Tuesday, March 30, 2010

An intriguing comment on my blog

I got an interesting comment on my blog which was not readable for me. A friend of mine told me a while back that it was either Chinese or Arabic usually when the comment comes unreadable.

I would love to know which it is and who the person is! I also have a regular readers from Beverly Hills, California, I would also love to know who that person is.

I know quite a few of the readers by their addresses but these two I don't know and am very curious!!!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Palm Sunday 2010

The three of us at home.
Andrew, Rahel and myself at home




Andrew, Rahel and Mohammad at my home.



Andrew and Rahel, the engaged couple. Wedding will be on the 10th of April and they have invited Mohammad to come as well which is very nice of them.




Charles, me and Mohammad.






Mohammad took a picture of me near the wonderful flower arrangement. I was wearing my Turkish shawl which I bought in Turkey about 30 years ago. Still good as new.







I just loved this look! The candles are very secure in glass holders which are difficult to see in this picture.








A shot taken from my seat near the back of the special cloths covering the backs of each pew.









I went to St. Paul's and it was the Pancake Luncheon and I had bought a ticket. The church looked absolutely gorgeous and I took a few shots of the Sanctuary. This church is one of the few churches in Canada who still retain this custom of putting the linen on the pews. It is a beautiful and meaningful custom, in my opinion. It unifies everybody in the congregation as if, they, too, are sitting enjoying the fellowship together of the eating of the bread and wine.

Much to my surprise, Mohammad came in half way through the service and I was very glad to see him. I had expected him to arrive just in time for the Pancake luncheon but he was able to get there sooner.

It was nice sitting with him and he was very respectful of everything which is how it should be.

My dear friend Asma also has come with me to St. Paul's once and it was a positive experience for her as well. It is a very welcoming church and the people are very friendly.

I was a little disappointed that my darling friends Carmen and Wally did not sit with us at the Pancake Luncheon as I wanted to be with them as well but they were in the Nursery. They really are great with children. Hopefully next time we can sit together.
We did have a little chat later on as they were leaving.
What a wonderful surprise I had when I spotted Andrew and Rahel at the Pancake luncheon! Andrew has been with me there once to see the Scottish Dancing group but he goes to the Baptist church normally. We all came back for herbal tea to my place and spent quite a wonderful time together just chatting. The two men, Andrew and Mohammad, had lots to talk about and Rahel and I chimed in as well.
After the young folk left, Mohammad and I went over to get some cleaning supplies for him as he didn't know what to buy. This living alone is a novel experience for him I think so I was glad to be able to assist in this small way.

We are already planning his balcony garden and will go and get the things to make it when the weather gets warmer. I can hardly wait for that. We both like mint so we will grow that, cherry tomatoes and flowers. He will buy some chairs and table for his balcony.

All in all, an absolutely fabulous and spiritually uplifting day spent with good friends.

















































Sunday, March 28, 2010

Feeling quite a lot better today

It is now Sunday morning and I have found out from a friend in Manitoba, and a friend in Hamilton that they, too, have something very similar. One of them has gone to see her doctor and there is nothing to do about it but to wait out the four to six weeks that it will take to get over the bug.

I am relieved to hear that others have it as well. I had hoped that it would just be a bug.

I am feeling a lot better today, thankfully!

Thanks for the e-mails, I appreciate your concern.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

I'm a little concerned

This is the second day of extreme vertigo. In the middle of the night, I woke up and my whole bed seemed to be spinning around with me in it. It would not stop. It was very frightening.

When I got up this morning, the same thing happened again and this time I had to cling to anything I could catch onto to go into the washroom.

Nausea became a reality, unhappily for my floor.

I think I may have to call Telehealth to see what they say about it. It could be the Labryinthitis back again but I have not had that for years and years. If that is the case, I can only hope it will pass very quickly. If I am remembering correctly, it lasted for five months the one time I had it.

I don't think it is an inner ear problem, after my accident I had that for a very long time and kept falling.

I am not thrilled by this new development!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Bought a new pair of comfortable shoes today!

Now my feet can be very happy and with comfortable shoes, I can walk much further now.

I went up to the mountain to pick up my orthotics today. Chris did a great job! Since I buy one new pair of shoes per year (if needed), I decided to pick from his father's orthopaedic shoes and I am very happy with my choice.

It is very convenient for Chris and his Dad to be working side by side like that as well as for the customers.

Chris is a very nice Chiropodist and his Dad has an orthoepaedic shoe store.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A poem I just composed from a set format

It was fun to do this style of poem. Monique posted one of her's on the web under the Buzz programme and so I thought it might be fun to try one as well. Darn, I cannot copy and paste it into this blog. Will have to type it all out again.

As I said, it was lots of fun to try and fit the words into a set format.

This is what came out of it:

In the Hush of the Forest

This is the poem that portrays life
in the depth of the forest
that uplifts my spirit
because red robin sings
because sound travels.

And when she is happy
I am content
this is the poem that transports me upward
in the deep hush of the forest
Far from the noisy city streets.


(c)WilmaSeville2010

Monday, March 22, 2010

Young Shona visited today

I think the world of this young person. We have some really interesting chats and we do little projects together.

I hope that I fill a positive role in her life. It is so hard when a child loses their Mother.

She is now 18 and is doing very well in school and will be going to University in the Fall.

If she accepts one of the three university acceptances, I may not see her for a very long time and I would miss her.

However, I want the best for her and her future.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A nice afternoon spent with my friend Kevin

At the last moment, I decided to invite Kev back for a light lunch at my place. Fortunately, he was free.

Kev and I are good enough friends that I can do that without worrying about having a messy sitting room. He is so nice and easy going and we always find something to talk about.

Kevin is into music and is a musician. He may sing at my party or at least play his harmonica. It depends what his band the Catitude is doing on the 18th.

Andrew came up so he was able to reconnect with Kevin whom he has met before at my party.

All in all, a nice visit with a good friend.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

One of my published poems

I had forgotten I had submitted this poem to a community newspaper several years ago. I had such a good laugh when I read it as I still feel that I am not winning in this particular fight.

I had even forgotten I had written it in a moment of sincere doubt that I could ever master the computer. Happily, I am a little better at the computer now but still have a long way to go!


Here is the poem:

A love/hate relationship!


I have a love/hate relationship
Not with a person but a machine
This monster drives me round the bend
Can you guess which machine I mean?

It has a screen within a frame
A button on its front panel
It's home is on my desk
A friend and yet a foe!

Many times the gremlin inside
Waits to spring a big surprise
On a poor non-techy such as I
Who lives in hope that e-mails will arrive.

Some days I win,
some days I don't
I vow to keep at it until I die
For sure it's a fight I must win
If I want to keep up with
the latest things.

Oh computer dear, why not
let me win?
When will you learn that
I'm in charge?
For better or worse, we're
stuck together
You in your frame and me
on my desk chair!

(C)copyright Wilma Seville 2006

Indian sitar and drum evening

On Drums - Abdul Hai

Abdul did not want his picture taken due to modesty so I honoured his request. You will notice that the drums have covers on them to protect them. Abdul put some sort of white powder into these covers and dipped his hands in this powder from time to time in his performance.


I do not know the reason for this, but assume it may be to protect his hands which certainly take a beating during the performance!


A real sweet fellow, whose smile looked like an angel! This young fellow filled in at the last moment for Prem Tiwari. I have seen him perform at Central Library and he really puts his heart and soul into it! As both Abdul and Neeraj were out of the country and just returned, they did not have time to even practice together! It was amazing that these two artists were able to be in perfect accord.


Neeraj Prem, who entertained his audience with his lovely singing and his translation of the Hindi and Urdu songs, was a true performer. He was able to hold his audience spellbound.

I think he would not have minded to have his picture taken but I decided not to,after the young fellow requested that I didn't take pictures of him.


Neeraj and his family were there as well to enjoy the performance and his five year old son is already learning to play the sitar! This little fellow was as good as gold during the performance.



Tickets were $15.00 and part of those proceeds will go to St. Joe's Haiti Relief fund which is something which I am wholeheartedly in favour of.



My pals, Jeff and Mohammad sat together and we all totally enjoyed the evening!


Well worth the $15.00 especially since it will help others.


Friday, March 19, 2010

Poetry and other things

The poetry group liked it and made a few minor suggestions which I will take. Bernadette suggested that I gather all my children's poems together and make them into a book. She is such a lovely lady and she picked me up on her way from her job on the Mountain. Alvaro was not attending but he arranged this ride for me with Bernadette. How very thoughtful of both of them.

I do love writing for children and loved reading to them when I worked for the Toronto District School Board as a day care teacher. I really miss dealing with little people and miss the hugs I used to get! I have taken children's writing courses at George Brown but never felt that I could master it but perhaps I am now ready to do that, but with the poetry rather than short stories.

I loved working with the little ones at school. They were all my precious jewels! It was too much for me,health wise, at the end and I left the position.

Children are our hope for the world and it is such a responsibility being a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent or mentor to a child.

Before I came to Hamilton, I was to start a volunteer job as a mentor to a Spanish speaking little girl. I would have liked that as I understand the culture quite well and speak the language somewhat! It was within the school system as well so I would have gotten to know some of the other children too.

However, things change sometimes from minute to minute and I had another stroke and came here to be near my son.

Now my son has moved to another city but I will stay here as I now have some fabulous friends and it is also quite easy to get to Toronto, Kitchener and even to Montreal from here.

Today is Widow and Widowers group, I hope more than the three of us turn up this time!

East Indian music tonight at a local place, I would love to go! I love the sitar and the music.

Wish Asma was here, we could go together!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

A gorgeous two days

Well, we certainly cannot complain about the wonderful weather we have had these last two days.

I hopped on the bus going up to the mountain yesterday and went to see my friend Rosie and we sat outside on her patio without a jacket! The sun was just lovely and several people came over and we all had a nice chat.

If it was not so far, I wouldn't mind living there. Nice sized rooms and I know quite a few people living on both sides of the complex.

It takes half an hour to get downtown from Stonechurch Rd though and the bus doesn't run that often, particularly on a Sunday. It would be a great place to live in the nicer weather but unless one drove, one could become very isolated. There are no sidewalks and I felt very uneasy walking next to cars speeding by! In the winter, the snow is really quite deep as well and is hard to pass through with a cane and impossible with a walker.


I do like the mountain area very much though. It is a different feeling up there all together.

Tonight, Bernadette will pick me up as Alvaro is not coming to our poetry group. I will bring my personification poem to see what the group thinks of it.

All in all, fantastic weather, so many people downtown because of March break and now Hart's Department store is open again so that is another nice thing which happened today.

I also treated myself to a light meal at Toby's, my favourite restaurant. At the same time, I gave Rosanne (a lovely lady who works there) her invitation for the jewellery party. She wanted to be informed and invited next time I had one. She will check her schedule and hopefully she won't be working that day.

Monday, March 15, 2010

I decided to have another jewellery party

I am getting excited about this now. I love having fun and the last one was so successful thanks to the hard work of all those who participated!

I have to try and book the party room and then send out invitations. It will not be as large this time as borrowing all those chairs from St. John's was a real hardship for Hosea although he never complained.

My plan is, as usual, to give 10% of what I make to help developmentally challenged people.

I now have a children's line as well as an adult line.

I love to plan a party!

An update since I wrote this this morning. I now have the party room for april 18th so it is all systems go for the party now. So far, I have invited 20 people and now am limited to only a few more due to lack of chairs.

I am trying to invite different people that I didn't have the space for last party.

Need to plan the food list and the entertainment schedule, then everything will be in order except for the day when it will be really busy getting the room set up.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

An interesting Sunday

I liked the lady minister who came today to St. Paul's. She says it like it is and it is refreshing to have her come.

In the afternoon, the two Jennifers and myself went to a lovely guitar concert at Central Presbyterian Church. The young people brought a lovely variety of pieces and it was a pleasure to hear them.

Afterwards, we came back here for coffee and had a nice little visit.

A good day!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Irish Pub Night at St. Paul's

Striped shirt, Anita, beside her Bibi
Anita took this picture so I could be in it.

The dancers again, having a ball!


The music was so good that some people got up to dance.



My darling Carmen, a joy to be with!



Part of our table






A small section of our table.






Dick, sporting his St. Paddy's day earrings. One gold and the other green. He was a very good sport to do that and we all had a good laugh.







What an absolutely grand time we all had! First of all, I had invited a group of friends from outside to join in on this wonderful programme and they all came and enjoyed it tremendously. They want to be informed next time there is any special event at St. Paul's, so I will do that.
Second of all, St. Paul's is a church family and one need never worry about too much drinking or rowdiness. One can be oneself and have a great time!

Some of our regular group were not available for that evening but Anita invited three people I had not met before and it was a pleasure to meet them.
Each long table had a green plastic shamrock tablecloth, with peanuts and trail mix on it for nibbles. There were Irish shamrocks hung in different places in St. Andrews Hall which made it look very festive.

Wine could be bought as well as pizza and sausage rolls. Tea and coffee, soft drinks and bottled water plus deserts were all included in the very reasonable $10.00 entrance fee.

Dick, a newcomer to our group, knew Mohammad which was great. He also plays bridge and this is how they know each other. Dick turned out to be lots of fun, even getting up to dance!

I particularly loved his newly acquired shamrock earrings! See picture. He is a real card and a good addition to the group.

The band was absolutely fabulous, they were from Brantford and play there regularly. They told "clean" jokes and had the audience roaring! Their music was so great as well, playing old favourites and things we could sing along to. I took several pictures of the band but they were too dark unfortunately. I asked them for a business card, but they only play together and don't seem to perform anywhere else except in Brantford.
I was thinking of asking them to play for my next party if they were not too expensive.

It ended at 11:30 and Mohammad walked me home. I worry about him now as he was attacked coming home late one evening and shoved. Thankfully he was able to keep his balance or otherwise, that person may have stomped on him.
I certainly will plan to go next year if this same band comes to St. Paul's again!
































Friday, March 12, 2010

A dismal, rainy day today

Goodness, these kind of days are not for me! It makes me feel that it might be a good idea to curl up under a comfy warm blanket and snooze!

Happily, it is an Irish Pub Night tonight at St. Paul's and I am going out so that is something to look forward to!

Spent some of the day talking to Toronto friends, thank goodness for free long distance with Cogeco!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

I priced some Swarovski crystal earrings in the mall

$125.00 plus tax. Mine are just as well made and beautiful and I sure charge a lot less than that!

I had looked at a lovely Swarovski necklace with five crystals on it a few months back and they wanted $300.00 for it.

It is an eye opener to me what people will pay for lovely jewellery.


I had planned to go to the waterfront on the Aberdeen bus, but when I went outside it was just too cold with the north wind blowing so I went to the mall and to the market.

I had a nice chat with two of the merchants and I saw Olga as she was working her one day a week. She was busy so I just said hi and walked on.

There was a little problem in the mall and the police were there as well as the security guards and it seemed that the problem was with a lady in a scooter. I wonder what it was....

On the way towards the exit, I bumped into Leny and we had a nice little chat. She is such a grand lady.

All in all, a nice afternoon chatting with a dear friend on the phone and bumping into people I know in the mall!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A wonderful walk this afternoon

What a fantastic day for a nice walk. The temperature is 50F. here and the sun is out. I walked over to Whitehern and sat in the gardens and listened to a fantastic bird singing. What a pleasure it was for me to hear him. I took my walker with me and wore a comfortable pair of running shoes and thus I was able to walk for an hour and a half without any problem. What a pleasure for me! I love to walk and look around.

Then I walked up Hunter and along Bay and explored the side streets. I have found out that the No. 4 and No. 7 bus now goes to Hunter and Bay and it is only a block down to get the Main Street buses, so if I eventually move to Blink Bonnie, I would manage fine. There is a little incline up to Blink Bonnie though which may be a problem in the winter. I would go for a two bedroom apartment so that I could do my jewellery and my writing in the second bedroom.

It would not be as convenient as living here but the up side of it is that it is still downtown and I would have a lovely long balcony.

I really miss my balcony that I had in Toronto.

My friend Mohammad has offered me his balcony to grow things on and we will plan it once the weather is better. I can hardly wait to plant again.

Tonight is Lit Chat and so I will be going out again.

All in all, a very good day for me!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

World Day of Prayer 2010

This year it was held at St. John's Lutheran Church at Hughson and Wilson.

Ninety-two guests attended this yearly event. Although the Mayor and the Alderman were invited personally, they did not attend. I spoke to Mayor Fred myself in person on Thursday afternoon and he said that he was just too busy.

It was a little disappointing that our city officials did not attend, as they had done so in the past when it was at City Hall, I do understand, though, that the pressure of business can interfere with worthwhile events such as the World Day of Prayer.

However, it is interesting to note that 92 people plus all those who participated in this event, are also voters!

Under the leadership of Kathe K. and the help of a gorgeous day outside, the event went off without a hitch. We, on the Committee who run this event, are used to working with each other each year. Ten downtown churches band together to provide food and participate in the programme. This event happens all through Canada and I believe also in the United States. It started in 1922.

This year, the programme was written by the women of Cameroon. The republic of Cameroon is located in the centre of Africa above the equator at the extreme end of the Gulf of Guinea. The total surface is 475,440 square kilometres, which is slightly larger than California in the U.S.A. The two official languages are French and English with a dominance of the French language. The national currency is the Franc CFA, which is the common currency among 14 countries in Central and West Africa.

Although in its constitution equal rights between the sexes are promoted, the actual reality is not seen by the women as it is traditionally a patriarchal society. In plain terms, this means that girl children are not valued as highly as boy children.

The girl child helps her Mom in all her activities such as commercial enterprises, farming, child care and nursing the sick. If the girl is lucky, she may go to school but on top of all that, she is still responsible to work around the home and help her mother in all things. The prognosis for girls can be quite disturbing - poor performance in school, high drop-out rates, juvenile delinquency, child exploitation, prostitution, early marriages, unwanted pregnancies among other things. Alas, it is like that in many developing nations to this day.

In the Cameroons, girls are considered a waste of resources as she will only benefit her husband in the future.

Having edited an African woman's book a few years back, I know from her what life is like for the African woman. We, in North America, are very blessed to live here with all our modern conveniences and our "rights".

Pastor Jacob Koch, who had been a missionary in the Cameroons, was invited by Kathe K. to be the guest speaker and he proved to be a dynamic speaker.

I particularly found it interesting to note that his wife was not valued in that society until she had a child and then she was given the recognition she deserved. However, she would then be known as the mother of whatever the child's name was. I have seen that in the Arabic culture as well. Although I do have children, I would prefer to be known by my proper name, not mother of ....... Mind you, I can remember here in Canada in my youth, married women would be called Mrs. Jack and his last name, so what is the difference here? That was in my parent's generation and it was the normal way of introducing people.

After the service, guests were invited downstairs for a buffet type of meal. Once again, the Hospitality Committee of the E.L.W. (women's group) did an excellent job.

Any left over food was taken over to The Living Rock across the street which is a ministry for youth having difficulty.

Most unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of this event to share with those of you who regularly read my blog.

Thanks for reading, and next year, if you have the time to spare, check out your local area for the World Day of Prayer. It is in many different cities across the nation.

Friday, March 5, 2010

WINTER AT PIER 8

Ah, no yachts, all are berthed for the season. This was the first time I have been at Pier 8 since the Fall and it was so strange to see no boats in the water. It somehow felt desolate!
Hug a tree - one of my favourite things to do! A tree I love down at Pier 8. Stately and tall with many branches reaching up to the heavens.



Tracks of an ice boat but no boats in sight!













Theresa and Wilma enjoying time at Pier 8.







Rosie and Wilma - Pier 8
















Posing for a picture at the flag pole.








Thursday, March 4, 2010

A beautiful and crisp day today

What a lovely sunny day it was today! It sure makes a person feel more chirpy when the sun is out!

I miss hearing birds though as I never hear them downtown. I see lots of pigeons though in Gore Park. Today, there was even a man sitting there and enjoying the sunlight.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day for me as it is the World Day of Prayer and I am one of the organizers.

I had a little chat with Mayor Fred today in the mall and asked him point blank if he was coming, but unfortunately, he will not have time as it will be a busy day for him tomorrow. He then asked me to go next door and speak to the secretary for the Aldermen.

She was nice enough to send them an e-mail to remind them of our invitation.

It would be a pleasant surprise to see them there.

I invited several people that I knew in the mall and they will attend.


I am sure that it will go well tomorrow and I hope it will be well attended. When I was the guest speaker two years ago, we had 90 people turn up which is pretty good on a work day.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Shona and I had a great time


I shall miss her coming over when she goes away to University.

Today we did some staging and photographing of some of my jewellery designs and we had great fun doing them.

She is a very creative young lady and we get along just great!

All in all, a most pleasant afternoon.