Our son flies to Vancouver tomorrow for four days of personal and work related business. I am hoping and praying the the weather in the Midwest does not create havoc with his time of departure and that the upsets and stresses of the transportation security and immigration workers does not create unforeseen problems for him. He is so good about sending itineraries so that we can be praying for him as he travels. We are also praying his friends from his former home will respect and support his newly teetotaling self. It has been a full month with no alcohol and his allergies have completely disappeared. The fuzzy head has cleared right up and the aching muscles no longer do. Hallelujah!
Well Lord, here is our prayer for safety in every way to accompany our son over the next few days, may special grace abound. Thank you and amen.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
A Happily Productive Day!
After being housebound for the past three and a half days, it was fantastic to get out and about today, running errands and going to appointments. Hopefully I will be able to get out shopping tomorrow morning!
Banking arrangements for our time of unemployment have been made, prescriptions picked up, temporary continuing health benefits through my husband's former employer's programme arranged and a new set of lenses for my husband's glasses ordered. So happy he missed going for his annual checkup last fall when he should have gone, because the amount of coverage has increased as of January 1st. We paid far less than I budgeted for! BONUS!! He is excited about the idea of being able to see again, hahaha, fancy that, eh, and the new lenses should be ready next week. He was able to use his present pair of frames as they are in great shape and he loves them, so that saved us a lot of money too.
Tonight is choir practise. Hopefully it will be as much fun as ever. We are getting a week off in mid February as our director has to be out of town and I always appreciate a short break every so often from any weekly committment. I am taking a large carton of my husband's homemade chili to one of the choir members who is going in for surgery soon and will need a break from cooking. That will be fun. That is the bonus when he makes enough of one dish to feed an army: being able to give some away! What fun.
What a nice break in the weather temperature today. I am not sure if it actually rose to the predicted high of -7C, but it certainly came close. It was wonderful to be able to get outside. We deliberately parked our vehicle several blocks from the eye clinic so we could enjoy a bit of a walk. Wow, there is a lot of ice on the streets. The crosswalks are treacherous for pedestrians as the snow has been packed to a high gloss that is incredibly slippery. I will have to be careful going to choir tonight, as even the tires on the heavier vehicles are slipping as they turn corners and take off after stopping at red lights.
Looks like points further north of us are going to get hit with some terribly heavy snowfall tomorrow and Saturday. The main part of that system should miss us, but Sunday will be our day to get a massive amount of snow if the forecast is anywhere near correct. Lately it has been pretty close to the truth, but glad it was wrong last weekend!! hahaha
Have a happy upcoming weekend everyone.
Banking arrangements for our time of unemployment have been made, prescriptions picked up, temporary continuing health benefits through my husband's former employer's programme arranged and a new set of lenses for my husband's glasses ordered. So happy he missed going for his annual checkup last fall when he should have gone, because the amount of coverage has increased as of January 1st. We paid far less than I budgeted for! BONUS!! He is excited about the idea of being able to see again, hahaha, fancy that, eh, and the new lenses should be ready next week. He was able to use his present pair of frames as they are in great shape and he loves them, so that saved us a lot of money too.
Tonight is choir practise. Hopefully it will be as much fun as ever. We are getting a week off in mid February as our director has to be out of town and I always appreciate a short break every so often from any weekly committment. I am taking a large carton of my husband's homemade chili to one of the choir members who is going in for surgery soon and will need a break from cooking. That will be fun. That is the bonus when he makes enough of one dish to feed an army: being able to give some away! What fun.
What a nice break in the weather temperature today. I am not sure if it actually rose to the predicted high of -7C, but it certainly came close. It was wonderful to be able to get outside. We deliberately parked our vehicle several blocks from the eye clinic so we could enjoy a bit of a walk. Wow, there is a lot of ice on the streets. The crosswalks are treacherous for pedestrians as the snow has been packed to a high gloss that is incredibly slippery. I will have to be careful going to choir tonight, as even the tires on the heavier vehicles are slipping as they turn corners and take off after stopping at red lights.
Looks like points further north of us are going to get hit with some terribly heavy snowfall tomorrow and Saturday. The main part of that system should miss us, but Sunday will be our day to get a massive amount of snow if the forecast is anywhere near correct. Lately it has been pretty close to the truth, but glad it was wrong last weekend!! hahaha
Have a happy upcoming weekend everyone.
Retired vs Unemployed
Over the past month we have had a number of people tell us things like, “Oh, it must be nice to have this glimpse into what life will be like when your husband is retired!”
Actually, not so much.
Other than a few men’s breakfast meetings, my husband spends most of his time on the phone to prospective employers and sitting in front of his computer monitor researching and applying for jobs and sending reports into EI in hopes that eventually he will be able to receive a bit of extra financial assistance after paying into the plan all these years. Each day brings an odd mix of hope and discouragement, great joy, emotional stresses and confusion as possibilities crop up and decisions about what to follow up on are discerned.....hopefully wisely. The wheels of ministry employment roll slowly, adding extra stress as we consider how long we will be able to hold out financially during the process before we both end up as WalMart greeters to keep a roof over our heads. Fortunately that danger is not imminent, but this situation cannot last forever.
Apart from the ever present financial stresses of most retirees, this is not a glimpse into retirement.
If this was retirement, my husband would be able to say “yes” to the many volunteer projects being offered: everything from providing bible teaching, to leading Alpha courses, to site supervision on a construction project have come his way and some folk are rather miffed when he has to say no. He can’t take on any sort of long term volunteer commitment in case we end up moving away before the project is completed. He also has to leave time free to take occasional paying gigs when they arise. It is interesting how few people seem to understand that his not working is/has to be temporary and not only for financial reasons.
If this was retirement my husband and I could do things together. We could take in some of the daytime activities here in the city that interest us. We could do volunteer work that is personally fulfilling and helps other people. We could check and respond to personal emails once a day rather than doing constant employment research online.
Yup, there is a difference between retirement and simply being unemployed. One day we may have the chance to experience and enjoy the first option, but not yet.
Actually, not so much.
Other than a few men’s breakfast meetings, my husband spends most of his time on the phone to prospective employers and sitting in front of his computer monitor researching and applying for jobs and sending reports into EI in hopes that eventually he will be able to receive a bit of extra financial assistance after paying into the plan all these years. Each day brings an odd mix of hope and discouragement, great joy, emotional stresses and confusion as possibilities crop up and decisions about what to follow up on are discerned.....hopefully wisely. The wheels of ministry employment roll slowly, adding extra stress as we consider how long we will be able to hold out financially during the process before we both end up as WalMart greeters to keep a roof over our heads. Fortunately that danger is not imminent, but this situation cannot last forever.
Apart from the ever present financial stresses of most retirees, this is not a glimpse into retirement.
If this was retirement, my husband would be able to say “yes” to the many volunteer projects being offered: everything from providing bible teaching, to leading Alpha courses, to site supervision on a construction project have come his way and some folk are rather miffed when he has to say no. He can’t take on any sort of long term volunteer commitment in case we end up moving away before the project is completed. He also has to leave time free to take occasional paying gigs when they arise. It is interesting how few people seem to understand that his not working is/has to be temporary and not only for financial reasons.
If this was retirement my husband and I could do things together. We could take in some of the daytime activities here in the city that interest us. We could do volunteer work that is personally fulfilling and helps other people. We could check and respond to personal emails once a day rather than doing constant employment research online.
Yup, there is a difference between retirement and simply being unemployed. One day we may have the chance to experience and enjoy the first option, but not yet.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Interesting How A Bit Of A Disappointment Can Motivate A Person!
Well....since that last post about experiencing a small disappointment, we have found ourselves newly energized! My husband had a nap and is now hard at work again on the job search trail and we have made several medical and bank appointments we should have made all ready by the end of last week, but couldn't seem to get going on setting up. All the appointments have now been made for over the next three weeks! By the time my husband gets to a point where he could be interviewing, or on the road doing other seminar opportunities he has been a bit lax in persuing, we will be all fixed up with new glasses, tooth repairs and other good things! We realized we have to get some of these things taken care of right away in case a move is indeed coming by the spring.
I think confession must truly be as good for the soul as claimed. Just writing out my last little post about being disappointed, has made me feel much better. New adventures await and while they may take awhile to arrive, at least we are ready now to broaden our horizons while we seek them. YES!!!!
I think confession must truly be as good for the soul as claimed. Just writing out my last little post about being disappointed, has made me feel much better. New adventures await and while they may take awhile to arrive, at least we are ready now to broaden our horizons while we seek them. YES!!!!
Dying Hopes
I confess that there have been a couple of jobs in the immediate area that I have been holding out faint hope for my husband to get so we can stay here where we are looked after medically and socially and spiritually. However, this particular date has stuck in my head ever since last autumn when we found out my husband was losing his job, as the date when we would perhaps get some sort of answer about them. Earlier today I was thinking maybe I just imagined it as a significant date, but a few minutes ago we received what appears to be confirmation that we are going to be moving on once again in the next few months.
No, I am not going to go into the details as it isn't appropriate to do so, but we are being tempted to feel like the wind has gone out of our sails a bit. Coupled with the extremely cold weather, this day has been only okay as days go. We aren't discouraged, just a bit disappointed, naturally.
In a way this news is freeing, because now we are not holding on to these small hopes and clinging to the idea of remaining comfortably where we live presently. As my husband mused a few moments ago, "Some people are granted the grace of stability and obvious success and we are among those who are graced differently." I love that way of looking at life. We both feel now that we have more motivation, impetus to get looking more closely at other positions, other towns and cities, other situations with the hope that perhaps we will end up once again in a place we would be comfortable retiring as we would be here when the time finally comes.
So, those of you who have been praying for us, don't stop due to these "no" answers today. Keep praying that we can get more excited about leaving if that is what is to happen and that we will find that new place and ministry sooner rather than later. There are some irons in the fire at present that we can take a more serious view of now. Thank you ever so much for your encouragement through prayers and conversation.
No, I am not going to go into the details as it isn't appropriate to do so, but we are being tempted to feel like the wind has gone out of our sails a bit. Coupled with the extremely cold weather, this day has been only okay as days go. We aren't discouraged, just a bit disappointed, naturally.
In a way this news is freeing, because now we are not holding on to these small hopes and clinging to the idea of remaining comfortably where we live presently. As my husband mused a few moments ago, "Some people are granted the grace of stability and obvious success and we are among those who are graced differently." I love that way of looking at life. We both feel now that we have more motivation, impetus to get looking more closely at other positions, other towns and cities, other situations with the hope that perhaps we will end up once again in a place we would be comfortable retiring as we would be here when the time finally comes.
So, those of you who have been praying for us, don't stop due to these "no" answers today. Keep praying that we can get more excited about leaving if that is what is to happen and that we will find that new place and ministry sooner rather than later. There are some irons in the fire at present that we can take a more serious view of now. Thank you ever so much for your encouragement through prayers and conversation.
Summer Is For Wimps!
At least this is what my husband told me after he returned this morning from his round trip walk to and from his morning men’s group! The temperature was -20C with a windchill of -43C, so he looked like a colourful penguin tromping around in his grey parka with a giant hood pulled low over his eyes and black toque, a lab coat white windbreaker over the parka, bright yellow and black ice climbing pants, heavy brown hiking boots, navy scarf and black suede mittens with showy red liners. Hey, it is winter in the Canadian prairies...warmth has to trump appearance if you want to stay safe!
So, when he made his pronouncement, I pointed to myself and mouthed SUPER WIMP at him, with a big grin on my face! No shame here!!!! hahaha 🤡
So, when he made his pronouncement, I pointed to myself and mouthed SUPER WIMP at him, with a big grin on my face! No shame here!!!! hahaha 🤡
Monday, January 28, 2019
Another Blow For Dad's Health
I feel badly for my dad. He called this evening with the report of his latest health breakdown. Sigh....poor guy....
Late last week he realized he was experiencing a worsening of vision in the eye that has had the worst vision of the two for the past year. So, off he went to his eye specialist today for an emergency appointment. I love Dr. Shah. He is so considerate of his elderly patients and so very caring. He examined Dad's eyes fully three time this afternoon, according to Mom, before pronouncing judgement that Dad had another TIA behind his eye recently and that although by law he has to offer Dad laser treatment, it will only raise Dad's hopes when in reality it will accomplish nothing. There is nothing else to be done for Dad's vision in that eye. I am so grateful for Dr. Shah's honesty, for not raising Dad's hopes over a treatment he knows will not work. Dad was upset, understandably, that yet again a part of his body is breaking down even more. He has gone colour blind to the point where Mom has sewn little tags into his pants and shirts so he knows what colour they are when he gets dressed each morning. Grey and pink are the main colours he sees, even if what he is looking at is neither of those colours. He is so tired of living and who can blame him. You reach a point where you know there is no hope of recovery of ability to any enjoyable level.
I am grateful Dad has been so good at fighting through the natural depression that tends to descend upon us at this stage of life. He isn't happy, but he is determined to remain as cheerful as he can while he waits for all this to be over. He is a good example to me when I am tempted to feel discouragement over my own physical limitations that will also only get worse in the near future.
I am praying that Dad receives the best from God, whatever that is at his stage of life. What else can I do?
Mom sounds like a wrung out dishrag. She is so tired and stressed over Dad's various worsening conditions. Her own health is failing slowly but surely. She has a very practical attitude toward aging that helps her not to be depressed or frightened and is also accepting of the idea that at her age she could leave this earth at any time. I want to be like her as I get older.
I am getting a lot of good information and attitude checks through my church adult Sunday class on aging and how to cope with it. So glad this topic came up while I still live here and have had the opportunity to attend. My husband enjoyed teaching it this past Sunday and I enjoyed listening to him.
Old age....so many issues to deal with when our ability to deal with them is consistently shrinking........okay God, what are you going to have for my husband and I now that we are entering that stage of life ourselves???
Late last week he realized he was experiencing a worsening of vision in the eye that has had the worst vision of the two for the past year. So, off he went to his eye specialist today for an emergency appointment. I love Dr. Shah. He is so considerate of his elderly patients and so very caring. He examined Dad's eyes fully three time this afternoon, according to Mom, before pronouncing judgement that Dad had another TIA behind his eye recently and that although by law he has to offer Dad laser treatment, it will only raise Dad's hopes when in reality it will accomplish nothing. There is nothing else to be done for Dad's vision in that eye. I am so grateful for Dr. Shah's honesty, for not raising Dad's hopes over a treatment he knows will not work. Dad was upset, understandably, that yet again a part of his body is breaking down even more. He has gone colour blind to the point where Mom has sewn little tags into his pants and shirts so he knows what colour they are when he gets dressed each morning. Grey and pink are the main colours he sees, even if what he is looking at is neither of those colours. He is so tired of living and who can blame him. You reach a point where you know there is no hope of recovery of ability to any enjoyable level.
I am grateful Dad has been so good at fighting through the natural depression that tends to descend upon us at this stage of life. He isn't happy, but he is determined to remain as cheerful as he can while he waits for all this to be over. He is a good example to me when I am tempted to feel discouragement over my own physical limitations that will also only get worse in the near future.
I am praying that Dad receives the best from God, whatever that is at his stage of life. What else can I do?
Mom sounds like a wrung out dishrag. She is so tired and stressed over Dad's various worsening conditions. Her own health is failing slowly but surely. She has a very practical attitude toward aging that helps her not to be depressed or frightened and is also accepting of the idea that at her age she could leave this earth at any time. I want to be like her as I get older.
I am getting a lot of good information and attitude checks through my church adult Sunday class on aging and how to cope with it. So glad this topic came up while I still live here and have had the opportunity to attend. My husband enjoyed teaching it this past Sunday and I enjoyed listening to him.
Old age....so many issues to deal with when our ability to deal with them is consistently shrinking........okay God, what are you going to have for my husband and I now that we are entering that stage of life ourselves???
An Odd Storm / Fun With Favas
Yesterday's predicted storm was rather an odd business. When we left for church in the morning the warm front was passing through, snow and ice were softening and melting, the winds were calm and, other than the addition of a few drops of rain, it wasn't any different after the service as we headed to the grocery store. The storm threat fortunately didn't negatively impact attendance and for that we were all grateful. After picking up a couple of grocery items we stepped next door to Western Pizza for a bowl of delicious vegetable barley soup. Yummy! It was a good start to what was to be a stormy day.
When we left the restaurant there had been a smattering of wet snow and the winds were beginning the predicted heavy blow that carried the lighter snow flakes completely horizontally through the air. However, that only lasted a few minutes. By the time we had driven home, only a few blocks away, the snow and wind had stopped again.
About every one to two hours through the afternoon and evening, a bit more snow would come down with accompanying strong wind gusts, create a white out that left us unable to see the buildings across the street and then the wind and snow would disappear a few minutes later. By the look of the small drifts across our back lawn and front sidewalks it appears that was the pattern for most of the night. Today we see only about 5cm of fresh snow, rather than the predicted 20cm, the winds have died down considerably and the sky is clear and deep blue with a brightly shining sun. Of course the clear sky means the predicted drop in temperature has occurred and overnight for the next two nights we are looking at windchills in the -40 to -45CF range. Wednesday and Thursday we will be in the -8C range for daytime highs and warmer than -20C overnight before dropping to more normal end of January temperatures. Again, not much snow is predicted for the coming couple of weeks, at least at this moment.
Since yesterday afternoon we assumed we would be completely storm stayed well before the dinner hour, we decided it was a good afternoon to make the chili we had been talking about all week. Yum! We had such a great time making it together. I chopped up the veggies, my husband dispatched the onions because they make my eyes water so badly, he sauteed them with chopped fresh garlic and added a couple of packs of ground turkey and herbs while my diced green and red peppers, carrots and celery sauteed in a separate pan. Once everything else was sufficiently cooked and the diced tomatoes and tomato paste added to the mix, it was time to put in the pinto, kidney and fava beans.
Now...about fava beans....we had never used them before and so it was experiment to try them out. My husband purchased the small variety rather than the larger ones and he knew they had to be soaked overnight just like the kidney and pinto beans, but he also read on the package that they would need to be peeled. His next discovery was that they are nearly impossible to peel after soaking alone, so he set the pot of fava beans on the stove top to boil. Once they boiled and cooled, we started what turned out to be the labour intensive chore of peeling each and every one of the little badgers!! I can see now why most people purchase them to make a hummus type of dish where they can be cooked and then be put into a sieve, then the beans be mashed through the sieve webbing in order to separate them from their skins....easy peasy by the sound of it....at least in comparison to what we went through skinning each bean singly by hand. hahahahaha It took me over an hour to peel what turned out to be about 250 tiny fava beans, some of them still unwilling to part with their outer shells. Who knew 1 cup of teensy weensy fava beans added up to that many needing assistance to get free of a tough outer shell!!????! Well, now WE DO!
My husband abandoned the project 7 beans in and left the rest to me. I eventually figured out a finger pinching method that popped most of the beans out of their skins without my fingers turning them to mush..."eventually" being the key word here. hahaha What a hoot! While the storm outside was trying to decide if it was happening or not, I was peeling mini fava beans as if my life depended on it!! hahaha Never again, never again!!!! 😡 Live and learn!
HOWEVER, I have to say that the chili we ended up with was worth every skin wrinkling pinch on those beans! YUM YUM YUM!!!!! By the time we were done with it and got the flavour of the herbs melded sufficiently with the other ingredients to make it worth eating, it was nearly 8pm. Never has a simple chili tasted so good....admittedly extreme hunger and low blood sugar by that time of evening may have contributed to our enjoyment of it, but I am willing to take the gamble and have more of it for lunch today....in about 20 minutes in fact...YAY! HOME MADE CHILI!! YAY!! Paired with an artisan cheese bread...superb!
A late dinner and some of the good things that happened at church in the morning kept me kind of revved up and I didn't get to sleep until 1am. Of course my husband was awake before 6:30am, couldn't find his bedside clock so woke me up trying to see my clock. haha After a half hour of trying to get back to sleep we both gave up and got going on our day. For my husband that meant a cup of hot tea and continuing to prepare his teaching session that is coming up on Saturday morning. For me it meant becoming so engrossed in a tv documentary I recorded last night that I didn't lift my hind end off the couch to start my day for over two hours! Now it is nearly time for lunch and for SOME REASON I am not the last bit hungry! Hmmmm...would the total lack of exercise this morning have something to do with that????? hohoho.....
After lunch I will do a bit of ironing and probably start on cleaning the suite again. The furnace has been on more in the past 3 days than it has been in awhile, so there is dust covering most of the furniture, particularly the items closest to the wall vents that blow the dust down toward them. Yup, time to clean up the place and having three cold days in a row is the perfect time. Tomorrow evening's OT discussion group has been cancelled for various reasons and I have to say I am a bit relieved.
So that is life to the minute. We are hoping to hear something tomorrow in regard to more information about a possible job for my husband. We need the info in order to decide how hard he is going to try to get the position, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it. Don't get all excited though about this okay? Even if he wants to apply, even if he stands a wonderful chance of getting it, there are procedures to follow and it all takes an inordinate amount of time even in the best case scenarios. While I am asking for some prayers about this, should you feel so inclined, we are still not going to know much for several weeks. Yup....been down this road more than once before...hahaha.
O hey, he heard from another bishop who has some other possibilities for him to consider! A couple of good possibilities actually....thank you Lord!!
Bless you all today! Thanks for continuing to read my blog!
When we left the restaurant there had been a smattering of wet snow and the winds were beginning the predicted heavy blow that carried the lighter snow flakes completely horizontally through the air. However, that only lasted a few minutes. By the time we had driven home, only a few blocks away, the snow and wind had stopped again.
About every one to two hours through the afternoon and evening, a bit more snow would come down with accompanying strong wind gusts, create a white out that left us unable to see the buildings across the street and then the wind and snow would disappear a few minutes later. By the look of the small drifts across our back lawn and front sidewalks it appears that was the pattern for most of the night. Today we see only about 5cm of fresh snow, rather than the predicted 20cm, the winds have died down considerably and the sky is clear and deep blue with a brightly shining sun. Of course the clear sky means the predicted drop in temperature has occurred and overnight for the next two nights we are looking at windchills in the -40 to -45CF range. Wednesday and Thursday we will be in the -8C range for daytime highs and warmer than -20C overnight before dropping to more normal end of January temperatures. Again, not much snow is predicted for the coming couple of weeks, at least at this moment.
Since yesterday afternoon we assumed we would be completely storm stayed well before the dinner hour, we decided it was a good afternoon to make the chili we had been talking about all week. Yum! We had such a great time making it together. I chopped up the veggies, my husband dispatched the onions because they make my eyes water so badly, he sauteed them with chopped fresh garlic and added a couple of packs of ground turkey and herbs while my diced green and red peppers, carrots and celery sauteed in a separate pan. Once everything else was sufficiently cooked and the diced tomatoes and tomato paste added to the mix, it was time to put in the pinto, kidney and fava beans.
Now...about fava beans....we had never used them before and so it was experiment to try them out. My husband purchased the small variety rather than the larger ones and he knew they had to be soaked overnight just like the kidney and pinto beans, but he also read on the package that they would need to be peeled. His next discovery was that they are nearly impossible to peel after soaking alone, so he set the pot of fava beans on the stove top to boil. Once they boiled and cooled, we started what turned out to be the labour intensive chore of peeling each and every one of the little badgers!! I can see now why most people purchase them to make a hummus type of dish where they can be cooked and then be put into a sieve, then the beans be mashed through the sieve webbing in order to separate them from their skins....easy peasy by the sound of it....at least in comparison to what we went through skinning each bean singly by hand. hahahahaha It took me over an hour to peel what turned out to be about 250 tiny fava beans, some of them still unwilling to part with their outer shells. Who knew 1 cup of teensy weensy fava beans added up to that many needing assistance to get free of a tough outer shell!!????! Well, now WE DO!
My husband abandoned the project 7 beans in and left the rest to me. I eventually figured out a finger pinching method that popped most of the beans out of their skins without my fingers turning them to mush..."eventually" being the key word here. hahaha What a hoot! While the storm outside was trying to decide if it was happening or not, I was peeling mini fava beans as if my life depended on it!! hahaha Never again, never again!!!! 😡 Live and learn!
HOWEVER, I have to say that the chili we ended up with was worth every skin wrinkling pinch on those beans! YUM YUM YUM!!!!! By the time we were done with it and got the flavour of the herbs melded sufficiently with the other ingredients to make it worth eating, it was nearly 8pm. Never has a simple chili tasted so good....admittedly extreme hunger and low blood sugar by that time of evening may have contributed to our enjoyment of it, but I am willing to take the gamble and have more of it for lunch today....in about 20 minutes in fact...YAY! HOME MADE CHILI!! YAY!! Paired with an artisan cheese bread...superb!
A late dinner and some of the good things that happened at church in the morning kept me kind of revved up and I didn't get to sleep until 1am. Of course my husband was awake before 6:30am, couldn't find his bedside clock so woke me up trying to see my clock. haha After a half hour of trying to get back to sleep we both gave up and got going on our day. For my husband that meant a cup of hot tea and continuing to prepare his teaching session that is coming up on Saturday morning. For me it meant becoming so engrossed in a tv documentary I recorded last night that I didn't lift my hind end off the couch to start my day for over two hours! Now it is nearly time for lunch and for SOME REASON I am not the last bit hungry! Hmmmm...would the total lack of exercise this morning have something to do with that????? hohoho.....
After lunch I will do a bit of ironing and probably start on cleaning the suite again. The furnace has been on more in the past 3 days than it has been in awhile, so there is dust covering most of the furniture, particularly the items closest to the wall vents that blow the dust down toward them. Yup, time to clean up the place and having three cold days in a row is the perfect time. Tomorrow evening's OT discussion group has been cancelled for various reasons and I have to say I am a bit relieved.
So that is life to the minute. We are hoping to hear something tomorrow in regard to more information about a possible job for my husband. We need the info in order to decide how hard he is going to try to get the position, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it. Don't get all excited though about this okay? Even if he wants to apply, even if he stands a wonderful chance of getting it, there are procedures to follow and it all takes an inordinate amount of time even in the best case scenarios. While I am asking for some prayers about this, should you feel so inclined, we are still not going to know much for several weeks. Yup....been down this road more than once before...hahaha.
O hey, he heard from another bishop who has some other possibilities for him to consider! A couple of good possibilities actually....thank you Lord!!
Bless you all today! Thanks for continuing to read my blog!
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Oh, If Only I Didn't Get Sea Sick So Easily!!! Grrrrrr!!!!!
Today, just for fun, my husband took a look at advertisements for cruise ship chaplains. What he discovered is that most of those positions are actually volunteer, BUT free accommodation is provided for the spouse as well!
So today, just for fun, I allowed myself the luxury of a pipe dream: we would sell all our earthly possessions and move from cruise ship to cruise ship, see the world, do important volunteer work and have our expenses taken care of in lieu of monetary gain. Sigh....wouldn't it be loverly???!!??
The reality is that merely sitting on a boat while it is moored to the dock has me dizzy and barfing sick in approximately eleven minutes...although one time I lasted for fourteen before losing my dinner over the side. Big sigh....wouldn't that be the coolest retirement ever though if I could manage it? We could bank our pensions and have some retirement money set aside once we returned onshore to live. Aaaaah, the joy of dreams....
Well, it was sure fun to talk about it and dream for a change. Not being much of a dreamer due to the onslaught of a more practical reality every time I turn around, today's thoughts felt nothing short of completely decadent. What a hoot to think about such a possibility.
Someone I was talking to the other day assumed our idea of retiring in Panama must have come to a halt because I haven't talked about it in so long, but that possibility is still very much on the table for more research and consideration when the time comes. The reason we haven't done more about it all ready is that we don't feel free to go that far away while my parents are still alive. Given that they are both in their 90's we could find ourselves free to move any day now, but we suspect they are both going to be around for some time yet. Until the day they are both gone we feel rather stuck in Canada, another joy of being an only child. If Ontario and New Brunswick have been deemed too far away, Panama would be off the charts far away! hohoho!!! In a way it seems odd to feel so tied because there is literally nothing we can do for them as they are in a great facility with good care, but understandably they want us to stick around so they don't feel abandoned. They are my parents. I owe them that much at least.
The future lies before us...what amazing thing is going to happen next????
So, while it was fun to dream, now our feet are firmly back on the ground and the job search continues.
So today, just for fun, I allowed myself the luxury of a pipe dream: we would sell all our earthly possessions and move from cruise ship to cruise ship, see the world, do important volunteer work and have our expenses taken care of in lieu of monetary gain. Sigh....wouldn't it be loverly???!!??
The reality is that merely sitting on a boat while it is moored to the dock has me dizzy and barfing sick in approximately eleven minutes...although one time I lasted for fourteen before losing my dinner over the side. Big sigh....wouldn't that be the coolest retirement ever though if I could manage it? We could bank our pensions and have some retirement money set aside once we returned onshore to live. Aaaaah, the joy of dreams....
Well, it was sure fun to talk about it and dream for a change. Not being much of a dreamer due to the onslaught of a more practical reality every time I turn around, today's thoughts felt nothing short of completely decadent. What a hoot to think about such a possibility.
Someone I was talking to the other day assumed our idea of retiring in Panama must have come to a halt because I haven't talked about it in so long, but that possibility is still very much on the table for more research and consideration when the time comes. The reason we haven't done more about it all ready is that we don't feel free to go that far away while my parents are still alive. Given that they are both in their 90's we could find ourselves free to move any day now, but we suspect they are both going to be around for some time yet. Until the day they are both gone we feel rather stuck in Canada, another joy of being an only child. If Ontario and New Brunswick have been deemed too far away, Panama would be off the charts far away! hohoho!!! In a way it seems odd to feel so tied because there is literally nothing we can do for them as they are in a great facility with good care, but understandably they want us to stick around so they don't feel abandoned. They are my parents. I owe them that much at least.
The future lies before us...what amazing thing is going to happen next????
So, while it was fun to dream, now our feet are firmly back on the ground and the job search continues.
Lots Of Things To Think About This Weekend
We are both taking a day off today as far as going out anywhere. There are probably things we need to do, but we are both tired. My husband is checking some more ministry employment websites, but the results are discouraging to say the least. And so, we keep praying about the future and waiting on the Lord.......
A friend who is about to retire has decided he wants to spend his retirement as a long distance trucker. He has worked around machinery of all kinds for his entire life. Yesterday he passed his air brakes and his written mechanical tests with flying colours, only 1 question wrong in total! We are so happy for him. His wife and I were texting while I was at the gasoline station last evening trying to juggle the phone and the gasoline hose and my wallet full of discount cards, with my freezing fingers. hahahaha
My husband had a lot of fun with some of his younger guy friends last night at Beer, Bacon and Bands. He has a new, cute 4oz. mug to add to his collection. Dinner first at the Lobby was fun because a new guy came last night and it gave my husband a chance to get to know him a bit. He walked home in the lovely evening after a couple of hours of fun. The weather was so very nice he didn't want the walk to end. What a happy evening he had.
I sat around with my head buried in a video game most of the time he was gone. Ho hum....tells me I am giving in to the tired feelings this return to winter has left me with.
I was so proud of the people of Regina last night. When I dropped off the fellows at the Arts Centre, I was in a long line of taxis and personal vehicles dropping people off at the door. For such a huge event, the parking lot was nearly deserted in comparison to other events like the Symphony concerts. So many people prepared to order taxis and make arrangement with family and friends to drive them home after an evening of alcohol tasting: way to go Reginans. Very smart!!
Today I have been slogging about doing a bit of laundry and watching huge snowflakes drifting slowly and gently to the ground. I am gritting my teeth over the forecast of a quick warming overnight that will result in severe freezing rain by the time we have to leave for church. Blecch!! O Lord please have mercy on us!! Then in the afternoon the blizzard will likely hit us. The blizzard I don't mind about as I find such events fascinating....particularly if I am not driving about in the midst of them! However, freezing rain and my osteoporosis do not a good mix make!!
I received the devastating news the other night that one of my new friends, Kay who is only in her early 50's, was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Sigh....she is a gem of a person who has survived the most horrific childhood and terrifying marriage and also a different kind of cancer many years ago. She was diagnosed "by accident" while undergoing a small surgical procedure a couple of weeks ago and will be having her cancer surgery very soon as she is on the emergency list. O Lord, have mercy on this generous, vulnerable, amazing woman who loves you so much and is such a testimony to your grace. I feel ill just writing this as I know how frightened she is and I know that while the stats on the present 5 year survival rate for ovarian cancer have risen dramatically, it is still a very dangerous cancer that is very cruel. Please, if God should lead you, send up a prayer for Kay. Thank you. She needs God's peace in the midst.....
I think I am going to order in a book by Mark Strauss called Jesus Behaving Badly. Our book club leader is very interested in doing this one as a group, but the mere title put off some of the gals and they weren't even interested in finding out what the title refers to. The reaction was so over the top that it quite put me off continuing to meet with these ladies, but I will put on my big girl panties and go with the decision of the rest of the group as to what we study together. The leader and I and at least one other person are quite keen to do this book, but there will be a vote and if it goes against us, we will just read it on our own.
Another friend from church, only in her late 30's, suffers from terrible seizures. They are slowly robbing her of her memory and she cannot stay alone with her young children. Her entire extended family is helping out and that is particulary difficult for one of her brothers who has a very tragic medical situation happening with his own young son at the moment. This young woman had probes done this past week and is apparently a candidate for brain surgery that hopefully will end the seizures. This is wonderful news, but there are of course still many unknowns. Her surgery should be within the next 6 months and we are praying for Becca A LOT!!!
I have not been tempted to feel sorry for myself lately as I discover the intense medical stress so many others, younger than myself, are experiencing every day of their lives. I feel blessed beyond measure to be as healthy as I am and to have such good medical help for my own issues.
Well, it is time to go and change over the loads of laundry and make some lunch. My husband is soaking pinto and kidney beans so that tomorrow we can make a huge pot of chili. He makes wonderful chili and I can't wait. We can eat it all week and not get tired of it. I am so enjoying having him at home. Although seeking another ministry position is very stressful on one hand, on the other he is being disciplined about not over stressing and in taking a nap each afternoon if he feels like it, or else visiting all the friends he has made lately.
It is all good....at least until/if the freezing rain arrives as forecast. Yikes!
A friend who is about to retire has decided he wants to spend his retirement as a long distance trucker. He has worked around machinery of all kinds for his entire life. Yesterday he passed his air brakes and his written mechanical tests with flying colours, only 1 question wrong in total! We are so happy for him. His wife and I were texting while I was at the gasoline station last evening trying to juggle the phone and the gasoline hose and my wallet full of discount cards, with my freezing fingers. hahahaha
My husband had a lot of fun with some of his younger guy friends last night at Beer, Bacon and Bands. He has a new, cute 4oz. mug to add to his collection. Dinner first at the Lobby was fun because a new guy came last night and it gave my husband a chance to get to know him a bit. He walked home in the lovely evening after a couple of hours of fun. The weather was so very nice he didn't want the walk to end. What a happy evening he had.
I sat around with my head buried in a video game most of the time he was gone. Ho hum....tells me I am giving in to the tired feelings this return to winter has left me with.
I was so proud of the people of Regina last night. When I dropped off the fellows at the Arts Centre, I was in a long line of taxis and personal vehicles dropping people off at the door. For such a huge event, the parking lot was nearly deserted in comparison to other events like the Symphony concerts. So many people prepared to order taxis and make arrangement with family and friends to drive them home after an evening of alcohol tasting: way to go Reginans. Very smart!!
Today I have been slogging about doing a bit of laundry and watching huge snowflakes drifting slowly and gently to the ground. I am gritting my teeth over the forecast of a quick warming overnight that will result in severe freezing rain by the time we have to leave for church. Blecch!! O Lord please have mercy on us!! Then in the afternoon the blizzard will likely hit us. The blizzard I don't mind about as I find such events fascinating....particularly if I am not driving about in the midst of them! However, freezing rain and my osteoporosis do not a good mix make!!
I received the devastating news the other night that one of my new friends, Kay who is only in her early 50's, was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Sigh....she is a gem of a person who has survived the most horrific childhood and terrifying marriage and also a different kind of cancer many years ago. She was diagnosed "by accident" while undergoing a small surgical procedure a couple of weeks ago and will be having her cancer surgery very soon as she is on the emergency list. O Lord, have mercy on this generous, vulnerable, amazing woman who loves you so much and is such a testimony to your grace. I feel ill just writing this as I know how frightened she is and I know that while the stats on the present 5 year survival rate for ovarian cancer have risen dramatically, it is still a very dangerous cancer that is very cruel. Please, if God should lead you, send up a prayer for Kay. Thank you. She needs God's peace in the midst.....
I think I am going to order in a book by Mark Strauss called Jesus Behaving Badly. Our book club leader is very interested in doing this one as a group, but the mere title put off some of the gals and they weren't even interested in finding out what the title refers to. The reaction was so over the top that it quite put me off continuing to meet with these ladies, but I will put on my big girl panties and go with the decision of the rest of the group as to what we study together. The leader and I and at least one other person are quite keen to do this book, but there will be a vote and if it goes against us, we will just read it on our own.
Another friend from church, only in her late 30's, suffers from terrible seizures. They are slowly robbing her of her memory and she cannot stay alone with her young children. Her entire extended family is helping out and that is particulary difficult for one of her brothers who has a very tragic medical situation happening with his own young son at the moment. This young woman had probes done this past week and is apparently a candidate for brain surgery that hopefully will end the seizures. This is wonderful news, but there are of course still many unknowns. Her surgery should be within the next 6 months and we are praying for Becca A LOT!!!
I have not been tempted to feel sorry for myself lately as I discover the intense medical stress so many others, younger than myself, are experiencing every day of their lives. I feel blessed beyond measure to be as healthy as I am and to have such good medical help for my own issues.
Well, it is time to go and change over the loads of laundry and make some lunch. My husband is soaking pinto and kidney beans so that tomorrow we can make a huge pot of chili. He makes wonderful chili and I can't wait. We can eat it all week and not get tired of it. I am so enjoying having him at home. Although seeking another ministry position is very stressful on one hand, on the other he is being disciplined about not over stressing and in taking a nap each afternoon if he feels like it, or else visiting all the friends he has made lately.
It is all good....at least until/if the freezing rain arrives as forecast. Yikes!
Friday, January 25, 2019
A Lovely Boost To An All Ready Pretty Good Day!
Our son called us early this afternoon. We haven't been in touch for awhile so it was great to hear his cheery voice. We chatted for a long time. Thank you Jesus for Speaker Phone! hahaha
On January 1 he made a decision to stop all alcohol consumption. This is a fellow who, like his dad and grandma before him, likes his beer. He decided he wanted to go alcohol free so that he could see if that is what has been making him feel miserable and tired and fuzzy headed for the past year or more. He has been cutting out all kinds of other foods to no avail. Only abstaining from coffee and strong black tea seemed to lessen the symptoms. His symptoms sound so much like my husband's food sensitivity symptoms. So, after nearly a full month of success with his plan, he is feeling fantastic: more alive, alert, awake and motivated than he has felt in months. The stress he had been feeling seems to have disappeared. He couldn't understand why having a can of beer could make him feel so dreadfully tired and confused even hours later after a good sleep. Now he knows: he can't drink it! So, he expanded his decision to include all alcohol just in case it is the actual alcohol he is reacting to. I am very proud of him for his discipline because he does a lot of socializing with members of his local art scene and there is a lot of booze flowing freely at their dinners and events and gallery openings. Way to go son!
His full time artist's assistant job fell through at the end of last week. The direction of the show the artist thought he was going to be having changed drastically and there was no more work to be done. However, the fellow feels very badly and is calling on our son for a few hours of joe-boy work here and there. Our son contacted another fellow he assisted half time last year and the man was thrilled that our son wants to work for him again. Today he fired the fellow he had hired after our son left and has rehired our son for February and March. That buys him another couple of months to find more full time work, accommodates his trip to Vancouver and generally has brought some short term financial hope back on the scene. If President Trump's announcements today that the government workers there will return to work with pay for the next three weeks while other deals are being hammered out in government, it will make our son's trip back to Canada much easier as well. The transportation security workers have been part of that shut down and it looked like it was going to be a miserable walk through security for our son's flight out of NYC. Perhaps things will be better now when he travels.
He has found an even better storage unit deal, closer to Vancouver than Surrey and has got that set up now. This is good news!
He has spent this week of unemployment actually working on his own art works and is so enjoying having the time to do it. He has some appointments set up in Vancouver with a gallery owner and another art rep to talk about possibilities, just in case staying south of the border doesn't work out after his visa expires later this year. He is trying to set up some serious possibilities for representation and employment in Canada, just in case.........
The best part of our conversation was when he talked about how he is seeing the hand of God working through all the stresses in his life and how he is feeling a lot more peaceful about just letting God work out the details without his constant interference. hahaha That is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, particularly if it is in areas of life where we do have our own skills and abilities. haha He is pretty excited about God these days and that is always good to hear.
Grand to hear from the son!
So, another good boost to an all ready happy day. My husband is having a short nap so he will be up to a decent visit with his friends tonight. He had a happy afternoon working on some teaching prep for the session he is teaching for QSMM in February. It is on Genesis and Exodus and he is allowed to ask our OT group members if they would like to sit in on the session. Hopefully some of them will be able to come along.
The forecast now is for 20-25cm of snow along with accompanying winds of 77k. Yikes....at some point it is going to turn into a wild weekend weatherwise! Sounds like Manitoba and northern Ontario though will receive the lowest, most bone chilling temperatures. Montreal is scheduled for another blast of horrible weather, just as the city is cleaning up from their latest round of snowfall, frozen rain and flooding. New Brunswick is coming out of a dreadful storm as well. Good old Canadian winter.....you never know what is going to happen next!!
On January 1 he made a decision to stop all alcohol consumption. This is a fellow who, like his dad and grandma before him, likes his beer. He decided he wanted to go alcohol free so that he could see if that is what has been making him feel miserable and tired and fuzzy headed for the past year or more. He has been cutting out all kinds of other foods to no avail. Only abstaining from coffee and strong black tea seemed to lessen the symptoms. His symptoms sound so much like my husband's food sensitivity symptoms. So, after nearly a full month of success with his plan, he is feeling fantastic: more alive, alert, awake and motivated than he has felt in months. The stress he had been feeling seems to have disappeared. He couldn't understand why having a can of beer could make him feel so dreadfully tired and confused even hours later after a good sleep. Now he knows: he can't drink it! So, he expanded his decision to include all alcohol just in case it is the actual alcohol he is reacting to. I am very proud of him for his discipline because he does a lot of socializing with members of his local art scene and there is a lot of booze flowing freely at their dinners and events and gallery openings. Way to go son!
His full time artist's assistant job fell through at the end of last week. The direction of the show the artist thought he was going to be having changed drastically and there was no more work to be done. However, the fellow feels very badly and is calling on our son for a few hours of joe-boy work here and there. Our son contacted another fellow he assisted half time last year and the man was thrilled that our son wants to work for him again. Today he fired the fellow he had hired after our son left and has rehired our son for February and March. That buys him another couple of months to find more full time work, accommodates his trip to Vancouver and generally has brought some short term financial hope back on the scene. If President Trump's announcements today that the government workers there will return to work with pay for the next three weeks while other deals are being hammered out in government, it will make our son's trip back to Canada much easier as well. The transportation security workers have been part of that shut down and it looked like it was going to be a miserable walk through security for our son's flight out of NYC. Perhaps things will be better now when he travels.
He has found an even better storage unit deal, closer to Vancouver than Surrey and has got that set up now. This is good news!
He has spent this week of unemployment actually working on his own art works and is so enjoying having the time to do it. He has some appointments set up in Vancouver with a gallery owner and another art rep to talk about possibilities, just in case staying south of the border doesn't work out after his visa expires later this year. He is trying to set up some serious possibilities for representation and employment in Canada, just in case.........
The best part of our conversation was when he talked about how he is seeing the hand of God working through all the stresses in his life and how he is feeling a lot more peaceful about just letting God work out the details without his constant interference. hahaha That is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, particularly if it is in areas of life where we do have our own skills and abilities. haha He is pretty excited about God these days and that is always good to hear.
Grand to hear from the son!
So, another good boost to an all ready happy day. My husband is having a short nap so he will be up to a decent visit with his friends tonight. He had a happy afternoon working on some teaching prep for the session he is teaching for QSMM in February. It is on Genesis and Exodus and he is allowed to ask our OT group members if they would like to sit in on the session. Hopefully some of them will be able to come along.
The forecast now is for 20-25cm of snow along with accompanying winds of 77k. Yikes....at some point it is going to turn into a wild weekend weatherwise! Sounds like Manitoba and northern Ontario though will receive the lowest, most bone chilling temperatures. Montreal is scheduled for another blast of horrible weather, just as the city is cleaning up from their latest round of snowfall, frozen rain and flooding. New Brunswick is coming out of a dreadful storm as well. Good old Canadian winter.....you never know what is going to happen next!!
Sun Dog At Morning, Prairie-ites Take Warning!
For most of this morning there has been a rather large and obvious "sun dog" up in the sky. For those of you who do not know what that is, a sun dog is rather like a pale, rainbow coloured aura up close to the sun. This one completely encompasses the sun. The presence of sun dogs usually indicates a coming storm and our forecast agrees with that possibility. Regina is sitting in a forecast storm belt extending down from the Arctic and north western Alberta. At the moment it appears we are right in its path, so may see a tremendous amount of snow and gale force winds by tomorrow and/or the day afterward. Brrrrrr....they are beautiful to watch from the safety of the indoors, but I am ever so grateful neither my husband nor myself has to be out on the highways this weekend battling terrible weather.
While my husband was attending yet another men's breakfast meeting, hahaha, I headed up to the clinic for my Prolia shot. What a relief that everything went smoothly and I was feeling no dizziness or other problem to prevent me from safely running some errands afterward.
What a relief to have the studded tires on our car again this winter. Some of the residential intersections are like glass this morning and I came a bit too close for comfort to sliding across a main intersection I needed to cross! There would definitely have been an accident as there was a lot of traffic crossing in front of me! Thank you Lord that the studs grabbed in time. The snow still on the side roads is densely packed, so the layer on top is ice. Fortunately it is a thin layer and the studs can grab through it usually into the softer snow beneath. Most relieved that my morning was less exciting than it would have been if I couldn't have stopped. YAY! 😅
Tonight my husband is meeting up with a couple of guys for dinner at The Lobby. Then I will drive the three of them over to Conexus Centre for the annual Beer, Bacon and Bands event. Going together is a tradition. They rarely see each other elsewhere and they have a great time sampling wee mugs of craft beers, enjoying "bacon EVERYTHING" and vibing to the incredible bands...although my husband usually takes ear plugs to protect his hearing. One of the other wives will collect them afterward and drop them off at home. I am kind of looking forward to an evening on my own to do as little as possible! hahaha Not that I am doing much more than that anyway, but.......hahaha
For now the sun is shining, the temperature is manageable for short walks like I had earlier this morning, the sky is blue. It is quite a lovely January day and I can only pray that whatever storm we end up getting will not create terrible problems for travellers and residents this weekend. We are wondering if anyone will be in attendance at the adult Sunday School class my husband is scheduled to teach this weekend. I am excited that he will also be teaching a two hour session in February for the Qu'Appelle School for Mission and Ministry! YAY!
Oooh, how I wish he could afford to retire! He is so enjoying making new friends with retirees, participating in good discussions with peers, finding new coffee spots with them, going to Bible studies during the daytime hours and getting lots of recovery time between job searches and applications. He is happier than I have seen him in a very long time as he savours the ability to be less stressed about being unemployed for awhile than he has been able to be in previous "between jobs" limbo times. It is all good and I am grateful!
While my husband was attending yet another men's breakfast meeting, hahaha, I headed up to the clinic for my Prolia shot. What a relief that everything went smoothly and I was feeling no dizziness or other problem to prevent me from safely running some errands afterward.
What a relief to have the studded tires on our car again this winter. Some of the residential intersections are like glass this morning and I came a bit too close for comfort to sliding across a main intersection I needed to cross! There would definitely have been an accident as there was a lot of traffic crossing in front of me! Thank you Lord that the studs grabbed in time. The snow still on the side roads is densely packed, so the layer on top is ice. Fortunately it is a thin layer and the studs can grab through it usually into the softer snow beneath. Most relieved that my morning was less exciting than it would have been if I couldn't have stopped. YAY! 😅
Tonight my husband is meeting up with a couple of guys for dinner at The Lobby. Then I will drive the three of them over to Conexus Centre for the annual Beer, Bacon and Bands event. Going together is a tradition. They rarely see each other elsewhere and they have a great time sampling wee mugs of craft beers, enjoying "bacon EVERYTHING" and vibing to the incredible bands...although my husband usually takes ear plugs to protect his hearing. One of the other wives will collect them afterward and drop them off at home. I am kind of looking forward to an evening on my own to do as little as possible! hahaha Not that I am doing much more than that anyway, but.......hahaha
For now the sun is shining, the temperature is manageable for short walks like I had earlier this morning, the sky is blue. It is quite a lovely January day and I can only pray that whatever storm we end up getting will not create terrible problems for travellers and residents this weekend. We are wondering if anyone will be in attendance at the adult Sunday School class my husband is scheduled to teach this weekend. I am excited that he will also be teaching a two hour session in February for the Qu'Appelle School for Mission and Ministry! YAY!
Oooh, how I wish he could afford to retire! He is so enjoying making new friends with retirees, participating in good discussions with peers, finding new coffee spots with them, going to Bible studies during the daytime hours and getting lots of recovery time between job searches and applications. He is happier than I have seen him in a very long time as he savours the ability to be less stressed about being unemployed for awhile than he has been able to be in previous "between jobs" limbo times. It is all good and I am grateful!
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Back into the Icy Depths of Winter!
Today started off with very nice weather once again, so my husband walked a long round trip to a men's breakfast and I walked a rather shorter path to the pharmacy to order my medication that I need for Friday's injection. When we both left home the temperature was -9C and there was a slight chilly breeze. While not quite as warm and calm as yesterday, it was still a brilliant idea to go walking. Fortunately we both returned home before the winds came up to blow snow all around and the temperature began its drop toward tonight's -25C. Brrrrrr!!! After lunch I shovelled out a path to the car, but now, after dinner, it has blown in again and will require another attempt to clear it off. Glad I all ready shovelled it once because I have far less snow to move when I go out again than my neighbours who haven't tried moving any of the piles of snow yet from in front of their own suites. What a thrill though to be able to sneak in one more walk outdoors this month before the bad weather socks in for a longer term.
Unfortunately being out in the fresh winter air two days in a row gave me one of my rare but painful "cold air allergy" headaches this afternoon, but once the shovelling was done I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and relaxing. The headache is gone, but I feel like I have been hit by a bus so will miss my reading group this evening. Just as well as I don't feel like having to shovel my way through the drifts to a cold vehicle and coming home later tonight when it is even colder. Tomorrow my husband and I have some errands to run and that will be enough cold air for me before going to choir tomorrow evening.
I had an interesting encounter with a scam caller today. In the past three days I have had seven calls from this same scam call centre and am extremely fed up. The numbers of origin continue to change, all out of service numbers for our city that these creeps have hacked into for their use. I asked the caller how to have my number removed from his list and his response was that he was not going to remove my number and was going to continue to call me, then hung up in my ear before I could respond. Sigh....what would make him think I would fall prey to his particular scam after such a rude comment and a hang up on his part? Dumber than a bag of hammers these people!! Well, at least I didn't get a call from them again today! I am so sick of hearing recordings claiming my credit card interest has been reduced to zero percent, that I have been selected by a credit card company I don't even have a card with to win a travel voucher of several hundred dollars and that I have won a free vacation from Costco....a retailer I don't even have a membership with. hahahahaha
I have decided, after being so spoiled by mild winter weather for the most part this season, that I truly detest winter. That feeling will last until the first snowfall of next winter when I am once again in awe of the white, pristine beauty that first snowfall provides to cover the brown and grey autumn in this province. hahahaha
Unfortunately being out in the fresh winter air two days in a row gave me one of my rare but painful "cold air allergy" headaches this afternoon, but once the shovelling was done I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and relaxing. The headache is gone, but I feel like I have been hit by a bus so will miss my reading group this evening. Just as well as I don't feel like having to shovel my way through the drifts to a cold vehicle and coming home later tonight when it is even colder. Tomorrow my husband and I have some errands to run and that will be enough cold air for me before going to choir tomorrow evening.
I had an interesting encounter with a scam caller today. In the past three days I have had seven calls from this same scam call centre and am extremely fed up. The numbers of origin continue to change, all out of service numbers for our city that these creeps have hacked into for their use. I asked the caller how to have my number removed from his list and his response was that he was not going to remove my number and was going to continue to call me, then hung up in my ear before I could respond. Sigh....what would make him think I would fall prey to his particular scam after such a rude comment and a hang up on his part? Dumber than a bag of hammers these people!! Well, at least I didn't get a call from them again today! I am so sick of hearing recordings claiming my credit card interest has been reduced to zero percent, that I have been selected by a credit card company I don't even have a card with to win a travel voucher of several hundred dollars and that I have won a free vacation from Costco....a retailer I don't even have a membership with. hahahahaha
I have decided, after being so spoiled by mild winter weather for the most part this season, that I truly detest winter. That feeling will last until the first snowfall of next winter when I am once again in awe of the white, pristine beauty that first snowfall provides to cover the brown and grey autumn in this province. hahahaha
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Days Like This....Wow...So Lovely!!
At the moment it is -7C outside, on its way to a forecast high of -4C. How absolutely lovely it is at this moment with only the gentlest of breezes and bright sunshine gleaming through the occasional patch of sketchy cloud cover. A perfect day for a walk outside! On the prairies!! IN JANUARY NO LESS!!! YIPEEEEEEEE!!! 👧
So, after my haircut this morning at Cornwall Centre....thank you Danielle at Chatters for the wonderful cut as per usual....I munched down a Zam Zam Wraps chicken shawarma salad and then decided to skip the bus trip back home and walk instead. It was perfect. Although the snow remaining in the intersections is glossy and slippery from being packed down by the traffic, taking my sweet time while crossing kept me upright. A bit of pavement frost on the downtown streets made for some slow going, but it wasn't bad. Once I cleared downtown the frost seemed to clear up. Even on some of the sidewalks where the surrounding residents and business owners have not cleared off the most recent dump of snow, there is sufficient soft snow on top of the packed bits to give my boots excellent traction. My 3.2km walk home turned into a nearly 40 minute event because I was being so slow and careful, but o how I enjoyed it! I cannot remember the last time I went for a walk outside of any length on the third week of January since leaving the Alberta chinook belt years ago! That kind of decent walk is so energizing and motivating.
The Cornwall Centre is undergoing some roofing repairs so it isn't the most "classy lookin' joint" at the moment, but more depressing is having 4 more businesses closed out in there. Sigh....the economic downturn is obviously continuing in our fair city. Gone are The Gap, Gap Kids, the Calendar Store and Roots. I wonder how long it will be until even more of the retail businesses are gone. There is so little downtown for retail shopping as it is....very depressing. I suppose, like other small cities and large towns, Regina is falling prey to the onset of box stores located around the perimeter of the city.
The price of a haircut for me has risen by $5 this new year, but that is okay. It has taken several decades to find a stylist that knows what to do with my wierd hair and I can still pay $50 for the cut, various taxes and a tip. Still pretty reasonable on a comparative basis. There is something to be said for having the same stylist all the time rather than going bargain basement pricing at "walk-ins only" salons where you get a different person almost every visit, with varying results on the quality of the cut and style.
Got some good news from a BC friend yesterday. After a long break since his last ministry position and time recently spent in a manufacturing sector, he was given a chance to preach at his church this past weekend. It is in a denomination not usually known for allowing pastors who are not long time members of it to be in the pulpit sharing teaching messages, but our friend got that chance and is being encouraged by the leadership there to turn his heart back toward his calling in ministry. We are excited to see what God will do for him. We listened to his sermon online and it is excellent, so well thought out and researched.
Tonight is a return to OT discussion group after not being able to go last week. So, I suppose I had better get the rest of the reading done for the session. We are discussing Lamentations and moving on into the first part of Ezekiel this evening. Not exactly light reading......
A new friend at church is a representationtational artist, specializing in prairie scenes. While most of the paintings she has on her website that interest me have all ready been sold, I did find a small acrylic on canvas that I like and that is reasonably priced. It is small enough to fit into a space still free on my living room wall and will be a standout among the several photographs all ready hanging there. I can pick it up at church on Sunday. I love being able to support a local artist, even with a small purchase. So happy for a gift of money I received at Christmas! I am spending what remains of it on myself for a change! hahaha
I got a bad shock this morning as I was getting dressed for the day: I put on a pair of pants I have not worn in over a year and with my teeshirt tucked in they are skin tight around the middle...not to the point of being unwearable, but still, I was shocked because I thought I had lost a lot of the weight I gained last spring/summer. All the way to my hair appointment I was fretting, until I got home and had reason to check the size label in the pants: they are a full size smaller than the size I have been wearing for the past 2-3 years! I then remembered why they have been hanging in the back of my closet for so long. They were too tight shortly after I purchased them and I wasn't sure what to do with them...now I can at least wear them. If I wear a shirt that doesn't need tucking in, I will be able to wear them rather comfortably. Things are not quite as bad with my weight loss situation as I thought earlier this morning! YIPPEE!!
Okay...gotta get reading....Lamentations and Ezekiel....here I come! It is going to be difficult to concentrate when all I want to do is go outside for another walk!
So, after my haircut this morning at Cornwall Centre....thank you Danielle at Chatters for the wonderful cut as per usual....I munched down a Zam Zam Wraps chicken shawarma salad and then decided to skip the bus trip back home and walk instead. It was perfect. Although the snow remaining in the intersections is glossy and slippery from being packed down by the traffic, taking my sweet time while crossing kept me upright. A bit of pavement frost on the downtown streets made for some slow going, but it wasn't bad. Once I cleared downtown the frost seemed to clear up. Even on some of the sidewalks where the surrounding residents and business owners have not cleared off the most recent dump of snow, there is sufficient soft snow on top of the packed bits to give my boots excellent traction. My 3.2km walk home turned into a nearly 40 minute event because I was being so slow and careful, but o how I enjoyed it! I cannot remember the last time I went for a walk outside of any length on the third week of January since leaving the Alberta chinook belt years ago! That kind of decent walk is so energizing and motivating.
The Cornwall Centre is undergoing some roofing repairs so it isn't the most "classy lookin' joint" at the moment, but more depressing is having 4 more businesses closed out in there. Sigh....the economic downturn is obviously continuing in our fair city. Gone are The Gap, Gap Kids, the Calendar Store and Roots. I wonder how long it will be until even more of the retail businesses are gone. There is so little downtown for retail shopping as it is....very depressing. I suppose, like other small cities and large towns, Regina is falling prey to the onset of box stores located around the perimeter of the city.
The price of a haircut for me has risen by $5 this new year, but that is okay. It has taken several decades to find a stylist that knows what to do with my wierd hair and I can still pay $50 for the cut, various taxes and a tip. Still pretty reasonable on a comparative basis. There is something to be said for having the same stylist all the time rather than going bargain basement pricing at "walk-ins only" salons where you get a different person almost every visit, with varying results on the quality of the cut and style.
Got some good news from a BC friend yesterday. After a long break since his last ministry position and time recently spent in a manufacturing sector, he was given a chance to preach at his church this past weekend. It is in a denomination not usually known for allowing pastors who are not long time members of it to be in the pulpit sharing teaching messages, but our friend got that chance and is being encouraged by the leadership there to turn his heart back toward his calling in ministry. We are excited to see what God will do for him. We listened to his sermon online and it is excellent, so well thought out and researched.
Tonight is a return to OT discussion group after not being able to go last week. So, I suppose I had better get the rest of the reading done for the session. We are discussing Lamentations and moving on into the first part of Ezekiel this evening. Not exactly light reading......
A new friend at church is a representationtational artist, specializing in prairie scenes. While most of the paintings she has on her website that interest me have all ready been sold, I did find a small acrylic on canvas that I like and that is reasonably priced. It is small enough to fit into a space still free on my living room wall and will be a standout among the several photographs all ready hanging there. I can pick it up at church on Sunday. I love being able to support a local artist, even with a small purchase. So happy for a gift of money I received at Christmas! I am spending what remains of it on myself for a change! hahaha
I got a bad shock this morning as I was getting dressed for the day: I put on a pair of pants I have not worn in over a year and with my teeshirt tucked in they are skin tight around the middle...not to the point of being unwearable, but still, I was shocked because I thought I had lost a lot of the weight I gained last spring/summer. All the way to my hair appointment I was fretting, until I got home and had reason to check the size label in the pants: they are a full size smaller than the size I have been wearing for the past 2-3 years! I then remembered why they have been hanging in the back of my closet for so long. They were too tight shortly after I purchased them and I wasn't sure what to do with them...now I can at least wear them. If I wear a shirt that doesn't need tucking in, I will be able to wear them rather comfortably. Things are not quite as bad with my weight loss situation as I thought earlier this morning! YIPPEE!!
Okay...gotta get reading....Lamentations and Ezekiel....here I come! It is going to be difficult to concentrate when all I want to do is go outside for another walk!
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Sunday Seems To Often Be the Not So Good News Day
What is it about Sundays and receiving less than encouraging news from family members?
Over the past 5 weeks, one or the other of my parents has been rushed to hospital on a Sunday afternoon or evening 3 times. A couple of weeks ago was when our son found out he had to go to Vancouver to liberate the paintings he has in storage and get them moved....on a Sunday evening. Today he emailed us to ask for prayer because the full time job he thought was going to last until the end of March is suddenly drying up and he is scrambling to find more work, praying his other part time employer who he left in December for what was to be this longer term full time position, will take him back at least part time again. As he said in his email: his intention has been to clear off his financial obligations and outstanding debts with full time work and get everything paid off as soon as possible, but God seems to have other ideas. So, we told him that God is likely maneuvering his circumstances in preparation for a change of direction once again. It seems, in our family at least, that life in the present has to kind of go to hell in a handbasket so that we are ready to accept changes that may have seemed less appealing if life and finances were going well. Now he has extended his upcoming trip to Vancouver by a couple of days so he can meet with some of his art contacts there. Full time work has got to happen soon on one side of the border or the other and he is really curious to see what God is going to do to direct and help him. It has been a test of his committment to complete sobriety but he has passed that test with flying colours all month. We suspect he has been developing a sensitivity to alcohol over the past couple of years because even a glass or wine or a pint of beer leaves him feeling ill and foggy brained, very similar to his dad's food sensitivities. Fortunately our son recognized the symptoms quickly, confirmed with us when he was here that not ever drinking anything alcoholic, no matter how little or how far between drinks, would be the best course of action. He said he was tempted to have a drink the other night during a most awkward first date, but he prayed and resisted. hahaha Yup, an awkward blind date would be a most tempting situation to risk feeling mogey! hahaha
My husband got the news today that he didn't get a job he was interested in. While that is not the worst news in the world, because he has no idea yet what is going to happen, it is one less possibility and the path to church work positions, particularly at his age, is going to take some time....more time than he wants to take, but that is okay.
So, Sundays are becoming "brace yourself" days! hahahaha Isn't it cool that iffy and even bad news have confined their arrival to pretty much one day a week?? hahaha
And it isn't all bad news either: my husband navigated the icy, snow drifted highway to his church service this morning with very little problem. Even in the city where the roads have glazed over and become very icy today, we both drove the vehicle with no slippage problems due to our wonderful studded tires. At what was his final service in that parish today, he got a round of applause and many invitations to return to do services whenever he can. There was a lot of disappointment that he cannot remain in their employ at this time. His sermon went over well, a group of visiting Roman Catholic priests and their parisioners gave him a lot of affirmation about how talking about the Joy of the Lord was exactly what they needed to hear today. Once again he has left a position on a high note. It has encouraged him to continue in his job search.
The service at my church was a lot of fun today too. I didn't sing in the choir because my voice is too tired and scratchy, but wow, they sounded extra good today....maybe because I wasn't there???? hahaha Anyway, hearing them bolstered my confidence that being in that group is truly what I want. Now that I am feeling more rested, assuming this scratchy throat doesn't turn into an infection, I will joyously return later this week for rehearsal.
The adult Learning For Life group who meet prior to the service had an excellent discussion on aging and purpose based on Viktor E. Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning. The class ended at just the right point today for my husband to pick it up next Sunday and the discussion today will lead perfectly into the ideas and discussions he will be leading.
We had an old coupon for Leopold's Tavern downtown that they still honoured for us today at lunch. The pounding music wasn't pounding quite as hard as it sometimes is, we could actually hear ourselves talk, and since we arrived after 1pm, the lunch crowd soon left. We had a marvellous time and my taco salad with spicy beef was as delicious as I remember it. It has been months since we were last there.
Despite the cold, I think we will run a few errands tomorrow. It is good to get acclimatized again to the winter. We are in need of filling up our large water jugs with R/O water and there are a few groceries it would be nice to get ahead on before the end of this month. Fortunately we don't have to hop out of bed super early to get our errands done. I want to get the phone bill paid because the rest of my week is consumed with little medical details that will derail my memory for paying it later on.
So, life goes on and all will be well and all will be well........ Amen!
Over the past 5 weeks, one or the other of my parents has been rushed to hospital on a Sunday afternoon or evening 3 times. A couple of weeks ago was when our son found out he had to go to Vancouver to liberate the paintings he has in storage and get them moved....on a Sunday evening. Today he emailed us to ask for prayer because the full time job he thought was going to last until the end of March is suddenly drying up and he is scrambling to find more work, praying his other part time employer who he left in December for what was to be this longer term full time position, will take him back at least part time again. As he said in his email: his intention has been to clear off his financial obligations and outstanding debts with full time work and get everything paid off as soon as possible, but God seems to have other ideas. So, we told him that God is likely maneuvering his circumstances in preparation for a change of direction once again. It seems, in our family at least, that life in the present has to kind of go to hell in a handbasket so that we are ready to accept changes that may have seemed less appealing if life and finances were going well. Now he has extended his upcoming trip to Vancouver by a couple of days so he can meet with some of his art contacts there. Full time work has got to happen soon on one side of the border or the other and he is really curious to see what God is going to do to direct and help him. It has been a test of his committment to complete sobriety but he has passed that test with flying colours all month. We suspect he has been developing a sensitivity to alcohol over the past couple of years because even a glass or wine or a pint of beer leaves him feeling ill and foggy brained, very similar to his dad's food sensitivities. Fortunately our son recognized the symptoms quickly, confirmed with us when he was here that not ever drinking anything alcoholic, no matter how little or how far between drinks, would be the best course of action. He said he was tempted to have a drink the other night during a most awkward first date, but he prayed and resisted. hahaha Yup, an awkward blind date would be a most tempting situation to risk feeling mogey! hahaha
My husband got the news today that he didn't get a job he was interested in. While that is not the worst news in the world, because he has no idea yet what is going to happen, it is one less possibility and the path to church work positions, particularly at his age, is going to take some time....more time than he wants to take, but that is okay.
So, Sundays are becoming "brace yourself" days! hahahaha Isn't it cool that iffy and even bad news have confined their arrival to pretty much one day a week?? hahaha
And it isn't all bad news either: my husband navigated the icy, snow drifted highway to his church service this morning with very little problem. Even in the city where the roads have glazed over and become very icy today, we both drove the vehicle with no slippage problems due to our wonderful studded tires. At what was his final service in that parish today, he got a round of applause and many invitations to return to do services whenever he can. There was a lot of disappointment that he cannot remain in their employ at this time. His sermon went over well, a group of visiting Roman Catholic priests and their parisioners gave him a lot of affirmation about how talking about the Joy of the Lord was exactly what they needed to hear today. Once again he has left a position on a high note. It has encouraged him to continue in his job search.
The service at my church was a lot of fun today too. I didn't sing in the choir because my voice is too tired and scratchy, but wow, they sounded extra good today....maybe because I wasn't there???? hahaha Anyway, hearing them bolstered my confidence that being in that group is truly what I want. Now that I am feeling more rested, assuming this scratchy throat doesn't turn into an infection, I will joyously return later this week for rehearsal.
The adult Learning For Life group who meet prior to the service had an excellent discussion on aging and purpose based on Viktor E. Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning. The class ended at just the right point today for my husband to pick it up next Sunday and the discussion today will lead perfectly into the ideas and discussions he will be leading.
We had an old coupon for Leopold's Tavern downtown that they still honoured for us today at lunch. The pounding music wasn't pounding quite as hard as it sometimes is, we could actually hear ourselves talk, and since we arrived after 1pm, the lunch crowd soon left. We had a marvellous time and my taco salad with spicy beef was as delicious as I remember it. It has been months since we were last there.
Despite the cold, I think we will run a few errands tomorrow. It is good to get acclimatized again to the winter. We are in need of filling up our large water jugs with R/O water and there are a few groceries it would be nice to get ahead on before the end of this month. Fortunately we don't have to hop out of bed super early to get our errands done. I want to get the phone bill paid because the rest of my week is consumed with little medical details that will derail my memory for paying it later on.
So, life goes on and all will be well and all will be well........ Amen!
Saturday, January 19, 2019
So Many Good Things. So Much Joy.
Despite the blasted, freezing cold weather, life is going well. Tonight I am sitting here watching the snow falling outside, feeling grateful we are not caught out on the highway in blowing snow and drifts and hoping the snow piles will be cleared off the road by the time my husband has to drive out to his little rural parish for his final morning service there. One of his duties tomorrow will be introducing the congregation to the clergy person who is going to be their new regular officiant. Although it is sad to say farewell to these lovely folk, my husband realizes he needs a complete break from all things Anglican for a few weeks while he regroups and gets himself sorted out for future plans. I agree with him.
We had such a wonderful experience last evening. We were asked to come and play board games with the First Baptist youth group and to give a brief testimony about our lives in Jesus. What fun. Some of the junior high boys got playing Chinese checkers with my husband....is it still okay to call them that or is there some kind of new, more politically correct name for that game???? One never knows any more does one?
I enjoyed a few rounds of a card game and also some of the MANY snacks the adults brought to this intergenerational game night. There were 14 adults over the age of 50 and 15 kids between the ages of 12 and 16. What fun we all had. The kids didn't seem to mind at all that we oldies crashed their Friday night group. When my husband and I gave our testimonies, the kids were attentive and interested...what a nice surprise. It was a wonderful evening for both of us.
This morning my husband rode across the city with a friend to a men's breakfast. He brought home two strips of bacon from his meal: two GIANT thick slabs of side bacon that we cut into four pieces and chilled for future use. WOW! He could only justify eating one such strip at the actual breakfast and will get at least 3 more meals out of the remaining ones. While he was there enjoying the food and conversation, I was at my book club brunch. O my....urp, burp, slurp!! It was a great time of eating, fellowship and vibrant discussion about the book we just finished reading. There were 15 of us and we managed to eat almost every bite of the three sorts of muffins, teensy quiches, "pigs in blankets" , Spanish eggs, pan style "mcmuffins", blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, apple, melon, cherries, fruit dip, waffles, whipping cream, maple syrup, cinnamon buns, peach loaf and and and and and....there are several items I can't even remember. There was SO MUCH FOOD...and we ATE ALMOST ALL OF IT!!! Yikes! It was worth upending my meal schedule once again so that I could enjoy this feast with the other ladies.
I managed to get my severely bloated self home again, only to discover, an hour later, that I forgot to stop at the store to pick up eggs. Sigh.... Out into the cold weather once again, but I got the eggs and now don't have to shop at all for a few days. YAY! As soon as I got home I changed into my Mark's Comfy Robe and soon afterward the snow began to fall, making the city look so clean and pretty.
Since the church my husband is attending tomorrow changed their service time to a later part of the morning, I WILL be able to go to my own service tomorrow without having to wait for the bus. My dear husband can drop me off on his way out of town, just in time for adult elective Sunday school. I will be able to report what was discussed so that he can better tailor the class he is teaching them next week to dovetail with tomorrow's class. I just knew I wasn't going to be able to resist going to the service once I found out he could drop me there and pick me up afterward. Rest, schmest...who needs it???
Next week will be a bit stressful, balancing the arranging of my next injection meds at the pharmacy and coordinating the actual date of order with my husband's health insurance company so that I get the cost covered. If I order a day too soon after the previous order I will not be covered. Then I have to make certain I can get an appointment at the clinic to receive the injection within 24 hours of its arrival. Since that is going to be on the Friday and my doctor doesn't always work on Fridays, I will have to find out who else can adminster it...probably every doctor there, but will any of them have time? I am thrilled the injections are helping me so dramatically, but time sensitive injections can become stressful and complicated when adminstering dates fall on or close to weekends when the clinics are not open here. So, here's hoping for a good week without a lot of medical glitches!!
Tuesday morning I have a hair appointment, so that is always delightfully relaxing. I am so looking forward to it! My hair is a nice length, but it is refusing to curl under at the ends, is needing more product to hold its shape all day....so, time for a cut. Since my husband will likely be busy that day with his own projects, I may just step out afterward to Zam's for my favorite chicken shawarma salad lunch. It has been quite awhile since the last one!
So....my idea to take a week off from all activities didn't quite work out. I missed OT on Tuesday and choir rehearsal on Thursday and subsequently will not sing with the choir tomorrow morning in the service, but I didn't want to miss the games night nor the book club brunch...so....maybe sometime soon I will make another attempt to stay home for a week. I feel well and that is the main thing. After next week I may be in even greater need for a week off, who knows.....
Better get to bed and read myself to sleep. I have a book I want to finish so I can pass it on to a church friend tomorrow morning.
Blessings on your Sunday everyone. Please pray for safe travel for my husband. Thanks 😇 !
We had such a wonderful experience last evening. We were asked to come and play board games with the First Baptist youth group and to give a brief testimony about our lives in Jesus. What fun. Some of the junior high boys got playing Chinese checkers with my husband....is it still okay to call them that or is there some kind of new, more politically correct name for that game???? One never knows any more does one?
I enjoyed a few rounds of a card game and also some of the MANY snacks the adults brought to this intergenerational game night. There were 14 adults over the age of 50 and 15 kids between the ages of 12 and 16. What fun we all had. The kids didn't seem to mind at all that we oldies crashed their Friday night group. When my husband and I gave our testimonies, the kids were attentive and interested...what a nice surprise. It was a wonderful evening for both of us.
This morning my husband rode across the city with a friend to a men's breakfast. He brought home two strips of bacon from his meal: two GIANT thick slabs of side bacon that we cut into four pieces and chilled for future use. WOW! He could only justify eating one such strip at the actual breakfast and will get at least 3 more meals out of the remaining ones. While he was there enjoying the food and conversation, I was at my book club brunch. O my....urp, burp, slurp!! It was a great time of eating, fellowship and vibrant discussion about the book we just finished reading. There were 15 of us and we managed to eat almost every bite of the three sorts of muffins, teensy quiches, "pigs in blankets" , Spanish eggs, pan style "mcmuffins", blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, apple, melon, cherries, fruit dip, waffles, whipping cream, maple syrup, cinnamon buns, peach loaf and and and and and....there are several items I can't even remember. There was SO MUCH FOOD...and we ATE ALMOST ALL OF IT!!! Yikes! It was worth upending my meal schedule once again so that I could enjoy this feast with the other ladies.
I managed to get my severely bloated self home again, only to discover, an hour later, that I forgot to stop at the store to pick up eggs. Sigh.... Out into the cold weather once again, but I got the eggs and now don't have to shop at all for a few days. YAY! As soon as I got home I changed into my Mark's Comfy Robe and soon afterward the snow began to fall, making the city look so clean and pretty.
Since the church my husband is attending tomorrow changed their service time to a later part of the morning, I WILL be able to go to my own service tomorrow without having to wait for the bus. My dear husband can drop me off on his way out of town, just in time for adult elective Sunday school. I will be able to report what was discussed so that he can better tailor the class he is teaching them next week to dovetail with tomorrow's class. I just knew I wasn't going to be able to resist going to the service once I found out he could drop me there and pick me up afterward. Rest, schmest...who needs it???
Next week will be a bit stressful, balancing the arranging of my next injection meds at the pharmacy and coordinating the actual date of order with my husband's health insurance company so that I get the cost covered. If I order a day too soon after the previous order I will not be covered. Then I have to make certain I can get an appointment at the clinic to receive the injection within 24 hours of its arrival. Since that is going to be on the Friday and my doctor doesn't always work on Fridays, I will have to find out who else can adminster it...probably every doctor there, but will any of them have time? I am thrilled the injections are helping me so dramatically, but time sensitive injections can become stressful and complicated when adminstering dates fall on or close to weekends when the clinics are not open here. So, here's hoping for a good week without a lot of medical glitches!!
Tuesday morning I have a hair appointment, so that is always delightfully relaxing. I am so looking forward to it! My hair is a nice length, but it is refusing to curl under at the ends, is needing more product to hold its shape all day....so, time for a cut. Since my husband will likely be busy that day with his own projects, I may just step out afterward to Zam's for my favorite chicken shawarma salad lunch. It has been quite awhile since the last one!
So....my idea to take a week off from all activities didn't quite work out. I missed OT on Tuesday and choir rehearsal on Thursday and subsequently will not sing with the choir tomorrow morning in the service, but I didn't want to miss the games night nor the book club brunch...so....maybe sometime soon I will make another attempt to stay home for a week. I feel well and that is the main thing. After next week I may be in even greater need for a week off, who knows.....
Better get to bed and read myself to sleep. I have a book I want to finish so I can pass it on to a church friend tomorrow morning.
Blessings on your Sunday everyone. Please pray for safe travel for my husband. Thanks 😇 !
Thursday, January 17, 2019
And The Day Contined To Get Better =) =) =)
As I was about to begin preparing my 2pm late lunch, the doorbell rang. Standing there was my Egyptian Muslim friend who I have not been able to reach since September and have been concerned about.
She brought me the most beautiful gifts today from her summer trip to her family home in Cairo: a beautiful, brightly coloured ink drawing on papyrus paper of two ancient Egyptian women, a small ring box and a set of coasters made from wood and crushed seashells....so very lovely!
Turns out that a month after she and the kids arrived back here from overseas, the company her husband was working for as a ITT consultant, did not receive any more government contracts after a steady stream of them for several years. Her husband was benched for a few weeks, but he was able in the meantime to come up with two employment situations elsewhere, so rather than sit around waiting to be laid off, he tried to investigate both his signed offers. One was in the western USA. When he tried to cross the border for his interview, he was told he would have to have a security check going back seven years. The first six years were no problem, but seven years ago he had a contract position in Saudi Arabia. Likely because of the bad blood currently existing between there and North America, he was refused entrance to the USA. He was very upset, but thought he would be okay as the other offer was in a state much farther to the east. When he tried to cross the border there, he was told in no uncertain terms that if he is really a consultant, then he would have the ability to work from his Canadian home and again was denied access despite the pleading from the American company that wanted to hire him. Back home he went, discouraged and angry and bitterly disappointed. Soon he had another contract, this time in Quebec. He left in early December to get started and has been there ever since. Now there is a problem with getting paid by his employer, so today he refused to work and was told oh, he will be paid in full tomorrow. During this time he and his brother were attempting to open a retail store in our area, but it appears the reason the project fell through at the last minute may have been racially or religiously motivated. Our friend has been going through hell, as has his family and finally today we were told about it and we are now free to be as helpful as we can be with our own unemployment circumstances. My friend didn't feel so ashamed of their problems when she discovered we are experiencing employment issues of our own and we had a marvellous visit. Please pray for Ner and Mo to find not only work but the source of all good things. Thank you. Their kids are crying every day after school because they miss their dad and are so afraid they will have to leave their school friends to move to Quebec. Tough times. Ner has never had to be concerned with things like car repairs and banking etc., so she is on a steep learning curve. Those are the sorts of things we can help her learn.
By the time I finally ate my lunch...after 4pm, I knew I would not be able to change my mind about going to choir rehearsal. Dinner for me would have to be at about 9pm and that eliminated the possibility of going after all. I think that was for the best in the end. Tomorrow will be busy enough with baking and preparing my testimony talk for church youth tomorrow evening....o Lord...pray for me. It has been SO long since having to try to relate to kids between the ages of 12 and 18! I don't want to bore them senseless.
Blessings one and all.........nighty night...........
She brought me the most beautiful gifts today from her summer trip to her family home in Cairo: a beautiful, brightly coloured ink drawing on papyrus paper of two ancient Egyptian women, a small ring box and a set of coasters made from wood and crushed seashells....so very lovely!
Turns out that a month after she and the kids arrived back here from overseas, the company her husband was working for as a ITT consultant, did not receive any more government contracts after a steady stream of them for several years. Her husband was benched for a few weeks, but he was able in the meantime to come up with two employment situations elsewhere, so rather than sit around waiting to be laid off, he tried to investigate both his signed offers. One was in the western USA. When he tried to cross the border for his interview, he was told he would have to have a security check going back seven years. The first six years were no problem, but seven years ago he had a contract position in Saudi Arabia. Likely because of the bad blood currently existing between there and North America, he was refused entrance to the USA. He was very upset, but thought he would be okay as the other offer was in a state much farther to the east. When he tried to cross the border there, he was told in no uncertain terms that if he is really a consultant, then he would have the ability to work from his Canadian home and again was denied access despite the pleading from the American company that wanted to hire him. Back home he went, discouraged and angry and bitterly disappointed. Soon he had another contract, this time in Quebec. He left in early December to get started and has been there ever since. Now there is a problem with getting paid by his employer, so today he refused to work and was told oh, he will be paid in full tomorrow. During this time he and his brother were attempting to open a retail store in our area, but it appears the reason the project fell through at the last minute may have been racially or religiously motivated. Our friend has been going through hell, as has his family and finally today we were told about it and we are now free to be as helpful as we can be with our own unemployment circumstances. My friend didn't feel so ashamed of their problems when she discovered we are experiencing employment issues of our own and we had a marvellous visit. Please pray for Ner and Mo to find not only work but the source of all good things. Thank you. Their kids are crying every day after school because they miss their dad and are so afraid they will have to leave their school friends to move to Quebec. Tough times. Ner has never had to be concerned with things like car repairs and banking etc., so she is on a steep learning curve. Those are the sorts of things we can help her learn.
By the time I finally ate my lunch...after 4pm, I knew I would not be able to change my mind about going to choir rehearsal. Dinner for me would have to be at about 9pm and that eliminated the possibility of going after all. I think that was for the best in the end. Tomorrow will be busy enough with baking and preparing my testimony talk for church youth tomorrow evening....o Lord...pray for me. It has been SO long since having to try to relate to kids between the ages of 12 and 18! I don't want to bore them senseless.
Blessings one and all.........nighty night...........
Today Has Certainly Begin On A Brighter Note =)
Today has been rather delightful thus far and it is only noon hour! Quite a different day than yesterday.....yippee!
We both slept very well overnight, so I suspect that makes a definite difference in how we are viewing today compared to yesterday! YAY!!
Despite sleeping until 7:30am today, we managed to be at the Service Canada office by 8:30am. It meant that I ate 3 prunes for breakfast and prayed my blood sugar wouldn't get too low before I could eat properly, but that all worked out well. My husband was able to apply for his EI, get a new online federal government account set up and make up for all the problems he had online with it at home yesterday. While it is always a time consuming process, it went well as far as we can tell. At least the process has begun at last.
We parked about five blocks away from that first stop since parking closer into the downtown core is always a problem, but that meant we had a bit of a walk this morning. Despite the bitter wind, it did feel good to get out and about after my remaining at home all day yesterday. After we were done with my husband's business I was able to stop at a nearby bank and pay the utility bills on our way to eating a nice little breakfast at Fresh on Hamilton. We had delicious bacon, eggs and cheese on a light air bun. Yes it was greasy and fatty and also very tasty as a result. hahaha The bacon was cooked perfectly....no gross, undercooked fat hanging out the sides of the bun. The egg was freshly scrambled and the buns were so light they were not as high in carbs as I feared when I ordered them. It more than made up for the 3 prune hold over snack I had at 8am. Not being able to eat lunch now until 2pm is no big deal with no committments tonight. ALTHOUGH, depending on how I am feeling I may just go to choir rehearsal after all....since I booked off, I can still decide closer to the time without any stress of having to let the choir director know what I am doing. The forecast weather for Sunday morning is looking better than it has been until this morning, so perhaps I WILL stand outside and wait for a bus to church after all. It is just so nice to have the option to do as I please at the time, since no one is expecting my participation. How relaxing!!
After breakfast we delivered a book to a friend and we also picked up a handful of grocery items before we went home. We went to the same store my husband lost his mittens at last evening and guess what? The person who had taken them had an attack of conscience and returned them to the Lost and Found!!! My husband got his mittens and their warm liners back!!! Last night we prayed so much for the person who had taken them, that the mittens would be a warm winter blessing to whoever it was. Wow....the person actually returned them. I can hardly believe it. My husband is ecstatic and feeling so humbled by this answer to our prayers. Thank you Lord and do please bless the person who listened to her or his conscience and brought them back to the store. Wow!! Please let them know somehow that she or he did a very good and right thing.
The sun is shining brightly today. Why does it feel like such a wonderful day, a motivating day, a happy day, an "anything good could happen" kind of day, just by the addition of some sunshine. Yesterday our moods were not as good with the grey clouds covering up the beautiful sky. Does getting older make a person more susceptible to weather related mood swings? We both woke up feeling better than we did yesterday and that was before the sun was fully up and the clouds gone from the sky. Weather related feelings are still a puzzlement to me. However, we feel well today in every way, our "chores" today have been positive and my husband is free to spend the rest of the day filling out job applications and working on the hassle with synchronizing his computers.
Thank you God. AND thank YOU ALL for your continued prayers for Cee! His body continues to show signs of improvement as his chemo has progressed. He is having the last treatment of the first round today and a couple of days next week. Then he transitions, all being well, to far less frequent treatments that will continue on for the rest of his life probably, but at least the timing and frequency will be far more manageable for both him and his dear wife. How grateful everyone is that, although his form of cancer cannot be healed, it can be managed well! He will not have to spend the rest of his life bedridden and unable to function. He is being restored to life and to a more joyful existence. Thank you Lord!
No other news of note...just so grateful for the good things that have happened today! Thank you for caring..........
We both slept very well overnight, so I suspect that makes a definite difference in how we are viewing today compared to yesterday! YAY!!
Despite sleeping until 7:30am today, we managed to be at the Service Canada office by 8:30am. It meant that I ate 3 prunes for breakfast and prayed my blood sugar wouldn't get too low before I could eat properly, but that all worked out well. My husband was able to apply for his EI, get a new online federal government account set up and make up for all the problems he had online with it at home yesterday. While it is always a time consuming process, it went well as far as we can tell. At least the process has begun at last.
We parked about five blocks away from that first stop since parking closer into the downtown core is always a problem, but that meant we had a bit of a walk this morning. Despite the bitter wind, it did feel good to get out and about after my remaining at home all day yesterday. After we were done with my husband's business I was able to stop at a nearby bank and pay the utility bills on our way to eating a nice little breakfast at Fresh on Hamilton. We had delicious bacon, eggs and cheese on a light air bun. Yes it was greasy and fatty and also very tasty as a result. hahaha The bacon was cooked perfectly....no gross, undercooked fat hanging out the sides of the bun. The egg was freshly scrambled and the buns were so light they were not as high in carbs as I feared when I ordered them. It more than made up for the 3 prune hold over snack I had at 8am. Not being able to eat lunch now until 2pm is no big deal with no committments tonight. ALTHOUGH, depending on how I am feeling I may just go to choir rehearsal after all....since I booked off, I can still decide closer to the time without any stress of having to let the choir director know what I am doing. The forecast weather for Sunday morning is looking better than it has been until this morning, so perhaps I WILL stand outside and wait for a bus to church after all. It is just so nice to have the option to do as I please at the time, since no one is expecting my participation. How relaxing!!
After breakfast we delivered a book to a friend and we also picked up a handful of grocery items before we went home. We went to the same store my husband lost his mittens at last evening and guess what? The person who had taken them had an attack of conscience and returned them to the Lost and Found!!! My husband got his mittens and their warm liners back!!! Last night we prayed so much for the person who had taken them, that the mittens would be a warm winter blessing to whoever it was. Wow....the person actually returned them. I can hardly believe it. My husband is ecstatic and feeling so humbled by this answer to our prayers. Thank you Lord and do please bless the person who listened to her or his conscience and brought them back to the store. Wow!! Please let them know somehow that she or he did a very good and right thing.
The sun is shining brightly today. Why does it feel like such a wonderful day, a motivating day, a happy day, an "anything good could happen" kind of day, just by the addition of some sunshine. Yesterday our moods were not as good with the grey clouds covering up the beautiful sky. Does getting older make a person more susceptible to weather related mood swings? We both woke up feeling better than we did yesterday and that was before the sun was fully up and the clouds gone from the sky. Weather related feelings are still a puzzlement to me. However, we feel well today in every way, our "chores" today have been positive and my husband is free to spend the rest of the day filling out job applications and working on the hassle with synchronizing his computers.
Thank you God. AND thank YOU ALL for your continued prayers for Cee! His body continues to show signs of improvement as his chemo has progressed. He is having the last treatment of the first round today and a couple of days next week. Then he transitions, all being well, to far less frequent treatments that will continue on for the rest of his life probably, but at least the timing and frequency will be far more manageable for both him and his dear wife. How grateful everyone is that, although his form of cancer cannot be healed, it can be managed well! He will not have to spend the rest of his life bedridden and unable to function. He is being restored to life and to a more joyful existence. Thank you Lord!
No other news of note...just so grateful for the good things that have happened today! Thank you for caring..........
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
A Real Joy Tester of a Day!
My husband did not have a good day today. I can only pray things improve for him tomorrow. He had a list of 4 projects he wanted to complete today and should have had no trouble, but the first two projects were impossible to do because they depended on him being able to coordinate communications between a couple of computers. As of tonight, it still isn't working out.
After he gave up on that project, he went online to start applying for his EI, since his ROE has finally arrived. He spent a couple of hours trying to access his government account, tried every password he ever used for it, went through all his former government paper work getting security numbers and what have you they had given him in the past and nothing worked to get him into his account. So off he has to go to Service Canada's offices first thing tomorrow.
Then he received an email informing him that he wasn't even short listed for a job he had been contacted about and told to apply for. That is never happy news.
By 5pm he was so frustrated he decided to get all dressed up in his heavy parka and head out for a walk. He was gone a long time and I was a bit concerned due to the freezing temperature outside. When he came in the door he looked very upset, more upset than before he left for the walk. Turns out he lost his best suede mittens while he was out. He either dropped them while trying to put them into his pocket as he was going into a grocery store, or else he dropped them shortly after that beside the deli department. Although he realized very quickly they were not in his pocket, about a minute or less after they fell out of his coat, he couldn't find them anywhere. He checked with Lost and Found before he left the store, but no one had turned them in. We are assuming, based on the rapidity of their disappearance, that as soon as he dropped them and walked away, one of the street people who frequent the store on these cold days, swooped in and made off with them. It is okay as he has lots of other warm mittens at home. Tonight he was able to get home without freezing his hands by stuffing his grocery purchase into an inside pocket of his parka and working his hands down deep into the outside pockets, but those were his newest suede mittens, the best quality he has ever owned and they cost a lot of money. He was angry not so much at the idea that someone took them, because it could be someone who needs them far worse than he does, but he was angry because he knows how easily they fall out of those particular pockets and was trying to pay particular attention to taking care that it didn't happen. But it did........the poor guy. I feel terrible for him. In the morning, on our way to Service Canada, he will make one more check at the grocery store Lost and Found, but we both suspect he will never see his mittens again. The liners were also very good quality and so that is a bummer to lose them too. Well Lord, let whoever has them, if someone does, make the best use of them over this next chilly couple of weeks and take good care of them. Amen!
After dinner tonight he heard from the church board members responsible for the upcoming church camp renovations. They are asking him if he could move onsite sometime in February/March to spend at least a couple of weeks coordinating and supervising the tradesmen and volunteers. Sigh....on the one hand it would be wonderful to have the income. On the other hand is it just going to be a huge distraction from him applying for the longer term work he actually needs to get before he gets any older???? These kinds of situations are difficult, so we spent some time in prayer tonight and will not make a decision for a few days at least. My husband needs more clarity about this one. It is too easy to be pulled into work that he can do, but that is not his calling and not at all what he wants interfering with his job search...but being paid...hmmmm....also a need.....well, again Lord, you work it out. Thank you and Amen!
I did the laundry today after my big sleep in until after 10am. After my last posting I fell right back to sleep and then spent the day feeling pretty good, energetic. However, I am not sorry for the decisions I have made about dropping some of my weekly activities for this week until I know for sure I am sufficiently rested.
The cramps in my leg and foot have stopped, but I will be very careful how I position that leg tonight when I am getting ready for sleeping again.
The car will have to remain plugged into the heater overnight so that we are able to get going early enough tomorrow to avoid the late morning line up at Service Canada. It will be good to get a few errands like that done in the morning and then have the afternoon for my husband to spend some more time trying to coordinate those computers and get some more job search related work accomplished.
After he gave up on that project, he went online to start applying for his EI, since his ROE has finally arrived. He spent a couple of hours trying to access his government account, tried every password he ever used for it, went through all his former government paper work getting security numbers and what have you they had given him in the past and nothing worked to get him into his account. So off he has to go to Service Canada's offices first thing tomorrow.
Then he received an email informing him that he wasn't even short listed for a job he had been contacted about and told to apply for. That is never happy news.
By 5pm he was so frustrated he decided to get all dressed up in his heavy parka and head out for a walk. He was gone a long time and I was a bit concerned due to the freezing temperature outside. When he came in the door he looked very upset, more upset than before he left for the walk. Turns out he lost his best suede mittens while he was out. He either dropped them while trying to put them into his pocket as he was going into a grocery store, or else he dropped them shortly after that beside the deli department. Although he realized very quickly they were not in his pocket, about a minute or less after they fell out of his coat, he couldn't find them anywhere. He checked with Lost and Found before he left the store, but no one had turned them in. We are assuming, based on the rapidity of their disappearance, that as soon as he dropped them and walked away, one of the street people who frequent the store on these cold days, swooped in and made off with them. It is okay as he has lots of other warm mittens at home. Tonight he was able to get home without freezing his hands by stuffing his grocery purchase into an inside pocket of his parka and working his hands down deep into the outside pockets, but those were his newest suede mittens, the best quality he has ever owned and they cost a lot of money. He was angry not so much at the idea that someone took them, because it could be someone who needs them far worse than he does, but he was angry because he knows how easily they fall out of those particular pockets and was trying to pay particular attention to taking care that it didn't happen. But it did........the poor guy. I feel terrible for him. In the morning, on our way to Service Canada, he will make one more check at the grocery store Lost and Found, but we both suspect he will never see his mittens again. The liners were also very good quality and so that is a bummer to lose them too. Well Lord, let whoever has them, if someone does, make the best use of them over this next chilly couple of weeks and take good care of them. Amen!
After dinner tonight he heard from the church board members responsible for the upcoming church camp renovations. They are asking him if he could move onsite sometime in February/March to spend at least a couple of weeks coordinating and supervising the tradesmen and volunteers. Sigh....on the one hand it would be wonderful to have the income. On the other hand is it just going to be a huge distraction from him applying for the longer term work he actually needs to get before he gets any older???? These kinds of situations are difficult, so we spent some time in prayer tonight and will not make a decision for a few days at least. My husband needs more clarity about this one. It is too easy to be pulled into work that he can do, but that is not his calling and not at all what he wants interfering with his job search...but being paid...hmmmm....also a need.....well, again Lord, you work it out. Thank you and Amen!
I did the laundry today after my big sleep in until after 10am. After my last posting I fell right back to sleep and then spent the day feeling pretty good, energetic. However, I am not sorry for the decisions I have made about dropping some of my weekly activities for this week until I know for sure I am sufficiently rested.
The cramps in my leg and foot have stopped, but I will be very careful how I position that leg tonight when I am getting ready for sleeping again.
The car will have to remain plugged into the heater overnight so that we are able to get going early enough tomorrow to avoid the late morning line up at Service Canada. It will be good to get a few errands like that done in the morning and then have the afternoon for my husband to spend some more time trying to coordinate those computers and get some more job search related work accomplished.
Lazy Is As Lazy Does!
Wow....maybe it is the cold weather that arrived yesterday, but I feel like I have been run over by a bus this morning! Having a bad sleep overnight didn’t help. My hip hardware was acting up from the way I was sitting all afternoon yesterday, resulting in severe leg and foot cramping all night. Stupid me....I know I cannot sit with my knees bent and feet up on the coffee table when I am reading or watching tv, yet that is exactly what I did for two full hours. What is wrong with my brain???? Well, I won’t try that again!
My husband has commitments over the next few days that leave me without a car to go to choir rehearsal tomorrow night and to church on Sunday. I could stand outside in the bitter cold to catch buses or ask any one of a number of people for rides, but I decided to just cancel out on both events. I have a mutual commitment with my husband on both Friday and Saturday and I think that will be all I can handle this week. January is always a health struggle month for me for some reason and this year I decided I am not going to push through the discomfort and exhaustion from the heart murmur. I am going to rest when I need to. What wonderful peace the decision brings!
I had a lovely chat yesterday with a cousin, the cousin responsible for getting us to Tokyo nearly 20 years ago. So nice to hear his voice and get some of the latest family updates. He is a person I know has been praying about my husband’s current lack of employment and always has a concern for us with our roller coaster lifestyle.
I also had a nice chat with my parents. Dad got his x-ray results after his latest fall. A vertebra he fractured 20 years ago has fractured again, hence the terrible pain he is experiencing....again.... Other than taking Tylenol 3, there is nothing to be done until it heals in a couple of month’s time. Then it will be time to reassess the possibility of nerve cauterization. However, dad is no longer interested in doing anything about it. He has reached the point where the amount of energy physically and the stress mentally are too much for him to bear. He has lost so much quality of life in the past year he has become tired of living. Mom does not want to accept this, understandably, but he is ready to leave this earth. For his sake I pray she can release him to do what he needs to do for his own peaceful exit. Mom will be okay once she adjusts to him not being around. Despite her own health issues she is still mentally and physically quite capable. So, again, how best to pray for them.....I still don’t know.
Our son is working extra hours to be able to afford his necessary unexpected trip back to Vancouver to move his paintings to a new storage facility. What a pain! Good thing he is a workaholic like his dad. He will survive this hassle!
It is nearly 8:30am. I should hoist myself out of bed and get my breakfast, but I think I will turn off this iPad and the lights and try to get another hour of sleep first.
Happy day wishes to you all!
My husband has commitments over the next few days that leave me without a car to go to choir rehearsal tomorrow night and to church on Sunday. I could stand outside in the bitter cold to catch buses or ask any one of a number of people for rides, but I decided to just cancel out on both events. I have a mutual commitment with my husband on both Friday and Saturday and I think that will be all I can handle this week. January is always a health struggle month for me for some reason and this year I decided I am not going to push through the discomfort and exhaustion from the heart murmur. I am going to rest when I need to. What wonderful peace the decision brings!
I had a lovely chat yesterday with a cousin, the cousin responsible for getting us to Tokyo nearly 20 years ago. So nice to hear his voice and get some of the latest family updates. He is a person I know has been praying about my husband’s current lack of employment and always has a concern for us with our roller coaster lifestyle.
I also had a nice chat with my parents. Dad got his x-ray results after his latest fall. A vertebra he fractured 20 years ago has fractured again, hence the terrible pain he is experiencing....again.... Other than taking Tylenol 3, there is nothing to be done until it heals in a couple of month’s time. Then it will be time to reassess the possibility of nerve cauterization. However, dad is no longer interested in doing anything about it. He has reached the point where the amount of energy physically and the stress mentally are too much for him to bear. He has lost so much quality of life in the past year he has become tired of living. Mom does not want to accept this, understandably, but he is ready to leave this earth. For his sake I pray she can release him to do what he needs to do for his own peaceful exit. Mom will be okay once she adjusts to him not being around. Despite her own health issues she is still mentally and physically quite capable. So, again, how best to pray for them.....I still don’t know.
Our son is working extra hours to be able to afford his necessary unexpected trip back to Vancouver to move his paintings to a new storage facility. What a pain! Good thing he is a workaholic like his dad. He will survive this hassle!
It is nearly 8:30am. I should hoist myself out of bed and get my breakfast, but I think I will turn off this iPad and the lights and try to get another hour of sleep first.
Happy day wishes to you all!
Monday, January 14, 2019
Around and Around the Block!
I certainly got my exercise this morning, running back and forth to the grocery store! hahaha Big whoop, I know, but at least I was active!
The cold weather doesn't arrive here until tomorrow evening, so I am just as glad I had the chance to race around a bit today in the comparative warmth.
My husband was working on a job application all morning, so I headed out fairly early for a couple of grocery items. I didn't bother getting a cart as I only needed two things, but I discovered giant packs of paper towels on sale that were very awkard to carry. I also discovered my favourite diet drink on sale at two packs for the price of one. I couldn't carry everything at the same time and it was too late to go back out to the parking lot for a larger cart, so I hauled the paper towels out with the things in the basket, then made a second trip into the store for the packs of diet drink.
After I got home and put everything away, I started thinking about the bulk pack of toilet paper also on sale for a great discount, plus an instore PC points offer with a purchase of same. I checked my dwindling supply at home and wondered if it was worth lacing my boots back on and returning for a third go round in the store. Hmmmm, if I only had another reason to go out again immediately...hmmmm....
Well, as I was hmmmmm'ing about, I noticed the mailman putting something in our mailbox, so out I went to retrieve it. It was a requisition from my medical lab letting me know it was time for some work. I decided that must be the "another reason to go out again", so I headed to the lab, then swung around back to the grocery store for the toilet paper. Mission accomplished!! 3 trips to purchase 5 items...a new record for me! hahaha
Oooh, the simplest, stupidest little things can keep me busy for hours!! Good thing I am easily amused!! All this racing about for a few groceries and lab work used up two full hours of my morning and lo and behold, by the time I was done it was time for lunch!
My husband took a break this afternoon from his application to drive over to his former office to pick up his record of employment slip so he can apply later this week for EI. He asked me to come along for the ride. hahaha WOW, an 8 minute drive there and back. BUT we did stand in the office for a long time while he assisted the CFO in straightening out a few hassles so at least I wasn't sitting around ALL afternoon! hahaha Why we didn't walk I am not certain, but at least my husband was able to drag himself out of the suite for a few minutes this afternoon.
The job application was emailed in after dinner this evening, so that is out of the way. I am amazed at the energy my husband has, how healthy he is all ready feeling after his month away from work. It gives me great hope that once he finds the right position he will be prepared and able to tackle it with his usual joy. This whole month since his job ended has been filled with small encouragements about the future. Since we are in no hurry to move away from here, we are content for the moment to take the time required to find a position for my husband that is satisfactory and fulfilling, in a geographical location we can both stand to live. Wow, life is kind of exciting....at least when I am not filling my time the way I did this morning! hahahahaha
The cold weather doesn't arrive here until tomorrow evening, so I am just as glad I had the chance to race around a bit today in the comparative warmth.
My husband was working on a job application all morning, so I headed out fairly early for a couple of grocery items. I didn't bother getting a cart as I only needed two things, but I discovered giant packs of paper towels on sale that were very awkard to carry. I also discovered my favourite diet drink on sale at two packs for the price of one. I couldn't carry everything at the same time and it was too late to go back out to the parking lot for a larger cart, so I hauled the paper towels out with the things in the basket, then made a second trip into the store for the packs of diet drink.
After I got home and put everything away, I started thinking about the bulk pack of toilet paper also on sale for a great discount, plus an instore PC points offer with a purchase of same. I checked my dwindling supply at home and wondered if it was worth lacing my boots back on and returning for a third go round in the store. Hmmmm, if I only had another reason to go out again immediately...hmmmm....
Well, as I was hmmmmm'ing about, I noticed the mailman putting something in our mailbox, so out I went to retrieve it. It was a requisition from my medical lab letting me know it was time for some work. I decided that must be the "another reason to go out again", so I headed to the lab, then swung around back to the grocery store for the toilet paper. Mission accomplished!! 3 trips to purchase 5 items...a new record for me! hahaha
Oooh, the simplest, stupidest little things can keep me busy for hours!! Good thing I am easily amused!! All this racing about for a few groceries and lab work used up two full hours of my morning and lo and behold, by the time I was done it was time for lunch!
My husband took a break this afternoon from his application to drive over to his former office to pick up his record of employment slip so he can apply later this week for EI. He asked me to come along for the ride. hahaha WOW, an 8 minute drive there and back. BUT we did stand in the office for a long time while he assisted the CFO in straightening out a few hassles so at least I wasn't sitting around ALL afternoon! hahaha Why we didn't walk I am not certain, but at least my husband was able to drag himself out of the suite for a few minutes this afternoon.
The job application was emailed in after dinner this evening, so that is out of the way. I am amazed at the energy my husband has, how healthy he is all ready feeling after his month away from work. It gives me great hope that once he finds the right position he will be prepared and able to tackle it with his usual joy. This whole month since his job ended has been filled with small encouragements about the future. Since we are in no hurry to move away from here, we are content for the moment to take the time required to find a position for my husband that is satisfactory and fulfilling, in a geographical location we can both stand to live. Wow, life is kind of exciting....at least when I am not filling my time the way I did this morning! hahahahaha
Dinner With New Friends from South Africa
We love meeting up with missionaries from overseas who are home on leave. What fun we had with this little family the other night, swapping missionary stories and enjoying a fabulous meal together. Sometimes life is very good indeed!
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Once Again the Weekend Is All Ready At An End!!
I don't know where the time is going these days! It is flying past!
Yesterday morning was so much fun for me visiting with my friend, sharing a teatime together and then lunch as well because we still had so much to discuss. hahaha It was a lovely, sunny day so sitting looking out her windows at the huge trees and brightly coloured guest house in her back yard was a pleasure.
I was so buoyed up with energy when I left her place that I took a swing past the grocery store and did all the food shopping I hadn't planned to do until tomorrow. haha Then I came home and did some cleaning before dinner. The day seemed over before it started with the quick passing of the hours.
My husband came home bubbling over with joy after meeting the staff at my church's camp. They want to get going immediately on repairs and maintenance that is past due and some money has been donated to help them get started. It was a pleasure for my husband to make his notes as to the order in which each task must be completed out there. He had a great day too, crawling around in attics and under buildings while inspecting the condition of the property.
After a small dinner we both admitted to being quite tired. I was in bed with the lights out by 10pm and my husband followed suit soon after. We both slept very well indeed, what a treat!
This morning we did manage to get going in time to make it to church. It was a good service as usual. We didn't stay for coffee hour afterward, but had a light lunch and then short naps. Now my husband has completed putting his maintenance evaluation report together and is about to send it off to the camp board members for their information, so they have a chance to discuss it at their meeting tomorrow.
It is another sunny, warm day. About 24 hours from now we will be facing the first "real" winter temperatures of the season. Although most of the day time highs will be hovering around -20C or slightly above, the overnight lows will be closer to -25C to -30C for at least ten days, if not longer. I expect by February we will be getting into the terribly cold winter weather with a couple of weeks of -30C to -45C over each 24 hours period. Certainly would LOVE to be wrong at that!! hahahaha
Tomorrow I think we will wander over to the bottle depot to turn in some cans and bottles of all types. The extra cash is always a bit of a bonus after a trip over there and it will be great to get all those drinking containers out of the basement! My husband is also getting 3 old computers ready to be taken in to the recycling/death bin for old computers station in the same building as the bottle depot. One stop takes care of both kinds of basement junk!!
In the afternoon my husband will continue working on a couple of job applications. It is the day we had picked out weeks ago as the day to get moving on seeking employment and he is all ready one day ahead of schedule, so that is excellent.
While I am certainly feeling better than I was on Friday, I know I need to take things a bit slowly this week. I have a couple of days now to complete the readings for OT group on Tuesday evening, I have my Easter seasonal music here to memorize before Thursday evening's choir rehearsal, Friday night we have both been asked to give a ten minute testimony to the Baptist church youth and to bring snacks to eat while we play board games with the kids. Saturday morning I will likely drop my husband off at the restaurant where the Baptist men are having their monthly gathering while on my way to a book club brunch for the Baptist women I meet with. Sunday morning my husband will be preaching out at Lumsden for possibly the last time while I am singing in my church choir and then a new week has begun! Where did THIS week disappear to? IT HASN'T EVEN HAPPENED YET!!!! hahahaha
Although it is incredibly marvellously wonderful to be so busy after so many years of being useless and alone, I realize I am going to have to pace myself, better than I have been, for the sake of my health. Right now I feel like the merry-go-round is on the verge of spinning out of control, so must start saying no to a few of the invitations we have been receiving to do all these wonderful things. Ick! I hate saying no to things I enjoy so much!!
Yesterday morning was so much fun for me visiting with my friend, sharing a teatime together and then lunch as well because we still had so much to discuss. hahaha It was a lovely, sunny day so sitting looking out her windows at the huge trees and brightly coloured guest house in her back yard was a pleasure.
I was so buoyed up with energy when I left her place that I took a swing past the grocery store and did all the food shopping I hadn't planned to do until tomorrow. haha Then I came home and did some cleaning before dinner. The day seemed over before it started with the quick passing of the hours.
My husband came home bubbling over with joy after meeting the staff at my church's camp. They want to get going immediately on repairs and maintenance that is past due and some money has been donated to help them get started. It was a pleasure for my husband to make his notes as to the order in which each task must be completed out there. He had a great day too, crawling around in attics and under buildings while inspecting the condition of the property.
After a small dinner we both admitted to being quite tired. I was in bed with the lights out by 10pm and my husband followed suit soon after. We both slept very well indeed, what a treat!
This morning we did manage to get going in time to make it to church. It was a good service as usual. We didn't stay for coffee hour afterward, but had a light lunch and then short naps. Now my husband has completed putting his maintenance evaluation report together and is about to send it off to the camp board members for their information, so they have a chance to discuss it at their meeting tomorrow.
It is another sunny, warm day. About 24 hours from now we will be facing the first "real" winter temperatures of the season. Although most of the day time highs will be hovering around -20C or slightly above, the overnight lows will be closer to -25C to -30C for at least ten days, if not longer. I expect by February we will be getting into the terribly cold winter weather with a couple of weeks of -30C to -45C over each 24 hours period. Certainly would LOVE to be wrong at that!! hahahaha
Tomorrow I think we will wander over to the bottle depot to turn in some cans and bottles of all types. The extra cash is always a bit of a bonus after a trip over there and it will be great to get all those drinking containers out of the basement! My husband is also getting 3 old computers ready to be taken in to the recycling/death bin for old computers station in the same building as the bottle depot. One stop takes care of both kinds of basement junk!!
In the afternoon my husband will continue working on a couple of job applications. It is the day we had picked out weeks ago as the day to get moving on seeking employment and he is all ready one day ahead of schedule, so that is excellent.
While I am certainly feeling better than I was on Friday, I know I need to take things a bit slowly this week. I have a couple of days now to complete the readings for OT group on Tuesday evening, I have my Easter seasonal music here to memorize before Thursday evening's choir rehearsal, Friday night we have both been asked to give a ten minute testimony to the Baptist church youth and to bring snacks to eat while we play board games with the kids. Saturday morning I will likely drop my husband off at the restaurant where the Baptist men are having their monthly gathering while on my way to a book club brunch for the Baptist women I meet with. Sunday morning my husband will be preaching out at Lumsden for possibly the last time while I am singing in my church choir and then a new week has begun! Where did THIS week disappear to? IT HASN'T EVEN HAPPENED YET!!!! hahahaha
Although it is incredibly marvellously wonderful to be so busy after so many years of being useless and alone, I realize I am going to have to pace myself, better than I have been, for the sake of my health. Right now I feel like the merry-go-round is on the verge of spinning out of control, so must start saying no to a few of the invitations we have been receiving to do all these wonderful things. Ick! I hate saying no to things I enjoy so much!!
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