Odds and ends July 2010

For some reason, blogger is not allowing me to put text beside each picture, so I am doing it this way, at least for now.

At Pier 8, the sun setting on this very peaceful scene.

Downtown Hamilton, police on horses - something new for the city

Concert at Whitehern - each week a different artist.











I have been just too busy lately to enter anything into my blog so here goes.

My birthday was splendid to say the least. I am blessed with so many friends, I got so many greetings both in person and from cards and on Facebook.

On my birthday itself, some friends took me out as well which was very nice.

All in all, a lovely birthday.

I haven't had time to work on any of my jewellelry projects nor my writing projects as I have been concentrating on friends and getting together with them, both day and evening hours.

It is getting too much for me and I have to slow down a little bit.

Summer is so short here and winter is so long, and I feel that I have to cram in as much as possible in this season before it gets icy underfoot when walking becomes more dangerous.

Last night I spent some time down at Pier 8 with Sarah, my new friend from Kuwait. The sun was setting and I took some wonderful shots of it which I will post.

Today, I really have to concentrate on the apartment and getting things done here. Sunday, another friend is taking me out for lunch which also will be enjoyable.

It is a long weekend here in Ontario so there will be lots of people by the waterfront I am sure.

It is most unfortunate that my new friend Sarah is allergic to cats and cannot come here to visit with me so I can do some of my jewellery work while we are chatting.

Yesterday, another friend and I went up on the 5C bus to Meadowlands and went to Michael's craft store. What an array of goods they have. I found many things there to make jewellery with and that is good for me to know. What fun it was just to look there and then we went for lunch at MacDonalds.

A nice day but busy. I didn't get home till about 9:30.

Sixty eight years on this planet today!

It seems incredible that so much time has passed and so many experiences, both good and bad are gone forever, except in my memory. I thank God for wonderful memories for they are the substance I cling to when times are rough and things look bad. I look forward, God willing, to make more memories in the time left to me on this plane of existance.

When I think of the really difficult times, without the help of Almighty God, I could not have gone through it. Each person has their own path to walk and it is my prayer that they walk with God so that even in the bad times, they will not be alone.

When I think of the joyful and happy times, I thank God for those wonderful times with family and friends.

It is the good times that enable a person to move forward and to get on with their lives.

May all of you, dear readers, have many good times in your lives so that when the hard times come, you will have the strength to carry on.

That is my birthday wish for you.

Birthday dinner at The Black Forest 2010

A section of Bayfront Park where we were walking. It was a lovely day but the sun was quite strong so Carmen used an umbrella over her head to shield herself. Bayfront Park had quite a few people down there but it was still plenty of space to enjoy and to feel like one is in the country, far away from a big city.

Wally

Carmen and Wally near a clump of Tiger Lillies.

At the chained rock

We could not have had a more enjoyable dinner together and at the end, I suggested that we go to Bayfront Park to walk. I took lots of pictures there as well. Bayfront Park is so special to me and I am so grateful that we have it here in Hamilton. I love to be near the water and find it so calming and so peaceful.

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What a very pleasant surprise, the waitresses brought over my Black Forest cake with a birthday candle in it and sang Happy Birthday to me. I was so touched.

We had lots of good conversation and some good laughs and all of us enjoyed the food there. I think this is the second or third time we have been there. Once was when Carmen's Mom, Carmen came from Mexico and we all ate there before I was scheduled to perform at Freeway Cafe. Carmen and Wally and I went together at least one other time.

There used to be a lovely Hungarian Restaurant and we have been there as well for Carmen's birthday but it is no longer in operation. I loved the gypsy music there and the food was really good as well. Very plentiful and with the music playing, I was in seventh heaven!

The waitress was so wonderful. I asked for cucumbers and tomatoes separately instead of the salad. She made the cucumber salad the way I remember it from my younger days. Sour cream, onions, cucumber and dill. Delicious!

My hosts and dear friends - Carmen and Wally

The Placemat

The menu

Carmen and Wally invited me out for my birthday dinner wherever I wanted to go so I chose the Black Forest Restaurant on King Street East.

It is one of my favourite restaurants here in Hamilton as I enjoy German food.

I love the atmosphere in there and the waitresses are very friendly. My birthday isn't until Wednesday but this was the time that the three of us could get together.

The portions there are very big and I ordered a snitzel for smaller appetites but even that I could not finish.

Yesterday evenings news

All in all, a very nice evening although it was a little too long for my taste. The poets who perform last have the problem of trying to keep people's attention.

The weather cooperated and it was a lovely day and evening so what more could anybody wish for?

Last, but not least, Jeff Seffinga.

Ken and Ron - Kitchen Music

Ellen Jaffe, reading from her wonderful poetry.

David Haskins, reading from his short story. I liked this story as it was a true to life situation for people dealing with extreme disabilities. In my view, stories like this should be told so that people will come to understand that there is always somebody else with as difficult or even more difficult problems to overcome than they have. All human life is of value. I worked for about four years with people with Downs Syndrome and other related disabilities and this was a real eye opener for me. I was a volunteer there and I am so grateful to have had this experience.

Well done David!

John B. Lee - poet. I really enjoyed his work as it was down to earth and he spoke of some weighty matters in it. I particularly enjoyed the poem about men who go to Thailand to have carnal relationships with young children. More needs to be written about that so that people will become more aware of this situation and work for change.

The first set consisted of the readers below. I was very pleased to see that James had taken my suggestion that I e-mailed him quite a while ago to have some music in between. I feel that it livens things up a little and people need to give their brains a rest so that they can enjoy the other poets work.

A performance poet - OmahaRisinG

Chris Pannell reading from his work.

James Deahl - Master of Ceremonies.

There don't seem to be enough hours in my day to get everything done that I would like to do!

Yesterday went by in a fast and my evening ended at 11 p.m. which is late for an early bird like me.

However, it was worth it as each performer did well at the Artshare event at ArtWord/Artbar on Colbourne Street here in Hamilton, Ontario.

Concert at Whitehern

Jennifer took these photo of Melissa, Kevin and Doug Feaver, the performer.

Jeff and I in the garden at Whitehern. Jennifer took this shot. My eyes are rolling due to a crack that Jeff made. It's a great picture of him though. My deadpan look!

Kevin makes a great Granddad and the little one listens to him which I was very glad to see.

All in all, a good day and I shall be going to a poetry reading shortly this evening so there will be more to hear about tomorrow some time. Thanks for reading and enjoy your day!

Kevin and Melissa dropped into my place about 10 a.m. He was lucky I was home. I was in the midst of rearranging furniture and cleaning so he had to take me as he found me unfortunately. We had a nice little visit though and the little girl was as good as gold. I was nervous though because my home is no longer childproof and she is 22 months of age and curious about everything. Fortunately, I have some children's books still so she looked at the pictures and I gave her a spool to play with so that kept her busy for a little while. I was in the midst of doing two loads of washing as well so poor Kev had to just entertain himself until we went to the concert at 12. He is a very comfortable person though so it was no problem.

Would you believe, this is a purse and it has a high heel on it. I had to take a picture of it as it was so different.

These little people were sitting near us. They were adorable children and very well behaved. I suspect they must be brother and sister. I had lots of enjoyment just watching them.

Jennifer took most of these pictures and she is getting better and better with my camera....

A small section of the crowd

Kev and his granddaughter relaxing near the stage. Kevin actually knew the performer as Kevin is a musician himself. He will be performing at Festival of Friends in August himself.

He was amazing, played the guitar, sang and played the mouth organ. His programme was bluegrass and the blues. Very enjoyable !Doug Feaver - performer

Doug Feaver

In the garden, Kevin and his granddaughter - Melissa.

Another great concert at Whitehern. we are so spoiled here in Hamilton with free concerts each Wednesday in the summer months. It was a good crowd today and the performer was excellent.

Thanks for reading - the day was not yet finished, had another nice event to go to so will post it tomorrow.

Too many nice things to do - overbooked

I forgot about the Literary Event tonight when I arranged to go with my new friend down to the waterfront. I had already told the organizers and arranged with friends to go with them at least a month ago, but I totally forgot about it when I was talking to my new friend.

This is not the first time that I have double booked things. I really have to try and keep my purse calendar more up to date!

I have been so busy at home trying to move furniture by myself and rearrange the sitting room to give it a more open look, that other things have slid. I keep thinking that I am 40 years of age but that is not the case anymore!

I am also writing a story which has a deadline so that keeps me busy as well. It is coming along very nicely and I am pleased about that.

Speaking of stories, my story has come out in Perspectives Magazine if anybody is interested in reading it. It is about a balcony and told from the balcony's point of view. Just Google Perspectives Magazine and find the July 2010 issue. The magazine also comes out in hard copy as well.

I have to try and look at some of my poetry so that I can submit some poems to the Tower Poetry contest before the end of August.

Last night, for some reason, I could not sleep at all and tonight will be a late night. I hope that my energy level will be okay to go tonight. I may just have to go for a short while and come home early. We'll see.

It is the Whitehern concert today and today's music is blues and blue grass. I particularly like blue grass music.

I wish sometimes that I had an extra pair of hands so that it would be easier to move things around here. That is one of the disadvantages of living alone. I really like where I have the table now as it is right at the window and makes it easier for me to see when I am making my jewellery designs.

Oh, I saw my eye specialist yesterday and good news, no change and things are good. I am very pleased about that. I have not had to change my glasses for about 8 years.

Thanks for reading and wish me luck that I can do all the good things that I have planned for today.

What a blessed Sunday!

Welcome to today's blog. Hope you enjoy your stay. A wonderful day with good friends in the countryside.

Of course, it wouldn't be natural on my blog not to show some flowers. Dida picked some flowers for me to bring home and I was so touched. She knows how much I love such things. She also sent us home with some fresh vegetables so we all shared. Farm fresh vegetables - they will be delicious!

The duck pond on their property. They have manually dug a garden ( a huge one) and irrigated the soil. She showed me what the tool looked like. They have planted many trees, vegetables from seeds and flowers and beautified the place. In three year's time, they have really made a go of things. They are amazing people who work so hard and all of it is shown by their farm. They also work outside the farm.

My dog friend who adopted me!

One mother hen and her chicks

Liviu and one of the many babies on their farm.

Dida - a wonderful friend of mine. She and Liviu looked after my cats and plants for the two months that I was in the hospital after the cardiac arrest. They are from Romania. What a real blessing to be their friend.

My lovely dog whom I would have loved to bring home with me!

What a beautiful church service it was, with good people and a special treat of two gentleman singing and playing the guitar. I really enjoyed that very much. Andrew's sermon was thought provoking and the hymns chosen were well known ones. All in all, a very beneficial hour spent.

We went through Dunnville and we chose to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant. It was not a very good choice but it was adequate I suppose. I was very pleasantly surprised how nice Dunnville is and was so glad to see what it was like. I really liked the stately homes and it being on the water. After lunch we drove to see our friends Dida and Livi and their farm. I haven't seen them for 3 years, ever since they left the job here where I live. I miss them so much as we always got along so well.

We hugged each other and they were so glad to see us. Mohammed had not met them before but he and Liviu (Dida's husband) got along famously.

I took lots of shots of the animals and I made a great friend in the dog. I could have stayed and patted him indefinitely. He trusted me enough to roll over and let me pat his stomach. He reminded me, in some ways, of my beloved dog Flash.

When I stopped patting him for a little rest, he would duck under my arm and nudge me until I paid attention and resumed my patting. I just loved him for that!

Now I will tell you about the reason why we went to South Cayuga. Andrew was preaching at the Baptist church there in the month of July. Lovely people and extremely friendly. They could not have been more welcoming.

At the car in the church parking after the service

An old fashioned water pump, outside in the parking lot. I don't know if it still works or not. It reminded me of the pump we used to get water from at the cottage in Ile Perrot, Quebec. The water was so wonderfully tasting and so very cold. I loved to get the water at that time.

From the parking lot - note the barns

Inside the lovely little church

I really liked this copper picture. I love the glow of copper and always have.

The church even had an elevator. They were so willing to take me up and down. I really appreciated that as stairs can be a real hastle for me.





Our young married couple - dear friends both of them.

What a blessing for both of them that God has brought them together. She is a darling girl and he is a decent and good person. May God bless their marriage.

Rahel and Andrew

Far right, Mohammed and Rahel. They get along very well, both being from other countries and I am so glad about that.

This church building is simple in design but very well built.

Shots of the church and the adjacent graveyard. This church is 150 years old and in wonderful shape. Green hills and farm yard surround the area. I have noticed that many of the older churches in the country and even in Hamilton (see St. Paul's Presbyterian on James St. S) have graveyards on their grounds.

That's for sharing the time with me. Hope you had a nice read and that you will return from time to time.