SHAWNIGAN LAKE -- This is not a story about Jackie’s new puppy, although he’s also helping her stay positive during the pandemic.

“He’s a big snuggle love-bug,” she laughs. “And we all need that!”

She named him Donny, after her late dad, Donald.

“He was just that gregarious guy who everybody loved,” Jackie says.

He taught his daughter to appreciate motorcycles – Jackie explains, as she shows me a picture of her sitting on his bike when she was a kid – and how to make an impression at a costume party. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a photo of him and a female co-worker dressed as Sonny and Cher one year.

“He was a big man,” Jackie laughs. “He didn’t shave his chest or his beard, just went as Cher!”

These days, it can be hard to focus on that sort of fun when there seems to be so much around us to fear.

“It’s really easy to sink into that dark place,” Jackie admits.

So, Jackie is attempting to make things bright by reacquainting herself with the most fun aspect of herself. She’s putting on a costume that includes pink make-up, a pink tutu and a pink sequinned cape. When she’s done, she’s transformed in her alter-ego — Sugarlips.

“When you’re wearing a cape and a pink tutu, it’s really hard to be depressed!” Jackie laughs. “It gives me a way to not take things too seriously.”

Jackie created the character with some friends a couple of years ago. But seeing as they aren’t in her bubble, and because these are unprecedented times, Jackie decided to double-down on the fun.

“When I saw the photographer was looking for subjects, I jumped on it,” Jackie says.

She jumped on her motorcycle, named Sally, and agreed to pose on it as Sugarlips for professional photographer Greg Samborski. You can see his pictures of her here.

Jackie says her bike-riding, costume-wearing dad would find the photographs hilarious.

She also hopes it inspires others who are in need of positivity to unleash their own alter-egos during the pandemic. Although Sugarlips may look superficial, Jackie says becoming her feels substantial

“It’s like my super-power,” she smiles. “It makes me feel confident and ready to take on the world!”

So, Sugarlips will get her motor running and head out on the highway, just after Donny the puppy stops looking for adventure in whatever comes his way.