I now have Skype

Svetlana who is visiting from Holland, installed it for me.  I will need it when my son moves to South America so that we can chat.

I have other friends who live out of Canada and I will see if they are interested in getting Skype as well so that we can chat without cost.

Skype to Skype costs nothing. 

I found a little microphone I had bought a few years ago and it fits perfectly into the computer and so can now talk clearly.

Svetlana is very talented in such things.  I also had earphones for a cell phone which I found in a bag here and she showed me how to use them.

I am quite excited about being able to talk for free overseas.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!

So many goodbyes

It seems lately I am saying goodbye more than hello.  My young Ecuadorian friend will be leaving Canada in about a week and a half,  Leny is in Hondorous now, Andrew is off to Ethopia for more than a month, and Ken is soon off to Chile for six months to a year.

I shall miss Edilma and our little language sessions together.  She is such a nice person.  We will keep in touch via e-mail and I can continue to help her master English.  It has been great for me as if she doesn't understand, I tell her in Spanish and then she understands.  It helps me remember my Spanish.

I shall be looking after Andrew's place for him when he is gone.  It is not a very stable country to go to, in fact, Canada does not consider it a safe place to visit.  I sure hope he will be okay there.

It seems that I am the only one not going somewhere!  Perhaps that will change, who knows?

Thanks for reading my blog and have a good day!

Alone again

I have known about this for a few days now but have not had the time to write about it.  My son's company  has been one of the companies chosen to  relocate to Chile for six months to a year.  It is financed by the Chilean Government.

It is the big break that he has been so patiently striving for and I wish him well.  I am so delighted for him that he has been chosen.  It will be such a good experience working and living in a foreign country.

My only regret is that our own Canadian government did not have the foresight to support his plan for the military and invest in one of their own citizens who is doing everything in his power to make his company succeed for the betterment of our returning veterans who have given so much.

It is Canada's loss and Chile's gain.  Chile is one of the most stable countries in South America and this is the second wave of entrepeneurs that they are hosting so the kinks are already straightened out.

Apparently, Santiago is twice the size of Toronto and even has a very good metro system. 

From a strictly selfish point of view, I shall miss him very much but hopefully the time will go fast and he will return to Canada, his company better known and with even more good connections, especially in the South American market.

Congratulations to my son.  Well done!

A successful workshop/talk today

I had been hired to bring a talk on writing which I did today.  It was nice to receive an honorium and I think everybody enjoyed themselves as they asked some questions and laughed at some of my comedic poetry.

That always pleases me when somebody gets my little jokes in some poems, some of my short stories  or in my one and only commissioned play, I love it when people laugh at the right time.

It was videotaped by McMaster University and eventually I will get a copy of the video.  I shall look forward to that.

I think there were about 12  or so people there which made it more interesting for me.  I like to get audience feedback sometimes.

Anyway, it was a busy afternoon - the Literary Committee and then my talk at the Freeway Cafe.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Easter Sunday at Lester and Denise's home

What a real blessing for me to have been invited.  Rosel was my first friend in Hamilton and Denise is her daughter.  We drove out to Grimby to their lovely home.  Such beautiful countryside. I even saw a horse! Lots of barns, some in operation still.  An apple tree farm ploughed over - such a sad sight!  I don't get much chance to go into the countryside so it made this occasion extra special for me!  There is some wonderful places that we stopped and looked down at the lower City of Stoney Creek.  It was great as the trees are still bare and one could see Toronto in the far distance. 

When we arrived at their house, some of the early flowers were poking their dear little heads out but on the whole, everything was still dormant. 

I took only shots inside of their very cozy and well kept home.  It was a little too cold to go outside on the deck without coats on.

This young couple had prepared their table so beautifully and I took several shots of it before we sat down.

Denise and Lester's dining area

Their little neighbour 5 years of age made the bird centerpiece

Their deck from the living room-  Wild turkeys in the far field, a red robbin sat there several times.

Denise and Rosie - Mother and daughter

 Rosie cooked the lamb most deliciously and Denise and Lester cooked the wonderful vegetables.  It was a feast not only for the taste for the eyes.

We watched a movie after our main course and it was very funny. 

Our desert was to die for.  Yogurt with berries and lady fingers plus homemade baklava!

Daughter and Mother

We got there a little after 1 p.m. and had such a restful and "wunderbar" afternoon. Denise and Lester both, are wonderful cooks and such gracious hosts. 

The time just sped by, like whirling bike  wheels whose rider is peddling vigorously.  The next thing we knew, it was 6 p.m. and Rosie, David and I, had to drive back to Hamilton which took about an hour.

The love birds - Denise and Lester

Rosie and David, her youngest son

Lester, Rosie and David

 All in all, a wonderful Easter day with close friends, good food and great company!  Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope that I can continue to post pictures as I really prefer working with this blog as it is so much simplier to understand.

Trying this out again

I was able to post two pictures on my private blog.  Now I will see if it will allow me to post on my public one again.  I sure hope so!

I don't understand why it is now working.  I am so delighted that it is.  Perhaps they have changed the rules and given more space for free?

I hope it stays this way.

Good Friday at St. Paul's

It was a lovely service today at St. Paul's.  Centennary choir and St. Paul's own choir joined together to make beautiful music.

It was so nice to see Nina there.  She looks so well and Wally read from the lessons today and did a fabulous job, in my opinion.

We did not go out to lunch today as tentatively planned as we realized that nothing would be open.

It was just as well as Andrew came upstairs and I had already made a noodle dish and added fried onions,garlic and ginger.  It was delicious and he seemed to enjoy it.

Nothing much happened today except for the service.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a good day.

Maudy Thursday

Yesterday night we had a service at St. Paul's which was held in St. Andrew's Hall.  I found it quite lovely.  It started off with cranberry juice while people put together a pieces of a homemade puzzle.  Mini's homemade soup was next and hotcross buns and bread, then people could have cookies and coffee and tea if they wished.

The actual service was held there as well and it was very interesting. Dr. Shaeffer gave a very good message and the congregation participated in reading the scriptures which were printed on the programme.

Two ladies, whom I did not recognize, played the violin beautifully and Enid played the keyboard for the two hymns. Enid is so very talented with her musical abilities. The highlight of the evening, as far as I was concerned, was Carmen singing in Spanish while the congregation sang the chorus in English.  She sang like a bird.

I had hoped Edilma, my young Ecuadorian friend, could come to meet Carmen and Wally but after her time talking English to me, she was very tired and went back to Leny's home.  She will be leaving Canada very soon but I will help her still with her English through the internet. 

She is a very nice young lady and I shall miss our little English/Spanish sessions.  When she doesn't understand something in English, I say it to her in Spanish and then she understands and we repeat it in English several times.  She is a very quick learner.

We may go to the waterfront if the weather is okay some time this weekend just so she can see another section of it before she leaves.

All in all, a very pleasant afternoon and evening yesterday.  Today, Good Friday, I shall go to St. Paul's for a special concert and then Carmen suggested that we three should go out to lunch after that.

Sunday I will be with Rosel and her family and Monday, I will go and do my early voting!  It is turning out to be a very nice people weekend after all. 

All I need now is for the medicine to work and then things will be back to normal. 

Have a great day, and thanks for reading my blog.

Polishing silver today!

What a job!  I've been so busy with jewellery making and writing that I have neglected my work at home except for the basic cleaning which I never neglect!

 I love silver and its gleam, especially in candlelight with soft music playing in the background.  I guess I am an incurable romantic which is not a bad thing to be at all!

Picture a nicely laid table, two beautiful silver candlesticks with mauve candles, silver coffee and tea set at the ready and an English sandwich/sweet server and you will see what I am talking about.

Gracious living is so good for people.  I used to set the table every Friday night when the children were small and it is such a good memory for them to have.  We took time out from our busy lives and just enjoyed each others company, and the ambience of the beautifully laid table.  My daughter used to pick field flowers for the centerpiece

I hope that this style will come back in for the young people, as it costs very little money and makes such good memories for young families.

Perhaps that is a poem waiting to be written, who knows?

Have a good day and tonight I am going to listen to a friend of mine sing in Spanish.  I'm sure she will do well.

Thanks for reading my blog.  Still haven't mastered the other one so may just stick to what I know and forget about putting pictures on until I can figure out how to pay without using a credit card.

Having a hard time with the new blog

It is so different from this one.  I hope I can master it eventually.

New address

Due to the fact that I cannot post pictures on this blog anymore since there is no way to pay by cheque or even paypal, I have been forced reluctantly to move to another provider.

I really love blogger and feel so sad about this.  It is such an easy programme to follow.

I will be still writing something from time to time but my new blogg address where pictures can be shown is:


waseville.wordpress.com

I still have to learn how to use it as it seems completely different than this one.

Thanks so much for following my blog and I hope you can see the new one once I get it going.

Venture Capitalist : Private Equity : Venture Capital : TiEQuest.org

Venture Capitalist : Private Equity : Venture Capital : TiEQuest.org



This link may be interesting for those who are starting new ventures and need capital.

Christian Perspectives Magazine

I have given a link to a newish magazine which comes out of Hamilton, Ontario.  Take a look.


Here are the directions on how to do it, given to me by a friend.


Click on this link. Then click on the green cover of the magazine for Easter 2011 edition. If you click on a page as you go thru it will enlarge it for your screen and you can move it with your cursor.



I am sure the publisher would be delighted to get some feedbank from some of readers. 

Enjoy!


"http://1perspectives.webs.com/christianperspectives.htm"

The Power of Words

The Sanctuary Wrecks - 22

Fake doctor has Montreal hospitals on alert - Canada - CBC News

Fake doctor has Montreal hospitals on alert - Canada - CBC News

Canadians tolerant, hard-working — but worry a lot, says international think-tank

Canadians tolerant, hard-working — but worry a lot, says international think-tank

April 10th jewellery party

There was a very good turnout at the party.  Twenty people came.  The thunderstorms and rain gave me cause for alarm as I was preparing for the party in the party room.

There are skylights in the room and the water just pounded against them.  At one point, I thought that people would not come at all if the rain continued so heavily.

Fortunately for me, it stopped in time so that people did not get wet coming here. There were so many obstacles in the way of this party that it is a wonder it happened at all!

First of all, the party room was not clean and I had to spend a lot of time cleaning it.  I will be making a complaint about this as it should have been clean, especially before a party.  Second was the lack of a phone to let people into the party room.  Logistically, it was a nightmare, a dirty room, no phone but those who came early helped and stood downstairs at the front door and let people in. the lack of phone was not intentional, it was just an oversight on the part of the superintendent. At my other two parties, the room has always been very clean so this is just a one offf. 

However,  be that as it may, the party started a little later than I had planned but it was a very good success as far as a social gathering went.  I wish my clown could have come but she was too sick to travel from Toronto but if I have another party next year, hopefully she can do her act then.

We started the talent show late as well but everybody did very well.  I was most proud of my son who played and sang for the group.  I hope I can prevail on him next year to do it again!

What a pleasure it was for me to hear him sing again and I could see that the group was enjoying it very much.

One of my Toronto friends read some of her poetry which really moved me.  It prompted a brisk discussion among the group.  I read my friend Moon's short story which told of a young couple in India and their new life in Canada and then return to their home country.  The gist of the story was that even though they loved their home country, they had changed by living in Canada and were happier in Canada.  They returned to Canada to live and no longer were so homesick.  I found that so interesting

My two Toronto friends brought work which spoke of immigrating to Canada and their experiences.  It was marvelous. 

As it happened, I had written a story about a Pakistani family and I read it as well.  It tied in so well with the other two people.  None of us knew what the other was going to bring.

Such a great discussion!  There were people from Ecuador, Germany, Holland, Pakistan, India and people born in Canada at the party.  I think the success of this party is that people came to understand each other's points of view better and Canadians were able to hear what life as an immigrant means.

In spite of all the odds against the party, I can say that it was a success and people really enjoyed themselves.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I'm sorry I cannot post any pictures as I still cannot figure out how to send Goggle a cheque to pay for a year.  My pictures turned out very well and they would have added so much to this blog.









 

Today, April 10,2011 is the day of my party

For some reason, I have been much more stressed  than usual.  I love a party normally.  Thankfully, I am pretty organized and everything is now done except to carry it all down to the party room.  I am thankful for my walker - it makes life so much easier for me.

I really am looking forward to the clown coming from Toronto.  This is a first for my party!  This is my third party in the party room and my fourth party in Hamilton.

I also am looking forward to my son singing and playing his guitar.  He has a lovely voice and I have not heard him sing for quite some time.  This will also be my pal Asma's first public reading of her poetry so that is exciting as well.  I may read some of my work, it depends on how things go.

My friend Mohammed, although he cannot come due to going to a wedding today, dropped off two vegetables trays with dip yesterday.  I was so touched.  He had promised them and he kept his word!
His little visit calmed me down and gave me heart to continue.

Speaking of continuing, I may have to start a new blog as I cannot find a way to post pictures.  I want to pay for this service, but am unable to as they only seem to take credit cards which I do not use.

I will post the new blog address eventually when I set it up.

I wish I could figure out how to pay them and keep my same blog but there are no clear instructions how to do that on their website.

Have a good day and thanks for reading my blog.  I will post more about the party tomorrow probably.

An opportunity

I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine who is originally from Spain.  She has a young lady staying with her from Ecuador who needs somebody to practice her English on.

My friend thought of me and I have agreed to do this little thing once a week. 

I am sure it will be very enjoyable.  My friend will bring the young lady here to introduce us the first time.


Life is so full of opportunities, isn't it?

TheSpec - City will introduce 'HSR 101' program

TheSpec - City will introduce 'HSR 101' program


I am so delighted to hear of this.  It has made my day!  I hope they will include the blind in this as well.

Poetry Month - Tower Poetry Society's reading at ArtwordArtbar

Sunday afternoon proved to be an excellent afternoon listening to poetry brought by the poets of Tower Poetry Society.

I was on first in the second set and our Editor in Chief, Jeff Seffinga had a trick question to ask each performer.  It went something like this.  What would you wildest dream be if it were answered.  My answer to that was that to win the short story contest for the Toronto Star and its $5,000 prize.  The other question was what would you come back as if you were able to.  My answer was as a cat.

It was kind of fun and a most unusual way.  I really liked it.

My ability to put pictures onto my blog is now finished until I can figure out how to buy more space so unfortunately there will be no pictures of this event.  They did turn out quite well but you can see them on the Tower Website as I was taking pictures on behalf of Tower.

The afternoon was time well spent which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks for reading my picture-less blog.  Hopefully I can find a way to send them a cheque.


Have a great day.