over me ...

Here in this place the only requirement is an enjoyment of a GOOD STORY ... or at least my offerings ...

So ... in the coming days, stop by - pour a coffee, settle in and lets get re-acquainted with a marvelous place called Chipperfields ... a place where EVERYONE is welcome ... and the coffee is always hot ... and the stories are Freshly fictional !!!

Bonnie Has Arrived:

2007-08-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

While I've chosen to silence this blog

Bonnie (the owner/operator) of the

REAL Chipperfields

has decided to start her own blog.

Click here to check it out.

Bonnie's Blog (as it is called)

has just begun,

and it's hard to say where it will go.

But join in the fun !!

I Guess this time it's official:

2007-07-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

It's time to stop dreaming,

It's time to let go of the foolishness,

It's time to step away so the hurting can stop.

Thanks to those who've enjoyed stopping by,

thanks to Ross and Bonnie for everything,

But like all good things, somewhere they have to end,

and this is that place,

I have to stop denying that simple truth.

So - all I have left is:

Adieu.

OH, and to avoid confusion:

The REAL Chipperfields remains open as always,

Stop by if you're in town,

sit a spell, try their coffee,

say 'hi' to the staff ...

Enjoy yourself - it's a good place,

it's just not a place I will be anymore ...

Fun Fest Parade - Chipperfields' Float...

2007-07-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

They're OFF !!!
The Smiling Staff

giving a Queen-like Royal Wave !!!

More smiling Staff and Family !!
Smiling Faces under Chipperfield Hats !!

Fun Fest Parade Part Two ...

2007-07-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

Having entirely too much fun !!

The Float out in front !!

Greeting the crowd waiting for the staff to return to work!!

What's up with the Driver??

He's having fun too I guess.

R & B waiting anxiously for the Float to arrive.

To all Good things ???

2007-07-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

This place, this blog started as a place of story. A place to play and have fun and share with others the joy of having a quiet corner of the world where friendships are affirmed and shared around the tables and chairs ... Chipperfield Coffee Company is a real place, filled with real people. It is a special place, that will forever hold a cherished place in my heart ...

But in recent days I've found that it is becoming increasingly hard for me to step foot in the door of the real Chipperfields, and to type stories of the fictional Chipperfields that lives here ...

In this place the two places intermingle ... in a small town that happens.

I've borrowed from the folks who populate the real Chipperfields to tell the stories I've shared here. By and large, the experience has been positive and many of revelled in the silliness that has been celebrated here ... but there are always exceptions ... those who can't make the leap from real to fiction ... those to whom the humour cuts too close to home and is anything but funny.

Moreover, recent events in my personal life have rendered even the simple act of picking up a to-go coffee challenging ... the malicious whispers of "he's NOT working ..." and other such things have taken their toll ... and other happenings in the real community surrounding the REAL Chipperfields have taken from me any sense of peace and tranquility when I set foot in the door ...

So, today I face a very real and very painful choice ... whether to continue this blog or not ... Right now my heart is heavy with many stresses, and the answer is - "NO, it ends here ..." and the delete button gets hit.

But I also know that in time these feelings pass ... So, before I do anything rash, I'm taking a hiatus ... a break ... a bit of a cyber-holiday ... The real Chipperfields continues to function on Main St N in Minnedosa serving the delicious coffee and tea and goodies they've always served ... but for now I will be absent from both the Cyber-Chipperfields as well as the real Chipperfields ... I will be by for the occassional take out coffee ... but by and large I am removing both the real and the cyber Chipperfields from my day to day routines ...

Neither decision is one I take lightly nor easily ... They both were important sanctuaries in my life, but right now I've once again I've run hard against something that has simply left me reeling ... today the sanctuary is gone and in its place is nothing but hurt ...

And so, for now I step away ... I might be back ... or I might not be ... I can't say for certain ... For the moment though - to all of you who have hung in here and been fans: thanks for everything ... It's been fun.

To those who have used this place for less than noble purposes ... I can't afford to spare the time or the energy right now ...

Either way - Adieu.

2007-07-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

REALITY ALERT !!!

what follows is REAL - NOT fiction.

Tomorrow is the 2nd Anniversay of the REAL

Chipperfield Coffee Company,

and we wanted to mark it in some way,

but some of our readers seem to confuse

REALITY from FICTION.

What follows is REAL ...

... or as real as it can be!!

The pins and flags represent places visitors

to Chipperfields' have come from over the last two years.

From Anchorage to Placentia Bay,

From Inuvik to El Salvador,

most of North America is represented.

Toss in some Aussies, some Kiwis, and

visitors from Hong Kong, Nigeria, Ireland,

Kenya, Sweden, Switzerland and Bermuda,

and you have a guest book filled with places

that span the globe.

There have been folks from almost every corner

of the world at Chipperfields since it opened.

Ross and Bonnie can be proud of

the little shop they've opened and run,

and the many happy memories it's created.

Happy Anniversary !!!

And may this be just the first of many !!!

EVERYbody Loves Chipperfields !!!!

2007-07-02T00:07:00.001-05:00

Even wee Sophie

LOVES

Chipperfields Coffee

on a summer day !!

Overheard at Chipperfields Part LXXIII (part deux) ...

2007-06-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

Bonnie walked out of the arch way from the kitchen to the front of the store and stopped dead in her tracks, "What the hell is going on here?" she raised her voice, "we're not even supposed to be open, and we have a line up of customers already ..."

The cluster of people gathered around the counter looked at each other and someone said, "Customers? I don't see any customers."

"Honey," Ross' voice was soft and calm, his face reddening, "The only customers are J-- and The Rev, and they don't really count."

"You can say that again," growled Bonnie as she pulled a pump pot from the counter and jammed it under the brew machine.

"Hey?" exclaimed The Rev.

"Nice to see you too Bonnie," said J-- with a broad smile.

"I just meant," Bonnie's voice trailed off, "oh never mind." She glanced at her watch then looked up at Adeline who was standing nervously by the counter, "what time is it?" Bonnie's voice was harsh and sharp.

"Um," Adeline paused and hesitated before she glanced at her watch nervously, "it's almost 9 am"

Ross spoke up hopefully, "It's almost time to reopen."

Bonnie snorted but said nothing.

"It is time," said JayDee in an accent appoximating Rafiki from The Lion King.

Kriss smiled broadly and offered in a sing-song voice, "Sumpee Sanna Squashed Banana, Sumpee Sana Squshed Banana ..."

"What?" asked JayDee smiling.

"Shhhhhhh," said Kriss, "Dee monkeys are s-eeping' ..."

"What?" repeated JayDee.

"She's quoting from kids programmes," said a new voice from the front door.

"Hi Honey," said Kriss with a broad smile, "you not off to work yet?"

"Just need a coffee for the road," said Carter.

"Sorry," said Kriss, "but we're NOT open yet," her voice was sarcastic, and her gaze shifted to Bonnie who stood open mouthed at the implication, "and our Boss said we have to wait until we are officially reopened."

"I never said anything of the sort," said Bonnie.

"Well, you won't serve us," said J--, "and you insulted The Rev here, I would hope you don't give Carter special treatment just because he's marrying one of the staff here ..."

Bonnie's jaw dropped, "I never ..."

Everyone's laughter stopped Bonnie's comment.

"Give him a coffee," said Bonnie pointing to the pump pot under the brewer, "and give these two whatever they want ..." Her thumb jerked towards The Rev and J--. She glanced at Adeline who was still standing nervously leaning against the counter, "and YOU," nodding towards Adeline, who jumped nervously in response, "you can unlock the door and turn on the light. We might as well let everyone else in now ..."

"But honey," said Ross smiling, "it's only a quarter to nine, are you sure ..."

"Ross," Bonnie growled, and Ross laughed.

Adeline dashed around the counter and headed for the front of the store and unlocked the front door.

"There," said Bonnie, a satisfied grin on her face, "it's offical, we're reopen ..." she watched as Adeline snapped on the neon sign, "we're as good as new."

"Not quite," said Ross glumly.

"One word about your juke box Ross," snarled Bonnie with a smile, "and you will regret it ..."

Ross' shoulder sagged and he said nothing.

J-- stepped up to the counter, "I'll have my usual, and I'll buy Carter's coffee too," he put a ten down on the counter.

"I'll have my usual too," offered The Rev.

"Sure thing," smiled JayDee as she lifted the cup and began pumping the coffee into it, "anything else?"

"Not today," The Rev said with a laugh.

The front door opened and instinctively everyone turned and glanced at the two men who stepped through it into the store. The two men were wearing large stetson hats and cowboy boots.

The shattering smash of the mug falling from JayDee's hand to the floor did little to mask the gasp of shock she uttered. Her eyes were huge as she watched the two Ranchers approach the counter.

"Well, hello dawling," said the first Rancher in a heavy American drawl as he swept his stetson from his head and nodded at JayDee in greeting, "it's been along time ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields Part LXXIII

2007-06-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

Bonnie wiped a drip of sweat off her nose as she looked up from the painting she was finishing in the front window. She noted JayDee and Kriss busily painting the wall where the couches would soon return, and she notice Ross carefully placing his remaining antiques on the new shelves built over the retail display behind the coffee serving counter. Behind the counter the part timers were busily getting everything set up. Bonnie glanced down at her watch.

"Can we be open in another hour?" Bonnie asked loudly.

Everyone nodded. Kriss answered, "If you keep working and stop worrying about what the rest of us are doing..." Ross winced and smiled to himself, carefully avoiding making eye contact with Bonnie.

Bonnie's jaw tightened.

JayDee smiled sweetly and said softly, "Bonnie, you're a little tense, just relax. We're all doing what we can, and we'll be open when we're open ..."

Bonnie's mouth tightened into a line as she dropped the paint brush into the jar of paint thinner and she stood up, "I have good reason to be tense," she snapped, "My business has had a fire. Some idiot teen agers drove through the front window, and now as the busiest part of the season is unfolding, I'm trying" her voice bordered on a shriek with the word 'trying', "to get it open ... I think I have reason to be tense."

Dani popped her head up from behind the counter, "Bonnie," she asked gently, "Have you switched to DeCaf yet?" Her eyes were wide, and a slight smile crossed her face, but not enough for Bonnie to notice.

"What does that mean?" snapped Bonnie.

"Oh nothing," said Dani, her face blank of all emotion, "You just sound like your knickers are on a little too tight today ..."

The rest of the staff stifled laughter and turned away, behind the counter Ross disappeared form sight, feigning the need topick something up off the floor out of view.

Bonnie stood for a long moment saying nothing. Her eyes met Dani's. Dani's face remained free of emotion, her eyes wide and bright.

"Dammit," snapped Bonnie as she picked up the jar of paint thinner and stomped into the back room, leaving her staff to snicker under their breath.

As Bonnie passed through the archway into the kitchen Dani called out, "We love you Bonnie ..." The growl from the kitchen indicated that her comment was heard. The staff burst into laughter as Dani finally cracked a wide, warm smile.

JayDee, Kriss and Dani all looked at each other and laughed as Ross peeked his head into view around the corner of the service counter.

"Is it safe yet?" he asked, with a smirk.

"Yeah," said Dani, she's gone out the back door to check on the patio. As the words escaped her lips a loud "thump" marked Bonnie's exit from the building.

"So," Ross ventured tentatively, "will we be open by 9 am like we said." He glanced nervously around at the tasks still left to be done.

"Absolutely," said JayDee, standing up and sweeping her hair back with one hand, "the only thing left is to get the furniture back in place. Hang the pictures and get the coffee on."

Kriss interupted, "The stock is all in place, the supplies are being put away as we speak. We just need to run a broom around and tidy things up and we're good to go."

"Good to go," repeated Dani as she lifted her coffee to her lips, "all we need now is our customers to come back."

"Where are they going to go?" offered a strange voice from the front door.

Everyone turned to see J-- entering the doorway.

"I'm sorry sir, we're not open yet. You'll have to leave and come back later, or we'll call the police to remove you," Kriss smiled broadly as she spoke.

"Sure whatever," said J-- with a broad smile, "I'll buy them a coffee when they arrive." He glanced around the shoppe, "It's looking good. Hard to believe a month ago it had a car sitting in the middle of it and it needed structural repairs to keep it from collapsing."

"Don't remind me," groaned Ross, "the beam they had to run across the front of the store alone was half the rebuilding costs and most of the time," his hand waved to the space above the front windows, "it didn't sit well with the tenants upstairs who were wondering night after night if they were going to awaken in the basement."

J-- snickered, "Yeah, but they got it done, and you wouldn't know about it unless you were here to see it yourself."

"True enough," said Ross, once again looking around the shoppe, and noting the amount of work that had been done recently, "I guess the up side is that this round of repairs got rid of the smoke smell."

"Hey, speaking of smoke smell," said Kriss with a smile, "where did you get the old juke box? It looks almost like the one you lost when you were on vacation." The last syllable dripped with sarcasm as Kriss' face broadened into a huge Cheshire Cat like grin.

"Um," Ross paused, not sure if he wanted to answer the question or not, then thinking better of it, he pressed on and replied, "I found it on E-Bay down in the states and bought it for a song."

"Not country and western I hope," said The Rev, as he stepped in the front door.

"Rev," Kriss, JayDee and Dani spoke in unison, and burst into laughter as he stepped up to the others standing in front of the counter.

"It's looking good," The Rev observed as he glanced around the shoppe, "looks like you're almost ready to go."

"Yeah, the only thing left to do is to bring the couches in from the truck out front," said Ross, motioning through the front windows to the truck parked out front at the curb.

"That's why I'm here," observed The Rev, "remember you asked me to come at Rotary last week?"

"Did I?" said Ross looking stunned.

"You did," said The Rev, "so let's get them in here and get this place open. Minnedosa needs a good cup of coffee again."

"Yeah," observed J--, "with The old Dominion Cafe and Chicken Delight-ful gone, and the other Chinese Food Place closing, we need all the coffee stops we can keep ..."

There was a nodding of agreement around the counter.

"T minus 47 minutes," observed Ross, to the bewilderment of the staff.

"What does that mean?" asked Kriss, a smirk crossing her face.

"That's how NASA does the count down for launching rockets and space shuttle and stuff," Ross stated seriously.

"Oh," said Kriss with a smile, "really?"

Ross stared at her not sure what else to say ...

Fair Trade Awareness Week has been Ssstttrrreeetttccchhheeeddd!!!

2007-05-14T23:53:00.000-05:00

With an article in this week's edition of the Minnedosa Tribune touting the value and importance of Fair Trade Coffee, and with a box of Fair Trade Awareness Materials wending their way to Minnedosa, the staff and management of Minnedosa's very own Chipperfield Coffee Company are extending Fair Trade Awareness Week !!

So, stop by the real Chipperfield Coffee Company and try the daily Fair Trade Selection (I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cafe Awasa myself), and learn a little more about Fair Trade and why it is not only a viable means of economic development, it is something that we as educated and informed consumers should be advocating for ALL food stuffs. Imagine the benefits to our local farm families if they were paid 25-30% of the final purchase price for their input into things like a loaf of bread, a case of beer, a bag of flour or a box of shredded wheat cereal ??

Wanna change the world?? Learn more about Fair Trade and you'll discover a tangible way to make it happen !!

See ya there !!

Visitors one spring afternoon ...

2007-05-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

The other afternoon when I popped into Chipperfields for a coffee, the places was packed and a row of classic imported sports cars was parked outside the shop ... It turned out that a group of car enthusiasts on their way to Clear Lake had stopped in at Chipperfield Coffee Company en route !!

The eight cars were beautiful, and their stop was appreciated by the many people who were walking and driving along Main St that afternoon ... Rubber necking the row of cars pictured above made my photography especially hazardous !!

My only regret was that I couldn't get a picture of the row of cars in front of Chipperfields!

A picture like that could have been post card material ... oh well, we'll have to be content with Chipperfields standing in the background ...

Fair Trade !!! The only way to go ...

2007-05-06T23:27:00.000-05:00

This week at the REAL Chipperfields (the place that didn't have a fire ... that didn't have a car drive through it's front window ... that didn't have any thing happen to it) the staff and management will be promoting FAIR TRADE products. Join them as they participate in Fair Trae Awareness Week by promoting the variety of Fair Trade products they use and sell ...

What's a Fair Trade Product??? Well, click here and learn more from the Trand Fair Canada web site ... but stop by and learn more about the wonderful world of Fair Trade Products and how your decision to buy a Fair Trade Coffee can make a difference half a world away ...

Wouldn't it be great to live in a world where we can change the world ONE CUP OF COFFEE at a time???

Well - that world is here ... stop by and order the daily menu Fair Trade Coffee and learn more.

And stay tuned ... in addition to the exciting conclusion of our fictional adventures ... we will also be sharing information about Fair Trade Products and the difference they can make to you as a consumer, and to the producers elsewhere in the world ...

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXXII ...

2007-04-14T10:47:00.000-05:00

The silence in the store was almost deafening ... the sizzle of the broken water pipe spraying on the exhaust system of the car ... the ticking of the car motor and the intermittent tinkle of glass falling to the floor were the only sounds as they followed J-- from the kitchen back into the wreckage strewn shop. They picked their way carefully through the debris, each of them looking awestruck at the carnage spread before them.

"Oh My Gawd," wailed Bonnie as she stepped past the ice cream cooler and the full extent of the accident became evident. Tables and chairs were scattered, the couches and counter were crushed under the weight of the car, and scattered everywhere was the remains of what moments ago had been a coffee shop brimming with beverages and refreshments ...

"Kinda puts the fire in a whole new perspective doesn't it?" snickered J-- as he poked at a soggy cinnamon wedge with his toe.

Jay-Dee and Dani snorted and supressed a smile.

As they stood the door of the car opened and three teenagers piled out on to the wreckage covered floor. They looked up and scurried over each other as they headed to the now gaping front windows and began running down the street.

"Hey," shrieked Bonnie dashing after them, "where are you going? Get back here ..."

Jackie, one of the EMS workers pulled her radio out and began talking into it, "Yeah, dispatch. I'm at Chipperfields, and we've had a bit of a problem." She stepped out on to the sidewalk and turned to watch the three teens flee, "Can you call the RCMP and let them know that a car just crashed through the front window and the suspects are running up the street?" She paused and held the handset up to her ear to listen to the reply. "They're running up toward the gas station ..."

Ross was pulling Bonnie back into the store as she continued to shout at the fleeing suspects running south on Main St.

"Dear, leave it to the police," pleaded Ross, "they'll deal with it."

"Yeah," added Kriss, "I know who they are ..."

"And where they live," added Abigail, the other EMS person quietly, "when the member shows up we'll get them where the kids are."

"Besides," added J-- with a grin, "they left their wallet and cell phone in the car." He leaned in the door and pointed to the items resting in the console.

A small crowd was gathering out in front of the store and people began talking and asking questions as they took in the vista of devestation spread before them.

Suddenly Jackie's voice cut through the din, "Will you all shut the hell up? I'm trying to listen to my radio and you're making too much noise ..."

Onlookers glanced at her nervously, but all of them suddenly silenced themselves.

"Thank you," Jackie said, shaking her head as she returned to her conversation on the radio.

"Maybe we should shut off the water?" asked JayDee noting the growing puddle of water that was spreading across the floor.

"Killing the power probably wouldn't be a bad idea too," observed Dani.

The two of them headed off to the back of the store to tend to that while The Rev and J--, lead Bonnie out to the street and to the passenger seat of their car.

"It's only a building," observed The Rev, "you can always rebuild it."

"Again," moaned Bonnie.

"We have the technology," offered J-- with a laugh, "we can rebuild him. Stronger, faster, more powerful ..."

"You watch way too much tv," said Ross shaking his head, on his face was a dumb-founded, "this is not some bionic man who needs to be rebuilt. This is a business."

"Oh I know," snorted J--, "but right now, you either laugh or you cry. And don't you think it is better to laugh?"

Ross stared at J-- and grinned slightly.

As the three of them stood by the open door of the car while Bonnie buried her face in her hands the RCMP car pulled up and threw on it's roof lights. The member stepped out with a smile.

"Bad day huh?" she asked as she strolled around the front hood of the car.

"Adds new meaning to 'Grand Re-Opening' doesn't it?" said J-- with a laugh.

The officer laughed as she walked over towards Jackie, who was still on the radio and the two of them began discussing with Kriss who the suspects were and where they went. As they spoke a second RCMP car pulled up, followed closely by a van from the Gas company. Across the street in the Hardware Store parking lot the editor of the town newspaper pulled up and hopped out of his car carrying his camera.

Ross looked around at the still increasing crowd and said, "Too bad we couldn't put on coffee for everyone ..."

J-- glanced around and laughed, "Yeah, we haven't had this big a crowd on Main Street since the Church fire ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXXI ...

2007-04-03T00:43:00.000-05:00

The door opened and in strolled J-- and The Rev, both were smiling.

"So, how goes the battle?" asked J-- with a wide grin, "almost ready to re-open?"

"Almost," said JayDee as she flopped down on the couch and smiled back at the two men who were now standing glancing around at the clean up and restoration that the staff had been rushing to get done before Bonnie and Ross arrived home later that day.

"So, do Bonnie and Ross know about the fire yet?" asked The Rev.

JayDee shook her head as she picked up a coffee mug and sipped it, as she put down the mug she spoke, "We tried their cells, but they were out of service, and we emailed them, but got no reply."

"Did anyone just go up to the house and knock on the door?" asked J--, still grinning.

"I did," said Dani as she walked up from the back of the store. There were sploches of paint on her cheeks and in her hair, "But there was no answer."

"Did you look in the windows?" asked The Rev, his eyebrows lifting in amusement.

"No," said Dani, she paused then gave in to the smile that was fighting to come out, "actually I looked in all the windows and knocked on them ..." with that, she blushed.

"Were they home?" asked J--, a broad smile crossing his face, "or were they really out of the country?"

"I don't actually know," said Dani seriously, "I couldn't tell."

"Was Ross' car there?" asked The Rev.

"The garage was locked up tight, and the window blinds were drawn over all the windows too," said Dani, her face becoming more intense, "So, it could have been, but I just couldn't tell."

"Well," said J-- thoughtfully, the smile fading from his face for a moment, "when are they due back?"

"In about an hour," said JayDee leaning back on the couch and stretching.

"Gonna be re-opened by then?" asked The Rev.

"Yup," said JayDee, "we all worked the last three days after Cascade Cleaning came up and tidied up. We've cleaned machines, we've painted, we've re-decorated, and we've gotten everything ready. We are good to go ..."

"Congratulations," said The Rev, "but did you remember to get the baked goods ready to sell?"

"Yes," said JayDee, her eyes narrowing, "I thought of THAT." She glared at The Rev, show simply smiled back at her, "I had everyone do something at home, so our cupboards are well stocked."

"Good for you," observed The Rev, "that's why you get paid the big bucks right?"

"Sure," said JayDee, picking up her coffee and taking another sip.

"So, what's left to do?" asked J--.

"Not much," said Dani, "we've got everything done. We just need to turn on the sign, and wait for Bonnie and Ross to come back from their vacation."

"Their stay-cation you mean?" said J--, "I still think they were hiding out in thier basement."

"You never know," said JayDee, standing up and stretching as she picked up her coffee mug and headed over to the switch for the neon sign, "we ready?" she asked as her hand reached out to the light switch. Dani nodded and JayDee flicked the light on for the first time in five days, "Chipperfields is once again open for business."

"Yeah," said J--, "can I have my usual?"

"One Organic Manitoba coming up," said Dani as she headed around the counter, "you want your usual too Rev?"

The Rev nodded as he again glanced around the store, "Other than the loss of the crap on the top shelf over the office, no juke box and the new pictures on the wall where the juke box used to be, you'd never know there was a fire here less than a week ago."

JayDee nodded, "The only worry I have is the freezing rain this morning," she nodded out the winow, "all we'd need to have happen now is a car to come careening through the front window and shut us down again."

"Yeah like that would really happen," observed The Rev, "like they say - 'lightning doesn't strike twice.'"

J-- snickered behind The Rev, "now that you've said it, it WILL happen."

"I hope not," said JayDee glancing about the store nervously, "it's been a bad enough week, we don't need any more problems."

As she spoke the door opened and Kriss strolled in, "they back yet?" she asked as she glanced around at the work she and the other two had accomplished in recent days.

Dani and JayDee both shook their heads.

"They could be in any time," said JayDee glancing at the clock behind the counter.

"If they really left," observed Kriss laughing, "I still think they've been on a stay-cation in the basement. The picture we had was compelling."

"Yeah if someone hadn't left it on the table before the fire," said The Rev smirking as he glanced at J--. J-- shrugged and laughed as Dani slid his tea across the counter. s J-- reached for the tea JayDee gasped behind him.

"They're here," she observed pointing out the front window at Ross' car that had just pulled up at the curb. The view was blocked momentarily by to EMT personnell walking past the front window and coming in the door.

"You open?" asked one of the Paramedics.

Dani answered with a nervous smile, "Yes, what can I get you?"

The other paramedic replied, "Two Rolos to go please?"

"Coming right up," Dani was nervously watching Bonnie and Ross step out of the car as she spoke.

The store fell silent as those assembled watched with some apprehension as Bonnie and Ross walked in the door themselves.

"Hi," said Bonnie as she stepped into the store, her tone more of a question rather than a greeting. She glanced at the faces of all those standing before her and said accussingly, "Okay what the hell has happened while we've been gone?"

Ross stepped up behind her, his face was unshaven and looked relaxed until he notices the group gathered in front of the counter, "Oh oh ..." he said the smile leaving his face, "why does it look like someone has died ..." he glanced over to the corner and noticed the lack of a juke box and swallowed nervously, "and where is my juke box?"

"Ross. Bonnie," JayDee's tone was level and calm, "there is something I need to tell you."

"What?" Bonnie had the look of a deer caught in the headlights of an on comng semi, "what?"

"Well," JayDee was measuring her words and thinking of how to break the news of the fire gently, "last week we had a tiny problem with the juke box."

"What kind of problem?" asked Ross, his hand reaching out to a table to steady himself. He glanced around himself as though he were searching for a wayward Juke Box.

"It kind of started a fire," said JayDee quietly. You could have heard a pin drop, but no one had one handy to let fall to the floor, instead the only sound to break the silence was the shrill voice of one of the paramedics who suddenly screamed.

"Holy ..." she pointed out the front window, "that car is coming straight for us ..." Her finger pointed to the late model Taurus that was sliding diagonally across the intersection on a direct collision course for the front of the store. It was as though everything shifted into slow motion. The nine of them who were standing in various places around the front of the store suddenly began moving towards the back of the store while the car ricocheted off of the front of Ross' Toyota and then careened into the front windows of the store.

With a deafening crash the car shattered all four sheets of glass, crushed one of the couches and sent the display stand, the computer and the bar stool chairs flying across the front of the store. The car continued on its trajectory crashing through the display case, the counter and ploughing its way forward until it was resting in a heap of debris from which the glass fronted cooler was poking up. What was once a counter with an assortment of equipement, machines and coffee carafes was reduced to a broken pile of wood, metal, glass and assorted other items that no longer resembled their original purpose.

For a long moment the only sound that could be heard was the spray of water from the broken taps, the skitter of debris falling to the floor, and the intermittent tapping of the car motor as it cooled with various internal knocks and clunking. With a wisp of smoke, and a smattering of dust floating in the air, nine heads poked out from the kitchen doorway to take in the devestating vista spread before them.

They stood silently taking in the tableau with no one able to speak until J-- shrugged and with a broad mischievious smile said; "Gee, I didn't know you were planning on setting up a drive thru?"

Pssst ...

2007-03-21T08:25:00.000-05:00

It's JayDee's Birthday !!!

Have a Happy One !!!

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXX ...

2007-03-20T20:57:00.000-05:00

Dani, JayDee, The Rev and J-- were standing across the street in front of the Hardware store watching as the fire men entered and exited the front doors of the store. Wisps of smoke were still curling out the door that was propped open by one of the iron chairs used outside in the summer time.

"I knew I shouldn't have played a country song," said The Rev, trying to smile slightly, "I always said it was just bad news ..."

"Not really funny Rev," said JayDee, "how are we going to tell Ross and Bonnie about this?"

"Well, if this doesn't smoke them out of their basement, nothing will," said J--, his face looking serious, "pardon the pun ..." a slight smile crosed his lips.

As they stood with a group of folks from the community they noticed the fire chief heading across the road. He had removed his fire helmet and was carrying it tucked under his arm. He was wearing a forced smile as he approached. He nodded at J-- and The Rev as he stepped up in front of JayDee and Dani.

"The fire's out," he said flatly, "it looks like the juke box is toast and the pictures on the wall around it are gone, but we managed to get it out before it did too much damage." He paused briefly, "You're just lucky a couple of us were up at the station when this was called in, or it would have been a total lose."

"Like the Church," said The Rev shaking his head.

"Pretty much," said the Chief, "I'd hate to think about losing another Main Street institution."

"So, how bad is it?" asked Dani, shivering from standing outside without her coat.

"It's not as bad as it could be," said the Chief, "but it's pretty bad. There's a lot of smoke damage. But the place looks prett good. Nothing a good clean up and a coat of paint and some repairs couldn't set straight."

"When can we go in?" asked JayDee, biting her lip, "and when can we get the cleaners in?"

As she spoke the firemen dragged the charred remains of the juke box out and dumped it unceremoniously on the street in front of the store. The stepped away as one of thier comrades hosed the juke box down.

"So, what happened?" asked J--, "can you tell anything?"

"Well, I took a look in the Juke Box and it looks like whoever tuned it up used a fair bit of lubricant and oil, and my guess would be that that stuff overheated and lit up. The 45s in there would have lit up like a christmas tree, and the rest is ..." he exhaled, "your just lucky it wasn't worse."

"So can we go in?" asked JayDee, "to atleast lock up the cash and get out coats?"

"Oh sure," the chief said, "the fire marshall happened to be in town, and he's cleared the site already. The only loose end right now is contacting the owners of the building, and Bonnie and Ross so they can get the insurance involved."

"So, we can go in?" asked JayDee, her face serious, her eyes wide.

"Yeah sure," said the Chief, "come with me." He turned and headed back across the street. JayDee and Dani followed the Chief, JayDee turned and noticed The Rev and J-- were standing on the curb not moving.

"Come on you two," she said shaking her head, "you're part of the family."

Together the four of them followed the Chief across the street, past the remains of the juke box and in the front door. The interior of the store was dark, and the distinct smell of smoke caused them to gasp and cough.

"Gee, I didn't think I'd smell this again anytime soon," said The Rev as he stepped in the door and looked around.

"This isn't quite as bad as the Church," observed the Chief.

"No this is like the episode of Happy Days when Arnolds burned down," observed JayDee taking in the darkened tableau spread before her, "Where do we even begin?" a slight tear formed in her eye.

"I'd call Cascade Cleaning in Brandon," said the Chief, "they could be up here tonight and you could be up and running again in a couple of days."

"Don't I have to wait for Ross and Bonnie to open the Insurance claim?" asked JayDee.

"Well, if you explain the situation to them," said the Chief, "they might start the clean up so you can get back up and running. But I don't know. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"So, do we need to find Ross and Bonnie?" asked Dani.

"I could drive up to their house and let them know," said J-- with a laugh.

"Not Funny," said JayDee flatly, "what if they really aren't at the house? What do we do then?"

"We could email them," suggested Dani helpfully, "I'm sure they'll figure something is up when they sign on to the security camera and don't see anything." Her hand waved toward where the camera once was. It was then that all of them noticed the charred and melted line of memorabilia and collectables that had taken the brunt of the fire.

JayDee gasped, "I thought you said it was only the juke box and the wall that was damaged," her hand motioned to the shelf, "there's a heck of alot more burned than just the corner."

"Well," The Chief paused, "the flames caught the fake pine tree stuff up there and it just went woosh ... looks like the TV and all the electronics there are done, and all the crap on the top shelf. I think the plastics just lit up like candles ..."

"Ross is gonna be some upset," said J-- quietly, "all his treasures are gone ..."

"Really," stated JayDee with a sigh, "I think losing his coffee memorabilia will be the very least of his worries ..."

"You okay?" asked Dani, arching an eyebrow, "you're sounding a little wound up ..."

JayDee sighed, "I'm okay ... I just feel so helpless right now ..."

Dani and J-- turned and looked at The Rev.

"Got anything to add?" asked the Chief glancing at The Rev too.

"Nope," The Rev shook his head, "I've been here before and helpless is all you get ..."

The other four nodded their heads.

"The best we can do right now is get busy and clean the place up," as The Rev spoke he pulled out his cell phone, "Phone the cleaning company now and get on to with it ..." he handed his phone to JayDee who nodded as she took it.

"Got the number for them Chief?" she asked as she flipped open the phone.

The Chief nodded and pulled a small book out his overalls and recited a number. Wordlessly JayDee began dialing it ...

J-- looked around and shook his head, "It's gonna be a big job ..."

"Got that right," said the Chief, "everything edible is gonna have to get dumped. And everything will have to be cleaned. It's gonna be big ..."

The four of them stood shaking their heads ...

"Bonnie's not gonna be happy," observed The Rev.

"Should we drive out to the house and let them know?" Dani asked, a slight smile crossing her face, "or do we email them in Costa Rico?"

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXIX .. x2 ...

2007-03-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

"Let me see that," said J-- reaching out his hand and taking the email in JayDee's hand, "did you read it?"

"Oh yeah," said JayDee with a broad smirk, "It only adds to the mystery of whether they are in Mexico like they said, or in their basement on a stay-cation."

"Oh sounds good," said Dani, "let's hear it ..." she nodded at J-- who held the paper up and began reading.

"Hey gang. How are things in snowy Manitoba," J-- looked up and asked, "how do they know the weather if they're in Mexico or Costa Rico or wherever they claim to be?"

"Keep reading," said JayDee smiling.

J-- continued, "The weather here is sunny and hot. Our hotel is right on the beach. We've been spending most of our in the bar downstairs. It has a view of the beach and has a nice selection of beverages including coffee. I'll attach a picture we took last night. Next week we move to a hotel more inland. Ross wants to check out a couple of dairy operations near by for his bosses, and I want to see more Coffee Plantations to see about expanding out menu. ... Well, I should go. Hope all is well. We're having a great time ... see you in a week or so ..." J--'s voice trailed off, then he looked up and said to JayDee, "I still don't see where you think this is being sent from here ..."

"Look at the picture of their night out in the bar, for crying out loud," she glared as him as she spoke, "and look carefully."

J-- turned to the second page in his hand, a full colour picture of Ross and Bonnie sitting at a table in what appears to be a bar. "I'm not seeing it," he observed.

"Okay, look at the beer at Ross' elbow," JayDee said pointing, "It's a Canadian Beer."

"So?" said J--, "maybe they're homesick."

"It's a bilingual label," JayDee stated, "and the second language on it is NOT Spanish."

"It's an import," said J-- smiling.

"When the big breweries ship beer outside of the country they usually use green bottles and English only labels," said JayDee, "I looked it up on the internet. And further more, look at the tv playing in the background. It has the evening news from Brandon playing. What satelite provider would carry the Brandon station to somewhere like Mexico, or Costa Rico or wherever they claim to be?"

"I dunno," said J--, "it all sounds pretty shaky in the evidence department." He smiled as he spoke, "if you were a cop you wouldn't have enough to get a search warrant."

"Okay," said JayDee, "item three in the picture, look over Ross' right shoulder. Behind him is, not one, but two home tanning lamps. Tell me, what would a bar in the Caribbean, or in Latin America have a tanning lamp for??"

"Huh?" J--'s head snapped down and he lifted the picture, as he examined it he said, "Son of a ..." his voice trailed off as he lifted the paper, "look here." He pointed to the corner of the bar behind Ross' head, just below where the tanning lamps could be seen, "There on the bar is a copy of the Brandon Sun AND the Minnedosa Tribune. Why would either of those papers be in a Latin American resort?"

JayDee's eyes flew open wider, "What?" she exclaimed, "Let me see that!! I missed that ..." she leaned over to get a better look at the picture and snorted as she noticed the newpapers sitting in plain view, "Wait a second," she exclaimed, "we need a magnifying glass to know for sure, but if your look carefully at that window reflected in the mirror behind the bar it looks an awful lot like snow falling outside the bar ..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the picture.

The four of them, JayDee, Dani, J-- and the regular were hunched over the table examining the picture carefully when The Rev walked in the front door.

"What are you guys doing?" The Rev asked as he swung around the counter.

"Looking at a picture of Ross and Bonnie's vacation," said J--, "we're trying to figure out whether they are really down south like they claim, or actually hiding on a stay-cation in their basement."

"A stay-cation?" said The Rev, "that idea again?"

"It's looking more and more likely that it's a stay-cation," observed J--, "we're finding stuff in this picture that looks suspicious, and that says they're hiding out in their basement pretending to be away."

With that all five of them glanced up to the video camera installed over the office, The Rev waved at it saying, "hello Ross, Hi Bonnie ..." with a broad smile.

"Does it matter?" asked The Rev.

"Not really," said JayDee, "I just would like to know."

"Why?" asked The Rev.

"Why Not?" said JayDee with a smile as she headed behind the counter and asked, "the usual?"

"Yup," said The Rev, "and thanks."

"You're welcome," said JayDee with a broad smile, "So, how is my darling "husband" today?" Her fingers made quotation marks as she said the word husband.

"Oh, I'm fine," The Rev smiled, "So, if you find out they are hiding out at home what difference will it make?"

"No difference really," said JayDee, "it would just mean we know."

"Oh," said The Rev, shaking his head with an amused smile on his lips, "I see." He continued to shake his head and smile.

"I'd say they're in the basement," said J-- at last looking up from the picture, "that snow outside the window reflected in the mirror here. And the Brandon Television station and newspaper pretty much tears it."

"That and the wet foot prints Kriss found on the back deck the other day," observed The Rev.

"The what?" said JayDee her eyes flashing open wide, "what footprints?"

"Oh you hadn't heard?" teased The Rev, "Well it seems that Kriss went up the Bonnie and Ross' house the other day to check on it and she had to walk in because of the snow in the driveway. So, as she came around the corner of the house she heard a funny sound like a door slamming and locking. Then when she got to the hot tub she noticed that it was still really hot, there was a cloud of steam lingering in the trees off to the side like the tub had just been opened, but then she saw two wet people footprints that were heading into the house."

"Maybe one of their kids coming out to stay while Ross and Bonnie are away?" ventured J--.

"Nope," said The Rev, "Kriss claims there were NO footprints in the snow other than her own. Her's were the only ones in and the only ones out of the driveway."

"Huh !" said JayDee, "she never told me any of this."

"She just told me last night when I stopped in and had a coffee with the EMS crew," said The Rev, "it had just happened either yesterday or the day before." The Rev moved over to the Juke Box and dug in his pocket to pull out a couple of quarters which he then dropped in the coin slot and began selecting music, "I think she was heading out there to use the Hot Tub, but I'm not 100% sure."

"Sounds like something she'd do," observed Dani with a smirk, "leave it to Kriss to go and party at the Boss' house while they're away."

JayDee nodded in agreement, "Makes you wonder what will happen if Bonnie and Ross really are hiding out at home and know about Kriss' nocturnal adventures."

Dani and JayDee both laughed as J-- began to speak.

"So, we have a beer bottle, tanning lamps, a tv image, two newpapers, wet foot prints and nothing to say they've actually gone away," said J--, "sounds like the evidence is all in."

"And the verdict is?" asked The Regular.

And as he opened his mouth to answer there was a loud "woof" from the juke box and a cascade of sparks showered out of the side closest to the microwave. This was followed by the flickering of the lights of both the jukebox and the store it's self. Then rather than music, the speakers emitted an harsh screeching sound and smoke began to pour out of the back of the juke box and the pictures of Def Lepperd's Animal and Glass Tiger that were displayed on the back of the jukebox began to curl, brown and suddenly they burst into flame behind the plastic cover.

"OH CRAP," J-- yelled, as he rose from his chair.

"What did YOU do?" accused Dani as she spun and looked at The Rev, who was standing beside the table looking dumbfounded.

"Nothing," The Rev exclaimed, his feet rooted to the floor, "I just requested a country song," as he spoke he turned and headed for the door, following J--, "We better get out of here." he called back to Dani, The Regular and JayDee who were hot on his heels.

As she moved past the counter JayDee snatched up the portable phone and began dialing '911'. She turned to look back as she rounded the corner of the counter and gasped at the sight of flames lapping up the wall behind the jukebox ...

Overheard at Chipperfields' Part LXIX ...

2007-03-18T00:34:00.000-05:00

"So, my husband decided to order a pizza when we were in Winnipeg," said JayDee as she and Dani stood behind the counter, "He asked if the mushrooms were fresh, and the girl serving us said, 'oh sure, the can was just opened a half an hour ago!!'"

"Are you serious?" asked Dani, her eyes widening, "She said that?"

"Yeah," said JayDee, a smiling brightening her face, "she said it."

"So, did you order mushrooms on your pizza?" asked Dani, her eyes wide with wonder, her face looking innocent.

"Nope." said JayDee flatly, "He decided against mushrooms on the pizza, and went with black olives instead."

"Yum," said Dani as she turned to greet the customer who had stepped up to the counter.

"You're looking good too," said the regular who was standing in front of Dani smiling. Behind Dani, JayDee was blushing slightly as she turned and headed into the kitchen laughing.

"What can I get for you sir?" asked Dani with a serious dour look on her face, "We have a fine selection of items on the menu ..." with a flourish she waved her hand up towrds the blackboard hanging from the ceiling.

"I'll have my usual thanks," laughed the regular, "I'll have a large Chipperfields' with room for cream."

"Sure no problem sir," Dani replied as she pumped the coffee into a mug and fought hard to surpress a smile, "would you like a cookie or a slice of carrot cake to go with it?"

"No, I'm good," said the regular as he took the coffee from Dani and turned to put the cream in the mug. He turned and headed toward a table along the wall as J-- passed by the front windows and headed came through the front doors.

"Hello J--," said Dani, as she looked up and smiled at J--.

"Hello Dani darling," said J-- with a broad smile, "the bosses around?" J-- glanced around the store. He nodded in greetng at the regular sitting by the juke box.

"Nope, Ross and Bonnie are on holidays," her index and ring fingers made quotation marks as she spoke, "they're in Mexico." Her fingers again made quotatin marks.

"What do all the quotation marks means?" asked J-- as he watched Dani get his Manitoba Organic tea ready.

"Oh," answered Dani, glancing to the kitchn and speaking softly, "it's just that we aren't really sure if they've gone to Mexico, or whether they're actually at home having one of those Stay-cations that Ross is so big on."

"Really?" offered J-- with a broad smile crossing his face, "what makes you think that they're not actually in Mexico like they said, but staying at home."

"Well, it started when JayDee was coming back from taking her daughter to riding the day before yesterday and she saw Ross' car parked in their driveway." said Dani, "Then she found this ..." she pulled out a piece of folded paper from under the cash register and handed it to J--.

"What is it?" asked J--.

"Look at it," Dani waved her hand over the paper in J--'s hand, "Its pretty self-explanitory."

J-- opened it and read aloud, "Four fifty kilogram bags of play sand," he glanced up, then looked back at the paper and continued reading, "three sun lamps, two chaise lounges, one poolside table and assorted hot tub conditioning chemicals ..." J--'s voice trailed off, "what is this?"

"It's a bill from the Hardware store," answered Dani, "and it was for a delivery the day they left for Mexico." her hands again made the quotation signs.

"So, you don't think they've actually gone to Mexico?" ventured J--, "where are they then?"

"I think they're actually staying at home," said Dani, her face serious, "I think they've rigged up their basement like a beach so they can say they went and spent two weeks in Mexico, while they actually had a stay-cation here." She nodded for emphasis.

"Really?" said J--, a smile crossing his face, "are you the only one who thinks this?"

Dani shook her head, "JayDee does too and so does Kriss. We just can't prove it."

"Why don't you just drive out to their house and have a look around?" asked J--.

"That would be too much like being a peeking Tom or something," said Dani, blushing slightly, "besides, when we went out the other day we couldn't see in the windows anyway. All the blinds are drawn."

J-- laughed, "SO, you did check?!"

Dani blushed and shrugged her shoulders, "It was actually Kriss' idea, but I drove because I have the 4X4."

J-- shook his head as he laughed, "but you couldn't tell if they were really there or not?"

"Nope," answered Dani, "but we couldn't see where the Hardware store left all this stuff," she waved the bill between her and J--, "if this came while they were away, it should be sitting outside somewhere."

"You're too suspicious," said J-- with a laugh, "maybe Gord and his crew didn't deliver it."

"Oh they delivered it," said Dani, her eyes narrowing, "I saw the truck pull out of the store lot," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of the Hardware store across the street, "and when they came back none of the stuff was there."

"How do you know it was the stuff for Ross and Bonnie?" asked J--, still smiling.

"OH I Know," said Dani emphatically, "I know."

"Okay," J-- waved his hand in front of himself as he spoke, "I give up. I can't argue this, and I just want to have my tea."

"Sure thing," said Dani as he picked up the tea brewing pot and came out from behind the counter, "you sitting over there." She motioned to the corner table where the regular was already sitting.

"I guess," said J-- smiling and following her.

"Mark my words though," Dani set down the tea pot as she spoke, "when we get an email from Ross and Bonnie, they'll send us a picture and we'll be able to tell they're actually in the basement of their house and not on holidays some where south."

"Sure" scoffed J--, "whatever you say."

Just then JayDee came out of the office waving several pieces of paper in her hand, "Hey, we just got an email from Bonnie with pictures ..."

J-- and Dani glanced at each other and both of them burst out laughing.

"I guess we may know the answer," said J-- as he sat down at the table and held out his hand to JayDee as she came towards him holding out the papers before herself ...

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXVIII

2007-03-10T20:22:00.000-06:00

Kriss was working behind the counter cleaning up after the last order. In the corner by the juke box were the Emergency Medical Services crew who are regular late night regulars. Kriss looked up and smiled at her fiance, then startled slightly as the phone rang. She reached for the wireless hand set and answered it.

"Good evening, Chipperfield Coffee," she said cheerily, "how may I help you?"

Kriss' brow furrowed as she listened to the caller before speaking.

"Yes, we'll prepare an order to pick up," she said confidentally, "what would you like."

She again listened as the caller conveyed the order which she then repeated, "Yes, two large Rolo lattees to be picked up." she paused, "Yes, I got that, too, a cinnamon wedge and two snicker doodles."

Kriss paused to listen, "No, you're welcome." she said. She was about to hang up the phone when it dawned on her she hadn't gotten a name for the order, "oh wait," she implored the caller, "who is this for?" She again listened and her eye brow furrowed even deeper, "Okay, I got it ..." her voice trailed off as she hung up the phone.

"Problem?" asked one of the EMS crew sitting in the corner.

"Well," Kriss replaced the phone handset to the base as she spoke, "this guy just called and placed an order for two rolo lattes."

"So," said Kriss' fiance, "that happens all the time."

"Yeah, but this guy called me by name," Kriss continued.

"You work here," Kriss' fiance said, "you were raised in town, people know you."

"It's not just that," Kriss said, the smile fading from her face, "it's that he called me by name, placed his order, but I don't have a clue of who it was ..."

"Who did he say it was?" asked the first EMS'er.

"He said 'the order is for Percy and Pete.' " Kriss replied, "I don't know any one named Percy or Pete."

"Hmm," said the EMS'er as he shrugged and looked around the table, "any of you know a Percy or a Pete?"

"Well, there's old Pete out on Mountain Rd," said one, "but I doubt he'd be buying a fancy coffee."

"And there's Pete the crazy old guy out on the Dump Road," said another.

"My dad is Pete," offered a third, "but he's in Arizona."

"Well, who could it be?" asked Kriss, "I don't know anyone named either Pete or Percy that have been in here lately." She paused and looked at the table of paramedics who all shrugged their shoulders as they started laughing, "Should I do up the order and run the risk of it being a prank?"

"I'd do up the order," said her fiance, "and if no one claims them, you and I could drink them."

"You gonna pay for them?" asked Kriss.

"Um, no ..." her fiance paused, "if they are done up and not claimed, they should be free shouldn't they?"

"Not since Bonnie made me a manager, buddy," said Kriss, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her fiance, "or did you forget about that?"

"Didn't forget," offered her fiance sheepishly, "I was just hoping to get a little fringe benefits."

"You get your fringe benefits elsewhere,"she said with a saucy smile as she turned and started making up the lattes.

As Kriss was busy behind the counter the Paramedics discussed who Percy and Pete might be, and came to no firm conclusions. As she was working and the paramedics were arguing a police car pulled up outside and two of the uniformed members stepped out and headed to the front door.

The paramedics turned and greeted the officers as they stepped into the shop.

One of them stepped up to the counter and asked Kriss for the order he'd phoned in. Kriss looked confused.

"Phone in order," she said puzzled, "you didn't phone in an order."

"Yes I did," said the officer, "I called about five minutes ago for two Rolo Lattes."

"You didn't call in an order," said Kriss firmly, "The only phone in order I had tonight was for two Rolos for Percy and Pete."

"Percy and Pete?" said the member bewildered.

"Yes," said Kriss, "Percy and Pete."

"Um," Kriss' fiance was trying to interupt.

"Stay out of this," Kriss snapped, her voice sounding irritated, "the order was for Percy and Pete, not the RCMP."

"Honey," Kriss' fiance was trying again to interject in the conversation.

"Percy and Pete?" the officer again asked Kriss, this time a broad smile crossing his face.

"That's what I said," snapped Kriss, growing irritated at the conversation, "I'll do up two more Rolos, but these two," her hand waved over the cups in front of her, "are for someone else."

"Percy and Pete," repeated the officer, his voice struggling to surpress a laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Kriss was now very irritated, "what's so damned funny?"

"Well, I think I know who Percy and Pete are," said the uniformed officer, while Kriss' fiance was nodding behind him.

"Who?" asked Kriss.

"Me," offered the officer, "I think that order is for the RCMP."

"RCMP," repeated Kriss, "not Percy and Pete ..." her voice trailed off.

"That's what I was trying to tell you," pleaded her fiance, "Percy and Pete was actually the RCMP, you just mis-heard them ..."

Kriss growled audibly as her finace sat down, sensing retreat was the better action in this moment. Simultaneously, the RCMP officer put down a ten dollar bill and with a big smile took the two coffee cups, handing one to his partner, while he spoke: "Keep the change, I think you've earned it."

The two officers headed for the door shaking their heads and laughing. At the threshold of the inner door they paused and the second officer turned and spoke.

"Oh, and if Percy and Pete stop by, tell them 'Thanks for the coffee,'"

Kriss growled again as the two officers headed back into the night laughing.

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXVII ...

2007-03-02T23:15:00.000-06:00

Kriss was busy with a batch of fresh muffins on the counter beside the cooler when one of the regulars entered the store. Kriss turned her head and smiled as the regular stepped up in front of the cash register.

"Nice muffins," said the regular with a broad smile.

Kriss looked shocked, "I beg your pardon?" Her hands involuntarily reached down to her derriere, "did you say what I think ..."

"I meant those muffins," said the regular pointing to the batch of sunshine muffin Kriss has been busily wrapping on the counter, "not the other muffins. Though both batches are pretty nice."

Kriss blushed deeply as she turned and pressed her bottom against the counter, hiding it from view while she smiled, "what can I get you?" She paused and her face grew serious, "and don't say muffins, or I'll slap you ..."

The regular laughed, "No, nothing like that Kriss. Just give me a large Chipperfield for here ..."

"Coming right up," said Kriss laughing as she pumped the coffee into a mug.

The regular looked around the empty shop, then glanced at his watch, "None of the regular crew this morning?" he asked as Kriss slid his coffee across the counter at him.

"Nope," said Kriss, "The Rev was in earlier and said he had a meeting in Brandon. J-- came by with the delivery truck and said he was working. And I haven't seen any body else."

"Sure is empty when the regular crew don't show up eh?" said the regular.

"Yup," agreed Kriss, "but the early morning crew was here," she glanced at the clock, "and the group of women who come in for tea are due in any time ..."

"Hmmm," mused the regular as he stirred milk and sugar into his coffee, "maybe I shoulda got this to go ..."

"I can swap cups," said Kriss.

"Naw," said the regular, "It's alright. I'll sit and check out the paper and see what's happening in the world ..."

"Have fun with that ..." said Kriss as she turned her attention back to the muffins and continued wrapping them in plastic wrap.

The regular had settled in on one of the couches at the front window when Ross and Bonnie rounded the front window of the shop and headed in the door. Bonnie headed straight to the back room, while Ross stopped to talk.

"Not working today Roscoe?" asked the regular.

"Actually a day off," said Ross with a broad smile, "but tomorrow I leave for a big trip up into Saskatchewan."

"Nice," said the regular, "so, what are you doing today?"

Ross glanced at his watch, "well, Bonnie and I have appointments at the tanning salon in an hour, then we're having lunch at the Main Street Cafe, and after that, we're just going to enjoy a nice winter day."

"Gonna do the lobster look again?" asked the regular with a smile.

"Nope," said Ross looking uncomfortable, "once was enough for me."

"Should teach you a lesson shouldn't it?" laughed the regular.

"The you could see wasn't as bad as the burn you couldn't," said Ross flatly.

"Woah, cowboy" said the regular holding up his hands, "too much information. Way, way, way too much information. What you do with your person is your business ..."

"I was just meaning ..." ventured Ross.

"Too much information," interupted the regular, "way too much information ..."

"Oh okay," said Ross with a smile, "I got you."

"Let's go Ross," called Bonnie as she headed from the backroom the cash register, "we've got an appointment."

"Okay," answered Ross shrugging his shoulders towards the regular.

Bonnie paused and glanced at the muffins Kriss has just finished wrapping.

"Hey, nice muffins," she said.

Kriss gasped and dropped the coffee mug she had in her hand, "Not you too ..." she said as she turned around, then as she and Bonnie both glanced at the broken mug on the floor and the muffins on the counter she said, "oh you meant THOSE muffins ..."

"What muffins did you think I meant?" asked Bonnie, redness rising in her cheeks.

"Never mind ..." said Kriss, as she stepped past Bonnie, holding her bottom towards the counter, "just never mind ... I'll get a broom ..."

Bonnie glanced at Ross, who met her gaze with a shrug. Then the two of them glanced at the regular who was snickering over his coffee and the newspaper.

Reality Check !!!

2007-02-25T20:47:00.000-06:00

Let me begin with the following definition:

fic·tion (fkshn)
noun.
1.
a. An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but
has been invented.
b. The act of inventing such a creation or pretense.
2. A lie.
3.
a. A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and
is not necessarily based on fact.
b. The category of literature comprising works of this kind, including
novels and short stories.
4. Law Something untrue that is intentionally represented as true by the narrator.

JUST SO WE ARE CLEAR - Chipperfield Chronicles is a place of fiction!!! The stories here are simply that - STORIES. The characters ARE based on real people, the events bear some similarities to events that MAY have occured in the shop, and even some of the jokes have been told around the tables.

BUT, let me be clear - the stories here are fictional!!!
Made up.
A product of the imagination.
A stretching of the truth.
NOT FACTUAL.

This reality is clouded by the photos that are posted from time to time chronicling the events happening in the real life Chipperfield Coffee Company, but since the beginning of this blog, it has been a place to play with stories - FICTIONAL STORIES !!!

The events here have not happened.
The Conversations here have NOT happened.
The happenings have simply never happened.

THIS IS A PLACE OF FICTION.

It is my hope that people will stop sharing the stories here like they have any connection to real events or the truth - they DON'T ... the only connection to reality is that I have, with the permission and enthusiasm and I daresay the participation of the folks at the REAL LIFE Chipperfields', used them and their locale as the place in which I spin my stories ...

Clearly this seperation is too hard for some people to comprehend - but I hope by spelling it out folks may finally start to grasp this ...

Say it with me people: "This is a place of ficitional stories !!"

Fiction - made up ... not true ... just story !!

GOT IT ???
Thanks.

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXVI ...

2007-02-23T23:41:00.000-06:00

"Hi boss," Kriss called out cheerily as Bonnie came in the front door and swung past the counter saying nothing as she zoomed by Kriss and Tracy.

"Was she crying?" asked Tracy, watching Bonnie disappear into the back room.

"I dunno," said Kriss, glancing ovr at J-- and a group of regulars sitting at the table in the corner by the juke box. Her glance was met with a collective shrug.

Both women watched as Bonnie emerged from the staff washroom in a large oversized men's plaid shirt, rather than the uniform shirt she had been wearing when she went into the back. As she came up to the front and pumped herself a coffee both Kriss and Tracy stood and said nothing for a long moment. Then as Bonnie turned to return to the back room, Kriss broke the silence with a smirk-like smile.

"Nice uniform," she said grinning, before she could say any more Bonnie cut her off.

"I don't want to talk about," Bonnie snapped as she wiped away a tear.

It was then that Kriss noticed that Bonnie's face was a bit redder than normal. "Did you go to the Tanning Salon again?"" asked Kriss, as she surpressed a smile.

"I said, I don't want to talk about it," said Bonnie.

"Did you stay in too long?" asked Kriss, not willing to let it go.

"Why would you say that?" asked Bonnie.

"Because you came in here and changed into something loose," observed Kriss, "and if I'm not mistaken you've taken off your bra ..." Her hand motioned to the top three buttons that revealed more flesh than she had planned.

Bonnie's hand gripped the collar of the shirt closed as she looked around the shop, noting that J-- and the three regulars sitting at the corner table were engrossed in a conversation and paying no heed to the happenings behind the counter. She turned and faced the cooler as she refastened the top three buttons on the shirt and checked the others for good measure before speaking.

"If you must know," Bonnie began as she gently smoothed the fabric of her shirt with one hand, "I went to the tanning salon for an eight minute session to get ready for our vacation down south, and I did get burned."

"Really," said Kriss gleefully, "I was right?? I was only guessing," her face broke into a broad smile.

"Where did you get burned?" asked Tracy, her face reflecting her concern.

"All across here," Bonnie's hand motioned across her tummy, "and here," and her chest.

"Ouch," said Tracy with a wince, "that couldn't be comfortable," she observed.

"That's why I changed from the tee-shirt to this," Bonnie's hand motioned over the plaid shirt she was wearing.

"Ouch," repeated Tracy.

"I was right," Kriss was still smiling, "I can't believe I was right."

"Move on Kriss," Bonnie hissed, "you're taking too much delight in this."

"Sorry Bonnie," said Kriss, her smile fading ever so slightly, "I don't mean to make light of it, but I WAS just guessing when I asked if you had burned yourself."

"Whatever," Bonnie glared at Kriss.

"Bonnie," Kriss spoke softly, "did you know you also burned your forehead," Kriss' eyes were drilling into Bonnie's forehead.

"Oh my gawd," gasped Bonnie as her hand shot up to cover her forehead. As her hand made contact she shrieked, "ow !! That hurts."

Kriss surpressed a laugh and Tracy turned and took a dish cloth and ran it under cold water, "Would you like me to run tot he pharmacy ad get you some Noxema or something?" Tracy asked as she handed the cold damp cloth to Bonnie.

"Thanks," said Bonnie, taking the dish cloth and putting it on her forehead, "I'll call Ross on his cell phone and get him to pick something up." As she spoke she picked up the phone handset and began dialing.

After a moment she spoke, "Ross where are you?" There was a pause, "Ross are you crying?" Following another pause she spoke again, "Ross are you okay?" The three women glanced up as Ross walked slowly and uncomfortably past the front windows, his cell phone held to his ear.

As he walked in the front door, Bonnie disconnected the phone and looked up, watching Ross enter through the front door. Ross tucked his phone into his pocket as he stepped through the inner door. The three women behind the counter gasped, drawing the attention of J-- and the regulars at the table.

"OH MY GAWD," exlaimed J--, "Ross you look like a freakin' Tomato!"

Ross with tears in his eyes nodded mutely.

"Ross," Bonnie's voice was soft, "Did you get an all over tan?"

Ross nodded.

"Ross," Bonnie paused before continuing, "If your face is THIS red," her hand waved up towards his face, "How red is the rest of you?"

Ross' shoulder sagged and he shook his head. The crew in the corner and Kriss and Tracy stood entranced by the unfolding scene in front of them.

"Ross?" Bonnie's voice was soft, "How long were you on the tanning bed?"

"I booked for eight minutes,"He said, his voice nearing the breaking point, "but I fell asleep and she got busy and ..."

Bonnie interupted him with a gasp, "Oh My gawd. You didn't ..."

Ross nodded as he spoke, "I was on the bed for almost 25 minutes ..."

Kriss burst out laughing, "Ross, that's terrible ..." Her broad smile offered no modicum of compassion.

From the corner J-- and the regulars snorted with delight.

"Gee Ross," J-- was smiling broadly, "That's tough ..." he snorted with laughter.

Ross tried to smile and winced, "Oh, it even hurts to smile."

Bonnie reached out a hand and gently stroked his cheek. Ross grimaced.

"THAT, even hurts," he said, his eyes tearing up.

Tracy headed to the back room, "I will be right back."

"Where are you going?" asked Bonnie.

"I'm going to the Pharmacy to get you both something for those burns," said Tracy as she grabbed her coat off the chair, "you're gonna need it ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXV ...

2007-02-20T23:02:00.000-06:00

The Rev was sitting at one of the tables with a stack of books and material spread across the table in front of him, he was working on a variety of paperwork including some of his sermon preparation. He looked up as J-- strolled in the front door of the shop.

J-- paused to greet the four women sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace. The Rev took the pause to gather up his paperwork and clear a space for J-- and the two other regulars who had followed him in the door.

J-- smiled at JayDee as he hung his winter coat up on one of the chairs lining the counter in front of the computer, "I'll have my usual," he said to her with a broad grin.

"One Manitoba Organic coming up," said JayDee, with a warm smile in return, "I'll bring it out to you when it's ready."

J-- put his right thumb in the air and winked with a 'click, click' sound as he headed over to the table and joined The Rev, "Working on your sermon?" J-- asked as he sat down.

"Yeah," answered The Rev, "that and doing some paper work for the Building project."

"Still working on that giant Bobble Headed Jesus for the Bell Tower?" asked J-- with a snicker.

"Yeah," laughed The Rev, "I'm trying to line up donors to help make it happen too!!" He laughed as he pulled out a sheet of paper, "I'm just looking over the material from the architect for the upcoming board meeting. We're getting close to having everything finalized and sent out to tender."

"That's kind of exciting," said J--, smiling, "betcha a year ago when the old Church burned down you didn't think you would see this day did you?"

"There were moments," said The Rev, nodding his head in agreement, "I'll tell you though, the fire really was the least of the issues that was facing us last year."

"Oh I know," laughed J--, "I know ..."

The two men laughed and nodded their heads in unison.

"So, did you ever get off that Impaired Driving charge?" asked J--, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, I used the 7000 dollars that I took from the church," affirmed The Rev, smiling and laughing.

"Anybody who believes that kind of stuff is not playing with a full deck," stated J-- with a broad smile, "but then you gotta consider the source. And we ALL know where this nonsense has come from. And, when you're dealing with alcoholic families you're dealing with some pretty strange stuff."

"You don't need to tell me that," said The Rev, "Been there, done that, and I got the T-shirt to prove it. Wanna see it, it's black with white writing on it?"

The two men again laughed as J-- asked, "So, you're getting close to breaking ground?"

"Looks that way," said The Rev pulling out the latest floor plan for the new church building from the pile of paper work in front of him, "hopefully when the frost comes out of the ground and the lot dries up in the spring."

"Excellent," exclaimed J-- as JayDee set his tea down in front of him, "thank you my dear," said J-- winking at JayDee, "Hey, aren't you going to say anything to your 'hubby' while you're here?" J--'s hand motioned to The Rev as he snorted and laughed.

JayDee's eyes widened at his comment, "MY hubby?" JayDee asked with a gasp, "J--, you're really not helping ..." As she was blushing, she turned and walked back behind the counter shaking her head as she went, leaving the two men sitting at the table laughing.

At this, J-- and The Rev were joined the two regulars who were standing chatting by the counter as they put cream and sugar in their coffees.

"So, what are you two discussing with such seriousness?" asked one of the Regulars as he and the other regular sat down with J-- and The Rev.

"Oh, we're just discussing the rebuilding of the Church," said The Rev.

"And the rebuilding of The Rev's reputation in town," added J--.

"The first one is easy," said the second Regular, "But the second one." he paused as he shook his head, "Well, all I can say is - 'good luck'. Rumours are nasty things, and small minded people will never stop being mean and ornery ..."

"Sheesh," said J-- with a broad smile, "How do you REALLY feel ??"

The table erupted in laughter, drawing the attention of most people in the shop including JayDee who was tending a new customer who had ordered a Snickers Specialty Lattee.

"Hey, on a slightly different note," said J--, "did any of you ever hear about that shrubby family living down near Rapid City in the valley?"

"Shrubby?" asked The Rev, "what does 'shrubby' mean?"

"They're kinda like hippies," stated J--, "they're living in a log cabin the dad built by the river. They have no hydro or anything. They're just trying to live off the land."

"Home schooling the kids?" asked one of the regulars.

"No, actually" said J--, "The kids go into Rapid City and are doing real well."

"So, what's the big deal about this family?" asked The Rev, "they want to live off the grid and grow their own food and everything. What's does that have to do with spring?"

"Oh, it's not that," said J--, "my daughter was telling me this morning about what happened to the family this past spring. And when you were talking about spring I remembered it ..." J--'s voice trailed off as he looked around the table at the dumbfound expressions of his friends.

The other three at the table shook their heads, looking puzzled, then with a smile The Rev asked simply, "where are you going with this man?"

"Oh, yeah," J-- took a sip of his tea as he started is story, "well, it turns out this family had no plumbing in the cabin, so they had a biffy down by the river."

"Biffy?" asked one of the Regulars.

"Even I know that's an outhouse," said The Rev, then glancing at J--, he asked "Isn't it?"

J-- nodded as he continued the story, "Well, their 10 year old son hated the biffy. It was too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, too full of bugs in the spring and too full of spiders in the fall. And it stunk to high heaven all year round."

"I remember the outhouse on my grand parents' farm up Laurier way," said one of the regulars, "it was just like that ..."

J-- again nodded, "So was the one I grew up with on the North side of the tracks," his thumb jerked out towards the north end of town, "anyway, back to this little guy. He hated the biffy. I mean hated it. So in the spring when the river was running high and it was lapping at the back of the biffy he went down with a big pole and used it to crank the whole works over in to the flood waters."

"He dumped it in the river?" asked The Rev.

"Right in," said J--, slapping the table, "dumped the sucker over into the river and stood to watched it float away down stream."

"Bet he wasn't sad," said one of the Regulars.

"Nope, he wasn't" said J--, "but the story's not over yet."

"So, what happened when his parents found out what he did?" asked The Rev.

J-- laughs and says, "Well that's the kicker of the story. It is supper time and the lad comes in and sits down at the table. As he sits down his father says to him, 'Son, when dinner's done we're going out behind the woodshed for a spanking. Do you know why?' The little guy thinks for a minute and realizes his dad knows the biffy got dumped into the river, so he doesn't try to hide it. 'Yes dad,' the little guy says, 'I am getting a spanking because I dumped the outhouse into the river this afternoon.' The little boy watched his dad who nodded his head, then the little guy tossed his Hail Mary play. 'But dad, in school this week we learned about George Washington, the first president of the United States, and how he valued the truth. Our teacher told us that once when he was a boy, George chopped down a cherry tree and when his father found out and asked him about it, young George told his father that he could never tell a lie, and so he confessed to chopping down the tree and his father never punished him.' The dad nodded his head earnestly and said, 'Yes, son I know all of that, but the difference is that George Washington's father wasn't sitting in the cherry tree when he chopped it down ...' "

The three men at the table with J-- paused for a moment as they glanced at each other, then they began to laugh. J-- had a broad smile on his face as his three companions shook their heads in amusement ...

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXIV ...

2007-02-19T23:57:00.000-06:00

"I see you're branching out," observed J--, as he stood in front of the counter waiting for his tea to be prepared.

"Pardon?" asked Ross, as he stood in front of the cooler.

"The hand bags you've got hanging up around back of the counter there," said J--, with a broad smile, motion with his hand over the counter area to the product aisle behind, "You starting a Bling Bling line or something?"

"Huh?" pressed Ross, looking confused.

"You know," said J--, his smile broadening, "Hand Bags by Ross, the rural pimp ..."

"Oh, not that again," groaned Ross, "I thought we'd left the purple hat and suit jacket fiasco behind."

"Never," said J-- with a laugh, "that was too funny to just forget about it."

"Not for Dani," observed JayDee, as she slid J--'s tea across the counter.

"What does that mean?" asked Ross with a gulp, looking distressed.

"Well, you remember the rancher?" said JayDee her eyes widening slightly, "and the whole thing I had to do to get rid of him?"

Both men nodded their heads as she continued. As JayDee spoke, Bonnie walked up from the back room and stood alongside Ross saying nothing.

"Well, the rumour in town is that Dani kissed The Rev," said JayDee quietly, "and someone told Dani's husband and he's really upset about it."

"He's upset about something that never happened?" said Ross.

"Or at least never happened to Dani?" chuckled J--.

JayDee glared at J--, "It's NOT funny." she stated drily, "Dani's husband has been really upset since it happened."

"But it didn't happen," said J-- laughing.

"We know it didn't happen," said JayDee, "but it did happen."

"Yeah but it was YOU, who laid one on The Rev to get rid of the rancher," observed Ross.

"I KNOW," groaned JayDee clearly exasperated, "you don't have to remind me. MY HUSBAND, won't let me forget it either."

"So, let me get this straight," said J--, struggling not to laugh, "both you and Dani are in hot water because you kissed The Rev to save your bacon?"

"That would pretty much be it," said JayDee flatly, her eyes drilling into J--.

"Any word on how The Rev's wife has taken the news that he's married to someone else?" asked J--, still smiling.

Both JayDee and Ross shook their heads.

"Maybe The Rev needs to make himself scarce around these parts for awhile," observed J--, with a broad smile, "or he might have some hubby's gunning for him."

"We could ask him to stay a way for a week or so," said Ross.

"How would that be?" asked J--, "the poor guy would go through wicked caffeine withdrawal."

"We could arrange for home delivery," offered Ross hopefully.

"Home delivery?" marvelled J--, "How would you do home delivery for The Rev?"

"JayDee could drop it off when she goes home for lunch?" said Ross innocently.

JayDee's eyes widened and J-- burst out laughing.

"Ross!!" sputtered Bonnie in a voice bordering on a shriek, "THAT wouldn't help a damned thing ... it would only make things worse."

"How?" asked Ross, clearly bewildered.

J--'s Tidbits 'n' Trivia ... Part 14 ...

2007-02-19T23:37:00.000-06:00

"So, how are you all today?" J-- asked as he approached the table. Behind him Kriss was carrying his tea brewer pot and a mug.

"Good," came the answer from his assembled friends gathered at the table.

"You're late," commented The Rev, glancing at his cell phone sitting on the table in front of him, "what have you been up to today?"

"Oh, I had a doctor's appointment," laughed J-- as he said down.

"Really?" said one of the regulars, "Everything okay?"

"Oh Yeah," said J-- as he adjusted the mug infront of him and thanked Kriss for bringing the tea to the table.

"You're welcome," Kriss said with a warm smile as she returned to the counter.

"Just a check up?" asked The Rev.

J-- nodded, "Yup," he replied as he picked up his tea brewer pot and gave it a gentle swirl, he changed the topic slightly, "I love this Manitoba Organic tea," J-- said looking at the pot, "and my appointment wasn't about the little blue pill." He stated without looking up, then he looked around the table smiling, "So don't even mention it ..."

The assembled crew around the table laughed.

"So the doctor didn't find anything did he?" asked one of the regulars.

"They didn't do a head scan again did they?" teased The Rev.

"Ha ha," laughed J-- as he lifted his tea brewer and began to fill his mug, "No it was nothing like that, just the yearly check up to make sure everything running tickety boo."

"Is it?" asked The Rev.

"Absolutely," answered J--, "the only thing he raised as a concern was my diet."

"You're on a diet?" said one of the regulars.

"No, nothing like that," said J--, "he just wants me to cut down on salty and fatty foods and watch what I eat."

"Really," said The Rev, "guess that will cut out the carrot cake?"

"Not a chance," said J--, "The doctor told me years ago that I had to quit smoking and drinking, and I was able to do that. Then He suggested I had to cut out the caffeine, so I switched to tea. And when my wife passed I had to stop womanizing. So when he starts telling me that if I want to live to be 100, I better cut out the sugary, fatty and salty foods, I just told him ..."

"You'd rather die happy at 80?" said The Rev with a smile.

"Absolutely!!" laughed J--, slapping the table in front of him.

"Sounds like a good reason to celerbate with a slice of carrot cake," observed The Rev.

"Here, here," chimed in one of the regulars.

"Kriss," called J--, "a round of carrot cake for me and my friends ..."

A Special Day at Chipperfields ...

2007-02-17T17:08:00.000-06:00

Today we Celebrated J--'s 40th Birthday

for the 34th TIME !!!

Best wishes were offered,

friends were gathered,

and refreshments and cake were served.

Happy Birthday Grandpa !!

Hugs from Grandkids are the BEST !!!
Is Bonnie giving J-- the BILL ??

Oh ... this is email best wishes from his sons

and their families ...

... sorry guys, I missed J--

wiping away a little tear moments later!!

Party Pics ...

2007-02-17T16:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday J-- !!!

Enjoying a slice of Carrot Cake (Birthday Cake)!!

The Crowd of friends have gathered ...

The Best Wishes have been Offered ...

And we've all had a grand time!!!!

Pics of the Party ... Continued ...

2007-02-17T16:48:00.000-06:00

What else would you put on J--'s cake??

JayDee, Ross and Bonnie hard at work ...

The Birthday Boy surrounded by friends and deep in conversation.

Happy Birthday Dad !!

The meeting of the BLOGS !!!

Ms H. wishing J-- a Happy Birthday !!

And a HUGE Thank You,

and a warm pat on the Back to Chris

for organizing all of THIS,

and thanks to Bonnie & Ross

and their staff

for making it HAPPEN !!!

Jazzing Up the Coffee ...

2007-02-09T00:05:00.000-06:00

Tonight at Chipperfield's the Senior Jazz Band from the High School

came and put on a performance for a gathered group of delighted folks ...

Under the tutelage of Mrs Barb Dowsett, the students offered a delightful

evening of musical entertainment, highlight the incredible talent found in our community.

Hopefully, this is just the first of many more nights of

musical entertainment at Chipperfields ...

... Stay tuned !!

Jazzing up the Coffee ... Part Two

2007-02-08T23:53:00.000-06:00

Rockin' at Chipperfields !!

Playing the sticks ...

Stylish on the Keyboard ...

Ross thanking the band and Mrs Dowsett.

The band kicking back and relaxing after a very successful set.

Thanks to Mrs Dowsett and the Senior Jazz Band for a

wonderful evening of music and entertainment,

and thanks to Ross and Bonnie for putting this together ...

Here's hoping it's the first of many more !!

The jar is filling up ...

2007-02-08T23:49:00.000-06:00

The Pink Ribbon Lid Plugs are returning ...

... the jar is slowly filling up,

and around the shop are reminders

of the importance of the Research into Breast Cancer.

Stop by and join in the initiative ...

... and help fill the jar on your next visit !!

When the Premier Stopped by ...

2007-01-30T11:56:00.000-06:00

Chipperfield's is the kind of place, you just never know who might stop by to enjoy a coffee ... today The Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer popped in for a coffee before attending a meeting in town ...

Today was one of those stranger than any fiction I could write moments ... I went up for coffee about 10:30 and sat at the table with J-- and a couple of other regulars. I was sitting with my back to the front door, but had a view of the door in the mirror behind J--'s head.

I heard the front door open, and glanced into the mirror to see who was coming in. I noticed a tall man with a very familiar face.

"Huh?" I said, "That's the premier ..." as all of us at the table turned and looked in disbelief ...

It was ... Premier Gary Doer had just strolled in the front door for a coffee ...

The first couple of pictures I took were with my cell phone camera (you can tell which ones those were ...), then I called home and asked the Mrs, to come for a hot apple cider and to bring my digital camera, ... I happily snapped a bunch of pictures of Gary and the folks in the shop to show Ross and Bonnie we weren't hallucinating ...

Gary sat for awhile with some of the regulars, and enjoyed a cup of Chipperfield's Own. In his own indominatible way, answered the many questions fielded to him by those sitting with him. Always the politician, he noted that his Government is aware of the challenges facing places like Minnedosa, and they have to balance the decisions they make with political and economic considerations ... and he noted that any decision will cost him votes one way or another ... Before he left he pressed the flesh and shook hands with all the folks in the shop ...
It wasn't a large crowd at Chipperfield's today, but they had the Premier's attention, and he sat and listened ...

Gary even offered to help the girls behind the counter filling orders ... he glanced around and noted that their set up was "a lot easier than when I had to serve tea on the passenger trains".

A Good Time was had by all ... and we appreciated Gary stopping by ... I hope he won't be a stranger, but will feel welcome to come back any time ... I also hope he enjoyed the visit as much as the rest of us did ...

... it just goes to show - when you have a quality establishment, you attract a quality crowd ... Too bad Bonnie and Ross were away ... Maybe next time !!??

More images of The Premier's Visit ...

2007-01-30T11:45:00.000-06:00

J-- and The Premier

Garry Macdowell (town councillor) & The Premier

Gary and his advisor

Yes Ross, we had him sign

the Guest Book !!

Doing Our Part !!!!!!!!

2007-01-28T23:09:00.000-06:00

It's a small thing ... the pink ribbon lid plug ...

... but when we gather enough

we can make a BIG Difference!!

--------------------------------------

PLEASE, join the initiative to raise

awareness and money for

Breast Cancer Research at

Chipperfield Coffee Company.

Bring your pink ribbon plugs back

and toss them in the jar ...

... and get ready to guess how many are there !!

J--'s Trivia 'n' Tidbits ... Part 13 ...

2007-01-28T22:29:00.000-06:00

"So, did you see the article about the guy who made a down hill sled out of an easy chair?" asked J-- as he approached the table where two other regulars were sitting.

"Yeah, it was on the front page the other day wasn't it?" said one of the regulars.

"It was a pretty cool idea," said Kriss as she set down the cup and the tea pot, "I wouldn't mind trying to go down the hill in something like that ..."

"Looked crazy to me," said one of the regulars, "nailing crazy carpets to the bottom of an old chair and flying down the hill doesn't strike me as a good time."

"I dunno," said the other regular, "give me a cold one and the remote and it would be like sitting at home beside the Mrs, ..."

"Only safer," laughed J--, "the only risk flying down the hill is hitting something on the way down ... "

"Yeah sure," scoffed the first regular, "but I still wouldn't be planting my butt in a chair flying down some hill on a couple of yards of crazy carpets."

"Oh come on," said Kriss, "It's cool idea though ..."

With that, the J-- and the two regulars laughed and Kriss turned and headed back behind the counter to serve the next customer waiting to order.

"So, did you catch the follow up article in today's paper about the guy on the chair?" asked J--.

The two regulars shook their heads as J-- unfolded the newspaper and laid it on the table in front of them.

"Check this out," J--'s finger pointed to the headline on the page open in front of the regulars, "turns out the young fella was on probation and serving a term of house arrest at the time the picture was taken. Turns out he wasn't to be away from his place of residence."

"He was tobogganing when he should have been at home under house arrest?" marvelled the first regular.

"Yup," answered J--, a big smile crossing his face, "I can just see the judge choking on his cheerios in the morning when he opened the paper, saw the picture and and thought to himself - 'I put him under house arrest,' while he looked at the picture."

"Yeah and I bet the guy's probation officer flipped out too," observed the second regular.

"So, what happened to him?" asked the first regular.

"Oh, he turned himself in the day of the article," said J--, "He knew his goose was cooked. So, he walked into the court and faced the consequences of his own stupidity. It says he's serving some hard time now."

The two regulars chuckled as J-- grinned.

"Someone serving time in jail, isn't really funny," observed the second regular, "but the story is kind of funny."

"Well, maybe he'll use his time behind bars to accomplish something," said the first regular.

"Yeah," laughed J--, "he could use the workshops and courses to fine tune his creation and turn it into a unique business opportunity."

"He's got lots of time on his hands," said the second regular, "he might as well take advantage of it. At this point he really hasn't much to lose, and it might pay off when he comes out."

"True enough," laughed J--, "in my time working around the courts, I saw a lot of lunacy, but I have to admit this one was a new one. At first I had to wonder if he was playing with a full deck, but when you consider the ingenuity of his idea, I suppose he'll figure it out, and maybe he'll even turn himself around."

"One can always hope," said the first regular, lifting his mug in a toast to J--'s comments.

"Hey, any body who came up with the idea of tacking crazy carpets on an easy chair and flying down the hill, can't be a total idiot," said the second regular, "maybe he can turn it around."

"When you put it that way, I guess he could," observed J--, "like you said, 'one can always hope' ..."

Latte Art ... Check it out !!!

2007-01-28T21:58:00.000-06:00

For more images of Latte Art,

check out Damn Cool Pictures' entry for

December 20th 2006 ...

or click on any of the pictures above.

Maybe the crew at Chipperfields' will be inspired

to let their creativity flow ...

... regardless though,

the coffee at Chipperfields is second to NONE!!

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXIII ... (part 3) ...

2007-01-24T23:06:00.000-06:00

"So dahlin' where can I take y'all for a bite of dinner?" the stetson hatted rancher asked, standing before the gathered crowd of regulars and staff who were stunned into silence, "y'all know of some place nice 'round here?"

"Um ..." Jaydee swallowed, "I didn't expect to see you here again ..." her voice trailed off as her eyes glanced at Ross.

Ross had pulled his fedora down over his eyes and was looking at the floor about three inches in front of his feet.

"Oh dahlin' how could I stay away?" laughed the rancher in a deep southern accent, "y'all done beguiled me, and I juz't couldn't stay away ..."

"But I'm married," interupted Jaydee, suddenly regaining her momentum, and waving her left hand in front of her face. As she spoke the gathered crowd stood spell bound.

"Shoot," said the rancher, "I got me a dozen rings like that. All y'all need to do is swing by a jewellery store and plunk down a few bucks ... it don't mean a thing."

"Mine does," Jaydee protested, her voice sounding a little choked, "This is the real thing, and it means I can't go with your for dinner, and I can't ... I can't ..." Jaydee searched the crowd looking for anyone who might be able to rescue her from this insanity.

"Well, dahlin' that's a nice speech, but unless I meet this here hubby of yours face to face, I'm not gonna believe that y'all not making this up ..." the rancher glanced around the crowd, "so, is your hubby here, or has he let this filly out all by herse'lf where a poacher could lasso her?"

Jaydee searched the crowd looking for someone she could introduce as her spouse. Most of the men were old enough to be her father, or they weren't wearing a wedding band. Her eyes landed on The Rev, who was standing back near the Juke Box, smiling.

"This is my husband," Jaydee said, her voice bordering on a desperate screech. She reached out and put her arm through The Rev's and pulled him towards the counter.

"What the ..." The Rev sputtered, startled.

"Shut up and play along," hissed Jaydee in his ear, "Play along and I'll give you free coffee for ever ..."

The Rev smiled and nodded and meekly followed her to the counter.

"This is my husband," Jaydee lifted The Rev's left hand to show the Rancher a wedding band, then without even thinking or pausing she kissed him full on the lips. The crowd cat called in response, Ross' head snapped up and his eyes widened like saucers.

"Well, I'll be," muttered the rancher taking note of the cleric collar The Rev was wearing, "I wouldn't want to be taking a preacher's lady." He removed his hat and nodded his head slightly, "I'm awful sorry about all this Pastor. I meant no offense, it's just that wife of yours is one pretty lady."

"Um," The Rev struggled for words, "It's not a problem. Just a minor misunderstanding." He offered his right hand to the rancher, "no harm done."

"You're right there partner," the rancher said shaking The Rev's hand vigorously, "you're right."

The Rev smiled and glanced at Jaydee who was still clinging tightly to his arm and smiling a forced smile.

"Thank you," Jaydee's voice sounded relieved.

"You're welcome," The Rev offered back with a smile.

"Well, I think I need to be on my way," said the rancher lifting his stetson and nodding towards Jaydee, "I best be off again ..." He tipped his hat at Jaydee, "It's been a pleasure young lady."

"Well, bye," offered Jaydee after a moment of silence, "it was nice to meet y'all. Thanks for stopping by."

"Have you signed our guest book?" asked Ross, suddenly breaking free of his silence.

"Ross ..." Bonnie hissed as she smacked him on the shoulder.

"Yeap," answered the rancher, "I signed the book when this pretty young filly brought it out to me the other day ..." He smiled at Jaydee, whose eyes were wide, and whose face remained expressionless, "Y'all should know that she sure did do a good job of making me feel welcome." He again tipped his hat at Jaydee, then turned to leave.

"This is one fine establishment," he glanced around as he headed for the door, "but don y'all have lives and jobs and things to get on back to?" He shook his head and chuckled as he headed out the door.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke.

"Well I'll be damned," laughed J-- as he broke the silence, "I think that was pretty close to being one of the funniest things I've seen." He glanced at Ross still garbed in his purple hat and jacket, "and gawd knows I've seen some funny stuff." He laughed as he took in the vista of Ross dressed like a pimp.

The assembled crowd laughed as they began to find seats and move about in the store.

Jaydee's grip on The Rev's arm loosened slightly, she glanced up at him, "Thank you ..."

"You're welcome," he repeated, "but a biit of lead time would be appreciated next time," he observed.

"I hope there won't be a next time," said Jaydee glancing out the front window.

"Me too," added Bonnie.

"She was just being friendly to him ... OW !!" Ross winced as Bonnie pinched him on the arm.

"Ross, you're not helping," snapped Bonnie.

"Sorry dear," answered Ross as he looked down, "but do you like my new look?"

Bonnie stared at Ross wordlessly then slowly shook her head with disdain.

"Oh?" gulped Ross.

"Now about that coffee?" asked The Rev glancing down at Jaydee with a smile, "I remember hearing something about it being for free?"

Jaydee smiled warmly, a look of relief passed over her face. "Absolutely," she said as she squeezed The Rev's arm and released it, "absolutely ..."

J--'s Trivia 'n' Tidbits ... Part 12 ...

2007-01-24T22:46:00.000-06:00

"So, did you see the article in the paper today about the drunk jury member?" asked J-- with a broad smile as he approached the table, the newpaper tucked under his arm.

"A drunk member of the jury?" asked one of the regulars, looking dumbstruck, "I've heard of judges being a bit under the weather, so too speak, but a member of the jury?"

J-- smiled broadly as he sat down at the table and unfolded the newspaper ont he table in front of him, "Says here that the woman had straight vodka in the water bottle she was sipping from through the day."

"That right?" said the second regular, "how's they find out what she was drinking?"

"She got rude and belligerent," said J--, pausing to thank Dani who brought out his tea pot and mug, "until then she was just quiet and giggly, then when the deliberation started, she became disruptive, uncooperative and eventually just passed out in the jury's room."

The two regulars started laughing, as J-- sipped his tea.

"Would make the outcome of the trial interesting," observed the first regular.

"Judge threw the case out and ordered a re-trial," said J-- smiling.

"What about double jeopardy?" asked the second regular.

"Doesn't apply here," observed J-- seriously, "everyone involved in the case did their jobs well, the problem was a juror, so the judge can order a retrial."

"I wonder who was winning before the juror passed out?" asked the first regular.

"Who passed out?" asked The Rev as he approached the table, a mug of Chipperfield Blend Coffee in his hand.

"Oh some juror in a court case in the states," answered J-- smiling, "turns out her water bottle was filled with vodka.

"That so," said The Rev, as he sat down, "I had something similar happen back in my first days in ministry."

"Really?" asked J--, his interest piqued, "you were packing around a water bottle full of vodka?"

"No, nothing like that," laughed The Rev, "when I first went into the First Nations' community on the west coast, I went down to the river one day and found a group of guys sitting around drinking out of cream soda bottles. I asked if I could have a sip, and they rather sheepishly said - 'sure'. I took a sip and realized that their cream soda had more than just cream or soda in it."

J-- slapped the table and laughed, "gin or vodka?" He asked.

"Vodka," answered The Rev.

"It's an old trick, though it works better in grape crush," laughed J--.

"Eew," said the first regular, "I heard root beer was best."

"Whatever," interupted The Rev, "back to my story," he was shaking his head as he spoke, "I made some comment about there being more than just cream soda in the bottles, and all the boys took sips and one of them yelled out - 'it's a miracle, The Rev has turned our cream soda into alcohol !!' and they all started saying - 'praise God, praise God ...' and tossed out more than a few 'Amens'."

J-- and the regulars laughed. "You turned their water into wine Rev," chortled J--.

"That's what the boys said," answered The Rev, "and for all these years I thought it was true. But after this," his finger rested on the newspaper article, "I have my doubts ..." His face had a broad smile.

The four men at the table all laughed together.

"Oh we know you can do miraculous things Rev," said J--, "we're just not sure what they are ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXIII (part 2) ...

2007-01-22T23:05:00.000-06:00

Jaydee glanced at her watch. It was 4:30 and her shift ended at 5, and Ross had yet to make an appearance.

Adeline noticed Jaydee looking at the time and chimed in, "He will be here you know?"

"Pardon?" replied Jaydee, looking slightly confused.

"I said, Ross will be here," said Adeline, "He doesn't usually come in until later on Saturdays."

"Oh, I know," said Jaydee, "I also asked him to come in this afteroon to talk to him about a promotion idea I had, remember?" her eyes sparkled as she noticed Ross walking across in front of the big picture windows. Her smile widened as J--, The Rev and a couple of other regulars appeared in front of the store and started coming in.

"I see all your phone calls worked," said Dani as she and Kriss walked out from the kitchen at the back, the two of them noting the small crowd that was forming on the sidewalk outside.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," laughed Kriss with a slight smile.

"Ross, isn't on my bad side," said Jaydee, "Yet !" She paused as she glanced out the window, noting that the small crowd was making its way to the front door, "but I want him squirm a little bit."

Kriss and Dani laughed, Adeline smiled as she retreated behind the counter to greet the group of regulars as they entered.

Ross and the others entered the store laughing and joking around. J-- winked at Jaydee, and Jaydee lowered her chin as she smiled, glancing at the box tucked behind the counter, out of view. In a moment the pieces would be in place for her gifting.

"Hi Ross," Adeline offered cheerily, "can I get you anything?"

"Nay," said Ross, glancing over at Kriss and Dani standing by the sink behind the counter, "I'm here to work ... sort of ..." His voice trailed off as he tried to make sense of why so many staff were on. Then noting that neither Dani or Kriss were wearing their uniforms he asked, "What brings you two in here today?"

"Oh I just came in for coffee," answered Dani, "I've been in town shopping."

"And I've been waiting for Craig," answered Kriss, waving her engagement ring idly before her.

Ross nodded, then turned and noted the unusualy large number of regulars who were in the shop on a Saturday afternoon. He failed to note the thump of the back door of the shop. Suddenly the entire staff was standing in the ktichen door, and Bonnie was standing in front of the ice cream cooler.

It took Ross a moment to register the unusually large number of staff and customers in the shop. Then as the penny dropped his face took on a shocked, and slightly frightened expression, "Okay, what the heck is up?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

Bonnie smiled and nodded at Jaydee who leaned down behind the counter and pulled out the box she had carried into the store earlier in the day.

"Ross, you always tell us that we need to be friendly to the customers, and invite them to sign the guest book," said Jaydee surpressing a laugh, "and after my experience yesterday with the two American Ranchers, I decided that you needed a gift."

"Yeah," interupted Kriss, "something to honour your role as a business man." The last two words seemed to be dripping in sarcasm.

"Business man?" Ross repeated as he swallowed, sensing that some ill wind was suddenly blowing through his day.

"Yeah Ross," Jaydee said, her face tight and serious, "a business man who looks after a number of women in the hospitality business ..." Her voice trailed off as she began to open the box.

Ross stood before her mute, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open. He was for the moment speechless.

J-- let out a sharp wolf whistle as Jaydee lifted from the box an enormous oversized, fuzzy, bright PURPLE fedora with a zebra patterned hat band that encircled the hat above the wide brim ...

"Ross," Jaydee surpressed a smile, "On behalf of YOUR girls, we want to give you this hat in honour of your new position as a hospitality manager for the Coffee Shop ..." as she spoke she leaned over and placed the hat firmly on his head. Ross' face reddened in contrast to the bright purple of the hat, "and, to help enhance your status and your wardrobe we also want to give you this ..." Her voice trailed off as she pulled out a thick Silver chain.

As she pulled the chain clear of the box a massive pendant that was sparkling with zirconium chips and read - "Da Boss".

The crowd in the shop laughed as Jaydee leaned over and put the pendant around Ross' neck, but before Ross could reply, she spoke, "and of course any self-respecting business man in your new line of work has to show the world how successful he is ..." Her voice again trailed off as she reached into the box and extracted another item from the box.

With a flourish she pulled out and snapped a shiny leopard skin patterned vest which she wordlessly put on Ross, who was offering no opposition. Then as her piece d'resistance, Jaydee, pulled from the box a wide lapelled sports coat in the same bright purple as the fedora. A round of applause greeted her placing the jacket on Ross, over the leopard skin patterened vest.

Ross stood quietly, saying nothing as the assembled crowd hooted, clapped and stomped their feet at the sight of Ross looking very much the part of an urban business man.

The flash of a camera snapped Ross' head to the right as he looked toward Bonnie who was happily snapping away pictures of Ross in his new uniform. Her picture taking continued as Kriss, Jaydee, Dani and Tracy all planted bright red lipstick kiss marks on his cheeks.

Ross opened his mouth to speak, but remined silent as he looked around the shop and noted the enjoyment the customers and staff were having at his expense. He simply shrugged and smiled broadly with the slaps to the back he was recieving from The Rev, J--, and some of the other regulars who were now shaking their head and smiling in delight.

Suddenly the shop fell silent as a cowboy hatted gentleman strolled in the front door. Jaydee's jaw dropped as one of her ranchers strolled in the front door with a broad smile across his face.

"Why, Hell-O Jaydee dahlin'," he said as he strolled up to the counter, "I was kinda hoping I would find y'all here."

Jaydee's face lost all emotion as her eyes widened and she glanced at Ross with a panicked look.

The rancher followed her gaze and noticed the unusual garb that Ross was wearing. He didn't speak, but instead raised an eyebrow and almost imperceptably shook his head in distain. His eyes met Ross'. Ross looking as shocked as Jaydee, merely shrugged and pulled his new fedora down over his eyes as he glanced away.

Jaydee looked that others in the shop for help, inspiration or a means of escape. In that moment none was forthcoming.

"Well, dahlin'" the rancher spoke in a heavy southern accent, "y'all didn't return any o' my calls, so I thought I could swing on back here and see if I could take you out for dinner pretty lady ..."

His words hung in the air as Jaydee struggled to utter a reply ...

(to be continued)

J--'s Trivia 'n' Tidbits ... Part 11 ...

2007-01-22T20:53:00.000-06:00

"Did you see the article in the paper today about the group of people in the States who are suing Pfizer over the little blue pill?" J-- asked as he approached the table where a couple of the regulars were sitting enjoying their coffees.

"What it didn't work for them?" chuckled one of the regulars, as the other sipped his coffee.

"Nay," said J-- as he sat down and waited as Kriss brought out his tea, "nothing like that. It seems that the little blue pill worked a bit too well."

"What the heck does that mean?" asked the second regular, setting down his coffee and watching as Kriss brought J-- his tea.

"Morning gentleman," said Kriss with a broad smile, "what are we talking about this morning?"

"The little blue pill," answered the first regular, "you know the one from Pfizer."

"Really?" said Kriss as she arched one eye brow and looked at J-- with a smirk.

"Hey?" snapped J-- laughing, "We're not talking about the little blue pill personally, I was just telling them about the law suit that some group in the US have launched against Pfizer over the little blue pill." The last syllables were stressed heavily.

"Yeah," laughed Kriss, "sure. Likely story." She turned and walked away smiling and chuckling.

"It's not about me," protested J--, holding up the newspaper, "it's about an article in here." He waved the paper as he spoke.

"Sure, sure," said Kriss, "I believe you." Her voice was dripping in sarcasm.

"Man," J--, shook his head and smiled, "now she's gonna think I'm on the blue pill."

"Are you?" asked the second regular.

"Not telling one way or the other," said J--.

"So, back to this law suit," said the first regular, "what does the article say?"

"Oh yeah," said J--, looking slightly startled, "I had forgotten about the article." He opened the paper and unfolded it searching out the article, "It's right here," his finger pointed at a small article, "it says that the company was marketing the pill to social circles where it would be used to enhance 'one's sexual prowess'."

"Really?" scoffed the first regular.

"Really!!" answered J--, "they claim that Pfizer encouraged the recreational use of the little blue pill and as a result gay men on the party circuit used it and exposed themselves to HIV and AIDS and other STDs, and now they want to sue Pfizer."

"STDs?" asked the first regular.

"Sexually transmitted diseases," answered J--, his voice expressing his disbelief.

"NOW what are you talking about?" asked Kriss, who had just approached the table to clear off the empty cups.

J-- winced, "we're still talking about the article in the newspaper." His voice sounded more like a plea than a statement.

"Sure, sure," Kriss' face was fighting back a smile, "little blue pills, STDs ... " she paused as she feigned shock, "I don't want to expose my tender ears to such talk ..." she tightened her mouth as she fought back a smile, "THIS is a family place you know ..."

The two regulars laughed as J--, smiled broadly and just shook his head.

"I'm telling you," J-- pleaded, "It's all in the article ..." his finger pointed a the newspaper sitting on the table in front of him, "we're talkign about the article."

"Sure, sure," snickered Kriss as she turned back towards the kitchen, her shoulders shaking from her surpressed laughter.

J-- was left shaking his head and smiling.

"So, about that article," said the first regular, "these guys use the blue pill and now they want the drug company held responsible for their stupidity and foolishness?"

"They want to sue the company?" asked the second regular.

"Yup," answered J--, "they claim that they wouldn't have engaged in such high risk behaviour if it hadn't been for the advertisements encouraging them to use the blue pill recreationally in a reckless manner."

"You're serious about this?" said the first regular.

"It's right here," J--'s finger landed on the article. The first regular leaned over and began reading the article and chuckled.

"It's too bad for the guys who got infected," said the first regular shaking his head, "but how can the company be held responsible?"

"The ads on TV say clearly that the pill doesn't prevent any transmittable diseases," said the second regular.

"Really?" snickered J-- with a broad smile, "you been watching the ads?"

"Watching the ads," said the second regular, "but I didn't say I needed, nor used the pill ..." He lifted his coffee and took a sip as he smiled and winked. The three men laughed.

Helping Breast Cancer Research:

2007-01-21T22:35:00.000-06:00

Today at the real life Chipperfield Coffee Company, Bonnie and Ross launched a new awareness and fundraising initiative ... Behold: The Breast Cancer Research Stix To Go, for our coffee cup lids !!

Gone are the red, blue, green and purple shaped lid plugs, and in their place are these lovely pink ribbon festooned lid plugs that remind us of an important issue that touches the lives of women of all ages ... Breast Cancer is something that touches every life in some way ... we all know survivors and sufferers ... and because of that, we all need to be part of the support for Research into preventing and treating this disease.

Today, Chipperfield Coffee Company took the plunge - not only are the small white lid plugs a very visual reminder to the customers and the community of the importance of this issue, the large jar under the microwave by the jukebox machine, by the computer is a way of raising awareness, and in time, money for Breast Cancer Research: Each time the jar is filled, Chipperfield Coffee Company will make a donation to Breast Cancer Research in honour of their loyal customers who have brought back the white plastic lid plugs, rather than simply tossing them out ... So, in the coming days, tuck that lid plug into your pocket and bring it back.

It sounds cliche - but Cancer can be beaten ... all it needs is you and I each doing our part ... and at Chipperfield's it's as simple as saving a little piece of plastic and tucking it into a jar !!!

Thanks Bonnie and Ross ... This idea is a GOOD ONE !!!

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXIII ...

2007-01-21T21:57:00.000-06:00

Jaydee came back from her lunch break with a parcel tucked under her arm.

"What's in the bag?" asked Adeline, brushing a stray clump of blonde hair out of her eyes.

"A gift for Ross," snapped Jaydee, her face set and noticably unsmiling.

"He do something wrong?" asked Adeline.

"Not him," said Jaydee as she rounded the counter, the parcel still tucked under her arm, "just his dumb ideas."

"What's he done this time," asked Adeline, leaning against the counter, the spray bottle of sanitizer in hand, "another one of his crazy schemes or something?"

"No nothing like that," Jayee's face softened into a smile, "It's just ..." she paused and put the parcel down, "you know how Ross is always saying we need to remember to be friendly to the customers and chat with them when we are serving them?"

"Yeah," Adeline's eyes widened, "what happened?"

"Well," Jaydee looked around the store, the only customers were a couple of the women who come in each afternoon for tea. They were out of earshot, so she continued, "yesterday there were two American tourists in here."

"The ranchers?" asked Adeline, her eyes widening even more, "the big guys with the cowboy books and the cowboy hats."

"That's them," Jaydee paused, "you weren't working. How did you know about them?"

"They came in last night when I was on," said Adeline, "and they were looking for you."

Jaydee gasped, "You're kidding?" Adeline shook her head.

"They were looking for me last night too?" Jaydee's voice was a loud whisper, "what did you tell them?"

"It wasn't me that talked to them," said Adeline, "it was Tracy, and she told them you were off for a couple of days."

"Oh," Jaydee sounded relieved, "thank God. I was worried for a moment."

"So, tell me about yesterday?" urged Adeline, her hands gripping the spray bottle as though she were about to strangle it. "What happened?"

"Well, these two guys come in," said Jaydee, "the two cowboys. And I know right away that they aren't from around here. Their accents alone gave them away. So, like Ross says all the time, I asked them to sign the guest book."

"So, we ask people to sign the guest book all the time," observed Adeline, "what's the big deal about that?"

"It wasn't the signing of the guest book that was the problem," said Jaydee quietly, "it was the conversation around the signing that was."

Adeline's face had no expression, "I don't get it." she said quietly.

"You will," replied Jaydee, "you will."

Jaydee stepped up to the counter and served a customer a large Chipperfield to go, before continuing, "So, these two guys invite me to sit down with them while they are signing the guest book. And they start chatting with me. I foolishly ask, 'what brings you to Canada?' and it turns out they both are looking to buy some ranch land up here, and so heard West Man was a good place to start looking."

"So?" said Adeline, looking bewildered slightly.

"It was the obvious attempt to pick me up that was the problem," said Jaydee her eyes glaring at Adeline.

"Pick you up?" Adeline said clearly confused, "but you're married. Why would they try to pick ..." her voice trailed off as her mouth formed a soundless 'O', "Oh I get it now!" She exclaimed.

"Exactly," said Jaydee, now smirking slightly, "these two were trying to pick me up right here in the store, all because I followed Ross' crazy edict that we need to chat up the customers and flirt with the a bit."

"Flirt with them?" marvelled Adeline, "he's never told ME to flirt with them."

"Okay, not exactly flirt with them," said Jaydee shaking her head, "those are my words not his. But you know what I mean. Ross wants us to be extra friendly to our customers and to make them feel special and important."

Adeline shrugged,"I guess it does sound like flirting doesn't it?"

Jaydee nodded her head in agreement, "So, anyway, these two guys both invite me to come along with them as they look at ranches and land and so on, then they offer to take me out for dinner and maybe some dancing in Brandon or somewhere."

Adeline's eyes were again wide with wonder, "Did you go?"

"NO!" hissed Jaydee under her breath, "but they wouldn't take no for an answer. They wanted to know what time I was off, and what my number was and so on."

"Why didn't you tell them you were married?" asked Adeline.

"I don't think they cared one way or another," said Jaydee, "they had one thing on their minds and it was ME."

"Wow," Adeline's mouth formed another 'O'. "Did you tell Ross about it?"

"Yeah," said Jaydee, her mouth forming a frown, "and he just laughed. He thought it was big joke or something. I told him about it and he said he was just trying to pimp us out for extra profits for the company."

"Seriously," Adeline's face was filled with shock and wonder, "He said that?"

"He was kidding," said Jaydee, doing her best to reassure Adeline, "but he didn't see the problem with the two cowboys trying to pick me up. He said 'consider it a compliment' and just laughed."

"So why are you giving him a gift?" Adeline motioned to the parcel Jaydee was holding, "if he's not taking you seriously is it a good idea to give him a present after all that?"

"Oh this present is more than a good idea," laughed Jaydee, "afterall, if he wants to pimp us out, he might as well look the part ..." Her voice trailed off as a customer came up to the counter and ordered a specialty latte. Adeline shook her head and went out to clear off the tables and use the spray bottle she had been holding so tightly.

(to be continued ...)

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LXII ...

2007-01-20T10:11:00.000-06:00

Ross pushed the button on the handset and slammed it down on the counter beside with the cash register with more force then he intended. Beside him Madeline jumped, Kriss, working behind him by the espresso machine turned and gave him a glare.

"Easy cowboy," Kriss said looking over her shoulder, "just cause you're sleeping with boss doesn't mean you can trash the place." She paused for a moment, "that is assuming you aren't sleeping on the couch ..." a broad smile crossed her face.

"Har Har," said Ross, as he blushed slightly, "I didn't mean to slam down the phone, but the call just made me mad."

"Talking to The Rev again?" asked Madeline, with a smirk.

"No," Kriss turned and put two specialty lattes on the counter for her customer with a smile, "The Rev isn't talking to Ross since the whole Prairie Spring Ministry fiasco."

"That's not true," said Ross, his voice resembling a bleat, "he is talking to me ..." He paused as he considered his next statement, "we just don't talk about certain things ..."

"Like anything beyond the weather?" taunted Kriss with a smile.

"So, what was the call about?" asked Madeline, "anything important?"

"Not really," answered Ross, looking relieved by the shift in direction, he glanced around the store before continuing, "it was my son. You know the one who has been having problems with the former secretary at his office."

Both women nodded.

"Well, it turns out that she's been still spreading rumours about him, and has threatened to go to the police about him," Ross shrugged as he finished.

"About him?" said Kriss with a laugh, "you gotta love people like that. They have their problems and instead of looking in the mirror and dealing with their crap, they want to pull everyone else down to thier level." She turned her attention to cleaning the espresso machine as she shook her head.

Ross' eyebrows raised, "that was profound," he sputtered, "and a little scary coming from you of all people ..." his voice trailed off.

"Oh, I've been there," said Kriss, "I've lived through the horrors of small town gossip." She shook her head again, "most of it is nonsense and hurtful and comes from small minded spite filled people who will never achieve anything in their life, and try to destroy others as a result of it ..."

Ross interupted her, his jaw hanging open, "What?" He sputtered again, "where are you getting all of this?"

"I'm just naturally brilliant Ross," Kriss' face was dead pan, her blue eyes sparkling with underlying mirth, "you should know that by now ..."

For a long moment no one spoke, a slight smile danced at the corners of Kriss' mouth, but she resisted.

Ross simply shook his head and turned to retreat into the kitchen at the back. As he left Kriss' face broke into a broad smile.

"Where DID you learn all that?" asked Madeline, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Oh it was in a book that The Rev recommended in his blog," said Kriss with a smile, "it's about working with psychopaths and how to deal with them ..."

"OH," Madeline nodded her head in understanding, "I saw that too. You read it?"

"Parts of it," said Kriss, "I was at the library when he brought it back so I signed it out."

"Good book?" asked Madeline.

"Not bad," answered Kriss, "but a bit frightening. It makes you realize what kind of mess screwed up people can create when no one stops them."

"Oh yeah," said Madeline nodding in agreement.

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXI ...

2007-01-18T21:34:00.000-06:00

"So," J-- approached the table where a couple of other regulars were seated, "how's things?"

"Good," answered the first.

"Fine," answered the second as he turned and glanced out the window, "you driving new wheel?" his thumb hitched towards the window as he turned back.

J-- grinned like a cheshire cat, "Yeah, ain't she sweet?"

"That the car you've been waiting for all this time," asked The Rev as he approached the table, coffee in hand.

J--'s grin widened, "Absolutely," he sat down at the table with his tea, "nice aint it?"

"I guess," said The Rev as he sat at the table, "for an import."

"What?" squawked J--, "an 'Import' !! Why that's a product of some of the finest European engineering."

"Saw you fiddling with glove box," said The Rev quietly, "problem with the engineering?"

"You saw that?" said J--, his eyes narrowing, "when?"

"When you were pulling up," said The Rev, "is there a problem with the glove box?"

"The latch is broken," J--'s shoulders sagged slightly, "I closed it too hard this morning. And with the cold and everything ..."

"Fine European engineering," snorted the first regular. The Rev raised his eyebrows and smiled as he lifted his coffee to his lips and took a sip.

"You guys," snapped J--, "none of you know a fine car when you see it. That," he paused as he pointed out the window, "is one of the finest automobiles ever put on the road. And when I'm filling up behind restaurants for cheap, don't come crying to me."

"So you like the french fry wagon then?" asked the second regular.

"Don't be calling it a french fry wagon," laughed J--, "it's a highly tuned diesel hybrid."

"French Fry Wagon," chimed the two regulars and The Rev simultaneously.

"Hey," called Jay-dee with a smile from behind the counter, "If you don't simmer down, I'll have to throw you all out ..." her eyes narrowed into a stern expression that was tempered by the smile she was trying to surpress. She glanced around the busy store before heading over to the table. As she approached she asked, "what are you guys arguing about anyway?"

"Oh we're not arguing," answered The Rev, waving his hand towards J--, "we're just discussing J--'s hot new wheels."

"You FINALLY GOT YOUR CAR??" Jay-dee exploded excitedly, "Really?"

"Shhhhhh," said J--, waving his hand at her, "otherwise, we'll have to throw YOU out ..." he laughed as he spoke, "yes, I got my car," he looked out the front window, "it's sitting out there."

"I can't believe it," said Jay-dee excitedly, "you've been waiting months for that car."

"Months?" scoffed the first regular, "it seems like he's been waiting since they lifted the war time embargo on Volk-vagens for that car," his voice emphasising the Teutonic pronounciation of Volkswagen.

"Har, har" smiled J--, "you guys are just too funny." He turned to Jay-dee who was smiling broadly, "I guess you've earned the first ride."

"You can pick me up at 4 when I'm done work," she said very excitedly with a broad smile, "I can hardly wait."

"It's only a car," observed The Rev dryly, "and it's a small car to boot."

"It's a precision piece of German engineering ..." J-- began only to be cut off by the second regular.

"Yeah and Hyundai, really is Korean for reliable," he said.

"And IKEA really is Swedish for common sense," observed the first regular.

"Funny," said J-- smiling as he shook is head, "very very funny ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LX ...

2007-01-09T22:17:00.000-06:00

The door opened and closed with a loud whump, partially from the wind, and paritally from the speed at which Ross entered the store.

"Is he here?" Ross asked as he rounded the counter.

"Who?" asked Bonnie, looking up at Ross, "and why are you coming in the front door?"

"The Rev," answered Ross, glancing around the seating area and nodding at J--, who was in his usual spot by the wall, "Is The Rev here?"

"Haven't seen him yet this morning," answered J--, smiling.

"Ross!" Bonnie's voice was sharp and had a parental tone, "Why are you flying in the front door like you've seen a ghost? AND why are you looking for The Rev."

"I think he's trying to avoid The Rev," answered Jaydee, fighting not to laugh.

Ross was glancing around the store and out the front windows much like a caged animal will pass and glance about nervously.

"Ross," Bonnie again snapped, "calm down will you. The Rev isn't here, and you don't have to be afraid of him anyway."

"I would be so sure about the last part," said J--, now laughing, "and it is almost 10 o'clock, so The Rev is due in anytime." J-- paused for effect, before finishing his thought, "if he comes in today."

Ross glanced nervously out the front window as though he expected The Rev to suddenly materialize on the sidewalk out side.

"Why are you so worked up?" asked J--, as he stood and walked towards the counter where Ross was standing before Bonnie and Jaydee, "and what's in the box."

"Umm," Ross glanced out the front window for the umpteenth time, "I'm not worked up," he stammered his words slightly, "I just want to show him my latest idea."

"Oh God Ross, what are you doing now?" groaned Bonnie, "did you just get The Rev settled down after you Prairie Spring Ministries idea?"

"Hey, we're still making good money off of that," answered J--, motioning to the pile of envelopes he had been opening at the table by the wall.

"So, that's what you were up to over there," Bonnie spoke in a low monotone voice, bordering on a growl, "I kind of wondered if you were in cahoots with Ross."

"This isn't a ministry idea," said Ross pulling the small cardboard box tighter under his arm.

"Then what is it?" said Bonnie, her eyes narrowing.

"A sales opportunity," answered Ross, holding the box tightly.

"What kind of a sales opportunity Ross?" asked Bonnie, her voice sounding out each syllable concisely, much like the computer voice in 2001 A Space Odyssey.

"Let me see," said J--, snatching the box out from under Ross' arm and pulling it open in one fluid motion. He gasped as he opened the box and then began laughing as he withdrew a small yellow box from within, "are you planning on selling these?"

J-- held aloft a Jesus Bobble-head doll in a bright yellow box.

"Ross !!" Bonnie gasped.

"Oh My God," snorted Jaydee.

"Let me explain," offered Ross in a choked voice, "it's not like it seems."

"It's not like it seems," answered Bonnie incredulously, "if it's not what it seems, then what is IT?"

"Umm," Ross hesitated as he tried to find the right words, "well, you know the advertising campaign that the United Church is doing," around him all three heads nodded, "and you know how The Rev is quite taken with the campaign and the Jesus Bobble-heads?" again heads nodded in assent, "well, I just thought that ..."

"Please tell me you just bought him one for a gift," Bonnie's voice bordered on a plea.

"Well," Ross paused, "we could give him one as a gift ..."

Bonnie interupted him, "WE??" she snapped, "what do you mean WE?"

"I," Ross corrected himself, "I could give him one as a gift, but I thought we could sell them as part of the Prairie Spring Ministries."

"I thought you shut that down?" Bonnie's voice was like a gutteral hiss, "You DID shut it down didn't you?"

"Well," Ross glanced at J--.

"Hey, leave me out of this mess," J-- raised his hands as he shrugged his shoulders, "I never thought it was a good idea, I only agreed to open the mail and deposit the cheques."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed again as she glared at J--, then she turned her withering glare to Ross, "what do YOU have to say for yourself."

"Nothing," said Ross, swallowing, "I just thought that if we had something like this," his finger pointed to the bobble head sitting on the table, "that we could attract a whole new demographic to the ministry web site."

"Oh God," Bonnie groaned and held on to the post beside the till for support, "you can't be serious about this can you?"

Jaydee's eyes widened, her face fighting off a smile, she glanced at J-- who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. When their eyes met, they both burst out laughing. Bonnie shot Jaydee a glare.

"I wouldn't want to fire you," Bonnie snarled at Jaydee, and glancing at J-- she added, "and I wouldn't want to throw you out." In reply both Jaydee and J-- burst out laughing again.

"Bonnie," Ross' voice was definitely a plea, "Hear me out."

"Oh I'll hear you out," snapped Bonnie, "then I might throw you and your toys out." She paused and her face suddenly changed as though she had a very new and very ominous thought, "Ross." Bonnie paused as though she were measuring her words, "HOW many of those thing did you order?" Her hand motioned to the bobble-head.

"A few?" offered Ross, looking nervous.

"A few?" replied Bonnie, looking unconvinced.

"A couple of dozen?" offered Ross.

"A couple of dozen," said Bonnie, "how many exactly is a couple of dozen?"

"A hundred, or so ..." ventured Ross, his eyes avoiding Bonnie's.

"A hundred?" Bonnie shrieked, "How much are they?"

"With that number, I got them wholesale," offered Ross hopefully.

"How much?" Bonnie's voice returned to the Hal-like tone.

"Seven bucks each," said Ross.

"Canadian?" asked Bonnie, her eyes widening.

"Um," Ross paused before he continued, "American."

"Oh God," said Bonnie her hand tightening on the post, "Ross, how could you?"

"We'll sell them for 15," said Ross, his voice sounding hopeful, "and I bought them with the money we've taken in from the Prairie Springs Ministry. It didn't cost a us a dime."

"That IS true," said J--, the smile still plastered on his face, "there's been a serious amount of money taken in from the sales of the merchandise and the holy water packets."

"I thought you weren't going to do THAT!?" Bonnie's statement was more of question than a statement, "I thought you to The Rev you were shutting it down."

"Well, we were going to ..." said Ross as the front door opened. All four heads turned to see The Rev strolling in the front door. The smile on his face faded as he saw the four of them standing by the counter together, then he noticed the bobble-head sitting on the table and his eye brows furrowed.

"Oh God, now what?" asked The Rev his hand lifting the Bobble-head.

"Oh you don't want to know ..." said Jaydee, her eyes wide with wonder, and her lips fighting back a smile, "you really don't want to know."

Ross smiled and swallowed ...

Some Blogs to check out over Coffee:

2007-01-06T18:39:00.000-06:00

Whether you're sitting in Chipperfields' at the Internet station, or at home - I would humbly offer the trio of blogs listed below as places to check out ... they are worth the visit:

1) Damn Cool Pics - Cool, funny, crazy and weird pictures and videos loaded daily - or so the creator claims. The site has a veritable wealth of images and just plain funky pictures that are fun, entertaining and simply fascinating. I particularly like the recent Beer Can Truck series and the Images of Spheres ... wonderfully creative ... Check it out: Damn Cool Pics

2) Post Secret - an ongoing art project wherein people are encouraged to write out their secrets on a post card and send them in ... It's fascinating, disturbing and at times shocking. I've laughed, I've cried and I've gasped - it is an amazing site that is updated each Sunday and is well worth the visit ... Check it out: PostSecret

3) Aerophant (saving the best till last) - a collection of "fleeting observation, very short stories, brief histories and amazing tales of derring do", Aerophant is one of the newest blogs to his the net. Created and maintained by a talented and creative American woman currently living in California, it is a place with HUGE potential. Tai has just gotten started through the encouragement of Katie, the creator of At the Half Note (there is a lovely introduction over on Katie's Blog), and the site has enormous potential. Tai is a creative soul and a great writer to boot, so visit it and just savour her undertaking (as a book collector - I particularly enjoy one of her latest postings) ... Check it out: Aerophant

It's been a while ...

2006-12-22T23:17:00.000-06:00

Alright ... I'll admit to it ... I've been suffering from a bout of writer's block when it comes to the adventures and misadventures of the crew at Chippefield's ... It's been awhile since I've had a story come into being ... I hope it lifts soon ...

In the meantime - the real life Chipperfield Coffee Company is festooned for Christmas ... there are decorations and special Christmasy menu items, and lately the staff have been wearing goofy - oops, I mean "Seasonal" hats ... and if you're stuck for last minute gift ideas in the last couple of days - they have a HUGE selection of gift items - edible and otherwise.

If you have a chance before Christmas to stop in - go for it ... Wish the crew a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ... In the meantime, take a moment to bounce over to a blog site I've found with some awesome pictures of Latte Art You may not get Latte's that look quite like that at Chipperfield's - but they are very good ... and with the new customers cards you can mark off your card with each visit and after 12, you get a freebie.

Check out the BLOG with the Latte art, then head over to Chipperfield's for a visit ... it's a good way to pass some time ...

(and stay tuned - my writer's block HAS to lift sometime ...)

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LIX ...

2006-12-03T21:59:00.000-06:00

"Um ..." Ross paused before spoke, "How are you Rev?" he turned with a forced smile to greet The Rev who was standing behind him holding a take out coffee cup in one hand and a tiny plastic lid plug in the other.

"Good morning Ross," said The Rev, his tone flat, his face expressionless, "something you want to tell me?" as he spoke the take out coffee cup with the cup sleeve bearing his likeness moved slightly upward and towards Ross.

"Oh that?" Ross swallowed as he glanced over towards Jaydee and Kriss who were standing behind the counter watching to see what was about to transpire. The two customers standing in line waiting for their orders were equally enraptured by the unfolding of events.

Drawing a breath Ross continued, "Um ... well ..." he hesitated again, "Well, it's like this ..."

The Rev stared at Ross. Behind Ross sitting at the table with a broad grin on his face sat J--, who was taking obvious delight in what was unfolding before him.

"Ross?" The Rev's tone remained flat, "What were you thinking?" as he spoke he jiggled the cup again drawing attention to the advertisement on the cup sleeve for the Prairie Spring Ministry.

"I guess that's the point," Ross chuckled as he spoke, "I wasn't really thinking. I was just trying to get something going, and the idea of making some money got the better of me."

"Making money?" asked The Rev, his voice remaining monotone.

"Yeah," answered Ross a smile cracking his face, the red in his cheek diminishing, "I've already gotten letters about this stuff."

"The packages of Holy Water?" asked The Rev.

"And your sermons," answered Ross moving past The Rev to the counter where Kriss and Jaydee suddenly resumed their duties and tried to pretend that they hadn't been listening or watching the drama unfolding in the corner. Ross ducked down behind the counter and pulled out a cardboard storage box that he opened as he stepped back towards The Rev. "This is the mail we got this week alone. There's over forty letters in here, all with donations."

"Mail?" asked The Rev remaining unmoved, "Donations? How long have you been doing the cup sleeves to be getting mail and donations?"

"Oh no," answered Ross, "the mail isn't from the cup sleeves. The mail is from the advertisements I've put in a bunch of regional publications and monthly newspapers letting people know about this bold new preacher and his ministry."

"And you were going to tell me when?" asked The Rev.

"When he cut you the first cheque," answered J--, laughing while he sat at the table.

"The first cheque?" ventured The Rev, "you were planning to buy me off?"

"No, nothing like that," answered Ross, his voice sounding choked, "I wouldn't try to buy you off. I know you're not interested in the cash. I wanted the ministry to be up and running and successful, then I was going to let you in on it."

"You're using my sermons and writings," replied The Rev quietly, "and you weren't going to tell me until you felt it was successful. Did you think you could keep me in the dark about this forever."

"Yup," said J-- slapping the table as he laughed, "He had you pegged as a mushroom."

"A mushroom?" asked The Rev, a slight smile crossing his face, "keep me in the dark and feed me horsesh..."

"Not exactly," interupted Ross, "I never thought of you as a mushroom. I just wanted to know this was going to work before I got your hopes up."

"My hopes up?" pressed The Rev, "why would I have hopes about some online and mail order ministry? I'm interested in the work I have to do here."

"Yeah, but this is a way for lots of people to connect with your stuff," replied Ross smiling until he noticed that The Rev wasn't smiling.

"Ross, I'm not interested in having lots of people connecting with my stuff, I have enough to do here with the work I do in this community," The Rev's head shook imperceptibly.

"Busted," laughed J-- from the corner. Kriss and Jaydee both looked up briefly and smiled as they went back to their work.

Ross opened his mouth to speak, but paused as he noticed Bonnie walking out of the kitchen and heading up to the cash register. Ross' eyes followed Bonnie as she walked up the front. The Rev and J-- both followed Bonnie, which in turn drew Bonnie's attention. She paused in front of the cooler and noted the three men watching her.

"What?" asked Bonnie, smiling nervously.

"Nothing," muttered Ross, "nothing at all."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed and she stepped up to the till. Then glancing to her left she noticed the stack of cup sleeves and the bowl of lid plugs. She gasped and reached out to the bowl. Picking up one of the plugs she turned it around in her fingers, examining carefully the tiny picture of Ross that was prominent on the top of the plug. Bonnie cast a withering glare at Ross as she glanced down again and picked up one of the cup sleeves and looked at the advertisement on it for the Prairie Springs Ministry. Bonnie closed her eyes before drawing a breath.

"Ross," Bonnie's voice sounded far calmer than she felt inside, "what have you done?"

"Busted," laughed J--, again striking the table top with his hand.

"You said that already," observed Ross, glancing quickly at J--.

"Yeah but this time I mean it," laughed J--, shaking his head.

"Honey," Ross offered hopefully, "Let me explain ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LVIII ...

2006-12-02T23:48:00.000-06:00

Jaydee was working behind the counter, J-- was still at the corner table reading the morning paper, and Kriss was busy serving a customer when Ross walked out of the kitchen.

"Morning J--," Ross called as he filled his coffee mug and headed over to his table.

"Morning Ross," answered J-- as he folded up the newspaper and looked up.

Ross noted the empty take out cup and the lid plug with his smiling face on it, "I see you've seen the newest feature at Chipperfields?" Ross said idly as he sat down.

"Yeah," said J-- smiling, "and I am particularly fond of the new Church you're trying to get started ..."

"Oh," Ross' eyes bugged slightly, "That. Yeah. I wasn't really planning on launching that yet, but it just sort of happened."

"Just sort of happened?" asked J--, a broad grin crossing his face, "how does using someone else for something like this 'sort of' happen?"

"Well," Ross gulped as he answered, then took a sip of his coffee before he continued, "I didn't actually intend to let this out until I had talked to The Rev. It was kind of connected to some of my other ideas."

"What other ideas?" asked J--, still smiling.

"Well, the lid plugs, the cup sleeves and the stay-cations," said Ross, "I want to diversify the investments I have and branch out, and if I can bring some economic development to the community it would be nice."

"Somebody has to do it," answered J--, "because there's no one else doing it in town right now."

"Anyway," replied Ross, "my plan was to get all of this stuff together and show it to The Rev and then invite him to put the Prairie Spring Ministry piece in ..."

"But you jumped the gun?" pressed J--.

"Not jumped the gun," observed Ross, "I kind of panicked the other day when I found a blog about a stay-cation, and I thought that the idea might be slipping away."

"Stay-cation?" marveled J--, "you're still on the Stay-cation idea?"

"Absolutely," replied Ross, "I think the stay-cation kits have a huge potential. We just need to get busy and do them. I will put up the cash and bring the investors together, but I need The Rev to do the creative writing and the PR part."

"He is good at it," observed J--.

"Absolutely," replied Ross, "he's very good at it. But he hasn't committed to helping yet."

"So what made you panic like a little girl?" asked J--, his smile broadening.

"I didn't panic like a little girl," answered Ross, "I just jumped the gun."

"I thought you just said you didn't jump the gun?" asked J--.

"Listen to what I mean, NOT what I say," snapped Ross. For his part J-- just smiled and chuckled.

Ross took a sip of his coffee before continuing, "I was cruising the net the other day and I found a blog by a woman in Philadelphia, who was about to take a vacation to Madrid."

"So, what's so special about that?" asked J--, the smile fading slightly as he listened,"people take trips all the time."

"Yeah, but that's the whole point here," said Ross, looking around the shop before continuing, "She posted the whole itinerary of her trip, and then did two or three blog entries a day about what she was doing and where she was going. She even posted shots of the rooms where she was supposedly staying in Madrid."

"What do you mean supposedly?" asked J-- the smile gone, his attention rapt on Ross.

"Well, she carried it off for a week or so, then she was outted," said Ross.

"Outted?" asked J--, "what does 'Outted' mean?"

"Somebody figured out that she wasn't actually in Madrid," answered Ross, "they tracked her IP address and realized she was still posting from her home IP, and then they looked closely at the pictures she was posting, and the pictures of her apartment she had posted previously, and they put two and two together and got four ..."

"Four?" asked J--.

"Four," answered Ross triumphantly, "they outted her as a liar. She hadn't gone on a vacation to Madrid at all. She stayed home and in her words had a 'Stay at home vacation."

"Stay at home vacation," repeated J-- shaking his head, "and you connected this to your stay-cation idea how?"

"Well, it was a stretch," said Ross, "until she described the items she had gathered from Thrift stores and Import businesses so she had souvenirs from Madrid, and the pictures and post cards she had searched out to give her trip a sense of place."

"What about the pictures of where she was staying?" asked J--, "you said she posted pictures of the rooms she was staying in in Madrid. How did she fake those?"

"She re-arranged her furniture," answered Ross, "then she bought some new furnishings and knick-knacks and made up her apartment like a hotel or hostel or whatever ... the windows gave her away though. In almost all the pictures, the view out the window was the same. That one detail gave her away."

J-- paused and stared at Ross for a long moment before speaking, "Okay, I'm confused here." J-- observed, "how does any of this have anything at all to do with your hare-brained ideas and business ventures like lid plugs, cup sleeves, holy water and stay-cations?"

"Directly they have no connection," said Ross flatly, "but indirectly, they are connected."

"How?" the volume of J--'s voice drew the attention of both Jaydee and Kriss who looked up from behind the counter with quizzical looks.

"Shhhh," laughed Jaydee as she held a finger up to her lips.

"Sorry," answered J-- with a matching laugh.

Ross glanced over at the women, then back to J--, "The indirect connection," he continued unabated, "is that in Philadelphia a woman came up with a stay-cation idea without even realizing it, and all it would take would be for some idiot out there to say - 'what a great idea!' and to run with it and we've lost an opportunity."

"Some idiot already came up with the idea," observed J-- in a whisper as he sipped his coffee.

"Exactly," agreed Ross, then he paused and reflected on what J-- had just said. His eyes narrowed as he continued, "I decided that I needed to act fast before lost the opportunities."

"Yeah, like someone else is going to put your picture on lid plugs," observed J-- as he lifted the lid plug from the table and held it aloft for Ross to see, "or someone else is going to put The Rev's face on cup sleeves and open a ministry without him knowing."

"That's not what I meant," pleaded Ross, "I meant ..."

Ross was interupted by a voice behind him, "Good Day gentleman."

Ross' face blanched, then reddened. The smile on J-- face stretched to the breaking point.

"Hello Rev," answered J-- his voice stretching out each syllable, "getting a coffee to go I see?" The smile on J--'s face broaded even more.

The Rev nodded, in his left hand he held the take out coffee cup with a sleeve bearing his image, while in his right he held aloft a tiny lid plug bearing an image of Ross. J-- noted that The Rev's fingers were gripping the lid plug rather tightly.

The shop had fallen silent. Kriss and Jaydee we both staring, the other customers had paused in their conversation and consumption of coffee and other refreshments to watch, and Ross stood stock still, his back to The Rev ...

Tea Time at Chipperfield's ...

2006-11-27T21:11:00.000-06:00

Can you imagine a better way to spend a cold winter's evening than

by enjoying one of the fine selections of loose tea from Chipperfield's?

Hidden "Treasures" ??

2006-11-27T16:04:00.000-06:00

Renovations are always interesting ... you usually find unexpected things. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just plain interesting ... This weekend at Chipperfield Coffee Company, a bit of work in the basement revealed some hidden Treasures ...

Stuffed in the rafters of the basement were two partially eaten bags of Hawkins Cheezies (circa - late 1960's) and a couple of empty tins of 7-up from the same era.

The scary thing is that the Cheezies inside the bags really don't look all that different from the one's you can pick up (for more than 10 cents) at the stores down the street ... So far we haven't found anyone brave enough to try them to see if they taste the same ... ANY VOLUNTEERS???

There is much pondering of which Chipperfield child may have stashed these vintage cheezies in the rafters while Dad was working upstairs ... Personally, I put my coin on Ron. When we did renovations to our house (The Chipperfield House) we found some old Coca-cola bottles under the floor of the closet in what was once his room ...

Regardless of how they got there ... the cheezies and the pop can are an interesting conversation piece from a by-gone era ... One customer today claimed they could be her's - she used to hang out in the basement with the youngest Chipperfield child Susan and they often snuck snacks of pop, chips and cheezies ... It's possible ...

It's good to know that the Chipperfield Coffee Company is adding to the stories that go with the old Building on Main St that has been an integral part of Minnedosa's history for SO many years ... I wonder what future renovations will find from our era in the walls and rafters of the buildings we take for granted in our lives??? What secrets will be revealed then ???

Hmm ...

A Night on Broadway at the Rotary Revue ...

2006-11-27T00:53:00.000-06:00

Bonnie and Ross were among the many corporate sponsors who helped make tonight's Rotary Revue a smashing success ... What is the Rotary Revue? asks our out of town readers ...

Well, the Rotary Revue is an annual concert that The Minnedosa Rotary Club hosts with delicious fancy coffees (supplied by none other than our own Chipperfield Coffee Company) and delectible desserts prepared and served by our own Rotarians (and their spouses). The musical entertainment is supplied by the Strathclair Theatre Chorus, a group of local singers who perform a series of concerts in the West-Man area.

This year's musical selections come from a variety of Broadway musicals ... It was a wonderful evening of fellowship, food and great music ... a good time was had by all ... And the gals from Chipperfield's that came with Bonnie and Ross seemed to have a good time ... They were dressed up and looking lovely ...

But one highlight came in the dessert line when the following was overheard:

Woman: "Do you have sex in a pan?"

Rotarian: "Is that an offer or a request?"

Woman: "Oh my gawd, I can't believe I said that ... It's a dessert."

Rotarian: "Really? Is that what they're calling it now?"

Woman: "It has chocolate and whipped cream with chocolate cake."

Rotarian: "Sounds good to me ..."

Woman (turning red): "Sex in a pan is a dessert ..."

Rotarian: "Really !! So, what's the main course then?"

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LVII ...

2006-11-27T00:12:00.000-06:00

One of the regulars approached the counter, with greetings to J-- and the crew sitting in front of the juke box he smiled at Jaydee as he spoke, "I'll have a large Chipperfield's to go please."

"To go?" said Jaydee, "you usually have it here?" she was puzzled, then she noted his work clothes, "oh, you're on the train today?"

"Yeah," answered the regular, "my partner is off and so they're moving us around a bit to cover. I'm starting my day a couple hours earlier than usual."

"Well," Jaydee smiled as she slid the cup across the counter towards him, "atleast you'll be done a couple hours earlier ..."

"Yeah," came the reply from the regular, but the words rang hollow, his attention was captured by the cup Jaydee had placed in front of him, "What in the hell is THAT?" he asked as he surveyed the cup and the lid plug.

"Ross' new idea," answered Jaydee, her eyes looking down at the till, intentionally avoiding any eye contact, "he came up with it last week ..." her voice trailed off ...

"Pretty sweet isn't it?" J-- said grinning like the cheshire cat and nodding.

"Does The Rev know about it yet?" asked the regular, holding the cup up and carefully turning it in his fingers examining it carefully.

"Nope," answered Kriss, as she came up from the kitchen with a basket full of muffins, "Ross didn't tell anyone until this morning before he left for his day job."

"Bonnie?" asked the regular.

Both women shook their heads solemnly.

"I smell something bad coming," laughed J-- as he picked up his coffee and took a long sip, "This one will be good ..." he grinned as his voice trailed off ...

"How did he?" the regular's voice trailed off as he pulled the lid plug free and examined the tiny round picture stuck on the top of the plug. He shook his head as he examined the smiling face of Ross wearing a Santa hat that was stuck on the round plug top, "a sticker?" he asked.

Kriss nodded, "Ross got them made in Brandon." She lifted a sheaf of papers up from under the cash register as she continued, "he has several different designs that he wants us to use. They include Ross, Bonnie, Dani, Jaydee, Anna, Tracey, Me and a couple of the part timers too. All of us in festive santa and elf hats and 'oh look'," her voice dripped with sarcasm, "here's me with reindeer antlers ..." She pointed at a sheet in the pile spread across the counter before her.

"What was he thinking?" asked the regular looking at the assortment of Holiday type pictures spread before him.

"He wanted to get rid of some of the lid plugs in the basement," answered Jay-dee, "and he got the idea that putting personalized stickers on them and changing which ones are used when might lead to a collector's drive for the stupid plastic plugs."

"Didn't we just go through this?" asked the regular, "didn't you have people coming in last week trying to trade their plugs for free products?"

"Yeah, I got my baggie with 89 of them in it," answered J-- as he approached the counter for a refill, "only 11 more to go and I get a free latte."

"You drink latte?" asked the regular.

"No," answered J--, "but I'll take anything for free!"

"You're NOT getting a free latte," scolded Jaydee, "even IF you hand over 100 of those stupid little plugs."

"That's not fair," moaned J--, "do you know how long I've had to collect those plugs, and how much coffee I had to drink to get 89 of them?"

"You never drink take out coffee?" answered Kriss, "so how did you get so many plugs?"

"I have friends," answered J--, "and if you did it for a teacher, you should do it for a poor retired gentleman ..."

"Sure thing," quipped Kriss, "we'll give up a free coffee when a gentleman comes through the door ..."

"Oh oh, you gonna play like that are you?" laughed J--, "You don't think I'm a gentleman?"

Kriss just smiled at J-- and said nothing. He smiled in return.

"So gettting back to this," said the regular, his hand holding up the coffee cup, "what about the insulating sleeve? Who's idea was it to put the advertising on it?"

"Ross," came the answer from Jaydee.

"I would have thought he would get businesses and organizations to advertise?" the regular mused as he considered the insulating sleeve on his cup.

"So did we," commented Kriss.

"Ah, but this is way more fun," J-- answered, stretching out the 'way' in his sentence, "just think what The Rev is going to say when he sees it."

"You think he's gonna get mad?" asked Jaydee, looking worried.

"Nay," answered Kriss, "he's a big pussy cat. He'll just shake his head and grit his teeth and smile ..."

"I think it's a pretty good rendition of him," said J-- looking more closely at the insulating sleeve, "whoever sketched it, got him pretty good."

"So, what exactly is the Prairie Spring Ministry anyway?" asked the regular, "something that The Rev has cooked up?"

J-- was once again grinning like the Cheshire Cat, "no, not The Rev," he answered with great delight, "He's against the whole thing. It's one of Ross' ideas."

"Ross' idea?" repeated the regular as the two women and J-- nodded earnestly, "how do you start a ministry involving someone, without them wanting to be involved?"

Jaydee and Kriss both shrugged, J-- smiled as he spoke, "You know The Rev has been doing blogs and stuff on the internet, and he posts his sermons there."

The regular nodded.

J-- continued, "well, it turns out that Ross has been collecting The Rev's sermons and taking the good ones and putting them into pamphlets and letters and things like that, and he's been putting ads in weekly newspapers and things like The Producer, with headings like 'words of wit and wisdom from a prairie preacher" and "prayers of healing and encouragement"."

"And people are writing in?" marvelled the regular.

Kriss nodded as she waded in, "and not only are they writing in, but they are sending money for the packets of holy water!"

"There were over 40 letters last week alone," observed Jaydee quietly.

"And all of this is happening without The Rev knowing?" again marvelled the regular.

J-- nodded, his face bearing a broad grin, "But today the cat is out of the bag." His finger pointed to the advertising on the insulating sleeve, "when he sees this, he'll know what's going on ..."

"And he won't like it ..." interupted the regular.

"Nope," said Kriss.

"I still can't figure out how Ross could get all of this rolling without The Rev even knowing?" mused the regular, "the man ain't dumb."

"Got that right," answered J--, "he's pretty smart, and he gives a good sermon. But that's what Ross has used to his advantage. The Rev is a good writer, and a better speaker." With that he spun the cup, "See here, tapes and cds of the Sunday Services are also available ..."

"How'd he do that?" gasped the regular, "how can The Rev NOT know that?"

"Dunno," answered J--, "but I can't wait to find out what's gonna happen ..."

"Me either," said the regular, "this has been quite a morning. Tiny smiling Rosses looking back at me from my coffee cup, a cyber-church, and a whole ministry using the words and works of The Rev, without him even knowing ... Damned ... I wish I could be here when he arrives ..."

As he spoke a train whistle sounded, the regular glanced at his watch, "Oh, I better run ... that's my train ... Let me know how this all turns out will ya?" he headed for the door.

"Absolutely," shouted J--, "I'll call your cell as events develop ..."

"Thanks," said the regular as the door closed behind him.

"I'll take my refill now," said J--, "I'm gonna be here for awhile. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world ..." He smiled as he spoke. Jaydee nodded as she filled his mug.

"Me either," grinned Kriss, "me either ..."

J--'s Trivia 'n' Tidbits ... Part 10 ...

2006-11-19T21:37:00.000-06:00

"Did you see the article in today's paper about the woman who was caught with over 10 kilos of cocaine, and now is claiming that the crimestoppers tip that lead the police to her was a violation of her constitutional rights?" J-- asked as he approached the table against the wall, where a group of regulars was already sitting. In one hand he held the morning paper, while in the other he was holding his coffee.

"That So?" offered one of the regulars sitting there.

“Absolutely,” answered J-- as he sat down, “check it out ..." He opened the paper and pointed to the small article on an inside page, "It says here the officers picked the woman up at the bus depot in Winnipeg when they had recieved a tip from the Crome Stoppers line from another passenger on the bus who overheard the supect saying she was carrying coke to Winnipeg."

"So the police were waiting for her when she got off the bus?" asked one of the regulars.

"Yup," answered J--, "but the suspect's beef isn't being picked up, she's saying that her rights were violated by the tip, and that when the police arrested her saying 'it was a tip from Crime Stoppers' they were lying."

"The woman had 10 kilos of coke," said one of the regulars, "and she is saying the police were lying?"

"Yeah," replied J--, "the woman had $800 000 worth of drugs, and she maintains that it was the police who were in the wrong."

"Unbelievable," said another regular, "and this made it to court?"

"Yeah, the judge was asked to rule on the admissibility of the crime stoppers tip," said J--, "the woman maintained that there was no tip, and the police had violated her constitutional rights."

"There's what's wrong with our country," said one of the regulars, "when did they start letting the inmates run the asylum? Why don't they just tell the woman she had broken the law and hand out the punishment she deserves? Why are they wasting the court's time with nonsense like this?"

"Easy there pal," laughed J--, "it's a newspaper story. I didn't write it or cause it, I'm only telling you about."

"It just ticks me off," said the regular apologetically, "I get worked up a bit with stuff like this."

"No kidding," agreed J--, "ticks me off too. But what are ya gonna do?"

"Call Toews," said one of the other regulars, "he's a law and order guy."

"I'm sure he already knows," said one of the other regulars, "he keeps on top of stuff like this."

"Yeah, Toews doesn't like it when criminals have more rights then their victims," said J--, "and this is one of those moments."

"Ah, I bet the woman is just mad because she's out 800 000 bucks," laughed one of the regulars.

"Oh, she's not out the 800 000 dollars," laughed another regular, "the people waiting for the shipment are the ones out the money, and they won't be happy wiht her."

"And that's the real issue in this," said J--, "the woman is only concerned about her hide."

"Who isn't?" agreed the first regular.

Heads nodded around the table as J-- folded up the paper and turned his attention to the coffee as he spoke, "the sad thing is, around the table we understand the way things should be, but where those decisions are actually being made, they just don't seem to get it ..."

"Ain't that the truth?" said one of the regulars.

Heads nodded again in agreement.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like ...

2006-11-18T20:26:00.000-06:00

Hot Apple Cider,

Decorations,

A Tree with lights,

Santa standing watch from the top ...

Hmmm ... it IS beginning to look

a lot like Christmas around Chipperfields' !!

(Come in and check out the gift items too !!)

A Great Way to Spend a Winter's Eve:

2006-11-18T20:22:00.000-06:00

A brisk walk in the cold winter air ... a stop at Chipperfields Coffee Company for a Hot Apple Cider (in regular, Cran-apple, and Rasp-apple flavours) ... It will warm you up and get ready for the walk home ... Try one and let us know what you think !

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LVI ...

2006-11-18T16:51:00.001-06:00

"Sweet !!" The high school student exclaimed with a smile as Dani handed him his small English Toffee Latte, "That's the one I needed?"

"Excuse me?" said Dani, glancing to Kiera standing beside her.

"I said, 'sweet' because I needed that lid plug," said the student with a smile, offering a nod at Kiera, "I had the other colours in this shape, and I needed this one to finish the set."

"Finish the set?" asked Dani, clearly confused, "you know that we don't offer prizes for collecting the lid plugs don't you?" offered Dani.

"No, it's nothing like that," said the student, "we're collecting the different shapes and colours of the lid plugs. I have all the round ones, and I just needed the purple drop shaped one to complete my set. But all last week I got a pink round one, and no one wanted to trade."

"No one wanted to trade," repeated Dani, "you are trading the lid plugs?" she said incredulously, "when did you start collecting the lid plugs according to shape and colour?"

"Since they started using them," answered the student, "and now I have the whole set ..." He paused for a moment before lowering his voice, "unless they're about to introduce new shapes and colours or something like that ..." he glanced around the room before asking Dani his final question, "they're NOT planning on introducing new colours or shapes are they?"

Dani shook her head, thinking of the boxes and boxes of lid plugs in the storage room in the basement. The lingering reminder of Ross' keyboard mis-stroke some weeks ago, "No we'll be sticking with current colour and shape selection for the foreseeable future. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okey," answered the student, removing the plug and putting it safely in his pocket, "I've got the whole set ..." he turned to join his friends on the couches in the front window but paused for a moment, "oh by the way - thanks for this ... all of this."

"You're welcome," answered Dani smiling.

The Rev stepped up to the counter, he was dressed in his long black coat and his cleric garb. With his dark shades he looked like a visitor from the Movie Men in Black.

"What can I get you Rev?" asked Dani.

"Large Chipperfield for here," answered The Rev, "So, what was that all about?" he pointed his right thumb at the teens sitting on the couches in front of the windows."

"Oh, he was just really happy with his service," said Dani with a smile.

"They're collecting the lid plugs, and he just got the last one he needed to complete his set," answered Kiera punching in the price for The Rev's coffee, then signing his buyer's card.

"The lid plugs?" The Rev marvelled, "the kids are collecting the lid plugs? Does Ross know yet?"

"First we heard was today," said Dani handing him his coffee, "I doubt he knows yet."

"Oh Gawd help us when he finds out," said The Rev moving to the counter with the cream and sugar, "He'll want to introduce the limited edition plugs and seasonal ones, and ..." The Rev paused before continuing, "... and then he'll want to float more of his cock-eyed ideas ..."

"Oh !!" Dani exclaimed, "I hadn't thought of THAT. I just thought the whole idea of kids collecting the plastic plugs was cute."

"It might be cute, but it has ominous implications," said The Rev, looking around, "He's NOT here is he?"

Kiera shook her head,"He won't be back until he finishes his road trip to somewhere in Saskatchewan."

"Okay tell Bonnie about this," said The Rev, "but don't let Ross know anything about it."

"Why?" asked Kiera.

"Because if he thinks even for a moment that one of his hare-brained ideas MIGHT actually work," The Rev's voice stretched 'might' out as he spoke, "He'll want to try some of the other ideas too."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Kiera, "the cup sleeves aren't a bad idea, and the seasonal and limited plugs might be an idea."

"That's not the idea I'm worried about," said The Rev.

"OH !!" Dani exclaimed, "You mean the whole Holy Water idea don't you?"

The Rev just nodded before speaking, "Thanks for catching up here," He looked around again before continuing, "I don't mind some of his ideas, and even I would concede that the advertising on the cup sleeves might actually work, and I would even reluctantly admit the limited edition plugs could work too. But for the Love of all that is Holy, Ross can't know any of this, or he'll want to push the whole Television ministry and Holy Water thing."

"Um Rev, there's something you should know," Dani looked around the store before reaching under the counter and pulling out a small cardboard box that she opened. Inside were several dozen small plastic sleeves filled with fluid. On the outside was printed the image of a stylized dove and the words 'Prairie Springs Ministry', "you haven't seen these have you?"

The Rev's jaw dropped as he reached out and picked out one of the packets, "you've GOT to be kidding?"

Dani and Kiera shook thier heads.

"He's already started on it ..." The Rev's voice trailed off as he turned the packet over in his hands, shaking his head ...

Silence descended on the store.

Finally Kiera broke the silence with a broad smile, "well, if the lid plugs are any indication, maybe this idea might actually work ?" her voice sounded hopeful ... a feeling that was not present in the room at that moment ...

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LV ...

2006-11-17T21:49:00.000-06:00

"So, did you hear about the kids at the school collecting the lid plugs?" asked Jaydee, turning to Dani who was preparing an order for a customer.

"You serious?" marvelled Dani, as she pulled a double latte, "the kids are collecting them?"

"That's what my son says," laughed Jaydee, "he said the kids have heard that when you collect a certain amount you can trade them for things."

"Things?" asked Dani, slidding the order across the counter to her customer, "what kinds of things?"

"Well Brent said that for 25 you get a free ice cream cone," answered Jaydee, "and for 50 it's a free twister and for 100 you get any hot beverage on the menu board."

"Has Bonnie heard this?" asked Dani as she counted out the change for the customer and thanked her for dropping 75 cents in the tip mug beside the post.

"Has Bonnie heard what?" asked Bonnie as she strolled up from the kitchen.

"Oh!" exclaimed Dani, her voice sounding more like a yelp, "I didn't see you coming." As Dani spoke to Bonnie, Jaydee turned her attention to the customer standing at the counter.

"What did you wonder if I've heard?" asked Bonnie, her face set and serious, "what do you need to tell me?"

"Oh nothing serious," answered Dani, "we were just talking about a story going around the school about being able to turn in the little plastic lid plugs for stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" asked Bonnie, interupting, "and where did this story come from."

"Oh ... my son told me that if you have 25 of the plugs you can get an ice cream cone, or for 50 you can get a twister ..." Jaydee was pumping a large Colombian for her customer as she spoke.

"Oh one guess where this got started," muttered Bonnie, her jaw tensing.

"Who?" asked Dani, her eyes wide with wonder, "The Rev?"

"No!" scoffed Jaydee, "It could only be ..."

"Ross," snapped Bonnie, "he was talking at the table the other night with J-- and a Anna about the possibility of using the lid plugs as some sort of promotion."

"Did he say anything to kids from the school though?" asked Jaydee.

"He didn't have to say it directly," answered Bonnie, "there was three tables full of students from both schools there when he was talking about using the plugs for a trade in kind of promotion."

"Oh oh," said Dani, standing with her mouth hanging open, "and you know how the rumour mill in this town works, even amongst the kids ..."

"It only takes a spark," answered Jaydee, "and pretty soon the story is off like wildfire."

"So, what are the odds that any one will try to redeem any of the plugs for menu items?" asked Bonnie, "do we give away enough of the plugs to worry about it?"

"I don't think so," answered Dani seriously, then she glanced at Jaydee and the two of them smiled, "but are you sure that shipment of 14 million got back to the company and wasn't hijacked by a bunch of 11 year olds looking for free ice cream."

"Oh gawd," moaned Bonnie, "don't bring THAT up again." The three of them laughed.

"I wouldn't worry about it," answered Jaydee, "because if someone actually came in with 100 lid plugs and wanted a Mocha or something, I think we'd owe them just one for the sake of how much coffee they had to drink to get 100 of the silly things ..."

"Well, that's true," answered Bonnie, considering Jaydee's ideas, "just keep an eye on it and let me know if anyone comes in with plugs for redemption."

"Redemption?" asked Jaydee.

"Trade," laughed Bonnie.

"Oh, I was thinking you were talking to The Rev again and getting more of those double barrelled Churchie terms." said Jaydee, "I know what it means ..."

As the two of them spoke the grade five teachers from the elementary school came in the door, in their hands they clutched baggies bulging with lid plugs. Both Bonnie and Jaydee feel silent as the two approached the counter.

"Hi," smiled Carla as she set her baggie full of lid plugs on the counter, "we heard that you are exchanging 100 of these for a free hot drink. Is it true?"

"Um?" Dani turned and looked at Bonnie, "I'm not sure," Dani searched Bonnie for an answer.

Bonnie drew a deep breath and spoke, "Well, it's actually not true, but we decided tonight that anyone who collected enough of them deserves a free drink." She turned her attention to Dani, "give them a hot beverage from the menu in exchange for the plugs."

Dani looked at the baggie, "Should we count them to make sure there is really 100?"

"If you want," said Bonnie, "but you can do it on your own time ..." Bonnie shook her head and turned back to the kitchen.

Jaydee stood shaking her head as Dani took the baggie and smiled, "So Carla, what would you like?"

"Um," Carla paused and glanced at Debbie, the other teacher before answering, "I'll have the English Toffee Mocha, and she will have ..."

Debbie interupted her, "I'll have the B-52 Mocha please," as she spoke she placed her baggie on the counter.

"For here or for go?" asked Dani as she reached for the glas mugs.

"For here," Carla answered as Debbie nodded her head, "and two chipperdoodle cookies too please."

"Our pleasure," replied Dani as she turned her attention to preparing the order.

"Okay, I've just got to know," said Jaydee, breaking her silence as she stood in beside the post at the till, "how did you two collect two hundred lid plugs?"

"The kids in our classes heard about the exchange thing," began Carla.

"And they collected them for us," answered Debbie, "and gave them to us as a gift."

"Nice," exclaimed Jaydee.

"That deserves a free coffee just for the effort," agreed Dani.

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LIV ...

2006-11-16T22:15:00.000-06:00

"Hey Ross, what are you doing?" asked Anna cheerfully, as she approached the table by the juke box.

"Um nothing," muttered Ross as he seemed to scramble to put the assorted cards back in the box in front of him.

"Are those the customer card?" asked Anna in a conspiratorial tone, one eye brow raised, "why do you have them out?"

"I was just looking at them," muttered Ross trying to replace them while looking like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "I wasn't doing anything with them ..."

Anna reached out and picked up the stray card lying on the table, she turned it over and read "The Rev." written on the front. She then held it up for Ross to see.

"Was this the one you were looking for?" asked Anna, holding it just out of Ross' reach.

"Can I have it back?" Ross' voice bordered on a whine, "It's not important ..."

"What were you doing with it?" asked Anna in a firm voice as Jaydee's voice called out from behind the counter.

"Has anyone seen the customer card box?" Jaydee asked as she ducked down behind the counter and looked on the shelves below the cash register.

"It's over here," answered Anna, her icy glare still fixed on Ross. As Anna spoke Jaydee came over to the table and scooped up the box, snatching the card out of Anna's hand.

"Why was it over there?" Jaydee asked as she swung back towards the counter, "it should be behind the counter ..." her voice trailed off as she returned to finish the order for her customer.

Anna stood before Ross, one hand clutching the coffee, the other hand still held aloft where it had been holding the card, "So, do you care to offer an explanation, or shall I call Bonnie and let HER ask you ??"

"Okay," said Ross sounding defeated, "I wanted to look at The Rev's card and see if he's been in here since I floated that idea."

"The Holy Water idea?" asked Anna, a sly smile crossing her face.

Ross nodded, "I haven't seen him and I'm a little worried."

"That he's not coming any more?" asked Anna.

"No, nothing like that," said Ross quietly, "I'm more worried about my personal safety."

"Your personal safety?" stated Anna, sounding incredulous, "why would you be worried about your personal safety?"

"Well, J-- told me that The Rev was pretty ticked off by my idea," said Ross quietly glancing towards the front window, "and ... " he paused "... well ..." he paused again as though he was searching for words, "I dunno."

Anna laughed, a broad smile accompanying her laughter, "You're afraid of The Rev?" she marveled, "why would you be afraid of The Rev?"

"I'm not afraid of him," Ross responded defensively, "I know he wouldn't harm me, it's just ..."

"You want him to go along with the idea don't you?" asked Anna, "you're afraid of him saying no to the whole idea of setting up a tv ministry aren't you?"

"No," offered Ross, his voice lacking conviction, "It's not that at all ..." his voice trailed off as Anna again started to laugh.

"YOU really want to do this ONE don't you?" Anna laughed as she spoke, "and you're afraid you've ticked off The Rev and he won't help you ..."

"No, it's nothing like that ..." pleaded Ross.

"Nothing like what?" asked J--, as he approached the table and sat down.

"Oh nothing at all ..." said Ross as he stood up and headed into the kitchen.

J-- and Anna watched him go before J-- spoke.

"So what was that all about?" J-- asked.

"Ross is afraid of The Rev," Anna stated as she sipped her coffee and smiled.

"The Rev," J-- smiled, "Why's he afraid of The Rev? He think The Rev is going to go all Rambo on him over the holy water thing?"

"No, I think Ross is afraid The Rev is going to say 'No' to the Holy Water thing," said Anna sitting down opposite J--.

"Why would that worry Ross?" mused J--, "after all the fiascoes we've witnessed her recently, why would The Rev not buying into the Holy Water thing be a problem?"

"I don't even begin to pretend I understand Ross," observed Anna laughing.

"Me either," laughed J--.

Staying inside the lines ...

2006-11-10T23:15:00.000-06:00

Yes, Anna is colouring ... sitting on the couch in the front window:

Anna is spending a Friday Afternoon colouring in a colouring book !!

And who says life at Chipperfields is predictable or dull ???

Not today !!

J--'s Trivia 'n' Tidbits ... Part 9 ...

2006-11-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

"Did you see the article in today's paper about the two police officers who sued Burger King after they claimed the hamburgers they bought were laced with marijuana," J-- asked as he approached the couches in the front window, a coffee in one hand, and a copy of today's newspaper tucked under his arm.

“That So?” offered one of the regulars sitting there.

“Absolutely,” answered J-- as he sat down, “check it out ..." He opened the paper and pointed to the small article, "It says here the officers went through the drive thru and ordered burger meals that the staff laced with marijuana."

"How'd they figure it out?" asked another regular sitting across from J--.

"Better question would be, 'why would they bother?'" asked a second, "if soemone wants to serve me a burger with some pot added, I wouldn't be complaining."

His comment was met with a nodding of heads around the couches.

"Well," J-- refered to the article, "it says here that the two officer 'performed a field test to confirm the substance on their burger was pot,' and they went to the hospital for medical examinations and evaluation."

"You serious?" asked one of the regulars looking dumbstruck.

"Absolutely," said J-- with a grin, "read it for yourself," he offered the paper but was waved off.

"No thanks," said the regular as he shook his head, "I can't believe that."

"I can't believe that someone would be upset getting some marijuana sprinkled on their burger," observed another regular.

"Talk about your Whopper," laughed the first regular.

"That's what one of the lawyers said," commented J-- as he pointed to the article.

"So what exactly did the so-called perpetrators charged with?" asked one of the regulars.

"Oh they were charged with possession and a felony charge of battery on an officer," said J--, looking at the article.

"For putting marijuana on a burger" asked the first regular, again looking awestruck, "How tight assed to YOU have to be to want to charge someone for sprinkling marijuana on your burger?"

"So what's the real story?" asked the second regular, "a couple of cops found some pot on their burger, over reacted, arrested the hoodlums. Why did it make the paper?"

"Says here," J-- was again looking at the paper, "that the two victims are suing the Burger Chain for personal injury, negligence, battery and violation of fair practises ..."

The second regular interupted J--, "what was the violation of fair practises?"

"They weren't asked if they wanted friends with it," offered the second regular, "or if they wanted to super size it?"

J-- laughed, "No, nothing like that," he paused, "they're seeking unspecified damages along with legal costs."

"Ah it's about the money," observed the first regular.

"It's always about the money," agreed the second regular.

"Does it say where the drive thru was located?" asked the first regular.

"Somewhere in New Mexico," observed J--, "why?"

"Oh I'm planning a road trip this winter," said the first regular, "and it sounds like a drive thru worth stopping at."

"Make sure you get fries with it though," laughed the second regular.

"And super size it if you can," laughed J--.

"You bet," smiled the first regular as he sipped his coffee, "I'll try to bring your something back."

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LIII ...

2006-11-07T22:45:00.000-06:00

"So, it's election day in the US of A," announced J-- as he approached the table where a group of mid-morning regulars were sitting, "think Georgie is in for a bit of a wake up call?"

His question was met with a couple of nodding heads and a shrug or two.

"Think it will really make that much of a difference," asked one of the regulars, "afterall, he's got such a mess in Iraq, it won't matter too much who is sitting where back home will it?"

"I suppose not," observed J-- as he sat down at the table, "the big challenge will be reigning in the Religious Right ..."

"The religious WRONG you said," interupted one of the regulars.

"Got that right," laughed J-- as he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"Speaking of Religious Right," ventured one of the regulars, "what's the deal with Ross and this televangelist ministry he's trying to talk The Rev into."

A Cheshire Cat like grin crossed J--'s face, "where did you hear about that?" he asked giggling.

"Oh Ross told me the other night," said the regular leaning in over the table and lowering his voice, "he was sitting over there, with a bunch of little plastic packages spread on the table and I asked him what he was up to."

"What did he say?" asked one of the other regulars, clearly intrigued.

"Well, he said something about getting The Rev to do a tv show, and make appeals for donations that would be exchanged for little packaged of holy water that could be used to bless and anoint stuff ..." The regular's voice trailed off, "It was all a little too strange for me."

"And for The Rev too," laughed J--, "I think he figures Ross has finally lost his mind ..."

"Short trip," observed Bonnie as she stepped up to the table.

"Morning Bonnie," laughed J--, "you not in favour of Ross' idea?" a broad smiled crossed J--'s face.

"It's not that I'm not in favour of it," began Bonnie, clearly weighing her words and tempering her feelings, "It's more a case of wondering where this one will go and how much it could cost us if it goes wrong ..."

"What can go wrong?" asked one of the regulars, "you invest in a bunch of little plastic packets of water and get The Rev to do what he does so well ..."

"Only if he wants to," reminded J--, "and right now he's not interested."

"We gotta convince him," said one the other regulars, "He's a good preacher. He's a good story teller, and he could pull this off."

"Not only that," offered one of the other regulars, "but we have the equipment and the people available right now to set up a call centre, or a prayer line, or something to support the whole thing."

J-- was shaking his head, "So, what will we call this venture?" he asked, "The Chipperfield Biblical Ministries?"

"Sure, why not?" answered one of the regulars.

Bonnie, leaning on one of the chairs was shaking her head. "Now you guys are starting to frighten me."

J-- laughed and shook his head, as he spoke, "so, where is Ross today anyway?"

"He's on the road somewhere," said Bonnie glancing at the clock, "he said he's be by sometime this morning on his way to and fro."

"Speak of the devil," observed J--, looking out the front window as Ross walking past the windows, "and there he appears."

"In a puff of sulphur and flame ..." muttered Bonnie, much to the delight of the others at the table.

Ross came in the door, in his hand was a file folder that was bulging with paper work.

"What's that?" asked Bonnie, glancing at the file folder.

"Oh this," Ross glanced down and tried to look nonchalant, "It's just something I've been working on lately ..."

"What is it Ross?" asked Bonnie, her voice tightening.

"Just some stuff," Ross' voice lowered, "nothing really."

Bonnie held out a hand, into which Ross dutifully deposited the file folder. Bonnie opened it and gasped. Her face was a mix of mirth and horror ... "You guys have to see this ..." She opened the folder and set it on the table.

"Well, I'll be ..." said J-- as he looked over the pile ... "Does The Rev know about this?"

"Ummm," Ross stammered, "not yet, I was going to tell him today ..."

"I think you better," observed one of the regulars, picking up one of the posters for the Broadcast Premiere of a new Rural Interfaith Outreach Ministry ... "he may not be happy about it ..."

"Gee you think?" observed Bonnie, her face expressionless ...

"And the Religious Right thought the Us Election was their biggest worry ..." smirked J--, "they ain't see nothing yet ..."

"I'd be more worried about Ross when The Rev finds out about this ..." said one of the regulars. Around the table several heads nodded in agreement. Ross gulped.

Monday Nite at Chipperfields ...

2006-11-06T23:00:00.000-06:00

Anna and Ross working hard on a Monday night ...

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LII ...

2006-11-02T23:05:00.000-06:00

Ross was sitting by the juke box, a pile of mail spread across the table in front of him. J-- and The Rev came in the front door together and approached the table.

"May we join you?" asked J--, motioning to the empty chairs.

"Sure," said Ross, sorting through the pile of envelopes and flyers.

"Do we want to know what you're doing?" asked The Rev, as he turned and moved back towards the counter to order coffee for himself and J--.

"Oh, I got a plan," answered Ross, pulling one envelope free of the pile and uttering "A-ha," as he did so.

"A plan?" echoed J--, as he sat down.

"What kind of plan?" asked The Rev. as he returned to the table, two coffees in hand, "and should we be worried?"

"Nay," said Ross, stretching out the syllable and gazing at the envelope in his hand as though it were some long lost treasure, "I've just come up with an idea that will be good for the community, the church and business here at Chipperfield's."

J-- lifted his nose in the air and said with a sniff, "I smell something bad coming ..."

"Me too," scoffed The Rev. as he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"Oh you guys are way too cynical," said Ross with a slight whine, "I'm telling you, when I'm ready this Stay-cation idea will fly, and the advertising on the cup sleeves IS going to catch on."

"What about the cup plugs, or whatever they were called?" asked J--, with a smirk, "how did you explain the order for 14 000 boxes of them to Bonnie?"

Ross looked down at the table, his shoulders sagged, "Okay, THAT was a bad idea," he said meekly, "but Bonnie got the company to take back almost all of them."

The Rev laughed as he spoke, "How DID you mistakenly order 14 000 boxes of the little plugs anyway? I've never heard what really happened."

"No, you were just here the morning the deliver truck pulled up with 1200 cases of the stupid things on board and Bonnie hit the roof," observed J-- laughing.

"Okay, it was an honest mistake." pleaded Ross, "I filled out the form on the online site wrong, and put in the wrong number."

"How do you put in and order for fourteen MILLION coffee cup plugs incorrectly?" asked J-- with a snort, "do tell?"

"Okay," Ross began, then glanced over his shoulder, "I was filling out the form and I wanted to a single case, and it said that a single case had twelve boxes of assorted plugs, with 1000 plugs in each box. So, I went to the quantity line and I misread it and put in 100 in the line I thought was for boxes, but it was for 'gross number' of cases, not individual boxes."

"Um, Ross?" The Rev had a furrowed brow as he spoke, "100 boxes of the plugs makes for 100 000 coffee cup plugs." The Rev paused as though he was carefully measuring his words, "What in the name of all that is Holy, were you planning to do with 100 000 coffee cup plugs?"

"I never said I was good in math," said Ross quietly. He then paused before continuing, "I miscalculated a bit ..."

"You think?" roared J--, as he slapped his knee and grinned, "what does Bonnie think about this?"

"Shhhhhhhh" offered Ross as he looked over his shoulder to see if Bonnie was anywhere near by, "the less said the better."

Both The Rev and J-- nodded thier heads.

"So, with some fear and trepidation, I have to ask," said The Rev, still smiling, "what is this new scheme you've come up with?"

"It's not a scheme," said Ross tersely, "it's a plan."

"And the difference is?" asked J--.

"The difference is," answered Ross, "schemes are just that. Plans are ambitious and adventurous."

"Okay," said J-- with a smirk, "tell us about your plan ..."

"Well," offered Ross, as he again picked up the envelope he had retrieved from the pile earlier, "in here ..." he paused to open the envelope and dump out its contents, "is the heart of my idea ..." He dumped on the table three small plastic packages that looked like those you get at restaurants with vinegar in them.

"Vinegar?" asked J-- suspiciously.

"Water," answered Ross triumphantly.

"Water?" asked The Rev.

"Water!" answered Ross.

"You're gonna sell drops of water?" asked J--, clearly confused.

"Not sell them," said Ross, "we're gonna give them away."

"Okay, I'm confused here," said The Rev. "what kind of water do you give away in a little plastic packet?" He held one of the packets in his fingers and looked at it carefully, though with some visible skepticism.

"Holy Water!" announced Ross triumphantly. The Rev dropped the packet as though it had suddenly been enveloped in flames.

"Holy water?" The Rev's voice neared a shout, "Have you lost your mind completely?"

J--'s jaw dropped.

"Hear me out," said Ross, retrieving the packet from in front of The Rev, "if we play this right we could raise money for the Church rebuilding, for other community projects, and we could set up a nice little business enterprise right here in Minnedosa to employ people in the production and mailing departments."

"He's lost it ..." said The Rev dryly, looking at J--.

J-- nodded in agreement.

"No, no," said Ross, "Hear me out."

"I don't know if I want to," answered The Rev cautiously, "this idea actually kind of scares me."

"Okay, here's what we'd do," began Ross, looking earnestly at The Rev and J--, "I got these by calling one of those televangelists on cable. He sends the package of Holy water and instructions on how to make more and on how to use them in your life to bless what you're doing."

The Rev stared at Ross stone faced, J-- was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"So, my thought is," Ross paused and held up one of the packet infront of J-- and The Rev, "that we get you," his finger motioned to The Rev. "to do a televangelist show of some kind. You can keep it left and liberal, but we tape it and distribute it on tv stations across North America."

"Where does the water fit in Ross?" asked The Rev, his voice sounding like the computer from 2001 A Space Odyssey.

"That's the hook," said Ross enthusiastically, "you end each broadcast telling people that for a small donation you will gladly send them a package of special Holy Water drawn from a pristine source in Manitoba, prayed over by you in your ministry, and send out especially for them ... and they can use it to bless or anoint or whatever they want to do ..."

The Rev sat across the table impassively, saying nothing, his head shaking side to side almost imperceptibly.

"So, where's the money go?" asked J-- still grinning.

"That's the beauty of it," observed Ross, "we pay each of us a stipend, we make donations to the Rebuilding efforts of the Church, The Day Care and even the Heritage Committees, and with what ever is left over we work on expanding."

"Build a religious theme park out by the lake?" asked J-- with a smirk.

"Nothing like that," said Ross quietly, "we use it to invest in staff, equipment and products, and we market The Rev."

For a long moment no one said anything. The Rev then shook his head and stood up.

"I'm out ..." he said as he pulled on his coat, "I could see the Stay-cation idea. I even thought the advertisements on the coffee sleeves might fly, and I could see the cup plug working. But this one ..." he paused as he pulled on his gloves, "this one is just too out there, even for me ..." he turned and headed for the door, "Good night gentlemen," he muttered as he left shaking his head.

"So, do you think he'll go for it?" asked Ross, looking at J--.

J-- just stared back at Ross, and said nothing ... Then after a long moment he spoke, his eyes twinkling, "Yeah," a smiled crossed J--'s face, "Let him sleep on it and he'll be on side." J--'s head shook side to side as he spoke.

Ross contented himself by examining the packets of water once again ...

Overheard at Chipperfields ... Part LI ...

2006-11-02T15:46:00.000-06:00

A new vistor stood at the counter looking up at the blackboards, trying to decide what she wanted to order.

"What kind of cookies do you have?" the woman asked, her eyes still firmly on the boards.

Dani turned and looked up at the Boards, checking to see where it said 'cookies' amongst the mocha and lattee listings. She answered cheerfully, "We have a wide variety of cookies, that change each day. Today we have Chipperdoodles, Peanut Butter Oatmeal with chocolate chips, Oatmeal raisin and our special Triple Chocolate Chip with walnuts."

"Hmm," said the regular without a trace of enthusiasm, "what else do you have?" She didn't look down to the jars and containers to see for herself the selection of delicious baked goods available.
Kriss, her back to the customer rolled her eyes as she prepared the order of two White Cows mochas for her customers, "can't she look at the containers for herself?" she thought to herself.

"Well," Dani remained cheerful, "we have a very wide selection of cheesecake silces, carrot cake, a number of muffins and Kriss just brought out a fresh batch of cinnamon silces," Dani paused and smiled before continuing, "and we have a selection of ice cream."

"It's snowy and cold outside," snapped the visitor, "why on earth would I want to have ice cream when it is snowy and cold outside?"

"Oh," answered Dani in a chipper voice, "I wasn't aware that there are rules about when you could and couldn't have ice cream," she paused as her voice moved to a conspiratorial whisper, "I must have missed that in the manual."

Dani smiled inspite of the icy glare from the customer, "I guess you're NOT interested in hearing about our coolers or iced drinks then?" Dani's eyes were sparkling, and the corner of her mouth was twitching with a smile. Behind her Kriss snorted as she finished up her order and turned to hand it to the customer ahead of the visitor.

"I will have a medium coffee, and one of those triple chocolate cookies," snapped the visitor, her index finger pointing at the jar by her right elbow.

"For here or to go?" asked Dani with a smile.

"For here," the visitor offered in a monotone.

Dani prepared her order and slit it across the counter, "There you are. Enjoy." She said.

The visitor said nothing as she slid her payment across the counter, and scooping up the change without leaving a tip.

"Oh You're most welcome," Dani said cheerfully, stretching out the last syllable, "It was such a pleasure to serve you today ..."

Kriss snorted yet again as she busily wiped the counter down behind Dani.

The visitor raised an eyebrow, and said nothing as she took her coffee and cookie and turned with a "humpf". As she headed to the couches, Dani smiled.

Dani stepped out from behind the counter to where J-- and a group of regulars were seated. "Refills anyone?" she asked with a smile.

"Sure," answered J--. The other regulars shook their heads.

"Nicely played by the way," observed J--.

"What do you mean?" asked Dani innocently, "I was simply serving a customer."

"Oh sure," laughed J--, as she took his mug and headed back to the counter to refill it. The crew around the table laughed, drawing a scornful glare from the visitor at the front.