Monday, March 26, 2012

I treated myself to lunch at the club

It was quiet and restful today and I met a new lady called Gloria who served me.  I always bring things home in a doggy bag as I cannot eat much at a time, so lunch will do me for supper as well!

I had a lovely Reuben sandwich with potato salad as well as potato chips.  I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee as well.  It was delicious.

I decided to sit and read the paper in the front room for a while today and continue on with relaxation.

It was a great idea and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club.

I took back my library book and the librarian helped me find two more good books as well so have reading to do for the next three weeks.

What a delight that will be to lose myself in a good book.  I have always loved reading since I was very young and first learned to read.

Have a great day and come back again some time if you are free.

Thanks for reading the blog.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A nice afternoon

It was a lovely lunch with soup made by Mimi, bread and a cupcake decorated in Green.  All for St. Patrick's Day.  The Events Commitee sold 56 tickets at $10.00 a ticket.  Betty had made a beautiful  crocheted shawl in a creamy colour and they sold tickets at $2.00 a piece for that.  I bought a ticket but I certainly don't need another shawl.  I have so many now. I was glad that somebody else won it.

I have shawls and large scarves from Turkey, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Canada, Malaysia and Palestine and that is all I can think of for the moment.  Many of them were gifts and I love each one of them.  I remember the giver or if I have bought it in my travels, where I bought it.

Some people collect stamps, I collect scarves, handbags and shawls!

I made my first visit to Princess Point this afternoon.  The weather had turned warm and sunny so I decided to go to be near the water and nature.

It was a very good decision to make.  I had a wonderful afternoon.  I found another section which was wilder then the paved area and since there were lots of people around I decided to keep on going, resting when I found a log to sit on, then carryng on.  I saw people fishing, people walking dogs, a group of women with a young Mom pushing a baby stroller on the rough terrain, and above all, I saw lots of happy dogs sniffing about and enjoying their freedom from paved sidewalks.


This is the side where it is more wild

I saw many trees looking like this - very interesting to see.

Canada Geese

It was nice to see the Geese about althought they make a terrible mess and one has to watch where one walks.  I love the sound they make.  Last year, in the Spring, I saw a little family together. I was hoping to see another family group but it might have been too early.

They have a peculiar sound to them when they call out and one always knows when they are near.  I saw a silly sheepdog chasing a bunch of these fellows when I was sitting on the one picnic table.  Silly old dog thought it was his duty to spoil their day!  In actuality, it was good exercise for the dog and gave a little excitement to these geese.  I got quite a kick out of watching the dog and the geese. It was a game really. It reminded me of the small children who chase the pidgeons in Gore Park. They don't have a chance to catch them but they still do it anyway.


Two fisherman at the beginning of the park before the wilder section

I suspect it must be just to do something because the fish they may catch in there would not be edible as the water is polluted from what I understand.  It truly is a pity, as there are so many people in Hamilton who live below the poverty line who could fish to catch their supper and get much needed nourishment this way. 

I walked up the little hill past the little fishing spot and a whole new world opened up to me.

Another interesting tree
I saw many branches down, trees with their limbs hurt, tree buds starting to open and the sign of new life starting to come up. 

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The beginning of life after a long winter - aren't they gorgeous?
As I continued my solitary walk, I marvelled at the beauty that was unfolding before my eyes.  Although most of the ground was covered by dead brush, little sprouts of greenery were poking their heads up in anticipation of showing their beauty to the world.


More fishermen - enjoying the afternoon


Note the bird's nest in the branches

I liked the look of these trees standing at attention

I have to say that it was a beautiful and restful afternoon.  I loved the breeze blowing off the lake and the friendliness of the people I met.  Princess Point is one of the many hidden treasures of Hamilton, Ontario and one I treasure very much.  Thanks for dropping by and come back again some other time.


Friday, March 23, 2012

This and that

For the last few days, we have had summer-like weather, but today it turned cool again.  I think a lot of people may not have listened to the weather forecast as they were out in shorts and tops. 

I had such a nice time last night at the club - Dave and Diane are back and I met a new person as well, Ike.

I am looking forward to the Easter Brunch at the club. My friend Rosemary will be going with me.  It should be lots of fun and the food is always good.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A book review

I had the pleasure of reading 'The Consequences of Love, a novel by Sulaiman Addonia.

It is a first novel and in my view, it is an excellent one. 

His writing evoked many sights and smells in my mind as I read his words.  His vivid imagery helped me see the streets his character walked on, understand his quest for love in a country where men and women do not mix freely, and the dangers this presents to both the girl and the boy.

I would strongly recommend this first novel especially for those who may be interested in the Wahabi way of life.

It is a novel, but told in such a way, that it is totally believable.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

A fun time at the Tower

Ah ha, many of my readers may wonder what I have been up to now.  What kind of a tower, where is it located and why would an old lady be at a Tower?

Let us use our imagination here.   Picture a lonely tower on a  hillside, a footpath leading to it.  Brambles overgrow it as nobody has passed by for a long time.

A solitary candle glows in the window.  What manner of person lives there?  Why are they so isolated?  What tragedy has caused them to shun others and shut themselves away?

There is the beginning of a gothic novel. 

Let's get back to reality here.  It was our monthly Tower Poetry group. We had quite a few chuckles today and we got all the poems critiqued which was amazing as there was a good crowd today.

We had one guest which was wonderful and she contributed her thoughts to some of the poems which was much appreciated. 

The group offered a few valuable suggestions about my poem "The Cry" and I will work on their comments when I have the time.

In the meantime, I need to concentrate on doing the programme for the ladies group in a couple of weeks.  Waltrault will give me the basic outline and I will go from there.

Nobody had volunteered so I thought I had better step up to the plate and do it.  I used to do that once a year for my other ladies group at St. Paul's. 

It should go well, I will ask some of the better readers to read some poems and assign certain tasks to willing people.  I have a couple of weeks to prepare it I think.  The theme is on Lent for the meeting.

It will be interesting to see what I come up with.

Thanks for dropping by and come again some time.

Friday, March 9, 2012

This and that

We had a delightful time.  She was very impressed with the place and the staff and would like to come again some time.

Last night, I went to a lovely event called The Wonderful World of Colour.  It was held at Hamilton Artists Inc on James Street South, near Cannon.  We used to have our writing group in their for many years.

I cannot believe the new and improved look of the building.  It is gorgeous and airy and spacious!

I was very impressed with the caliber of the artists who presented their work at this event.

Trudy Deys, Leni Haveman, Bert Schilthuis and Waltraut Weingartner. 

I took some pictures of the event and will post them here.

It was a long wait for the bus to get back but what can you do?  All in all, a most enjoyable time spent with compatible people.








The two pictures below are of the artists.

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

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Second Chances

I went to see the specialist in the morning, had to wait two hours which was a little much.  However, when the time came for me to see him, my bad impression of him changed.  He was no longer a grumpy old man but said hello and the conversation progressed into a more cordial tone as it went along.

I think he was just tired out the first visit I saw him.  I know when I am tired, the grouch inside me comes out loud and clear and heaven help any poor soul near me at the time.

I am pleased to say that on my second visit, we have established cordial relations.   First impressions are not always right - I am delighted to find that I was wrong.

Due to the long wait and the long walk up to King Street, I just made it home a little before 2 p.m.. My guest was coming at 2:15 and I needed to change. 

She was lucky enough to find a parking spot downstairs so we did not have to wind our way up to the roof.

We went to the club and unfortunately somebody else had the Den but the staff had a good idea.  In the main room where the fireplace is, they pulled the two high back chairs beside the fire, put a table between the two chairs and we had a lovely spot.  We were both pleased.  Michael, the Chef, had made the cheese cake with Splenda, at my request, and it tasted just the same as it would have  if it had been baked with sugar.

We enjoyed it to the fullest.

About 5 p.m. we left the club and Stella went home.  Ken and Jody came about 5:15 and rang the bell and we walked over to enjoy pasta night.

As usual, there were three choices of pasta, all good. I think my son liked the salmon one the best.  I liked them all, and had just a little bit of each. There was also garlic bread which we all enjoyed.   For desert, there were two choices, one was sorbet and the other was chocolate pudding with whipped cream.  For those who know me, they can guess which one I had!

It was a lovely experience and Ken looked very elegant in his black suit jacket and as usual, Jody looked great.  She had on a very pretty top.

All in all, a lovely day for me with people I care for, good company and a new and better relationship with the specialist.  What more can a gal ask for?

Thanks for dropping in and come again when you like.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

MY SON IS BACK SAFE AND SOUND

I have been rather busy finishing up the editing of the book and have not done much on my personal blog at all.  I am happy to say it has now been sent off to the author and she is delighted with the results.

My son arrived back in Canada after a seven and a half month's absence on Sunday.  He came to see me on Monday afternoon.  He looked very well and even though he must have still been very tired from such a long flight, he managed to help me with my computer.  What a great guy he is!

He changed my machine back into Internet Explorer from Chrome Google.  I am so glad to be back to Explorer as I can use Word for Windows instead of Google Documents.

He was even able to fix the huge lettering in Explorer so that I could use it properly.  That was the original reason I had to leave Internet Explorer as the lettering had gone into letters the size of the top line of an optometrist's chart which wasn't suitable. 

We had a lovely visit.  He started his new job on March 1st  which is in the Oakville area , about a half hour drive from Hamilton when he needs to go into the office for meetings. 

In the meantime, this week I saw the specialist for my skin (dermatologist).  He knew right away what I had and has prescribed two different types of treatments to help the situation.  They are working but they sure are time consuming.

One is a wet solution.  It is the most tricky one to apply as the cloth must be soaked in the special solution, then applied to the affected areas.  This needs to be repeated 3 times a day.

The next step is to put a very powerful cream on the affected areas after they are dry.. 

I am delighted to say that these two procedures are helping me a great deal.  The specialist has told me that it will be a very long time before all the redness is gone from the skin.  According to my research, it is a chronic condition brought on by stress and a weak imune system.

The programme I was using to edit the book was not of my choice and caused me much grief.  My son still thinks that Chrome Google is the best but I am so thankful to be back into Internet Explorer again.

He dropped in again yesterday night and brought me this cute little key rack.  He tells me that it is a typical looking house in Chile.  I really like it as it is practical and well made.  


A typical looking Chilean home

On another note, it was the World Day of Prayer yesterday and, as usual, I took part in it as I am on the organizing committee for the downtown churches.  The programme this year was written by the women of Malaysia. 

Next year, it will be written by the women of France so that should be very interesting as well.

As is usual, all the churches had contributed sandwiches, sweets, fruits and vegetable trays so there was more than enough food available for those who cared to come downstairs to the church hall.

What is left over, usually is given to the shelters.  It is not wasted.

I made a trip to Arts Hamilton to pick up my jewellery as they are no longer going to have a space for artists to display their work in the new location.  It is a pity really, as it was a good location.  All books, paintings, jewellery, pottery have to be picked up before the end of March when they move to Wilson and James N.

I sure hope it is accessible where they are moving to. 

Other than that, there really isn't much going on.  I think people are getting fed up with the winter and are beginning to long for the spring.  I was talking to my friend Trudy by Skype last night, and Montreal has had three snow storms in the last week so they have plenty of snow.  We have none here.

Thanks for dropping by and come again when you have the time.