Categories
home life

TGIF Friday

This is the day! Home from work to get comfortable (Pink Floyd t-shirt and sneakers) and then off to Taste of Egypt for supper. It was fantastic. Non-licensed which was good…because the specialty drinks are worth trying. Mine was Horus (mango, milk and ice cream) and Monica had something just as delicious. Then we got grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices. Yum, yum. The main course was Eye of Horus for me (Egyptian spiced beef stir fry) and Monica got tandoori skewered beef & chicken. Dessert was rice pudding and baklava. What a feast. We met the owner (nice girl, Paula, from Saint John – her Egyptian husband is the cook).

Taste of Egypt Horus (specialty drink-mango) Rice Pudding & Ice Cream Baklava pickled grape leaves stuffed with goodness Anubis on guard wall art at Taste of Egypt at Taste of Egypt (prism, pyramid - it works)

After supper, we walked across the street to the Imperial theater where we enjoyed Classic Albums live do a very good job of Ziggy Stardust and a suite of Bowie greatest hits. It was fantastic and the lead singer hit all the right notes. Great evening. Do you notice our lives revolve a lot around food and entertainment? Life is good.

obe

Categories
Stained Glass

Thursday Box 6

I got a start on Box 6 after work but only got it about half done. Monica made a delicious red curry fish supper with naan bread and then we watched the final episode of Downton Abbey (end of season 3). Box 6 will have to wait until the weekend because tomorrow night we are going to see Classis Albums Live and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. Can’t wait!

Ziggy Stardust

ziggy stardust

Categories
Family, Friends and Food Saint John Sushi

Wednesday – Guess what we did today?

First, we worked all day (very productive) and then went chair shopping for Nelly. Stopped at at Leon’s (price too high) then to Lounsbury’s (perfect price/perfect chair… alabaster leather recliner swivel rocker made in Canada – thank you).

Then we tooted off  to supper at Boaz Sushi on the West Side of Saint John. So Good! This photo shows Deep Fried California Roll, Spider Roll (with deep fried clams), Spicy Crab Roll (very spicy) and classic California Roll. I love this place.Sushi at Boaz (deep fried California Roll, Spider Roll, Spicy Crab Roll and classic California Roll

After supper, we drove down to the Reversing Falls Park and walked down to the river’s edge. It was very high and dirty from the spring freshet. A kiss to Spring. All the birds were singing, it was sunny and warm. What a lovely afternoon. And then we headed off to Harbour High School for an evening of Fiddler on the Roof. Great Day – got to spend the best parts with my wife.

Fiddler 3

   Fiddler 1Fiddler 2

Categories
Stained Glass

Tuesday – Box 5 Day

Got up early and left Havelock at 6:00 am. Dad was still in bed but I woke him to say good buy. The drive to Saint John was absolutely beautiful. Early morning clouds, feathered in taupe brown against a green/yellow sunrise. Wish I had a camera for moments like that. Regardless, a nice day was on the way.

Worked until 3:30 and then home to start box #5 (Blue Ripple). Finished by 7:30. It went well. Measurements were good and fit was precise but still it is difficult to get the box together exactly square…there always seems to be something a bit askew. I think a 3-D jig might have helped. Nevertheless, I am pleased and the blue ripple glass goes great with the wavy clear.

Box #5 Blue Ripple

Categories
Parentals

Monday: Lodge night with Dad

What an incredible evening I had with my father. I am so blessed.

Started off at his house after work today as we were getting ready to go to Harmony Lodge #20 in Salisbury (my lodge since Fownes #45 closed in Havelock). Tonight was Installation of Officers Ceremony and I hadn’t seen one for over 25 years. I needed a new apron case and Dad said he had an extra one somewhere in his closet. So I dug everything out in a pile and there were 4 apron cases…5 counting his wooden one that he carries the Past District Deputy Grand Master’s apron in. Of these other four cases, three had aprons. One is a nice newer case with his Fownes Lodge apron, another is Bob MacDonald’s (? maybe wrong name) (Dad somehow was given his apron when he died), and the third one is my great uncle Nelson Alward’s, from Salisbury. Dad got his apron too and it is beautiful with gold and ornate gilding. Uncle Nelson was apparently a past Deputy Grand Master of New Brunswick too, like Dad.

So the fourth case (that was empty) is Dad’s old and maybe original Fownes Lodge #45 case with the clip closure. So I asked him if I could use that and he said yes, of course. I put my apron into it and folded it up – and a surge of connections to past and present and future memories slid through me – I felt a tingle down my neck and back. With my father’s case and my apron in one hand and my father on my other hand, off we went to pick up Gerry Tingley and headed to Salisbury.

I hadn’t been to Lodge in years so can you imagine my senses were all alert as we headed in. We were early which was good as it gave me a chance to meet a few people first…calm the nerves… squeeze into my apron (a little tight). Then upstairs to sign the guest book and help carry extra chairs into the Sanctum… expecting a crowd. This night was the Deputy Grand Masters annual visit (Steve Allen)…and the 2013 Installation of Officers of Harmony Lodge #20. Dad was giving the “Charge to the Worshipful Master” at the end of the ceremony so I was really looking forward to that.

The ritual came back to me quite quickly. I remembered all the salutes. The Installation Ceremony was wonderful to watch especially since I hadn’t seen one in years. It was wonderful to see it all come back. Several of the lessons were give by excellent presenters who you could tell were well rehearsed and knew their lines. Finally it was Dad’s turn to give the “Charge to the new Worshipful Master” (Joel Bleakney)… he was flawless – so smooth and perfect, every word clear and loud. Quite a long charge with lots of lines. You could have heard a pin drop between his paragraphs. Everyone glued to the scene. Almost a wet eye moment. Gerry Tingley gave Dad a beautiful accolade when he said in all the times over the years since 1995 that he has been installed in some office or another and some of them repeatedly, this was the first time that someone other than Delbert Alward had installed him (Joel Bleakney did it – after all this was also Joel’s 5th time as Worshipful Master). And afterward from the East, the Deputy Grand Master and several other guest speakers including Jim Pike, drew attention to Dad’s years of dedication and service to the Lodge of New Brunswick. I was so proud and honored to have the opportunity to see that and be part of that memory. Not every son gets that honor.

Guess what I forgot to take with me…. my camera!  (my bad .. memory) I’ll just have to go back. Dad did say something about getting me presented with a Lewis Jewel (for sons whose fathers were Masons)

Thanks for reading, Nelson.

Categories
home life

Sunday Sunday – just love that day.

spinach, chive and avacado omelet with feta cheeseMy day didn’t start with a bang – just coffee. The Bang came later. A couple of hours early of glass work produced box #3 (Red Frost) and then Monica made this amazing breakfast; spinach, avocado and chive omelet with feta cheese. So yummy, WOW.

Then back to the soldering bench to put together box #4 (Green Man). Learning something different with each box. Although they all look alike, no two have been exactly the same each with its own particulars. For example, maybe a lid slides on the hinge rods a bit more than necessary, or a bottom gets soldered to the sides before a slight twist off square is detected, or a lid chain is a bit too long.

All in aboxes 3 & 4ll, a wonderful day. Boxes 3 & 4 are complete and the first four all have the black patina applied. Now they need a polishing. I can do that tonight watching TV with Mon. We are into the Downton Abbey series.

supper day 3 - Tuscan Soup with Chianti

And to end the day off with a bang, Monica made this excellent Tuscan Soup. So good with a bottle of Chianti Classico, it was almost like we were in Italy.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to hobby a weekend away at home. Blessed be the Light.

Categories
home life

Saturday – at last.

Wonderful day – exciting start on this cold, snowy/rainy, calm and peaceful Saturday. hard at workIt’s good to be home. Mon and I tidied the basement this morning which produced seven trips to the garage with stuff for Community Living.

Then an uplifting 5 hours of box assembly. Boxes 1 and 2 are together. I am pleased with the results…what a lesson in construction. Thank heavens the hinged lids operate properly.

Box 1 and 2 - all in a day's work Two boxes completed today… four more to go. I am enjoying this project very much. How fortunate am I to find such great satisfaction from this hobby…and best of all is the memory play back of the people I have in mind while working on these. Six very special people to Monica and me who are as much a part of our memory fabric as we are of theirs. Memories worth keeping for sake of a lifetime of friends. Now that’s a journey.

Categories
home life

Spring – at last!

It’s been a long old winter and I haven’t been keeping up my website… too many distractions. For one, my Mom passed away in February after a long illness. It was hard to say goodbye but now the focus is on Dad and helping him adjust to life alone. He misses her more than I can ever know. But spring is in the air and that will help lift everyone’s spirits.???????????????????????????????

I was sitting in my living room chair beside the window one morning playing on the laptop when a movement just outside the window caught my attention… seconds later, this little deer pressed his nose right up to the glass and peeked in at me…with his mouth full of my tulips that were only up about 2-3 inches !!! I chased him out onto the lawn but he and his mother just stood there looking at me. Very tame.

Img_0006

Then about 15 minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal paid a visit to the bird feeder. So good to see them. They are setting up house in the neighborhood. You can hear him singing every morning at 6:00.

I am finally underway with a new project; a series of keep-sake boxes. I haven’t done a box in a long time and never one with a hinged lid so this will be a real learning experience. There will be six of them when I am finished. It is really good to have the glass in my hands and in my head again. Inspiration is budding out. Thank you, Spring!

Categories
home life

First Snow

Today was the first snow of the year. Very pretty, plus we had a visitor in the Burning Bush shrub by the living room window. It was so good to see him again.

View out the front door this morning
View out the front door this morning
Mr. Cardinal having a Burning Bush snack
Mr. Cardinal having a Burning Bush snack
Categories
home life

Getting the Christmas Spirit

Rainy Sunday. Monica and I are decorating the house today for Christmas. Nostalgia is running rampant with every old ornament that comes out of the box. Many wonderful memories of Christmasses past. Here is a photo of some Christmas ornaments that my Aunt Della made many years ago. Her daughters gave these to me after she passed away and I cherish them deeply. Aunt Della’s house was like walking into a fantasy world at Christmas time. These always take me right back to those wonderful childhood memories.

Aunt Della's Christmas Balls

Categories
Stained Glass

Wonder what’s next?

I’m in between projects – that gray place where I wish I had something to work on but am still sort of “in” the last project and haven’t quite moved on yet. This is probably the most creative phase of this entire hobby: the in-between phase. I’m starting to dream, imagine, envision. Hmmmm…maybe another lamp  … 😉

Categories
Stained Glass

Project Completion

It only took a week of evenings with 2 Sundays on either end to finish this Christmas Trees project. I have been asked many times “How long does it take to make a stained glass project?”. This one, @ 162 pieces, would be comparable in size to a medium window panel or a small lamp. Total hours are:

  • Day 1 (Sunday): pattern tracing, glass cutting and begin grinding – 8 hours
  • Day 2 (Monday evening): grinding – 2 hours
  • Day 3 (Tuesday evening): finished grinding – 2 hours
  • Day 4 (Wednesday evening): foiling – 1 hour
  • Day 5 (Thursday evening): foiling – 2 hours
  • Day 6 (Friday evening): foiling – 3 hours
  • Day 7 (Saturday): finished foiling and assembly – 1 hour… visited Ryan in Fredericton most of the day
  • Day 8 (Sunday): soldering/washing/polishing: 8 hours

Total: 27 hours… that’s 3 hours per tree. And I’ll get a life-time of enjoyment from the time invested.

Categories
Stained Glass

Insomnia – Yawn!

This is what insomnia looks like at 2:00 AM Sunday morning… (self timer photo) 

When there’s a project just starting, my mind is all over it, day and night. I love this phase but getting over tired usually leads me to start making mistakes. Like drawing the pattern on the wrong side of the glass….doh!

Monica and I visited Havelock this weekend. Stayed Friday night with Mom at her house…  Breakfast with Mom, then I raked the chestnut tree leaves and nuts (huge/many). I planted the sapling which came from behind Grammie Alward’s trailer by Seeley’s Brook when I was 16. Monica went scrapbooking with the ladies in Petitcodiac on Saturday. A beautiful day. You could smell the Change of Seasons in the crisp air. Way too many leaves! 🙂

Dad, who at 86 was off to hunting camp for a week with the “Boys”, came home Saturday afternoon just as I finished the leaves. Perfect timing – chores done – good boy. No deer 😦 (I think he was OK with that). It is wonderful to see them both whenever I can.

Categories
Stained Glass

Thursday Nov 15

I travelled a nerve of traffic today from Saint John to Fredericton and back. I don’t believe I have ever seen such traffic on that highway before. Thousands of vehicles: Big ones, little ones, fast ones and slow ones…I fell into the little and slow category.

Today is a day for close news. Family is important. Very important. Interpret that as you will.

Planning the next stained glass project. Christmas trees! Lots of trees…like a U-pick Lot.

Categories
Stained Glass

Blogging – who knew?

Seriously, I have talked about it with other instructors at NBCC during the Teaching with Technology course, but I never really intended to commit to it. Strangely, it’s missing something; other people.Guess that’s why they call it social media.

I am really enjoying WordPress. I encourage you to try it out. It’s free 🙂

Categories
Stained Glass

Lamp Assembly Day – a day to Remember

It’s Remembrance Day. Mon and I are planning to go to the Cenotaph at 10:30. Today I’m also assembling the Haida Nite Lite. Looking forward to witnessing a transformation from 2D to 3D – always a lifting experience 🙂

Categories
Stained Glass

End of Day 1

Well, I have to say – WordPress was a little intimidating for the first 30 minutes but then with every little success comes a little confidence… (just like doing stained glass)… now at the end of the day I’ve created 4 pages, 2 menus, 2 blogs and looking forward to learning more. WordPress, you Rock!

Categories
Stained Glass

Hello world!

I am just learning how to use WordPress for work and needed a topic to experiment with. Since I have a passion for stained glass, I thought “Why Not? Let’s give this a whirl and see how easy it is to use”.