Had a very nice day today

Went for a haircut at the School of Hairdressing and had it cut very short.  I like how the lady did it.

Did a few errands in Jackson's Square and then got ready for Martini Night at the Club.

I had a really great time, met some more new people, all friends of Dave and Diane.  I also spoke to Michael the Chef and asked if they would ever consider making a cake with Splenda so I could have some and he said he would make one next week and Amanda will let me know when it is ready.

All in all, it was a nice day, busy but productive.  Tonight a big storm is due after midnight so I will most likely concentrate on hopefully finishing the categorizing of the book tomorrow as I have a party to go to in Oakville on Saturday and then am helping Cassie with her reading on Sunday.

I am really looking forward to seeing Ken on Monday night.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the rest of the day.

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The Birthday boy

We had a very nice time at the Club today.  I think this was his first visit and he seemed to enjoy himself.

Since I cannot have sweets, I enjoyed my herbal tea while he had a birthday treat.

Amanda, our server, was so kind to put a birthday candle on his butter tart with ice cream and I sang happy birthday to him (quietly).

After tea, I showed him around the downstairs part and we enjoyed looking at the art work.  We saw Graham there and he and Jeff know each other, of course.

All in all, a lovely visit.

What a frustrating day it was today!

I have finished the editing of the book and wanted to run it off to categorize it as requested plus double check it all.

It would not run off, no matter what I did.  I called the printer people and they proved to me that my Brother printer was working just fine, then I tried to save it on the desktop but that did not work out for some reason.

On and on this saga went.  In desperation, I "skyped" my son and after a very long time (it seemed liked several hours) he finally solved the problem.  I am sure his hair turned grey.  Mine went even more grey!

I am so grateful to him.  My deadline is coming up and I still have hours of work to do before I am satisfied.


Anyway, thanks to my son, I was able to print it off and now can start the other part of the work.

I enjoyed the editing part very much but the stress of  printing it off set off a bout of the psoriasis immediately.  I could not believe that could be possible, but I saw it happen when the printer people told me that it was not the printer.Somehow that communicated into a problem with my poor hand.

I now believe that stress has a lot to do with this disorder.  I did not believe it before.

A very nice time spent at The Club

Thursday nights are always Martini Nights.  It is a great opportunity to meet other members and their friends that they bring.

I sat by myself at the far end until the wonderful lady who works behind the bar came over and invited me to sit with some people on the sofa near the fire.

The people I usually sit with had many friends there so I did not want to intrude.

It was a delight to meet new people as well and we had some good conversations.  I particularly enjoyed meeting Paven as he is an entrepreneur like my son.  I saw in him goodness as he offered to share his supper with the people sitting with him,  also he supports a charity for boys and girls, which I totally loved.

He would like to meet my son when he returns so I will arrange that.

Another point I would like to mention. Mohammed and I were very impressed with the lady behind the bar.  She saw Mohammed come in late, and poured his gingerale. He was very taken with that and felt so welcomed by that kind gesture. She is such a nice lady and so thoughtful.  It was she who brought me over to sit with the people on the sofa.  I probably would not have gone by myself, as I don't like to intrude.


I think this is one of the nicest Martini nights I have had.  I liked everybody who sat on the sofa and really enjoyed the fireplace lit.  It is so cozy.


I also was glad to see one of my favourite people in the club come and sit with us for awhile.


All in all, a delightful time, once again, at the Club.

This and that

A good day today.  I really loved the poem on marriage that my daughter sent me.  Her friend sent it to her.

It had some good points in it.

We had a lovely chili dinner (just spicy enough without going overboard) after the annual meeting at church.

A friend of mine had thought that she and her friend might visit me this afternoon, but they were unable to come after all.

I could go out tonight, but I just don't feel like going out again.  I am missing a few nice things lately but winter does not agree with me, especially at night when it is so cold and dark.

I had a nice chat with my son on Skype this afternoon and he gave me an excellent idea for my poor hand to stop the terrible itching.  Take an ice bag and put it on the hand which I tried immediately and it helped a lot.

Lucky for me, I have those bags always in the freezer so they came in handy.

It doesn't solve the problem of "why" but hopefully I can see the dermatologist before my middle of May appointment and relieve some of this awful rash and itching.  Fortunately, it is not contagious but it sure looks  ugly.

This getting older is  not for weak minded people.  Patience is a pre-requisite for growing older as the body gets tired and seems to exhibit more problems than when one is younger.

I imagine it is similar to buying an older model car which has been driven for years.  It could easily break down at an inopportune moment and need a tune up.I guess how we treat our bodies when young will be shown when we age.  Good nutrition is so important for growing children and so many children nowadays live on fast food.  I shudder to think what their health will be when they are much older.

Thus, we humans as we age, seem to need tune-ups more often than before.

However, I still thank God that I have reached this age and, God Willing, will continue on for a few more years.  All that matters really in this life, is enough to eat, clothes to wear, and a decent roof over one's head plus good friends and, if one has saved, a little money in the bank for emergencies.

We come from God and we return to God.  This life is just a temporary measure and we break our backs working like this is the only existence, climbing the ladder of success, getting bigger and better houses or cars and yet, when you think about it, in the not too distant future, we will leave it all behind.  What matters, in my opinion, is how we have treated our fellow humans and animals, how we have cared for the earth, and what we have shared of ourselves with other people.  Above all this, and part and parcel of it, is our remembrance of God and including Him in our daily lives.  It is He who gives us the strength and  courage to carry on and face whatever comes in the future, which thankfully, we do not see.  It is often times a mercy that we cannot see into the future, in my opinion.

I always have loved the old Sunday School song "Brighten the Corner, where you live." and have tried to live that way all my life.  I have failed sometimes but I continue to try and live with that thought in mind.

Thanks for dropping by.

Kahlil Gibran on Marriage

Kahlil Gibran on Marriage

Just click on the underlined subject and you will find a beautiful and realistic poem about marriage.

Busy, busy day today

I was very glad that I did not have to go out today.  I don't think it was as bad a storm as they had forecast but it was still nice to stay home and catch up on some housework including lots of washing.

I was able to spend two and a half hours on editing this afternoon which is good as my deadline is coming up soon.

I had made a nice dish of tofu, soft wheat, garlic, onions and hamburger meat.  Today I cooked some carrots and enjoyed a second helping of this healthy food.  I would say I can get another meal out of it at least.  Pretty reasonable cost, onions, garlic, ginger and tofu are all inexpensive and the hamburger meat was just a small amount so it was a very tasty and economical meal.

I do enjoy cooking once in a while and usually what I make is enough for several times.

Having the Farmer's Market so close to me is also very handy.

Tonight I plan to watch WNED as there is very good programming on.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your day!

My son's sense of humour

When I finally straggled up this morning at 10:30 a.m., I noticed I had a phone message.

It was my son, calling from his warm and sunny climate.  His comments made me laugh.

He had seen the Weather Network and decided to tease me about the wonderful weekend which has been forecasted for this area.

I e-mailed him back and told him all about our sunny, beach-like weather, palm trees gently swaying in the wind, the sea lapping against the sandy shores and then I put a big NOT!

In reality, there is a thick blanket of pristine white snow covering everything. The sky is grey and as I look out I see that the snow has started to fall again.  I also see that there are very few people out on the streets.  I saw one man walking on the road and it doesn't look like the snowplows have been out yet..

We were warned about a storm coming for this weekend with freezing rain, snow and bitter cold weather so I prepared in advance, getting in enough groceries for a siege!

I also told our president of Tower that I would not be coming today due to the cold and perhaps dangerous conditions.

I am now set to have a pleasant day inside.  I need to spend many more hours editing the book which is promised for the end of February.  So far I have spent six hours on it but there is much more to do.

It is nice to be able to know that all your needs are met and that you can concentrate on working without too much interruption, no matter what type of weather rages outside my cozy little pad.

We should all take a lesson from the cats, curl up, snooze, relax and accept life the way it comes.

Boots will particularly enjoy trying to catch the snow as it falls just outside his reach.  I have cleared a spot on the window sill so he can see out.

Thanks for dropping by, and come back when you have the time, if you would like to.

A lovely afternoon spent with a friend

We went out to lunch to Williams Coffee Pub at the waterfront, walked around for awhile and then went into Burlington to the RBG.

I took some lovely shots and was very impressed with the glass work exhibited.

Unhappily for me, I had a bad spell at the RBG and had to be taken home.  Rosel got me some water and that helped a little bit but still am very lightheaded and not at all well.

In any event, here are some lovely pictures I took of the RBG in Burlington.

One of the flowering plants

Reminds me of a lollypop 

Glass Work

Rosel liked this flower so I took a shot for her

Unhappily, we had to cut our time short and I will not be able to go tonight to Lit Live.  I was asked to take pictures tonight for Arts Hamilton but I would not dare be on the street feeling the way I do right now.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Planning for the World Day of Prayer

Today was our meeting for the downtown churches to plan for the upcoming World Day of Prayer.

This year the topic is on Malaysia.  It will be held March 2nd at 12 noon.

As usual, the different churches will provide plates of food for after the service.

A very nice gentleman prepared a lovely feast of many kinds of sandwiches and a great cake.

It was so very kind of him to do so.  We had a nice time after the meeting chatting.

When I got home, I started to work on my filing system, trying to get things in a better order.

I got quite abit done, including filling out a form that needed to be in by the 10th of February so I am glad that is done.

Still a lot to do, but I am slowly getting things the way I want them.

Thanks for dropping by.

Mohamed and I at the Club - Martini Nights

We sat with Dave and Diane again and they had invited some of their friends to come as well so we got to know more people.  Mohamed and Dave had some really stimulating conversation.

We arrived at 5 p.m. and stayed till after 8 p.m. and we enjoyed the jazz music they were playing. It was new musicians this time.  They were excellent.

Waiting for me to get my coat

Underneath the Queen's portrait - Mohamed

Me - ready to brave the cold

We had a very pleasant evening.  I enjoy going to these evenings and gradually I will get to know more people as I go along.

Asma and I at the Club

She made very good time from Toronto and we were lucky to find a parking spot downstairs rather than have to go all the way to the roof.

We had a short visit here and then we went over for lunch.  It was not too crowded at the time we went so got got a nice seat near the window.

In the foyer of my apartment

We tried different shots just to have some fun. Here is a side view.

We walked over to the club and both of us enjoyed our meals.  I think she had the tuna fish salad sandwich with a bowl of mushroom and onion soup.  We decided against desert as we were totally full and brought things home in a doggy bag.

The portions at the club are large.  I never can finish them but it makes a nice change for me not to have to cook the next day.

In the room where lunch is usually served

A more sober look

After our nice lunch, we went over to the mall to see if she could get some manto which is Afghani food.  Unhappily, there were none left.  Ah well, next time when she comes, definitely we will try again to get some.

After she left,Ii lay down for awhile as I felt tired.  I didn't sleep, just rested and listened to nature music which has a very calming effect on me.

Tonight Mohammed and I will go to Martini Hour and we will meet at the club.  All in all, a lovely day.
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