Our Eid picnic at the waterfront last night

I had prepared some yummy things and carried two picnic baskets down to the waterfront on my walker.

We sat at our usual picnic place at Pier 8.  It is out of the wind and sheltered.  It was the three of us or rather I should say the four of us, Zahra's disabled son cannot participate at all, but he is a presence there.

Rosie came down later on. Another friend was supposed to join us but I only got his message this morning when I checked my cell phone. It was dated for last night.

In any event, we all had a good time and ate to our fill.


Thanks for dropping by.

Our combined birthday celebration

My son and I met at Toby's in the mall.  We had a lovely chat and enjoyed a nice meal together.  Just to pass the time, we went to Fresh Nations as he finds that store a very interesting one. He had planned a BBQ for our mutual birthday celebration but the weather was not good enough so we ate in the restaurant.

He likes exploring Fresh Nations as there are products from all over the world.  He wishes it had been there when he lived down town.  He finds it cheaper than where he goes now which is good to hear.

All in all, a nice little visit.  The rest of the day, I took it easy.

Thanks for dropping by.

A fantastic day

My dear friend Asma came from Toronto for a visit.  We went to the Whitehern Concert and sat with my friends there and had a fabulous time.  It was the Aubrey Wilson Quartet, with 1930's Jazz Standards.  Fortunately, Asma is not at all shy so she was able to join in our conversations and fit right in.  We are a wacky bunch and have fun together.

Left to right - Asma, Anita,Joyce, Jeff,Grace, (not seen - Andre, Mohammed and me)

Joyce, Jeff, Grace

An overview of one side of the garden

The concert was extremely well attended, it seems people really love jazz plus the day was not too hot which also contributed to the good attendance.

We had lots of goodies to eat, plus Mohammed ordered vegetarian pizza. A picnic in the garden is always nice especially among compatible people.

After the concert, Asma and I went down to Pier 8 on the Waterfront Shuttle bus and had an ice cream cone, (Hewitt's ice cream) which we both enjoyed.  Then we went on the little trolley which took us all along the waterfront as far as Princess Point.  This was her second time on the trolley.  We went once before with Munavver, another friend,  three or four years ago.  Here are some pictures.

My pal Asma enjoying the ride

A view of one of the sitting spots at Bayfront Park

The water was not too choppy, there were  geese, swans, goslings with their Mama goose along the way as we rode the little trolley.  It was bumpy in some parts but that just added to the charm of it.

We had though of going on the Hamiltonian boat but the water in that section of the park was quite choppy so my friend thought perhaps we should wait till another time.

We were sitting behind the driver

Lots of these colourful balls in the water - I don;t know why

Perfect area for walking, biking, and if you bring a chair, in that little opening, it is a great spot to sit. I once wrote two poems right at that spot.

In Bayfront Park

After we returned from Pier 8 and the trolley ride, we went to the Persian Food place in City Centre and order Manto, which is a very delicious Afghani dish.

I was unable to finish it and brought half of it home and I enjoyed it the next day. She left Hamilton about 7:30.

Asma reached home safely and we will look forward to our next visit.

Thanks for dropping by.

Picnic at the waterfront

Sarah and I had agreed to meet in the City Center and then go down to the waterfront.  In the meantime, while we were there, she met a person who owns a tailoring place and had a nice chat with him.  She got us two cards.  I remember him now.  He moved his shop to the City Center and I did not know where he had gone.  He is more reasonable than the others.

She also met a former neighbour of hers who has a handicapped son and this lady and her son joined us down at the waterfront for our little picnic. |We had a very nice time.

I bought a few extra treats at Harts so we would have enough food to share.  A very enjoyable time with lots to talk about.

The new lady is from Somalia.

Mohammad joined us about half an hour before the last bus.  Thankfully, he reminded me about the time as I had lost track of time.  We all were able to take the bus back to downtown.

Today I am expecting company from Toronto and have a few plans for them.

Have a good day.

A sorry sight indeed!

Yesterday, late afternoon, I was on the way home from the mall when I saw a sight which shocked even me.

Two young girls of about 15 or 16, dressed in shorts that were so short that they looked like panties and a top which only covered the breast area.  One of the girls was wearing a very clingy material which moved every time she moved.

Modest is definitely not what you could call these outfits.

 In my opinion, this type of dress could influence negatively an unstable person who may think that these young girls are something that they are not.

Modest dress in both men and women is better when one walks on public streets.

A protest March in Hamilton, Ontario

As I was waiting for the No. 25 to take me up to Limeridge Mall, I heard noise and saw that there was masses of people carrying signs and saying,"shame, shame, shame"  I saw many people carrying Palestinian flags.  What I also saw was some Jewish folk (Orthodox from what I could see) marching along with many Muslim people plus many others - protesting peacefully and orderly.

They were escorted by the police in cars as well as bikes and at the end of the parade the mounted police brought up the rear.  No violence there, thankfully.

In France, protesting about Palestine has been disallowed.  They say it is because of public safety.

Thankfully, we have not reached that stage that a peaceful demonstration can be cancelled.


Something has to happen soon to stop this carnage - so many innocent people dying including little children.

Thanks for dropping by.

LONELY AT THE WATERFRONT

I went to the mall to pick up a tote bag I had seen in the Indian store to keep things in when I go out with my walker.  The price sure was right - $3.98 plus tax and it is a very strong material which should last for a very long time. It is very washable and easy to keep clean.  It also had a zipper and good strong handles and a snap over it to keep unwanted hands from entering!

I had bought the brightly coloured one the day before  for the same price and decided to go back the next day and get the brown one for an inner bag.

Here are some pictures.

For use as the outer bag for the walker basket

Nice bright happy colours which lift my spirits whenever I see it. I had a large plastic bag for years and it lasted well but the zipper was giving me problems so I decided to retire it and get a new one.

This is for the inner bag which will include pens, scissors, crochet hooks and other things to do while I am at the waterfront.  I will also keep a spare book to read just in case I forgot the current one I am reading.

The reason I was lonely at the waterfront was because I had nothing to do with my hands (crochet or reading), no food with me to nibble on and only had water with me.  I jumped on the bus at the last minute and tried my luck to see if two of my friends were down there.  They were not.  Quite often I bump into other people I know, but alas, yesterday there was nobody and not much going on that interested me.

I determined to fix that problem and am now packing the bag with things to do while I am down there.

Oh well, I did enjoy gazing at the water and did worry about some young folk who were sitting on the edge of the railing, hoping that they were able to keep their balance and not fall into the water.

I only stayed about an hour and came back home.

I will be prepared next time.

Thanks for dropping by.  I am most thankful that I slept well last night - the night before I had only three hours of sleep which definitely left me not feeling that great.

Life without phone and internet service

I have found out something.  I would not be good on a deserted island with no communication possibilities!

 The one good thing that came out of this two days lack of ability to communicate was that I had to learn how to use my cell phone better.  It was fortunate that I had the cell phone that the kids gave me years ago and that I use it only for emergencies and thus had several years of credit on it.   Unfortunately for me, I cannot find the instruction book.  I called Telus to ask them how to turn the ringer on so I could hear it if it rang, and the model is so old that they had to go on a real search.  She asked me to write it all down as she told me, which I did.  I now have it typed and in the Telus folder just in case the regular phone goes down again.

At first when the kids gave me the cell phone I didn't see any use for it but over a number of years, I have had to use it to contact people whom I was meeting.  I really appreciate having it now as I would have been without any communication possibilities at night in case I needed to call for an ambulance.

It was a strange feeling not being able to communicate instantly via e-mail, skype or chat.

I had some good news from my eye specialist this week.  My right eye has no disease in it and everything is fine with it.  Of course, my left eye is blind but thankfully, my right eye is carrying the day.  After the scare of not seeing for a day after waking up, I feared that perhaps my right eye was going blind as well.

The specialist told me that older people's eyes become dry and this is what has caused the blurry vision in the right eye.  He gave me a sample of meds that I can buy over the counter to keep the eye lubricated.  We take our eyes for granted and we should not.  The cornea transplant I received from a 22 year old boy who was in a motorcycle accident,   gave me a chance of sight when I was 25.  Unfortunately for me, the company I was working for at that time had hired a company to sandblast the outside of the building and it seeped through the windows and scarred the donated cornea.  My specialist in Montreal was very upset  when he saw the damage done.  Thus, I only had good sight for a little while until the sandblasting started and the cornea was damaged beyond repair.

Dr. V, my specialist here,  is such a decent and kind man, I have always liked him.  He was able to reassure me that my right eye was fine and it should remain fine.

Had better get some work done around here.  Still going through old papers to get rid of what is no longer necessary.  I have to renew my health card as well and then the club so had better get organized to go outside.

Thanks for dropping by.  Things are back to normal now, I am thankful to say.

Sunday's events

It was Open Streets today on James North.  A friend of mine in the building and I went together.

It was not as crowded as it used to be as I think there are so many nice things going on this weekend in Hamilton.

We walked along with our walkers and sat when we needed to.  There were musicians playing, exhibits to see and things to buy if one were inclined to.

Here are some pictures.

A view walking down from James & King. Near the Acclamation Bar

At the Armoury

Ron and Judith and friends playing and singing

A scene from the same spot.   Graham & Brian walking by.

Ron and Judith and friends

I had just missed hearing Jeff play his ukulele which was a disappointment for me.  I saw Andre sitting at a cafe and then Jeff came over.  They were off to watch the soccer game as both of them are huge fans.

There was a lot to see  but the heat became a little too much for me and I felt quite light headed and had to sit in the shade for a while. My friend did not know I was feeling ill and she kept on walking.

We finally met near our building.  

 She enjoyed the afternoon very much as did I.

It was nice to see Jeff and Andre down there and I met one of the young  boys that I talk to at the waterfront and he introduced his little brother to me.

It seems wherever I go, I see people I know, which I just love.

Thanks for dropping by.

This weekend's activities

What a busy weekend it has been so far.  I went twice to Gage Park, once with Anita and Jean and then the next day with Mohammad, Sami and we met Jeff and Andre and Joanna as well while we were at the World Music Festival.

I brought a picnic lunch - just fruit and some sweets on Saturday but on Friday night I brought some sandwiches.

Today is Open Streets and my friend Rosemary and I plan to go at some point this afternoon.

Here are some pictures from this weekend at Gage Park.

Aboriginal singing from Australia

A Bulgarian band

Band from Chile

I just loved this young fellow dancing with the children

Some more dancing with the children

A far away shot of the Chilean band

It was a very pleasant way to spend a few hours listening to the music, looking at the things for sale and chatting with friends.

Have a good day.

Busy but nice day yesterday

It was Whitehern's concert with Mike Daly, then  I stayed in the garden and chatted with two friends.   I always enjoy when Mike Daly plays and sings. He will come back again in August.

I took one of the friends back to my place where I made some sandwiches and packed a picnic supper and we went down to the waterfront.  She had never been down there before and so this was a new experience.  She will bring her children another time with a picnic lunch as well. This is now two ladies I have introduced to Pier 8 and they will plan activities down there with their children.

Marisol found it very restful down there.  We found a spot near Sarcoa where we were out of the wind to eat our little picnic supper.  Then we went back to the other side where there were more benches and chatted there for quite some time.

Eventually Sami and Mohammad came down and we joined them.  Marisol had never met Sami and she had met Mohammad just that day at the concert but they all got along just fine.

Marisol and I left to catch the earlier bus back to down town.

All in all, a lovely time spent with many friends at the concert and then with several friends down at the waterfront.   I also saw my young boys riding a scooter but they did not see me.  I enjoyed meeting them so much and chatting with them the day before.

Thanks for dropping by.

Tuesday night at Pier 8

I was supposed to meet two buddies at the waterfront.  They were not ready yet and would come down a little later than me.  I started glancing up to their usual spot and did not see them. I couldn't read as I was unable to see very well yesterday until about 7:30 p.m.

I was able to do crochet though and these two young men came over and asked me what I was doing.  We got along just fine and I taught them single crochet.  Another time, I will teach them double crochet etc. etc.  These boys must have been about 14 and they were delightful kids - good manners and very respectful.  They were fasting for Ramadan and this is why they were down at the water just walking around to pass the time until it was time to break the fast.  They were fascinating to talk to and to show them how to do single crochet which is the basis of any pattern.

One dear lady came over to ask if everything was all right when we sat there.  I appreciated her concern as you don't see young men with an old lady much and perhaps she thought they were bothering me.

The boys did not understand why she asked and said to me later "what's that all about".  I tried to smooth the matter over and distracted them with some crochet lessons so everything was fine again.

I also had the pleasure of some young 10 or 11 year old boys laughing and chasing each other all over Pier 8, skipping stones into the water and just having good clean fun.  It was so much fun for me to watch them and it brought back many good memories.  We established a little bit of a relationship by smiling at each other.

Eventually, I noticed that the sky was getting darker and darker and started to head back towards the bus when I saw my two buddies not in their usual spot so I could not see them from where I sat.

We sat and chatted for a few brief moments and then I looked up and saw a curtain of rain heading for Pier 8 and we started to run.  Unfortunately, the rain was faster than we were and we got soaked.

Sami and I headed for the bus while Mohammad chose to duck under the band shelter awning.  The bus was waiting for us and we took it home.  Sami called Mohammad to let him know we were both on the bus moving towards down town.

Bye the time I got home, my clothing was so wet that I hung it up on the bathroom rod and let it dry overnight.

I could not resist leaving Mohammad a message on his land line that he should have listened to me and come to the bus where there is another awning where he could shelter.  I was laughing so hard on the phone that I pressed the wrong button and I think he would not have gotten that message.  I dialed again and left him another message  still with much laughter in my voice.

What fun that was!

That was the adventure for last night - a great time, met some new people and talked to lots of other people who were walking their dogs.

Thanks for dropping by.

Downton Downtown - Sunday, July 6, 2014

One of the lovely photos hangng in the garden  = I believe it is Taken by Jeff Tessier

What a splendid event it was!  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Where to begin to describe this excellent event?

I think I will start with some of the pictures which I snapped at the social event.  There were so many interesting things to see and to listen to.  I stayed until the last event which ended about 7:30 or 8 p.m.

Bean bag toss anyone?

the bean bags

For those of a certain age, who doesn't remember the fun of tossing bean bags into the gaping holes and competing against others?

Such simple things but good clean fun and lots of healthy competition.

Ice cream making - demonstration - eventually people got tiny cones to eat

As the afternoon progressed, the fun continued.  People sat in the shade when they could find it while others sat at the tables with the umbrellas.  I brought my walker as I knew it would be crowded and I knew I needed to sit.  It was difficult wheeling it in the garden - not because of the grass but because of the paving stones which were kept for authenticity.

I was joined, eventually, by Mohammad and then Jeff and Andre came over.  I did not see them sitting there.  I knew Mohammad was coming but did not know Jeff and his friend Andre planned to be there.

What a positive afternoon it was.  Everybody seemed to be enjoying the different activities.  Some people played the bean bag game, some played badminton. and some played croquet.

There also were lots of vendors on the side of the house selling antique things from that era..

A view of the plants where I was sitting

A side view of Whitehern

To add to the pleasure of the afternoon, there were two speakers, Daryl  MacTavish and Janet Kronick who gave a glimpse into life back then.  Mary Louise and her group sang some lovely old songs which were much appreciated by those present.

Some of the participants of the fashion show in the afternoon

Part of the fashion show by Hamiltonians

It was great fun to see all the fancy hats and lovely long dresses worn by the audience.  People were encouraged to dress up in the 1930' s type of clothing and many did. It was so lovely to see, even some of the men did as well.  In those days in Canada, people dressed modestly.

A close up shot of some of the gorgeous flowers in the garden

The singing group

Daryl McTavish - speaker

Janet Kronick from Dundurn Castle also spoke about Mrs.Padmore's kitchen but unfortunately I did not get a picture of her.

An unusual flowering plant - I don't know the name of it.

Professional models from Blackbird Studios wearing bridal gowns

Peggy and her dance partner - member of the staff

Visitor dancers

Professional dancers - Margot Smith & her partner

In addition to the wonderful events going on at Whitehern in the garden, there was also a talk by Dr. Mary Anderson on the people of Whitehern.  She is the author of two books on Whitehern.  This talk was at McNab Presbyterian church where the family used to be members.

At St. Paul's .where the McQuesten ladies went for the evening service, they had an organ concert every half hour.

Speaking of music, I would be remiss if I did not mention harpist Rachel Nolan.  She played beautifully.  It was a touch of heaven in down town Hamilton.

All in all, what a wonderful occasion this was.  I wrote a thank you email to the city as soon as I got back home and got a reply back the next morning.

Thanks for dropping by.  Hope you enjoyed your little visit to this gala event.

Wednesday was the first day of the Whitehern Concerts

Our little gang pitched in and brought sandwiches, fruit, sweets and home made pop corn and one of the gentlemen ordered pizza to be delivered to the garden.  It was a lovely event.  One of our group got there by 11 in order to snag a table but our favourite table was already gone by that time.

The music was great - Ruth Sutherland and Doug Feaver.

It was so wonderful to be back in the garden again.  The first concert we usually bring a picnic lunch and in September we have a picnic under the Weeping Willow Tree at Bold and Bay.

We do meet for lunch sometimes during the winter and many of the group come to St. Paul's Rummage sale and well as St. John's Mother and Daughter tea so we see each other from time to time and, of course, keep in contact via the phone or internet.

We have been doing this for a number of years now.

We added two new people to the group - both men and Jeff brought his friend Andre with him for the first concert.

Here are some pictures.

Jeff in blue, Andre in White tee shirt

Sami in navy blue, Mohammad in white slacks, Grace in black top, Anita in stripped blouse

Clapping along with the music

Pure enjoyment!

We stayed until the end.  I had to rush home as I had a guest coming for tea at the club.  I tried a new drink at the club which consisted of different fruit juices and seven up.  I think it will be something I will order from now on instead of seven-up.  It was delicious!  The price was okay too - $3.00 plus tip and tax.

Monique and I caught up with all the news which was nice.  Her magazine is going very well and she is getting comments about it from University Professors which is fantastic.  I am so happy for her.

I am really looking forward to the event at Whitehern on Sunday.  Downtown  downton.  I am sure it will be very popular and lots of people will come.

Thanks for dropping by.