I currently live in Guelph, Ontario creating my art and enjoying life. Here are some samples of my work.

August 16, 2026

Well, I am really disappointed and ashamed of myself. In my previous entries on this blog and declared that I would keep up with this blog and here I am, over 2 years later!! All I can say is that it has been a hell of a two years.

First of all, since I was spending far too much time on the 401 to visit family and friends, we decided to move back to Guelph. We found a little house in Guelph which was in desperate need of repairs and general maintenance. The inside smelled of cat pee, cat feces and cigarette smoke. But we could get it at a very reasonable price and I desperately wanted to get back to Guelph. We put in a conditional offer on the sale of my house in London and crossed our fingers. Since houses weren’t selling very well, I became increasingly despondent waiting for my house to sell. I wondered why I was so upset that it was taking so long. I just had that feeling that I needed to get home quickly. The house did eventually sell and we were to move on February 5th 2025.

Two days before my birthday in the middle of December, my sister called me and told me that my mother had fallen and was in the hospital. They suspected that she had broken her hip. My mother was 95 years old at that time. Breaking a hip at that age is not a good thing. I rushed to my hometown of Milton where my mother still lived on her own and visited Mom at the hospital and received the bad news that she did indeed break her hip. They scheduled surgery on her that night. She came out of her surgery fine, but I knew this recovery would be very difficult for her. She tried her hardest to get up and walk and do her exercises, but Mom suffered a heart attack a few nights later, and she was never the same. I have never seen my mother so sad and unhappy. All she talked about was her desire to die and be with my father and late sister. They pumped her with medication and her unhappiness increased each day. I talked to her doctor about assisted death (MAID) and was told she didn’t qualify. Uncertain why she didn’t qualify we let it go and Mom continued to get more and more depressed. My mother was always a stoic, happy woman who always had a smile on her face. She had the warmest hugs imaginable. She was not herself and all she talked about was her desire to die. So I became the squeaky wheel and an advocate for my dear mother. After a serious conversation with her doctor, he agreed to start the interview process. This entails that she be interviewed by 3 different doctors to make sure that this is what she wanted and was not influenced by anyone else. The first doctor that interviewed her early the next morning, said that yes, this is definitely what she wants and she scheduled the next doctor to interview her. Again, same thing. The last doctor to interview her did this via FaceTime. I did have to assist Mom with this since her hearing wasn’t very good and yes, it was again decided that she was definitely of sound mind, she knew this is what she wanted and he scheduled the end of her suffering for the next day at 1 pm. We were all speechless of course and we dreaded the thought of saying goodbye to our wonderful Mother.

So the next day at 1, the doctor came in and asked Mom again if this is what she wanted and yes it was. And so we said goodbye to our precious Mother. She went quietly and her suffering ended. I think of her everyday.

So we quietly mourned and eventually it was time to move into our little home in Guelph. And that was when the real work started. We cleaned, we ripped out filthy carpet, we cleaned all surfaces with a special chemical to eliminate cat smells, we painted and we moved furniture. We spent the rest of the winter doing these chores and when Spring and Summer hit we worked on the outside of the house. We worked hard. So needless to say, my mind was not on my webite for quite some time.

Here we are in the middle of August 2026. We continue to work on the house, but it isn’t so rushed and we can relax a bit. I continue to be a part of Stratford Art in the Park and I continue to make my art and sell a piece here and there. I am also busy planning for the upcoming Guelph Studio Tour which I am a part of. It is scheduled for October 17th and 18th. But always when I’m stitching something, I think of my Mother and I remember the hours she spent on her needlepoint, and I hope she’s proud of my work and I know she hears my loving thoughts of her.