Unlike Our Return From Most Other Out Trips…..

 ….I am actually ready and happy to go home this time. Over the month we were in NYC I realized I was starting to miss my friends as the weeks went by and it was good to see them again. Then it was time to travel again, so soon after our initial return that, while we have only been gone for a week, I am missing them all over again! Hahaha…..

It has been good to have this extra trip worked into our schedule before winter arrives because it is taking the edge off the stress impending winter strikes us with every year, even though the reason for the trip was a family funeral! Unfortunately we were not able to see all our old friends in this area, but we have a list of their names written out and they will be our priority visits next time we are out, hopefully late next spring.

We are grateful for the great amount of “Cousin Time” we had, for the beautiful memorial tributes to Aunty’s life and for the handful of friends we did have time to see. 

Looks like we are going to have decent weather for our drive home as well. That is a near miracle for this time of year and for that we are extremely grateful!

An Apparently Answered Prayer! Yay!

Dear prayer warrior friends: a number of posts ago I asked if you would pray for Nan who has been dealing on a new residence she has had her eye on for several years, purchase being contingent on her being able to sell her house by the end of this month. Her offer has been accepted because after only two days on the market she got an offer at over asking; this happening in a smaller city with over 80 houses listed in a market that is barely moving right now. The buyers have asked only for an appraisal to be completed so that is in the works. If you could keep her in mind for a few more days while she and her realtor await the appraisal results, she would appreciate it. Selling her house in the ridiculously short  time the sellers of the new place gave her seemed next to impossible, but it seems God has his plans for her to move into her long hoped for home. Hallelujah! It is so encouraging to receive a YES isn’t it? Noes and Yes Buts are ok too, because God has his own ways, but a clear YES is a special joy.

Bless you all. I will let you know the final outcome when it happens.

The Joy Of Seeing Friends From Home Here In Their New Place!

We had a lovely visit last night with Regina friends who moved here a couple of years ago. Mobility issues prevent them from returning to Regina very often, so it was quite a treat to visit and share a meal together. It made this now over crowded, too bustling city feel like a friendly place again; as did dinner the previous evening with one of my husband’s most long term friends and former mountain climbing buddy. In the midst of the insane city the little old Calgary of my childhood has become there have been warm spots.

Today is our final day of visiting old friends here before we head home tomorrow. Thus far the weather has been fantastic and if the forecast holds for tomorrow the trip will be one of the only return trips in recent years where we have not been driving back to SK in some kind of ice blizzard…..(but don’t stop praying for good weather because this close to the mountains things can change in a matter of a couple of hours! Thanks!)

The Rockies To The West

When we first arrived in Calgary the mountains to the west of us were covered in a fresh dump of clean, bright new snow. Now, as we look out the windows of our hotel room, the peaks have lost that pristine white gleam and have returned to their brown jaggedness. The sky above is light autumn blue and this morning there are few clouds in sight. It is another lovely day near the foothills. We have no visiting commitments until later this afternoon and will watch our home church service online this morning. Speaking of which, I had best get going if I am going to get connected on time! 

Such A Beautiful October Day!

The weather in Calgary this week has been absolutely gorgeous!  What a blessing for all of us who are visiting from across Canada for Aunty’s funeral and ongoing celebration of her life! This is the nicest mid October weather we have experienced in a number of years. Back home it has been rainy, windy and rather miserable according to the friend who is caring for our house while we are away. This is the second trip in a row where we have been experiencing glorious weather during heavy rainfall and wind at home. Yay! 

We enjoyed our shopping trip today, and had plenty of chances for long walks through the Inglewood shopping district as we picked up several orders of tea at Tea Traders, herbs and spices at Silk Road, two new outfits for me at Twitchin’ Threads, a book and brand new pair of gloves for my husband at a wonderfully clean and well organized thrift store and then a drive across the city for leather repair supplies at Tandy Leather. Now my husband can repair his favourite moccasins, so he is very happy…and so am I! 

We located our favourite old 1970’s pizza joint, used to be Karuso’s, but is now one of the SpotOn restaurants that inherited the Karuso family pizza recipes. So the pizza is just as good, my husband says. I opted for the far less carby, less fatty chicken pot pie and it was delicious! 

After a late afternoon rest we took a decently long walk through the neighbourhood around our hotel, discovering a lovely Indian restaurant: Hyderabad Biryani House. It is tucked away among an entire development of big box stores and light industrial businesses. My expectations were low, but the food was really, really tasty. My medium spiced Chana masala curry was spicy hot in my mouth and there were sautéed onions adding to the flavour. My husband’s chicken methi was so yummy with thick spiced gravy. Jeera rice and butter naan rounded out our meal. The portions were huge, (good thing we had the long walk back to the hotel afterwards!),  and we have enough leftovers in our refrigerator for another full meal each for lunch on Sunday. (Won’t be eating leftovers tomorrow because of a cousin’s lunch and then a special dinner with one of my husband’s lifelong friends and former mountain climbing buddy.) 

Received the wonderful news today that a dear friend who has been struggling with cancer for the past several years is now fully in remission. So grateful for this encouraging news! It is the best way to top off a very happy day!

Calgary’s Horrible Crash!

Just after lunch hour today there was an horrendous crash not far to the northeast of our hotel. Eight vehicles were involved, including two city transit buses, one of which was propane fueled and it caught fire. Three people were killed, nineteen were injured and at least one of those nineteen may not survive. Details of what exactly happened are still sketchy, but apparently the disaster began when a bus collided with a small car and that began a series of crashes, the last one being into the rear of the parked bus that burst into flames. The main thoroughfare running past our hotel is an access road into where the accident occurred and I wondered why so many emergency vehicles, sirens blaring, were racing by early in the afternoon. It is a sad situation. I cannot imagine how many families of the dead and injured will be devastated by this crash. Sigh….😮‍💨 

In happier news, my husband arrived home late this afternoon, smiling and grinning, face reddened from the cold mountain air after the family hiking excursion at Heart Creek near Lac des Arcs. What a marvellous time they had. It was a particularly nice experience for the cousins who live in other parts of Canada where there are no mountains to climb. He is so happy. We celebrated with a lovely dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant. 

These days we find ourselves in bed reading by 9pm or even earlier, lights out before 10pm and we are generally sleeping well. Perhaps our Night Owl Days have finally come to an end? 

A Very Quiet Day For Me Today!

On this beautiful fall day my husband has taken a group of the cousins to the mountains for a short hike. The time frame is abbreviated due to one of the visiting cousins needing to get back to the airport for her flight home early this evening, but it will still be sufficient time for my husband to be able to experience a day in his beloved Rocky Mountains west of the city while I have a needed down day at our hotel. The weather here in Calgary is lovely so I am looking forward to taking a short walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch and a visit to the large neighbourhood ethnic grocery store. If I can just refrain from purchasing too many grocery items to comfortably transport home, all will be well. Hahaha! Tomorrow will be our main shopping day for teas ☕️ and fresh spices and herbs. 🪴 I am hoping to stop in for a quick visit to my favourite teensy boutique to see if there might be just one unique winter clothing item to purchase. After purging my summer and winter wardrobes so thoroughly in late September, there is plenty of space open on my clothing rack for one new sweater. 

The family dinner last evening was complete chaos; the kind of chaos only large families can create and tolerate. (I am from a small and well organized family. Nuff said!) Although I enjoyed a handful of meaningful visits with several of those in attendance, as we hollered at each other over the noise, after the meal I found myself hiding out briefly in a small study, looking at the paintings and blown glass vases and large marble sculptures of Northern Territory walruses and seals and other animals native to Canada’s north where our host grew up. It was very peaceful until some of the grandchildren found me, haha. I did enjoy hearing them as they told me about their lives: school, best friends, sports activities…it was such fun to hear their enthusiasm for life. At least I was able to hear them speaking! The rest of the living and dining areas in the large house were pure bedlam with the approximately 50 other people all chattering at once. For me it was sensory overload so I was grateful to stumble upon my little hiding place for awhile. 

I have decided that driving in certain areas of Calgary is no longer fun. Admittedly most of our driving last night took place during the rush hour, but still….there are many more traffic circles now in areas with too much traffic to handle them and too many drivers still unsure as to how they are to be navigated. Fortunately when we were returning to our hotel in the dark my husband was driving. He negotiated the traffic circle chaos very well. 

Still waiting for the call from my surgeon’s office with a scheduled time for my pre-op consult. I so hope it can be in November so I can have the surgery this winter, from my mouth to God’s ear. I so do not want my husband’s whole summer to be tied up caring for me like it was after my revision arthroscopy two summers ago. I have seen the architects circling our housing complex once again so am fairly certain the now long awaited eviction for tear down will be coming for this spring.  I am trusting God to get us through my surgery and a move somehow in the coming months. 

Time to get online and check out the restaurants near this hotel so I can figure out where to have lunch….or maybe I will go to the ethnic grocery store first to check out what interesting meal I could purchase there and bring back to our suite to eat! Yum!