Movie night with the girlfriends

This evening Helena, Janis and myself did the girls' movie night out.  This time it was to celebrate Janis' retirement from the Library (where I also worked until last year).  Helena, love her little heart, still is imprisoned there for a few more years.  We were anticipating a delightful evening with pizza for supper and chocolate treats inside the movie theatre as we settled down to enjoy ourselves.  Helena and I had bought Janis a gorgeous Pandora ring called Liquid and everything was in place for a most enjoyable time.  Right!! The movie was the most complicated one we have ever been to together and for three hours we sat and asked one another "What's this about", LOL  None of us would recommend this to anyone, but I'm sure there are some science fiction/futuristic fans out there who will think that it is a fabulous flick.  Anyway, the cast contained many a famous name and we expected much.  At least we enjoyed being together and having a good laugh.  I told the ladies that I would pick the next one, so I'm hoping for a good mystery or thriller.

The official synopsis for Cloud Atlas describes the film as:

An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

The film consists of six interrelated and interwoven stories that take the viewer from the South Pacific in the nineteenth century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future. Unlike the original novel, the film is structured, according to novelist David Mitchell, "as a sort of pointillist mosaic: We stay in each of the six worlds just long enough for the hook to be sunk in, and from then on the film darts from world to world at the speed of a plate-spinner, revisiting each narrative for long enough to propel it forward."

The six stories are:

• South Pacific Ocean, 1849. Adam Ewing, an American lawyer from San Francisco during the California Gold Rush, has come to the Chatham Islands to conclude a business arrangement with Reverend Gilles Horrox for his father-in-law, Haskell Moore. He witnesses the whipping of a Moriori slave, Autua, who stows away on Ewing's ship, and convinces Ewing to keep him hidden, then to advocate for him to join the crew as a freeman. Meanwhile, Dr. Henry Goose slowly poisons Ewing, claiming it to be the cure for a parasitic worm, aiming to steal Ewing's valuables. When Goose attempts to administer the fatal dose, Autua saves him. Returning to America, Ewing and his wife, Tilda, denounce her father's complicity in slavery.
• Cambridge, England and Edinburgh, Scotland, 1936. Robert Frobisher, a young English musician who is gay, finds work as an amanuensis to famous composer Vyvyan Ayrs, allowing Frobisher the time and inspiration to compose his own masterpiece, "The Cloud Atlas Sextet". Ayrs wishes to take credit for the piece, and threatens to expose Frobisher's scandalous background if he does not comply. Ayrs is shot by Frobisher in a confrontation between them, and Frobisher flees to a hotel. There, he finishes his masterpiece and shoots himself only moments before his lover Rufus Sixsmith arrives to save him.
• San Francisco, California, 1973. Luisa Rey is a journalist who by chance meets an older Sixsmith, now a nuclear physicist. Sixsmith tips off Rey to a conspiracy regarding the safety of a new nuclear reactor, but is killed by hitman Bill Smoke before he can give her the report that proves it. Isaac Sachs, another employee at the power plant who seems to find her familiar, also gives her the information, but he is killed by Smoke, who runs Rey's car off a bridge. With help from the plant's head of security, Joe Napier, she evades another attempt against her life, that results in Smoke's death, and exposes the plot to use a nuclear accident for the benefit of oil companies.
• United Kingdom, 2012. Timothy Cavendish, a 65-year-old publisher, has a windfall when Dermott Hoggins, the gangster author whose book he has published, infamously murders a critic and is sent to jail. When the author's associates threaten Cavendish's life to get his share of the profits, Cavendish turns to his brother Denholme for help. The brother tricks him into hiding out in a nursing home, where he is held against his will and treated poorly by the tyrannical Nurse Noakes. Cavendish and a few of his fellow "inmates" then plot a successful escape.
• Neo Seoul, (Korea), 2144. Sonmi-451, a genetically-engineered fabricant (clone) server at a fast-food restaurant, is interviewed before her execution. She recounts how she was released from her compliant life of servitude by Hae-Joo Chang, a member of the local Resistance, and other rebels. They reveal to her that fabricants like her are "recycled" into food for future fabricants, and hold off a brutal armed assault as she broadcasts this information to the world before her capture.
• The Hawaiian Islands on post-apocalyptic Earth (dated "106 winters after "The Fall", identified as 2321), a tribesman named Zachry lives a primitive life after most of humanity has died during "The Fall" and is plagued by visions of his people's perception of the devil, "Old Georgie", a representation of his guilt for not interfering in the murder of his brother-in-law, Adam, at the hands of the Kona Chief, leader of a tribe of vicious cannibals. He is visited by Meronym, a member of the "Prescients", the last remnants of a technologically-advanced civilization. In exchange for saving his young niece from a venomous bite, Zachry agrees to guide Meronym into the mountains in search of Cloud Atlas, an outpost station where she is able to send a message to people who have left Earth and now live on other planets. After returning, Zachry discovers the murder of his tribe at the hands of the Kona. After killing the Kona Chief and a number of his tribesmen, Zachry and his niece join Meronym and the Prescients in a journey to a new world.

A seventh time period, about 25 years after the Hawaiian one, is featured in the film's prologue and epilogue. In the prologue, a lone Zachry delivers a monologue, and his location is not revealed. In the epilogue, Zachry is revealed to have been telling these stories to his numerous grandchildren, with two moons in the night sky and Earth visible as a pale blue dot. Meronym emerges from their home and they embrace.
(Courtesy of Wikipedia).

This week is turning out to be a very busy one.  This morning I had breakfast with two other lovely ladies, Claire and Illa, then this afternoon I went and had a key made for another friend Carol and finished off with the disastrous movie.

Tomorrow I have to go and get my monthly back injections and attend a wake in the evening - this will be the first of two this week.  Before I know it, it will be the weekend again and I'll be at the Boutique again.  Retirement sure is busy.  Janis is going into her third week of retirement and she is absolutely loving it and has no regrets.

A dear friend, Dawn, asked me if I could paint a sprig of holly on a red cushion cover she was hoping to use this Christmas and even though I had never taken any requests for painting on fabric I decided to give it a try - she said that if it didn't work out she wouldn't be upset, so, pressure off, LOL  I think that it turned out pretty good and so did she..............

I've also started my own tool collection and one by one I am bravely trying them out.  These are the ones I have already.......

The only one I haven't tested out yet is the last one, the cordless drill.

I put together a few Christmas baskets which I hope to sell at the Church Street Boutique.  I'm hoping that "business" will pick up soon as I have put a tremendous amount of work into this new interest.  I can honestly say that it's not so much the money that I want from it, although lots of that would be very nice, no, it's having an outside interest, something which I have been toying with for a couple of years and which has recently become possible.  If it doesn't work out, then at least I have given it a "go".  Here are a couple of the baskets I made - there is quite a lot in them, including about six or seven items of my handcrafted jewelry...

As usual, I keep blabbering on, so I shall finish off with a couple of photos of my darling grandkids...............

My favourite grandson, Rhys

And my favourite grand-daughter, Katherine

Okay dear friends, I will say ta ta for now or as they say in good ol' U.K., TTFN.  Have a wonderful week and I will visit with you all again soon.

Feast or famine.

It's either feast or famine.  I either have nothing to write about and no pictures to show or I have loads of things I want to mention.  You'll have to wait to see what I have done with that little chair.........................

because I have to show you what I did with an old garden ornament which I rescued from my garden when I lived in a house until my second hubby died.  This angel was actually bought for him by one of his daughters for Father's Day and I would have given it back to her after his passing except that the family moved on with their lives, which is okay, I understand.

As usual, I am like a bull in a china shop when I decide to work on something new and typical of me, I didn't take a before picture.  Fortunately, I found one from Christmas which depicts most of the statue so you will get an idea of what it looked like before.  Perhaps you will prefer the old state, but I love the new.

It is a very attractive piece and because I worked at the Library for many years, I had a soft spot for it because it is happily reading a book.

So, here it is in all its glory and I think it looks great at the end of the hallway underneath the old mirror that I also recently "shabby chic'd".....................

This is a picture of one I found on the internet which was already made to look like a stone statue and I love it but I will have to be satisfied with mine, LOL

Something very special I have to mention because I cannot keep it until I write the post about the chair.  My dear friend and neighbour, Laurie from  http://laurie-whentheboughbreaks.blogspot.com/  has been watching me alter the chair and was just about as excited as I was with the end result.  This lady can do just about anything and she decided that this chair desperately needed an old-fashioned doll, so yes, she just whipped one up.  These are a few words she put on her blog............... 

"I used very old cloth napkins and dresser scarves to create her.

So don't look too close, the stitches are not true as my grandma would say and one leg is a little longer than the other, poor little dear, but this doll was made with love.

I have made many, many dolls, all from found objects and cloth, I made my first doll when I was 10 and the love of making them just grew from there".

I'm sure you will agree with me that it was a most beautiful thing to do and it's something that I will treasure for as long as I am around.  Thanks so much Laurie.  This is the one she made for me..........................

And this is one she made years ago and keeps in her cedar chest until her only grand-daughter is old enough to appreciate it.

Here are a couple of pieces of my jewelry.  I always have lots of this kind of stuff for sale.

Two more pieces of artwork by my son.  I just framed them.

The top one is hamburgers on the bbq and the bottom one is of my grandson when he was just starting to walk - looks like a little angel.

Well, that's about it for now, going to the movies tonight with the ladies from the library where I used to work.  Hope it will be a good movie and I'll mention it in my next post.  Have a wonderful day.

Now that Fall is here (almost)

As dismal as it would seem to be, being the fact that Summer is almost over (officially that is), Fall is quickly coming to our neighbourhood.  I find Fall to be one of the most beautiful seasons of all and I treasure the cooler temperatures, not being a sun lover and never having been.  This is what I like, it sure beats pictures of the beach, at least this is my opinion - check this out - this is what we have all around us at this time of year...........

Now, isn't that GORGEOUS??  I'm not an outdoors type of person, except for my continual walking to the Mall (does that count?) but I sure do have an appreciation for the beauty all around me.  Today, it's a very wet day and, believe it or not, I do enjoy rainy days, as long as I am looking out of the window and not having to go anywhere........................

View from my window, looking towards the Library where I worked until three months ago.  Now that I have been home from my trip visiting family and missing my darling grandson so very much (another trip perhaps?)....................

I have to find things to fill my days because shopping at the Mall and losing at the Casino are just not good enough for the long Fall and Winter days ahead.  I have some very lovely friends with whom I spend time going for dinner, theatre and different shows throughout those times, but I also need something else.  I have decided to open an Etsy account and try and sell my handcrafted jewelry.  I have begun the process, but just like everything else in my life I need a push to continue with it and I think the PUSH is the change in the weather, which will keep me home more often.  So, look out dear friends, I just might be pressuring you to purchase my creations, LOL  This is a photo of a friend wearing one of my creations, I don't think she will mind if I show off her neck, LOL



Anyway, back to reality.  I was talking about how beautiful it is here during the Fall but I have to say that we are very blessed with lovely scenery all year round.  A while back I featured a few of our local historical buildings and I found that most people enjoyed reading about them, so I thought that I would add a few more this writing.

This is our beautiful Courthouse.

The Sault Ste. Marie District Courthouse, completed in 1922, was designed by Frank R. Heakes at the height of his career as Chief Architect of the Ontario Department of Works. The courthouse is a fine, and largely unchanged, example of Beaux-Artes Classicism combined with fine workmanship, material and attention to detail. The imposing nature of the structure demonstrates the economic confidence of the Sault at the end of the Clergue Industrial Period (1894-1911) and the Provincial desire to symbolically demonstrate the power of the judicial system.  (Thanks to Linda Burtch).

This is our local Museum.  It used to be the Post Office.



Designed in 1902 by David Ewart, Chief Architect of the Department of Public Works in Ottawa, the Old Post Office is a fine example of turn of the century federal architecture, combining Victorian Classicism with excellent workmanship. Its significance as a symbol of the authority of the Federal Government is conveyed by its size, its dominant location in the downtown core and the use of the Classical Style as expressed by the use of pediments and pilasters. This building now houses the Sault Ste. Marie Museum.  (Thanks to Linda Burtch).

Here is a beautiful picture of St. Andrew's United Church (actually, my Church) and if interested, you can read up it's history from the Church website, it's too long to include here.......

http://www.standrewsunitedssm.ca/

This is a picture of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal Administrative Building.



The Administration Building was completed in 1895-1896 and housed the administrative functions of the canal.

I began with a beautiful picture of our area and I shall end with one (or two) also.  Another beautiful place to visit here in the Sault and which is very popular, especially in the summer for walking and the winter for cross-country skiing, is Hiawatha Park and it's gorgeous Falls................

These are called the Crystal Falls, worth a visit.  Now that I have you all excited about the Sault, perhaps you would consider coming for a visit and taking the train tour - it really is fabulous in the Fall....................

This is where you can read all about it.  I have taken the tour with friends and it truly is a wonderful experience.

http://www.agawacanyontourtrain.com/content/tours/canyontour/

That's about it for now.  Have a wonderful day.  Talk to you again soon.

"Chats" and "Netbooks"

Just the other day I wrote about how disappointed I was at my lack of success at the local Festival where I attempted to sell my handcrafted jewelry, etc.  Because of its size, I really thought that I was going to do wonderfully well, but, as you know, that wasn't the case.  Not the right venue, the people weren't interested in my kind of thing, more to do with cars, country music and corn on the cob.  Everyone seemed to be having a great time there, but I think next year I will give this one a miss.  I'm only mentioning this because the hats "Chats" that I had hoped to sell there and didn't, were bought and worn by some friends who went to a fishing lodge for the weekend and proudly wore them.  Here's a delightful picture of Helena and her fishy friends, LOL.................

She also sent me another one of just herself posing as a Calendar Girl.  Actually, she looks good enough to be one, of course it's the "Chats" that makes her look so wonderful, LOL...........

Isn't she adorable???

I bought myself a Netbook the other day.  It's an Acer Aspire.  It sure does take some getting used to after a regular PC.  I thought that I would just open it and everything would be there for my using, but no, I quickly found out that I needed a router, so that took two walks to the mall to get that sorted and then after using it for a day I found that I hated the mouse pad thing on the Netbook and decided to go and get a wireless mouse.  That also took two more walks to the mall, the first mouse I bought actually didn't work so I had to take the Netbook down to the store and get them to try it for me.  They replaced the mouse, no problem, and now I'm beginning to have some fun with it.  I'm using my Dell PC for this blog as I can't type very fast on the other one - hopefully I will get better with time.  This is what it looks like................

I thought it would be great to take away with me when I go to see my kids and grandson next week.  It's going to be a long Greyhound bus ride, so with my Sony Reader and this I will be just fine.  It will be great to have when I am there also so I can check my mail, etc. whenever I want to.

Nothing else to report today.  I was asked if I would like to be profiled in our community's Arts Council monthly newsletter for October (I think) and I turned them down.  I wouldn't know what to say about myself.  I would have had to have written a biography explaining my interest in jewelry making, etc. and who influenced me, etc. etc. and honestly, there really isn't anything to say, just that I do it, LOL  Maybe I should have made something up!!!!  Nighty night.  Will talk to you again soon.

Laird Cornfest with my "Chats"

Well, the Cornfest has come and gone and after looking forward for a whole week to being there and hopefully selling some of my handcrafted jewelry, scarves and now my latest "Chats", which are hats with lovely flowers adorning them, I found myself very disappointed at the outcome.  My friend Eileen, who makes fabulous receiving "Blankies" pursuaded me to go along with her to this outdoor festivity, where many local groups were entertaining the crowds and even the well-known group "Lone Star" was going to be there tomorrow and it had the promise of being a really good day for people like myself who have a variety of handcrafted items for sale......................

For the first time EVER, I didn't make anything.  Oh, yes, I did make enough to cover the cost of the table but that was it.  How embarrassing!!  And to think that this past week I had rushed out and spent approximately $200 on materials to make these "Chats", which are hats, with a 'C' in front for my name.  A certain person said that by giving them a name, it would make them more desirable and everyone would want one.  Ha!! that's a laugh, we wore them to keep the sun off our heads but no-one else was interested, so I ended up bringing them all home again.......

Perhaps I will be able to sell them at the Fall craft shows.  Personally, I didn't think that this occasion really suited people who made crafts like mine - cowboy hats and anything that resembled tattoos on t-shirts seems to sell like hotcakes.  Well, you can't win them all and who knew?  Eileen didn't do too badly though.  People seem to welcome the baby blankets and she usually fares pretty well.  She does do a great job of them.  I slunk home with my proverbial tail between my legs and on top of that I burned my lips, face and neck from sitting in the sun.  I have a gorgeous outline of my fuschia pendant on my neck and my face looks like Bozo the clown with its red patches.  Poor me, I sure do feel sorry for myself, at least it does sound that way.  Here's another view of my table with me wearing one of those hats............. It looks like I'm about to teach Sunday School rather than taking part in an outdoor Fair, LOL.......... 

It's just about time for bed, and I am looking forward so much to curling up and resting these old bones.  Being in the sun for that long has caused me to feel very achey, sore and tired.  I can't seem to get rid of this headache I have but things will be better in the morning.  I've invited my son and his girlfriend over for supper tomorrow so that will be fun.  Have a wonderful day and I will catch you later.

The end of the tour

I thought it was time that I finished off writing about my environment.  We are so very fortunate that we live on the river.

St. Marys River is rated one of the best trout rivers in the world. It offers wadeable river conditions that will challenge your angling creativity.  The Rapids have a resident population of rainbow trout and whitefish as well as migratory Atlantic, Chinook, pink and coho Salmon, steelhead and brown trout.  You may even catch the occasional walleye, small-mouth bass or lake trout.  Personally I don't fish, but on any given day you can find a number of people fishing from the Boardwalk or even out in their little boats.......................  As you can see, this isn't a little boat, but one of our tourist attractions, the Norgoma.

The MS Norgoma was a Canadian package freighter and passenger ferry, that could also transport automobiles on a limited basis. Originally constructed as a steam powered ship, the SS Norgoma primarily sailed the route from her home port of Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie,  providing a five day round trip, once a week, serving isolated communities along the north shore of Lake Huron. This route was previously served by the SS Manitoulin, retired in 1949.  After conversion to a Motor Ship, the Norgoma was transferred to the popular Manitoulan Island ferry route between Tobermory and South Baymouth along with her sister ship the SS Norisle replacing the smaller ferry, MS Normac on that route.

Along the waterfront, close to the Norgoma, is a bust of Roberta Bondar.  She is the first Canadian woman astronaut in Space, and hails from Sault Ste. Marie and we claim her as our Canadian Hero.  This pavilion was erected in her honour........

The Roberta Bondar Park Tent Pavilion is an outdoor venue that can accommodate a variety of special events including concerts, festivals, fundraising activities, ceremonies and wedding receptions. This facility can be booked on a part-day or full-day basis by individuals and not-for-profit and commercial groups.  This is where I will be partaking in the yearly "Art in the Park", where I will endeavour to sell lots of my handcrafted jewelry, etc.  People come from all over, including Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for this, which is not surprising because there will be quite a few well-known artists exhibiting their beautiful paintings, etc.......................Another nautical picture I find quite interesting, not sure what it's all about though, LOL



I should mention another local "hero" who made Sault Ste. Marie his home,  Billy Orazietti..............

Billy "O" was a well known citizen, musher and legend in this area. Over the years he entered many dog sled races, including the 1992 Alaskan Iditarod, not to win, but to compete for himself and his dogs. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, October 13, 1943, Bill met his untimely death February 19, 1994, doing what he loved best. Bill went through the ice in Little Bay De Noe in Escanaba, Michigan, attempting to save his 9 beloved dogs. He managed to save 2 before he succumbed to the icy waters of Lake Michigan.

To end my blog this evening, here are a few fun pics of the three bears fishing along the Boardwalk......................



Good night, have a wonderful week.  TTFN.