We are having the most wonderful, relaxing visit with my husband's sister and her husband. Everyone is cheery, hopeful about the future, enjoying life. When I think of all the health issues and other stresses all four of us have overcome in the past couple of years, particularly the other 3 more so than myself, I marvel at what human beings are capable of handling.
The weather has been a few degrees warmer for their visit, thank you Lord, although by the time they leave 36 hours from now, we will be back in the deep freeze. This afternoon the huge fluffy snowflakes we love so much were tumbling down all around us, making the world a surreal and beautiful place.
We all had a decent sleep in this morning. Meals were delayed all day, but the timing of all three of them played right into my diabetic time requirements and all was well. After light breakfasts, we went to the Breakfast Bistro for lunch, a favourite haunt of our visitors. Not only was the meal tasty and rather spectacularly plated, it seems that as other restaurants in this city have tried to reduce the quantity and quality of food offered in order to cut costs, Breakfast Bistro has improved both in order to entice more customers. Even at that, it seemed business was slow for a Thursday at noon hour. The cold weather may be contributing to that, but it wasn't THAT cold today. I am concerned. This is one of a handful of local restaurants that will create a huge loss to the city should they shutter their doors.
Then we did some shopping together at Bulk Barn. We all found an item or two that we need and since they have not been into the Bulk Barn in their home city, they are encouraged now to check it out when they get back.
I threw together some bison burgers for dinner. We had eaten such huge meals at lunch that we rather restrained ourselves at dinner time. The bison meat we bought from our church friend is fantastic! The flavour is so specific to bison, but not gamey or strong. I added some diced onions and garlic to the patties and ooooh, were they ever moist and delicious; well cooked and hardly so much as a teaspoon of fat left behind in the grill pan. I wish bison was not so horrifically expensive as we would buy a lot more of it.
The rest of the family had a nice visit while I headed off to choir practise for more fun with my friends at church. It went well and I am encouraged that my voice is strengthening again at least a bit. Whew! I was afraid I would have to drop right out if it didn't improve, but the weekly workout, plus Sunday singing, is helping slowly but surely.
Tomorrow we are going to go to the Afghan buffet for lunch. Afghan meals are a great blend of low heat spices for my husband's brother in law who cannot tolerate them and still tasty ethnic food that his sister loves as much as we do. We are so looking forward to it.
After lunch the plan is to go to the MacKenzie Art Gallery and see the exhibit by Agnes Martin, plus whatever other exhibits are currently being offered. I WILL steer clear of the gift shop...I WILL, I WILL, I WILL......won't I? Sigh..... I am such a sucker for giftware. Particularly dishes and other pottery objects....there is not one thing on this planet I need to buy and I am hoping that our last trip to the gallery in mid December is close enough in time to this one that the stock in the gift shop will not have changed signifiicantly. Perhaps I can get my husband to cover my eyes with his hands like blinders on a horse and lead me past the giftware so that I don't even see it on the way to the exhibits.
By the time we are done and we come back home to have a short rest, it will be time for dinner....MORE FOOD! hahaha Apparently we are also going out for dinner, so we will see what our last meal stop together is going to be.
The following morning they will be on their way to the next stop on their winter holiday and we will be at a Kelvin Friebel seminar on The Sabbath.
It is all good!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Happiness Is Better Pay For Our Son!
We haven't heard from our son very often lately because of how many hours per week he has been working. This morning he finally told us he has been working 15 hour days of late, on two different part time temporary jobs: one for an artist he has worked for previously and the other as a fabricator and installer on the giant Hudson Yards project in downtown NYC. That second one pays extremely well and wow, what wonderful timing as our son faces his 2018 US income tax bill.
The Hudson Yards project is fascinating! It reminds us of projects in Tokyo where similar shopping and office complexes are built up over top of the existing railway tracks. The Hudson Yards project spans 30 railway yard tracks. It consists of a platform extending across from two giant towers built on either side of the tracks, where the buildings will be erected. I will look for a link so you can read about it if you aren't all ready familiar with it. It is fascinating and will certainly change the face of NYC's downtown area.
Oh, here is a good link:
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hudson-park
Again I apologize if you have to cut and paste. I cannot get the links addition to work for some reason. It is an interesting read and worth the time.
We are praying for wisdom about suggesting to our son that spending a couple of years working on similar types of projects in order to get his debts paid off and relegating his art to his days off until he is back on his feet might be worth considering at this point. It would buy him time to find a full time, better paying gallery or teaching position while destressing his finances. Hmmmm.....well, Lord, please clear the way for the discussion if that is what should happen.
In the meantime this is certainly an answer to prayer for him. Thank you Lord!
The Hudson Yards project is fascinating! It reminds us of projects in Tokyo where similar shopping and office complexes are built up over top of the existing railway tracks. The Hudson Yards project spans 30 railway yard tracks. It consists of a platform extending across from two giant towers built on either side of the tracks, where the buildings will be erected. I will look for a link so you can read about it if you aren't all ready familiar with it. It is fascinating and will certainly change the face of NYC's downtown area.
Oh, here is a good link:
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hudson-park
Again I apologize if you have to cut and paste. I cannot get the links addition to work for some reason. It is an interesting read and worth the time.
We are praying for wisdom about suggesting to our son that spending a couple of years working on similar types of projects in order to get his debts paid off and relegating his art to his days off until he is back on his feet might be worth considering at this point. It would buy him time to find a full time, better paying gallery or teaching position while destressing his finances. Hmmmm.....well, Lord, please clear the way for the discussion if that is what should happen.
In the meantime this is certainly an answer to prayer for him. Thank you Lord!
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
The Are We Staying Or Are We Going Conundrum
As I have been cleaning the suite this week I have been noticing that it is time for the first of what is usually two deep cleaning sprees each year. The kitchen and bathroom cupboards need to be emptied and the shelves wiped down. The cupboard doors are due for a cleansing of the furnace lint/cooking grease/carpet lint winter buildup; more than the daily wiping off of tomatoish finger prints and tiny tea splatters.
The carpet is due for a professional cleaning again, assuming that is, that no more patches of fabric will pull out of it as it continues to disintigrate with age.
The bathroom and kitchen floors need to be scrubbed on hands and knees with a hot, soapy, soft cloth after the stove and refrigerator are pulled away from the walls, in order to get into the corners of the room and remove a couple of spills that happened over the past 6 months and ran under the appliances just enough to warrant an extra good cleaning underneath them.
The ceiling and walls need a good wiping down with a Swiffer broom to ensure any presently invisible cobwebs are removed before they start to hang down into the room and get covered in dust.
The basement stairs need another scrub down, the basement floor needs more than the usual sweeping and the rafters down there need a thorough vacuuming again before the spring to try to rout out some of the spider nests hiding up there before they...the spiders and the nests....begin to multiply in the warmer weather. (there WILL be spring eventually...she says in faith, believing.....)
HOWEVER: here is the conundrum. The likelihood of us moving is pretty high right now. A move could take place any time in the next two or three months. In fact I am guessing that it likely will if it happens at all. SO: since all the jobs mentioned here have to be done once we have moved our belongings out of here in order to leave the place nice and clean, do I go ahead and do all these things as I have time and energy in the month of March, OR do I wait and see if we are going to be leaving before June and wait to do one grand cleanup at the end? I am not going to be physically capable of doing it all well twice in a short time period.
I know, I know....if this is the worst conundrum I am facing in life then I am pretty spoiled and silly. In my defense: I have very limited energy these days and I know from so much past experience how much of that energy will have to be expended during an actual moving process. I don't think I have the strength to do everything twice in, say, a 12 - 16 week period.
I hate living with an ever deepening patina of oily, winter dirt that covers everything in this place by this time of year every year. On the other hand I am really going to feel ripped off and tired if I have to do all this twice in a short period of time.
At the moment I am leaning toward leaving things as they are for another month and then reassessing the situation based on where my husband is on his job search. If he gets his miracle job and we end up staying here after all, we will likely be moving anyway. There are cleaner, less poorly maintained rental units cropping up now around this city that we plan to investigate if the circumstance warrants. That could mean moving even sooner than 3 months from now.
So....I will pray and see how I feel about this. I don't want to exhaust my ever tiring self with a double batch of deep cleaning if I don't have to. On the other hand...hmmmm...do I have three hands now???.....if I don't do it right away and we end up staying in here until the autumn, how much extra work is it going to take to clean things properly with an added six months worth of grime?
How blessed am I to have the time and ability to think this is an issue in the first place???!!?
The carpet is due for a professional cleaning again, assuming that is, that no more patches of fabric will pull out of it as it continues to disintigrate with age.
The bathroom and kitchen floors need to be scrubbed on hands and knees with a hot, soapy, soft cloth after the stove and refrigerator are pulled away from the walls, in order to get into the corners of the room and remove a couple of spills that happened over the past 6 months and ran under the appliances just enough to warrant an extra good cleaning underneath them.
The ceiling and walls need a good wiping down with a Swiffer broom to ensure any presently invisible cobwebs are removed before they start to hang down into the room and get covered in dust.
The basement stairs need another scrub down, the basement floor needs more than the usual sweeping and the rafters down there need a thorough vacuuming again before the spring to try to rout out some of the spider nests hiding up there before they...the spiders and the nests....begin to multiply in the warmer weather. (there WILL be spring eventually...she says in faith, believing.....)
HOWEVER: here is the conundrum. The likelihood of us moving is pretty high right now. A move could take place any time in the next two or three months. In fact I am guessing that it likely will if it happens at all. SO: since all the jobs mentioned here have to be done once we have moved our belongings out of here in order to leave the place nice and clean, do I go ahead and do all these things as I have time and energy in the month of March, OR do I wait and see if we are going to be leaving before June and wait to do one grand cleanup at the end? I am not going to be physically capable of doing it all well twice in a short time period.
I know, I know....if this is the worst conundrum I am facing in life then I am pretty spoiled and silly. In my defense: I have very limited energy these days and I know from so much past experience how much of that energy will have to be expended during an actual moving process. I don't think I have the strength to do everything twice in, say, a 12 - 16 week period.
I hate living with an ever deepening patina of oily, winter dirt that covers everything in this place by this time of year every year. On the other hand I am really going to feel ripped off and tired if I have to do all this twice in a short period of time.
At the moment I am leaning toward leaving things as they are for another month and then reassessing the situation based on where my husband is on his job search. If he gets his miracle job and we end up staying here after all, we will likely be moving anyway. There are cleaner, less poorly maintained rental units cropping up now around this city that we plan to investigate if the circumstance warrants. That could mean moving even sooner than 3 months from now.
So....I will pray and see how I feel about this. I don't want to exhaust my ever tiring self with a double batch of deep cleaning if I don't have to. On the other hand...hmmmm...do I have three hands now???.....if I don't do it right away and we end up staying in here until the autumn, how much extra work is it going to take to clean things properly with an added six months worth of grime?
How blessed am I to have the time and ability to think this is an issue in the first place???!!?
It Does NOT Feel Like Only -12C Outside Today!!
I've been busy all day thus far getting the suite cleaned for our company who arrive this evening, but a few minutes ago I took the garbage to the bin outside. My husband was out for a very long walk this morning and said he noticed a wonderful difference in the temperature compared to every day of the past two weeks or more, so I was expecting to enjoy my short jaunt to the bin. BRRRRRR!!!!! Only -12C right now? Are you kidding me? With the freezing breeze blowing in my face it certainly didn't feel that much warmer than the -21C we struggled up to yesterday! Perhaps I am just so sick of the cold weather that nothing is going to feel decent outside until spring arrives in all its glory!
It is going to be SO nice to have company for a couple of days and have something to think about other than job searching and crumby weather.
Tomorrow I hope to cook some fresh bison for our dinner. Then I can tell the woman who sold it to me how much we enjoyed it when she and I are at choir rehearsal later in the evening.
Last night my husband decided we were going to China Doll for Chinese food before our Old Testament discussion group meeting. That was an unexpected treat. I do like the food and the atmosphere there. The restaurant was closed for an entire month as one of the owner's daughters was being married in China, so what a relief to have it open again. Apparently the wedding was a grand affair, but they are happy to be back in Regina once again.
We have only two more discussions in our OT group before taking a break. There could have been three more, but I am the only person who still had a copy of the original schedule, so I emended it slightly to whittle it down to only two more meetings. My husband and I have a lot going on right now and we need a break from at least one of our regular weekly meetings, just for awhile.
I have removed us as well from the after church coffee hour helper schedule. Although it is likely we will still be here for our next scheduled Sunday in April, there is a chance we will not be and it is easier for the lady in charge of the scheduling to redo it now, rather than at the last minute. Neither of us particularly enjoys dealing with the food and drinks after church, so we have decided not to do it. Perhaps if the miracle happens and my husband gets a job here, we can put oursevles back on the schedule for the autumn, but right now it is just a stress we don't need.
I am feeling relieved that our next women's Bible study that I am leading has been moved ahead by another couple of weeks so that we can take in the Imposition of Ashes service on Ash Wednesday at church. It gives me a break from the same old, same old ongoing weekly committment. One thing I am learning is that I don't do that well having every evening of my life filled with regularly scheduled events, so if I am still here after the summer break, I am going to weed out a few things to make next winter easier to cope with. Guess "I gotta be free" or something...haha.
Well, I am sure there are more preparation chores that need to be done before our company arrives, so I will go now and scout them out. So grateful that the driving conditions are so good today for them.
It is going to be SO nice to have company for a couple of days and have something to think about other than job searching and crumby weather.
Tomorrow I hope to cook some fresh bison for our dinner. Then I can tell the woman who sold it to me how much we enjoyed it when she and I are at choir rehearsal later in the evening.
Last night my husband decided we were going to China Doll for Chinese food before our Old Testament discussion group meeting. That was an unexpected treat. I do like the food and the atmosphere there. The restaurant was closed for an entire month as one of the owner's daughters was being married in China, so what a relief to have it open again. Apparently the wedding was a grand affair, but they are happy to be back in Regina once again.
We have only two more discussions in our OT group before taking a break. There could have been three more, but I am the only person who still had a copy of the original schedule, so I emended it slightly to whittle it down to only two more meetings. My husband and I have a lot going on right now and we need a break from at least one of our regular weekly meetings, just for awhile.
I have removed us as well from the after church coffee hour helper schedule. Although it is likely we will still be here for our next scheduled Sunday in April, there is a chance we will not be and it is easier for the lady in charge of the scheduling to redo it now, rather than at the last minute. Neither of us particularly enjoys dealing with the food and drinks after church, so we have decided not to do it. Perhaps if the miracle happens and my husband gets a job here, we can put oursevles back on the schedule for the autumn, but right now it is just a stress we don't need.
I am feeling relieved that our next women's Bible study that I am leading has been moved ahead by another couple of weeks so that we can take in the Imposition of Ashes service on Ash Wednesday at church. It gives me a break from the same old, same old ongoing weekly committment. One thing I am learning is that I don't do that well having every evening of my life filled with regularly scheduled events, so if I am still here after the summer break, I am going to weed out a few things to make next winter easier to cope with. Guess "I gotta be free" or something...haha.
Well, I am sure there are more preparation chores that need to be done before our company arrives, so I will go now and scout them out. So grateful that the driving conditions are so good today for them.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Okay Then....So Much For the Shovelling Idea!
This morning, after heading back over to our friends' house where we had the most spectacular dinner party last night and where Dell left his new glasses on their rocking chair that I needed to collect, I decided to brave the -35C windchill and finally hack the snow drifts off the back porch and carve a new pathway out to the parking lot.
(How's that for a run on sentence, Grammar Police?? hahaha)
What a disaster the shovelling turned out to be. I realized yesterday that the wind had hardened the top of the snow almost as soon as it had drifted to the ground, but I wasn't expecting the first 5-8cm to be as hard as a rock. The snow is so packed by the wind behind our place that the edge of the shovel didn't begin to cut through the top of the snow banks. I had planned to cut pieces out in a similar fashion to cutting blocks for igloos, as that has worked well for me in the past, but this snow is SO terribly hard the blade of the shovel didn't even make a dent in it. Good grief! My husband also gave it a whirl after his morning prayer meeting, but had the same problem.
So, we shovelled off the tiny bit of fresher snow from the top of the pile and tried to even the surface sufficiently to make walking to the car easier, less chance of turning an ankle, but that was the end of our efforts. We are going to have to walk on top of that pile of snow until the temperatures warm up enough to be able to peel it back layer by layer. Our next door neighbour was able to remove a far deeper layer of snow from his deck to his car because he home when it came down and managed to clear a lot of it before it got too deep and hardened over. However, even he is walking on a packed base of about 5cm.
Oooh, the basement flooding this spring is going to be intense if the weather changes as quickly as predicted sometime in April. Aiiii yiiiii.....we are going to try to be ready in advance this year and move things we have stored for the winter away from the worst of the past leaking spots in the basement walls, but....who knows???
As all the people at the party were saying last evening, all of them imports to Regina from other places, this is a crazy city to find decently built housing of any kind!!!
Last night our hosts served the most delicious lentil, cauliflower, carrot and tomato curry...to DIE FOR! So very tasty. Of course the coconut milk base is a no no for those of us on cholesterol lowering diets, but hey, it was worth it. We had it on a quinoa base and the flavours went so well together. There was also roasted chicken and baked potatoes and carrots for the meat eaters in the group.....what a wonderful feast washed down with a light red wine and followed up with apple rhubarb pie, the crust made with flax eggs instead of chicken eggs as our hostess eats a vegan diet. The conversation never flagged between the eight of us and it was hard to end the party just after 9pm due to some of the guests having to work tomorrow. For those of us retired or unemployed, we could have stayed up all night and not run out of topics of conversation I suspect. hahaha
So, instead of shovelling today I have been cleaning house. It feels good to be getting active and caught up on house chores after taking the entire weekend off, plus yesterday as well.
Tonight is our study on the Book of Daniel, before we take two weeks to complete the minor prophets and then have a break for a few weeks. We will be happy for the break as going out so many evenings in a row in this freezing weather makes us more tired than we want to be.
Next week's women's Bible study will be cancelled so that we can all attend the Impostion of Ashes Service at church. Since I am leading that particular study I am grateful for the extra time to prepare before the next regularly scheduled meeting. I am also grateful because I am having dental work that morning, so I may not feel up to leading a group that evening.
Life is speeding by! It is all good!!
(How's that for a run on sentence, Grammar Police?? hahaha)
What a disaster the shovelling turned out to be. I realized yesterday that the wind had hardened the top of the snow almost as soon as it had drifted to the ground, but I wasn't expecting the first 5-8cm to be as hard as a rock. The snow is so packed by the wind behind our place that the edge of the shovel didn't begin to cut through the top of the snow banks. I had planned to cut pieces out in a similar fashion to cutting blocks for igloos, as that has worked well for me in the past, but this snow is SO terribly hard the blade of the shovel didn't even make a dent in it. Good grief! My husband also gave it a whirl after his morning prayer meeting, but had the same problem.
So, we shovelled off the tiny bit of fresher snow from the top of the pile and tried to even the surface sufficiently to make walking to the car easier, less chance of turning an ankle, but that was the end of our efforts. We are going to have to walk on top of that pile of snow until the temperatures warm up enough to be able to peel it back layer by layer. Our next door neighbour was able to remove a far deeper layer of snow from his deck to his car because he home when it came down and managed to clear a lot of it before it got too deep and hardened over. However, even he is walking on a packed base of about 5cm.
Oooh, the basement flooding this spring is going to be intense if the weather changes as quickly as predicted sometime in April. Aiiii yiiiii.....we are going to try to be ready in advance this year and move things we have stored for the winter away from the worst of the past leaking spots in the basement walls, but....who knows???
As all the people at the party were saying last evening, all of them imports to Regina from other places, this is a crazy city to find decently built housing of any kind!!!
Last night our hosts served the most delicious lentil, cauliflower, carrot and tomato curry...to DIE FOR! So very tasty. Of course the coconut milk base is a no no for those of us on cholesterol lowering diets, but hey, it was worth it. We had it on a quinoa base and the flavours went so well together. There was also roasted chicken and baked potatoes and carrots for the meat eaters in the group.....what a wonderful feast washed down with a light red wine and followed up with apple rhubarb pie, the crust made with flax eggs instead of chicken eggs as our hostess eats a vegan diet. The conversation never flagged between the eight of us and it was hard to end the party just after 9pm due to some of the guests having to work tomorrow. For those of us retired or unemployed, we could have stayed up all night and not run out of topics of conversation I suspect. hahaha
So, instead of shovelling today I have been cleaning house. It feels good to be getting active and caught up on house chores after taking the entire weekend off, plus yesterday as well.
Tonight is our study on the Book of Daniel, before we take two weeks to complete the minor prophets and then have a break for a few weeks. We will be happy for the break as going out so many evenings in a row in this freezing weather makes us more tired than we want to be.
Next week's women's Bible study will be cancelled so that we can all attend the Impostion of Ashes Service at church. Since I am leading that particular study I am grateful for the extra time to prepare before the next regularly scheduled meeting. I am also grateful because I am having dental work that morning, so I may not feel up to leading a group that evening.
Life is speeding by! It is all good!!
Sunday, February 24, 2019
This is HILARIOUS! O My...The Things That You'll Do....Inadvertently....Through Technology!
You will probably have to cut and paste the link below into your browser, but it is worth the extra few seconds of your time. This article is hilarious!
https://religionnews.com/2019/02/19/alexa-responds-to-ministers-sermon-orders-toilet-paper/
https://religionnews.com/2019/02/19/alexa-responds-to-ministers-sermon-orders-toilet-paper/
Excuse Me Lord, But Isn't Enough, Enough All Ready????
Wow....I am getting REALLY TIRED of the ongoing severe windchills that have struck us out here on the prairies once again. Our expected early spring (a pox on you Wiarton Willie) has degenerated into a freezing winter season that is overextending its boundaries, in my opinion!! It is nearly March all ready, yet we are still so far below seasonal temperatures that the timing of the arrival of spring isn't even a question mark in my mind. It is no longer a matter of WHEN it will arrive but IF it will arrive at all! Perhaps it will be one of those years where we go from winter straight into summer, leaving the flowering trees and berry bushes in complete shock, not knowing when or even if it is going to be worth trying to bloom and grow this year!
I know, I know, quit whingeing about the prairie winter this year. The rest of Canada is also suffering unseasonal weather. Well, that is true. Ontario is being hit with nearly hurricane force winds today, Vancouver Island has had snowfall after snowfall lately that may or may not result in the avoidance of the predicted drought this year....all of Canada is suffering weather-wise in one way or another. However, the prairies is where I live, so......whinge, whinge, and whinge some more!!! Waaaaaaahh...I want SPRING!!!
We drove out bravely to church this morning, shivering all the way. It is just a bit too far to walk in this weather, but not far enough away from home to give the car a chance to warm up properly for the short drive. We were late getting away from home, so the poor car barely had a chance to warm up enough to turn over before we were beetling along the city streets.
The Learning For Life class went well once again, the service was so good. The organist, Mark Anderson, always plays the most magificent hymn arrangements at the close of each service and I look forward to that from the moment the service begins. Pastor Joel gave an excellent sermon on what it means to ask the Lord to provide for our needs and why asking is A-OK, rather than a sign of weakness or spiritual immaturity. He did talk about what sorts of things we ask for and mentioned, "Well, for instance you wouldn't ask for a.....for a....for a car, let's say." Um...sorry Pastor Joel but just once I did ask God for a needed car and that is what I got about three weeks later. teehee There are times, under the Spirit's prompting, that we are allowed to ask for very specific things. I will have to share that story with him. He will chuckle. One of the musical performances was difficult for me to fathom today, BUT I realized afterward it is simply because I do not relate to the musical stylings of the singer and it is age related. The young people in our church were mesmerized by the performance and that is a good thing! Whatever brings in our young people to enjoy church is A-OK with me! I don't have to like it myself.
Had the best time with my husband at brunch today after church. Our little neighbourhood Western Pizza has gotten on the Regina Sunday Brunch bandwagon that has been blossoming of late in the local bars and pubs. Now it too has an all day Sunday breakfast for $6.95. We save up our carb and sodium and fats cheats for two weeks and then head over there two Sundays a month after church for our two scrambled eggs, two slices of whole wheat of Texas toast, 3 strips of crispy bacon, a mound of crunchy potato cubes with diced green onions and a slice of watermelon. It is most delicious for a change of pace from our usual two slices of seed bread and a quarter cup of whole wheat cereal, three prunes and cup of almond milk each morning. For the two of us to be able to eat for less than twenty dollars and have toast left to bring home for later....well, that is a great Sunday brunch treat around here.
Friday night we met friends at Lancaster Tap House for a delicious meal and good visiting. We opted for appies this time: warm pretzels with three dips of whole grain mustard, garlic mayo and red pepper mayo, plus some very tasty ribs. The meals were as good as ever and were not huge portions, so we had room to share a couple of pieces of orange twist cheesecake...HIGHLY over priced for the amount on the plate, but still delicious. The price means we will never order it again. The slices were so small they were barely visible on the plate in our opinion. Well, we got to take advantage of the happy hour price on the appetizers and drinks, so that made up for the rip off price of the cheesecake.
The boys went home after dinner, but my friend and I continued on to a concert by members of a choir that shall remain nameless, not because the two songs the choir sang were not well done, but because the rest of the programme of soloists and small groups was SO terrible, I don't want to put anyone off who would otherwise attend the next concert of just choir performance and enjoy that. I know I am going to go. That I WILL enjoy. Some of the solos were so very dreadful that in this case, as I listened to them, my thought was (and excuse the movie reference if you haven't seen When Harry Met Sally) "Nope, I will NOT have what she's having!!" Sigh..... It was like an entire evening of American Idol contestant audition rejects. Why can people not hear themselves when they sing? How can people be that deluded about their own abilities or lack thereof? The whole evening brought me up short by making me stand back from my own activities, singing and otherwise, to ask myself the same question: am I deluding myself that I am good enough to do thus and so in a public forum? There is one event in particular I am currently participating in and now am wondering if I am the deluded one who needs to drop out? Hmmmm...this bears more thought and meditation!
I am counting the days until my husband's sister and her husband arrive later this week. It is going to be so good to have company, to have family here. The fact that they have to make a side trip to Lethbridge on the way and will be picking up some Japanese groceries at Nakagama's store for us all is the icing on the cake! The choir she is in has just sung an amazing repertoire of classical music, using the Latin and German lyrics, so I want to hear all about that.
So far our son has not said any more about the problems over the car accident he had a few days ago. Hopefully that is a GOOD sign and not just him "going dark" because things are very bad indeed and he doesn't want us to know. His bad cold is hanging on for dear life so hopefully he has been able to rest all weekend.
Things are calm and stable for my parents at the moment. Long may it last.
My husband realized this week that he has carried his "never say quit" mentality from his last job into his present job search. He has been frantically searching job boards, church and denominational websites, filling out applications, talking to bishops and other denominational leaders...day after day after day after day.........he admitted today he HAS been running scared, partly because he is not getting any younger, but partly because he has found it nearly impossible to turn off that "gotta keep going because there is SO MUCH to do" mentality he had to utilize to stay sane in his last position. Other than a once a day email check and a day each week to check job postings, I think I have finally convinced him that he has to take some kind of Sabbath rest after 4 intense years of ever growing job pressures. He has exhausted himself in the search and needs to just chill for a couple of weeks or three or four weeks. If he doesn't, he will be too exhausted to begin any job he could be hired for in future. In the meantime he has a couple of weekend "paying gigs" coming up that are fun for him and fulfilling as well because he will be teaching concepts that will help people. I am delighted by that. He has been doing a lot of "teaching" at some of the men's breakfasts too, so although there is no payment involved, it has certainly fired him up to continue researching current philosophers and theologians. If he can stop stressing now about finding a job, at least for awhile, he can just enjoy what is happening at the moment in his daily life with his new friends.
I get to leave my house cleaning for a couple of extra days so it will all be freshly done before the family arrives. I am delighted by that as it leaves me free to run a few other errands of less immediate necessity early this week. I need a new kitchen carpet runner for inside the back door that leads DIRECTLY into the kitchen. Open the back door, step inside and BOOM, there you are right in the kitchen! The rug we have is just getting too worn and dirty to be anywhere near a food preparation area. Winter snow and parking lot sand are very hard on those carpets. I also want some new dishcloths! The ones I have are so grey and worn looking. Their last bleaching was the last one any of them can stand without falling completely apart. I love getting new dishcloths. They look so cheery hanging by the sink when they are new and unstained. I will bequeath a couple of the current cloths to my husband for wiping his tea table, thereby saving my new ones from permanent tea stains for a little bit longer. Purchasing those two items will be my reason to force myself to go outside in the cold tomorrow when I would rather stay inside yet again!
AND speaking of being outside, it is time to go outside and shovel right now! Some light snowfall, coupled with strong winds, has left the walkway out to the car completely covered again in snow with a thick, wind hardened crust. It is time to go outside and wear off all the fat, sodium and carbs from my DELICIOUS and most unhealthy brunch!
I know, I know, quit whingeing about the prairie winter this year. The rest of Canada is also suffering unseasonal weather. Well, that is true. Ontario is being hit with nearly hurricane force winds today, Vancouver Island has had snowfall after snowfall lately that may or may not result in the avoidance of the predicted drought this year....all of Canada is suffering weather-wise in one way or another. However, the prairies is where I live, so......whinge, whinge, and whinge some more!!! Waaaaaaahh...I want SPRING!!!
We drove out bravely to church this morning, shivering all the way. It is just a bit too far to walk in this weather, but not far enough away from home to give the car a chance to warm up properly for the short drive. We were late getting away from home, so the poor car barely had a chance to warm up enough to turn over before we were beetling along the city streets.
The Learning For Life class went well once again, the service was so good. The organist, Mark Anderson, always plays the most magificent hymn arrangements at the close of each service and I look forward to that from the moment the service begins. Pastor Joel gave an excellent sermon on what it means to ask the Lord to provide for our needs and why asking is A-OK, rather than a sign of weakness or spiritual immaturity. He did talk about what sorts of things we ask for and mentioned, "Well, for instance you wouldn't ask for a.....for a....for a car, let's say." Um...sorry Pastor Joel but just once I did ask God for a needed car and that is what I got about three weeks later. teehee There are times, under the Spirit's prompting, that we are allowed to ask for very specific things. I will have to share that story with him. He will chuckle. One of the musical performances was difficult for me to fathom today, BUT I realized afterward it is simply because I do not relate to the musical stylings of the singer and it is age related. The young people in our church were mesmerized by the performance and that is a good thing! Whatever brings in our young people to enjoy church is A-OK with me! I don't have to like it myself.
Had the best time with my husband at brunch today after church. Our little neighbourhood Western Pizza has gotten on the Regina Sunday Brunch bandwagon that has been blossoming of late in the local bars and pubs. Now it too has an all day Sunday breakfast for $6.95. We save up our carb and sodium and fats cheats for two weeks and then head over there two Sundays a month after church for our two scrambled eggs, two slices of whole wheat of Texas toast, 3 strips of crispy bacon, a mound of crunchy potato cubes with diced green onions and a slice of watermelon. It is most delicious for a change of pace from our usual two slices of seed bread and a quarter cup of whole wheat cereal, three prunes and cup of almond milk each morning. For the two of us to be able to eat for less than twenty dollars and have toast left to bring home for later....well, that is a great Sunday brunch treat around here.
Friday night we met friends at Lancaster Tap House for a delicious meal and good visiting. We opted for appies this time: warm pretzels with three dips of whole grain mustard, garlic mayo and red pepper mayo, plus some very tasty ribs. The meals were as good as ever and were not huge portions, so we had room to share a couple of pieces of orange twist cheesecake...HIGHLY over priced for the amount on the plate, but still delicious. The price means we will never order it again. The slices were so small they were barely visible on the plate in our opinion. Well, we got to take advantage of the happy hour price on the appetizers and drinks, so that made up for the rip off price of the cheesecake.
The boys went home after dinner, but my friend and I continued on to a concert by members of a choir that shall remain nameless, not because the two songs the choir sang were not well done, but because the rest of the programme of soloists and small groups was SO terrible, I don't want to put anyone off who would otherwise attend the next concert of just choir performance and enjoy that. I know I am going to go. That I WILL enjoy. Some of the solos were so very dreadful that in this case, as I listened to them, my thought was (and excuse the movie reference if you haven't seen When Harry Met Sally) "Nope, I will NOT have what she's having!!" Sigh..... It was like an entire evening of American Idol contestant audition rejects. Why can people not hear themselves when they sing? How can people be that deluded about their own abilities or lack thereof? The whole evening brought me up short by making me stand back from my own activities, singing and otherwise, to ask myself the same question: am I deluding myself that I am good enough to do thus and so in a public forum? There is one event in particular I am currently participating in and now am wondering if I am the deluded one who needs to drop out? Hmmmm...this bears more thought and meditation!
I am counting the days until my husband's sister and her husband arrive later this week. It is going to be so good to have company, to have family here. The fact that they have to make a side trip to Lethbridge on the way and will be picking up some Japanese groceries at Nakagama's store for us all is the icing on the cake! The choir she is in has just sung an amazing repertoire of classical music, using the Latin and German lyrics, so I want to hear all about that.
So far our son has not said any more about the problems over the car accident he had a few days ago. Hopefully that is a GOOD sign and not just him "going dark" because things are very bad indeed and he doesn't want us to know. His bad cold is hanging on for dear life so hopefully he has been able to rest all weekend.
Things are calm and stable for my parents at the moment. Long may it last.
My husband realized this week that he has carried his "never say quit" mentality from his last job into his present job search. He has been frantically searching job boards, church and denominational websites, filling out applications, talking to bishops and other denominational leaders...day after day after day after day.........he admitted today he HAS been running scared, partly because he is not getting any younger, but partly because he has found it nearly impossible to turn off that "gotta keep going because there is SO MUCH to do" mentality he had to utilize to stay sane in his last position. Other than a once a day email check and a day each week to check job postings, I think I have finally convinced him that he has to take some kind of Sabbath rest after 4 intense years of ever growing job pressures. He has exhausted himself in the search and needs to just chill for a couple of weeks or three or four weeks. If he doesn't, he will be too exhausted to begin any job he could be hired for in future. In the meantime he has a couple of weekend "paying gigs" coming up that are fun for him and fulfilling as well because he will be teaching concepts that will help people. I am delighted by that. He has been doing a lot of "teaching" at some of the men's breakfasts too, so although there is no payment involved, it has certainly fired him up to continue researching current philosophers and theologians. If he can stop stressing now about finding a job, at least for awhile, he can just enjoy what is happening at the moment in his daily life with his new friends.
I get to leave my house cleaning for a couple of extra days so it will all be freshly done before the family arrives. I am delighted by that as it leaves me free to run a few other errands of less immediate necessity early this week. I need a new kitchen carpet runner for inside the back door that leads DIRECTLY into the kitchen. Open the back door, step inside and BOOM, there you are right in the kitchen! The rug we have is just getting too worn and dirty to be anywhere near a food preparation area. Winter snow and parking lot sand are very hard on those carpets. I also want some new dishcloths! The ones I have are so grey and worn looking. Their last bleaching was the last one any of them can stand without falling completely apart. I love getting new dishcloths. They look so cheery hanging by the sink when they are new and unstained. I will bequeath a couple of the current cloths to my husband for wiping his tea table, thereby saving my new ones from permanent tea stains for a little bit longer. Purchasing those two items will be my reason to force myself to go outside in the cold tomorrow when I would rather stay inside yet again!
AND speaking of being outside, it is time to go outside and shovel right now! Some light snowfall, coupled with strong winds, has left the walkway out to the car completely covered again in snow with a thick, wind hardened crust. It is time to go outside and wear off all the fat, sodium and carbs from my DELICIOUS and most unhealthy brunch!
Friday, February 22, 2019
Back Online, yay!
It's a beautiful, but CHILLY day in the neighbourhood today! BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
After a brief respite from the bitter cold, as in yesterday all day, the cold air has returned with a vengeance! However, as is usual on such cold days, the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky, so from the vantage point of the inside of my living room, it is a cheery day!
We woke up once again to no WiFi connection, so before my husband headed of to yet another....wait for it.....drum roll please.....inhale expectant breath....MEN'S BREAKFAST (a political group this time)....exhale.....,he spent some time crawling around in the basement rafters to reset the modem on our SaskTel system. Worked the magic and we now have both my iPad and his cell phone back online and working well. It seems that about once every 4 - 6 weeks we are having to reset the entire system, either due to a loss of WiFi connection or problems with our SaskMax system. It is okay when we are at home if things shut down because we can usually fix them in a matter of minutes, but if such things happens while we are out of the house we miss programmes we had set to tape, which is most annoying. It isn't "end of the world" annoying...more like "why am I paying so much every month for a system that keeps going down??", annoying. For now the system is once again up and running and it feels good!
After my husband arrived home from his meeting, I jumped into our nicely warmed vehicle and headed off to do some chores across town. I didn't even look at the time. An hour later, as I was preparing to take the car into the gasoline station for a fill before driving home, I started feeling dizzy and weak. Wha...???? I checked the time and sure enough, it was WAY past my lunch time. Fortunately I was driving right past Mr. Mike's at the time, so I stopped in for a rather delicious half caesar salad with a broiled chicken breast and a drink. By the time I was done eating I felt much better and deemed it safe to continue on to the gasoline station and then home. It took the better part of a half hour to put gasoline into the vehicle because the pumps were rather frozen and didn't want to take any of my bank or points cards. It took three tries at three different machines before I could get the pump handles to actually work. hahahaha I don't know what was going on with the lone employee today. He made no appearance, didn't answer the intercom buzzers that myself and two other fellow "trying to be" customers were ringing. Maybe he was tired of having to run outside in the cold just to explain to us that he had no idea what was going on and to keep trying. Eventually all of us received our purchases and travelled on. Well, if nothing like that ever happened, life would be monotonous indeed, would it not?
Now it is 2:30pm and I have not yet begun my couple of hours of ironing. I may or may not get to it before we have to go out the Lancaster's to meet friends for dinner and a concert. Yawn....a nap may be in order instead....all that standing about in the cold at the gasoline station....you understand.....zzzzzzzzzz........
After a brief respite from the bitter cold, as in yesterday all day, the cold air has returned with a vengeance! However, as is usual on such cold days, the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky, so from the vantage point of the inside of my living room, it is a cheery day!
We woke up once again to no WiFi connection, so before my husband headed of to yet another....wait for it.....drum roll please.....inhale expectant breath....MEN'S BREAKFAST (a political group this time)....exhale.....,he spent some time crawling around in the basement rafters to reset the modem on our SaskTel system. Worked the magic and we now have both my iPad and his cell phone back online and working well. It seems that about once every 4 - 6 weeks we are having to reset the entire system, either due to a loss of WiFi connection or problems with our SaskMax system. It is okay when we are at home if things shut down because we can usually fix them in a matter of minutes, but if such things happens while we are out of the house we miss programmes we had set to tape, which is most annoying. It isn't "end of the world" annoying...more like "why am I paying so much every month for a system that keeps going down??", annoying. For now the system is once again up and running and it feels good!
After my husband arrived home from his meeting, I jumped into our nicely warmed vehicle and headed off to do some chores across town. I didn't even look at the time. An hour later, as I was preparing to take the car into the gasoline station for a fill before driving home, I started feeling dizzy and weak. Wha...???? I checked the time and sure enough, it was WAY past my lunch time. Fortunately I was driving right past Mr. Mike's at the time, so I stopped in for a rather delicious half caesar salad with a broiled chicken breast and a drink. By the time I was done eating I felt much better and deemed it safe to continue on to the gasoline station and then home. It took the better part of a half hour to put gasoline into the vehicle because the pumps were rather frozen and didn't want to take any of my bank or points cards. It took three tries at three different machines before I could get the pump handles to actually work. hahahaha I don't know what was going on with the lone employee today. He made no appearance, didn't answer the intercom buzzers that myself and two other fellow "trying to be" customers were ringing. Maybe he was tired of having to run outside in the cold just to explain to us that he had no idea what was going on and to keep trying. Eventually all of us received our purchases and travelled on. Well, if nothing like that ever happened, life would be monotonous indeed, would it not?
Now it is 2:30pm and I have not yet begun my couple of hours of ironing. I may or may not get to it before we have to go out the Lancaster's to meet friends for dinner and a concert. Yawn....a nap may be in order instead....all that standing about in the cold at the gasoline station....you understand.....zzzzzzzzzz........
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Still Grateful for Wired Internet!!!
Our WiFi has been down for the past 5 hours or more, rendering my iPad and my husband's phone internet completely inoperable. Don't know yet if it is a city wide, area wide, district wide, or "our building only" shut down. Guess I could call SaskTel and find out, but I am busy doing laundry, dishes, cooking, chatting with my husband and several other tasks I am presently deeming more important.
I am very grateful I hung onto my somewhat elderly wired computer. Both my husband and I are able to achieve our internet goals today despite the other two WiFi necessary devices letting us down.
Sometimes the oldies are still the goodies..........YES!!
I am very grateful I hung onto my somewhat elderly wired computer. Both my husband and I are able to achieve our internet goals today despite the other two WiFi necessary devices letting us down.
Sometimes the oldies are still the goodies..........YES!!
O Glorious WARMTH!!
It is laundry day at our house. A few minutes ago I pulled a still warm duvet cover out of the dryer, wrapped it all around my bare arms and sat myself down on the living room sofa to luxuriate in the wonderful warmth of it.
Ooooh, that felt SO very good!
Feelin' chilly and blue on a winter day? Pull a freshly washed, still warm sheet or blanket or bath towel from the dryer before it has a chance to cool down, wrap up in it, then sit quietly and absorb the heat, eyes shut, happy thoughts running through your mind....so very lovely.....sigh...aaaah......
Ooooh, that felt SO very good!
Feelin' chilly and blue on a winter day? Pull a freshly washed, still warm sheet or blanket or bath towel from the dryer before it has a chance to cool down, wrap up in it, then sit quietly and absorb the heat, eyes shut, happy thoughts running through your mind....so very lovely.....sigh...aaaah......
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Good Study This Evening
Book Club is going so well again this term. Since we were having trouble agreeing on what novel to read, our fearless leader decided we would have Bible study this time around, so that we could all focus on what we as Christian women have in common and give us a chance to put our personal novel likes and dislikes aside for a few weeks. It was a brilliant idea.
We are studying line by line, the Lord's prayer from Matthew Chapter 6. The study was written by Faye Reynolds on behalf of Women in Focus, part of the Baptist Women of Western Canada.
I admit when the idea of a Bible study came up I wasn't that excited, as I mistakenly assumed it would be the typical simplistic pap of too many Bible studies undertaken by church women. This one has a bit more depth than many, the questions for starting the discussion section are intelligent and force people to think deeply about their answers.
Next week it is my turn to facilitate the study. This is only week three, so my topic is "Hallowed be Thy name". We are going to discuss what the word holy means, what it means to fear God and how our own concepts of those words cause us to react when we hear them. Very little needs to be added to what Ms. Reynolds has put into each week's study guide and I am looking forward to taking my turn. Usually I dread leading Bible studies, but this guide is very good and doesn't leave the leaders either struggling to add more depth, or scrambling to come up with answers they are unsure of. I am interested to hear what the other women have been taught about the meaning of those two words and their resulting life actions.
Here's to the next book club meeting two weeks from now!
In other news, Kat has received her surgery date for her ovarian cancer. She is in constant pain now, so rather than being afraid of the surgery, as she has been, she is just relieved that in two weeks she will have so much of it removed from her body. O how we are praying it has not spread, but that is the fear. It is an ugly, painful cancer with a poor rate of survival and without God's direct intervention I fear for Kat. Sigh..... Yet another friend is having "secret" cancer surgery in a couple of days and it is almost as serious a situation as Kat's. He has refused to tell anyone and seems to be trying to deal with it all on his own. I definitely understand his keeping all this to himself to avoid all the attention if people knew, but I wish also that he had more support. Well, God is with him through this and those few of us who are aware of the situation can pray for peace to prevail.
I am in the age group now that is constantly under attack with medical problems and sometimes it is overwhelming to consider how many people I know who have serious health struggles. And that is only the people that I personally know....how many thousand, million, other middle aged folk are also struggling???!!?
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer..........
We are studying line by line, the Lord's prayer from Matthew Chapter 6. The study was written by Faye Reynolds on behalf of Women in Focus, part of the Baptist Women of Western Canada.
I admit when the idea of a Bible study came up I wasn't that excited, as I mistakenly assumed it would be the typical simplistic pap of too many Bible studies undertaken by church women. This one has a bit more depth than many, the questions for starting the discussion section are intelligent and force people to think deeply about their answers.
Next week it is my turn to facilitate the study. This is only week three, so my topic is "Hallowed be Thy name". We are going to discuss what the word holy means, what it means to fear God and how our own concepts of those words cause us to react when we hear them. Very little needs to be added to what Ms. Reynolds has put into each week's study guide and I am looking forward to taking my turn. Usually I dread leading Bible studies, but this guide is very good and doesn't leave the leaders either struggling to add more depth, or scrambling to come up with answers they are unsure of. I am interested to hear what the other women have been taught about the meaning of those two words and their resulting life actions.
Here's to the next book club meeting two weeks from now!
In other news, Kat has received her surgery date for her ovarian cancer. She is in constant pain now, so rather than being afraid of the surgery, as she has been, she is just relieved that in two weeks she will have so much of it removed from her body. O how we are praying it has not spread, but that is the fear. It is an ugly, painful cancer with a poor rate of survival and without God's direct intervention I fear for Kat. Sigh..... Yet another friend is having "secret" cancer surgery in a couple of days and it is almost as serious a situation as Kat's. He has refused to tell anyone and seems to be trying to deal with it all on his own. I definitely understand his keeping all this to himself to avoid all the attention if people knew, but I wish also that he had more support. Well, God is with him through this and those few of us who are aware of the situation can pray for peace to prevail.
I am in the age group now that is constantly under attack with medical problems and sometimes it is overwhelming to consider how many people I know who have serious health struggles. And that is only the people that I personally know....how many thousand, million, other middle aged folk are also struggling???!!?
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer..........
Reverting!
I don't know if it is my age, the ongoing, never ending blast of unseasonal cold weather, underlying stresses or what, but I have found myself reverting in my thinking to earlier days.
Lately I have been thinking of and using Imperial measurement rather than metric, remembering people and events I haven't thought about in several decades and even having the faint sounds of old tv advertising jingles floating through my thoughts, particularly in the wee hours of the morning when I am having trouble sleeping.
For example: there once was an employment agency in my home city that found temporary jobs for construction workers during the lean winter months of the 1960's. The jingle went something like this:
Why wait for spring? Do it now!
When there are men who know how.
If the job is exterior then the work is superior.
Why wait for spring? Do it now!
hahahahahahaha Can you imagine a jingle like that appearing on tv these days? The assumption that trades people are all men would get it blasted off the air in a matter of hours. hahahahaha
I can't remember my own social insurance or bank account numbers in the wee hours of the morning, but I can remember that sort of nonsense! Aiiiii yiiiiii..........
Our son's boss is at a car dealership this morning having the damage to his car assessed for repairs. Yesterday he told our son that he was not responsible to pay for any of the repairs and from a legal standpoint that is true....our son did the necessary research to find out. However, our son is very stressed that the fellow may change his mind once he gets the cost breakdown. Sigh..... Our son wants to do the morally right thing, plus maintain his good relationship with a man who is well known for temper tantrums, but our son has not an extra cent at the moment to pay for this sort of expense. His head cold has resurfaced and I suspect the stress of the situation has a lot to do with it. So, we are praying for a good solution to be worked out between the two of them. If his boss would accept a certain amount of money each month from our son that would be helpful, but he can't pay even half of the cost in one lump just now. NYC traffic....a nightmare at the best of times. Outside of places such as India or Tanzania, my husband has never seen the like before.
The last couple of days found us under an Extreme Cold warning once again. However, there was very little wind, plus the ground temperature was up by at least 8 degrees over last week, so it wasn't so bad. We both admitted this morning that we are tired of winter now and ready for spring. That won't happen for awhile yet, a couple of months perhaps, but at least each day we are one day closer to that happening. My husband's sister and her husband may be coming to see us at the end of this month, so that would give us something nice to look forward to.
On the job front, the one job interview my husband had earlier this month left him kind of hoping perhaps that would be the end of that particular contact. However, the church leaders have decided to leave his name in the mix as they search for a new minister. Perhaps he will simply be the "comparison interview" as they talk to others they think they want more than they want him, so he isn't "on the hook" for anything there.
This morning another couple of possibilities in Alberta were brought to his attention, so he is looking them over and sending emails back and forth to the area bishop, checking it all out further. One position has come open very unexpectedly and if he wants it we could be moving next week, however it is in a community we are less than excited about living in and so it bears further research. I think if it was June instead of only February and there was nothing else on the horizon, he would leap at it to be employed, but it IS only February and there are other things he needs to check out first.
He is also sending his information to a couple of places for a different sort of job than pastoring. The chances of him being picked up at either place is very small, but he is "big" interested, so why not try, right? The worst that can happen is that he has spent a couple of days writing and sending information only to have no job come of it. Hardly the end of the world. Isn't that what usually happens to 75% or more of job applications sent out by anyone?
It is going to be very interesting to see where ourselves and our son are living and what we will all be doing by this autumn!
We had a lovely visit with a young cousin of my husband's here at our place on Family Day. She is a bright young woman with a wonderful career, very forthright in her expressions and opinions and a very active person who has found herself many new interests and new friends in the couple of months she has lived here.
Tonight I have book club. Should be good. I am taking a huge box of food cartons with me to give to one of the other members. She and her housemate are both awaiting surgery dates for very invasive surgeries that will require long recovery periods and I thought since there is little else I can do for them, I could at least cook them some meals for using right after they both get home from hospital. I remember how much it meant to me through my last two sessions of bone surgeries and rehab, not to have to worry about having to try to be mobile and well enough to cook meals for the first week at home.
I had a lot of fun cooking up spaghetti, chicken veggie casserole, beef stir fry, several kinds of rice, beef stew, hamburger casserole, chicken and beef sliced up for sandwiches, tuna casserole...I even roped my husband into making another pot of chili to share with them. hahaha It has been the most fun two days inventing tasty treats to share with these friends. If I can't go out to work or return to my former church duties, at least I can do some kind of work here at home that is helpful to other people. I hope these ladies have as much fun eating the meals as we had preparing them.
I have been doing some "unofficial" pastor's wife counselling with a woman I met recently who has found herself in a situation with a well meaning fellow who is not able to hear her that she is not interested in a relationship with him. Those are tricky situations and I have sent her on to a professional counsellor as I believe there is more going on under the surface than I am trained to assist her with. People fascinate me, what makes them think and do.
We have only 3 sessions remaining in our Old Testament discussion group. Last night we completed the book of Ezekiel, next week we will discuss Daniel and then take two weeks to complete the rest of the minor prophets we haven't discussed yet. Then we will take a break before deciding what direction we want to take with a second run through of the Old Testament. My husband and I are looking forward to the last discussions, but also to the break. We have been incredibly busy with "events" for the past couple of months and it is time for a change of pace for awhile. Although....I don't think the change of pace is going to apply to my husband's monthly men's breakfast circuit. hahahaha O how he loves those times!
Next Monday we are going out to dinner at the home of vegan friends. She is a wonderful cook, so we are really looking forward to sharing the meal as well as the visit. At least one other couple from church are also going to be there, a lively pair who will have us all laughing the entire evening.
This afternoon I am going to force myself to face starting the car and driving off to the bank to pay the monthly utility bills. O my, I have become SO good at hibernating on the cold days. This is becoming a very bad habit and not one designed to bring joy and motivation and exercise to my life!!!! Time to get moving on some away from home chores once again!!
Lately I have been thinking of and using Imperial measurement rather than metric, remembering people and events I haven't thought about in several decades and even having the faint sounds of old tv advertising jingles floating through my thoughts, particularly in the wee hours of the morning when I am having trouble sleeping.
For example: there once was an employment agency in my home city that found temporary jobs for construction workers during the lean winter months of the 1960's. The jingle went something like this:
Why wait for spring? Do it now!
When there are men who know how.
If the job is exterior then the work is superior.
Why wait for spring? Do it now!
hahahahahahaha Can you imagine a jingle like that appearing on tv these days? The assumption that trades people are all men would get it blasted off the air in a matter of hours. hahahahaha
I can't remember my own social insurance or bank account numbers in the wee hours of the morning, but I can remember that sort of nonsense! Aiiiii yiiiiii..........
Our son's boss is at a car dealership this morning having the damage to his car assessed for repairs. Yesterday he told our son that he was not responsible to pay for any of the repairs and from a legal standpoint that is true....our son did the necessary research to find out. However, our son is very stressed that the fellow may change his mind once he gets the cost breakdown. Sigh..... Our son wants to do the morally right thing, plus maintain his good relationship with a man who is well known for temper tantrums, but our son has not an extra cent at the moment to pay for this sort of expense. His head cold has resurfaced and I suspect the stress of the situation has a lot to do with it. So, we are praying for a good solution to be worked out between the two of them. If his boss would accept a certain amount of money each month from our son that would be helpful, but he can't pay even half of the cost in one lump just now. NYC traffic....a nightmare at the best of times. Outside of places such as India or Tanzania, my husband has never seen the like before.
The last couple of days found us under an Extreme Cold warning once again. However, there was very little wind, plus the ground temperature was up by at least 8 degrees over last week, so it wasn't so bad. We both admitted this morning that we are tired of winter now and ready for spring. That won't happen for awhile yet, a couple of months perhaps, but at least each day we are one day closer to that happening. My husband's sister and her husband may be coming to see us at the end of this month, so that would give us something nice to look forward to.
On the job front, the one job interview my husband had earlier this month left him kind of hoping perhaps that would be the end of that particular contact. However, the church leaders have decided to leave his name in the mix as they search for a new minister. Perhaps he will simply be the "comparison interview" as they talk to others they think they want more than they want him, so he isn't "on the hook" for anything there.
This morning another couple of possibilities in Alberta were brought to his attention, so he is looking them over and sending emails back and forth to the area bishop, checking it all out further. One position has come open very unexpectedly and if he wants it we could be moving next week, however it is in a community we are less than excited about living in and so it bears further research. I think if it was June instead of only February and there was nothing else on the horizon, he would leap at it to be employed, but it IS only February and there are other things he needs to check out first.
He is also sending his information to a couple of places for a different sort of job than pastoring. The chances of him being picked up at either place is very small, but he is "big" interested, so why not try, right? The worst that can happen is that he has spent a couple of days writing and sending information only to have no job come of it. Hardly the end of the world. Isn't that what usually happens to 75% or more of job applications sent out by anyone?
It is going to be very interesting to see where ourselves and our son are living and what we will all be doing by this autumn!
We had a lovely visit with a young cousin of my husband's here at our place on Family Day. She is a bright young woman with a wonderful career, very forthright in her expressions and opinions and a very active person who has found herself many new interests and new friends in the couple of months she has lived here.
Tonight I have book club. Should be good. I am taking a huge box of food cartons with me to give to one of the other members. She and her housemate are both awaiting surgery dates for very invasive surgeries that will require long recovery periods and I thought since there is little else I can do for them, I could at least cook them some meals for using right after they both get home from hospital. I remember how much it meant to me through my last two sessions of bone surgeries and rehab, not to have to worry about having to try to be mobile and well enough to cook meals for the first week at home.
I had a lot of fun cooking up spaghetti, chicken veggie casserole, beef stir fry, several kinds of rice, beef stew, hamburger casserole, chicken and beef sliced up for sandwiches, tuna casserole...I even roped my husband into making another pot of chili to share with them. hahaha It has been the most fun two days inventing tasty treats to share with these friends. If I can't go out to work or return to my former church duties, at least I can do some kind of work here at home that is helpful to other people. I hope these ladies have as much fun eating the meals as we had preparing them.
I have been doing some "unofficial" pastor's wife counselling with a woman I met recently who has found herself in a situation with a well meaning fellow who is not able to hear her that she is not interested in a relationship with him. Those are tricky situations and I have sent her on to a professional counsellor as I believe there is more going on under the surface than I am trained to assist her with. People fascinate me, what makes them think and do.
We have only 3 sessions remaining in our Old Testament discussion group. Last night we completed the book of Ezekiel, next week we will discuss Daniel and then take two weeks to complete the rest of the minor prophets we haven't discussed yet. Then we will take a break before deciding what direction we want to take with a second run through of the Old Testament. My husband and I are looking forward to the last discussions, but also to the break. We have been incredibly busy with "events" for the past couple of months and it is time for a change of pace for awhile. Although....I don't think the change of pace is going to apply to my husband's monthly men's breakfast circuit. hahahaha O how he loves those times!
Next Monday we are going out to dinner at the home of vegan friends. She is a wonderful cook, so we are really looking forward to sharing the meal as well as the visit. At least one other couple from church are also going to be there, a lively pair who will have us all laughing the entire evening.
This afternoon I am going to force myself to face starting the car and driving off to the bank to pay the monthly utility bills. O my, I have become SO good at hibernating on the cold days. This is becoming a very bad habit and not one designed to bring joy and motivation and exercise to my life!!!! Time to get moving on some away from home chores once again!!
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Extremes!!
Yesterday I felt terrible physically and mentally and accomplished absolutely nothing. Today I felt great, so enjoyed my huband's Sunday School class, the wonderful church service (where I sang heartily and unto the Lord my beloved "Christ Be Our Light"), a delicious and fun filled lunch with a young couple from church, hopefully gave hope and good suggestions during a pastoral session with a friend who is trying to get free of a stalker and had an excellent phone conversation with my son. Today began at 7:30am and now at nearly 10:30pm is finally drawing to a close. I am EXHAUSTED, but happily so. What a wonderful contrast to yesterday!
I still suspect my worries about friends in Haiti contributed strongly to feeling so bummed out and miserable as those symptoms began to lift within minutes of finding out they had gotten out of the country. There is one more plane load scheduled to arrive in Calgary late tonight and then they will be all in their own homes again. Thank you Lord...BUT....what about the Haitians themselves? What is going to happen to them??? Lots of prayers for them!
I still suspect my worries about friends in Haiti contributed strongly to feeling so bummed out and miserable as those symptoms began to lift within minutes of finding out they had gotten out of the country. There is one more plane load scheduled to arrive in Calgary late tonight and then they will be all in their own homes again. Thank you Lord...BUT....what about the Haitians themselves? What is going to happen to them??? Lots of prayers for them!
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Good News All Around!!
First and most importantly, our friends, along with another large contingent of medical volunteers, have made it out of Haiti! Everyone is so grateful to Air Transat for working with the Canadian government to use their helicopters to get everyone safely to the airport at Port-au-Prince. They flew three helicopters in rotation between the two compounds of volunteers and each helicopter made four flights.
The first group of 9 of our friends were the first ones to the airport and 8 of them were immediately put onto a plane to Montreal. The ninth stayed to wait for the next transport. All the helicopter flights had to be completed by 5pm Haiti time, in order to make the transfers in the daylight.
At last report, not long ago, all our friends have safely left Haiti and are on their way home, via Miami and Montreal. All 24 of them have flights booked home to Calgary tomorrow.
We are SO very relieved!! Thank you Lord for keeping them safe and please protect the Haitian people from more violence and pain and suffering. Amen!
Interestingly I began to feel better only a few minutes after receiving this wonderful news! hahaha Between that and my husband insisting I take one of his Zantac pills, I have been feeling well for a whole hour now. The thick head has cleared up, the heart burn and acid reflux have calmed right down. I was able to eat a couple of scrambled eggs and a piece of toast for supper about a half hour ago with no negative consequences. Thank you Lord!
I suspect I have been unwittingly taking on a lot of stress that is actually other peoples'. So many friends and now a relative with cancer, a friend whose bones are so fragile they are literally dissolving inside his body and there is nothing more to be done for him after spending nearly four years in hospital and rehab, people stranded in Haiti for several days with some doubt until this afternoon about getting out safely, some young missionaries in China right now whose agency may have to pull them out of there in light of the troubles between our two governments....so stressful for our dear friends, their parents.
Our son had a bit of a fender bender the other day in the middle of the NYC afternoon rush hour, so now his boss's car has joined the other thousands of dinged up vehicles there. He was running errands for his boss, who is travelling right now and the stress is who is going to pay for the repair on the front bumper and tire. His boss is a bit of a drama queen, so what happens is quite dependent on his mood! The good aspect of the upsetting situation is that our son was driving under his boss' instruction and the vehicle he hit was a parked delivery truck that sustained no damage whatsoever, therefore no need to call police and insurance companies etc. SO, the boss shouldn't have to worry about a rise in his car insurance payments. I am trying not to be concerned, but the unexpected trip to Vancouver earlier this month, that couldn't be avoided, has drained our son's bit of savings. Sigh..... HOWEVER, something good has come all ready from this situation! Our son believes that God is helping him learn not to stress out and how to cope better with events like this where the outcome could be somewhat disastrous. That is worth a lot of joy right there! Our son was able to get his hands on a torque wrench and repair a strip of plastic that goes around the top of the wheel well on the side that hit the truck. There is no room to have two lanes of moving traffic in the narrow streets of Brooklyn if someone has to pull over to stop beside the sidewalk...parking spots are generally non-existent.... so the delivery trucks have to stop right in the middle of their driving lane and people coming along behind them have to try to judge whether or not they have time and space to squeeze in between the parked trucks and the oncoming traffic. This time our son was pushed over before he cleared the hefty steel truck bumper. Okay Lord, another prayer request from our family to you, the helper who is always trustworthy to get us through one way or another.
I remember taking Zantac for about a year when my son was only 3 or 4 years old and my husband was working out of town a lot. Oooh, I will never forget what that ulcer felt like and that is why I was so concerned today when my tummy was acting up. So, it is time to give up the stress about the problems of other people and entrust my requests for help for them to God, stepping away from the situations I cannot solve any other way. Yes....thank you Lord for this painful but necessary reminder!
The first group of 9 of our friends were the first ones to the airport and 8 of them were immediately put onto a plane to Montreal. The ninth stayed to wait for the next transport. All the helicopter flights had to be completed by 5pm Haiti time, in order to make the transfers in the daylight.
At last report, not long ago, all our friends have safely left Haiti and are on their way home, via Miami and Montreal. All 24 of them have flights booked home to Calgary tomorrow.
We are SO very relieved!! Thank you Lord for keeping them safe and please protect the Haitian people from more violence and pain and suffering. Amen!
Interestingly I began to feel better only a few minutes after receiving this wonderful news! hahaha Between that and my husband insisting I take one of his Zantac pills, I have been feeling well for a whole hour now. The thick head has cleared up, the heart burn and acid reflux have calmed right down. I was able to eat a couple of scrambled eggs and a piece of toast for supper about a half hour ago with no negative consequences. Thank you Lord!
I suspect I have been unwittingly taking on a lot of stress that is actually other peoples'. So many friends and now a relative with cancer, a friend whose bones are so fragile they are literally dissolving inside his body and there is nothing more to be done for him after spending nearly four years in hospital and rehab, people stranded in Haiti for several days with some doubt until this afternoon about getting out safely, some young missionaries in China right now whose agency may have to pull them out of there in light of the troubles between our two governments....so stressful for our dear friends, their parents.
Our son had a bit of a fender bender the other day in the middle of the NYC afternoon rush hour, so now his boss's car has joined the other thousands of dinged up vehicles there. He was running errands for his boss, who is travelling right now and the stress is who is going to pay for the repair on the front bumper and tire. His boss is a bit of a drama queen, so what happens is quite dependent on his mood! The good aspect of the upsetting situation is that our son was driving under his boss' instruction and the vehicle he hit was a parked delivery truck that sustained no damage whatsoever, therefore no need to call police and insurance companies etc. SO, the boss shouldn't have to worry about a rise in his car insurance payments. I am trying not to be concerned, but the unexpected trip to Vancouver earlier this month, that couldn't be avoided, has drained our son's bit of savings. Sigh..... HOWEVER, something good has come all ready from this situation! Our son believes that God is helping him learn not to stress out and how to cope better with events like this where the outcome could be somewhat disastrous. That is worth a lot of joy right there! Our son was able to get his hands on a torque wrench and repair a strip of plastic that goes around the top of the wheel well on the side that hit the truck. There is no room to have two lanes of moving traffic in the narrow streets of Brooklyn if someone has to pull over to stop beside the sidewalk...parking spots are generally non-existent.... so the delivery trucks have to stop right in the middle of their driving lane and people coming along behind them have to try to judge whether or not they have time and space to squeeze in between the parked trucks and the oncoming traffic. This time our son was pushed over before he cleared the hefty steel truck bumper. Okay Lord, another prayer request from our family to you, the helper who is always trustworthy to get us through one way or another.
I remember taking Zantac for about a year when my son was only 3 or 4 years old and my husband was working out of town a lot. Oooh, I will never forget what that ulcer felt like and that is why I was so concerned today when my tummy was acting up. So, it is time to give up the stress about the problems of other people and entrust my requests for help for them to God, stepping away from the situations I cannot solve any other way. Yes....thank you Lord for this painful but necessary reminder!
O Wow, What Did I Eat/Drink Yesterday?
What a miserable day this has turned into! Blecch! I feel dreadful! My head is all muddley, my tummy is sore and I am getting sleepier by the hour😮, dang it!
I have spent the last hour lying on top of my bed with my eyes closed, burping like crazy, feeling shivery and lacking enough energy to try to get to the grocery store for the few items I need by tomorrow. Acid tummy...yucko!
My husband and I ate and drank all the same things yesterday and he feels just fine. So, I am wondering if I have been drinking pure cranberry juice too often in my latest attempt at a dose of the healthy goodies it contains. I have ingested a quarter cup of it once each day for the past couple of weeks. Last night I drank it just before bedtime, so am wondering if that was my mistake. It may be too acidic for me to gave so often.
This past hour of just laying on the bed in my warm clothes, big tv pillow behind my head and back, knees bent to protect my tummy, eyes closed, seems to have helped quite a bit. I think I will just stay here for another hour....or more....yawn.....
Wonder if stress over my friends stranded in Haiti has anything to do with this. The evacuation is supposed to be happening this very day, but there have been no updates yet on the news. They went there to help the people of Haiti restore homes destroyed in previous storms and to provide medical care. O Lord, I know what will be will be, so help me to stop worrying so much. Thank you.
I need to get feeling better....one of the church couples our son’s age have invited us to have lunch with them tomorrow! Fun, exciting younger people! Please....I so do not want to miss that!
I have spent the last hour lying on top of my bed with my eyes closed, burping like crazy, feeling shivery and lacking enough energy to try to get to the grocery store for the few items I need by tomorrow. Acid tummy...yucko!
My husband and I ate and drank all the same things yesterday and he feels just fine. So, I am wondering if I have been drinking pure cranberry juice too often in my latest attempt at a dose of the healthy goodies it contains. I have ingested a quarter cup of it once each day for the past couple of weeks. Last night I drank it just before bedtime, so am wondering if that was my mistake. It may be too acidic for me to gave so often.
This past hour of just laying on the bed in my warm clothes, big tv pillow behind my head and back, knees bent to protect my tummy, eyes closed, seems to have helped quite a bit. I think I will just stay here for another hour....or more....yawn.....
Wonder if stress over my friends stranded in Haiti has anything to do with this. The evacuation is supposed to be happening this very day, but there have been no updates yet on the news. They went there to help the people of Haiti restore homes destroyed in previous storms and to provide medical care. O Lord, I know what will be will be, so help me to stop worrying so much. Thank you.
I need to get feeling better....one of the church couples our son’s age have invited us to have lunch with them tomorrow! Fun, exciting younger people! Please....I so do not want to miss that!
Cute Teeshirt!
One of our friends has a grandson with horrendous medical issues. He is nearly two, cannot digest solid food, so wears a liquid food filled fanny pack that has a pic line into his tummy, among other devastating problems, has every cold and influenza in the area attack his little body, is in and out of hospital every few days....and yet he is the most cheerful little fellow. I received a photo of him yesterday wearing a bright red teeshirt and on it in big gold letters were the words, Mr. Steal Your Heart! Oh Daniel, you have certainly stolen mine! 🥰
Still Trying To Get Out of Haiti
According to the articles in the Calgary newspapers, our friends who are stranded in Haiti were unable to be airlifted out yesterday. The Canadian government will try again this morning to have a helicopter that is grounded at the airport in Port au Prince fuelled and released to pick them up at the missions compound, get them back to the airport and on their way to Miami. There are 24 people, so three trips by the helicopter will be required. We can only pray these rescue attempts will be successful and that the helicopter will not be shot down by government protesters.
Our friends are running out of fuel, food and water. Since the rebel soldiers have blockaded all the roads in the area, none of those necessities will be able to be brought in to them.
As I pray for everyone’s safety I am also praying for peace of mind: that everyone on the compound can somehow remain calm and think clearly, that stress will not cause tempers to flare, that the group can work together cohesively to protect themselves while they await rescue.
I pray rescue will occur.
Our friends are running out of fuel, food and water. Since the rebel soldiers have blockaded all the roads in the area, none of those necessities will be able to be brought in to them.
As I pray for everyone’s safety I am also praying for peace of mind: that everyone on the compound can somehow remain calm and think clearly, that stress will not cause tempers to flare, that the group can work together cohesively to protect themselves while they await rescue.
I pray rescue will occur.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Political Turmoil
I received an email this morning asking for prayer for 24 folk from a church near where I used to live in Alberta. They were invited to do some missional and practical restoration work in Haiti for a few weeks and yesterday was their scheduled flight back to Canada. Unfortunately, they were not permitted to leave the mission compound as rebel soldiers had blocked the roads and a NO FLY was issued at the airport in Port au Prince. Later in the day the president of Haiti gave a speech and whatever was said has further inflamed the situation, so no roads are open between the compound and the airport.
The intention today is to attempt to helicopter the Canadians out of the compound and fly them to a neighbouring country where flights home can be arranged. It is extremely dangerous to even try this, but if it doesn't happen these people, some of who are our friends, could be trapped in Haiti for days, weeks, months....or, worse case scenario, the compound could be destroyed and those within it lose their lives.
It is a tense, frightening mess for many people in Haiti today, obviously not just for our friends and this particular mission.
Pray again for Haiti, for the horrendous political and social problems there, for the Haitian people who live with terror and practical inadequacies every day of their lives, as well as for the international workers who are trying so hard to help restore Haiti after the tremendous losses they have sustained in recent years due to horrible weather events.
The intention today is to attempt to helicopter the Canadians out of the compound and fly them to a neighbouring country where flights home can be arranged. It is extremely dangerous to even try this, but if it doesn't happen these people, some of who are our friends, could be trapped in Haiti for days, weeks, months....or, worse case scenario, the compound could be destroyed and those within it lose their lives.
It is a tense, frightening mess for many people in Haiti today, obviously not just for our friends and this particular mission.
Pray again for Haiti, for the horrendous political and social problems there, for the Haitian people who live with terror and practical inadequacies every day of their lives, as well as for the international workers who are trying so hard to help restore Haiti after the tremendous losses they have sustained in recent years due to horrible weather events.
How Do I Know My Husband Is Home Every Day Now?
This little comment says it best:
“I don’t have ducks......or a row.
I have squirrels......and they are everywhere!”
Tee here hee.....love ya’ sweetie.
Belated Happy Valentines Day. 😇 💜 💑
“I don’t have ducks......or a row.
I have squirrels......and they are everywhere!”
Tee here hee.....love ya’ sweetie.
Belated Happy Valentines Day. 😇 💜 💑
Thursday, February 14, 2019
While I’m Warming Up
Friends from church are coming over today for an early lunch with us. We have to eat early because our 80 year old friend has his weekly racquetball game this afternoon. He reminds me of my dad at that age, fit and active in mind and body. Looking forward to our visit with this wonderful couple.
Just came inside after shoveling our most recent snowfall of several inches from the deck, steps, the long path to the car and all around the vehicle. It has been awhile since I last exposed my asthmatic self to shoveling in a minus 32C windchill, but I survived quite well! Yay! My husband is busy with another job application this morning, so his Valentine Day treat from me is not having to shovel.
Well, I had better get a move on. Our friends will be here in an hour and I have some house tidying and meal prep to get finished.
Stay warm everyone!
Just came inside after shoveling our most recent snowfall of several inches from the deck, steps, the long path to the car and all around the vehicle. It has been awhile since I last exposed my asthmatic self to shoveling in a minus 32C windchill, but I survived quite well! Yay! My husband is busy with another job application this morning, so his Valentine Day treat from me is not having to shovel.
Well, I had better get a move on. Our friends will be here in an hour and I have some house tidying and meal prep to get finished.
Stay warm everyone!
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Really Good News, FINALLY, for Cee
Today is Cee's last round of chemo for phase one, all being well over the next few weeks. If things go as planned, it will be May before he has any more chemotherapy and there will be far fewer sessions going into the future.
The great news is that the doctor's report earlier this week was so very positive and encouraging. Lab result numbers that are supposed to be going up are doing just that and numbers that are supposed to be dropping are plummeting to just above normal range after being so far out of range as to be terrifying. Cee has gained some weight over the past few months of chemo and, although his appetite has a way to go yet before it is completely restored, there has been a big improvement in his ability to ingest and enjoy his meals.
Nan and Cee are so very grateful for all the prayer support, from friends, family and complete strangers who have felt the call to pray for healing and strength.
My husband and I are almost as thrilled as Nan and Cee since we have been almost as frightened as they have been over the past few years of waiting for a correct diagnosis, watching Cee fading to a shadow of his former physical self and seeing the toll the worry has taken on both him and Nan.
O Lord, may the good news continue to come in. Cee will fight this cancer for the rest of his life, but the prognosis is good and he is improving week by week with the treatments and prayer. Hallelujah!!
The great news is that the doctor's report earlier this week was so very positive and encouraging. Lab result numbers that are supposed to be going up are doing just that and numbers that are supposed to be dropping are plummeting to just above normal range after being so far out of range as to be terrifying. Cee has gained some weight over the past few months of chemo and, although his appetite has a way to go yet before it is completely restored, there has been a big improvement in his ability to ingest and enjoy his meals.
Nan and Cee are so very grateful for all the prayer support, from friends, family and complete strangers who have felt the call to pray for healing and strength.
My husband and I are almost as thrilled as Nan and Cee since we have been almost as frightened as they have been over the past few years of waiting for a correct diagnosis, watching Cee fading to a shadow of his former physical self and seeing the toll the worry has taken on both him and Nan.
O Lord, may the good news continue to come in. Cee will fight this cancer for the rest of his life, but the prognosis is good and he is improving week by week with the treatments and prayer. Hallelujah!!
It’s Not a Mullet.......
.....it’s a mudflap!
Okay my friend, whatever you say....and you know who you are.......
Okay my friend, whatever you say....and you know who you are.......
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
WELL! That Was A Quick Answer To A Somewhat Selfish Prayer...Thank you Lord!!
So, we ARE doing something fun today that has nothing to do with a job search!! Just after I posted my last entry, my husband got a text from a former parishioner from two parishes ago. She and her husband have just flown into town on their way home from Jamaica and they want to have lunch with us before their long drive back to that parish. HOW EXCITING! We haven't seen them in several years and are delighted they remember us and want to get together. Off to a restaurant to meet them in a few minutes. FUN!
I am sick to death of trying to come up with creative meals here at home, since I am a rather poor cook at the best of times. This will be like a celebration for me after last week's long time indoors. Mmmmmm, what kind of salad am I going to have today???
Thank you Lord. You are most kind!
I am sick to death of trying to come up with creative meals here at home, since I am a rather poor cook at the best of times. This will be like a celebration for me after last week's long time indoors. Mmmmmm, what kind of salad am I going to have today???
Thank you Lord. You are most kind!
The Mediterranean Salad Recipe
Since some of you have asked about the Mediterranean style salad I made "on the fly" for Sunday's luncheon, I will list the ingredients here:
Combine the following:
two medium sized tomatoes
half a can of pitted black olives, halved
1 can mixed beans (broad, pinto, chick peas or similar), drained and dried
1 diced carrot
(some feta would be nice I think, if you have it; I didn't unfortunately)
a smattering of Greek seasoning
liberal dose of white balsamic vinegar
It tasted very good, but could have been improved with the addition of feta. I love salads because you can play with them and create a new version of the "same" salad every time.
Thanks for asking. Enjoy!
Combine the following:
two medium sized tomatoes
half a can of pitted black olives, halved
1 can mixed beans (broad, pinto, chick peas or similar), drained and dried
1 diced carrot
(some feta would be nice I think, if you have it; I didn't unfortunately)
a smattering of Greek seasoning
liberal dose of white balsamic vinegar
It tasted very good, but could have been improved with the addition of feta. I love salads because you can play with them and create a new version of the "same" salad every time.
Thanks for asking. Enjoy!
Done X 6! =)
Right now, in the back of my head, I am humming a less than goldie oldie from when? Was it the 1960's, 1970's? I tried to find it online, but it isn't coming up. O well, the chorus includes the line, "What is happy, happy, baby?" and for me today what is happy is the completion of the last of 8 crowns over the past few years. The final (for now at least) permanent crown was put onto a molar this morning and if my check up in March doesn't reveal more disasterous teeth, it should be awhile before I have to go through this once again. YAY!!!
So that is my happy health news.
Unfortunately for a young cousin of my husband's, life is less happy at this time. Tee is in her mid twenties and has just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, stage 2. She will begin her chemotherapy next week and will have treatments every two weeks for the next six months. After that? Don't know. As cancers go, this one is very treatable and her chances not only of survival, but of long term survival living a normal life are very good. However, that doesn't help the immediate worries I am sure. Her family are a great support to her and will care for her after her treatments. Thankfully they all live in the same city. We didn't sleep well last night because we are so shocked by this news. We are so glad she doesn't have non-Hodgkins with its far lower survival rate, but any cancer is horrible to face and have to treat. It seems that more and more young people are developing various forms of this disease and it is disturbing. What are we doing to ourselves and to our kids when they are growing up that is causing this outbreak? (and please lurkers, do not bother to send me ranting responses on the state of the environment, our contaminated food sources etc. as I am well aware of all these things)
So, that was not the sort of news we were craving just before bedtime last evening.
Had a nice chat with my parents last evening. They have become cheerful again as the time between crises has lengthened. Dad's vision is completely gone in his right eye, but it is possible a new lens will help the left eye a little bit. He is going to the specialist again next week hoping to confirm that. Mom's eye injections have improved her macular degeneration situation somewhat, so now she will have more weeks between injections. Her numbers have been going in the right direction since the injections began. YES!! Mom and Dad are supposed to be going with a group from their facility to Red Lobster at the end of the month so I am praying the weather will improve so they don't have to cancel it. My parents are so looking forward to getting out for something social. Dad will not be the only one going who has trouble seeing, so he feels at ease and not like he is holding everyone else up while he dithers about. Lord, would it be okay if this trip went forward for these elderly folk who need some fun and encouragement in the midst of a long, nasty-cold winter?
My husband received a lovely email this morning from a retired pastor who attended his Sunday School class this weekend. It was so encouraging and affirming about his teaching abilities and the content of his lesson. He needs that right now.
Although it is very cold again today, at least the sun is beaming brightly up in the lovely blue sky. The lack of clouds of course means it is too cold again for most of us, but there once again is no wind, so life out of doors is bearable. My husband quite enjoyed his walk to and from his pastor's meeting this morning.
Well, I will go and see if we have any plans for the afternoon that do not include a job search. Perhaps it is time to take a few hours to do something more fun and less intense....or not....I will suggest it and see what happens! 😁
So that is my happy health news.
Unfortunately for a young cousin of my husband's, life is less happy at this time. Tee is in her mid twenties and has just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, stage 2. She will begin her chemotherapy next week and will have treatments every two weeks for the next six months. After that? Don't know. As cancers go, this one is very treatable and her chances not only of survival, but of long term survival living a normal life are very good. However, that doesn't help the immediate worries I am sure. Her family are a great support to her and will care for her after her treatments. Thankfully they all live in the same city. We didn't sleep well last night because we are so shocked by this news. We are so glad she doesn't have non-Hodgkins with its far lower survival rate, but any cancer is horrible to face and have to treat. It seems that more and more young people are developing various forms of this disease and it is disturbing. What are we doing to ourselves and to our kids when they are growing up that is causing this outbreak? (and please lurkers, do not bother to send me ranting responses on the state of the environment, our contaminated food sources etc. as I am well aware of all these things)
So, that was not the sort of news we were craving just before bedtime last evening.
Had a nice chat with my parents last evening. They have become cheerful again as the time between crises has lengthened. Dad's vision is completely gone in his right eye, but it is possible a new lens will help the left eye a little bit. He is going to the specialist again next week hoping to confirm that. Mom's eye injections have improved her macular degeneration situation somewhat, so now she will have more weeks between injections. Her numbers have been going in the right direction since the injections began. YES!! Mom and Dad are supposed to be going with a group from their facility to Red Lobster at the end of the month so I am praying the weather will improve so they don't have to cancel it. My parents are so looking forward to getting out for something social. Dad will not be the only one going who has trouble seeing, so he feels at ease and not like he is holding everyone else up while he dithers about. Lord, would it be okay if this trip went forward for these elderly folk who need some fun and encouragement in the midst of a long, nasty-cold winter?
My husband received a lovely email this morning from a retired pastor who attended his Sunday School class this weekend. It was so encouraging and affirming about his teaching abilities and the content of his lesson. He needs that right now.
Although it is very cold again today, at least the sun is beaming brightly up in the lovely blue sky. The lack of clouds of course means it is too cold again for most of us, but there once again is no wind, so life out of doors is bearable. My husband quite enjoyed his walk to and from his pastor's meeting this morning.
Well, I will go and see if we have any plans for the afternoon that do not include a job search. Perhaps it is time to take a few hours to do something more fun and less intense....or not....I will suggest it and see what happens! 😁
Monday, February 11, 2019
F-R-E-E-D-O-M!!
My lack of motivation to go out all last week, followed by my exhausted reaction to having a few things to do yesterday, usual things, nothing excessive or abnormally busy, scared me just a little bit. I haven't experienced true agoraphobia in many a year and have no wish to set myself up for that again!! So, this morning I got my grocery list together and headed out to the supermarket before 9am. I didn't dither about going because I knew if I didn't head out as soon as I finished breakfast I would invent a reason to stay indoors again today.
What a great feeling to be out and about again...once I actually got outside! If we hadn't had a few things to take us out of this suite yesterday I doubt I would have bothered going out today either and tried to just "make do" with what groceries we had until I could rouse myself mentally to get going later in the week.
Now that I am back in the groove, so to speak, I found it exhilarating to be out driving on the icy streets, wandering about in grocery stores and banks, smiling at people, chatting casually with other shoppers as we tried to locate our items in a newly reorganized supermarket. YAY! Back to normal!!
Tomorrow is my dental appointment for the permanent crown. HOPEFULLY this is the last one for awhile. It has been a long couple of years getting all six of these huge molars taken care of, among other dental procedures. In March it is time for another cleaning and annual checkup and we will see if any more teeth need to be crowned this year. After so many years of not being able to afford to see a dentist at all, it is an amazing feeling to have my dental issues being solved and having at least a bit of insurance coverage to help out. I am so used to it now, after having 8 crowns in the past 4 years, that I actually fall asleep during the initial drilling out of the old, cracked crown and fillings and the dentist has to wake me up to get me to move my tongue or respond to a question. She and her hygienist get quite a laugh out of it all. hahaha And this is the patient who, as a kid, would lose a week's sleep over an upcoming dental appointment, be physically ill for hours prior to so much as a checkup, nearly faint from fear as soon as I got into the dental chair....who says God can't transform a person and help her deal with fear??? Even after the development of what is nearly pain free dentistry now, my terror reactions didn't stop until after I broke my ankle 7 years ago and experienced REAL ongoing pain! hahaha Funny what changes a person's ability to deal with various upsets and fears.....
Hopefully OT group is going to be able to meet tomorrow evening. The temperatures are up a few degrees this week, lower windchills than last week, so even with the bit of wind that is blowing today and is forecast for most of the week, it seems less daunting to have to go outside and accomplish things than it did last week.
Next thing you know it will be spring...SPRING!! WOW!!!!
What a great feeling to be out and about again...once I actually got outside! If we hadn't had a few things to take us out of this suite yesterday I doubt I would have bothered going out today either and tried to just "make do" with what groceries we had until I could rouse myself mentally to get going later in the week.
Now that I am back in the groove, so to speak, I found it exhilarating to be out driving on the icy streets, wandering about in grocery stores and banks, smiling at people, chatting casually with other shoppers as we tried to locate our items in a newly reorganized supermarket. YAY! Back to normal!!
Tomorrow is my dental appointment for the permanent crown. HOPEFULLY this is the last one for awhile. It has been a long couple of years getting all six of these huge molars taken care of, among other dental procedures. In March it is time for another cleaning and annual checkup and we will see if any more teeth need to be crowned this year. After so many years of not being able to afford to see a dentist at all, it is an amazing feeling to have my dental issues being solved and having at least a bit of insurance coverage to help out. I am so used to it now, after having 8 crowns in the past 4 years, that I actually fall asleep during the initial drilling out of the old, cracked crown and fillings and the dentist has to wake me up to get me to move my tongue or respond to a question. She and her hygienist get quite a laugh out of it all. hahaha And this is the patient who, as a kid, would lose a week's sleep over an upcoming dental appointment, be physically ill for hours prior to so much as a checkup, nearly faint from fear as soon as I got into the dental chair....who says God can't transform a person and help her deal with fear??? Even after the development of what is nearly pain free dentistry now, my terror reactions didn't stop until after I broke my ankle 7 years ago and experienced REAL ongoing pain! hahaha Funny what changes a person's ability to deal with various upsets and fears.....
Hopefully OT group is going to be able to meet tomorrow evening. The temperatures are up a few degrees this week, lower windchills than last week, so even with the bit of wind that is blowing today and is forecast for most of the week, it seems less daunting to have to go outside and accomplish things than it did last week.
Next thing you know it will be spring...SPRING!! WOW!!!!
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Overwhelmed! Yikes!!
It is amazing how a Sunday's worth of typical activities can seem almost overwhelming when a person has not even bothered to get dressed, let alone leave home, for the better part of 3 days running! Hohoho!!!
The alarm woke me with a terrible start this morning, despite its soothing iPad induced chime tones. As I sat up in bed I realized I was going to have to put on clothes, cold weather outer gear, make up and hair products, just like a normal day, rather than being able to spend the day once again in my Mark's Comfy Robe relaxing and grousing (insincerely) about the bad weather "forcing" me to stay inside. Managed to remember to pack up the cookies and squares I made for after church coffee hour, as well as to make a Mediterranean style salad for eating at a friend's place for lunch after that.
We didn't have that much to do to set up for the coffee hour because another couple who actually know what they are doing had most of it done before we arrived, but we will now know what to do for another time.
My husband did a great job fielding the adults' comments in the learning for life class and I was able to breathe sufficiently well to rehearse the anthem for this morning with the rest of the choir. Thank you teeny tiny humidifier beside my bed!!
The coffee hour was bedlam as usual downstairs in the church dining room. We had fun clearing used mugs and glasses, getting the trays of goodies into the hands of the teens whose turn it was to take them around to the congregation members and keeping track of how many pitchers and urns needed refilling.
Then it was off for our lunch date with friends. That was a lot of fun. When we arrived there were three others from the church sharing the meal as well. One of them has a daughter who is an artist in Vancouver, so we had lots to share about our childrens' artistic exploits.
We arrived home at 3pm absolutely exhausted from the rush of being out and about again, seeing people and having more than planning our next resting activity to think about. hahaha Aiiii yiiiii....these ongoing freezing air days are turning us into a couple of hibernating bears! After a late dinner this evening we watched a boxing match on tv and then my husband retreated back to his computer projects and I did some paperwork.
I am going grocery shopping tomorrow no matter how cold it turns out to be! We can live without most of the items on my list for a few more days, but I have to get out of this "hiding in the house", cold weather funk and get a move on back into real life!!
The alarm woke me with a terrible start this morning, despite its soothing iPad induced chime tones. As I sat up in bed I realized I was going to have to put on clothes, cold weather outer gear, make up and hair products, just like a normal day, rather than being able to spend the day once again in my Mark's Comfy Robe relaxing and grousing (insincerely) about the bad weather "forcing" me to stay inside. Managed to remember to pack up the cookies and squares I made for after church coffee hour, as well as to make a Mediterranean style salad for eating at a friend's place for lunch after that.
We didn't have that much to do to set up for the coffee hour because another couple who actually know what they are doing had most of it done before we arrived, but we will now know what to do for another time.
My husband did a great job fielding the adults' comments in the learning for life class and I was able to breathe sufficiently well to rehearse the anthem for this morning with the rest of the choir. Thank you teeny tiny humidifier beside my bed!!
The coffee hour was bedlam as usual downstairs in the church dining room. We had fun clearing used mugs and glasses, getting the trays of goodies into the hands of the teens whose turn it was to take them around to the congregation members and keeping track of how many pitchers and urns needed refilling.
Then it was off for our lunch date with friends. That was a lot of fun. When we arrived there were three others from the church sharing the meal as well. One of them has a daughter who is an artist in Vancouver, so we had lots to share about our childrens' artistic exploits.
We arrived home at 3pm absolutely exhausted from the rush of being out and about again, seeing people and having more than planning our next resting activity to think about. hahaha Aiiii yiiiii....these ongoing freezing air days are turning us into a couple of hibernating bears! After a late dinner this evening we watched a boxing match on tv and then my husband retreated back to his computer projects and I did some paperwork.
I am going grocery shopping tomorrow no matter how cold it turns out to be! We can live without most of the items on my list for a few more days, but I have to get out of this "hiding in the house", cold weather funk and get a move on back into real life!!
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Just When I Am About To Complain About the Weather......
....I find out from friends in the Vancouver area that the horrendous windstorms on the Island and lower mainland have knocked out the power to thousands of homes and it will be many hours, if not several days, before the crews are able to get to everyone and restore their electrical service. I have been looking at photos online of huge trees down across power poles, power poles down right across some of the Island highways....what a mess!!! Since my only problem at this moment in regard to weather is some asthma and being stuck indoors for most of the weekend, I really cannot complain!!
Tomorrow morning we will be able to get out of this suite to go to church. Not sure I will be able to sing with this aching chest and inability to breathe, but I am NOT missing singing this anthem with the choir, even if I can only mouth the word in between gasps for air!!! Tonight we got a call from some friends inviting us over for lunch after church and to bring a salad. I happily agreed until I realized I have no lettuce or cucumber or avocado or anything else that is "salad-like" except for two small tomatoes. It was too late to get to a store for produce after the call came in, so I had to invent something and I think it will be just fine.
I chopped up the bit of tomato, found a still firm red pepper hiding in the back of the crisper and chopped that up. Then I added some black olives, diced carrot and a can of mixed broad beans, kidney beans and chick peas. It is all marinating overnight in white balsamic vinegar so should taste quite lovely by lunchtime tomorrow. Whew! Next time I need to check on my food supplies before agreeing to bring something to a meal at someone else's house.
Although it will still be bitterly cold tomorrow morning, I am looking forward to getting out of this suite for a few hours!
My dear husband noticed me clutching at my throat and struggling to breathe while I was washing dishes after dinner tonight, so he went and got our little old humidifier, cleaned it up and installed it in the bedroom right beside the bed. Stupid winter asthma! I have not had this much trouble with it for several years. I suspect that allergens have built up again in the suite over the past year since we last vacummed the joists in the basement ceiling and the ancient carpeting continues to shed bits of fibre all over everything. The furnace ducts have been vacuumed out and my husband purchased a special filter to replace the less effective one the management company changes for us every three months. Drinking copious amounts of water is keeping my sinuses fairly functional, even overnight. It is just my stupid lungs that cannot handle the ongoing dry, cold air. If I am not doing better by Monday I am going to have to go to the walk in clinic and try to get an atomizer.
Other than this miserable asthma, I do enjoy winter as the wonderfully uneventful season that leads up to spring basement flooding and summer spider infestation....sort of the calm before the storm every year in this crazy suite.
Well, I am going to go to bed early tonight. We have to get up very early on Sunday mornings when we have as many committments before and after church as we do tomorrow. Hopefully there will soon be a break in the weather that will motivate us to get out more often!
Tomorrow morning we will be able to get out of this suite to go to church. Not sure I will be able to sing with this aching chest and inability to breathe, but I am NOT missing singing this anthem with the choir, even if I can only mouth the word in between gasps for air!!! Tonight we got a call from some friends inviting us over for lunch after church and to bring a salad. I happily agreed until I realized I have no lettuce or cucumber or avocado or anything else that is "salad-like" except for two small tomatoes. It was too late to get to a store for produce after the call came in, so I had to invent something and I think it will be just fine.
I chopped up the bit of tomato, found a still firm red pepper hiding in the back of the crisper and chopped that up. Then I added some black olives, diced carrot and a can of mixed broad beans, kidney beans and chick peas. It is all marinating overnight in white balsamic vinegar so should taste quite lovely by lunchtime tomorrow. Whew! Next time I need to check on my food supplies before agreeing to bring something to a meal at someone else's house.
Although it will still be bitterly cold tomorrow morning, I am looking forward to getting out of this suite for a few hours!
My dear husband noticed me clutching at my throat and struggling to breathe while I was washing dishes after dinner tonight, so he went and got our little old humidifier, cleaned it up and installed it in the bedroom right beside the bed. Stupid winter asthma! I have not had this much trouble with it for several years. I suspect that allergens have built up again in the suite over the past year since we last vacummed the joists in the basement ceiling and the ancient carpeting continues to shed bits of fibre all over everything. The furnace ducts have been vacuumed out and my husband purchased a special filter to replace the less effective one the management company changes for us every three months. Drinking copious amounts of water is keeping my sinuses fairly functional, even overnight. It is just my stupid lungs that cannot handle the ongoing dry, cold air. If I am not doing better by Monday I am going to have to go to the walk in clinic and try to get an atomizer.
Other than this miserable asthma, I do enjoy winter as the wonderfully uneventful season that leads up to spring basement flooding and summer spider infestation....sort of the calm before the storm every year in this crazy suite.
Well, I am going to go to bed early tonight. We have to get up very early on Sunday mornings when we have as many committments before and after church as we do tomorrow. Hopefully there will soon be a break in the weather that will motivate us to get out more often!
Onward and Upward!! =)
Weeeelllllll...last night's interview certainly gave my husband a clearer picture of what he doesn't want to do in his next ministry position, so that is a good thing in its own way. Nice people....buuuuut....not the place for us it would appear.
One thing we have learned over the years is how to not panic ourselves into taking a position that is unsuitable out of fear that nothing else will be available. It is a good lesson and at this stage of our lives I am very grateful we have learned it to some extent at least.
We have reached one of the most exciting phases in a job search....interviewing! There will be many more interviews and many more "Oh, sorry, this is not a good fit." sorts of decisions happening either on the part of the people interviewing or on my husband's part. This is the longest phase of job searching, that is for sure. Even if applications are still going out to other places, once interviews start it is a temptation to get one's hopes up that one of the first round interviews will cement a position very soon, when in reality it often takes until the second or even third round of applications and multiple interviews for each possibility to pin down the ministry situation that best fits everyone involved.
Today my husband is going way out a limb and applying for a couple of things that in any universe but the Kingdom of God, he would never even think to apply for as it would seem so completely impossible. hahaha However, you never know in God's economy what is going to work out the best for everyone involved. Here is to creative possibilities! We have been pleasantly surprised more than once in the past. 👏
One thing we have learned over the years is how to not panic ourselves into taking a position that is unsuitable out of fear that nothing else will be available. It is a good lesson and at this stage of our lives I am very grateful we have learned it to some extent at least.
We have reached one of the most exciting phases in a job search....interviewing! There will be many more interviews and many more "Oh, sorry, this is not a good fit." sorts of decisions happening either on the part of the people interviewing or on my husband's part. This is the longest phase of job searching, that is for sure. Even if applications are still going out to other places, once interviews start it is a temptation to get one's hopes up that one of the first round interviews will cement a position very soon, when in reality it often takes until the second or even third round of applications and multiple interviews for each possibility to pin down the ministry situation that best fits everyone involved.
Today my husband is going way out a limb and applying for a couple of things that in any universe but the Kingdom of God, he would never even think to apply for as it would seem so completely impossible. hahaha However, you never know in God's economy what is going to work out the best for everyone involved. Here is to creative possibilities! We have been pleasantly surprised more than once in the past. 👏
Friday, February 8, 2019
Yeah....It's Like This.....
From "The Gift", Gordon and Gladis DePree; Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976.
...the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.....the kingdom of heaven is like a net....the fishermen pulled it up on the shore....collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
-Matthew 13:45-48
Sometimes
The Kingdom of heaven and its objectives
Are clear and shining,
Like a pearl of great value.
And though I must sell all I have to obtain it,
I will,
For I know what it is and what it costs.
But when the kingdom of heaven
Gets to be like a net-full of fish,
Good,
Bad,
And indifferent,
Which I must sort out,
The going gets rough.
For it is not the cost that slows me up,
But the indecision.
...the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.....the kingdom of heaven is like a net....the fishermen pulled it up on the shore....collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
-Matthew 13:45-48
Sometimes
The Kingdom of heaven and its objectives
Are clear and shining,
Like a pearl of great value.
And though I must sell all I have to obtain it,
I will,
For I know what it is and what it costs.
But when the kingdom of heaven
Gets to be like a net-full of fish,
Good,
Bad,
And indifferent,
Which I must sort out,
The going gets rough.
For it is not the cost that slows me up,
But the indecision.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
A Sweet Day!
Today's events were the perfect celebration of a day too cold for me to want to go outside!
First of all I slept in until just before 9am. How lovely is that, right? It is so rare for me. Then I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon chatting on the phone with friends from far and near: friends I don't hear from regularly, so it was a special treat to hear their voices! I dealt with so many phone calls I didn't actually get out of my Mark's Comfy Robe to put on clothes until just before 4pm! Other than watching a one hour tv show, I literally did nothing but eat my breakfast and lunch and talk on the phone ALL day! YAY!!
At 4pm I went out to start the car so I could go to the pharmacy for a prescription. I left the car plugged in all day as it was about -32C for temperature with windchills in the mid -40C's. No problem starting it and the cold weather didn't bother me at all as I cleaned off the car of snow and ice because there was not a breath of wind. One thing I appreciate about the very cold temperatures is the lack of gale force winds that Regina gets most of the rest of the time it seems.
Just after 5pm I was feeling particularly lazy after my short venture outside and was having trouble getting motivated to make dinner in time for me to get to choir practise. At 5:30pm the choir director called to say that too many members were either ill or not able to go out in the extreme cold, so he cancelled the rehearsal. Since I all ready know the anthem we are doing on Sunday, having sung it multiple times in other choirs, I was not upset about the cancellation AT ALL! It was such fun to spend the evening with my husband watching a NOVA presentation on the building of the Egyptian pyramids and tonight's episode of the Big Bang Theory.
The past two evenings have seen my husband making strides on getting our record albums transferred to disk and scanning old family photos into computer files. He is having a wonderful time and tonight he was feeling particularly "up" as he now has a SKYPE interview arranged with the elders of a church who may be interested in hiring him....IF we can live on the pay they will be offering, it may just be the right place for us. HOWEVER, right now it is still in the "possible but not all that probable" stage, so we shall see what happens as a result of the interview tomorrow evening. Here's hoping the direction is clear to both the elders and to my husband. He only applied a couple of weeks ago, so it was nice to hear something so soon.
He was also very happy today that he received very quickly from another church, a NO response to an application he made a couple of weeks ago. Quick responses as to YAY or NAY from hiring church boards are more than appreciated so he isn't sitting around wondering what is going on.
One of his former parishes has asked him to do their service at the end of March and he is quite tickled. They are such a lovely group of people, so he is looking very much forward to that.
In other good news: my husband's EI claim was accepted today! What a grand help that is going to be to us. I don't think he expected that, why I don't know, but he was thrilled to be accepted for the assistance.
Our son turned out to be on one of the last flights between Toronto and NYC last night before all the rest of the flights were cancelled between the two points due to weather issues. All the airlines but his had cancelled all ready before he ever arrived in Toronto, so it seems nearly unbelievable that his continued on to La Guardia. It means he had today to do some relaxing and resting at home to try to get over his bad cold before he has to start work tomorrow morning. What a wonderful answer to prayer for him. Despite some stress at the border, he made it back home and we are beyond grateful.
So, it was a grand day in a quiet way....a real treat during the miserably cold weather!
First of all I slept in until just before 9am. How lovely is that, right? It is so rare for me. Then I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon chatting on the phone with friends from far and near: friends I don't hear from regularly, so it was a special treat to hear their voices! I dealt with so many phone calls I didn't actually get out of my Mark's Comfy Robe to put on clothes until just before 4pm! Other than watching a one hour tv show, I literally did nothing but eat my breakfast and lunch and talk on the phone ALL day! YAY!!
At 4pm I went out to start the car so I could go to the pharmacy for a prescription. I left the car plugged in all day as it was about -32C for temperature with windchills in the mid -40C's. No problem starting it and the cold weather didn't bother me at all as I cleaned off the car of snow and ice because there was not a breath of wind. One thing I appreciate about the very cold temperatures is the lack of gale force winds that Regina gets most of the rest of the time it seems.
Just after 5pm I was feeling particularly lazy after my short venture outside and was having trouble getting motivated to make dinner in time for me to get to choir practise. At 5:30pm the choir director called to say that too many members were either ill or not able to go out in the extreme cold, so he cancelled the rehearsal. Since I all ready know the anthem we are doing on Sunday, having sung it multiple times in other choirs, I was not upset about the cancellation AT ALL! It was such fun to spend the evening with my husband watching a NOVA presentation on the building of the Egyptian pyramids and tonight's episode of the Big Bang Theory.
The past two evenings have seen my husband making strides on getting our record albums transferred to disk and scanning old family photos into computer files. He is having a wonderful time and tonight he was feeling particularly "up" as he now has a SKYPE interview arranged with the elders of a church who may be interested in hiring him....IF we can live on the pay they will be offering, it may just be the right place for us. HOWEVER, right now it is still in the "possible but not all that probable" stage, so we shall see what happens as a result of the interview tomorrow evening. Here's hoping the direction is clear to both the elders and to my husband. He only applied a couple of weeks ago, so it was nice to hear something so soon.
He was also very happy today that he received very quickly from another church, a NO response to an application he made a couple of weeks ago. Quick responses as to YAY or NAY from hiring church boards are more than appreciated so he isn't sitting around wondering what is going on.
One of his former parishes has asked him to do their service at the end of March and he is quite tickled. They are such a lovely group of people, so he is looking very much forward to that.
In other good news: my husband's EI claim was accepted today! What a grand help that is going to be to us. I don't think he expected that, why I don't know, but he was thrilled to be accepted for the assistance.
Our son turned out to be on one of the last flights between Toronto and NYC last night before all the rest of the flights were cancelled between the two points due to weather issues. All the airlines but his had cancelled all ready before he ever arrived in Toronto, so it seems nearly unbelievable that his continued on to La Guardia. It means he had today to do some relaxing and resting at home to try to get over his bad cold before he has to start work tomorrow morning. What a wonderful answer to prayer for him. Despite some stress at the border, he made it back home and we are beyond grateful.
So, it was a grand day in a quiet way....a real treat during the miserably cold weather!
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