The Charity Gala

Daughter L was invited to a charity gala by one of her good girlfriends. It was to raise funds for the Yellow Brick House, a shelter for abused women and children. She had the best time. There was good food, a live band and a silent auction. One of the Shelter workers came up to make a speech. She told of a common story of an abusive husband, where the wife and children became victims. It turned out to be her story and she wanted everyone to know that she was doing okay now. L immediately made a small donation. It turns out she is compassionate like me.

L said the live auction and bidding was so fun. It is something I have never experienced, although I did see a cattle auction up north once. The shelter raised a lot of money that night. Two local mayors were in attendance along with a lot of well heeled people. L said she wanted to fix her hair at one point and did not dare raise her hand in any way lest they thought she was bidding on something!

L said the lady sitting beside her at her table told her she worked at the local hospital. In her line of work she said she saw so many obviously abused children coming in with injuries. She said they are the bravest kids, often injured trying to defend their moms. It is very sad.

This gala was certainly a worthy cause.

Paint Party Friday - Santa Catalina Arch

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") on cardstock in permanent markers depicts The Santa Catalina Arch in Antigua, Guatemala. It was displayed on my laptop screensaver and made me curious to learn about it. It seems Guatemala has a rich Colonial history full of baroque style architecture. This arch built in 1694 is one of them. It sits on front of the Agua Volcano which is breathtaking in itself. The nuns lived in a convent on one side of the arch. They needed to teach on the other side but were not allowed to be seen in public. It seems a footbridge was built inside the arch so that the nuns could cross over to the school on the other side of the arch.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Lucky

photo

Scanned Version

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date. Her theme is 'Luck' as we head towards St. Patrick's Day I am thinking. I decided to do a lucky wishbone charm as an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") on cardstock using a silver Sharpie Water based Marker. I took the first photo above at an angle to show the shine of the silver, so it may not look quite centred.  The second photo shows the scanned version.

Since I was a child we always saved the wish bone from a chicken. After making a wish, we would pull it apart to see who would get their wish to come true. The winner would have the larger piece in their hand. So the wish bone charm would be a promise of good luck, it would have to be broken for the wish to come true.

Truth Be Told

I had this book 'Truth Be Told' on hold at the library for many months. It is Beverley McLachlin's autobiography. It finally came available. I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed the book. What a strong lady, and of course, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. We learn about her family, the complicated cases she dealt with and I was moved for hours after I read her book, what can I say. She is also a talented writer.

Turkey Salad

If you ever have a lot of leftover turkey, you can always make a turkey salad. It is great with crackers or on a sandwich.  To be honest, my turkey breast was a bit dried out and you wouldn't notice after making this salad from allrecipes, with mayonnaise and the other ingredients.

A Story

I had some overripe bananas and made 'banana banana bread' from allrecipes. For once, I did not burn it and it was fantastic! It did not last long.

My friend S has a good friend who lives on her own.  She doesn't drive so she walks ten or fifteen minutes to the grocery store.  This winter, she happened to be walking across a field on her way to the grocery store. Well, she slipped and broke her ankle in four places.  To make matters worse, she had forgotten her phone at home, which she never does.  After awhile, someone eventually came walking by and was able to help her.  Because she now lives alone in a townhouse with lots of stairs, she has to go to a rehabilitation facility after she leaves the hospital, to recuperate.  Of course paying for TV and wifi is expensive there ,so she may opt not get that.  Hopefully friend S can visit her soon.

A book

This book was passed on to me from a friend. It was written by a senior Trump official. What it reveals about Trump's character does not surprise me. We have all watched CNN commentary. Here is a review of the book if you are interested.  I may not finish reading it as politics does not interest me.  It is up to the people who vote who will make the decision.