And The Little People Lost Again

Well, it's happened. The day so many people hoped and prayed would never come, has. On Tuesday night the Thames Valley Board voted to close the Norwich District High School, 9-3. This community has fought for six years to keep their school open, having rallies, bake sales--fundraisers of all types, putting up signs, taking out ads, renting halls for meetings, making submissions to the various committees of the Board. In short, they have worked tirelessly for the survival of their community school.

And in the end it was all for nought. Last Tuesday night the two representatives from Norwich Township stunned their constituents by moving and seconding the motion to close the school. I can only think that some posturing and plotting took place behind closed doors for them to betray those who had elected them. To me it seems they could have voted against the motion just to keep the peace. It would still have passed. And I'm sure they knew that before the vote was ever taken.

Now those of you who don't know the history or the record of this school probably wonder what all the fuss is about. You see, it is not just the small schools of Ontario that are being systematically closed, the students swallowed up by monolithic city schools. A way of life is being threatened. The very ability of parents to nurture their kids in their own setting is disappearing. These students know all the people in their community. Many of them currently take after-school jobs in the Norwich area. Others work in local businesses for school credits, gaining insight into the adult world around them. This link will be severed. And what of the businesses where these students spend their dollars at lunch and after school? They will be hurt, dependent as they are on the student market. I would not be surprised to see more than one forced to close.

Most importantly, the students will lose their community identity as they are bused to the various surrounding city schools and become small fish in big ponds. They won't even be all together in one other school. Their uniqueness will erode.

As a teenager I experienced this myself, riding an hour each way on the bus to Woodstock Collegiate. (Take about wasting time!) Don't get me wrong. I liked my school and am proud to have gone there, but I remember the outcast feeling we kids from the 'country' were made to feel. Being from the farm was not considered good. Never mind that my father was very successful both in farming and in local politics. We were still 'outsiders'. Less, in some way, than the city kids.

On the positive side, these students will have more course choices, particularly the ones who shy away from the maths and sciences. They will be able to take senior level Music and Art, Sociology-type courses--those courses for the more artsy types. And the math/science geeks will have more choice for their specialties. I only hope that Norwich Township's loss will in some way be mitigated by a broader education for our young people.

Shopping With My Husband

Sometimes I think we women are just plain nuts.

When we were on holiday a couple of weeks ago in Utah my husband, daughter and I hit the outlet mall armed with coupons and deals. None of us really needed too much so we shopped carefully, I think. Beth loaded up on the next sizes of kiddie clothes for Chelsea. I picked up a couple of grand baby outfits for our two (well, almost two,) grandchildren, and Ron got sweaters.

Most of the stores had deals and we took advantage. When Ron and I went into the Izod store for his sweaters, I took a look at the women's side. They had exactly the same sweater for ladies that Ron bought in quadruple. Great, I thought, and checked the price. Can you believe that the identical sweater in smaller sizes was ten dollars more? I was angry. Tempted no more, I dropped the lovely mauve piece and stomped out.

Why does this happen? Men's clothes are bigger, use more fabric/yarn, yet they are cheaper. A good bargain on a shirt for a man is $10-$20, and this is beautiful packaged goods, the regular price. A similar blouse for a woman is $40-$50, no packaging, just hanging on the rack. Now I don't really want the packaging but I'm trying to see why smaller clothes cost so much more. Could it be that women will pay anything to get that piece while most men really don't care? Do the stores see us coming?

And this morning I picked up the plastic tube of makeup I've been avoiding using because I don't like it that well. I read the small print on the front: "illuminating anti-fatigue foundation". What? It's going to keep me from being tired? It's going to put a halo effect on my face? Wow, this is really amazing stuff. I tried it once more and looked in the mirror at my skin. Was it "replumped"? Was it "radiant", with a "smooth finish"? Well, not so much. It was the same stuff that's been buffeted for sixty-plus years. A little tinted, maybe, with the brown spots muted, but really, it just didn't look replumped at all.

Of course, most of us don't like that idea of being replumped so maybe I should be happy and just head out to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. On my way I'll think about the difference between men's clothes and women's. Could it be that things are just cheaper on Mars?

I figured it out!

After about 15 minutes of testing and trying, forgetting and remembering, searching and just plain screwing around, I figured out how to put my MS Publisher file into my blog. And here it is. Blow it up to read the fine print about the event my friend and I are having November 8th. Should be great fun.

Christmas Earrings

Trying to get good pictures of my jewelry is a constant frustration but these are not too bad. Here is a pair of Christmas tree earrings made with special Swarovski marguerite crystals in three sizes and separated with various spacers. They are so cute!

This pair is in Swarovski clear crystal with a red bicone accent. (The hands are mine.)

I took a picture of a group of earrings for the sale on November 8th. Note the pretty snowmen and the gold and green baubles.

The lime green earrings I made one day to match an outfit I was wearing that night. So cool to be able to do that. Of course, I have boxes of beads to choose from at a moment's notice; hence, the jewelry sale and the LOW prices. It's time to make room for my new imaginings.

Creations for Christmas

Last night I finished off three pieces of jewelry which have been waiting for clasps, etc. The pendant is a large rivoli studded with 4 mm. crystals and size 11 sead beads, which I repeated for the chain. I love it and went to my closet to see what matches. When I make beautiful things I don't mind if they don't sell at my sales.

The middle bracelet is a right angle weave pattern with browns and teal blues and matching sead beads. The clasp is copper which is so popular these days.

For the bottom bracelet I chose mauve crystals with brown Swarovski bicones. Wow! It turned out great. So unusual. Original, even.

Have to go and do some more beading!

Christmas Creeps In

Well, it's started. Families are planning just what shape the celebrations will take this year, some stores have put up dual displays of Hallowe'en/Thanksgiving orange along with Christmas reds and greens and my friend and I are having our Christmas Jewelry Open House and Sale. I love this time of year. So much promise, so much excitement, so much love. People take on a softer side, as they think more of others than themselves and smiles shine more readily.

I know, October is pretty early to be thinking of this but maybe my blog will be prophetic for some, adding to the global happiness. We could sure use it. Thinking of good things takes our minds away from the price of gas, the soldiers being killed in Afghanistan, the fact that my nephew is headed over there in March, the health issues many I know face...that list is endless. Best to have happy things to think on.

Beading is always a joy to me, the only down side being that I end up with way too much lovely jewelry. When my large drawer starts overflowing with beauteous baubles I know it's time to sell some. Well, a lot, actually. Last year I had a grand time inviting friends and family to my sale at rock bottom prices. This year my friend and I are pooling resources and having the sale here. (If any of you are close and want a flyer, I will email it to you upon request.) The date is November 8, from 1:00 till 4:30 at my home.

Following are some pictures of things we have for sale:

Next post I will put in pictures of some Christmas earrings, so cute you just want six pairs. In fact, I don't know how I can bear to sell them!

A Week In Utah

My husband and I have just returned from a lovely week in Utah where daughter Beth, (Shades of Bliss) and granddaughter Chelsea joined us for some fun and sun. The first couple of days there was snow, surprising both us and the flowers outside one of the Mormon buildings across from the famed Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.

Inside the Tabernacle we heard the Sunday morning radio broadcast, the Wednesday morning organ recital and the Thursday evening choir practice. Here is the wonderful organ area on Sunday morning:

The area behind the organ changes with the music throughout the performance. I particularly liked the blue below.
They have a full orchestra seated in front of the choir and the director stands way out in front. At the practice he was miked and we could hear all of his directions to the choir and the orchestra. Wonderful. Joining this choir takes quite a lot of work but, my, it would be awesome to sing with such a group.
We also took a trip out to Great Salt Lake, although it was a little cool for trying out the swimming in salt water as my brother-in-law suggested. I dipped my hand in, smelled, tasted but discerned nothing special until the water dried on my hand. Then my skin was salty.

Somewhere along the way, my husband trekked into Salt Lake City on his own for a chance to do some ancestry digging using the LDS resources. He found that there are over 4000 places around the world where people can tap into the historical data stored by the Mormons, one of them quite near us. Ah, the value of computers to shrink the world.

Below a favorite picture of Great Salt Lake again:

We had a wonderful time with our girls. Chelsea is becoming more a person all the time. At 7 1/2 months she is a going concern, full of smiles and belly laughs. She kept us quite entertained. Beth was kept hopping as Chelsea popped two teeth while with us, ahead of the game with that, too. I have posted pictures on the web but keep them only for family as I am not comfortable putting our baby out there for the world. That protective instinct, I guess.

Now we wait a couple of months to visit Chelsea for her first Christmas. What a present!

Family Frolics

Sunday was our first ever Family Reunion, replacing our gigantic Christmas get-together where we rented a hall and had a dinner catered for over 80 people. Time for a new twist. We were all invited to my sister's farm where she and her husband raise Belgian horses and garden up a storm. The cool day was lovely although once the sun went down the group around the fire got larger and larger. Here the young and not-so-young are thrashing about picking up wrapped candy. My two remaining aunts, both in their eighties, strike a fetching pose for the photographer. Since this picnic is replacing our Christmas party, Aunt Helen wore her Christmas sweater. So much fun, she is!

Here Dan discovers the joy of holding his cousin's baby girl. He actually put her to sleep!
Steve, Jacquie and Hugo share a laugh at me trying to get a candid shot of them.

Brian and Adam try to solve the problems of the world, while in the background the picturesque barn and white fences sheltering Belgian horses provide the perfect setting.
Against the barn the last flowers of summer fight bravely on.

Steve hitched up the horses and took people on rides for a couple of hours, a novelty for young and old.
And here Linda poses with them all for the picture. She is happiest when basking in her farm's delights, especially when showing it to visitors. And rightly so.
My husband and I posed for a picture in the photo spot set up especially for the purpose. Throughout the day, many took advantage of it.
Here my nephew, Nathan, and his nephew, James, posed for me.
I stayed from two o'clock till almost 9 that night and still didn't get to have long conversations with everyone who attended but it was a wonderful day. Monday I was still glowing as I uploaded my photos to my Kodak Gallery and shared them with family. These are the best moments in time.

The Pain in Politics

I just happened to catch up with the Yarn Harlot's blog and found a stinging rebuke of Stephen Harper knitted into the fabric of her collection. Awesome. Someone who was astounded about Harper's suggestion to cut funding to the arts and who took the time to castigate the man's politics.

Too often we make a passing comment about the frustrating nonsense which eats up politics and then go on with our lives. I think the politicians count on that. It's a free country, we've been told our whole lives, and we can take part or opt to let others shape our world. Too often we do the latter.

For years I was an ardent reader, thinker, debater of the nation's business, yea, even the business of the nation to the south of us, but then I got tired. I am a person who sees a problem and immediately thinks of how to solve it. Guess that's some of the teacher genes coming in. Anyhow somewhere along the way I came to the sad conclusion that I can't change everything (The Serenity Prayer) and my life is happier when I let most of the world go on its way without my comment. I am ashamed even as I write that, but it is true. And for my time remaining on earth I have chosen to be happy in my small world rather than beating my head against the mountain of things I cannot change in the bigger world.

Kudos to those like David Suzuki or Al Gore or Mother Teresa or many other lesser knowns who have made names for themselves because of their selfless concern for a world wider than their own sphere. And thanks to those who run politically. We do need them, thankless job though politics is, and some even reward our trust.

And thanks to the Yarn Harlot, whose small voice packs a big wallop of sense. Hopefully Stephen Harper will read her and listen.