Wasting Away in Margaritaville

For those who do not want to read any further, photos can be seen at my Flickr site link.

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WHERE IS MARGARITAVILLE ??

"It's in the tropics somewhere between the Port of Indecision and Southwest of Disorder, but no parallels of latitude or longitude mark the spot exactly. You don't have to be a navigator to get there. Palm trees provide the camouflage. Ocean breezes bring the seaplanes and sailboats, tourists and travelers. Passports are not required. Island music rules. No waiting lines for anything. There is a beach and a thatched roof bar perched on the edge of the turquoise sea where you can always find a bar stool. There are lots of lies and loads of stories. It's a comical concoction that blends together like tequila, salt and limes. Where is Margaritaville? It's in your mind. When you are there, you will know it."

What a fitting prologue to my blog about our recent trip to The Grand Mayan Resort in the Riviera Maya, on the Yucatan Peninsula close to the little town of Playa Del Carmen.

When Arthur lost his job last fall he wanted to go on a destress trip but we had been wafting in indecision. Being somewhat parsimonious and certainly NOT seasoned travellers, we had done nothing, when lo and behold my dear friend Joanne, became our navigator. She invited us to spend a week in her own little Shangri la time share in Mexico and made this a special 60th birthday gift to me. She handled all the arrangements and kept us apprised of the "way things are done" in good old Mexico. Unfortunately her husband Gary was hospitalized the day before the trip and could not go so she became our lone guide and companion and did so in her inimitable plush style..... never leaving a thought unspoken or a glass not refilled!!!!

Since we had different flights Arthur and I had the first day together until Joanne's flight arrived. We rented a car and explored Cancun, one of the most popular tourist areas in Mexico, expecially for the young people.... and this being March break.... glasses were overflowing all down the beach where the above photo was taken. However this beach had been de-sanded in a hurricane a few years back so it was very steep and full of undertows ...... a good place to visit but not a place I would want to stay.

I felt like a princess when we arrived at the Grand Mayan Resort. From the stunning open air lobby to the unbelieveable 32 acres of swimming pools, this was a top class five star resort with all of the amenities and then some.

The rooms were gorgeous, spacious, comfortable and ours had privacy, a beautiful granite kitchen, marble floors, jet tubs, luxuary showers, a private dipping pool on the balcony and a lovely view of the pristine tropical landscape. The service was excellent, the restaurants fantastic and the staff most helpful and pleasant. This was a true oasis unto itself and if Arthur had his way we would have just vegged here all week. It had the palm trees, thatched rooves, ocean breezes, island music, turquoise waters, sailboats, para sailors and unlimited underwater bars dreamed of in the Margaritaville of the mind above.

We accomplished a lot in just one week. The village of Playa Del Carmen was just a 20 minute drive away and what a charmer. This could be considered the New York of the Yuckatan. Once you survive the speed bumps and get parked beside a chicken "farm" in the heart of town, you can enjoy several miles of shopping along the picturesque, tourist hounding 5th Avenue. I was blown away by all the silver stores and since I can rarely get past a jewellry store I only covered about 1/4 of the shopping district!! The guys got shopped out pretty quickly so we joined them later on the public beach where we enjoyed cerveza and a few topless beauties!!! Hounding is putting it mildly. It was great fun buying presents for everyone and if there were two words for Mexico I would say they would be "colour" and "pestering" to buy. I actually found it quite intimidating and would have bought a whole lot more if they would have left me alone to reconnoitre!!!

Arthur's favourite part of the trip was our outing to the world heritage site of the Mayan ruins at Chitzen Itza. Due to our inexperience with the language and dotted roads, we ended up on a two hour detour en route to this famous site so after 5 hours we were very happy to arrive. It was amazing to think that this site was first established in 600 AD and was the thriving religious centre for Mayan culture for over 800 years. It was eerie seeing the cenote where worthy sacrifices such as silver, gold and humans had been made. When wandering through the town square with it's 1000 columns, or the ball arena where the losing side had to sacrifice one of it's members, or gazing at the central 9 tiered pyramid you felt another sort of Margaritaville, a place lost in time with its own story to tell. We wished we had been able to go there a few days later at the spring equinox as we would have been able to see the sunlight reflecting diamonds onto the pyramid in a way that was called the descent of the serpent. Suffice it to say that when you clapped your hands 50 feet from the pyramid, you heard a resounding unearthy echo that made you marvel at the ingenuity of long ago.

We had two other adventures worth mentioning. Joanne and I took a 40 minute ferry ride one day across from Playa Del Carmen to the island of Cozumel, which is famous for it's lovely beaches and amazing diving sites. Joanne and Gary have dived there several times but this time Joanne and I just enjoyed the shopping ambiance in the town of San Miguel where cruise ships harbour and did I mention hounding!!!! I had one man want to charge me a dollar for taking a picture of him standing there with a parrot and someone else wanted to trade some piece of tourist crap for my lovely rainbow watch!!!

Puerto Aventuras is a lovely condo community where people go to enjoy the restaurant ambiance and swim with the dolphins. We spent a lovely afternoon there watching people ride dolphins, and viewing seals, seal lions and legendary herbaceous sea cows called manatees. This lovely harbour was home to pelicans and other colourful birds and iguanas were everywhere!!!

During our last night at the Grand Mayan we attended a special Mexican show and buffet. This included a very entertaining dance and musical extravaganza featuring rope shows, acrobatic feats, toe tapping music and elaborate, sometimes racey costumes and hilarious head dresses. Note the delightful watermelon costume below. In the end the audience was invited up on the stage for a grand finale.

And speaking of grand finale...... I had heart burn for a week.... what with the delicious but spicy mexican food and free flowing wine and margaritas. Ah to return to Mexico one day is in my heart. I can't say I exactly wasted away, having not had the courage yet to get on my scale, but what a great place to relax and retreat to another world, to bask in the sun, to become one with the azure sea, to let your mind be at peace with itself.... for that is the stuff dreams are made of and this trip was indeed a fantasy come true.

Thanks so much to my long time friend Joanne who has been there for my family and I for as long as I can remember.

Follow this link to my Flickr site to see additional photos or check out Jimmy Buffet singing Wasting Away in Margaritaville if you'd like to sign off with a tune in your head. Here's a toast to you all!!!!

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Newcomers Got Talent

Creativity on Display was the theme for our March 4th KW Newcomers monthly social meeting. Members were encouraged to share their talents by bringing in their creative works for display and conversation. It was a wonderful evening for friendly conversation and getting to know those presenting members in more ways than one!!!!

Who would have thought that Sandy Clyne was such a great Watercolour artist? She told us that "she paints because he has to and the flowers that speak to her in her gardens must find their way to her canvas."

Anne Gilchrist wowed us with her wonderful knitting, mostly done out of love for family members. Her sweaters were unique and made with interesting yarn. You will never find Anne sitting idle as she will either have cards or knitting needles in her hands.

Shirley Dorton is also an amazing knitter and crocheter who sells her wares far too cheaply!! Jockie could not resist trying on one of her brilliant red hats. She loves making colourful slippers as well. Shirley claims that knitting keeps her calm and is the best manicure going. She will be found either with knitting or her dog Candi in her arms.

Carmen Eick claims to not be a creative person, but has found a fun outlet for her imagination by making Sand Art. She finds various shaped glass containers and fills them with coloured sand and found objects such as sea shells or paper tequila umbrellas. The container on the left is in the shape of a Christmas stocking!!!

Joan Ellis's creativity knows no bounds. Her display featured quilts, cross stitching and scrap booking. Joan brought in her very first quilt as well as one that was made from a sampler course. She recommends getting a few instructions!! You may not know but Joan belongs to the writer's group and is cateloguing stories to go along with photos from her life experiences to leave for her children and grandchildren.

Now you get to see our club president in a new light!!! Cecilia Gilbert has a family tradition of making Ginger Bread Houses at Christmas time and later sharing them with other children in the neighbourhood when it comes time to partake. What a unique way to let those creative juices flow. Nothing pre fab here. She bakes and carves the walls and makes a special builders icing to attach the candies. Well with the recent birth of a new grandchild, Cecilia will be doing this for years to come.

Jockie Loomer-Kruger, who never lets any little treasure pass her by, brought in a display of rug hooking, writing and whimsical folk art. Most of us had never heard the term "Naive Art". This is the genre in which Jockie has painted for years. She calls it "art by and adult through the eyes of a child" and yep, Jockie is a big kid!! You could not go to see her current art show at the Kitchener Library without smiling and recalling your own childhood memories. Although most of her naive pieces were at the Library show, Jockie showed us a collection of naive art calendars produced in Quebec that featured her work for many years. Each of her pieces tells a story and gladdens the heart.

You could not imagine the wonderful collection of quilting and rug hooking produced by Lynda Cunningham. She is one prolific lady and yes, another big kid amongst us. Like Jockie, Lynda loves to incorporate found objects and a huge variety of fabrics into her work, and many of her quilts also have a whimsical, naive quality to them. Each piece has a story to tell and Lynda says she never has idle hands either as there are many more stories just waiting to be told!!! Lynda quilts for family and friends but also volunteers a tremendous amoung of her time making lap quilts for community groups. Lynda is indeed a skilled needleworker with an amazing imagination and a big heart!!!

Did you know that we have an incredible weaver and seamstress in our club? Sandy Hostetter brought in several articles of clothing that she had made, some weaving and a photo album full of pictures of her work along with sampler illustrative pieces. She has worked with a huge variety of yarns and fabrics over the years and is self taught. Sandy has been a member of the Weaver's Guild as well. Her clothing shows a huge amount of patience, labour, love and creativity, not to mention the signs of a skilled craftswoman. Did I say hippe??? Well take a look at her picture, which I had to implore from her I might add, and you can imagine how unique her pieces are.

This where I get to toot my own horn!!! Stained Glass has been a huge passion in my life for over 27 years. I have made pieces for Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian Woman Astronaut and Governor General Lincoln Alexander. It is a joy to think of my pieces spreading to many different countries in the world. In getting ready to particate in this event, I decided to make a book of all my work over the years. It ended up being a 150 page full colour book with over 450 photos and took me more hours than I care to remember. I made a similar book for our family of my mom's quilting and rug hooking after she passed away, so with that experience behind me I decided to produce this book for my own children down the road!! It was great fun writing the stories that went with the pieces. I also had fun developing a slide show of all the photos, which you will see in the above photo running in the background on a lap top computer. My business is called Hooked On Glass because once I started doing glass it became a huge passion. Out went the photos of my kids from my wallet and in went the photos of my glass pieces. One of my greatest joys is seeing the expression on my client's faces when they receive their unique orders. I rest on the pleasure I know people feel watching the light play on their glass as the suns rays pass through it at different times of the day. Click here view the complete slideshow photos of my stained glass pieces to date.

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I think this was one of the most interesting and rewarding programs I have experienced at Newcomers during the three years I have been a member. Thanks so much to Jockie and Sandy Hostetter for organizing the event. There was a lot of work going on behind the scenes and also with set up the night of the event. Thanks to all those members who put out such an extra effort to lug in all their work and share their stories with everyone. We are a friendship club welcoming new people into the area and opening our hearts and our doors to each other as we laugh and share the joys and sorrows in our lives. Celebrating creativity is one of life's greatest pleasures. This was indeed and evening to be remembered.

Stained Glass Pieces Made in 2008

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Crazy Bog Frog - December 2008

My girlfriend Joanne had purchased the stained glass "frog on the log" at a craft show several years ago. It was a freestanding suncatcher which can be very unstable. I offered to set it into a circle for her as a Christmas present. It was tricky to find leaf and leg glass and also fit in some of the tiny, tiny pieces. The bottom part of the right leg was non existant. I added some leaves and tucked the leg in behind the leaves as toes are very tricky to do. I added the two rondels to bring some character into the work and enhance the darker glass background. It is a bit of a find as these rondels are no longer available.

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Transformed Bevelled Dove Window - Nov 2008

I made the above window to go over two sliding doors in our Tweed house. The window was a doorway to our pool. When we sold the house in 199, Arthur removed the window but he cracked some of the outside green crackle glass pieces in the process. I had hoped to rebuild this window in a subsequent home but with all of our moves the window ended up being carted around for 12 years.

I got the idea of trying to used the outside ends of the Tweed window for the side panels above in our current home. I was not able to get the green crackle glass anymore, but was able to match up the colour. I removed the outside border so the panels would fit and added the top and bottom sections.

I then reduced the pink circle around the dove and created the centre bevelled window for the door. I picked up some of the design elements and new green glass from the side windows to balance out the pattern.

Overall this brings a lovely soft glow into our hallway and I am pleased with my ingenuity. Just after I got this done my husband lost his job..... but now that I've remade the window we CAN NOT move again so keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

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Karina's Bevelled Side Windows - Nov 2008



My niece Karina had a new house built and ordered a lovely bevelled front door. (see photo on the right before installation) However she was not able to get matching side panels for the size of openings that had been left. I was able to locate matching glass and bevels and custom make these windows. The work was done in lead came so the putty that goes under the lead made quite a mess - very hard to clean off on clear glass. This was quite a challenge without being able to see the actual glass or measure installation sizes for the door and existing windows. Another challenge was figuring out how to ship them. My husband made a very tight plywood box with a screwed down lid, total weight with the windows inside was 47 pounds. I was able to ship this via Greyhound Courier Express for $100 and was happy that they arrived safe and sound.

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Apple Blossom Repair for Merle - Nov 2008



Client designed this window over 20 years ago but it had been dropped and the background was full of cracked pieces. She had been living with them crazy glued together. Getting the window out of the lovely oak frame was quite a challenge. Arthur had to cut carefully through the mitered joint. I was able to get a pattern of the existing window by placing a large piece of paper over it, then colouring back and forth with the side of a pencil, over the raised part of the design - like we used to do to get leaf patterns with crayons when we were children. Luckily I was able to match the antique clear background glass and end up with the correct sized window to put back in the frame.

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Stylized Crane for Marie Northey - Oct 2008



This is one of the most complex designs I've ever worked with. There are almost 300 pieces in the work, some so small you could hardly hold them and most of them need fitting. There are 9 different shades of green in the work. The irridescent baroque and droplet background glass add an airy lightness to the piece which centres on the turquoise jewel focal point. It is a delicate work, not for a beginning stained glass artist.

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Baha'i Nine Pointed Star - June 2008



This piece is my own design. Have you ever tried to divide a circle into 9 pieces? It is much easier with an even number. The background spirit glass suggests rays of light emanating from the star. This star and the number nine is is associated with perfection, unity and the numerical value of the word Bahá'. It was a wedding present Shamim and Stecha, my sons brother in law and wife who are both members of the Baha'i faith. We had a lovely time at their wedding in Orillia last June. They are currently renting the apartment in Aaron and Nagmeh's house.

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Window #1: Grads of 94 - completed Mar 1, 2008

The windows below represent the prototye for a reconstruction project I am currently working on. For a more detailed description of this work in progress go to my Coming Soon article.

.............................Before....................................................After................................

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Unicorn and Fairy Fantasy - Feb 24, 2008

The fairy and unicorn that were made for Inez many years ago, when her children were little, have been incorporated into this fantasy piece. Globs and Rondels float around a sun motif introducing coloured bubbles that match the room decor. The background glass features a rather rare piece of spaced out clear glue chip glass. The rondels which are no longer made, were a "find" from A. J. Artistic Stained Glass Supply Store in Toronto.



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