Memories of Spring!

Today was a gorgeous day, more like mid summer than early autumn!  The temperature reached a high this afternoon of +31C,  there was only a slight breeze rather than our usual September gale force winds, the sun shone intensely all day....oh, it was most lovely.  The only thing my mind had trouble wrapping itself around was the combination of summer temperatures and how low the sun is now in the sky throughout the daytime.  It leaves kind of a "What the heck???" feeling in my brain.

So, I was able to thoroughly enjoy my walk to the weekly ladies' meeting I attend.  It was almost too hot, but I thrived on the sunshine warming my arms as I wandered along, taking my time so I could stay outside as long as possible.  My husband was able to spend the entire afternoon working on his friend's cabana winterization project and was delighted to have such perfect working conditions this close the end of September...and that is TOMORROW!  Where has this month gone??

Speaking of TOMORROW:  it is also turning out to be a wonderful day, both weatherwise and socially!  We are going to some friends' place tomorrow just before lunch and my husband will make a phannkucken for us all to enjoy. Then I will visit with my friend while her husband and mine start a small tree pruning project in their yard.  

Then we are going to another friend's place for an early Thanksgiving dinner.  Her parents are visiting from the Yukon where she grew up and we all enjoy each other's company, so that will be a lot of fun.  I am delighted that we have the opportunity to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Our contribution is mashed, baked yams topped with cinnamon and brown sugar and some pecans.   After dinner the guys will watch the football game and my husband is really excited about that now that he actually understands and enjoys the game more than he ever has until this past couple of seasons.

The following day will likely consist of the completion of either the pruning project or the cabana project depending on how my husband is feeling that day.  

We were sent the information today regarding my cousin's funeral next month.  As it happens it is the last bit of direction we need to plan our time in Alberta before the snow flies.  This weekend my husband and I will sit down and firm up our plans, get hotels booked and start getting excited to see family and friends across the border one more time before winter sets in and robs us of any more chances to drive around visiting out of town.

I am loving how the travel plans are starting to come together....just such perfect answers to our dilemma about when we should go to Alberta this fall.  We had a choice of one of two weeks and the invitations we have had to the funeral and a retirement party all in the same week have given us the direction we have been seeking.

Tomorrow is Truth and Reconciliation Day.  I hope it accomplishes some good things between the indigenous and white communities through the community events that have been planned.  It means I am delayed with completion of probate again by banks being closed, but that is okay.  Right now we are focusing on getting away instead of the banks. If there is no word from one or either of them by the time we return, then we will start tracking down the estate departments again ourselves and try to find out what the hold ups are.  For now, I want to make travel plans and just enjoy a short trip out of here.

Soon after we return I have my annual meeting with the bone specialist.  It is time for him to get me another referral for a bone densitometry early in the new year.  We will see if the osteoporosis meds I have been on are continuing to help me.  I have been on it longer than many people, so to date there are no long term studies available in any medical journals.  I am praying so much that it is still working as it has literally been my last hope for a medication I am not allergic to.  It is the newest and greatest and thus far has been nearly miraculous in its restoration of my bone density, but will it stop working now?  Oh please Lord, I do hope not.  

I only had 3.5 hours of sleep last night, so since it is nearly 10:30pm and I have been awake since 5:30am, I suppose I should call it a day and try to get some more sleep.

 

Venison In My Fridge Freezer!

 While I was sipping wine and nibbling on lamb kafka with port stewed figs, feta cheese and black olives during glunch with my friend today, my husband was helping his friend with a backyard project to winterize his summer cabana tent.  As part his "wages" for all the help he is providing for his friend, he was awarded today with a full leg of venison!!  (no, not a huge piece of meat, but my overly full refrigerator freezer had to be emptied and some changes made to fit such an awkward piece of meat into it!)  What a kind thing to do! The friend's brother is a hunter and former butcher, so the cut is very well done and the cleaning is stellar.  We are going to contact our bbq'ing crazed, dear friend in Moose Jaw and try to arrange a time to get together for a venison feast. Bbq is the only way I can eat wild meat of any kind, so it would ensure I can honestly tell our generous friends that I enjoyed their gift.  

My lunch out at Bar Willow was perfection: we were able to eat out of doors on the patio, along the railing overlooking the lake.  It was so hot we were almost too warm in our light long sleeved tops, and we had to keep our sunglasses on.  So lovely sitting by the water and looking at the geese, the ducks, the trees from the deck up above the lake.  We both really enjoyed it and it wasn't very crowded today.  Today was a perfect beginning of autumn day!

Later this afternoon I took my husband to the dentist for a filling.  He ended up with MY dentist and her assistant doing the procedure. They looked on the chart at his last name and confirmed he is my husband, then regaled him with funny stories about their appointments with me.  hahaha I have never felt so popular. hahaha  They are a wonderful pair and we get along well.  They enquired about our son and how he is faring with his artistic endeavors.  It is like going to a small town clinic as they remember their patients and have a genuine interest in their lives.  They were so good to my husband, listening to his concern about the excessive dizziness he experiences when he is nearly upside down in the chair for his dental cleanings, and didn't put him nearly as far back in the chair today. He came out of the office smiling because he was barely dizzy and not nauseated.  He was also impressed to be in and out of the office in less than a half hour.  His fourth filling with likely one more to be done in about six months.  He has wonderful teeth despite the well water he grew up with peeling most of the enamel off his teeth by the time he was a teenager!  Incredible to me, as I sit here with my mouth full of crowns and fillings. All my molars and canines have been effected. I only have 9 teeth that are neither filled nor crowned at this point in my life.  

After the appointment I took a gift over to a friend's place and stayed for coffee and a pecan butter tart...BAD BAD BAD....but I haven't had one of those for years and couldn't resist.  The pastry was nice and thick and doughy, just the way I like it to be with tarts.  I know that doesn't sound very appealing when I write it, but trust me, it is delicious!  I only drank coffee because it was a special blend with cinnamon....ooooh, sooooo delicious...and I will pay for it by likely being unable to fall asleep until at least 2am, but the whole dietary debacle was worth it for the flavours.  Yum!!!

I received word today from my email pal and her family who live in St. Augustine Florida, that their property is in one of the few neighbourhoods that that is far enough above sea level that even with the intra coastal flooding in their area, they are not in an evacuation zone for Hurricane Ian.  They have taken all precautions, including boarding up their windows and positioning their vehicle strategically to protect it from the winds and their daughter and grandchild are there as well keeping safe.  I am so grateful that their particular location likely means they will be safe during the flooding, although they are completely cut off from the rest of the city due to the deep flood waters all around them. So, I am still praying they will remain safe because you never know.....Lord keep everyone in Florida safe from this hurricane...amen!

Overwhelmed By Gratitude!

I caught myself crying silently this morning during my prayer time.  I felt overwhelmed by gratitude for the way my life has been to date.  Yes, there have been many difficult times...so many difficult times...as there have been for most people at some point in their lives, but there has also been so much to be grateful for.  Seeing God working through, in and around both the sad and happy times is cause for deep inner rejoicing.  The knowledge that God has shown his love to me and to our family so profoundly, so certainly, so often just moved me to tears.

At the present time there are many reasons to be fearful.  There are "wars and rumours of war" around the world.  Some of the biggest nations in the world are threatening to use nuclear weapons against the western powers like our own.  There are foreign military stations being built along the islands in our own country's north, with only one small patrol boat from our government attempting to patrol the situation.  There are new diseases cropping up all over the place that we have no treatments nor proper vaccines for as yet.  North America is under threat to an extent my generation has never seen.  Old age and the possible accompanying disabilities are looming large in our household. Our son lives farther away geographically than we ever could have imagined and travel back and forth between us is becoming more difficult for many reasons.  Our parents and siblings have all died in the past two years and we are feeling very alone in terms of family connections.  We have moved around so much that we don't feel very connected to many people in our own age group with friendships waxing and waning over the past three decades through the various moves.

However, none of those things seem particularly pertinent to me today. All I can think of is that I have had an overall good life, a blessed life.  If nuclear war breaks out in my lifetime and all the outward joyful circumstances come to an end, well, it was great while it lasted.  My generation and my son's generation have not earned some kind of right to be immune from war and suffering.  It would be unbelieveable to many many people in this world that I have suffered so little when their entire lives have been on a track moving them from peril to peril, disaster to disaster, loss to more loss.

Thank you  Lord for the wonderful way you have guided my life and supported me in the midst of the painful, frightening times.  Help me to keep those times in mind if life doesn't go as well in the future for whatever reason.  Thank you for loving me. I am most blessed. Amen.

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!! Yippee Skippee and Thank You Lord!

 Our son just got the news that his recent application for another 3 year visa has been approved!  Thank you Jesus....what a happy answer to our prayers.  We are so relieved. Wow....thanks everyone for all the prayers!

Dad-Blasted Holidays!!!! For Pete's Sake!!

 Well, my hopes of hearing by the end of this week from the outstanding banks about the Grant of Probate and getting an appointment with one or both of them by next week, has just gone right out the window.  Sigh....

It is all the excess statutory holidays happening this month, the unexpected holiday for The Queen's funeral on the 19th and then the new holiday for Truth and Reconciliation at the end of this week that I had completely forgotten about since last year was its inception.  Whether or not each province is opting to make these days holidays for their provincial workers, the point is that the bank head offices are in Ontario, the one province that completely shuts down for all these "extras" we never used to have.  Since the information my local banks need to complete my process comes from those same head offices, if Ontario is shut down, then so am I.  Double sigh....OH, and of course coming up in another week and a half is the Thanksgiving long weekend...another holiday for the banks. 

The situation for me is back to Ludicrous Speed.  Triple sigh.... Well, all I can do is laugh and wait on the Lord to get things rolling for me once again. 

The reason I am so bummed about all these holdups is that we need to get our trip to AB planned now and I don't know how long to keep putting it off in hopes of having bank appointments being made before we go.  I feel like our lives are completely on hold because of the slowness of the CIBC and TD estate teams to act.  So, I am at the point now of giving up, making my plans to travel by the end of this week and if I get a call to come into the banks while I am still away, they are going to have to darned well wait for me this time.  On my end, an extra week or two of waiting is not that big an issue. I found out I still have lots of time to get the final estate taxes filed.  I just SO WANT IT TO BE OVER!!!  My mom's tiny estate is taking as long to process as my sister in law's huge one is.  Well, such is life.  I have to keep laughing so I can not lose my mind again over this like I did in the first three months after Mom died.

I have had a nice first half of the day actually.  I got up early since I was awake anyway, and did my old 7am shopping spree for the first time in several months.  I am grateful I haven't had to be doing that very often lately, but it did feel good to be in the stores when there were far fewer customers.  I was able to find every product I needed, gulped back my shock at some of the prices, picked up some extra things I don't need yet just because their sale prices were still lower than their regular prices used to be prior to the spring bump up and was home at 8:03am!  The only disappointment is that I lost/had stolen a zip up flight bag of cloth carry bags that I pack my groceries into now that plastic bags are no longer being given out at the stores.  Long story...but I am very sorry to lose the old Air New Zealand flight bag as it was one my parents used on their trips to NZ and Australia years ago.  I have plenty of other bags to use, so it isn't that big a deal.  If they were stolen  I hope whoever took them enjoys using them.  If I managed to somehow lose them myself out in the parking lot, then shame on me!!

Apart from those small things, it is a good day.  The sun is shining, we are looking at temperatures into the high +20's all week and a friend has just invited me out to a very fancy restaurant for lunch tomorrow.  I have all afternoon today to complete the housework I started yesterday. My husband is happy because his article for the diocesan newspaper is ready to be sent and he just received a request from friends to help them prune a few of their trees, something he certainly enjoys.

Tomorrow will also include taking my husband to the dentist for a filling, followed by coffee with another friend.  The weather is supposed to be equally spectacular.

Ludicrous speed with the banks, but happiness about most everything else on this lovely autumn day! YAY!

A Happy and Productive Day Anyway!!

 Today has gone swimmingly despite the interrupted sleep last night.  Thank you praying friends as I am certain your prayers are what have gotten me through a busy day!

After my last post I managed to fall asleep for over an hour, so that was a bonus!  After breakfast I had a good surge of energy so I went to work on cleaning the upstairs of this suite and even managed to convince myself to do a very thorough job, no "cheats" just because of being tired.  YAY!!  My husband stayed out of my way because he was completing an article for the diocesan newspaper and I suspect was just as happy I was occupied and not pestering him, teehee.  It feels good to have accomplished something.

After lunch I walked to the pharmacy and grocery store to pick up some meds and some dinner items for tonight while my husband toted a bunch of tools up to his friend's workshop space for future projects they are working on together.  My husband pulled his back muscles hauling cabinets around so we could get our kitchen window repaired last week. Then a few days ago he was hauling sheets of plywood and didn't exactly help those strained muscles, then today he decided to lift his heaviest wooden toolbox, filled with tools, all by himself and wrenched his back again.  I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!  The poor man needs to take a few days to soak his back in epsom salts and rest and wrap his medical grade waist belt around those muscles until they heal.  Aaaargh!!  Hopefully he won't completely incapacitate himself by being so stubborn.

Icing on the cake for my happy day today:  on the way home from my walk this afternoon I passed a Nigerian family trying to convince their four teeny tiny sons...quadruplets???....to get into their car seats so the family could go somewhere.  All four boys had crawled out of the car again, giggling like crazy, and as I passed them they all looked up, smiled with their perfect white teeth gleaming in their precious little black faces, eyes sparkling and they began vigorously waving at me.  How can anyone have a bad day, even a temptation to have a bad day, when the four most adorable wee gentlemen are grinning and waving and all excited to see someone new??  When they realized what the kids were doing, Mom and Dad also turned around to wave at me and we all had a good laugh at the enthusiasm of their sons.  SO CUTE!!!!

Tomorrow morning I will finish the housework downstairs after I go out for my 7am grocery shopping extravaganza.  It has been several months now since I went shopping that early, but with the continued growth of COVID Omicron cases here I am more comfortable shopping early again than later in the morning like I have been.  Another friend in AB has been fighting the virus and it isn't giving up easily.

I am almost sorry I went out to buy meat for tonight's dinner. Perhaps I could have convinced my husband to take me to Birmimgham's for taco salad if I hadn't been such a keener today, hahaha.

Despite more wind outside today than I personally enjoy, it is one gorgeous day!  It is about +23C, the sun is shining brightly and at least the wind isn't chilly.  It is one of the loveliest autumn days we have had and there is more warmth on the way for the rest of this week before rain and more seasonal temperatures arrive.  YAY!

Elusive Sleep

I have entered another phase of sleeplessness. How intensely annoying it is. Things have been going quite well over the past few weeks of averaging 6-7 consecutive hours of sleep each night. Then a couple of nights ago it all changed. Sigh.....back to about three to four hours maximum per night. Drat! The pattern each sleep deprived night is generally one of two: either I sleep for two hours, wake up for three or four hours, then sleep again for another hour or two, or else, like tonight, I sleep deeply for three to four hours, then wake up and don’t go back to sleep.....which seems to be what is happening right now. What a nuisance. I am not an afternoon napper either, so I know from experience that after a week to ten days of this I will finally crash into the next period of better sleeps. 

If we didn’t have a neighbour on the other side of the wall I could do what I really need to do to get more sleep during these times, but the sound proofing between the suites is so bad there is no way I can get up at 2am and start cleaning house or cooking or even watching tv while walking figure eights around the main floor. An hour of physical work in the midst of a sleepless night usually puts me back to sleep for another three or four consecutive hours. I just spent a half hour marching quietly up and down on the spot, but that kind of middle of the night exercise doesn’t adequately stop my mind from racing off madly in all directions....one of the key elements of my sleepless cycles. I would love to be able to walk around the entire suite at top speed, up and down stairs, but the floors squeak too badly for both the neighbour and my peacefully sleeping husband who never notices noises from  2am vacuuming but nearly goes through the ceiling at the tiniest squeak from the floor. I am the same way with floor squeaks, so I get it. 

I have had the idea of sleeping pills put before me, but watching and listening to my parents and other friends who have depended on them for sleep, I think I will take a hard pass on the idea. The last thing I need is any more medication to juggle. At least my cycles of poor sleep are predictable and I will cycle out of this again in another week or so. Until this session passes, I just need to stay quiet during the daytimes and work at my own pace, not take on too many commitments and not worry about not sleeping. Fortunately this too shall pass.

Celebration Time!

 I realized this morning that I am well into my 34th year with no migraine headaches!!  Not sure what made me think of it, but I am glad I did.  The memory gives cause for continuing gratitude to God and to the Anglican priest who prayed for me all those years ago when I was suffering so often and so badly from those wicked headaches.  My priest was so wonderful, his concern for me so genuine.  There was nothing wierd, nothing oogy poogy about his prayers for me. He simply prayed the healing prayers from the Anglican prayer book, anointed my forehead with oil and felt he had a few short sentences from God to share with me about how to deal with any future migraines that might occur.  One did and I did and that was the end of the migraines.  I don't know why others who have suffered longer than I ever did have not been healed by those same prayers and anointing, but for whatever reason they were of great benefit to me and I thank God for his mercy.

My husband is at an all day seminar today about the book of Genesis and science and how they can fit well together.  I opted not to go this time because I am very tired, like I have been hit by a semi rig, likely because there has been a lot of stress around here for the past few weeks for varied reasons.  I have spent more time in prayer for people in the last six weeks than in the past six years, I am certain!!  So many woes, boni fide fears, terrors, ruin, losses....it is nearly overwhelming, yet it feels like such a privilege to be included in the prayers for all these people and their upsetting situations.  Thank you for asking me to pray. I am honoured.  God is amazing even in the midst of the trials friends and family are suffering.

Slowly our back deck is being cleared of plants. Friends have taken quite a few of them. Now we have a dead tree to compost  and we need to cut down the tomato plants so we can return the pot to its rightful owner, the wonderful woman who has started the seeds for us every spring.  We should dig up the dirt in the pot where the potato plant was growing.  It is highly unlikely there are any potatoes in there and I am sure someone else would be very happy to receive such a sturdy, new looking pot  for their next spring's planting.

Originally I intended to use this full day alone to scrub down the suite as it is showing a lot of dust once again, but that is going to have to wait until Monday.  Today I will do some other outstanding, much less labour intensive chores and then relax for the afternoon. Maybe I will take a walk to the grocery store, but that will be the extent of it.  Tonight we are taking our Egyptian friends out for dinner.  Normally I would have them over here for a meal, but it is so crowded for that many people to sit and eat comfortably.  They are interested in trying the food at DarBar, so I hope they will enjoy it.  I must go now and work on my Arabic pronunciation of "Thank you Grandma for the lovely purse".  She brought it for me when she arrived from Egypt for her annual six month stay in Canada and I have not seen her in person yet to thank her properly.  Maybe the chores can wait for another hour. I think I will have a short nap first.

  

Huh???? Wha'????? Doing A Double Take!!

 I am asking for prayer for my friends who live in Nova Scotia.  Apparently Hurricane Fiona is heading their way and should hit their town by sometime tomorrow morning, bringing winds up to 100km or more and heavy, heavy rainfall.  The people in their area were told earlier today to stock up on at least 72 hours of food and emergency supplies, do all they can to protect their property and be prepared for power outages, and major damage to their residences, foliage etc.  It is a terrifying situation!

What got my immediate attention, after hearing from my friends, was when I looked at the weather forecast for their area and the headline of the report was "TROPICAL STORM WARNING!"  

Huh?  Wha'???  A tropical storm warning in Canada?  In late September?  Making landfall as far west as southern Quebec????  Huh? Wha'?????????

I know the potential for such a storm to hit that far inland from the East Coast is always there during tropical storm season, but it happens so rarely....in fact I don't remember anywhere but the east coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland ever being under such a warning.  A tropical storm warning is just not something Canadians are used to seeing applied to their own country!

I admit to being completely shocked! AND I am very concerned for my friends, not only for those in Nova Scotia but others located throughout the Maritimes.

Lord have mercy on the people living in the areas where that storm is going to hit this weekend. AMEN!

My New Pendants

 My husband's cousin is a lapidarist.  She is highly skilled and I am delighted to now own some of her beautiful work.  Her company is "Healing Earth Works" by Laura.

 

Here are photos of the pendants I purchased from her:

Red Jasper

 Promotes tranquility and wholeness-sustains and supports during stressful times.

 

Sodalite

 

 

Brings deep peace and emotional balance, encourages rational thought.

 

Amethyst

 Powerful, encourages inner strength, brings calmess and clarity.

 

To see more lovely lapidary work you can go to her site:

fb/insta: @healingearthworksbyLaura

Singin' While I'm Walkin' In The Rain!

 This script is called "Luckiest Guy" and it is the perfect script for this post!  

I have just returned from my afternoon ladies' meeting and was able to spend the last half of my walk trudging along very happily in the pouring rain.  Oh it was wonderful!!  So grateful I wore shoes instead of sandals this afternoon, as well as my old leather biker jacket as it sheds the rain so beautifully.  My hair, that I spent a lot of time flat ironing this morning, is kinking up as it dries out, so it will have to be straightened again in the morning. Don't care as it was marvellous to be outside with the rain teeming down all around.  The strong wind from this morning that blew this system in from the west, had dissipated, so that made getting drenched quite tolerable.  The temperature is not that low, so I had a very good time, humming "The Day Thou Gave Us Lord Hath Ended" under my breath.  What a lovely day.

 

The stone pendants labouriously crafted by my husband's cousin that I ordered last week arrived today....they are gorgeous!  I will take a photo later and post it so  you can see them.

Oh... my husband has just wandered in and announced that he MUST take me out for dinner for some reason....wow....catch ya'll later. Thanking God for a happy day.

Another Loss In The Family

 I am sad for my extended family this evening.  We have lost another member to illness.  A cousin from Edmonton who we just saw at Auntie's funeral last month passed away last evening.  He was in hospital and his partner and her family were with him at his bedside. For that I am grateful.  She and I texted this evening and if there is a funeral open to extended family, I think my husband and I will do our best to attend. Otherwise we will just continue to remember his immediate family members in our prayers.

Lord, please do care for the soul of my cousin John. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Oh Ma And Pa and Baby Boo....How Ya'll Have Changed!!!! We We Really That Young Once??

 

In Our Seven Steps TShirts For Bowden Penitentiary Rodeo Days 1980!

One Beauuuuuuuteeeeeful Autumn Day!!

Despite the breeze outside that I always find incredibly annoying to be out in, it is a wonderful day weather wise!  The sun is shining, the sky is the deeper blue of autumn now and the atmosphere has taken on a slight yellow tinge or aura.  Autumn is not my favourite season of the year, but it has its benefits.....the wasp population is on the downturn as they prepare for winter hibernation, the grasshoppers have disappeared, the spiders have already made their migration into our suite and been dealt with, the geese have not been here at our place for some time now so we have been able to take down the vinyard security plastic balls from the back of the building and every day that I can still get out and walk is a special blessing!  Long may the autumn last!!!

My husband was able to attend the Morning Prayer service at his friend's parish this morning, so he certainly enjoyed that despite being rudely awakened VERY early by a scam phone call....7:15 am is WAY TOO EARLY for that nonsense to start, but occasionally it happens.  We are not that upset about it because we have received so few such calls in the past few weeks. 

After his meeting he took the car to the carwash and rinsed it off, so it looks like actual human beings own and operate it now! WOW, it was so dusty from the wind and the pile of gravel and dirt the maintenance crew has had stored in the stall beside our parking space.  

Then he swung by here, picked me up and we went for a late brunch at Bobbi-Joe's, a small coffee bar in the Cathedral district that serves up a very inexpensive chicken Caesar salad with tangy, yummy dressing, daily soups and sandwich choices and some pretty delicious baking, along with a huge selection of hot and iced lattes and other coffee house type special drinks.  It is a teeny tiny place with seating for only a dozen people inside, but on a nice day like today there are small tables and chairs to go outside on the little patio space.  I think we will go there again sometime.  For about forty dollars we purchased an awful lot of food and drink, both to consume there and to bring home for later!! We opted to sit inside as we were there alone for the first while and so it wasn't crowded.  We had a good time visiting together.

This afternoon I walked over to the grocery store for a couple of things that are small enough to carry in my tote bag and purse. Tomorrow I will do an early morning shop to get some of the larger items we are in need of. Then in the afternoon I have my ladies' meeting that I look forward to each week.  That will be fun.  Most everyone in the group has had to miss meetings over the past month due to suffering from COVID or colds or some other temporary illness, so it will be wonderful to all be together again tomorrow. PLUS I get to walk there and back!

The onset of autumn is a bit sad for me as I watch the tree leaves turn so quickly from green to yellow to brown before they die completely and fall to the ground.  I am grateful for every green leaf still on any tree in my neighbourhood!! 

HAPPY AUTUMN EVERYONE!! 

Fighting Winter Hibernation!!

 At 7pm I took the garbage out to the bin.  I was a tad shocked to discover the sun was going down so quickly that early in the evening.  Autumn has snuck up on me this year, that is for sure.  I came back inside, closed all the windows and blinds and put on my Mark's Comfy Robe for the evening.  What am I going to do when that beloved, fuzzy old robe falls apart and is no longer wearable???  I have been nursing it along for years and have not seen anything else like it available for sale in the past few years.  It is a pullover and most of the other robes I see are not only too short in length to suit me, but have tie waists.  The gapping irritates me and I am constantly retying them, which is most annoying.  

I want to get a comforter and curl up on the sofa and watch junk on tv!  It is only the third week of September, but the grey skies day after day and the strong winds and chilly air are pushing me toward my annual hibernation mentality already!  MUST fight this off!!  Late October through the the first of next April will be more than enough time for hibernating!!

Walking out of doors at least 5 days a week until it is simply too cold for me to continue will go a long way to staving off the coming hibernation's lack of physical energy and lack of mental motivation.  Althought there is rain forecast for later in the week, I think I will still walk to ladies' meeting, even if I have to wear a raincoat and carry an umbrella.  Now that my walking speed is slightly improved I am not willing to concede to couch sitting again quite so quickly.

My eye condition has vastly improved in the past couple of weeks.  I haven't needed the prescription meds for the past three weeks and I have been able to reduce the use of my over the counter eye drops from six times a day back to the three doses per day I was using prior to having such a tough time in the spring and summer. That is most encouraging.  At least now I know what to do the next time this condition strikes me with such fury!!!  I have refills for the meds and I know how often I have to apply heat to my eye lids. Whew!!

Life is generally good, but I am going to have to guard against cutting myself off from exercise and from visiting people....until it is at least -15C or colder outside.

I WILL Get To The Ironing Now, I WILL, I WILL!!! HOHOHO!

 My husband is outside sweeping out our parking space and the neighbours' spaces of gravel that various children have scattered all over the place since a huge pile of the stuff was dumped by maintenance close to our car out in the parking lot.  He finds it relaxing, mindless and useful...perfect for a newly retired mindset.  I am about to complete my winter clothes ironing at long last.

It has been a good day: overcast skies and chilly weather, but not terrible and not a lot of wind.  It was a good morning for baking a brownie, paying bills, watching sumo and giving my husband a chance to enjoy his morning men's group.  After lunch we did some banking and dropped some things off at the church AND we have now dealt with the issue with the CRA.  It was an easy fix after all, so although our monthly income is unfortunately not going to change, now all is well with the paperwork. We are happy to have that outstanding stress dealt with.  A huge outstanding issue with Mom's estate was also dealt with today, so we are one step closer to completing probate.  Two more meetings have to be set up by the banks I have been waiting on, so hopefully they will contact me later this week or next.  I want to go away in October and need the final Letters of Direction signed and the accounts dealt with by then.  I can only trust God to work out these final details because it is all out of my hands for now.  I do not do well waiting on banks, but my impatience has been curbed much better this go round as the Lord has slowly worked out each detail, each error, each confusion as we have gone through the process.

And NOW....off to the ironing project at last!!!

Nine Rather Elegant Hours!

 I suppose I could/should have completed my ironing project this afternoon, buuuuuut, then I decided that if the federal government employees could take a day off work to honour The Queen on the day of her funeral, so could I!!! I spent the entire afternoon and into the evening watching the 9 hours of BBC coverage of the day’s proceedings! It was wonderful! The BBC did a stellar job of everything from the pomp and circumstance of the processions, to the funeral and commital services, to the respectful silence of the commentators throughout the church services, to the honour given to the Royal Family by not turning their grieving into a media sideshow, to the focus on the actual funeral rather than on celebrities and world leaders in attendance.....it was so very well done overall. The event appeared to go off without a hitch. Wonderful! I am so happy to have spent my day watching this amazing moment in world history. 

This morning the forecast rain and thunderstorms did not materialize, so my walking partner and I had a fabulous time marching briskly around the lake. The weather could not have been better: overcast, +14C, with a very slight breeze. I have managed to increase my speed slightly over the past two weeks....FINALLY....so we were able to reduce the time completing our route by fifteen minutes! Yay! 

A good day indeed! Tomorrow we will do some more work on a tax issue and see if we can finish fixing the problem. Got a good start a couple of days ago. I also got word that an outstanding probate issue has been resolved, so now I have hope that everything can be wrapped up before mid October, yay! 

We had to clean out our free standing kitchen food storage cupboard at lunchtime so that we could move it away from the window and maintenance could come in to repair the window sliders. Job done! So I just finished washing down the shelves and reorganizing the food after my husband wrestled the unit back into place. So nice to have a working window again. It has been open ever since. 

Happy? vs Joyful?

 I talked to someone this week who accused me of being essentially shallow and "fake" because I can usually find an inner joy from God to carry me through circumstances that are less than ideal.  I was told that no one who has had over 40 years accumulation of stressful, unhappy, disappointing life circumstances can express joy like I often can and be expressing myself completely honesty.  

Hmmmmm....seriously??  I beg to differ.

First of all there are MANY people whose lives have been far more stressful, unhappy and disappointing than mine has been!!  MANY MANY people!!  On the scale of disappointing circumstances in life I would consider myself to be somewhere to the left of middle.  

However, I think that what has this person fuming at my "fakeness" is that I have never been afraid to admit that emotionally I AM often unhappy about outward circumstances, yet when I start talking about how God has helped me with those circumstances I start getting rather animated in my conversation and very excited and JOYFUL that he has seen me through so many disappointments and concerns and fears over the past 50 years.  JOY is also cumulative, and inner joy outweighs mere unhappiness over circumstances....at least it does in my life.  I don't always tap into that joy immediately that a seemingly horrendous trial appears in my life, but it doesn't  take  a  long time, as a rule, to sift through my topsy turvey, upset emotions and tap into the peace and joy in the knowledge that God is with me through all the circumstances that are trying to bring me down and make me miserable. Of course some things are easier than others to bear, but generally heading to God for his comfort and his assurance that this life is not all there is gets me through the blues enough to survive this life and give God at least some credit for his help.  That allows me to express the positive aspects of life quite honestly even when my circumstances are difficult.  I am not being fake, I am just choosing to express ultimate truth rather than being weighed down with the negativities in life.  Ultimately God is in control and does give peace often in the midst of trials, so if that is my experience, it is more "fake" not to share that.

It is all good in the end.

Church was edifying today: our minister has returned from his sabbatical and it is lovely to have him back in the pulpit on a regular basis.  There was SO MUCH visiting going on at the coffee hour even with a small attendance this morning due to it being our church family retreat weekend out at our lakeside camp.  I thrive on all those visits. While I was playing social butterfly, my husband was able to take advantage of there being a reduction of parishioners in attendance and get into a deep discussion with the minister. Oh how he enjoyed that.  We both enjoyed our lunch at DarBar afterward.  For some reason it tasted extra good today.  I got half my winter clothes ironed this afternoon while my husband did some writing and texted back and forth with our son and his girlfriend.  Late this afternoon we went back to the church and helped move a LOT of furniture out of the church offices to accommodate the carpet layers who replacing all those worn, dirty carpets this week.  Catching up on the weekend football games took up our entire evening and now I am ready to go to sleep.  I am hoping the forecast for rain tomorrow is incorrect so I can go walking with my friend, but we shall see what transpires.  Then we have an issue with the CRA to straighten out over the next couple of days.  I will be waiting all week for calls from the last 2 banks I have to deal with in regard to completing probate transactions.  I think it will be a week of accomplishing any number of outstanding tasks great and small!

Clearing Out The Excess!

As some of the stressful financial issues are getting solved one by one, my brain has finally defogged sufficiently to get working once again on clearing things I really don't need any more out of this overcrowded suite!  Yesterday I went through all my winter clothes again and eliminated even more outfits I know for certain I won't wear again even though they are in great condition.  I added in a bunch more summer clothing items and headed off this morning to the thrift store collection post with two huge bags filled with nearly half my (former) wardrobe.  Decluttering feels SO GOOD!!!  Someone who actually needs/wants the items I took to the thrift store will get the chance to have them and wear them.  It isn't right for anyone to have as many clothes as I have been enjoying by myself for the past few years.  So many people in our city are in dire need of reasonably priced discount clothing, so I am grateful to be able to add to those local resources.  I also went through all my food storage containers and discovered all kinds of nearly new ones that I never use because, again, I have more than I need.  They went to the thrift store this morning as well. Next will be making decisions, round two, to eliminate more items in the two china cabinets.  My husband has more involvement with many of those things, they aren't only mine to deal with, so getting rid of every item I want to get rid of may be more problematic. However, he has been doing really well clearing out his own personal items that are no longer needed, so maybe there is more hope of elimination from the china cabinets than I think.  Everytime I get rid of another bag of "stuff" I feel more weight lifting from my shoulders.  It feels WONDERFUL!!!  

Doing more consistent walking, as in at least 5 days a week for the past 2 weeks, is refreshing my soul and motivating my mind to remain more active over all. ergo: getting things done around here!!  YAY!!!  Must do quite a bit more before the snow flies once again, so this afternoon I will begin another mega ironing project and hang my remaining winter clothes on the rack.  The problem with not having enough space to hang all my clothes all year round is that the out of season outfits have to be tubbed, then ironed before I can wear them at the start of each new season.  Thankful for the good iron my friend sent me last year.  

We had lots of sunshine this morning, the first we have seen in a few days, but now just after noon, the sky is clouding up once again. It may rain tomorrow or the next day, but the forecast is generally inaccurate at this time of year, so we will see. All being well my walking partner and I have a walking date planned for the beginning of next week....here's hoping!

I have just started a biograpy of Isak Dinesen (of Out of Africa fame) by Judith Thurman and published in 1982.  It is quite well written thus far and exposes what a character Ms. Dineson was.  I am enjoying it very much. Reading more of it will be my reward when I complete an afternoon of ironing!!

My newly retired husband has been concerned that he won't be needed anywhere any more to do teaching or preaching, but did agree to take the rest of this month and next month off, then start doing more research for some articles he wants to write. However, he received a request yesterday to write an article that will be due in a couple of weeks and he agreed to do it.  That is a good thing, a low stress bit of writing about a subject he already has researched well and feels comfortable writing about, so I don't mind at all that he took on the committment.  He is happy as a clam doing it and not at all stressed as it is a ONCE ONLY kind of thing.   

I am still kind of in happy shock that our son wants so badly to come to visit us in November....it is so odd how just knowing he is coming for a visit has somehow removed any remaining stress I had about completing the end of the probate process over the next couple of weeks...(Lord willing....)...it is so wonderful to have something positive and happy to focus on for the near future!

Three Happy Bits Of News!

Just got news from brother in law Ray that his latest brain scan shows only the bits of dead brain tumour, no new tumours, not so much as a lesion on his brain!! It has been six months since the Gamma Ray therapy, so this is fantastic news!!!! Thank the Lord!!!! Thanks prayer warriors! 

My husband was able to solve the issue with our credit card today. One mess down, eleven to go! hahaha 

Today’s prayer meeting with my church ladies went  incredibly well today. We prayed and prayed and prayed some more! I love these meetings! 

Please Keep Praying For My Friends....Thank You!

 Cee is in a bad way now with daily, severe, ever spreading neuropathy. The pain is so intense that even large doses of hydromorphone are not providing much relief. The cancer specialists think it must be related to his blood cancer but the tests do not give any evidence for that. No one seems to know how to properly alleviate his pain that continues on for hours at a time, adding sleep deprivation to his many woes. Nan is understandably discouraged, exhausted and struggling to overcome her own autoimmune disease to keep going with the necessary daily chores. My heart is breaking for these dear friends. God can seem very far away when we go through such trials in our mortal bodies. Please pray also for the doctors who are struggling to help and seem completely stymied as to what to do next. Grateful thanks dear prayer warriors!

 Another overcast and now showery day is upon us. My husband and I are still hoping to walk this afternoon, he to the library and me to my weekly women’s group. If it isn’t raining too badly we will don our raincoats, open the umbrellas and march along outside. Here’s hoping! 

My husband’s computer has “chosen” to act up in the middle of sending documents of proof of payment to a hotel we stayed in last month who have charged us for two rooms instead of one. No wonder I couldn’t get the charge on our credit card bill to tally with my receipts. Hopefully it will sort itself out without a lot of arguing and nastiness. We have had our fill of that with the probate process! We seem to be in a period where anything that can go wrong with finances is going wrong....we are dealing right now with nearly a dozen errors made by banks, credit card companies, cheque amounts, taxes....no area of our finances is currently untouched by hassle. Sigh.....everything will get sorted out eventually, but these processes are so much more difficult to deal with right now because we are old enough to remember a calmer era in the financial world where errors were sorted out in person at financial institutions and fraud was rare rather than the order of the day. Likely due to our age, we find it all exhausting these days. 

Time to get lunch so I can get to my meeting on time. It is lovely to have this bright spot to look forward to! 

Wow...Baby I'ts Cold This Week!!!

 Coulda', shoulda', woulda' gone for water today, but it is so cold outside I feel like a hibernating bear!  I am wearing a light long sleeved shirt with a cardigan and if it gets any colder by this evening I will have to put on a pair of socks to keep my feet warm.  Isn't it too early for autumn to hit this hard????  Brrrrrrr...... My husband is reacting to the unexpectedly cold weather the best way he knows how: with a long afternoon nap!

I am consoling myself by watching tv, completing my present book of choice and reading several long, newsy emails from out of town friends who I miss greatly and cannot wait to see once again.  In a few minutes I will get my ideas together and respond to them.  

Today I can't even get myself motivated to make decent meals because I don't have to!  My husband arose early enough this morning to bake a peach pfannkuchen for our breakfast, there was leftover pasta, chicken and salad for lunch and last night my wonderful husband made lentil soup that we will enjoy for dinner tonight. Yum!

No worries today about getting too much exercise!!  Tomorrow afternoon I will walk to my weekly ladies' meeting and that will be enough for the day.  

My day began with a welcome email from one of the banks my  mother had an account with. The advisor was able to tell me that there is only one more order of business to attend to at his end and then I will be able to close that account out in approximately two weeks.  Yay, that will be two down and two to go!

I am going to have to keep an eye on my emotional state this winter once the clouds sock in for days or even weeks at a time.  I notice the constant cloud cover outside already has contributed to zapping my energy and motivation after only two days of it.  The grey clouds appear more like snow clouds than rain clouds, but hopefully I am wrong about that.

Just Having' Fun Today!

 Since I decided last night that I need to take it a bit easier on the exercise today, I decided this morning, still walking on air after finding out our son is coming to visit this autumn, to have lots of fun today and not worry about banks or world wars or, or, or, or....

After breakfast I got cleaned up and went shopping for baby clothes.  One of my husband's cousins and his wife are expecting their first child next month. Unfortunately we cannot get to Calgary early enough in the month to go to the baby shower, but that didn't stop me from spending lots of money on some very good quality outfits that should last the little fellow through to his second birthday.  I had a blast!  After looking all over for a baby store that claims to be open and located in a certain place, then not being able to find it after driving around in circles for fifteen minutes, I went into a Winners outlet and found exactly the sorts of things I wanted there.  Baby Calvin Klein jeans and lumber jack shirts, fuzzy winter baby sweaters and matching sweat pants....all just adorable!  I had the best time looking at everything.  I found a purse for myself as well, so that was a serendipity as I wasn't even thinking about the fact that I need one.  

My husband and I watched boxing while we ate our lunch and then it was time to wrap up the baby gifts and get them mailed so that they will get to Calgary in time for the shower.  I stopped at a grocery store in the course of my travels and found the cereal my husband has been looking all over town to get....rice crispies without any corn products in them!  I also found my brand of low fat cheese that other stores in town have been out of for weeks.  I ran a couple of other errands across town and thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon as much as my morning.  I parked as far away across the parking lots as I could at each store to guarantee I got at least minimal exercise today.

Now it is mid afternoon and I will do a bit of housework and then watch a programme on tv. Supper will be easy peasy as I cooked chicken yesterday and my husband cooked a pot of carrots and yams.  I will toss some pasta into those leftovers and call it dinner tonight.

It has been a wonderfully relaxing day today....so happy!!!

His Flights Are Booked!!!

Our son IS coming to visit in November! His flights are booked and he will spend four full days with us. Now, to go to prayer that his booked flights will actually happen and all will go relatively smoothly! Thank you Lord for this incredible and unexpected blessing!

Please Lord, May It Be!

As I was waking up this morning an email arrived from our son asking us if he could come for a short visit in November after his push at work is over. Wow....what an encouraging possibility to wake up to!!!! My husband will be over the moon when he wakes up to this news. I am already praying about flights, the problems he could still encounter at the airport in Toronto, etc. Oh sweet gratitude that we may have something to look forward to as winter sets in....thank you Lord for the mere possibility! Amen!

Cutting Back

 It has been a busy day and once again my husband and I are coming face to face with some of the harsh realities of getting older.

This morning after breakfast I tackled a huge pile of ironing and managed to stay on my feet until every item was completed, assuming that after lunch I would sit and relax and read my book for awhile.  My husband spent the morning reading and researching for an article he wants to write.

After lunch I discovered I had to make a delivery to the church.  Since I would only be there for the time required to drop the package off, I wasn't keen on the hassle of trying to find a parking space free anywhere near the church or having to pay for a full hour of parking for a one minute drop off, I opted to walk. The round trip is only 4.2 km, so after walking twice that far yesterday I knew it would be a pretty easy jaunt. My husband decided he needs more exercise and opted to come along.  It was a good walk!  The sun was shining and we took our time. It was only +26C so the weather was pleasant, but the autumn winds seem to have begun already, as we noticed yesterday, making it a bit of an uphill battle to really enjoy ourselves.  However, we made it with no problem and enjoyed the large shady trees along the way.  

When we got home we both had to admit even a short walk like that had exhausted us coming so soon after the much longer walk yesterday.  I also had to admit to my husband that I was kind of upset about being so tired after a few walks over the past week.  The bit of arthritis in my hip is acting up when I walk more than a couple of kilometres at a time, more than two days in a row. How absolutely annoying!!  My husband also was feeling ticked off that walking relatively short distances two days in a row left him feeling so exhausted.  Old age....this is the reality....oh well!  We will make the best of it.

I cooked a package of chicken breasts this morning and so we had chicken salad for lunch and added some more of the meat to our curry leftovers from yesterday's lunch to make a tasty dinner.  

Since my "bad leg" was threatening to give out completely by the time I finished making dinner, I spent a happy evening sitting on the sofa watching zoo and veterinary programmes on tv. Yay Animal Planet, National Geographic and Cottage networks!

We received several invitations today to events coming up later this month.  It was joy inducing to be able to accept all but one.  YAY!  Happy things to look forward to!  (an early Thanksgiving celebration dinner, an evening of slides and lecture by friends who just returned from several months in Europe, a baby shower, among others) One of the invitations is for another walk with my walking partner and I am jazzed to be going out again soon for hopefully a lake walk.  I will take tomorrow off from walking and let my hip hardware and surrounding muscles settle down. A day off is usually completely restorative.  

While neither my husband nor myself were completely done in by our extra walks this past week, the fact that we are both so aware of being tired from overdoing it is sobering.  Have we actually reached the stage where we have to look seriously at pacing ourselves???  Guess so!  We are starting to wonder if we are feeling this way because of all the deaths and recently diagnosed illnesses of so many elderly rels and older friends.  Guess so!

The weather is taking quite a cooling off starting tomorrow.  There may even be a couple of days of rain showers later this week.  I was hoping to wait for another couple of weeks before bringing up the autumn wardrobe from the storage bins in the basement, but maybe that will be my major home project for the rest of the week.  I know there are quite a few summer things I won't be wearing again now until next year, so best to get them packed away and clear a space for the next season's clothing on the clothes rack.

This afternoon my husband decided to try out the new push broom he treated himself to yesterday and he swept out our half of the parking lot.  The kids in our court have been playing after school in the huge pile of gravel stored on one side of the lot. So there is gravel everywhere.  It is dangerous for people walking to the garbage bins and office. I know too well how easily a person can slip on loose gravel and end up with broken bones.  While he was out there a tenant from our complex approached him to ask if my husband could help him open up his bottle of melatonin and could he also have a glass of water to take the capsules with?  We have been waiting to meet this African fellow who just moved in a month ago.  He was in a state with a serious injury to his hand leaving him unable to do much of anything. Twisting off the lid on other container of melatonin was completely beyond him.  Due to my husband cleaning the lot this fellow assumed my husband is employed here so he was peppering him with questions that only the property mangement team can answer.  It was pretty funny.  My husband finally managed to pry open the new bottle of melatonin, I gave the fellow a glass of water and he explained he has been sleepless for several nights from the pain in his hand.  He knows from past experience that melatonin helps him sleep, so he purchased some today, but then couldn't get the lid off the bottle by himself.  Glad we could help....another one of those odd but interesting encounters that we have often been privileged to experience over the course of our lives.  The fellow finally located an office employee here on duty and went off to get whatever problem he was having with maintenance on his suite sorted out.  It was fun meeting him.

So grateful I have nothing planned for tomorrow. It might be the perfect day to scrub down the kitchen cupboards! They are looking rather the worse for wear and I remembered this evening that I haven't cleaned them properly in over a year....bad, bad, bad!!

Our Own Personal Queen City Marathon!

Today was the annual Queen City Marathon.  There are routes of varying lengths for runners and walkers to enjoy after hours of preparation by all the athletes.

We dread the marathon every September because the route planners invariably end up closing both streets that exit our housing complex and no one can get in or out using a vehicle for about four hours or more the morning of the race. Fortunately the weather was good enough today that my husband and I were able to walk to church, managing to utilize some rarely used paths near the lake to avoid being stopped in our tracks to let hundreds of runners past us on their route.  This year the planners made an even worse errors in traffic planning than usual, leaving drivers stranded in the middle of race lanes that had only been closed at one end when they should have been closed at both ends and being told by race officials they had to turn around again and go back the way they came. Since this was happening right in front of our house we heard many of the abusive comments from the drivers that were directed at the race officials....not wonderful to hear, but kind of understandable.  We had quite a number of parishioners from our church who were unable to make it to the service due to not being able to get around the marathon runners and the closed roads and the immoveable lines of traffic all tied up around the downtown area.  Someone with some authority from city hall needs to give these planners' heads a shake and give the head of whoever in city hall allowed this mess to occur a major rattling as well.

Anyway, since we couldn't drive ourselves to church we decided to walk. Due to other closed roads along the way, closed for road construction, not the race, we had to zig zag around the area, so it was a longer walk than usual.

After church we decided to walk to DarBar for lunch, forgetting just how far it actually is from the church, ate our fabulous meal there and then walked home again.  The muscles around my hip hardware were just screaming when we finally got home. hahaha  In all we walked just short of 10km, which we haven't done for while.  5 to 6 has been our limit this summer, mostly due to the heat.  Since it was nearly +29C when we started for home after lunch, that final 3km seemed very long indeed!! 

Now we are relaxing. My husband is watching football, I am alternately blogging/answering emails and reading my book.  I remembered to close all the windows this morning before we left for church, so it is relatively cool in our suite.  Maybe this evening I will take back the tv and watch some zoo and veterinary shows! 

Dealing With The Change Of Weather In The Best Possible Way!

 My answer as to how to cope with my sadness caused by the downturn in the weather today was to get outside and enjoy it!!  It has been a wonderful day!

An Alberta Friend gave me a lovely navy, vee necked cardigan sweater when we were visiting there in August.  I put it on when I got dressed this morning and I haven't taken it off all day.  It is the perfect weight to wear over a sleevless summer top on a day like today.  I am so grateful to my friend.  The only other sweaters I have are black and white.  Yup, getting warm and getting outside were the answers to my morning bout of weather change induced depression! YIPPEE!!

My husband and I enjoyed walking outside before and after our bank appointment this morning.  We both had a quick snack very early in the morning, then went out for breakfast after closing out the first of the bank accounts, as a celebration for completing the probate process at the RBC.  I got an extra few blocks of walking in after breakfast because shortly after leaving the restaurant I realized I had put my briefcase down between the table and the wall on the floor of the restaurant and forgotten to bring it with me when we left. DUH!!  When I raced back into the restaurant, there it still was sitting there waiting for me.  What a relief!!  Whew!  The sun began to shine as we walked and the breeze warmed up a wee bit, so with my navy sweater buttoned up tightly the walk was most enjoyable!

The breakfast we ate was at the downtown Lancaster Pub, in where the old Capital bar and restaurant used to be.  What a great deal!  There are three bacon and egg type breakfasts on the ten dollar menu, then four or five eggs benedict concoctions for sixteen dollars each (choices of added meats) and a couple of burrito dishes for fourteen dollars each, plus an extensive list of ala carte sides.  We each opted for the classic breakfast with two good sized strips of double smoked bacon, a manageable amount of crispy potato cubes with the skins on (perfect for slowing my digestion on its mission to turn those potatoes into sugars), two eggs any style and a long, thin slice of sourdough bread with accompanying jams and pb.  What good quality and amount for ten dollars!!  Breakfast there is served from 8am-11am weekdays and 11am to 2pm on Saturdays.  Delish and financially guilt free! teehee We will go there again sometime on foot to get a good walk in both directions!

My husband decided it would be a good morning to pick up a handful of grocery items as well, so we collected his list back at home and then drove up to Wholesale foods, Tony's India Food Mart, Old Fashion Foods and Mike's YIG....a nice circle route to some of our most often visited food sources.  When we arrived home, my husband hauled all the groceries in doors....quite a bit larger of a haul than the "handful" of grocery items we originally went to purchase!  (It always is when he accompanies me on shopping trips, hahaha)  So, again more walking down sidewalks and parking lots and stores, plenty of standing in line to run our purchases past the cashiers.  We both felt great by the time we got home a couple of hours later....broke, but great!  The price of groceries has lived up to its promise to skyrocket this summer. Aiiiii yiiiiii.....

We barely were in the door with the groceries when my husband got a call from a friend to go for tea this afternoon, so while he was gone, I caught up on a couple of tv shows and had a great chat on the phone with a friend in MJ who regaled me with new stories from school.  Typical of Grades One and Two children, they say the most hilarious things!!  My husband had a grand time with his friend, tried a cinnamon bun at the coffee bar they went to and realized he DOES make the best cinnamon buns in town himself!  He made a batch with stone flour yesterday and they are incredible...light and fluffy and cinnamony without being very sweet.

At about 4pm we realized that the chicken breasts we had removed from the freezer to prepare for tonight's dinner were still stuck together in a frozen lump despite being out of the freezer all day. Sigh....we didn't want to get into the "grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner" slump because we have already done that this week....twice!!  SO, we admit that we went out for dinner tonight!  Well, neither of us had eaten lunch after our late breafast, only an early afternoon mini snack and by 4pm we were both hungry. Thank you Mama for your gift that allowed us to go out to eat guilt free twice in one day.  We stuck to salads and soups tonight and good old Knotted Thistle cooks gave us the usual  yummy meals.

My husband is happily watching the Lions and the Alouettes knock each other senseless in tonight's CFL football game. More power to them. I would rather blog tonight.  I will likely have to watch Sunday's annual Banjo Bowl game between the Roughriders and the Blue Bombers and that is enough football for me this weekend after catching up on 5 (FIVE!!!) recorded games earlier in the week left over from last weekend's bouts!  I will go now and read another big chunk of my book.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it is now two hours later and I have yet to get to my book!  We received a phone call from friends who had just made Mennonite plum cake that I cannot pronounce in German and that tastes utterly fantastic. They asked if we could come over right away and share it with them, so my husband got out of his pajamas, got dressed again and away we went.  It was a lovely two hours spent with friends....actually there were 3 presences in their house, not just the two of them.  As we were sitting in the living room enjoying the cake and tea a wee mousie suddenly roared around the corner from the hall into the living room and disappeared under the sofa my husband and I were sitting on.  You must understand that the other three humans in the house grew up on farms with many a mouse invading their residences, but I grew up in a city where the only mice we saw were white mice that the pet stores sold!  When I see a "real" outdoorsy mouse all I can think of is Hantha Virus and I want to vacate the premises immediately.  HOWEVER, despite their lackadaisical attitude about said mouse, (oh, let's chase it out from under the couch you are sitting on and then after you leave, if we remember, we will set a trap for it....aiii yiiii....are you serious you people???)  90 minutes later we left and if our friends remembered, a trap has now been set in their very large house that could be hiding that blessed hantha virus carrying rodent in any number of places.  I have been home now for a half hour and I still feel itchy just from seeing the mouse scurrying to safety under the couch I was sitting on!!!  Prairie cities....close to farmers' fields and parklands all filled with mice.  Brrrrrrr!!!  I am such a wimp....so NOW I will crawl into bed and read myself to sleep.  It is too late for anyone else to call to issue immediate invitations!!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!  💖

     

Just Like That, Summer Grinds To A Halt....Sigh....

The long term forecast is telling the tale. Summer is over in an instant. The chilly gusts of wind began yesterday. The temperatures are already dropping ten to fifteen degrees during the day. Overnight lows will be between +3C and +7C. Soon the windows in our suite will be closed all the time to keep out the freezing winter air. The tree leaves are turning yellow and brown and starting to fall to he ground. 

My heart is sad.

Early next week we will harvest the last of the tomatoes and herbs, dump the soil from the pots and clean up the pots to give away as we are unlikely to need them next spring due to moving. Once again the balcony will be bare after losing its cheery greenery. 

Each year we grit our teeth to survive up to seven months of wintery weather, just waiting for the spring, summer and autumn seasons that are crammed together in the other five months of the year. Each year my husband and I ask ourselves why we continue to live in this climate. Each year we come up with the same answer: we can’t afford to live anywhere else, we won’t be able to find doctors and specialists anywhere else (thank you Covid), at our age we won’t make the kinds of friends we have here anywhere else. We are not unhappy here, not at all, but yes we feel somewhat trapped here by age and circumstances. 

Such are my thoughts as I barely have time to wave farewell to the summer as it disappears at lightning speed. I do hope for a long autumn season so we can safely make one more trip in October to see friends in Alberta before the winter weather hits us with full force once again. 

Going Along Tickety Boo!

 I am grateful to have received a call this afternoon from the most easy to get along with bank in regard to Mom's estate business.  Tomorrow morning we will be closing out her account with them and getting the money that was in it transferred to who it needs to go to. Thank you Lord!  One down, two and a half to go!!  Hopefully by the end of this month the other banks involved will get their act together and I can say farewell to the whole frustrating lot of them!  Thank you Lord, that I have managed to restrain my angry tongue with the financial advisors we are dealing with because none of the hassles at present are their fault and there is nothing they can personally do to move things along any faster.  For now I will bask in an attitude of thankfulness for the completion of process with the one bank and the knowledge that once the "half" bank's employee returns from holidays next week, it won't be long before that account is also closed.  Hallelujah!

Today the temperature has risen to only about +22C, the sky is overcast and there is a strong wind blowing.  I very much enjoyed my walk to ladies' group and back this afternoon.  The hot sun was sufficiently covered in cloud to prevent me from feeling overheated and miserable by the time I was done.  I don't think we will have any temperatures higher than +28C in the next week and it is starting to cool down significantly overnight now.   YES!!!  

My husband enjoyed his political discussion group this morning, is feeling much better, is rearranging his tea break and visit with the friend he had to bail on yesterday, made some phone calls long outstanding, arranged for a medical procedure he has been putting off for so long that yesterday he received a letter from the provincial government medical services chastising him and telling him to get with it (!), and then he made cinnamon buns.

The buns have just come out of the oven and smell fantastic!  Oh my, it is 5:30pm...time for dinner....hmmmm, is that good timing or what?  teehee  What better dinner for a diabetic than a cinnamon bun, right?  Eeek, so NOT right!  Oh well....cinnamon bun for dinner it is!  I will treat it as a very late afternoon snack and have a proper dinner at 9pm.  Yum!!