Shopping with my Daughter & Dinner with Rhaina & Mary - December 14, 2004
On
the day of our Masquerade meeting on December 14, 2004, I had the day
off to do a little shopping before the meeting. As it turned out, my daughter
was off work at 2 pm and wanted to join me for a few hours! Great! Although
I usually wear mini skirts, and yes, even in the winter, I did chose to
wear my newest leather skirt. It is above the knee, yet it does have two
zippers up each side up to finger tip length, so it is "legal" :-)
So that with a red sweater and boots I was all set for a little shopping.
I picked up my daughter from work at 2 PM and our first stop was to the Wal-Mart store in Garden City. The place was packed! (Of course, less than 2 weeks till Christmas!). So there we were... like Aunt and Niece walking through the busy store, checking out all the Christmas decorations. Lots of people and yes even a few second looks from the guys! Not finding what my daughter was looking for we made our way over to Zellers in the Northgate Shopping Centre. It was a really windy day, so yes, it was a "Bad Hair" day<LOL>.
Once we got into the Zellers my daughter stopped to ask a staff member where the "seasonal" department was and we were directed to the back of the store. As we walked through yet another crowded store my daughter commented "See, when you are a girl it is OK to ask for directions"!
Walking through the store with my daughter I thought back to all the times I just wanted to be out in a skirt and heels and how I never ever through I'd be doing just that...and WITH my daughter of all people!
Again we didn't find what we were looking for and since it was getting close to 3 PM when we had to meet Rhaina, a Masquerade member who is in from out of town, we headed for the door. As we passed the checkouts I overheard, or at least I thought I overheard someone say the words "drag queen". At least I thought that's what I heard as I proudly kept walking with a smile on my face thinking..."Gee, I even fooled you!" Since I do consider there is a difference in the definitions of a drag queen and a crossdresser!
Four years ago though, if I heard that comment during my first time in the mal, you probably wouldn't be reading this, or any of my web site for that matter. Yet with the support of the girls at Masquerade and my friends on the net I have come a long way to accepting myself and can just know that it really is ok just to be myself, however I want to be on a given day!
We made it to Lady Godiva right on time to meet Rhaina! She was wearing a really sexy and clingy tight long dress, and of course her wonderful and happy smile! So after a quick chat with Mary and of course a picture of my daughter, Rhaina and me, we headed of for yet another adventure. My daughter had to be home early so we drove her home first, then made our first stop at Mia's on Sargent Avenue.
Mia's is a crossdresser's dream store when it comes to accessories! From earrings to necklaces to hand bags and pins. You name it and they have it! Plus, they have these real cute purses in the shape of stilettos!
Rhaina bought some jewelry, so she was a very happy girl! Our next stop was at Payless Shoes on Kenaston Boulevard where Rhaina was in search of a new pair of boots. I tried on a pair of ankle boots which had a nice spiky heel. However, there was a problem. They would look great when worn with pants. But wait a minute! This girl doesn't wear pants! I can wear pants any day of the week anywhere, so when I have my girl time, it HAS to be a skirt. Needless to say, we both left empty handed.
So
off we went back to Lady Godiva Boutique to pick up Mary. Once there we
decided to walk a block down Corydon Avenue to Kristina's On Corydon.
Which was OK with me... more "sidewalk time". On the way I noticed
a passing bus driver get whiplash turning his head to give us a long look!
I just
LOVE that!
The dinner at Kristina's On Corydon was very nice and the service was excellent! The atmosphere is much like The Fat Angel Bistro, lower light and a nice quite setting. There were other patrons in the restaurant when we arrived and only gave us a passing glance as we walked to our table in the corner by the window. Yes, going to TG Friendly clubs is great too. Yet there is something so very real about life when we go out "Mainstream", as Dana and Dawn refer to it, out and about to everyday, "normal" places. And the most wonderful part, is being treated like everyday, normal, people. Which, by the way, we ARE! After dinner we took a few pics outside the restaurant!
Then it was off to the Masquerade meeting! I parked in a lot about a block away, gathered up all my paperwork and headed for the club! On the way, as I walked proudly with my heels clicking on the sidewalk, I passed two guys who called out "Hey, you're one foxy lady!" Can you imagine the BIG smile that gave me!
We got quite a bit of business done at our Masquerade meeting and just as we were about to adjourn, we could hear "sleigh bells ringing"!! Then, guess what??? In walks a jolly old fat man in a red suite! Santa visited the Girls of Masquerade! That was so cool! I had talked with Mary the week before, about hiring a Santa to visit on the meeting night. Then, earlier on meeting day Mary called to say a customer of here had been in her store telling her "If you ever need a Santa, cal me"! What timing! It was a lot of fun and a cool surprise for the girls. I mean after all...how many of us have always dreamed of having their picture taken with Santa!
Sabrina & Santa
To view more pics of the Masquerade girls with
Santa,
visit the
Masquerade web site photo album page - Click
Here!
Thanks for reading my story,
Sabrina
E-mail me at sabrina_markes@masquerade.ca
Member of the Winnipeg support group - "Masquerade"