This is Dayyan's visit in May. He loved riding with Grandpa on the lawnmower.
It was a warm weekend so he had fun with his aunts in the pool. What joy!!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Practice with Settings in New Blog Program June 2010
I am trying to avoid all the extra html text that gets auto inserted into a document.
This is Dayyan's visit in May. He loved riding with Grandpa on the lawnmower.
It was a warm weekend so he had fun with his aunts in the pool. What joy!!
This is Dayyan's visit in May. He loved riding with Grandpa on the lawnmower.
It was a warm weekend so he had fun with his aunts in the pool. What joy!!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
NIFTY 60'S PARTY FOR OLD HIPPIES
HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY 2010
I organized a party to celebrate the birthdays of several of my friends who are turning 60 this year. It was held at the Liz McIntyre's holiday home in Westlake near Isaiah Tubbs resort and Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County south of Belleville.The invitation read as follows: You are invited to a WOMEN’S WEEKEND AWAY to the home of Liz McIntyre Krompcamp in Wellington, Prince Edward County.
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When I realized that so many of my old friends were turning 60 this year I decided to organize a party to celebrate our friendship over the years. My sister Gaye, so sadly taken from us, would also have been turning 60 this year so I would like to do this in her memory too. I have also included a few friends who turned 60 before me!!! Many of you know each other .
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This is certainly a milestone in our lives. When I turned 60 myself last year I realized how grateful I was to just be on this side of the grass!! I hope you can make it as we party on, play bridge, watch movies, eat out, munch, drink wine, reminisce and laugh together.
Date: Friday, April 30th to Sunday May 2nd, 2010
We could not have had a more wonderful weekend.
The ladies arrived............................................................................................................................
On a Friday night coming from Ottawa, Tweed, Brockville, Toronto and Elmira bringing food, libation, bedding, memorabilia and a zest for comraderie and adventure. I did not arrive until 11:00 pm at which time Liz gave me a tour of her place and I sorted people into various bedrooms, working around each other's snores, personalities and disabilities!!!
The sun smiled.................................................................................................................................
Nature was bountiful. It was unseasonably warm and sunny. The lake was glassy and gorgeous. We were awakened with shrieks of laughter coming from the deck by the lake where early birds had gathered in their PJ's to share stories and watch the sun rise. Breakfast was served outside at the picnic tables complete with champagne orange juice, fruit Costco quiche and delicious coffee from Liz's yuppie machine.
The scenery was fantastic..................................................................................................................
We set off cross country to several beach places of interest. The closest beach was surrounded by Sand Dunes and we waded into the water. Then we stopped at a place I'd not seen before, where years ago there had been a lodge that was destroyed by fire. The shorelines there were rocky and the trees cragged. Outlet beach was next and it was strange being there this early in the year. The snow fence was still strung across the beach and those of us who were not nursing bodily injuries and aged bones had a zesty walk along the beach. It was strange to find it covered in zebra muscles.
The flowers bloomed............................................................................................................................
The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely on the deck by the water visiting, playing bridge, looking at old photos, laughing and sharing stories from years gone by. Our green thumb ladies, Joanne and Liz headed off to do some work in the gorgeous flower gardens. Of interest was the two trees that had died at the front. Liz and John have had a local artist carve them into two imposing figures. Everyone who comes gets to pick names for them to add to the list of suggestions........ you can imagine......
The birds chirped..................................................................................................................................
Birdsong arose with the sun. Literally, the setting on Westlake was pretty as a picture book. The house is nestled amongst some huge evergreen's and enhanced by tiered gardens. There are craggy trees at the waterfront and civilized lawns. We were surrounded by beauty as the birds flitted around, thrilling us with their joyful sounds of spring..... and since this was so early in the season, there was naught a mosquito to be found.
The meal was scrumptious.................................................................................................................
We ate in style round an elegant table with a lovely centrepiece made from fresh cut daffodils. Joanne treated us to steak and chicken deliciously sauced and BBQ'd as well as a type of scalloped potatoes. Janet brought salads and Gail brought some home made baked beans and a delicious gluten free cake complete with a 60th candle as we blew it out and sang happy birthday to ourselves.
The bridge was fun...............................................................................................................................
Imagine, we were all bridge players even though a few were somewhat rusty. Well it was fun but it wasn't about the bridge. It was hard to keep the chatter down enough to concentrate on the cards.... and some of us had imbibbed too much. I won't mention any names!!!
The home and hospitality was supercalifragilisticexpealidocious ...........................................
Liz was a most generous hostess. She promptly told us where everything was and after making us our first cup of coffee, left us to our own devices to make shift in her modern and fully equipped kitchen!!! We enjoyed the fireplace both evenings and sat in comfy furniture and slept in comfy beds. The art work on the walls and rustic home with huge windows facing the lake made us feel quite pampered in this wonderful home away from home. We invaded but also cleaned up our messes and the group gave Liz a stained glass window that I had made for the occasion. It was kind of a unique surprise as Liz had conferred with me about having a window made for her newly renovated bathroom in her Toronto home, over a year ago but never got around to ordering it. I was very happy to discover that I had accidentally chosen just the right colours and she was very pleased!!!
The memories were haunting and humourous .............................................................................
Some of us knew each other from high school but had not seen each other for years. Several of us had lived together in Toronto on Garnock Ave. in a party abode in our early twenties. What wonderful memories we had from those experiences. Of course none of us had aged or put on any weight over the years and we were all still virgins!!! Why we even had a wee visit from Mary Jane.... you may find her in one of the photos where we're looking at old albums. And yep, someone couldn't handle her and had to go lie down.
The laughter ensued and the healing began ..................................................................................
I was so uplifted to see how well all my friends got along with each other inspite of being a very diverse group. We shared our joys and sorrows, relaxed and just let it all hang out. It was interesting to see the differing paths of our lives and yet somehow we all have gotten to this point, damaged but uplifted, wiser and just damned glad to still be here. Where will we be in another 10 years? Will we get back together for another reunion? Liz has invited us back. She always was a bit sardonic!!! er should I say sarcastic!! It was a happy, healing, peaceful weekend, a precious gift for us all that is now a treasured memory.
On a Friday night coming from Ottawa, Tweed, Brockville, Toronto and Elmira bringing food, libation, bedding, memorabilia and a zest for comraderie and adventure. I did not arrive until 11:00 pm at which time Liz gave me a tour of her place and I sorted people into various bedrooms, working around each other's snores, personalities and disabilities!!!
 |  |
The sun smiled.................................................................................................................................
Nature was bountiful. It was unseasonably warm and sunny. The lake was glassy and gorgeous. We were awakened with shrieks of laughter coming from the deck by the lake where early birds had gathered in their PJ's to share stories and watch the sun rise. Breakfast was served outside at the picnic tables complete with champagne orange juice, fruit Costco quiche and delicious coffee from Liz's yuppie machine.
 |  |
The scenery was fantastic..................................................................................................................
We set off cross country to several beach places of interest. The closest beach was surrounded by Sand Dunes and we waded into the water. Then we stopped at a place I'd not seen before, where years ago there had been a lodge that was destroyed by fire. The shorelines there were rocky and the trees cragged. Outlet beach was next and it was strange being there this early in the year. The snow fence was still strung across the beach and those of us who were not nursing bodily injuries and aged bones had a zesty walk along the beach. It was strange to find it covered in zebra muscles.
 |  |
The flowers bloomed............................................................................................................................
The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely on the deck by the water visiting, playing bridge, looking at old photos, laughing and sharing stories from years gone by. Our green thumb ladies, Joanne and Liz headed off to do some work in the gorgeous flower gardens. Of interest was the two trees that had died at the front. Liz and John have had a local artist carve them into two imposing figures. Everyone who comes gets to pick names for them to add to the list of suggestions........ you can imagine......
 |  |
The birds chirped..................................................................................................................................
Birdsong arose with the sun. Literally, the setting on Westlake was pretty as a picture book. The house is nestled amongst some huge evergreen's and enhanced by tiered gardens. There are craggy trees at the waterfront and civilized lawns. We were surrounded by beauty as the birds flitted around, thrilling us with their joyful sounds of spring..... and since this was so early in the season, there was naught a mosquito to be found.
 |  |
The meal was scrumptious.................................................................................................................
We ate in style round an elegant table with a lovely centrepiece made from fresh cut daffodils. Joanne treated us to steak and chicken deliciously sauced and BBQ'd as well as a type of scalloped potatoes. Janet brought salads and Gail brought some home made baked beans and a delicious gluten free cake complete with a 60th candle as we blew it out and sang happy birthday to ourselves.
 |  |
The bridge was fun...............................................................................................................................
Imagine, we were all bridge players even though a few were somewhat rusty. Well it was fun but it wasn't about the bridge. It was hard to keep the chatter down enough to concentrate on the cards.... and some of us had imbibbed too much. I won't mention any names!!!
The home and hospitality was supercalifragilisticexpealidocious ...........................................
Liz was a most generous hostess. She promptly told us where everything was and after making us our first cup of coffee, left us to our own devices to make shift in her modern and fully equipped kitchen!!! We enjoyed the fireplace both evenings and sat in comfy furniture and slept in comfy beds. The art work on the walls and rustic home with huge windows facing the lake made us feel quite pampered in this wonderful home away from home. We invaded but also cleaned up our messes and the group gave Liz a stained glass window that I had made for the occasion. It was kind of a unique surprise as Liz had conferred with me about having a window made for her newly renovated bathroom in her Toronto home, over a year ago but never got around to ordering it. I was very happy to discover that I had accidentally chosen just the right colours and she was very pleased!!!
 |  |
The memories were haunting and humourous .............................................................................
Some of us knew each other from high school but had not seen each other for years. Several of us had lived together in Toronto on Garnock Ave. in a party abode in our early twenties. What wonderful memories we had from those experiences. Of course none of us had aged or put on any weight over the years and we were all still virgins!!! Why we even had a wee visit from Mary Jane.... you may find her in one of the photos where we're looking at old albums. And yep, someone couldn't handle her and had to go lie down.
 |  |
The laughter ensued and the healing began ..................................................................................
I was so uplifted to see how well all my friends got along with each other inspite of being a very diverse group. We shared our joys and sorrows, relaxed and just let it all hang out. It was interesting to see the differing paths of our lives and yet somehow we all have gotten to this point, damaged but uplifted, wiser and just damned glad to still be here. Where will we be in another 10 years? Will we get back together for another reunion? Liz has invited us back. She always was a bit sardonic!!! er should I say sarcastic!! It was a happy, healing, peaceful weekend, a precious gift for us all that is now a treasured memory.
These are some of the wonderful girls in my circle:
Nanci, Liz, Janet, Gail, Marilyn, Cathie, Joanne, Marie, Inez
GIRLS IN MY CIRCLE
When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.
One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be. One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'
Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'
One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.
But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .
Those are your best friends.
It may all be wrapped up in one woman,
But for many, it's wrapped up in several.
One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
A couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.
You are the women who have come into my life
To make a difference. No greater gift there be.
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
A couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.
You are the women who have come into my life
To make a difference. No greater gift there be.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Stained Glass Pieces Made in 2010
LETTERS FOR STEPH'S GRANDCHILDREN
HANGING VICTORIAN LIGHT FOR JOCKIE
Jockie is a collector of historical artifacts and fanciful treats from the past. She presented me with this old pewter light in which the glass was long gone. I had to do a lot of work sanding off the corrosion inside in order to make the solder stick to the foiled glass pieces. I decided to tie in with the lacy look of the light by using glue chip glass which is no longer being made. I used cobalt blue because she has a blue glass collection amongst her treasures. Aren't the cupids cute.
2010 OLYMPIC LOGO - INUKSHUK DESIGN
Meaning of the Olympic Rings Symbol
As can be read in the Olympic Charter, the Olympic symbol represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. However, no continent is represented by any specific ring. Prior to 1951, the official handbook stated that each colour corresponded to a particular continent: blue for Europe, yellow for Asia, black for Africa, green for Australia and red for North and South America but this has been removed. The current view of the International Olympic Committee is that the symbol "reinforces the idea" that the Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join.
While we were enjoying the Olympics that were hosted in our very own Vancouver this winter, I got the idea to create a piece of stained glass that would be a memory piece for this awesome event. I had just the use for this piece as I was wanting to make a donation to a silent auction fundraiser being held at our curling club this month.
I tracked down the logo and inukshuk photos online and then put the pattern into Microsoft Publisher so I could enlarge them before drawing up the design. It was quite a challenge grinding out the inside of the circles, impossible to do without a seam as glass needs to go to the edge of the glass when you make a cut. I tried to match the colours closely with those in the actual logos and then found an interesting abstract fused glass circle that contained similar colours to use at the bottom of the design and add interest. The background was done in various textured clears rather than white so the light would play through the piece as it suits the medium better. Retail value for this piece would be $300.00 as it is a fairly large circle. This was great fun to create. Check out this lovely night light photo taken at the Olympic site in Vancouver as well as this link to an article that my brother Kevin has written about the Olympics.
http://kevinpammett.blogspot.com/2010/03/olympics-proudly-hosted-by-mycanada.html
http://kevinpammett.blogspot.com/2010/03/olympics-proudly-hosted-by-mycanada.html
This celtic circle window was a thankyou gift for Paula from the bridge ladies who have wonderful weekend outings to her home in Port Elgin. The furnishings of the home are kind of 70's retro so the loud orange and blues fit in nicely. The unusual lime green blue glass in the swirls was the workaround colour that is picked up by the blue rondel in the centre and the blue gluechip border on the outside. Choosing colours for geometric pieces is very challenging. The vibrant orange water glass was the final choice for this piece and yep, it's loud!!!
GEOMETRIC EGGPLANT FOR LIZ
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I organized a gathering to celebrate the birthday's of several of my friends who were turning 60 this year. We had a wonderful weekend at the Westlake holiday home of our old high school friend, Liz McIntyre. Ten of us met for a weekend of fun and bridge, restorative laughter and comraderie, not to mention great munchies. We presented Liz with this geometric piece as a thankyou for her wonderful hospitality. I chose this design because it was one that I had worked up for Liz over a year ago when she was doing renovations on her house and she had not gotten back to me to actually place the order. She was surprised and delighted as the I accidentally chose the right colours to match her new bathroom.
The rectangular opalescent glass was the workaround colour for this geometric. Originally the piece was to have two faceted eggplant colour jewels where you see the two turquoise circles. When I got to the final stage there was just too much mauve and the piece needed a third colour. Turquoise worked but because it had not been used anywhere else in the piece I decided to have Arthur paint the wooden frame he made in turquoise to tie in with the design.
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MUIR INSCRIBED FRONT HALLWAY WINDOW
MUIR BEVELLED FAMILY ROOM WINDOWS
These 4 windows are tied in with the theme of 8 other windows I have already made for this client using the birth colours of family members as borders within the piece. The bevels chosen for this piece are very elaborate. Faceted jewels in the birth month colours further enhance the piece.
The bevels seen below were incorporated into swirls with stylized flowers coming out of them. The MUIR name is chemically etched onto the surface of the centre bevelled oval. This is my own design.
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MUIR BEVELLED FAMILY ROOM WINDOWS
These 4 windows are tied in with the theme of 8 other windows I have already made for this client using the birth colours of family members as borders within the piece. The bevels chosen for this piece are very elaborate. Faceted jewels in the birth month colours further enhance the piece.
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