The Korean Touch

 

These bowls are soooooo smooth to the touch
I just love them.
Yup.
 Out for Christmas and back in the box.

Sometimes I think, why have all this stuff if I don't use them?
But the pleasure of knowing I have them and can use them when the need arises and not have to run around stores looking, is very reassuring.
Besides, they were gifts and I treasure them.
I love the Japanese reusable chop sticks. Some of them are so elaborate
and lets face it, they are fun to use. I get less stuff on my clothing using them for some reason.lol
When ever I go to the restaurants, I am never sure about how they wash the cutlery, so I always have my chopsticks with me.
The Chinese old people are quite upset with their kids when they use knives and forks.
They tell them the foreigners love our customs and you reject them. lol
I guess people will never be happy.
It wouldn't be a fun world if there was nothing to quibble about.
You learn quickly to take things with a grain of salt.

This year Costco had these nice looking cheese cakes.
They came 8 to a box, single servings.
You could add ice cream to them and whipped cream but we ate them plain.
They were soo smooth and delicious and came in different flavours.
Some New York style, some pumpkin, some plain, some chocolate. All soo good!
People don't need to cook anymore, when the stores sell such excellent
tasty food in such a wide variety and not very expensive.
 Costco lazagna is very rich and has lots of flavor,
the shepherds pie as well.

Of course my lazagna is richer because I need about 20 dollars worth of just ingredients to make it
and thanks to my Italian sisterinlaw I learned to make my own noodles for it and for the canneloni
which are so much better than the bought noodles.
but if you need something quick, you can't go wrong with Costco.

So Christmas is over and now we have to plan for the New Year.
My Mom always made it a seafood night.
I think this year I will try doing the lobster tails with paella and baked salmon.
I looked up the recipe and it doesn't look very hard to make.
Maybe I will also make canneloni with ricotta cheese and spinach.

The crock pot has a great bouillon all ready from yesterday.
So far I think my husband is the only one who tried it.
Instead of potatoes I put in a taro root.
It's almost like a potato.

I guess every one will be shopping for Boxing Day and my son will be planning his
next snow board trip.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS!

(click to enlarge)
Thank you for all your wonderful comments. :)

So nice to have friends.
I made, or attempted to make, a nice dinner.
I put in a duck and a turkey with a yam to bake
The liver and necks are in the crock pot making soup for tomorrow.
I made vine leaves, lamb, gravy, cranberries,mashed potatoes,
turnips, etc..

 

Everything was working fine until I saw my stove smoking.
It was on fire.
Thankfully everything was cooked already. I turned everything off
and had to open all the doors to let the smoke out of the house.

The duck was delicious as was everything else.
I sliced a generous portion of turkey into a plate but did not serve the whole turkey just in case it was not all cooked. The pieces I cut were microwaved 3 minutes to make sure they were thoroughly cooked.

My boys were very happy with the meal but now I have to unscrew the oven to see why it caught fire.
Its a Jenair oven.

 

The Christmas throw was put back onto the guest room bed.
I had such joy making it and now take a great deal of pleasure seeing it on a bed.

 

The stuffed pets are waiting for Santa. They don't know the kids have all grown up. lol

 

Still other kids who didn't know they are supposed to be grown up
, fell asleep by the fire place on their watermelons.
They are such jolly, sleepy children . Just how I like them. lol

 

Santa is getting his last few minutes sleep before embarking on his
toy delivery job. It's been a long year. ;)

 

Mary and Joseph cuddle their sweet baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes as news gets around
about the holy birth

We had a lovely family day and Wish  

Everyone

A Very Merry Christmas !!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Wedding Groom and Bride

 

I still have the cake topper from my wedding.
It is getting yellow and I wouldn't know how to clean it
but then it wouldn't be an original.
The little cups and mugs are from the Soviet Union
They are tiny but expensive for way back when.
They keep toasting this Bride and Groom,
so they stay forever happy and in love.
So far so good.:)

 

Selangor makes fine Pewter items.
These are napkin holders.
The cherry metal shot glasses came from the then Soviet Union
when Vodka was quite popular.

 

Who needs to go up north when you can sit and watch this happen in your own back yard.
Too bad it's all gone now and just plain ol green.

xoxoxo

Ay To Sea Captain!

 

Cup and Saucer.
Very delicate and smooth in  blue and white .
Would be great for  Turkish coffee.

 

These little guys are sold every where and how can you resist but not buy one.
The laughing Buddha always made you smile and it is
comforting to hold him.

The stores are full of people. We went early to the Superstore to get veggies
I got a duck because my son wants the duck put into the turkey.
So I have to defrost the turkey on sunday so I can debone it a bit and insert the duck into it
Usually they also put in a chicken but I'll try just the duck and turkey
Sunday I have the vine leaves to make as well.
We got the eggnog and so with a bit of rum we should be enjoying Christmas morning. lol
Some places have snow but all we have is rain and rain and rain.
Hasn't stopped for three days now.
Was nicer when it snowed.
Enjoy your Saturday.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

xoxoxoxo

White Clay Vase

When you begin to explore pottery, and the making of pottery,
you begin to understand the difference in the type of clay they use.
I believe white clay was used to make this vase.
I got this vase in an antique store.
It is very light and delicate and if you look closely,
you can see through it.
I have 4 of them and do not dare touch them for fear of breaking them.
They are checked and then safely put away.

I will be amazed if they make it through another generation.
To think someone could make something sooo transparent
 and then paint it without it breaking , is nothing short of amazing.

Today is the 21st of December and it's supposed to be the end of the world.
It very well might be for many.
We do believe society will change . It will have to or face more acts of desperation or wars and today
we can't afford any more wars.
We also have to stop reproducing. There are too many people in the world to feed.
It has come to the point where everyone should grow their own gardens.
Two children per family is more than enough to support and feed.

Three more days before Christmas
I hope you are planning your meals and getting family and friends
ready to blow out the candles for the most famous birthday on earth.

Have a good one
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Christmas Crew Blessings

 

These little guys were losing their shoes so I glued them back on and
 refreshed their beards from a piece of cotton ball.
Every one got their shoes back except one toy soldier.
In the middle is an old
cash register, ready to do business
and the Santa heads are ready to be hung on the wall
Years and years to collect stuff like this and yet
so fast to lose.
So I am taking pictures for posterity.

Today we had soo much beautiful snow,a good 5 inches and it was quite chilly outside.
Beau really loved it. His muscles seem better today. lol
My son took pictures of him in the snow but he didn't give them to me yet.

We decided to have a family outing and went for Indian food at a place called Mahek, in Surrey.
They served delicious hot platters which they make from scratch.
Very spicy lamb curry , butter / tandoori chicken, rice , mint, prawns, naan
We couldn't eat everything so we brought a doggy bag home to enjoy later.
 Every ones' face was sweating from the hot spices.
The restaurant was full of birthday people and many were coming in groups wishing each other a Happy New Year. A little early but what the heck . lol

 My son especially enjoys Indian food and around here he has so many restaurants to choose from.
I should learn to marinate  my meat before cooking a few days ahead. It makes a big difference.
I noticed the grocery stores doing this. I figure they can't sell the meat so the marinate it and try again later.

At home my crock pot soup was cooking. It smells soo good this morning
I added cabbage to it. Nothing like hot soup with rice on cold wintry days.
This crock pot will be quite busy this winter. lol


 Bless This House


So the days are coming closer and closer to Christmas.
I looked out and the white snow has turned to slush.
I am sure by the end of the day it will all be gone.

xoxoxoxoxo

American Rooster and Partridge in a Pear Tree

 

One shelf is ready for Christmas
Colorful mugs with ol yeller and the
Partridge looking over its' shoulder
at the US Rooster orating
seasons greetings to every one.

We woke up to more snow flakes. So pretty to look at.
Beau went out and didn't want to come back in.
He sat enjoying the fresh air lifting his nose high
to suck it all in.
His fur was quickly getting covered in snow.
If I let him stay out there a bit longer, he'd look like a snow man.
So we called him back in and reluctantly he obeyed.
Tanya on the other hand was quick. Out and in.
Who needs to get cold wet feet as they say.
Nothing like a warm blanket and pillow

 

 

 ----------------
Steve Bridges passed away . He did George Bush comedy and now here is one of Barack Obama
Now let me be clear,




You will enjoy this.

xoxoxoxo

<

Here Come The Toys

I found a few clowns so I pulled them out to photograph
and display for Christmas.
Spider man had no head and it took a while to find it.
Finally my husband found it and it took a lot to unscrew the body
to be able to fit it back in.
How the head came off, makes no sense at all but
he is whole again now and  looks good with the clowns.

These toys are outgrown but they are wonderful things to
stick onto a tree at Christmas and bring back a lot of memories.
I think it makes a tree look homey knowing your old friends
 are hanging from it.lol

 

This Clown is ready to Party.

He is sitting on my piano waiting for Santa.

Here he is ready to send as an e card.

It snowed finally at 3 a.m.
We were waiting for the snow flakes all night. By 4 a.m. my son was out with the dog
enjoying the fresh clean air and solitude.
He took the dog for a long romp through the fields.
Beau is 10 years old and not used to all this fun but when he came home after an hour,
 he didn't want to come back inside.
Today we see him limping and with very sore muscles. lol
I told Nick you have to take him out to play more often and then he will get back into shape.
We don;t get much snow so when it comes, all the kids, big and little,
take advantage to go out and enjoy it because it melts so quickly.

 

-----------------------------------------

A Paranormal Studies professor at a University was giving a lecture
He asked:
'How many people here believe in ghosts?'

About 90 students raise their hands.

Great!

 Out of those who believe in ghosts, do
any of you think you have seen a ghost?'

About 40 students raise their hands.

Excellent! 

 Has anyone here ever talked to a ghost?'

About 15 students raise their hand.

 This is interesting Has anyone here ever touched a ghost?'

Three students raise their hands.

That's fantastic. Now one  more question 

.Have any of you ever made love to a ghost?'

Way in the back, Ahmed raised his hand.

Taking off his glasses the professor exclaims:

 'Son, all the years I've been giving this lecture, no one has ever claimed to have made
love to a ghost. 

You've got to come up here and tell us about your
experience.'

The Middle Eastern Muslim student , with a nod and a grin, and
began to make his way up to the podium.

When he reached the front of the room, the professor continued,

 'So,

 Ahmed, tell us what it's like to have sex with a ghost?'

Ahmed replied, "Shit, from way back there I thought you said Goats."

OY! Even the young are deaf.  lol
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Acrylic Carving

 

These animals were carved into the back of these
acrylic blocks.
They are nice to display in bathrooms or coffee tables.
Children like to look at them and as an art form
I really like to see how they were done.
Another way to do it is to take a carving and pour acrylic over it.
When the acrylic sets, the carving is pulled out thus leaving an
inverted carving which looks wonderful from the top side.

As I am writing this, my son called from the liquor store where he went to get a bottle
of something for a gift exchange party he is going to tonight.
He said someone tried to steal from the store .
The guy tried to run out of the store and in the doorway got into a scuffle
with two other guys. A woman got punched and fell to the floor and then the guy
stealing, seems to have stabbed
one of the guys he got into a scuffle with , ran out the door and drove off.
People got his license number
Now there is a big commotion and  no one knows how this stabbed guy is doing.
At this end we are listening to a Dad crying over the death of his little girl,
in Connecticut and the fake tears of the President of the United States.
Really.

Amidst all this calamity, people are still wishing people on the street,
 a Merry Christmas.
Stores are bustling as people prepare for their holidays.
You look and listen and all you can do is shake your head.
 I told my son to be careful and come home
The world is crazy.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

A Little Birdie Told Me.

 

(click to enlarge)
We had huge snow flakes fall all day today but they melted just as fast.
It was just to give us a little taste of what Christmas
should feel and taste like.
I enjoyed writing on this card since it had a lot of empty blue space.
I hope you like the card.

We all need little miracles in our lives.
I am sending some your way.

Have a great day!
xoxoxoxoxxo

I Believe

 

(click to enlarge)

You can't beat Perry Como singing this song
and I made good use of my Angel too

I made different cards with this picture using different words.
It was a lot of fun to create.
 This is where I love technology :)

 

 

 

xoxoxoxoxo

For the Young at Heart

 

AN OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR SHUFFLED INTO TOWN LEADING A TIRED OLD MULE. THE OLD WOMAN HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE ONLY SALOON TO CLEAR HER PARCHED THROAT.SHE WALKED UP AND TIED HER OLD MULE TO THE HITCH RAIL. AS SHE STOOD THERE, BRUSHING SOME OF THE DUST FROM HER FACE AND CLOTHES, A YOUNG GUNSLINGER STEPPED OUT OF THE SALOON WITH A GUN IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY IN THE OTHER.The young gunslinger looked at the old woman and laughed, saying, "Hey
Old WOMAN, have you ever danced?"
THE OLD WOMAN LOOKED UP AT THE GUNSLINGER AND SAID, "NO, I NEVER DID DANCE... NEVER REALLY WANTED TO."

A CROWD HAD GATHERED AS THE GUNSLINGER GRINNED AND SAID, "WELL, YOU OLD BAG, YOU'RE GONNA DANCE NOW," AND STARTED SHOOTING AT THE OLD WOMAN'S FEET.
THE OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR - NOT WANTING TO GET HER TOE BLOWN OFF -STARTED HOPPING AROUND. EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING.
WHEN HIS LAST BULLET HAD BEEN FIRED, THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER, STILL LAUGHING, HOLSTERED HIS GUN AND TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK INTO THE SALOON.


THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO HER PACK MULE, PULLED OUT A DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOTGUN, AND COCKED BOTH HAMMERS.
THE LOUD CLICKS CARRIED CLEARLY THROUGH THE DESERT AIR. THE CROWD STOPPED LAUGHING IMMEDIATELY.
THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER HEARD THE SOUNDS TOO, AND HE TURNED AROUND VERY SLOWLY. THE SILENCE WAS ALMOST DEAFENING.
THE CROWD WATCHED AS THE YOUNG GUNMAN STARED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND THE LARGE GAPING HOLES OF THOSE TWIN BARRELS.


THE BARRELS OF THE SHOTGUN NEVER WAVERED IN THE OLD WOMAN'S HANDS, AS SHE QUIETLY SAID, "SON, HAVE YOU EVER LICKED A MULE'S BUTT?


THE GUNSLINGER SWALLOWED HARD AND SAID, "NO MAAM... BUT... I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO."

THERE ARE A FEW LESSONS FOR US ALL HERE:
1 - Never be arrogant.

2 - Don't waste ammunition.

3 - Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.

4 - Always, always make sure you know who has the power.

5 - Don't mess with old women; they didn't get old by being stupid...
-----------------------------------------

 My friend asked an old man:

"At your ripe age, what you prefer to get - Parkinson's or Alzheimer's?"

Old and wise he answered:

"Definitely Parkinson's. Better to spill half an ounce of Scotch, than to forget where you keep the bottle!!"

 -----------------------------------------------


Sex In The Dark
A couple, married for 20 years,
always made love, with the husband insisting on shutting the lights out.
.Finally, the wife had enough
She decided things were going to change.
They were in the middle of a wild, screaming, romantic session, when she turned on the lights. and saw her husband holding a battery-operated leisure device...
A vibrator! Soft, wonderful and larger than a real one.
The blood pressure blew her out of her mind.
'You impotent bastard,' She screamed at him, 'How could you be lying to me all of these years? You better explain yourself!'
The husband looks her straight in the eyes and says calmly:

'I'll explain the toy.. . You explain the kids.' 
xoxoxoxxoxo

So The Blind May See the Light

 

http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442769905

Jacintha Saldanha
This was a shocking story.
With all that is going on in the world today, it's just inconceivable that an educated woman,
with a loving family, would do something like this, over something so stupid as answering the phone and being duped into believing it was the Queen calling. Had she said no, she would be feeling bad again about it if it had been the Queen.
It was a joke that back fired in the biggest sense of the word.
What a senseless tragedy for this family.


In another part of the world another senseless tragedy involving the killing of small children
in Newtown, Connecticut. One child was from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Now why did this lady, a teacher, have such weapons in her home for her son to find and use?
He had mental health issues and so you never keep things in your home which could add to this situation.
Heck,even smart people flip out. Adam Lanza was an honor student and a nice kid.

You watch the news on TV and it's bad . You can turn the set off but outside in the real world, it's a lot worse, and you can't turn that off. Every day in the papers we read about bodies being found .
With laws being lax, people are becoming more forward in selling and buying drugs.
So you don't know what kind of crazed mind is behind the wheel of a car or who will be breaking your front door in the middle of the night just for fun. Killing can be fun.
We need to be asking a lot of questions today.

It's a false reality thinking one lives in safety.
Life is about caution.
 Stress is bound to affect people as many are not capable of handling it.
 Lawyers, Judges, CEO's Government, Realters,  Bankers, cause needless stress in society for personal financial gain, but they seem to be SAFE as opposed to a school full of innocent kids.

How do you hurt high powered, cold people?
You kill the children.
Inadvertently, this is what this young man did.
Innocence will continue to die while greed selfishness and the ugly side of life lives.
While one Mother cries, another sits drinking Champagne, gaining from a Mothers' tears. It's infuriating.
No one is SAFE.
They say you are born in sin, live in sin and die in sin and everything else in between doesn't matter.
You lose hope and once that is gone, there is nothing left to live for.

But there is something.
There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, if you look for it.
They said Jacintha was religious but was she with God?
False prophets are everywhere. They are part of the problem.
Adam Lanza, in Connecticut lived in darkness. Did he know God?
If he did, he would not have done what he did.

God guides you to the light. He is a redeemer, a saviour.
If both people would have put their trust into him, laid their lives down into his hands and said:
 God, here I am. I am Lost. Love me. Protect me. Bless me.
I think Jacintha would have still been alive today as would
the innocence slaughtered in Connecticut.

God is just.His word never changes. You know where you stand with him.
 People?......Not so much .

It is not enough to be religious. You need faith too.
Where there is Faith, there is always Hope and with Hope,
comes Life.
When I was a child and woke up from a nightmare, I had faith.I knew if I crossed myself, my God would be with me and then I could sleep in peace.
It's nice for a child to feel this way. I never had to run to my Mothers' bed.
I always had golden dreams for I kept the gateway open, to his light.
Had a gunman entered my room and killed me, I would live in heaven,
 but I am certain, I would still live.

It is only when you begin to look into the darkness, that fear and  trouble begin to brew, and today
that's all that is put in front of us from the moment we wake up,
to the moment we sleep, if we can sleep that is.
Seems most people sleep from total exhaustion these days than from the relaxed sleep they should be doing.
 Sleep has become a luxury most can't afford.

Regardless of whether or not you believe in God,
Christianity needs to be put back into schools so children are raised to believe in faith and hope and
 not live in darkness.
There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Always.

xoxoxoxoxox

Dish Towels for Christmas Wash Up.

 

I love these dish towels

 

Some things you just take out for Christmas displays

 

I got them at Disney land a long long time ago.
Jolly ol England is still going strong with a new Royal baby on the way
and seems another Hobbit movie is due to open soon which got me excited.
I loved the whole Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings Trilogy as well as the Hobbit
stories. The scenery is so beautiful and the actors are so entertaining.

The land of Fantasy, where anything and everything is possible, where all dreams come true,
is Mr Disneys' creation, who felt every child should have places to go
to experience adventure, beauty and glory.
and What better time of Year than Christmas to do it in.

Many people do not believe in immaculate conception but today, we have proof that it could happen.
Today, women don't need men for conception so
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!! Ooops.
(Freudian slip lol)
Oh!You know what I mean.lol

So why not then,in Marys' day, if there was a superior presence?

We always have to remember that we set limits for ourselves, in a limitlesss
timeless reality, because not to do so would mean a total catastrophe
for mankind.
What is, is much too big an idea for our minds to grasp.
We'd be all washed up.
xoxoxoxoxoxox

Gramma's Gift

 

I always wondered what to give my Gramma for Christmas.
Something original.
Not perfume or bath oils or soap.
Not chocolates or socks or the regular stuff people give.
I saw some nice Gramma bracelets,necklaces, shawls, key racks, etc...
I know  would be great gifts.
Walking through a thrift store looking  for hangers,
which I never seem to have enough of, I found .
this cute coquette of a grandma doll with a floppy head.
She must be a fairy because she has wings.
When she looks at you, she melts your heart.
All I could say was that if I ever met her in real life,
I would have taken an instant liking to her and she would have
 all the answers I'd be looking for.
Wings for Gramma, would be a perfect gift,
if it were possible.lol

Aren't faces incredible.
So here's to all the incredible Grammas out there
who bring joy to their Grand childrens' hearts
by just being themselves.

A Glass of Port dears,
To your everlasting Health!
and
May you all get wings for Christmas. :)

xoxoxoxox

P.S. I have been evading colds for years now but finally one caught hold of me
A real doozy
I am not sure what to do with it yet,
go to the doctor for antuibiotics or hold out with bronchial expectorant
cough syrup.
Robitussin  seems to help

Oh Yes.
Another incredible thing happened yesterday.
We had a monkey in our driveway.
A real monkey with a long tail.
He must have escaped from someone and is now living in the bushes
by our home. It is very cold outside so I hope he found his way back to where he
came from.
Seems one was found at IKEA in Toronto.
They took it away from a devastated owner saying it belongs with other monkeys and will become
anti social as it gets older and then will fit in no where.
Monkeys also carry Herpes B
So maybe this is why we saw a monkey here. Someone must have read the story and
 let it go or maybe it did get away

Chickadee

 

I don't remember where I got this, probably in Asia because
 all we did was shop there.lol
This is a little ceramic tile that is framed and can be hung on the wall.
It is so beautiful and delicate I don't want it broken so I
hid it away in a container.
As my son gets older he begins to understand the value of what I am doing here.
You won't be able to buy history as things always change.

We had an argument about music a few years back.
I told him his music is a fad and he said no it isn't.
I told him the music from our time will live forever.
He disagreed.
Now that he's older....
He found a piece by John Lennon and came and told me
Mom I really like this guy.
I told him yup!
Take a closer look and see what you find.
There are a lot of good things from your Mama's time.
Good things never die.
Class never dies.
It always comes back in style. lol
These chickadees may be brown but they are the cutest
little birds I will never tire of.
They will always be in style and admired by many generations.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Appliques

 

These are appliques I distinctly remember buying in Hong Kong some 30 - 40 years ago.

 I thought one day I'd be making a nice dress/jacket, maybe in velvet/satin and they
would look beautiful sewn on the front or back.
Every one was talking about the beautiful silk kimonoes one could get there.
Silk is wonderful to wear but a head ache to iron.
Some say once you wear silk under wear, you will never wear anything else.
Never got into silk for some reason.
 Probably the ironing. lol
 It is a lot of work to make an appliquee piece such as this and I know they were both done by hand.
There were many to select from but I had no idea about the money exchange and how much
40 HK was at that time.
I know I gave the taxi driver a 100HK tip and he was mad as hell. lol
Complained big time to the hotel porter who didn't know what to say.
I probably gave him a lousy tip too.
I told my husband in the hotel room what I did and he laughed saying it's like giving 5 cents.
Now how was I supposed to know? It seemed like an awful lot of money. lol
We are not used to throwing away 100.00 dollar bills.lol

 

Going to a place like Hong Kong was so exciting.
It felt like another world.
My son and I traveled from Montreal and I remember my legs began to swell
all the way to the knees
When I finally got off the plane, I swore
 I wasn't getting on another plane,if they killed me. lol
It got to be pretty scary feeling the swelling rise like that and so fast.
The landing in Hong Kong was also quite an experience.
The plane , large as it was, made quite a short landing.

The first thing we noticed were the different boats on the river.
I explained to my son Alex about junk boats.
Later we experienced the hydra boat which floated over the water.
Every morning people would come out into the square to do Tai Chi.
It gave you a quiet, relaxing feeling, watching them from high up above the hotel room window.

The dawn arose slowly around 5 am.
We couldn't sleep from the excitement and tried to take in as much as we could.
Then the employees would show up at their shops.
You'd see slaughtered pigs hanging in front of butcher shops.

It was winter back home but here, it was misty rain, dull and humid.
The hotel put on a beautiful display of various food for breakfast lunch and dinner.

We never saw such gorgeous displays back home in any of our restaurants.
Even today, there is no artistic quality to prepared foods in the restaurants
compared to what we saw in Hong Kong.

There were the working people and then there was the elegant high class people.
Men and women which could only be described as models and super rich.
All terribly polished from head to toe.

You couldn't be normal living like that, in my opinion.
Glamor like that is nice in small doses but not a 24 hour, 365 day a year kind of life,
which is how they lived.
That would be too much pressure for me to live like that but
 then I didn't live there, did I? lol
Thank God!
It was a different world that's for sure and easy to get hooked on
especially for a man.
I was glad to be a western woman though.
Like in all cities it can be nice but  hard and cruel too.
A Town without pity
Gene Pitney



It reminded me of the joke about when a man died and he had two choices of where to go to.
One place was nice but boring The other full of excitement, lights, glamor
dancing and feasting, golf etc..... The man thought to himself:
YA! This must be heaven and signed the paper saying this was where he wanted to live eternally.

Once inside he saw hardship and toil and the devil smiling at him.
The man asked the devil what this was. It wasn't what he signed up for and the devil answered
that was just advertising. lol

xoxoxoxoxox

Barbie Then

 

This is the only Barbie I ever owned.
I treasure all my stuff and so she survived
my parents.
They gave everything I owned away to other children.
I never knew and be looking for things only to find out they were given away.
Like my pet rabbit.
I spent a week searching for him because he was my favorite.
They took my favorite rabbit and cooked it and left me with rabbits
 I didn't care about.
If they had to eat a rabbit, why not take one of the worst ones,
 like the ones that bit.
But the nicest one was easy to catch cause he was tame and trusting.
Teaches you something doesn't it?
I never understood why they never cared to ask if I would want to keep something.
I had an old Nixon candle I got for a birthday gift and it's gone too
Probably they sold it at a garage sale.
It's a small thing. Not very important but non the less, it would have been nice to be asked.
 I asked  to take it when I got married  but they refused saying they liked it on their book shelf.
 It's not a candle one would burn.
I go out of my way to bubble wrap and preserve my things
but people find them and they disappear.
Imagine the nerve and the gaul.
This especially applies to movers. They think its insured so it's ok.
In fact people do their own robberies for insurance money.
I don't care about the insurance.
I care about my stuff which has meaning and memories for me.
No money can replace that doll.
Like the expensive wedding dishes I never used for fear they would break.
They stole all the big plates. Those dishes came from Italy.
I wanted to pass them on to my children.
Today I looked into one of my plastic containers and I found one antique
 Japanese female doll and the male to her is missing.
They left just the bubble wrap.
People don't seem to understand.
This is like taking a Japanese sword from a family that they value.
People get killed to get that sword back. It's a question of honor.
You don't invite dishonor into your home.

Barbies' dress is a bit stained from years, in the front
and she is missing shoes. I think we were able to
change shoes and clothing but I kept her how I got her
I lost the stand though.

xoxoxoxoxo

T Ball

 

Now joining a team for the first time is a real treat.
Hitting the first ball with a bat is a marvelous feeling.
Touching first base, then second, then third and then home
is the best feeling in the world.
Doing a home run! Wow!
Nothing better.
We as parents, thrive watching our children growing, with
every step they take.
The team is a bunch of guys who become great friends
because of what they do and the Daddies who find the
time to be there , make great memories for their kids.

Every child needs exposure to many things as it is a sponge
ready to learn and absorb a new world, which only begins
once they are old enough to open their eyes to actually
see and comprehend it.

As the bat swings and cracks onto the ball, it flies high...
away in the sky. You watch it a moment before beginning the big run and
boy, sometimes you never knew you could run so fast.
Wow! Cool!
From there on end, your life becomes a race
and as you get older
you begin to wonder, what was all the fuss about?
You could have walked and made base and even home.
You could have cracked that ball soo hard, no one would find it. lol

Games teach us many things, if we were only trained to think about what our actions
are really for.
This little boy is a grown man now and spends a lot of time with his own little girl,

 

the apple of his eye, as he was once the apple in our eyes.
Children are Gods' Blessings and our rewards.
They are born to love and to be loved.
Till our dying day.

xoxoxoxoxxo

Apron Craft

 

I found a box with some old photos  so I am putting them on the net.
with the stories behind them lol
I found this beautiful crocheted apron at a church bazaar
It was only 5 dollars.
I looked at it and thought my goodness!
So much work done and such a delicate result!
Must be it was even starched .
I don't think I could make it for five dollars if I even knew how. lol

I didn't buy it to wear but with the idea of
framing it and hanging it on the wall as a work of art.
Since I don't find many items like this anymore
I think that maybe all these wonderful crochet and knitting people
must be slowly dying off taking their secrets with them,
like my Mom did with her tomato juice lol
I am still determined to one day make jars and jars of her kind of chunky
tomato juice.
If the person who made this apron sees her creation on the net
may God Bless her and her golden hands.
It is appreciated as a work of art and is treasured every day.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Life In The Fast Lane

 

This is My Mom and I on our balcony.
It is from this balcony I used to have baby discussions with our neighbors'
son Carmenuch who stood in diapers on his balcony.
He had chocolate milk and I had white milk.
It is from this balcony that I dropped my favorite baby bunny to see if he would
 land on his feet and instead he broke his back
I was devastated.
Downstairs was the furnace and basement which turned into a rental apartment
After we built the second floor the balcony was enclosed into a room as it was upstairs.
The Italians had a marvelous business welding together, winding metal stair cases and my Dad
installed one and it was my job every summer to paint it.

My Mom used to buy me leotards and they were not cheap in those days.
I'd go to school and this little boy Bobby, would push me and
I'd always come home with a hole
My Mother didn't like me going to school with patched stockings and
I'd get a scolding of a lifetime because now she had to fork up
another 5 dollars for a new pair.
Every day I'd come home crying because I had another hole and
 I knew I would be blamed.
Finally my Dad explained to me that I am allowed to fight back and
then he took me to
Bobby's Mom and showed her my leotards.
He told her her son needs to stop pushing me in the school yard or
 she would be buying me new leotards.
I heard Bobby screeching all the way home, as his Mom
 began chasing him around the house.
Boy, did he get it that day. :) :) :)
The next day we became friends at school lol
But my friend Carmenuch, had 3 older  brothers .
One day I was playing downstairs and one big brother,
came and for no reason, threw a rock at me.
Seeing that he was ready to do this, I turned and skidaddled
 away towards the balcony
 but the rock hit me very hard in the back of my head.
My parents kept asking me who did this and all I could say
through tears, was the BIG BOY next door.
Well, turns out it was Dominic who left a dent in my head. lol
He got away with it because I didn't know his name.
Fernando was a nice boy but the oldest boy, I forget his name,
was always fighting with his cousin
who lived a few houses down.
They got into huge boxing fights, tearing ears, which the Mom, a seamstress, would then
have to sit him down on a chair and with a needle and thread
 sew his ear back on while he screamed.
If he moved she'd swat him across the head to sit still. lol
When she saw me watching, she smiled at me and winked.
People were tough in those days.
One day my Dad came out to ask the boys why they were always fighting and
 they stopped to look at him.
He turned and got two 2 x 4's and began to check them out.
He gave one to one boy and the other to the other boy.
He said if you want to finish the job, just do it with this.
One hit over the head with this and all your problems or reasons for fighting, will be over.
He basically told them they were pussy fighting and should fight like real men.
The two guys looked at each other like my Dad was insane, dropped the 2 x 4's and
that was the last fight we ever saw them have.
They finally became brothers.

All the kids on my street had their day. We'd see the cousin being chased by his own
Dad down the street scared as heck. Not one kid was abusive to his parents.
Every one was bratty but a Mom and Dad were shown respect.
All the boys grew up to be fine husbands,fathers,  entrepreneurs and business men.
I was friends of the sister of that cousin and she'd tell me stories about her brother.
One day he came home with a beard and his Dad hated it especially when
they ate spaghetti and he'd get sauce in his beard.
But he was a college boy by then and he knew his Dad hated this so he'd always
make sure to get more sauce into his beard.
 Every one at the table laughed watching the Dad fume.

When we finally sold our house, the Italian family who bought it
had a 12 year old son.
I was 15. They asked my Father if he would let me marry their son.
Their son stood there like he was the important buyer of a prize hen.
In other words the question was, Did I come with the house?
lol
I was so shocked. Were they kiddin?
My Dad looked at me sheepishly and said no.
My daughter is not for sale.
My eyes were bulging wide that day.
Say What?

xoxoxoxoxoxo

A Time For All Seasons Under Heaven

 

This is a picture of my Mom and her Mom from Chicago, and
my very first dog Ralt.
My Dad built a bungalow, in a bungalow zone area, with a basement.
Since we had long cold winters, I had all my toys down there
as well as a swing and my bicycle.
Every morning I'd get up, go to the kitchen cabinet under the sink,
where my Mom would put out fruit
for me to eat.My favorite were bananas.
I usually got up very early and by the time my parents were up
the house was full of banana peels.lol
Then I'd go downstairs and quietly play with my toys.
This time though, I went down and saw this wolf looking at me from under the
wringer washing machine my Mom had down there.
If you can remember, this machine stood on legs no more than a foot high,
so to sit under there, you had to be pretty small.
I screamed and high tailed it out of there yelling WOLF! WOLF!
There is a WOLF in the basement!
I would have all these Red Riding Hood stories in my head and
we all know what happened to her grandmother.lol
My parents jumped out of bed and sleepy eyed, my Dad came out smiling,
trying to console me. He took me by the hand and said:
" No, that's not a wolf.
Come, I'll show you. It's a puppy."
We went downstairs and sat on squeaky springs of this old twin bed he had down there.
Then he called the puppy. He had already given him a name after
 his beloved Pointer hunting dog, Ralt.
Little Ralt came wagging his tail, trying to be so friendly and I was on top of the springs
jumping around, trying not to have my legs bit.
My Dad was gentle introducing us.
He said I should pat him and I'd reach out and touch him with my finger ,
quickly pulling it away so as not to be eaten lol
Seeing nothing bad happened I would giggle and then try again.
It didn't take us long to become great friends.
 I especially loved his red fur color, as it reminded me of a fox.
Ralt was a smart dog and learned many tricks.
At night I'd try to sneak him into my room and hide him under my bed covers, but the
security in my household was tight. lol
Rules were rules.
No dogs in bed.!
My Mom would come into my room to check on me before going to bed and she'd see this tail wagging under the bed covers and take him away.
But I kept trying and failing, except one night, I crept out of my room to get
 my dog and I told him SHHHH!
I tip toed down the hallway and turned around to see that my dog was also lifting his
 feet high, to tip toe as well.
I got him into bed and not five minutes later here came MOM.
I tucked Ralt between my legs trying to hold down his tail too and pretended to be sleeping.
Ralt didn't move and knew he was part of a serious plot to keep him where he also wanted to be. lol
EUREKA!!
We fooled her.
She kissed my forehead and left ,closing the door behind her. lol
I had my dog the full night and we were both in seventh heaven.

You see, cleverness happens when you have to get around the word NO! lol

I sneaked him in many times after that and didn't have to hold him tight because he knew
if he wanted to stay, he had to play the game.

One morning I got up and Ralt was not on the balcony.
I asked my Mom where Ralt was and she said she didn't know.
There were not many houses back then around where we lived but construction was coming.
They rezoned the area for duplexes and slowly we were left the only bungalow, which we later had to
continue building higher to fit in.

Ralt was gone three days and I was in tears.
The forth day he came back lowering his head and wagging his tail shyly.
We were over joyed and I jumped out the door to hug him and kiss him.
I was soo happy
My Mom put him in the basement and next thing I knew, all hell broke loose.

My dog was sick and I was not to go into the basement.
We'd open the door and he'd stand there, growling at us.
My Mom closed the door quickly and told my Dad.
They called the SPCA and we were told he had rabies and that many dogs
in the area were infected.
This wonderful dog, who would bring home hurt birds and bunnies gently in his mouth,
and lay them at our feet to be saved and here,
there was nothing we could do for him.
At school we watched a movie about Ol Yeller and all the kids cried,
but I cried the most because Yeller was  my dog too.
I had many dogs in my life.
Some I saved, to train,  so as to get people interested to want to give it a good home.
I never charged more than a penny or a nickel because
it's bad luck not to give something back, for a good deed.lol
Some I had to put down, Some were too sick when I got them
with genetic problems.
No person, could be as loyal and as true a companion, than a dog,
who always puts you first.
When I look at the SPCA and other charities today, I don't see them speaking for
those who can't speak for themselves.They put the cars and salary before the dog and cat food.
They look for reasons to force you to throw money out the window.
It's always about money first.
To me, if you call yourself a charity, it should consist
of dedicated volunteers, to collect money,volunteers donating goods and services,
volunteers providing free transport, volunteers providing free advertising etc.... until the aid reaches
the people or project it was designed for.
This is what is called charity. Everything else is bogus.
It a group of people creating a job for themselves at the expense of
 something or someone in need, who gets nothing.
I was sent a poem about a cranky old man and I can see why old people
become hard .
You get to the point of understanding that no one really cares.
You've got to understand God, to be able to do his work.
--------------------------
From Judy FB page
A poem found at the bedside of a dead man in a geriatric ward/nursing home,
in Australia.
Cranky Old Man
What do you see nurses?… … What do you see?What are you thinking… … when you’re looking at me?A cranky old man… … not very wise,Uncertain of habit… … with faraway eyes?Who dribbles his food… … and makes no reply.When you say in a loud voice… … ‘I do wish you’d try!’Who seems not to notice… … the things that you do.And forever is losing… … A sock or shoe?Who, resisting or not… … lets you do as you will,With bathing and feeding… … The long day to fill?Is that what you’re thinking?… … Is that what you see?Then open your eyes, nurse… … you’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am … … As I sit here so still,As I do at your bidding… … as I eat at your will.

I’m a small child of Ten… … with a father and mother,Brothers and sisters… … who love one another A young boy of Sixteen… … with wings on his feet Dreaming that soon now… … a lover he’ll meet.A groom soon at Twenty… … my heart gives a leap.Remembering, the vows… … that I promised to keep.At Twenty-Five, now… … I have young of my own.Who need me to guide… … And a secure happy home.A man of Thirty… … My young now grown fast,Bound to each other… … With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons… … have grown and are gone,But my woman is beside me… … to see I don’t mourn.At Fifty, once more… … Babies play ‘round my knee,Again, we know children … … My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me… … My wife is now dead.
I look at the future… … I shudder with dread.For my young are all rearing… … young of their own.And I think of the years… … And the love that I’ve known.
I’m now an old man… … and nature is cruel.It’s jest to make old age… … look like a fool.The body, it crumbles… … grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone… … where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass… … A young man still dwells,And now and again… … my battered heart swells
I remember the joys… … I remember the pain.And I’m loving and living… … life over again.
I think of the years, all too few… … gone too fast.And accept the stark fact… … that nothing can last.So open your eyes, people… … open and see.
Not a cranky old man… …
Look closer… see … … . . ME!!

xoxoxooxo

My Grampa

 

This is my beloved Grampa, My Dad's Dad.
He always had a twinkle in his eye and he'd tease me.
 and
both of us would always be in trouble. lol
My Grand mother used to collect 50 cent coins in those days.
He'd go into her drawer and steal one for cigarettes.
I'd see him and he'd quietly shush me.
Then he'd take me by the hand and we'd go to the corner store.
His cigarettes cost 45 cents and this left a nickel for me for candy.lol

My Grand mother never remembered how much paper currency she had
but she knew to the last penny, how many coins she had.
She'd always check and begin to blame me for stealing her money.
Of course I never did but I never gave away my Grand Dad.

 I was always taught never to take things from people
 they didn't give you, especially from dead people.
It's bad luck and the dead always come back for their things.
This applied more during the war when people stole from the dead on the street and
then a bomb would fall or bullets and they too would die.
My Grand Father never hid in bunkers during bomb shellings and my Grand Mother
 was always mad at him.
He said: "If it's not my turn, I won't die."
My Grand Mother always had something to say but he was always quiet, busy
calculating some drawing he was doing for work. He worked at Canada Air.
He had beautiful handwriting.
One day I asked my grand mother if my grand father was a Saint.
She looked at me and began to laugh so hard lol
She asked why I would  think so?
 I said :
Because he is always nice, never yells or fights or argues and he had the bluest of blue eyes.
I thought he was a Saint

My Grand Mother then went and began telling every one, including my Grand Father,
 what I was thinking about him.
My Grand Father was a saint.

Before he died, he told all us kids to make sure we study and
make something of ourselves .
When he died on my 13th birthday, he came to say good bye.
He smiled at me and I smiled back closing my eyes and fell asleep thinking I was safe
 because my Grand Father was by my side.
He asked my Mom for a cup of coffee and she was serving him
only to see he wasn't there
and at his house he had his last say, by banging on the back door so hard,
 every one jumped to see what was wrong, but no one was there.
The next day lightning struck the tree by their bedroom window and broke it in half.
All this happened the first day after he died.
It freaked my Grand Mother and Aunt out .lol
It was his way of telling them, he was still there and they better behave lol

So..... I will never say the spirit world doesn't exist .
There is something out there we don't understand and it's watching over us.


xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

P.S. Now that I am writing this piece I realized that I married the same kind of man as my grand father.
And
I have turned into my grand mother.
I am always babbling and he is always silent doing and  thinking about other things.
But is he a saint??

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

It's Serious

 

This is a very old picture and I am glad I can scan it and put it in Picassa before
it totally destroys. Maybe a professional can one day fix it and make a new
picture without all the creases.
The fella on the right, is My Dad.
Only God knows what they are learning there. Physics? Electricity?
He wanted to become an Engineer like his Dad but the war interfered.
My Dad was always great with his hands and knew so many things .
There was nothing he couldn't design and create in both wood and metal.
He could build houses, install electric wiring, install a heating system.
and nothing ever broke like in the new houses they build today
with so called professionals doing it.
People were so well trained in Europe.
He machined a bronze lamp I still have today .
The old schools knew how to teach and when these immigrants came to Canada,
they never had a problem landing a job because employers knew, they knew their stuff.
The French people in Quebec were angry about this but their education consisted mainly
of catechism.
My Dad was great at precision work and detail, knew his motors too
He never wanted to teach me. He said my hands should always be clean
and I should grow up to be a lady.
 I had a lot of problems with him when it came to wearing pants.
He just never liked it
But I loved to watch him work around the house and I still keep his old
oil can because I feel so close to it. lol
I spent many years handing stuff to him and this was one great oil can.
While I watched, I secretly learned lol
From the picture above, one could see the dedication and
 a real keen desire to learn, by these students.
Everything they did was serious.

When I was going to High School, my Dad would take my math book
and give me nausiating lectures about how they learned all this stuff in grade school .
He made it sound like it was my fault I wasn't way ahead in math but I told him
this is the school curriculum and he was quite upset to learn
the kids were so far behind in math in this country.
He expected a lot more from schools .
If he only knew our teachers cared more about unions and salaries than teaching.lol
We were graduating and our teachers would come in and put their feet on the table,
tell us to get into groups while they read the stock market report in the paper.
Of course no one did any work and they didn't care.
In those days we couldn't complain to the Office like the kids do today.
The kids are a lot more vocal today.


I remember my Dad telling me a story about the time the kids got together and
 built a glider plane
out of wood and attached it to an huge elastic band.
They tried to get it to fly with a person inside but it crashed. lol
Where they got all this material to do it is another story. lol

Everything in my household was about learning.
Languages, art, sewing, science, music.
I spent my summer on my balcony with a bushel of apples reading so many books,
most of them classics and I just couldn't get enough.

Before all this new technology, we could grasp onto things and learn them properly slowly,
without them being corrupted by different interpretations by different people.

We read the book, learned about the author, tried to see why he wrote it,
 what kind of person he was.
What time in history he lived in.
It was all so romantic learning about all these people
and a comedy, even when they froze, suffered, starved.
 There was always something special
between people you could relate to and thus
have understanding in things such as patience, charity,forgiveness and love.
The authors took you into peoples' heads and brought to life an unbelievable,
shattering story of a life in a moment of time.
To enjoy a book these days like this, is rare.
There is just no time and then we wonder why we have hyper kids.? lol

So give me an old book, anytime.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

The Watchers.

 

This was my first bear encounter at
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Ill.
We could sit on this bear and hug him.
No one cared.
I felt sorry for the poor ol guy being stuffed and all.
His once beautiful fur was ruffled from all the people
 trying to touch him
He had lots of fingers going through his hair as he stood watching.lol
At this time they also had a boxer monkey in a cage.
There was a sign saying not to touch the cage but
this little boy put his face to the bars
and got a punch square in the nose .
He flew backwards about a meter and began to cry.
He wasn't watching a much as the monkey was.lol

They also had this huge tortoise you could also sit on.
Today they don't allow you to do these kind of things.
But I guess back then, there were less kids too.
The old guy was used to being watched.
After the zoo we'd go to the beach and a picnic.
I loved Chicago.
Downtown was so exciting to see but my Grand Father never
allowed us to go out of the yard.
He said it was too dangerous. Lots of racism.
My younger cousin was stabbed near the heart by a group
of black boys, coming out of the barber shop.
He had 10 dollars for a haircut and less coming out.
He refused to give them his change.
My uncle was walking with his girlfriend on the sidewalk when,
some drunks came out of a bar
shooting aimlessly. He walked a block to get the hospital.
They couldn't put him to sleep, trying to get the bullets out
and he said he was screaming from the pain.
He was very angry with the doctors who saved his life lol
Animal cruelty was seen quite a bit too.
Once someone took a neighbors' cat and skinned it and threw it half
skinned, alive, to die in my GrandFathers' back yard.
They did the same to squirrels.
So going outside was not an option.
I felt like an ol southern girl , swinging on a swing
 on my grand daddy's  back porch.
Even then they watched me like a hawk.
Thunderstorms were quite fierce too and scary to watch
 and the heat in summer
always kept you sweaty.
We never had this kind of stuff back home in Quebec.
But we also didn't have this whiff of something in the air.
Excitement, danger, life!
Reminds me of the movie The Deer Hunter with De Niro.
You were like a doe and always at some ones' mercy.
As a kid, I was quite impressed with Chicago.
My uncle was a dance instructor, in his spare time.
He could dance like the wind and I loved watching him jump
 about 6 feet in the air.
He also played the accordion and we'd all sing along
and clap hands. My Mom's parents loved watching the family
when we were all together like this.
Every where you looked, people were enjoying life
doing one thing or another.
The girls loved my uncle but he was always watching me
hugging me and holding my hand to make sure he didn't lose me. lol
You grew up one day, with your spirit/ soul
full of holiness from watching
such a mixture of pain, suffering and love.
Then you entered university and everything was churned upside down again.
My professor told us there are different people in the world
Hustlers and watchers being two of them.
I guess I'm a watcher, sent to learn.

xoxoxoxoxox