A little bit of this and that....

Summer is winding down, however, you wouldn't think so from the sunny weather and warm temperatures we have had during the past couple of days.  The nights have been cool with some frost on the roof tops of the houses in my neighbourhood.  Summer flowers in the garden are looking tired and beginning to prepare themselves for the colder weather ahead.  However, a few mums, sedum and asters are still providing some colour.   Autumn will soon be here, then the  maple trees will be changing into their glorious reds, oranges and yellows.  A lovely time of the year.  Then the leaves fall and we are left with the naked branches, until they are again clothed, oh no!!! with snow.    

Very little sewing has been done during the past couple of  months.   I had intended to take my sewing machine outside on my back deck and do some stitching there during July and August but that never happened, too many other things to do.  I have many UFO's that need my attention and ideas for future projects, so need to get organized.

 But first..... I am taking myself on another trip,  so will be AWOL for awhile.  Coming back refueled and ready to start in that sewing room again.  A lot of stitching needs to be done before Christmas.

A blog I follow is posted by a woman who works very hard to save so that she and her dh can travel.  She recently posted photos of an earlier trip they took which showed the older Panama City, it is a beautiful place.  Lovely memories.  In 2006 dh and I took a cruise to the Panama Canal.   A tour bus  to Panama City gave us a brief visit and taking photo's through the windows was impossible to do the city  justice.  So thought I would show a couple of pictures that I was able to take.  
                                         

The skyline of the modern Panama City.

Those of you that follow my blog know I love flowers, so had to show you some, of course.  I was told at the time this was an Orchid  Tree.  They were lovely.

 

Patricia

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Sewer

Anne, can't access any of your posts.   Hope it is just a blogger.com problem and everything is OK on your end.



Patricia

Second post today what's up with that........... An information package arrived................

...............in my mail box an hour ago.  

What is in it?    Everything I need to know about my next trip which begins soon. The hotels,  the internet is so much fun as I can look at the hotels I will be staying at, and I must say, some of them look quite regal.  I know photos could have been taken years ago or retouched but they look nice just the same.  Time will tell when I take my own photo's.   One is a converted woolen mill and all are located in areas with some lovely scenery around them.  I have already looked at some of the places I will be visiting, can't wait now.

Where am I going?

Clues.....
Everything will so green, will take a walk in Giant's foot steps, or maybe even see some little men if I look really careful.   Wonder if I will have stew for dinner and wash it all down with whisky or a Guinness and come home full of blarney.  That gave it away I am sure.   

Time to start getting really excited, looking forward to it as it  will be so different from last years trip.

 


   
Patricia

What are the odds....

According to statistics on the web, approximately 250,000 to 1, and 3 in ten million.  What am I writing about?  The odds of your house being struck by lightening, which is described on one site as being within 10 meters of your home, and the odds of being killed by a lightening strike. Not a happy subject to be writing about but........

Mum lived in England during WWII, and the sound of exploding bombs was all around the area where she lived.  As a result, she has always been scared of thunder and lightening storms, I suspect they make her relive wartime memories. 

During the years since 1954 my Mother has lived in three houses all located in the country.  I bet you are wondering what this has got to do with lightening.  Well, Mum and Dad's first house was struck in the late '50's, no one was hurt and damage was minimal.  One.

In the '60's my parents moved to a larger farm house, which was struck by lightening, blowing flames out of the electrical outlets and doing additional damage to appliances etc.  Once again no one was hurt.  Two.

Sometime in the '80's,  time goes so fast I can't recall exact years, I was talking to Mum on the phone, and all of a sudden she screamed and the phone went dead.  You guess it, lightening again, only this time, she was thrown on the floor and suffered tingling all over her body for a couple of weeks.  Three.

In the late '90's an empty barn on the same farm was struck by lightening and burned to the ground.     We won't count this one.

Fourteen years ago she moved into the house she is currently living in.   This past Monday, Sept 2nd, yes,  this house was struck.   Destroyed the transformer on the pole outside, the electrical meter on the house.  Electrical outlets were blown apart, TV, satellite receiver, and telephone all need to be replaced.  A lot of repair work has been completed, a new TV purchased, now waiting for phone and new satellite dish to be installed.   Once again she was not hurt.  Four.

My Mother celebrated her 96th birthday last month and she has been asked by many people, what is her secret to living to such a ripe old age and also being so  healthy.  

Well, just a bit of fun here, and she would laugh at it too, so I am not being disrespectful.  I believe I know her secret.  She is a Cat.  They are known to have nine lives, so far she has used four, so she has five left.  So, no telling how old this lady is going to be.  Ha Ha.

Have a great day.
Patricia

Yoga for the mind.....

A local winery today offered a wine and food tasting plus a Zentangle workshop.  I was curious having never heard of Zentangle before,  must live a sheltered life. LOL  The internet comes in very handy, and after looking at what it was, I thought I would like to do that, so signed up for the workshop and the wine!!!!

First, we were give an informative talk on what to look for, how to smell and how to finally drink wine.  Both red and white were on the table along with vegetarian pizza hor dourves, BBQ kielbasa pieces and grapes.  For those of us with a sweet tooth some chocolate covered raisins.  All very good.

The instructor advised Zentangle was a yoga session for your mind, I don't know if was the wine or the Zentangle which would provide the relaxation, either way I was ready to be relaxed.  Paper, pen, pencil and a shader tool in hand we were ready to start.

This first picture is a sample which shows some of the different designs used. 

The next two pictures show my attempts to use some of the designs. I must admit I did enjoy this workshop, and I did relax, and can see myself doing more of this......don't I have enough to do already?

I wish I had taken my camera as some of the samples displayed were absolutely gorgeous.   This technique would makes some lovely greeting cards. 

Have a great week everyone.

Patricia

My Mum's Birthday.....

Today is my Mother's 96th birthday, on Sunday the family had a get together to celebrate.

This photo of her was taken on Sunday.

I am sure if you asked her the secret for long life, she would say she didn't know.  However,  I suspect not being afraid of hard work would be one of the reasons.  Her Mother died during the birth of her younger brother, so in her very early years she helped in the home for her Father and two brothers.   At the age of 14 years she was "in service" as a downstairs maid.  Later, married a farmer and everyone knows that is a labour intensive occupation, especially in England during the 1940's and '50's.  During WW11 both her and my Dad were foster parents to two boys evacuated from London.  She was also Red Cross nurse.   Starting out from scratch again in '54 when my family immigrated to Canada.   Even now, she lives in her own little house in the country, doing the daily chores on her own, grant you they are not done to the standards she used to do, but they are done just the same.  Every day she cooks her main meal, which always includes a meat, potato and possibly two veg and most days a dessert of  some kind.

Being  neat and tidy and personal cleanliness are all important to her. 

She still smokes!!! and likes a little "nip" once in awhile.  Her mind  is as sharp as a tack, and remembers everyone's birthday date.  Always ready for a good laugh.

She has had a heart attack and is a cancer survivor.  Other than having an elevated blood pressure, relying on diet to keep her diabetes under control and "Arthur" creeping into her left knee, she is healthy.  

Mother of two, Grand Mother of seven, Great Grand Mother of 13, Great Great Grand Mother of five, and friends to many.

Happy Birthday MUM.


Patricia

Music.....Prize....Rain

Has your inner most soul ever been moved by music?   Wonderful music that brings grown men and women, including me, to tears just by listening to an orchestra and voices.

A local cinema was showing an encore production of a "CinemaLive" presentation of an Andre Rieu July concert in Maastricht.  Apparently, he has several three hour concerts in his home town of Maastricht during the month of July.   If you ever get a chance to see him and his Johann Strauss Orchestra and singers, go, as you will not be disappointed.  His  orchestra and singers make lovely music of well known songs, Blue Danube, Time To Say Goodbye, and Halleluiah which k.d. Lang also sings, plus so many others. This year he had several guest artists, including a small orchestra of mentally challenged people, who did a great job playing along with his orchestra.  I would love to see one of  concerts just to hear his music in person, get involved in the excitement of the crowd and visit the town of Maastricht.  Having said that, the film gives you a better view, it gets you up close to the performers, you are on stage with them.  It also gives views of the entire square, the people having a great time and surrounding area.

 CinemaLive  films concerts and plays, originating in Europe, and beams them live via satellite all over the world.  I have seen two plays and The Last Night of the Proms from London, UK, and now two of Andre Rieu's concerts.  It's a chance to see some wonderful shows without traveling all over the world.

When I returned home a message on my answering machine advised me that one of my wall hangings had won a 3rd prize at the 2013 International Ploughing Match quilt show.

During the late evening we had rain, no need to water my garden.  I came home late and in our neighbourhood we have a resident skunk which wonders around at that time, something I would not like to encounter.

A perfect evening of music, a prize and rain.

Patricia