Swarovski crystals on a 20" chain

Finished it off tonight, New Year's Eve.  May all of you have a good new year's eve and a good new year with enough to eat, a solid roof over your head, good friends to share things with and money in your pocket.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your evening.

River stones wrapped

I am housebound right now, stiff neck, sore throat, croaky voice and feel freezing.  It may be the flu or it may be just a silly cold.  Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon!

I don't have alot of energy so decided to just sit and do wirework.  I used river stones for these three.  I have written a little poem about river stones and it will be attached to these creations when I sell them.

I plan to have a jewellery party late March or early April so need to prepare for it.

I still need to attach chains to them but it will give you an idea what I am talking about.

I particularly love doing wire work.  In these ones, I used 20 gauge gold filled wires.

I have come back to add to this page much, much later.  Here are the finished products.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you feel better than I do right now!

Creative juices flowing again

Today the snow has started to fall quite thickly and I am glad that I don't have to go outside.  I did everything yesterday which needed doing, including getting in some groceries as the weatherman warned our area that there would be a snowfall.

Apparently it will not be as bad as the other day but best to prepare, just in case.

I can remember as a young mother being snowed in and unable to be picked up to go to my Aunt's for Christmas Day.  At that time, we lived in a basement apartment in a very nice building.  Our apartment was very cozy but when the snow fell, the windows became covered with the deep snow.  It was a very quiet Christmas day that time and it taught me a very valuable lesson - be prepared for any eventuality. 

There wasn't much to eat that day as we had planned to be with my aunt and uncle and cousins for the day in a close by city and as a working mother, I hadn't had the time to go grocery shopping having only a few hours off on Christmas Eve afternoon.

The lesson learned?  Have more canned goods in just in case of emergencies.  I taught my daughter the same lesson, we both prepare for the winter by buying a few extra tins of beans, spaghetti sauce or whatever to have on hand, just in case.

Now, what does this have to do with creative juices flowing again?  Isn't life a series of finding creative ways to cope with the every day frustrations and ever increasing fast pace of life?  The snow reminded me of a time in the past in Montreal and the need to be prepared.

I am now preparing for a show something in the Spring and plan to hold another jewellery party in our party room.  It takes careful planning, lots of baking, handcrafting creations to delight the eyes, not only in jewellery but in how it is displayed. At the same time, I plan to invite writer friends to perform their work at the party.  I may even have a Mexican dancer and a clown from Toronto.  This will be fun and well worth the effort as it gives people a chance to come out and socialize, buy presents for themselves or for loved ones if they see something they like, and to have a good time.

I have had two or three jewellery parties in the past and people enjoyed themselves as did I.

I am getting quite excited about the idea now. 

Just to show you my newest creation, here are some pictures.  Norm, a friend of mine, who is a professional photographer, will come at some point and take much better pictures than I can with my little camera and my shaky hand.

 As you can see, the chains are shorter now.  In the beginning of my jewellery making path, I originally thought of making long chains that could fit over the heads of people who had arthritis or were just too busy to fiddle with clasps and wanted to slip something pretty on in a hurry.  I still make them but now have started to make chains 20 inches long. 

As a personal favourite, I love the black chain the best.  It looks so elegant against a black sweater or dress.  I sold a design to a lady I know and she always wears it with a black sweater and one sees the design and not the chain.  Very striking.

On that note, I shall close for now.  Thanks for dropping by.  Enjoy your day and live each moment being thankful to the Creator who has given life and has a plan for each one of our lives.  It can be a hard thing to do on the days when things just don't go the way we would like them to go, but over my long life, I have observed that it was good that God did not grant some of my requests.  He sees the long range plan, we only see the immediate and that is where trust comes in.

My newest jewellery design

I felt like designing something pretty today so did!

Swarovski pearls with Bohemian emerald jewels with silver workwork.  Two dangles.

Usually I try and make long, over the head, creations so that people on the go could just slip them over their heads and go out or, as originally planned, for people with arthritis who would have trouble with opening and closing clasps.

I haven't set a price yet.

It is a delicate piece of jewellery and needs to be handled with care.

Thanks for dropping by.

Christmas buffet at the Hamilton Club etc. etc.2012

What a grand day it turned out to be.  The weather was a little nippy but the atmosphere in the club was warm and friendly, making it very worthwhile to brave the winter cold.

I took some shots of the buffet table and the decorations.  I did not take shots of the attendees as they may not wish to be on a blog.

Michael, our wonderful chef, was kind enough to pose for a picture beside the main buffet table.

This was before the other guests came.  Michael and his fantastic team put on a lovely banquet.

The big tree on the Main Floor

Those are just a few shots on the main floor where the buffet was held.

All in all, a nicely buffet.  A gentleman from the club invited me to go with him to hear The Steel Town Rovers at Hamilton Place the same night which I enjoyed very well.

A very full and complete day.


Thanks for dropping by.

Christmas at Gore Park 2012

Merry Go Round - last year some teenagers I know enjoyed a ride on this Merry Go Round.  It was a fun day for all - the parents included.


 

Train ride anyone?  I believe it is free but you must be a youngster to go on it.

Letters to Santa - have you written yours yet?  Time is getting short!
 

The new train  - it was parked at this time.

Gore Park fountain

The tree of Hope

 

The raindeer and Santa's sleigh

An angel between the two fur trees



The reason for the season



A view of King Street at Gore Park - no snow but very cold


This is what procrastination gets you - fingers frozen as they snap shops at Gore Park, Shivers throughout your frame as the winds whip your coat and find even the most protected part of you and play havoc with your inner warming system.

Why do I say procrastination?  I have a reason,  Every time I would pass the park and see the decorations up, I would not have my camera with me.  Each day (in the warmer days) I would remind myself to get out and get some pictures.  Finally, yesterday I remembered my camera and took the shots.

In the meantime, the weather had changed drastically - windy, cold and dull.

However, once my mind is set to do something, 99% of the time it gets done.

As a result, once again at Christmas time, I present Gore Park in downtown Hamilton, Ontario.  Come visit us, Hamilton has many spots of beauty. friendly people, good eating spots and hotels, bed and breakfast places and many cultural events such as plays, musical entertainment, poetry readings, art galleries with very creative work and many fantastic walking trails.  Our waterfront is excellent and is well used in the warmer months.  Hardy people use it for skating, I have been told.

Thanks for dropping in.  Hope you enjoyed this little presentation about Christmas at Gore Park.  Please drop in again when you have the time.


 

Unlikely philanthropists, Canadian inmates contribute tens of thousands to charity every year

Unlikely philanthropists, Canadian inmates contribute tens of thousands to charity every year

Some jewellery I make

Clip on earrings are almost impossible to find now in stores

Different styles

invisible necklace.
 

an elegant set - Swarovski with nickel free earwires.

Radio interview

It was a very interesting experience for me and something I have not done before.  I have interviewed people from professors to politicians but never been on the radio.

At first there were some technical problems with hooking up but that happens on even the t.v. stations sometimes.

I was a little nervous about it as not only was it 12:10 a.m. our time here but it was quite some distance away (3,000 miles) in Vancouver, B.C.

Once I got over the nervousness, it was fine. 

They have said that they would like to put me on again at some point.

I found it interesting to listen to my own voice especially reading my work.  I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the two hosts, both in English and Spanish.

If anybody would like to hear the radio interview, please go to:

http://worldpoetry.ca

Then click on the radio show for Dec. 11th.  There will be some nice music (Spanish) and then the hosts and near the beginning of the programme is my interview.  If you have the time, near the end of the hour long show, there is a poet who writes abouyt bi-polar illnesses.  I found that very touching and I also enjoyed the music very much.

Thanks for dropping by.

LOVELY AFTERNOON WITH THE LADIES

It was the Christmas celebration of the ladies group at St. John's today.  It was very well attended and everything ran smoothly.

The hostess committee outdid themselves for this amount, German baking, open faced sandwiches, fruit, tea (heral and black) and of course, coffee.

It ended around 4 pm.

All in all, a very nice event to attend.

SOME PICTURES FROM DECEMBER EVENTS

Some of the Whitehern Gals

same - but better picture

We gals had a fabulous time at the Baltimore House.  I plan to go there more often as it is a cozy environment.  The food was delicious as well.  It is near the Sky Dragon, just down a little further. It is not wheelchair accessible that I can see.

Valerie & Bob - Tower Poetry Party

Jeff and an old friend

Robert

Marianne & Jeff

These are just a few of the pictures I took.  All in all, a very busy and fun filled weekend.

WEEKEND NEWS

This has been a busy weekend for me.  Friday night a lovely party at Hanna's place with a group of friends and Saturday afternoon, the Tower Poetry Christmas party.

Both were excellent and very enjoyable.  Ididn't take any pictures on Friday night but some of the gals did so perhaps they will send them around.

Saturday I did take pictures but did not download them from my camera yet.

Today, Sunday is St. Paul's children's programme with a Kentucky Fried Chicken lunch afterwards, then our Christmas party in the building.

I am not sure if it is Lit Chat tonight. I didn't receive any notice yet but it usually is the second Sunday in the evening.

Have a great day.

Jury Selection days

It was a very interesting experience and I met some very pleasant people.  I heard that there were 600 people called for jury selection on the Monday.

All I know was the fact it took two full mornings, some people having to return in the afternoon even. 

We were taken into the court room and told the rules by the judge, then gradually we were put into groups of 20 people.  The murder suspect was present and he pleaded not guilty.  It was a charge of second degree murder which means, I think, that it was not a premeditated act.

Everybody was asked to come back the next morning at 10 a.m. and to go into our groups so that people could be questioned by the two lawyers, one representing the Crown and the other representing the defendent.

By 12 noon Tuesday they had picked the twelve jurist plus two spares.

The rest of us were told we had done our duty and could go home.

I met some really nice people and everybody seemed to be okay with being there.

An interesting experience.  My one other time was in Toronto and both lawyers rejected me.  This time, in my group's case, we were not needed and were free to go about our regular lives again.


Thanks for dropping by.

Death comes to us all

My cat Tiger, had a major stroke last night and my son and his girllfriend came to help me early this morning as soon as they heard about it.

I had called the SPCA and the Animal Control people after the stroke as I saw how serious it was.  He lost control over his waterworks, lost control of his movements and especially his legs, and kept flopping from side to side.  It was hard to watch to say the least.

On the phone I was told by Animal Control that they could put him to sleep if we surrended the animal to the city.  They would try to save him but if the vet said there was no use, then they would have the vet put him to sleep.

I asked my son to varify this information, as I was so upset when I called in the middle of the night and my hearing is not good. My son also called this morning just to check the information and was told the same.

We brought Tiger up to Dartnel which is a very, very long way even in a car.  We were told they did not do that.  They gave us the name of a 24 hour vet. clinic who could do it.  We took him there and it was a good choice.

Beattie Pet Hospital at 131-125 Upper Centennial Parkway,Unit #3 in Stoney Creek on the mountain were fantastic. Their phone number is 289-639-5600.     The staff were so kind, when the vet came he explained the procedure and we stayed with Tiger until he died, which was within  a few seconds of having the lethal injection.Tiger just went to sleep. 

Here is their website:   www.beattiepethospital.com

They are a regular full service hospital as far as I could see.  I was most impressed by the extreme kindness shown by the vet, he talked to Tiger, stroked him and spent some time with him before he gave him the shot.  He carefully explained the after affects of the shot after Tiger was dead.  Air would escape from the lungs and body fluids would come out. 

I shall miss Tiger very much as will Boots.  I fully expected Boots to go first as he is 19 years of age and Tiger was quite abit younger.  I don't know Tiger's age as he came to me third hand and nobody knew his age.

I may write a poem about Tiger as a memorial to him.

It is a sad day for me but I am thankful that Tiger no longer needs to suffer.

Boots is to the left, Tiger us to the right

They were the best of buddies

Tiger - in his clean litter box - he loved to do that for some reason.

It just in another lesson in life, I was certain that Boots being the much older cat would have gone first. Instead, Tiger had a stroke and was so damaged that it was the kindest thing to do by putting him to sleep.

 

 

 

First real blast of winter

We Whitehern gals met today at the Baltimore House on King Williams.  It is just a few doors down from the Sky Dragon.  Grace picked me up as I did not know where it was.

We had a two and a half hour lunch.  The food and the ambience was great and as usual, we were a rowdy bunch!

I took a couple of pictures just to mark the occasion and also told them about the possibility of a jewellery party after the winter with a talent show.  They were very enthusiastic about that so I think I will plan for it.  I hope my friend Mary from Toronto can come and bring her clown act as well as my writer friends will share some of their great work.

It gives me plenty of time to make some beautiful designs.

The snow started to fall lightly as we were eating but it came down much heavier when we were ready to leave.  I decided to walk home as I wanted to go to the health food store to get some passionflower tea makings as that seems to help me to sleep.

I bought some to share for one of the gals at the Club to try out and will bring it when the weather breaks and it is not so slippery underfoot.

At one point, my cane was slipping on a slope and a young fellow I had talked to briefly outside of the restaurant happened to come along, and he offered me his arm and I took it.

I was most greatful for that support.  I find the walker much better for getting around as even if you fall, the fall will be broken somewhat with the walker.

In spite of the weather, it was a great time we gals had with lots of laughs and chuckles.

I liked the wait staff at the Baltimore and plan to go again at some point.  It is not accessible from what I can see though.  I could not bring my walker as there are stairs there.

All in all, a fantastic and happy day.

Thanks for dropping by.

Kitchener and Hamilton Christmas decorations

I went up to see the "kids" yesterday and took a whole suitcase full of presents for them.

It was easier to carry them all in a rolling suitcase.  Bill, my son-in-law, met me at the Kitchener bus station and we had lunch there at the station.

It was a very pleasant ride, through countryside from Hamilton to Kitchener, and took an hour and a half.  Both ways, the drivers were very pleasant and helpful. 

I look forward to my visits to Kitchener, not only to see the "kids" but to see the countryside and to see what is new in Kitchener.  It sure is growing!  I have always liked Kitchener.

When we arrived at Bill and Anna's place, I took some shots of the foyer in their lovely apartment building.  It is so well kept up and if I lived in Kitchener, I would not mind living there as it is very well maintained plus each unit has a balcony!

 A corner view.  They make it so cozy, don't they?

In spite of the fact that Anna had the flu and was resting mostly in bed, we had a good time.  I made them pots of rosemary tea and also another pot of fennel with clove tea and they loved both!

Bill brought me downtown again and waited for the 4:30 bus with me.  It was a lovely visit, short but good.

In the winter I prefer taking the earlier bus home so it is not too late to get into Hamilton.

When I got back to my building, I saw that Marcel and Robert, had finished the decorating in this place.  They are true artists!

Here are some shots.

Part of the foyer between the two buildings which make up the complex.

Our lovely Christmas tree decorated by Marcel and Robert

Our mirror in one of the entrance hall


It is so nice to see all the decorations up again.  I always look forward to seeing the festive look to our building.  We will be having a Christmas get together on the 9th which I shall look forward to.

Thanks for dropping by and come back again, should you have the time.