60 is the new 40!!

Yesterday (Saturday actually - I wrote this post Sunday but didn't upload my photos til now) I was feeling very blessed.  I come from a wee village of about 1800 souls and had occasion to visit. This year my high school friends and I are all turning 60. Wow. Although we are all far flung these days many of us have remained close. A small few still live in the village. Not me.

Truly BFF''s 

We are all turning 60 this year!

We decided (having already lost one of our number to cancer) that we should get together and celebrate our joint landmark birthday. Over the years we have had various get-togethers - you might remember me organizing a weekend here in London for everyone in 2015. I'm not sure why we are so close, but we are. And we treasure the friendship.

My friend Sharon and her grandson Cameron. Sharon and I
go back 55 years!

It was quite remarkable yesterday that two old friends came who have never attended any of our past events so I hadn't seen them for over 40 years! They've been invited but just couldn't make it until yesterday. Another of my nearest and dearest I hadn't seen since my father's memorial service. She hasn't changed a bit!

Lots of catching up, lots of reminiscing.

Of the two newbies one remembered my name right off and the other needed a clue. So I told her "we used to play together when we were in elementary school - we'd take a bunch of blankets and clothes pins and make tents underneath a tree..."..."JANE", she yelled and gave me a big hug.

Tall Cornelius joined us for the first time. And "cool" kid, Arlene,
front row far left.

She didn't remember me at first because once we reached the age of 11 or 12 we didn't hang out anymore as she joined the "cool kids" group and I didn't. Didn't want to even though I was "vetted" in Gr. 8.  No, I stayed with my less-cool but more fun and wholesome friends and have never regretted it. While the cool kids smoked and drank and all had long straight hair, wore makeup and had constant tans my less cool friends and I went to hockey games, went roller skating, played road hockey and softball, got together to make cookies and homemade pizza, had great school spirit and supported each other through thick and thin.

Perhaps the best moment was when she stared at me and said "you look fantastic!" I thought, but didn't say "that's what good living will do for you!"

Friday's Feelings: Nostalgia and the Firemen!!

I had fun with my scanner yesterday; uploading and editing a bunch of old photos (1,000's left to do - gack!!) This is my Dad and I about 30 years ago. It looks like one of his better days - he suffered a lot from depression and anxiety. We had a deep love for each other and this picture makes me think of when I was little and we used to dance around the dining room table to the country tunes of Johnny Cash, Buck Owens or Patsy Cline. One of the nicknames my dad had over the years was the "Silver Fox" - he had one hell of a head of hair!! All 5 of us kids however got my mother's dark hair. Durnnnn...

I wish my waist was still that size!! I remember that skirt - I bought it at a second-hand store...of course! My thriftiness started at a very early age, that sweater came from there too as I recall - it was a vintage store in London called Layman House.

I had fun editing this faded little scrap of a photo. I must be around 6 or so and I can see some of the old Norwich neighbourhood behind me. It doesn't look like that anymore.

 And here's Kazi, age 4, with our first two kittens Ruby and Tisky. I love how cute Tisky looks peeking out from her hiding place - she's our cat who lived to be 20 years old and died just last September.

Nothing like the annual Firemen's Fashion Show to perk one up!! Sorry about the poor photo quality but these guys were on the move! 

 

Oops, this guy forgot his shirt!!

They say clothes make the man...

An appreciative audience :)

And finally - here's what one of my finished soapstone pieces looks like all polished up by hand using a dozen or more fine and finer grades of sandpaper.

Here's the chunk I've chosen to work on now...

And here it is after 3-4 hours of carving. My right arm really ached after 4 hours of carving - it's the arm with nerve damage after the pinched nerve of January 2013. However, after yoga Wed. night it's not too bad. Maybe I just have to get back into it and it'll eventually strengthen my arm? Maybe??

It's coming along but lots of work to do yet.

Once the carving is finished the polishing begins.

My process is to carve the piece down below all its bumps and bruises and see what's left.

It usually ends up looking very organic and free-flowing - like birds, seals, full of curves, twists and turns.

Of course none of this could be accomplished without my workshop helper, Luna. She oversees all goings on from her bin on a shelf behind me. I replaced the scraps of screening that were in the bin for some nice soft shammies - I thought that might be a bit more comfortable...Luna concurs :)

Happy Friday everyone! I'm doing my update at Starbucks this morning and they just gave me a free drink!! Sweet!! I hope your day is going well and something FREE comes YOUR way!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!

 Today is Yesterday was Michael's birthday (for some reason this post didn't publish yesterday, stupid Blogger) - he's 55 (caught up to me ha ha!) In tribute I am posting a series of photos from the past summer when we were at our home in PEI. The other day he was wishing we could be there walking down our laneway, strolling on the beach, sitting on our front porch as the sun was rising. Well dear, in 6 months we'll be there once again. Until then, remember and enjoy...and always remember - LIFE BEGINS NOW!!

 He's not only handsome - he's handy!

 On the wharf in Summerside, as the sun is setting...

 Whacking away in the forest with his machete!

 Enjoying the serenity of the front porch early in the morning...

 I'm not quite sure what he's doing in the middle of the raspberry bushes!

VERY MUCH ENJOYING HEATHER'S TIKI PARTY!

 We love to explore - here we're checking out the island's other drive-in theatre - we can see the screen in the distance from our property so we went on the hunt - won't be watching any movies here for awhile!

Mr. Potato Head:)

 Our favorite pub owner - Steve -and his lovely wife Kelly (and me) whooping it up at the Albert and Crown...

 Gotta love the red soil...there's still some in the trunk of the car:)

You know where this is Marguerite!

 Enjoying an early morning coffee...potatoes growing in the background.

 PEI is a great place for Michael to fly his kite...

 Enjoying a dance...again at the Alberton and Crown...we like it there...

 ...every night's a party!

 The singing white sands at Basin Head...

 You just can't get a bad shot in PEI, and the scenery ain't bad neither...

 Michael's debut as a lobster fisherman...he's always up for anything!...

 even when others have had enough he keeps on ticking like the energizer bunny...

 taking orders for a bbq on board some friend's boat in Casumpec Bay...mustard and relish on mine please..

Our last night was spent up near Tignish with some musician friends who were jamming one last time before heading south to Texas...unfortunately Michael had some difficulty handling the "screech" that night. You should have seen him in the morning!...

 however, there are no pictures of him on our trip home - here we go, crossing Confederation Bridge!

But we'll be back for more adventures, more sunsets and more memories......ONE LOVE Michael!

Secret Santa came to Town!

I am truly enjoying my Secret Bloggy Santa gifts from my mysteriously anonymous Santa! There is a wee bit of dark chocolate left (and no I didn't share! - get your own Secret Santa I say!!) and now I am enjoying two more parts of my gift - LOOK LOOK!!

 I finished "Edge" by Jeffrey Deaver a couple of days ago and since I always have at least one book on the go, even during the busiest times of the year (especially then!) I dove into "Plum Island" from my Secret Santa.  All puns aside it is a "plum" of a book - only 30 pages in and already a DOUBLE MURDER!! Yippee!


What's that you ask? What am I wearing on my feet?? Why, only the coziest pair of hand knitted slippers complete with pink bows! Here, take a closer look...

My gramma always gave me crocheted slippers every Christmas but she died in l986 so that's how long it's been since my toes were this cozy! How did you know Secret Santa??  Not only are my toes warmer but you've taken me back to a simpler time when opening my gramma's lumpy Christmas packages were the highlight of the day. 


My gramma never put gifts into a box...no, she let the lumps and bumps transform the wrapping paper into a lunar landscape that my siblings and I would grapple with trying to figure out the contents. Along with crocheted slippers we would find other little treasures: homemade fudge, a card with a $5.00 bill tucked inside, socks, mittens, the Christmas Lifesavers "book box" (with a whole lot more rolls of lifesavers than you get these days!) and other "homely" items. 


While I'm thinking of my beloved gramma I want to share with you how she managed her money. She lived on the Old Age Pension (OAS) and also a small veteran's pension she received because her husband fought in WWI. Every month she'd cash her cheques and keep the money hidden under a pillow in her bedroom. She'd take out a bit to live on week by week until the end of the month. Whatever was left got transferred into an old purse which was also kept hidden in her bedroom and became her "savings". Then she started over from scratch the next month.


That old purse was her "bank" - like a lot of people of her generation she didn't trust banks and preferred to keep her money close by. When she died in l986 she left instructions for each of her four children to receive a certain amount from that savings purse, in the neighbourhood of $1000 each and left each of her almost 20 grandchildren $100. She also prepaid her funeral expenses. How she managed to save that amount of $$ while living on next to nothing would probably make the most frugal of us look like wastrels! 


I used the money she left me to buy a silver locket at Birk's jewelers in which I keep her picture.

 Ida Belle Catton (nee Gordon) 1891 - 1986

Ida Belle with three of her four children: she's holding the crying face of her youngest, Arthur, while seated in front of her are my Uncle Verne, and my mother - Edith Jane Eileen Harrison (nee Catton).  My gramma's three sons are still living but my mom died from complications of Parkinson's disease in 2000. I looked just like her at that age!


Wow, what a trip down memory lane! I really enjoyed that Secret Santa - thank you!  I guess I do believe in Santa after all!

Halloween - It Ain't What is Used to Be

BOO!!

Did I scare you?? No? Oh.....rats...


Halloween isn't scary anymore and that makes me sad. When I was a kid I used to get scared out of my wits on Halloween night, and I LOVED it! I lived in a small village and we were able to roam the streets freely, no parents following us around. It was a night of almost unimaginable freedom - knocking on doors and people giving us candy - for FREE!! Mingling with witches, ghosts and goblins, dead leaves whispering as they blew across our path, REAL bats flying overhead - it was the most magical night of the year! We would bravely take shortcuts through vacant lots, get about halfway across and then run screaming, terrified til we were back on the sidewalk again! 


There were always a few of those houses, the ones you ran past or crossed the street to avoid. The shabby unpainted houses with those strange people who didn't "neighbour" like everyone else. Who were they really?  


After a few years we knew what treats to expect at every house. The Lossings made homemade sticky popcorn balls in every colour! Our school principal gave out FULL SIZE chocolate bars! My neighbour used to make a special goody bag just for me - she would have to walk to the kitchen at the back of her house to get MY bag full of homemade fudge and cookies. Once we got older we found out that those people who lived in those houses gave out amazing treats: cans of Coke and big bags of chips...who knew???


This year some schools didn't allow scary costumes. Kids were encouraged to wear "caring" costumes. What the hell is a caring costume?? Other schools held an "orange and black" day and kids were only allowed to wear orange and black clothing. WTF??


C'mon people, what is going on here?? Don't they understand how absolutely thrilling it is to be (safely) scared one night of the year? To run around freely with friends sporting vampire teeth and fake blood dripping off your chin? To wrap your entire body with toilet paper and stagger off down the road dragging a pillow case behind you? 


Sometimes I miss the "good ol' days". Sometimes I get really sad that I'm old enough to remember the good old days but my daughter isn't. Living in the city in this day and age means kids aren't allowed to be out on their own. They'll never know how delicious it feels to see a clutch of witches standing on a dark street corner watching you approach...and you don't know who they are....