So Funny...Tasteless But So Funny.....

 

Back When We Was Norm'

Just over a year ago we were in Edmonton at a family wedding, enjoying the delicious Canadian and Sri Lankan food at the reception....aaah, those were the days!  Had we known what was coming to the world only six months later we would have enjoyed the event even more!

 That was THEN:

  

This is NOW:

BIG SIGH.........

Weekend Humour

 

It's NOT Always Either/Or!

 Reductionist thinking when it comes to politics and philosophy in this day and age is really getting to me.  Very few issues are of the clear cut "either/or" variety.

The USA is really struggling with this mentality right now and I see more of it creeping across our own borders as well.  We are unnecessarily dividing into two opposing camps.  People we don't even know well are being labeled as:

Conservative or Liberal

Republican or Democrat

Always right or always wrong depending on which of the previous two categories we have mindlessly boxed other people into.

Demon/Saviour

Good/Evil

 Patriotic/Traitorous

 

If we can demonize those who disagree with us then it is easier to support the other person we have put into the category of savior.  There doesn't have to be much logical thought or research put into this kind of mentality.  It is herd mentality and when it reaches into the uppermost echelons of "civilized" society it is dangerous at best.

 An election issue that has upset me greatly in recent elections on both sides of the border is the issue of:
 

Pro-life/Abortion

 When I meet fellow Christians who vote for politicians based solely on their views of this issue, pro or con, little if any research into their other stances on taxes or health care or what have you, it grates on my last nerve.  No election is a one issue campaign.  There has to be discussion, thought, research into a country's policies as a whole.  If we are going to be knowledgeable voters we have to understand and accept that none of the political parties are 100% right or wrong on this or any  other issue  We are losing the ability to even want to think our way through the larger landscape of political and philosophical issues in play when we live in a democracy, to participate in discussion with those people we think we will not agree with.  It seems as though many Christian brothers and sisters are using agreement or disagreement with one issue (and not always the abortion vs pro-life issue) as an excuse to do no further research, have no further discussion with those running for political office and whoever is in the party with opposing views on their pet issue is some kind of satanic force.  We are, speaking very generally of course, becoming a politically lazy, uninformed bunch too much of the time.  We are developing a confusing mix of religion, philosophy, nationalism and politics, to our long term detriment.

 After a discussion this morning with some people who will radically disagree with this post, I became frustrated enough to air this view of my own.  Forgive me if it bothers you and I am not remotely suggesting that my own level of research into issues is adequate for the most informed possible vote or discussion either, but I know I have to keep trying my best to get beyond a one issue election vote, I have to refuse to demonize people who own a different world view than I do, particularly in certain areas of morality, and I cannot allow myself to look at all politicians, philosophers, Christian leaders etc. and make a judgement call that writes them off simply because we disagree on one or two issues.  It takes a lot of time and effort to do the research necessary and to try  to participate in discussions where disagreements happen, but I know I have to keep trying.  No one out there is completely good or bad, black or white in their thinking, completely liberal or completely conservative.  We are all human beings with many influences that have formed our world view and we need to start trying to understand each other instead of instantly writing each other off over one issue where we disagree.

There, end of rant.  Thank you for your patience.  

The Warm Sun Is Just The Icing On The Cake!!

 The past two days of sunny skies have cheered my heart considerably!  My goodness it has been glorious outside.  I didn't have a reason to go out yesterday afternoon when the sun appeared, so I just stood outside in the cold wind on the back deck for awhile.  The sun felt good even in the brisk wind.

Last night we had a distancing visit with a couple from my church who are becoming close friends.  They are a lovely pair, so well educated with the most interesting twisting, turning career paths over the courses of their lives.  As we each shared stories about some of the unexpected events in life, we spent a great deal of time laughing about them.  It was just what my husband and I needed!  I hope our new friends felt the same way.

This morning I felt great after another good night of sleep.  Have I mentioned that over the past couple of weeks I have been sleeping very well indeed?  I KNOW that the petitions to the Lord from my prayer warriors have been instrumental in my ability to sleep so well lately.

My husband had an early morning Zoom meeting today so I got dressed right after breakfast and headed out to do a few errands.  I needed to deposit a cheque at the bank and on the route I passed the bottle depot.  We have had a box of wine bottles in the car for over two weeks now, since the day we took our own recycling into the depot, but couldn't manage to carry that box in our "only what you can carry" load.  It has been clunking around in there ever since.  I doubt there was more than $5 or $6 dollars worth in that box, hardly worth getting back into the never ending line each day to enter the depot for a refund.  Today there was only one fellow in the line up and he looked like perhaps he could use the extra few dollars my box of wine bottles would fetch, so I wheeled into the lot and approached him.  I asked if he could manage to carry my box of bottles in along with his 4 bags of cans and if he could, would he relieve me of them so I wouldn't have to stand in line for such a small amount of recycling?  His face lit up...no, it BEAMED...as he contemplated the extra money he would get and we got the box balanced on his forearms for the last couple of minutes he was going to have to wait to be allowed to enter the depot. I was happy to help him out and my husband is THRILLED to have that darned box out of the car at last! hahaha

By the time I returned home from the bank and post office, I felt super energized, so I spent the rest of the morning tidying up the suite and then this afternoon I cleaned the upstairs.  I will do the downstairs tomorrow so that my husband can have peace and quiet while he attends the Diocesan Synod meeting this evening.  I am finding that ever since I had shingles over the summer, although my energy has come back fairly well, I don't have the stamina I had previously.  Okay, okay, I am also OLD and these things happen...there I said it before you could. hahahahaha

A good friend had successful day surgery today after several months of intense pain and limited mobility.  He is recovering at home now and is doing well at last.  Since he is nearly 90 years old, we are DELIGHTED he did so well in surgery and that he was able to be released so quickly!  Thank you Lord!  

My beleaguered mother called me just after lunch to let me know she has had the sniffles for the past couple of days, so she reported it today and is in isolation until she can be tested for COVID19 on Monday (day 5 of her symptoms) and until her test results come back negative. (hopefully)  Since she has no other symptoms that are COVID19 related and she had a day 2 days ago where she was brutally tired for no reason, I am quite certain she is developing a minor cold.  She has not been out of the residence for 16 days, so the chances of her developing COVID19 are rather slim.  She was so upset about more isolation and once again she is going to have to postpone her necessary eye injection next week until she gets the ALL CLEAR on her test results.  I can't believe she has to miss her injection once again!  Unbelievable!  Fortnately(?) this injection is for her "good" (better) eye and can afford to wait an extra week or two. Quarantining the last time because of being in the one hospital emergency room that had any pandemic cases within, subsequently being a whole month late for an injection, has cost her most of her vision in her other eye and there is no way to bring it back. I feel as devastated as she does and I am SO angry with the paramedics who refused to take her to the hospital her doctor wanted her to go to so she could avoid a 14 day quarantine afterward.  I have to turn my anger back to the Lord to deal with because I don't want to feel this way toward a couple of EMT's who are battling with their own job stresses and fears about this illness.  I don't remember the last time I was this angry with anyone.  It doesn't feel good.

Wellllll, it is time to start thinking about making dinner.  I have some turkey thawing, but it isn't thawing quickly enough to use tonight.  Fortunately we have the remaining sausages we purchased the other day during a brief period of rebellion against having high cholesterol, hahaha, so I think we will boil those up and wrap them in some whole wheat pitas, make a salad and call it dinner!  Easy peasy and virtually no prep or work involved.....is it the warmth of the sun shining in my window that is making me sleepy and VERY  lazy??

Hyderabad Revisited

 My husband was delighted to see his favourite Indian market featured on The Amazing Race last night. He spent time in Hyderabad in 2004, taking on-campus seminary courses and experiencing church worship services there. He was excited to see that area once again as it was being used in one of the major legs of the race. Each time he talks about his experiences, I continue to learn more about his India trip so I enjoyed the episode almost as much as he did. 

Mom was feeling much better yesterday. For some reason she decided to continue taking the medication she previously opted to cease and seemed to be on a more even keel emotionally and physically. I hope she didn’t overhear my poorly stifled sigh of relief! 

Today is my church’s virtual seniors luncheon. I am looking forward to hearing the speakers: a couple who previously attended my church but now attend the local Anglican Cathedral services. Their talk is titled, “The Baptists Are Coming, The Baptists Are Coming!”. hahaha it should be fun. 

Tonight we are having a distancing visit with an older, very lonely couple from my church. We are seeing very few folk now as the pandemic case numbers continue to rise, but are making an exception in light of these lonely, very isolated friends. I hope they can hear and understand us through our masks! 

So far only the Anglican churches in our area have voluntarily closed their doors again and returned to online meetings and events only. We support our bishop’s decision 100%, despite the extra work involved for all the clergy. Statistically in our province, places of worship constitute only 2% of Coronavirus transmission, whereas bars and sports arenas constitute 25%, but why risk upping the numbers by remaining open as it is only a matter of time until the number of worship centre transmitted Coronavirus cases begins to grow. 

Keep Those Cards And Letters Comin'!

 We received our first Christmas card already today!  I can't believe it!  It isn't even December yet, but our friends are making very certain their cards and annual letter/family photo are not late arriving for the Christmas Season!  Good for them!

So, since I have a grand total of 10 Christmas cards left over from the past couple of years of reduced sending, these out of province buddies will receive one of them, along with our letter and a grainy black and white photo of my husband and I dutifully masked for the corresponding Pandemic Season. hahaha  

We had a marvellous Zoom session with our son and his girlfriend last evening.  It was so nice because all four of us were very relaxed, the intial  Zoom meeting with the girlfriend long past and oh my, we talked for over an hour. Both of them look very healthy and happy, despite a bit of depression over being isolated from their many, many friends.  We encouraged our son to follow his girlfriend's lead and spent more time on Zoom and Skype with his buddies, particularly those up here in Canada who miss him so very much.  He has been wrapped up in long hours at work until recently and has been rushing to complete some paintings as well.  However, it is obvious he needs more socialization, even with his parents, so we have more regular plans in place now for "getting together".  

 

His good news is that he passed his driving test on Monday with flying colours.  With a bow to the pandemic, the tests have been shortened and the windows of the cars remain open to lessen the chances of viral airborne transmission.  He passed the test with flying colours, no surprise as he has been driving for the past 25 years, but still it was good for his spirits to do so well.

 

The two of them are heading back from Long Island today so that they can have a bit of a Thanksgiving celebration with some older members of her family.  Everyone has been isolating for most of the past three weeks in anticipation of the short visit together, so I hope it goes well and encourages the housebound rellies!  Our son said the sanitation procedures for his driving test were so stringent he barely counts it as a non-isolating event!  The whole test took exactly 6 minutes, so not a lot of exposure to the fellow who did the testing!

 

I had a long talk with Mom yesterday and we finally faced together the hard realities in regard to her probably short future.  It wasn't easy, but we needed to discuss it in more detail.  Mom seems to know exactly what she is facing and has now opted to stop taking one of her meds that is helping to keep her alive.  That was so difficult for me to hear, but I do understand.  All my life  I have felt thwarted by one thing and another in enjoying spending time with my mother and now that we finally have the time we are separated by COVID19 regulations and unable to "do" things together because of her health....and now mine.  Well, such is the nature of life and death.  There are so many people in far more dire straits than we are, so that gives us courage for some reason to face what is coming.

 

I woke up at 6:10am today.  I was wide awake and feeling like getting things done, so I made a choice to go today for a substantial number of grocery items. I was home by 8am and had everything washed and put away in less than a half hour, just in time for breakfast!  Waiting until next Tuesday, just because it is a Tuesday, seemed silly since by then who knows what other closures and restrictions and empty store shelves will be upon us?  It has been well over two weeks since my last shopping trip and it will be well over two weeks now before I even have to think about another one. YAY!

 

Later this afternoon I am delivering two six packs of Almond Silk to two friends' doorsteps.  Turns out it is the source of my skin rashes and other issues as it seems I have developed a fairly serious sensitivity to it.  I am so disappointed to have to give all this milk away because I love the flavour of it and it was something I could have one glass of each day to give me a break from water, water and more water!!  (No, I don't drink hot chocolate, tea or coffee and "herbal tea" seems like an oxymoron!  Blecch!!)  I am happy to have two friends who are so excited to receive the milk.  One is a very strict vegan so she is the most excited I think. 

 

Time to go and plan what we are going to have for lunch and dinner today. I have a salmon steak thawing and yesterday my husband roasted potatoes, cauliflower, onions, carrots and yams, so now it is a matter of deciding the most interesting way to spice them up and put them together....big decision about meals eh? hahahahaha  Not much to decide, butwe do like our  herbs and spices so.....  Ironing after lunch...whoopee, hahaha.

 

 

Today's Tee Hee.....

 

Art From My Friend Bill

 We have a good friend who is a mostly self-taught artist: landscapes, animals and people.  If you are interested in seeing some of his work here is his website.  Check it out.  For it is fun to see the prairie animals in particular!

https://studio.erlenbachart.com/

Our Annual Christmas Letter

 I am guessing that, since I should write a bit of a "Christmas letter in a card" this year for certain elderly relatives and friends overseas, the letter will read something like this:

Our 2020

January:son receives renewal visa for USA

March: Covid19 arrives, husband's church closes

June: my father dies

September: husband's church reopens

October: my mother has a heart attack but survives

November: husband's church closes again, I develop health concerns

December plans for Christmas celebrating: Nil

The End!

I mean what can I really say, right?   Aaaargh, I am really dreading trying to compose that letter.  Perhaps this is the year that I don't send out ANY cards and letters to ANYBODY????  Worth a thought.......

Creative Visiting!

 I had a wonderful morning!  My summer walking partner and I decided to brave having an outdoor visit on this -10C morning and it was very successful.  

While I was awaiting her arrival this morning, I went outside to find out the wind direction and prepare a seating area in the calmest part of the yard.  After a couple of attempts at setting up the chairs, I opted for putting them down on the gravelled, formerly flowerbed, area under our front eaves.  I pushed the chairs right up against the siding under the living room window, put towels down to give our feet a layer of insulation from the cold gravel and slid the chairs nearly ten feet apart.  

My friend brought two what I call "football blankets" with her for us to wrap ourselves in against the chill and my husband gave me an extra insulated layer in the form of his old wool army issue blanket.  Our creative layering of indoor and outdoor wear, heavy boots and combined layers of blankets kept us both warm for over 90 minutes.  We had a fabulous visit!!  I will never cease being grateful to my friend for agreeing to this seeming madness so that we could both see another human being who is not a usual member of the daily routine.  What an incredible blessing!  Thank you friend for your willingness to do what is necessary to maintain contact.

Today was particularly meaningful after kind of a "blah...meh...more blah" kind of weekend.  Nothing bad happened...nothing particularly good happened....nothing much of anything at all happened.  We watched all the sumo available and hope the final bouts will be available by today sometime on NHK's network.  I would hate to miss seeing who actually won the the tournament!  We watched the Blacklist and Vera.  We read books.  My husband wrote a LOT for several articles he is trying to complete.  I tidied things and did laundry.  This afternoon I will do the ironing I ignored yesterday and bake the banana loaf I have been putting off since last Friday, so that I get on my feet for the afternoon.

 

The great thing for me on the weekend is that I began feeling so much healthier.  The various various aches and pains and headaches caused by the recent addition to my meds ceased and have not returned. YAY!!  My energy is good today even after sitting outside in the cold all morning.  It is nice to feel well. Oh, I should mention for my prayer warriors that what my doctor was afraid originally was ovary pain turned out to be pulled tissue between my groin and my hip.  I did some physio and it is just fine now. Thanks for praying and while it isn't all that has been wrong, it is one less worry for now. Whew!

 

Mom had another good day on Saturday, but of course on Sunday she had a terrible day....this time as the result of a reaction to a temporary medication she really desperately needs to take right now to get the fluid off her ankles and legs. This morning she is talking to her doctor to figure out what to do next.  I am not convinced this particular reaction was due to those meds, but I am glad she is not going to take them again until she knows for sure.  Despite her bad day we had a nice talk on the phone last night and she had lots of laughs talking to my husband.  Her mind has really come back since the heart attack, so it is harder than ever to accept she may not be with me for much longer.

 We received word yesterday that one of my husband's cousins in BC is recovering from a "mild case" of COVID19, likely picked up in her work place.  We hope and pray her symptoms continue to lessen and disappear and we pray she will remain safe from any more exposures. Her big worry is who she may have exposed before she was diagnosed herself!  So, we pray for protection upon all the people whose paths she crossed during that time.  The horrible virus is getting closer and closer to us it seems as we find out of more and more friends, aquaintances and now family who have suffered varying degrees of the illness.  The most frightening part of her getting this, in my opinion, is that we know how stringent she is about hand washing,  mask wearing, distancing etc.  And yet, even still.......yikes!

 

The Christ the King service at the Baptist church went well yesterday.  We sang some old songs and hymns that I know, so that was fun. They are not necessarily majestic pieces of music, not all of them anyway, but it is sometimes fun to sing something just because of the good memories it evokes.  The local faith leaders are meeting with the government health officials this week, so we are expecting an announcement that the churches will be closing again for awhile.  My husband has a good contingency plan in place just in case.  One of the associate pastors gave a very encouraging sermon and displayed good humour throughout her talk.  She did a great job, preaching over Zoom from the confines of her residence.  The adult Sunday School class is focusing on Romans this term, reading it backwards ala author Scott McKnight and wow, that is the way to understand Romans a lot better.  Wish I had done this years ago.  My husband was happy to have a Sunday off from his own services so he could participate in the class. There was excellent discussion.

 

I am now decked out again in my three layers of super-warmth that I discovered last week work so well together when I get chilly.  I feel so good today....a visit with a good, good friend, creative thinking on the go once again after feeling so lousy for the past few weeks, plans to bake and do some personal chores today....the week is off to a decent start.  Tomorrow evening we are supposed to be having a Zoom visit with our son and his girlfriend, so hopefully that will happen.  She has a night off from her L-SAT preparation courses and we hope our son will have good news that he passed his driving test today, or at the very least that he doesn't have to wait more than another two weeks to file for a second attempt.

Have a great day/week everybody!  

Our Minds Are Falling Apart, But At Least They Make Interesting Patterns!

 "Counting Flowers On The Wall

That don't bother me at all

Playing solitaire 'til Dawn

with a deck of fifty-one

Smoking cigarettes and watching captain Kangaroo,

Now don't tell me I've nothing to do."

(Flowers on the Wall, The Statler Brothers) 

We decided today that we are in danger of cracking up if we don't get something going socially, so we put our heads together, contacted a few of the tiny number of folk in our local social "bubble" and have now scheduled a total of three distancing visits over the next couple of weeks, one or two of them outdoors in the great white winter.

This morning my husband and I had a bit of a tussle about walking a scant few blocks to the mailbox to post a letter and pick up a carton of milk at the grocery next to the box.  He was keen to take advantage of the good weather and I most certainly was not!  After I announced that I had no intention of going on any "bleeping" walk, he dug in his heels and said I most certainly was going to go and he would be patient and wait until whenever I was ready. The only rider was that it had to be sometime TODAY!  Sigh.....so.....muttering under my breath, I put on my winter outdoor duds and away we went.  I am so very glad I did.

 

We took the longest route to the post box to avoid the people in the grocery store lot, then realized there were hardly any cars or people anywhere near the store.  I dug into the recesses of my memory for the items written on my grocery list at home and decided that I was going to purchase those few things and therebye avoid having to arise at 6am next Tuesday to do the 7am Senior Shopping circuit.  I did pretty well, forgetting only two of the items, the two least pressing fortunately.  It was a bit of a struggle getting everything home because the three bags were rather heavy what with 4 litres of milk and 2 litres of coconut water being part of the purchase, but we traded the bags around between us all the way home and we made it with no issues.  No bags dropped, nothing broke or froze as we wended our way back to our place. My husband was completely correct that a walk outside would restore my sense of motivation and perk me up mentally.  Bless him for being more insistent than he usually is about such things.  

 I felt sufficiently motivated to create a fresh raspberry dessert this afternoon, one with low sugar and flour that I can enjoy a bit of it myself....such a nice change from the same desserts I usually eat: fruity yogurt or a Kind bar or a piece of seed bread with a teaspoon of NSA orange marmalade or a single serving NSA chocolate pudding.  After seven years of eating at least two of  those items every single day, I am desperate for a change of dessert that mostly has only a bit of natural fruit sugar as the carb count.  All I need is two or three tablespoons of it to feel like I have had a sweet treat.

 

Mom had an incredible day today and I PRAY she doesn't pay for it tomorrow or the next day!!  She had her usual Friday shower, she did TWO loads of washing and took her recycling to the collection point, as well as going to the dining room for dinner and checking her mail, AND going to the front desk in the morning for the usual muffin and orange that are handed out by the kitchen staff each day.  She estimated she made a total of ten trips today down all those hallways.  Of course she is paying for it with more swelling in her ankles and legs than usual, but the doctor has put her on a diuretic for a couple of weeks and given her hail Columbia for doing as much as she did today!  However, for the sake of Mom's mental health and her feeling of accomplishment and usefulness, I am glad she did all that she did today.  It has given her a feeling of well being and joy.  That is worth a lot at this stage of her life.  She has promised me she will rest tomorrow...AFTER she does one "small" load of handwashing and prepares her medications for the coming week.  At least she can do that last one sitting down!

 

Our son is very disappointed and upset.  As is usual when he has been working this many hours for so many weeks in a row, he is fighting a cold.  So far his symptoms are not consistent with COVID19 but of course now he is worrying himself even sicker "just in case it is".  Sigh....All we can do from this distance is advise him to find out where and how he can be tested for the virus and do it on his 5th day of symptoms.  I feel for him.  He is likely okay, but I can't help being a little nervous considering he lives in the USA where the cases are climbing like monkeys in the jungle!  Guess if praying is what I can do for him, I will do a lot of it.

 

Speaking of COVID19....must we?  We must!  We now know 7 people with it. Two have died, one has recovered almost fully, two are in hospital, one of which was just released from ICU, two are managing their illness at home for the time being.  We are very inspired to keep visits distanced, outside when possible, to wear our masks as soon as we step out of doors, to limit our shopping excursions even more than we have been.....the list of personal protocols goes on and on.

 

I am looking for something interesting to do for myself tomorrow while my husband concentrates on completing an article he was asked to write for the diocesan newspaper....no doubt I will come up with something: like counting flowers on the wall or playing solitaire 'til dawn....... 

COVID19 Cancellation!

 We woke up this morning to find an email from my church youth leader cancelling our presentation at tonight’s youth event. In light of the rising number of COVID19 cases in our city, he has wisely decided to resume the Zoom meetings, mostly games and sharing and prayers, rather than continuing to meet in person. We admit we are relieved. Despite masking and strict distancing at the in person youth meetings in the church basement, it is safer for all of us to stay at home. If the Zoom meetings have to continue through the winter we will find a way to do the presentation in smaller chunks of time and jazz up the PowerPoint presentation to better hold the younger kids’ attention. For now though we will simply wait in hope that meeting in person will be possible again in a few months,

On a more hopeful note, my walking partner and I are hoping to have an outdoor distancing visit next week and at the moment it appears the forecast temperature each day is working in our favour! I have some old chairs I can haul outside, we can keep our masks on and chatter away until we get too chilly to continue. Praise the Lord for warm parkas and fuzzy boot linings, thick wooden scarves and fat, fluffy mittens! Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Chilly Billy!!

Yesterday afternoon, sitting for too long a period of time beside the single paned window by my computer, I gave myself a terrible chill.  I could not get warm!!  Drinking a large glass of cold water while I was sitting there didn't help of course, hahaha.

 I decided to layer up and get over the chill, so I put on thick woolly socks, an ankle length gown with my Mark's Comfy Robe over top of it, plus my husband's oversized, ankle length terry towel dressing gown on top of the whole thing.  A double wrapped, thick cotton scarf completed the look and I pulled both the hood of the Comfy Robe AND the dressing gown over my  head!  

 After a full hour dressed in that crazy get up and drinking a large bowl of my husband's piping hot chicken veggie soup, I was able to start shedding the layers.  I looked like a bag lady but it was great to finally get warm.  The gown is teal coloured, the Comfy Robe is white with baby blue snowflakes, the terry towel robe features bold vertical stripes of royal blue, Christmas card red and dark green and the scarf has pastel pink, blue, green and yellow flowers on a white background. The socks have horizontal baby pink, bubble gum blue, smokey grey and neon white stripes. If someone had put me outside I would have glowed in the dark!!  

Now I know how I am going to remain warm later this winter as our barely insulated suite takes on the -40C weather!  

 

Mom had a surprisingly good day again yesterday.  She talked to her doctor and he could hardly believe she has had so many good days and has been able to go out to so many appointments, plus do her first load of laundry, all in the past ten days.  Only three days of real pain in all that time.  He has been taking good care of her and I am very pleased with the time he has invested in her care.  Bless him Lord!

We were supposed to be driving to Moose Jaw today for a special luncheon event, but at the moment we have heavy snowfall, icy road conditions and there is more to come. The snowflakes coming down at the moment are as big as any I have seen in many a year.  Since there is no wind to blow the snow off the highway the driving conditions are fast deteriorating.  In a few minutes I am going to have to phone our friends and let them know we will not be able to join them today.  I am not as disappointed as I thought I would be, but that is probably because for me, avoiding unsafe driving in winter trumps seeing friends every time, no matter how isolated I am feeling.  Since part two of this heavy wet snow is to arrive around 2pm, about the time the event would be in full swing, so who knows what conditions we would be driving back in?  Not worth the stress.

So, cancelling our trip means I have to find something productive to do this afternoon.  There are MANY chores around here that need doing....or maybe I will just read a book, or play a video game or watch tv or write some long overdue emails....some things to do that are more fun than home chores! hahaha  I don't even have to cook today.  Yesterday my husband made us several days worth of soup and I cooked up 4 huge chicken breasts, so food preparation will be minimal.  The laundry doesn't need doing yet and the suite is still clean and relatively dust free, so yeah, a relaxing day.  I am phoning a friend on Vancouver Island later this morning so that will be fun.

Here's to today. Hopefully we will be able to reschedule the visit with our friends to a more weather appropriate occasion. 

 

Wait For It.......

 During my doctor’s appointment yesterday I realized I am now on the “hurry up and wait” treadmill that accompanies prolonged periods of time of having tests, waiting for results, then having treatment, then more tests and waiting for results. Such is life and the wait times are longer during the pandemic for a number of reasons. 

Blood is still being found where it ought not to be and without the accompanying bacteria that would give infection as a reason for the blood. I am having pain and discomfort in the “wrong places”. So, short version of the story is that I have some meds to take, will be retested in three to four weeks time and if there has been no improvement it will be considered an emergency I will be sent to a cytologist for an ultrasound and tissue samples. 

Of course with lockdowns, reduced medical staff, fewer in person appointments being taken etc., the word “emergency” does not have the impact it did pre-pandemic. It could be a longer than is safe wait to get an ultrasound. The clinics and doctors may be cutting back but the number of patients requiring medical help continues to grow. After my consult yesterday my feeling was very much one of , “Take a number and go to the back of the line!” 

My doctor is nothing if not honest, so she shared her concerns with me. I appreciate that. 

Since it is going to be as long as a month before anything else happens, I won’t bore you with the details again until I have something substantial to report. I can hear some of you going, “Whew! Thank goodness!” hahaha I am taking great comfort from the final phrases in the Apostles Creed and from 2Corinthians 5. If you are praying for me, please pray for my husband too. He is appalled at the very idea that something serious could be wrong with my health. Unless something of substance happens unexpectedly in the next little while I will be posting about other things for now. Bless you prayer warriors. 

My mom had a spectacular 93rd birthday yesterday! The staff and residents sang happy birthday to her in the dining room, she had many phone calls and greeting cards from family and friends, she received flowers from friends and a bouquet of exotic flowers plus a call from her grandson in NYC. She had no pain. She went to the laundry room and did her own laundry for the first time since her heart attack. When we talked to her last night she was flying pretty high, haha.

Today I plan to just relax and do very little. My husband has a men’s meeting to attend this morning, then we may take a short drive to get away from the house for a bit. Or maybe not. I need to invent some kind of interesting meal for dinner tonight so that will be fun.

Spontanoooooity!

Tonight we had the opportunity to accept a spontaneous dinner invitation!  I know my husband is feeling pretty "bushed" because he accepted without argument.  The couple we had dinner with are in our tiny safety "bubble" and they have very few other people in theirs.  With masks, sitting at opposite ends of a large table and only one person touching the food, we decided to take the chance for the sake of our mental health.  It was not only fun, it was healing.

 

My friend emailed me at 3pm to tell me she was making veggie chowder (baby peas instead of corn) and some fresh whole wheat bread, so could we bring dessert and come over for a visit?  It was a wonderful time, we didn't stay very long to cut down on the possiblity of virus transmission, and the food was fantastic....although the soup was so rich with cream and Mennonite sausage that my tummy took a few flip flops just as we were getting ready to come back home.  I am not used to such rich food, but it was worth a few tummy rolls as the taste was superb!  The whole evening was a treat!  Thank you Lord for good friends and social "bubbles" during the pandemic. 

 

Glimpses of light in the darkness...a welcome relief. 

Fab Birdie Memories

A  friend of mine sent this article to me yesterday.  It brought back such happy memories of a 5 year posting we had in Kindersley SK.  We had SO MANY nuthatches there. One brave little bird liked to perch itself on the corner of the frames on my glasses, tail waving in my eye, while I filled the bird feeder, so he could dive in immediately and get first dibs on the offerings therein!  Oh how I loved all the birds there as we were along a migratory flight path for song birds....an amazing five years of bird watching and learning about their behaviours.

New post on Lyndon and Gardening

A Jar of Nuthatches by LyndonAndGardening

“Meep…meep…meeeep….” a sound like a rusty little tin trumpet falls down around my ears as I re-fill the suet feeder. “Yes, I hear you…” I say to the tiny red-breasted nuthatch who is clinging upside down to a branch and waiting patiently for me to provide him with breakfast. He says "meep...meeep..." again and I assume this is how nuthatches say "hurry it up, won't you?" I step away and he immediately flies down to get a taste. A moment later another one appears and there is a minor scuffle; they vocalize and chase each other, sounding like a creaky door squeaking on hinges that need to be oiled.

I adore nuthatches. They are tiny, brave little birds with sharp, needle-like beaks and an almost astonishing capacity for agility and core strength. There is almost no position from which they cannot feed. Having lunch upside down? No problem! They creep up and down tree trunks seeking insects but also take a good many seeds. Their name, in fact, is derived from their remarkable ability to wedge hard seeds into a bark crevice and then hammer away at it with their bills; “nut hacks” they were originally called. They can indeed hack open large seeds and nuts with little trouble.

Although there are well over a dozen species and probably more, here at home we have just two; the red-breasted nuthatch and the white-breasted nuthatch. The former is more common; they are a dark dusty blue over top with little terracotta chests and a white stripe over the eye. When they flatten themselves against a tree trunk, they somehow become quite invisible. Courageous and feisty, if you are patient they will come right to your hand to snatch a sunflower seed or a peanut, much as chickadees will. The latter, the white-breasted nuthatches, are a little larger and a little less common, preferring areas that are more heavily treed and they are definitely a lot more shy. They too, wear the slate-blue coats but their fronts are snowy white. Both provide an invaluable service to gardeners by eating the eggs and larvae of many harmful insects.

One of the things I like about nuthatches is that they don’t migrate. They are here all year round, and provide wonderful company on winter days. They reliably show up at feeders, they are great fun to watch, and they are remarkably intelligent. I’ve already mentioned their seed-cracking abilities but there is more to them, of course. Often in the company of chickadees, nuthatches learn and react to chickadee alarm calls. I am deeply fond of chickadees also, and they possess a complicated and varied repertoire of calls. They have a number of different alarm calls, all of which nuthatches very quickly learn to recognize and then respond accordingly. How many birds are able to learn the language of other birds? It’s quite something.

When it comes to nesting, nuthatches want a small, dark cavity. Abandoned woodpecker nests are ideal; naturally occurring holes in old, dead trees can also work. Certain birdhouses will also work for them. As you might imagine, the competition for nesting sites is fierce. Squirrels are notorious for usurping nuthatch nests, and they will often eat the eggs and/or nestlings as well. (Lots of people are quite unaware of just how predatory squirrels can actually be.) So how do nuthatches prevent this? There are a number of tactics they employ. They will often collect mud and seal it around the entryway to make the hole smaller; this makes it less likely that marauding house sparrows will try to get in. Some species will collect resin from conifers and smear it around the hole; this is quite sticky and quite unpleasant for any furred or feathered creature attempting to gain entry. Nuthatches are so small they can literally fire themselves in and out of even the tiniest holes in one shot; a bit of resin is hardly an obstacle for them! It gets even more remarkable though.

Blister beetles are mostly vegetarian beetles that produce burning, noxious compounds in their bodies that they use for defense. This chemical warfare can cause lesions or blister-like symptoms in humans and an extremely unpleasant reaction in birds and frogs and other insects that try to eat them. Nuthatches deliberately collect blister beetles carefully in their beaks and get them to spray all around their entry hole. They will also rub the dead and crushed bodies of these insects around there. This is a highly effective means of keeping things OUT! I marvel at the complexity and genius of these tiny, smart little birds protecting their homes and their families!

Nuthatches are tiny and task-oriented and very busy. They have important small bird things to take care of and on any given winter day, I can stand outside near the feeder and here the “meep…meep…meep…” of the nuthatches. It’s not a song, really. It’s not a lyrical or beautiful sound, I suppose. I love it though. I love knowing these very small, very smart little birds are out there doing all the things they do. They are stout-hearted and brave enough to come right to my hand! Imagine that! They have to deal with all the cold and chill of winter, they have to deal with competition from other birds, they have to deal with predation from housecats, they have to avoid hitting windows, they have to deal with long nights in the worst months of the year, and yet they persist! It is really quite something, don’t you think? Such a pleasure to have their fabulous company every single day.

Weekend Olio

 So, here is my "newsy" mish mash from the past couple of days:

Mom called her ophthalmologist on Friday  morning to let him know her left eye had completely lost vision after Monday's injection.  The man was on holidays, but made a special trip into the office from his holiday site to help her!!  He had a very special love for my dad and so has transferred that care and concern to Mom as well.  He found no infection or bleeding and gave her some new drops to use six times a day.  Praising God that they seem to be working. Her vision is returning to that eye and she is greatly encouraged.  Although she had some fairly intense pain part of the day yesterday, she powered through it, took minimal medication and by late afternoon was feeling fine once again.  She went out THREE times last week in the taxi after being stuck in her residence for about seven weeks.  No surprise she had pain yesterday.  She was making jokes last night and sounding more like my "real" mom than she has in several years.  Wow.....  The ophthalmolgist also gave Mom his home phone number and if she has any more issues she is to call him immediately and he will return from holidays long enough to help her in the office. What a kind man!

My son and his girlfriend took advantage of her newly minted driving license and took their days off from work this weekend back out on Long Island.  My son was making stew on Saturday evening while his friend read one of Ibsen's plays and they were enjoying listening to the wild turkeys gobbling and squawking outside.

My husband was blessed with dry roads on the way to and from his parish church service on Sunday morning.  80% of his congregation members have returned and he is considering holding a second service for the ones with children who want to return, but don't want to expose the older members of the congregation to possible viruses picked up at school.  The joy of such a tiny congregation is that even with an 80% return rate, maintaining the provincial guidelines for distancing in the church is still possible.  YAY!  

At my church Zoom service I was brought to tears by the wonderful music of the handbell group, playing together for the first time in nearly a year.  When they started ringing out "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say/I Feel the Winds of God Today", I lost it and burst into tears.  That number immediately followed an amazing and encouraging sermon on God's presence with us even during death and the transition to the afterlife.  My heart was touched deeply.  When I joined my husband and one of his colleagues for an evening prayer and praise on Zoom, we read 2 Corinthians 5 and I was an emotional mess all over again.  The idea of God's care for us, even in the midst of horrendous changes in life and extreme trials that he doesn't deliver us from having, overwhelmed me yesterday.

My energy was very good all weekend.  The suite has been thoroughly cleaned and the laundry and ironing completed.  Nice to be feeling "caught up" for a few days until the dust once again begins to settle and the hamper overflows with dirty clothes.  The rollercoaster of emotions when talking to Mom was less extreme this weekend as her pain and fear were also less extreme.  When she starts cracking jokes, I know something good is going on for her internally.

Yesterday morning we discovered a pretty gift bag attached to our back door handle.  It was a return "favour" from our newest neighbours.  I put a bag of Halloween treats on their doorknob for their little girl and yesterday they gave us a bag of Diwali celebration treats: candles, little bags of chips and a beautiful tin box of individually wrapped chocolates and toffees.  The note enclosed with the gifts was very kind.  Since Diwali is a time of petition for and celebration of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and light over darkness, it will be a nice way to introduce the Gospel of John when it is safe again to have visits with neighbours.  I am so glad for this opportunity to connect in some way with this friendly young family. Our neighbours celebrate these values during Diwali and we as Christians celebrate these values during the Christmas celebrations of Christ's birth into the world.

The weather has been kind of dreary, with some snow, but the temperatures have not been that cold.  In fact much of the snow that fell last night has been melted off the driving lanes by the traffic this morning.  We have to drive to the Post Office later this morning or early this afternoon and run some other  quick errands, so it won't be so bad....once I shovel off the deck, create a pathway to the parking lot and sweep last night's snowfall off the car.

Thank you to those who have been praying about my health.  Hoping for some information about next steps when I see the doctor tomorrow.  Bless you!

Getting Pro-Active Again!

 When I lived in Alberta I had to be extemely pro-active about my own health care, become my own advocate with doctors, specialists and clinics.  Since I moved to SK, quite a few years ago now, I haven't had to advocate for myself nearly as much.  However, with the advent of the coronavirus that is changing the health care system, as clinic and hospital staffs have become over worked and very stressed out, have seen reductions in available staff for serving patients etc.  Now SK is "crazy town" just like what I was used to before I came here.

This morning I got tired of feeling bound to this house awaiting a call from my doctor for test results.  I realized it is highly possible those tests had to be sent elsewhere for analysis and it could be next week before my doctor even sees them!  So, I got on the phone a few minutes ago and made an appointment to see her in her office next Tuesday afternoon.  If she calls in the meantime and we have a telephone consult after all, I can cancel the appointment.  At least this way I don't feel like I have to stay home all day every day waiting for her call.   Next Tuesday will be the full week since having the tests and results should be in even if they were sent elsewhere.  If not, I will just discuss my  ongoing symptoms with her while we continue to wait for results to arrive.

There, I feel better now!!  

It has been a good morning here!  I got up at 6:30am after a decent sleep and was home with MANY MANY grocery items before 8:30am.  With it being a Friday there were more customers in the stores at that time of the morning, but still it was not crowded enough for distancing to be any sort of issue.  The biggest hold up was having only one cashier at the registers in each store, likely in an attempt to make the self-checkout option more popular, but I refuse to use those.  I would rather wait and help one cashier remain employed....just a "thing" that I have in regard to automation that leaves humans without jobs.  So sue me, right? hahaha

After breakfast and washing down all the groceries, (did I REALLY spend that much money on food today???), I relaxed for a few minutes with my husband while we watched part of a tv show, about dolphins in the New Zealand waters, that was fascinating.  Watching the moms trying to teach their youngesters how to do the fancy jumps and dives was the most interesting thing I have seen in a long time. Those "little dudes and dudettes" tried so hard to get them right, but I think for some of them it is a good thing that they can stay with their moms for up to 3 years, hahaha.  Cuteness supreme!!!

 

We just spent the last hour in conversation and prayer with the youth minister from my church.  He is a lovely person juggling two different jobs,  a wife working in a hospital who is thereby exposed to all manner of possible COVID19 cases and 3 children under the age of 5!  O WOW!  If we admired him previously, we definitely admire him even more now as he juggles the various roles he plays in his life.  Amazing!  They are a lovely family.

 

My mom had another incredibly busy day yesterday.  I hope she is not paying for it today, but she took another taxi trip!  This time she went to London Drugs and spent over 90 minutes wandering around the store, filling her basket with all manner of medical supplies that should last her for about 3 months.  She had a prescription filled and arranged to have future prescriptions delivered to her residence.  She went through quite a process getting her taxi ordered to go there, but she finally got one and her driver when she came home was wonderful about carrying the heavy bags of supplies to her front door.  Both men were extremely kind about having to fold up and store her walker in the trunk.  She admitted she didn't sit down but once during that 90 minutes and that was for the less than 5 minutes while she waited for her prescription.  The most amazing thing to me is that she did all this AFTER a bout with chest pain just after breakfast.  I can tell her mental strength has returned very well, because she was still determined to go and get her supplies once the pain subsided.  I asked her why she didn't wait until today to go in hopes of going on a pain free day and her answer was, "I am going to need this stuff soon enough and I can't sit around here babying myself just because I had a session with a little pain!!"  I was told.....haha.  

 

The sun is shining today and the sky is blue.  There is a large jet trail running across the sky outside my office window and I hope that the people on that jet stay healthy and safe during their travels.  When I went for groceries this morning it was still pitch black outside of course, but there was no wind and the temperature was only -10C.  The frost was thick and stuck pretty firmly to the vehicle windows, but a little warming and minimal scraping took it off fairly quickly.  Today is a perfect early winter day.

 

I have decided that instead of moping around here for the next 4 days until I see the doctor, I am going to enjoy every minute of every tv show and very book and every visit that comes my way! 

 

 

No Test Results Today

 Either they were delayed getting to the clinic or else my doctor was not in the office today. Sigh....well, at least I got a LOT of housework done by staying home ALL day, haha. If I have heard nothing by 10:30am tomorrow I will call the clinic and schedule an appointment for early next week. The pain is not unbearable. I can last a few more days I think. Man, waiting is so difficult and waiting patiently even more so! I do not wait well.

Those Were The Days....hahaha....

 Any of you old enough to remember the days of the REAL Coca-Cola??? hahahahahahahaha

As the COVID19 Numbers Begin to Rise Here.....

 ...we are finding ourselves saying "no" to more invitations to participate in various activities and social gatherings.  It is incredibly difficult to do that when the world outside our suite is so grey and snowbound and almost any excuse in our former circumstances would have been a good excuse to leave home for a few hours.

The latest event we are not participating in is helping the decorating crew to put up Christmas decorations at my church.  From the fairly large list of couples asked to do this most enjoyable of tasks, it appears my husband and I are the only ones NOT coming to do the work involved.  Sigh....it was such a difficult decision, but one that really only took us about ten seconds to make.  We would have loved the chance to work side by side with the others in the group.  We were just beginning to get to know most of them when the pandemic hit and now we feel like outsiders with these people.  The day we know everyone will be there decorating will be an unhappy day here, BUT we know for certain we are doing what is right for evryone involved by staying at home instead.  I wonder how they will manage social distancing with a crew that large.

 

Aaaaargh!!  

 

As the months drag on with no solution or end in sight for this world wide problem, it is becoming more difficult, as we have no family here to have within the confines of our social "bubble".  We have no bubble at this point.  It's just us two.

I confess, we are becoming somewhat lonely.  Phone calls, emails and Zoom are wonderful things, but none of them replace the personal contact this virus has robbed us all of.  I think concentrating more on our own mental health for a few weeks or months is called for right now.  After breakfast this morning we played a few rounds of our favourite Canadian trivia game and that was such fun.  My  husband and I are each going to have to be careful not to hide away in our own corners of the house, each in front of our own computer screen, or each reading our own book.  Spending more quality time together will be a big help!

So Much Sad News Today

Today has been a difficult day for news around here.  

 

This morning I received a call from my cousin letting me know that her son, who was in his mid 40's, married with three children, died yesterday from a massive heart attack.  He is only the second of the generation of cousins after my own, of which there are dozens and dozens, to die. The first was killed in a farm accident in his late 20's.  I was kind of stunned to hear this news and my prayers will be active on behalf of his mother and his wife and kids.  He had no warning signs at all, just stepped out of his car at the gasoline station yesterday, collapsed on the ground dead and it was all over in a split second.  His mother says that as painful as it is for her, she is so very grateful that if he had to die so young, he went so quickly and painlessly.  Sigh....so difficult to lose a son....

 

We also received word that our Bishop's mother, over in England, died yesterday from COVID19 and that his sister also has the virus. She is in hospital being treated, but she has severe underlying health issues that do not bode well for her recovery.  The distraught Bishop is on his way home to England for a month of compassionate leave and we can only pray that he and his wife remain virus free during this trip by the mercy of God.

 

So, kind of a rotten day for news around here.  I have not met either the Bishop's mother or sister, but my husband spent time with them when he was in England 5 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Bishop's mum.  Please, if you should be so inclined, could you send up a prayer for our Bishop and his family?  Thank you ever so much.

 

On the more happy front, I was able to have my preliminary screening tests at  the lab this morning.  It was quite a procedure, when it should have been as simple as walking in the door, having the tests and leaving again, but when is anything ever simple, right? hahaha  I arrived when there was not one patient  in the place, so I was ushered right in, only to discover the requistion for the tests had not arrived last Friday.  The clinic staff were amazing, looking up the phone number for my clinic so I could sit in an isolated chair and spend over 10 minutes on the phone trying to reach the clinic, (is it my imagination or are the recorded COVID19 messages on medical establishment's phones getting longer and longer), get someone to answer and track down the missing requisition.  As soon as I sat down the waiting room at the lab suddenly filled up with patients, so I was most blessed to be ushered immediately into the testing room when the requistion was at last faxxed to the lab.  I am very grateful the staff didn't make me go back outside to wait  in the ever lengthening line up. They would have been within their rights to do so.

 

I talked to Mom this morning after my cousin let me know about her son dying.  Mom didn't sleep well last night after her "adventure" yesterday, BUT she was resting and had no pain at that point in time. What a relief.  I thought today she would be in agonizing pain and maybe by tonight she will be, but her day started off well despite the lack of sleep.  Thank you Lord!

 

My husband woke up this morning, second morning in a row, to a return of his painful tummy episodes, but once we figured out what had stressed him out and pushed him into that state, we had a chat about it while he gulped down carbonated water and fresh peanut.  He recovered incredibly quickly and headed to his office to join his weekly Lections Zoom group.  I know he was upset about accidentally triple booking important meetings for Thursday morning, but he spent  this afternoon sorting that out and all is well.  I hope he will sleep well tonight and wake up refreshed tomorrow.  His regular Wednesday morning meeting is cancelled due to Remebrance Day holiday, so he can sleep in if he wants to....more good news!

 

My clinic is closed for Remembrance Day so I should have a full day before I get my call about the test results and a decision is made about next steps.  I plan to enjoy the day to the fullest and to only think happy thoughts for the full day!