Here Are the Headlines For the past Year
CARMEN's Husband CARMELO Gets Canadian Papers
and
The couple move to Halifax
PAULA BECOMES ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT SHANGHAI INSTITUTE OF VISUAL ARTS
BILL GETS GETS A NEW KNEE
.
YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THE PICTURE OR SHARE THE PAIN
As we get into this Holiday season I gotta think...
Why don’t we just have Christmas every second year for us old farts? Christmases now are happening too fast. Did we not just take down last years Christmas cards? Aren’t there still Spruce needles in the carpet and a fireplace full of crumpled gift wrap. Remember when you thought Christmas would never come and it was sooo long a wait, how the days would tick slowly by in anticipation of that morning when you came down stairs at six am to see what was in your sock hung by the fire place. Oh what happened to the the thrill of all that? My how things change after 70 plus Christmases.
here is the bunch of us on Dec. 20 at a little belated celibration for Carmens birthday.
2011 was just OK from my perspective, Paula has been going through a big struggle with downsizing on all fronts while moving her production to China, which meant spending a couple of months near Shanghai getting Chinese production initiated. This combined with closing the Blackstock facility, opening a new store on Port Perry’s main street, and since the end of October playing nurse maid to her some times snarly old incapacitated spouse. She has been a little busy.
Paula and her Chinese crew 235 Queen Street Port Perry
The Kids: Aaron has reached the age of Jack Benny (39 for those of you who are too young to know who Jack Benny was) Geordie 36, and Carmen Just turned 28
Aaron and Ivy continue to live over in Dummer Township east of Peterborough (ok snicker snicker don’t ask how it got the name. Its Mayor’s last name is Duh ). It matters not A and I are doing a fine job of raising our two grand children, Cadence 6, and Deagan 3 (in January), Those kids are energy packed delights who enjoy the free form furniture and swing in our living room to the point of making the grandparents exhausted. I recall my grandmother Cronk telling us as a children that we wore her out just watching us, now I know what she meant.
I asked Aaron for a picture of them and the house the only one he had was about eight years old This is of Deagan and Cadence on the swing at Purple Hill l
Paula keeps having Birthdays helping celibrate are her buddies Lynn MacDonald and Cria Greenspoon while Tom Mitchel looks on, My best aeriel shot of the year Peonies at Turnbulls during their Peony Daze event June 22
Geordie’s news of the year is that he had a major one man show at the Mclaughlin Gallery in Oshawa. It was the best attended opening of any show in the history of the Gallery. Out of it he sold a major Piece to the new Energy Center at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Take a look at Geordies website
Carmen after an exciting 2010, getting married and all (click on the link under the title at the top for details) is now living in Halifax with husband Carmelo who finally in August was able to get his papers in order to get into Canada. Carmelo is learning to shovel snow, Ice skate, and to speak English. Carmen is both studying at Dalhousie in a three year program in Speech language pathology as well as part-time involvement with a great environmental organization based out of Nova Scotia called the International Conservation Fund of Canada (we encourage you to look at their projects). She had planned to go into Holistic medicine but as she put it, her entrepreneurial bent took charge and steered her into the SLP course.
What did I do last year? well not a great deal, a little traveling, a few lectures, a few sculptures some flying, got a new knee installed, (should be good to go by Spring 2012) Under travel in February along with three friends we drove to Florida along the old route of our goose migrations visiting a few old friends. In June I joined Adventure Canada on the circumnavigation of Scotland, treked a bit through the Hebridies and Shetlands, Played my second game of golf ever at St Andrews (mini put ) and spent the last part of the trip in Northumberland. Here are af few photos.
St Kilda's the most outer of the Hebridies Fi ngals Cave
Golf at St Andrews the loser standing between the Victor McGregor and and second James MacDonald with names like that how can you win and here a sod cutter one of the 30 inhabitants of the Sheltland Isle of Foula
William Ayton Lishman at Ayton Castle - Ayton Scotland, and they wouldn't even let me in Lindesfarne Castle on Holy Island on the Northumberland coast
Standing on Hadrians Wall Northumberland With cousins Judy and Sally Brewis
I flew on nice days this past summer just locally and here are a couple of aerial images I like taken this last summer
Deagan Lishman watches Grampa Bill going flying Lishman in not off his rocker yet
Other things of note in 2011
-Our underground home gets a new roof. When we first built the house in the late 80s I made the mistake of putting the roof membrane on before the soil had settled properly so over the years some minor leaks started. It was a big job, but now it doesn't leak. Instead of grass I am going for the arctic look and the roof now appears more like a gravel pit, Over time it will green up with a variety of plants that will not require mowing.
-The Lishman Rocker I designed in 1974 is featured on Discovey chanels and Canadian Pickers show and Hi Fi TV's Design by Decade. Hey if you have one they are valued at $5000. and, pssst if you would like one I know where to find others...
Let's hope the big changes predicted for 2012 are the best for us all Bill