Suzanne Cannon

Long Overdue

2011-12-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Justhow long can one procrastinate about doing this? Well, I am my father’s child! My Mom would laugh at that.
There was no funeral for my Dad;there was no obituary in the newspaper. I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’tready at Christmas 2010 and I wasn’t ready at the one year anniversary,either. But I’m ready now.

Malcolm Llewellyn Cannon
April 22, 1930 – April 28, 2010

Mac was born and grew up in Toronto, graduating from YorkMemorial Collegiate Institute in 1948. He then went on to Ryerson Institute of Technology where he studied jewelry-makingfrom 1949-1951. Why did he never becomea working jeweler? I must have asked,because the impression I got: There were no jobs. Perhaps it was an early warning to avoid thearts as a career!

Mac definitely had his weakness for military music froman early age, earlier than I had thought. He started as a drummer and stayed a drummerand drum major for many years, joining a variety of bands wherever he lived. The first band I remember was the Port HopePipe Band, but unfortunately I’d need some prompting to recall names of anymembers. I don’t think there is anyoneleft to give those prompts… (oh, wait,Ray Turk was a friend of his…. If I think about this long enough, who knowswhat I’ll come up with!)

Anotherpassion Mac enjoyed was woodworking. Idon’t ever recall the house without some sort of project involving the cuttingand finishing of wood taking place. Maclearned some useful observations while working with power tools which he passedon to me. Things like:

It doesn’t stop when you say “ouch”.
Measure twice, cut once.
If you’re going to hire a carpenter, count his fingers….

Somewhere in the early years, he befriended KenAsselstine and they became lifelong friends. Ken was the best man at Mac & Marie’s wedding in 1953 and may haveeven had a hand in introducing them. Ken was always the guy to reach out to Mac if he didn't hear from him.

The “real”jobs began with Household Finance which he joined in October 1951 and heremained in the Finance business for 20 years, moving from lackey to managerand from Ontario to British Columbia with a two year “sentence” in MooseJaw.

With Fred Watcher

I’d say a bit of Scotch had been consumed prior to thisphoto….

Ontario homes were inBurlington, Port Hope, Aurora and Strathroy. I gather Strathroy needed, or had just started, a pipe band. They required pipers, not drummers. “Drummersare a dime a dozen” was a phrase I recall from somewhere. Okay, maybethat’s my piper’s bias showing through….. They needed pipers, so Mac learned to pipe. He was given his friend Dusty Miller’s pipesand those are the pipes I later played. Another important friendship was formed in Strathroy. Fred and Voda Watcher became lifelong friendsto my parents.

Strathroy was also where dachshunds became part of ourlives. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my mother’schoice of breeds! Schnapps, Schmidt,Teufel and a host of other four-legged furkids, named after various Germanfield marshalls, left their marks on our hearts. And the occasional chewed high heels….

Mac didn’tthink too much of Moose Jaw. He wasn’tmuch for howling winds and Saskatchewan gumbo, as he called the mud there. He did make a friend that he always spoke ofwith fondness. John Stolarski was anRCMP dogmaster who lived with his family near us. I have vague memories of a New Year’s Eveparty with John in his red serge and Mac in his kilt topped by John’s buffalocoat. That could be the night I came infrom playing street hockey with frost-bitten toes….. Mom was all dressed up.

Mac took meto Taylor Field in Regina to watch my first Saskatchewan Roughriders’game. I got heat stroke there…. Hey. *I* liked Saskatchewan! Sanddunes on the window sills, tumbleweed caught in the fence, snow drifts over thehouse. What’s not to like? And Dad gave me 25₵ a week to go to theSprigs O’ Heather Pipe Band and learn to pipe. He said he wouldn’t teach me and likened it to teaching your wife todrive.

Mac must have thought he won the lottery when he pulledthe manager’s job in Duncan, BC. In 1968we left the gumbo behind. Mac stayedwith the finance business till 1971 when he started a furniture refinishingbusiness. During the summers I often gotto go on various jobs with him as an extra set of hands. I cannot count the number of things I learnedand the confidence I gained by watching and listening. I don’t think Mac was ever bored as aself-employed person, but I think some of the jobs weren’t too much fun. Like cleaning up after fires. For a while his work vehicle was a VolkswagenBug. He removed the back seat and it wasamazing what he could fit inside that thing!

And anotherpipe band was born in his wake. I was inthis one and that band took us all over. It seemed like every summer weekendinvolved a parade or band competition somewhere. The Seattle Seafair Parade was one trip ofparticular memory. The crowd was sonoisy Mac had to walk alongside each rank of pipers and yell the name of thenext set we would play. There wassecurity on the tops of the buildings – and they were armed. We were *really* glad they liked bagpipes!

In the 80’sMac was an industrial first aid attendant. I’m surprised he never studied to become a paramedic. He was fascinated with Biology. I still havehis coveted Biology text book. Maybe it was the Latin he liked. Weird. First Aid took him all over BC, mostly to mining sites and construction.

During thistime, my parents built and re-designed their home overlooking Cowichan Bay. Theybecame cat owners and staff to furry ladies.

The family jokewas that Mac was a “do-it-yourself husband” with a “get it done wife”. Sometimes it’s just better to hire acontractor…. And that is what theyshould have done with the spiral staircase in the silo. It was not finished when my mother passedaway. It was not done when he passedaway. It was almost as though when itwas finished there was no reason to go on.

Mac died oflung cancer six days after his 80^th birthday. He had stopped smoking 20 years earlier. We had a little party in the hospital on hisbirthday and the highlight was watching his eyes light up when he saw hisoldest grandson. Perhaps he was remembering the tiny boy who wanted to tradehis soother for a sip of beer.

I miss hisquirky humour and twisted turns of phrase. I miss his ability to fix almost anything. I miss “tool talk” and discussions about his“beloved BC Lions”. I miss stopping atCowichan Bay.

A belated thanksto Karyn Hatt for being such a kind friend and neighbor to both Mac and Marieover the years. You are a gem.

In memory ofMac, give your kitty or doggy an extra long hug today or listen to some celticmusic. Or both.

Jack Layton

2011-08-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Unfair is the word that comes to my mind when I think of Jack Layton. I don't think Canada has seen such a charismatic leader since Pierre Elliot Trudeau. If he was a Liberal or Conservative, he'd be Prime Minister now.

It's almost unfathomable to think that a mere 16 weeks ago Jack Layton was celebrating a huge political victory for the NDP party as the votes were tallied at the end of a long election campaign. He became Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons that day. He looked healthy and vibrant.

Yesterday Jack Layton died of cancer at the age of 61. On Saturday, Canadians will honour him with a State Funeral in Toronto.

Two days before he passed, Mr. Layton wrote a letter ending with a message to all Canadians.

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

His loss is unfair. Unfair to him as he was not able to fulfill the job he'd worked so hard to acquire. Unfair to his family who has lost so much. Unfair to all Canadians who have been robbed too soon of a man who would work tirelessly for the good of all.

No matter what your political leanings, Jack Layton was an inspiration. I thought this was profound when I saw it shown on the news tonight. It was written on the impromptu memorial wall outside Toronto City Hall.

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 8

2011-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

I have been completely captivated by this show this season. The combination of athleticism and artistry has been amazing. Right from the start, I was charmed by Melanie Moore and Marko Germar. Melanie went on to win the vote for America's favourite dancer last week. Thumbs up to my friend Barbi who voted by proxy for Melanie on my behalf!
(If you are receiving this as an email update, please click on the title to view the videos on the blog)

They were the only couple who rented outside studio space. They were driven to excel - and they did.
Here are my favourite routines by these dancers.

But the routine below is the one I really love. The premise is that Marko's character was jilted at the alter, Melanie's character is his best friend. And the one he should be loving has been in front of him the whole time. Watch Melanie's hand at :28-:29. She talks with her hands throughout this piece. Love it!

You can find Melanie on Facebook here.

Anderson Cooper's 21 Pun Salute!

2011-08-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

My impression of Anderson Cooper is that he is a serious journalist - intelligent and driven. Well, my friend sent me a link to yesterday's Ridiculist segment.
Oh,my.
He completely loses it. He snorts, he giggles, he cries. And so do I! I have rewatched this many times today and I howl everytime.

Now what's even better? He added himself to the Ridiculist today! What a class act!
I started watching the video above about 11 am this morning when it had 2,000 viewings and 10 hours later this particular version has 77,000 viewings! There are a lot of us enjoying this!

Queen of Hearts Valentine Challenge 2011

2011-02-15T03:41:00.000-08:00

Here is my contribution to this year's Queen of Hearts Valentine Challenge.

Card Synthesis:

Spellbinders Grand Caliber

Spellbinders Ovals - Large and Small

Spellbinders Fancy Tags

Tim Holtz Crown

Card Blanks

Kaisercraft English Rose Paper

Queen of Everything Stamp set

Hawaii 2010

2011-01-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

It was over far too quickly!

My Queen of Hearts Challenge artwork

2010-02-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

Here is my contribution for the Queen of Hearts Challenge!

Synthesis

Ivory Cardstock
Burgundy Cardstock
Dreamweaver Tree of Life Stencil
Jones Tones Plexi Glue
23.5 K Transfer Gold Leaf
Puffy Hearts
Spellbinders Fancy Tags
Spellbinders Renaissance Hearts Border
Queen of Rubber Stamp collection
Ribbon
Face stamp

My Christmas Cards

2010-01-18T15:59:00.000-08:00

I decided maybe it was time to have a blog under my own name that I could add all sorts of stuff to, not just Quietfire things.

Here is my first post!

I'm usually so crazy busy in the fall, that I never seem to have time to relax and play and try something new. Just before Christmas I was in Michaels and spotted this punch set (Martha Stewart) and packages of K&Company paper frames. The paper frames were cardstock and printed on both sides which made for a perfect card! I wanted to use the Quietfire Textured Holiday Words, so I picked up some of the coordinating K&Company labels.

With a bit of punching (more on some depending on the designs and the colour of the inside!) and coordinating of the labels, these came out not too badly. I think I cranked out 114 of them. It turned out not to be the epic it sometimes is! I'm still thinking I might purchase my cards next year....

Here are some samples!

I used the Textured Words rubber, Brilliance Dewdrops and Double-sided tape.

Thanks for looking!

Suzanne