Well, Finally A Touch Of Disaster On This Trip!

Our son called us from New York in tears this morning. His girlfriend became quite ill last evening and cannot make the trip here after all. She was crying, we were crying…..aiiii yiiiii….we are all terribly disappointed. Our son is healthy but was unsure if he should cancel all his commitments here and remain at home.  After weighing the pros and cons and with the encouragement of his girlfriend, he decided to come here anyway and will still arrive late tonight. Now we pray that he will not come down with the same bug!!!! He was in quite a turmoil when he phoned us! We told him to follow whatever course of action gave him the most peace in his heart. 💜 We would appreciate the prayers of you who are prayer warriors! 🙏🏻 Thank you!

We decided to try out the bus route between our hotel and the university where our son is lecturing tomorrow. Easy peasy! We board the bus a block from our hotel and it is a 5-10 minute walk from the closest stop once we get off the bus. Coming back is equally easy! We enjoyed our self guided tour of the arts building and located the lecture hall where we will meet our son tomorrow. Yay!!! 

No rain worth mentioning today. In fact the sun came out for a whole hour late in the afternoon. 

We ate lunch today along our bus route: Nuba Mount Pleasant. There are four Nuba restaurants in Vancouver now, featuring fantastic Lebanese food and creative and delicious drinks. The home made lemon ginger beer is to die for and the unsweetened orange black tea with a slice of lime is pretty amazing as well. Local architect Scott Cohen, designed all the interiors for Nuba and they feature beautiful tile patterns and soothing colours. 

Very excited that we will see our son after all….now if we can all stay healthy. We pray his girlfriend will recover quickly. Her enforced absence from this trip has cemented our resolve to hie ourselves away to NYC this autumn to visit both our “kids”!!! So….the adventure continues!!!! Aiiiii yiiiii, life is never dull. Gosh, we are going to miss seeing our girl. Just hoping she gets well soon.

A Very Special Day For Me!

What a happy day! There was barely a drizzle coming down after several days of nearly constant  rain. Still no sunshine, but who cares? It was just a wonderful day! 

My friend had no trouble on the highway driving down from Lion’s Bay. Her husband was able to come as well, so the four of us had the best time over lunch and an afternoon visit in our suite looking at photos from our wedding as my friend stood up with me, and catching up on the past fifteen years or so since we have visited in person. Our husbands share the same chronic CFS so they were able to share a bit about how they are doing these days. My friend and I met 50 years ago at what is now Telus and connected my first day on the job. Yay for life long friendships….interesting that the two women I have been friends with the longest both live on the west coast…..one on the mainland and one on the Island. Wow, how I would love to join them! haha Alas, it is not meant to be. Awwww, it’s ok. I have a good life where I already live.

Almost A Full Day Without Rain! Yippee!!

 This has been another fantastic day! We slept in this morning, waking up just in time to Zoom into our church service at home, so that was fun. Then my husband cooked us a bacon and eggs feast!! Yummy! As we sat eating and looking out the window, we realized it was not raining!! The sidewalks were drying off for the first time since we arrived. I did our laundry, then we headed out for another walk around Coal Harbour enjoying the dry air and even a few minutes of sunshine, but we could see the rain clouds coming in from the north west. By the time we finished our lunch at Tap and Barrel at nearly 4pm, it was starting to sprinkle once again. By the time we arrived home just over 20 minutes later we were caught in a heavy downpour of rain, but we couldn’t wipe the grins off our faces!! We are on the west coast! Hallelujah!!!!! Walks and lunch out every day….how blessed are we, right??? We no longer require much else in the way of entertainment, although we will have more of that starting in three days when our son arrives. 

We stood for a long time today at the railing overlooking the terminal for the sea planes and the docking pier for the Hullo Ferry coming in from the Island….so beautiful: open Water, seaplanes, boats, travellers, the houses of the North Shore across Burrard Inlet….so lovely. The Hullo Ferry is a lovely little boat with comfy seats. I think if we take a foot passenger ferry to the Island again sometime we would choose that over the B.C. Ferry out of Horseshoe Bay. Once Hullo docks here in Vancouver there is elevator access at the pier to get into the restaurants and shopping in the Vancouver Convention Centre. Really a nice foot passenger option! 

Six days down….only nine to go! Waaaaaaah….but I am so grateful for this week on our own. We have done a lot of talking and considering regarding our future plans. No definite decisions yet, but it seems we have started down the pathway of a particular direction. Time will tell….

The Latest Atmospheric Rivers Here On The West Coast

 Looks like we’re in for it weather wise for the next couple of days. Yesterday the weather alert notices were posted and our fair city may be hit with flooding and power outages if the worst of a series of atmospheric rivers hits us head on. We shall see how bad the weather actually gets. 

While we have been awaiting these dire possibilities, we have been making the most of our time. Yesterday’s walk in the pouring rain took us along the sea wall through Coal Harbour, past the sailboats and small yachts moored for the winter, past the Vancouver Convention Centre and the rest of Canada Place, before veering back into downtown to purchase calligraphy pens at The Pen Shop and then to Camouflage,  after a brief sit down to dry out a bit on the Pacific Centre mall, so my husband could purchase his favourite army style sweaters.  We followed up this brief shopping spree with lunch at Dublin Calling Irish Pub, totally enjoying both our seriously overpriced but delicious beef pot pie and our server’s Dublin accent. I window shopped at a couple of clothing stores, but this is not a shopping trip for me….no room in the duffel bag and no desire to purchase any clothes until I lose the 15 pounds I gained over Covid closures and family losses. We completed our nearly six km round trip mid afternoon with a stop at Safeway for two days’ worth of groceries just in case we do actually get hit with flooding by tomorrow.  After our dinner of homemade burgers and salad we both felt restless so took another short walk. 

How on earth are we going to keep up this badly needed restoration of long walks once we arrive home to the land of ice and snow where walking outside is too treacherous?? Will we have to start our car on bitterly cold days to drive across town to the walking track, or join the other senior mall walkers? Both scenarios fill us with dread to be honest. We drove regularly to the local indoor walking track in the last town of residence. Talk about boring!!! No visual or mental stimulation   at all compared to walking outside. Yuck!! However, as we see how easy it is to start getting back into shape, we must keep up the exercise after leaving here. We must, we must, we must!! Our appetites are down, because we are not eating out of sheer boredom like we are tempted to do at home. 

Dry skin issues have already begun to heal in this more humid climate and chronic winter sinus issues disappeared….so many benefits to living in this coastal clime! Sadly we must return home as scheduled….waaaaaaahhhhh….

Who Stopped The Rain??

For the first time since we arrived, it is not raining this morning. The rain will return in a few hours, but we are going to take advantage of the slowly drying streets and return to the lagoon, carrying on walking today to part of the sea wall and back around to Papi’s to catch their early Happy Hour lunch. 

Looks like we may be hit with the downpours of an atmospheric river this weekend, so on Saturday we will exchange walking for a bus to go looking for Pendleton shirts for my husband. 

We are enjoying our relaxing mornings. My husband accomplishes a lot of writing and we watch the previous day’s sumo bouts on tv. I love not having to hit the ground running the minute I wake up in the mornings! So, the morning we leave to return home is going to come as quite a shock when the alarm rings at 4:30am!!! 

We are feeling the personal benefits of being away from home. We are more relaxed than we have been in months. So grateful!

So NOW I Actually Have The Hair Style My Stylist THOUGHT She Was Giving Me!!

 It’s the difference in the water softeners here that has made the difference in my hair!  At home my hair feels brittle and dried out all the time. After washing and drying it I need three different products and a flatiron to get it under control and maintain any kind of recognizable style.  The tap water at home is full of minerals and even going to the hassle of using expensive RO water while bending my head under the kitchen sink taps is only mildly helpful. 

Oh how wonderfully different it is here. I forgot the difference this softer water makes to my hair and skin. I can wash my hair in the shower, blow it dry using the same brush I use at home, spray a minimal spritz of holding spray over it to keep the ends from curling up in the humid air and voila, I am done, AND the actual style of the cut is apparent!! 

Just one more small reason I always enjoy visiting Vancouver. Each day I am here I dread returning to the Prairies even more than the day before, but financially it is not possible to live here. It is the strength of the prairie friendships and the evidence that some of our ministry there is bearing fruit that keeps us afloat in Regina.

Yesterday we received the sad news that a former parishioner passed away. He was diagnosed with dementia just over a year ago and in recent weeks began suffering with Covid, bacterial pneumonia and several cracked ribs after a fall. Thankfully he was surrounded by family when he left us. Another loss from among our friendship circle. Sigh….

We are having a quiet morning here in the suite. We will raincoat up and walk out for a late lunch, followed by a walk along the lagoon. There is so much greenery here, even though it is weeks too early for flowers to be blooming. The old evergreens and verdant winter hedges, even the bright green moss adorning the older buildings are all such a lovely break from the dead looking tree branches and icy snowfall of the Prairies. Thank you God for this wonderful winter break. Aaaaand I know when it is time to go home I will be ready to go.

Day 2! Oh Happy Day!

Wow, we had a grand sleep last night…many many hours worth of sleep, so we woke up today feeling wonderfully refreshed. It was nice to have our breakfast foods already in the suite so we could eat in our pj’s and take our time getting going. After breakfast we went for a nice long walk, close to the lagoon, but staying above the water in the residential area so we could walk up and down a few small hills to practise for longer walks in the coming days. Although it was spitting rain the whole time, our new hooded jackets and hotel umbrellas kept us dry. We ran a few small errands and eventually ended up at a little eatery called The Red Accordian where we enjoyed delicious grilled chicken burgers and also kibbutzing with the proprietor. I think we will go there again and try the non burger fare as well. Banking and emails and Sumo took up the rest of our afternoon and then we walked a couple of blocks to Momo Sushi for a much lighter dinner. We went there because along the bottom of the window there was a banner across the window with a Scripture from the Psalms written on it.  Mostly a takeout place, there are three tables for seated customers and we were able to snag one of them. The sushi was quite decent.  One of the Guu Japanese restaurants is across the street from Momo, but we have eaten there before and wanted to sit in the comfy chairs at Momo as well as support fellow believers with a small business. Now we are relaxing back in the hotel, watching the rain falling. 

We are taking a few photos which I will post when we get home….they are quite poor photos, but better a few mediocre pix than none at all, haha. 

A friend from 30 minutes north of Vancouver is currently planning to come have lunch with us early next week……unless a possible atmospheric river prediction turns out to be true and prevents her from travelling. Sure hope the system moves out of this area and loses itself far out in the ocean somewhere! 

Our son is barely going to have time to arrive next week before he has to do a presentation at his former arts university. He has arranged for us to attend. Yay!!! The following evening is the opening reception for his exhibition and then there is an artist’s talk he is giving later at the same gallery we are also going to attend. Looks like his arrival and subsequent events with us will begin just before the next possible transit worker’s job action that may begin on February 3rd. Negotiations are restarting and will continue until either that date or a settlement is reached, whichever comes first. Not to be a pessimist (Who? Me?) but I am guessing a settlement will not be reached so quickly and easily. Praying, that’s for sure.

The humidity here is so wonderful that I actually forgot to take two of my four daily rounds of soothing eye drops. My eyes didn’t alert me because they were not sore and dry and bloodshot. So great to have a break from the dry winter air at home, yay!! 

So, only a week to relax before our whirling dervish son arrives. He and his girlfriend were issued a ticket for the New York City Home Lottery nearly years ago and they found out today their ticket has been picked. Praying so much they could be issued a less expensive place to live…from my mouth to God’s ear! Please Lord, they could use a financial break as the cost of their current rental continues to rise. Life is getting harder for everyone these days, isn’t it? 

Still trying to grasp the fact that it is January 24 and I am walking outside with only a thin raincoat over a long sleeved shirt yet am almost too warm!! Yay!!

Happy Shock To My System!

It is 9pm. We have been in beautiful rain drenched Vancouver for just over five hours and I think my husband and I are both in shock to find ourselves here!! The misty rain is falling, the trees around our amazing hotel in the heart of our favourite shopping and restaurant district are lit with lovely green and amber bulbs, the cars outside are honking at each other as their drivers block the main intersection with easy frequency. Our taxi driver from the airport dropped us off outside our hotel in the middle off a turning lane, much to the chagrin of the drivers in the line of rush hour traffic wanting to turn that corner, haha!! They had to wait for us to pay our fare and struggle out of the cab with our heavy bags, so we exited the car to a cacophony of car horns and angry drivers waving their fists and cussing at us and our oblivious driver. Aaaah, Vancouver. It is a nice little city and I love visiting here. 

Our flights were both on time, miracle of miracles!! Everything went smoothly on our travels and we are so grateful for that. The timing of the flights was such that I ended up eating a breakfast bar for lunch on the first flight and we were so ravenous by the time we landed in Vancouver we ended up eating a burger in the airport before getting the taxi to the hotel. Yikes! 

We are intensely grateful to be here at all and praise God for this chance to be away from the same old, same old! 

Well, At Least One Thing Has Greatly Improved Today!

 When my knee caved so badly on me this morning I was very, very worried about taking our trip west, BUT a couple of valiant prayer warriors prayed for me and within a couple of hours after the original post about it, my knee suddenly improved.  I have been able to walk just fine ever since about 11am.  Talk about gratitude!  I have it in spades.

Also talked to our son who made some suggestions about dealing with the transit strike AND is praying with us that it will miraculously be at an end by the time he and his girlfriend arrive. That would certainly make the visit a lot easier. It would make life for everyone in the entire city easier!!!

Unfortunately the weather and the transit strike have combined to cancel a planned visit with Island friends this coming weekend, so that is most disappointing, but trying to make the visit work under the present conditions would be a nightmare that would ruin the whole visit. There is a time to push to make things happen and a time to just slack off and obey the Universe's promptings.

So, I am feeling better both physically and emotionally tonight, feeling more prepared to face the transit and other "adventures" tomorrow.  Our house sitter is all set up to look after our place while we are away. All the bills are paid in advance.  It is time to get away from here and think more clearly about what the future holds for us.  I hope I have some fun things to post about over the next couple of weeks....fun....that has become almost non-existent in our lives in some ways.  We gotta learn to just relax and enjoy once again.

This Trip Scenario Just Keeps Getting Better And Better! Hahaha!!!!

So now there is a transit strike set to begin today in Vancouver. The Sky Train employees have announced they will not cross picket lines, in support of the other transit workers. I am wondering how many hours we will be waiting for a taxi at the airport to get to our hotel. All the last minute car rentals will be gone, fer shur!!! Why is none of this the least bit surprising to me?? It has been and apparently will continue to be the way our lives unfold. Aiiiii yiiiiii, hahaha! Some things never change.

Still No Sign Of That Facecloth! Grrrrr…..

I have looked everywhere another two times and it has completely vanished.  For the one or two of you actually interested, I will post its found location…if it ever is found. Sigh…..

Not the most auspicious start to my day of running madly about town doing last minute errands so we are ready to leave tomorrow.  I fell into a deep sleep right away last night and it was so deep I did not wake up  in time to respond to some pain in my bad knee until I was in so much pain I was jarred awake and then fought with the pain for several hours. The pain came from the way I was lying in bed. This morning my knee is quite swollen and doesn’t want to fully bend, so I am hoping I can walk it out. Thank goodness for my cane. I will be able to use it and still complete my errands. I don’t even want to have to think about what this knee issue is going to mean for our trip if it doesn’t resolve itself by tomorrow. It has been a few years since this knee last bothered me, so…..of course now would be the time….sigh…. Yesterday I was allowing myself to get excited about the trip and have been very much at peace about it all. I pray I can maintain that level of faith and trust today, that all will be well. 

I wore makeup to church yesterday. It is one of the few places I wear it any more because the mascara bothers my eyes nowadays. After yesterday's wearing my poor dry eyes are not at all happy, so I have decided this is the end of my makeup wearing days. I will be stumbling around Vancouver with a bum knee and a naked face. Thank the Lord that I am so old no one will notice or care. I suppose I should warn my son that Pasty Faced Mama Limpy Doodle will be attending the opening of his exhibition. Hey, if Pamela Anderson can do it, out there on the fashionable west coast, so can I!!! Now….if only I looked like Pamela Anderson, right?????? Hahahaha!!!!! Fat chance of that, but hey again, a woman can always dream, right?? Of course right!!!!

Still excited and at peace about the trip. One sore knee isn’t going to ruin that!

How Can An Oversized Emerald Green Facecloth Get Lost In Only Three Loads of Laundry???

I am completely stymied by one facecloth this afternoon!  It went into the laundry basket with the other towel sets. I know because I remember putting it in that basket, but somewhere between being put into the basket and that load going from washer to dryer to return to the bathroom for folding, that one green facecloth has somehow pulled a runner.  I cannot find it ANYWHERE in this suite!!!  

I checked the washing machine, even though towels were the first load of the three, but you never know right?  I nearly stood on my head and risked electrocuting myself shining a flashlight into the dryer and reaching around the edges inside the machine just in case it managed to get itself stuck somehow up in the top or sides of the machine as has happened occasionally with an errant sock, but no luck there.  I scanned every part of the basement I walked through with the laundry basket on my way to start the washing, but no sign of it. I peered behind and around the laundry table and washer and dryer, recovered every step I had taken between the upstairs hallway and the basement laundry area.  I unfolded all the other laundry that was already put away, just in case it had managed to stick its giant self to a sheet or another towel or one of my nightgowns or sweaters, my husband's underwear, I looked under all the furniture in the living room in case it had somehow wormed its way under the couch or a chair...all to no avail.  The darned facecloth is GONE!!!!!   What the heck????  I did locate one sock that had also gone astray, but it was easily found, even though it is about 1/4 the size of the facecloth.  How can a deep green, huge facecloth go missing like that??  I am completely bamboozled!!  If it ever shows up it will be most interesting to see where it has been!

On to a happier subject, and my favourite of all: FOOD!!!  My husband decided to make lunch today, omelets!  Ooooh, he does make the best omelets I have ever eaten.  He takes such care and pays attention to details and prepares far more ingredients than I ever do for omelets, because I am lazy and he is not!

today he diced and sauteed fresh onions and fresno peppers.  He melted and lightly browned the grated cheese in the bottom of the pan before pouring the egg mixture over top of it.  He sprinkled in just a bit of seasalt and pepper. He turned it over on itself perfectly half way through cooking.  He sauteed little rounds of buffalo sausage to put onto the top of the omelet when it was cooked and slid it onto my plate alongside a slice of toasted sesame bread.....ooooh, it was WONDERFUL!!

You see, my idea of making omelets is to put a bit of margarine in the bottom of the frying pan, mix up the eggs with a bit of seasoning, pour it into the pan, two minutes later realize I have forgotten to add any cheese or veggies to it, freak out, grab some kind of pepper and in my hurry to get it cooked before the eggs are ready, manage to chop too large of pieces into the pan, I never think of using sausage or other interesting flavours, when I try to fold it in on itself to finish cooking I end up breaking it in the middle, I forget the toast....yeah...I am so not a good cook. sigh....

So when my husband offers to make lunch I never say NO!  I love his cooking. He loves to do the cooking.  I love to eat his cooking.

Win/win, right?

I DO LOVE It When A Plan Comes Together!!

The last couple of days have been very encouraging simply because simple plans came together simply!!  NO STRESS and frustration and fear of last minute glitches!  YAY!

All the utility bills showed up in time to be paid before we go away.  I was able to get myself pumped with enough confidence to contact the company that handles our tenant insurance and explain to them that we are going to be away when the next policy comes out.  Within an hour I had our new policy set up online and the "cheque is in the mail".  No problems. We still get our package from the last small town we lived in and that particular company is the epitome of what small towns are supposed to be about: instant attention to our needs, understanding of why we couldn't wait for our new policy....incredibly quick attention and service.  YES!!  Prescriptions have been ordered and approved.  Raincoats have now been purchased that will go over top of our light winter parkas to accommodate the weather conditions on the west coast.  Banking is completed.  Now I   just have to pay next month's rent before we go and that is pretty much all that is left to be done in advance.  Aaaah, it feels so good not to be in a panic until the last possible second because of ineffiencies and confursion on the part of businesses we needed to deal with over the past week. Thank you Lord!!!

Oooh, I'm Going To Miss That Weekly Steamed 2% With No Sugar Caramel Flavouring!!

 I so enjoy having coffee out once a week with a friend from church.  This morning we had a splendid time together talking about anything and everything in our lives.  I am really going to miss not being able to get together with her for the next few weeks while we are away.  I have a coffee partner, a walking partner, Bible Study friends, Fellowship Group friends and a host of other friends in this little city on the prairies....such huge blessings, each and every one of them.  

Right now a fellow is in our basement rewiring the furnace. What that exactly involves and why it has to happen is a mystery to my husband and I, but my husband is down there with the fellow learning all about it.  I can hear the murmur of their voices rising from the heat vents here in my office two floors above them.  It is a bit of an eerie sound! hahaha

I am slowly attending to the pre-travel details.  I have everything ready for the friend who is taking care of our place in our absence, am setting up a ride to the airport, the letter of intent is written for our property management company so they know we will be away and the rent is ready to be paid before we go, the utilities are all paid in advance, the prescription bottles are lined up beside the phone so I can call in the refills tomorrow, I have emailed our tenant insurance company to make arrangements to pay for our new policy ahead of our trip, a route through town is planned for the day before we leave in order to pick up the prescriptions and some other small items we are going to need to take with us and it seems the weather by then will be more conducive to driving about madly in all directions.  Now I need to activate my new cell phone number for some businesses I will need to be in contact with while we are gone and go through my summer clothing bins to locate the rain resistant shell I need to put over my parka to protect it from the west coast winter rains.  Our suitcases are half packed already, the clothes we are taking have been laundered as of two or three weeks ago and have been hanging on a special rack ever since while they await being crammed into our small carry on bags.  Such a lot of fuss and bother for a mere few weeks away, but it all has to be done. How can you tell we haven't been anywhere in a few years...everything seems like a far bigger deal than it actually is.  

Plans are coming together to meet friends from the Island while we are out there. They found a foot passenger ferry that cuts quite a substantial amount of travel time off their route and it docks a lot closer to our area of the city than Horseshoe Bay, so we can cut our own nearly two hour trip out there in half or less.  The docking pier for this proposed ferry boat is much closer to both nice restaurants and views than Horseshoe Bay as well, so we are hoping that they can get onto this other one.  Lord....could this be possible?  

Preparing for this little trip is making me feel like I am waking up after a long sleep....it is a most Rip Van Winkle kind of experience.  My husband and I both need this trip to feel like we are alive and well and still able to function like normal middle aged adults after the past few years of stress. It is a great feeling!

Praying For The Widows

It has been an odd couple of days in terms of who God has been leading me to pray for.  

It started yesterday when I was reading an obituary about an aquaintance who died recently. Among her surviving relatives was a woman with the same first and last name as a woman who, along with her husband, were former partners in ministry in an organization we all belonged to at the time.  When I saw the name, I began to wonder what had happened to MY aquaintance of the same name, so I put her and her husband's name into my search engine to see if I could find out where they are ministering these days.  Sure enough, there they were....along with the shocking information that only a few months ago he had passed away. He was only 67.  Oh how I prayed for his wife and family.  I have not been in touch with them for over a decade now, but still have fond memories of our chatting about ministry and the Lord at the annual meetings of our organization and singing worship songs together.  

Then this morning I had another odd thing happen.  I woke up thinking of a high school teacher my son once had.  It was during his final year at school and his band teacher and I became good friends.  Shortly after the term ended she moved to the USA and after a few years we lost touch.  I only knew that she had married a well known tv writer and sports announcer in her state of residence and was living a fantastic life.  I don't know what prompted me to think of her, but once again my computer's search engine led me to the latest information about her "charmed" life.  Like my former ministry partner, the band teacher also lost her husband only a few weeks ago.  He was also in his 60's.  More prayer ensued as I remembered both these fine, musically gifted women.

Then this afternoon I received an email from a good friend to let me know the husband of one of the cousins in their family died yesterday; again the husband of a woman I had known several decades ago but hadn't been in touch with for a very long time, again a man in his early 60's, a pastor and well known cowboy poet.  More prayer went up for her and their family. 

I feel privileged to have been made aware of these sad losses for former friends and aquaintances, thus able to pray for them, but I can't help but hope this past 24 hours has been a kind of "prayer request one off"!!  I hope no more husbands of people I have previously known are fated to die anytime soon.  I am happy to pray for these widows and grown up orphans that have been left behind, but wow....not what I expected in my prayer life this week.  Lord, please keep these women safe, comfort and provide a supporting community for them during this time of loss. Amen!

Today's PS:

 It's SUMO JANUARY TOURNAMENT time!!!!  For all you Sumo fans out there...(What do you mean, I am the only sumo fan on this blog???? Bite your tongues!!)...the daily highlights are once again available from NHK broadcasting online. Check it out!

Garando Sumo!!!!!

Great Gratitude!

 It has been a wonderful day for me in all things medical and I am beyond grateful for praying friends and for the Lord's mercy.  As far as our trip next week I feel like I have been "cleared for take off"!

I received the results today of my final two cancer screening tests and all is well, thankfully!  The GERD is under control for now and that is a relief!  While there is one tooth under observation for the next six weeks until my next appointment, nothing else startling is happening with my dental conditions.

Today I got a wonderful report from the ophthalmologist as well: no evidence at this point of macular degeneration or glaucoma...both inherited diseases in my family....and the cataracts have remained at the "baby" stage for the past two years.  There is no further damage from the posterior detachment I suffered in 2019 and therefore....drum roll please....I will return for a FINAL set of tests in three months' time. If things have not changed by then, he is releasing me as a patient.  I will continue to see my optometrist at least once a year and if she finds anything going wrong she will send me back to him for more help.  Wow....I didn't know this was going to even be possible....no more every six month appointments with the ophthalmologist.  Apparently I "aced" all the tests I had last week with his staff. Thank you Lord!  

One of these days it will be my turn for a less than thrilling diagnosis of some kind to add into the chronic conditions I already deal with, but for the present, I am apparently in really good shape for the shape I'm in. How grateful am I?? I'm SOOOOOO grateful!!!!

New Prayers For Cee….Sigh….

Please fellow prayer warriors, pray today as you are able for both Cee and Nan. This morning’s assessment is that the neuropathy is preventing Cee from progressing properly with his therapies. There is not room in their house for proper transfer equipment and he can only remain in the rehab facility for awhile before he has to move on. Nan needs prayer for strength as she meets with the health worker who can lay out whatever options can be provided for Cee. Nan is completing preparation to put their house on the market, but at the moment there are no condo units for sale in their town that would meet Cee’s mobility needs. This is a huge shock after yesterday’s more positive conversation about Cee’s future. My heart is aching for them both today as they try to make decisions in the midst of great grief. Thank you for your continuing prayers.

When The Sun Dogs Are As Bright As The Sun Itself….

 …..you know there will be no relief from the intense cold any time soon!! 

Wow….there are three giant sun dog circles visible from our windows this afternoon. One of them is so close looking and so bright that its brilliance nearly outshines the sun! There must be a tremendous amount of ice crystals in the air because the entire shape of the sun dog is visible…a complete circle. The other two appear to be higher in the sky with fewer ice crystals to fill out the full circles for the naked eye to see. So, as predicted, another week of bitter weather. Brrrrrrrr…… 

God bless my husband who decided to drive me to the cancer screening centre for my test today! All the parking spaces for the centre were full, so he had to park illegally in someone’s assigned parking place from another business in the building. At least with him in the car, he could have moved if that person had shown up to claim their rightful space. Had I driven there alone there would have been no safe place available for me to park the car and leave it. God was in the small details once again. 

Tomorrow I will drive my husband to his early morning meeting and drop him off so I can drive myself to my own FINAL, (please God), medical appointment until the dental appointments start at the end of February.  My husband is keen to either take the bus home or walk the over two kilometres! He knows how to dress for this kind of weather and rather enjoys proving to himself a few times each winter that he’s “still got it”! Yikes! 

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home this afternoon. I feel far less than creative about making dinner tonight as I am so cold and tired, so I bought a giant Caesar salad and a package of chicken strips that I can fry and add to the salad. With some Three Cheese Bread it will be a decent enough dinner. Maybe I will get creative again tomorrow! 

Update on Cee: Nan told me today that he has done wonderfully well at the rehab facility. He is enjoying the food and receives both Physical and Occupational Therapy every day! He can lift his legs off the bed now. SaskAbilities has given him a large wheeled wheelchair so he can wheel about on his own and it even has a special air cushion that changes the pressure points as he uses it. The hope is to get him walking with his walker again by the time he gets home and there is a good plan in place for him to continue his therapies at that point as well. Prayers are being answered. Thank you prayer warriors.

Figuring Out How To Use My "New" Iron.....It Has Only Taken About Three Years!!

About three years ago I received the wonderful but unexpected gift of a brand new Roweta iron from a friend.  It was SO unexpected that I thought she had mailed it to the wrong person and it took her some convincing for me to realize and and accept this wonderful new addition to my hand held appliance collection!

I admit, I have had some struggles most of the time I have had it. For the past three years it has intermittently cooled off in the midst of my ironing task and has been the bane of my existence every time I have used it if I have more than a half dozen items to iron.

Yesterday I lost all patience with it.  While I have been wondering if the power source in this run down suite has been to blame, I have had no other issues with lamps or other appliances plugged into that same outlet at other times.  So, when in doubt, rustle up the instructions and re-read them.

The first thing I discovered is that I have been adding water to the steamer,  setting the ironing temperature and turning the steamer on all in the wrong order....for THREE YEARS and more!!  hahahahahahaha  Okey dokey then.  Got that straightened out and is now a neon direction sign in my brain.  However, after shutting off the iron, cooling it down and starting the process all over again, but in the correct order, once again the "Cooling Down" light began flashing less than a minute after I started ironing again.  Now what??  So, I decided maybe it needed a cleaning....a decalcification.  Out came the little calcium gauge in the top of the iron, I soaked it in vinegar for the requested 4 hours, replaced it in the iron, started the iron again on MAXIMUM according to the cleaning instructions and blasted hot steam through the steam vents on the steam plate to remove the slight build up in the holes.  Okay....now all should be well.  By this time it was nearly 9pm so I decided to start work on my wrinkled clothes again this morning.  

I started well....everything was great. Then a few minutes into the job the cooling light began flashing once again and the heat became reduced quite quickly. Sigh.... NOW WHAT? I had not left the iron hot and unattended for the 8 minutes it needs without movement before shutting itself off.  It was not lying on its side, which would have explained the 30 seconds it was hot before it started cooling.  I thought the poor iron must have died an early death. HOWEVER!!!  As I looked at where it was sitting on my elderly ironing board, with the board pads and covers that are starting to get old and create a few dips in the fabric, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.  Yesterday as I was ironing I moved the iron to a different spot near the end of that board than has been its usual placement.  Today I put it in the same space when I stepped away to hang up a pair of jeans right before the cool down began.  

Well, guess what?  That crazy dip I set the iron down on yesterday and again this morning, tilts the iron sufficiently to one side that its "inner workings" decided it had indeed been left lying on its side and once again began cooling the temperature rather rapidly in only 30 seconds. hahahahahaha  Hmmmmm.....could this be the problem??

I dug through my kitchen catch-all drawer and came up with a nice, flat, old ironing trivet I haven't laid eyes on for years.  I set it on top of the two little peaks on either side of the dip in the ironing board cover, shut down the iron completely, let it cool and then restarted it an hour later.

VOILA!!!  I refilled the water tank and pushed the setting buttons and dials properly, the iron heated up properly, I set it on that little trivet every time I put is aside so that it sat straight up on its heel, then I ironed a dozen items with no problems whatsoever.  The clothes have never looked better. Once I used it PROPERLY, it is has lived up to its own hype about being one fabulous iron indeed!

Very smart iron; kinda dumb operator. BUT, now I know!  YAY!! hahahahaha

Ladies. Git Yer Mammies Grammed!!!

That’s what I have to do today, followed by the annual meeting with the ophthalmologist tomorrow. Then I am finally finished with the appointments and lab work. Only the waiting for the last of the test results remains. I am grateful for one good thing that has come out of all this thus far: a friend in another province who walks with me through all the ups and downs of life realized she too needs to get referrals for cancer screening tests underway for this year. In her province it is a long process so she got started right after the last time we chatted. Amen! 

My mind and body are letting me know they are so done with all these appointments!! I am starting to feel stressed and am having unhappy reactions every time I eat. The extreme cold warnings I wake up to lately on appointment days is somewhat unnerving: what if the car won’t start and I have to miss a specialist’s appointment or screening test I have been waiting for months to get? Yesterday when we were trying to leave for church duties I turned the ignition over on the car, sighed with relief when it started, then was tempted to panic when I realized the fan had not come on and we had no heat!! Fortunately the fan  kicked in a minute later, but that incident has made me a bit nervous about today’s testing. Will I be able to get to this screening appointment that was made last July?? That such a possibility is causing enough stress to make me feel slightly nauseous tells me I need to be done with all the medical “stuff” for awhile.  I need to try to schedule next year’s appointments with longer gaps in between.

Chop Chop Chop....Sigh....

 So.....I went to the hair stylist yesterday, bleary eyed and tired, not paying that much attention to the cut because I wanted to put my low energy into listening to her news about the surgery she is having this coming week and how difficult and long the recovery is going to be.  She has been suffering for a long time with the condition this surgery is supposed to fix for her and I pray it will. She is too young to have to suffer for more years with a repairable medical problem.

However.....in the process of intense discussion and listening, it seems that she may also have been worried that if my hair grew out at the rate it usually does, I would need to seek a cut from one of the other stylists in her absence.  At least that is what I choose to assume was going on.  By the time she was done taking off the "wee bit extra" I requested because of my own upcoming trip where I don't want to have to waste a lot of time fixing my hair every day, I realized she and I apparently each have a somewhat different definition of the phrase "a little bit extra".  When I put my glasses on after the cut, I saw my wrinkly faced old self staring back at me from the mirror with a cut resembling very much the cuts my father gave me as a child where he actually did put a bowl over my head and attempted to cut the bottom of my hair evenly with the rim of the bowl.  Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!  I look somewhat like a old monk, just without the tonsure down the centre of my scalp! I might actually look better WITH a tonsure so that I could be identified as some kind of female monk. As it is, it just looks like I forgot where to stop with the scissors as the haircut is just ABOVE the bottom of my ear lobes, all the way around my head.  Do you think it would be acceptable to go to church tomorrow and read the Scriptures with a bag over my head?  This is the fourth cut in a row that has landed somewhere between questionable and downright terrible, so.....it isn't that easy to find a new stylist that I can guarantee won't make just as big a mess or worse.  Also, I am praying that my present stylist will be feeling so much better and much less distracted by her aches and pains once she recovers from the surgery.  I am more than willing to give it one more go next month and see what happens next.

ON THE PLUS SIDE: and there actually are a few pluses, really there are!  I certainly did get my wish to not have to spend much time stying my hair while I am out of town.  A quick wash, dry and flat ironing in an attempt to pull the hair down as close to the bottom of my ears as possible and I will be good to go for the whole day.  I can presently tuck my hair behind my ears and wear lots of eye makeup to distract from the latest hair disaster.  Most of the frizzy ends from the unwanted layering that happened over the past three cuts are now gone as this latest cut disposed of them so what remains of my hair is closer to the one length cut again. When I return for the next cut I will emphasize strongly my NEED to return to that type of style and see what happens.  

It may seem that I am being unnecessarily vain about my hair. Trust me, I have nothing to be vain about in any way in regard to my outward appearance and I do know that I am too old for anyone else to care what I look like.  For me, being old and wrinkly is enough to have to cope with at present. Anything at all that I can do to make MYSELF feel better about aging appearances makes me happier with life in general.  Dealing with my hair properly goes a long way toward helping me deal with old age and the accompanying outward changes. Here's hoping I can make a better job of expressing my hair styling needs next time I go for a haircut!

-47C Windchill….

 ….I think I will happily stay at home today!! 

I slept for over nine hours last night and I feel maaahhvellous today! Knowing I have no out of the house commitments for the entire day relaxed me. Being out and about in the cold weather the past couple of days added to the exhaustion. Trying to go to bed by 9pm the past few nights was a total bomb due to multiple interruptions happening that startled me awake shortly after falling into that initial deep sleep and prevented me from falling asleep again each time until after 1am. After such frustrating attempts, I was tempted to give up, but last night all went well. I turned out the light at 9:15pm and woke up just before 7am. Prepping for tomorrow’s church duties and doing laundry will occupy the hours nicely today. I am encouraged by the longer term weather forecast that, if correct, will see much warmer temperatures here by the time we leave for the west coast. Here’s hoping! 

Sometimes God Is Most Apparent In The Little Details

This morning I decided I would take City Transit to my ophthalmologist’s office. The bus stop to go there is right outside my front door and the stop to get off the bus is right outside the front door of the ophthalmologist’s office building. It seemed it would be much easier than starting our car in a windchill of -40C and letting it run for fifteen minutes so that I had time to scrape the windshield while the car fluids were heating up sufficiently to actually run the vehicle. Yup, smart plan. 

As I was putting on my outdoor winter apparel my husband appeared to tell me he wanted to drive me to my appointment instead. He is a long time, experienced outdoorsman and didn’t think it was right for me to be alone either driving in the bitter cold or riding a bus that could break down with no warning. Bless him! I didn’t want him to have to abandon his breakfast to take me to a twenty minute appointment, but he was insistent, so I caved in. 

We arrived a bit too early for me to go into his office as he has a strict policy about arriving only five minutes prior to a scheduled appointment, so my husband and I sat inside the now warm car and waited for the appropriate time. Then I went inside, I noticed the office door was open and that the hoot racks had been removed from the entranceway. As I walked through the door I also noticed the reception desk, waiting room chairs, wall hangings and ophthalmic equipment had also been removed. The office was completely empty, devoid of all but the flooring and paint on the walls. Wha??????? 

I headed for the medical clinic that occupies another part of the building and bustled inside feeling somewhat disoriented. The receptionist there was SO KIND!!!! She told me the ophthalmologist had moved across town over a month and a half ago and that I was the second of his patients this morning who arrived at her clinic asking for help. She wrote down the new address and phone number, then actually phoned his new office, told them what happened and that I would be late arriving. There’s that wonderful old fashioned prairie mentality in action. May God bless her!!

So, I raced back to the parking lot where my husband was sitting patiently in the car waiting for me, and away we went across the city to the new office where my appointment went off without any problems from being late. Whew!! The cold weather resulted in a few cancellations so there was plenty of time for me. 

Had I taken the bus this morning to where I thought my appointment was, there would have been no way for me to get from there to the new office in a reasonable amount of time, either by figuring out which buses to take or by calling my husband to go outside at that point and begin the car preparation. 

Thank you Lord for small mercies that assume gigantic proportions on a -40C day!!!! 

Umpteen Down, Three To Go! Yay!!

I have just returned from a medical appointment and now have only three to go! Yay! I have another one tomorrow and two early next week. Now I just pray that nothing unexpected is discovered that will cancel our trip to Vancouver, Lord in Your mercy, hear my prayer. How well I remember being diagnosed with severe osteoporosis less than six weeks before leaving for a year in Japan back in 2000. What a shock. I was only in my mid 40’s, knowing our family history of osteoporosis but never dreaming I already had it, nor that it could be that severe so early in my life. My doctor was equally shocked and horrified. However, onto medication I immediately went, enjoyed my life in Japan tremendously and managed to NOT fall down even once the entire time, hallelujah! 

Onward to the ophthalmologist tomorrow.

Did I REALLY Say We Need A Stretch Of Bitterly Cold Weather?? REALLY?? What Is Wrong With Me??

Soooooo…..I just spent a mere twenty minutes shovelling snow off the back deck, plus a path across the back lawn to the car, and I swept the large drifts of snow off the car before shovelling the even larger drifts  out from around the car and I am FREEZING!!!! My fingers are completely numb despite wearing two pair of mittens, my toes are tingling despite wearing thick socks, my ears are chilly despite wearing the hood on my coat. There is no way it feels like the only -17C temperature. The wind is terribly cold so I am guessing the windchill is about -24C? 

I am grateful my doctor’s appointment today is not until after lunch. Then I may have to go to the grocery store for some ingredients so I can whip up a decent dinner to take to the home of friends tonight. Short drives all, thankfully.

After another day or two of adjusting to our now proper winter weather, all will be well. As I remember how many medical and other appointments I have to go to over the next week, I am darned well going to have to adjust!! 

Off for a hot shower!! I think a hot lunch will also be in order…I made a soup free creamy chicken casserole last night…kind of tasteless as I didn’t use enough vegetables, but the leftovers will do nicely for lunch on a winter day.

Yep, Yup, And Amen!

 Saw a GREAT tee shirt today. On it was printed the following: (which  I can 100%, 💯 percent relate to!)

“Don’t piss off old people! The older we get the less of a deterrent the threat of incarceration becomes!”

Yuppers!!

Not Letting "Real Winter Weather" Stop Us!!

 Waking up to -23C this morning, it was very tempting to call our financial advisor and cancel our appointment because the complete denial that actual winter would ever arrive this particular winter season was destroyed.  However, we plugged in the car, swept and shovelled the overnight snowfall and headed off to our appointment as planned.  Very, very glad we did. Our advisor was able to give us three different future accommodation financing possibilities to consider.  He gave us a lot to think about and at the moment I am quite grateful we have not yet found a place we really want to put an offer on.  Hmmmmm....more to pray and think about, that is for sure.  So much of what he presented made total sense...there is something to recommend all three possibilities, two of which we had not considered before.  Exciting times!!!

We had some other errands to run afterward that took quite a long time, so by the time we were finished with those we felt quite adjusted to the change of temperature. Whew! Thought we were becoming totally weather wussy. So glad we are not after all!!  

My husband had to be awakened from a sound sleep in order to be on time for our bank appointment, so he hadn't had a chance to eat anything. By nearly noon he was so hungry and weak he was on the verge of collapse, so we deaked into Smittys for his beloved bacon and eggs treat.  The food was in front of us almost before we would have arrived home to prepare a meal there. Thankfully it didn't take long for my husband to feel better once he started eating. I have always suspected he is slightly hypoglycemic, but not being a doctor, I don't know that.  We kind of enjoyed the Order 5 Of The Items Below for a breakfast plate because we could choose all manner of things that are NOT toast!  We both opted for tea, eggs over easy, back bacon, cubed hash browns, and my husband ordered tomato slices for his fifth item while I had yogurt.  Having back bacon rather than fatty rashers cut down on the grease, the cubed potatoes were NOT drenched in salt, the eggs were cooked properly, the tomatoes were nicely ripe instead of the usual green, tough ones so many restaurants seem to be stuck with and my vanilla yogurt was in a small bowl that holds just slightly more than a single serving size. Perfect!!  Since  there was no toast to tempt me.....I always feel guilty if I don't eat at least half a slice, but then I have to leave half my hashbrowns on the plate to keep the carbs down......I could enjoy my hashbrown carbs very happily.  For $15.99 it was a good deal for us.  We repented with a small tuna salad for dinner with two thin slices of seed toast. haha

One of our chores was going to a library branch to return some videos.  It is located in a mall and as I was leaving the library I spotted a black cardigan sweater in the ladies' wear shop next door.  Unlike my present cardigan, which is knee length, this one is barely longer than my waist and is just perfect for a sweater to take to Vancouver as it will not be longer than my puff parka  jacket.  It has been so long since I saw a waist length cardigan that I haven't seriously been seeking one, but have been thinking it would be far less bulky to pack and more versatile than the thick pullover winter sweater I thought I would have to cram into my duffel bag.  How serendipitous that it not only exists but was on sale for nearly 70% off!!!  God bless Clearance racks!  We also went back to Mark's to see if my husband could find a couple more more new turtlenecks, as we realized when we took the first two home the other day that he had two more old ones that are worthy of little more than putting then directly into the garbage!!  He did find two more. We also replaced our ancient (think 22 years) thinning, pilled fleece jackets with thick, warm ones on a BOGO 50% off sale.  Sometimes a person has to admit how shabby some of the old clothes are and take advantage of unexpected sale finds!  Happy campers!!

Since Epiphany began two days ago, we took down the Christmas tree and decorations this afternoon.  It was a lot of fun having it up this year and we spent many a Christmas season evening watching the lights glowing on the branches while we listened to Christmas themed jazz.  What a lovely Christmas season we had.  

My coffee date was moved to tomorrow from later in the week when I would be trying to start the car in -35C weather. Then I have the rest of the day to do laundry.  I have all the clothes I need for the trip already set aside, ready to pack when the time comes. I am so very grateful to have sufficient clothing now that I don't need to wear any of the trip items between now and when we leave.

Today the Christmas card from our "kids" finally arrived.  It is a gorgeous Japanese card with a bold red background and chrysanthmums, cherry blossoms, the New Year spinning top and an origami crane emblazoned on the front. Inside was a lovely note the kids wrote and three strips of stickers: one of cherry blossoms, one of seasonal flowers and one of Sumo wrestlers!!!!  hahahaha  They know we love watching Sumo, so that was quite a thoughtful as well as humorous gift! hahaha  Receiving this bounty of stickers brightened our day even further! 

So, a dissa and datta kind of post on a dissa and datta kind of day!  Stay warm and cozy everyone.  The weather is going to get worse before it gets better!

The Return Of The "Holy Hunch", Or " 'Oly 'Unch As Our Beloved English Bishop Used To Say

 It happened last evening as we were watching Season 2 of "Unforgotten".  (Yes, we binge watched....it is only 6 episodes after all and they are less than 1 hour each....plus we had seen the first 2 episodes previously....and....we were feeling lazy.....)

As I was sitting there feeling quite engrossed in the storyline, I happened to glance away from the tv long enough to notice one of the lovely photos I have hanging on the wall.  As soon as I saw it, the thought came to me that it was time to start removing the photos and artworks from the walls and pack them up in preparation for whatever move is coming.  Yes, technically we are locked into a lease here for another nearly five months, BUT I have learned the hard way from past moves to obey that still small voice that whispers in my head to "get packing girlie".  

Every move we have ever made, even ones we didn't yet know we were making, has been preceded by the inner knowledge that it is time to get ready to go.  I appreciate that little bit of knowledge from the Lord, because I am slow at packing. I need a tremendous amount of time if it is possible to have it, plus I am now 9 years older than when we moved into this place and that move was difficult enough for me.  So, although we do not know yet where we are moving, or even exactly when, I just know that I know that I know that it is time to start packing up now the "unnecessarys" we are taking with us.  It is forcing ME to get real about the fact that a move IS coming; it is no longer a nice idea floating around in the back of my thoughts as a far future possibility.  

"The time has come the walrus said......".  Or in this case, it is more likely the Holy Spirit as it has been for the previous 14 moves.  Wall hangings first, with a few knicknacks to fill in the spaces in the boxes: a move is indeed afoot. Aiii yiii....here we go again!!

Great Day In The Morning!!

That is an expression my dearly beloved Irish grandfather used to use when he was particularly shocked by, or in awe of, something unexpected that happened or that he saw or read or heard.  Today, for me, I am using it to mean that today's morning hours were indeed GREAT!!

They were great because we both woke up at the same time, clear headed, rested and ready to begin our day with a healthy breakfast.  As soon as we were done we got ready to head out and do some chores, some of which could wait until mid week next week, but with the forecast of severe cold arriving by then we decided today was the day to do as many things as possible.

By the time we arrived home we had purchased our footwear for our upcoming trip to the west coast and some new turtlenecked teeshirts for my husband so he can replace two raggedy old ones.  We got our water bottles refilled, filled the car tank with gasoline, went to the library, ordered prescriptions, purchased a couple of grocery items, delivered a huge number of books to several community library boxes, and ate lunch out at Birminghams.  The slightly colder weather and bit of snow must have put the kaybosh on shopping and eating out for quite a few folk because the stores and parking lots and restaurant were all close to empty....or else everyone spent all their money on Christmas and had nothing left by today.  Either way it was a marvellous Saturday to be out shopping and dining...so calm compared to the usual Saturday Crazy Crowds.  We are grateful!

Looking forward to our church service in the morning. The following day all my annual January medical madness begins for two solid weeks of one appointment after another.  I am going to be more than ready to head to the west coast when the time comes!! My husband is now napping and I think I will go and do some reading...which means I too will soon be asleep after a happy but somewhat tiring morning.

Not Quite The Day I Expected; But Better Than....

My morning did go as expected, starting my day off with a wonderful visit with my walking partner.  So good to get caught up on each other's Christmas holiday and other news...yup, a grand start to a grey, chilly day.

After she left my husband and I got our coats and boots on.  We decided yesterday we must go to the water refill store today and get more water in our returnable bottles, take my giant bag's worth of books to the various community library boxes and trade them in, then go shopping for a couple of turtle necked shirts for my husband.  Part way through the visit with my friend we saw a bit of snow coming down and by the time we were ready to go out there had been a bit more snow and the temperature seemed very, very cold.  Brrrrr and yuck!  

My husband admitted he isn't feeling very well today, mild but annoying CFS symptoms began to plague him last evening, plus we discovered one of our home bottles was still full, so that would carry us through until Monday IF we decided not to go out today. The turtle necked shirts can wait. My books can wait.  We came to an agreement without saying a word to each other. Off came the boots and coats, back into the closet they went and we have been home all day.  It has been most pleasant, to be honest.  I am quite happy we did not HAVE to go outside.  YAY!!  Staying home felt right at the time and has continued to feel right as the afternoon draws to a close.  

So, as a result of staying home we created a very decent late lunch, got some small chores accomplished AND spent the rest of the afternoon watching my favourite movie of all time: Bridge on the River Kwai!  Despite knowing the movie inside and out, the tension near the end had my stomach in knots....not because I didn't already know the outcome, but because I did.  Such has been the power of the first anti-war movie that I saw in about 1967 on my parents' elderly black and white television.  

The movie was released for televsion in September of 1966 on American television and I watched it in Canada, a somewhat edited version I came to realize later, the following year.  At the end of the movie, when all the lead characters are lying dead, a British officer whose strict adherence to the Geneva Convention, plus his own sense of rightness and morality did not save him, (as well as the Japanese POW camp commander who was robbed of his chance to commit hari kari and die at his own hand with honour), the one remaining American POW camp doctor utters the final line of the script: "Madness, madness....."  And madness it was.  My naive and tender 13 year old emotions fought with themselves for days afterward. I had never really seen any depiction, even the light depiction of POW camp cruelty and torture in this movie, in my young life to that point and I was horrified as reality about the world around me began to take hold in my thoughts.  In 1970, when I was 16, I became very much involved in the Canadian Vietnam War protest movement in my city, sneaking away from home to march in a couple of local protests with other friends from highschool, and I met my first US draft dodger.  When  I had my serious accident at the age of 18, it was a young American Vietnam War veteran who came to my aid.  Today as I watched Bridge on the River Kwai for the umpteenth time, I was able to see the full, nearly three hour version, the emotions I felt as a 13 year old "newbie" to the reality of war resurfaced....horrified, frightened, determined to join the Vietnam war protests, tremendously proud of the writers, actors and makers of a movie that must have been one of the first publicly popular anti-war movies ever produced...no good guys, no bad guys, every character in the movie a true mix of both and trying their best to cope with the horror, the fear and the armed forces mix ups on both sides of the conflict.  I am so glad I could watch it today. The mood of the movie showing inside our suite went hand in hand with the grey sky, clouds, falling snow, wind and cold outside.  

We are finally set up to have some true prairie winter. What a shock to the system! hahaha  Of course we knew it had to happen eventually and January is the perfect month to finally get the true winter started, but oh wow....how much I have enjoyed the break from it this winter season.  I confess....

No new suitable houses came onto the real estate market today, so unless something wild and crazy comes up on the weekend that galvanizes our agent into giving up her weekend off to take us to a showing, we can relax now until Monday. YAY!  Tomorrow I can do laundry since I cleaned my house a couple of days ago and it looks quite decent for the time being.  Or I don't have to do laundry....or anything at all, if I don't feel like it.  YES! I expect I will do laundry...or some other kind of household chore so I don't become bored and completely lacking in exercise.  

Lately I have been enjoying frying up (YES, oil free!!) ground chicken or turkey and stirring part of a bag of fresh cole slaw into the frying pan to sizzle for a few minutes after the meat is cooked.  It is an easy way for me to get my vegetables without a lot of prep time for peeling and washing and chopping whole ones and it tastes really good.  Once it is cooked and in my bowl for consupmtion I drizzle just a touch of white balsamic vinegar over it...just a smidge....to bring out all the flavours.  Yum, yum!! 

I think my project for the rest of the day is going to be going through a massive number of files of old photos  on my big PC and start deleting many that were either bad photos to start with, or else have no relevance any more...such as a photo of a small flower arrangement I saw in someone else's house once years ago and thought it was attractive.  No longer necessary to keep. I can't even remember whose house I saw it in, and looking at the particular blooms I can't remember why I thought it was even picture worthy at the time! hohoho!

I will also be praying for a friend of mine who was just diagnosed with diabetes, but despite having a good talk with the doctor about life and diet changes, meds, etc., is still firmly in denial and not taking very good care of the situation. Sigh.....my assistance is not wanted and that is just fine, but I can still pray for Jesus to assist...and much more effectively than I ever could. Amen!!

Well....If That Don't Beat Awwwwwl!

Today I found a notice from our property management company in our mailbox.  It contained a terse notice that "proper" blinds and/or drapes must be hung on our windows.  The only thing approaching a definition of "proper" is that if there are any flags, sheets, blankets or posters they must be taken down and replaced with the so called "proper" window coverings because: we want to keep our community looking good."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

I have news for our property management company: in order to KEEP a community looking good it first has to GET looking good! First you GET, THEN you KEEP!

As I look around the exterior areas of our buildings I see chronically peeling paint on the deck railings and around the doors, great holes in some of the parking lots, siding with cuts and small holes and rusty spots and remants of elderly spiderwebs, disgustingly filthy windows and cracked, broken cement sidwalks.  However, apparently this "community" will not look good if every tenant doesn't have "proper" window dressings.  This notice is one of the most ludicrous pieces of communication I have ever read. 

I look at the number of foreign students and immigrants from many different nations who live in our complex and wonder how many of them who have NO window coverings whatsoever have open sightings into their suites because they simply haven't a penny left in their budgets to purchase any.  I look at the thick cotton blanket my husband has on the bedroom window, peeping out from behind the "proper" blind that has been there since the days, (up until about 6 years ago), that the management company itself provided "proper" blinds for every tenant's suite.  That blanket is up on the window because it is a single pane of glass and without the blanket the bedroom is too freezing cold to sleep in during the winter and too boiling hot in the summer as the early morning sun heats up the room even with that blind down in place.  

I am going to check the Landlord Tenant Act for this province, just out of curiosity, to see if the management company has the legal right to enforce this demand for tenants who have no mention of window coverings in their existing leases.  It makes little difference to me as we are moving in less than 5 months now, but I am really wondering about this issue.  

 If our property management company is so convinced that having "proper" drapes and or blinds is so necessary that they have to send out strongly worded letters about it to their tenants, then they had better be prepared to go back to providing those window treatments themselves to ensure uniformity. If not, then they had better write that requirement into the new leases coming up.  They could also replace the single pane windows in the bedrooms with double paned windows that don't require extra coverings for year round temperature control.  

There are any number of steps they as property managers could be doing if all of a sudden having a nice looking community is such a high priority.  However, since these things would cost them money, of course they are going to try to download the responsiblity for outward appearances onto the tenants.  

Thank you Lord that we are (hopefully) getting out of here as the attitude of this company began changing a couple of years ago and we don't want to be stuck with this kind of silliness.

I have been rejoicing that the weather has remained so warm and wonderful, as I have two weeks of medical appointments and tests starting next week. So...the long term forcast starting toward the middle of next week is for day time highs of -24C and that is to last for some time. hahahahaha  Does that figure or what?  hahaha 'Twas ever thus, right? hahaha 

Happily my walking partner is coming over tomorrow for a visit.  It will be too chilly to walk, but it will be a treat just to get together and chatter for awhile.  

For those of you asking, there hasn't been another update on Cee yet, so I assume things have been going more or less as planned..hopefully....continued thanks for continued prayer! 

Getting Close In The Search For Housing

 We are slowly honing in on a new place to live in the coming months.  Today we looked at a place that is "almost but not quite" what we are looking for.  It is priced too high, but today is its first day on the market, so perhaps, if it is still listed in a couple of weeks' time, we could make a more reasonable offer with some hope of it being accepted, or at least experience some interest by the seller in bargaining.  The place would be adequate with new paint and flooring. What most excites us about it is the neighbourhood it is in.  Ever since we first moved here I have wished we could live there somewhere, but most of the places are too large and expensive.  Soooooo....we shall see what God does.  If this turns out to be the place for us, that is great, but if not, there will be something else. So grateful we began this search so many months before needing to move. My husband just felt we had to get started and I am so grateful for his wisdom.

My day began somewhat early, waking up just before 6:30am after not falling asleep until nearly 2am......BUT MY BOOK WAS SO GOOD I JUST HAD TO FINISH IT before I could go to sleep.  hahahaha That rarely happens to me.  I was going to try to fall asleep for awhile longer, but gave up after a few minutes and got dressed and ready to start my day. Good thing I did: this afternoon we were supposed to have a new water meter installed, but the company called just after I arose to ask if they could come this morning instead. "I can do it right now!", the called told me. Aaaaaargh! I asked him to give me a few minutes to clear a work space for him.  We had to clear off several shelves right around where the  meter is located and we decided late last night to do that this morning, thinking we had lots of time even if my husband slept in. Instead I had to wake him out of a sound sleep so he could stumble to the basement with me and move the boxes of tools that are too heavy for me to lift.  The poor guy. He has been exhausted all day as a result.  Thankfully we had no plans this evening so an early bed time should stand him in good stead for his energy to return tomorrow.  It is good to have the first "big" commitment of the new year over and done with....the new meter looks very efficient.  It is located directly behind the washing machine and we are grateful the installer was able to move it over sufficiently to work, but without having to disconnect the taps!  

I am grateful that after several daunting months of trying to get my out of control appetite back in line, the past couple of weeks have certainly been successful. Hallelujah!!  A bit more exercise now is also called for, but I have made a decent start at that each day as well.    What a relief!! The GERD is under control at the moment and I am ever so grateful I can take the medication without any of the side effects showing up...at least not yet.  I was more ill, and for longer, than I realized.  It started early last spring but I had no idea anything serious was going on.

Update on Cee for you prayer warriors in the crowd:  he was diagnosed with atypical pneumonia on top of the clots, BUT the meds are working very well and he has also not had any serious neuropathic pain since entering the hospital.  Other encouraging news is that since he has stabilized and needs to leave hosptal but is not quite ready to go home yet, he has been able to be transferred to a transitional facility for some more intensive physical  therapy to help him regain some strength. AND....drum roll please....he has been accepted into the facility his family has been praying he could get into so that he doesn't have to be moved to a facility out of town!  Nan will be able to see him easily and as often as she wants because he is still in the same town. Thank you Lord!

The weather has remained quite wonderful, although in another week or so it is predicted to be very cold for awhile, weather more in line with the usual reality of prairie winters.  We had a slight skiff of snow yesterday, barely enought to coat the parking lot and today a combination of a few more freezing flakes on top of severe pavement frost on some sidewalks made walking a bit slippery, but no big deal.  I am grateful for every single day like this that reduces the amount of time we will see the -20C to -40C temperatures that are still likely to show up at some point.

Welcoming In The New Year….Hour By Hour By Hour….

It is 3:40am on this first day of the new year. Happy New Year! 2024…already. 2023 is a blur in my mind. So little happened of any huge importance, but many small details made for a busy year, 

I was proud of getting to sleep by 10pm last night, assuming I would have a good long sleep, but alas it was not meant to be. I woke with a start shortly after midnight when a series of text messages buzzed from my cell phone that I had forgotten to turn off. I managed to get back to sleep shortly afterward, only to be awakened before 1:30am by particularly explosive fireworks being set off by revellers a couple of blocks away. Fortunately I went back to sleep quickly. Then at 2:20am my husband, who was having a nightmare, started hollering unintelligible sounds. He was so loud that I wonder if he also awakened our neighbour on the other side of the wall!! Fortunately he got back to sleep within minutes of preparing a sandwich for himself. I have been reading since then, but just finished my book. If I can stay awake another few minutes it will be 4am. Perhaps if I begin reading another book I will fall asleep again….eventually. If I do manage to go back to sleep it will be interesting to see what awakens me at 5am…and 6am….and 7am.

2024 will never be able to complain that I slept through its arrival! As the hymn goes, “Welcome happy morning….”.