Supporting Ukraine, Smalls Progress, and and Aussie Chat

On Thursday, I finished decluttering the linen closet and part of the closet in the guest room and found at least 8 sets of bedding we could dispense with. I also went through all my mitts, scarves, and hats in the front hall closet and came up with two bags of surplus stuff. These items filled the entire back of my car yesterday when I took them over to the Legion hall in Pickering for their donation drive and flag raising. 

It was a beautiful, sunny day but cold and windy. 

The ceremony was held in the parking lot on the north (shady) side. Brrr. 

It was quite moving to hear a gathering of about a dozen people sing the Ukrainian national anthem while the rest of us looked on as their flag was being hoisted.

We are so fortunate to live in Canada. It is not perfect here. Our government leaves a lot of room for improvement. But in my lifetime, I have never felt a need to flee my country in order to have me and my family be safe. I have never wondered where I will rest my head at night, nor if I'll have enough to eat. My house is cozy and warm. My loved ones are safe.

We can only hope that the alliances against the Russian regime will cut them off financially - squeezing off their access to funds and trade in foreign countries. It's always about the money. 

So, to soothe myself, I have continued to bury myself in my crafts and puttering around the house. I finished the stitching on the biscornu and need to attach the beads, then stitch and stuff it.

I only used the sparkly thread on one side as the hummingbirds on the other side won't really be visible. Beads will go on the sparkly side and the big, blue snowflakes on the other.

I'm well underway on the triangular scissor case.

I haven't picked a lining fabric. Will have a look at my stash and if nothing is appropriate, I'll just use muslin.

Prompted by a Facebook post yesterday by dear friend, Frény who lives in Australia, we connected last night for a wee videochat on Facebook Messenger. It's so good to chat with her. We've known each other since 1967 when we both started Gr. 9 after arriving in Canada - her, from India, and me from Mexico where my family had been living since my Gr. 6. We both were in Mr. Jolley's Gr. 9 music class. She on clarinet and me on the oboe. 

We have a lot of shared memories revolving around music in high school. Her family moved to Québec after Grade 11 and I lost touch until her rock band played at the Blind Pig at the Holiday Inn in Point Edward a few years later. Then lost touch again until the early 2000s after she had been living in Australia for about 20 years. 

Since then we've been visiting back and forth online and a couple of times in person when she's travelled back to Canada to visit family and bury her parents. 

We made a date to chat at greater length tonight at 7pm (noon tomorrow Aussie time). Looking forward to it.

Longtime friends are the best.