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Longtime best friends bring exciting way to celebrate special events
For years, best friends Shannon Golding and Susie Freedman Tapper had talked about going into business together. Almost three years ago, it finally happened.
The impetus behind Bling My Lawn was a combination of the Covid lockdowns and the 16th birthday of Freedman Tapper’s daughter, Maddy, in February, 2021.
“My husband, Jason, and I wanted to do something special for Maddy’s birthday,” Freedman Tapper recalls. “At that time, people were only able to organize drive-by parades and honk. I looked into lawn signs but I didn’t see anything out there that I liked.”
So the former film production manager went online and discovered that “yard cards” are a big and growing industry in the United States but was still in its infancy in Canada. “I found one or two such businesses listed for Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary – but nothing in Winnipeg,” she notes.
Inspired by what she saw online and with a background in graphic design, Freedman Tapper was able to create a unique display to make her daughter’s birthday one that she would never forget. Golding shared it on social media and it was a huge hit.
“Susie called me late one night (in December 2020),” Golding recalls. “We were looking for a business that we could start together – a business which we could do from home which would allow us maximum flexibility.
(Golding has two children – Aaron, 10, and Ethan, 6, while Freedman Tapper has two daughters – Emily, who is 16, along with Maddy, now 18.)
A business partnership is a natural evolution for the two friends who, over the past 30-plus years, have shared many life experiences together: high school, university, being roommates in their first apartments in both Winnipeg and London, England, moving to Toronto together and both returning to Winnipeg (although several years apart) to raise their families.
They met in Grade 9 when the daughter of Bob and Shirley Freedman was enrolled at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate and the daughter of the late Richard and Anne Tramer was attending Jefferson Junior High School in Garden City.
“I was in the Hebrew program at Jefferson,” Golding recounts. “Susie and I met through a mutual friend at Joseph Wolinsky.”
Golding has spent much of her working career working within the Jewish community. She notes that in Toronto she was the Director of Membership for Holy Blossom Temple for ten years. Before moving to Toronto, she worked in programming at the Rady Centre and when she and her husband, David, moved back here from London (where David is from) in 2012, she continued working for the Rady Centre on special projects.
Freedman Tapper and her husband moved back here 20 years ago. Much of her working career has been in film production both in Toronto and Winnipeg, where she has worked for Frantic Films and Ian Dimerman’s Inferno Pictures. She also served for a time with Manitoba Film and Music, promoting our province’s film and music industries.
The partners started Bling My Lawn by promoting their new service on social media – Facebook and Instagram – and by word of mouth. “After a few months, we had so many orders that it was hard to keep up,” Golding says.
To help out, the partners have been hiring some university students.
Bling My Lawn offers a choice of eye-catching packages consisting of numbers and letters in black, gold and other colours. Golding and Freedman Tapper also provide balloons, cakes, capcakes, stars and hearts in a rainbow of colours and a choice of themes.
While the duo started Bling during the pandemic – thereby restricting their service to outdoor signage, they also now create indoor sign displays for parties and fundraisers – a new division they call “Bling My Bash.” The expansion has led Freedman Tapper and Golding to change their business name to simply “Bling,” which encompasses both Bling My Lawn and Bling My Bash.
“We do bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays, weddings, graduations, retirements – any celebratory occasions,” Freedman Tapper points out.
Golding adds that the pair have expanded their offerings to include centerpieces for bar/bat mitzvahs and weddings, signing boards, personalized presentation boxes for gifts and cards as well as logo and graphic design.
“Coming up, we are looking forward to doing an amazing bar mitzvah where we will be introducing our new styling service,” she adds.
“Bling is here to bring the bling to your celebration,” the partners note on their webpage. “Indoor or outdoor displays add that extra sparkle and wow factor to any party, event, drive-by, special occasion or… just because! From birthdays to babies, anniversaries to graduations and everything in between, they’ve got your bling.”
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New Opportunities for XRP in the Trump Era: How XRP Holders Can Earn $7,899 Daily in Passive Income Through FTMINING Cloud Mining in 2026
If you’ve always believed that XRP can only be held long-term and wait for its value to appreciate, then FTMINING cloud mining might bring a completely new way to utilize this asset. Today, there is no need to purchase expensive mining machines or master complex mining techniques. You can quickly participate in digital asset mining through cloud computing platforms, giving idle XRP more application value. FTMINING’s cloud mining service, with its convenient operation process, 24/7 computing power service and flexible product solutions, has attracted the attention of many digital asset users, providing a new option for XRP holders who want to obtain continuous mining rewards. The launched cloud computing service supports the participation of various mainstream digital assets such as XRP, helping users to access the digital asset ecosystem in a more convenient way. Users can generate a passive income of up to $7,899 per day.
From holding assets to participating in cloud mining
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Its security infrastructure includes:
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How to participate in FTMINING
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Create an account by entering your email address and password. Receive a $15 sign-up bonus and a $0.75 daily login bonus.
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Premium Contract: $25,000 — 30-day term — Total profit approx. $39,250
(Please visit the official website for more contract details.)
Contracts take effect immediately upon purchase, with earnings settled daily.
Real User Feedback
Michael, an XRP holder from Texas, USA:
“I’ve held XRP for years, but for the most part, it just sat there. Since using FTMINING, I’ve been generating steady monthly returns—with daily earnings consistently reaching as high as $7,899—so I no longer worry much about short-term price fluctuations.”
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Industry Perspectives
Industry observers point out that the attention FTMINING cloud mining model has garnered reflects investors’ growing demand for “stable returns” and “automated asset management.” With the continuous improvement of compliance, security and automation technologies, the FTMINING cloud mining model provides cryptocurrency holders with a new asset management approach and makes “passive income” a realistic and feasible goal.
Conclusion
XRP holders are entering a new phase of digital asset application, moving from simply holding assets to participating in the blockchain ecosystem. FTMINING cloud mining provides users with a more convenient path to explore value. With the help of cloud computing power, users can participate in mining services without purchasing professional mining machines or undertaking complex operation and maintenance processes, allowing idle XRP to play a greater role. With the continuous development of blockchain technology, cloud mining is becoming an increasingly important focus for digital asset users, enabling XRP holders to manage their assets more flexibly and efficiently, and helping them explore new opportunities in the digital economy era.
If you wish to explore more revenue opportunities while holding XRP, the FTMINING cloud mining model is worth further understanding and attention.
Official Website: https://ftmining.com
app: https://ftmining.com
Customer Support Email: info@ftmining.com
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Musings from Dizengoff Street – by Bruce Brown
(August 8, 2026)
Outside Basimta Café in Central Jerusalem. Love the red shirt against a tiny sea of black. Not sure I am shrugging because of the ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat or the lack of an ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat. For the last six weeks Israeli headlines shouted about the cafe chaos. With the ultra-religious blocking entrances and storming the café. While shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Upsetting the secular amongst us just wanting to enjoy our Saturday iced matchas. So the wife and I thought we would check it out. And. Yes. Buy something to support the business. Uproar. Not. Blocked entrances. Not. Storming the café. Not. Albeit there were police barriers separating the devout protesters from the coffee drinkers. The protesters being just a few dozen black clad, pious Jews. Mostly teenagers. And yes. Shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Certainly underwhelming in its reported mayhem. Reminds me of the famous saying misattributed to Mark Twain – “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do, you’re misinformed.” But I did enjoy my iced matcha.
(August 6, 2026)
Here we go again. Another round of forever negotiations. As someone who negotiates for a living. The way things are going in the straits. If I had to recommend a book on the subject to a new hire. Between The Art of the Deal, A Presidential Edition by Donald J. Trump or The Real Art of the Deal by the Mullahs of Iran with a special forward by the IRGC. Well. I would choose the latter.
(August 3)
Bravo Yoav Segalovitz, Liberal Yesh Atid MK and Monsour Abbas, United Arab Ra’am MK and party head. For breaking a glass ceiling where a Jewish lawmaker joins an Arab political party. No less a political earthquake in my little shtetl. Which can significantly impact coalition block arithmetic and posturing and strategy in the upcoming elections. Now Ra’am can be considered a legitimate ‘Zionist’ partner when forming coalition blocks and potentially pushing the ‘center left/right’ party over the 60 seat majority threshold. In our crazy parliamentary democracy defined by a multi-party (about fourteen!!), proportional representation system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Israel’s proportional representation model of governance is the best parliamentary democracy system except for all other forms of working democracies. Stay tuned for more amateurish political musings as we move towards Israel’s 26th national election – five of them held since 2019.
(August 1)
Although both sides say they are open to diplomacy. Neither really trusts the other. And American military action, or its threat, continues. I read headlines in the middle of the night -it’s a nervous habit lately– that the Dynamic Duo of Trump and Netanyahu may again strike in unison. Possibly this weekend. Yikes! Prompting me, at 2:30 AM, to dash around the house stocking my safe room. Bottled water. Canned food. Medicines. Documents. The beat goes on….
If it’s crazy here. It’s insane in Italy. With a recent online ‘Jew Hunt’ in the Milan area. Before being removed, the digital forms urged reportings of Israelis and Italian Jews staying in local hotels. The infamous Global Sumud Movement -yes, the one coordinating ‘peace and humanitarian’ flotillas to Gaza- was somehow connected. Although they deny involvement?! This deranged decree was looking to identify Zionist tourism and Zionist neo-colonization in Italy. I’ll stick with stocking the saferoom.
Then there’s New York Mayor Mamdani, a Global Sumud Movement supporter, threatening to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he comes to New York. But since discovered he has no legal right for such a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic antic. Maybe Mandami should be arrested! Or at least impeached. For being a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic mayor.
Here’s a post Bruce sent us Friday, July 31:
WARTIME MUSINGS
Should credible threats against FLOTUS and ‘FSOTUS’ (first son..) not be justification to attack first.
As for yesterday’s summit. Netanyahu really can’t win. Explainer. If Trump now attacks without victory its ’cause of Netanyahu. If Trump now attacks with victory its ’cause of Trump. And, in Israel, if Trump doesn’t attack -victory or not- Netanyahu failed in his eighth meeting with Trump. And if Trump does attack -victory or not- half the country will vilify Bibi anyway. Missing a permutation?
Ya. I know. Kinda’ need a definition of victory for that musing to work.
And here in my little shtetle. We go to sleep unsure if there will be a code red in the middle of the night. And if not. We wake up thinking it will be tonight. How do you define stress?
Seemed like an appropriate way to end this musing.
Bruce Brown is a former Winnipegger who made aliyah to Israel over 35 years ago. Bruce first began writing for us – in his own inimitable style, in 2012, during what was known as “Operation Pillar of Defense.” His occasional musings on aspects of life in Israel that were far from what you’d typically read in other reports from Israel were hugely popular – both in the print Jewish Post & News and on this website.
We’re now glad to report that Bruce is back writing for us – this time on a regular basis. We will post Bruce’s reports as they arrive – with the date of each post at the beginning of that post.
Here’s some information about Bruce – and awards he’s received for his writing:
Bruce Brown. Canadian born. Now living in Israel (for a long time). Bruce works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. He received the American Jewish Press Association’s award for writing excellence in 2019 and 2025. And wrote the 1998 satire, “An Israeli is….” Bruce’s musings are political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight.
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