Sisters and other Family

Here are two of the new necklaces I made with the raku ceramic pendants created by brother-in-law J., a ceramic artist in Oklahoma. Photoshopping courtesy of same artist. Good thing, too. My photography is crap. The pendants are great! Each one has subtle colour differences. I bow to your talent, little brother-in-law.

Good thing my jewellery-making skills are better. I loooove to sit and create pieces of jewellery. I get into the Zone when I do that. Occasionally I glance up at the mountains or look at the sky over English Bay. I'm so focused I don't notice the sound of construction or time passing. After spending several hours at my worktable (doubles as my dining room table) I suddenly hear my stomach growling in hunger and realize I've missed a meal.

Sister D. who has caught the jewel bug from me was telling me she made 10 pieces last Sunday sitting in her sun room and growled at her hubby when he interrupted her. Yay, D. You go, girl. She has sold more pieces than I have. But who's counting.

We had our last tap class until September. We decided to have a hiatus from dancing for the summer. Our feet will enjoy the rest, to say nothing of the relief of our knees. Tappy, tappy makes me happy.

Dearest daughter and wonderful son-in-law took some prenatal classes this past weekend. She reports it was at the same time exhilarating and overwhelming. It is terrific to remember the experience of being a new parent. I just wanted to spend the rest of my life holding her in my arms and looking at her, my precious little girl. I think she's a little too big for that now. It was so humbling to think that this helpless, tiny creature depended on me and her Dad for survival and more than a little scary. Only 45 days till Granddaughter day!!!

Congratulations to grandniece Cheyenne on her graduation day. Thanks to brother-in-law G. for posting pictures. I wish I could have been there. Hugs and kisses to nephew Mike and Char. and all the kids.

I went to the Air Canada website to make a reservation for a trip to Winnipeg, but it is down. I hope it's up and running tomorrow - that's the last day of the seat sale and I really want to go to Manitoba for a couple of weeks in September. Gotta see some old friends.

Take care, all my sisters and brothers out there.

If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: "Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma." ~Linda Sunshine

I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 4-year-old named Lauren

Remembering June 14 and Fathers and Daughters

T Here is a picture of Dennis and his daughter. It's my favourite picture of all time. And the other one is me and my dad. Yesterday was Dennis' birthday. He would have been 61. I spent most of the day with my darling daughter and we focused mostly on the future. We watched a couple of movies and played Trivial Pursuit. He was great at TP. The champion.

My daughter also brought the ultrasound video of my granddaughter. The word awesome is overused these days, but really fits here. The pictures of her gulping fluid, making a fist and holding onto her legs can only be described as awesome. Only 56 days until granddaughter day!!!! Yippee!!!

He would have been a terrific grandfather. I will make sure my grandchildren know how wonderful he was.

I remember some of the June 14 birthdays. We often went out for dinner. Once we had a big backyard barbeque. Many of his co-workers came to that one. It was a surprise for him and everyone had a good time. The last few years we often had combination birthday parties with our "Trivial Friends." That's what we called the two couples with whom we played TP. Oh, happy days, long gone.

I continue to make new forms of jewellery. I have made some new pieces with raku pendants Jack sent me from Oklahoma. I will post some pictures when I have them ready. I hope they sell. I received a request from one of darling daughter's friends for a private showing for her and a few of her friends visiting Vancouver. A private showing! Well, lah-di-dah. Have I arrived? It will be fun, anyway.

Brother-in-law Gary and wife Carolyn have set off on their trip to see their son Michael and his family in the interior. Somewhere near Terrace, BC. And they plan a side trip to Calgary and will also stop in Vancouver at the end of the trip. Happy Trails!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. If you still have your father, make sure you tell him how much you love him. I'm thinking about my father who is in a personal care home in Saint John. I remember going to see the first Pink Panther movie with my father. It was the mid sixties and I felt so grown up at about age 14 to be going to a movie with my Dad. We really enjoyed Peter Sellers doing Inspector Clouseau. All the jokes were so predictable and we laughed like fools anyway. And I remember Dennis introducing our daughter to the joys of Pink Panther humour. It's nice to know the best things never go out of style. Love to all fathers. And fathers-to-be, my dear. I wish you all the joys of the father-daughter bond.

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

Interruptions, Intrusions, Disruptions, Blockings, Detours, Delays, Reroutings, and a Suspension

I phoned a friend in Manitoba a few days ago and our conversation was interrupted by a siren that was going down Davie Street, then a very loud Harley motorcycle and I know she was thinking: what a noisy place. How can she live there? The West End really is a happening place. And noisy. But I seldom lose sleep because of noise any more. Adapting to the climate here is only part of the challenge.

Speaking of noise, there is construction going on right beside my apartment building. They are building a 20 condo unit next door. The loud noises of construction drive me out of the block often in the daytime. Today there was a concrete pour and they were out there working overtime smoothing it out with those noisy machines that look like gigantic fans on their sides. They were still intruding on "So You Think You Can Dance" right up until it ended at ten PM!! It's not enough that they make enough noise to drive me away all day - they ruined my evening. There oughta be a law. Actually, I think there is, but I'm not sure what hours they have to quit making noise.

And English Bay has already been quite disrupted by the upcoming triathlon. A whole raft of tents and a huge grandstand is blocking my view of the beach. Some streets and sidewalks have already been blocked off. On Sunday, the day of the actual race, the sidewalks and Davie Street will be totally blocked off along with a few other streets. I remember last year getting delayed on the other side of the street and not being able to get back home after my workout.

I have seen some competitors trying out the course on their bikes and some swimmers practising in English Bay. I could never have tried anything like that. You gotta admire the athletes. For me a triathlon might be a workout on the stationary bike at my gym, a walk to Stanley Park and a six-hour shift windexing the showcases at London Drugs. Har har!

The last two days have also seen a film crew working at a restaurant around the corner. This happens often in this city. I remember seeing a crew filming Night for Day on Granville Street once on my way to tap dance class. There was also some filming at the Bus and Train Station. It was for the upcoming X-Files movie. Films are always allowed to disrupt almost anything here. Buses are rerouted, trailers park in non-parking zones and pedestrians are detoured around film crews. I read that tourism is down, so I guess filming must be encouraged to keep the economy afloat. There are always so many people involved in filming (why do they all wear headphones) , but so far I haven't seen any stars working on a film here.

As I got off a bus today I heard a youthful voice singing "Amazing Grace." I looked down the street and there was a young (about 14 years old) person of indeterminate sex sitting on the sidewalk with an empty coffee cup beside her (him). She (he)sported a shaved head and a coverall about two sizes too large. The feet were encased in scruffy sneakers. The voice was not well-trained, but the singer sounded sincere. I figured anybody who actually knew all the words of "Amazing Grace" should be rewarded. So I temporarily suspended my policy of not giving money to panhandlers and dropped a loonie in the cup. I was rewarded with a smile of pure joy. Ya gotta love the West End. In spite of all its disturbances, delays and impediments it's alive and vibrant.

Had a great time in Victoria for three days. It was so quiet I found it hard to get to sleep! Thanks to Gary for posting the pictures on his blog.

The closest you will ever come in this life to an orderly universe is a good library. - Ashleigh Brilliant

21, 893, 121, 76, 3, 24

It has been 21 days since I last blogged! I didn't believe it until I checked my calendar. Where does time go? No one knows.

I have lived 893 days without him. I still miss him terribly. A beautiful sunset makes me think of him. I turn toward where he would have been sleeping when I sleep. When I watch a new movie I think about how he would have enjoyed it.

Sorry to write about being sad. But for some reason I've been going through a patch of sadness for the last few days. Sometimes I'm happy. When making jewellery (121 pieces made so far), baking cookies, spending time with darling daughter or contemplating the upcoming wonderful event. I suppose I ought to call the number 893 the days of my new life. It's as good as it could be without him.

Here's a happy number. 76 days until Granddaughter day!!! Yay. And three, the number of days I am spending in Victoria. I look forward to spending lots of time with the kin in Victoria.

Love to everyone reading this blog.
Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of the day. ~W. Beran Wolfe

Ginger, Stones, Birthdays, Timmy's

Hi all. Happy Birthday to nephew Alan. It has been an eventful few days since I last blogged.

Baked some ginger snaps and was quite happy with the results. Another type of cookie to add to my grandmotherly repertoire.

On Friday my sister and I went to a beading show. I got some rubies, opals, labradorite, jade, and solar quartz. Great stones. I also got some African ceramic beads and some art glass beads. I can't wait to get started on some new jewellery.

I had a jewellery party last Saturday. Only two people attended. Nothing sold, but got another party booking out of it.

Sunday, my sister and her husband and I went to the Raincity Grill to celebrate their birthdays. The food was delicious as always and the service was great. But I'm not biased. I consumed enough calories for three days. Good thing I don't eat like that all the time.

Speaking of food, at long last another of my schemes is coming to fruition. After thinking that the Tim Horton's restaurant was not coming into our building after all, I noticed there is now a sign up in one of the store fronts announcing the restaurant. It makes me very happy to know how close my Timmy's will be. Yahoo! I wonder how long it will be until the interior construction is done and they open for business. It can't be too soon for me.

Only 97 days until granddaughter day. Double Yahoo!!


Patience is also a form of action. ~Auguste Rodin

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

In the family, I'm known for my baking. My daughter likes chocolate chip cookies and my son-in-law prefers almond lemon biscotti. I love to bake for them. I don't cook often - I have a few dishes that are usually edible, but I enjoy baking most. I am known at work as the cookie baker, too. I often take cookies and other baking to work for my co-workers. I'll let you in on a little secret. I have been practicing cookies in preparation for grandchildren. In 103 days, give or take, I can start baking cookies for my granddaughter. Yep, that's right, my granddaughter! Well, I guess newborns can't eat cookies, but, eventually...

Darling Daughter and her Handsome Husband took me and the other grandparents out for dinner at the Sandbar Restaurant. It was to be a celebration of his father's birthday (I took, what else?, cookies) and their anniversary. But it turned out to be a celebration of another kind, too. They went to a company that provides ultrasound pictures and video and have had it confirmed - it's a girl. We were all so happy to see the wonderful pictures. She was holding up her little fist. She is so beautiful.

It would be great to have a grandson, too, but I am just so happy to know her and see the great pictures of her. The wonders of modern technology! So amazing.

It is so much easier now to imagine holding her, taking her for a walk, playing with her, teaching her to bake cookies. It is hard to be patient, but at the same time, I am savouring the joy of expectation. I have loved her since I knew she existed and I know he would have loved her, too. He would have been over the moon to know he was going to have a grandchild.

Thank you Darling Daughter and Super Son-in-law. You have given me a wonderful gift. I have to end this post now. I think I better practice my baking. I wonder if she'll prefer chocolate chip or peanut butter or maybe biscotti with her morning coffee...

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

Scrap, Waste, Trash, Rubbish, Refuse, Litter and Garbage

Today I want to write about garbage. It was Earth Day this week. Every day should be Earth Day. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Good motto. But here's a forgotten aspect of environmentalism. Yes, scrap, waste, trash, rubbish, litter....the stuff we produce so much. Some of us, it seems, forget where garbage goes.

In the locker room at the gym I noticed that someone had left an empty water bottle on a table and an empty chewing gum wrapper on the floor under the table. The thought occurred to me that I had seen an empty bottle and a gum wrapper in those precise locations a few times before. They must have been left by the same person!!!! Was an alien life form studying the customs and rites of the human exercise nut? Were these items left by an anthropologist hiding somewhere in the locker room as part of some government-sponsored research to determine what people would do when faced with these extraneous objects? Was there a hidden camera and at any moment a host would jump out and say Candid Camera? Naw, I decided, it was just some goofball who thinks someone else needs the exercise of bending over and picking up the gum wrapper.

I have just one thing to say to the unknown litterbug...the gym is in the process of developing new technology in which garbage will deposit itself in the correct receptacle. But they are still working out the bugs. In the meantime those using the locker room as their own private garbage can are requested to use the old technology of PICKING UP YOUR GARBAGE, WALKING THREE STEPS AND PUTTING IT IN THE CAN. Sadly, chances are the unknown litterbug will not be reading this blog...

It's the same story around the front of my apartment block. Ever since the store fronts have been finished and the bus company installed a couple of benches, people waiting for the bus have been leaving cigarettes on the sidewalk. Some of those butts, granted, are tossed on the sidewalk by bus drivers feeding their nicotine addictions during their breaks but most of them are left by people lounging around on the bus benches. Every morning when I leave for the gym the sidewalk is littered with newspapers, coffee cups, paper wrappings from hamburgers and sandwiches and plastic containers of all sorts and sizes. Yes, it's a dirty world we live in and some people are making it dirtier.

You are probably wondering: did the ranter pick up any of this garbage and deposit it? No. I talk a good talk, but do I walk the walk? I figure it might be considered a bit OC if I started picking up trash in my neighbourhood. Although, when I lived in Winnipeg, I used to carry a garbage bag whenever I walked the dog, a little one for the dog detritis, a large one for all the other garbage. I guess I have developed new priorities or perhaps new eccentricities. But I do put my own garbage in the garbage can.

Just one small plea for Mother Earth...don't litter.

Gotta get some sleep. Catch up on the sleep I've been missing the last few days. Have a good week. Keep Earth clean.

Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea.~George Carlin