The Home Show was grey this year. No more Wednesdays ever - at the Home Show for me!

The disappointment began before I even got there. There was construction blocking the Dufferin Gates entrance with no prior warning. Since I am from this city, it is not difficult to maneuver myself around, but what about visitors? Surely they must have been confused. But who cares? Hey? Where has our hospitality gone to? As I drove around the side streets, I do not normally check out, I saw new condos and town homes that looked nice but did not offer the location I would like. It had a lot of buildings but not enough shops. Actually, all I saw was one eating establishment. Was that not thought out? Perhaps it takes time to figure out if one needs a coffee shop nearby or a bakery or a ………… What I did see was several men walking their well groomed dogs. It did not take long, though I would have preferred the heads up, to drive out of my way and into the East side of the CNE grounds. I drove right into the almost empty parking garage and provided my $14.00 parking fee. I then went to find my way up the stairs into the Home Show entrance. I normally park much closer to the centre and take the lazy way up, but I toughed it and walked. I passed by the VIP sections where greeters were seated with their bags and tags to give out to the very important people. I asked where the tickets were being sold as all I seemed to see was VIP signs everywhere. I payed my $20.00 and and then left my coat for another $2.50 (that was very worthwhile). I tried to find the entrance for the little people who are not VIP’s. I stopped at one, and told an usher that if I walked by one more VIP entrance, I would leave. That inspired a smile and I was allowed in. There was no greeter for me, no bag for me and no guide, for me this year. I was having a great start. I wondered if I should have gone with a group I knew last week. However, I prefer to go by myself so I can move fast when I want to and stop as well without holding anyone else up. I went directly to the back, to tour the house. I looked down at the grey floors and up at the grey walls and realized that the greyness matched the greyness, outside the grounds. I did not feel inspired. I felt the need for a splash of colour. I wondered if painting my hallway grey was a good idea after all? I left the home, and the boat outside caught my interest. It was the first thing that caught my interest but it was really there just for decoration. I could not examine it. I left a tad disappointed in the greyness of the day so far. I thought that a coffee would perk me up. I saw some people seated and I looked and saw that some had coffee near by. I looked at the coffee pot at the stand, which held less than a quarter of what looked like tar. I asked a woman who had coffee sitting near by how it tasted. She shook her head and I thanked her. I bought no coffee that day. Normally at the home show there is always some brand name coffee but not this day. I was so desperate for a good cup of coffee that I would have paid the price to have it. However, I was saved by the Italian manufacturer of expresso machines and I was provided with a most coveted expresso. I told them that they should sell to the public. The response was that others had suggested the same thing. I wasn’t the only person who was not happy with the coffee being sold at the home show. Lunch cost $19.50. The service was good but the rice had uncooked grains in it. How does that happen? How can you go wrong with stir fry? The fish was good. As I was having lunch, I heard the demonstrators talk about gardening. I finished lunch and was just enjoying sitting. Then the announcer said that we (the little people) should not listen to the experts about how much sun is required for plant growth. I thought I was listening to an expert, so since I was not, I got up and left. That was a first. I kept walking and there was another demo and so I sat as close as possible not to intrude on the VIP seating. I was not sure what was VIP since the chairs all looked the same to me. I sat in the third row hoping that it was just the first and second empty rows that were for VIP’s. The two speakers were wonderful and very knowledgeable about their profession which was selling ramps and things to help people who are old or have special needs to get into their homes and able to live inside more safely and comfortably. I sat there because I had walked a lot and was tired. After a while as I felt I could walk again, I ventured out to see what else there was to see. I was stopped by one man who wanted to give me a sample of some cream. He complimented me on my skin. My skin is not flawless and never has been so I wondered if my makeup was making me glow. Then he came in for the kill and tried to sell me some cream that was wonderful for my skin and it would keep me from getting old. I told him I was ok with getting older. I told him that I wanted to grow old gracefully. He wanted to help me delay the process. I reminded him that he thought my skin was lovely (with the creams I do use that I am sure, do not carry the same price tag). I saw controlled anger behind the eyes of this man that I would never take a second look at regardless of my age. His Eastern European accent became more evident has his ire increased. I continued to walk away and thankfully he gave up on me. I did not go to the home show to buy make up. I did not go to the home show to try to be persuaded to buy a product by cheap psychological shots. I looked at the ingredients this morning at the sample he provided and quite frankly, I don’t know if the alcohol in it is good for my soft dry skin. It also has to be kept away from children and pets. I would need to look up most of the words in the dictionary to understand all this wonderful ingredients that he inferred is the fountain of youth in some magical tub - another annoyance at the Home Show. By three o’clock I had seen it all. Normally, it would take much longer to see everything. I did meet some very nice people as I normally do. There was one woman giving out samples of good (that was a saving grace yesterday) coffee who demonstrated great kindness in her attention to a small group of people with special needs. I watched her as she treated this group as VIP’s. When it was my turn, she remarked that she has a special interest in treating people with special needs with more care because she sees how badly some people treat them. I saw a shift from what I was experiencing so far, to someone with a heart. Will I go to the home show next year? Probably not. There was nothing there that inspired me this year which was the real reason why I went there. I saw no designers to advise me. I feel lucky that when I went the last time, there was Glen Peloso to advise me on a colour. I have used it and I will continue to paint with that colour. If I use any grey in any of the rooms, I do not want it to be a grey that reminds of a rainy day. I have a lot of painting to do. I did pick up a lot of magazines and hopefully I will see something in there that will inspire me. My taking pictures of some projects I wanted advice on was for naught. Did I get my money’s worth yesterday? Not in my opinion. Oh, by the way? Where were all the VIP’s? Maybe we should remember that Canada is a democracy. One VIP entrance is enough. I remember a Home Show when everyone was treated like a VIP. I also remember a Home Show where you could dine like a Queen. It was pricy but worth it. Now a baked potato will cost you more than 6.00. Please……….