An evening spent at Valentinos

It was a lovely evening that was spent at Valentinos Restaurant in Westdale. I got picked up at 20 minutes to 5 and we were there until almost 8 p.m.

It was very busy in there, especially as the evening progressed. All types of people came in, from family groups, to an elderly woman with her grey hair in a bun who was waiting for a guest.

It was a delight to people watch, especially the little children in the restaurant and how their adults interacted with them.

I particularly enjoyed a young mother with her little blond daughter as she hugged and kissed her, making her feel like the princess that she was..

I was also drawn to watching a youngish man and a young boy of about 9 or 10. They were not related, as one was Caucasian and the other Oriental. These two were sharing a pizza together and while there were quite a few silent times, they also chatted with each other fairly easily. I wondered if they were in a Big Brother/Little Brother relationship.

If this was so, I wish them all the best! It is such a worthwhile thing for a grown man to mentor a young boy. So many boys now are without the influence of a Dad, for whatever reason. Boys definitely need a good male role model in order to develop their personalities properly.

It was quite difficult to hear sometimes due to the long table and the surrounding noise, but Diana was a doll and told me what was said at the other end of the table so I did not miss out too much.

It was an expensive evening, spent about $18 for the meal including the tip, but once a year I don't mind as they are a great bunch of gals and we always have fun!

A rainy Thursday

Rain, rain go away
Come back some other day!

Sun, sun, I need your rays
To brighten me up in many ways!

As you can see, it is a rainy day here in Hamilton!

I am in the midst of decorating for Christmas which means taking down all the regular ornaments, washing them, putting them in boxes, polishing the furniture and then putting up the Christmas things.

Boxes, boxes everywhere!

It is good to have a change of ornamentation in the home. Gives it a fresh new look and promotes a very harmonious atmosphere with all the reds and greens set around the room. Candles are my joy, especially the scented one and there will be plenty of them around as well.

I save them from year to year, as I do all my ornaments.

I plan to work on my story "Sally's Blanket" today as well, as Lit Chat is coming up soon.

I wrote this story in the 1980's when I was doing street work in Toronto. I am updating it a little bit and cutting the length of it as well. It has taken on a life of its own as I get more emerged in it. Brings back so many memories, some good and some not so good of the people I met at that time.

I remember when I worked at the desk in the Friendship Room and two big guys came in. In my eyes, they looked like "The Hulk" both of them. They handed me large sturdy knives to keep for them until they left the hall. They were very nice to me but I sure would not want to have tangled with them and those knives!

It's funny what one can remember by writing about it. I had completely forgotten about that.

Ah well, another time, another life....

Now back to the present and decorating. It should look very nice when it is all finished!








It is a little hard to get motivated on a rainy day.

The news from Sunday's events

I seem to get slower and slower as I endeavour to keep up with my housework. I clean every day but living downtown has a real disadvantage as the street dirt blows in from the open windows. Of course, I could keep the windows closed but I happen to like fresh air!

Thus, I was too late to get to St. Paul's as I was busy with getting organized here. I then had to make a decision which wonderful event I would go to in the afternoon. The Advent Service where I would take notes and write it up for the church newsletter, or the Art Bar's event with some out of town poets reading.

I had forgotten the special service at 3 p.m. at St. John's until Rosie reminded me via e-mail in the morning and had already said I was going to the Art Bar event.

I would have loved to have gone to both but it was impossible and since I had already given my word that I would go, I went and I was glad, as the readers were from out of town and there were very few people in attendance.

It seems poetry is a dying art - it seems to be the same regular folk who come out to hear poets read.

It was pouring rain when we left the Art Bar and Jennifer offered James, me, and Jennifer T. a ride home which was much appreciated.

All in all, a very nice afternoon.

Some very sad news

I just got an e-mail from a friend. He was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He is relatively young and active and a very good family man, churchman and friend.

He is fortunate to have a strong family group and be a much loved and respected person and so he will have people to turn to in this time of hardship.

May God's love and Mercy, kindness and care be extended to him and all the larger family.

St. John's Bazaar

It was really well attended and new people were coming in after 1 p.m. We needed to make fresh coffee even. The cabbage rolls were a big hit. People even bought some to take home.

By 2 p.m. most of the crowd had gone and the worker bees cleaned up. It was a smashing success due to all the hard work of everybody involved.

Congratulations to Kathe, who spearheaded the whole event.

Several of my friends came as well, Anita and Jennifer and her friend Bonnie. I took my lunch break with Jennifer and Bonnie and enjoyed our time together. Anita was going on to another bazaar in another area of the city. She did enjoy herself very much and was very impressed with the friendliness of the congregation and the wonderful things to sell.

The hugh variety on the sweet table was incredible, all looking so delicious that it was almost impossible to choose.

I bought some to take home and enjoy for the next few days!

The jewellery table was a good success, two people wanted to buy my designed jewellry and one lady came up to me later and said she wanted it for the correct price of $60.00. She had been too busy at the cake table and she could not come over. She knew the value of it. It worked out all right though, as this same lady ordered one from me to be delivered later on. She specified what colours she is looking for to suit her clothing. I shall place an order with my supplier in Toronto very shortly. I love to design for specific people and to see their pleasure when they receive it.

However, it was a good lesson for me never to donate good jewellry at a church bazaar again. They charged so little (even though the price was on it) that it only covered the cost of the good chain! Such a shame, as it could have brought $60 more into the bazaar which helps people.

I had originally suggested months ago that they hold a raffle for it at $1 or $2 a raffle ticket and they would have raised better money for it.

I think they forgot.

Ah well, I am pleased that three ladies liked the design and after all, it was a donation by me for this event. It really should have fetched more money than it did. Didn't even cover the cost of the actual design and Swarkovski crystals! It is expensive to make and expensive to buy.

Another good thing came out of it as well, another lady wants to come and see my designs so she will come one day. She had not known about the business I was in. She was absolutely delighted. I had other ladies remark on my earings and my pendant that I was wearing, which, of course, was my own design.

I hope word of mouth will help my business grow. It is hard times now in Canada but people still need to buy gifts for special occasions.

My party was a big encouragement for me to continue with my designing as well as the three ladies at the bazaar who liked my donation is very encouraging. It went within ten minutes of being placed there! Whoever got it was one lucky person. In a regular jewellry store it would have cost about $125 plus tax.

Lesson learned for next year!

A day to analyze the party

Today, I plan to think about how I could have improved the party, what I could have done better, and what went well.

Although the party was a success, there is always something that can be improved.

It is also the E.L.W. meeting today so will go there as well.

All I can say is that my plan is to amalgamate my study of the party into my preparation folder and keep it for any future parties.

Once all that is done, then the party will be history and I shall move on to other things.

Since I wrote this blog, I have had several suggestions (at my request), one of which is to shorten the time for each reader, another is to have musicians. I had wanted to have a musician, but he moved away and I didn't know anybody else to ask.

Shortening the reading time will be easy to do, should I ever do the party again. Perhaps in a few years, I will have made some friends who are musicians or otherwise I cannot fulfil that suggestions.

Wilma's Party

Chris, reading from his latest book - unfortunately the shot is a little too dark.

The shadow (Wally), Carmen and myself at the jewellery table before the show.

A nice view of some of the people who came to the party.

Me, reading from some of my published works.

Jennifer, reading from her published poems on cats, as well as an exerpt from her published story on snowflakes.

Jeff, reading from some of his published works.

A small corner of my display. Two of the childen there bought the teddy bears which I made the clothes for. They played with them all afternoon! The children present were really good and all dressed up for the occasion!

Our favourite Mexican dancer Carmen. performed! She is a real trooper and dances so very well. The guests just loved her and one even asked if she was scheduled to dance one more time!

Quite a compliment to her!

Ed Woods, reading from his new published book.

Asma, myself and Alyia.

Some of the Whitehern Gals who attended my party.
It is most unfortunate that the picture I took of the first reader, Eleanore did not turn out. She is both a poet and a photographer and her poetry was well received by the assembled guests.

Several people took pictures as well and Kevin made a DVD of the whole party and particularly of the Talent Show.

Further to this thought, Kevin brought the DVD over this morning and we watched it together while we munched on party goodies which were left over.

He did a real good job and it is a marvelous memory to have!

I worked all morning and up till 1 p.m. bringing things down to the party room. Fortunately I have several bags on wheels and this helped a lot.

Jennifer and Kevin came around one and I was so glad that they did, as the time was flying by and there still was a great deal of things to do!

Mohammad also brought his fresh falafels and makings for a salad early as well. I showed him how to make the punch and he carried on with that duty for the rest of the party, as it needed to be refilled several times.

Some of the guests came early and we were not quite ready due to an electrical problem in the kitchen. None of them worked! Difficult to make coffee without electricity! I called the emergency line but the superintendents did not know how to fix it either. We then tried to make the coffee on another plug within the room and it was working. Bless Ed, when he came he knew exactly what to do and fixed it. As it turned out, hardly anybody took coffee anyway as they all seemed to like the punch.

The superintendents had set up the phone in the party room just for the day as they trusted me. It seems when the phone was left there before, people would come in and use it to call long distance.

Jennifer manned the phone line, letting people in as they arrived.

When all the guests had arrived (about 35), food was served buffet style, then at a little before 3, the talent show started.

Everybody did very well and their work seemed to have been appreciated by the assembled people. I think the highlight of it was Carmen's Mexican dancing. It was amazing!

Such energy!

After the talent show, most people left. The two Jennifers, Kevin, Carmen and Wally, and Andrew and I stayed behind to clean up.

I would say that the party was a success.

I was so pleased to forward a cheque in the amount of $60.00 to Christian Horizons for their programme which helps small business people in third world countries start their own business.

All in all, a worthwhile endeavour.

I asked for honest opinions of what could have been improved from some people who came and got some valuable suggestions for the next time I throw a large party.

Among the suggestions was to either cut the amount of people performing or limit their time to five minutes each.

I doubt that people would want to perform just for five minutes, but perhaps a nice compromise of ten minutes each would please everybody.

This party was a learning experience for me and all in all, I was quite satisfied.