Pam's Place

For the Monkey Board Girls

2009-06-09T08:44:00.002-03:00

It's the building on the right (although I think they are more or less the same).

Pam

Antarctica and South America

2009-02-18T16:42:00.006-04:00

My husband and I just returned from an amazing trip to South America and Argentina. We started by flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we spend two nights before flying to Ushuaia, at the south end of the country (Tierra Del Fuego). From there we took a nine-day cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands. We were on the French cruise ship, Le Diamant, and made landings on shore by means of Zodiacs. After returning to Ushuaia, we flew back to Buenos Aires and the next day flew north to spend two days at Iguazu Falls, which are amazing and way bigger than Niagara Falls. Here are a very few of our pictures from the trip.

From the top: Marcel and I at the"end of the earth" ( the end of the road in Tierra del Fuego National Park); each of us on the ship with tabular icebergs in the distance, wearing our Antarctic Expedition parkas; several Zodiac landing craft in pursuit of a humpback whale; a cute Adelie penguin; Marcel taking pictures as penguins cross the path; a couple of Antarctic views from the ship; landing on a beach with the Zodiac; Gentoo penguins; swimming in Antarctica (there were hot springs just under the water); in Iguazu: the view from our hotel balcony; a toucan near the hotel; three views of Iguazu Falls.

New layouts

2009-01-05T13:29:00.002-04:00

Will wonders never cease? There are 3 new layouts in "My Layouts" (see link to the right).

New Blog

2009-01-03T11:47:00.002-04:00

I have set up a new blog specifically to track my progress in Project 365 for 2009. Please see it at: http://project3652009.blogspot.com or click the link to the right.

Pam

Project 365

2008-12-31T10:00:00.006-04:00

With so much "buzz" about this project this year due to the new kit being offered by Creating Keepsakes, I thought I'd put up a few pictures of how I did it for 2008. Basically I had a photo album from Wal-Mart that had "PHOTOS" printed on it and I used rub ons to make the rest of the title. I bought extra refill pages. I didn't do it on a weekly basis as the new kit has, but I could have done as there were enough pages. I just started January 1 and kept going. I managed to only have about 5 or 6 days with no pictures. To label them I bought a photo marker and just wrote on the pictures or used a label if the whole photo was too dark. So here are a few random pages and a couple pictures of the cover. For those of you who don't want to get the kit, this is another possibility.

Fruited Brazil Nut Loaves

2008-12-17T16:55:00.002-04:00

I had a couple requests for this recipe, so here it is. It comes originally from the magazine Canadian Living.

1 1/2 cup dried figs

1 1/2 cup dried apricots

1 cup candied pineapple chunks

1/2 cup red and/or green glace cherries

1/2 coarsely chopped preserved ginger

3 cups whole shelled Brazil nuts

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

(Note: I have successfully doubled this recipe to make 4 loaves. The above amounts make 2.)

Line 2 8x4 inch loaf pans with foil, grease well, and set aside. Pour boiling water over the figs and apricots and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain and chop into large pieces. Halve cherries.

In a large bowl combine figs, apricots, pineapple, cherries, ginger and Brazil nuts. Stir together flour, sugar and baking powder in another bowl; add to fruit mixture and toss to mix.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs well; stir in vanilla. Add to fruit mixture and mix well. Spoon into prepared pans. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until firm and brown and cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to racks and cool completely. Wrap well in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Serve in little slices.

Pam

Lobster

2008-08-19T15:09:00.005-03:00

At least once every summer we have some lobster. I'm not a big fan of it. I like the taste but I don't really like the mess of eating it. Anyway, as daughter Alix is getting ready to move to Toronto for university, we decided to treat her to some lobster before she goes. So last night, Marcel picked up some cold cooked lobster from the fish market (that's how people eat it here generally, cold) and pre-cut it for us. It was very tasty!

Preserving summer

2008-08-19T10:59:00.004-03:00

I used to make a lot of jams and relishes at one point but I hadn't done any for a few years. My garden was starting to yield some zucchini so I decided to make some relish and a few other things too. Here is what I made yesterday. From the top: Red pepper orange and lemon marmalade, zuccini relish, and apple- sage jelly.

This just makes me laugh!

2008-08-10T19:37:00.002-03:00

The mighty and scary Oliver! AKA "Fluffy Boy".

Dog album

2008-07-04T09:10:00.001-03:00

I made an album yesterday to send to support Boxer Rescue in Florida (supported by one of the Hilltop Memories Yahoo group member). Pictures are on the Layout blog.
Pam

Choir silliness

2008-06-19T09:27:00.012-03:00

Our church choir put on an evening of entertainment along with a turkey dinner made by the church women's group. We sang some "serious" group numbers (Broadway songs) and then "branched out" into our renditions of some of well known groups from the past. A few friends from other choirs joined us for the event.Here's a few pictures of that event. Everyone had fun! From the top:

The choir and friends singing a group number. Or version of The Platters, singing Sentimental Journey. One of the Platters, Vic, who is 92 and a retired United Church Minister, one of the sharpest and most knowledgeable men I know, who wore a big grin throughout the evening. The "Mamas and the Papas" That's me second from the right. Me and another "Papa" singing California Dreaming. "Under the Boardwalk" I can't remember who they were supposed to be. "The Angels" with My Boyfriend's Back. That's me in the blond wig. There were others numbers but you get the drift!

Graduation Time

2008-06-19T08:45:00.015-03:00

For Karen! Added a close up of Alix and her prom date. Didn't have one of her on her own.

I haven't posted in quite a while. Here are a few pictures of recent events. From the top:

Our daughter Nicole graduating from The University of New Brunswick in Saint John (Bachelor in Applied Management in Hospitality and Tourism): greeted by the Chancellor, getting her degree, the graduate with her sister Alix, dad Marcel, mom (me), and grandmother Annette.

Our niece, Josee, graduated from a private high school (Kent School) in Connecticut: her dorm building, Josee )in white) with Marcel, Nicole and me, Josee with her parents, brother Andre and Annette.

Our daughter, Alix, before her prom last night: Alix with friends Lindsay and Alex (MHS Drama is going to miss this hard-working trio!), Alix with 3 girls she went to Elementary and Middle School with - Caroline, Danielle and Danika, group shot of the grads at the park, Alix with date John, Hannah, Alex, Lindsay and Mitchell. Alex and Alix will be going to Ryerson University in the fall (in Toronto) and Hannah (from Riverview High School, who they know from the District 2 musicals) is going to George Brown University nearby, so they will all be close next year. Lindsay will be at Queens in Kingston, Ontario, about 2 hours away from Toronto.

The actual graduation is on Monday, June 23.

Highschool Improv Games

2008-02-25T13:42:00.008-04:00

This event has been held in our area for nine years now. The degree of energy, imagination and creativity that the students show is just wonderful. My daughter has helped out with the team from her school for a couple of years and this year she was on the team and performed. We are so proud of them as they came a close second in a very strong group of teams. If you are not sure what Improv is, think of the TV show, "Whose Line is it Anyway?" as an example. They have to come up with skits on the spot based on suggestions from the audience. We took some pictures but it is really hard to get good ones as the lighting was poor and the kids move a lot. Anyway, here's one of the team and their coaches, as well as a few from the competition.

Here's my house

2008-02-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

Or should that be "where's my house"? Yesterday I went out to shovel the front steps and decided to take a picture of the house from the corner. Lots of snow, right? We have had over 300 cm so far this winter. We did have a period in January when some of it melted too, so if we hadn't had that there would be even more of it!

Snow in the city at Night

2008-01-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Just a few of the pictures my husband took on New Year's Eve of our house and neighbourhood.

Wasn't tagged but...

2007-12-29T23:22:00.000-04:00

I read this year-end set of questions on a friend's blog and decided to try them:

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? I went on a cruise in the Mediterranian with my family. I saw a card I made published in a magazine.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't recall any resolutions so it's a good guess I didn't keep any!

Did anyone close to you give birth? No

Did anyone close to you die? My father-in-law.

What countries did you visit? Bahamas, United States, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? I can't think of anything.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Celebrating 25 years of marriage.

What was your biggest failure? Not MY failure really, but the biggest failure I experienced was that a joint venture of my church with another fell apart after over a year of work.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major. I have a problem with the retina in my right eye that I had investigated this year.

What was the best thing you bought? Not sure

Whose behavior merited celebration? My husband's - he is so innovative and committed to his work as a radiologist and helping diagnose women with breast cancer.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? A group of people from the other church who undermined a lot of other people's good work and slandered their good names.

Where did most of your money go? Scrapbooking, travel, (well...and groceries, heating oil...)

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Traveling with friends and with family (especially the Med cruise) and by myself.

Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, richer, nicer. About the same. Probably poorer (see above re travel and scrapbooking). Somewhat sadder due to the church thing.

What do you wish you'd done more of? Sleep

What was your favorite TV program? CSI, Criminal Minds

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't hate anyone. I am dissapointed in a few people.

What was the best book you read this year? I don't know. I've read a lot of books.

What did you want and get? Lots of things!

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 54 last March. I can't remember what I did. Next year I will be on a cruise with friends on my birthday!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If the church ammalgamation had worked out.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Casual and comfortable.

What political issue stirred you the most? Climate change debates.

Who did you miss? My mother (still miss her since 1991)

Who was the best new person (people) you met? My middle daughter's boyfriend is very nice. I also met a lot of people from the church we were trying to merge with who were very nice.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. Some people just don't understand the concept of progress.

I would like to tag anyone who would like to participate. Leave a comment that you have done so.

I'm so excited!

2007-12-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

If you look back a few posts you will see one about Canada's Scrapbooking Crops for Kids and see I was honoured with 3rd place in a card contest. Well...today I got an order from Scrapbooks by Design, a store in Toronto and got a copy of Scrapbook and Cards today, which is a free magazine supported through advertising. What did I find but a page all about the card contest with a few of the cards and mine was there! It is the "thanks" card, very simple but they seemed to like it. Closest I'll ever get to being published in a scrapbook magazine (seeing as I don't submit layouts!).

Altered Apple Juice Boxes

2007-12-18T17:38:00.000-04:00

We have been buying this apple juice which comes in pouches, 10 to a box. The boxes are just too good to throw out! They are a double walled box, with a thickness of a little over 1/4 inch. They just perfectly fit a CD box cross-wise. So far I have made a box to hold Christmas cards and 3 boxes for photo CDs, which also fit perfectly on the shelf. As you can see, I labeled the card one on the side and the CD ones on the end.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2007-12-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

After a couple of years of fairly little in the way of snow we are back to what passes as normal in this area. Here are a few pictures of the house from the front and then the side after we have had two big snowfalls.

Canada's Scrapbooking Crops for Kids

2007-11-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

In October, this event was held for the first time in 6 locations across Canada. The closest one to me was in Saint John, NB. It was held over a weekend and we had meals provided and some great classes as well as cropping time on our own. All the money raised at each location went to the local children's hospital or ward. In the case of Saint John, it went to the neonatal intensive care unit at the Saint John Regional Hospital. People could also submit layouts for contests for $2 or cards for $1 and all the cards were then given to the hospital for use by patients/parents. I didn't take a lot of cropping stuff with me as I mainly took classes but I decided once there to make a few cards so I bought a few things from the on-site store and made them. One of my cards was picked for third place and will be published on the website for Scrapbook and Cards Today, a Canadian magazine. The top winner from each location will be published in the magazine. I was very excited about my card being chosen as it was very simple and I had seen some of the gorgeous cards that people made, however they seemed to be looking for simple ones, maybe easier to reproduce. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. First the table of prizes they had to give out. The sponsers were amazing! We got awesome goodie bags as well. Our crop room and the little store they had set up at the end of it. Our meals were served buffet style in the room right next door. Me and my table mates (kind of blurry for some reason - I didn't take the picture...obviously). We were assigned to tables which was nice as I went alone. Kerry McRorie, Editor-in-Chief of Scrapbook and Cards Today and one of our teachers for the weekend, holding up my card. Kerry and I with my card.

Family Thanksgiving

2007-10-09T09:15:00.000-03:00

We had all the family home for Thanksgiving weekend and my sister in law had everyone over for dinner on Sunday. It was a great opportunity to take some pictures of all the family, incuding all the kids who are normally away at school. Here are a few. Top to bottom: the assembled company, grandpa and grandma with the grandkids, my husband and I, our daughter Renee and her boyfriend Miles, all the cousins.

Added a few pictures

2007-08-22T15:00:00.000-03:00

I added a few to each section of the Mediterranean trip from my pictures.

Mediterranean Cruise

2007-08-19T13:16:00.001-03:00

My family and I just got back from a 12 day cruise in theMediterrean. Here are just a few of our over 4000 pictures. They are backwards chronologically here. That is we started in Barcelona, went to Villefrance, etc., and Naples was our last stop before getting back to Barcelona.

Naples and Pompeii, Italy

2007-08-19T13:08:00.001-03:00

More from Pompeii - tracks from sliding doors, stepping stones and chariot tracks, Marcel, Alix and Nicole at Pompeii, a beautiful fresco.

You have to admit this is an odd sign! Street vendor in Naples - anyone need a Prada bag? Frescos and a lovely Roman home in Pompeii, also Roman baths, the forum with Mt Vesuvius in the backgraound and "this way to the brothel" sign on the street.

Athens, Greece

2007-08-19T13:05:00.001-03:00

few more from Athens - the Olympic Stadium for the first modern Olympics, the girls up by the Parthenon, a view down from the Acropolis.

Here we had a tour of the city and saw the Olympic stadium from a few years ago as well as the original one from the first modern Olympics. We also went up to see the Acropolis. Very crowded and hot! The guard is at the former royal palace (now the parliament). Got to like the shoes which weigh 10 pounds each.

Kusadasi Turkey

2007-08-19T12:59:00.000-03:00

The Library of Celsus, Ephasus, a (very) public toilet in Ephasus, Nicole and our wonderful guide, eating lunch near the ruins at Dydyma.

Here we went to see the Roman ruins at Ephesus, Miletus and Dydyma and had lunch near the ruins at Didyma. We had a great guide and I think the consensus is Turkey was one of our favourite stops. The ruins we visited and the history of the place were amazing, and they really seem to want to make a good impression for tourists to encourage more visits. We loved it.

We then did a little shopping in Kusadasi (the port).

Santorini Island, Greece

2007-08-19T12:35:00.001-03:00

A church in the village of Oia, the cable-car we took to come down to the port from the town of Fira, a view from the cable car. We took a tour to Oia, around the whole island and to a winery before stopping in Fira where we had lunch and looked around before going back to the ship.

Here there were no pelicans, but there were many friendly dogs.

Mykonos Island, Greece

2007-08-19T12:31:00.001-03:00

Marcel and I in Mykonos on the beach right in the town.

There were two "greeter" pelicans along the shore and they let people come up quite close to them. When one's "shift" was over a man came by with a little truck and called the pelican and he hopped right up and rode away!

First Formal night

2007-08-19T12:28:00.001-03:00

We had three formal nights. The first one we took all sorts of pictures.

Rome Italy

2007-08-19T12:24:00.000-03:00

Nicole at the Colisseum, dome of St. Peter's, looking at souvenirs near the Trevi fountain.

We visited the Forum and Colisseum and saw other parts of Rome, not forgetting to throw a coin in the Trevi fountain so we would be sure to return. After lunch we also visited St. Paul's Basilica.

Florence, Italy

2007-08-19T12:21:00.001-03:00

If you touch the nose of this bronze boar you are suposed to guarentee you will return to Florence.

Florence was the only place it rained. We had a tour in the morning and then had lunch and later some gelato on our own and did some shopping in the market.

More - Villefranche France

2007-08-19T12:18:00.000-03:00

At the waterfront in Nice, on the train to Nice from Villefranche

In Villefranche we didn't book a tour but planned to explore there a bit and take the train to Nice. We did that but it took a long time to get train tickets as it was very busy and we missed one train and had to wait an hour for the next one (8 min train ride). Another time I would have spent more time just in Villefranche. The picture of the girls and I is in Nice. We had lunch there, walked around a bit and took the train back. The ship in the picture at Villefranche is actually Navigator of the Seas and we were just behind it. Similar ship but a little bigger.

Just a few pictures from our Mediterranean cruise

2007-08-19T11:57:00.000-03:00

Inside Sagrada Familia, enjoying paella in an outside cafe on La Rambla in Barcelona, on the rooftop at La Perdrera, getting ready to sail away.

Barcelona: Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's unfinished church), relaxing after a steep hot climb to Park Guell, La Perdrera apartment building (Gaudi again), the girls and I near a castle, Alix with Graffiti.

Our cruise ship, the Brilliance of the Seas: The Centrum (main atrium), a deck in the early morning, the solarium pool. We had one of the balcony rooms at the aft of the ship. Room 8672 - highly recommended.

Cruise to the Bahamas and other happenings.

2007-05-11T14:44:00.000-03:00

Okay, so some people have been asking if my daughter's musical is still playing since January! No, no...just no time and/or energy to write. Actually she has had another musical since then, The Fantasticks, in which she played a "mute" and had to rearrange things on stage during the performance, along with another girl. A few pictures follow. first of my daughter, then a couple of others of the cast.

More recently, I have just returned from a cruise to the Bahamas with a group of scrapbooking friends from Florida. After spending 4 days at Walt Disney World, I joined the group for the cruise from Port Canaveral. We all had a great time. One of the things that was a lot of fun was helping to surprise Jules with Jill from NC, who decided to join the cruise group only a few days before we went. Jill stayed with me in WDW for a day and then we went to the port. She surprised Jules on board and gave her a very creative presentation. There are a few other pictures of the cruise out of many. If you were on the cruise I'll be sending you a CD of them, and would love to see yours too.

Jill and I at Downtown Disney, then Jill when she surprised Jules on deck, a surprising presentation, a group of us at Nassau, Kip and Jules enjoying some wine at dinner, some of the group on deck, and Kip, Jill and Jules at dinner.

Some scenes from FAME

2007-01-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

Our daughter is in the chorus for a production of Fame put on by students from 6 area high schools, the first time the schools had done such a thing together. It has turned out to be a wonderful production. Here are just a few pictures from it. The first is an opening number "Pray" where the students are all hoping their auditions got them into the school. Then there are a couple of pictures from "Hard Work" where the students start their high school years at the School for Performing Arts and learn that hard work is required in the desciplines of drama, music and dance. Alix is in the yellow shirt and striped overalls. Then some dancers, my daughter Alix in her role as Shadie Sadie the lunch lady, who ends up dancing with the students. Then Carmen sings about being famous in "There She Goes" and "Fame", a number called "I want to make magic" where they are all in different theatrical costumes. Alix wore her dress from "A Night Like no Other" Next dancer Mabel sings about her woes about becoming a dancer and not being able to keep her weight down (she likes to eat). A scenes from Shakespeare class and finally graduation (songs are "I Sing the Body Electric" and "Bring on Tomorrow") and the finale "Fame". My husband and I helped to make the giant light-up letters that form the FAME sign. It is a marvelous show and the students made loads of friends from the other schoools doing it.

More Nashville

2006-11-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when a few friends from far-apart places get together. First they go to the scrapbook store, where Jules pays an arm and a leg for some new goodies, then they go check out the Christmas decorations in some tropical gardens (where the magic of Christmas lets Jules grow her leg back), then they get together with another friend, who just happens to be hosting her rehearsal dinner. Hmmm...don't tell their husbands about the guy these two were picking up at the Wildhorse Saloon! Of course my husband was there, so we just sat and chatted with some new friends. Finally: what a day! Jules is asleep already!

More from our weekend in Nashville

2006-11-17T11:29:00.000-04:00

While in Nashville, we saw the Veteran's Day parade that went right by the hotel. There were groups of veterans, high school bands and all the usual sorts of groups. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the parade, including some of the Civil War reenactors for a friend, Gail's husband David, who participates in this also.

Pictures from a Wedding

2006-11-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

Just a few pictures from the reception after the wedding of my friends Anne and Ken. I have more to come from our weekend, but they are on film and need developing first. One from the church also.

A Week in Provence

2006-10-28T11:33:00.000-03:00

My husband Marcel and I just returned from a lovely week in Aix en Provence. We were there with a group put together through McGill Alumni Travel and some other Alumni groups. The tour was run by AHI (Alumni Holidays International) and was very much fun. We had talks about the history of the area, about art (especially Van Gogh and Cezanne and their contemporaries), and about modern day France and went out on daily excursions to various places in the area. We ate great food and discovered local specialties. Here are a few pictures. They are (top to bottom) a fountain and street in Aix, Cezanne's family home, Mont St Victoire (painted often by Cezanne), Pont de Gard (Roman aquaduct) near Avignon, palace of the popes in Avignon, hilltop village Les Baux, a 17th century street in Aix, Camargue horse and cowboy getting ready to perform for a traditional wedding procession in Arles, Roman amphitheatre in Arles, me in Gordes, spices in the market in Aix, colourful houses in Roussillon, lion on the castle of Ansouis, some of our group having coffee in the castle which is still lived in by the same family since the 1300s, the seaside village of Cassis, where we were supposed to go for a boat ride, but it was too windy. These are only a few pictures from the trip of course.

Five weird things about me

2006-10-09T18:25:00.000-03:00

Colleen tagged me to do this so here goes:

1. I can't eat eggs. I'm not allergic to them, I just can't bring myself to eat them. On their own, that is, like fried eggs or scrambled eggs. I've never liked them as far back as I can remember. When I was on the South Beach Diet for a bit, they kept telling me to eat eggs for breakfast. No way! I ate chicken. Figured it was the same thing only more mature.

2. When I'm working on something I like to have it all out and visible to me. If it gets put away I tend to forget to do it! That's my excuse for a messy scrapbook room.

3. I have a horrible memory for people's names. So does my husband. We rarely introduce people to each other because, while we know who they are, we can't remember their names.

4. Unlike many women, I don't enjoy shopping for the sake of shopping. The exceptions would be shopping for scrapbooking, art or stationary supplies. I don't like shopping for clothes or shoes and especially not for gifts for other people as I have a hard time figuring out what they would like. I like to GIVE the gifts, just not figure out what to buy.

5. I love to have bare feet. If I only lived in the right place and in the right climate I would never wear shoes. Sandles are a pretty good alternative and closed shoes and boots come in a distant third. Unfortunately, living where I do, a good part of the year requires my feet to be enclosed a good part of the day anyway. Poor feet!

Okay, now, Gail, Anne and Clare...let's see what you say! If you don't have a blog, feel free to post your reply here and I'll reference it so others will know to look for it, or post it anywhere else you feel like.

Our new garage and deck

2006-10-03T16:45:00.000-03:00

We have an 86 year old house and the garage was probably about that old too! It had a wooden floor and the roof was starting to leak. This summer we had a new (normal) garage built and in the course of re-organizing the back yard area (which is really a small courtyard) we had a new and larger deck put on, the dog run moved in behind the garage and a new fence built. Here are a few pictures. It is quite a change! In the picture of the deck, the structure at the back will be to shelter the BBQ when we get one and the pumpkins are resting on the covers of what will be planters in the spring. We are very excited because we can actually put a car in this garage and raise and lower the door electronically. Okay so it doesn't take much to make us happy!

Especially for my friends in the south

2006-10-01T22:14:00.000-03:00

A few fall pictures from New Brunswick.

Creative Escape

2006-09-16T20:56:00.000-03:00

I recently returned from a great new scrapbooking event called Creative Escape. It was put on in Phoenix, Arizona by Heidi Swapp and Bazzill Basics Paper and was an amazing success. All the classes were great, with wonderful teachers and all the class kits were prepared ahead of time, with all papers cut and ready, by the wonderful staff at Bazzill. Everyone took all the classes and there was a great variety, from complete albums, to layouts, to photography, to using Microsoft Word to format text. We even made a clock and a decorated box. Here are a few of my pictures from Creative Escape.

Not especially in chronological order! The first picture is of the cocktail party organised by some members of the Yahoo group on Thursday afternoon. It was really fun and a good way to start off the weekend. The sponsors even came through with some prizes for this! Here's Shelley drawing some names for prizes.

Next is the opening ceremony, with Heidi Swapp and Doug Jones (a.k.a. "Mr. Bazzill). Following that we had the "Technique Boutique" where we went around to tables and did various techniques we would have to know for the classes, and got more stuff from the sponsors!

I had a chance to meet some friends at Creative Escape that I hadn't met before in real life. I roomed with Jodi (Odio on the CKMB) and was in the same series of classes with her. Here we are with the box we made in Tena Sprenger's class. I also got to spend some time with Janet M, and here we are together at one of the suppers they gave us.

On the last evening, we had a sit-down dinner which started with desert first! Then Stacy Julien gave the keynote speech about creativity which was very inspiring. Here you can see the centerpiece which was on each table and one person got to win this by drawing out the straw with a green-tipped end. There were so many prizes drawn both Friday and Saturday nights during dinner. The sponsors were oh-so-generous! The large group picture is the Yahoo group, with Heidi and Doug joining us of course.

On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning prior to CE, a tour of the Bazzill warehouse followed by a trip to Scrapbooks etc., a scrapbook store owned by Marti Jones (Doug's wife) was organised for members of the Yahoo group who would be there on time for the tour. I went Wednsday afternoon. The rows of boxes of Bazzill paper of all colours is a scrapbooker's delight! The staff were all very welcoming, the same staff who had worked night and day to prepare our kits. Amy Totty (who works with Bazzill, taught at CE, and was our "tour guide") and Doug Jones seemed glad to pose with groups of us before we headed in for our tour. They also opened up their warehouse sale a week early for us. Amy gave each of us the cute CE visors.

On Thursday morning, a desert hummer tour had been organised by Shelley, one of the Yahoo group organisers. That was so much fun! We went out in 2 hummers and drove up and down some steep hills in the desert, stopping to see cacti and some wildlife. I have loads of pictures from this trip. Here is a view of the desert with a very old Saguaro cactus, me and a cactus, and me with the hummer before we started out.

We were provided with meals during CE. Breakfast on both days was buffet style (here is Saturday's set-up) and we had a choice of several box lunches each day. Supper on Friday was a Mexican buffet, and Saturday the sit-down dinner. We also had pizza as a late-night snack on Thursday and ice cream on Friday. The last picture is from breakfast on Saturday and is of my room-mate Jodi and Kathy (AKathy from CKMB). Kathy had convinced Jodi to come to CE and they finally got to meet at breakfast. What a great time!

A few pictures from CKU-Boston

2006-08-31T18:00:00.000-03:00

Here are a few pictures of Karen, Joanne, Joan and I from Boston. Fist we have Karen working away at one of the 6x6 pages we did on the "make-and-take" day. Next is at a class, then Karen, Joanne and Joan at the No Name Restaurant. We got some other scrapper to take all of us at the door of the No Name (me, Karen, Joan, Joanne) . Then, just to show we really did do some scrapbooking, here are Joan, Joanne and Karen at the Friday night crop. Finally me, Joan and Joanne with our diplomas and silly hats. For some reason, when other people take pictures with my auto-focus camera they manage to make them blurry!

Pointe du Chene Wharf

2006-08-17T08:02:00.000-03:00

This has been a gathering place for countless years. When my husband was little he used to fish off the wharf and still many people can be found fishing there. Driving down to the wharf to see the sunset, boats and other people is a long-standing tradition too. For a while it fell into disrepair, but a campaign to save this treasure and enhance it has resulted in repairs as well as several new businesses taking root there in the last few years. There are now two restaurants, an ice-cream stand, a souvenir shop, a "lighthouse" which is used as a lookout, a fish market, lots of parking and, of course, the boats moored there which come from all over. Last night we took a drive down to the wharf and my daughters got some ice cream and we took some pictures of the sailboats. Here are a few.

Threadless

2006-08-16T08:38:00.000-03:00

My daughters have shirts from a company from Chicago called Threadless. One daughter, in particular, has a small mountain of them. If you submit pictures of yourself wearing their shirts and they are accepted for the website, you get points towards purchase of more shirts. Last night two of the girls took pictures so here are a few of them. It was fun to watch them set up the pictures with props that matched the theme of the shirts. These are not the ones submitted in case the pictures have to be "unpublished". There were a few more different shirts they modeled, but this is a sampling.

The cottage

2006-07-23T09:14:00.000-03:00

I thought I'd put in a few pictures of where I am spending my summer days. First is the view from the front deck, then the cottage itself (with our 2 dogs), my herb garden in the back that I started last year, and finally my scrapbooking area. The printer is off to the left sitting on top of a Victrola record player cabinet, quite an interesting mix of technology! (Sorry no picture of that. Maybe later.)

Thoughts about the beach

2006-07-20T09:25:00.000-03:00

When we first started coming to this beach, we rented a cottage for 1 week. The next year we rented a different one for 2 weeks a couple of times and we then had this same cottage for two complete summers the 2 years after that. The summer of the first cottage I had one little 1 1/2 year old girl and was pregnant with the second, the second year I had a baby and a toddler. By our last summer in the rented cottage, there were 3 little girls: a 7 year old, a 5 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. That was the year (1991) that we started building our own cottage in the same general area. Every year since then we have come to spend the summers here, moving in as soon as the school year finished, and moving back just in time to start a new school year. My though have things changed! When the girls were little, we spent a part of every sunny day at the beach. We (meaning chiefly Mom) would carry our collection of necessary items on the 5-min walk to the beach: towels, pails, shovels, various other toys, snorkels, swim goggles, boxes of juice...and so on. We would swim and dig and make sand castles, and collect and identify shells. Sometimes we would come back for lunch and go again! At the end of the day we would have lovely outside showers ( we have an enclosed outdoor shower stall) and I would wash the sand out of the girls' bathing suits and hang them up to dry for another day. That was the routine.

Fast forward to the present day. The oldest girl is 22. She likes to stay at the cottage when she can, but generally she stays at the house in town where she is working. Last summer she wasn't here at all, and next summer...who knows? The middle girl is 20 and is living in another province, going to university and working in the summer. She's not here. The youngest is still here, but sleeps in most mornings and then finds the cottage "boring". I told her that soon she won't be here either. We rarely spend the day at the beach, except if someone comes to visit. We take walks there, as we did last evening after supper. We enjoy the quiet and the relatively cool temperatures (compared to in town). My husband and I (and certainly the dogs and cats) enjoy the cottage as much as ever, but our use of it has changed so much. Maybe one day there will be grandchildren come to visit and the days of pails and shovels, shell collecting and jumping in the waves will start all over again.

Tubing

2006-07-17T08:55:00.000-03:00

I have discovered a new joy...tubing! While on a weekend away with my husband and a group of friends at a fishing camp (really nice fishing camp, okay...I don't do roughing it), a group of us, five women decided to try tubing down the river on Saturday afternoon. Some had done it before. The owner of the lodge called this guy who came to get us and took us up river and supplied us with big tubes, including an extra one that he helped us rope a life jacket in the middle of, and then a small cooler was roped to that and set on the life jacket. The rope was wrapped all around this middle tube and we all had a bit to hang onto so we would stay together. It was so much fun! Very relaxing, just floating down the river for about an hour and a half, chatting, looking around at nature and the different fishing "pools" where people from our group had been fishing, drinking our bottled drinks from the cooler and enjoying the sunny afternoon. I decided if I had a handy river and a way to get upstream I could do that a couple of times a week! The picture is one my husband took of us as we were arriving back at the camp.

New Layout (and more to come)

2006-06-22T17:51:00.000-03:00

Scoot on over to "My Layouts" for a new one to look at.

City Hall and Fountain

2006-06-21T08:26:00.000-03:00

This is just to show the Early Birds the fountain that someone put soap in last night. The deer looked like it was eating suds I guess.

A Word on Friendship and History

2006-06-14T09:25:00.000-03:00

This is a copy of what a friend has written. She speaks so well about what a number of us think and originally posted this to the Creating Keepsakes Message board. I am proud to pass on her message.

"I don’t know how many folks remember me – I started on this mb in 2000, and used to be a real high-numbers poster – I practically lived here. I left, unofficially, about six months ago, and haven’t seen or heard of a ‘whatever happened to…’ post about me since. I do keep up with the goings-on over here, and have tried to tentatively step back in a time or two, but it is with great regret that I find that this is no longer a place I want to be associated with, much less spend time with.
In the coming months, “Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul” will be published, and in it will be a story from me about this mb – a story about how we pulled together as a group to help someone in need. That’s the mb I will remember and miss – the one where we had Early Bird coffee together, played on the beaches at the Cabana Boy parties, met for afternoon coffee, chatted with the night owls, scrapped all day in our jammies, and partied all day when QVC was on and we were spending tons of money – together. We saw each other through marriages, moves, illnesses, births, and deaths.
It seems that CK has created a new message board that is totally devoid of history and that history was HUGE for many people. In CKMB's quest for a new beginning, they have wiped the board clean and started over and created a whole new environment and it seems that is exactly what they wanted. In doing this, they have disbanded former bonds that had been created that were very important to people and made new rules and guidelines for their new "city". It IS very apparent that CK is after new blood. Yes, they are providing some nice new attractions like the gallery, contests, spotlights, etc, but in doing this, they didn't ADD to what they had but seem to have deleted all the old, for the new. They have created a totally new board and I think that is what they wanted.
The people who have been on this board 5+ years in some cases and thousands of posts, have been swept aside and they were the people who made this board what is was and who promoted this board, CK products and its' projects. Scrapbooking is about history, first and foremost and they have recreated the history to their satisfaction.
The layouts being picked for POTD, although mostly very good work, seem to come predominantly from new members who aren’t very involved in this community and seem to be from more professional-type scrappers than true newbies who have just now joined the mb for fun and companionship. If they are going to spotlight someone, I don't think it's too much to expect them to CONTRIBUTE to the MB so that people can learn to do some of the things they do and get to know them. Members of other message board communities are putting their LO's out there for one reason- to have CK pick them up for publication. Period. That is their goal. Is it wrong? I don't know but again, I think CK will drive away others if they continually do this and never recognize people that are faithful to the ck community at large. Also, many of them are not the type of scrapping that the "average" person who buys CK, does. What is wrong with sometimes picking LO"s that are just pretty or have techniques that people might want to try that don't involve going to 10 classes to learn or spending a lot of money in extra embellishments?
I think the "hostess" needs to be more tactful and I also think the board should not revolve just around her, which it seems to do now. The relentless banning of anyone who speaks, even mildly, against this mb, or questions the guidelines or CK authority figures only enforces the feeling that a whole new board with all new members is the goal. The guidelines have been tossed aside and members are being banned with no warning, nor are they given an explanation as to why they were banned. If those in authority don't follow their own guidelines, they can't expect their membership to know what is and is not allowed from one day to the next. If this continues, the board will be in the same boat a couple of years down the road, and the search will be on once again for what made this community the family it used to be. When will they see that it's not the moderators or the hostess or the guidelines, but the members who posted here that made it a warm and welcoming place. Many of those family members were banned, and those who weren't banned have left home. The CK board will never be the same again.
Frankly, I think ck could care less what people think as long as their revenues are up." Va Scrapper (Kath)

Thanks Kath!

Reverse the first two dragonboat pictures

2006-06-12T15:58:00.000-03:00

Somehow I got the pictures reversed and didn't notice. Top one has the "mixed" crew and the second one is the"real" team.

Dragonboats

2006-06-12T15:41:00.000-03:00

Lately I have been talking about dragonboats and trying to go see them race (and not finding them for some reason) and some people wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So here are a few pictures of a dragonboat that is owned and raced by a local team of breast cancer survivors. Many dragonboat teams are survivor teams. Paddling a dragonboat has been found to be great exercise, requires teamwork, and great for a sense of accomplishment. The first picture shows the boat at the wharf in Shediac, NB, where they practice, with the team of 20 rowers, a drummer and a steers-person. The second shows the boat out in the water with some "guests" in with the regular crew. These pictures were taken at an event in September 2003 to thank the various sponsors who helped them put the boat in the water and who continue to support this team. As my husband's radiology group was a sponsor, we got to go and picture 3 shows me (in blue shirt) and Marcel (just behind and to the right of me with the white hat) ready to take off for our turn in the boat. Lastly there is a close-up of the dragon's head. We also attended a ceremony in spring 2003 where the eyes were painted in on the dragon to "awaken it".

District 2 Drama Festival

2006-06-03T07:34:00.000-03:00

Okay, this is a bit behind-the-times, but in April my daughter Alix performed in 3 plays in the School District 2 Drama Festival and then did 2 of them again in the Provincial Drama Festival in Fredericton. Two of her roles were major ones and one was a small part. I thought I'd show you a few pictures from the plays. The first 3 are from "Women and Wallace" which explores the relationships of Wallace, a boy whose mother kills herself when he is 6 years old, with the women in his life from the age of 6 to young adulthood. Alix played his grandmother and appeared in 3 sections of the play. I have the pictures in reverse. In the lower one Wallace has just lost his mother, in the middle one (Alix in green shirt) he is a young boy and in the top one he is a university student.

The next 3 are from the play "A Night Like No Other" which was written by their teacher, Micheal McArdle and deals with a rich family on the Titannic on the night of the captain's dinner. Alix played the motherwho is anxious for her younger daughter to be as socially well-connected as the older daughter is, while the younger daughter wants adventure and has befriended a young woman from the lower class. We only find out at the end that they are on the Titannic and so all the plans are likely to go wrong for them. Note the elaborate set. Every other high school shows up at this festival with a table and a chair - Moncton High brings a whole stateroom off the Titannic! Alix had this dress made for her by someone who sews better than I do. Isn't it gorgeous!

Thes last 2 are from S.P.A.R. which is hard one to describe in a short paragraph so I won't even try! Alix was "in the audience" with 3 other people and at one point they "discovered" there were walls surrounding them and you can see them leaning up against the wall. They had a couple of lines to say as well. The whole thing was about the play's author having control over the people in the play only they didn't want to believe it . They thought they were "real". Second picture is the curtain call just so you can see all the cast members and the set a bit. Anyway that's it. I can't imagine why I didn't post these earlier except maybe that was when I was having computer problems.

Back from New Hampshire

2006-05-24T16:40:00.000-03:00

I haven't been there since March! I just haven't had time to post for various reasons. I did, however, just come back from the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Convention in Manchester, NH, on Monday. I had a lovely time sharing a room with my friend Gail from Vermont and her daughter Kelsey. Besides taking classes and shopping and eating and shopping and chatting and (did I mention?) shopping, we had a chance to drive to Massachusetts and visit with two other friends, Karen and Kellee. It was great to see them again! Anyway, the pictures here are ones I promised Gail, who didn't quite believe I would get all my purchases into my suitcase. In the first you can see the suitcase open with all packed inside, and then in the second, closed and everything into the suitcase and carry on bag, except for the camera, which went into the green bag once I took the pictures. I didn't even exceed the weight limit for the plane!

Layouts posted

2006-03-31T16:55:00.000-04:00

Over in the layouts section are 3 new layouts of New York City.

Creating Keepsakes...and creating friendships

2006-03-22T10:33:00.000-04:00

Since 2003 I have been a member of the Creating Keepsakes Message Board and since that time I have made many friendships with people on the board and have met several in person. Despite the distances that seperate us in "real life", many have become good friends, especially the group that call ourselves the "Early Birds", meeting to talk about our days, our joys and our problems each morning. Some from Australia and New Zealand join us in their evening hours. Recently the CKMB has launched a new board format, while, though it has its advantages for some, lacks the simplicity and the means to sub-post (answer an individual's answer to you or to another, which makes the posting seem more like a conversation) that the original board did. In honour of the "old board", we are having a farewell party on March 23, and I decided to post some pictures of various board members (especially EBs) that I have had a chance to meet.

From top to bottom:
1. Acopy of a copy so I think it's lost a bit in translation but... agroup at CKU-WDW in june 2003, my first CKU and my first meeting with fellow CKMBers. Top row: Janis (JTCalypso), Audrey (Lighthouses). Cindy (Cindyrella), Jan (Jamming Jan); front row: me, Chrissy (UFScrapper), Amanda (Mandalinn)
2. Janet (Planet) and me in a scrapbook store in New Jersey (April 2004, I do have a picture somewhere with my eyes open!)
3. A silly supper picture at CKU Boston (July 2004) (Anita S, Kathy A, Holly L, Janet K, and me),
4. Karen's BBQ during CKU-Boston (I didn't have an unscrapped picture of this, so here's the 6x6 page: backrow: Rebecca (BEARGAL1), Karen (KarenLouWhoo), Kathy (AKathy, Kellee (Kellee); middle row: Lori (Luvmygirls), Sandra (SandraGS), Lauren (addictedtoscrapping), Gail (VTScrapper); front row: Pam (Pam in Moncton, i.e me), Janet (Planet)
5. Linda (tadcrafty) and me at CKU-M in Nashville (June 2005)
6. Anne (3Dog Mom) and me just before CKU in Nashville
7. Jules and me at Memories Expo in Orlando (October 2005)
8. Gail, her husband David and daughter Kelsey and me at an Indian restaurant in Moncton (December 2005)

Back from New York City

2006-03-12T14:11:00.000-04:00

I, my husband, my daughter Alix, and her friend from school and drama, Alex, have just returned from almost a week in NYC where we saw 2 musicals (Wicked and Spamalot) which were wonderful and did lots of other things too. I thought I'd put a few picures up from our trip.

Left to right, top to bottom they are: Alex and Alix on a street off of Broadway, the view from our hotel window, a view of NYC at night from Top of the Rock (Rockafeller Center), Alex "reading the news" during the NBC studios tour, a view of the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry, Alix eating her cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village (as in Sex and the City), the interior of St. Paul's Chapel, where many rescue and recovery workers after 9/11 were taken in and taken care of for over a year (many worthwhile and touching exhibits here), the four of us in a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park, Alix and friends bargaining for designer stuff from a vender in Battery Park, the spoils: Channel glasses, Rolex watches, Louis Vuiton bags all for suspiciosly low prices...hmm...wonder where they come from...( we met friends from Moncton for a day of double-decker bus touring and cheap shopping), Alix in the modern art wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, part of the stage of Wicked that we saw on a behind the scenes tour, one of the 3 actors who spoke with us on the tour. We later saw him on stage as Dr. Dilamont and also Elphaba's father.

We had a wonderful time and I see many scrapbook pages to make!

2006-03-01T15:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I haven't posted here for almost a month! I was on what you might call the Olympic Break. I was much more interested in watching the doings of the Canadian and other athletes in the Winter Olympics than sitting at my computer and typing away. I'm happy to report that they came home with 24 medals, the best ever, and tonight I will be seeing one of them as Russ Howard, who was part of the gold medal Canadian curling team, lives in Moncton and will be honored at our major junior hockey game tonight, as well as many other times over the near future I'm sure. Anyway, since the Olympics I have had a headache (unrelated I'm sure) and haven't spent much extra time on the computer either. I have been scrapping (while watching TV) and will report on that in my "Layouts" blog. On Friday I am off to New York City with my husband, daughter, and a friend of my daughter's. Should be fun as we have tickets to two musicals, Spamalot and Wicked, as well as a backstage tour of Wicked. The kids are in drama and have acted in the school musicals so this will be a real treat for them (and us). I'll report on that trip when I get back. Meanwhile, here's a picture of my daugheter and her frinends at the joint birthday party 3 of them had at our house at the beginning of February. This is the one from her digital camera, which wasn't working quite right but I think I have a better one on film. Still, a cute bunch aren't they. It was so much fun to have them. Some played the piano, some guitars, meanwhile other music was coming from the CD player. My daughter is the one in front with dark hair, pink dress and beige sweater.

Layouts for last week are posted

2006-02-07T11:03:00.000-04:00

And the envelope please...

2006-02-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

No I'm not talking about the Oscars! I'm talking about those 9 x 12 brown envelopes that I have stacked in one of the trays on my kitchen desk, the envelopes that hold airline and hotel reservations, tickets to plays or whatever a trip may require. See that's how I organize travel plans. I label an envelope with the dates and destination of a trip and whenever I acquire some necessary reservation or information, in it goes. Then when it's time to leave, I just need to collect up the correct envelope and I'm good to go! It's a good system. While I'm away I can add things to the envelope too: receipts, maps or brochures I have picked up, etc., and it will all be there when it comes time to make a scrapbook page (or 2 or 3 or...) about the trip. Wonderful system. It makes me organized. I just realized though that it also makes me happy! We have been trying to decide about a trip to New York City for my dd's March break and part of our indecision was due to waiting to see what another person was going to do. To make a long story short, it was very frustrating, but understandable, that the person we were waiting on was not able to tell us his plans for a while. Anyway, finally we found out he wasn't able to go so that left us free to do whatever we wanted and I got to work on all those reservations, and a new envelope. As I was putting in those precious pieces of paper that proclaimed we had airline reservations, a hotel room to sleep in and a couple of Broadway plays to look forward to I realized how contented I felt after the frustration of not being able to make any plans. Ahh!!! (sigh of bliss and contentment!) Let's hear it for envelope therapy!

More layouts

2006-01-28T16:12:00.000-04:00

I've added 2 more layouts to my layout section.

A question of fours

2006-01-24T10:17:00.000-04:00

Here's the survey:
4 Jobs I’ve had in my life:

1. Office clerk at Bell Canada (during university summers)
2. Lab demonstrator (again at university)
3. Instructor in Cell and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University (for 10 years)
4. Book store sales associate at Chapters

Four movies I would and have watched over:

1. Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. Indiana Jones movies
3. Back to the Future movies
4. Sound of Music

Four places I have lived:
1. Montreal, Quebec
2. London, Ontario
3. Halifax. Nova Scotia
4. Moncton, New Brunswick

Four television shows I love to watch:

1. CSI Las Vegas (and the other ones too, but I prefer Las Vegas)
2. Law and Order (any of them, but like Criminal Intent the best)
3. Cold Case
4. (just to break the trend...) anything with figure skating

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Europe (various countries )
2. Mexico
3. Various states in the US
4. Dominican Republic

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Several friends’ blogs
2. CKMB
3. Moncton High School (I read the announcements and so I get to know what's going on at my dd's school0
4. AllEarsNet (maybe not daily, but often)

Four of my favorite foods:

1. french fries (especially home-made style ones)
2. chicken wings
3. Asian/Thai food
4. steak

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Walt Disney World
2. in my scrapping room, scrapping
3. gee, if I can't be in WDW (and I plan to scrap later) I can't think of specific places I'd like to be. Maybe visiting with any of the friends I have made on line and don't get to see very often if at all. Nice to beam over to Australia or NZ or to Florida or Vermont or Pennsylvania or Tennessee or...well, you get it!
Pam

Well that's done!

2006-01-24T10:07:00.000-04:00

I did the bathroom cabinet and that was the biggest of all the projects so far. My goodness there was a lot of junk in there! All clean now! How do we let things get away like that? I think the next one will be the little cabinet in the kitchen where we keep mittens and scarves and hats and such. Sound like a plan?

Besides that we had an election yesterday here in Canada, and that's always interesting! Unlike the USA we can have elections anytime we like (or the politicians force us to) and the last one was only about 1 1/2 years ago. We had a minority Liberal government (i.e. the had the most seats in Parliament but less than half of them) and now we have a minority Conservative government, so the parties will have to work together. I hope so anyway or we will be back at it in another year or two! I stayed up VERY late and watched the returns as it takes a while to get them from the west. I think I'll be looking to take a nap later!

On a lighter note, there was a neat survey going around about 4 things of this and that. Think I'll do that next.
Pam

Project of the week+

2006-01-22T08:47:00.000-04:00

Has anyone ever done something like this? I have a rather big old house and it tends to get over-run with stuff at times. Anyway, I have begun what I call project-of -the- week. The first was my rather large and deep linen closet in the upstairs hallway, which was so full of stuff it was hard to find anything. I even had crib linens in there and my youngest just turned 16! So two weeks ago I cleared it all out, organized the good stuff, and took alot of un-needed things to a charity. Week two: that was my clothes closet. All sorts of non-fitting, un-needed or wanted clothes cleared out. Gone! Tomorrow I will do my medicine/cosmetics etc. cabinet in our master bedroom, which is not a little thing in the wall, it is a big armoire-type thing. Has towels in it too. I haven't decided after that. The nice thing is I can do one big project like that, and then the rest of the week is free! I don't think I could do it day after day. What do you think? Have you ever done anything like that?
Pam

Finally! Some new layouts

2006-01-19T12:43:00.000-04:00

Have a look at my layout section if you would like to see a couple of new ones.

OKAY - My turn! Year in Review...

2006-01-11T14:52:00.000-04:00

Lots of people have been doing this year in review and I figured I better get in on it before the next year is over and I have to review that! So here goes:
1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Went to Las Vegas

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make resolutions, but this year, as usual, I want to lose some weight, eat more intersting thing, and scrap more.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A couple of my husband's colleagues (or their wives) did. A couple of friends from the CKMB

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close to me, no. A couple of people from our church died this year but I didn't know them well.

5. What countries did you visit?
USA and Mexico are other countries I visited this year. Also other parts of Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
More patience.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
No one date stands out. There were many good moments and memorable ones: seeing my dd on stage , being on stage myself with the Moncton Chorale, meeting friends in different places, meeting Jules for the first time, spending a week with my middle dd in Mexico.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Performing Handel's Messiah with the Chorale and the NB Symphony Orchestra and loving every moment of it.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Can't think of one big one! There were probably a lot of little ones though.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than the "normal" things, no illness. No new injuries, though an old one has begun to bother me Soreness froma sprained thumb I did about 23 years ago!)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Maybe the GST reciever I bought for my dh for Christmas. I really surprised him with that!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?Various people in my community who have come together to support all sorts of charitable projects, people in need, etc., even though we are suppossed to be a "have not" area. People always come through.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Well, since, as a Canadian, I refuse to comment on another country's administration and the problems it has (enough said!), I will say the opposition parties in our own pariament, who brought down the government after only 17 months and forced us to have an election in January, in Canada - what were they thinking!

14. Where did most of your money go?
Probably scrapbook supplies and trips for scrapbooking events.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? about the same
iii. richer or poorer? probably about the same

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Scrapped and exercised.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worried.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We spent Christmas at home and went to my Brother-inLaw's new house for Christmas dinner.

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
Still with the same old guy!

23. How many one-night stands?
Not for me!

24. What was your favorite TV program?
CSI Las Vegas, followed by any other CSI or CSI-like show, Law and Order, etc.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't think I hate anyone.

26. What was the best book you read? This year? Probably the Secret Life of Bees or The Time Traveller's Wife

28. What did you want and get? Not sure

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I don't watch many films. Maybe Harry Potter

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 52 and I don't remember what I did. It was way back in March for goodness sakes and I'm 52!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Can't think of anything.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Does it fit? Is it comfortable?

34. What kept you sane?
My friends, scrapbooking.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? No one.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Responses to the hurricane disasters. The silly election.

37. Who did you miss?
No-one really. I miss that Kip and Jules aren't on the CKMB any more because I don't always have time to visit them other places.

38. Who was the best new person (people) you met?It was wonderful to meet some people in real life I hadn't met before other than on line: Jules, Anne, Linda come to mind. It was also wonderful to meet the family of a friend I had also met on line and in real life, when they came to visit me.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:Take each day as it comes along and try not to worry so much about what other people think.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Well, now you see, I can never remember lyrics unless I hear the music, so I can't answer this right now. Maybe I'll think of something later. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to pass them along! Or maybe..."I get by with a little help from my friends"

Off to do some scrapbooking...Pam

Dogs in the snow

2006-01-08T20:14:00.000-04:00

My husband took the dogs to the cottage today so they could have a run. Here are a few pictures of them enjoying the snow. The pictures are a little dark as it was afternoon and the sun was behind the trees a bit. Nicky is the big white German Shepherd and Tucker is the black and red German Shepherd. Tucker loves to fetch and will do it for ages, but Nicky has never seen the point of it. He loves to run and sit in the snow though.

Indian Butter Chicken

2006-01-08T20:05:00.000-04:00

I made some yummy Indian Butter Chicken tonight for dinner using a kit that my daughter Renee gave us for Christmas. She actually gave us a big basket of yummy things, and this is one of them. There were spices in the package as well as a can of thick cream and a package of basmati rice and all the instructions. I just had to add chicken, yogurt and tomato sauce and some oil and butter. It was really tasty. This is relevant to my goals for 2006 because I am cooking some ethnic food! I have also used the wok another daughter, Nicole, gave me several times. Tomorrow I think I may do something Chinese. Renee also gave me a wok cookbook. I'm so lucky! My girls love me...or maybe they just think I should cook more interesting food? Sorry - no pictures of the butter chicken...we ate it all!

I'm back!

2006-01-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

I haven't been posting much lately, as there hasn't been anything too much of interest. I have done quite a bit of scrapbooking this week, though and I have posted a couple of layouts on my other site. Just click on "my layouts" to see them. I have decided to post 1 or 2 each week if I can.
Pam

That girl needs gloves!

2006-01-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'm just looking at my weather pixie and she needs gloves! Mittens, even! It's minus 13C for gosh sake! What is she doing out without gloves on? She must be a teenager! Oh well, as she is made of computer code, maybe she doesn't get cold.
Pam

Thoughts for New Year's Eve

2005-12-31T17:35:00.000-04:00

I won't say "resolutions" because I think calling them that just sets a person up for disappointment. After all, we may set out with great intentions, but you know what they say is paved with those! Still, I think it is a good time of the year to take a stock of where we are and where we would like to aim for, if not actually reach. I want to continue to eat more and more sensibly, keeping down fat and too many empty carbs, but I won't restrict myself so much that I feel deprived of all good things. Much as I like salads, we can't live on them alone, so I'll aim for a good diet, with the occasional close encounter of the french-fry kind. Can't be helped! Somewhere in there I hope to lose a little (or a lot of) weight.

I also want to try more ethnic cooking, especially Indian and other Asian, as well as Mexican/Southwest. I have the cookbooks, I even have some of the ingredients, now all I have to do is cook them and convince other family members to eat them. Wish me luck on that last part! My dd Renee gave us a lovely basket filled with all kinds of goodies including kits to make chicken tikka and butter chicken, so that will be my starting point I think. Dd Nicole gave me a great flat-bottomed wok, which will work on my new stove (the old one wouldn't), so that will be great for my Asian cooking.

Okay, so that was all about food! I also want to do more scrapbooking and especially to do more work on my old pictures (those of my childhood and the even older ones of various ancesters and mystery people). I want to also keep up with the current batch of photos and stories to tell., the trips, the day to day stuff... ooo, there's a lot of it! I have made a check-sheet with weeks down the side and various albums listed across the top, and I hope to do a little on each album every week. We'll see how that goes, but I have done the check-sheet thing before and it's great to see the accumulating marks as pages are done. Luckily I don't do a lot of techniquie, complicated scrapping. And here is where I thank Becky Higgins, Becky Fleck, the people at Simple Scrapbooks, and Scrap Maps, and all the other wonderful designers of sketches so that people like me have a starting point to work from for at least some of our layouts. What would I do without them!

What else? Well I hope I can keep up writing in this blog as well as keep up with my friends from CKMB and in their blogs. I hope I will find the time and energy to post a few of the layouts I want to make, on my "sister" blog ("My Layouts", which is currently layout-less) or elsewhere, something I find immensely time-consuming, I'm afraid. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends on a scrapbook cruise in April, at a scrapbook convention in Machester, NH in May and hopefully at CKU-M in Boston in August. There will no doubt be trips with my husband, and maybe with one or more of my daughters, but they haven't been planned yet. There will be lots of hockey games to attend, lots of choir practices and church services, and lots of unknown things to come. Hope this year brings each of you new challenges and joys. Happy New Year!
Pam

Time for a barbecue!

2005-12-29T09:12:00.000-04:00

Why let winter slow you down? Get out the old BBQ, the lawn chair, and a nice cooler of your favorite beveridge.

Winter

2005-12-28T15:56:00.000-04:00

My husband took these pictures out by our cottage today. He went to check on it because there had been a storm surge (high water and ice) and he wanted to make sure there was no damage. Everything was just fine except there was a lot of ice covering everything. Winter can be very beautiful I think, as well as cold and dangerous at times.

Weather Pixie

2005-12-27T08:55:00.000-04:00

As you can see I have a brand-new weather pixie to show you what it is like in my part of the world. This is thanks to my dear friend Kip who (unlike me) understands things like HTML and who put it there. I did have to make a change in it and I finally figured out where to go to do it. I'm slow Kip, but I get there eventually! How can we get along without a little help from our friends? What the pixie isn't really letting on is that the world is very white outside now and in fact when I looked out the window earlier I couldn't see our car at all. I thought it was gone! I could see the Jeep but not the Volvo wagon, which was totally covered in snow. Considering that is poured rain last night it was quite a surprise. Winter has hit and I hope people travelling will take it easy and be safe. Glad I don't have to go anywhere today!

The stockings were hung...

2005-12-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

I thought this was quite funny...here are our stockings, including all the little ones for cats and dogs, hung over the fireplace, with the fire "blazing" away on top of them, on the TV! We got this flat-screen TV this year and put it on the wall over the (rarely-used) fireplace and all day on Christmas, the local cable company broadcasts this fire.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-26T09:52:00.000-04:00

We had a lovely Christmas. Christmas Eve we had our church service which was lovely and daughter Nicole, I , and the rest of the choir managed to light everyone's candles at the end of it without lighting anyone else on fire and/or burning each other's hair and/or dripping hot wax on ourselves. You know, those who are choir members and have the bigger candles don't get the little paper collars that keep the wax from dripping on our hands like all the rest of the people do, and if the wax drips you just accept it silently and carry on! Ah, the price of service! Never mind, it was all good, and we sang our carols well, and the musicians (flute, vioin, bassoon) were glorious. Afterwards we took some pictures back at the house, and gave out the traditional Christmas pyjamas to the girls, got ready for bed and put out the presents. The next morning, everyone was happy with their gifts and we had a nice relaxing day with the girls playing some board games and trying to work their new iPods, until it was time to go to my Brother-in-law's for Christmas dinner. Fun times again with the extended family. The pictures for the evening are all on film, so I can't post them yet until they are printed and scanned, but here are afew from Christmas Eve, the girls and I and some cats. One thing that I din;t mention about Christmas morning was the fun scavenger hunt that daughter Alix had us do to retrieve the gifts that she had bought for us. Each of us had a series of rhyming clues which led to the next clue and ultimately to the gift. It was so much fun! My gift from her was a bowl and a mug that had been made by her art teacher who does wonderful ceramic work.

pictures

2005-12-23T12:06:00.000-04:00

OK Worked this time. I couldn't get them to load before.

The problem with being ready for Christmas

2005-12-23T11:32:00.000-04:00

I'm bored! I have done all my buying and crafting and wrapping and baking (which is pretty minimal really). I have my tree decorated and my house is decorated in a pretty minimal fashion this year, with bowls of red and gold Christmas tree balls and I like it like that! I usually put a garland all up my stair railing but I didn't do that this year. We have had the required choir practice for Christmas eve, where the most time was taken up in figuring out what order everyone should sit in the back pews during the prelude so we could get up and neatly form a line to process up to the choir loft during the first hymn. The second most amount of time seemed to be required for figuring out how we were going to stand later on in the service to light candles in the congregation. Oh yes, we did sing some too! My daughter Nicole is joining us for Christmas Eve. She sang in Junior Choir and then in Senior Choir all through high school and whenever she could when home from college and it is so nice to have her beside me in the choir loft again! Another choir member's daughter is also with us and another one's daughter AND grandaughter, so it is lovely to have these extra voices. Here's another picture of the church and one of one of my bowls of balls. The church picture, of course, is from the Moncton Chorale performance of Messiah.

hmmm...

2005-12-21T20:21:00.000-04:00

Well I just discovered that the order of the pictures changes when the post is published. Live and learn! Obviously NZ Santa is now #1!
Pam

More Christmas

2005-12-21T19:57:00.000-04:00

Time for the Christmas dance! Here is my daughter, then her with a friend after getting all dressed up at our place. Note her lovely straight hair: I tried curling it and it was such a disaster that she had to wet it down again, dry it and straighten it. There goes my career as a hairdresser! (LOL) The third picture is NZ Santa which came all the way from NZ and is now finally residing on my tree. One of the wonderful things about getting to know people all over the world through a scrapbooking message board is the very real friendship that can form over such long distances. I have the great joy and priviledge to count people in Australia, New Zealand, England, all across the US and Canada as my friends and just one example among many of the ways these friendships can manifest themselves is this NZ Santa sent to me this Christmas. Thanks Clare! I didn't send much out this year but I have a plan for next year - are you all worried yet?
Pam

Handel's Messiah

2005-12-20T17:06:00.000-04:00

At the end of November, beginning of December, the choir I am a member of (The Greater Moncton Chorale) performed Handel's Messiah along with Symphony New Brunswick, under the direction of guest conductor Howard Dyck. It was a lot of work preparing for it and doing the three concerts in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, but SO worthwhile and it has really put me in the Christmas spirit ever since. Here's a picture of our church, Central United, and the choir and orchestra.

Well here I am!

2005-12-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

I didn't think I would do this blogging thing but it seems like I had to join in if I wanted to post to a few friends' blogs , so here I am! I don't imagine I'll write too often, but I hope this is a place I can post a few pictures and keep in touch with a few friends. Hope it works! Guess I'll have to try it to find out!
Pam