Sentimental snowball
Grandmother keeps frozen birthday gift from granddaughter for 11 years
Mae Arsenault and her granddaughter, Alecia Arsenault, were going through some family photos recently when Alecia saw one that sparked some vague memories from her childhood.
It was taken on the grandmother’s birthday in 2007 and showed Alecia giving her a birthday gift, a snowball she had spent the past few weeks preparing.
“Do you remember this?” Alecia asked.
Mae said something about it being in the freezer. “What?”
“Yeah, I just saw it the other day,” replied Mae.
Surprised, Alecia went to the freezer and, sure enough, there was the snowball.
Alecia didn’t think she’d still have it, but Mae decided it was so special, she had to keep it preserved in her freezer.
“When she gave it to me, I was so pleased. I thought it was the most beautiful gift I ever got.”
Over the years, she would look at it once in a while, but she didn’t was there.
For Alecia, that makes it even more special.
“It means that she’s always thinking of me. It’s nice to know she didn’t keep it just to be like, hey, I still have it. She just kept it for her.”
It’s been there 11 years, and it will remain there forever, Mae said.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime gift.” Alecia doesn’t know what she’ll get her grandmother for her birthday this year, but one thing’s for sure, “It probably won’t be a snowball.” tell anybody else it
Alli Walker moved to Toronto when she was 19 with one suitcase, a guitar and nowhere to live.
She was chasing her dream of becoming a singer.
After finding some success there, she thought about how she could make money doing more things that she enjoyed. One of them was modelling. Walker didn’t have any real expectations getting into it because she wasn’t 16 and stick thin.
“I am 27, an athletic build and have a half-sleeve of tattoos and had no idea there would be work with my look.”
Last year, the Summerside native was a full-time manager at a restaurant in Burlington, Ont., but knew this wasn’t for her.
“That’s when I started following all the casting agents in Toronto and submitting myself to every open audition that was looking for my look.”
Soon after, she was booked for a Nike running commercial with billboards all around Toronto, a TSN CFL commercial and a campaign for a hair care company called OGX.
Once Walker built her resume up a little, she emailed her dream modelling agency and said “Hey, I want to be a model, sign me.’ ”
Maybe not quite like that, she adds, laughing.
“And after a they did.”
Walker was going to auditions and was shocked to see girls there that didn’t fit her preconceived typical “model mould.”
It gave her the confidence she needed.
“It was definitely an amazing experience, and every time I see myself on an advertisement I just think, ‘how the heck is this a job. I would do this for free, except I gotta eat’.” Alli Walker
few meetings
“I had come to find out that agencies make most of their money off of commercial or lifestyle models rather than runway or editorial models anyways. So, lucky for me.”
Walker’s first job with the agency was a Mark’s Work Wearhouse campaign where she made it on the cover of the flyer.
It was her first time travelling for a modelling job because the shoot was in Calgary, Alta.
The first day they shot all the clothing for the online shopping, then there was a day of shooting pictures for the flyers and other promotional material.
The third day, they basically filmed a music video that will be playing in stores and online soon, Walker said.
“It was definitely an amazing experience, and every time I see myself on an advertisement I just think, ‘how the heck is this a job. I would do this for free, except I gotta eat’.”
Summerside Deputy Police Chief Sinclair Walker and his wife, Jean, are pleased with their daughter’s success.
“We’re pretty proud of her, no question. Alli’s always been a hard worker and she goes for what she wants,” added Sinclair.