THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING TO VANCOUVER!

The Olympics are coming to Vancouver in 2010. I am not much or an athlete nor do I follow sports. Had I been asked if I wanted the Olympics to come to Vancouver in 2010 I would have said no and voted against it but no one asked my opinion! (Imagine that....haha) The powers that be decided to bid on the winter games and they won the bid. We, the loyal citizens will be paying for this with our tax dollars probably for the rest of our lives. There are many, many reasons why it was not a good idea (at the top of the list is the fact that most local people cannot even afford to go to the games and with cuts to education, health care, etc...should we be paying the tab on this rich man's sport?) and then add to that a world recession and... but that is all water under the bridge now. We have the bid, we have to pay for the things needed to host this world party so we might as well get into the swing of things and at least enjoy some of the stuff we can afford that have to do with the big event.

When Loretta and I went our field trip to Hycroft, we went through The Bay department store to get to the Skytrain rapid transit to come home. The Bay is the store chain that is allowed to sell official Olympic "stuff". And do they have the stuff there!! They have an entire floor of the store set up as "The Official" Olympic store and they are selling everything you can possibly think of there and probably a lot of things you never dreamed of... A few weeks back Loretta had ventured forth and picked up a really cute pair of Olympic red mittens so while we were downtown today I bought a pair also. The proceeds of these mittens is supposed to be earmarked for Canadian Athletes which are very underfunded so the thought of the money going there is appealing. I had checked our local Bay store on the weekend and the mittens were sold out but they were expecting more in mid week. Loretta has heard there is a limited supply of them so I felt the "need" to obtain a pair before they are gone! I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice they are! We saw a number of people heading for cash registers with their arms over flowing with the mittens so I guess they are a hit. At 10.00 they are probably the best Olympic buy out there.

This is a coffee shop located within the Olympic Store in The Bay. Can you tell Coca Cola must be one of the official sponsors?? And speaking of sponsors, when I paid for the mittens, I was told either cash or Visa. Out of curiosity, I queried the clerk..."What about my Bay card..." He said "No, we cannot take the Bay credit card, gift cards, or anything except Visa and cash. The Visa company paid big bucks to have the sponsorship of the Olympics and so The Bay card can't be used"....I found it interesting and for those who also think it is interesting...The Bay card...the official card of the Bay department store is a Mastercard. I wonder if this policy is only at the "official" store downtown or if it applies to all the Bay stores...the reason I am wondering is because in June, I bought a pile of Olympic clothing at another location to give to relatives elsewhere and I used my Bay Mastercard to pay for it!! Interesting little tidbits that make you go UMMM......

In the background to the left is official Hudson's Bay blankets which as far as I know can only be purchased from The Bay (formerly the Hudson's Bay) department store. And on the right is a part of a wall full of Olympic collector pins. We couldn't find prices on the pins so have no idea what they are selling for. There is certainly something for everyone in the pin department...tons of different ones to chose from.

Another thing we like to do at Christmas is visit the Christmas department in the downtown Bay store. It was a little disappointing this year, the displays not as plentiful or nice as last year. Maybe because of the Olympics or perhaps just a cost cutting thing in a recession time. I am not sure which but I was hoping for something as pretty as last year....

This sleigh full of snowmen and Godiva Chocolates was really cute!

There was a display wayyyy up high above the cash desk of Christmas Villages. I could see one I have never seen before with all these different people, horse and buggy etc circling the house and going round and round so I went looking to see what it is and discovered it is called "City Sidewalks". It was one of the nicer village pieces I have seen. It was priced at 129.99. Nope...it didn't come home with us but it was lovely to look at!

These cute carolers were on display in the Christmas department. There were a few versions, and all were cute. I so wish my house were bigger when Christmas time rolls around...so much cute stuff and so little space to put it!!

Nutcrackers must be popular this year as this guy was available for purchase. My oldest son was crazy about nutcrackers growing up. I am glad this size wasn't readily available then or he would have found a way to buy it and whatever would I do with it the rest of the year???

These very attractive candles in a number of shapes and sizes are really pretty and elegant...another item I wish I had more room for....they are quite similar to a set of dishes they carried last year. I bought two of the large mugs from the dish set last year and my husband and son love them for their hot chocolate.