The pellet storm during yesterday's drive home was our first taste of real winter this term. I suppose it should have prepared us for the overcast skies and very cold temperatures today, along with our first little skiff of snow that stayed on the grass and along the street gutters, but didn't accummulate in any large amount.
It didn't prepare us at all, apparently.
Both of us were so crabby today...not at each other, but just in general. We paged through the local events paper early in the morning, looking for something we could do to get out and be active, but only one thing appealed to me and my husband wasn't interested in going, as it was an evening lecture over at Luther College and he didn't want to go out in the cold and dark.
By 5pm, despite a very productive day of getting his computers in the basement room talking to his computers upstairs in the bedroom, making a large pot of rice pudding, ripping a 101 inch zipper out of his tent flap so he can put in a new one, helping me ferry laundry up and down stairs, etc. etc. etc., I found my husband lying on his bed, staring morosely at the ceiling and complaining bitterly about the onset of winter. I realized that is what was making us both crabby and disinterested in life all day today.
I didn't even bother to cook the luscious looking pork chops in my refrigerator for dinner tonight. I found some rather ice encrusted old pitas in the freezer and threw a few spoons of tinned spaghetti sauce over them, with a bit of shredded cheese, before browning them up in the toaster oven. I really outdid myself by washing up some romaine lettuce leaves and adding a bit of avocado and celery and dressing. That was dinner. Talk about feeling unmotivated! We scarfed down our rather inadequate meal and my husband didn't feel like doing so much as even watching tv afterward.
A few minutes later he received a text message from one of his dearest friends here in town, a fellow priest, asking if he wanted to go together to the very lecture my husband had not wanted to bother with when I brought it up earlier in the day. Within 20 minutes, he was washed, dressed and out the door to meet his friend so they could attend the lecture. Gone was the morose attitude, the bitterness over the fact of winter's arrival. He "generously" asked me..."Oh, did you want to come along?" hahahaha Of course I said I would stay home tonight. The notes he shares with me will be almost as interesting as me hearing the lecturer myself anyway. I am SO glad my husband has a few male friends in this town. He doesn't see them a lot, but I love watching the look of delight when he gets a chance to. hahaha So cute!!
I spent the day doing laundry, so my lack of motivation didn't cause me to be completely useless today either. I enjoyed the exercise of going up and down stairs all day. Glad I wasn't hoofing it outside in the cold.
Praying hard that we can both make the adjustment to winter again this year. It seems we have not made a good adjustment the past two winters. I suspect our move here in the -40C temperatures in February of 2015 kind of soured us on the whole season. That was the most brual move we have ever made!
And another reason to feel hard done by at the beginning of winter is that Daylight Savings Time ends at 2am this coming Sunday. Since our province does not practise DST, it means my parents and sister in law in Alberta will now be 1 hour earlier than we are and our son on the east coast will be 3 (THREE) hours ahead of us. It makes SKYPE'ing and phoning so much more difficult between us and him. It will take my dear father until a week before DST returns next spring to get it through his head that we are not at the same time he is any more. Contacting friends in other provinces will once again require far more planning in advance. I cringe at the thought of the people who want to eliminate DST for the entire country...I LOVE DST as it makes communicating with our friends and family so much easier for us.
We drove through some thick smoke both coming and going from Esterhazy on the weekend that has made my sinuses ache and filled my throat with "gunk". The farmers in the area received permission to burn the cattails around the sloughs this fall in order to free up a few more possible acres for crop in the spring if the moisture situation does not improve between now and next planting season. At one point we had to slow to a crawl for several kilometers because the highway visibility was nearly zero. I can't handle any kind of smoke for more than about 10 seconds before the allergies begin and almost always that leads to a 3 week sinus infection. So, I have been popping antihistamines and inhaling menthol and hoping for the best cases scenario of the allergy NOT turning into an infection. Guess I will know in a day or two. I think that concern, as much or more than the onset of winter, is responsible for me feeling crabby today. I was in bed, asleep, just after 9pm yesterday and slept for over 9 hours...usually that means my body is fighting some kind of medical issue. However, I am going to hope for the best!
In about a week's time my husband and I will both be "into" the winter season. We actually do enjoy winter, but the switch in temperature seems so severe after our abnormally hot summer and warm, sunny autumn. Once I have shovelled some snow I will be more excited about the season...I had better be. I don't want to feel this snarky for the next five months!! hahahaha
Monday, October 30, 2017
Another Cutie Patootie
After the post service pot luck yesterday in Esterhazy we had to head for the nursing home. My husband was going to help train one of the parishioners to do home communions, so the two of them were stopping at the nursing home to do one for an elderly parishioner who is no longer able to attend church. We planned to leave from there for home, so I had to go along for the ride.
I needed desperately to use the washroom at the church before we left, but there was a young girl in the one and only bathroom stall and it became evident as I stood impatiently waiting, that she was going to be awhile. I wasn't sure what to do because my husband was waiting for me so all 3 of us could get going, but finally the door opened and the little girl, just barely 6 years old, blocked the doorway and gave me one of those top of my head to the tips of my toes "once over" stares.
I asked her if she had finished using the washroom and she replied, "Not really." So I asked her how much longer she thought she would be. She looked me up and down again and said, "I dunno. Do ya' gotta go real bad??" I assured her that I did and that I could also go "real fast", so she gave me stare number 3 and then stepped out of the doorway. I nearly ripped the door right off the hinges in my attempt to get into the bathroom before she had another chance to cut me off! hahahaha
As I exited the cubicle, there she was again: "Yup, ya' went real fast all right. Good for you." Stifling a bad giggle that was welling up in my throat, I thanked her for allowing me to use the bathroom. "You are most welcome.", she graciously replied as she gave me her best Queen Elizabeth wave before I squeezed past her and raced up the stairs to my husband's waiting car.
Hahahaha....so glad I was able to keep my promise to go "real fast", or I may have gotten quite a tongue lashing! hahahahaha
I needed desperately to use the washroom at the church before we left, but there was a young girl in the one and only bathroom stall and it became evident as I stood impatiently waiting, that she was going to be awhile. I wasn't sure what to do because my husband was waiting for me so all 3 of us could get going, but finally the door opened and the little girl, just barely 6 years old, blocked the doorway and gave me one of those top of my head to the tips of my toes "once over" stares.
I asked her if she had finished using the washroom and she replied, "Not really." So I asked her how much longer she thought she would be. She looked me up and down again and said, "I dunno. Do ya' gotta go real bad??" I assured her that I did and that I could also go "real fast", so she gave me stare number 3 and then stepped out of the doorway. I nearly ripped the door right off the hinges in my attempt to get into the bathroom before she had another chance to cut me off! hahahaha
As I exited the cubicle, there she was again: "Yup, ya' went real fast all right. Good for you." Stifling a bad giggle that was welling up in my throat, I thanked her for allowing me to use the bathroom. "You are most welcome.", she graciously replied as she gave me her best Queen Elizabeth wave before I squeezed past her and raced up the stairs to my husband's waiting car.
Hahahaha....so glad I was able to keep my promise to go "real fast", or I may have gotten quite a tongue lashing! hahahahaha
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Glad To Be Home!
We had a marvellous time in Esterhazy this weekend, presenting the seminar on giving and receiving forgiveness. What a wonderful little congregation...small but mighty!
Everyone arrived, Bibles in hand, eager to learn, ready to display the scriptural knowledge they all ready have. It was just great! This is one of my most favourite parishes to visit in our diocese. They are so welcoming and friendly and they make spectacular meals to share with us...wow, shortbread cookies with a droozle each of melted caramel and chocolate on top. Yes, I ate one...before our weekend together was over I ate two!! Yum! My husband did an amazing job with his part of the presentation... a near miracle after being so worn out by the end of the past week of work. We worked well together this weekend. I enjoyed it.
And now he has a few days at home. Everyone in the office has extra time off over the next couple of weeks so that they all get some kind of refreshing post-Synod. Since the weather looks like it is going to be particularly miserable this week all around the province, it is a good week to have some days off to veg out without feeling guilty about not having social plans up the wahzoo!!
We woke up in our hotel this morning and peeled back the drapes to look at the soggy ground outside. There definitely was a decent amount of rain overnight. The wind was howling and has continued to do so all day, all the way home. We drove into a snow pellet storm about 30km from Esterhazy and it lasted for about 70km before we drove out of it again. The wind was so strong I felt very nervous passing the semi's that simply had to slow down considerably so they could stay upright. We are very grateful we had no more snow or freezing rain once we drove out of our first little blizzard of the winter season, but we are going to get our share in just a few days.
Well, it is time to go and look in the fridge and see what I can pull together for dinner. Coming home from an exhausting weekend trip and having to cook dinner is not my favourite thing, BUT it is so cold outside, my husband is so tired and I am so happy to stay inside in the warmth that today, I can cook anything he wants for dinner right here at home.
Thank you Lord for safe travel, a quick trip through the bit of stormy weather and for our wonderful friends in Esterhazy Anglican Church!
PS I am delighted that my husband has been asked once again to take the Christmas Eve service at our most recent former parish. He loves doing it and they seem to love him doing it.
Everyone arrived, Bibles in hand, eager to learn, ready to display the scriptural knowledge they all ready have. It was just great! This is one of my most favourite parishes to visit in our diocese. They are so welcoming and friendly and they make spectacular meals to share with us...wow, shortbread cookies with a droozle each of melted caramel and chocolate on top. Yes, I ate one...before our weekend together was over I ate two!! Yum! My husband did an amazing job with his part of the presentation... a near miracle after being so worn out by the end of the past week of work. We worked well together this weekend. I enjoyed it.
And now he has a few days at home. Everyone in the office has extra time off over the next couple of weeks so that they all get some kind of refreshing post-Synod. Since the weather looks like it is going to be particularly miserable this week all around the province, it is a good week to have some days off to veg out without feeling guilty about not having social plans up the wahzoo!!
We woke up in our hotel this morning and peeled back the drapes to look at the soggy ground outside. There definitely was a decent amount of rain overnight. The wind was howling and has continued to do so all day, all the way home. We drove into a snow pellet storm about 30km from Esterhazy and it lasted for about 70km before we drove out of it again. The wind was so strong I felt very nervous passing the semi's that simply had to slow down considerably so they could stay upright. We are very grateful we had no more snow or freezing rain once we drove out of our first little blizzard of the winter season, but we are going to get our share in just a few days.
Well, it is time to go and look in the fridge and see what I can pull together for dinner. Coming home from an exhausting weekend trip and having to cook dinner is not my favourite thing, BUT it is so cold outside, my husband is so tired and I am so happy to stay inside in the warmth that today, I can cook anything he wants for dinner right here at home.
Thank you Lord for safe travel, a quick trip through the bit of stormy weather and for our wonderful friends in Esterhazy Anglican Church!
PS I am delighted that my husband has been asked once again to take the Christmas Eve service at our most recent former parish. He loves doing it and they seem to love him doing it.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Ready To Roll!
It's a chilly, sunny day and I am all packed up to head out of town. It is a perfect day for a drive actually. I admit I am looking forward to it. Hopefully some effective ministry will happen before I head back home tomorrow.
My husband is now off work...well out of the office at least...for a week, so he is looking forward to some relaxing time. We have been tracking the weather reports for a trip to Calgary, but it appears if we go we will be driving through and on either snow, ice or both on the way home. If my husband was brimming with energy we would probably take the chance, knowing if we had to take a hotel overnight part way due to weather it would be just fine, but he is very tired and had a bad stress tummy attack yesterday afternoon, so it would not be wise to put any more stress onto him. Fortunately my parents are not aware that we had any such plans, so they will not be disappointed when we don't go to visit them. For now I am thinking perhaps I will fly out to see them for a couple of days closer to Mom's birthday and surprise her. My husband is heading to the west coast the following week for some work related meetings so a quick trip to see mom could be my little break away from here before he is gone. I will make the decisions early next week.
Our son should know in a couple of days if he and the other tenants are going to be evicted from their suites as part of the aftermath of the rent fraud hassle. He hasn't been in touch at all in the past few days so that is a fair statement about his own stress levels. Obviously he didn't get, or at least hasn't heard, about the last job he interviewed for so I can imagine how tense things are for him right now. Like my husband, our son has a great attitude toward ongoing stressful situations, but they are both tend to develop physical reactions to them. Tummies, skin and digestive systems are all effected if the stress is bad enough. For me, stress settles into my back muscles. Everyone has their physical limits on how much stress they can tolerate unscathed and my husband and son have reached theirs.
The little stumble I took yesterday that shook me up rather badly has resulted only in a bit of back and hip muscle discomfort after a great sleep overnight. I was worried by late last evening because I was really sore just from that little jarring step I took in the afternoon. All is well today. I can drive just fine.
Well, time to go pack myself a couple of snacks and get on the road. Have a happy weekend everybody!
My husband is now off work...well out of the office at least...for a week, so he is looking forward to some relaxing time. We have been tracking the weather reports for a trip to Calgary, but it appears if we go we will be driving through and on either snow, ice or both on the way home. If my husband was brimming with energy we would probably take the chance, knowing if we had to take a hotel overnight part way due to weather it would be just fine, but he is very tired and had a bad stress tummy attack yesterday afternoon, so it would not be wise to put any more stress onto him. Fortunately my parents are not aware that we had any such plans, so they will not be disappointed when we don't go to visit them. For now I am thinking perhaps I will fly out to see them for a couple of days closer to Mom's birthday and surprise her. My husband is heading to the west coast the following week for some work related meetings so a quick trip to see mom could be my little break away from here before he is gone. I will make the decisions early next week.
Our son should know in a couple of days if he and the other tenants are going to be evicted from their suites as part of the aftermath of the rent fraud hassle. He hasn't been in touch at all in the past few days so that is a fair statement about his own stress levels. Obviously he didn't get, or at least hasn't heard, about the last job he interviewed for so I can imagine how tense things are for him right now. Like my husband, our son has a great attitude toward ongoing stressful situations, but they are both tend to develop physical reactions to them. Tummies, skin and digestive systems are all effected if the stress is bad enough. For me, stress settles into my back muscles. Everyone has their physical limits on how much stress they can tolerate unscathed and my husband and son have reached theirs.
The little stumble I took yesterday that shook me up rather badly has resulted only in a bit of back and hip muscle discomfort after a great sleep overnight. I was worried by late last evening because I was really sore just from that little jarring step I took in the afternoon. All is well today. I can drive just fine.
Well, time to go pack myself a couple of snacks and get on the road. Have a happy weekend everybody!
Friday, October 27, 2017
Washing the Car
I have to go out of town tomorrow. Today as I was racing around town I realized how filthy my car was: mud splattered, rivulets of dirt running down the windows and sides and bumper after the smattering of rain we had the other night.
I tried going to the car wash but it is a very awkward place to access and there was a huge line up. I couldn't face it, so I headed off to fill the tank with gasoline at my neighbourhood station. Talk about "lucking out". After I filled the tank and paid the bill I realized I was still the only person there and decided to take advantage of that little fact. I found one of the window washer squeegies sitting in the one bin where the ice had melted in the direct sun, ran the wet, soapy squeegie over the entire body of the car and then wiped everything off again with handsful of paper towels from the dispenser. YES!
Admittedly it was a bit of a rush job...hardly the sort of thorough washing and rinsing I could have given the car at the spray'n'wash, BUT it was free, it was "good enough" for heading out on the highway in the morning and all I have to do now before I go is wash the inside of the front windshield! The gas station attendant was watching me with a rather quizzical look on his face, but since I wasn't holding anyone up, I continued on until the outside of the car was at least passably clean.
So, there is my household hint for the week: If you want a free car wash that is at least adequate for a couple of days, head for a customer-free gasoline station and take advantage of the soapy wet squeegie and free paper towels. Easy peasy, not very time consuming and certainly a good half measure until you can get your car into a proper car wash booth. I am delighted by the improvement in appearance of my vehicle for tomorrow's trip. I am driving into rain and snow showers, so the "clean" won't last long anyway, but I love starting off "fresh".
I tried going to the car wash but it is a very awkward place to access and there was a huge line up. I couldn't face it, so I headed off to fill the tank with gasoline at my neighbourhood station. Talk about "lucking out". After I filled the tank and paid the bill I realized I was still the only person there and decided to take advantage of that little fact. I found one of the window washer squeegies sitting in the one bin where the ice had melted in the direct sun, ran the wet, soapy squeegie over the entire body of the car and then wiped everything off again with handsful of paper towels from the dispenser. YES!
Admittedly it was a bit of a rush job...hardly the sort of thorough washing and rinsing I could have given the car at the spray'n'wash, BUT it was free, it was "good enough" for heading out on the highway in the morning and all I have to do now before I go is wash the inside of the front windshield! The gas station attendant was watching me with a rather quizzical look on his face, but since I wasn't holding anyone up, I continued on until the outside of the car was at least passably clean.
So, there is my household hint for the week: If you want a free car wash that is at least adequate for a couple of days, head for a customer-free gasoline station and take advantage of the soapy wet squeegie and free paper towels. Easy peasy, not very time consuming and certainly a good half measure until you can get your car into a proper car wash booth. I am delighted by the improvement in appearance of my vehicle for tomorrow's trip. I am driving into rain and snow showers, so the "clean" won't last long anyway, but I love starting off "fresh".
Update on Cees
Your continued prayers for Cees and his family are very much appreciated. Lab tests have been done and redone, specialists have been seen, but tests results continue to come back "normal" and the specialists he has seen have no more ideas as to why he continues to lose weight, lose energy, and have terrible bouts of the chills, headaches, body pain and dizziness.
The encouraging news is that the specialist he saw yesterday is referring him to an endocrinologist, one of the best around, as it turns out. Now we need to pray that Cees gets in to see the endocrinologist very soon. If he loses any more weight there will be no fat layer left under his skin. Since January he has lost over 80 pounds for no apparent reason. It is terrifying!
Now that the next referral is in the works he has been a bit cheerier, less morose and frightened. His family is encouraged that there are more options for diagnosis to explore, thank the Lord.
All prayers are welcomed!
The encouraging news is that the specialist he saw yesterday is referring him to an endocrinologist, one of the best around, as it turns out. Now we need to pray that Cees gets in to see the endocrinologist very soon. If he loses any more weight there will be no fat layer left under his skin. Since January he has lost over 80 pounds for no apparent reason. It is terrifying!
Now that the next referral is in the works he has been a bit cheerier, less morose and frightened. His family is encouraged that there are more options for diagnosis to explore, thank the Lord.
All prayers are welcomed!
Nooooooooooo!!!! Not The Watermelon!!!!!
I have been enjoying the occasional addition of grape and orange Koolaid Liquids flavouring to my glasses of water, as you readers know. Welllll, today I found the watermelon flavouring on sale, 2 for the price of 1 + a little bit. I remember when watermelon flavouring first came on the market, back in the dark ages when all the Koolaid packets were filled with flavoured powder rather than flavoring coming in little plastic bottles of liquid. I remember liking it almost as much as my most favourite banana-strawberry flavour, SO I picked up 2 little bottles of the stuff today.
As soon as it was time for lunch I opened a 500 litre bottle of cold water, poured it into a tall glass and added the watermelon flavouring. Then I took a BIG drink.....and nearly threw up right there in the kitchen sink! Blecch! Pooey!! Blaaaaahhh!!! O horrors....I must have chugged down a full cup all at once before the flavour hit me full on. I am imagining what toxic waste could taste like and thinking this particular flavouring could be right up there with the MOST toxic of ALL wastes.
Two hours later now and my tongue feels like it has undergone the kind of chemical peel normally reserved for the skin on a person's face! My stomach is rumbling and I am still urping and burping up the flavour. YUKKO!!!
Good thing it was on sale! The opened bottle is now in the garbage and the unopened bottle is in the bag of food I am collecting for our property management company's annual Christmas food drive. No doubt some little child will think he or she has died and gone to heaven when finding this watermelon urpy-burpy in their Christmas food hamper. I am glad kids have different taste bud experiences than adults do...at least than THIS adult seems to have had with THIS stuff. Yikes!!
Even though I had a successful grocery shopping excursion this morning, I still forgot to pick up the lettuce as written on my list. It gave me a wonderful excuse to go for a short walk to the nearest grocery store right after lunch. It is generally an 8 block round trip, but today it turned into 4 blocks over and only 3 blocks back. I took the shortcut home because, like a total idiot, I stepped knowingly but without looking down properly, into a dip in the pavement just outside the store. I felt my back jar and the muscles, from the base of my spine right up into my neck, spasm instantly. I must have let a mighty gasp escape out of my mouth because another customer on the way in gave me the most odd and questioning look. Sigh....spontaneous expressions of pain can be so disconcerting to the other people hearing them. Anyway, I took the shortest of short cuts back home with my bag of lettuce and now I am resting my back. I have to go out of town tomorrow. I have to be able to drive for over 2 hours in each direction there and back. Sure hope I have not screwed up my back again like I did a few years ago. With osteoporosis mini fractures radiating down from the disks just below my shoulders I have to be super careful, but occasionally I make a dumb misstep like I did this afternoon and yowza!!
Time to go lay down on the couch and just rest those muscles. One thing about back muscles is that they are not the least bit shy to let a person know when they are unhappy!!! Sure was great being out walking in the sunshine though. What a beauty day once again.
As soon as it was time for lunch I opened a 500 litre bottle of cold water, poured it into a tall glass and added the watermelon flavouring. Then I took a BIG drink.....and nearly threw up right there in the kitchen sink! Blecch! Pooey!! Blaaaaahhh!!! O horrors....I must have chugged down a full cup all at once before the flavour hit me full on. I am imagining what toxic waste could taste like and thinking this particular flavouring could be right up there with the MOST toxic of ALL wastes.
Two hours later now and my tongue feels like it has undergone the kind of chemical peel normally reserved for the skin on a person's face! My stomach is rumbling and I am still urping and burping up the flavour. YUKKO!!!
Good thing it was on sale! The opened bottle is now in the garbage and the unopened bottle is in the bag of food I am collecting for our property management company's annual Christmas food drive. No doubt some little child will think he or she has died and gone to heaven when finding this watermelon urpy-burpy in their Christmas food hamper. I am glad kids have different taste bud experiences than adults do...at least than THIS adult seems to have had with THIS stuff. Yikes!!
Even though I had a successful grocery shopping excursion this morning, I still forgot to pick up the lettuce as written on my list. It gave me a wonderful excuse to go for a short walk to the nearest grocery store right after lunch. It is generally an 8 block round trip, but today it turned into 4 blocks over and only 3 blocks back. I took the shortcut home because, like a total idiot, I stepped knowingly but without looking down properly, into a dip in the pavement just outside the store. I felt my back jar and the muscles, from the base of my spine right up into my neck, spasm instantly. I must have let a mighty gasp escape out of my mouth because another customer on the way in gave me the most odd and questioning look. Sigh....spontaneous expressions of pain can be so disconcerting to the other people hearing them. Anyway, I took the shortest of short cuts back home with my bag of lettuce and now I am resting my back. I have to go out of town tomorrow. I have to be able to drive for over 2 hours in each direction there and back. Sure hope I have not screwed up my back again like I did a few years ago. With osteoporosis mini fractures radiating down from the disks just below my shoulders I have to be super careful, but occasionally I make a dumb misstep like I did this afternoon and yowza!!
Time to go lay down on the couch and just rest those muscles. One thing about back muscles is that they are not the least bit shy to let a person know when they are unhappy!!! Sure was great being out walking in the sunshine though. What a beauty day once again.
Auntie P., This One's For You
Hi Auntie P: Thank you for the email you sent me last night before leaving for overseas once again. Have a wonderful winter there. Since I had no time to respond via email to your upset over our delayed payday and I know you don't send emails when you are away, I am posting this for you (and anyone else on either side of the family) because I know you do read blogs and online newspapers from wherever you happen to be.
So...YES we did get paid today. Apparently the wages arrived just before 4:30pm yesterday. Now the pay stubs are going to be late because of some hassle between the payroll company and the post office, but that is neither here nor there. Financially everything is taken care of once again for another month.
THIS MEANS YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STOP WORRYING AND RELAX! Okay? You will do that, right? There is no problem now!
I feel badly that I admitted on this blog that I had 15cents in my wallet by yesterday afternoon, because you weren't much in touch when we were actually very poor years ago and don't realize that having no money instantly available is not a big deal to me or my husband. We have lots of food, warm clothing, a place to live, working appliances and phones, our tv and computers are hooked up, we have a vehicle with some gasoline in the tank...blessings beyond measure!! AND today the sun is shining again and I have been out racing about doing errands all morning, enjoying myself.
Bless you Auntie P. You are a sweetie. Thank you for caring. Thank you for the kick I know you are getting over me addressing you directly through my blog where others can read it. Have a fantastic winter overseas, stay healthy and happy and we will be in touch again next spring! You know you are allowed to break your own rule to remain offline while you are travelling...at least in terms of communicating, BUT since you let your secret slip that you still find computers whenever possible and read blogs and world news, well......don't be afraid to send me an email, okay? I promise not to deluge you with responses! =)
Love you Autie P.
So...YES we did get paid today. Apparently the wages arrived just before 4:30pm yesterday. Now the pay stubs are going to be late because of some hassle between the payroll company and the post office, but that is neither here nor there. Financially everything is taken care of once again for another month.
THIS MEANS YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STOP WORRYING AND RELAX! Okay? You will do that, right? There is no problem now!
I feel badly that I admitted on this blog that I had 15cents in my wallet by yesterday afternoon, because you weren't much in touch when we were actually very poor years ago and don't realize that having no money instantly available is not a big deal to me or my husband. We have lots of food, warm clothing, a place to live, working appliances and phones, our tv and computers are hooked up, we have a vehicle with some gasoline in the tank...blessings beyond measure!! AND today the sun is shining again and I have been out racing about doing errands all morning, enjoying myself.
Bless you Auntie P. You are a sweetie. Thank you for caring. Thank you for the kick I know you are getting over me addressing you directly through my blog where others can read it. Have a fantastic winter overseas, stay healthy and happy and we will be in touch again next spring! You know you are allowed to break your own rule to remain offline while you are travelling...at least in terms of communicating, BUT since you let your secret slip that you still find computers whenever possible and read blogs and world news, well......don't be afraid to send me an email, okay? I promise not to deluge you with responses! =)
Love you Autie P.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Probably NOT an Accident
Earlier this afternoon I started to update my last post. Somehow, despite it being a 2 step process, I managed to delete it instead of editing it. I am guessing it was not really an accident because the post was one long grouse-out; a complaining whine-fest; an old fashioned "man against the machine" bitching extravaganza; an OCD frustration-gala!
My husband's pay cheque didn't arrive at the bank today because the giant payroll company we use made an executive decision that some of their pay out days were going to be changed and didn't bother to ask or even inform the CFO's of the companies involved. Our CFO went ballistic earlier this morning after I informed him that they had reneged on their promise to put the money in this morning after all and by noon he had extracted another promise from them to have everyone's payroll transfers into their personal bank accounts before the close of banking day today so that automatic payments could still come out and our staffers not be charged for NSF's and overdrafts against their accounts. Welllll.....I checked our account at 2:30pm and again at 3:45 pm, at which time they had only another 15 minutes to get the money in before all would fall apart for many of us. Fortunately, I banked on them reneging again and at 3:45pm I made my own arrangements with our own bank to cover us free of charge. Fortunately for me, as a retired person, I have the time to go and stand around in bank lobbies waiting to see if money is going to appear in our account on time. People who are still working, such as the people being paid by our diocese, do not have that luxury and some of them won't even discover they didn't get paid today until it is too late. Our CFO sent out an email to warn everyone but it didn't get sent out until after the first promise by the payroll company was reneged on, so there will be some who didn't find out in time. I feel terrible for them.
Anyway, the good part of the day was that I got the bathroom cleaned in record time because I was not in a good mood after my first bank visit! hahaha This afternoon, inbetween check number 2 and check number 3 to see if the money had arrived, I got better than a whole hour of walking done as I window shopped in two different shopping areas. I had $3.45 left in my purse and was delighted to find decorative plate holders in the Dollarama for $1.25 each. Two of my holders, rather ancient ones, split and broke yesterday when I was dusting and needed to be replaced. I was able to do that for a total of $3.30, so I still have fifteen cents until pay day. hahahahaha So we are not completely broke, right? hahaha The cheapie plate holders are actually stronger than the old ones that broke and cost MUCH less than the originals. So, if those old ones lasted for as many years as they did, these cheapies should last at least half that long! hahaha
Although it is only +3C outside, the sun is shining gloriously! O it is lovely out there. I had my walk, got my housework done, did my due diligence to get the banking taken care of after the disaster of no pay cheque, got home before the rush hour got seriously underway. In between trips out I had a grand chat on the phone with two friends, one on Vancouver Island and one in Ontario. That was fun! It has been a good day after all! Thank you Lord!
My husband's pay cheque didn't arrive at the bank today because the giant payroll company we use made an executive decision that some of their pay out days were going to be changed and didn't bother to ask or even inform the CFO's of the companies involved. Our CFO went ballistic earlier this morning after I informed him that they had reneged on their promise to put the money in this morning after all and by noon he had extracted another promise from them to have everyone's payroll transfers into their personal bank accounts before the close of banking day today so that automatic payments could still come out and our staffers not be charged for NSF's and overdrafts against their accounts. Welllll.....I checked our account at 2:30pm and again at 3:45 pm, at which time they had only another 15 minutes to get the money in before all would fall apart for many of us. Fortunately, I banked on them reneging again and at 3:45pm I made my own arrangements with our own bank to cover us free of charge. Fortunately for me, as a retired person, I have the time to go and stand around in bank lobbies waiting to see if money is going to appear in our account on time. People who are still working, such as the people being paid by our diocese, do not have that luxury and some of them won't even discover they didn't get paid today until it is too late. Our CFO sent out an email to warn everyone but it didn't get sent out until after the first promise by the payroll company was reneged on, so there will be some who didn't find out in time. I feel terrible for them.
Anyway, the good part of the day was that I got the bathroom cleaned in record time because I was not in a good mood after my first bank visit! hahaha This afternoon, inbetween check number 2 and check number 3 to see if the money had arrived, I got better than a whole hour of walking done as I window shopped in two different shopping areas. I had $3.45 left in my purse and was delighted to find decorative plate holders in the Dollarama for $1.25 each. Two of my holders, rather ancient ones, split and broke yesterday when I was dusting and needed to be replaced. I was able to do that for a total of $3.30, so I still have fifteen cents until pay day. hahahahaha So we are not completely broke, right? hahaha The cheapie plate holders are actually stronger than the old ones that broke and cost MUCH less than the originals. So, if those old ones lasted for as many years as they did, these cheapies should last at least half that long! hahaha
Although it is only +3C outside, the sun is shining gloriously! O it is lovely out there. I had my walk, got my housework done, did my due diligence to get the banking taken care of after the disaster of no pay cheque, got home before the rush hour got seriously underway. In between trips out I had a grand chat on the phone with two friends, one on Vancouver Island and one in Ontario. That was fun! It has been a good day after all! Thank you Lord!
The Big Let Down
So, after 2 days of weather warnings, alerts, fear mongering etc., the "big storm" arrived just before 10pm.
Sigh.......there was a lot of wind. There was a bit of rain. There was not so much as one flake of snow. Talk about a tempest in a teapot~a lot of hoopla~much ado about nothing. I admit it: I am kind of disappointed.
The good part of it for our family though is that we have relatives in Alberta who have been called very unexpecedly to drive into Saskatchewan today to attend the funeral of a good friend. We are grateful they are going to have clear roads and dry weather to make the trip over this weekend. Yesterday, going by the forecast for the area they are travelling in, I wouldn't have recommended the drive, but this morning it seems there is as little snow and ice along their route as there is here in our city. For that we are all grateful.
At least I can run my errands this morning without worrying about falling on a fresh sheet of ice...another good thing!
Sigh.......there was a lot of wind. There was a bit of rain. There was not so much as one flake of snow. Talk about a tempest in a teapot~a lot of hoopla~much ado about nothing. I admit it: I am kind of disappointed.
The good part of it for our family though is that we have relatives in Alberta who have been called very unexpecedly to drive into Saskatchewan today to attend the funeral of a good friend. We are grateful they are going to have clear roads and dry weather to make the trip over this weekend. Yesterday, going by the forecast for the area they are travelling in, I wouldn't have recommended the drive, but this morning it seems there is as little snow and ice along their route as there is here in our city. For that we are all grateful.
At least I can run my errands this morning without worrying about falling on a fresh sheet of ice...another good thing!
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Dawdling About
As I looked out my bedroom window earlier this morning and noticed the dark clouds forming to the west, just behind the ray of sunshine coming around our building from the east, I decided I wanted to get one more walk in before the ugly weather arrives this afternoon or evening.
I looked at the big stack of books I have read over the past couple of months and decided it would be a reason to take a walk to the community library box and drop them off there. The distance on an "as the crow flies" sort of route is about 7 or 8 blocks and that is the route I opted for because of the heaviness of the bag. The wind wasn't too strong, the temperature was +6C, cool enough to wear a light sweater under my raincoat and to need to zip the coat right up under my chin, don some light gloves, but still, with the sunshine, quite pleasant for wandering about. Last time I was at the box was quite a few weeks ago. It had been vandalized and the glass in the door was completely shattered, with a few sharp, broken bits still sticking up from the bottom of the wooden door. I wondered if I was carrying all the books for nothing, if I would discover the box had been taken right out. What a lovely surprise to find it freshly painted and with new glass that has been reinforced with metal bars. It is now called a Community Swap Box and besides books there were baby items, toys, some small adult clothing items and what have you. Great idea! It is a bit of a depressed neighbourhood around there and I am sure those items will be recycled very soon.
Walking home I couldn't face taking the quick route with the heavy bag of books having been emptied. So, I opted for the longest route I could figure out without going far out of my way. I was able to turn the walk home into 14 blocks and I enjoyed every step. The sun felt so good shining in under the cooler winds. There was enough heat in it to warm the windblown hair on top of my head. So lovely!
I have been home now for about 20 mintues. The sun has completely disappeared from view, the clouds are thickening up and turning the shiny whitish grey that indicates there is moisture up there somewhere just waiting to drop. I suspect we will not go from dryness to snow, but end up with enough rain first to develop a bad freeze under foot by morning. Eventually it will turn to snow, but the rain will come first. It almost always has in recent years. By the weekend even the daytime high temperatures will be below zero.
What a treat to have been able to get out and walk once again this morning. What a treat to get a huge bag of books out of the teensy bedroom here. This afternoon I will exercise by cleaning the downstairs of our suite. In the morning I have to run errands and grocery shop no matter what the weather is like because tomorrow is pay day and that is THE day to do such things each month, haha. Then I can clean the upstairs of the suite in the afternoon. I like having the home chores planned out in advance. Once I can't get out and walk every day I know I will get even more done inside just to keep active. It is all good!
I looked at the big stack of books I have read over the past couple of months and decided it would be a reason to take a walk to the community library box and drop them off there. The distance on an "as the crow flies" sort of route is about 7 or 8 blocks and that is the route I opted for because of the heaviness of the bag. The wind wasn't too strong, the temperature was +6C, cool enough to wear a light sweater under my raincoat and to need to zip the coat right up under my chin, don some light gloves, but still, with the sunshine, quite pleasant for wandering about. Last time I was at the box was quite a few weeks ago. It had been vandalized and the glass in the door was completely shattered, with a few sharp, broken bits still sticking up from the bottom of the wooden door. I wondered if I was carrying all the books for nothing, if I would discover the box had been taken right out. What a lovely surprise to find it freshly painted and with new glass that has been reinforced with metal bars. It is now called a Community Swap Box and besides books there were baby items, toys, some small adult clothing items and what have you. Great idea! It is a bit of a depressed neighbourhood around there and I am sure those items will be recycled very soon.
Walking home I couldn't face taking the quick route with the heavy bag of books having been emptied. So, I opted for the longest route I could figure out without going far out of my way. I was able to turn the walk home into 14 blocks and I enjoyed every step. The sun felt so good shining in under the cooler winds. There was enough heat in it to warm the windblown hair on top of my head. So lovely!
I have been home now for about 20 mintues. The sun has completely disappeared from view, the clouds are thickening up and turning the shiny whitish grey that indicates there is moisture up there somewhere just waiting to drop. I suspect we will not go from dryness to snow, but end up with enough rain first to develop a bad freeze under foot by morning. Eventually it will turn to snow, but the rain will come first. It almost always has in recent years. By the weekend even the daytime high temperatures will be below zero.
What a treat to have been able to get out and walk once again this morning. What a treat to get a huge bag of books out of the teensy bedroom here. This afternoon I will exercise by cleaning the downstairs of our suite. In the morning I have to run errands and grocery shop no matter what the weather is like because tomorrow is pay day and that is THE day to do such things each month, haha. Then I can clean the upstairs of the suite in the afternoon. I like having the home chores planned out in advance. Once I can't get out and walk every day I know I will get even more done inside just to keep active. It is all good!
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
I Think We May Just Get Our First Taste of Winter Tomorrow!!
For those of you who have indicated you are wondering why I tend to go on about the weather here, it is mostly for two friends of mine who are faithful readers: one in the deep south of the USA and one in the tropics who has never experienced a full four seasons in his life and is fascinated with the idea of snow and ice and blasting winds and meat locker temperature cold air! I have fun trying to explain to them what goes on here as my tropical friend in particular simply cannot imagine it. hahaha
We are under a weather advisory for late tomorrow afternoon and on into the next morning. We knew there was something up because it was so very warm and calm by late this afternoon. At this time of year that generally signals an upcoming change. Sure enough, a series of low pressure systems are on their way from the west and by tomorrow night we should have winds howling and blasting snow past us at high rates of speed. While we likely will not get more than a few centimeters of snow compared to the parklands farther south and west of us, at least we are going to finally get some kind of winter storm to remind us of what is coming weatherwise for the next 5 months or so.
Yippee...we have the winter tires on the car! Yippee...we can finally experience the winter and stop feeling stress underneath the joys of good weather each day this autumn as we subconsciously know these days are not going to last much longer. Yippee....the change in the weather will be instrumental in possibly tempering our plans for next week when my husband has a couple of days off together once again.
Oky doky warm climate friends....I will let you know what happens about 24 hours from now.
We are under a weather advisory for late tomorrow afternoon and on into the next morning. We knew there was something up because it was so very warm and calm by late this afternoon. At this time of year that generally signals an upcoming change. Sure enough, a series of low pressure systems are on their way from the west and by tomorrow night we should have winds howling and blasting snow past us at high rates of speed. While we likely will not get more than a few centimeters of snow compared to the parklands farther south and west of us, at least we are going to finally get some kind of winter storm to remind us of what is coming weatherwise for the next 5 months or so.
Yippee...we have the winter tires on the car! Yippee...we can finally experience the winter and stop feeling stress underneath the joys of good weather each day this autumn as we subconsciously know these days are not going to last much longer. Yippee....the change in the weather will be instrumental in possibly tempering our plans for next week when my husband has a couple of days off together once again.
Oky doky warm climate friends....I will let you know what happens about 24 hours from now.
Big Thanks From The Son To All the Prayer Warriors
Our son has asked us to pass on his gratitude for all the prayers for him as he struggles through so many problems all at once. The first three chapters of the Book of Job have been coming back to him, verse by verse. Who knew that those three chapters, his memorization project in school when he was 7, would be such a comfort to him 30 years later, right? Well, I guess Someone did!
This morning he was able to figure out a way to fix his cell phone without having to return it to the provider and get another one, which would have involved a charge and taken up a lot of time. Answer number 1! He is able to communicate once again.
When he woke up this morning his eye eczema was even worse again than it was yesterday and he kind of panicked, knowing he didn't have enough cash left to pay for a doctor's appointment at the walk-in clinic near his place. What he didn't know was that while I was in the shower early this morning, I suddenly had an urgent feeling I should get over to our bank immediately and take out the last bit of money in the account (pay day is in 2 days, so no worries here) and deposit it into our son's account here in Canada....like IMMEDIATELY! I hopped out of the shower, covered in soap suds and didn't even take time to dry off properly. Off I went to the banks, hair dripping suds and water down my jacket and "did the deed". It wasn't much money, that is for sure, but I knew that I knew I needed to get it to our son. As soon as I got home I emailed him to let him know. He emailed back immediately to say he was grabbing his jacket and heading to the clinic. Oh, cash is a wonderful thing. When he got home he called on his now working phone to let me know that by paying cash he was able to jump the lineup in the waiting room and head right into the doctor's office. The little bit I sent, added to what he still had, covered that plus the prescription and left him enough change to treat himself to a doughnut after he left the pharmacy! He can use up this particular cream with the moisturizer I sent him. Thank you Lord for that mental SHOVE out of the shower. The timing was perfect for our son. The doctor said if he had waited another day she would have had to send him to hospital and then his extra BC health coverage would have to decide if it was enough of an emergency to cover at least part of what would have been a much higher cost...more hassle and upset avoided!
The job interview yesterday went well for him, but of course he has no idea if he will get the job or not. He has heard nothing back from any of the other places he sent his CV to last week. However, start of prayer answer number 3: a former boss there has a few days of work for him next week! It will be a big help in the short term.
The owner of the building where our son and his fellow tenants were scammed out of all that money has met with them and decided that she doesn't really want to lose them after all as they are such nice people. The working out of this mess is going to take some time and may never resolve to suit anyone involved, BUT for now none of them appear to be under any threat of immediate eviction despite them inadvertently being considered squatters under the law. Oh, it is going to be a long road with little chance of recovering their money, but the owner and her unexpected squatter tenants all want to avoid any kind of litigation if at all possible. The tenants may be able to pull off a rent strike for a couple of months as a way of "regaining" the lost cash. They meet with the lawyer in person next week.
Our son says another positive outworking of the rental mess is that he has had a lot of chances to witness to the mercy of God in his life. He can hardly believe how calmly he has been able to express himself to the other tenants and the landlord, even at his own most stressed times during this mess. He said peaceful, soothing words have been coming out of his mouth in spite of himself! haha He has ended up being the mediator in this situation! He says he if was forced to return to Canada tomorrow, he would feel that at least THAT much had been accomplished. Amen son!
Anyway, there have been many large and small answers to your prayers just over the past couple of days and he wanted to let you all know how grateful he is. Bless you all and thank you Lord!
This morning he was able to figure out a way to fix his cell phone without having to return it to the provider and get another one, which would have involved a charge and taken up a lot of time. Answer number 1! He is able to communicate once again.
When he woke up this morning his eye eczema was even worse again than it was yesterday and he kind of panicked, knowing he didn't have enough cash left to pay for a doctor's appointment at the walk-in clinic near his place. What he didn't know was that while I was in the shower early this morning, I suddenly had an urgent feeling I should get over to our bank immediately and take out the last bit of money in the account (pay day is in 2 days, so no worries here) and deposit it into our son's account here in Canada....like IMMEDIATELY! I hopped out of the shower, covered in soap suds and didn't even take time to dry off properly. Off I went to the banks, hair dripping suds and water down my jacket and "did the deed". It wasn't much money, that is for sure, but I knew that I knew I needed to get it to our son. As soon as I got home I emailed him to let him know. He emailed back immediately to say he was grabbing his jacket and heading to the clinic. Oh, cash is a wonderful thing. When he got home he called on his now working phone to let me know that by paying cash he was able to jump the lineup in the waiting room and head right into the doctor's office. The little bit I sent, added to what he still had, covered that plus the prescription and left him enough change to treat himself to a doughnut after he left the pharmacy! He can use up this particular cream with the moisturizer I sent him. Thank you Lord for that mental SHOVE out of the shower. The timing was perfect for our son. The doctor said if he had waited another day she would have had to send him to hospital and then his extra BC health coverage would have to decide if it was enough of an emergency to cover at least part of what would have been a much higher cost...more hassle and upset avoided!
The job interview yesterday went well for him, but of course he has no idea if he will get the job or not. He has heard nothing back from any of the other places he sent his CV to last week. However, start of prayer answer number 3: a former boss there has a few days of work for him next week! It will be a big help in the short term.
The owner of the building where our son and his fellow tenants were scammed out of all that money has met with them and decided that she doesn't really want to lose them after all as they are such nice people. The working out of this mess is going to take some time and may never resolve to suit anyone involved, BUT for now none of them appear to be under any threat of immediate eviction despite them inadvertently being considered squatters under the law. Oh, it is going to be a long road with little chance of recovering their money, but the owner and her unexpected squatter tenants all want to avoid any kind of litigation if at all possible. The tenants may be able to pull off a rent strike for a couple of months as a way of "regaining" the lost cash. They meet with the lawyer in person next week.
Our son says another positive outworking of the rental mess is that he has had a lot of chances to witness to the mercy of God in his life. He can hardly believe how calmly he has been able to express himself to the other tenants and the landlord, even at his own most stressed times during this mess. He said peaceful, soothing words have been coming out of his mouth in spite of himself! haha He has ended up being the mediator in this situation! He says he if was forced to return to Canada tomorrow, he would feel that at least THAT much had been accomplished. Amen son!
Anyway, there have been many large and small answers to your prayers just over the past couple of days and he wanted to let you all know how grateful he is. Bless you all and thank you Lord!
No More Oats, I Guess....Rats!!
Minor disappointment today: the bit of kidney rash I thought I saw on my middle after a shower the other day showed up unmistakably again this morning an hour after eating my oats for breakfast. I have about a week's worth of packets of instant oats left, so I will take a break for 3 days, then try to eat the oats for 3 days, then take a break for 3 days, then try to finish up the last of the packets, but if there is more rash despite the breaks I have to quit eating them. If I get any sort of itchy lower leg it means my kidneys are even more unhappy and it is time to stop eating oats forthwith! It would be good to stop eating them before things reach that point. Drat! I have a feeling my 3 days on and 3 days off is not going to work, but I so desperately do not want to go back to daily psyllium and cutting B12 pills into quarters as a way to lower my cholesterol. The oats were so danged effective. Returning to the wonderful world of gagging on psyllium and getting all hot flashy and red faced from the B12 until I adjust again is not an exciting contemplation. BUT, whatever is going to work is what I have to do!
Today is quite lovely outside. I have been out banking all ready. The sun is shining, the wind is barely a breeze, it is warming up for today...all the way to +17C supposedly. YES!! This afternoon after lunch I will walk over to the grocery store for some milk. The recent winds have pretty much stripped the rest of the trees of their leaves, at least in the park across from us, but I notice in the more protected, older residential sections there are still many beautiful red and yellow leaves still hanging from the tree limbs.
I went to bed early last night and was asleep before 10pm, so when my husband woke up just before 6am I did too, feeling most refreshed and ready to face the day. He has been working on the PowerPoint aspect of the seminar he is teaching this coming weekend and will spend the rest of the day fleshing out a bit more of the content. Although he is actually working today, on this seminar, he finds it very relaxing. His stomach is starting to unclench after the busyness and stress of last weekend, he is settling into the tiredness and taking naps here and there as needed. We are most impressed with God's answers to all the prayers for my husband's health to be preserved during and after this stressful work time. Thank you Lord and thank you prayer warriors. I stand amazed that the man is not flat on his back, or wandering around the house in a total stupor while recovering. Wow!
So....he just came in and asked me if I would like to watch tv with him, some of the "robot wars" put on in Saskatoon recently. Actually I wouldn't go so far as to say I would LIKE to, but I will TOLERATE it for his sake and enjoy it as much as possible. hahaha It really is kind of amazing what these young students can do with "tissue paper and comb" so to speak as they create their little one to three pound 'bots.
Today is quite lovely outside. I have been out banking all ready. The sun is shining, the wind is barely a breeze, it is warming up for today...all the way to +17C supposedly. YES!! This afternoon after lunch I will walk over to the grocery store for some milk. The recent winds have pretty much stripped the rest of the trees of their leaves, at least in the park across from us, but I notice in the more protected, older residential sections there are still many beautiful red and yellow leaves still hanging from the tree limbs.
I went to bed early last night and was asleep before 10pm, so when my husband woke up just before 6am I did too, feeling most refreshed and ready to face the day. He has been working on the PowerPoint aspect of the seminar he is teaching this coming weekend and will spend the rest of the day fleshing out a bit more of the content. Although he is actually working today, on this seminar, he finds it very relaxing. His stomach is starting to unclench after the busyness and stress of last weekend, he is settling into the tiredness and taking naps here and there as needed. We are most impressed with God's answers to all the prayers for my husband's health to be preserved during and after this stressful work time. Thank you Lord and thank you prayer warriors. I stand amazed that the man is not flat on his back, or wandering around the house in a total stupor while recovering. Wow!
So....he just came in and asked me if I would like to watch tv with him, some of the "robot wars" put on in Saskatoon recently. Actually I wouldn't go so far as to say I would LIKE to, but I will TOLERATE it for his sake and enjoy it as much as possible. hahaha It really is kind of amazing what these young students can do with "tissue paper and comb" so to speak as they create their little one to three pound 'bots.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Hey, A Couple of Good Things Too!!
Our son has a job interview today at a lighting company of some kind. The pay is less than wonderful, but it would be better than nothing, plus it would be another chance to enhance his skill set. He is so worried that the eczema over his eyelids will rob him of getting the work as I guess it looks rather gruesome. He is going to see an eye doctor to see if he needs something stronger or different than the medicated ointment I mailed to him this morning. In fact, he is so freaked out about his appearance he is stopping at a Halloween store on the way to the interview to get a patch to cover the worst looking eye lid.
His email this morning was encouraging though. He still remembers much of the first 3 books of Job he had to memorize at the age of 7 for his school's Scripture memory programme and he is drawing great encouragement from the way God seemed to think Job was trustworthy enough to continue to grow in his faith despite all the horrible things happening to him. Our son is feeling as though his present trials could be an indication that God is paying attention to him and wanting to show him yet another level of trusting God to be God no matter what is going on in life. His email certainly encouraged my husband and I to hang onto the peace of heart and mind we have been enjoying despite our son's current messes.
We had a pleasant drive to Moose Jaw very early this morning. The head wind wasn't quite as bad as it often is and the sun began to shine. After we dropped the car off at the shop for its winter tire changeover, we took a walk for a half hour up and down the main streets. Despite a chilly wind we enjoyed it because we had on our warm coats, hats and gloves. As soon as the nearest pharmacy opened up we got in line for our 'flu' shots and were second and third in line. We were only there for 45 minutes, including the required 15 minute post innoculation wait to see if there would be an allergic reaction. Turned out the pharmacy also had a Canada Post outlet so I got my posting done. We arrived back at the shop just as the mechanic was about to call us and let us know the car was ready. Perfect timing. We were back home by 10:45am.
Now the sun is shining brightly, we are almost at our forecast high of +12C, the wind is moderate and we are relaxing after eating the leftovers from last night's pub grub for lunch. Tonight I have some chicken samosas ready and will make a big salad to go with them. Yum!!
Well, it is nearly time for us to watch at least one of the boxing matches I recorded on the weekend. My husband is puttering in the basement and will spend some time over the next couple of days tweaking this coming weekend's presentation on living in forgiveness. The particular group we are presenting to are just the best: so engaged, so eager to hear the Scriptures, so anxious to learn more ways those Bible verses can be used in practical daily living. I am happy we get to return to this group and get to know them better.
His email this morning was encouraging though. He still remembers much of the first 3 books of Job he had to memorize at the age of 7 for his school's Scripture memory programme and he is drawing great encouragement from the way God seemed to think Job was trustworthy enough to continue to grow in his faith despite all the horrible things happening to him. Our son is feeling as though his present trials could be an indication that God is paying attention to him and wanting to show him yet another level of trusting God to be God no matter what is going on in life. His email certainly encouraged my husband and I to hang onto the peace of heart and mind we have been enjoying despite our son's current messes.
We had a pleasant drive to Moose Jaw very early this morning. The head wind wasn't quite as bad as it often is and the sun began to shine. After we dropped the car off at the shop for its winter tire changeover, we took a walk for a half hour up and down the main streets. Despite a chilly wind we enjoyed it because we had on our warm coats, hats and gloves. As soon as the nearest pharmacy opened up we got in line for our 'flu' shots and were second and third in line. We were only there for 45 minutes, including the required 15 minute post innoculation wait to see if there would be an allergic reaction. Turned out the pharmacy also had a Canada Post outlet so I got my posting done. We arrived back at the shop just as the mechanic was about to call us and let us know the car was ready. Perfect timing. We were back home by 10:45am.
Now the sun is shining brightly, we are almost at our forecast high of +12C, the wind is moderate and we are relaxing after eating the leftovers from last night's pub grub for lunch. Tonight I have some chicken samosas ready and will make a big salad to go with them. Yum!!
Well, it is nearly time for us to watch at least one of the boxing matches I recorded on the weekend. My husband is puttering in the basement and will spend some time over the next couple of days tweaking this coming weekend's presentation on living in forgiveness. The particular group we are presenting to are just the best: so engaged, so eager to hear the Scriptures, so anxious to learn more ways those Bible verses can be used in practical daily living. I am happy we get to return to this group and get to know them better.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Happy For My Husband
Synod is now over. My husband came home this afternoon, flying pretty high at how well things went, so grateful that the main stresses and trials were only his own and rejoicing at how God worked out all those things so beautifully...at the last minute like always! hahaha
He had no time today to eat lunch so off we went just after 3pm to the Knotted Thistle for a VERY early dinner!! I barely got my minimum 4 hours in between meals before chowing down once again. Yikes...to say the least!!!! hahahaha Say, if you are ever in the mood for a huge helping of cactus cut fries topped with cheese, red onions, jalapenos and red and yellow pepper chunks, head to the Knotted Thistle and order the Irish Nachos...I MAY have eaten just a few more than I should have....oops, my bad....
Now he is watching one of the newer Star Trek series episodes on tv and relaxing. We will be up and going early in the morning for a tire change, 'flu' shots and a trip to the post office for quick express mail to our son. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow, yup, yup, yup. Hopefully the next day will be one of complete rest for my dear husband. The poor Bishop has no time to rest as he is off to House of Bishops for a week and leaves first thing in the morning tomorrow. CRAZY!!!
He had no time today to eat lunch so off we went just after 3pm to the Knotted Thistle for a VERY early dinner!! I barely got my minimum 4 hours in between meals before chowing down once again. Yikes...to say the least!!!! hahahaha Say, if you are ever in the mood for a huge helping of cactus cut fries topped with cheese, red onions, jalapenos and red and yellow pepper chunks, head to the Knotted Thistle and order the Irish Nachos...I MAY have eaten just a few more than I should have....oops, my bad....
Now he is watching one of the newer Star Trek series episodes on tv and relaxing. We will be up and going early in the morning for a tire change, 'flu' shots and a trip to the post office for quick express mail to our son. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow, yup, yup, yup. Hopefully the next day will be one of complete rest for my dear husband. The poor Bishop has no time to rest as he is off to House of Bishops for a week and leaves first thing in the morning tomorrow. CRAZY!!!
Our Son Has Reached Ludicrous Speed
So, tonight a sad email: the poor man now has stress eczema around his eyes, making him feel and look like a freak, right in the middle of trying to secure employment. Also his phone quit working today as far as sending and receiving calls. Fortuately he can still text...for now at least. The reception was never very good with his carrier anyway and we often lost contact in the middle of our calls together.
At this point we are all laughing to some degree because when this many things go dark all at the same time we can be fairly certain God is allowing all this crapola to go on for a good reason, some kind of spiritual lesson in trust. That has certainly been the case in all our past experiences anyway. My husband and I are re-living our own younger lives as we watch our son going through the same sorts of "dangers, toils and snares" we also experienced at his age. We pray he will learn the same lessons as well about trusting God when life looks bleakest. Actually, considering what he went through a couple of years ago right here in Canada, this is almost a day at the beach in comparison. We pray too that all those who have convenanted to pray for him will also see the good fruits of their prayers of compassion for a brother in the Lord who is rather stressed out as he tries to be patient and wait on God for the answers...at some point, no matter how hard a person is trying to solve the problems, there has to be some time taken to rest from the labours and wait. Our son did that today, but tonight is revamping his CV cover letter to improve it as he applies for more jobs this coming week.
I have packaged up some moisturizing cream that works for my own eczema and will mail it to him in the morning. Please pray it arrives. Thank you so much.
To God be the glory.........Amen!
At this point we are all laughing to some degree because when this many things go dark all at the same time we can be fairly certain God is allowing all this crapola to go on for a good reason, some kind of spiritual lesson in trust. That has certainly been the case in all our past experiences anyway. My husband and I are re-living our own younger lives as we watch our son going through the same sorts of "dangers, toils and snares" we also experienced at his age. We pray he will learn the same lessons as well about trusting God when life looks bleakest. Actually, considering what he went through a couple of years ago right here in Canada, this is almost a day at the beach in comparison. We pray too that all those who have convenanted to pray for him will also see the good fruits of their prayers of compassion for a brother in the Lord who is rather stressed out as he tries to be patient and wait on God for the answers...at some point, no matter how hard a person is trying to solve the problems, there has to be some time taken to rest from the labours and wait. Our son did that today, but tonight is revamping his CV cover letter to improve it as he applies for more jobs this coming week.
I have packaged up some moisturizing cream that works for my own eczema and will mail it to him in the morning. Please pray it arrives. Thank you so much.
To God be the glory.........Amen!
And Another Thing I So Appreciate about Jesus
There is quite a push in our culture these days to try to "even out" past abuses by turning victims into victimizers....the abused of the past become the abusers of the present because, well, "it is understandable, in a way it is only just."
Huh??
The thing is that my Jesus was one of the victims in this world during his earthly lifetime. He was verbally abused. He was lied about. He was physically abused. He was tortured and murdered.
And yet....he did not spend his last hours before the cross-carrying walk to Calvary in angry defense of himself. He did not fire back at his accusers and abusers. He said things like, "Forgive them Father. They do not know what they are doing." He said this in the midst of experiencing a torturous death.
That's my Jesus....the victim who became a victor.
Huh??
The thing is that my Jesus was one of the victims in this world during his earthly lifetime. He was verbally abused. He was lied about. He was physically abused. He was tortured and murdered.
And yet....he did not spend his last hours before the cross-carrying walk to Calvary in angry defense of himself. He did not fire back at his accusers and abusers. He said things like, "Forgive them Father. They do not know what they are doing." He said this in the midst of experiencing a torturous death.
That's my Jesus....the victim who became a victor.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
If You Are Tempted To Be PO'd By Recent Hospital Visits Here on the Prairies....
....I would urge you to watch the PBS documentary, Motherland. It is part of their POV programming.
Sometimes I get so busy complaining about how things here in hospitals have changed for the worse over the past couple of decades, I forget just how terrible people in other part of the world have it, even for things as normal, usual and necessary as giving birth.
Motherland is a documentary film about the largest maternity hospital in the world in Manila, Philippines, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. I felt ill watching what those women go through in that baby birth factory, 2 to a single bed in the delivery room, in conditions so unhygienic it makes you wonder how any of the mothers or babies stay alive. The staff are obviously doing their best, but there are so many deliveries and space is so lacking despite the size of the building, no one can keep up. The whole ward is filled with women and babies that run the gamut of human suffering. The cost of staying in the hospital for as many days as is required for the moms to recover and to be taught how to nurse, swaddle and bathe their infants is prohibitive for what seems to be the majority of the families. Other than a kangaroo wrap, new moms are expected to bring their own baby blankets and other supplies with them to the hospital. A lot of sharing goes on among the new moms. The babies often leave the hospital to be brought up in large families cursed with abject poverty. The hospital staff is doing all it can to promote family planning but often their advice falls on deaf ears and fearful hearts.
I can honestly say this is one of the most depressing documentaries I have ever watched and yet, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Director Ramona S. Diaz has captured so well the suffering, the resignation to loss of hope, the fears of these women, their often under employed hubands and families. It is worth a look if the subject of human productive rights is one that interests you.
Sometimes I get so busy complaining about how things here in hospitals have changed for the worse over the past couple of decades, I forget just how terrible people in other part of the world have it, even for things as normal, usual and necessary as giving birth.
Motherland is a documentary film about the largest maternity hospital in the world in Manila, Philippines, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. I felt ill watching what those women go through in that baby birth factory, 2 to a single bed in the delivery room, in conditions so unhygienic it makes you wonder how any of the mothers or babies stay alive. The staff are obviously doing their best, but there are so many deliveries and space is so lacking despite the size of the building, no one can keep up. The whole ward is filled with women and babies that run the gamut of human suffering. The cost of staying in the hospital for as many days as is required for the moms to recover and to be taught how to nurse, swaddle and bathe their infants is prohibitive for what seems to be the majority of the families. Other than a kangaroo wrap, new moms are expected to bring their own baby blankets and other supplies with them to the hospital. A lot of sharing goes on among the new moms. The babies often leave the hospital to be brought up in large families cursed with abject poverty. The hospital staff is doing all it can to promote family planning but often their advice falls on deaf ears and fearful hearts.
I can honestly say this is one of the most depressing documentaries I have ever watched and yet, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Director Ramona S. Diaz has captured so well the suffering, the resignation to loss of hope, the fears of these women, their often under employed hubands and families. It is worth a look if the subject of human productive rights is one that interests you.
Wretched, Seasonal Weather
Wow, what a shock a day like today is after the wonderful warmth of this past week.
When I drove my husband to the Cathedral early this morning for his Synod meetings the temperature was +6C. Now it is nearly 3pm and the temperature is +7C, the wind is howling and there is a very cold rain falling sporadically. Brrrrrrrr!!!!!
I am sitting here in my Mark's Comfy Robe fighting the urge to take a nap....mostly because I know how horrible I always feel after I wake up from a day time snooze.
What a yucky taste of the real autumn weather we should have all ready been experiencing a month ago, that will hit us more often in the coming weeks leading up to that first crisp, white snowfall.
I feel SO lazy this afternoon...maybe a video game would be in order. Today a walk out of doors is most definitely NOT part of my game plan!!
When I drove my husband to the Cathedral early this morning for his Synod meetings the temperature was +6C. Now it is nearly 3pm and the temperature is +7C, the wind is howling and there is a very cold rain falling sporadically. Brrrrrrrr!!!!!
I am sitting here in my Mark's Comfy Robe fighting the urge to take a nap....mostly because I know how horrible I always feel after I wake up from a day time snooze.
What a yucky taste of the real autumn weather we should have all ready been experiencing a month ago, that will hit us more often in the coming weeks leading up to that first crisp, white snowfall.
I feel SO lazy this afternoon...maybe a video game would be in order. Today a walk out of doors is most definitely NOT part of my game plan!!
So....Choir Practise....
It went unbelievably well today. My voice held up just fine until the last ten minutes of the 2 hour session. What a relief!
After I got home I located some good vocal exercises online to help me strengthen my voice. Hopefully they will. They are supposedly for people with soft, weak voices and that is certainly me at this stage of life.
My doctor warned me last time I saw her to preserve my voice by not over practising at home between rehearsals and I think she is right. The only rehearsing I did after the last rehearsal was yesterday afternoon and then a wee bit this morning. It seemed to leave me strong enough to cope this morning as I joined in with the rest of the group.
I think after our Christmas concert I am going to book a session with our director and do some voice testing to see if she thinks I will be able to return in January for the next term.
If the rest of our pre-Christmas practises go as well for me as this one did I will be fine. Moderation in how often I practise, I think, is part of the key.
After I got home I located some good vocal exercises online to help me strengthen my voice. Hopefully they will. They are supposedly for people with soft, weak voices and that is certainly me at this stage of life.
My doctor warned me last time I saw her to preserve my voice by not over practising at home between rehearsals and I think she is right. The only rehearsing I did after the last rehearsal was yesterday afternoon and then a wee bit this morning. It seemed to leave me strong enough to cope this morning as I joined in with the rest of the group.
I think after our Christmas concert I am going to book a session with our director and do some voice testing to see if she thinks I will be able to return in January for the next term.
If the rest of our pre-Christmas practises go as well for me as this one did I will be fine. Moderation in how often I practise, I think, is part of the key.
I Am Not a Synod Delegate, I Have Nothing To Do With Synod, and Yet.......
....I am sitting here at my computer at 5am, after not getting to sleep until after 11:30pm, listening to my husband on his computer as he tweaks his PowerPoint for his major presentation of the day at HIS Synod. hahaha He put in a 14 hour day yesterday and is now looking at as much as a 17 hour day today since he woke up so early to work on the presentation.
You know how it is when you have put months and months into planning an event, are responsible for how most of it "goes down", even though the agenda was struck by a committee, because if anything goes wrong you are the one who is ultimately responsible for fixing it. The sheer number of delegates in attendance, the huge number of business issues that must be dealt with in such a limited time period, the myriad small details....once the Synod begins there is a new kind of "overwhelming" for the planners. No wonder my husband is so wired he can't sleep and is up re-tweaking the presentation for the umpteenth time.
Yes, I know this is a very important set of meetings for our Diocese and how we move forward will be greatly effected by the votes yay or nay for each issue, but o my....I will be SO grateful for ME as well as for my husband when it is all over tomorrow afternoon. We are both exhausted from the stress, the lack of proper sleep, the excitement, the hope of change in the Diocese....oh, so many things that get a person's mind whirling around when it should be calming itself down for a night's sleep.
So, since I am up this early I may need to make special plans for my breakfast and lunch times. There is no way I can last another nearly 2 hours to eat breakfast. However, if I don't I will HAVE to eat lunch in the middle of my morning choir practise. The timing of meals as a diabetic is far more hassle for me than being restricted in what foods I can still eat. Argh!! Irritating, irritating, irritating!!
I am glad I was out of the suite so much yesterday afternoon. All that walking removes any real stress I take on over situations out of my control. By the time the Roughriders/Stampeders football game came on last night I was quite ready to sit on the couch and watch it without feeling antsy, wondering how things were going for my husband at Synod. (By the way, GO ROUGHRIDERS!! YAY!! You slaughtered one of the best teams in the league last night!)
My famous denial ability is being seriously challenged as I truly listened to my own voice while practising for choir yesterday here at home. Whoo boy....it is shot, completely done, finished, warbling all around the centre of the notes but not hitting them dead on, breath control not helping the sound one bit. The doctor agrees it may be the one side effect of my meds, as that is known to happen to some patients. Sigh..... So, do I drop out now before we get any closer to the Christmas concert, or do I trust I can pull it off at the actual rehearsals enough times between now and then to cover up my own loss of ability, like I did last Sunday afternoon? I was shocked at how well I did last week at practise, but what if that doesn't happen again? Giving up my one, me only, personal committment is not appealing, but if I can't fulfill the committment it isn't fair to everyone else in the choir. Writing it down makes it sound like some kind of huge deal, but it is really a simple decision: do I stay or do I go? What is best for the group? I will decide after today's rehearsal.
Well, I am going to go and read a book for awhile and try to ignore my tummy, which has started to rumble as it realizes I am awake and moving around. At this point it is after 6:30am....I took a long break from writing this post to make my husband his breakfast....and if I can just last another half hour before I eat then my mealtimes will not be screwed up. I am not hungry enough to want to take a bite out of my desk...not yet anyway, hahahaha.
You know how it is when you have put months and months into planning an event, are responsible for how most of it "goes down", even though the agenda was struck by a committee, because if anything goes wrong you are the one who is ultimately responsible for fixing it. The sheer number of delegates in attendance, the huge number of business issues that must be dealt with in such a limited time period, the myriad small details....once the Synod begins there is a new kind of "overwhelming" for the planners. No wonder my husband is so wired he can't sleep and is up re-tweaking the presentation for the umpteenth time.
Yes, I know this is a very important set of meetings for our Diocese and how we move forward will be greatly effected by the votes yay or nay for each issue, but o my....I will be SO grateful for ME as well as for my husband when it is all over tomorrow afternoon. We are both exhausted from the stress, the lack of proper sleep, the excitement, the hope of change in the Diocese....oh, so many things that get a person's mind whirling around when it should be calming itself down for a night's sleep.
So, since I am up this early I may need to make special plans for my breakfast and lunch times. There is no way I can last another nearly 2 hours to eat breakfast. However, if I don't I will HAVE to eat lunch in the middle of my morning choir practise. The timing of meals as a diabetic is far more hassle for me than being restricted in what foods I can still eat. Argh!! Irritating, irritating, irritating!!
I am glad I was out of the suite so much yesterday afternoon. All that walking removes any real stress I take on over situations out of my control. By the time the Roughriders/Stampeders football game came on last night I was quite ready to sit on the couch and watch it without feeling antsy, wondering how things were going for my husband at Synod. (By the way, GO ROUGHRIDERS!! YAY!! You slaughtered one of the best teams in the league last night!)
My famous denial ability is being seriously challenged as I truly listened to my own voice while practising for choir yesterday here at home. Whoo boy....it is shot, completely done, finished, warbling all around the centre of the notes but not hitting them dead on, breath control not helping the sound one bit. The doctor agrees it may be the one side effect of my meds, as that is known to happen to some patients. Sigh..... So, do I drop out now before we get any closer to the Christmas concert, or do I trust I can pull it off at the actual rehearsals enough times between now and then to cover up my own loss of ability, like I did last Sunday afternoon? I was shocked at how well I did last week at practise, but what if that doesn't happen again? Giving up my one, me only, personal committment is not appealing, but if I can't fulfill the committment it isn't fair to everyone else in the choir. Writing it down makes it sound like some kind of huge deal, but it is really a simple decision: do I stay or do I go? What is best for the group? I will decide after today's rehearsal.
Well, I am going to go and read a book for awhile and try to ignore my tummy, which has started to rumble as it realizes I am awake and moving around. At this point it is after 6:30am....I took a long break from writing this post to make my husband his breakfast....and if I can just last another half hour before I eat then my mealtimes will not be screwed up. I am not hungry enough to want to take a bite out of my desk...not yet anyway, hahahaha.
Friday, October 20, 2017
So NOW, Our Dear Son.....
....got word today that his temporary job is ending sooner than scheduled because he was so experienced and completed the work so far ahead of what was expected. No money and now no work!
We are all kind of chuckling because we are fascinated to see what God is going to do next.
As our son said, at the end of the long litany of disasters he recited to me this afternoon, "God is good!"
Amen to that!
We are all kind of chuckling because we are fascinated to see what God is going to do next.
As our son said, at the end of the long litany of disasters he recited to me this afternoon, "God is good!"
Amen to that!
Yippee Yiiii Yippee Yay!!
Just got the email notice that the Bishop has decided to close the office for two days following Synod. That gives my husband two days off in a row!! I am so happy for him...and for me too!! It gives him a day to come to Moose Jaw with me for our winter tire changeover and to get our 'flu' shots, then a day to sleep in and rest, or work on tweaking his seminar presentation for the following weekend! O, thank you Lord and thank you Bishop. This is good news for everyone in the office!!! Amen!
Attempt Number Three To Get Hit In a Crosswalk Here!
Wow....it is amazingly difficult to get through to some of the drivers in this city that pedestrians have the right of way at unmarked crosswalks! I got another fright today. As I was walking home from downtown after paying my phone bill I stopped at a corner to be sure the two cars coming at me, down the one way street on my right hand side, were going to stop at their stop sign so I could safely cross. The vehicle nearest to me did stop as did the second one a few seconds later. By the time the second one stopped I was 1/3 of the way across the street. Suddenly the driver took off through the intersection. Fortunately I noticed and stopped abruptly so she could pass me without knocking me down. She looked out her side window at me and frowned....SHE FROWNED??? I was doing more than frowning, I tell you. I was waving my arms around and yelling "HEY!!" at the top of my lungs. She didn't slow down, just kept staring out her side window as she forged ahead. She continued turning her head around backwards, watching me as I progressed through the crosswalk. I wonder who she almost hit at the next corner since she was so intent on looking behind her, instead of at the road ahead of her. This was not some old granny behind the wheel, someone even older than myself, struggling with macular degeneration or distraction. It as not a young teenaged driver being careless or too much in a rush. It was a woman who appeared to be in her 40's or early 50's and has probably been driving for awhile. I was not dawdling so she couldn't have been upset that I was slowing her down by crossing the street. Aiiii yiiiii.....Regina and Moose Jaw are the two most unsafe cities I have ever walked or driven in. It is unreal here. Totally scary!!
I am grateful, once again, to be alive!!!! One pedestrian/car accident in my life resulting in me being injured is enough, thank you very much!!
Thank you God for keeping me safe and I do pray it was a wake up call to the lady who was driving. The driver of the other car was very kind and as I reached the other side of the road he slowed and rolled down his window to ask if I was okay. Thank you sir. I appreciate it. Oh how I pray I don't end up terrifying any pedestrians or other drivers when I myself am behind the wheel of my car!! I don't want to be guilty of the same driving offences.
I am grateful, once again, to be alive!!!! One pedestrian/car accident in my life resulting in me being injured is enough, thank you very much!!
Thank you God for keeping me safe and I do pray it was a wake up call to the lady who was driving. The driver of the other car was very kind and as I reached the other side of the road he slowed and rolled down his window to ask if I was okay. Thank you sir. I appreciate it. Oh how I pray I don't end up terrifying any pedestrians or other drivers when I myself am behind the wheel of my car!! I don't want to be guilty of the same driving offences.
Company's Coming
After no word from him for the past year, my former physiotherapist has contacted us and is coming to visit for a couple of days in November. We are so looking forward to the visit.
He is the easiest company in the world to have: in the past he has arrived with a thin bedroll and is happy to wrap up in it and cram himself between the bookcases in the little library my husband has squeezed into the tiny third bedroom. He doesn't stir all night, so the horribly squeaky floors are no problem. He eats like a sparrow and always has a meal plan in mind for us all. He has strict parameters for himself and us on how long he is going to stay and what is going to happen while he is here. I often wonder if OCD is a factor or if it is just his cultural upbringing. Either way it keeps things easy as we have almost no decisions to make about anything when he comes to visit. hahaha
He will arrive on a Thursday at 4pm. (although usually that means he will be here by 1:30 or 2pm, hahaha) He will bring a bottle of wine so that the 3 of us can have a bit of a Happy Hour and then we are going out for dinner so we don't have to waste visiting time to do cooking. (although I suspect it is because he is such a persnickety eater and hasn't actually enjoyed any meal I have made for him to date) I am sure he will know exactly what sort of food he wants and I suspect we will be at one of the nicer pubs so he and my husband can enjoy a bottle of beer, (not a can nor a tap run), and then we will all be in bed before 9pm so we can all wake up early the next morning, him at 4am so he can quietly do morning prayers, us at 6:30am so we can join him for breakfast....well, for him that usually only means coffee, so I will have to find some of that to make....my husband will then head for work, taking the fellow with him for a tour of the office building and from there either our friend will head for home or have other plans for us all once my husband is done work at noon that day. hahaha See, easy peasey! No plans for us to make, no work to go to to accommodate him.
He is, quite literally, the only person I can handle having overnight here in this small space with its one tiny bathroom and floors so squeaky I suspect I have a subconscious fear of them caving in one day and finding ourselves buried under the pile of books, beds, desks and other rubble spread all over the living room floor, or maybe even the basement, where couches, chairs, china, tv's, cabinets and the kitchen island would be added to the disastrous mess!!
I am glad he is such an easy guest because I have other stresses of my own that weekend. There is a choir practise that wasn't originally on the schedule and I am not sure I can make it. If I can't it will be the third rehearsal in a row I will be missing. Not good since we only have 6 practises or so before the Christmas concert. Missing half of them is not a good thing. I am not only also learning hymns to play for church that Sunday, I am also accompanying a young trumpet player who is going to join us for some of those hymns. I haven't had to play for church in over a year now, haven't had to play for anything and have quite enjoyed NOT doing that. So, even though it is a small undertaking, I am a bit stessed by it.
In my old age I seem to have developed an intense longing for freedom from committments of all kinds....playing the piano, sticking to a choir rehearsal schedule, travel plans for myself, even though I still enjoy most of those things. I don't feel like planning anything in advance if I don't have to. For some reason I am kind of enjoying the sort of daily lollygagging around, last minute decisions of how to spend my day, I have been doing over the past few months. I didn't enjoy it at first, but as time has passed I have now developed quite an enjoyment of it. Go figure..........
He is the easiest company in the world to have: in the past he has arrived with a thin bedroll and is happy to wrap up in it and cram himself between the bookcases in the little library my husband has squeezed into the tiny third bedroom. He doesn't stir all night, so the horribly squeaky floors are no problem. He eats like a sparrow and always has a meal plan in mind for us all. He has strict parameters for himself and us on how long he is going to stay and what is going to happen while he is here. I often wonder if OCD is a factor or if it is just his cultural upbringing. Either way it keeps things easy as we have almost no decisions to make about anything when he comes to visit. hahaha
He will arrive on a Thursday at 4pm. (although usually that means he will be here by 1:30 or 2pm, hahaha) He will bring a bottle of wine so that the 3 of us can have a bit of a Happy Hour and then we are going out for dinner so we don't have to waste visiting time to do cooking. (although I suspect it is because he is such a persnickety eater and hasn't actually enjoyed any meal I have made for him to date) I am sure he will know exactly what sort of food he wants and I suspect we will be at one of the nicer pubs so he and my husband can enjoy a bottle of beer, (not a can nor a tap run), and then we will all be in bed before 9pm so we can all wake up early the next morning, him at 4am so he can quietly do morning prayers, us at 6:30am so we can join him for breakfast....well, for him that usually only means coffee, so I will have to find some of that to make....my husband will then head for work, taking the fellow with him for a tour of the office building and from there either our friend will head for home or have other plans for us all once my husband is done work at noon that day. hahaha See, easy peasey! No plans for us to make, no work to go to to accommodate him.
He is, quite literally, the only person I can handle having overnight here in this small space with its one tiny bathroom and floors so squeaky I suspect I have a subconscious fear of them caving in one day and finding ourselves buried under the pile of books, beds, desks and other rubble spread all over the living room floor, or maybe even the basement, where couches, chairs, china, tv's, cabinets and the kitchen island would be added to the disastrous mess!!
I am glad he is such an easy guest because I have other stresses of my own that weekend. There is a choir practise that wasn't originally on the schedule and I am not sure I can make it. If I can't it will be the third rehearsal in a row I will be missing. Not good since we only have 6 practises or so before the Christmas concert. Missing half of them is not a good thing. I am not only also learning hymns to play for church that Sunday, I am also accompanying a young trumpet player who is going to join us for some of those hymns. I haven't had to play for church in over a year now, haven't had to play for anything and have quite enjoyed NOT doing that. So, even though it is a small undertaking, I am a bit stessed by it.
In my old age I seem to have developed an intense longing for freedom from committments of all kinds....playing the piano, sticking to a choir rehearsal schedule, travel plans for myself, even though I still enjoy most of those things. I don't feel like planning anything in advance if I don't have to. For some reason I am kind of enjoying the sort of daily lollygagging around, last minute decisions of how to spend my day, I have been doing over the past few months. I didn't enjoy it at first, but as time has passed I have now developed quite an enjoyment of it. Go figure..........
Thursday, October 19, 2017
So Lovely, Such Great Memories, But I Don't Want to Go Back to Tokyo
An aquaintance is experiencing her first trip to Japan. She has spent the last few weeks travelling all over Honshu Island and blogging about her adventures. She is also an avid photographer and every post takes us forever to read because we have to visually dissect every shot she posts of places we are familiar with. hahaha
One thing though we have realized as we have been reading her blog: our memories of Japan are still strong and precious to us, but we are not going back again. Going back would spoil the memories for us. The reason they are so precious is that our life there happened at a time when we were in the most dire straits of our lives here in Canada. Money-wise, career-wise, health-wise and every other "wise" it was the end of the road for us. At the most desperate time we had ever experienced, the doors to Japan opened wide for us and we fled through them at light speed.
Our time there was as close to perfection as either of us had ever experienced and so preserving the memories of that time is important to us. For some reason it seems crucial not to spoil them by returning under different circumstances all these years later.
We have discussed the possibility, but decided our time there was special and a one of a kind experience.
In fact, at the moment neither of us has any interest in leaving Canada to go anywhere at all. This same blogger recently took a trip to New York City and we read her posts from there with great interest as well, seeing as our son is living there now. She had a great time there, but every post we read turned us off the idea of visiting that city. The assumption by everyone around us is, of course, since our son can't really return here for the next couple of years while living under the restrictions of his visa, that of course we will go there for a visit.
Unless we can put our dream trip together, by some miracle, and go to our god-daughter's confirmation in Florida next spring and then hit NYC on the way back, we have both had to confess we don't want to go at all. As dismal as it can feel knowing it would mean we would not see our son for more than 2 years, there is just something holding us back from getting excited about heading there.
Maybe it is simply that we are turning into old people who are losing their confidence when it comes to adventures. Travelling seems to take so much effort any more. The costs are insane. The accommodations are either cheap and horrible or expensive and still inadequate. The airports are a nightmare to navigate. Flights that leave after 9am are almost always delayed for hours and sometimes are cancelled all together....particularly the late night cheapie flights. Hauling luggage about has lost its appeal. The stress of the whole venture seems to be completely beyond us any more.
A friend in Ontario suggested we drive out that way and then take the train to Buffalo and head into NYC from there for a few days. I suppose that would be a possibility for next year's holiday. We could see our friends in Ontario on the way through and that would be a lot of fun.
Still....we really have our travel hearts set on the Florida to NYC event....I am guessing that is because it is so highly unlikely, so completely unaffordable, so totally improbable, so time consuming to plan, that we don't really expect it to happen so take no stress over big talk and "pretend" planning. hahahahaha
What on earth is happening to us? Where did our sense of adventure go?? Has living on the prairies stripped us of all ability to plan anything without it feeling like it is "too much trouble"????? Is it really that we are just becoming incompetent old codgers??? O dear.......
One thing though we have realized as we have been reading her blog: our memories of Japan are still strong and precious to us, but we are not going back again. Going back would spoil the memories for us. The reason they are so precious is that our life there happened at a time when we were in the most dire straits of our lives here in Canada. Money-wise, career-wise, health-wise and every other "wise" it was the end of the road for us. At the most desperate time we had ever experienced, the doors to Japan opened wide for us and we fled through them at light speed.
Our time there was as close to perfection as either of us had ever experienced and so preserving the memories of that time is important to us. For some reason it seems crucial not to spoil them by returning under different circumstances all these years later.
We have discussed the possibility, but decided our time there was special and a one of a kind experience.
In fact, at the moment neither of us has any interest in leaving Canada to go anywhere at all. This same blogger recently took a trip to New York City and we read her posts from there with great interest as well, seeing as our son is living there now. She had a great time there, but every post we read turned us off the idea of visiting that city. The assumption by everyone around us is, of course, since our son can't really return here for the next couple of years while living under the restrictions of his visa, that of course we will go there for a visit.
Unless we can put our dream trip together, by some miracle, and go to our god-daughter's confirmation in Florida next spring and then hit NYC on the way back, we have both had to confess we don't want to go at all. As dismal as it can feel knowing it would mean we would not see our son for more than 2 years, there is just something holding us back from getting excited about heading there.
Maybe it is simply that we are turning into old people who are losing their confidence when it comes to adventures. Travelling seems to take so much effort any more. The costs are insane. The accommodations are either cheap and horrible or expensive and still inadequate. The airports are a nightmare to navigate. Flights that leave after 9am are almost always delayed for hours and sometimes are cancelled all together....particularly the late night cheapie flights. Hauling luggage about has lost its appeal. The stress of the whole venture seems to be completely beyond us any more.
A friend in Ontario suggested we drive out that way and then take the train to Buffalo and head into NYC from there for a few days. I suppose that would be a possibility for next year's holiday. We could see our friends in Ontario on the way through and that would be a lot of fun.
Still....we really have our travel hearts set on the Florida to NYC event....I am guessing that is because it is so highly unlikely, so completely unaffordable, so totally improbable, so time consuming to plan, that we don't really expect it to happen so take no stress over big talk and "pretend" planning. hahahahaha
What on earth is happening to us? Where did our sense of adventure go?? Has living on the prairies stripped us of all ability to plan anything without it feeling like it is "too much trouble"????? Is it really that we are just becoming incompetent old codgers??? O dear.......
The Legalities Begin
After meeting with Tenancy Advocate yesterday, my son and his fellow tenants had a group meeting this evening so he could report to the rest of them the information he received from TA. Tomorrow they will meet as a group with TA again and a representative from TA will attempt to find them a lawyer who is willing to work pro bono.
And so the rather desperate and likely fruitless attempt to recoup their lost rents and damage deposits begins. At twenty-four hundred dollars my son has actually lost the least amount of money. He has only been in the building just over a month. However, if he doesn't recoup it, particularly since he did not get the job that was more or less promised to him at his interview 2 weeks ago, it is going to be quite a problem for him.
So, he is trusting God to help him. His financial life certainly has mirrored that of his parents over the years. hahahaha Thus, he does know how to pray and how to trust and how to get over the fear and depression that inevitably attacks people when they find themselves in these sorts of situations.
The process of "pavement pounding" to find full time work begins in earnest this weekend. After his smooth landing down south things have "GONE south" rather quickly, so his committment to the direction he felt led to take is certainly being tested...as it usually is for most of us when God calls us to new places and circumstances.
He has asked me to give a special, heartfelt thank you to those of you who contacted me after my first post about his problem, and told me you would be praying for him. Knowing what big problems of your own some of you are facing in your own lives, your desire to pray for him means the world to him. (and to his dad and I) Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And so the rather desperate and likely fruitless attempt to recoup their lost rents and damage deposits begins. At twenty-four hundred dollars my son has actually lost the least amount of money. He has only been in the building just over a month. However, if he doesn't recoup it, particularly since he did not get the job that was more or less promised to him at his interview 2 weeks ago, it is going to be quite a problem for him.
So, he is trusting God to help him. His financial life certainly has mirrored that of his parents over the years. hahahaha Thus, he does know how to pray and how to trust and how to get over the fear and depression that inevitably attacks people when they find themselves in these sorts of situations.
The process of "pavement pounding" to find full time work begins in earnest this weekend. After his smooth landing down south things have "GONE south" rather quickly, so his committment to the direction he felt led to take is certainly being tested...as it usually is for most of us when God calls us to new places and circumstances.
He has asked me to give a special, heartfelt thank you to those of you who contacted me after my first post about his problem, and told me you would be praying for him. Knowing what big problems of your own some of you are facing in your own lives, your desire to pray for him means the world to him. (and to his dad and I) Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Another Wonderful Day
I am feeling badly for a few folk here who lost their not quite built new houses in a new subdivision due to the wind storm the other night. The two houses in question are reduced to little bits and pieces, as if a bomb landed right on top of them. Other than some heavy tree limbs that came down and need moving, those two half built houses seem to be the worst of the damage here.
At the moment it is +24C, cloudy and with a warm breeze. Beautiful!
I put my jacket on this morning when I went out to do errands and that only lasted until I reached my first destination. At that point the jacket had to come off. I was too hot wearing it....imagine....having to remove a light jacket on the 19th of October at 9am because it made me feel too hot!! FANTASTIC!! I parked as far away as reasonably possible from each building I had to go to and enjoyed thoroughly my walking about. A few minutes ago I packed up a few items of used clothing to walk down to the collection bin and I walked there in a short sleeved tee shirt and summer jeans. AWESOME!! Tomorrow we are supposed to have sun and a high of +22C. If that turns out to be correct I am going to walk downtown again to pay the phone bill that arrived today. My husband will have the car for work tomorrow so there will be no temptation to wimp out and nick the car from his office lot long enough to drive to a different branch of our bank.
This morning I read some of the articles detailing the stories of personal loss due to the grass fires in AB and SK. So very sad....one fellow who had very little damage to his rural property discovered a badly injured dog on his driveway. He loaded it into his truck to take into town to the local veterinarian and along the way noticed his neighbour shuffling down the road. He stopped to check on the neighbour and that man was in deep shock. Less than a half hour, earlier that day, after spotting the encroaching fire from some distance away, it leapt a barrier and landed on his house. The place was burned to the ground in less than 20 minutes. He lost his other dogs in the fire and was in such a state of shock he did not recognize the injured dog in the truck as his own remaining pet.
A young AB volunteer firefighter was killed when the water tanker truck he was driving hit another vehicle along a smoky road and crashed. The man was in his 30's and leaves a wife and 4 children.
Two young firefighters from another town were badly injured in another wreck.
One of the thoroughbred horses raised to be ridden annually for the aboriginal village at the Calgary Stampede was killed by the fire near a ranch in southern AB. Fortunately all the other thoroughbreds were located after their barn burned down and they were fine, but what a terrible loss.
Several houses were lost in both provinces. The fierceness of the fires and the rapidity with which they destroyed everything in their path surprised some of even the most experienced firefighters.
The prairies, like many other parts of the continent, are in desperate need of moisture. Relatives who just returned from the usually lush and green city of Victoria BC told us that Beacon Hill Park, usually so covered in deep greens and thick overgrowth, has been reduced to tinder dry stick like grasses and brown looking trees. They said it looks like the prairies out there right now due to that and the cracked dry ground.
I feel so badly for everyone so badly effected by these weather related disasters. Northern California continues to burn. The Canadian prairie fires going on right now are the worst seen in those areas for many, many years. The winds blew large numbers of train cars right off the tracks in two different locations the other evening. Semi rigs blew over on their sides. Many people have been treated for smoke inhalation.
And here I sit....on a gorgeous day in my own city, preparing for another glorious walk tomorrow outdoors in the warmth. I am grateful...........
At the moment it is +24C, cloudy and with a warm breeze. Beautiful!
I put my jacket on this morning when I went out to do errands and that only lasted until I reached my first destination. At that point the jacket had to come off. I was too hot wearing it....imagine....having to remove a light jacket on the 19th of October at 9am because it made me feel too hot!! FANTASTIC!! I parked as far away as reasonably possible from each building I had to go to and enjoyed thoroughly my walking about. A few minutes ago I packed up a few items of used clothing to walk down to the collection bin and I walked there in a short sleeved tee shirt and summer jeans. AWESOME!! Tomorrow we are supposed to have sun and a high of +22C. If that turns out to be correct I am going to walk downtown again to pay the phone bill that arrived today. My husband will have the car for work tomorrow so there will be no temptation to wimp out and nick the car from his office lot long enough to drive to a different branch of our bank.
This morning I read some of the articles detailing the stories of personal loss due to the grass fires in AB and SK. So very sad....one fellow who had very little damage to his rural property discovered a badly injured dog on his driveway. He loaded it into his truck to take into town to the local veterinarian and along the way noticed his neighbour shuffling down the road. He stopped to check on the neighbour and that man was in deep shock. Less than a half hour, earlier that day, after spotting the encroaching fire from some distance away, it leapt a barrier and landed on his house. The place was burned to the ground in less than 20 minutes. He lost his other dogs in the fire and was in such a state of shock he did not recognize the injured dog in the truck as his own remaining pet.
A young AB volunteer firefighter was killed when the water tanker truck he was driving hit another vehicle along a smoky road and crashed. The man was in his 30's and leaves a wife and 4 children.
Two young firefighters from another town were badly injured in another wreck.
One of the thoroughbred horses raised to be ridden annually for the aboriginal village at the Calgary Stampede was killed by the fire near a ranch in southern AB. Fortunately all the other thoroughbreds were located after their barn burned down and they were fine, but what a terrible loss.
Several houses were lost in both provinces. The fierceness of the fires and the rapidity with which they destroyed everything in their path surprised some of even the most experienced firefighters.
The prairies, like many other parts of the continent, are in desperate need of moisture. Relatives who just returned from the usually lush and green city of Victoria BC told us that Beacon Hill Park, usually so covered in deep greens and thick overgrowth, has been reduced to tinder dry stick like grasses and brown looking trees. They said it looks like the prairies out there right now due to that and the cracked dry ground.
I feel so badly for everyone so badly effected by these weather related disasters. Northern California continues to burn. The Canadian prairie fires going on right now are the worst seen in those areas for many, many years. The winds blew large numbers of train cars right off the tracks in two different locations the other evening. Semi rigs blew over on their sides. Many people have been treated for smoke inhalation.
And here I sit....on a gorgeous day in my own city, preparing for another glorious walk tomorrow outdoors in the warmth. I am grateful...........
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
No Damage At Our Place
It was rather difficult to sleep soundly last night with the howling, building-rocking winds, but we did not too badly. My husband got up just before midnight to locate a pair of earplugs so he could block out some of the noise and I was only kept awake after that for another half hour by a bad case of the giggles. When my husband is up stumbling around in the night he also runs off at the mouth and if he could maintain that state of semi-consciousness during the day he could earn a wonderful living as a stand up comedian!!
The wind tore down our fake hornet's nest we had hanging by the back door, but it wasn't damaged at all. It was still hanging down the side of the suite by a string, so I put it back into the basement this morning in hopes that the lack of hornets around our back door of late is a good sign that they won't return and start building a nest under the loose siding there. I was quite startled on my walk yesterday to discover how many there still are seeking winter shelter under the huge piles of rotting leaves on the residential boulevards. Unless some environmental condition between now and next spring destroys many of them, we are in for a real innundation again next year.
The big headlines in the local papers are all about the grass fires burning out of control north and west of Swift Current. The winds tossed those flames right across a couple of secondary highways near Burstall and Leader and both towns have been evacuated. We have good friends in ministry in Leader so we are very worried about them. There is another grass fire somewhat out of control north of Airdrie Alberta and threatening the northern end of the town. We have many friends in that area as well so we will try to stay up to date on the latest news of that fire too.
Today we are still experiencing wind gusts, but nothing like the 110km winds we had overnight. I am assuming our city sustained some damage somewhere but no reports have shown up online yet.
Last night when I stepped out on the front porch at 11pm to ensure our mailbox lid was securely shut, the air temperature was as beautiful as any mid-summer evening. The strong winds were just getting started and I stood under the small overhang outside the door, protected from the wind, enjoying the warm air. SO very lovely and quite impressive for the middle of October.
Today the cold front that blew through is leaving us with a predicted high of only +8C but by tomorrow we should be warming up once again. O how I love this protracted lovely autumn weather.
The wind tore down our fake hornet's nest we had hanging by the back door, but it wasn't damaged at all. It was still hanging down the side of the suite by a string, so I put it back into the basement this morning in hopes that the lack of hornets around our back door of late is a good sign that they won't return and start building a nest under the loose siding there. I was quite startled on my walk yesterday to discover how many there still are seeking winter shelter under the huge piles of rotting leaves on the residential boulevards. Unless some environmental condition between now and next spring destroys many of them, we are in for a real innundation again next year.
The big headlines in the local papers are all about the grass fires burning out of control north and west of Swift Current. The winds tossed those flames right across a couple of secondary highways near Burstall and Leader and both towns have been evacuated. We have good friends in ministry in Leader so we are very worried about them. There is another grass fire somewhat out of control north of Airdrie Alberta and threatening the northern end of the town. We have many friends in that area as well so we will try to stay up to date on the latest news of that fire too.
Today we are still experiencing wind gusts, but nothing like the 110km winds we had overnight. I am assuming our city sustained some damage somewhere but no reports have shown up online yet.
Last night when I stepped out on the front porch at 11pm to ensure our mailbox lid was securely shut, the air temperature was as beautiful as any mid-summer evening. The strong winds were just getting started and I stood under the small overhang outside the door, protected from the wind, enjoying the warm air. SO very lovely and quite impressive for the middle of October.
Today the cold front that blew through is leaving us with a predicted high of only +8C but by tomorrow we should be warming up once again. O how I love this protracted lovely autumn weather.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Waiting For the Winds
It is just after 10pm. Ever since late yesterday afternoon our city has been poised and waiting for a serious windstorm to arrive. It has been blasting through southern Alberta, picking up speed as it hits the Cypress Hills and heads overnight tonight through to Manitoba. Over the past half hour the winds have begun to gust and if the gales do reach the predicted 90-110km per hour, they will not blow themselves out until sometime tomorrow morning apparently. The cause is a low pressure system that blew in over the Rockies from B.C a couple of days ago. Once it passes we are supposed to enjoy a few more pleasant days before the seasonal temperatures return.
Today we reached a high of +21C. It was GLORIOUS!! I struck out for downtown just after 11am, opting to remain on the main thoroughfare on the way up and then take the scenic, heavily treed residential route on the way home. It felt good to get the utility bills all paid, and even better that both bills were an actual instead of estimated reading, so the expected rise in cost now that our furnace has been running more often did not happen. I actually paid less for each bill than I did last month. Bingo!!!
To have a sit d0wn rest after the first half of my walk, I picked up a chicken shawarma salad at Zam Zam Wraps. It was fantastic as always, but their prices have taken a huge jump. My lunch came to nearly four dollars more than previously. Hmmmm....I am going to have to reconsider eating there I guess. However, when I consider what I paid for a fantastic salad, absolutely loaded with shwarama and compare that to what I paid for a plate of lettuce and rubbery chicken at the Capitol a few weeks ago...well, Zam's prices are still not that bad in comparison! I think that I will broaden my horizons however, assuming I get a few more walks in to downtown before the snow flies. There is a Thai buffet I would like to try and a couple of full menu coffee houses. We'll see what happens when the phone bill arrives, hahahaha.
I broke one of my "kitchen fun plates" yesterday when unloading it from the dishwasher. As I was taking it out I lost my grip on it and dropped it on top of a pan with a sharp edge. Fortunately it didn't shatter and leave ceramic bits all over the bottom of the dishwasher. A couple of shards broke off neatly. It was disappointing as it was a favourite that I won't find again, since I picked it up at a clearance sale just before Sears closed, but I looked around on the discount tables in The Bay kitchenwares department and found a nice blue plate at a good price. It is a bit better quality, so hopefully should last a bit longer than the one I broke.
My idea of returning home via the scenic route ended a half block into it. Although the wind had not started blowing like it is starting to blow right now, there was a sufficient increase in the breeze to blow up little "dust devils" at each driveway and intersecting alleyway. The first alleyway I crossed left me with dust up my nose, a swirl of wasps around my ankles and several dried up leaves stuck behind my glasses, over my eyes. It was horrible and left me gasping for breath. A woman who was walking almost beside me also got swept up in it and swore rather soundly at the dirt on her face. So, I hoofed it back over to the main street where there are only business buildings, no trees or dried leaves and no wasps! It was a bit disappointing, but other than that brief windblown hassle, it was a great, warm walk home. I had to take my coat off and carry it over my arm, that is how warm it was outside. Just beautiful!!
Time to shut the computer down. The wind has finally begun to howl and the lights are flickering. Maybe we are going to have a power outage. The dead leaves hitting the side of our building sound like a powerful rain storm.
Blessings everyone and hope you all stay safe in the wind should it come your way.
Today we reached a high of +21C. It was GLORIOUS!! I struck out for downtown just after 11am, opting to remain on the main thoroughfare on the way up and then take the scenic, heavily treed residential route on the way home. It felt good to get the utility bills all paid, and even better that both bills were an actual instead of estimated reading, so the expected rise in cost now that our furnace has been running more often did not happen. I actually paid less for each bill than I did last month. Bingo!!!
To have a sit d0wn rest after the first half of my walk, I picked up a chicken shawarma salad at Zam Zam Wraps. It was fantastic as always, but their prices have taken a huge jump. My lunch came to nearly four dollars more than previously. Hmmmm....I am going to have to reconsider eating there I guess. However, when I consider what I paid for a fantastic salad, absolutely loaded with shwarama and compare that to what I paid for a plate of lettuce and rubbery chicken at the Capitol a few weeks ago...well, Zam's prices are still not that bad in comparison! I think that I will broaden my horizons however, assuming I get a few more walks in to downtown before the snow flies. There is a Thai buffet I would like to try and a couple of full menu coffee houses. We'll see what happens when the phone bill arrives, hahahaha.
I broke one of my "kitchen fun plates" yesterday when unloading it from the dishwasher. As I was taking it out I lost my grip on it and dropped it on top of a pan with a sharp edge. Fortunately it didn't shatter and leave ceramic bits all over the bottom of the dishwasher. A couple of shards broke off neatly. It was disappointing as it was a favourite that I won't find again, since I picked it up at a clearance sale just before Sears closed, but I looked around on the discount tables in The Bay kitchenwares department and found a nice blue plate at a good price. It is a bit better quality, so hopefully should last a bit longer than the one I broke.
My idea of returning home via the scenic route ended a half block into it. Although the wind had not started blowing like it is starting to blow right now, there was a sufficient increase in the breeze to blow up little "dust devils" at each driveway and intersecting alleyway. The first alleyway I crossed left me with dust up my nose, a swirl of wasps around my ankles and several dried up leaves stuck behind my glasses, over my eyes. It was horrible and left me gasping for breath. A woman who was walking almost beside me also got swept up in it and swore rather soundly at the dirt on her face. So, I hoofed it back over to the main street where there are only business buildings, no trees or dried leaves and no wasps! It was a bit disappointing, but other than that brief windblown hassle, it was a great, warm walk home. I had to take my coat off and carry it over my arm, that is how warm it was outside. Just beautiful!!
Time to shut the computer down. The wind has finally begun to howl and the lights are flickering. Maybe we are going to have a power outage. The dead leaves hitting the side of our building sound like a powerful rain storm.
Blessings everyone and hope you all stay safe in the wind should it come your way.
Trusting...the Lesson Must Be Taught Over and Over It Seems
Fretting and praying over my husband's lost hat for the past nearly 8 weeks has been a good set up for praying over our son's lost money in the rental scam.
After all we have been through with loss in many forms in this family you would think we could have relaxed more over something as simple as a lost hat, despite all the reasons it was a very special hat to my husband, but for some reason we (I in particular) had to go through the lesson once again.
I admit I was not praying about the hat's return with any "feeling" of faith that we would actually see it again. I was praying with a sense of hopelessness, anger at us both for forgetting it in a restaurant, a feeling of betrayal that it had subsequently been taken and wishing that if the darned hat was gone for good, the wait staff at the restaurant would quit calling and getting our hopes up for no reason, that I could let it go, forget about it and stop fretting over it. I was not praying in faith that God could bring something good from it. I couldn't seem to let the whole thing go and that added to my upset. The worst part was I know it wasn't only the OCD that was responsible for my not being able to emotionally drop the issue...I really was mad about what seemed to be some game going on among the staff at the restaurant in regard to the hat. Feeling "betrayed" or "lied to" or "left out of the REAL situation" bothered me far worse than losing the hat.
So, God had to get my attention by returning the hat as soon as I FINALLY gave it all up to him and let the upset go completely. He had to get my attention so that I could pray for my son, actually believing that good will come out of his present upset instead of fretting and driving myself crazy over this loss that is far greater than a simple black fedora. I cannot take on my son's hurt, I have to let him deal with this issue as best he can without making myself crazy. He is a grown man with his own faith. He is quite capable of praying in faith for help and I have to support him in that instead of taking on anger, fear, feelings of betrayal on his behalf. I need to resurrect my trust in God to know what is best even in the midst of messes. It isn't like I haven't had 40 years of experience with financial messes, and watching God fix them, to draw on.
With the return of the hat that seemed forever lost firmly in mind, I was able to release my son's situation to God, fall asleep last night and have 5 solid hours before waking up...hungry...I forgot to eat my bedtime snack. hahaha
Now it is time to fall asleep again for the rest of the night. I know I will fall asleep because of the peace I have about my son's eventual outcome of his situation. He is turning it over to God and so I must do that too. The thing he and I both know is that God can turn this to good even if the process and whatever lessons are to be learned all start off painfully.
Thank you Lord for my son...please protect himself and the other tenants from the fellow who scammed them all. Please turn the heart of the scammer toward truth and repentence and please let all these tenants forgive him for what he did to them. Please help them all financially during this process that will likely involve the courts and even more likely no return of their money if the fellow responsible has spent it all. Please use this incident to remind my son, as I had to be reminded with my husband's lost hat, that learning to trust you is more important than the return of any "thing" that has been taken from him.
After all we have been through with loss in many forms in this family you would think we could have relaxed more over something as simple as a lost hat, despite all the reasons it was a very special hat to my husband, but for some reason we (I in particular) had to go through the lesson once again.
I admit I was not praying about the hat's return with any "feeling" of faith that we would actually see it again. I was praying with a sense of hopelessness, anger at us both for forgetting it in a restaurant, a feeling of betrayal that it had subsequently been taken and wishing that if the darned hat was gone for good, the wait staff at the restaurant would quit calling and getting our hopes up for no reason, that I could let it go, forget about it and stop fretting over it. I was not praying in faith that God could bring something good from it. I couldn't seem to let the whole thing go and that added to my upset. The worst part was I know it wasn't only the OCD that was responsible for my not being able to emotionally drop the issue...I really was mad about what seemed to be some game going on among the staff at the restaurant in regard to the hat. Feeling "betrayed" or "lied to" or "left out of the REAL situation" bothered me far worse than losing the hat.
So, God had to get my attention by returning the hat as soon as I FINALLY gave it all up to him and let the upset go completely. He had to get my attention so that I could pray for my son, actually believing that good will come out of his present upset instead of fretting and driving myself crazy over this loss that is far greater than a simple black fedora. I cannot take on my son's hurt, I have to let him deal with this issue as best he can without making myself crazy. He is a grown man with his own faith. He is quite capable of praying in faith for help and I have to support him in that instead of taking on anger, fear, feelings of betrayal on his behalf. I need to resurrect my trust in God to know what is best even in the midst of messes. It isn't like I haven't had 40 years of experience with financial messes, and watching God fix them, to draw on.
With the return of the hat that seemed forever lost firmly in mind, I was able to release my son's situation to God, fall asleep last night and have 5 solid hours before waking up...hungry...I forgot to eat my bedtime snack. hahaha
Now it is time to fall asleep again for the rest of the night. I know I will fall asleep because of the peace I have about my son's eventual outcome of his situation. He is turning it over to God and so I must do that too. The thing he and I both know is that God can turn this to good even if the process and whatever lessons are to be learned all start off painfully.
Thank you Lord for my son...please protect himself and the other tenants from the fellow who scammed them all. Please turn the heart of the scammer toward truth and repentence and please let all these tenants forgive him for what he did to them. Please help them all financially during this process that will likely involve the courts and even more likely no return of their money if the fellow responsible has spent it all. Please use this incident to remind my son, as I had to be reminded with my husband's lost hat, that learning to trust you is more important than the return of any "thing" that has been taken from him.
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