Artist Brains Prevail!

 My son is flying to Vancouver tomorrow.  He has to spend one more week in Canada before the end of this year to fulfill his visa requiremtents.  He has a lot of business set up during his time there so it will be a busy week  for him.

Tonight as I was watching the news I saw a segment about the huge snow storm that hit Vancouver yesterday....vehicles stranded for hours on the commuter highways, bridges througout the city closed due to ice and heavy snow and winds....suddenly it hit me that my overly busy son likely had no idea what he was going to arrive to, or that his flight into Vancouver might be delayed or cancelled from Toronto if the next predicted weather event hits the city tomorrow.

Yes, he is more than old enough to track the weather for himself, BUT he is also an artist by nature as well as by "trade".  Soooo, after deliberating on the appropriateness of my interference, I finally texted him to ask him if he was aware of the Vancouver weather.  He sent me back a panicked response that he had no idea any of that was going on! His equally ditzy artist friends he is staying with also had not let him know about the bad storm.  As our texting exchange came to an end he was off to unpack the wardrobe in his suitcase and start again.  O my.....

I will be spending a lot of time in prayer for him tomorrow. Fortunately I don't have his flight schedule, so I won't be tempted to spend my entire day frantically tracking his flights and panicking and freaking out over every possible problem.  The parents of many artists don't get much of a break sometimes on the parenting, no matter how old the adult child. When it comes to details like weather when my son is travelling, it is probably good that I still know him so well and can drop a few helpful hints once in awhile.  hohoho!

A Good News (mostly) Day! ;)

My husband and I both slept poorly last night for some reason...knowing the alarm was going to ring at 6:15am, being overly tired, ingesting something that disagreed with us? Who knows?  However we were both awake at 5am for the rest of the day.  That worked out very well this morning because we had to battle incredible snow drifts just to get out of our house at 6:30am to get to the lab for our medical tests!  There was a foot and a half tall drift right across our back deck, so we had to inch the back door open until we had enough of a slit to stick our old yardstick through to begin pushing the snow away from the door.  Eventually my husband got it open sufficiently to squeeze through to the back deck, grab the shovel and clear a path from the back door, across the lawn to the car lot. He shovelled the car off as well. Talk about exhausted before we ever left home! Then we battled big drifts on the streets to get to the lab, where we stood outside in line for over twenty minutes in the bitter wind and blowing snow before finally getting in for tests that took all of two minutes! hahaha  My husband was even more ravenous than I was after our 14 hour fast, because he had shovelled so much snow right after getting out of bed!  He stopped at Smitty's because it was close and the breakfast we ate there was sufficiently tasty.  It was fun going out for breakfast even if the meal was less than gourmet standard. hahaha  As soon as I got home I booked a doctor's appointment next week with my GP to go over test results.

Later in the morning I had an excellent visit with my walking partner, who braved the incredibly high snowdrifts in her neighbourhood to come across the city to see me.  I hope she thought it was worth the effort....I surely did.  She is the kind of friend who always has something to talk about and is good at drawing me out conversationally as well.  I get quite blabby with her in fact.  It was a great time.

 I received five emails from the provincial personal health records website shortly after lunch. My test results were in already!!  I don't always look at the results before going to the doctor because I don't  understand every detail of them and don't want to either get too excited because I think they are all fine when they really aren't, or too depressed because something appears to be amiss.   Today I went ahead and looked at them.  The great news is that almost all of the numbers were within normal range. In fact, my A1C has dropped by two tenths since my last test.  YAY!!!!  That really encourages me to continue with my present course of action with my diet and exercise.  I suspect some more of this extra weight will also come off if I continue being as committed to the cause as I was when I was first diagnosed....NINE years ago!  I can hardly believe it has been that long. No wonder I experienced some slip ups during COVID isolation!  hahaha There are two other areas of concern, one I have had to deal with in times past and I am hoping that once again I will be able to "fix" things. The other is a bit more concerning, but I am not going to get myself into a mental mess over it until I have talked to the doctor.  So, it was quite a nice afternoon mulling over all the test results and being so encouraged that mostly all is well.  If I am wrong I have a whole week to enjoy deluding myself!

I ironed yesterday's laundry today. That was wonderful because there was so little ironing to b done!  I packed up some more clothes for the thrift store too.  I have not happily worn any of my blazers for the past three or four winters, so why am I keeping them? They are in great condition for someone else to wear.  I wore one to this past weekend's concert and it was most uncomfortable so I sat fidgeting throughout the evening.  I guess I am just enjoying the easier freedom of movement that comes with a sweater rather than a jacket.  As a former "Queen of the Blazers" when I was a working woman, it feels odd to know I don't need them any more and even more odd that I now find them so uncomfortable!

So, time to go to some friends' home for an evening tea and dessert party.  I am going to indulge myself and actually have a bit of dessert tonight. I have three months to six months before my next A1C test, so this is the perfect time to just enjoy myself. Yes, within reason, within reason. Don't worry okay? 

All Right Already, I Repent...Sheesh.....

Well, shucky darn, I thought I was past due for posting a self-righteous rant like the one I posted yesterday about celebrating Advent "properly". hahaha  However, my husband has other ideas.  

This morning he came to me and reminded me, none to gently I might add, that the order I prefer for lighting the candles on the Advent wreath each week is really a fairly recent development in Advent liturgical practise.  We don't actually HAVE to do them in order of Hope to Peace.  The order CAN be arbitrary.  Sigh...nag, nag, nag.....aaaaargh!!

SO I HEREBY REPENT OF THAT PART OF MY ADVENT RANT!

(But only that part as I reserve the right to having a strong opinion about the rest of it...so there!)  teehee

Also, to add to my shame, my minister sent me an email this morning asking for MY thoughts on Advent to post in our church newsletter and on the church blog!  Aiii yiiii....is there no end to the repenting I have to do today???  We hadn't even discussed Advent with each other  yet....come to think of it we have never talked about Advent together!

Okay, so now not only is my husband on my case but so is the Lord!  Okay, okay, okay.....I will cease my Advent ranting forthwith!)

Hopefully God AND my husband will be satisfied!!  

In other news:  we are having another bit of blizzard this morning.  The snow is coming down thickly and quickly and the strong north wind is blowing the flakes completely horizontally!  Drifts are forming around parked cars, around trees, in the corners of our back porch, over top of our back steps. In other words, here we go again!  I am praying for the drivers on the highway who had no hint this system was on its way.  The weather forecast changed dramatically between midnight and 6am.  

I decided not to wait to buy our necessary groceries.  Last night I was hemming and hawing about what day to go, what time of day, etc. etc. etc.  This morning I woke up at 5:30am, found the updated weather forecast just after 6am, was dressed and ready to go to the store by 6:30am, had the car warmed with the snow brushed off by 6:45am and was at the store at 7am, just as they were unlocking the doors. Due to the miserable weather forecast for the next week or more, I stocked up with a few extra items and some sale items for later on.  It is going to be bitterly cold once again. Wow, we certainly did enjoy the past week of much warmer weather and watching some of the snow melt away. It was a huge winter blessing for everyone.

It seems like a good day to do laundry....so....ta ta for now!

Trending Upward!

The past few days have been a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly, but generally life is looking up!  YAY!  I am starting to feel that the worst of the grief of losing three close family members in the past couple of years is coming to an end.  The greyness hanging over my head is lifting and I am glimpsing more stable emotions, more energetic days ahead!!

One of the more edifying and downright fun events of the past weekend was attending a chamber music concert.  It was utterly fantastic!  While the choir director subscribes to the method and style of emphasizing vowels over the consonants that define the actual lyrics, unfortunately to me, the overall blend of voices and wonderful harmonies made the unintelligible lyrics more acceptable than would have been the case had the rest of the music not been so superb.  I could have listened to a couple of more hours of it quite happily.  There was no blithering between songs by the very professional director, the choice of songs was excellent and the venue lent itself well to the many soaring harmonies.  Sitting and visiting with a cousin before the concert began was an extra bonus!  

I had lunch with a friend on Saturday at my favourite ethnic restaurant.  In recent months it has undergone a change of wait staff....members of the same family that still owns and operates the restaurant, but newly imported from their home country.  The other more experienced members of the family that we know so well have been moved elsewhere. During my past three or four visits since this changeover happened, I have been overlooking some problems with the table service, some of them rather difficult to understand since it seemed to be only our table having issues with missing items from set platters, not being given utensils to eat with unless we asked for them, not checking with us any more about how we were doing, no offers to refill our water glasses.  My husband and I have been putting it down to inexperience and newness to our culture, but the last time I was there with our family both my husband and I began noticing that it truly was only our table having any issues.  We particularly noticed that customers of the same ethic background as the wait staff were not having any of the issues that we were, but we decided we could be mistaken and let it go.  However, at lunch this weekend with my friend, the prejudice against us as the only Caucasian folk in the place was so blatant I couldn't pretend any more.  Certain things happened and were said this weekend that made it clear our business is no longer required nor is it wanted, so we will not return.  So sad, as the food is just as spectacular as ever and we don't have another restaurant that serves that particular ethnic food that is a patch on this one.  Well, I am sure that these same people have experienced incredible prejudice against THEM since arriving in our fair city, so perhaps they are trying to protect themselves. You never know what is really going on.  I certainly forgive them for the treatment my friend and I received this past weekend and since they have made themselves clear we are no longer wanted in their establishement, I feel I must honour their wishes.   Perhaps sometime in the new year we will return one more time and see what happens.  This experience was the one "ugly" event; everything else went very well.

Today was a ton of fun!!  Last year we ordered an Anglican calendar for 2023 from my husband's former parish outside the city.  We received an email earlier in the week to let us know it had arrived, so we decided to drive there for service this morning and pick it up.  The weather was threatening to be rather ugly this morning, but that turned out not to be the case!  YAY!  We had a nice drive there and back.  What fun to return to a parish we have not visited in nearly a year!  Hugs all around, joy on peoples' faces when they realized their former priest had come to visit.  Before the service we got caught up on everyone's news and prayer requests.  A good priest friend is their new incumbent. It was refreshing to hear his homily and listen to his prayers from our seats in the pews. It is the first Anglican service my husband has attended since he retired where he had no duties at all, but could just sit among the parishioners and enjoy worshipping with them.  He had a marvellous morning.  Personally, I was just relieved that I could still recite the creeds and the other congregational participatory parts of the service without having to open up the prayer book!!! hahaha  It was good to return to the Anglican fold for the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is MY season in the church year and as much as my own church is attempting to include Advent in their church year as of a couple of years ago, they have a long way to go as far as "doing it right" in my curmudgeonly opinion. hahaha  I love that they are trying, but they are still singing Christmas carols among the Advent songs, the church is decorated for Christmas already....talk about a mixed message....and today they lit the Advent wreath candles in the wrong order.  The candle lit for the first Sunday in Advent is supposed to be the candle of Hope, then Love on week 2, then Joy on week 3, then Peace on week 4, but they lit the candle of Peace today. Already they have the order backward!  I don't think they understand the siginifcance of the order in which the candles are to be lit.  However, I am not in leadership and the leaders can make whatever decisions they want to make without any complaints from me. No one asked me and they have their own reasons.  I watched the service on Facebook this afternoon and I am very glad I wasn't there to kick off my Advent season with such a dog's breakfast of confusion. For people new to the whole concept, and that applies to many in my church, there would be no issue, no concept of what "should" have happened and so everyone will have enjoyed it. That is what matters ultimately....that those in attendance received a spiritual blessing and encouragement from the service.  I shall keep my opinions to myself apart from this little blog post rant. hahaha  God bless my church and God bless the Anglicans for letting me join them today so that I could experience Advent in a way that is meaningful to me personally. It was lovely.  All in all God was worshipped and glorified in both services and that is the reason to meet together as a people of God.

After church we took the priest for lunch here in town.  As we tried driving back into the city along the route that would take us most directly to our restaurant of choice, we had no idea that most of that street was cordoned off for blocks and blocks for some kind of Christmas parade!  We were barely off the highway with no way to turn around and return to it, when we ran into the blockades.  There were detour signs pointing us off in one direction, and once we navigated our vehicle around all the children and teens and grandmas and frantic parents running all over the road, we managed at last to follow the rest of the cars around the corner where we found a plethora of detour signs pointing in all directions.  We picked one and as it turned out we did not choose wisely!  We ended up on a street that had a series of school and playground zones,  VERY LONG red lights and that was also packed with other detour-ers!!  Despite leaving the church well ahead of the priest we were meeting in the city, we spent what seemed like hours getting to the restaurant.  We didn't see his car in the parking lot when we arrived and assumed that, since he had a different route planned than the one we had taken, he may have given up waiting for us and gone home.  We were just going to go inside and see if he was still there, when we noticed his little blue car entering the parking lot.  He screeched to halt in a parking stall and leaped out of the car, running toward the restaurant.  Suddenly he looked up and saw us standing outside the premises and with a shocked look said, "You're still here??? I though you would have left by now!  I tried coming here by a different route and ended up having to detour around a santa Claus parade!!! I was sure you would be gone by now!" hahahaha  we had a good chuckle about our poor route choices and then had a marvellous lunch and an even more marvellous conversation.  What fun!  Our lunch was actually SO good and so filling that for dinner tonight my husband and I had a handful of pecans with a few crackers and a slice of cheese...and those only because I knew if I didn't eat sometime this evening my diabetes would be insufferable to deal with!  As it was I waited nearly seven hours after lunch to eat my so called dinner!

So in the morning I think I will go grocery shopping. It may be snowing, but it won't yet be as bitterly cold outside as it is going to be in two days' time. Best to get it over with right away.  The following morning my husband has to be at the lab at 8am promptly for blood work and the next morning I get to have the same experience!!  We are hoping our test results are not only NOT UGLY, but NOT BAD either!  We shall see.....

This is a great week for seeing friends!  One morning my walking partner is coming over. It will be an inside visit involving no walking whatsoever, but we need to get caught up on each other's lives....something we do well!  teehee  Toward the end of the week a young fellow is coming over for lunch.  We have not seen him since 2016 when he was last in Canada.  He is with an organization in Turkey and with visa restrictions and a major pandemic, he has been unable to leave for the past six years.  Happily he is in the area for a couple of weeks. We can't wait to hear about his life there and learn more about Turkey from his perspective.  Then on the weekend more friends are coming for dinner and then taking us to a Baroque concert. That will really be fun. I am praying for good weather that day as they have a rather long drive into the city from where they live. I would hate for them to have to cancel over icy roads and blowing snow.  We haven't seen each other since the early summer, so this will be a big treat!

And then it will be Sunday again....my whole week is well planned out for a change.  As the grief has been lifting and at least some of the probate stress has come off, I find my energy levels, both physical and mental, starting to rise. Joy is returning to life after a long absence.  Perhaps, PERHAPS, I can even come up with a few posts that are much more interesting than the past couple of years' worth have been.....buuuuuuut, don't get yer' hopes up okay?? teehee 

 

  

Putzing Around ALL Day!!

 WOW, were my husband and I ever tired today....ALL day!!  The exhaustion is most likely a reaction to our double vaccination yesterday and we expected it, so we both admitted we were rather happy to have an excuse to just spend the day in our pj's, not doing much of anything at all.  I did manage to get my walk around the main floor of our suite accomplished after dinner tonight, but that is the most active I have been today.  We both slept in this morning. I slept for nearly 9 hours!  Unheard of!  Those vaccinations hit my system kind of hard. At least my arms aren't as sore tonight at the vaccination sites as they were 24 hours ago!

Tomorrow we are going to have to get off our duffs after lunch, get dressed and act like full fledged members of the human race because we are going over to some friends' place for afternoon coffee!  We are taking them a carton of the chili my husband made.  They enjoy his cooking, so we will make certain they have something for dinner tomorrow that doesn't require cooking on their part.  She has mobility issues and so occasionally we like to take a meal over for them.  It is always a fun visit when we go there.

In the evening we are going to hear a Chamber Music choir. That will be fun.  Whether or not we like any of the songs their director has chosen, the sound of their perfectly blended voices alone will be a great treat.  We get to sit with my husband's cousin, whose husband is in the group, so that will make it an extra special evening out.

The following day Kat and I are going to try to get together for lunch....only one week late for her birthday. Sigh....well, I didn't know it was her birthday last weekend until she admitted that was why her family had come to visit her, hahaha. So, better late than never. Really the belated birthday issue is just an excuse to get together at a restaurant, hahaha.  Neither of us "does" birthdays with our friends. At our age it is not necessary.  

We are undecided about where to go to church on Sunday.  We don't want to miss our own church service, but we purchased a 2023 ACOC calendar from the people at my husband's former parish and they are holding it hostage in case we can come to get it at the church before the end of the year.  We are thinking we could possibly go out there this coming Sunday  and see them and then have the rest of the Advent Season and Christmas at our own church here in the city.  Always fun to go back and visit former parishioners.

Next week may hold some good things as well.  Although the weather is going to plunge us back into a deep freeze after this week's wonderful above zero temperatures, we do have a few good things going on.  We both get annual lab work done so it will be good to get those tests out of the way for another year. There is an online Advent seminar on Sunday afternoon that a friend recommended to me, so I may attend that.  It is "pay week" for our pensions.  We are invited out one evening for dessert at the new home of some younger church friends.  Sounds like a good week with some interesting events and people but not overly booked and tiring. YAY!

 

A Small Item Of Good Medical News Here

Recently my husband had a skin lesion removed from his face and he has been waiting for the specialist to call with the results, praying she would not call while our son was here in case the news was bad.  He left yesterday and she called today: the news is very good.  It is not cancer, not even pre-cancer. All is well and we feel like we can exhale now.  Thanking the Lord, but also feeling sad as other friends this week have not received such good news about their particular medical issues.  Health for anyone is precarious at the best of times and we never know what is going to happen to us, do we?  The older we get the more our medical conditions take front and centre of our lives.  I do not like it at all, but that is just how it goes.  For now I will just be grateful my husband is okay.....very grateful!

And Once Again, That's That! YAY!

 My husband went to his weekly Morning Prayer service this morning while I putzed around doing little of importance. It  was a relaxing start to the day for us both.  

After his meeting my husband came back and picked me up with the idea that we would go to our neighbourhood pharmacy and see if we could get out annual "walk in" 'flu' injection.  We were disappointed when we were told they are currently out of stock.  

So, off we went to another pharmacy not too far away, knowing there was very little chance we could get the innoculations there either without an appointment.  

There was a small ray of hope when we were told by  one of the pharmacy staff that the walk in appointments would start in the afternoon, although we didn't want to have to drive back again, but we thought that would be better than not having the vaccination at all. 

The same employee looked at us as we turned to leave and said, "Just a moment. I am going to check with the pharmacist who is giving the injections."  A few moments later she returned, handed us the forms we needed to fill out and then asked us, "Do you want vaccinations for 'flu' or Covid bivalent or both at the same time?"  Although we hadn't had the intention of receiving both on the same day, we quickly agreed we might as well go for both.  The employee told us that as soon as we filled out the forms and handed them in, she would give them to the pharmacist, with the warning that it could be a long wait as people with appointments scheduled already would be taken ahead of us.  It took us about three minutes to fill out the forms and then we expected a very long wait.  We waited about seven minutes!  Two people had gone in for their injections just as we were coming back to the waiting room from handing in the forms.  They walked out of the room and we were called in next, despite there being several other people there who had been waiting before we ever arrived!  Not sure why we were called next, but what a blessing for us both!  Instead of fiddling about trying to make two separate appointments online for our vaccines, we ended up being "one and done"! Hallelujah!!!!  Originally we had decided to have the injections separately, at least a  week apart, in case one or both of us had a reaction, but neither of us has had serious reactions to either type of injection in the past, so.....at least we don't have many committments coming along in the next few days that we have to worry about if we have a rough time.  So grateful for the way things worked out.  Thank you Lord!!

We picked up a few groceries afterward, then before we drove home my husband informed me that he was ravenous to the point of weakness (a tad hypoglycemic on occasion) and so we were going to the Knotted Thistle for lunch!  End of story!  hahaha  We have a huge pot of home made chili in our refrigerator here at home, but he didn't care....didn't even care that if we went to a restaurant it was going to be at least another half hour before any food appeared in front of him.  Off we went and had a delicious lunch.  I tried the Irish pot pie.  My husband has ordered it about three times in the past couple of months, so since he agreed to eat most of my mashed potatoes to keep my carb count in line, I decided it was my turn to enjoy it. Enjoy it I did!!  There is so much meat in that wee meat pie!  It was most delicious and the dressing on the accompanying arugula salad definitely complemented the bitter taste of the greens.  What a perfect pairing of flavours!  My husband ordered the bison burger with sweet bacon jam that is on the menu only for about a week as part of the recognition of the annual Agribition event happening here in Regina over the next few days.  The burger was huge, very tasty and served with three slices of tomato, lots of lettuce, some melted cheese, the jam, all on a pretzel bun. (There were two onion rings as well and he gave one to me! YUMMY!) It was tasty too apparently and although the silly man ordered fries instead of the salad he is supposed to have, I said nothing and let him enjoy it.  He has been behaving himself more or less lately with his diet restrictions, so what the heck. He said we were celebrating, hence the fries, but when I asked him what we were celebrating, he said he was "celebrating the idea of celebrating" just so he would have an excuse to order fries with his meal. hahahaha  Silly cholesterol laden man.....

So now he is having an afternoon nap and I am sitting here at my computer in my day time house pj's enjoying the sunshine coming in through my office window.  The temperature is on its way to a possible high of 0 today!!!  The wind is a mere breeze and not very cold at all.  

What a happy day!!!

Our son is rejoicing in being at home once again.  Instead of waiting about 4 hours for the flight he was bumped onto after his original flight was cancelled, he immediately went to the Air Canada desk and parlayed himself onto an AC Rouge flight that was leaving for NYC almost immediately.  He ended up at home a couple of hours earlier than his original flight would have gotten him there and much earlier than the flight he had been bumped to.  He has amazing success when he travels, for the most part. In all the flights he has taken over the past 20 or more years, I remember only two full blown disasters and they both happened years ago.  One was a missed connection that put him on a LOOOOONG bus ride from Seattle to Vancouver and one was a booking through Expedia, who lost his booking from the system entirely and he had to get me to wire him money immediately to somewhere in Minnesota (?) so he could get a flight back to Vancouver later that same day. He was never refunded the several hundred dollar cost of his original flight, but it was so many years ago now it no longer matters. The situation really put all of us in a financial bind though at the time.  When I think of all the airline travel he has experienced in his life, all across Canada and the USA, Europe and even Japan, I am amazed at how rarely he has had any problems arise along his various routes. Amazing!  I always exhale once he lets me know he has cleared customs back into the US as, even with ALL the proper paperwork and sponsors, you just never know.....

Time to catch up on a couple of tv programmes I recorded last night...yup, more veterinary programmes and home renovation extravaganzas. hahaha  I may not have class but I have fun!

So.....I Guess That's That!

The long awaited, highly anticipated and unmercifully short visit with our son has come and gone.  Sigh...it surely was a wonderful, relaxing time of visiting and gorging on wonderful food.  We admit though that it is much easier to say goodbye now when he leaves because he is flying home to an excellent career and a wonderful woman.  There is no more crying at the airport for mom here when he flies away because these days he is returning to one of the most stable life situations he has ever had.  Thank the Lord!!

We all managed to get to bed and be asleep before 10pm, so our alarms ringing at 4am didn't cause any great trauma to any of us.  We arrived at the airport at 4:45am to find it swarming with Torontonians and other easterners on their way home from Sunday's Grey Cup extravaganza.  I don't think any of us have seen that many people inside the Regina airport ever before!  WOW!  All kudos though to the Security team who processed everyone so quickly. The flight to Toronto actually left ON TIME!  Our son should be arriving there already!  He wasn't disappointed last evening when he checked in for his flights online to discover that his afternoon flight to La Guardia had been cancelled and he had been rebooked on a flight leaving an hour later than the original flight.  It gives him lots of time to eat some kind of decent meal before he leaves Toronto.  He flew out of here this morning with one of his dad's home made cinnamon buns and a banana to eat on the plane for breakfast.  As he said this morning, we never starve when we get together.  I wonder if part of our intense focus on food when he visits stems from his childhood days when starvation was sometimes more immanent than we usually admit to anyone but ourselves.  Whatever the reason, we ate well once again....in between naps and chatter and reviewing family history and ancestry.  What a nice time.  We were all conscious of missing Hani though. Wish she could have joined us.

Although it was only just after 5am when we returned home from the airport, I was ravenous, so I ate my full breakfast.  Felt much better after that, not so light headed and queasy.  My blood sugar took a bit of a plunge with me being up and moving for over an hour before eating.  My husband also ate breakfast and then announced he was tired enough to go back to bed.  I realized soon afterward that I too could probably fall asleep if I gave it a try.  Going back to bed in the morning is not something I ever do unless I realize I have the 'flu' or some other illness, but today I decided to at least have a rest.  I climbed back into bed fully clothed, pulled up the quilt and woke up over 2 hours later. I feel pretty great now at mid morning!  A hot shower and clean hair coming right up!!

Thanks all of you who have prayed with us about this visit.  It was such a blessing to see our son looking so much healthier than when he was here in the spring a few weeks after his heart attack....even a mild heart attack is energy draining and a cause for concern.  This visit he was sleeping much better, had good colour in his face, has lost just the right amount of weight, survived a huge push at work that lasted for over four months and that he now gets a break from as he returns to part time employment for a few months.  Although that is kind of a financial hit, at the same time it gives him the required amount of time to rest and to spend more time in his own studio painting.  He is also faithful to take his psychotherapy sessions twice weekly.  Even when he was here he took his phone out to our vehicle for privacy and did both his sessions.  He has a wonderful therapist and his sessions are more like spiritual direction than true psychotherapy.  He prayed out loud on this visit, the first time he has done that in front of us since he was a kid.  Church on Sunday touched his heart to the point of tears. He is learning to relax, to feel his emotions, to continue to reach out and share his relationship with Jesus.  We are very happy for him.  (and yes, I DO have his permission to share these things)

Thankfully we don't have a lot planned for ourselves for the rest of this week.  We have a concert to attend at the end of the week.  My ladies' group is cancelled for this week and neither of us can get into the lab for our tests until next week.  It is kind of a relief actually to have to wait for those.  I think we are going to be rather tired all this week.

Hope you are having an excellent start to your week.  Hope you are experiencing decent weather like we are going to be experiencing here for the next few days. Hope you are healthy.  Hope you are happy.  God bless!

Our Parking Lot Was Cleared of Snow and Ice Today, Just In Time......

 ....for a fresh snowfall that began less than five minutes after the tractor drove away! hahaha 'Twas ever thus....hahaha. The snowfall is indicative of a warming trend arriving for the next four or five days before the colder temperatures return.  We feel blessed that here in Regina we did not experience freezing rain prior to the snow coming down, although I am wondering how icy and slippery the roads will be at 4:30am tomorrow when we have to take our son to the airport for his flight home.

I had fun this morning:  my son was so disgusted with himself for accidentally grabbing the wrong size of an article of clothing he purchased at the Bay the other day.  This morning I sneaked out while the men were busy and headed for the Bay to exchange them.  Our son admitted last night that he didn't want to have to go out anywhere today as he is just starting to feel like he is catching up on his rest and would love to spend his last day right here at home.  It was fun surprising him when I returned.  I also enjoyed the bit of exercise I got from parking a few blocks away from the store and hustling down the street in the wind, enjoying the temperature being far warmer than it was the first day we were shopping in that area.

I am so spoiled when it comes to meals these days: when we are not eating in restaurants, either my husband or son is cooking. Last night my husband made a large pot of chili and today for lunch our son made a couple of Szechuan dishes....brothed diced vegetables with a dip made of white sesame seeds, chopped green onions and ground chili powder, plus a chicken dish with a nice amount of Three Five hot chili paste to dip the pieces into.  Oh my it was good.  My lips tingled for a couple of hours afterward from the Three Five paste....it was a great meal!  Tomorrow my husband is stuck with my bland, prairie style fare once again. Poor man!  Mind you, he made so much chili that we can share some with a friend who needs help preparing meals and still have lots left for ourselves this week.  Tonight we will eat leftovers for dinner and go to bed by 9pm so we can get up at 4am for our trip to the airport.

It is much easier to say goodbye to our son that it used to be. Knowing he is heading home to a good job, time to paint in his own studio and a wonderful woman that he shares his life with, makes the departure seem far less stressful.  We both used to feel so empty when our son would get back on the plane to NYC.  Now we are filled with joy and gratitude that he has created an excellent life there for himself.  Thank you Lord!

A bit of GOOD news from Cee today: Here is some encouragement for those of you who are praying for him!  He had some tests done a few days ago and today the doctor told him that the abscess in his lung has shrunk to half its original size since beginning IV meds at home two weeks ago.  He will remain on the medication for two more weeks and then, assuming the abscess is completely gone, his PICC line can be removed by the doctor at his two week checkup!  This is wonderful news....something is actually working to help his lungs recover from infection. Hallelujah!!!  I am pumped today over this news.    

Once our son leaves it will be time to return to real life once again; I have already phoned the lab to set up my next set of blood work and other tests to check on how well my new cholesterol medication is working. My husband is setting up his own appointment for the same reason.  We will be getting our annual, past due, influenza innoculations in another day or two, and then it will be time for our bivalent Covid 19 injections.  It will also be time to start collecting the paperwork for filing Mom's final estate taxes and figuring out what else is still needed before I send everything off to the accountant. One cheque is outstanding to close out the last of Mom's personal accounts but I am expecting (praying??) it will arrive by next week sometime to mark the end of the actual probate process.  Whew!  This has been the longest 9 months of my life thus far....yes, for those of you whose minds are going there, it HAS been worse than when I was expecting my son because I didn't carry him for 9 months, only for 71/2!  So there!! hahaha!

I had a bit of unhappy news this weekend from our former AB town of residence:  one of my husband's ex girlfriends passed away very quickly and unexpectedly from an aneurysm.  It was most shocking. My husband worked on a few building projects over the years with her husband.  It is very sad news.  Also, an aquaintance of ours from when we lived in that same town was recently diagnosed with Undifferentiated Leukemia and is awaiting a bone marrow transplant after many chemotherapy treatments. It was supposed to happen this week but an unexpected problem cropped up with the donor, so it has been postponed by a whole month.  I pray she will last that long as she is very ill indeed and has had to rent accommodation in the city where she is receiving treatment so that she is close to the treatment centre. Fortunately the town has raised quite a bit of money to assist her. I don't know what is going to happen to her.  It is most upsetting.  If you should feel so moved, please say a prayer for Marilyn. Thank you.   

Grateful For A Warmer, Sunnier Day Today!

It is indeed a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.  The sun has been shining through a low covering of thin clouds and the temperature has risen to -3C with barely a breeze blowing.  What a wonderful day after the freezing temperatures and miserable, gusty winds of the past week.  This lovely weather, apart from a few snow showers early in the week, is supposed to be upon us for the next six days at least.  Oh how I hope that is a correct forecast.  Today is a blessing.

Our son decided he would like to attend church this morning so off we went.  The attendance over all was rather sparse and we noticed a huge uptick in the number of parishioners wearing masks since COVID and other debilitating respiratory illnesses have taken a huge toll on our congregation of late.  Interesting.....we sat quite far away from everyone else as our son will be flying home soon and we don't want him to accidentally take any viruses along with him!

After church we went for lunch at Wei Mei Cantonese and Chinese restaurant in what has been an elusive search for better oriental food in this city.  Weeeeeellllll....I would put the menu items we chose at Wei Mei today at about the same level as what we had at Anghor, but maybe just a bit better.  However, they have many specifically Cantonese dishes we would like to try on another visit.  Our son enjoyed his bbq duck soup very much, although he wasn't able to consume the entire mass of noodles in the large bowl.  I wanted a true comparison to Anghor, so stuck with the same types of dishes I had there and Wei Mei's were just a bit more flavourful in my opinion.  We were trying to see what the oriental customers were ordering to get a sense of what we might order ourselves on a subsequent visit.  The restaurant was nearly packed out and we were the only non-oriental customers, so that often bodes well when ordering dishes specifically designed for the regional foods the restaurant wants to present as its specialty.

Now the men are working on a computer project as our son learns a new design programme he just installed. They are having a lot of fun.  I am going to use the time now to do a fairly rigorous exercise workout as I definitely over ate at lunch time.  My food was quite delicious, I was visiting and not paying attention to my intake, so when I finally looked down at what was left on my plate I was a tad shocked to discover how little food was still sitting there!! Yum and yikes!!

Hope your Sunday is going as well as ours is.  In the next couple of days we have to work in meals of my husband's home made chili and cinnamon buns, as well as our son's wonderful Szechuan chicken "stew"....aiii yiiii.  Our son has been cooking a great number of Szechuan meals in the past few months. His girlfriend began experiencing some stomach issues and the doctor told her she has been eating too much spicy food.  She told the doctor she had been eating regional Szechual dishes so the doctor told her to choose a DIFFERENT ethic cuisine!!!  hahaha  When our son's girlfriend asked the doctor how she could be sure it was the Szechuan cuisine that is to blame for her upset, the doctor replied that over 2/3 of her patients come from that area of China and she is therefore well versed in the spiciness of their regional cuisine....SO pay attention young lady!! hahaha  Our son is now cooking foods that are much more bland for her, but he has bottles and jars and squeeze tubes of all manner of ground chili peppers and hot sauces to apply to his own plate of food once it has been served.  I can attest to the truth of that after spending the past few days observing how quickly the hot sauces we have in our refrigerator and cupboards are disappearing!!

Is There Any Better Experience Than Having The Family All Together?

 I don't think I am ever as completely happy as I am when the three of us are hanging out together!  The past few days have been so emotionally healing, so much fun, the only thing missing this visit is our son's wonderful girlfriend. Next time.....

We had a great day today just doing "STUFF"; normal stuff: running errands, shopping, banking, laundry, eating good food.  It was marvellous!  My son had a shopping list for some clothing he can only get at the Hudson's Bay, so we were wondering if they would still be carrying those brands, if they were would the items still be made in the same way as they used to be, were there supply issues that meant nothing our son was looking for would be in stock...however, every single item he wanted to purchase was there in the store, some of it on sale as well. That was a bonus.  Our son was ecstatic!  I was ecstatic too because I found a great deal there for myself as well:  when I was in Didsbury AB this summer I purchased a wonderfully made, winter warm sweater. At the time I asked the proprietor of the shop if she had the same sweater in other colours, but she didn't.  Today as we were looking around in The Bay, I saw my sweater: in six colours!!!  So, I am now the delighted owner of four more of the sweaters.  YAY!!!!  I now feel free to relinquish several other "now worse for wear" winter tops I have been hanging onto simply because I had no decent replacements for them.  Yippee!!! It was a serendipitous wander through ladies' wear today.

We then braved the bitterly cold, biting, strong winter wind to walk a couple of blocks to his Canadian bank so he could make some transactions, and trudged back again from there to our car. WOW!  The wind was SO COLD!  As it howled between the funnelling downtown towers it felt like it was -40C instead of the actual air temperature of -12C.  Brrrrrrr!!!!

A couple of more errands around the city found us ready for a late lunch, so off to DarBar we went for their fabulous lunch platters!  I enjoyed the coconut pepper chicken platter, my husband had the beef curry and our son had his favourite lamb roganjosh.  SO FILLING with the meat portion, the rice, the potato/green pea stuffed samosa, the salad, the raita, the channa, the naan bread and the gulab jamin on every platter!  It costs only $12.95 for each platter! After a stop at the health food store for a whole box of special soap my son is taking back to NYC, we rolled our overstuffed selves home for a good rest!  Talk about sated!!!  It was fabulous! hahaha

We settled on a single size pita pizza here at home for our late dinner....7:30pm!  Although it had been well over 6 hours since we had eaten our lunch, we simply weren't hungry after ingesting such large amounts of very tummy satisfying Indian food.  

We watched the past two days' bouts of the November Sumo Tournament tonight...so many upsets are marking this tournament.  Shocking upsets of high ranking wrestlers...just amazing and so much fun to watch.  We also called Raymond because today is his birthday....a birthday he was told months ago he likely wouldn't live long enough to celebrate, so we are ALL celebrating with him today.  Praise the Lord for the immunotherapy treatments that are working so well for him.  He was delighted that his very best friend from childhood drove across two provinces to come to celebrate his birthday with him.  As we were talking we could hear the messages coming in for him on his other phone line, so many lovely birthday greetings. He was really excited and happy....the most we have heard him that way since Ruth died.  It is great to know he is still faring so well with his cancer treatments.

Tomorrow we have no plans whatsoever except to stay home and read books, play around on our computers and eat my husband's home made cinnamon buns!  We all need a day with nothing needing to be done away from home.  Our son has been sleeping fairly well since he got here, getting caught up after four months of overtime at work.  We are all very relaxed because we are together.  Our son's girlfriend called tonight and it was lovely to hear her voice on the phone.  Now that she is part of the family, as much fun as the three of us are having together, we do feel a bit incomplete without her.

Our son would like to attend church on Sunday morning, so we will mask up and go with him to the service.  There is going to be some spectacular bell ringing for the special music, the choir is singing an anthem and we are singing one of my favourite more modern worship songs:  "Hear the Call of Kingdom (King of Heaven)", by Stuart Townend.  We don't get to sing it that often, so I don't want to miss the chance! hahaha

My son has expressed a great love for some small locally crafted pottery plates I have slowly collected over the past few years.  It is rare that any house items of mine appeal to him so much, so next month I am going to FedEx them to him for a Christmas gift.  teehee  He will be happily surprised and I will have downsized one more item before we eventually move out of here. Yay me! teehee

Thank you Lord for this wonderful visit!!  We are blessed indeed! Amen!! 

The Load Has Lifted A Little Higher Off My Shoulders

 Today is a good day!  We had our final Letter of Direction signing at CIBC early this afternoon and now all I have to do is await the arrival of the final Estate cheque for deposit int the Estate account, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.  My husband handled the dialogue with the financial advisor today. Even though the process of signing was straight forward and very quickly completed, my brain turned to mush the second we walked into her office...absolutely weird, but I think my mind and emotions are too burnt out by the long process coupled with my OCD.  I couldn't seem to think through the simplest of discussions with this woman, either on the phone the other day or today in the office.  Crazy!!  I think the poor woman is questioning my sanity right now....so bizarre how I couldn't think when it was all so easy to understand. Sigh....hopefully I will never again embarrass myself like I did today.  O well, what matters is that is the last signing until the tax accountant is done with the Estate taxes in a few weeks? Months?  Whatever....preparing the final taxes for Mom is NOT MY work to do. Thank you Jesus!!  

Our son is having a restful time here, just what he needs.  He actually slept well last night on the makeshift bed we threw together for him and was up early this morning for his twice weekly psychotherapy appointment.  One of the requirements of the "over the phone Facetime sessions" is complete privacy, so he wrapped himself up in a warm parka and quilt to go out to our car at 8am to talk to the therapist.  Thankfully it was only -13C outside, so he was fine out there.  

After the bank appointment we went for a delicious lunch at Knotted Thistle and celebrated what would have been my mom's 95th birthday today.  It was a nicely different meal than our delicious oriental food last night at Anghor Thai. Tonight we will eat my more plebian chicken burgers and laugh and remember Mom and Dad some more.

He Hath Arrived....A Tale of Today's Travel (and Other) Miscommunications

What a day for miscommunication in our family! hahahahahaha

Our son IS here, has been here actually since his originally scheduled flight arrival time!  Guess why?  It is because when I checked his flight information this morning, several times, there were a series of incorrect communications posted for his flight leaving NYC.  hahaha Oh my goodness.....hahahaha.

While the original posting of his flight's first 45 minute delay was correct, once the plane actually left La Guardia that information was not communicated to the airport websites.  When I published the previous post, his flight was at least 3 hours delayed out of La Guardia according to the website.  Thus, when he texted me to explain the that the "ground crew is unable to attach the walk ramp to the plane and I am anxious because by the time we deplane I may miss my flight to Regina", he was texting FROM Toronto, not New York City!  He was already in Canada.  Based on the flight info I had online, I had no way of knowing he was already in Toronto and that the only issue was if he could get off the plane from the US and get through Canadian customs in time to get on the plane from Pearson International to Regina.  He didn't think to tell me he was texting from Toronto because he assumed I knew from tracking his original flight. hahahahaha  Not only did he get deplaned and proceed easily through Customs, he had time for a quick fast food lunch before his plane left Toronto to head west....EXACTLY ON TIME!!!!  So, when I was posting my worries that he was going to miss connecting with his flight in Toronto, he was already there!!! hahahaha Aiii yiiiii....we finally sorted it out and I managed to get to the airport here to pick him up at the originally scheduled time.  One of the reasons there was so little problem connecting with that flight, is that it is Grey Cup week here and so the entire plane was filled with football fans coming to cheer for the Argonauts, including some sports bigwig types, so the plane was not about to leave without them. Whew!!  

I think the situation is hilarious!!  His dad and I were here freaking out about him still being in NYC when he was safely in Toronto because there is only one flight per day from TO to Regina and if he missed that flight we would lose a whole day together. Meanwhile he was boarding his plane to Regina quite happily, after enjoying lunch at the airport, completely oblivious to the fact that we were basing our every communication with him on incorrect online airport flight info.

Thanks to those of you who let me know you were praying for our son and his trip here.  The prayers are most appreciated because of the way they show your care and concern for our family.  The only holdup in NYC was for de-icing the plane as it had just come from Toronto where the first significant snowfall of their winter season had begun earlier in the morning.

In other miscommunications:  I received a call from the financial advisor at the CIBC to confirm our meeting tomorrow.  Yay, right? But then a little while later she called again and started talking about our meeting together with someone named Rommy about who knows what?  Since my hearing issues and her thick accent are not the best combination for my comprehension skills, I asked her if she could speak to my husband instead. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.  My husband, who hears well and comprehends other accents, including our western Canadian one, with great skill, came to me after the call laughing his head off.  Turns out the poor woman was trying to phone the person whose name appeared below ours on her list of calls to be made today.  She accidentally called OUR number again and assumed she was speaking to her next client on the list.  hahahahaha  Ooooh, my hearing is making for some fun times around here. 

Lots to laugh about today, that is for sure!  Miscommunications abounded!

A Disappointment That Is Not Unexpected Today...Son Stranded in NYC

As we suspected would happen, our son's flight this morning on Air Canada from NYC to Toronto has been seriously delayed.  Interestingly enough, despite the winter's first significant snowfall happening in Toronto being blamed currently for the delays, all the other airlines that are landing and taking off in Toronto have not yet had such significant delays, so I suspect staffing issues may be closer to the truth. Sigh....

His fight has been nearly 3 hours late leaving La Guardia, but I suppose as far as connecting in Toronto it really doesn't matter that our son will miss his connecting flight, because no doubt it has also been significantly delayed.

So, my prayer (request) is that somehow he would manage to get to Regina TODAY/NIGHT and not have to hole up at Pearson overnight, losing a full day of his already short time here with us.  

I am praying for the ability to graciously and serenely accept and deal with this latest disappointment. There are many things going on in our lives right now that I am not free to blog about, so while I have focused on the residual probate issues as a major source of stress, there are many other things going on long term as well.  So, the little frustrations like this flight delay are feeling like extras I don't feel able to cope with rationally.  

I am so very grateful that my prayers for peace are getting a strong "YES" answer from the Lord today.  I am disappointed about the airline delay, but not unduly stressed.  It is wonderful to experience that difference.

UPDATE FROM THE SON: the airline can't get the ramp attached to his plane, so now the passengers are going to have to deplane and board a different one.....my son is very upset, so I let him know he would have been delayed in TO anyway, so please pray he will be okay with this mess. Thank you so much!

My husband is getting quite a bit accomplished in our basement as he sorts through all manner of things.  He has been very busy down there the past couple of days and is feeling well enough this morning to continue with the project.  We are learning what can and cannot be dealt with properly this many months prior to a move to.....who knows where. 

Speaking of moving, there is a chance we may end up staying in this suite one more term depending on a number of outside factors looming in the new year.  We are at peace if that should turn out to be the case.  No disappointment, maybe just a bit of welcome stress relief.

UNinvited?? DISinvited??? Take Your Pick! HAHAHAHA!!

 Sometimes the most awkward of social circumstance turns out to be in our best interests and so in those cases we can be grateful when things don't turn out as hoped/planned!

A good friend of mine indicated that we were invited to a big party at her place a few days from now.  We were delighted because our son will be here and he would very much enjoy this particular group of people.  However, today we found out we are not actually included in the invitation!  It turns out our friend has completely forgotten she invited us, has now invited a different group than originally planned and that we are not included in. hahaha  She has no memory of including us in the originally invited group and since I didn't want to embarrass her over her lapse I participated with her in a somewhat stilted and awkward conversation about her new plans that was, mercifully, short.  Whew!! Can you imagine what would have happened had our family shown up at her house to attend a party we were no longer invited to???  That awkwardness would make today's seem pretty tame! hahahaha

So, the serendipity in the cancellation of our invitation is that we realized our son is leaving for home the morning after the party and his flight from here leaves at 6am. There is no way we can be out late the evening previously and have any hope of being awake enough/feeling well enough to get  to the airport before 5am!!  

See, things do often tend to work together for good in the least obvious of ways!! YES!

I had a constructive day today, as did my husband, after our boring weekend of vegging in front of the tv.  As we adjust to the winter season our level of energy is coming up again, for which we are very grateful.  I cleaned the house thoroughly, my husband taking on the task of doing a deep cleaning of the room our son will be staying in.  Yes, it took me all day, but it was such a great emotional and mental boost to know my energy was up enough to allow me to work that hard for the whole day.  My husband also did a lot of sorting, organizing and tossing out in our basement....YIPPEE!!  This evening he is annotating a book he just finished reading. He is also very excited that he felt well enough to accomplish so much after feeling as tough as I did last week.  So, the seasonal adjustment continues, but we have great hope that we will soon be able to enjoy the winter weather once again.

The Weekend Passed In A Blur Of Cold and Snow and Laziness!

 Where has the weekend disappeared to???  With Friday being a quasi holiday for the Remembrance Day memorial services, I thought this weekend would feel like a very long, dragged out affair, but it has passed so quickly!

Other than a hair cut with my new stylist, who is fantastic and gives the best blunt cuts I could imagine, even a bit better than my last dearly beloved stylist, I haven't gone anywhere in the past two days!  Most of the rest of Saturday was spent tidying up the room our son is going to stay in during his upcoming visit and washing all the linens and blankets he will use.  The snack pack is completed and sitting jauntily on top of his bedspread, awaiting its discovery when he gets here.  I am highly amused that even at his age he still enjoys, expects even, a snack pack sitting on his bed after he has been away.  hahaha

Today was a total washout for doing anything of value.  I am not even sure why either I or my husband bothered to get dressed!  Other than watching our church service on Zoom and tossing together a couple of meals from ancient leftovers we discovered in the refrigerator, we have done zip doodly today!  I spent the entire afternoon watching a series of tv shows filmed at the Bronx Zoo and as soon as I was done my husband took over the tv to watch the Eastern Conference finals for the CFL.  Right now he is having a hot bath and then will at least start watching his recording of the Western Conference final, but he is so tired he will likely have to finish watching it tomorrow. He won't be able to stay awake for an entire second football game, I am sure.

Unforecast giant snowflakes fell for part of the afternoon and early evening.  They are so gorgeous, but their appearance, along with the ongoing disgustingly cold weather, did nothing to motivate either of us to get off the sofa and go for a drive, or to the grocery store for a treat, or any other activity that would have required leaving the house!  Our car is buried under the pile of snow that began accruing overnight. It looks rather desolate out there in the ice covered parking lot. Brrrrrrr.....

I will spend the next two days giving the rest of the house a deep cleaning to try to hide from our son the fact that the second winter hit us we both turned into total slobs!!  Thankfully now that there is snow on the ground we don't have the windows open so there is far less dust on the furniture these days....something to be happy about I think!!  

Our son will arrive mid week, in the middle of the afternoon....or at whatever time Air Canada and Pearson International Airport deem him worthy of boarding a different flight than the one he booked if his is canceled...that seems to be the order of the day any more.  My husband had better service at a secluded, tiny airport in India fifteen years ago than people in our own supposedly affluent country are getting these days.....so crazy!  That is my personal prayer request for this posting...that our son will get here close to his originally scheduled time as he is here for such a very short visit and we don't want to lose any time with him.

The day after he arrives we are going to the bank to sign the final Letter of Direction, thus closing out the worst part of the probate hassles....Lord willing that nothing else goes wrong. Then I should have most of the necessary paperwork for the tax accountant to do the final estate taxes and file the final death T-1 forms, apply for the Clearance Certificate and thusly close out the next chapter in the process by the end of the year.  Hopefully the Clearance Certificate will arrive sometime in the new year so I can then close the Estate account and do the final dispersals.  What a freaking hassle.  My mother would have a fit if she knew she made that one small mistake that put the estate into a probate situation. I tried to explain it to her, but she died before I could get to see her last spring and take her to the bank to make the changes.  Oh well....thanking God for praying friends and family that have gotten me through this grief inspired emotional breakdown over the probate. Bless you all!

I think it is a good night to put on warm woolies and go to bed super early!

The Rest Of The Day!

 The name of this font is "Coming Soon".  It seems appropriate for use as we await the arrival of our son in a few days' time! hahaha

What fun we had today: late in the morning we began a tour of various stores in our search for Tomahawk brand potato chips...ketchup flavoured as our son kind of likes those for an occasional treat since there are no ketchup flavoured chips in the USA.  The first place we went was to a pharmacy that advertised Tomahawk chips as being in stock, but they were closed for the entire Remembrance Day. As inconvenient as that was for us, we thought it was very good for the staff, very considerate.  We weren't sure where to go next, after other searches this week netted us a big fat zero for that brand.  Our next stop was a branch of our bank, then over to a Sobey's liquor store to search for non-alcoholic beer. They had several choices, so we purchased a 4 pack of each.  Off to a Safeway and a Coop store looking for the chips.  We were delighted to find a handful of bags of Tomahawk left at the Coop! We commented to one of the clerks that we had been searching all over the city for that brand and she told us we should purchase all 3 bags of the ketchup flavoured chips because there is some kind of supply issue between Manitoba's Tomahawk makers and Regina. So we did. Our son will be WELL SUPPLIED with ketchup chips!  In the course of our grocery store travels we also found a bag of Skittles, a bag of Tong peanuts, Cheesies and a few small packs of salted seaweed wrappers, all favourites of our snack addicted son.  The appropriately flavoured cans of sparkling water were also found, so I have everything set up for our son when he arrives. He gets quite a kick out of our snack selections when he visits, hahaha.

I also found a pair of "over the glasses" sunglasses that, although they were just loose on the rack with no case to protect them, did not have scratches on the lenses, so now I can protect my eyes again when I go out.  I wish I could figure out where I lost the previous pair in their expensive case, but it has now been 3 weeks since they disappeared, so there is little chance of ever finding them now.  So grateful to have a new pair.

While we were shopping the sun came out. Oh, it was glorious!!  Although it was bitterly cold again today with a chilly breeze, the mere presence of the sun seemed to make the entire day warmer and cheerier than it actually was.  We have learned over the years to treasure every hour of sunshine during the winter months as there are so many consecutive days of grey clouds with not one whit of blue skies or sunny radiance.

My husband started feeling faint shortly after 12 noon, so that means he needs to eat as he is occasionally hypoglycemic.  Unfortnately the nearest restaurant was East Side Mario's but we were able to walk the few steps there from where our car was already parked in the shopping complex and we knew the food service would be quick.  We had the lunch special, again because we knew how fast the food order would be filled: soup, salad and doughy little loaves of bread.  Not exciting, but the price was right!  I don't remember the last time we spent such a small amount on any meal out in recent months!!  My husband and I both opted for the tomato soup, I had the caesar salad and my husband had a garden salad.  The soup was thin and acidic and gave me intense heart burn, but it had a good flavour.  My caesar salad was quite tasty, but the bacon portion was even less than skimpy and there was no lemon wedge. My husband enjoyed his garden salad which had a good variety of ingredients.  When the server brought the parmesan cheese grater, my husband and I both slathered everything with the grated cheese and that made our meals quite tolerable even though they were less than spectacular.  The food quality and worn dishware were fine for a chain family restaurant.  I would go there again for a cheap meal in a hurry if I was close by, even though eating a salad from a giant red plastic bowl is not particularly appealing! hahaha.  We had a lot of fun there with a 2 year old boy peeking from his booth up over the back of our shared booth seats. He was fascinated by the whole jalapeno pepper in my husband's salad.  At one point he popped up behind my husband's head and loudly and proudly announced, "I have to go PEE!!!!!!!". His embarrassed mother took him to the washroom and when they returned the wee boy was beaming because "I didn't wet my pants!!"  hahahaha SO CUTE!!!!  He was so very proud of himself!!!  When he and his family left the restaurant he smiled happily at us, told us he had enjoyed his lunch and waved a cheerful goodbye.  He made our whole day brighter.  His taciturn mother was likely less than impressed by we 2 old fogeys chatting up her son when she is likely striving to teach him NOT to talk to strangers!  Oops, sorry mom....our bad.....

Off we drove home again.  I did a few small home chores while my husband completed caulking the bathtub. By tomorrow it will be dry enough to have a nice hot shower before I go to have my hair cut.  

My husband slept for the better part of 15 hours last night, subsequently having more energy for his travels and chores today than he has had in weeks.  He knew he didn't have to get up at any particular time today and he knew that if he wasn't strong enough to complete the caulking project it could wait until tomorrow.  As it is he has not one other thing he has to do between now and when our son arrives. He may help me do a thorough cleaning of the room our son will be staying in as he can reach behind some of the objects in the room that I cannot reach to vaccum properly.  I will wash bed linens and blankets tomorrow. Then early in the week I will clean the rest of the house.  It is WONDERFUL to have a purpose these days, even if it is simply preparing to host our son for his short visit.

With today being the Remembrance Day holiday it feels like the weekend is extra long even for us retirees who have no idea what day it is most of the time anyway.  I like the feeling that tomorrow is "ONLY" Saturday....as if I had to go back to work on Monday...why is it that even in retirement the weekends still feel special??

November 11, 2022

 We Will Remember Them.........

https://fb.watch/gJtCknxts_/

Counting Down The Days......

 ....until our son arrives for his short visit!  Less than a week now until we can relax together as a family and simply enjoy being together.  We wish his girlfriend was free to come here as well, but she is just entering a time of extreme work at her job such as our son is today completing in his.  I have the cheesies and the Tong brand peanuts, as well as the green tea and kombucha for the gift basket I like to have waiting for him when he arrives....yes, he DOES think I am crazy, but still enjoys being thought about. hahaha  Now I just need a bag of Skittles, a six pack of non-alcoholic beer, Tomahawk brand ketchup chips if I can locate any here and a case of flavoured sparkling water.  All these food and drink items will ensure we don't spend our few days together running mini trips to the grocery store when we could be having more fun doing other things.  NOW the prayers begin that he won't run into any severe flight disruptions at Pearson International in Toronto on his way here.  With all the current computer booking and reservations issues with WestJet creating havoc across the nation, I am grateful he didn't book with them, BUT how many of those presently grounded passengers will jump onto the other airline's flights to try to get to their destinations and how will that effect that airline's current passenger lists and flight schedules???  Praying LOTS for God's mercy to fall upon our son and the many others who will be flying that day.

I was incredibly tired all morning.  My heart murmur is showing signs of worsening again, so I am never feeling very motivated to get moving these days.  The exhaustion is terrible, but it is a familiar experience and there is little to be done for it other than rest, when simply pushing one foot in front of the other becomes a tremendous test for my physical and mental discipline.  Thus far I have been most blessed not to have experienced any angina or arrhythmia symptoms....long may that last!  The worst part for me is the low blood pressure that is part of the exhaustion problem.  Recognizing when I need to just rest and then disciplining myself to do that very thing, (then working in some mild exercise), is the best thing I can do about it for now.

I enjoyed my afternoon very much.  A spontaneous coffee date with a friend certainly perked me up....oops, bad but unintentional pun...coffee/perked....you get it, sigh, how embarrassing!!  We visited happily for a couple of hours.  Then I steeled myself to drive home again on the icy, rutted streets that have seen far too much snow in too short a time, too early in the winter season. For driving, I suspect it is going to be one of the most dangerous winters in a long time here in our fair city.

I spent some time this morning...again....researching affordable rental properties and inexpensive home sales across Canada and have finally discovered a possibly affordable place for us to live when our lease expires next spring: Corner Brook Newfoundland!! Sigh..............not quite the answer we were hoping for......... 

Today I looked in the mirror and realized I am getting to be in somewhat desperate need of a hair cut. Since my stylist has left the province, there was a certain amount of trepidation as I picked up the phone and called the salon where she worked here.  Fortunately there is someone with good stylist experience willing to take me on!  In two days I will have manageable hair once again!!  YAY!!

A few days ago the thought struck us both that this will be the first Christmas in both our lives where there are NO immediate living relatives (apart from our son who will have been here and left again long before Christmas) with which to celebrate or experience that strange but common experience of loving obligation to get together with during the holiday season.  The thought hit us rather hard, so we decided to become pro-active about doing some interesting things leading up to Christmas for a change. 

So, we are going to three concerts in three weeks during the Advent season!  First of all we are going to the local wonderful community choir, Halcyon, to hear some fabulous voices. Next will be an evening of baroque music performed by the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and lastly will be a Steve Bell concert! I would say the musical series goes from the sublime to the ridiculous, except that Steve Bell is far from ridiculous and I am so looking forward to an evening of Christian music and testimony to end our wonderful concert series in Advent.

It was very cold overnight here, so before I went out for my coffee date today I had to plug the car in for an hour to ensure it would start!!  November 10 and it is already -20C overnight.  There are another few days of this cold "brrrr fest" until a slight warm up occurs by the middle of next week.  The older I get the wussier I am becoming about winter weather.  Eeek!!! 

I am trying very hard NOT to watch the American mid term election results, but it is kind of like a horror movie...so terrifying sometimes that my hair stands on end, yet I cannot seem to look away!!! Sigh......in order to become more disciplined to stop watching the results, I have recorded a "passel" of some of my favourite home renovation and veterinary/zoo telecasts!  Tonight I will have free rein to watch as many of them as I want to because my husband went to bed at 6pm for the night.  He had to get up early too many mornings in a row for too many weeks in a row, then today he stripped out all the calking around our bathtub in preparation for re-caulking it tomorrow.  By the time he was done he was absolutely exhausted and he had two tummy episodes to contend with....hidden stresses to numerous and personal to recount here...so, off to bed he went.  PTSD and CFS can be a terrible combination of illnesses to deal with both at the same time.  Generally he is much improved since he retired fully, but he still has a few times of extreme reaction to small, subconscious stresses.  He enjoyed his World Views discussion group this morning, but again he had to wake up to an alarm on a bitterly cold, dreary winter morning, plus he so enjoyed the discussion that he was far too keyed up after it was over, so it took him a long time to settle down and realize how tired all these consecutive early morning wake ups have made him.  I am pleased that tomorrow, Remebrance Day, he will for the first time in decades not be leading a community service somewhere.  

Well time to go and watch some of those recorded tv programmes I mentioned!