Friday night fumblings

So Friday night with my artistic buddies came and went . Karen taught us a wee class on covering a wooden bead and then wire wrapping them. I was sure that this would be easy. NOT. I couldn't even glue the paper over the bead without it lifting. I should have given up at that point but found myself even more confused by the wrapping. This shouldn't have happened since I used to make jewelry and wrapped things many times. Just not my day

The TTC went on strike and it was murder to get a cab to the garage sale we were having the next day. The menu was all the things we had collected over the years and weren't being used. All for a loonie or a twonee. I'm not sure how much I made (if anything) since I forgot to count the slush fund before the sale. The leftover rubber stamps were going to a homeless women's shelter and the magazines and the rest to Good Will. Now I look around the apartment and find that I still have no storage room. I should have been more ruthless in my selections. Maybe next year.


The monthly assignment was the conversion of a wooden day timer pictured in a posting below.
I'm sure that Carmi will be posting all the pics in the appropriate spot on her web site.

Meanwhile here is mine....

The cupboard is on its side - the sled for the iditarod.

And lest I forget to mention, spring is finally here. Even if it's going to be cold next week. The magnolias are in bloom, my favourite squirrel is crawling up my leg to sit on my purse while I rummage for nuts. Now, don't get turned off because he's a rodent. They're smart and cute. Perfect combo. And the Canada geese are laying eggs with the males pushing the females aside to count and reposition the eggs. Photo courtesy of A. Ginsberg (the dad).

Just another cold day in April

Where does the time go? A little tease temperature-wise and then another frigid slap in the face. I've been doing my 2 mile walk now and again. Some miniature crocuses are peeking up on only a few lawns. When will this endless winter end....

Of course I'm obsessing over the club assignment which is due for our meeting on April 25. This endeavour doesn't inspire me at all and I've come to the conclusion that I'm more upset about the sloppy job I always do compared to the pristine submissions of the other members. I guess I have to admit that I'm a slob.

Now, what would you do with this?

The day following the meeting is our 'garage sale' where we unload our artistic supplies no longer in use. The price of everything is $1 or $2. I have many items worth much more than that but I suppose the object is to get rid of as much as possible. I find that I must have about 50 magazines. A huge weight that I've spread over 2 suitcases. Which I don't think I can lift onto the bus. No strength in these feeble arms. I'm going to try and get one suitcase over to my parents in advance (they live across the road from the venue) . Such a hardship not knowing how to drive. I shall somehow have to manage.

It's now afternoon and I must get dressed and start the day.

Springtime

Heavens, where did the month go? I'm afraid Wireton Willie was wrong this year. Well, it's not fair to wake him up from a deep sleep and expect an accurate prognostication.

It's been sunny for the past week (or is it a couple of days) and one would think that the temperature would correspond. But it's bloody cold out with the north wind blowing. I have been postponing my usual 2 mile walk with the excuse that it's too cold. I'm tired of the weight of winter jackets. And I'm good at making excuses.

Over the past week I've been knitting a baby sweater with scraps of leftover yarn. I'm afraid I'll run out of the main colour before I'm through. I used to be a great knitter when I worked shift and couldn't sleep. Now the problem is - I can't follow a pattern, I keep dropping stitches and making holes. So I've ripped out the whole business at least 10 times and switched to another pattern. Very frustrating. But I have until September which is when the baby is due.

This month I'm filled with anxiety over the art club's assignment. Thankfully it's not due until the end of April so I have a bit of time to mull over the subject. This one doesn't speak to me at all. So much for creativity.

Sid Dickens

I was reading Christina's blog this morning with my morning coffee. She was remarking on her collection of Sid Dickens' tiles. I remember admiring them when I visited her a few years ago and then forgot about my urge to own some of these wonderful tiles. I won't go into his 'story' as Christina does a wonderful job describing his background. So I went to his website (http://www.siddickens.com/) to order myself a gift of a few of these tiles. So hard to choose. And now I still want some of the ones I didn't take.

Art Group Night

Geez, I should be going to bed now but this always happens the night of the meeting. Not tired. Anyway, we had a good meeting with a lot of blabbering going on. The dollar store challenge of conversion of a plastic wallet took on many forms as they were revealed . A different approach by all the people involved. My wallet became a roof covered in Excel gum for shingles.

It's sort of a homestead piece with fencing falling down , the weather vain is half the size of the house...poetic licence?

Now it really is time to go to sleep.

Dog Show

Yesterday I went to see the Ontario All Breed Show. Ever since watching the Westminster Dog Show from New York 2 weeks ago, I've been pining for a dog of my own. It's not really possible until I retire from work. So I thought it would be a nice outing and perhaps I might see a dog that tugged at my heart strings. Well, they were all tugging. Since the show was almost finished (last day was Monday - today) there were a limited number of breeds represented. I'm still drawn to the Papillon with it's wonderful butterfly ears. The big dogs were sensational. I'm posting a few pics my dad took. Unfortunately, my Photoshop would not accept the photos for editing - some bizzare notice telling me it couldn't parse the file - whatever that means.

Sicko

I just finished watching Michael Moore's documentary on the American healthcare system - as compared to other systems . Now I'm sure he's taken a point of view that highlights the horrible things that have happened to the American people with coverage by an HMO and those with no coverage. The stories, which appear to be more than isolated incidents, sent me into a seething rage. Michael compared the system in France which is superior on all counts - free health care, free university education, free nanny service in the home, house calls by physicians 24 hours a day, great holiday benefits including an additional week off for getting married. Plus they make great cafe au lait and baguettes. He interviewed an American woman who was refused coverage for her cervical cancer treatment because she was 22 years old (they claim that she was too young for this type of cancer). So she drove across the border to Windsor where she stayed with a (boy) friend and gave his address as her new address and was applying for OHIP. Turns out there's a website for Americans seeking free healthcare in Canada. I think the website is http://www.hook-a-canuk.com/.
Then he went to England where the treatment is, once again, free.

The most interesting part of the movie was when he chartered a boat to take some sick people who had volunteered during 9/11 and were refused any compensation by the government ( and who later developed terrible respiratory ailments) supposedly since they were not contracted by the government to help out. They set out for Gautanamo Bay where all the detainees (suspected al-quaida terrorists, drug runners) were given free medical attention by the U.S. government. Since no one at the tower in Gautanamo Bay acknowledged Michael's call for the same medical services for his 'patients', he sailed on to Cuba (illegal for Americans) where he arranged for medical staff in the Havana Hospital to perform diagnostic testing on his passengers. Subsequently a treatment regimen was designed for each patient to follow at home.

It was also obvious that Canada is lacking in providing the free drug and dental coverage that other countries make available. But that was not the point of the movie.

Well, I guess you can tell that I really liked it.