I have to confess that even the prospect of spending time in person with my son has not been sufficient to make me feel at all happy or excited about our impending trip to NYC this summer. Sigh.....
HOWEVER: this morning while my husband and I were waiting for our car to be serviced by the mechanic, we spent some time in the library looking at travel books and tourist information for that giant city. Then after lunch I went online and took a closer look at the hotel we are booked into. It is very plain but has all that we ever need as far as a suite with cooking facilities. The hotel will book us a car to bring us there from JFK for a flat rate. There are instructions of where to connect with the subway system to get us nearly anywhere in the city from the hotel. The place is making a claim that it is well soundproofed against NYC traffic...although it will be interesting to see what the definition of "soundproofed" turns out to be. hahaha It is close to two major bus routes, one of which connects us with our son's front door!
I sat and stared for a long time at a lovely online photo of the Brooklyn Bridge and its views and began to feel the faint stirrings of excitement about going on this latest adventure. I opened up a file of photos our son sent us from various places he has been in the city recently and had a more in depth gander at them all. The faint stirring became just a wee bit stronger.
After being mired in all the hassles and upsets that have been going on around here in the past six months, perhaps I am finally ready to step away from it all; to put my trust in God for good things back into play. It is time to step out of the cess pool of stress that has been my focus for too many weeks now and remember how much fun it is for me to travel to new places and enjoy all the inherent adventures of any trip.
Time to get happy and to be filled with a new sense of wonder about travelling to such a huge and amazing place!! Time to put the joy of seeing my son again onto the front burner of my thoughts and simply enjoy the planning of the trip.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
God Continues To Provide For Our Son...So Wonderful!
This afternoon we had our nearly weekly phone chit chat with our son. He is exhausted from doing a lot of extra paying projects to get his taxes paid, but he was also full of good news about surprise financial provisions in the form of unexpected Canadian tax rebates, late payments arriving from work he did for Canadian employers after he arrived in NYC, etc. etc. etc. All these dribs and drabs of money are adding up to a healthy slice of what he owes the US government. It is exciting for us to see God doing similar things in our son's life that he has done for years in our own. This is one family legacy we are pleased to have helped our son learn to claim as his own. Thank you Lord for all you have done and continue to do for our little family.
My husband said that the two church services he had to do this morning went very well. There were more children present than he was expecting at the intergenerational service, so that was a treat. He was SO tired yesterday that I had my doubts as to how things would go for him today, but once again the Lord found reserves of strength and creativity for my husband to pull out all the stops on and it was a good time.
I went to hear the Luther College Girls' Choir perform this morning. O my....talk about excellent music, excellent direction by Deborah Nelson, excellent presentation. It doesn't get much better for teen choirs than what I heard this morning!!! Just fabulous singing and a good selection of peppy spirituals and meditative numbers. What a treat! The difficult unison singing in some of the songs was as close to perfection as I have ever heard...amazing!
This has been one wonderful weekend of music for me to enjoy. The Vivace concert last night was superb! Again, there was a decent selection of music, from sea shanties to spirituals to Golden Oldies to folk songs. They performed a number that was arranged by an Eric Nelson called When Memory Fades and it is all about losing someone to Alzheimers. It was powerful!
I did quite well physicallly at the concert once my husband found me a pillow to sit on for the second half....o my, those old wooden pews and my hip hardware are not a match made in heaven! Yikes. Emotionally however I kind of fell apart during a Memory Lane Medley that included Moonlight Bay! As soon as the choir began to sing that portion of the piece, I had an instant flashback to standing around our family piano with dad at the keys and mom's lovely solo voice joining in with the singing of whatever company we had over for the evening. That was one of the songs we always sang. By the end of the second bar last night I was crying, almost sobbing out loud and had to hide my face and my embarrassment behind a wad of tissues!! Aiii yiiii....I couldn't believe I got choked up over that moldy oldy!! hahaha I think it is because the memory of singing that in our home when I was a kid also triggered the feelings of safety I had during those times. As long as dad was at the piano and there was a raft of company to join him in making music, I knew I was safe from being mocked or otherwise embarrassed in front of our guests. Dad tended to find me an embarrassment when we had company over and had no trouble verbally expressing that to one and all. If we were singing, I was emotionally safe and it was always the best part of any evening with visitors in our home. For some reason that silly song invoked that memory and it tore me up inside. Talk about an emotional trigger when I least expected it. My dear husband just sat beside me holding my hand and passing me tissues until I could regain control. Bless him!!! As embarrassed as I was, as a few choir members were looking at me somewhat quizzically while I tried to muffle sobs, I was also happy to know that reconnecting with my emotions is a good sign of coming to the end of the winter depression that has plagued me ever since last November! On the mend....YES!
The predicted rain is about to start falling. I am so glad it held off until late afternoon. I took the bus to the concert this morning, but then had the opportunity to walk home in the lovely warmth of the noon hour. Just being able to get out walking without the concern about slipping on icy sidewalks and streets is joy inducing! We are slated for a full 24 hours of rain showers. We need a good cleansing rain to tamp the dust down and wash the muck out of the roof eaves and road gutters. I wish it didn't also mean some flooding in our basement, but I have all the necessary towels and buckets in place just in case we do get that much moisture while we are away tomorrow.
About three blocks before arriving home on my post-concert walk today, I heard a car pulling up right beside me and then a couple of short toots of its horn. It was my husband on his way home from church. I hopped in and we went to Bonzzini's pub for lunch. It is one of the places on our ever growing list of places to try. We loved the place itself....dim lighting, dark wood tables and booths, every chair with a padded back, even the ones at the bar....but the food was a total throwback to the '70's. hahaha It wasn't bad food, but it was a total fat and carb festival. WOW, I haven't seen food like that in quite a few years! My husband ordered the fish and chips special and ended up with three HUGE pieces of well crisped, battered fish. He brought one piece home with him. He was allowed to have a half and half portion each of salad and fries, and then was given a huge bottle of tabasco sauce to use, so he was very happy. I ordered the chicken quesadilla and caesar salad. The salad was pretty good, other than the mound of grated "parmesan" sitting in the middle of it. It would have been fine if I wasn't so spoiled by so many restaurants using decent real shaved parmesan now on their salads. At least it wasn't sloppy with dressing and the amount of salad was gigantic!! My quesadilla was definitely giant sized. It didn't have much chicken on it, unfortunately, but it was stuffed with a half inch layer of melted gooey cheese, green onions, chopped tomato and jalapenos. The sides of salsa and sour cream were a tasty accompaniment. I ate about half of my salad, but only 1 of the 4 triangles of my quesdilla. I pulled the filling out of the rest, pulled at least half that cheese off and enjoyed the bit of chicken and the veggies. I suppose it was a bit of a waste, but I ate what I wanted and was able to cut down on the carbs and fat by being picky. Because of the atmosphere we would like to go there again, but I think we will try some other menu items next time. The featured dessert of salted caramel vanilla pudding cake sounded extremely decadent, but that is a treat for another time. The food is average old fashioned pub food without a lot to recommend it, other than the portion sizes for the price, but it is okay. It isn't terrible, it just isn't the best for us personally. Despite leaving so much of my meal on my plate, I am still feeling full and have no interest in dinner, four hours later! hahaha
So, off to get the tires changed and the car tuned up tomorrow. I am going to pop a couple of prunes before we go so that after we drive for nearly an hour to the mechanic's and drop the car off I will be able to last until we can go out for breakfast. There are lots of places in Moose Jaw to get that particular meal, so we will have a good choice. It will waste some time while we are waiting for the car and give us a change of scene. Although our appointments at this particular dealer seem to take all day every time we go, no matter how small or large the job, they always do good work for us. It is worth the drive there and back and it gets my husband away from the temptation to check his emails and phone messages from work on his day off. YES!!
As we drove around the city today I saw two more businesses that have recently closed out: Fleek clothing and The Nest piano bar. Wow....the loss of the piano bar is a definite surprise. I suppose it is simply the result of the present economy. Fleek had a terrible location in terms of attracting the particular clientele it wanted. The residential area immediately around it is a group of senior citizen condominiums and that is definitely NOT the aged group their clothing was appealing to. It always makes me very sad when people are forced out of business. I wonder when the prairie economy is going to pick up once again? We are looking at our list of possible restaurants left to try here and thinking we had better get a move on before some more of them are permanently out of business.
Two of the members of our Globe Theatre group are unable to attend the May performance of Shrek the Musical. One of them is me and I am very disappointed to have to miss it, but I have the opportunity to go to Calgary that week. I am so happy that the other person needing to get rid of her ticket found a taker for both of them. Some people who couldn't otherwise afford to go are going to use our tickets. I am so pleased my friend was able to make that connection. YAY!! We paid for them way back last August, so neither of us can even remember what they cost, so they might as well go for free to people who will especially enjoy an evening out.
I suppose I should go and see what I can find lurking in the refrigerator for dinner...dinner....is it all ready time for dinner? I think that personally I can wait quite a lot longer before eating again. Hopefully my husband feels the same way. How can it be almost 5 hours since lunch!!??? All that fat we ate at lunch time certainly did fill us up! (and out???) hahaha
My husband said that the two church services he had to do this morning went very well. There were more children present than he was expecting at the intergenerational service, so that was a treat. He was SO tired yesterday that I had my doubts as to how things would go for him today, but once again the Lord found reserves of strength and creativity for my husband to pull out all the stops on and it was a good time.
I went to hear the Luther College Girls' Choir perform this morning. O my....talk about excellent music, excellent direction by Deborah Nelson, excellent presentation. It doesn't get much better for teen choirs than what I heard this morning!!! Just fabulous singing and a good selection of peppy spirituals and meditative numbers. What a treat! The difficult unison singing in some of the songs was as close to perfection as I have ever heard...amazing!
This has been one wonderful weekend of music for me to enjoy. The Vivace concert last night was superb! Again, there was a decent selection of music, from sea shanties to spirituals to Golden Oldies to folk songs. They performed a number that was arranged by an Eric Nelson called When Memory Fades and it is all about losing someone to Alzheimers. It was powerful!
I did quite well physicallly at the concert once my husband found me a pillow to sit on for the second half....o my, those old wooden pews and my hip hardware are not a match made in heaven! Yikes. Emotionally however I kind of fell apart during a Memory Lane Medley that included Moonlight Bay! As soon as the choir began to sing that portion of the piece, I had an instant flashback to standing around our family piano with dad at the keys and mom's lovely solo voice joining in with the singing of whatever company we had over for the evening. That was one of the songs we always sang. By the end of the second bar last night I was crying, almost sobbing out loud and had to hide my face and my embarrassment behind a wad of tissues!! Aiii yiiii....I couldn't believe I got choked up over that moldy oldy!! hahaha I think it is because the memory of singing that in our home when I was a kid also triggered the feelings of safety I had during those times. As long as dad was at the piano and there was a raft of company to join him in making music, I knew I was safe from being mocked or otherwise embarrassed in front of our guests. Dad tended to find me an embarrassment when we had company over and had no trouble verbally expressing that to one and all. If we were singing, I was emotionally safe and it was always the best part of any evening with visitors in our home. For some reason that silly song invoked that memory and it tore me up inside. Talk about an emotional trigger when I least expected it. My dear husband just sat beside me holding my hand and passing me tissues until I could regain control. Bless him!!! As embarrassed as I was, as a few choir members were looking at me somewhat quizzically while I tried to muffle sobs, I was also happy to know that reconnecting with my emotions is a good sign of coming to the end of the winter depression that has plagued me ever since last November! On the mend....YES!
The predicted rain is about to start falling. I am so glad it held off until late afternoon. I took the bus to the concert this morning, but then had the opportunity to walk home in the lovely warmth of the noon hour. Just being able to get out walking without the concern about slipping on icy sidewalks and streets is joy inducing! We are slated for a full 24 hours of rain showers. We need a good cleansing rain to tamp the dust down and wash the muck out of the roof eaves and road gutters. I wish it didn't also mean some flooding in our basement, but I have all the necessary towels and buckets in place just in case we do get that much moisture while we are away tomorrow.
About three blocks before arriving home on my post-concert walk today, I heard a car pulling up right beside me and then a couple of short toots of its horn. It was my husband on his way home from church. I hopped in and we went to Bonzzini's pub for lunch. It is one of the places on our ever growing list of places to try. We loved the place itself....dim lighting, dark wood tables and booths, every chair with a padded back, even the ones at the bar....but the food was a total throwback to the '70's. hahaha It wasn't bad food, but it was a total fat and carb festival. WOW, I haven't seen food like that in quite a few years! My husband ordered the fish and chips special and ended up with three HUGE pieces of well crisped, battered fish. He brought one piece home with him. He was allowed to have a half and half portion each of salad and fries, and then was given a huge bottle of tabasco sauce to use, so he was very happy. I ordered the chicken quesadilla and caesar salad. The salad was pretty good, other than the mound of grated "parmesan" sitting in the middle of it. It would have been fine if I wasn't so spoiled by so many restaurants using decent real shaved parmesan now on their salads. At least it wasn't sloppy with dressing and the amount of salad was gigantic!! My quesadilla was definitely giant sized. It didn't have much chicken on it, unfortunately, but it was stuffed with a half inch layer of melted gooey cheese, green onions, chopped tomato and jalapenos. The sides of salsa and sour cream were a tasty accompaniment. I ate about half of my salad, but only 1 of the 4 triangles of my quesdilla. I pulled the filling out of the rest, pulled at least half that cheese off and enjoyed the bit of chicken and the veggies. I suppose it was a bit of a waste, but I ate what I wanted and was able to cut down on the carbs and fat by being picky. Because of the atmosphere we would like to go there again, but I think we will try some other menu items next time. The featured dessert of salted caramel vanilla pudding cake sounded extremely decadent, but that is a treat for another time. The food is average old fashioned pub food without a lot to recommend it, other than the portion sizes for the price, but it is okay. It isn't terrible, it just isn't the best for us personally. Despite leaving so much of my meal on my plate, I am still feeling full and have no interest in dinner, four hours later! hahaha
So, off to get the tires changed and the car tuned up tomorrow. I am going to pop a couple of prunes before we go so that after we drive for nearly an hour to the mechanic's and drop the car off I will be able to last until we can go out for breakfast. There are lots of places in Moose Jaw to get that particular meal, so we will have a good choice. It will waste some time while we are waiting for the car and give us a change of scene. Although our appointments at this particular dealer seem to take all day every time we go, no matter how small or large the job, they always do good work for us. It is worth the drive there and back and it gets my husband away from the temptation to check his emails and phone messages from work on his day off. YES!!
As we drove around the city today I saw two more businesses that have recently closed out: Fleek clothing and The Nest piano bar. Wow....the loss of the piano bar is a definite surprise. I suppose it is simply the result of the present economy. Fleek had a terrible location in terms of attracting the particular clientele it wanted. The residential area immediately around it is a group of senior citizen condominiums and that is definitely NOT the aged group their clothing was appealing to. It always makes me very sad when people are forced out of business. I wonder when the prairie economy is going to pick up once again? We are looking at our list of possible restaurants left to try here and thinking we had better get a move on before some more of them are permanently out of business.
Two of the members of our Globe Theatre group are unable to attend the May performance of Shrek the Musical. One of them is me and I am very disappointed to have to miss it, but I have the opportunity to go to Calgary that week. I am so happy that the other person needing to get rid of her ticket found a taker for both of them. Some people who couldn't otherwise afford to go are going to use our tickets. I am so pleased my friend was able to make that connection. YAY!! We paid for them way back last August, so neither of us can even remember what they cost, so they might as well go for free to people who will especially enjoy an evening out.
I suppose I should go and see what I can find lurking in the refrigerator for dinner...dinner....is it all ready time for dinner? I think that personally I can wait quite a lot longer before eating again. Hopefully my husband feels the same way. How can it be almost 5 hours since lunch!!??? All that fat we ate at lunch time certainly did fill us up! (and out???) hahaha
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Happily Walking On This Beautiful Day!
It is 2pm and we have nearly reached our forecast high temperature of +22C. Although the wind is a bit gusty, is still chilly and does not yet carry the cloying odor of new spring, my little walk to the grocery store after lunch was most enjoyable. Wearing sandals and a light sweater is a considerable treat after over five months of parkas and wool lined boots! There was little lead up to spring's arrival this year. We went from warm coats and heavy boots to short sleeves and sandals in less than 48 hours....just wonderful!
Got the vacumming completed this morning so the place is as clean as it ever gets, at least for a few days. We do need a good rainfall though. The dust is all ready so thick on everything post snow melt that every time the wind blows (does it ever stop blowing here???) it filters in through the cracks around the windows and in the attic and covers all the furniture very quickly. I dusted the bedroom yesterday and was particularly happy with how clean my small black laquered Japanese jewellery box was. Sigh...this morning when I opened the curtains at 7am and the bright sunshine landed on that same box, the dust was again so thick I could write my name on it with the end of my finger. It took only 18 hours for that box to go from dust free back to filthy! Double sigh....if we EVER get out of the prairies the one thing I will never forget is the constant dust coating the inside of our various homes. hahaha
Made the mistake of not checking the clock before I drank a whole can of carbonated water last night. My husband was on his way up to bed before I even finished drinking it, that's how late it actually was. It appears my kidneys really do not like carbonated water...or if not my kidneys, SOMETHING in there is not happy when I drink it, particuarly late in the evening. Up and down to the bathroom every hour all night. Good grief....a mistake I won't make again any time soon!!! hahaha I have decided that it isn't worth drinking it at all, let alone after supper in the evenings. Time to eliminate it completely from my diet.
It appears, at least for the moment, that the particularly painful second treatment my doctor gave me on that wart on my foot has been successful. I don't want to speak too soon, but the last of the blisters where the worst of the burning took place came off in the shower a few minutes ago and there is no sign of that miserable "core" that indicates the wart is going to "bloom" once again. Here's hoping I have made the correct diagnosis!!
Had a good chat with Mom and Dad on the phone today, but I am experiencing some fairly long silences on occasion now when we phone chatter. It is like none of us can think of anything to say that would be of interest to each other. They are very excited that I am coming to see them again all ready next month, then again a month after that. Assuming they are both still around at the end of September I need to try to get out there one more time before the next round of winter arrives. Egad! It is only the end of the first week of spring like weather this year and I am all ready looking ahead to the winter....SICK!!!
Time to relax, go and read myself to sleep with a book or magazine. If I am going to enjoy tonight's concert I need to be more awake than I am at the moment....stupid carbonated water reaction....Sheesh......
Got the vacumming completed this morning so the place is as clean as it ever gets, at least for a few days. We do need a good rainfall though. The dust is all ready so thick on everything post snow melt that every time the wind blows (does it ever stop blowing here???) it filters in through the cracks around the windows and in the attic and covers all the furniture very quickly. I dusted the bedroom yesterday and was particularly happy with how clean my small black laquered Japanese jewellery box was. Sigh...this morning when I opened the curtains at 7am and the bright sunshine landed on that same box, the dust was again so thick I could write my name on it with the end of my finger. It took only 18 hours for that box to go from dust free back to filthy! Double sigh....if we EVER get out of the prairies the one thing I will never forget is the constant dust coating the inside of our various homes. hahaha
Made the mistake of not checking the clock before I drank a whole can of carbonated water last night. My husband was on his way up to bed before I even finished drinking it, that's how late it actually was. It appears my kidneys really do not like carbonated water...or if not my kidneys, SOMETHING in there is not happy when I drink it, particuarly late in the evening. Up and down to the bathroom every hour all night. Good grief....a mistake I won't make again any time soon!!! hahaha I have decided that it isn't worth drinking it at all, let alone after supper in the evenings. Time to eliminate it completely from my diet.
It appears, at least for the moment, that the particularly painful second treatment my doctor gave me on that wart on my foot has been successful. I don't want to speak too soon, but the last of the blisters where the worst of the burning took place came off in the shower a few minutes ago and there is no sign of that miserable "core" that indicates the wart is going to "bloom" once again. Here's hoping I have made the correct diagnosis!!
Had a good chat with Mom and Dad on the phone today, but I am experiencing some fairly long silences on occasion now when we phone chatter. It is like none of us can think of anything to say that would be of interest to each other. They are very excited that I am coming to see them again all ready next month, then again a month after that. Assuming they are both still around at the end of September I need to try to get out there one more time before the next round of winter arrives. Egad! It is only the end of the first week of spring like weather this year and I am all ready looking ahead to the winter....SICK!!!
Time to relax, go and read myself to sleep with a book or magazine. If I am going to enjoy tonight's concert I need to be more awake than I am at the moment....stupid carbonated water reaction....Sheesh......
Friday, April 27, 2018
Getting Limbered Up Again
After dinner this evening I hauled out a couple of my old classical music piano books and got serious about re-learning a few of the easier numbers in order to fight the increasing arthritic stiffness in my fingers. It was a good deal of fun, my hands felt wonderful after a short workout of 20 minutes, but honestly.....trying to get my hands back into shape sufficiently to recreate sounds even remotely like those they could produce when I was still able to be a decent pianist is rather like attempting to resurrect the dead without the power of the Holy Spirit!!! YIKES!! Well, no one has to hear me anyway and I can look at playing my keyboard as if it is some kind of physiotherapy...which it actually is at this point!
My husband enjoyed a joint discussion tonight between our Anglican diocese, some of the local Lutherans and Presbyterians and a fair number of Roman Catholics at a shared dialogue event this evening. I was too tired to attend...come to think of it, so was my husband, but he went anyway, more power to him.
While he was gone, as well as enjoying my piano practise, I carried on with some housework and completed all the dusting and tidying up. Now all I have to do tomorrow is vacuum the downstairs carpeting and wash the linoleum floor in the kitchen and front entry. YAY!! That will leave me plenty of time to head over to the health food store and purchase a few things my husband is in need of. He is nearly out of Valerian and it has proven to be a super sleep aid for him, so I don't want him to miss taking it for too many nights in a row.
As I was dusting the living room blinds I saw out the window the patterns created in the sky by the jet streams behind the planes landing at and taking off from our local airport. It was amazing! The way the streams crossed each other was in a perfect pattern for playing tic tac toe!! If someone painted that on a canvas it would look like a silly cartoon. No one would take it seriously. What a treat to see that actually happening in the sky.
On Monday, when we drive to Moose Jaw for our change of car tires, not only is it supposed to be cold and raining, now the forecast is for snow....AFTER a night of freezing rain. Sigh..... How ludicrous, eh? Heading out on the highway covered with glare ice to have the studded tires removed and replaced with summer grips. Aiiiii yiiiiii.....o forecasters, may you be DEAD WRONG on this one!!! hahahahaha
After I booked myself into my parents' facility guest room this afternoon for my May trip, I realized I have Globe Theatre ticket for one of the nights I am away. Now I have to find someone to take it. I have no idea how much it cost, other than the total cost of my package of three tickets for the season was more than I was expecting to pay. So, since I drove the total amount out of my mind so I wouldn't feel resentful at every performance, I think I will just give the ticket away....IF I can find someone who wants the thing. The play is Shrek, the Musical. So it should be quite hilarious!
Yawn....although it is only 9:30pm, I am tired and it is hot up here in the bedroom. I think I will read for awhile, like my husband is doing and then try to get to sleep early....if I can cool this room down. Wow, talk about a difference from two weeks ago when I was still pulling on a cardigan sweater over my nightgown to keep warm! I don't think there is so much as a shred of insulation left in the walls of this crazy place.
My husband enjoyed a joint discussion tonight between our Anglican diocese, some of the local Lutherans and Presbyterians and a fair number of Roman Catholics at a shared dialogue event this evening. I was too tired to attend...come to think of it, so was my husband, but he went anyway, more power to him.
While he was gone, as well as enjoying my piano practise, I carried on with some housework and completed all the dusting and tidying up. Now all I have to do tomorrow is vacuum the downstairs carpeting and wash the linoleum floor in the kitchen and front entry. YAY!! That will leave me plenty of time to head over to the health food store and purchase a few things my husband is in need of. He is nearly out of Valerian and it has proven to be a super sleep aid for him, so I don't want him to miss taking it for too many nights in a row.
As I was dusting the living room blinds I saw out the window the patterns created in the sky by the jet streams behind the planes landing at and taking off from our local airport. It was amazing! The way the streams crossed each other was in a perfect pattern for playing tic tac toe!! If someone painted that on a canvas it would look like a silly cartoon. No one would take it seriously. What a treat to see that actually happening in the sky.
On Monday, when we drive to Moose Jaw for our change of car tires, not only is it supposed to be cold and raining, now the forecast is for snow....AFTER a night of freezing rain. Sigh..... How ludicrous, eh? Heading out on the highway covered with glare ice to have the studded tires removed and replaced with summer grips. Aiiiii yiiiiii.....o forecasters, may you be DEAD WRONG on this one!!! hahahahaha
After I booked myself into my parents' facility guest room this afternoon for my May trip, I realized I have Globe Theatre ticket for one of the nights I am away. Now I have to find someone to take it. I have no idea how much it cost, other than the total cost of my package of three tickets for the season was more than I was expecting to pay. So, since I drove the total amount out of my mind so I wouldn't feel resentful at every performance, I think I will just give the ticket away....IF I can find someone who wants the thing. The play is Shrek, the Musical. So it should be quite hilarious!
Yawn....although it is only 9:30pm, I am tired and it is hot up here in the bedroom. I think I will read for awhile, like my husband is doing and then try to get to sleep early....if I can cool this room down. Wow, talk about a difference from two weeks ago when I was still pulling on a cardigan sweater over my nightgown to keep warm! I don't think there is so much as a shred of insulation left in the walls of this crazy place.
Back in the Swing of Things
Today is the first day this week when I have been completely certain I am over that miserable bacterial infection from last weekend. So, I got the upstairs of this pig pen cleaned and cleaned well!!! The downstairs will be done tomorrow. The following week I am going to do some serious vaccumming and stair washing down into the basement. There is SO much stuff down there, but it is easy enough to at least clean up the floor area and maneuver around things with a broom, vacuum and mop.
Found a bill this morning I had forgotten to pay yesterday, so off I went back to the bank for a break between cleaning chores.
My husband is all ready home from the office so that he can work on his sermon(s) for Sunday morning. He is looking forward to having a chance to preach and teach once again for a day. While he is there, I am going to walk over to the concert by the Luther College girls' choir if the weather is at all decent. I don't think the rain is forecast to arrive until Monday and Tuesday next week.
Saturday night we have now made plans to attend the Vivace concert to hear our dear canon for education singing in that group. They will be quite good I am thinking. Previous concerts of theirs have been most enjoyable.
In the midst of other stresses, LIFE is starting to open up and happen with joy once again.
Next weekend my husband will be at Provincial Synod in Edmonton. It is going to be a crazy busy time for him and for all the delegates. I am rather relieved though that he was elected as a delegate for this Synod rather than for next summer's National Synod. It is going to be a rough time for many folk with so many decisions being made that will effect the Anglican church and its future here in Canada. I am going to stay right here in Regina and attend Amici's spring concert, go to church, take myself out for lunch a time or two and take time to breathe out my own stresses. Maybe I will get a chance to see a friend or two as well. That would be awesome.
All being well at the time, my husband is going to the mountains on retreat with a colleague later in May. I have all ready booked the guest suite at my parents' facility, so that I can help him manage that long and boring drive west. It will be very good for him and also for his friend who is just as over burdened and over worked. My parents will be very happy to have me there again so soon. After seeing them this last visit I realize the time they have left here on earth may be even shorter than I was thinking.
So, onward we go. The sunshine and warmth outside has encouraged our hearts and we are feeling braver about things to come. Hallelujah!!
Found a bill this morning I had forgotten to pay yesterday, so off I went back to the bank for a break between cleaning chores.
My husband is all ready home from the office so that he can work on his sermon(s) for Sunday morning. He is looking forward to having a chance to preach and teach once again for a day. While he is there, I am going to walk over to the concert by the Luther College girls' choir if the weather is at all decent. I don't think the rain is forecast to arrive until Monday and Tuesday next week.
Saturday night we have now made plans to attend the Vivace concert to hear our dear canon for education singing in that group. They will be quite good I am thinking. Previous concerts of theirs have been most enjoyable.
In the midst of other stresses, LIFE is starting to open up and happen with joy once again.
Next weekend my husband will be at Provincial Synod in Edmonton. It is going to be a crazy busy time for him and for all the delegates. I am rather relieved though that he was elected as a delegate for this Synod rather than for next summer's National Synod. It is going to be a rough time for many folk with so many decisions being made that will effect the Anglican church and its future here in Canada. I am going to stay right here in Regina and attend Amici's spring concert, go to church, take myself out for lunch a time or two and take time to breathe out my own stresses. Maybe I will get a chance to see a friend or two as well. That would be awesome.
All being well at the time, my husband is going to the mountains on retreat with a colleague later in May. I have all ready booked the guest suite at my parents' facility, so that I can help him manage that long and boring drive west. It will be very good for him and also for his friend who is just as over burdened and over worked. My parents will be very happy to have me there again so soon. After seeing them this last visit I realize the time they have left here on earth may be even shorter than I was thinking.
So, onward we go. The sunshine and warmth outside has encouraged our hearts and we are feeling braver about things to come. Hallelujah!!
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Finally Beat the Price Hike
For once I paid close enough attention to the daily local gasoline price reports to get my car filled at my nearest station BEFORE the price rise this afternoon!
Yay me!
For once.....
Yay me!
For once.....
Excellent Music!!
My husband and I have been blessed by being able to listen to some excellent live music over the past few weeks. What a treat to hear quality music performed professionally and well.
Recently we were privileged to hear local teenaged pianist Kevin Trihn. O my...what a gift this young man has. He is a grade 9 student, aged 14 or 15 and has won all manner of awards for his classical playing. Seeing a child that age sit down on a piano bench and proceed to play whole movements by classical composers, completely memorized, making it look and sound so easy....oh it is wonderful to behold and to hear.
First Baptist's handbell choir, JuBELLation is another group we enjoyed immensely. They are such a cohesive group, nary a glitch nor an incorrect note played on their variety of songs. They are able to employ every possible technique used in handbell playing and do it well. After their final song we wanted to stand up and cheer.
We also heard the First Baptist church choir sing one of our own most detested hymns and they did such an excellent job on the particular arrangement my husband was almost in tears. The hymn is Lord of the Dance. One reason we don't like it as a congregational hymn/song, is that allowance is never made for the verse that refers to the agony of Christ during his crucifixion. The melody is goes from peppy to peppier and we both squirm when we have to sing about Christ's suffering as if we are singing a happy clappy chorus at a Sunday School picnic. However, this particular arrangement for choir completely changes the tempo and chording for that verse. It was appropriate with the lyrics of that verse....just wonderful.
This weekend I plan to go and hear the Luther College girls' chorus. It is directed by the fabulous Deborah Nelson and should be quite a treat.
I was hoping to also attend the Vivace chorus concert this weekend, but it appears I will have to miss it this year. Disappointing....
April and May seem to be a great time to take in good concerts here in Regina, both secular and Christian in focus. We are trying to make the most of it this year.
Recently we were privileged to hear local teenaged pianist Kevin Trihn. O my...what a gift this young man has. He is a grade 9 student, aged 14 or 15 and has won all manner of awards for his classical playing. Seeing a child that age sit down on a piano bench and proceed to play whole movements by classical composers, completely memorized, making it look and sound so easy....oh it is wonderful to behold and to hear.
First Baptist's handbell choir, JuBELLation is another group we enjoyed immensely. They are such a cohesive group, nary a glitch nor an incorrect note played on their variety of songs. They are able to employ every possible technique used in handbell playing and do it well. After their final song we wanted to stand up and cheer.
We also heard the First Baptist church choir sing one of our own most detested hymns and they did such an excellent job on the particular arrangement my husband was almost in tears. The hymn is Lord of the Dance. One reason we don't like it as a congregational hymn/song, is that allowance is never made for the verse that refers to the agony of Christ during his crucifixion. The melody is goes from peppy to peppier and we both squirm when we have to sing about Christ's suffering as if we are singing a happy clappy chorus at a Sunday School picnic. However, this particular arrangement for choir completely changes the tempo and chording for that verse. It was appropriate with the lyrics of that verse....just wonderful.
This weekend I plan to go and hear the Luther College girls' chorus. It is directed by the fabulous Deborah Nelson and should be quite a treat.
I was hoping to also attend the Vivace chorus concert this weekend, but it appears I will have to miss it this year. Disappointing....
April and May seem to be a great time to take in good concerts here in Regina, both secular and Christian in focus. We are trying to make the most of it this year.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
It Must Have Been the Dad Gummed Fresh Raspberries!
I managed to feel well enough yesterday to do eight loads of laundry, but the feeling of lightheadedness stayed with me all day (and into today) after my episode of illness Sunday. I also managed to grocery shop yesterday morning and get downtown for a haircut today, yay!
My husband woke up today at 1am, fighting dizziness and upset stomach similar to what I experienced Sunday, but it only took him a couple of hours to work through it and get back to sleep. He went into work late and felt weak all day, but he survived and is happily watching Forged in Fire on tv after eating a decent sized dinner. He told me this evening that he had experienced mild stomach upset and brief bouts of lightheadedness on both Saturday night and Sunday evening. Finally we put it together that both of us had eaten handsful of fresh raspberries about a half hour prior to feeling ill. Short version: each of us thought the other had washed the raspberries and neither of us had. Sigh....that is a mistake we won’t make again. Wonder what kind of bacteria we exposed ourselves to??? O well, we will be far more careful in future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this windy, but still spring-like day by walking home from downtown after my haircut and a bowl of delicious lentil soup from Zam Zam Wraps for my lunch. O glorious spring!
My husband woke up today at 1am, fighting dizziness and upset stomach similar to what I experienced Sunday, but it only took him a couple of hours to work through it and get back to sleep. He went into work late and felt weak all day, but he survived and is happily watching Forged in Fire on tv after eating a decent sized dinner. He told me this evening that he had experienced mild stomach upset and brief bouts of lightheadedness on both Saturday night and Sunday evening. Finally we put it together that both of us had eaten handsful of fresh raspberries about a half hour prior to feeling ill. Short version: each of us thought the other had washed the raspberries and neither of us had. Sigh....that is a mistake we won’t make again. Wonder what kind of bacteria we exposed ourselves to??? O well, we will be far more careful in future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this windy, but still spring-like day by walking home from downtown after my haircut and a bowl of delicious lentil soup from Zam Zam Wraps for my lunch. O glorious spring!
Monday, April 23, 2018
Not So Golden Oldies
While doing dishes recently I caught myself singing the lyrics to some VERY old songs...songs my grandparents used to sing around the piano when I was a kid visiting their home. These songs are from the 1920's, 1930's and even earlier.
Here is an example of the kinds of songs filling my head lately. I bet none of you have ever even heard of this one:
I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air.
They float so high, they touch the sky.
Then like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding.
I've searched everywhere.
I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air.
Why am I suddenly remembering this stuff??? hahahaha
Do you ever find yourself remembering such crazy things? I wonder what triggers such memories unbidden.
Here is an example of the kinds of songs filling my head lately. I bet none of you have ever even heard of this one:
I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air.
They float so high, they touch the sky.
Then like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding.
I've searched everywhere.
I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air.
Why am I suddenly remembering this stuff??? hahahaha
Do you ever find yourself remembering such crazy things? I wonder what triggers such memories unbidden.
By George, I Think She's Got It!
I had a phone call today from an out of town friend who has known me for several decades....longer I think than all but one of my other close friends.
She phoned to let me know she is concerned about how negative and fearful about life I have been over this past winter. It is not the me she knows and loves! The worst part is that she is right! My blog posts, phone conversations, letters and cards have expressed more negativity over this winter than they have in years. I think somewhere inside I knew that, but didn't want to admit it.
We are facing possible changes in our lives in a few months. While I am aware that I am trusting God for the outcomes and that I am not afraid of the future, I do feel extremely inconvenienced that life may be changing once again. I feel too tired to face it. I don't have the energy to think about it. I am supremely ticked off with God that these possibilities have even come up! I just feel to old to cope.
I think this winter has severely depressed me for some reason. I was only a bit conscious of it, so I am grateful to my friend for pointing it out to me today. She is a wellspring of encouragement to me and I so appreciate what she had to say on the phone.
So, after we chatted I reiterated to myself my decisions to focus on what is positive each day, on seeking and finding the hand of God in the various daily events of life, to remember how God has led us through some very deep waters in times past so I can live in expectation of what he is going to do with us and for us in the future.
Today I still felt kind of vacant and miserable for the morning, but I watched some boxing on tv and that perked me up sufficiently to get dressed and get some banking done. By dinnertime this evening I started to truly feel better. Today I lived on turkey and potato-pepper bread sandwiches. They settled well in my tummy. Other than being a bit water logged from all the drinks I had today, tonight I am finally feeling like myself again. AND I think it is a peppier more positive self than I have been for awhile.
I did some general tidying up around the suite this afternoon while my husband spent some time tidying up in the basement in preparation for another good cleaning down there. He returns to work tomorrow so I made a special lunch for him as a nice surprise at noon break. He is so good when I am ill, so supportive and helpful.
We did not make it to CAA today after all to book our June trip, but that is okay. The Lord knows why we didn't have the energy. Now we pray for another time to open up. Next Monday off we are taking the car to Moose Jaw for its spring tune up and to have the summer tires put on, so that will take all day. My husband also has to create time to go for a doctor's appointment he was supposed to have at least 1 or 2 weeks ago. Aaaargh....this working business is interfering with our lives! hahahaha
Tomorrow morning I MUST go grocery shopping! Wednesday is hair cut day. Thursday is pay day so it is back to the banks...and then it is Friday/the weekend and time to clean house and do laundry again. Where does the time go??? Wow! This week seems to be coming to an end before it even gets started! hahaha
Happy Happy Joy Joy Everyone!!!
She phoned to let me know she is concerned about how negative and fearful about life I have been over this past winter. It is not the me she knows and loves! The worst part is that she is right! My blog posts, phone conversations, letters and cards have expressed more negativity over this winter than they have in years. I think somewhere inside I knew that, but didn't want to admit it.
We are facing possible changes in our lives in a few months. While I am aware that I am trusting God for the outcomes and that I am not afraid of the future, I do feel extremely inconvenienced that life may be changing once again. I feel too tired to face it. I don't have the energy to think about it. I am supremely ticked off with God that these possibilities have even come up! I just feel to old to cope.
I think this winter has severely depressed me for some reason. I was only a bit conscious of it, so I am grateful to my friend for pointing it out to me today. She is a wellspring of encouragement to me and I so appreciate what she had to say on the phone.
So, after we chatted I reiterated to myself my decisions to focus on what is positive each day, on seeking and finding the hand of God in the various daily events of life, to remember how God has led us through some very deep waters in times past so I can live in expectation of what he is going to do with us and for us in the future.
Today I still felt kind of vacant and miserable for the morning, but I watched some boxing on tv and that perked me up sufficiently to get dressed and get some banking done. By dinnertime this evening I started to truly feel better. Today I lived on turkey and potato-pepper bread sandwiches. They settled well in my tummy. Other than being a bit water logged from all the drinks I had today, tonight I am finally feeling like myself again. AND I think it is a peppier more positive self than I have been for awhile.
I did some general tidying up around the suite this afternoon while my husband spent some time tidying up in the basement in preparation for another good cleaning down there. He returns to work tomorrow so I made a special lunch for him as a nice surprise at noon break. He is so good when I am ill, so supportive and helpful.
We did not make it to CAA today after all to book our June trip, but that is okay. The Lord knows why we didn't have the energy. Now we pray for another time to open up. Next Monday off we are taking the car to Moose Jaw for its spring tune up and to have the summer tires put on, so that will take all day. My husband also has to create time to go for a doctor's appointment he was supposed to have at least 1 or 2 weeks ago. Aaaargh....this working business is interfering with our lives! hahahaha
Tomorrow morning I MUST go grocery shopping! Wednesday is hair cut day. Thursday is pay day so it is back to the banks...and then it is Friday/the weekend and time to clean house and do laundry again. Where does the time go??? Wow! This week seems to be coming to an end before it even gets started! hahaha
Happy Happy Joy Joy Everyone!!!
Feelin’ Somewhat Better
Thanks to an excellent sleep last night I seem to be over my illness, apart from lingering weakness and a vacant sort of feeling. As the morning progresses I am getting better, so am following the usual pattern of food allergy/sensitivity reaction. Whew! Unexpected dizziness and nausea can be symptoms of problems so much worse than a food issue, so I am grateful that seems to be all it was.
The day outside is becoming comfortably warm. Forecast daytime temperatures this week are for the mid to high teens, with overnight lows of 0 to -4C. The back lawn is drying up, so getting to the car will be quite easy until the next big rain, should it happen before the ground thaws. I am determined not to focus my attention on the mud, blowing dust and general debris still laying in gutters and on lawns, I am focusing my attention on the warmth and on enjoying going outside in shoes and sweaters instead of parkas and heavy, wool lined boots. I am blessing the geese instead of cursing them when they arrive screeching and squawking at 5am and calling it good training toward our upcoming visit to “the city that never sleeps”.
I have resolved to seek God’s hand in all things instead of continuing to allow myself to be sidetracked into fears about the future. As things begin to look unexpectedly uncertain in our lives again, it is important to recall the amazing ways God has undertaken to care for us throughout our lives and remember that he is the same, yesterday, today and forever. I confess the shock of the unexpected uncertainty about our future threw me into a tailspin for a couple of weeks, but now I am getting my trust in God back on track. It feels good. Lying around ill for so many hours yesterday gave me that much time to think and remember and pray, so something good came out of that bit of misery.
Well, we have quite a few small things we need to accomplish today, so I will go now and help my husband.
Thank you for your prayers and expressions of concern. It is a bonus to be cared about by friends and family. Hugs everyone!
The day outside is becoming comfortably warm. Forecast daytime temperatures this week are for the mid to high teens, with overnight lows of 0 to -4C. The back lawn is drying up, so getting to the car will be quite easy until the next big rain, should it happen before the ground thaws. I am determined not to focus my attention on the mud, blowing dust and general debris still laying in gutters and on lawns, I am focusing my attention on the warmth and on enjoying going outside in shoes and sweaters instead of parkas and heavy, wool lined boots. I am blessing the geese instead of cursing them when they arrive screeching and squawking at 5am and calling it good training toward our upcoming visit to “the city that never sleeps”.
I have resolved to seek God’s hand in all things instead of continuing to allow myself to be sidetracked into fears about the future. As things begin to look unexpectedly uncertain in our lives again, it is important to recall the amazing ways God has undertaken to care for us throughout our lives and remember that he is the same, yesterday, today and forever. I confess the shock of the unexpected uncertainty about our future threw me into a tailspin for a couple of weeks, but now I am getting my trust in God back on track. It feels good. Lying around ill for so many hours yesterday gave me that much time to think and remember and pray, so something good came out of that bit of misery.
Well, we have quite a few small things we need to accomplish today, so I will go now and help my husband.
Thank you for your prayers and expressions of concern. It is a bonus to be cared about by friends and family. Hugs everyone!
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Food Allergy? Stress? ‘Flu’?
Today started off well, but at 2:30pm I was watching a boxing match on tv with my husband when I started feeling dizzy. I stumbled upstairs to lie down and then the intense nausea began...and lasted for seven hours! YECCH!!!!
Eight hours later I am able to sit upright and blog, as all the symptoms have passed, but wow, I am exhausted. Seven hours of trying to lose my lunch in a bucket, with no success. Talk about misery! Finally my husband went out and got me some carbonated water that I forced down and that released the gas in my tummy. I should have done that several hours earlier, but I was so sure I was going to be able to vomit 🤢 that I didn’t think of carbonated water to relieve things. Also, I was so incredibly nauseated I was certain I had influenza of some kind. Lying around fretting over every stress in our lives right now seemed to be unavoidable and the worries intensified along with the nausea. (the chicken or the egg syndrome?)
My subsequent reactions post carbonated water are confirming this has been a food reaction. I am mentally dissecting my salad from lunch and suspecting either the new lime vinaigrette, the pear slices, or the raw red onion slices I allowed myself as a rare treat I haven’t allowed myself in several years because they give me wretched breath for days after ingestion. My husband reacts this way to pears, so I haven’t purchased and eaten those for a few years either. Was the lime vinaigrette too strong? Guess that will be my last attempt at more creative salads for awhile. It is also possible that I am simply reacting to too much lettuce in too short a time frame. My body tends to prefer cooked vegetables and I have been eating a LOT of salads over the past week.
Well, now it is 10pm and hopefully I am going to have a good sleep. Two stoned wheat thin crackers have settled nicely in my unhappy tummy.
The worst part is that I was too ill to participate in our Sunday evening Skype session with our son, but my husband turned up his computer’s volume so I could hear their conversation. Our son received an unhappy surprise this weekend when he completed his American income taxes...that much I heard....sigh. Fortunately he is working like a mad fool at three different projects right now that will help cover his tax bill. He is also extremely happy we are coming to see him, so we will finish booking our trip over the next week.
Looking forward to a happier, healthier day tomorrow!
Eight hours later I am able to sit upright and blog, as all the symptoms have passed, but wow, I am exhausted. Seven hours of trying to lose my lunch in a bucket, with no success. Talk about misery! Finally my husband went out and got me some carbonated water that I forced down and that released the gas in my tummy. I should have done that several hours earlier, but I was so sure I was going to be able to vomit 🤢 that I didn’t think of carbonated water to relieve things. Also, I was so incredibly nauseated I was certain I had influenza of some kind. Lying around fretting over every stress in our lives right now seemed to be unavoidable and the worries intensified along with the nausea. (the chicken or the egg syndrome?)
My subsequent reactions post carbonated water are confirming this has been a food reaction. I am mentally dissecting my salad from lunch and suspecting either the new lime vinaigrette, the pear slices, or the raw red onion slices I allowed myself as a rare treat I haven’t allowed myself in several years because they give me wretched breath for days after ingestion. My husband reacts this way to pears, so I haven’t purchased and eaten those for a few years either. Was the lime vinaigrette too strong? Guess that will be my last attempt at more creative salads for awhile. It is also possible that I am simply reacting to too much lettuce in too short a time frame. My body tends to prefer cooked vegetables and I have been eating a LOT of salads over the past week.
Well, now it is 10pm and hopefully I am going to have a good sleep. Two stoned wheat thin crackers have settled nicely in my unhappy tummy.
The worst part is that I was too ill to participate in our Sunday evening Skype session with our son, but my husband turned up his computer’s volume so I could hear their conversation. Our son received an unhappy surprise this weekend when he completed his American income taxes...that much I heard....sigh. Fortunately he is working like a mad fool at three different projects right now that will help cover his tax bill. He is also extremely happy we are coming to see him, so we will finish booking our trip over the next week.
Looking forward to a happier, healthier day tomorrow!
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Spring’s Subtle Arrival
Over the past few days spring has started sneaking up on us!
Although the west winds continue to bring the chilly air on its way east from the still snow covered Rocky Mountains and the heavier, lightly perfumed odor of spring is not yet in the air, the piles of snow are rapidly disappearing as the daytime highs are reaching the mid teens. Some of the shallower puddles are drying up, leaving the lawns soggy, but able to be walked on without winter boots. The dreaded ice has melted off the sidewalks and streets. For me it is not yet sandal wearing weather, but I did walk to the grocery store this afternoon wearing a spring coat instead of my winter parka. Gloves are now unnecessary for wearing outside. I put my winter boots away in the closet to await next winter....or our annual “surprise” May/June blizzard, whichever comes first.
At last, spring is sprung!!!
Although the west winds continue to bring the chilly air on its way east from the still snow covered Rocky Mountains and the heavier, lightly perfumed odor of spring is not yet in the air, the piles of snow are rapidly disappearing as the daytime highs are reaching the mid teens. Some of the shallower puddles are drying up, leaving the lawns soggy, but able to be walked on without winter boots. The dreaded ice has melted off the sidewalks and streets. For me it is not yet sandal wearing weather, but I did walk to the grocery store this afternoon wearing a spring coat instead of my winter parka. Gloves are now unnecessary for wearing outside. I put my winter boots away in the closet to await next winter....or our annual “surprise” May/June blizzard, whichever comes first.
At last, spring is sprung!!!
Friday, April 20, 2018
Happy to be Home? Meh......
So...we're home again. The trip back from Kindersley early this morning went well and the canoe stayed firmly in place on top of the car despite terrible winds most of the way to Regina.
While it is good to be safely home again and my husband only has to work tomorrow before starting next week with his usual 2 days off, there are so many stresses and decisions lying here in wait for us, there is a certain amount of tension about being home once again.
While we were travelling the world seemed a huge place where anything good or hopeful is possible, but the closer we got to home, the more things seemed to close in on us once again, stressful situations returned to the forefront of our minds, looming decisions seemed less like something we want to have to think about...hard to describe exactly but we both had to work very hard at not feeling and acting crabby and miserable. The feelings didn't last long though and we were very happy to get unpacked and have a relaxing evening, but I hope we feel more positive again tomorrow.
A happy thing happened when my husband took the canoe over to his friend's place to store it. His friend and another minister were about to have a time of prayer together and asked my husband to join them, which he gladly did. He also was able to stop in at Canadian Tire before he came home for dinner and take advantage of their clearance on last year's models of canoe paddles and life jackets. So, now he has some inexpensive equipment on hand for when he tries out the canoe on the lake across the street when it eventually warms up suffiently for canoes to get out there on the water.
So, mixed feelings about being home, but it is more because of future uncertainties coming our way and knowing we cannot run from them like we could this past week! hahaha
When we pulled into our parking place tonight we were most encouraged to see that all the snow on the lawns has melted down and now we just have a few puddles to maneuver between our car and our back door. I got to use my new rubber boots for the first time so I could ferry our luggage and food coolers into the house. Spring is ALMOST here at last!! No meh about THAT!!
While it is good to be safely home again and my husband only has to work tomorrow before starting next week with his usual 2 days off, there are so many stresses and decisions lying here in wait for us, there is a certain amount of tension about being home once again.
While we were travelling the world seemed a huge place where anything good or hopeful is possible, but the closer we got to home, the more things seemed to close in on us once again, stressful situations returned to the forefront of our minds, looming decisions seemed less like something we want to have to think about...hard to describe exactly but we both had to work very hard at not feeling and acting crabby and miserable. The feelings didn't last long though and we were very happy to get unpacked and have a relaxing evening, but I hope we feel more positive again tomorrow.
A happy thing happened when my husband took the canoe over to his friend's place to store it. His friend and another minister were about to have a time of prayer together and asked my husband to join them, which he gladly did. He also was able to stop in at Canadian Tire before he came home for dinner and take advantage of their clearance on last year's models of canoe paddles and life jackets. So, now he has some inexpensive equipment on hand for when he tries out the canoe on the lake across the street when it eventually warms up suffiently for canoes to get out there on the water.
So, mixed feelings about being home, but it is more because of future uncertainties coming our way and knowing we cannot run from them like we could this past week! hahaha
When we pulled into our parking place tonight we were most encouraged to see that all the snow on the lawns has melted down and now we just have a few puddles to maneuver between our car and our back door. I got to use my new rubber boots for the first time so I could ferry our luggage and food coolers into the house. Spring is ALMOST here at last!! No meh about THAT!!
Wednesday's Meals in The City...the Ridiculous to the Sublime
(Back on my PC until my iPad is fixed!)
Wednesday's meals in Calgary were interesting to say the least!
My mother and I made our first attempt at lunch that day while we were shopping downtown. It was a fiasco of the first order!! We had been told that the culinary students from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology ran a small restaurant in the complex just west of the Bay and so that is where we headed to eat. From the way the space was configured, we were left with a distinct impression that there was a good sized space to sit and enjoy our meal, so we took in the lay out of the cafeteria style meal service and got into our respective lines to place our orders: mom went to the somewhat long sandwich line and I jostled for space in the hot food line up for masaman curry and vegetables.
I received my food quite some time before she did, found a can of carbonated water in the cooler and headed to the cash register. As soon as I paid for my meal I began scoping out the area for a table to sit at while mom continued to wait in line to order a sandwich. As I headed over to that area I suddenly realized the tables and chairs we saw as we were entering the cafeteria actually belong to another restaurant all together. O well, where was the seating area for the SAIT cafeteria? I wandered about the entire place and to my horror, discovered there is no seating space in the place for any of the customers. It is strictly for take out! By the time I figured that out, my mom was in a very long line up to pay for her meal. Noon hour downtown is a nightmare of people and the SAIT cafeteria had exactly one cashier on duty. While mom continued to wait in line I looked for somewhere to sit down to eat. The tables and chairs at the complex food court were two floors above us and at least a block away. I knew mom wouldn't be able to make it all the way there without having to sit down for awhile so I took a look at some sets black chairs closer to the cafeteria that had a small table between each set. By the time I got to them, there were only two chairs left and there was wet, soggy food spilled all over one of them. Sigh...not going to work. My own hot meal was in danger of getting cold, I could see mom at the cash register at last, so in desperation I forced my way onto an all ready crowded, backless, wooden bench located along the outside wall of the cafeteria, right out in the main foot traffic area of the shopping centre and managed to get the rest of those seated to move down sufficiently to also accommodate my mother. At least the wall behind us gave us a bit of a back to rest on, but I wasn't sure how either of us was going to manage to balance our lunches on our laps to eat.
Mom eventually found me and sat down, knowing how upset I was about not finding her a proper table within easy distance, but she was a good sport about it. I peeled back the lid of my masaman curry, white rice, sauteed brussell sprouts and shredded squash stuffed zucchini. The rice looked and tasted as if it had been made the day before and left under a heat lamp until I found it. The brussell sprouts were hard and dry. The squash was dry to the point of being crispy and the zucchini slices were mush. The masaman curry seemed to have missed out completely on the curry and I was left with a thick, floury gravy with some bits and pieces of beef (?) floating in it. As I tried to hide my disappointment, I glanced at mom sitting beside me with her pulled pork sandwich. She had managed to unwrap it finally and was about to take her first bite when she noticed that there was some kind of pickled cabbage on it. She pulled out a small piece of the pickle, popped it into her mouth, pulled her mouth to one side, gagged and then spit out the cabbage into her napkin. The pickle she had been so excited to have on her sandwich was actually a type of kim chee and was so hot she wasn't going to be able to eat it. She tried to balance a napkin on her knee while she pulled out more of the pickle to hide in the napkin. Then she dropped a huge handful of that pickled cabbage onto her new, clean slacks. "Oh NOOO!", she cried. I told her I could use some of my sparkling water on my own napkin to clean off the pickle juice before it stained her pants, popped open the can of water and discovered it was completely flat. What? I checked the "best before" date and noticed it was for February 20, nearly 2 months earlier. Sigh.... Well, it still did a good job of cleaning off mom's slacks. I stared at my now cold, as well as tasteless, meal while mom attempted her first bite of what was left of the filling in her pulled pork sandwich. She bit into the bun and nearly pulled her teeth out. The bun had the texture of a latex glove. She couldn't rip it apart, she couldn't chew it, and I refused to let her swallow what bit of it she got into her mouth. The meal was a complete bomb. I felt terrible because I was the one who insisted we go there based on the recommendation I received. I felt even worse when I realized how far we had backtracked during our morning of shopping just to go to this place and that we would have been better off to have gone up to the food court instead. It was much closer to the last store we had been in. Aaaaargh!!!
I took the sandwich out of mom's now shaking hands, bundled it up with my meal and my can of flat water and dumped the whole mess into the garbage can right beside us. The whole experience was a disaster with a capital "D"!!!!
As we looked around (by this time it was 10 minutes past noon and the store employees on noon break, along with the shoppers, had taken over all the visible seats, tables and chairs on every floor around us. However, by this time we were both ravenous and needed to eat, so I dragged mom back all the way to the food court and grabbed the only available table we could find that still had both chairs around it. I handed mom a wad of cash and told her to find whatever food interested her and I would wait at the table for her to return. I suspect she chose the sugary, gooey, sauce laden dishes of Manchu Wok because it was the closest vendor with food she recognized. By the time she returned the lineups at all the vendors were horribly long, but I noticed a Subway station just around the corner from the main aisle of vendors where only one gentleman was placing an order. No, I certainly did not want another Subway sandwich on this trip, but it had no lineup. I sprinted over there and got my veggie sub and another drink, then headed back to our table, located right beside the top of the escalator that was pouring people almost right on top of us as we sat and ate in total silence. Wow...could I have screwed things up any worse than I did for mom? She is a very forgiving woman, but although we sat for a long time after we finished eating, she then had the worst attack of stress related acid reflux she has had in two years within five minutes of standing up and walking to another store. As posted previously, we did eventually make it back home, but she was worn completely out and feeling very upset that our crappy lunch cost me an extra $21 for the food we had to throw away from the SAIT downtown cafeteria. I really couldn't have cared less. As long as we got some lunch...eventually...that was on the verge of edible at least...I was content. She never did tell dad what had happened and I hope she never does. It would upset him too much and she would have to relive the experience every time he wanted her to tell someone else what happened.
From there, the food of the day took a huge, vast, gigantic, improvement!!!
We met my husband's sister and her husband, who were visiting the city that day, for a MARVELLOUS dinner at the Silver Dragon in Chinatown. The restaurant has been there since the 1960's and has won every culinary award possible in the city. It also contains a TON of great memories from bygone decades when both my sister in law and myself went there regularly with friends when we both lived and worked in Calgary. The food is, if possible, even more spectacular than it was in those days. The large chunks of chopped garlic on the huge, meaty ribs, was fresh and delicious. The chicken with mixed vegetables was tasty and not as bland as it is in most restaurants. The beef in black bean sauce was very tender, the sauce not overpoweringly strong as it sometimes is. The chowmein was filled with vegatables and seafood and the sizzling rice was cooked perfectly with some crunchy bits left and very little broth slopping around in the bottom of the bowls. For dessert I ordered my favourite sponge cake with custard. O my...it came in its own steamer, done very properly....so rare any more...and there were THREE huge pieces! (Yes, I ate all three of them and enjoyed every mouthful!) The rest of the crew shared a huge order of deep fried bananas with that wonderfully chewy sugar coating. The coated bananas were brought steaming hot to the table and the server placed them in a huge bowl of iced water so we could watch the sauce turn to taffy, then she put them back on the plate. (And yes, I scored a tiny piece of banana in taffy as well...blood sugar? WHAT blood sugar???)
A day that began so dismally, gastronomically speaking, turned into an evening of the most wonderful food imaginable.
So, I have learned a good place to avoid next time I am in Calgary looking for lunch in the Bay/Holt Renfrew complex, but also I learned that the Silver Dragon is still open for business and feeding people the best in western Canadian Chinese food.
The day ended happily for my mom as well: for dinner that night the complex chef cooked steaks that had not been on the menu originally and mom's was prepared just the way she likes a steak to be prepared. Thank goodness!!! By the time dinner was over we both felt a lot better about food and life in general!!!
Wednesday's meals in Calgary were interesting to say the least!
My mother and I made our first attempt at lunch that day while we were shopping downtown. It was a fiasco of the first order!! We had been told that the culinary students from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology ran a small restaurant in the complex just west of the Bay and so that is where we headed to eat. From the way the space was configured, we were left with a distinct impression that there was a good sized space to sit and enjoy our meal, so we took in the lay out of the cafeteria style meal service and got into our respective lines to place our orders: mom went to the somewhat long sandwich line and I jostled for space in the hot food line up for masaman curry and vegetables.
I received my food quite some time before she did, found a can of carbonated water in the cooler and headed to the cash register. As soon as I paid for my meal I began scoping out the area for a table to sit at while mom continued to wait in line to order a sandwich. As I headed over to that area I suddenly realized the tables and chairs we saw as we were entering the cafeteria actually belong to another restaurant all together. O well, where was the seating area for the SAIT cafeteria? I wandered about the entire place and to my horror, discovered there is no seating space in the place for any of the customers. It is strictly for take out! By the time I figured that out, my mom was in a very long line up to pay for her meal. Noon hour downtown is a nightmare of people and the SAIT cafeteria had exactly one cashier on duty. While mom continued to wait in line I looked for somewhere to sit down to eat. The tables and chairs at the complex food court were two floors above us and at least a block away. I knew mom wouldn't be able to make it all the way there without having to sit down for awhile so I took a look at some sets black chairs closer to the cafeteria that had a small table between each set. By the time I got to them, there were only two chairs left and there was wet, soggy food spilled all over one of them. Sigh...not going to work. My own hot meal was in danger of getting cold, I could see mom at the cash register at last, so in desperation I forced my way onto an all ready crowded, backless, wooden bench located along the outside wall of the cafeteria, right out in the main foot traffic area of the shopping centre and managed to get the rest of those seated to move down sufficiently to also accommodate my mother. At least the wall behind us gave us a bit of a back to rest on, but I wasn't sure how either of us was going to manage to balance our lunches on our laps to eat.
Mom eventually found me and sat down, knowing how upset I was about not finding her a proper table within easy distance, but she was a good sport about it. I peeled back the lid of my masaman curry, white rice, sauteed brussell sprouts and shredded squash stuffed zucchini. The rice looked and tasted as if it had been made the day before and left under a heat lamp until I found it. The brussell sprouts were hard and dry. The squash was dry to the point of being crispy and the zucchini slices were mush. The masaman curry seemed to have missed out completely on the curry and I was left with a thick, floury gravy with some bits and pieces of beef (?) floating in it. As I tried to hide my disappointment, I glanced at mom sitting beside me with her pulled pork sandwich. She had managed to unwrap it finally and was about to take her first bite when she noticed that there was some kind of pickled cabbage on it. She pulled out a small piece of the pickle, popped it into her mouth, pulled her mouth to one side, gagged and then spit out the cabbage into her napkin. The pickle she had been so excited to have on her sandwich was actually a type of kim chee and was so hot she wasn't going to be able to eat it. She tried to balance a napkin on her knee while she pulled out more of the pickle to hide in the napkin. Then she dropped a huge handful of that pickled cabbage onto her new, clean slacks. "Oh NOOO!", she cried. I told her I could use some of my sparkling water on my own napkin to clean off the pickle juice before it stained her pants, popped open the can of water and discovered it was completely flat. What? I checked the "best before" date and noticed it was for February 20, nearly 2 months earlier. Sigh.... Well, it still did a good job of cleaning off mom's slacks. I stared at my now cold, as well as tasteless, meal while mom attempted her first bite of what was left of the filling in her pulled pork sandwich. She bit into the bun and nearly pulled her teeth out. The bun had the texture of a latex glove. She couldn't rip it apart, she couldn't chew it, and I refused to let her swallow what bit of it she got into her mouth. The meal was a complete bomb. I felt terrible because I was the one who insisted we go there based on the recommendation I received. I felt even worse when I realized how far we had backtracked during our morning of shopping just to go to this place and that we would have been better off to have gone up to the food court instead. It was much closer to the last store we had been in. Aaaaargh!!!
I took the sandwich out of mom's now shaking hands, bundled it up with my meal and my can of flat water and dumped the whole mess into the garbage can right beside us. The whole experience was a disaster with a capital "D"!!!!
As we looked around (by this time it was 10 minutes past noon and the store employees on noon break, along with the shoppers, had taken over all the visible seats, tables and chairs on every floor around us. However, by this time we were both ravenous and needed to eat, so I dragged mom back all the way to the food court and grabbed the only available table we could find that still had both chairs around it. I handed mom a wad of cash and told her to find whatever food interested her and I would wait at the table for her to return. I suspect she chose the sugary, gooey, sauce laden dishes of Manchu Wok because it was the closest vendor with food she recognized. By the time she returned the lineups at all the vendors were horribly long, but I noticed a Subway station just around the corner from the main aisle of vendors where only one gentleman was placing an order. No, I certainly did not want another Subway sandwich on this trip, but it had no lineup. I sprinted over there and got my veggie sub and another drink, then headed back to our table, located right beside the top of the escalator that was pouring people almost right on top of us as we sat and ate in total silence. Wow...could I have screwed things up any worse than I did for mom? She is a very forgiving woman, but although we sat for a long time after we finished eating, she then had the worst attack of stress related acid reflux she has had in two years within five minutes of standing up and walking to another store. As posted previously, we did eventually make it back home, but she was worn completely out and feeling very upset that our crappy lunch cost me an extra $21 for the food we had to throw away from the SAIT downtown cafeteria. I really couldn't have cared less. As long as we got some lunch...eventually...that was on the verge of edible at least...I was content. She never did tell dad what had happened and I hope she never does. It would upset him too much and she would have to relive the experience every time he wanted her to tell someone else what happened.
From there, the food of the day took a huge, vast, gigantic, improvement!!!
We met my husband's sister and her husband, who were visiting the city that day, for a MARVELLOUS dinner at the Silver Dragon in Chinatown. The restaurant has been there since the 1960's and has won every culinary award possible in the city. It also contains a TON of great memories from bygone decades when both my sister in law and myself went there regularly with friends when we both lived and worked in Calgary. The food is, if possible, even more spectacular than it was in those days. The large chunks of chopped garlic on the huge, meaty ribs, was fresh and delicious. The chicken with mixed vegetables was tasty and not as bland as it is in most restaurants. The beef in black bean sauce was very tender, the sauce not overpoweringly strong as it sometimes is. The chowmein was filled with vegatables and seafood and the sizzling rice was cooked perfectly with some crunchy bits left and very little broth slopping around in the bottom of the bowls. For dessert I ordered my favourite sponge cake with custard. O my...it came in its own steamer, done very properly....so rare any more...and there were THREE huge pieces! (Yes, I ate all three of them and enjoyed every mouthful!) The rest of the crew shared a huge order of deep fried bananas with that wonderfully chewy sugar coating. The coated bananas were brought steaming hot to the table and the server placed them in a huge bowl of iced water so we could watch the sauce turn to taffy, then she put them back on the plate. (And yes, I scored a tiny piece of banana in taffy as well...blood sugar? WHAT blood sugar???)
A day that began so dismally, gastronomically speaking, turned into an evening of the most wonderful food imaginable.
So, I have learned a good place to avoid next time I am in Calgary looking for lunch in the Bay/Holt Renfrew complex, but also I learned that the Silver Dragon is still open for business and feeding people the best in western Canadian Chinese food.
The day ended happily for my mom as well: for dinner that night the complex chef cooked steaks that had not been on the menu originally and mom's was prepared just the way she likes a steak to be prepared. Thank goodness!!! By the time dinner was over we both felt a lot better about food and life in general!!!
Thursday, April 19, 2018
My iPad Seems to be Unwell
I apologize for spelling and spacing issues in the last post. The space bar seems to be working only sporadically, as does the reverse arrow, so attempts to fix spelling errors failed. Sigh....oh well, you will have fun figuring out what I was trying to write, haha
A Couple of Good Days!
Time has flown past quickly this week it seems. It is all ready Friday evening and we are sitting in a motel in Kindersley, looking out the window at the rather elderly canoe strapped to the top of our car.
After breakfast this morning, I took mom grocery shopping, then we left my parents after lots of goodbye hugs and headed for Olds to pick up my husband’s canoe that friends have been storing for over 16 years! Friend Harvey assisted us in wrestling the big old thing out of a snowbank and strapping it to the car roof. After a quick and delicious lunch together at Just Jack’s, ,my husband and I headed east.
We only had to stop a couple of times to adjust the placement of the canoe, before arriving in Kindersley. By the time we got to the hotel we were far too tired to go out for dinner. As my husband made an error when booking the reservation online, we arrived to discover that instead of being booked in for one reservation this evening,we had been booked for three reservations for tomorrow evening instead! haha It took awhile, but eventually it was straightened out.
We saw the local Subway sandwich shop across our hotel ‘s parking lot, so we shuffled over there and got two subs to eat back at the hotel, where I am now blogging andmy husband is dozing in front of a 1946 movie version of Great Expectations. I suspect we will be asleep before long. Wow, we are tired!
Yesterday I was able to get a clearer picture ofhkwmuch mom has failed physically. She was desperate to have time for just the two of us, so early in the morning we took the bus downtown. It stopped outside the Bay and momwas able to complete her clothes shopping within an hour. The she was determined to walk me through all the retail stores in the plus 15 shopping complex between the Bay and Holt Renfrew, but she couldn’t manage it. We covered the second floor of stores,very few we actually shopped in,then at 11:30am, she decided she was ready to sit down and eat lunch. Inmy next post I will explain why it was a fiasco, but for now, sufficeto say we eventually ate, then decided, after remaining at our table for a good half hour,it was time to check out the stores at ground level.
We walked less than half a city block when I noticed mom looking distressed and stopping to fish through her purse for acid reflux medication. She hasn’t needed to use it on months. Fortunately there were some soft, comfy chairs in the mall, right near to where momwas standing, popping pills like crazy. We sat quietly for a good 20 minutes before she was ready/able to stand. I told her I didn’t to look in any more stores, so perhaps it was time to go home. Mom then admitted her legs had been feeling too weak to walk since before we stopped for lunch and that she had not actually been farther into the plus 15 complex than the Bay in nearly two years! She had to sit down two more times on our way back to the bus stop outside the Bay. As a result we just missed the bus, but she enjoyed sitting on the bus bench in the sunshine for 20 minutes until the next bus came.
When the bus dropped us off across the street from her seniors’ facility, she had to hang onto my arm to get across the road and into the building. I supported her until we reached her suite and fortunately she had a few minutes to rest before my husband brought my very happy and excited dad homefrom his own successful clothes shopping/lunch venture. Although his specific health issues are more deadly than mom’s, the depth of her exhaustion simply from walking, was shocking. I will never let her go through something like that again when I am with her. I am glad I was able to see for myself that she is no longer the strong senior citizen she continues to try to convince me she still is.
We left her and dad at dinner time, knowing they were both relieved we had other plans with my husband’s sister and her husband. (Chinese food at an old and beloved haunt, the Silver Dragon)
We had a fabulous evening with them, then checked in on my folks at 9pm. Mom was recovering, but admitted this morning the time shopping was far too strenuous and that she missed dinner to sleep.
The weather has been warming with every passing day. The snowfall from Monday’s storm was nearly melted by this morning. The sun has been shining and it seems spring is finally on the threshold. A lovely two days, even mom is happy despite her problems yesterday.
Ooooh, I am tired! I will finish off the report on the trip after we get home tomorrow.
After breakfast this morning, I took mom grocery shopping, then we left my parents after lots of goodbye hugs and headed for Olds to pick up my husband’s canoe that friends have been storing for over 16 years! Friend Harvey assisted us in wrestling the big old thing out of a snowbank and strapping it to the car roof. After a quick and delicious lunch together at Just Jack’s, ,my husband and I headed east.
We only had to stop a couple of times to adjust the placement of the canoe, before arriving in Kindersley. By the time we got to the hotel we were far too tired to go out for dinner. As my husband made an error when booking the reservation online, we arrived to discover that instead of being booked in for one reservation this evening,we had been booked for three reservations for tomorrow evening instead! haha It took awhile, but eventually it was straightened out.
We saw the local Subway sandwich shop across our hotel ‘s parking lot, so we shuffled over there and got two subs to eat back at the hotel, where I am now blogging andmy husband is dozing in front of a 1946 movie version of Great Expectations. I suspect we will be asleep before long. Wow, we are tired!
Yesterday I was able to get a clearer picture ofhkwmuch mom has failed physically. She was desperate to have time for just the two of us, so early in the morning we took the bus downtown. It stopped outside the Bay and momwas able to complete her clothes shopping within an hour. The she was determined to walk me through all the retail stores in the plus 15 shopping complex between the Bay and Holt Renfrew, but she couldn’t manage it. We covered the second floor of stores,very few we actually shopped in,then at 11:30am, she decided she was ready to sit down and eat lunch. Inmy next post I will explain why it was a fiasco, but for now, sufficeto say we eventually ate, then decided, after remaining at our table for a good half hour,it was time to check out the stores at ground level.
We walked less than half a city block when I noticed mom looking distressed and stopping to fish through her purse for acid reflux medication. She hasn’t needed to use it on months. Fortunately there were some soft, comfy chairs in the mall, right near to where momwas standing, popping pills like crazy. We sat quietly for a good 20 minutes before she was ready/able to stand. I told her I didn’t to look in any more stores, so perhaps it was time to go home. Mom then admitted her legs had been feeling too weak to walk since before we stopped for lunch and that she had not actually been farther into the plus 15 complex than the Bay in nearly two years! She had to sit down two more times on our way back to the bus stop outside the Bay. As a result we just missed the bus, but she enjoyed sitting on the bus bench in the sunshine for 20 minutes until the next bus came.
When the bus dropped us off across the street from her seniors’ facility, she had to hang onto my arm to get across the road and into the building. I supported her until we reached her suite and fortunately she had a few minutes to rest before my husband brought my very happy and excited dad homefrom his own successful clothes shopping/lunch venture. Although his specific health issues are more deadly than mom’s, the depth of her exhaustion simply from walking, was shocking. I will never let her go through something like that again when I am with her. I am glad I was able to see for myself that she is no longer the strong senior citizen she continues to try to convince me she still is.
We left her and dad at dinner time, knowing they were both relieved we had other plans with my husband’s sister and her husband. (Chinese food at an old and beloved haunt, the Silver Dragon)
We had a fabulous evening with them, then checked in on my folks at 9pm. Mom was recovering, but admitted this morning the time shopping was far too strenuous and that she missed dinner to sleep.
The weather has been warming with every passing day. The snowfall from Monday’s storm was nearly melted by this morning. The sun has been shining and it seems spring is finally on the threshold. A lovely two days, even mom is happy despite her problems yesterday.
Ooooh, I am tired! I will finish off the report on the trip after we get home tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Too Much Lunch
- we were privileged to spend time in prayer this morning with the beautiful Mathilda, the Ghanian woman who helps my dad shower twice a week. Her daughter has left her family faith and church to join a cult group my husband and I are familiar with. I hope we were able to encourage her that all is not lost for her daughter.
- lunch at the Danish Canadian Club was delicious....mulligatawny soup so thick and perfectly curried that a small bowl was almost a meal in itself. My Caesar salad was thinly coated in a delicious lemon dressing and I admit I could not resist having a small slice of triple chocolate cake. I saw one of the giant creme broulees in a bowl, covered in burnt caramel sauce. Yum, next time....
- happy visit with an old family friend all afternoon. Friends are the most precious gift.
- cheese sandwiches and bananas for dinner in our room tonight. Lunch filled us to the brim. Actually glad my husband is also too full to go out again for dinner.
- lunch at the Danish Canadian Club was delicious....mulligatawny soup so thick and perfectly curried that a small bowl was almost a meal in itself. My Caesar salad was thinly coated in a delicious lemon dressing and I admit I could not resist having a small slice of triple chocolate cake. I saw one of the giant creme broulees in a bowl, covered in burnt caramel sauce. Yum, next time....
- happy visit with an old family friend all afternoon. Friends are the most precious gift.
- cheese sandwiches and bananas for dinner in our room tonight. Lunch filled us to the brim. Actually glad my husband is also too full to go out again for dinner.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Happy Highlights
- despite a good ten centimetres of wet snow that came down today, an excellent sleep for both of us last night kept our attitudes positive toward the ongoing winter weather this late into what should be the spring season
- mom and dad were completely content to stay home and visit over a late breakfast
- the cheery and helpful maintenance man here got rid of my parents’ old and broken file cabinet and helped us get their new one out of our car and up to their suite
- my husband made pancakes for breakfast and my low appetite Father ate FOUR of them!
- my husband finished his electronics shopping after our lunch of fabulous leftovers from last night’s Indian dinner
- we connected unexpectedly with old friends and celebrated the serendipitous meeting together over the most delicious Thai food I have ever eaten in my life at Thai Place, a converted Burger King turned into a beautiful restaurant. I ordered a plate of tilapia encrusted with diced fresh garlic and black pepper. With a spoon of coconut rice it was to die for! My husband’s mastaman curry was equally delicious. I think we have a new favourite restaurant in Calgary. Yum!
- going to go to bed early and read my latest Jan Karon novel, the third last of the Mitford series, according to her web site.
- mom and dad were completely content to stay home and visit over a late breakfast
- the cheery and helpful maintenance man here got rid of my parents’ old and broken file cabinet and helped us get their new one out of our car and up to their suite
- my husband made pancakes for breakfast and my low appetite Father ate FOUR of them!
- my husband finished his electronics shopping after our lunch of fabulous leftovers from last night’s Indian dinner
- we connected unexpectedly with old friends and celebrated the serendipitous meeting together over the most delicious Thai food I have ever eaten in my life at Thai Place, a converted Burger King turned into a beautiful restaurant. I ordered a plate of tilapia encrusted with diced fresh garlic and black pepper. With a spoon of coconut rice it was to die for! My husband’s mastaman curry was equally delicious. I think we have a new favourite restaurant in Calgary. Yum!
- going to go to bed early and read my latest Jan Karon novel, the third last of the Mitford series, according to her web site.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
The Trip Thus Far
Saturday:
- the usual frantic time of trying to work in two hours of office duties for my husband, cleaning the car together, running last minute errands, packing up the car and FINALLY getting on the road by 11:30am.
- getting approximately one kilometre from home before deciding we were too hungry for lunch to leave town before pit stop #1 at India Palace for yummy buffet. (Our reasoning was that a local buffet meal would be faster than driving 35 minutes to Moose Jaw and having to find a restaurant off the highway, then sitting waiting to order and get our food. At least that was the excuse we used)
-trading drivers a half dozen times between Moose Jaw and Swift Current Fas Gas because a lousy night’s sleep and a heavy buffet lunch on top of the relaxation that happens every time we leave daily life behind, all combined to knock us both right out.
- chugging down two bottles of unsweetened green tea purchased at the Fas Gas to wake us up for the rest of the trip to Medicine Hat
- checking into the comfy and adorable (and cheap, don’t forget cheap) Home Inn
- a car wash followed by dinner at Sushi Thai restaurant because it was close to the car wash
- crabbing mightily about our expensive and wretched meal (greasy tempura, rubbery, gristly, inedible chicken, stale and possibly moldy edamame and rice that must have been cooked the day before....gaaaaaag!!!)
- desperately seeking something fun to do after dinner and ending up at the movies watching “Ready Player One.....aiiii yiiiii....lots of desperate, not that much fun.
- a bad sleep due to two barking pit bulls in the room next door at 11pm, a 6am wake up call in the room next door, a coughing man in the room above us and the complete lack of a running fan anywhere in the room to create white noise to block out the barking pit bulls, wake up call and coughing man.
Sunday:
- a most delicious hotel breakfast. There is an order window in the breakfast room of Home Inn instead of a “half the clientele in this hotel have touched my bread with sticky kid fingers and
slobbered into the milk before I poured it on my cereal” buffet.
- the locating of a switch to put on the heating system fan in our room that we missed the night before, sigh....duh.....
- a somewhat less sleepy drive the rest of the way to Calgary after an hour’s shopping in The Hat for my husband’s new shoes and some electronics accessories, plus a stop in Gleichen for more gasoline and a Subway sandwich, plus a wander through the new Gleichen grocery store where we found a carton of decent raspberries, bananas for 84 cents a kilo and skinned, boneless chicken breasts for $11 a kilo instead of the $23 a kilo I currently pay in Regina! (and yes, we will be stopping in there again, cooler and ice packs in hand, on the way home!)
- getting to my parents’ place for the first of what should be an excellent four days of visiting!
- an amazing dinner at Bhavan Masala...vindaloo and lamb korma to die for!
- hearing the forecast for 20cm of snow here in Calgary tomorrow! hahahaha Yikes!
- the usual frantic time of trying to work in two hours of office duties for my husband, cleaning the car together, running last minute errands, packing up the car and FINALLY getting on the road by 11:30am.
- getting approximately one kilometre from home before deciding we were too hungry for lunch to leave town before pit stop #1 at India Palace for yummy buffet. (Our reasoning was that a local buffet meal would be faster than driving 35 minutes to Moose Jaw and having to find a restaurant off the highway, then sitting waiting to order and get our food. At least that was the excuse we used)
-trading drivers a half dozen times between Moose Jaw and Swift Current Fas Gas because a lousy night’s sleep and a heavy buffet lunch on top of the relaxation that happens every time we leave daily life behind, all combined to knock us both right out.
- chugging down two bottles of unsweetened green tea purchased at the Fas Gas to wake us up for the rest of the trip to Medicine Hat
- checking into the comfy and adorable (and cheap, don’t forget cheap) Home Inn
- a car wash followed by dinner at Sushi Thai restaurant because it was close to the car wash
- crabbing mightily about our expensive and wretched meal (greasy tempura, rubbery, gristly, inedible chicken, stale and possibly moldy edamame and rice that must have been cooked the day before....gaaaaaag!!!)
- desperately seeking something fun to do after dinner and ending up at the movies watching “Ready Player One.....aiiii yiiiii....lots of desperate, not that much fun.
- a bad sleep due to two barking pit bulls in the room next door at 11pm, a 6am wake up call in the room next door, a coughing man in the room above us and the complete lack of a running fan anywhere in the room to create white noise to block out the barking pit bulls, wake up call and coughing man.
Sunday:
- a most delicious hotel breakfast. There is an order window in the breakfast room of Home Inn instead of a “half the clientele in this hotel have touched my bread with sticky kid fingers and
slobbered into the milk before I poured it on my cereal” buffet.
- the locating of a switch to put on the heating system fan in our room that we missed the night before, sigh....duh.....
- a somewhat less sleepy drive the rest of the way to Calgary after an hour’s shopping in The Hat for my husband’s new shoes and some electronics accessories, plus a stop in Gleichen for more gasoline and a Subway sandwich, plus a wander through the new Gleichen grocery store where we found a carton of decent raspberries, bananas for 84 cents a kilo and skinned, boneless chicken breasts for $11 a kilo instead of the $23 a kilo I currently pay in Regina! (and yes, we will be stopping in there again, cooler and ice packs in hand, on the way home!)
- getting to my parents’ place for the first of what should be an excellent four days of visiting!
- an amazing dinner at Bhavan Masala...vindaloo and lamb korma to die for!
- hearing the forecast for 20cm of snow here in Calgary tomorrow! hahahaha Yikes!
Friday, April 13, 2018
More Great, Unexpected Company
Just after lunch I got a call from the deacon of my church and over she came for tea and a fun visit. What a lovely afternoon we had. If my husband had not taken our car to work unexpectedly this morning, I would not have been home this afternoon and would have missed out on a joyful visit.
Another happy, friend filled day!
Another happy, friend filled day!
Amazing Support For the Humboldt Broncos
Amidst all the stories of the horror, tragedy, suffering, amazing spirits, healing, fund raising etc. for the Humboldt Broncos hockey team after last week's bus crash that so far has claimed 16 lives, this morning I saw a photo that touched my heart particularly deeply.
The photo is of a group of school students from an Alberta Hutterite colony. They want to show their support, even though the world of the hockey team players is not one that intersects with their somewhat socially isolated lives.
In the photo they are standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the camera. (To the best of my knowledge, Hutterites are not supposed to have their photos taken, part from the mandatory drivers' licence photos, in honour of their interpretation of the biblical commandment to avoid graven images/idolatry) On the backs of the girls' dresses are pinned Bronco team logos and each of the boys is holding a hockey stick, painted in the team colours, behind his back. Despite their separation from the world in terms of their communities/lifestyle, these kids want to let the team know they share in the suffering and grief and want to show caring support to the families involved.
It is a beautiful photo.
The photo is of a group of school students from an Alberta Hutterite colony. They want to show their support, even though the world of the hockey team players is not one that intersects with their somewhat socially isolated lives.
In the photo they are standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the camera. (To the best of my knowledge, Hutterites are not supposed to have their photos taken, part from the mandatory drivers' licence photos, in honour of their interpretation of the biblical commandment to avoid graven images/idolatry) On the backs of the girls' dresses are pinned Bronco team logos and each of the boys is holding a hockey stick, painted in the team colours, behind his back. Despite their separation from the world in terms of their communities/lifestyle, these kids want to let the team know they share in the suffering and grief and want to show caring support to the families involved.
It is a beautiful photo.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Y-E-A-H....(Insert Contented Sigh Right Here)
Today was every bit as wonderful as I was hoping it would be. Great visits. Delicious food. A relaxed husband who was able to juggle all his meetings today and accomplish a lot.
AND a most amazing and unexpected gift. Our friend from Moose Jaw is a wonderful photographer. After lunch today he presented my husband with the most beautiful photo of Mount Rundle, taken looking across Two Jack Lake. It is a time lapse evening hours photo with gorgeous shades of blue. The image has been transferred to a canvas and stretched on a frame so that at first glance it appears to be an oil painting. My husband spent a lot of time on Mount Rundle in climbing years past and so it is particularly special to have such a gorgeous photo of it. He has been gazing at it all evening and checking out where the best spot to hang it is going to be. I just know I am going to have to take down one or more of my own art works to be able to show this new one properly. hahaha It will be worth it. What a thoughtful and lovely gift for my husband.
Getting caught up with my church friend was very special for me. We have many common interests and I find her life very interesting. She is also just a lot of fun! I so need that as the rest of my life seems to have become very serious and dour it seems. I have lost my sense of fun somewhere along the line in recent years. Time to get it back!!
We are very excited that my husband's family will be in Calgary on one of the same days that we are going to be there. We are all going out to dinner together that evening. My husband has arranged for us to travel north of Calgary on our last morning in the area, to pick up his family's canoe that he stored there in 2000 when we moved to Japan. I have a feeling the massive old thing is not going to fit through our basement door to be stored until this summer, but at least he has a friend who is willing to store it at his house here. hahaha It wouldn't be my husband if he didn't have half his items stored at other peoples' homes and our basement is STILL overflowing with his outdoor gear. hahahaha
It is possible we may leave a day early on our adventures. IF my husband can complete his office work early the day before our original departure, we will leave as soon as he is able to leave the office and drive part of the way. It is the longest, most boring drive you can imagine between here and Calgary....about 8 hours of straight highways, flat fields, brown everything at this time of year.....oooh, how my husband has come to detest that drive. He discovered last summer that he quite enjoys stopping in Medicine Hat along the way and then cruising the last 2 or 3 hours into Calgary early the next morning. It makes him feel like he has an extra day there. If I can get the car cleaned that final morning of work then I will be ready to go.
Yet another social call came in tonight. A long time friend of my husband's will be in town overnight tonight, so the two of then are going for breakfast together in the morning. That will be so good for my husband. There has been no time for friends for months as he has been so busy and feeling so miserable with his CFS. Now that he is better he has had a chance to enjoy his buddies. How great that two of them have shown up here in the past 24 hours!
Guess I better relax and get some sleep. It is nearly 11pm and I have been making a habit of going to bed at 9:30pm or so every night for the past couple of weeks. It has been a benefit, but tonight I have been too geared up to sleep. So many friends in such a short time. It has been WONDERFUL!!
AND a most amazing and unexpected gift. Our friend from Moose Jaw is a wonderful photographer. After lunch today he presented my husband with the most beautiful photo of Mount Rundle, taken looking across Two Jack Lake. It is a time lapse evening hours photo with gorgeous shades of blue. The image has been transferred to a canvas and stretched on a frame so that at first glance it appears to be an oil painting. My husband spent a lot of time on Mount Rundle in climbing years past and so it is particularly special to have such a gorgeous photo of it. He has been gazing at it all evening and checking out where the best spot to hang it is going to be. I just know I am going to have to take down one or more of my own art works to be able to show this new one properly. hahaha It will be worth it. What a thoughtful and lovely gift for my husband.
Getting caught up with my church friend was very special for me. We have many common interests and I find her life very interesting. She is also just a lot of fun! I so need that as the rest of my life seems to have become very serious and dour it seems. I have lost my sense of fun somewhere along the line in recent years. Time to get it back!!
We are very excited that my husband's family will be in Calgary on one of the same days that we are going to be there. We are all going out to dinner together that evening. My husband has arranged for us to travel north of Calgary on our last morning in the area, to pick up his family's canoe that he stored there in 2000 when we moved to Japan. I have a feeling the massive old thing is not going to fit through our basement door to be stored until this summer, but at least he has a friend who is willing to store it at his house here. hahaha It wouldn't be my husband if he didn't have half his items stored at other peoples' homes and our basement is STILL overflowing with his outdoor gear. hahahaha
It is possible we may leave a day early on our adventures. IF my husband can complete his office work early the day before our original departure, we will leave as soon as he is able to leave the office and drive part of the way. It is the longest, most boring drive you can imagine between here and Calgary....about 8 hours of straight highways, flat fields, brown everything at this time of year.....oooh, how my husband has come to detest that drive. He discovered last summer that he quite enjoys stopping in Medicine Hat along the way and then cruising the last 2 or 3 hours into Calgary early the next morning. It makes him feel like he has an extra day there. If I can get the car cleaned that final morning of work then I will be ready to go.
Yet another social call came in tonight. A long time friend of my husband's will be in town overnight tonight, so the two of then are going for breakfast together in the morning. That will be so good for my husband. There has been no time for friends for months as he has been so busy and feeling so miserable with his CFS. Now that he is better he has had a chance to enjoy his buddies. How great that two of them have shown up here in the past 24 hours!
Guess I better relax and get some sleep. It is nearly 11pm and I have been making a habit of going to bed at 9:30pm or so every night for the past couple of weeks. It has been a benefit, but tonight I have been too geared up to sleep. So many friends in such a short time. It has been WONDERFUL!!
A Day of Friends
I am looking forward to today. There will be lots of visiting with good friends.
Yesterday I received three happy communications. The first was from our Egyptian friends to tell us they passed their recent test for Canadian citizenship. They are awaiting word of the date of their welcoming ceremony. We are hoping to attend. They are so excited and we are excited for them!
The second was from a dear friend from church. She is coming over this morning, nice and early so we will have lots of time for a good visit. She is a very fun person, lots of laughter will ensue I am sure, and we share a common interest in the local music scene as well as in our church life.
Then a third phone call came from Moose Jaw, so at noon my husband is picking me up to go to a meeting over lunch with some people we got to know when we lived there. They are such sweet souls and we haven't been able to meet with them in nearly two years! They are not into ethic foods so we will meet at Cravings and enjoy ourselves for an hour or so before my husband has to return to the office for the rest of his day's meetings. It is a full day of meetings for my husband and he is actually double booked for part of the day, but this meeting is one he is very much looking forward to.
I love it when things come together so spontaneously.
Our former parishioner who has such a sad case of liver and bowel cancer has started a blog with her family. She is going to post her medical news there for us all to read, so that when she has a chance to text, phone or email her friends she can talk about other things. I know from all my father's serious illnesses over the decades that having to talk constantly about your own illness with everyone who contacts you is exhausting and depressing. Our friend is determined to remain as positive as possible as she learns to live with reality and doesn't want others unwittingly dragging her down emotionally by going on and on about the disease. My prayer is that she can maintain that determination when the going gets really rough. I think we are still recovering from the shock of this news. I can't even imagine what her husband and family are going through.
My parents are getting very excited about our upcoming visit. My fear is that they will make themselves ill in the process. At this point my mother always becomes very ill within two days after we have headed home from a visit with her. Dad makes himself ill before we arrive. Sigh....sometimes I wonder if our going to visit them is really a good thing or simply a torture test for both of them. Aaaargh!!!
Our son is back in the thick of things with work and painting. He has two studio visits set up over the next couple of months and a possibility of a show of his own at a small gallery. What he most enjoys in his new home is how seriously everything is taken. The smallest of shows at the smallest of galleries, by the most unknown of artists, is taken as seriously and has as much time and attention put into it as large shows by famous artists. It took him a few months to get used to the intensity, as compared to the laid back west coast attitude he is used to, but now he sees the value of it and it is certainly helping him to all ready be gaining some exposure for his art.
Little 1-2-3 is growing old. He has developed the fishy version of glaucoma and his skin has developed "old age" bumps, but he is still quite active and happy to see our son every day after work. One of the other tenants in the building has been raising this same breed of fish for many years and she has been able to help our son obtain the medical information he needs to track 1-2-3's remarkable aging process. She is very surprised the wee fish has lived this long. Knowing how our son cares for his pets, I am not surprised at all! haha
Well, it is time for breakfast and then I can start getting ready for my fun day. Even the weather is cooperating. The predicted five to ten centimeters of snow did not arrive here yesterday or overnight, only a about 1cm of wet, heavy slush came down and has mostly melted away. March weather in April means I will have to drag a pair of winter boots with me to Calgary, "just in case".
On with this happy day!
Yesterday I received three happy communications. The first was from our Egyptian friends to tell us they passed their recent test for Canadian citizenship. They are awaiting word of the date of their welcoming ceremony. We are hoping to attend. They are so excited and we are excited for them!
The second was from a dear friend from church. She is coming over this morning, nice and early so we will have lots of time for a good visit. She is a very fun person, lots of laughter will ensue I am sure, and we share a common interest in the local music scene as well as in our church life.
Then a third phone call came from Moose Jaw, so at noon my husband is picking me up to go to a meeting over lunch with some people we got to know when we lived there. They are such sweet souls and we haven't been able to meet with them in nearly two years! They are not into ethic foods so we will meet at Cravings and enjoy ourselves for an hour or so before my husband has to return to the office for the rest of his day's meetings. It is a full day of meetings for my husband and he is actually double booked for part of the day, but this meeting is one he is very much looking forward to.
I love it when things come together so spontaneously.
Our former parishioner who has such a sad case of liver and bowel cancer has started a blog with her family. She is going to post her medical news there for us all to read, so that when she has a chance to text, phone or email her friends she can talk about other things. I know from all my father's serious illnesses over the decades that having to talk constantly about your own illness with everyone who contacts you is exhausting and depressing. Our friend is determined to remain as positive as possible as she learns to live with reality and doesn't want others unwittingly dragging her down emotionally by going on and on about the disease. My prayer is that she can maintain that determination when the going gets really rough. I think we are still recovering from the shock of this news. I can't even imagine what her husband and family are going through.
My parents are getting very excited about our upcoming visit. My fear is that they will make themselves ill in the process. At this point my mother always becomes very ill within two days after we have headed home from a visit with her. Dad makes himself ill before we arrive. Sigh....sometimes I wonder if our going to visit them is really a good thing or simply a torture test for both of them. Aaaargh!!!
Our son is back in the thick of things with work and painting. He has two studio visits set up over the next couple of months and a possibility of a show of his own at a small gallery. What he most enjoys in his new home is how seriously everything is taken. The smallest of shows at the smallest of galleries, by the most unknown of artists, is taken as seriously and has as much time and attention put into it as large shows by famous artists. It took him a few months to get used to the intensity, as compared to the laid back west coast attitude he is used to, but now he sees the value of it and it is certainly helping him to all ready be gaining some exposure for his art.
Little 1-2-3 is growing old. He has developed the fishy version of glaucoma and his skin has developed "old age" bumps, but he is still quite active and happy to see our son every day after work. One of the other tenants in the building has been raising this same breed of fish for many years and she has been able to help our son obtain the medical information he needs to track 1-2-3's remarkable aging process. She is very surprised the wee fish has lived this long. Knowing how our son cares for his pets, I am not surprised at all! haha
Well, it is time for breakfast and then I can start getting ready for my fun day. Even the weather is cooperating. The predicted five to ten centimeters of snow did not arrive here yesterday or overnight, only a about 1cm of wet, heavy slush came down and has mostly melted away. March weather in April means I will have to drag a pair of winter boots with me to Calgary, "just in case".
On with this happy day!
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
My Happiness Crown...Two More To Go!
Home from the dentist once again and sporting a grand new crown on a lower molar. YIPPEE! TWO MORE TO GO THIS YEAR! (both upper molars so I won't have the discomfort of having to paste my numbed tongue to the roof of my mouth like I had to do for this lower tooth) I have the next one booked for July and hope to do the last one in October. Timing them around the arrival of my quarterly sales tax rebate is quite helpful once the dental insurance for the year runs out!
It is relief to have only two left to do this year. Now I pray I won't need too many more in the near future, although I will still have a half dozen doubles that were filled some time ago that could go on me at any time. For now, I am going to obey the lesson I was reminded of about living one day at a time and not worry about any new dental issues until the next two are taken care or!
So grateful for even the bit of a dental plan my husband has from his job. Wow....I cannot imagine how I would have managed this past five years without that. Thank you Lord!
Very happy that a friend from church is coming over tomorrow morning for tea! In honour of her visit I will run the duster around the living and dining room, hahahahaha.
This morning I was awake early, so completed ironing the last twenty items of spring and summer clothing from the storage bins. As I watch the giant, wet snowflakes tumbling down from the sky this morning, splattering the cars and streets, I realize that perhaps I may have jumped the gun on the wardrobe exchange this month, but what the heck...it is SPRING, technically, so the weather is just going to have to catch up with me!!!! hohoho!!
Right now I am going to take the last small load of winter wardrobe items down to the laundry room and clean them up for storage. Tonight my husband will be able to return the bins back to the storage room and not worry that one of us is going to trip and fall over them as they continue to lie scattered about the upstairs.
Life is good.
It is relief to have only two left to do this year. Now I pray I won't need too many more in the near future, although I will still have a half dozen doubles that were filled some time ago that could go on me at any time. For now, I am going to obey the lesson I was reminded of about living one day at a time and not worry about any new dental issues until the next two are taken care or!
So grateful for even the bit of a dental plan my husband has from his job. Wow....I cannot imagine how I would have managed this past five years without that. Thank you Lord!
Very happy that a friend from church is coming over tomorrow morning for tea! In honour of her visit I will run the duster around the living and dining room, hahahahaha.
This morning I was awake early, so completed ironing the last twenty items of spring and summer clothing from the storage bins. As I watch the giant, wet snowflakes tumbling down from the sky this morning, splattering the cars and streets, I realize that perhaps I may have jumped the gun on the wardrobe exchange this month, but what the heck...it is SPRING, technically, so the weather is just going to have to catch up with me!!!! hohoho!!
Right now I am going to take the last small load of winter wardrobe items down to the laundry room and clean them up for storage. Tonight my husband will be able to return the bins back to the storage room and not worry that one of us is going to trip and fall over them as they continue to lie scattered about the upstairs.
Life is good.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The Forgotten Lesson...(Why O Why Do I Have To Be SOOOO Human???)
During the long season of our former intense financial and health struggles, decades ago now, there is one lesson we both learned that stayed with us for a very long time after our lives stabilized.
That lesson is: Only live one day at a time!
For us the idea is drawn from the New Testament Book of Matthew Chapter 6 beginning at the twenty-fifth verse:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
I learned well the value of the principles of trusting God in all things, even for the provision, many a time, of our next meal. For many years God told me I had to "put my money where my mouth was", so to speak and demonstrate that kind of trust, not only for my own faith in him to grow, but also as a testimony of encouragement to other people in a similar situation who needed to know what God could do for them as well.
After my husband became an Anglican priest and we had, for the first time in years, a steady monthly income with a few medical benefits and a pension plan, plus taxes paid at source, it was very uncomfortable. We both felt very insecure about how quickly we might become dependent on that known monthly income factor, how weird it was to us to not have to pray in every rent payment, every tank of gasoline for our car, weekly groceries, emergency funds etc. etc. etc. For the first couple of years we simply didn't trust in our provision...at least not the way we had when we were in, outwardly at least, far more dire straits.
At some point after the first two years of steady income, I lost, without realizing it, that simple, complete trust in God's personal care and provision. Easy enough to do I suppose, but it has been upsetting me the past few days to realize how thoroughly I have transferred my allegiance to that all mighty monthly pay cheque my husband works so hard to get.
There are possible changes looming for us next year, changes that may find us financially dependent on the Lord in more direct and personal ways once again. Even though it is only a possibility at the moment, far from being decided, I have spent the past ten days freaking out! FREAKING OUT!!
O me of little faith....sigh......
Yesterday I finally figured out why I have been on edge since these ideas arose a couple of weeks ago: I have forgotten, ignored, not trusted in, the very lesson that saw us through the worst times of our lives. The lesson is that when God says he will take care of his people, he DOES take care of his people. My husband has not forgotten the lesson as thoroughly as myself. While possible changes push most people into a sort of mental/emotional limbo while things get straightened out and decided "for sure", he has managed quite well to deal with the expected stresses such times can bring. I have not fared quite as well because I have not, until today, taken the time to remember the past and rehearse the myriad times when we prayed in our need and God showed up with the answers.
Matthew 6:34 is the crux of the lesson for me. I have to stop scaring myself by looking into an unknown future and seeing a grey void where the answer to come is not yet. I have to think no farther than what I have had provided for me to get through only this day, keeping alert of course to possible solutions to the future problems, BUT that future is not yet. Today is all I have, only this moment actually. When and if we need some new answers about the future, they will arise at the right time and we will do what God wants us to do and all will be well no matter what other difficulties may be involved in the process.
Slowly the peace that comes from truly trusting our invisible God is returning, trust in the God who provides our every need in his own ways...sometimes incomprehensible, sometimes obvious...but always we have had what we truly needed and there is no reason that should change, right?
Of course right!
Time to get back on the track of faith and trust in my Abba...my heavenly Father. If I seek him first, (As I have been doing that more since my frantic fears began to calm, I have seen evidence of his working each and every day!), he will take care of the rest of the details of my life.
Thank you Lord for the reminder that in the end you are truly all that I have that is real and eternal, not simply temporal and fleeting.
That lesson is: Only live one day at a time!
For us the idea is drawn from the New Testament Book of Matthew Chapter 6 beginning at the twenty-fifth verse:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
I learned well the value of the principles of trusting God in all things, even for the provision, many a time, of our next meal. For many years God told me I had to "put my money where my mouth was", so to speak and demonstrate that kind of trust, not only for my own faith in him to grow, but also as a testimony of encouragement to other people in a similar situation who needed to know what God could do for them as well.
After my husband became an Anglican priest and we had, for the first time in years, a steady monthly income with a few medical benefits and a pension plan, plus taxes paid at source, it was very uncomfortable. We both felt very insecure about how quickly we might become dependent on that known monthly income factor, how weird it was to us to not have to pray in every rent payment, every tank of gasoline for our car, weekly groceries, emergency funds etc. etc. etc. For the first couple of years we simply didn't trust in our provision...at least not the way we had when we were in, outwardly at least, far more dire straits.
At some point after the first two years of steady income, I lost, without realizing it, that simple, complete trust in God's personal care and provision. Easy enough to do I suppose, but it has been upsetting me the past few days to realize how thoroughly I have transferred my allegiance to that all mighty monthly pay cheque my husband works so hard to get.
There are possible changes looming for us next year, changes that may find us financially dependent on the Lord in more direct and personal ways once again. Even though it is only a possibility at the moment, far from being decided, I have spent the past ten days freaking out! FREAKING OUT!!
O me of little faith....sigh......
Yesterday I finally figured out why I have been on edge since these ideas arose a couple of weeks ago: I have forgotten, ignored, not trusted in, the very lesson that saw us through the worst times of our lives. The lesson is that when God says he will take care of his people, he DOES take care of his people. My husband has not forgotten the lesson as thoroughly as myself. While possible changes push most people into a sort of mental/emotional limbo while things get straightened out and decided "for sure", he has managed quite well to deal with the expected stresses such times can bring. I have not fared quite as well because I have not, until today, taken the time to remember the past and rehearse the myriad times when we prayed in our need and God showed up with the answers.
Matthew 6:34 is the crux of the lesson for me. I have to stop scaring myself by looking into an unknown future and seeing a grey void where the answer to come is not yet. I have to think no farther than what I have had provided for me to get through only this day, keeping alert of course to possible solutions to the future problems, BUT that future is not yet. Today is all I have, only this moment actually. When and if we need some new answers about the future, they will arise at the right time and we will do what God wants us to do and all will be well no matter what other difficulties may be involved in the process.
Slowly the peace that comes from truly trusting our invisible God is returning, trust in the God who provides our every need in his own ways...sometimes incomprehensible, sometimes obvious...but always we have had what we truly needed and there is no reason that should change, right?
Of course right!
Time to get back on the track of faith and trust in my Abba...my heavenly Father. If I seek him first, (As I have been doing that more since my frantic fears began to calm, I have seen evidence of his working each and every day!), he will take care of the rest of the details of my life.
Thank you Lord for the reminder that in the end you are truly all that I have that is real and eternal, not simply temporal and fleeting.
Monday, April 9, 2018
The Bad News:
One reason it took so long for us to complete our taxes today is that part way through the day we received the news that a vibrant former parishioner from my husband's first parish assignment has been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. While she will be receiving some treatments to give her some kind of quality of life for awhile, she may not live long. As is usual in such cases, no one knows for sure.
We are as devastated as the rest of her town and church communities. She is a mover and a shaker in the parish and in community life. Her husband and family are in shock of course and all we can do is send them emails of love and also pray.
Once that news came in it was very hard to concentrate on something like income taxes, which suddenly seemed rather mundane in relationship to her life and death issues.
Sigh......prayers for Sandi, Al, their daughters and husbands and the grandkids would be very much appreciated by all of them.
Thank you..........
We are as devastated as the rest of her town and church communities. She is a mover and a shaker in the parish and in community life. Her husband and family are in shock of course and all we can do is send them emails of love and also pray.
Once that news came in it was very hard to concentrate on something like income taxes, which suddenly seemed rather mundane in relationship to her life and death issues.
Sigh......prayers for Sandi, Al, their daughters and husbands and the grandkids would be very much appreciated by all of them.
Thank you..........
The Good News:
Our Income Taxes are completed!
First thing in the morning a few pages of photo copying must be done for some documents that have to be included in our tax package and then into the mail it all goes!!
YIPPEE and praise the Lord for having a full day to take our time, take lots of breaks in the "action" and to have time to check and recheck our figures.
Now we pray that whoever checks our taxes at Revenue Canada will not make the same blunder that was made last year on my husband's taxes; a blunder that kept his refund from arriving until early October!
Trusting all will work out better this year!
First thing in the morning a few pages of photo copying must be done for some documents that have to be included in our tax package and then into the mail it all goes!!
YIPPEE and praise the Lord for having a full day to take our time, take lots of breaks in the "action" and to have time to check and recheck our figures.
Now we pray that whoever checks our taxes at Revenue Canada will not make the same blunder that was made last year on my husband's taxes; a blunder that kept his refund from arriving until early October!
Trusting all will work out better this year!
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