Serendipity

" Take out cutlery"

Got together with my friend Kellie and made some really fun stuff. What a great afternoon! Thanks Kell!

Flowers under grey skies

Love of the Equine species

Shyrle in the 80's

Mom and I definitely were afflicted with a love of horses. Here is mom taking a Driving course with the well known local expert Doris Ganton. I too later took this wonderful course.

One of my proudest and happiest memories was surprising my mom on her 75th birthday with a dinner out at a nice restaurant with some of her sisters and nieces coming over from Vancouver and down from Duncan to share in the celebration along with the immediate family. I contacted them all first and asked for any photos that they may have of mom and to please send copies. I made her an album of her life. I had no idea what a big task I was taking on as mom had done so many interesting things in her life. But all the work was so worth it to be able to just sit quietly back while her and her family all looking and laughing and exclaiming about many shared experiences, smiles on their faces. I soaked in all the love. It was WONDERFUL!

Oh Mom, I have missed you for a long time but now you are really gone. I turned to my journals for comfort and look for images of you in my journals that I pour my heart and soul into. As I look I do find pictures of you I have used but I start to notice sewing patterns, photos of your garden and many subtle things so I look deeper into my pages I see you reflected in almost every page.

I am so lucky to have had you in my life. I can’t imagine having a better mom than you. You lead by example and I have tried to follow, to lead a beautiful life, full of passion, creative pursuits, a love of animals and a respect for mother nature and people alike.

I will always love you
her adoring daughter
you are my hero!
Love you lots
Patti

Shyrle Alberta Sandham 1924 - 2009

A toast to my mom, Shyrle!

I am so sad to say she has left us. Saturday morning Dec 5th she passed quietly at the Jubilee hospital. She will be so missed. My dad Peter her husband of 61 years loved her dearly. My mom loved her family so much and would always put everyone else first. My brothers Larry and Jeff and all the grandkids and 2 great grandsons will miss her terribly.

She had a zest for life and enjoyed many different interests and art mediums. She made some amazing clay pieces, she was an accomplished seamstress and even designed her own gowns to go to balls in her younger years. She taught me to sew and made many outfits for me and my dolls too. She adored gardening and studied books and went to courses and spent many happy hours digging in the dirt to create garden rooms full of colour and texture to please all your senses.

She passed on her artistic inclinations to me along with her love of horses and bought me my first horse and supported my equine habits for many years. We spent lots of time just being around the horses and the barn together. She had a wonderful sense of humour and loved to have a good time and her and dad would regularly go to McMorrans to go ballroom dancing with their friends.
I used her university portrait to recreate Mona Mom :) She loved it and I think dad gets a kick out of it too. She has been a huge inspiration in my life in so many ways.

Mom and I and Pogo our basset hound that was the same age as me. Check out mom's stylin shades! Must be 1961 or 2 here.

1948 Peter Sandham marries Shyrle Munro
These are all my mom's siblings 7 sisters and 1 brother and her mom Lily May
Mom was the youngest her brother Larry the oldest and 25 years her senior!


Dad took this in summer of 1945 of her picking peaches. She got a job picking peaches on farm in St Catharines so she could be close to dad in the summer instead of going home and then they both went back to university of Toronto for their last term. So now you know a little of the worlds best mother!

I love you mom!!!