Mattress Vancouver

The National Hockey League has announced the schedule for the 2011 NHL playoffs. Your Vancouver Canucks will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. The series begins on Wednesday, April 13th, in Vancouver at 7pm PST. Game two will start at the same time on Friday night. The Canucks will then have to fly to Chicago to prepare for Sunday’s bout, which will begin at 5pm PST. Game four will play out on Tuesday, and with any luck, that will be the last game of the series.

A Canucks sweep would put to rest the demons of the 2010 and 2009 NHL post-seasons. It would also be a major springboard for the Canucks to advance deeper into the playoffs.

To see how the drama unfolds, we will have to patiently wait for Wednesday’s opener. This may be easier said than done – especially since this town seems to be living off the current exploits of their favourite sons.

But don’t fret. If you’re finding it hard to sleep as the aniticipation builds,, you can always upgrade your mattress set. It may not alleviate your anxiety, but it will make the nodding off experience easier.

Come check out the mattress deals on now at Vancouver’s mattress store, Simmons Mattress Gallery.

Believe...

“Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.”

With holiday consumerism in full swing, it’s nice to have classic Christmas tales to remind us of what is truly important – family, friends and community spirit.

George Bailey may not have the perfect life, but what he does have is all the ingredients for a ‘Wonderful Life.’ With help from his guardian angel, Clarence, George realizes that even dashed dreams of travel and higher education are meaningless when compared with the shared experiences and support of the loved ones that populate our waking moments.

“It’s a Wonderful Life,” is all about love, loss, hope and the realization that everyone makes a difference.

This timeless holiday film is now being preformed as a theatrical production at the Arts Club Theatre. With snippets of Frank Capra’s original film seamlessly integrated, the production is not to be missed. Bob Frazer does an amazing job in the role of George, filling the boots of the immortal Jimmy Stewart.

Peter Birnie, of the Vancouver Sun gushes that the play “soars on angel wings of innovation.”

Don’t miss your chance to get tickets. The production ends on January 2nd.

So take the whole family down to Granville Island and enjoy a classic story that resonates with everyday emotional truths.

Now Playing At the Arts Club Theatre

If Christmas carols crackling from shoddy speakers in supermarkets and teeming throngs of holiday shoppers have exorcised all Christmas cheer from your soul, then it might be time to lift your spirits with something with a little more substance and style.

Simply going to the playhouse to watch a ballet is a magical event in itself. The dressing up. The candlelight dinner. Walking hand-in-hand through the snowy streets. The time-honoured culture of ballet always promises an evening of enchantment.

Yet despite 25 years of history, BC Ballet is not what it once was. They’ve discarded the frilly tutus for a contemporary look, and lavish sets and decorations now adorn the stage, complemented by falling snow and beautiful costumes once unfamiliar to the tradition.

The ballet has evolved beyond that of an art form. It is entertainment as well.

The Nutcracker will premiere in Vancouver from December 29-Jan 1, 2011. Tchaikovsky’s timeless tale of true love, sprites and Christmas cheer has never been so theatrically expressed. Alberta Ballet will be behind the lavish performance under the musical accompaniment of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

In the words of BC Ballet, the new production promises “a fresh, vibrant magic to the mix, where every cent of the $1.5 million budget is displayed through the stunning set designs and elaborate costumes.”

Now is a good time to get tickets. http://www.balletbc.com/10/nutcracker2010.asp

As a mattress retailer, we’ve always wondered what kind of beds the stars sleep on. If you’ve ever been forced to spend the night on a sagging mattress, you know the creaks and cracks your bones can make the next day. Imagine that as a ballet dancer? It could be rather distracting.

If any of you know what kind of bed our prima donna sleeps on, we’d love to know. We’re guessing it’s a Beautyrest Black – and if not – it should be!

For more information about Ballet BC, go to the website at www.balletbc.com

“I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson, The Land of Counterpane

by Robert Louis Stevenson

The twenty minutes or so it takes to put your kids to bed each night, can contain some of the most important parent-child moments in the day.

Taking time to read and talk with your children in a setting void of distracting stimuli is paramount for making strong connections that last a lifetime.

Part of this process is providing calming entertainment that doesn’t involve an on-off switch; we’re talking about bedtime stories.

Some of our staff favourites are:

For the little ones: Goodnight Moon

For the more poetic: Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection of poems, A Child’s Garden of Verses (The Land of Counterpane)

For a humerous poetic spin: Anything by Shel Silverstein

For a simple read: Beatrix Potter’s Tales (The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher)

For a chapter book: Anything by Roald Dahl (make sure your children hear the words first and create their own visuals before seeing the movies)

For the older ones: Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling’s books are dipped in the magic she loves to write about it)

But if you have even an ounce of creative juice in your body, try, at times, to come up with an original work. You can personalize the story for your children and create characters that they will never forget. Try it.

Good luck and Goodnight.

Beatirce had to think fast on her feet. The Gatekeeper was demanding a reason why he should let her enter, even though the torrential rain seemed to be the obvious answer.

“I’m a princess,” she said coldly, mustering a stare that demanded attention.

Half an hour later, her ruse had her inside the gates and heading to the castle. The king had apparently set aside a special room for her to sleep in.

Once inside, she was lead to a tower and asked politely to climb a long staircase. After five minutes of climbing, she reached a stone platform with a single door. A servant swung it open and motioned her in. The room was well lit with candles and from their glow Beatrice could see that the only piece of furniture was a towering four-post bed.

The canopy of the bed was close to the ceiling and stacked, almost to the same height, was a huge pile of mattresses and feather beds.

Staring aghast, she counted twenty of each.

“This, your lady, will be your sleeping quarters.”

“You mean I am supposed to sleep on that? I don’t think so. How would I even get up there?”

“There’s a ladder my lady,” the servant explained, ” on the far side of the bed.”

“Is this any way to treat a princess,” she said, remembering her character.

“It is by the Queen’s orders,” replied the servant, shutting the door.

Beatrice stared back at the mattress stack and whispered under her breath, “Are they serious?”

Mattress Stack

Early the next morning there was a loud banging at the door. Beatrice climbed down from the mountain of beds and opened it, still half asleep.

As she did, a small crowd of royal dignitaries burst into the room, staring intently at her.

The Queen pushed to the front of the pack and addressed Beatrice: “So young lady, how was your sleep?” The others in the room leaned closer, as if Beatrice’s answer would change their lives forever.

“Not so great, now that you ask,” replied Beatrice.

A cheer erupted from the crowd at the back of the room, but was quickly hushed by the Queen. “And why would that be.”

Beatrice stared at the tower she had slept on and thought for moment. “Well, you may have stacked twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds on top of one another, but I don’t see a single Simmons in the bunch.”