This morning, Travis woke me up when she stepped on my face to get onto the windowsill.
Once awake, I was greeted by these petite pretties...
Travis promised she would wait until they are in full bloom before she knocks the pot off the table...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pictures Printed on Canvas - A Way to Keep Fond Memories...
Long ago, Tam's dad was a soldier in a far away land. He was scared and homesick. He left a wife and two small children, to fight a war halfway across the world. Tam's Mum was alone at base housing, far away from her husband and family too. Mum took a snapshot of the kids and sent it to Dad.
While Dad was on leave in an unknown city, he took the snapshot to a man who painted photos onto canvas. When it was finished, he paid the man and had the canvas shipped home to his own mother. When it arrived, Gramma opened the package and wept. The painting showed a scene of a lone soldier, walking in the sunrise. Above his head, within the clouds, were the faces of his two cherished children.The original snapshot was lost, but the canvas painting remains. Tam has taken photographs of the painting in an effort to preserve it for many more years to come. Today, she learned about canvas printing.
Tam is going to go full circle and have 3 square canvas prints made. One for her, one for her Dad and one for her brother. The original painting is more than 40 years old and quite fragile. Tam still wants to display the painting, but is concerned that the light and air will further age it. She wants to send the pictures she took and have them printed on canvas, which will keep the original idea intact, yet create whole new paintings.
Tam's brother wants to take pictures of their Mum and Dad, him and Tam and the five grandchildren and have a 3 panel canvas made. This he would like to present to Gramma on Mother's day. Stories and memories are very important to this close-knit family and this is one way to keep them close, for a long time to come.
While Dad was on leave in an unknown city, he took the snapshot to a man who painted photos onto canvas. When it was finished, he paid the man and had the canvas shipped home to his own mother. When it arrived, Gramma opened the package and wept. The painting showed a scene of a lone soldier, walking in the sunrise. Above his head, within the clouds, were the faces of his two cherished children.The original snapshot was lost, but the canvas painting remains. Tam has taken photographs of the painting in an effort to preserve it for many more years to come. Today, she learned about canvas printing.
Tam is going to go full circle and have 3 square canvas prints made. One for her, one for her Dad and one for her brother. The original painting is more than 40 years old and quite fragile. Tam still wants to display the painting, but is concerned that the light and air will further age it. She wants to send the pictures she took and have them printed on canvas, which will keep the original idea intact, yet create whole new paintings.
Tam's brother wants to take pictures of their Mum and Dad, him and Tam and the five grandchildren and have a 3 panel canvas made. This he would like to present to Gramma on Mother's day. Stories and memories are very important to this close-knit family and this is one way to keep them close, for a long time to come.
Monday, January 24, 2011
In Which Penny Investigates...
Mum gave me some Narcissus papyraceus (paper whites) bulbs for Christmas. I brought them home and put them aside. I decided the other day that I was tired of winter. So I brought out the bulbs.
 |
| Penny was very interested in these bulbs... |
I planted the bulbs and set them in the window.
It seems the paper whites like the window.
 |
| 10 days later... |
I am well pleased. Thanks Mum...
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Crowd Control at Convention Centers...
For a few years, I worked in the kitchen at a busy convention center in Boston. We had a couple cafeterias, some snack stands and a restaurant. During super busy shows, we added speed lines and some very portable stands as well. The decorating company laid out the booths and created aisles for the show with pipe and drape. Then the decorators used various methods of crowd control.
At the ticket booth, retractable belt stanchions were used to keep people queued up safely and to minimize the space for the queues themselves. Stanchions were also used at our cafeterias and snack stands to form queues to keep diners in a small area so they wouldn't block the vendors booths. Moving food and equipment around was difficult during these busy shows. We often tried to get in very early and move our stuff around before the show opened to the public.
At our restaurant, we used velvet rope to funnel guests into an area that wouldn't disrupt regular traffic flow. The entrance to the lounge was at the end of a short corridor with doors leading to meeting rooms and conference space. The velvet rope was placed along one side of the corridor and diners waited in the queue until the hostess was able to seat them.
In some instances, a show would include retail space as well as the convention itself. In these cases, barricades were used to keep the show area separate from the retail space. Very often, we had a speed line or a small gourmet stand within the retail space. The decorators always created a small opening in the barricade for us, so we could move back and forth between the kitchen and our stands without disrupting the traffic flow. These entrances were often hidden behind pipe and drape, so they were not visible from the show floor.
I liked my work at the convention center even though it was quite challenging at times. It was hard to move huge carts through masses of people who may not be paying attention to what was happening around them. I learned quickly to use an outdoor voice. "Behind you!" and "Hot stuff coming through!" worked well for the most part. But there were times when the show was so busy, and the queues overflowing, that we had to pause and wait for the crowd to thin and the effectiveness of an outdoor voice was lost.
At the ticket booth, retractable belt stanchions were used to keep people queued up safely and to minimize the space for the queues themselves. Stanchions were also used at our cafeterias and snack stands to form queues to keep diners in a small area so they wouldn't block the vendors booths. Moving food and equipment around was difficult during these busy shows. We often tried to get in very early and move our stuff around before the show opened to the public.
At our restaurant, we used velvet rope to funnel guests into an area that wouldn't disrupt regular traffic flow. The entrance to the lounge was at the end of a short corridor with doors leading to meeting rooms and conference space. The velvet rope was placed along one side of the corridor and diners waited in the queue until the hostess was able to seat them.
In some instances, a show would include retail space as well as the convention itself. In these cases, barricades were used to keep the show area separate from the retail space. Very often, we had a speed line or a small gourmet stand within the retail space. The decorators always created a small opening in the barricade for us, so we could move back and forth between the kitchen and our stands without disrupting the traffic flow. These entrances were often hidden behind pipe and drape, so they were not visible from the show floor.
I liked my work at the convention center even though it was quite challenging at times. It was hard to move huge carts through masses of people who may not be paying attention to what was happening around them. I learned quickly to use an outdoor voice. "Behind you!" and "Hot stuff coming through!" worked well for the most part. But there were times when the show was so busy, and the queues overflowing, that we had to pause and wait for the crowd to thin and the effectiveness of an outdoor voice was lost.
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