Interesting weather here in Calgary today. We all drove to Cochrane this morning in glorious sunshine and a bright blue sky that lit up the scenery beautifully. Driving down a big hill and through thick stands of trees to the retreat centre was like a short drive through a rural paradise.
By mid afternoon, as mom and I were doing some mall crawling, the sky suddenly blackened, nasty cracks of lightning and booming thunder temporarily took over the city. Other than a few minutes of driving rain coming back from the mall, our area of the city saw none of the hail or flooding the far southern end of the city experienced.
Half an hour after I brought mom home the clouds had nearly dissipated and the hot sun reclaimed the sky. I left for my pre-dinner walk, leaving my raincoat in the guest room. When I returned just before 6pm it was so hot again the sweat was pouring down my face. Now the sky is turning black once again and we are under a thunderstorm watch for the second time today.
Aaah dear Calgary....the weather can change so quickly here. It is always an adventure just watching the sky from hour to hour.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Happily on the Road Again!
Nice to be back in Calgary and staying in the well appointed guest suite at my parents' seniors' building. This time there were no glitches in the booking and the suite was all ready, cleaned, toilet paper in place, unlike last time. haha It is a wonderful accommodation for a reasonable price.
It seemed to take a long time to make the trip this time. I suspect not getting away from home until 8:30am was part of the reason. Secondly, we were held up on two different highways with road construction that dropped our speed substantially for long periods of time.
We had a nice lunch break in Maple Creek at a the Star Cafe. It features an old barroom style decor and a good menu of burgers, salads and pastas. It is quirky and completely unpretentious, clean and offers great service from the wait staff. One young man waited on the entire restaurant, had everyone's order memorized and sported a broad smile all through the noon hour rush. My Caesar salad had a thick, tangy, in house dressing, real bacon bits and lots of grated Parmesan. It wasn't gourmet but no one pretended it was and the reasonable prices matched the quality and perfect quantity of the meals. My husband's portion of home cut fries made up for the water chilled chicken breast on his ciabatta bun....nothing wrong with water chilled unless the cook doesn't know how to
prepare it so it isn't rubbery. Today's was a pretty good attempt according to my husband.
I did 3/4 if the 9 hours of driving today. It was warm outside so we drove most of the way with the glorious air conditioning running. June is the prettiest month on the prairies in our opinion and we enjoyed the amount of green plants and crops alongside the highway.
We had a very light Japanese meal for dinner, a good visit with my parents, then a 20 minute walk to the convenience store for milk and muscle stretching. It felt SO good!
All in all a good day I am most grateful for.
It seemed to take a long time to make the trip this time. I suspect not getting away from home until 8:30am was part of the reason. Secondly, we were held up on two different highways with road construction that dropped our speed substantially for long periods of time.
We had a nice lunch break in Maple Creek at a the Star Cafe. It features an old barroom style decor and a good menu of burgers, salads and pastas. It is quirky and completely unpretentious, clean and offers great service from the wait staff. One young man waited on the entire restaurant, had everyone's order memorized and sported a broad smile all through the noon hour rush. My Caesar salad had a thick, tangy, in house dressing, real bacon bits and lots of grated Parmesan. It wasn't gourmet but no one pretended it was and the reasonable prices matched the quality and perfect quantity of the meals. My husband's portion of home cut fries made up for the water chilled chicken breast on his ciabatta bun....nothing wrong with water chilled unless the cook doesn't know how to
prepare it so it isn't rubbery. Today's was a pretty good attempt according to my husband.
I did 3/4 if the 9 hours of driving today. It was warm outside so we drove most of the way with the glorious air conditioning running. June is the prettiest month on the prairies in our opinion and we enjoyed the amount of green plants and crops alongside the highway.
We had a very light Japanese meal for dinner, a good visit with my parents, then a 20 minute walk to the convenience store for milk and muscle stretching. It felt SO good!
All in all a good day I am most grateful for.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Mostly Good Medical News Day
Today held good news from several sources in regard to health.
Robert: is slowly recovering at home, having more tests soon. Once the brain mass is better identified and dealt with he is presently looking forward to a full recovery, hopefully in the next several months.
Dad: went to the haematologist again today for a second appointment. There was another doctor there, more experienced, who agreed with dad that having the bone biopsy on his very unstable spine was not the best idea. He also supported dad's idea that it doesn't really matter what kind of leukaemia he has as treatments are all more or less of the same type, all devastating to someone who is all ready ill and nearly 90. So, no biopsy and no treatment. He will go for bloodwork every few months to keep on top of how things are progessing...more for the sake of the doctors I suspect. However, the main thing is that Dad is at peace with his decision and with his current condition...LONG may that last!
Another friend who has been awaiting a surgery date for a hip replacement finally got her call today and she has a few weeks to get things set up at home and work before she has to go into hospital. Happy for her to be looking at some pain free times upcoming after a long and painful wait.
A fellow with severe osteoporosis who has survived fracture after fracture and surgery after surgery for that problem and others has just completed his latest set of surgeries and was able to return to his home town hospital today to complete his recovery. Please pray for Cee that he can maintain his amazingly calm attitude after years of suffering and that his pain and problems can find relief.
Still waiting for word from my son. He wasn't able to talk to the opthamologist yesterday after all so was hopefully in touch with him today to get the surgery set up. He is fairly cavalier about the whole problem and I am fairly paranoid...somewhere in the middle is probably where his condition actually stands.
In other news the Theatre Gals got together tonight for an amazing dinner and then we quickly planned our winter theatre events. Cheques were written, phone calls are being made and all is getting set up nicely. We will have dinner together before each play. SO nice to have a good set of plans to look forward to during the appallingly dreary winter months.
Now I have to hope I can manage to fall asleep in this hot suite so I can get up at 6:30am and get on the road to Alberta.
Robert: is slowly recovering at home, having more tests soon. Once the brain mass is better identified and dealt with he is presently looking forward to a full recovery, hopefully in the next several months.
Dad: went to the haematologist again today for a second appointment. There was another doctor there, more experienced, who agreed with dad that having the bone biopsy on his very unstable spine was not the best idea. He also supported dad's idea that it doesn't really matter what kind of leukaemia he has as treatments are all more or less of the same type, all devastating to someone who is all ready ill and nearly 90. So, no biopsy and no treatment. He will go for bloodwork every few months to keep on top of how things are progessing...more for the sake of the doctors I suspect. However, the main thing is that Dad is at peace with his decision and with his current condition...LONG may that last!
Another friend who has been awaiting a surgery date for a hip replacement finally got her call today and she has a few weeks to get things set up at home and work before she has to go into hospital. Happy for her to be looking at some pain free times upcoming after a long and painful wait.
A fellow with severe osteoporosis who has survived fracture after fracture and surgery after surgery for that problem and others has just completed his latest set of surgeries and was able to return to his home town hospital today to complete his recovery. Please pray for Cee that he can maintain his amazingly calm attitude after years of suffering and that his pain and problems can find relief.
Still waiting for word from my son. He wasn't able to talk to the opthamologist yesterday after all so was hopefully in touch with him today to get the surgery set up. He is fairly cavalier about the whole problem and I am fairly paranoid...somewhere in the middle is probably where his condition actually stands.
In other news the Theatre Gals got together tonight for an amazing dinner and then we quickly planned our winter theatre events. Cheques were written, phone calls are being made and all is getting set up nicely. We will have dinner together before each play. SO nice to have a good set of plans to look forward to during the appallingly dreary winter months.
Now I have to hope I can manage to fall asleep in this hot suite so I can get up at 6:30am and get on the road to Alberta.
Yeaaaaaa....Fer Shur!!
From today's prayer:
"Lord, I want things to be different in my life--but there are obstacles. I need energy and motivation to get going. I need finances and more time. More than anything, I need to trust You more.........".
Yeaaaa...what she said!
After decades of seeing what God is capable of doing in our lives, I still struggle occasionally with doubt, fear and apathy. Good grief....being so very human is kind of a pain sometimes, isn't it?
I am grateful we are going out for lunch today with my husband's cousin and his husband. It is upsetting that they will not be working together at the church centre after the summer months what with my husband having to resign from his pastorate. We are going to have to be more intentional about getting together socially at that point. Their other cousin from here in the city has fallen off the map somewhere along the line this year and we need to restablish contact and keep the family communicating more often.
Tonight I am meeting with the diocesan office gals for a potluck dinner and some discussion about purchasing ticket packages for the Globe theatre for the coming season. If we work it right and not all of us want to see every play, we can limit the purchase to a couple of packages and share the tickets around. Girls' night out at the theatre over the winter. Great idea!
At the moment I admit I don't feel it is a good time to be spending the money required to get our ticket order in on time, but as my husband told me, the inconvenience of the timing is greatly outweighed by having a motivator to be social on a regular basis during the cold winter months. He is right about that. I need to remember that he is right about that as I am attempting not to heave a mighty sigh tonight when I am filling out my cheque.
This afternoon I will make a tasty veggie casserole to contribute to the dinner. Veggie casseroles seem to be my niche here in the quasi-planned local potlucks. Bring something once to a potluck and the ongoing expectation for each subsequent dinner is more of the same, haha. I find it kind of amusing. It has happened to me in every town in Saskatchewan that I have lived in...once means every time. And don't dare throw everyone off by getting creative with that dish or, horror of horrors, bringing something else all together! haha Cute........
The sun is shining, it is warm outside (and heating up inside as well), the lawn has just been mowed so that freshly cut grass smell is permeating my nostrils. It is a nice day. We have plans. It is all good.
"Lord, I want things to be different in my life--but there are obstacles. I need energy and motivation to get going. I need finances and more time. More than anything, I need to trust You more.........".
Yeaaaa...what she said!
After decades of seeing what God is capable of doing in our lives, I still struggle occasionally with doubt, fear and apathy. Good grief....being so very human is kind of a pain sometimes, isn't it?
I am grateful we are going out for lunch today with my husband's cousin and his husband. It is upsetting that they will not be working together at the church centre after the summer months what with my husband having to resign from his pastorate. We are going to have to be more intentional about getting together socially at that point. Their other cousin from here in the city has fallen off the map somewhere along the line this year and we need to restablish contact and keep the family communicating more often.
Tonight I am meeting with the diocesan office gals for a potluck dinner and some discussion about purchasing ticket packages for the Globe theatre for the coming season. If we work it right and not all of us want to see every play, we can limit the purchase to a couple of packages and share the tickets around. Girls' night out at the theatre over the winter. Great idea!
At the moment I admit I don't feel it is a good time to be spending the money required to get our ticket order in on time, but as my husband told me, the inconvenience of the timing is greatly outweighed by having a motivator to be social on a regular basis during the cold winter months. He is right about that. I need to remember that he is right about that as I am attempting not to heave a mighty sigh tonight when I am filling out my cheque.
This afternoon I will make a tasty veggie casserole to contribute to the dinner. Veggie casseroles seem to be my niche here in the quasi-planned local potlucks. Bring something once to a potluck and the ongoing expectation for each subsequent dinner is more of the same, haha. I find it kind of amusing. It has happened to me in every town in Saskatchewan that I have lived in...once means every time. And don't dare throw everyone off by getting creative with that dish or, horror of horrors, bringing something else all together! haha Cute........
The sun is shining, it is warm outside (and heating up inside as well), the lawn has just been mowed so that freshly cut grass smell is permeating my nostrils. It is a nice day. We have plans. It is all good.
Monday, June 27, 2016
NO Walking For Me Today!
My confused day yesterday turned out just fine after all, just like my husband's did with his church services etc.
After church my husband came home, wolfed down his lunch and then announced we were going to go for a walk around the small lake at Wascana. The day was a bit cool and windy, but I agreed I needed to do something active to pull myself out of my malaise.
Despite the chill we walked and walked and walked. My husband knows the interesting little side paths so we spent a lot of time off the main paved walk and wandered around under big trees and through small blooming bushes. The mosquitos that had not been blown away by the wind were happy to see us, but we arrived home later not too badly bitten. We stopped off at the small flower beds in front of the parliament buildings and hope to see them again in a month's time when the plants have have filled out more. My husband purchased his first iced cream cone since he began his diet in March: maple walnut from a food truck and did he ever enjoy it, haha. We watched people feeding the geese all manner of foods that are not remotely healthy for the poor things, enjoyed the antics of 3 goose families that had late hatching goslings, watched with interest a group of this year's older hatchlings who are starting to band together in their own group with only a couple of the remaining parents still keeping a bit of a watch on them from the periphery of the group. We giggled at some hares who seemed to be leaping about just because they could.
By the time we got home we had covered close to 4 miles...I really should start converting our walking trips into kilometres since my husband's fitness tracker programme on his phone is American and is in Imperial measurement.
I am delighted we have all that green space so close to our home, but I have to admit that after the west coast foliage I am finding difficult to get highly excited about the prairie greenery. I commend Regina for making the most of their green spaces and for taking advantage of every opportunity to put in trees and flower beds, but o my...the differences are huge. I can't understand why I find the west coast so incredibly appealing and why, even after most of my life being spent on or near the prairies, I can't get more into the local splendor. I am trying, I am trying.....
Today's activities so far have consisted of a LOT of banking and errand running and an afternoon of ironing for our next weeks of travel. No walking today. I am too tired out from the last 2 weeks of nearly daily walks of over 2 miles. After dinner tonight I need to concentrate on my prescribed physio exercises. It is Monday, I had my two days off physio. Time to get back at it.
After church my husband came home, wolfed down his lunch and then announced we were going to go for a walk around the small lake at Wascana. The day was a bit cool and windy, but I agreed I needed to do something active to pull myself out of my malaise.
Despite the chill we walked and walked and walked. My husband knows the interesting little side paths so we spent a lot of time off the main paved walk and wandered around under big trees and through small blooming bushes. The mosquitos that had not been blown away by the wind were happy to see us, but we arrived home later not too badly bitten. We stopped off at the small flower beds in front of the parliament buildings and hope to see them again in a month's time when the plants have have filled out more. My husband purchased his first iced cream cone since he began his diet in March: maple walnut from a food truck and did he ever enjoy it, haha. We watched people feeding the geese all manner of foods that are not remotely healthy for the poor things, enjoyed the antics of 3 goose families that had late hatching goslings, watched with interest a group of this year's older hatchlings who are starting to band together in their own group with only a couple of the remaining parents still keeping a bit of a watch on them from the periphery of the group. We giggled at some hares who seemed to be leaping about just because they could.
By the time we got home we had covered close to 4 miles...I really should start converting our walking trips into kilometres since my husband's fitness tracker programme on his phone is American and is in Imperial measurement.
I am delighted we have all that green space so close to our home, but I have to admit that after the west coast foliage I am finding difficult to get highly excited about the prairie greenery. I commend Regina for making the most of their green spaces and for taking advantage of every opportunity to put in trees and flower beds, but o my...the differences are huge. I can't understand why I find the west coast so incredibly appealing and why, even after most of my life being spent on or near the prairies, I can't get more into the local splendor. I am trying, I am trying.....
Today's activities so far have consisted of a LOT of banking and errand running and an afternoon of ironing for our next weeks of travel. No walking today. I am too tired out from the last 2 weeks of nearly daily walks of over 2 miles. After dinner tonight I need to concentrate on my prescribed physio exercises. It is Monday, I had my two days off physio. Time to get back at it.
Such Creativity!
I understand where my son gets his creative flair. It is from his father!
My son expresses his creativity through his art, my husband his through other projects. His latest one is through sewing! (For me having to use a sewing machine is right up there near the top of the nightmare list, right under giving birth to a dozen children!!)
My husband loves Pendleton wool shirts and once every year or two while in Vancouver he stops in at 3 Vets to get a new one. It is far less expensive to purchase one there than to order one online and have to pay the shipping charges, that is for sure. Several years ago he purchased a beautiful Robinson dress tartan shirt that he has worn constantly, first as a dressy casual shirt and then as an "around the house" shirt and finally as a camping and canoeing shirt. Although he had to finally patch the elbows last summer, the rest of the shirt is still in excellent condition but for one thing: since it is a regular mens' shirt size and not a tall man size the sleeves have always been just a tad too short and now that it is a canoeing shirt that has become a problem if he wants to paddle with the sleeves down and the cuffs buttoned to keep the mosquitos off his wrists.
So, he decided the shirt is still in good enough condition to salvage it for this year's canoe trip in August. He had a couple of other shirts, sturdy cottons that have lasted him for several years but need replacing for various reasons. He cut the last 2 inches off the sleeves of one of those shirts, plus the cuffs, hauled out his old sewing machine and, after cutting the cuffs off the Pendleton shirt, attached the other shirt's 2 inches of sleeves and cuffs to the Pendleton shirt sleeves. He did a great job as he is very good at sewing. I washed the shirt and ironed it up nicely this afternoon. Now he has long enough sleeves to leave them down and buttoned when he is paddling his canoe.
I am SO not creative! I really admire my husband and son. I am the practical one in the family, the problem solver, the Budget Queen etc. They are the forgetful creative folk and it is amazing we don't make each other's lives miserable in the process of each following our own personality giftings. Both kinds of people are needed in this world and I am happy being me, but occasionally I wish I could pull off some of the wonderfully creative projects that the men in my life are so very good at.
My son expresses his creativity through his art, my husband his through other projects. His latest one is through sewing! (For me having to use a sewing machine is right up there near the top of the nightmare list, right under giving birth to a dozen children!!)
My husband loves Pendleton wool shirts and once every year or two while in Vancouver he stops in at 3 Vets to get a new one. It is far less expensive to purchase one there than to order one online and have to pay the shipping charges, that is for sure. Several years ago he purchased a beautiful Robinson dress tartan shirt that he has worn constantly, first as a dressy casual shirt and then as an "around the house" shirt and finally as a camping and canoeing shirt. Although he had to finally patch the elbows last summer, the rest of the shirt is still in excellent condition but for one thing: since it is a regular mens' shirt size and not a tall man size the sleeves have always been just a tad too short and now that it is a canoeing shirt that has become a problem if he wants to paddle with the sleeves down and the cuffs buttoned to keep the mosquitos off his wrists.
So, he decided the shirt is still in good enough condition to salvage it for this year's canoe trip in August. He had a couple of other shirts, sturdy cottons that have lasted him for several years but need replacing for various reasons. He cut the last 2 inches off the sleeves of one of those shirts, plus the cuffs, hauled out his old sewing machine and, after cutting the cuffs off the Pendleton shirt, attached the other shirt's 2 inches of sleeves and cuffs to the Pendleton shirt sleeves. He did a great job as he is very good at sewing. I washed the shirt and ironed it up nicely this afternoon. Now he has long enough sleeves to leave them down and buttoned when he is paddling his canoe.
I am SO not creative! I really admire my husband and son. I am the practical one in the family, the problem solver, the Budget Queen etc. They are the forgetful creative folk and it is amazing we don't make each other's lives miserable in the process of each following our own personality giftings. Both kinds of people are needed in this world and I am happy being me, but occasionally I wish I could pull off some of the wonderfully creative projects that the men in my life are so very good at.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Cool How Things Work Out in the Course of a Day
When my husband arrived at the church service this morning he got a big surprise! OUR congregation was not meeting at the park for their annual picnic after all. They had arranged for one of the other priests my husband works with to come and do a service before decamping to one of the parishioner's houses to feast on left over hot dogs etc. from the picnic they actually had LAST Sunday. hahaha So, my husband was able to attend our own service to explain his resignation from their midst and to "bind up the broken hearted" over that one and still attend the post Lutheran service Bible Study that had been his main reason for going there this morning. Yay! He still had his opportunity to talk to the visiting drag queens from the Gay Pride event before attending his own service and he was able to hear what the attending Lutheran Bible study leader had to say about their scriptural interpretation. So, it is all good how the day is working out. Now we are going for a walk around the lake before the rain returns for the rest of the afternoon. My laundry is nearly done. I am content!
Wisdom From a Pastor Friend
"Passing
on our passions is difficult. We have an instruction system called
school. We have a personal system called mentoring. We even have a
memorization system called indoctrination.
These are all good options to pass on what an individual feels is important.
Religion is one of the best examples I can think of.
A first generation person encounters God. They persist in knowing God. Unfailingly they will talk to God, seek out more information about God, find others who know God.
The second generation sees the benefits but often lives shadow lives. They talk to God in emergencies, seek out God when there is a benefit for them, and don’t see the need to find others who are passionate about God.
The third generation has been inoculated. The passion for God has not been a visible, constant concern to them. They don’t see a need to talk to God (in fact, they often call themselves atheists), they don’t need information about God (as an atheist, information about God is irrelevant), and they don’t want to be offended by being with people who persist in knowing God.
For a first generation person, wanting the generations that follow to catch the passion, we must teach and model our passion. But we must also call the next generation to own the passion. Not just to adopt the system and science of your passion, but to embrace the heart and the art of the passion."
These are all good options to pass on what an individual feels is important.
Religion is one of the best examples I can think of.
A first generation person encounters God. They persist in knowing God. Unfailingly they will talk to God, seek out more information about God, find others who know God.
The second generation sees the benefits but often lives shadow lives. They talk to God in emergencies, seek out God when there is a benefit for them, and don’t see the need to find others who are passionate about God.
The third generation has been inoculated. The passion for God has not been a visible, constant concern to them. They don’t see a need to talk to God (in fact, they often call themselves atheists), they don’t need information about God (as an atheist, information about God is irrelevant), and they don’t want to be offended by being with people who persist in knowing God.
For a first generation person, wanting the generations that follow to catch the passion, we must teach and model our passion. But we must also call the next generation to own the passion. Not just to adopt the system and science of your passion, but to embrace the heart and the art of the passion."
Wonky Sunday
Do you sometimes have days where you don't have any peace about how to spend the day and it starts going by in a fog as you stumble around trying this and trying that and nothing feels completely peaceful or right or interesting or like any sort of accomplishment?
Today is like that for me.
I woke up feeling kind of out of sorts, tired, mild upset stomach, but not actually ill. My husband was getting ready to head over to the Lutheran congregation in our mutually used church building to listen to their Gay Pride week service and then attend their Bible study on what they believe the scriptures actually say about that issue. He is tired of getting theology and information from Christian people who do not actually live within the Christian LGBTQ context and he has to finalize his vote at General Synod next month when our own denomination decides whether or not to change our marriage canons to include gay marriage. I would have gone with him but felt too lazy to deal with some of the flack we might get from the leadership there who perceive us as anti-LGBTQ because our particular congregation has chosen not to make an issue of the issue. I know where I stand on the issue personally and am too beat to bother with it all today, even though I care about the issue and about the people involved.
I toyed with the idea of walking over to the park where our own congregation is having their annual outdoor service and picnic but it is kind of a grey, windy day, my hip is aching and I don't feel I want to be there without my husband on the only Sunday we are actually in town this month, the first Sunday after the wardens posted the letter about his resignation. He should be the one to address it in person first, not me. In fact he is writing a letter of his own to email to everyone either tonight or tomorrow since he was unable to read the resignation letter himself due our being away at the time it had to be publicly announced to fit within the canon regulations.
So, I stayed home and am doing laundry. Might as well. Today is a better day to get ready for our next foray out on the highway than tomorrow is because I have to do all the banking in the morning...several different banks and it will take a long time. Laundry and I get on much better together when we perform the task early in the morning and get it over with. Sometimes I can even get the ironing done the same day if the air is dry enough to take the moisture out of the clothes hanging over the bathroom shower curtain by mid afternoon.
Guess that is my day today.
I had a shower...does that count for anything beyond obeying the general call to good personal hygiene? My teeth are brushed. My hair is sprayed into place. I am wearing a nice new and fresh Indian house dress that is roomy and sufficiently dressy to answer the door in should anyone show up here. I am blogging about nothing of interest to anyone outside the family. I am cheery and not depressed at all. I am mentally getting my suitcase packed in readiness for this coming week's jaunt across the border to the west. Lunch will consist of leftover falafel balls my husband made yesterday...and wow, are they yummy or what??? With a salad and some hummus it is quite delicious and sufficiently filling that I can stay within my carb count on the falafel and still feel sated afterward. Supper is all ready made...at least the general purpose tomato veggie sauce is. All I have to do is decide if I am going to prepare some spaghetti pasta for it or slather it sloppy Joe style on toast like we ate it last night. I suppose I could make a list of possible vegetarian recipes and choose one to prepare for a dinner I am going to on Tuesday evening...I suppose...if I wasn't feeling so lazy I COULD do that....maybe........
Yawn....hey, a nap is a great idea. I could go and have one right now before lunch and another one after lunch. That would make the day fly by in between running up and down the stairs doing loads of laundry.
Naaaaa....I admit I hate napping during the day. I could try and finish the novel today I am presently reading: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If the story is a bit inane it is at least written with some gentle humour and I am enjoying it. I have read worse plots and this book is well written and very entertaining. Yes...finish the book so I can take new ones on our trip this week. Good idea...relaxing....an accomplishment of sorts.
There, my day is decided...what a relief!
I suppose not every day has to be motivated by goals and achievements. Today is DEFINITELY one of those days. I am sure there is a bit of an undercurrent of concern about my son's eye going on, but I can't do anything to help him with it other than pray and be here when he calls after his next surgery. Guess I'll just relax and enjoy my odd, lazy, unmotivated day.
Aaahh...here you go: just read the daily prayer in my book for today. It seems quite applicable!
"Lord, what a blessing it is to be able to come before You-the wisest, most intelligent Being in the universe......Thank You for giving me wisdom and direction, even when I can't see the way."
haha Now there's a prayer that fits the day here for me! haha
Today is like that for me.
I woke up feeling kind of out of sorts, tired, mild upset stomach, but not actually ill. My husband was getting ready to head over to the Lutheran congregation in our mutually used church building to listen to their Gay Pride week service and then attend their Bible study on what they believe the scriptures actually say about that issue. He is tired of getting theology and information from Christian people who do not actually live within the Christian LGBTQ context and he has to finalize his vote at General Synod next month when our own denomination decides whether or not to change our marriage canons to include gay marriage. I would have gone with him but felt too lazy to deal with some of the flack we might get from the leadership there who perceive us as anti-LGBTQ because our particular congregation has chosen not to make an issue of the issue. I know where I stand on the issue personally and am too beat to bother with it all today, even though I care about the issue and about the people involved.
I toyed with the idea of walking over to the park where our own congregation is having their annual outdoor service and picnic but it is kind of a grey, windy day, my hip is aching and I don't feel I want to be there without my husband on the only Sunday we are actually in town this month, the first Sunday after the wardens posted the letter about his resignation. He should be the one to address it in person first, not me. In fact he is writing a letter of his own to email to everyone either tonight or tomorrow since he was unable to read the resignation letter himself due our being away at the time it had to be publicly announced to fit within the canon regulations.
So, I stayed home and am doing laundry. Might as well. Today is a better day to get ready for our next foray out on the highway than tomorrow is because I have to do all the banking in the morning...several different banks and it will take a long time. Laundry and I get on much better together when we perform the task early in the morning and get it over with. Sometimes I can even get the ironing done the same day if the air is dry enough to take the moisture out of the clothes hanging over the bathroom shower curtain by mid afternoon.
Guess that is my day today.
I had a shower...does that count for anything beyond obeying the general call to good personal hygiene? My teeth are brushed. My hair is sprayed into place. I am wearing a nice new and fresh Indian house dress that is roomy and sufficiently dressy to answer the door in should anyone show up here. I am blogging about nothing of interest to anyone outside the family. I am cheery and not depressed at all. I am mentally getting my suitcase packed in readiness for this coming week's jaunt across the border to the west. Lunch will consist of leftover falafel balls my husband made yesterday...and wow, are they yummy or what??? With a salad and some hummus it is quite delicious and sufficiently filling that I can stay within my carb count on the falafel and still feel sated afterward. Supper is all ready made...at least the general purpose tomato veggie sauce is. All I have to do is decide if I am going to prepare some spaghetti pasta for it or slather it sloppy Joe style on toast like we ate it last night. I suppose I could make a list of possible vegetarian recipes and choose one to prepare for a dinner I am going to on Tuesday evening...I suppose...if I wasn't feeling so lazy I COULD do that....maybe........
Yawn....hey, a nap is a great idea. I could go and have one right now before lunch and another one after lunch. That would make the day fly by in between running up and down the stairs doing loads of laundry.
Naaaaa....I admit I hate napping during the day. I could try and finish the novel today I am presently reading: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If the story is a bit inane it is at least written with some gentle humour and I am enjoying it. I have read worse plots and this book is well written and very entertaining. Yes...finish the book so I can take new ones on our trip this week. Good idea...relaxing....an accomplishment of sorts.
There, my day is decided...what a relief!
I suppose not every day has to be motivated by goals and achievements. Today is DEFINITELY one of those days. I am sure there is a bit of an undercurrent of concern about my son's eye going on, but I can't do anything to help him with it other than pray and be here when he calls after his next surgery. Guess I'll just relax and enjoy my odd, lazy, unmotivated day.
Aaahh...here you go: just read the daily prayer in my book for today. It seems quite applicable!
"Lord, what a blessing it is to be able to come before You-the wisest, most intelligent Being in the universe......Thank You for giving me wisdom and direction, even when I can't see the way."
haha Now there's a prayer that fits the day here for me! haha
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Simple, But Likely Effective!
The short daily prayers in the little book I have been using this year are sometimes annoyingly simplistic, BUT they get right to the heart of the matter and anyone, even me, can understand their intent.
I especially appreciate the one assigned to June 22 and have been praying it and variations thereof on behalf of our financially struggling diocese as our Bishop, my husband and the others on staff try to regroup, reassign, fix, attempt, vary, create and generally continue to trust God to help them do the right things to help us all out here.
This is the prayer for that day and it simply encapsulates the desires and needs we have here:
"Lord, Your resources are unlimited. I boldly ask that You would provide for the needs of our (diocesan) ministry. Bring our ministry to the minds of people who are willing to give of their time, money, talents, or other resources to bless these ministry efforts to further Your kingdom."
Amen and amen!
I especially appreciate the one assigned to June 22 and have been praying it and variations thereof on behalf of our financially struggling diocese as our Bishop, my husband and the others on staff try to regroup, reassign, fix, attempt, vary, create and generally continue to trust God to help them do the right things to help us all out here.
This is the prayer for that day and it simply encapsulates the desires and needs we have here:
"Lord, Your resources are unlimited. I boldly ask that You would provide for the needs of our (diocesan) ministry. Bring our ministry to the minds of people who are willing to give of their time, money, talents, or other resources to bless these ministry efforts to further Your kingdom."
Amen and amen!
Well Cared For
My son just called again. Turns out the doctor who came to remove the rust from his eye this afternoon decided she did not feel confident about performing the procedure herself so she has referred him to an opthamologist. He is supposed to receive a call from that office on Monday to set up the surgery for next week so I am praying that is how it happens!! The rust particles are in the lower cornea and not blocking his vision nor causing any pain so I pray it stays that way until it can all be removed. In the meantime today's doctor set up a WCB account for him in case he has to miss any work. He is feeling very well cared for and I am glad of that. And so we wait.....
The OR Gallery opening went very well last night according to son. He was thrilled that not only all his friends came, but so did many people he has never seen before. Newcomers! YES!! Apparently it went very well all evening.
He was so tired when it was over that he actually turned down an invitation to go dancing for the rest of the night and went home to bed. He was concerned that the strobe lights and extra exhaution would not be good for his eye and I am glad he realized that.
Today he is taking his time resting and researching a more varied diet for his little tetra fish, named "1-2-3". Apparently 1-2-3 is constipated and needs some different food. hahaha It is a good thing my son's girlfriend is overseas right now because she would be in stiff competition with that fish for my son's attention. Such a cargiver as he is....hahaha. I have to admit though he is one cute little fish, very teeny and feisty and loveable.
So, I will exhale about my son's eyes until his appointment is set up for next week. In the meantime I keep praying and hoping this turns out just right for him. Thanks so much from him as well as myself to those of you who have let us know you are praying for a good outcome for him. Bless you all.
The OR Gallery opening went very well last night according to son. He was thrilled that not only all his friends came, but so did many people he has never seen before. Newcomers! YES!! Apparently it went very well all evening.
He was so tired when it was over that he actually turned down an invitation to go dancing for the rest of the night and went home to bed. He was concerned that the strobe lights and extra exhaution would not be good for his eye and I am glad he realized that.
Today he is taking his time resting and researching a more varied diet for his little tetra fish, named "1-2-3". Apparently 1-2-3 is constipated and needs some different food. hahaha It is a good thing my son's girlfriend is overseas right now because she would be in stiff competition with that fish for my son's attention. Such a cargiver as he is....hahaha. I have to admit though he is one cute little fish, very teeny and feisty and loveable.
So, I will exhale about my son's eyes until his appointment is set up for next week. In the meantime I keep praying and hoping this turns out just right for him. Thanks so much from him as well as myself to those of you who have let us know you are praying for a good outcome for him. Bless you all.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Thank You Lord That My Son Still Has His Vision!
Our son called us last night on the phone. Given that it was nearly midnight here we knew something was likely amiss. Sure enough, he needed some advice about a red, swollen, sore eye!
As he described the symptoms I became concerned about the lack of itching that could indicate an allergy and the lack of discharge that could indicate an infection. Eye wash drops had done nothing to lessen the redness or bring down the swelling and neither had allergy eye drops. I told him to get to the walk in clinic in his neighbourhood early this morning, before they were even open, so he could get in line right away.
He took my advice seriously, got there in time to be their very first patient and while he was there he was given a thorough examination by the doctor. A piece of metal was discovered embedded deep in his eye. By some miracle it had not pierced any retinal or corneal tissue and no obvious infection was showing.
The clinic is not equipped to dig pieces of metal out of eyeballs, so they sent him immediately down the street to the nearest optometry clinic. The clinic wasn't open yet so he waited outside until the office manager arrived. She took one look at his eye and the accompanying doctor's request for treatment and ushered him in ahead of the first booked patient. The doctor there was able to dig out the metal piece quite painlessly and install a bandage style contact lens. Unfortunately the metal was rusty and there are rust spots still located in my son's eye, so tomorrow afternoon he will return to that clinic as an emergency patient and the removal of the rust will begin. It may take several appointments to locate and remove all of it. In the meantime he is on antibiotics and sporting an eye patch to protect the eye while it heals from the medical invasion it has experienced and will continue to experience until all the rust is removed.
My son has spent the past week drilling through the flooring and putting up metal structures to hold art photos and paintings and sound speakers in the old building that houses the gallery where he is curating a new exhibit that opens tonight. He is scrupulously careful to always wear his safety goggles and cannot for the life of him figure out how a piece of metal could have embedded itself so deeply into one of his eyes. Losing his vision or otherwise damaging his eyes would be a fate worse than death in his mind and particularly so as he is a visual artist, so I know how careful he is to protect himself when working with tools for installations.
That is what struck the doctor that removed the metal piece. Even he cannot figure out how a piece of metal that large could find itself so deeply into the eye and he joins us all in gratitude that somehow there has apparently been no permanent damage to any of the surrounding tissue.
Thank you Lord for protecting my son from the worst case scenario. So far so good and we continue to pray for proper healing and no vision loss. Please bless him with a successful opening at the OR tonight after all the work he has put into the installation, to the point of injuring himself! Thank you Lord for your mercy and healing, Amen! A prayer from a grateful Mom!
As he described the symptoms I became concerned about the lack of itching that could indicate an allergy and the lack of discharge that could indicate an infection. Eye wash drops had done nothing to lessen the redness or bring down the swelling and neither had allergy eye drops. I told him to get to the walk in clinic in his neighbourhood early this morning, before they were even open, so he could get in line right away.
He took my advice seriously, got there in time to be their very first patient and while he was there he was given a thorough examination by the doctor. A piece of metal was discovered embedded deep in his eye. By some miracle it had not pierced any retinal or corneal tissue and no obvious infection was showing.
The clinic is not equipped to dig pieces of metal out of eyeballs, so they sent him immediately down the street to the nearest optometry clinic. The clinic wasn't open yet so he waited outside until the office manager arrived. She took one look at his eye and the accompanying doctor's request for treatment and ushered him in ahead of the first booked patient. The doctor there was able to dig out the metal piece quite painlessly and install a bandage style contact lens. Unfortunately the metal was rusty and there are rust spots still located in my son's eye, so tomorrow afternoon he will return to that clinic as an emergency patient and the removal of the rust will begin. It may take several appointments to locate and remove all of it. In the meantime he is on antibiotics and sporting an eye patch to protect the eye while it heals from the medical invasion it has experienced and will continue to experience until all the rust is removed.
My son has spent the past week drilling through the flooring and putting up metal structures to hold art photos and paintings and sound speakers in the old building that houses the gallery where he is curating a new exhibit that opens tonight. He is scrupulously careful to always wear his safety goggles and cannot for the life of him figure out how a piece of metal could have embedded itself so deeply into one of his eyes. Losing his vision or otherwise damaging his eyes would be a fate worse than death in his mind and particularly so as he is a visual artist, so I know how careful he is to protect himself when working with tools for installations.
That is what struck the doctor that removed the metal piece. Even he cannot figure out how a piece of metal that large could find itself so deeply into the eye and he joins us all in gratitude that somehow there has apparently been no permanent damage to any of the surrounding tissue.
Thank you Lord for protecting my son from the worst case scenario. So far so good and we continue to pray for proper healing and no vision loss. Please bless him with a successful opening at the OR tonight after all the work he has put into the installation, to the point of injuring himself! Thank you Lord for your mercy and healing, Amen! A prayer from a grateful Mom!
HUH? Wanna Try Saying That Again?? Maybe We Just Ate Too Much Lunch??
As we were running our errands today we began to realize we are somewhat tired. My husband was driving like a 90 year old and I was confused about how to get somewhere we have been more than once before...neither of us slept well last night so it has been "one of THOSE days"! haha
Just now my husband asked me to assist him in getting some new tea leaves transferred from the bag to an air tight glass jar as he was spilling it hither and yon. He was trying to tell me that the leaves were hard to direct because they were too intertwined, or perhaps he was telling me they were too intermingled. It came out as "intertwingled". I laughed and laughed at his mistake but when I tried to use one of the two words he had confused, my own word came out as "intermined". Sigh......
We both need a nap.
Despite the exhaustion I did go for a walk to the grocery store after lunch at Enso Japanese Restaurant just off the south side of Quance, tucked in beside the Nayot shoes dealership, a couple of doors down from Oliv. The food was very good but after the quality and portion sizes in Vancouver for half the price I wasn't that impressed with what we got for our money. Luckily for Enso the demise of both Michi Sushi and, more recently, Hanabi Japanese Restaurant will probably guarantee them a clientele of folk like ourselves who cannot stomach the dreadful sushi attempts at the I Like Sushi and I Love Sushi buffets.
So I am serious about that nap thing....nighty night for now!
Just now my husband asked me to assist him in getting some new tea leaves transferred from the bag to an air tight glass jar as he was spilling it hither and yon. He was trying to tell me that the leaves were hard to direct because they were too intertwined, or perhaps he was telling me they were too intermingled. It came out as "intertwingled". I laughed and laughed at his mistake but when I tried to use one of the two words he had confused, my own word came out as "intermined". Sigh......
We both need a nap.
Despite the exhaustion I did go for a walk to the grocery store after lunch at Enso Japanese Restaurant just off the south side of Quance, tucked in beside the Nayot shoes dealership, a couple of doors down from Oliv. The food was very good but after the quality and portion sizes in Vancouver for half the price I wasn't that impressed with what we got for our money. Luckily for Enso the demise of both Michi Sushi and, more recently, Hanabi Japanese Restaurant will probably guarantee them a clientele of folk like ourselves who cannot stomach the dreadful sushi attempts at the I Like Sushi and I Love Sushi buffets.
So I am serious about that nap thing....nighty night for now!
Apparently I Stand Corrected
According to my husband the Chinese buffet lunch we had the other day was, at best, a bit better than mediocre, saved by the fact that even with only a half hour left before the end of the buffet the food was still hot in its trays and by the sheer variety of dishes.
It would seem that my blood sugar had likely dropped to a point where any food containing carbohydrates would taste absolutely heavenly. In fact he is still chuckling at the rate at which I consumed more food at one meal than he has seen me eat in well over 2 years and at the rave review I gave it not only at the time but again this morning.
Blah.......and here I thought we had found a decent Chinese restaurant buffet.....poop......wrong again......sigh....stupid blood sugar......
It would seem that my blood sugar had likely dropped to a point where any food containing carbohydrates would taste absolutely heavenly. In fact he is still chuckling at the rate at which I consumed more food at one meal than he has seen me eat in well over 2 years and at the rave review I gave it not only at the time but again this morning.
Blah.......and here I thought we had found a decent Chinese restaurant buffet.....poop......wrong again......sigh....stupid blood sugar......
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Just a Little Walk With Jesus
No matter how ill, depressed, lonely, incapacitated or stressed I feel at any given time, a walk through a park filled with trees or along a street filled with blooming flower beds makes me very conscious of the Lord's presence. My husband feels that way in the mountains courting danger, but I feel that way on a simple tree lined street.
We just went for our daily walk...a little less than 3km today as we have other tasks to accomplish...and spent most of our traipsing time walking through Wascana Park between Broad and Albert Streets. We tried to go for a bit of an Indian buffet lunch at Bombay, but a handprinted sign hanging somewhat awry in their window informed us the restaurant is closed for a "few days", so we walked back a block to Leo's Tavern for our usual taco beef salad and buffalo chicken burger with coleslaw. Yum! (Sadly we are almost out of coupons and gift cards for all the restaurants we have been enjoying for the past year, so I am going to have to start cooking creatively again at home...dang and blast!! hahaha)
Just outside our front door at home we had a lovely encounter with yet another goose family, this time riding herd on a late batch of 5 wee ones, still at the gosling stage...ooooh, TOO cute!! I could hardly pull myself away to get going on our walk.
It is a warm and sunny day, but of course the prairie wind continues its nearly daily blow through. At least it keeps the mosquitos moving! We loafed along through the park to the Albert Street bridge on the way to the restaurant, then took the shorter route back through the Provincial Museum lobby where my husband had the bright idea to stop at the gift shop for some reason I cannot fathom. He detests gift shops! Of course I had to pick up 2 very inexpensive bread and butter pottery plates created in the new design mode of Parsons Dietrich pottery in Moose Jaw; some lovely new ideas from them that I vastly prefer to their former designs and colours. Our little old bread and butter plates that are part of a beloved china set from my maternal grandmother's estate barely hold a slice of toast each and are rather frustrating to use, so it is time to replace them with larger plates. The dinner plates are also getting a bit chipped and cracked so will start replacing them one or two at a time as well over the next year or so. I have never had to have matched sets of 6 or 8 and now particularly prefer a variety after being in Japan and seeing how visually exciting mismatched china and pottery CAN be when setting a table. If I can continue to find pottery plates at the low price I paid today it won't take long to build up a new combination of interesting daily use dishes.
Just after we got home Purolator delivery arrived with the new machete from Hickory Knives my husband ordered from Amazon a few days ago. We have the 2 smaller knives that are great for preparing camp food and some minor chopping down of branches for fire starter wood, but for the canoe trips in August he has needed a more adequate machete for clearing brush. It was so reasonably priced and the delivery was free....when I look at what he would have had to pay for the same machete here in the retail outlets that carry it I can hardly believe how much less he spent by ordering it online. Fantastic.....
We are not going to make it to the bottle depot today after all as my husband has to spend some time communicating with his hiking pals and making a leather sheath for the new machete. He has a lovely piece of leather he has been saving for years for just such a project....FAR more exciting than handling dirty, sticky cans and bottles this afternoon. haha We will go in the morning instead. That is the joy of holidays. If goals are not accomplished one day there is always the next day to do them.....sigh....we realized this week we are SO ready to join our many friends who have retired over the past few years, some so much younger than ourselves. Double sigh as we realize there is no way my husband can retire before the age of 70, assuming his health continues to stay as good as it is right now. If he can't....well, I am not going to think about it at this moment!! Of course that is how we feel this week, but then a few minutes ago he brought up something work related and I could see the sparkle in his eye as he began contemplating how he is going to solve a particular issue when he returns there, haha. Maybe he is not so ready to retire after all.......haha.
We just went for our daily walk...a little less than 3km today as we have other tasks to accomplish...and spent most of our traipsing time walking through Wascana Park between Broad and Albert Streets. We tried to go for a bit of an Indian buffet lunch at Bombay, but a handprinted sign hanging somewhat awry in their window informed us the restaurant is closed for a "few days", so we walked back a block to Leo's Tavern for our usual taco beef salad and buffalo chicken burger with coleslaw. Yum! (Sadly we are almost out of coupons and gift cards for all the restaurants we have been enjoying for the past year, so I am going to have to start cooking creatively again at home...dang and blast!! hahaha)
Just outside our front door at home we had a lovely encounter with yet another goose family, this time riding herd on a late batch of 5 wee ones, still at the gosling stage...ooooh, TOO cute!! I could hardly pull myself away to get going on our walk.
It is a warm and sunny day, but of course the prairie wind continues its nearly daily blow through. At least it keeps the mosquitos moving! We loafed along through the park to the Albert Street bridge on the way to the restaurant, then took the shorter route back through the Provincial Museum lobby where my husband had the bright idea to stop at the gift shop for some reason I cannot fathom. He detests gift shops! Of course I had to pick up 2 very inexpensive bread and butter pottery plates created in the new design mode of Parsons Dietrich pottery in Moose Jaw; some lovely new ideas from them that I vastly prefer to their former designs and colours. Our little old bread and butter plates that are part of a beloved china set from my maternal grandmother's estate barely hold a slice of toast each and are rather frustrating to use, so it is time to replace them with larger plates. The dinner plates are also getting a bit chipped and cracked so will start replacing them one or two at a time as well over the next year or so. I have never had to have matched sets of 6 or 8 and now particularly prefer a variety after being in Japan and seeing how visually exciting mismatched china and pottery CAN be when setting a table. If I can continue to find pottery plates at the low price I paid today it won't take long to build up a new combination of interesting daily use dishes.
Just after we got home Purolator delivery arrived with the new machete from Hickory Knives my husband ordered from Amazon a few days ago. We have the 2 smaller knives that are great for preparing camp food and some minor chopping down of branches for fire starter wood, but for the canoe trips in August he has needed a more adequate machete for clearing brush. It was so reasonably priced and the delivery was free....when I look at what he would have had to pay for the same machete here in the retail outlets that carry it I can hardly believe how much less he spent by ordering it online. Fantastic.....
We are not going to make it to the bottle depot today after all as my husband has to spend some time communicating with his hiking pals and making a leather sheath for the new machete. He has a lovely piece of leather he has been saving for years for just such a project....FAR more exciting than handling dirty, sticky cans and bottles this afternoon. haha We will go in the morning instead. That is the joy of holidays. If goals are not accomplished one day there is always the next day to do them.....sigh....we realized this week we are SO ready to join our many friends who have retired over the past few years, some so much younger than ourselves. Double sigh as we realize there is no way my husband can retire before the age of 70, assuming his health continues to stay as good as it is right now. If he can't....well, I am not going to think about it at this moment!! Of course that is how we feel this week, but then a few minutes ago he brought up something work related and I could see the sparkle in his eye as he began contemplating how he is going to solve a particular issue when he returns there, haha. Maybe he is not so ready to retire after all.......haha.
I Love It When The Plan Finally Comes Together!!
After a tremendous amount of fiddling around earlier in the week, trying out this plan and that plan and this possibility and that possibility as we attempted to juggle family, friends and mountain climbing for my husband's last week of holidays, once we did make decisions everything began falling into place quite neatly.
Sometimes I wonder if God isn't watching us trying to put details together and thinking, "O for My sake! Just decide all ready what you want to do and I will bring the details together!!! Make a plan and get going with it!!" haha
Seriously, I do wonder about that....
As soon as my husband decided which days he was choosing to be available for the packpacking trip everything else began to work out. A notice from my parents' residence that the guest room there had opened up for us the exact nights we need to stay in Calgary arrived less than five minutes after he made the decision. The fellow he had planned to hike with was in touch only a few hours later with the great news that he was available those days. The friends we want to see near Calgary thought the time we would then have for them was just perfect, my parents are thrilled with the days and part days we/I can spend with them around their various appointments and just last night a 3rd fellow emailed to say that not only can he go on the hike, but if he does it will mean I only have to drive my husband to Cochrane to meet up with the other guys instead of all the way to Olds and back the day they leave. It gives me an extra afternoon with my folks when they are free to visit or take them to run a few errands. It gives my husband more time with them as well AND extra time to do his camping grocery shopping in Calgary instead of setting up coolers and ice packs here at home that have to be dragged along in the car and babied for 2 days prior to the hike.
O how I love it when a plan comes together but sometimes my husband and I forget there are times when we just have to step out in faith and not expect The Grand Plan of God for the situation to be made clear ahead of time. We are not so spiritually helpless as to need all the info in advance for every decision. It is kind of like asking God to turn on the lights in a dark room when you know very well the switch is on the wall right in front of you. All you have to do is initiate the flipping of the switch and quite probably the light will come on and shine in the entire room. If the light doesn't come on or only part of the room is lighted there is usually a good reason. The Kingdom of God is participatory...that is how we build a relationship with our Heavenly Father instead of thinking we need to plug a nickel into the slot machine of every decision and expect the answer to pop out before it is necessary, thereby negating any need for that amazing Father Creator and Created Person relationship.
In other news the weather is getting very summery now. We are looking at daytime highs of +30C and higher very soon. I was kind of hoping we would miss some of that when we are in Calgary but it appears it will be nearly as warm there by the end of next week...as warm but without the ubiquitous AC units in the buildings that we have come to expect around here.
So, time to start thinking about laundry and packing up again over the next few days. This has been one of the best months of holidays we have had in many years. There has been far less driving, less stress, less frantic activity. It has been wonderful. I am so grateful for this time with my husband.
Praying that our son can have the installation completed by tonight for the show he is curating at the OR Gallery in Vancouver that opens tomorrow evening. There is a great group of artists featured: Mark Fell, Jordan Milner and Eileen Quinlan as well as a half dozen incredible anonymous Tantra paintings. When I called our son yesterday he was at work, drilling a hole in the floor of the gallery for placing one of the units of work. Hoping it is a great opening that is well attended.
Soon it will be time for lunch and then we are taking our accummulation of bottles and cans to the depot. Now that we don't have to drive for hours out of the city to get to a recycling station we can take them in every time we get a big bag of each of them instead of having to fill the basement with the darned things until we have time to make a long drive to be rid of them. Yay!
Sometimes I wonder if God isn't watching us trying to put details together and thinking, "O for My sake! Just decide all ready what you want to do and I will bring the details together!!! Make a plan and get going with it!!" haha
Seriously, I do wonder about that....
As soon as my husband decided which days he was choosing to be available for the packpacking trip everything else began to work out. A notice from my parents' residence that the guest room there had opened up for us the exact nights we need to stay in Calgary arrived less than five minutes after he made the decision. The fellow he had planned to hike with was in touch only a few hours later with the great news that he was available those days. The friends we want to see near Calgary thought the time we would then have for them was just perfect, my parents are thrilled with the days and part days we/I can spend with them around their various appointments and just last night a 3rd fellow emailed to say that not only can he go on the hike, but if he does it will mean I only have to drive my husband to Cochrane to meet up with the other guys instead of all the way to Olds and back the day they leave. It gives me an extra afternoon with my folks when they are free to visit or take them to run a few errands. It gives my husband more time with them as well AND extra time to do his camping grocery shopping in Calgary instead of setting up coolers and ice packs here at home that have to be dragged along in the car and babied for 2 days prior to the hike.
O how I love it when a plan comes together but sometimes my husband and I forget there are times when we just have to step out in faith and not expect The Grand Plan of God for the situation to be made clear ahead of time. We are not so spiritually helpless as to need all the info in advance for every decision. It is kind of like asking God to turn on the lights in a dark room when you know very well the switch is on the wall right in front of you. All you have to do is initiate the flipping of the switch and quite probably the light will come on and shine in the entire room. If the light doesn't come on or only part of the room is lighted there is usually a good reason. The Kingdom of God is participatory...that is how we build a relationship with our Heavenly Father instead of thinking we need to plug a nickel into the slot machine of every decision and expect the answer to pop out before it is necessary, thereby negating any need for that amazing Father Creator and Created Person relationship.
In other news the weather is getting very summery now. We are looking at daytime highs of +30C and higher very soon. I was kind of hoping we would miss some of that when we are in Calgary but it appears it will be nearly as warm there by the end of next week...as warm but without the ubiquitous AC units in the buildings that we have come to expect around here.
So, time to start thinking about laundry and packing up again over the next few days. This has been one of the best months of holidays we have had in many years. There has been far less driving, less stress, less frantic activity. It has been wonderful. I am so grateful for this time with my husband.
Praying that our son can have the installation completed by tonight for the show he is curating at the OR Gallery in Vancouver that opens tomorrow evening. There is a great group of artists featured: Mark Fell, Jordan Milner and Eileen Quinlan as well as a half dozen incredible anonymous Tantra paintings. When I called our son yesterday he was at work, drilling a hole in the floor of the gallery for placing one of the units of work. Hoping it is a great opening that is well attended.
Soon it will be time for lunch and then we are taking our accummulation of bottles and cans to the depot. Now that we don't have to drive for hours out of the city to get to a recycling station we can take them in every time we get a big bag of each of them instead of having to fill the basement with the darned things until we have time to make a long drive to be rid of them. Yay!
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Goosy Goosy Gander
We spent the morning completing my husband's pension application and got it ready to mail. Since neither of us has slept well the last couple of nights we decided it was time for another decent walk today. While I have been working away at my physiotherapy, nothing replaces a good long walk!
We collected a bag of things to donate to the nearest thrift store and it happens to be 3km from our house, so off we went, stopping off at the post office to mail the application and taking a good long break for lunch at a new Chinese buffet, China Liang, on the ground floor of the Wingate Wyndham hotel on the corner of Broad and Saskatchewan. (note: if you enjoy Canadian style Chinese food buffets this is a particularly good one. Even I enjoyed it and I am not much for that sort of food. There is tremendous variety, the food was all hot and fresh and very tasty.)
We continued on the rest of the way to the thrift store, happy to drop off our bag of items as one of them is a particuarly heavy African carving! My husband toured around the store while I took a breather on a bench in the attached mall and then we started for home.
Along the way we stopped in to view the Scottish and Irish retail items at Ceilidh on Broad Street. There is a lot of stock in a small space and it was fascinating to look at everything from beautiful Irish Beleek china to Scottish kilts. I am enamoured of the carry on size Highland dancer suitcases that contain organized spaces inside plus a stand to set it on and a clothing bar so that the whole unit opens up like a small clothes closet with drawers. I WANT! It would certainly assist me in organizing my clothes for short trips like our jaunt next week, but I am out of funds for expenditures that aren't immediately necessary. Now I know what I want though. Finally, the perfect carry on case for me. My husband purchased a small box of Scottish tea...tea...BIG surprise, I know. haha
We also made a stop at the Korean grocery for some delicious snack packs of sea weed. Now there is a light purchase to carry home! A huge bag of it is light as a feather.
Eventually we made it home. I admit I was very tired from walking 6 km after not taking more than one long walk since we got home from Vancouver. However, I am tired and will definitely sleep well tonight. I am wondering where we could go for another such walk tomorrow. Guess it will have to be around the "lake" across the street, aka Goose Poop County. Well at least there are trees to look at.
Oh, speaking of geese: as we walked out of our back door this afternoon to start our walk we came upon an entire family waltzing past. The 4 wee ones are a good month old now and not so wee any more despite having little yet in the way of useable wings. They are still covered in down, SO cute!!! When we came out on the porch the smallest one started toddling toward us, mom following immediately behind in case we posed a danger. She soon guided the little one away from us just as the daddy goose took a winged swipe and a squawk at one of the hares that had come out from inside the neighbour kid's little plastic playhouse close to our place. hahaha For a second we had geese and bunnies racing about in all directions. It was hilarious.
So that was our day, our warm and sunny day.
Yawn...nighty night.........
We collected a bag of things to donate to the nearest thrift store and it happens to be 3km from our house, so off we went, stopping off at the post office to mail the application and taking a good long break for lunch at a new Chinese buffet, China Liang, on the ground floor of the Wingate Wyndham hotel on the corner of Broad and Saskatchewan. (note: if you enjoy Canadian style Chinese food buffets this is a particularly good one. Even I enjoyed it and I am not much for that sort of food. There is tremendous variety, the food was all hot and fresh and very tasty.)
We continued on the rest of the way to the thrift store, happy to drop off our bag of items as one of them is a particuarly heavy African carving! My husband toured around the store while I took a breather on a bench in the attached mall and then we started for home.
Along the way we stopped in to view the Scottish and Irish retail items at Ceilidh on Broad Street. There is a lot of stock in a small space and it was fascinating to look at everything from beautiful Irish Beleek china to Scottish kilts. I am enamoured of the carry on size Highland dancer suitcases that contain organized spaces inside plus a stand to set it on and a clothing bar so that the whole unit opens up like a small clothes closet with drawers. I WANT! It would certainly assist me in organizing my clothes for short trips like our jaunt next week, but I am out of funds for expenditures that aren't immediately necessary. Now I know what I want though. Finally, the perfect carry on case for me. My husband purchased a small box of Scottish tea...tea...BIG surprise, I know. haha
We also made a stop at the Korean grocery for some delicious snack packs of sea weed. Now there is a light purchase to carry home! A huge bag of it is light as a feather.
Eventually we made it home. I admit I was very tired from walking 6 km after not taking more than one long walk since we got home from Vancouver. However, I am tired and will definitely sleep well tonight. I am wondering where we could go for another such walk tomorrow. Guess it will have to be around the "lake" across the street, aka Goose Poop County. Well at least there are trees to look at.
Oh, speaking of geese: as we walked out of our back door this afternoon to start our walk we came upon an entire family waltzing past. The 4 wee ones are a good month old now and not so wee any more despite having little yet in the way of useable wings. They are still covered in down, SO cute!!! When we came out on the porch the smallest one started toddling toward us, mom following immediately behind in case we posed a danger. She soon guided the little one away from us just as the daddy goose took a winged swipe and a squawk at one of the hares that had come out from inside the neighbour kid's little plastic playhouse close to our place. hahaha For a second we had geese and bunnies racing about in all directions. It was hilarious.
So that was our day, our warm and sunny day.
Yawn...nighty night.........
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Movie Night
My husband and I are presently watching "The Martian". Actually he is watching it and I am blogging in order to stay awake until it's finally over. The acting is okay even if it is a bit stiff apart from the main character, the script has its cutely funny moments even if the dialogue is somewhat contrived, the premise is only a little bit silly, but O dear lord this show is SLOOOOW! In the past few years only "Gravity" has bored me this badly.
The worst thing is that while I am trying to blog to get through the movie, I have nothing interesting to write about....sigh.... Okay, back to the movie. May there be a bit more action in the final hour of viewing...O dear Lord, is there really still another whole hour of this to sit through?? Sigh....
The worst thing is that while I am trying to blog to get through the movie, I have nothing interesting to write about....sigh.... Okay, back to the movie. May there be a bit more action in the final hour of viewing...O dear Lord, is there really still another whole hour of this to sit through?? Sigh....
Monday, June 20, 2016
A Tale of a Lost Wallet
It seems that whenever God feels a need to get my son's full attention so they can discuss some things together in the midst of my son's crazy busy life, his wallet goes missing. There is often some odd coincidence that finds it returned to him that reminds him God is in control of his life and that perhaps he has a need to slow down and spend some time with his Heavenly Father.
His latest wallet escapade last week was interesting enough, but the incident that caught my attention this time as we talked about his spiritual adventures is the last time it went missing, 5 years ago.
He came home very late one night/early one morning in a taxi and in the course of paying for his cab fare he dropped his wallet in the street without noticing. This was on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and he spent a frantic day on the Sunday attempting to locate it. No success whatsoever. By Monday he was feeling rather devastated and was too upset to begin the time consuming task of replacing his drivers' license, cancelling his credit card and figuring out how he was going to manage without the cash he had lost. Finally he spent some solid time in prayer about his predicament. Tuesday morning he went to work with a plan to contact all the companies and businesses he would have to contact to file a report of loss and begin the arduous process of replacing important ID. Mid morning, just as he was about to begin making calls on his break, a florist arrived with a delivery for someone at the gallery where my son was working. The florist said he also was looking for a second person and gave my son's name. My son wondered what was up. When he came to the front office the florist handed him a package and inside was my son's wallet, completely intact with all his cards and licenses and cash. Apparently when he left the cab the wallet fell out on the street near his house. Monday afternoon the florist was driving along that street and found the wallet still laying there, completely untouched. It hadn't even been run over by another vehicle. He went to my son's door to try to return it but no one answered the door. As it happened there was no home phone number ID in the wallet. There was no safe place to leave the wallet at my son's house, so the driver kept it, deciding to return the next day and try again. In the wallet though was a business card for the gallery where my son was working, but the driver had no time to drive through downtown Vancouver that day to locate it. The next morning, in came the order for flowers for the gallery. The driver knew that address was familiar and it suddenly hit him it was the same gallery on the business card in my son's wallet. So, he took the wallet with him and my son received it back with great joy and gratitude.
I love that story. It is the typical kind of experience our family members have when God is attempting to get us recentered and refocused on himself and his joy in being our heavenly father, communicating with us and directing us on better paths than we tend to choose for ourselves. My son has many such stories to tell of God's intervention at upsetting or even seemingly hopeless times in his life...just like his dad and I. It seems with all 3 of us that God has to be dramatic to get our attention! It certainly was a good ploy at that time for my son.
His latest wallet escapade last week was interesting enough, but the incident that caught my attention this time as we talked about his spiritual adventures is the last time it went missing, 5 years ago.
He came home very late one night/early one morning in a taxi and in the course of paying for his cab fare he dropped his wallet in the street without noticing. This was on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and he spent a frantic day on the Sunday attempting to locate it. No success whatsoever. By Monday he was feeling rather devastated and was too upset to begin the time consuming task of replacing his drivers' license, cancelling his credit card and figuring out how he was going to manage without the cash he had lost. Finally he spent some solid time in prayer about his predicament. Tuesday morning he went to work with a plan to contact all the companies and businesses he would have to contact to file a report of loss and begin the arduous process of replacing important ID. Mid morning, just as he was about to begin making calls on his break, a florist arrived with a delivery for someone at the gallery where my son was working. The florist said he also was looking for a second person and gave my son's name. My son wondered what was up. When he came to the front office the florist handed him a package and inside was my son's wallet, completely intact with all his cards and licenses and cash. Apparently when he left the cab the wallet fell out on the street near his house. Monday afternoon the florist was driving along that street and found the wallet still laying there, completely untouched. It hadn't even been run over by another vehicle. He went to my son's door to try to return it but no one answered the door. As it happened there was no home phone number ID in the wallet. There was no safe place to leave the wallet at my son's house, so the driver kept it, deciding to return the next day and try again. In the wallet though was a business card for the gallery where my son was working, but the driver had no time to drive through downtown Vancouver that day to locate it. The next morning, in came the order for flowers for the gallery. The driver knew that address was familiar and it suddenly hit him it was the same gallery on the business card in my son's wallet. So, he took the wallet with him and my son received it back with great joy and gratitude.
I love that story. It is the typical kind of experience our family members have when God is attempting to get us recentered and refocused on himself and his joy in being our heavenly father, communicating with us and directing us on better paths than we tend to choose for ourselves. My son has many such stories to tell of God's intervention at upsetting or even seemingly hopeless times in his life...just like his dad and I. It seems with all 3 of us that God has to be dramatic to get our attention! It certainly was a good ploy at that time for my son.
Where Have the Past 3 Days Disappeared To??
It is turning into a happy time of Stay-Cation around here.
Saturday went past in a blur of exhaustion. My hip and thigh were so sore and so tired from 11 days of walking that I took the day completely off. I did do 8 loads of laundry and decided all the running up and down 2 flights of stairs was sufficient exercise for the day. My husband ended up taking a 5 mile round trip walk to and from a fabric store that no longer exists in that location, but at least he made it home before the thunderstorm and the accompanying rain and winds. We watched the "Minions" movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were so many hilarious puns and jokes arising from the characters' verbal expressions but a person has to listen very closely to catch them all.
Sunday morning we drove into Moose Jaw for church. O how wonderful to see so many old friends and get at least a few minutes with each one for visiting either before the service or at the coffee hour afterward. We were among the last to leave because it was so much fun being reunited. The sermon by pastor Luke was excellent, based on the New Testament reading from Galations about how for disciples of Jesus Christ there is no longer any male or female, neither Jew nor Greek, but we are all one in Christ. If we keep that in mind and stop defining ourselves in terms of what "tents" we have set up for ourselves (popularity with other people, importance of job or ministry, financial success etc.) and let the tents collapse around us as we redfine ourselves as God's children, it removes a lot of stress and pride from our lives. After church and visiting, we ate a delicious lunch of fatty, salty, chicken and chips and cole slaw at Deja Vu Cafe and enjoyed every decadent, fat producing, blood pressure raising mouthful!!
For some reason the drive there and back seemed to take forever. Perhaps it was because going there we were too tired to talk because of sleeping in and having to race around at light speed to get there on time. Returning home we were too full of unhealthy food to have enough energy to talk to each other, but eventually we did arrive home and spent the entire evening watching boxing on tv.
Today we decided to take the rest of this week as stay-cation and continue accomplishing some of the house related tasks we got started with on the weekend: cleaning out the basement, a camp related sewing project for my husband, laundry for me etc. We made some phone calls about going west into Alberta next week and as we reaffirmed our decision to wait until then the plans for accommodation and seeing friends and family all came together. My husband MAY even get a bit of a backpacking trip in for a couple of days. I am so proud of him for deciding now he will not be disappointed if that aspect of the journey doesn't work out. It will leave more time anyway for a couple we are very close to and want desperately to spend time with.
I grocery shopped this morning. I woke up at 3:50am to the sound of a lone goose squawking and calling out to his companions who were not yet around. Sure enough it was "Uncle Harry" as we have dubbed him. The mated couple he is usually seen with were elsewhere and he was not impressed. He continued to squawk at 10 second intervals for 2 and a half hours as he marched around the building in high dudgeon. I have never been so grateful to see that mated pair showing up for their morning poop on the property!! I gave up trying to sleep as I cannot block that kind of noise out and so admire my husband who barely notices such things once he is soundly asleep. At least my shopping was done in time to run some other errands before lunch.
After lunch my husband had some errands of his own and invited me to come along. Any excuse to delay 2 hours worth of ironing is fine by me...there is always tomorrow, right?? He has to work on his pension application tomorrow so that will be a good time for me to iron, right??
We spent some time at a crazy little liquidation outlet on Park Street where we found some items we have been looking for, have been seeking for months with no success in the usual retail outlets. I am not a big fan of liquidation stores as they seem so disorganized and grubby. This one was both, but hidden among the many aisles and shelves of junk, there were some real treasures for us to find.
After a crazy hour in one of the big box malls where I attempted to pay my phone bill using our usual bank's ATM and it not accepting my card for some reason no one can explain, while my husband headed for the dollar store and told me to meet him there afterward, the discovery after spending nearly a half hour of me trying to locate him and he me that there are actually 2 dollar stores within sight of each other on opposite ends of a huge parking lot and he went to one while I went looking for him in the other, after both of us spent a bit of time in panic mode wondering what had happened to the other person as we raced back and forth between various dollar stores, the bank and our car, continuing to miss each other, we eventually found each other and drove over to the nearest pub for a lime soda and a good laugh about our predicament.
Once we recovered from the stress and the subsequent laughter at our own lack of communication, we found some pleasant residential streets to drive on as we wended our way home at the beginning of the rush hour starting along what would have been our usual route back. We ate an early supper, my husband is now napping, I am blogging and when he wakes up we will watch "American Ninja Warrior" together. (For some wives it is the dreaded football and for me it is ANW!! hahaha)
It is so lovely to have so much time at home to rest and accomplish some chores and have some fun times that are "just for us", without being trapped at home the entire holiday. What a great vacation thus far!
Saturday went past in a blur of exhaustion. My hip and thigh were so sore and so tired from 11 days of walking that I took the day completely off. I did do 8 loads of laundry and decided all the running up and down 2 flights of stairs was sufficient exercise for the day. My husband ended up taking a 5 mile round trip walk to and from a fabric store that no longer exists in that location, but at least he made it home before the thunderstorm and the accompanying rain and winds. We watched the "Minions" movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were so many hilarious puns and jokes arising from the characters' verbal expressions but a person has to listen very closely to catch them all.
Sunday morning we drove into Moose Jaw for church. O how wonderful to see so many old friends and get at least a few minutes with each one for visiting either before the service or at the coffee hour afterward. We were among the last to leave because it was so much fun being reunited. The sermon by pastor Luke was excellent, based on the New Testament reading from Galations about how for disciples of Jesus Christ there is no longer any male or female, neither Jew nor Greek, but we are all one in Christ. If we keep that in mind and stop defining ourselves in terms of what "tents" we have set up for ourselves (popularity with other people, importance of job or ministry, financial success etc.) and let the tents collapse around us as we redfine ourselves as God's children, it removes a lot of stress and pride from our lives. After church and visiting, we ate a delicious lunch of fatty, salty, chicken and chips and cole slaw at Deja Vu Cafe and enjoyed every decadent, fat producing, blood pressure raising mouthful!!
For some reason the drive there and back seemed to take forever. Perhaps it was because going there we were too tired to talk because of sleeping in and having to race around at light speed to get there on time. Returning home we were too full of unhealthy food to have enough energy to talk to each other, but eventually we did arrive home and spent the entire evening watching boxing on tv.
Today we decided to take the rest of this week as stay-cation and continue accomplishing some of the house related tasks we got started with on the weekend: cleaning out the basement, a camp related sewing project for my husband, laundry for me etc. We made some phone calls about going west into Alberta next week and as we reaffirmed our decision to wait until then the plans for accommodation and seeing friends and family all came together. My husband MAY even get a bit of a backpacking trip in for a couple of days. I am so proud of him for deciding now he will not be disappointed if that aspect of the journey doesn't work out. It will leave more time anyway for a couple we are very close to and want desperately to spend time with.
I grocery shopped this morning. I woke up at 3:50am to the sound of a lone goose squawking and calling out to his companions who were not yet around. Sure enough it was "Uncle Harry" as we have dubbed him. The mated couple he is usually seen with were elsewhere and he was not impressed. He continued to squawk at 10 second intervals for 2 and a half hours as he marched around the building in high dudgeon. I have never been so grateful to see that mated pair showing up for their morning poop on the property!! I gave up trying to sleep as I cannot block that kind of noise out and so admire my husband who barely notices such things once he is soundly asleep. At least my shopping was done in time to run some other errands before lunch.
After lunch my husband had some errands of his own and invited me to come along. Any excuse to delay 2 hours worth of ironing is fine by me...there is always tomorrow, right?? He has to work on his pension application tomorrow so that will be a good time for me to iron, right??
We spent some time at a crazy little liquidation outlet on Park Street where we found some items we have been looking for, have been seeking for months with no success in the usual retail outlets. I am not a big fan of liquidation stores as they seem so disorganized and grubby. This one was both, but hidden among the many aisles and shelves of junk, there were some real treasures for us to find.
After a crazy hour in one of the big box malls where I attempted to pay my phone bill using our usual bank's ATM and it not accepting my card for some reason no one can explain, while my husband headed for the dollar store and told me to meet him there afterward, the discovery after spending nearly a half hour of me trying to locate him and he me that there are actually 2 dollar stores within sight of each other on opposite ends of a huge parking lot and he went to one while I went looking for him in the other, after both of us spent a bit of time in panic mode wondering what had happened to the other person as we raced back and forth between various dollar stores, the bank and our car, continuing to miss each other, we eventually found each other and drove over to the nearest pub for a lime soda and a good laugh about our predicament.
Once we recovered from the stress and the subsequent laughter at our own lack of communication, we found some pleasant residential streets to drive on as we wended our way home at the beginning of the rush hour starting along what would have been our usual route back. We ate an early supper, my husband is now napping, I am blogging and when he wakes up we will watch "American Ninja Warrior" together. (For some wives it is the dreaded football and for me it is ANW!! hahaha)
It is so lovely to have so much time at home to rest and accomplish some chores and have some fun times that are "just for us", without being trapped at home the entire holiday. What a great vacation thus far!
Friday, June 17, 2016
Yet Another Job Change For My Dear Husband!
What we have known for the past month is now official and public. Another change is in the offing in my husband's ministry and subsequently for me I suppose.
The email has now gone out to our congregation from the wardens and vestry that my husband is resigning as their priest at the end of August. Although he will continue to preach for them for 3 weeks per month in Sept. and Oct. in order to help them have more time to get a new priest, he will be, for the first time in many years, down to only 1 full time position instead of 2 part time positions. It is a good thing for him and far better for diocese and church. Hopefully when he explains how his leaving is actually going to be better for our church in the long run they will understand and forgive him for leaving after only 16 months. They are poised to grow in a positive way that we have found to be somewhat unusual for a mostly middle aged congregation. If they were to have a new priest, even part time, who had no other serious job distractions and needs that had to be fulfilled, they would be able to have far more success growing in numbers than they are with a distracted, barely able to maintain his part time agreement due to stresses and needs in the other job, priest like my husband. My prayer is that they would find the right solution very quickly so they can get on with the job while being overseen by someone who has no other task but to love them and care for them and for the new people they will bring to worship.
This all came about very unexpectedly only a month ago. Our bishop was having a dream about a tiny town in our diocese and he wasn't sure why. There has been no church there in quite some years now. However, as he wondered about this dream and why it seemed so significant to him, he happened to mention it to another diocesan staff. The man felt led to do some research about the former parish and in the process discovered money in a forgotten account from the sale of parish property that has been sitting in the bank for a long time. There is enough in the account to pay my husband's position as a full time one for some months. Within 2 weeks of its discovery, the finance committee voted that it be put to that very purpose.
Doing his office position full time has become most necessary over the past year. It can't be done by anyone in only 3 or less days a week, at least not properly. Important issues get left waiting for far too long before they are dealt with and that is not good for the diocese as a whole. The experiment of doing it part time in order to have time for a second source of income has not worked very well but was necessary until this bank account was found. My husband has been under considerable stress trying to balance out both positions in an attempt to have the necessary time to put his heart into each one the way each deserves. After a year of doing this balancing act he was nearly ready to resign from both of them and return to working in a lumber yard or to return strictly to parish ministry, but knew that was not the way God was leading.
So, it seems things are starting to work out the way they should for both congregation and diocese. I am very grateful to God for this change. However, now I am wondering once again what is going to happen to me? A new priest at our church would not want the former priest or his wife hanging about while he or she gets established. At the same time I am not eager to be cast adrift once again after putting a lot of time into getting to know our people and feeling a stability there. If I continue to attend there even if my husband can't, and that is most acceptable in Anglican circles, transportation for me becomes a problem. Just not sure what to do about the relationships with the people there I have so carefully and somewhat successfully cultivated. They are still new enough and fragile enough I doubt they would successfully continue for long if we are not at that church any more after such a short time of being present. Hmmmm...will have to wait and see what the Lord is going to do about it after the end of October I guess.
In the big picture this is a necessary change...ultimately a good change for everyone involved.
The email has now gone out to our congregation from the wardens and vestry that my husband is resigning as their priest at the end of August. Although he will continue to preach for them for 3 weeks per month in Sept. and Oct. in order to help them have more time to get a new priest, he will be, for the first time in many years, down to only 1 full time position instead of 2 part time positions. It is a good thing for him and far better for diocese and church. Hopefully when he explains how his leaving is actually going to be better for our church in the long run they will understand and forgive him for leaving after only 16 months. They are poised to grow in a positive way that we have found to be somewhat unusual for a mostly middle aged congregation. If they were to have a new priest, even part time, who had no other serious job distractions and needs that had to be fulfilled, they would be able to have far more success growing in numbers than they are with a distracted, barely able to maintain his part time agreement due to stresses and needs in the other job, priest like my husband. My prayer is that they would find the right solution very quickly so they can get on with the job while being overseen by someone who has no other task but to love them and care for them and for the new people they will bring to worship.
This all came about very unexpectedly only a month ago. Our bishop was having a dream about a tiny town in our diocese and he wasn't sure why. There has been no church there in quite some years now. However, as he wondered about this dream and why it seemed so significant to him, he happened to mention it to another diocesan staff. The man felt led to do some research about the former parish and in the process discovered money in a forgotten account from the sale of parish property that has been sitting in the bank for a long time. There is enough in the account to pay my husband's position as a full time one for some months. Within 2 weeks of its discovery, the finance committee voted that it be put to that very purpose.
Doing his office position full time has become most necessary over the past year. It can't be done by anyone in only 3 or less days a week, at least not properly. Important issues get left waiting for far too long before they are dealt with and that is not good for the diocese as a whole. The experiment of doing it part time in order to have time for a second source of income has not worked very well but was necessary until this bank account was found. My husband has been under considerable stress trying to balance out both positions in an attempt to have the necessary time to put his heart into each one the way each deserves. After a year of doing this balancing act he was nearly ready to resign from both of them and return to working in a lumber yard or to return strictly to parish ministry, but knew that was not the way God was leading.
So, it seems things are starting to work out the way they should for both congregation and diocese. I am very grateful to God for this change. However, now I am wondering once again what is going to happen to me? A new priest at our church would not want the former priest or his wife hanging about while he or she gets established. At the same time I am not eager to be cast adrift once again after putting a lot of time into getting to know our people and feeling a stability there. If I continue to attend there even if my husband can't, and that is most acceptable in Anglican circles, transportation for me becomes a problem. Just not sure what to do about the relationships with the people there I have so carefully and somewhat successfully cultivated. They are still new enough and fragile enough I doubt they would successfully continue for long if we are not at that church any more after such a short time of being present. Hmmmm...will have to wait and see what the Lord is going to do about it after the end of October I guess.
In the big picture this is a necessary change...ultimately a good change for everyone involved.
Back To My Aged PC
It is kind of nice to be home and able to set the iPad aside for the sake of having more flexibility with fonts and colours etc. here on my PC. I have been craving colour in my posts. It is far more interesting to me, even if no one else really cares.
Have been reflecting on some aspects of our trip to the west coast:
-the pace in Vancouver has become more frantic than ever, but I adjusted quickly to it. When we were riding home from the airport in a local taxi here yesterday the first thing I noticed was how slowly everyone was driving in comparison to Vancouver. I was nearly tearing my hair out by the time we arrived at our place. hahaha
-the stress among the street people is growing on the downtown east side of Vancouver, particularly in the area around Chinatown where many more homeless are congregating in a smaller area than usual due to gentrification in the area. The obvious tensions were running higher than I have ever seen them and while we were shopping in the Chinese shops I was a bit nervous there for the first time in my life. It was a strange feeling. Gentrification is also pushing homeless folk into areas where they didn't used to congregate, at least not in such high numbers. They are becoming more aggressive in their attitudes toward each other. It was a very different scene than it was even 2 years ago.
- While I have always known I have a high appreciation for the flora and fauna of the west coast, I realized how much I actually crave the presence of large and varied species of trees and the brightness of the flowers that bloom for so many more months than any of our prairie plants. Being in Vancouver is truly an emotionally healing and mentally stimulating event for me. Yet, here I am deeper into the prairies than ever with our last move. Go figure.....
-I realize that since I can't in the forseeable future live in such a beautiful place as the west coast, I do need to realize once again the truth of one of the simple prayers from my daily prayer book:
"My faithful God, I thank You that You are always with me. I am never alone, so I don't need to be afraid. But when I am, Lord, remind me of Your presence. May I feel You close beside me. You are my comfort, my strength, and my contentment." AMEN!
Have been reflecting on some aspects of our trip to the west coast:
-the pace in Vancouver has become more frantic than ever, but I adjusted quickly to it. When we were riding home from the airport in a local taxi here yesterday the first thing I noticed was how slowly everyone was driving in comparison to Vancouver. I was nearly tearing my hair out by the time we arrived at our place. hahaha
-the stress among the street people is growing on the downtown east side of Vancouver, particularly in the area around Chinatown where many more homeless are congregating in a smaller area than usual due to gentrification in the area. The obvious tensions were running higher than I have ever seen them and while we were shopping in the Chinese shops I was a bit nervous there for the first time in my life. It was a strange feeling. Gentrification is also pushing homeless folk into areas where they didn't used to congregate, at least not in such high numbers. They are becoming more aggressive in their attitudes toward each other. It was a very different scene than it was even 2 years ago.
- While I have always known I have a high appreciation for the flora and fauna of the west coast, I realized how much I actually crave the presence of large and varied species of trees and the brightness of the flowers that bloom for so many more months than any of our prairie plants. Being in Vancouver is truly an emotionally healing and mentally stimulating event for me. Yet, here I am deeper into the prairies than ever with our last move. Go figure.....
-I realize that since I can't in the forseeable future live in such a beautiful place as the west coast, I do need to realize once again the truth of one of the simple prayers from my daily prayer book:
"My faithful God, I thank You that You are always with me. I am never alone, so I don't need to be afraid. But when I am, Lord, remind me of Your presence. May I feel You close beside me. You are my comfort, my strength, and my contentment." AMEN!
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Home, Happy, Exhausted.
Last night we had a very short and badly disrupted sleep due to the arrival of guests in the room overhead for the first time. So grateful we had no one above us the rest of our stay. I was awake for the day as of 4:50am, my husband obeyed the bedside alarm at 5:30am and we were on the road to return the rental car at 6:05am. Getting to the airport so early for our 9:40am flight gave me a chance to completely repack my suitcases to better protect my Japanese bowls and serpentine sculpture. We each had time for a walk through the terminal to stretch our legs before the two hour flight home. Other than some minor turbulence as we flew through the thunderheads surrounding our home airport, it was a non-eventful experience. Our taxi driver from the airport was a fascinating fellow from southern India who kept us entertained with stories of his homeland.
We arrived to find the building still standing, our car apparently unharmed in the parking lot and our mailbox filled with slightly soggy mail after a number of big storms that occurred over the past week. At least all the utility bills are still readable and I will pay them tomorrow.
Of course there was no fast prep food in the house so we wandered three blocks from home to a small pub for salads and wandered home again. We were so exhausted the short walk seemed like a climb up Mount Everest...and this after walking miles through Vancouver for 9 days in a row. That is how tired we were.......and still are 8 hours later. The afternoon was a washout once the unpacking was done. Dinner was stale pitas with canned tomato sauce and a sprinkling of slightly mouldy cheese I discovered in the back of the refrigerator. Into the microwave they went for 45 seconds and that was that!
So, early to bed after some time of rehearsing together our happy memories of the holiday. It was the best on a long time. So grateful for our little family. As our son said, we make a great trio!
We arrived to find the building still standing, our car apparently unharmed in the parking lot and our mailbox filled with slightly soggy mail after a number of big storms that occurred over the past week. At least all the utility bills are still readable and I will pay them tomorrow.
Of course there was no fast prep food in the house so we wandered three blocks from home to a small pub for salads and wandered home again. We were so exhausted the short walk seemed like a climb up Mount Everest...and this after walking miles through Vancouver for 9 days in a row. That is how tired we were.......and still are 8 hours later. The afternoon was a washout once the unpacking was done. Dinner was stale pitas with canned tomato sauce and a sprinkling of slightly mouldy cheese I discovered in the back of the refrigerator. Into the microwave they went for 45 seconds and that was that!
So, early to bed after some time of rehearsing together our happy memories of the holiday. It was the best on a long time. So grateful for our little family. As our son said, we make a great trio!
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The Last Meal Together
Our evening with our son was bitter sweet for me. The sweet part was being able to take a long walk together from his house to the Zipang Japanese restaurant for a very good meal of sushi, sashimi, edamame and tempura. We went crazy ordering food and drinks in an effort to prolong a visit fast coming to an end. (The desserts were spectacular, by the way! Teensy scoops of yuzu iced cream that was tangy like the skins of those marvellously fragrant wee oranges and matcha brûlée that was fantastic with a perfect balance between the flat, slightly bitter taste of the chalky textured matcha and the sweet burnt sugar on top.)
Our son's neighbourhood is a beautifully restored old area filled with huge trees, hydrangea and rhododendrons, green and yellow grasses and a plethora of other plants that I have not seen anywhere else. What a wonderful walk we had to and from the restaurant. What a blessed way to end our time here.
Goodbyes are so difficult for me, but seeing my son's joy restored after getting his wallet back, the coming together of outstanding details for his gallery show and his pleasure that his girlfriend is keeping on close email contact from Croatia, as well as his obvious love of family, all combined to make leaving easier this time.
Well, off to sleep early tonight so we can get up at 5:30am and head for home. Thank you Lord for a wonderful time on the west coast.
Wow! Way To Go Robert!
Robert just went home from hospital! Wow! His wife and family are going to need a lot of prayer support! Excited for them all and hope Robert continues his recovery trajectory.
Farewell to the Beach
Spent our last Vancouver afternoon down at the beach, watching the giant freighters heading into port, gulls and pigeons scouring the pathways for dropped human food treats, watching tourists taking photos of the geese and avoiding the....drum roll please....you guessed it.....goose poop! Just like home......hahahaha.
Found It!
Got a super duper party pooper intercessory prayer warrior buddy praying about my son's lost wallet. It was found a couple of hours later and all is well! Thank you super duper party pooper intercessory prayer warrior buddy. Thank you God.
My son is weak with relief! (But not too weak to miss out on an expensive farewell dinner tonight, OUR treat, hahaha)
My son is weak with relief! (But not too weak to miss out on an expensive farewell dinner tonight, OUR treat, hahaha)
That Final Limbo Day
I can't settle comfortably into much the last day away on a holiday. I think of all the other things we could have had fun doing that we won't have time for, the restaurants and other entertainments we will have to pass on for this trip....even dinner with our son tonight will be a bit strained and frantic as we each try to remember what else we wanted to ask or share in our final couple of hours together. For me this is a typical end of vacation sort of day.
Our plan to drive to Coquitlam was scotched this morning after a series of calls and texts with our son. He cannot find his wallet, has not seen it since yesterday's food shopping trip. It has not been turned in at the store, he could not find it along the route between store and house, we didn't pick it up yesterday from his place by accident....it may have been stolen by a pickpocket or fallen out of his pocket unnoticed. He has torn his suite apart to no avail. The wallet is gone. So, my husband and I walked over to the bank for a few dollars so he can purchase medicine once again for his fighting fish and walked over to the gallery to give him that bit of cash. We walked back as well, stopping at Coco Rico for a delicious lunch of salmon and chicken burgers, hot and crispy fries and a mixed greens salad with feta and a delicious balsamic dressing. The restaurant was 3.5 miles into our 4 mile round trip walk. Along the route home we stopped for dessert: a cappa marscopone for me and a huge apple fritter for him....the last of the sweet food treats for a good long time.
Now it is time for a quick rest and then packing up the groceries for our son and our own suitcases. Time to turn our thoughts toward home.....sigh.....
Our plan to drive to Coquitlam was scotched this morning after a series of calls and texts with our son. He cannot find his wallet, has not seen it since yesterday's food shopping trip. It has not been turned in at the store, he could not find it along the route between store and house, we didn't pick it up yesterday from his place by accident....it may have been stolen by a pickpocket or fallen out of his pocket unnoticed. He has torn his suite apart to no avail. The wallet is gone. So, my husband and I walked over to the bank for a few dollars so he can purchase medicine once again for his fighting fish and walked over to the gallery to give him that bit of cash. We walked back as well, stopping at Coco Rico for a delicious lunch of salmon and chicken burgers, hot and crispy fries and a mixed greens salad with feta and a delicious balsamic dressing. The restaurant was 3.5 miles into our 4 mile round trip walk. Along the route home we stopped for dessert: a cappa marscopone for me and a huge apple fritter for him....the last of the sweet food treats for a good long time.
Now it is time for a quick rest and then packing up the groceries for our son and our own suitcases. Time to turn our thoughts toward home.....sigh.....
Robert is Improving!
Today's update is fairly positive. His kidneys have recovered up to 38% function, double from two days ago. Apparently the type of shut down they experienced is generally tied to either a severe medication or other allergy reaction or a viral infection. The mass on his brain has been responding as hoped for to the steroid treatments so still appears not to be a tumor. While he will remain on the steroid and anti-seizure meds for awhile and he is still struggling somewhat with speech and numbers, once his kidneys are back closer to the normal 60-100% function he will be able to go home. His next MRI will be in a month's time assuming his recovery continues. Please pray not only for Robert to be willing to obey his medical orders about no work or driving for quite a few weeks, but also for his family as they try to assist him once he is home. Thank you SO much.
A Peaceful Family Evening
After a relaxed afternoon of Chinese tea and Pendleton shirt shopping, a quick stop in at MEC for new sun glasses and a search for a new route out of English Bay due to road repairs, we arrived at our son's home in time for dinner. My husband delivered the fresh wild salmon, baby farm potatoes and green beans, my son cooked everything perfectly on his little gas stove and I did the dish washing and cleaning up. Solly's Deli provided lemon cake and chocolate chip rugelach for dessert. Urp! Delicious.
A number of outstanding details for the show our son is curating soon came together yesterday so he was the most relaxed we have seen him since we arrived. We enjoyed our feasting and visiting. Tonight will be our final dinner together with him before we leave in the morning. Sigh...it is difficult leaving this time because we don't know when we will see him again.
Time to get dressed and head to the TReO office in Coquitlam to pay our bridge toll. It will be early to bed for us tonight so we can get up at 5:30am to return the rental car to the Richmond dealer and catch our flight home. After the lush greenery and huge, brilliantly coloured flowers here it is going to be difficult to face returning to the barrenness of the prairies. At least we do not have the heavy traffic to deal with....
A number of outstanding details for the show our son is curating soon came together yesterday so he was the most relaxed we have seen him since we arrived. We enjoyed our feasting and visiting. Tonight will be our final dinner together with him before we leave in the morning. Sigh...it is difficult leaving this time because we don't know when we will see him again.
Time to get dressed and head to the TReO office in Coquitlam to pay our bridge toll. It will be early to bed for us tonight so we can get up at 5:30am to return the rental car to the Richmond dealer and catch our flight home. After the lush greenery and huge, brilliantly coloured flowers here it is going to be difficult to face returning to the barrenness of the prairies. At least we do not have the heavy traffic to deal with....
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Makin' Plans For Fall and Winter
Have just been exchanging emails with a group of other diocesan women about making plans to go to the Globe theatre 2016/2017 season. We're going to have a dinner planning meeting in a couple of weeks to decide how many and which of the 6 plays we each want to see and then choose the ticket package options that would work best for us.
Yay! Girls' nights out at the theater! I like it!
Yay! Girls' nights out at the theater! I like it!
Lazy Daze
We are FINALLY relaxing after a crazy busy winter with my husband's ministry and my healing, painful hip. Isn't that always what happens when you fly away for a holiday? The realization of freedom from work and the commonness of everyday life doesn't sink in until the end of the first week. HOWEVER this year we remembered to take that into account and gave ourselves ten days here instead of only six or seven. After so many trips to Vancouver and this possibly our last in awhile, we finally got it right. haha
Last evening, trying to meet our friends for dinner turned into a bit of a three ring circus. In the first ring: due to a mixup in communications we ended up at one restaurant and our friends at another. Thank you Jesus for texting! We had it sorted out quickly and my husband and I decided to go to the other restaurant. Turns out the parking situation was far superior than it was at the first restaurant. Traffic wasn't bad and it only took us 15 minutes to get to our car, drive a few blocks, and find a good car park. The second ring of the circus featured yours truly trying to get the payment machine to process my credit card. It accepted it right away, but then we waited and waited....and waited....and waaaaaiiiited! The process took a full five minutes. All this time we were worried that our friends had perhaps not been able to get a table in the "wrong" restaurant, but fortunately they were given a lovely, secluded spot with plenty of space between ourselves and other patrons. We had a wonderful Malaysian meal with curried chicken and beef, saffron rice, green beans, okra, and eggplant fries. Yum! Enter ring three: after a long walk and talk back at "our" beach, one of our friends was getting chilly and wanted a hot coffee so we ducked into a lovely little coffee bar. It wasn't 't long after our order was ready and the serious theological discussions began that we noticed the staff dragging the sandwich board ads back inside from the sidewalk, other patrons gathering up their purses and jackets to leave and the lights leading to the washrooms going out. We glanced further about and saw one of the staff wearing a coat and drumming her fingers on the counter beside the cash register. The shop was all ready closing! Thankfully our hotel is right across the street so we gulped down the rest of our drinks and headed over there to complete our visit before returning our guests to their car near restaurant number two.
This morning we had the luxury of sleeping in. So, while I made my breakfast at 7am, my husband snored on until nearly 9am. Once he was up and mobile we ambled our way over to the pharmacy and bank a few blocks away, then moseyed back to the fish market for fresh Barkley Sound salmon, the open air market for teensy garden potatoes and green beans and a lemon, all for cooking at our son's place this evening. We stopped at Joe's Diner for old fashioned hamburgers, salad, basa fish and lentil soup packed with veggies. For me it was pretty mediocre in comparison to our other restaurant meals here, but my husband was recovering from eating blueberries on his breakfast cereal here in the suite, (so glad we finally figured out they have been the culprits in his most recent attacks), so the bland diner fare was perfect for him. I ordered some avocado to jazz up my burger and some balsamic dressing for the salad and it was quite fine. The breakfast plates going to the next table looked quite spectacular so we will make our way there tomorrow morning for a last chance breakfast out before flying out on Thursday morning.
This evening we will load up our remaining groceries and take them along to our son's place after I take out a couple of things for my snacks tomorrow. We always enjoy being able to bless him with a few staples in his pantry before we go home. We are going to stop at the Three Vets retail to see if they have any Pendleton shirts in my husband's size. Originally we had planned to drive to Coquitlam to pay our bridge toll, but my husband is too tired. He is resting and relaxed and happy. Good to see. We'll go there in the morning.
Thank you Lord for this amazing break away from the same old, same old.
Last evening, trying to meet our friends for dinner turned into a bit of a three ring circus. In the first ring: due to a mixup in communications we ended up at one restaurant and our friends at another. Thank you Jesus for texting! We had it sorted out quickly and my husband and I decided to go to the other restaurant. Turns out the parking situation was far superior than it was at the first restaurant. Traffic wasn't bad and it only took us 15 minutes to get to our car, drive a few blocks, and find a good car park. The second ring of the circus featured yours truly trying to get the payment machine to process my credit card. It accepted it right away, but then we waited and waited....and waited....and waaaaaiiiited! The process took a full five minutes. All this time we were worried that our friends had perhaps not been able to get a table in the "wrong" restaurant, but fortunately they were given a lovely, secluded spot with plenty of space between ourselves and other patrons. We had a wonderful Malaysian meal with curried chicken and beef, saffron rice, green beans, okra, and eggplant fries. Yum! Enter ring three: after a long walk and talk back at "our" beach, one of our friends was getting chilly and wanted a hot coffee so we ducked into a lovely little coffee bar. It wasn't 't long after our order was ready and the serious theological discussions began that we noticed the staff dragging the sandwich board ads back inside from the sidewalk, other patrons gathering up their purses and jackets to leave and the lights leading to the washrooms going out. We glanced further about and saw one of the staff wearing a coat and drumming her fingers on the counter beside the cash register. The shop was all ready closing! Thankfully our hotel is right across the street so we gulped down the rest of our drinks and headed over there to complete our visit before returning our guests to their car near restaurant number two.
This morning we had the luxury of sleeping in. So, while I made my breakfast at 7am, my husband snored on until nearly 9am. Once he was up and mobile we ambled our way over to the pharmacy and bank a few blocks away, then moseyed back to the fish market for fresh Barkley Sound salmon, the open air market for teensy garden potatoes and green beans and a lemon, all for cooking at our son's place this evening. We stopped at Joe's Diner for old fashioned hamburgers, salad, basa fish and lentil soup packed with veggies. For me it was pretty mediocre in comparison to our other restaurant meals here, but my husband was recovering from eating blueberries on his breakfast cereal here in the suite, (so glad we finally figured out they have been the culprits in his most recent attacks), so the bland diner fare was perfect for him. I ordered some avocado to jazz up my burger and some balsamic dressing for the salad and it was quite fine. The breakfast plates going to the next table looked quite spectacular so we will make our way there tomorrow morning for a last chance breakfast out before flying out on Thursday morning.
This evening we will load up our remaining groceries and take them along to our son's place after I take out a couple of things for my snacks tomorrow. We always enjoy being able to bless him with a few staples in his pantry before we go home. We are going to stop at the Three Vets retail to see if they have any Pendleton shirts in my husband's size. Originally we had planned to drive to Coquitlam to pay our bridge toll, but my husband is too tired. He is resting and relaxed and happy. Good to see. We'll go there in the morning.
Thank you Lord for this amazing break away from the same old, same old.
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