What a thrill to be out walking proper distances again several times a week. My walks are averaging about 6km round trip now and I am feeling the positive effects. My husband is doing the same thing and when he is able to slow his pace a bit, we go together more often than we ever have been able to before. It is great.
Today I walked for the first time to a friend's house, a house I have always driven to because I have been assuming it is too far to walk comfortably. Nope! It is just the right distance away...about 3km. We spent an hour having tea and chattering away like a couple of magpies before I walked home again in the nearly +30C heat. I took my time, so made the distance home just fine, no heat stroke, no heat exhaustion. Along the route were several places where I was able to walk under large, shady trees and that was wonderful.
I am realizing I will have to drive myself to the nearest walking track over the coming winter months in order to retain my fitness, keep my upper leg muscles from atrophying and being painful and to prevent the weight gain I experienced over this past winter. I can do it physically, I just have to be less mentally lazy about it!
After lunch I walked another few blocks to the grocery store and back, carting my handful of groceries home in the wonderful cloth tote bag my Alberta friend made and gave to me recently.
Tomorrow morning I have some errands to run on the other side of the city and then after lunch I will be on my feet to do some ironing. The next morning I hope to be out walking downtown to pick up a few items from the optometrist's office. The amount of gasoline we are saving by rarely driving the car means that we can afford to take a short trip out of town next week if we want to. There are a few places in Moose Jaw we want to visit again soon. Here's hoping....
Today my husband had a meeting with one of his ministry superiors regarding the part time ministry position he actually wants, with a congregation that dearly loves him and has been desperate to have him as their priest for some time. She will start the negotiations with them and, Lord willing, he will have some ministry to do by September. Financially it will be woefully inadequate for our needs....on the one hand. On the other hand it will be a relatively low stress position with likely few enough hours that he will have the option to take on some other kind of part time paying work if he wants to, or to start promoting his seminars more.... I am SO grateful he finally realizes he is going to have to accept his age and health limitations, work the number of hours he can realistically handle and trust God for whatever else needs to happen to keep us financially stable. God continues to care for us in amazing ways! So, more prayers for my husband and his ministry future. Only a couple of more weeks until he gets to preach at my church....I am SO excited!
In the mist of our goose wars and continuing to de-poop our back lawn, we have learned some really neat things about Canada geese! Yes....something positive to share about this ongoing problem with our goose infestation. We have learned how intelligent these birds are. At this point, after nearly driving ourselves crazy for two weeks keeping them away from our little strip of lawn, they are finally accepting their lack of welcome near our back door and the lawn that we walk on to get to our car. They arrive en masse at about 7am each day and gather together a few yards away from "our" space. As soon as either my husband or myself appear out our back door, lazily swinging our red plastic scoop shovel, they step back across the invisible but consistent boundary we have made for them....the line in the sand if you will. One of us holds the shovel and stands 4 to 8 feet away from them. Now we only have to stand still for about 5 minutes, feinting in the same direction the lead goose steps as he tries to sneak past us to get to our back yard. He has learned that we can out wait him and it isn't worth his trouble any more. He and the entire brood of as many as 50 geese only feed (and poop!) up to the invisible demarkation on the lawn and when they are ready to leave that particular strip of lawn they now turn and go in the direction opposite to our place. It must be the same brood that is returning there every morning because they have figured out that coming anywhere near our place means they will be harassed and herded elsewhere. We haven't had to actually herd them away for several days. We only have to appear, show the shovel, stand in front of them for a few minutes and they start marching in the opposite direction. They usually depart for other feeding grounds by 9am and then return in the late afternoon or early evening. However, it has been 4 days now since they came anywhere near our place during their second pass through of the day. They are all over the front lawn, but we don't care about that as we don't need to use it and the park is so woefully depleted of grass for them that they do need to feed elsewhere.
I understand now why, even after the teens have formed their own groups and the parents are more on their own again, the adults still walk across the street and tie up traffic, instead of fly. I learned that geese lose ALL their flying feathers every summer and grow an entire new set, leaving them earth bound for at least 6 weeks until the new set has grown in. Only in the past couple of days have we seen any of our merry band of adult birds actually flying on occasion.
Now that this particular bunch is staying away from our place specifically and I haven't had to shovel for awhile, I feel free to just enjoy them and learn more about them. They are quite fascinating creatures!
Unfortunately one family moved out of our complex today, specifically due to the goose poo all over their place. Their toddler cannot play outside because of it. There are other tenants on their way out as well, due to the geese. It is very sad. And the government couldn't care less about what their refusal to deal with the problem is doing to the local residents. It would seem that the geese are smarter than some of these people elected to "represent" the human population...yeah right..... Sigh.....
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
More Happy Health Prayer Answers For Friends! YAY!
Today we received the most fantastic news from Nan about Cee! He has had all of his initial rounds of chemo, so before starting a couple of years of maintenance chemo he had to have a lot of lab tests recently to check how the first chemo treatments have effected his condition.
AMAZING! The near miracle has finally happened! The two biggest concerns in regard to some of his blood work are showing that everything there has returned to normal! Numbers that were dangerously low have climbed back well into normal range. Numbers that were dangerously high have dropped back into normal range. For so long it looked like those changes were going to be impossible to achieve for Cee.
Once I stopped crying with relief, I wanted to pass this news on to all you faithful prayer warriors to encourage you that praying for people you don't even know and for long periods of time, can still bring about the encouragement and help the people need. My husband and I are newly inspired to continue in the intensity of our prayers for Cee and Nan, but with even more awe and wonder at the answers that are coming along.
Thank you prayer warriors. Thank you God!
AMAZING! The near miracle has finally happened! The two biggest concerns in regard to some of his blood work are showing that everything there has returned to normal! Numbers that were dangerously low have climbed back well into normal range. Numbers that were dangerously high have dropped back into normal range. For so long it looked like those changes were going to be impossible to achieve for Cee.
Once I stopped crying with relief, I wanted to pass this news on to all you faithful prayer warriors to encourage you that praying for people you don't even know and for long periods of time, can still bring about the encouragement and help the people need. My husband and I are newly inspired to continue in the intensity of our prayers for Cee and Nan, but with even more awe and wonder at the answers that are coming along.
Thank you prayer warriors. Thank you God!
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Should Sleep Tonight
Nearly midnight, so tired enough at last.
Sang songs from the scriptures for a half hour before getting ready for bed.
Received text just now from my son that he is safely in Vancouver and has a place to crash tonight.
Feeling peaceful after a day of prayer.
Nighty night all! Sleep in peace. God is awake. Thank you for your prayers.
Sang songs from the scriptures for a half hour before getting ready for bed.
Received text just now from my son that he is safely in Vancouver and has a place to crash tonight.
Feeling peaceful after a day of prayer.
Nighty night all! Sleep in peace. God is awake. Thank you for your prayers.
Precisely!
My husband had a long meeting today with some distraught pastors of a denomination whose general conference just adopted a doctrinal statement guaranteed to set their churches back several decades and would have the founder of their particular sect rolling in his grave. When my husband arrived home he explained to me in great theological detail what had happened, what seems to have precipitated the change in official doctrine and what some of the more negative fallout may be. By the time he finished expounding on the topic my exhausted little brain was spinning. (Yes, even more than it usually does. I was awake at 2:30am, remember?)
I wandered off to check the mail and discovered a greeting card from a B.C. friend. The timing if its arrival and my finding it could not have been more perfect. Here is the quote written on the front of the card:
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult, words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’”
—Winnie the Pooh
Touché Pooh!
I wandered off to check the mail and discovered a greeting card from a B.C. friend. The timing if its arrival and my finding it could not have been more perfect. Here is the quote written on the front of the card:
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult, words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’”
—Winnie the Pooh
Touché Pooh!
Can’t Sleep? Time To Write Blog Posts....
.....then be embarrassed the next day at how blithering and inane the content is! haha YES, even more so than at mid day when I am fully awake! hahaha
It is 2:30am and I woke up thinking about EI repayment issues and possibilities that could create financial havoc for us next year at tax time, how much income tax we are likely to owe on our CPP and OAS for this year and realizing we are going to have to top up our RSP contributions by year end, how my husband’s meeting later this week is going to pan out in terms of setting up some actual paying ministry by September, if my son is going to make his flight to Canada on time later today, if he will experience any hassles with border crossings or passport or health care renewal problems at his appointments with the government tomorrow, and, and, and.....aaaaaaargh! AAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!
Why am I lying awake obsessing about these things at 2:30am???? What can I do about any of these things at 2:30am???? NOTHING!!!! There are no banks open until 9:30am! THAT is when I can go to our bank and make some arrangements! 9:30am! NOT 2:30am!
And....I cannot do anything at all about helping my son to keep track of flights, necessary paperwork or anything else related to his trip. Not at 2:30am! NOT AT ALL!!! Aiiii yiiiii....back off Mama Bear!
Hey, here’s a plan: how about I stop worrying now and actually pray about these issues, possible issues and non-issues? How about I ask the God I claim to have so much trust in to take care of all of these concerns....to give me wisdom, to guide me to the right solutions to my issues, AFTER I get some sleep? After 9:30am! How about I ask God to remind my lovely but detail stressed son about his flight times, paperwork and appointments? How about THAT for an idea?
I have so often read excerpts from the writings of St. John of the Cross and his “dark night of the soul”. For me at this moment it is just a dark night! There isn’t much noble wrestling with The Spirit or with my own soul going on here. There is only the very human stress over some nasty upcoming financial possibilities and the frustration of having both the men in my life so unable to keep track of their own details!
Lord, you have taken good care of all three of us quite handily for several decades now, despite our never ending need to trust you for all the details, all the time, all our adult lives, for all things financial. You have bailed out both my guys time after time when their own forgetfulness has created serious problems for them. We thank you for all these things. Lord, in your mercy, continue in your care of us. Because of your love, continue to protect us from our own folly. Because we are your children continue to guide us in all things. Because you know the beginning from the end, grant us your wisdom. Because of your tenderness grant us the peace that passes understanding as we continue to trust you for our lives in this temporal earthly existence that will one day pass away and allow us to behold your glory as we enter the fullness of your Kingdom. Because of your omnipotence and trustworthiness grant us, through Jesus your son, your divine peace. Amen.
There....that’s more like it. Prayer...peace....rest.....
I am getting sleepy.....sleeeeeeepy........zzzzzzzz....
It is 2:30am and I woke up thinking about EI repayment issues and possibilities that could create financial havoc for us next year at tax time, how much income tax we are likely to owe on our CPP and OAS for this year and realizing we are going to have to top up our RSP contributions by year end, how my husband’s meeting later this week is going to pan out in terms of setting up some actual paying ministry by September, if my son is going to make his flight to Canada on time later today, if he will experience any hassles with border crossings or passport or health care renewal problems at his appointments with the government tomorrow, and, and, and.....aaaaaaargh! AAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!
Why am I lying awake obsessing about these things at 2:30am???? What can I do about any of these things at 2:30am???? NOTHING!!!! There are no banks open until 9:30am! THAT is when I can go to our bank and make some arrangements! 9:30am! NOT 2:30am!
And....I cannot do anything at all about helping my son to keep track of flights, necessary paperwork or anything else related to his trip. Not at 2:30am! NOT AT ALL!!! Aiiii yiiiii....back off Mama Bear!
Hey, here’s a plan: how about I stop worrying now and actually pray about these issues, possible issues and non-issues? How about I ask the God I claim to have so much trust in to take care of all of these concerns....to give me wisdom, to guide me to the right solutions to my issues, AFTER I get some sleep? After 9:30am! How about I ask God to remind my lovely but detail stressed son about his flight times, paperwork and appointments? How about THAT for an idea?
I have so often read excerpts from the writings of St. John of the Cross and his “dark night of the soul”. For me at this moment it is just a dark night! There isn’t much noble wrestling with The Spirit or with my own soul going on here. There is only the very human stress over some nasty upcoming financial possibilities and the frustration of having both the men in my life so unable to keep track of their own details!
Lord, you have taken good care of all three of us quite handily for several decades now, despite our never ending need to trust you for all the details, all the time, all our adult lives, for all things financial. You have bailed out both my guys time after time when their own forgetfulness has created serious problems for them. We thank you for all these things. Lord, in your mercy, continue in your care of us. Because of your love, continue to protect us from our own folly. Because we are your children continue to guide us in all things. Because you know the beginning from the end, grant us your wisdom. Because of your tenderness grant us the peace that passes understanding as we continue to trust you for our lives in this temporal earthly existence that will one day pass away and allow us to behold your glory as we enter the fullness of your Kingdom. Because of your omnipotence and trustworthiness grant us, through Jesus your son, your divine peace. Amen.
There....that’s more like it. Prayer...peace....rest.....
I am getting sleepy.....sleeeeeeepy........zzzzzzzz....
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Memories of Summer Saturdays Long Past
Today was the perfect summer Saturday for me! Wow!
This morning we both slept in a bit and I have decided to take weekends off from chasing geese, resigning myself to poop scooping instead, so I woke up NOT stressed by the fact that I could hear them out on the back lawn. We dallied over our breakfasts before my husband went to tweak his sermon for tomorrow's service and I relaxed in the shower and did some tidying in the kitchen.
At 1pm we picked up my walking partner and her son and we rode in our air conditioned car, through the hot temperatures and glorious sunshine, to Moose Jaw to the Western Development Museum to view the area Lego enthusiasts' wonderfully creative lego art. It was SO MUCH FUN!! All of us had a wonderful time. Although this particular show didn't include the huge Lego creations we have seen at other shows, the amazing stories these particular art pieces told were incredibly creative. We saw everything from Lego Mondrian art representations to scenes recreating episodes of Star Trek and the Star Wars franchise, to movie tropes, to portraits of the Dalai Lama and Albert Einstein created entirely from Lego pieces, to various displays honouring popular video games, to working railroads and miniature Star Ships, to all manner of vehicles, to monsters and castles, to sci fi insects, to whole towns, to story telling towers where a different scene from various movies was portrayed on each level of the tower....oh it was quite spectacular for a smaller show. Since the displays were scattered throughout the museum (which we discovered when we looked at the map of the exhibition...all made out of Lego of course) there was no overcrowding around the various display tables. It was perfect. We avoided the admissions lineup by paying cash instead of using the bank card. We had pop and iced cream after we saw all the displays and then my friend and her son went into a room full of people selling old sets of Lego, bags of various pieces and characters etc., so they could purchase a few things to take home for further additions to his extensive collection. For a treat I bought him a large bag of pieces...every piece was an eyeball! hahahahahaha He was so enamoured of it but had all ready spent his money on other things. What fun to surprise him. My husband and I checked out the museum gift store and he was able to purchase a couple of jars of jam from an area company that makes jams and jellys that have retained actual flavour rather than simply varying degrees of pectin. I bought a beautiful ceramic cereal bowl to replace one I broke accidentally yesterday. It is summer blue and green with a large swath of bright neon yellow around the middle. Love it!
We had a good drive back to Regina, chatting together about our day. We took our friends home, met up with her husband there for a tour of their recently renovated back yard....just GORGEOUS with a new screened deck that is big enough to have a square dance in! Her husband BBQ'd huge, fat steaks and I have to say they are probably the best steaks I have ever eaten in my life! They were seared and grilled to medium rare perfection! Some people have the gift for preparing steaks properly and this fellow has that gift!! My husband brought nearly half of his home, but I swore to everyone I was going to eat my entire steak and I DID! WOWWOWWOW!
Now we are coming to the end of our pretty much perfect Saturday summer day. My husband is preparing to print off his sermon and get some rest and I am going to try to finish a book it seems I have been reading for months! It IS an interesting book, I have just reduced my reading time to right before bed and am only managing to complete a handful of pages before falling asleep each night.
AND tomorrow morning is church. Yay! I will be walking as my husband needs the car to get to his service. I am hoping that perhaps he will be done in time to meet me along my walking route home and we can go somewhere for a salad for lunch.
This really is the best summer we have ever had together! Any stress I had over the past week completely evaporated in the joy of the day.
This morning we both slept in a bit and I have decided to take weekends off from chasing geese, resigning myself to poop scooping instead, so I woke up NOT stressed by the fact that I could hear them out on the back lawn. We dallied over our breakfasts before my husband went to tweak his sermon for tomorrow's service and I relaxed in the shower and did some tidying in the kitchen.
At 1pm we picked up my walking partner and her son and we rode in our air conditioned car, through the hot temperatures and glorious sunshine, to Moose Jaw to the Western Development Museum to view the area Lego enthusiasts' wonderfully creative lego art. It was SO MUCH FUN!! All of us had a wonderful time. Although this particular show didn't include the huge Lego creations we have seen at other shows, the amazing stories these particular art pieces told were incredibly creative. We saw everything from Lego Mondrian art representations to scenes recreating episodes of Star Trek and the Star Wars franchise, to movie tropes, to portraits of the Dalai Lama and Albert Einstein created entirely from Lego pieces, to various displays honouring popular video games, to working railroads and miniature Star Ships, to all manner of vehicles, to monsters and castles, to sci fi insects, to whole towns, to story telling towers where a different scene from various movies was portrayed on each level of the tower....oh it was quite spectacular for a smaller show. Since the displays were scattered throughout the museum (which we discovered when we looked at the map of the exhibition...all made out of Lego of course) there was no overcrowding around the various display tables. It was perfect. We avoided the admissions lineup by paying cash instead of using the bank card. We had pop and iced cream after we saw all the displays and then my friend and her son went into a room full of people selling old sets of Lego, bags of various pieces and characters etc., so they could purchase a few things to take home for further additions to his extensive collection. For a treat I bought him a large bag of pieces...every piece was an eyeball! hahahahahaha He was so enamoured of it but had all ready spent his money on other things. What fun to surprise him. My husband and I checked out the museum gift store and he was able to purchase a couple of jars of jam from an area company that makes jams and jellys that have retained actual flavour rather than simply varying degrees of pectin. I bought a beautiful ceramic cereal bowl to replace one I broke accidentally yesterday. It is summer blue and green with a large swath of bright neon yellow around the middle. Love it!
We had a good drive back to Regina, chatting together about our day. We took our friends home, met up with her husband there for a tour of their recently renovated back yard....just GORGEOUS with a new screened deck that is big enough to have a square dance in! Her husband BBQ'd huge, fat steaks and I have to say they are probably the best steaks I have ever eaten in my life! They were seared and grilled to medium rare perfection! Some people have the gift for preparing steaks properly and this fellow has that gift!! My husband brought nearly half of his home, but I swore to everyone I was going to eat my entire steak and I DID! WOWWOWWOW!
Now we are coming to the end of our pretty much perfect Saturday summer day. My husband is preparing to print off his sermon and get some rest and I am going to try to finish a book it seems I have been reading for months! It IS an interesting book, I have just reduced my reading time to right before bed and am only managing to complete a handful of pages before falling asleep each night.
AND tomorrow morning is church. Yay! I will be walking as my husband needs the car to get to his service. I am hoping that perhaps he will be done in time to meet me along my walking route home and we can go somewhere for a salad for lunch.
This really is the best summer we have ever had together! Any stress I had over the past week completely evaporated in the joy of the day.
Good Words For Our Lives These Days
Sitting quietly,
doing nothing,
Spring comes and
the grass grows by itself.
--Matsuo Basho (one of my favourite Japanese philosphers and poets)
My husband and I are forcing ourselves to "sit quietly" as the grass grows and we wait upon the Lord for his plans for us this autumn. EI will run out soon and, as per usual it seems, the answer regarding suitable employment is taking its sweet time arriving. At least there are a few options, but only one of them seems suitable right now...the one the Bishop is least interested in having my husband doing. Considering what has been going in on the diocese with unexpected retirements, moves and health leaves among the clergy, the Bishop has far more positions that need filling than he was expecting; the problem being that most of those positions will only be for 1, maybe 2 years as the amalgamations should begin in the new year. Please pray for our Bishop as he is on leave rignt now for a month, very unexpectedly, at his doctor's orders. All in the diocese have been sent a memo to say he will not be available by phone, email, text, or any other form of communication until September. My husband feels very badly that he cannot take some of the postings where clergy help is most needed, but he has his own tenuous health to protect as well. Aaaaah...we are all getting older and experiencing the issues that accompany aging.
So, we must remember Basho's words...sit quietly...the outcome will happen without our freaking out and rushing into the wrong situation because of struggling to trust God for the financial and ministry answers during the search process. To be honest, we are not that worried but we have noticed a bit more concern bothering us than we have had to date. Sometimes being material humans who serve an invisible God is difficult! It would be SO lovely to be able to be Super Spiritual Hero Giants and never struggle at all with worries....hahaha. We have met a few of the SSHG's over the years and been struck by how real some of them are and how phony some of them are. I only want to be a SSHG if I can be real about it....so...being real....right now I am not even close! hahaha
Thanks for praying for us!
doing nothing,
Spring comes and
the grass grows by itself.
--Matsuo Basho (one of my favourite Japanese philosphers and poets)
My husband and I are forcing ourselves to "sit quietly" as the grass grows and we wait upon the Lord for his plans for us this autumn. EI will run out soon and, as per usual it seems, the answer regarding suitable employment is taking its sweet time arriving. At least there are a few options, but only one of them seems suitable right now...the one the Bishop is least interested in having my husband doing. Considering what has been going in on the diocese with unexpected retirements, moves and health leaves among the clergy, the Bishop has far more positions that need filling than he was expecting; the problem being that most of those positions will only be for 1, maybe 2 years as the amalgamations should begin in the new year. Please pray for our Bishop as he is on leave rignt now for a month, very unexpectedly, at his doctor's orders. All in the diocese have been sent a memo to say he will not be available by phone, email, text, or any other form of communication until September. My husband feels very badly that he cannot take some of the postings where clergy help is most needed, but he has his own tenuous health to protect as well. Aaaaah...we are all getting older and experiencing the issues that accompany aging.
So, we must remember Basho's words...sit quietly...the outcome will happen without our freaking out and rushing into the wrong situation because of struggling to trust God for the financial and ministry answers during the search process. To be honest, we are not that worried but we have noticed a bit more concern bothering us than we have had to date. Sometimes being material humans who serve an invisible God is difficult! It would be SO lovely to be able to be Super Spiritual Hero Giants and never struggle at all with worries....hahaha. We have met a few of the SSHG's over the years and been struck by how real some of them are and how phony some of them are. I only want to be a SSHG if I can be real about it....so...being real....right now I am not even close! hahaha
Thanks for praying for us!
Friday, July 26, 2019
For Those Of You Praying for Kat
While her struggle continues with increasing severity, Kat wants me to thank all you prayer warriors for caring about her so much.
This week she had medical appointments every day. The short version is that she had a very painful session having fluid drained from the lymph nodes closest to the surgery site....not unusual for fluid to build there, but such painful extraction methods. Sigh..... The answer to prayer is that she was able to explain to the medical staff why constantly having painful medical procedures around such intimate parts of the body has brought back many memories of past abuses. The doctors and nurses showed amazing compassion to Kat and she got through the appointments. She has now had her first appointment with a specialist in lymphatic massage who has shown her how to do massages herself to try to prevent any more fluid buildup. The fluid has been sent for biopsy....please God.....
This week Kat received confirmation that the superbug she picked up in the hospital many weeks ago is now gone! Praise the Lord!
Today is day two post chemo session number three. Extreme pain killers are controlling the shooting pains in Kat’s legs and abdomen, but her chemo cocktail has had to be changed again, so she may need different anti pain and nausea meds. One of her present side effects is some hearing loss. She has asked for prayer that it will not be permanent.
Kat is approaching the same hero status in my eyes as my husband’s sister. Her ability to accept the horrible situation she finds herself in is an incredible example to me of how to completely trust God with her life .....every minute of every painful, exhausting day. She is dealing with death threats from a man who was in her life for a time. She is helping her adult children deal with some horrible things another family member has done. Every day there are new problems to solve in her life. Her faith is strong. I wonder if mine would be if I was dealing with similar circumstances.
So, bottom line, your prayers are literally her lifeline right now and she is so grateful for them and for you all.
This week she had medical appointments every day. The short version is that she had a very painful session having fluid drained from the lymph nodes closest to the surgery site....not unusual for fluid to build there, but such painful extraction methods. Sigh..... The answer to prayer is that she was able to explain to the medical staff why constantly having painful medical procedures around such intimate parts of the body has brought back many memories of past abuses. The doctors and nurses showed amazing compassion to Kat and she got through the appointments. She has now had her first appointment with a specialist in lymphatic massage who has shown her how to do massages herself to try to prevent any more fluid buildup. The fluid has been sent for biopsy....please God.....
This week Kat received confirmation that the superbug she picked up in the hospital many weeks ago is now gone! Praise the Lord!
Today is day two post chemo session number three. Extreme pain killers are controlling the shooting pains in Kat’s legs and abdomen, but her chemo cocktail has had to be changed again, so she may need different anti pain and nausea meds. One of her present side effects is some hearing loss. She has asked for prayer that it will not be permanent.
Kat is approaching the same hero status in my eyes as my husband’s sister. Her ability to accept the horrible situation she finds herself in is an incredible example to me of how to completely trust God with her life .....every minute of every painful, exhausting day. She is dealing with death threats from a man who was in her life for a time. She is helping her adult children deal with some horrible things another family member has done. Every day there are new problems to solve in her life. Her faith is strong. I wonder if mine would be if I was dealing with similar circumstances.
So, bottom line, your prayers are literally her lifeline right now and she is so grateful for them and for you all.
Soup’s Done!
The huge pot of chicken veggie soup is now sitting on a large trivet on the kitchen counter, cooling until it can be out into cartons and frozen. Washing, peeling and chopping the veggies, deboning and defatting the meat, boiling the chicken bones, sautéing onions, picking fresh herbs for the broth, washing and drying pots and pans, lids, knives, ladles, spatulas, dicer, wine glass.....(I like to relax when I cook)....and now I’m pooped.
Time for a nap!
I hope my parents (and my husband and some of my friends, maybe the neighbours?) enjoy their soup.
I made kind of a lot of it.......
Time for a nap!
I hope my parents (and my husband and some of my friends, maybe the neighbours?) enjoy their soup.
I made kind of a lot of it.......
Thursday, July 25, 2019
All's Right With the World...For Today At Least, hahaha
Yes, a good day. Lots accomplished for both my husband and myself. I like days where things go along tickety boo without a lot of unforeseen interruptions or drama.
I had a nice walk to the clinic this morning for my osteo injection. I am grateful that my arm is not particularly sore at the injection site, although tomorrow morning I may be more sore, but the ache never lasts more than a day.
This afternoon was a good time of cooking for our dinner guests tonight. They are a couple we met when my husband was in seminary and have remained friend with despite a variety of geographical distances between us since those days. Seminary left us with several amazing and wonderful ongoing friendships that we appreciate very much. We have all shared a ton of emotional pain in our subsequent ministries, so it is good to have connections with each other for healing and counsel. It was a lovely evening. I made a giant chicken salad and served it with olive bread, hummus and an assortment of pickles and baked chips. It was a good summer, warm day meal....so wouldn't it have been nice if the warm day had lasted as long as dinner time? Instead, the air was very cool by the time our company arrived and before we finished eating the unforecast rain was pouring down once again. Brrrrrr!!
My husband got a lot done today in the writing of his next two sermons, so he feels good about what he accomplished. He had a meeting today and was most relieved to find out that he did not get the job he interviewed for a couple of weeks ago...whew! We feel he dodged a bullet in some ways. He simply could not give this church as many hours of work each week as they feel they need. It is nice to know how regretful they are about not hiring him. That percentage of hours was literally the only reason, so that made him feel good. Now there is yet another possible option for the fall for him...again, not one we are totally comfortable with, but at least he has permission from his bishop to continue to pursue the option most appealing to him out of the three that have been on the table up until today. We are learning a lot about how much job stress and responsibility my husband actually feels he can handle at his stage of life and with that comes peace that God will provide one way or another.....as always....with or without seemingly sufficient regular, monthly, known income by the autumn. I have the same sense of relief about him not getting the most recent job that I have had over every other job he has either not been offered or has turned down after it was offered. You know that you know that you know the correct decision has been made, regardless of how it looks at the time.
We are both looking forward to tomorrow: my husband has the entire day free to complete two sermons and I am going to make chicken soup so I have some to take to my parents the next time I go to see them. I am praying nothing else comes up that requires dealing with, no unexpected company or invitations out that we won't be able to resist saying "yes" to, no hassles or stresses that take up more of our day than we want to give to them. From my mouth to God's ears!
I had a nice walk to the clinic this morning for my osteo injection. I am grateful that my arm is not particularly sore at the injection site, although tomorrow morning I may be more sore, but the ache never lasts more than a day.
This afternoon was a good time of cooking for our dinner guests tonight. They are a couple we met when my husband was in seminary and have remained friend with despite a variety of geographical distances between us since those days. Seminary left us with several amazing and wonderful ongoing friendships that we appreciate very much. We have all shared a ton of emotional pain in our subsequent ministries, so it is good to have connections with each other for healing and counsel. It was a lovely evening. I made a giant chicken salad and served it with olive bread, hummus and an assortment of pickles and baked chips. It was a good summer, warm day meal....so wouldn't it have been nice if the warm day had lasted as long as dinner time? Instead, the air was very cool by the time our company arrived and before we finished eating the unforecast rain was pouring down once again. Brrrrrr!!
My husband got a lot done today in the writing of his next two sermons, so he feels good about what he accomplished. He had a meeting today and was most relieved to find out that he did not get the job he interviewed for a couple of weeks ago...whew! We feel he dodged a bullet in some ways. He simply could not give this church as many hours of work each week as they feel they need. It is nice to know how regretful they are about not hiring him. That percentage of hours was literally the only reason, so that made him feel good. Now there is yet another possible option for the fall for him...again, not one we are totally comfortable with, but at least he has permission from his bishop to continue to pursue the option most appealing to him out of the three that have been on the table up until today. We are learning a lot about how much job stress and responsibility my husband actually feels he can handle at his stage of life and with that comes peace that God will provide one way or another.....as always....with or without seemingly sufficient regular, monthly, known income by the autumn. I have the same sense of relief about him not getting the most recent job that I have had over every other job he has either not been offered or has turned down after it was offered. You know that you know that you know the correct decision has been made, regardless of how it looks at the time.
We are both looking forward to tomorrow: my husband has the entire day free to complete two sermons and I am going to make chicken soup so I have some to take to my parents the next time I go to see them. I am praying nothing else comes up that requires dealing with, no unexpected company or invitations out that we won't be able to resist saying "yes" to, no hassles or stresses that take up more of our day than we want to give to them. From my mouth to God's ears!
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Yupl I Saw It A'Comin'!
I've been wondering how long it would take until an accident occurred due to the number of geese ambling across the busy street in front of our place during the height of rush hour. Finally, it happened just a few minutes ago. All four lanes of traffic were tearing along at the speed limit when at least two geese stepped quickly out from behind some trees in the park across the street and walked immediately into the path of the oncoming traffic. A car swerved to miss them and crashed into the car in the lane beside it, who also obviously didn't see the birds, as there is a curve in the road right there and the birds' feather colouring blends right with the park foliage. There are two police vehicles at the scene at present and there are two somewhat damaged cars, although it appears both cars are still driveable. It appears the geese backed up onto the curb just in time to avoid being hit, as I watched them flapping their way back across the grass beneath the trees, squawking at the top of their lungs.
Thanks again Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment for setting up these types of situations to happen. So many close calls, day after day after day along our street alone. What about the other surrounding streets where geese cross at their leisure, on all sides of Wascana Park?
My anger is boiling over, I admit it and I am trying not to freak out over a situation the Ministry of the Environment has all ready informed me they are not planning to solve, fix, or help in any way whatsoever. For all their blather about protecting the geese, they could have had a couple of birdie deaths on their hands as a result of this crash. It was bad enough that two cars were damaged and several people in the cars could have been badly hurt or even killed due to these geese who are allowed to run willy nilly all over the city streets by the hundreds.
Well, that will be all for my goose wars reports for the rest of the summer, unless good news comes along about this problem. I am sick to death of the whole unsolveable situation and I am certain you are equally sick of reading about it.
Thank you everyone for your patience.
Thanks again Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment for setting up these types of situations to happen. So many close calls, day after day after day along our street alone. What about the other surrounding streets where geese cross at their leisure, on all sides of Wascana Park?
My anger is boiling over, I admit it and I am trying not to freak out over a situation the Ministry of the Environment has all ready informed me they are not planning to solve, fix, or help in any way whatsoever. For all their blather about protecting the geese, they could have had a couple of birdie deaths on their hands as a result of this crash. It was bad enough that two cars were damaged and several people in the cars could have been badly hurt or even killed due to these geese who are allowed to run willy nilly all over the city streets by the hundreds.
Well, that will be all for my goose wars reports for the rest of the summer, unless good news comes along about this problem. I am sick to death of the whole unsolveable situation and I am certain you are equally sick of reading about it.
Thank you everyone for your patience.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
So Awesome To Be Able To Be Active
I was thinking about that as I walked downtown and back this morning. Today there was some pain because I had a bit of a time limit that stressed me sufficiently to tighten my thigh muscles until I got a grip and talked myself into relaxing, BUT it was a glorious walk through the mature trees downtown, mission accomplished at the bank, the dark clouds from the early morning receding as I walked downtown and seeing the gorgeous, blue summer cloud free sky all the way home. What a lovely morning.
The morning started fairly early so that my husband and I could meet up with the other members of his Tuesday morning men's group, along with their wives. Most of us wives have not met each other before. It was fun! I understand fully now why my husband lives for his Tuesday morning group! One of the fellows is from my church and I all ready knew he and his wife are amazing people. The others are retired Lutheran pastors, Missouri Synod. They are fantastic folk! They are friendly and if I hadn't been told they are all pastors I would have guessed within about thirty seconds due to their ability to express interest and caring so quickly to new aquaintances. I hope we can all get together again sometime. They are all aware of the problems within their own denomination and are not afraid to speak out about things they would like to see changing, so they understand our own struggles with denominational issues. We took a look at their church lections for this coming Sunday and talked together about them. It was very nice to enjoy the chat over a nice breakfast.
I had such a "good behaviour" breakfast as far as carbs and fats that I wondered if I would be able to walk downtown and back without getting too hungry before lunch, but it is nearly time for my lunch now and I am still feeling fine. The yogurt at the restaurant turned out to be fairly low fat, so that was a nice surprise.
This afternoon I will do the ironing from my laundry day yesterday. It will keep me on my feet after lunch for awhile. I have lost 3 pounds of the 8 I need to lose and it has taken a couple of weeks, but that is okay. At least now I am moving in the right direction weight-wise between more walking and simply eating one less carb unit per meal every day.
The morning started fairly early so that my husband and I could meet up with the other members of his Tuesday morning men's group, along with their wives. Most of us wives have not met each other before. It was fun! I understand fully now why my husband lives for his Tuesday morning group! One of the fellows is from my church and I all ready knew he and his wife are amazing people. The others are retired Lutheran pastors, Missouri Synod. They are fantastic folk! They are friendly and if I hadn't been told they are all pastors I would have guessed within about thirty seconds due to their ability to express interest and caring so quickly to new aquaintances. I hope we can all get together again sometime. They are all aware of the problems within their own denomination and are not afraid to speak out about things they would like to see changing, so they understand our own struggles with denominational issues. We took a look at their church lections for this coming Sunday and talked together about them. It was very nice to enjoy the chat over a nice breakfast.
I had such a "good behaviour" breakfast as far as carbs and fats that I wondered if I would be able to walk downtown and back without getting too hungry before lunch, but it is nearly time for my lunch now and I am still feeling fine. The yogurt at the restaurant turned out to be fairly low fat, so that was a nice surprise.
This afternoon I will do the ironing from my laundry day yesterday. It will keep me on my feet after lunch for awhile. I have lost 3 pounds of the 8 I need to lose and it has taken a couple of weeks, but that is okay. At least now I am moving in the right direction weight-wise between more walking and simply eating one less carb unit per meal every day.
Monday, July 22, 2019
The Whirlwind
It is after 11pm and I should be asleep as we have to be up early in the morning, but it is too hot to sleep. There hasn't been so much as a hint of a breeze for well over 24 hours now. Seems unreal to be so windless for so long out here on the prairies! I am getting to the point where I have to stay up late enough to exhaust myself completely before trying to sleep in order to keep from being awakened by all the street noise outside that comes in through the necessarily open window. Yawn....not quite ready yet tonight.
Saturday began our run of nearly perfect days for weather. The sun shone brightly all day. Although we spent the majority of the daytime hours chasing broods of over 75 geese at a time off the lawn, (a total between my husband and I of 33 forays out into the back yard to herd them elsewhere), we did take a break for an hour when they all disappeared temporarily, we went over to the park and watched several of the Dragon Boat races. My husband seemed to have adjusted to his new tummy meds by then and he enjoyed the walk through the park. The closer we got to the area where the racers boarded their crafts, the fewer geese and their mess were to be found. In the area where the tents, loading piers, first aid and food stalls were for the racers, the grass had been mowed off down to the dirt, all evidence of the existence of geese had been expunged and it made me wonder if that was possible for one end of the park, why couldn't there be more effort made by the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment to keep certain parts of the park free of geese for PEOPLE to enjoy each summer. Unfortunately, due to the increased number of people in the park and on the lake, the hundreds of stressed geese all ended up at our place, thus the number of trips outside to herd them off of our back lawns.
It was difficult to get information at the site about the Dragon Boat races. There were no information sheets available, no spectator areas set up for people to see the races from start to finish and no interest on the part of any of the participants in telling us anything about it. It is certainly a very "in" group of folk who were there to race and not have to explain their sport to the onlookers. Don't think we'll go back next year.
Sunday was the most fun day! My husband was doing a service out of town so I went along to assist with the driving. It was another perfect day for weather...not too hot, lots of sunshine and perfect road conditions, light traffic going in our direction...I don't think I had to pull out and pass so much as one vehicle as we travelled our round trip route.
The service was a complete gong show! Thanking God my cool headed husband has so much experience with small rural parishes attempting to hold summer services in the absence of any sort of trained leadership as well as the holidaying parishioners. There were so few of us that we sat up in the small chancel so we could feel like a cohesive congregation. The assistant was having severe medical issues that caused no end of problems for him before, during and after the service. His inability to think clearly, due to his multiple chronic conditions on top of the episodes during the service, meant all the song numbers and titles were incorrect, the entire bulletin was full of errors and its pages folded in every way but the correct one for page order. The organist left out half of each verse of one of the songs, a different scripture passage was read rather than the one in the lectionary that my husband based his entire sermon on. It was the most hilarious morning I have spent in a church service in a very long time!!! Fortunately by the time we arrived in the coffee room after service, the assistant's medical episode was passing and he was on the way to coherency by the time we left. He will be fine, it is just a condition he has to live with and the congregation's patience with him is amazing and beautiful.
We had lunch at Brown's Social House afterward. We have never eaten at that particular chain before and this one served very tasty food. The service was good and the music was pleasant, rather than boomingly overwhelming. Will try that chain here sometime.
In the evening, after a lovely drive home, we attended the Baptist Sunday evening summer patio party at one of the congregation member's lovely home. We sat in the windless, beautiful night on a huge deck in comfy lawn chairs, snacking and coffeeing and visiting for several hours. Since we were up off the grass there were very few mosquitos bothering us.
Today we were at home all day, but it was busy around here. We slept in a bit, then started chasing geese again, although during the day we had very few. The larger numbers didn't arrive at our place until after 6pm. They are some of the geese in the video and photos in the previous post. We should have waited to take that video until the rest of the geese arrived. By the time they left our place to return to the lake for the evening there were nearly twice as many on the front lawn as there are in that video.
I did laundry today while my husband began preparing his sermon for next Sunday's service that he is taking here in town. Then at 2pm, he popped up from the computer and announced that he wanted to wash the filthy windows in this suite and try out a new LOOONG handle for the squeegee that he found in some discount store somewhere. It worked perfectly! While I washed the inside windows, he was able to reach with the squeegee up to the second storey windows. He did a great job and we were done in an hour. We popped out all the window screens and cleaned them as well as we can...they are old and in danger of having cracked frames if we don't treat them gently. My husband vaccummed the screens to within an inch of their lives before putting them back into the window frames. In the process we discovered that they were installed backwards when they were originally put into place. That explains why we had so much trouble popping them out and back in last year when we did the windows. Once we discovered that today, my husband was able to finagle them into place in the proper position and voila: no need to tape the edges to keep the screens firmly in place in the window frame to prevent insects from crawling in all the time! YAY!! Our efforts did not go unnoticed by the maintenance crew, nyaah, nyaah property management company. OUR windows are relatively clean now, even though you no longer clean them for the tenants. The big rent discount you gave us again when we signed the new lease is worth it to you! Nyaah, nyaah!! haha
I really do need to try to get to sleep. We have to get up very early in the morning to meet the rest of my husband's Tuesday morning men's group and their wives at a breakfast restaurant. Some of the other wives have been wanting to meet each other, so tomorrow will be the day. We are to bring a wedding photo so we have a good conversation starter. hahaha Wellllll....OUR photo will certainly start a conversation....hahahaha. Which one of the glorious pictures shall I choose? The one of my dad running me down the aisle so he could get me there as soon as the bell ringers he insisted we have ended their song? The one of my mother in law crying...but not with joy? The one of my father in law sleeping in the pews? The one of my cousins dressed as the world's first Goth fashionistas? The one of my mother chasing a friend down the street because the friend, who was leaving from the church to go on a trip, had accidentally grabbed MY identical suitcase for the honeymoon instead of her own that she had stored in the same room as mine? Should it be the one of one of my husband's friends lighting up a joint outside the church front doors? Or maybe one of our car, newly spray painted in a red and black harlequin pattern? Oooh, we have so many to choose from....so very many.....hohoho!!! Winners all.........hahahahaha.
I have to order my osteoporosis injection by 7am tomorrow to be certain it arrives before my appointment two days later to have the injection administered. Then after the breakfast it is off to the bank to be sure my husband's EI arrived on time so we can pay off our car repairs, squeaking by just under the wire in terms of payment due date. I can spend a jolly afternoon ironing.
Wednesday is grocery shopping day, the on Thursday we have company from Calgary arriving for dinner. They contacted us just today and we are delighted to see them...old seminary buddies that are always a treat to visit with.
Before we know it, the week will be over and we will be entering the final week of July. Yikes!
My husband has 6 weeks left before needs to start a new job. We have been hopeful about a second possibility that arose on Friday afternoon, but the details of employment will require meeting with the Bishop and some major tweaking of the details...so of course....guess what....are we surprised....nope, not at all....the Bishop has been ordered to take a leave of absence for health reasons and if my husband cannot get in to see him this week, he will be gone until well after my husband needs to have this particularly appealing part time job offer figured out. Aaaaah, the Lord loves to take us to the wire with these tests...every time...without fail...world without end, amen, amen! hahahaha
Life is not boring and I thank the Lord for that!
Nearly midnight...GOTTA try to sleep!
Saturday began our run of nearly perfect days for weather. The sun shone brightly all day. Although we spent the majority of the daytime hours chasing broods of over 75 geese at a time off the lawn, (a total between my husband and I of 33 forays out into the back yard to herd them elsewhere), we did take a break for an hour when they all disappeared temporarily, we went over to the park and watched several of the Dragon Boat races. My husband seemed to have adjusted to his new tummy meds by then and he enjoyed the walk through the park. The closer we got to the area where the racers boarded their crafts, the fewer geese and their mess were to be found. In the area where the tents, loading piers, first aid and food stalls were for the racers, the grass had been mowed off down to the dirt, all evidence of the existence of geese had been expunged and it made me wonder if that was possible for one end of the park, why couldn't there be more effort made by the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment to keep certain parts of the park free of geese for PEOPLE to enjoy each summer. Unfortunately, due to the increased number of people in the park and on the lake, the hundreds of stressed geese all ended up at our place, thus the number of trips outside to herd them off of our back lawns.
It was difficult to get information at the site about the Dragon Boat races. There were no information sheets available, no spectator areas set up for people to see the races from start to finish and no interest on the part of any of the participants in telling us anything about it. It is certainly a very "in" group of folk who were there to race and not have to explain their sport to the onlookers. Don't think we'll go back next year.
Sunday was the most fun day! My husband was doing a service out of town so I went along to assist with the driving. It was another perfect day for weather...not too hot, lots of sunshine and perfect road conditions, light traffic going in our direction...I don't think I had to pull out and pass so much as one vehicle as we travelled our round trip route.
The service was a complete gong show! Thanking God my cool headed husband has so much experience with small rural parishes attempting to hold summer services in the absence of any sort of trained leadership as well as the holidaying parishioners. There were so few of us that we sat up in the small chancel so we could feel like a cohesive congregation. The assistant was having severe medical issues that caused no end of problems for him before, during and after the service. His inability to think clearly, due to his multiple chronic conditions on top of the episodes during the service, meant all the song numbers and titles were incorrect, the entire bulletin was full of errors and its pages folded in every way but the correct one for page order. The organist left out half of each verse of one of the songs, a different scripture passage was read rather than the one in the lectionary that my husband based his entire sermon on. It was the most hilarious morning I have spent in a church service in a very long time!!! Fortunately by the time we arrived in the coffee room after service, the assistant's medical episode was passing and he was on the way to coherency by the time we left. He will be fine, it is just a condition he has to live with and the congregation's patience with him is amazing and beautiful.
We had lunch at Brown's Social House afterward. We have never eaten at that particular chain before and this one served very tasty food. The service was good and the music was pleasant, rather than boomingly overwhelming. Will try that chain here sometime.
In the evening, after a lovely drive home, we attended the Baptist Sunday evening summer patio party at one of the congregation member's lovely home. We sat in the windless, beautiful night on a huge deck in comfy lawn chairs, snacking and coffeeing and visiting for several hours. Since we were up off the grass there were very few mosquitos bothering us.
Today we were at home all day, but it was busy around here. We slept in a bit, then started chasing geese again, although during the day we had very few. The larger numbers didn't arrive at our place until after 6pm. They are some of the geese in the video and photos in the previous post. We should have waited to take that video until the rest of the geese arrived. By the time they left our place to return to the lake for the evening there were nearly twice as many on the front lawn as there are in that video.
I did laundry today while my husband began preparing his sermon for next Sunday's service that he is taking here in town. Then at 2pm, he popped up from the computer and announced that he wanted to wash the filthy windows in this suite and try out a new LOOONG handle for the squeegee that he found in some discount store somewhere. It worked perfectly! While I washed the inside windows, he was able to reach with the squeegee up to the second storey windows. He did a great job and we were done in an hour. We popped out all the window screens and cleaned them as well as we can...they are old and in danger of having cracked frames if we don't treat them gently. My husband vaccummed the screens to within an inch of their lives before putting them back into the window frames. In the process we discovered that they were installed backwards when they were originally put into place. That explains why we had so much trouble popping them out and back in last year when we did the windows. Once we discovered that today, my husband was able to finagle them into place in the proper position and voila: no need to tape the edges to keep the screens firmly in place in the window frame to prevent insects from crawling in all the time! YAY!! Our efforts did not go unnoticed by the maintenance crew, nyaah, nyaah property management company. OUR windows are relatively clean now, even though you no longer clean them for the tenants. The big rent discount you gave us again when we signed the new lease is worth it to you! Nyaah, nyaah!! haha
I really do need to try to get to sleep. We have to get up very early in the morning to meet the rest of my husband's Tuesday morning men's group and their wives at a breakfast restaurant. Some of the other wives have been wanting to meet each other, so tomorrow will be the day. We are to bring a wedding photo so we have a good conversation starter. hahaha Wellllll....OUR photo will certainly start a conversation....hahahaha. Which one of the glorious pictures shall I choose? The one of my dad running me down the aisle so he could get me there as soon as the bell ringers he insisted we have ended their song? The one of my mother in law crying...but not with joy? The one of my father in law sleeping in the pews? The one of my cousins dressed as the world's first Goth fashionistas? The one of my mother chasing a friend down the street because the friend, who was leaving from the church to go on a trip, had accidentally grabbed MY identical suitcase for the honeymoon instead of her own that she had stored in the same room as mine? Should it be the one of one of my husband's friends lighting up a joint outside the church front doors? Or maybe one of our car, newly spray painted in a red and black harlequin pattern? Oooh, we have so many to choose from....so very many.....hohoho!!! Winners all.........hahahahaha.
I have to order my osteoporosis injection by 7am tomorrow to be certain it arrives before my appointment two days later to have the injection administered. Then after the breakfast it is off to the bank to be sure my husband's EI arrived on time so we can pay off our car repairs, squeaking by just under the wire in terms of payment due date. I can spend a jolly afternoon ironing.
Wednesday is grocery shopping day, the on Thursday we have company from Calgary arriving for dinner. They contacted us just today and we are delighted to see them...old seminary buddies that are always a treat to visit with.
Before we know it, the week will be over and we will be entering the final week of July. Yikes!
My husband has 6 weeks left before needs to start a new job. We have been hopeful about a second possibility that arose on Friday afternoon, but the details of employment will require meeting with the Bishop and some major tweaking of the details...so of course....guess what....are we surprised....nope, not at all....the Bishop has been ordered to take a leave of absence for health reasons and if my husband cannot get in to see him this week, he will be gone until well after my husband needs to have this particularly appealing part time job offer figured out. Aaaaah, the Lord loves to take us to the wire with these tests...every time...without fail...world without end, amen, amen! hahahaha
Life is not boring and I thank the Lord for that!
Nearly midnight...GOTTA try to sleep!
More Geese...But the Bunnies Are Darned Cute!
It isn't all poopy geese around here. There are also some adorable rabbits...who seem to find other places to poop, rather than right outside my back door, bless them!
Here is my walkway to get out to the bus stop! Quite a balancing act to avoid the poo!
As you can see, the underground sprinkler system is leaking, has been for days, so not only do the geese hang around to drink out of the puddle outside our building, our basement is leaking pretty much constantly. However, no one who works here seems too concerned about the water. We have talked quite a bit, my husband and I, about our lease coming due again next June....methinks it time to be moving at that point to a different, less goose filled area of the city, since our present provincial government couldn't be bothered to protect the city citizens near the bird sanctuary areas. Sigh....forced out by BIRDS! Unbelieveable......
Here is my walkway to get out to the bus stop! Quite a balancing act to avoid the poo!
Goosey Goosey Gander, Whither Do You Wander....All Over My Damned Yard is Where!!!
Here is the video and a couple of photos: imagine me scooping poop for anywhere from 50 to over 100 birds per day and you can see why I am so frustrated and angry with the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment for flat out refusing to deal with this problem this year!
Friday, July 19, 2019
Happy Endings =)
Today has ended well. After sitting most of the afternoon in the hot aquatic centre, on hard, backless bleachers, we felt in need of a long walk. So, around 5pm we decided to take a good long walk east of the downtown, get some dinner at DarBar and walk back again. It was wonderful. The breeze was stiff enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay, even along the gorgeous, treelined streets we chose to zig zag through on our way to DarBar. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot to enjoy the walk. We walked 2.35km to the restaurant and then took a slightly longer walk back: 2.76km. That makes 5 days in a row for my husband to walk at least 5km per day and a total of 4 days for me doing the same length of walks. My hip is doing extremely well because I am remembering to take my time, although my stride is now lengthening again, and my lower thigh muscles are experiencing neither different nor worse pain than they do any time of the year when I am walking or exercising. Chronic pain is part of my daily life, but it isn't intense enough to stop me from doing what I want to do each day. Thank you Lord!!
The lamb rogan josh was fantastic as always tonight at Darbar. My husband ordered that along with his usual side of basmati rice and some roti. I opted for an order of naan filled with shredded chicken, as well as a lovely black lentil and kidney bean makhni....SO rich and delicious. I think next time I am going to order the okra dish with onions and tomatoes and the fantastic herbs and spices that it is cooked in. I am trying to eat more vegetarian dishes there because if I want any meat, I can order the shredded meat stuffed naan breads for a change of pace. We are advertising DarBar by word of mouth as much as we can. Although their lunch business is slowly picking up, their evening business is still dismal. Their on street advertising is part of the problem. The restaurant windows are darkened, there are no sandwich boards out in the evenings and the name of the restaurant is all that appears above the door. I can see a few people wondering, "What the heck is a DarBar??", since the words "Indian Restaurant" do not appear. There was only one other customer there, other than ourselves, between 6pm and 7pm and there was one large take out order......end of story. We are terrified they will have to close if things don't improve soon. There are two other Indian restaurants very near to them unfortunately, restaurants that serve not nearly as good food, but that have been there long enough to have built up a loyal following, particularly among the area residents. Sigh....sure hope these dear, friendly folk can make a go of it and stay open.
We are enjoying our restaurant meals as our summer treat since we are not going on any holidays this year. Our last holiday was over a year ago. I don't count the family trips to Alberta. As good as they are, particularly when we get to visit my husband's sister, they are not holidays per se. My husband has finally learned that a lovely salad with a slice of garlic bread or a small bowl of soup DOTH a filling meal make and his cholesterol count should soon be thanking him for it! His wallet is sure a lot happier since he figured this out, hahaha.
Well, now we have watched this weeks' exciting episode of "Alone" and it is time for an early preparation to get to bed. We are tired. I started my day just after 7am with some goose herding and then came all the fun, ending with a long walk. What a wonderful day in the summer!
One thing I have learned about the geese is that they respond to rhythm! I hate chasing them about, flapping my arms to scare them away from the back yard. I don't want to scare them so badly and upset them, I just don't want them in the back yard. So, I have learned that if I beat out a simple rhythm on a metal paint can lid they will walk with me until I stop beating out the rhythm, rather than start running scared and freaking out about whether or not their "kids" are safe. They seem to respond best to a simple BOOM -- tap tap, BOOM -- tap tap rhythm. They will even follow quietly behind me unafraid, rather than honking and flapping away in front of me, until we get to where it is better for them to graze, at which point I can turn back and go home without them returning until hours later, if at all. So, I admit to being the neighbourhood crazy goose lady, but it has been wonderful to find a very effective and less panic inducing way to herd them away from our back lawn. Our neighbour next door said they came back again, nearly 100 of them, while my husband and I were away tonight at dinner, but his 3 year old daughter tried out my method of using that beaten rhythm and led the entire group away all on her own. She is the coolest kid in the complex....only 3 years old and full of spunk! hahaha
Have a super weekend everyone. Tomorrow we have a couple of errands to run and then I think we will try to take in a few of the Dragon Boat races. Then off to a church service out of town on Sunday. Yup, a good weekend awaits...hopefully! hahaha
The lamb rogan josh was fantastic as always tonight at Darbar. My husband ordered that along with his usual side of basmati rice and some roti. I opted for an order of naan filled with shredded chicken, as well as a lovely black lentil and kidney bean makhni....SO rich and delicious. I think next time I am going to order the okra dish with onions and tomatoes and the fantastic herbs and spices that it is cooked in. I am trying to eat more vegetarian dishes there because if I want any meat, I can order the shredded meat stuffed naan breads for a change of pace. We are advertising DarBar by word of mouth as much as we can. Although their lunch business is slowly picking up, their evening business is still dismal. Their on street advertising is part of the problem. The restaurant windows are darkened, there are no sandwich boards out in the evenings and the name of the restaurant is all that appears above the door. I can see a few people wondering, "What the heck is a DarBar??", since the words "Indian Restaurant" do not appear. There was only one other customer there, other than ourselves, between 6pm and 7pm and there was one large take out order......end of story. We are terrified they will have to close if things don't improve soon. There are two other Indian restaurants very near to them unfortunately, restaurants that serve not nearly as good food, but that have been there long enough to have built up a loyal following, particularly among the area residents. Sigh....sure hope these dear, friendly folk can make a go of it and stay open.
We are enjoying our restaurant meals as our summer treat since we are not going on any holidays this year. Our last holiday was over a year ago. I don't count the family trips to Alberta. As good as they are, particularly when we get to visit my husband's sister, they are not holidays per se. My husband has finally learned that a lovely salad with a slice of garlic bread or a small bowl of soup DOTH a filling meal make and his cholesterol count should soon be thanking him for it! His wallet is sure a lot happier since he figured this out, hahaha.
Well, now we have watched this weeks' exciting episode of "Alone" and it is time for an early preparation to get to bed. We are tired. I started my day just after 7am with some goose herding and then came all the fun, ending with a long walk. What a wonderful day in the summer!
One thing I have learned about the geese is that they respond to rhythm! I hate chasing them about, flapping my arms to scare them away from the back yard. I don't want to scare them so badly and upset them, I just don't want them in the back yard. So, I have learned that if I beat out a simple rhythm on a metal paint can lid they will walk with me until I stop beating out the rhythm, rather than start running scared and freaking out about whether or not their "kids" are safe. They seem to respond best to a simple BOOM -- tap tap, BOOM -- tap tap rhythm. They will even follow quietly behind me unafraid, rather than honking and flapping away in front of me, until we get to where it is better for them to graze, at which point I can turn back and go home without them returning until hours later, if at all. So, I admit to being the neighbourhood crazy goose lady, but it has been wonderful to find a very effective and less panic inducing way to herd them away from our back lawn. Our neighbour next door said they came back again, nearly 100 of them, while my husband and I were away tonight at dinner, but his 3 year old daughter tried out my method of using that beaten rhythm and led the entire group away all on her own. She is the coolest kid in the complex....only 3 years old and full of spunk! hahaha
Have a super weekend everyone. Tomorrow we have a couple of errands to run and then I think we will try to take in a few of the Dragon Boat races. Then off to a church service out of town on Sunday. Yup, a good weekend awaits...hopefully! hahaha
An Awesome Afternoon!
We have just returned from the Lawson Aquatic Centre where we were privileged to watch the preteen age group of women divers vying for the medals at the National Junior Diving Competition. The gal we went to watch is the granddaughter of church friends and she absolutely crushed it!! She not only won, she won by two points higher than the international standard, so will likely be going to the international competition in Chile next summer. What an exciting afternoon.
This gal is fantastic, but it was not a runaway. There are some tremendous young female divers in this country. There were divers there today from all across Canada and their local swim clubs can be extremely proud of them!! There are certainly some wonderful coaches in this country. It was an amazing afternoon.
On the job/ministry front, it has been just crazy around here again this afternoon! hahahaha My husband ran across his Bishop today and they had quite a talk. Turns out we were correct in our suspicion that someone else is also being interviewed for the position my husband interviewed for the other night. That could be discouraging EXCEPT that my husband riterated a proposal he and another parish came up with last February, but that the Bishop put the kaybosh on for a few good reasons. Well....lo and behold....just today my husband had reason to be in commuication with those people and they are completely upset that he is up for a different position than theirs when they want him so very badly. They are even looking at being able to hire him for more than just Sunday services now. The Bishop has promised to reconsider the possibility now and so we shall see what comes of it all. As we sat and talked about things a few minutes ago, we realized that this second possibility is likely to be a far better fit for my husband than the position he interviewed for the other night. So, it never rains but it pours job offers around here. That offer of part time in Calgary yesterday really got our attention that there are other moves afoot in the Spirit that we need to be ready for and today...well...amazing confirmation of that!!! Yippee...life is NEVER boring in the Lord and I am glad of it! What a life!! hahahaha
This gal is fantastic, but it was not a runaway. There are some tremendous young female divers in this country. There were divers there today from all across Canada and their local swim clubs can be extremely proud of them!! There are certainly some wonderful coaches in this country. It was an amazing afternoon.
On the job/ministry front, it has been just crazy around here again this afternoon! hahahaha My husband ran across his Bishop today and they had quite a talk. Turns out we were correct in our suspicion that someone else is also being interviewed for the position my husband interviewed for the other night. That could be discouraging EXCEPT that my husband riterated a proposal he and another parish came up with last February, but that the Bishop put the kaybosh on for a few good reasons. Well....lo and behold....just today my husband had reason to be in commuication with those people and they are completely upset that he is up for a different position than theirs when they want him so very badly. They are even looking at being able to hire him for more than just Sunday services now. The Bishop has promised to reconsider the possibility now and so we shall see what comes of it all. As we sat and talked about things a few minutes ago, we realized that this second possibility is likely to be a far better fit for my husband than the position he interviewed for the other night. So, it never rains but it pours job offers around here. That offer of part time in Calgary yesterday really got our attention that there are other moves afoot in the Spirit that we need to be ready for and today...well...amazing confirmation of that!!! Yippee...life is NEVER boring in the Lord and I am glad of it! What a life!! hahahaha
Thursday, July 18, 2019
So The Wait Begins....Life Is Never Just Straight Forward, Is It? Hahahaha!!
My husband managed to navigate several flooded streets the other night to arrive at his job interview on time and did well coming back afterward too. He replaced a couple of manhole covers along the way that had blown off from the force of the water; a real danger to drivers who don't notice them lying in the middle of the road after dark. Fortunately he didn't hit them either!
The interview seemed to go well. At least one of the references was contacted the next morning. Since this was originally supposed to be an appointment interim position for one to two years, I am not sure why an application and interview process was even allowed to occur, but at least the search committee is doing their due diligence. If things go awry they have no one to blame but themselves I suppose. The whole situation is ludicrous for a number of reasons I won't go into here, but this particular one is definitely an "out" for both them and him if it appears anyone changes his or her mind about the feasibility of working together. One thing we are very certain of is that if the shock happens and he doesn't sort of "automatically" get this position, then it is definitely God's answer/God at work to provide more adequately for all involved. If my husband has to start looking so unexpectedly for different work for September, I promise to only be upset and worried for a couple of days, okay? hahaha That is how I react to unhappy surprises and that is about how long the reaction lasts until I remember once again that God IS on the throne and taking care of us. I promise! haha
Of course it never rains but it pours, right? Of course right.
As we were going on our walk this morning, my husband's cell phone rang and it was Calgary calling to see if he would change his mind about coming to work there. The original position he was offered a couple of months ago has been happily filled, BUT a second position, that he withdrew his name from before their search committee made a decision on who to interview, is still open. Today he was told that just about the time he withdrew from the competition, the committee was about to offer him the job. They REALLY REALLY still want him. Sigh.....
He will contact Calgary again tomorrow after sleeping on it and praying about it for another 24 hours, but the answer, barring some kind of vision or other surprise message from God before tomorrow, will still be "thanks ever so much, but no." The job is only part time, only guaranteed for a year interim, although we suspect that if he was successful at all they would happily keep him on as their permanent incumbent, rather than have to go through the hiring process yet again. Calgary is a sprawling, expensive city and we still have the exact same reasons to remain here as we had two months ago when he turned down the last job offer there. We still have the same reasons not to want to return to Calgary and this position would be for about half the salary as the last one he was offered there, so it seems a no brainer to turn it down. However...in God's economy things are often different than in ours so, we are definitely going to seek the Lord one more time about this employment situation. If he gets a call by tomorrow from the search committee here that they are not going to hire him after all, after the job was originally almost guaranteed, we are going to have to think and pray very hard once again about a move to Calgary. Thank you for your prayers!!
Aiiiiiiii yiiiiiiii.......hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!
Goose wars have begun in earnest once again. Of course, after nearly a week of them heading to other parts of the complex here as they journey over from the Park each day, it is now our turn once again to have upward of 50 geese at once wanting to graze and poop on our back lawn. They showed up just before dinner last evening and they are all out there again today. I suspect we will have another couple of days of having to herd them away before they imprint once again that they are not to come here.
LATER:
There, another over 80 geese herded from the back yard to the front yard that no one here uses, no kids play on and so there is lots of grass there for the geese to feed on. Well, it is good exercise for us old fogeys, chasing geese, right? haha
My walking partner arrived yesterday morning just as the morning dew was dissipating and the sun was coming out. We only walked about 1/4 of our usual distance as I was trying out a different pair of shoes, but it was better to have a short walk than no walk and it did give us time for a really long, wonderful visit back at home as well. She is such a good friend and I don't know how I managed to gain such a happy relationship with a friend quite a bit younger than myself, but it is a true blessing. She has an interesting life and is blessed with so many skills in her career path. I so enjoy talking to her.
We had company for dinner last evening and that went extremely well. He too is a former pastor who is wondering what exactly he is supposed to be doing for work here in Regina. They came HERE from Toronto (!!??) to help out their family with some things and feel very called at the moment to remain here, although are not sure why exactly or how things will go financially. Just like us.....interesting times around here! Like us they have been part of a pseudo Christian cult, although in their case the group became more orthodox in their beliefs some years ago now, so they were able to remain in it for quite some time. So exciting to know that such things are possible! A whole church of kind of "iffy" Christian beliefs and practises discovered the reality of the personal Jesus and were transformed. It encourages my heart for some of the strange little groups we were once involved in. God is able.
This morning we were invited to attend a youth national diving competition that the granddaugher of friends is excelling in this year. So, we will go tomorrow morning to see her dive. We both love to watch diving competitions so it will be quite a treat to see these very talented young athletes. After today's competition, our friends' granddaughter is in second place overall. Wonderful!
Today was a glorious day together with my husband. The utility bills arrived this morning and I wanted to get to the closest bank and pay them right away. We walked just under 6km with a break for a snack at Famoso's in between to give my hip a rest. (I almost wrote "to give my hip a break", but it has all ready had 2 breaks! hahaha NO MORE!) My husband had a library book due today so that meant we walked a convoluted route downtown, threading through the road closures for construction purposes, stepping over water lines, getting an excellent view of the repairs going on to get to the library. The huge trees in that older area of downtown are SO green and lush and it is shady and pleasant being out among them. In the park downtown there are tents being installed for the beer garden this weekend in association with the Dragon Boat Races on Wascana Lake. (There will be noise and traffic and early morning bull horn announcements all weekend not that far from my bedroom window as the races get underway, so I am glad we found out it is all happening this weekend and are mentally prepared to be awakened between 4am and 5am for the next 3 days. hahaha) The temperature today is in the low to mid 20's, there is a breeze and a few puffy clouds to cover the hottest rays of the sun as they filter down here. It is perfect...very fulfilling to be able to put on some mosquito spray and go sleeveless and sockless for our walk. I love the feeling of being unencumbered by too many long sleeved shirts and jackets and heavy socks and shoes. Yay summer!!
Unfortunately we had to cancel our attendance at a pre-wedding BBQ for some young friends that we were supposed to attend in Moose Jaw this evening. My husband has started on a new supplement to aid his stomach with digestion and unfortunately this one tends to make a person rather ill for about 3 days until the body adjusts to it. He was hoping the walk we took earlier today would settle things down and he would feel like going to the BBQ after all, but it didn't help much. As much as he enjoyed the walk and the snack, he was asking for the shortest route home afterward so he could lie down. Now he is napping and I am glad we decided to cancel after all. We were thinking if the walk helped him feel better we would still go. O well, there is still the wedding to attend tomorrow afternoon if he is feeling better by then. Here's hoping. He has to preach out of town on Sunday and when he started the supplements he was counting the usual number of days that he would not feel well to coincide with feeling better for sure for the Sunday trip and service. If either of us had been thinking ahead properly we would have realized he should have waited until next Monday to start these. He has had these pills before and they really help, but that first 3 days is really nasty.
Time to make a goose check in the back yard again. I can hear them heading this way...the honking is getting closer....it will be interesting to see if they veer off in the other direction when I walk out onto the porch. If they do then I know we have this particular batch trained well. It seems to take 4 days in a row of consistently herding the same group and then they stop coming through our place. They will skirt it on all sides, but not set foot onto our particular strip of back lawn. They are rather remarkable birds in that regard.
Hope your day is as fulfilling as mine has been today. My whole week this far in fact....!!
The interview seemed to go well. At least one of the references was contacted the next morning. Since this was originally supposed to be an appointment interim position for one to two years, I am not sure why an application and interview process was even allowed to occur, but at least the search committee is doing their due diligence. If things go awry they have no one to blame but themselves I suppose. The whole situation is ludicrous for a number of reasons I won't go into here, but this particular one is definitely an "out" for both them and him if it appears anyone changes his or her mind about the feasibility of working together. One thing we are very certain of is that if the shock happens and he doesn't sort of "automatically" get this position, then it is definitely God's answer/God at work to provide more adequately for all involved. If my husband has to start looking so unexpectedly for different work for September, I promise to only be upset and worried for a couple of days, okay? hahaha That is how I react to unhappy surprises and that is about how long the reaction lasts until I remember once again that God IS on the throne and taking care of us. I promise! haha
Of course it never rains but it pours, right? Of course right.
As we were going on our walk this morning, my husband's cell phone rang and it was Calgary calling to see if he would change his mind about coming to work there. The original position he was offered a couple of months ago has been happily filled, BUT a second position, that he withdrew his name from before their search committee made a decision on who to interview, is still open. Today he was told that just about the time he withdrew from the competition, the committee was about to offer him the job. They REALLY REALLY still want him. Sigh.....
He will contact Calgary again tomorrow after sleeping on it and praying about it for another 24 hours, but the answer, barring some kind of vision or other surprise message from God before tomorrow, will still be "thanks ever so much, but no." The job is only part time, only guaranteed for a year interim, although we suspect that if he was successful at all they would happily keep him on as their permanent incumbent, rather than have to go through the hiring process yet again. Calgary is a sprawling, expensive city and we still have the exact same reasons to remain here as we had two months ago when he turned down the last job offer there. We still have the same reasons not to want to return to Calgary and this position would be for about half the salary as the last one he was offered there, so it seems a no brainer to turn it down. However...in God's economy things are often different than in ours so, we are definitely going to seek the Lord one more time about this employment situation. If he gets a call by tomorrow from the search committee here that they are not going to hire him after all, after the job was originally almost guaranteed, we are going to have to think and pray very hard once again about a move to Calgary. Thank you for your prayers!!
Aiiiiiiii yiiiiiiii.......hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!
Goose wars have begun in earnest once again. Of course, after nearly a week of them heading to other parts of the complex here as they journey over from the Park each day, it is now our turn once again to have upward of 50 geese at once wanting to graze and poop on our back lawn. They showed up just before dinner last evening and they are all out there again today. I suspect we will have another couple of days of having to herd them away before they imprint once again that they are not to come here.
LATER:
There, another over 80 geese herded from the back yard to the front yard that no one here uses, no kids play on and so there is lots of grass there for the geese to feed on. Well, it is good exercise for us old fogeys, chasing geese, right? haha
My walking partner arrived yesterday morning just as the morning dew was dissipating and the sun was coming out. We only walked about 1/4 of our usual distance as I was trying out a different pair of shoes, but it was better to have a short walk than no walk and it did give us time for a really long, wonderful visit back at home as well. She is such a good friend and I don't know how I managed to gain such a happy relationship with a friend quite a bit younger than myself, but it is a true blessing. She has an interesting life and is blessed with so many skills in her career path. I so enjoy talking to her.
We had company for dinner last evening and that went extremely well. He too is a former pastor who is wondering what exactly he is supposed to be doing for work here in Regina. They came HERE from Toronto (!!??) to help out their family with some things and feel very called at the moment to remain here, although are not sure why exactly or how things will go financially. Just like us.....interesting times around here! Like us they have been part of a pseudo Christian cult, although in their case the group became more orthodox in their beliefs some years ago now, so they were able to remain in it for quite some time. So exciting to know that such things are possible! A whole church of kind of "iffy" Christian beliefs and practises discovered the reality of the personal Jesus and were transformed. It encourages my heart for some of the strange little groups we were once involved in. God is able.
This morning we were invited to attend a youth national diving competition that the granddaugher of friends is excelling in this year. So, we will go tomorrow morning to see her dive. We both love to watch diving competitions so it will be quite a treat to see these very talented young athletes. After today's competition, our friends' granddaughter is in second place overall. Wonderful!
Today was a glorious day together with my husband. The utility bills arrived this morning and I wanted to get to the closest bank and pay them right away. We walked just under 6km with a break for a snack at Famoso's in between to give my hip a rest. (I almost wrote "to give my hip a break", but it has all ready had 2 breaks! hahaha NO MORE!) My husband had a library book due today so that meant we walked a convoluted route downtown, threading through the road closures for construction purposes, stepping over water lines, getting an excellent view of the repairs going on to get to the library. The huge trees in that older area of downtown are SO green and lush and it is shady and pleasant being out among them. In the park downtown there are tents being installed for the beer garden this weekend in association with the Dragon Boat Races on Wascana Lake. (There will be noise and traffic and early morning bull horn announcements all weekend not that far from my bedroom window as the races get underway, so I am glad we found out it is all happening this weekend and are mentally prepared to be awakened between 4am and 5am for the next 3 days. hahaha) The temperature today is in the low to mid 20's, there is a breeze and a few puffy clouds to cover the hottest rays of the sun as they filter down here. It is perfect...very fulfilling to be able to put on some mosquito spray and go sleeveless and sockless for our walk. I love the feeling of being unencumbered by too many long sleeved shirts and jackets and heavy socks and shoes. Yay summer!!
Unfortunately we had to cancel our attendance at a pre-wedding BBQ for some young friends that we were supposed to attend in Moose Jaw this evening. My husband has started on a new supplement to aid his stomach with digestion and unfortunately this one tends to make a person rather ill for about 3 days until the body adjusts to it. He was hoping the walk we took earlier today would settle things down and he would feel like going to the BBQ after all, but it didn't help much. As much as he enjoyed the walk and the snack, he was asking for the shortest route home afterward so he could lie down. Now he is napping and I am glad we decided to cancel after all. We were thinking if the walk helped him feel better we would still go. O well, there is still the wedding to attend tomorrow afternoon if he is feeling better by then. Here's hoping. He has to preach out of town on Sunday and when he started the supplements he was counting the usual number of days that he would not feel well to coincide with feeling better for sure for the Sunday trip and service. If either of us had been thinking ahead properly we would have realized he should have waited until next Monday to start these. He has had these pills before and they really help, but that first 3 days is really nasty.
Time to make a goose check in the back yard again. I can hear them heading this way...the honking is getting closer....it will be interesting to see if they veer off in the other direction when I walk out onto the porch. If they do then I know we have this particular batch trained well. It seems to take 4 days in a row of consistently herding the same group and then they stop coming through our place. They will skirt it on all sides, but not set foot onto our particular strip of back lawn. They are rather remarkable birds in that regard.
Hope your day is as fulfilling as mine has been today. My whole week this far in fact....!!
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Our Turn For a Storm
We have just finished dinner and come up from the depths of the basement where we have been putting large towels on the floor closest to the spots along the basement walls that still seep a bit of water during heavy rain.
Heavy rain is what we have all right. Two of the lanes of traffic in front of our house, on the far side on the median, are under about six inches of water and if it gets any higher it will come over the top of the median into the two lanes running right in front of us. There are all ready about two inches of water there. There are small hail pellets on the lawn and we pray we get none bigger! From past experience we know what sorts of severe damage large hail can do to vehicles and rooves and house siding. I haven’t had the courage to check my tomatoes and my husband’s pots of herbs on the back deck! I hope they are okay. There is simply too much close lightning to make it safe for stepping out of doors.
The lake across the road is getting deeper and beginning to flood the traffic lanes closest to our place. Guess I should go and take a closer look at how close the water is getting to this property, check the basement and see if the plants are okay.
Perhaps the storm will pass by quickly. I do hope so! I want to run the dishwasher and wash the pots by hand that I used to start preparing the meal for tomorrow evening’s dinner guests. I hope the rain stops soon and everything dries up overnight so my walking partner and I can actually get outside and walk!
Kat stopped by for a visit this afternoon. Good timing as I had just finished all the housework. haha She is very tired, to be expected of course, but managing well with the pain and anti-nausea meds and sleeping pills. Bless her heart! She spent today as she spends many days: racing from one medical appointment to another giving blood, draining infections, having consults. It is a lifestyle all its very own. Sigh.... Val though is experiencing amazing grace with her hip. She has gone for a whole week with very little pain and only a couple of excruciatingly painful hip “locks”. God is answering our prayers and giving her at least temporary relief from the debilitating pain. Praise the Lord for however long this lasts!
(My husband is about to leave, early so he can find a path through flooded streets, for a job interview. Thy will be done.....)
Later: The worst of the storm seems to be over as it moves to the east....the rain is still falling but it isn’t teeming like it was earlier. There is less lightning and it is moving farther away. The street in front continues to flood, but the water on our side is not coming up over the curb and onto the sidewalk like it is across the street. The storm drains couldn’t handle so much rain in a short period of time.
Summer on the prairies brings a fascinating array of weather each year.
Heavy rain is what we have all right. Two of the lanes of traffic in front of our house, on the far side on the median, are under about six inches of water and if it gets any higher it will come over the top of the median into the two lanes running right in front of us. There are all ready about two inches of water there. There are small hail pellets on the lawn and we pray we get none bigger! From past experience we know what sorts of severe damage large hail can do to vehicles and rooves and house siding. I haven’t had the courage to check my tomatoes and my husband’s pots of herbs on the back deck! I hope they are okay. There is simply too much close lightning to make it safe for stepping out of doors.
The lake across the road is getting deeper and beginning to flood the traffic lanes closest to our place. Guess I should go and take a closer look at how close the water is getting to this property, check the basement and see if the plants are okay.
Perhaps the storm will pass by quickly. I do hope so! I want to run the dishwasher and wash the pots by hand that I used to start preparing the meal for tomorrow evening’s dinner guests. I hope the rain stops soon and everything dries up overnight so my walking partner and I can actually get outside and walk!
Kat stopped by for a visit this afternoon. Good timing as I had just finished all the housework. haha She is very tired, to be expected of course, but managing well with the pain and anti-nausea meds and sleeping pills. Bless her heart! She spent today as she spends many days: racing from one medical appointment to another giving blood, draining infections, having consults. It is a lifestyle all its very own. Sigh.... Val though is experiencing amazing grace with her hip. She has gone for a whole week with very little pain and only a couple of excruciatingly painful hip “locks”. God is answering our prayers and giving her at least temporary relief from the debilitating pain. Praise the Lord for however long this lasts!
(My husband is about to leave, early so he can find a path through flooded streets, for a job interview. Thy will be done.....)
Later: The worst of the storm seems to be over as it moves to the east....the rain is still falling but it isn’t teeming like it was earlier. There is less lightning and it is moving farther away. The street in front continues to flood, but the water on our side is not coming up over the curb and onto the sidewalk like it is across the street. The storm drains couldn’t handle so much rain in a short period of time.
Summer on the prairies brings a fascinating array of weather each year.
Monday, July 15, 2019
A Late Start For A Good Reason
I am an hour behind getting started on my housework this morning, but it is because my husband and I have been contacting former parishioners in Eston who experienced a wicked storm last evening. Houses and business buildings damaged and destroyed, flooding, no power for at least 24 hours...it is a mess and the town people need prayer and assistance. Please keep Eston and its residents in your prayers today. Thank you so much.
Like a Day Long Date! =)
My husband and I had a really nice day together, relaxed, fun and happy...for the entire day! YIPPEE!!
We thought this morning that we would have to give up our walk to church and take the car in the interest of time, but as we sat thinking about it, we decided that was wimping out of the exercise out of doors we are both in need of. We "hopped to it", got dressed and ready and had the most beautiful early morning walk to the service, arriving just in time to get a good front pew view! The sharing of insights by two teen boys about their recent missions trip to Lebanon got us thinking about how God has always worked in our lives. The boys were blown away by the miracles and healings and answers to prayer that happen within the Christian community ala the Book of Acts and it inspired us as well to continue reopening our lives to the working of the Holy Spirit. The sermon challenged us on forgiveness and as the pastor was speaking I thought of a particular person who made my life miserable for many years. I began to wonder if I have truly forgiven that person...I thought I had, but you know, as I remembered those times, I realized I actually have still been carrying some anger. Crazy silly! Glad it was brought to my attention. Once I figured it out I prayed some rather specific prayers and trusting I will soon be free of the anger. Every so often, some ugly root of something or other gets dug out and examined, prayed about and dealt with. I wonder if I will ever see that person so that I can check my response and know for certain I have actually forgiven completely. We are far removed now geographically, but I hope that if God arranges it I would be given a chance to actually walk in the forgiveness I professed today.
After loads of post-service visiting, we walked together somewhat out of our way for going home, looking to try a new restaurant we have passed many times but never gone into. It is a re-do of a former tapas bar: Bodega on Albert. They offer a small brunch menu on Sundays and they were far from busy, so we gave it a try. Our meals were quite delicious, if a tad overpriced. I ordered the "Usual Street Breakfast". The scrambled eggs were nicely hot, just off the grill and not salted nor buttered, so perfect for me. The bacon strips were thick, meaty and it was easy to cut off the excess fat and still have lots of meat. There was a sliced chorizo sausage, so lots of fat after all in my meal, haha, but it was delicious. Instead of hashbrowns, there was a small portion of my fave still in the skins fries. It came with toast, but I told the waitress not to bother with it and so I wasn't tempted to eat a slice of it just because it was there. A side bowl of fresh fruit accompanies all the brunch meals, so that was a treat that kept my meal from feeling too heavy in my tummy on a warm day. My husband's eggs benedict with grilled cherry tomatoes on an English muffin was delicious and came with a side of hashbrowns with a slightly spicy/sweet sauce druzzled over the top. He did enjoy his meal as well.
We had a great visit in the restaurant because the other patrons chose either to eat at the tables outside, or were part of a large group in another section of the restaurant. So, we were left feeling like we had the place to ourselves. The service was excellent as well.
Then came a very long walk back home, but we cut through Wascana Park for part of it, although it was a bit longer to go that way, to take advantage of the shady trees! By the time we left the restaurant we were well on the way to our daytime high of +31C with NO WIND! Yikes, it felt so much hotter than that! Well, the exercise was great, needed and it got my adrenalin pumping so that I could do a load of ironing as soon as we returned home!
My husband had to spend a bit of time preparing some paperwork for his job interview this coming week while I watched the final day of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo. That was fun and relaxing....I think I may actually have dozed out for a few minutes after the long walk in the heat. hahaha
We prepared a very tiny dinner for ourselves as our brunch had been so filling, visited some more, then did some home chores before settling in to watch the final night of the Rangeland Derby. We spent more time chatting than we did watching the tv and it was with a great deal of reluctance that my husband then excused himself to get ready for bed.
We decided not to attend tonight's international patio party. The heat was still too intense, my myriad mosquito bites have only just settled down after the mosquito attack at last Sunday evening's patio party, plus, to be honest, we just wanted to spend the evening by ourselves and carry on with our happy, day long "date". We would have been far too tempted to try eating the samosas and sweet dough balls and other international foods that we didn't need, shouldn't have etc. Staying home felt like the right thing to do.
The beautiful lightning extravaganza I watched last night never did bring any rain or wind to us, but only a half hour drive north west of the city, at the entertainment grounds near Lumsden, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour and heavy winds, effectively cancelling the outdoor performances of two well known, international country singers and the annual country music festival there. The storm came so close to us, but went around to the east of us instead of parking over the city.
We still have our chance for a storm in the wee hours of Monday morning, but we shall see....... There was a funnel cloud today near the town in Alberta where we used to live and it wiped out a great number of crops in the fields near there. Yikes!
Hopefully I will be able to sleep through all the noise if we do get a thunderstorm. I need to clean house over the next couple of days, pick up a few groceries and run the usual errands after a hopefully excellent sleep.
We thought this morning that we would have to give up our walk to church and take the car in the interest of time, but as we sat thinking about it, we decided that was wimping out of the exercise out of doors we are both in need of. We "hopped to it", got dressed and ready and had the most beautiful early morning walk to the service, arriving just in time to get a good front pew view! The sharing of insights by two teen boys about their recent missions trip to Lebanon got us thinking about how God has always worked in our lives. The boys were blown away by the miracles and healings and answers to prayer that happen within the Christian community ala the Book of Acts and it inspired us as well to continue reopening our lives to the working of the Holy Spirit. The sermon challenged us on forgiveness and as the pastor was speaking I thought of a particular person who made my life miserable for many years. I began to wonder if I have truly forgiven that person...I thought I had, but you know, as I remembered those times, I realized I actually have still been carrying some anger. Crazy silly! Glad it was brought to my attention. Once I figured it out I prayed some rather specific prayers and trusting I will soon be free of the anger. Every so often, some ugly root of something or other gets dug out and examined, prayed about and dealt with. I wonder if I will ever see that person so that I can check my response and know for certain I have actually forgiven completely. We are far removed now geographically, but I hope that if God arranges it I would be given a chance to actually walk in the forgiveness I professed today.
After loads of post-service visiting, we walked together somewhat out of our way for going home, looking to try a new restaurant we have passed many times but never gone into. It is a re-do of a former tapas bar: Bodega on Albert. They offer a small brunch menu on Sundays and they were far from busy, so we gave it a try. Our meals were quite delicious, if a tad overpriced. I ordered the "Usual Street Breakfast". The scrambled eggs were nicely hot, just off the grill and not salted nor buttered, so perfect for me. The bacon strips were thick, meaty and it was easy to cut off the excess fat and still have lots of meat. There was a sliced chorizo sausage, so lots of fat after all in my meal, haha, but it was delicious. Instead of hashbrowns, there was a small portion of my fave still in the skins fries. It came with toast, but I told the waitress not to bother with it and so I wasn't tempted to eat a slice of it just because it was there. A side bowl of fresh fruit accompanies all the brunch meals, so that was a treat that kept my meal from feeling too heavy in my tummy on a warm day. My husband's eggs benedict with grilled cherry tomatoes on an English muffin was delicious and came with a side of hashbrowns with a slightly spicy/sweet sauce druzzled over the top. He did enjoy his meal as well.
We had a great visit in the restaurant because the other patrons chose either to eat at the tables outside, or were part of a large group in another section of the restaurant. So, we were left feeling like we had the place to ourselves. The service was excellent as well.
Then came a very long walk back home, but we cut through Wascana Park for part of it, although it was a bit longer to go that way, to take advantage of the shady trees! By the time we left the restaurant we were well on the way to our daytime high of +31C with NO WIND! Yikes, it felt so much hotter than that! Well, the exercise was great, needed and it got my adrenalin pumping so that I could do a load of ironing as soon as we returned home!
My husband had to spend a bit of time preparing some paperwork for his job interview this coming week while I watched the final day of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo. That was fun and relaxing....I think I may actually have dozed out for a few minutes after the long walk in the heat. hahaha
We prepared a very tiny dinner for ourselves as our brunch had been so filling, visited some more, then did some home chores before settling in to watch the final night of the Rangeland Derby. We spent more time chatting than we did watching the tv and it was with a great deal of reluctance that my husband then excused himself to get ready for bed.
We decided not to attend tonight's international patio party. The heat was still too intense, my myriad mosquito bites have only just settled down after the mosquito attack at last Sunday evening's patio party, plus, to be honest, we just wanted to spend the evening by ourselves and carry on with our happy, day long "date". We would have been far too tempted to try eating the samosas and sweet dough balls and other international foods that we didn't need, shouldn't have etc. Staying home felt like the right thing to do.
The beautiful lightning extravaganza I watched last night never did bring any rain or wind to us, but only a half hour drive north west of the city, at the entertainment grounds near Lumsden, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour and heavy winds, effectively cancelling the outdoor performances of two well known, international country singers and the annual country music festival there. The storm came so close to us, but went around to the east of us instead of parking over the city.
We still have our chance for a storm in the wee hours of Monday morning, but we shall see....... There was a funnel cloud today near the town in Alberta where we used to live and it wiped out a great number of crops in the fields near there. Yikes!
Hopefully I will be able to sleep through all the noise if we do get a thunderstorm. I need to clean house over the next couple of days, pick up a few groceries and run the usual errands after a hopefully excellent sleep.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Signs in the Heavens
It is 11pm. For the past 40 minutes I have been standing in front of the window, completely entranced by the most spectacular display of sheet lightning I have seen in years! It has been difficult to pull myself away and crawl into bed. After I post this I will likely take another quick peek outside.
The black night sky is so gorgeous with the brilliant flashes of light and the occasional cluster of fork lightning running horizontally among the heavy, roiling clouds. Although our city was right in the path of a vicious storm only three hours ago, it appears to have headed west of us. The air is incredibly still. Standing at the open window there was nary the slightest breeze. That tends to precipitate bad storms, but maybe it will miss us this time. In the past nearly hour, this storm doesn't appear to have moved much at all in any direction!
I love watching storms, I just don’t care for large hail and monsoon rains to create more possible need to bail water from the basement.
The black night sky is so gorgeous with the brilliant flashes of light and the occasional cluster of fork lightning running horizontally among the heavy, roiling clouds. Although our city was right in the path of a vicious storm only three hours ago, it appears to have headed west of us. The air is incredibly still. Standing at the open window there was nary the slightest breeze. That tends to precipitate bad storms, but maybe it will miss us this time. In the past nearly hour, this storm doesn't appear to have moved much at all in any direction!
I love watching storms, I just don’t care for large hail and monsoon rains to create more possible need to bail water from the basement.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Sticking To The Schedule!!
My husband has been so disciplined about walking between 3 and 5km every day this week but one. I haven't been quite as faithful on a daily basis, but I am doing as much as I can, champing at the bit on some of the days when there is no particular destination with a reason to be there and that defeats me from going very far, but I am trying to get out daily for at least one steady km of walking in between the longer, two to three times weekly walks.
We were both feeling stodgy after dinner this evening. Our morning was spent mostly sitting and visiting with our wonderful friends, then this afternoon my husband was SKYPE'ing with a friend who is working on a jointly authored book idea with him, while I pottered about with various home chores. By the time our dinner was over we both were feeling antsy and wanting to get out, but knowing how thick the mosquitoes are in the Park in the evening, we dismissed the idea rather rapidly.
We both did some unnecessary physio for awhile just to prevent us from sitting down in front of the tv or computers, then decided we could at least walk the under 1 km round trip to the grocery store for a few items that have been on the list for a couple of days.
Wow, just that short walk improved our spirits, took away the stodgy physical feelings and since we weren't in a particularly treed area, the bit of mosquito repellent we put on ourselves was more than sufficient. So glad we did it. Wandering about in the store added 15 minutes into our total time on our feet, so that was a good thing as well. My husband wore his one pound ankle weights in preparation for his upcoming camping trip that he knows he is completely out of shape for. Tomorrow he will graduate to his two pound weights for his morning walk to one of his men's breakfasts.
I was delighted to discover a new product in the store: PC brand single serving DIET tonic water tins!!! Getting 2 six packs was a great deal as part of their introductory promotional. O won't it be lovely if I don't have to drive half way across the city just to find diet tonic water! YES!!! Thank you Loblaws!
One of the reasons I wanted to go shopping for such a few items was to use the brand new cloth carry bag my friend brought to me this morning. She sewed it out of the cutest cartoon style cat patterned fabric and it is sturdy!! I carried it home filled with heavy jars and tins and it is so well sewn the seams didn't even strain despite the overload!
The Calgary Rangeland Derby has had some serious issues this year and some stunning things have happened, particularly after last evening's terrible crash on the backstretch. I have my own opinions about the ensuing driver suspension, the first in the Derby's long history, but I will keep them to myself. The last time I wrote anything about the Derby back in 2012, I ended up with over 700 comments, most of the writers arguing with each other about all manner of issues and not addressing the actual post at all, hahahaha. I ended up deleting it as it got completely out of hand. Never again, hahahaha.
Happy weekend everyone.
We were both feeling stodgy after dinner this evening. Our morning was spent mostly sitting and visiting with our wonderful friends, then this afternoon my husband was SKYPE'ing with a friend who is working on a jointly authored book idea with him, while I pottered about with various home chores. By the time our dinner was over we both were feeling antsy and wanting to get out, but knowing how thick the mosquitoes are in the Park in the evening, we dismissed the idea rather rapidly.
We both did some unnecessary physio for awhile just to prevent us from sitting down in front of the tv or computers, then decided we could at least walk the under 1 km round trip to the grocery store for a few items that have been on the list for a couple of days.
Wow, just that short walk improved our spirits, took away the stodgy physical feelings and since we weren't in a particularly treed area, the bit of mosquito repellent we put on ourselves was more than sufficient. So glad we did it. Wandering about in the store added 15 minutes into our total time on our feet, so that was a good thing as well. My husband wore his one pound ankle weights in preparation for his upcoming camping trip that he knows he is completely out of shape for. Tomorrow he will graduate to his two pound weights for his morning walk to one of his men's breakfasts.
I was delighted to discover a new product in the store: PC brand single serving DIET tonic water tins!!! Getting 2 six packs was a great deal as part of their introductory promotional. O won't it be lovely if I don't have to drive half way across the city just to find diet tonic water! YES!!! Thank you Loblaws!
One of the reasons I wanted to go shopping for such a few items was to use the brand new cloth carry bag my friend brought to me this morning. She sewed it out of the cutest cartoon style cat patterned fabric and it is sturdy!! I carried it home filled with heavy jars and tins and it is so well sewn the seams didn't even strain despite the overload!
The Calgary Rangeland Derby has had some serious issues this year and some stunning things have happened, particularly after last evening's terrible crash on the backstretch. I have my own opinions about the ensuing driver suspension, the first in the Derby's long history, but I will keep them to myself. The last time I wrote anything about the Derby back in 2012, I ended up with over 700 comments, most of the writers arguing with each other about all manner of issues and not addressing the actual post at all, hahahaha. I ended up deleting it as it got completely out of hand. Never again, hahahaha.
Happy weekend everyone.
Precious and Few
That is how I would describe the times we are privilged to see long time friends from Alberta. It seems that when we go there now, it is a fast trip and centered around my aging parents, but of course that is appropriate at this time in their lives. It would be nice to just once have the ability to go to Alberta and stay long enough to see more friends than we have had a chance to see in the past couple of years. I miss all our friends there.
There are bright spots with Alberta friends on occasion however, bright spots like today! Some of our "besties" arrived here this morning on their way home from a vacation and we had a wonderful visit at the Breakfast Bistro. The food was as wonderful as it always is and we were very pleased that our friends enjoyed their meal and the ambiance of the restaurant so much. My friend and I had the Avocado Toast: mashed avocado on toasted brown bread with salsa, plus two poached eggs droozled with sriracha on top. It was truly delicious and just the right amount of carbs for a type two diabetic and her diet conscious friend. What a great time we had together eating and talking and laughing. The guys had a chance to spend a bit of time planning for a mountain camping event next month and so our friends came back to our place for a few minutes to pick up some camping gear before they headed off on their way home. We always feel energized after seeing them. Thank you Lord for a wonderful treat!
I was able to get my appointment booked a couple of weeks from now for my next osteoporosis meds injection. That is always a good feeling!
Plans with friends for next week are coming together nicely. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for this coming Sunday evening patio party at the home of some great friends from the church. They always hold an "international party" and the food is provided by the African, Indian and Caribbean members of our church community. We are really looking forward to it.
I have a couple of days free early next week to get this suite cleaned again before more company arrives for walking tours and fun and meals mid week. Later in the week there is a special wedding BBQ for some young friends in another town, their wedding and whatever else shows up spontaneously for us to do. Should be a fun week!
Family News: mom and dad called yesterday....I knew they must have some kind of news because they so rarely intiate calls. They wanted to let me know that the former wife of one of my cousins passed away this week. My husband and I were much closer to her than to my actual cousin and we stayed in touch regularly until a couple of years ago when dementia stole her memory of our existence. She had many other chronic medical issues as well and for her, this passing on will likely be a great relief....free at last!!
The other very sad new is that my dear Auntie Phyl has developed a form of rapid onset dementia and is going to have to be put into a dementia ward in a medical facility. I feel so very sad. She is in her late 90's, so this is not exactly unexpected, but I will always remember her as an olde timey aggressive, but loving, missionary in Africa. She dedicated her life to sharing the gospel and whether or not I agreed with her evangelistic methods while she was there, I can't fault her tenacity or her level of personal care for the people she tried to minister to. She has reached the dangerous state of being an "eloper" from her current seniors' home and twice this past week nearly pushed her wheelchair over the top of a set of cement steps outside the building when she managed to convince some unsuspecting visitors to let her out the side door. Sigh.... Fortunately she was caught both times just before she would have plunged over the top of the steps and landed on the cement sidewalk below. Thank you Lord for protecting her from herself. Double sigh..... I pray she can be moved very quickly for the sake of her safety.
The good news is that my parents are both faring fairly well these days despite "everything". They survived a very, very busy day earlier this week: up early for mom to get to the podiatrist early in the morning where she got some serious help with a painful toe issue, back to their facility to participate in the special "Stampede Midway Games" brought into the place every Stampede Week, lunch, a quick nap and then off to their eye appointments where they both got good news! Dad's glaucoma is staying stable in both eyes and there has been no sign of worsening in the past 3 months, plus he was given an appointment date for a consultation with another eye specialist for more possible assistance. Mom caught her macular degeneration condition almost immediately a few months ago and has been having eye injections once every 4-5 weeks since the new year. She is doing so very well that she only needs the injections once every 10 weeks now. I am very happy for both of them. They arrived home to a phone call from dad's new skin specialist setting up his first appointment for new treatments for his skin cancer. That specialist is only a 10 minute at most taxi ride from their facility and it will be so much easier for dad to call a taxi for transportation instead of having to find a friend still capable of driving him to his former specialist's clinic way out on the north-eastern outskirts of the city. It is a great stress reliever for him and mom both. They called me the day after all this activity...after Mom had arisen early again and gone with her friend to pick up the weekly groceries. Despite their far too busy day the day before, they both sounded quite well. I imagine the exhaustion really hit them today! It was good to hear from them and get good news in the midst of the sadder events they had to relate.
The weather has been so nice the past couple of days: some clouds, some sun, very little wind, only a few raindrops this afternoon, no rain at all yesterday, green trees and lawns and, best of all NO GEESE adorning our place all day today....at least not yet...there is still time! hahaha I am just feeling so much better about that situation after all I learned about the roots of the problem from the park folk yesterday.
Yup, a good day and a pretty good week. And now: the weekend begins!
There are bright spots with Alberta friends on occasion however, bright spots like today! Some of our "besties" arrived here this morning on their way home from a vacation and we had a wonderful visit at the Breakfast Bistro. The food was as wonderful as it always is and we were very pleased that our friends enjoyed their meal and the ambiance of the restaurant so much. My friend and I had the Avocado Toast: mashed avocado on toasted brown bread with salsa, plus two poached eggs droozled with sriracha on top. It was truly delicious and just the right amount of carbs for a type two diabetic and her diet conscious friend. What a great time we had together eating and talking and laughing. The guys had a chance to spend a bit of time planning for a mountain camping event next month and so our friends came back to our place for a few minutes to pick up some camping gear before they headed off on their way home. We always feel energized after seeing them. Thank you Lord for a wonderful treat!
I was able to get my appointment booked a couple of weeks from now for my next osteoporosis meds injection. That is always a good feeling!
Plans with friends for next week are coming together nicely. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for this coming Sunday evening patio party at the home of some great friends from the church. They always hold an "international party" and the food is provided by the African, Indian and Caribbean members of our church community. We are really looking forward to it.
I have a couple of days free early next week to get this suite cleaned again before more company arrives for walking tours and fun and meals mid week. Later in the week there is a special wedding BBQ for some young friends in another town, their wedding and whatever else shows up spontaneously for us to do. Should be a fun week!
Family News: mom and dad called yesterday....I knew they must have some kind of news because they so rarely intiate calls. They wanted to let me know that the former wife of one of my cousins passed away this week. My husband and I were much closer to her than to my actual cousin and we stayed in touch regularly until a couple of years ago when dementia stole her memory of our existence. She had many other chronic medical issues as well and for her, this passing on will likely be a great relief....free at last!!
The other very sad new is that my dear Auntie Phyl has developed a form of rapid onset dementia and is going to have to be put into a dementia ward in a medical facility. I feel so very sad. She is in her late 90's, so this is not exactly unexpected, but I will always remember her as an olde timey aggressive, but loving, missionary in Africa. She dedicated her life to sharing the gospel and whether or not I agreed with her evangelistic methods while she was there, I can't fault her tenacity or her level of personal care for the people she tried to minister to. She has reached the dangerous state of being an "eloper" from her current seniors' home and twice this past week nearly pushed her wheelchair over the top of a set of cement steps outside the building when she managed to convince some unsuspecting visitors to let her out the side door. Sigh.... Fortunately she was caught both times just before she would have plunged over the top of the steps and landed on the cement sidewalk below. Thank you Lord for protecting her from herself. Double sigh..... I pray she can be moved very quickly for the sake of her safety.
The good news is that my parents are both faring fairly well these days despite "everything". They survived a very, very busy day earlier this week: up early for mom to get to the podiatrist early in the morning where she got some serious help with a painful toe issue, back to their facility to participate in the special "Stampede Midway Games" brought into the place every Stampede Week, lunch, a quick nap and then off to their eye appointments where they both got good news! Dad's glaucoma is staying stable in both eyes and there has been no sign of worsening in the past 3 months, plus he was given an appointment date for a consultation with another eye specialist for more possible assistance. Mom caught her macular degeneration condition almost immediately a few months ago and has been having eye injections once every 4-5 weeks since the new year. She is doing so very well that she only needs the injections once every 10 weeks now. I am very happy for both of them. They arrived home to a phone call from dad's new skin specialist setting up his first appointment for new treatments for his skin cancer. That specialist is only a 10 minute at most taxi ride from their facility and it will be so much easier for dad to call a taxi for transportation instead of having to find a friend still capable of driving him to his former specialist's clinic way out on the north-eastern outskirts of the city. It is a great stress reliever for him and mom both. They called me the day after all this activity...after Mom had arisen early again and gone with her friend to pick up the weekly groceries. Despite their far too busy day the day before, they both sounded quite well. I imagine the exhaustion really hit them today! It was good to hear from them and get good news in the midst of the sadder events they had to relate.
The weather has been so nice the past couple of days: some clouds, some sun, very little wind, only a few raindrops this afternoon, no rain at all yesterday, green trees and lawns and, best of all NO GEESE adorning our place all day today....at least not yet...there is still time! hahaha I am just feeling so much better about that situation after all I learned about the roots of the problem from the park folk yesterday.
Yup, a good day and a pretty good week. And now: the weekend begins!
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