Late Night Kid Noise But No Early Morning Goose Wars! Yay!

 After a long and busy day that included a cup of deliciously strong tea which kept me awake late into the evening, I was very pleased that the Goosey Turf Wars from that morning seem to have ended….for now. The weekend event in the park where most of those geese normally reside, that drove them over here for the weekend, ended sometime close to dinnertime last evening so by bedtime all the geese had returned home. This morning we have only our usual five regulars who do very little squawking. Whew!

Our little troupe of middle eastern kids who play outside often even on school nights until midnight or later was at it again last night after a blessed two night reprieve. Last night I didn’t care at all because the tea had ME bouncing off the walls until nearly 1 am….the same time the kids finally went silent….a nice dovetailing that gave me a good start on staying asleep for the night. 

I am grateful! I feel almost awake this morning! Yay!

Goose Wars At 5am….Sigh…..

It was a short night around here sleep-wise. At 5am the latest territorial goose wars erupted on the front lawn immediately below my bedroom window.  An hour and 45 minutes later the war rages on. Apparently across the entire two block long unbroken expanse of fresh green grass at our complex nowhere is as green and fresh and desirable as the patch right here, ten feet below my sleeping quarters. Aaaaargh! Oh the incessant honking, the screeching, the beating wings, the chasing, the nipping….one couple is not even physically involved in the war between the two couples vying for the below my window greenery. They are standing on the sidewalk across the street, four lanes of traffic away, hooting and hollering like banshees while the four combatants under my window chase each other around on the lawn. Big sigh….. My husband is sound asleep in his cool basement hideaway where the goose war cacophony does not penetrate the thick concrete walls. Lucky guy….. I am not sure how well I am going to stay awake to fully enjoy our day out of the city after only five hours of sleep. The motorcycle racers and muffler deficient stunt drivers that enjoy utilizing the wide streets around us didn’t quiet down until around midnight. 

My alarm is set for 40 minutes from now. The geese have finally ceased their squawking. I am sleepy. If I fall asleep for such a short time how groggy and miserable am I going to feel when I wake up? Hahaha…what a crazy start to the day….AND what is this I hear? Apparently the time out is over for the geese. Here they go again….aiiii yiiiiii……at least that answers my question about going back to sleep. 

Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine!!!!

Oh how grand to see the sun coming out and shining brilliantly after another damp and dreary start to the day.  A family of geese came over to our complex this morning....FIFTEEN goslings, still in the "cute" stage, partook of the water in the parking lot puddles and and the new green shoots of grass in the front yard.  Thus far we have barely any piles of poop between our back deck and the car, but I suppose that will soon change.  By late afternoon our gaggle of three to four regulars had grown to about a dozen lollygagging about in the puddles and on the grass behind our place.  Now that the wee ones have been born, the childless couples have been driven out of their usual feeding areas at the park and our complex is the next closest thing to park like with plenty of grass and deep puddles every time it rains.  Well, any reduction at all from the vast numbers we had here over the past two summers is much appreciated.

My husband had a good appointment with his GP this afternoon. The fellow actually listened to him and has proposed a series of tests to check if one of his medications is causing his daily headaches of the past year and if these tests show that a new recommended protocol with this med is also not going to keep the headaches at bay, the doctor has another series of meds lined up to try instead. I am so grateful.  The headaches were becoming debilitating until my husband's nurse friend suggested he try not taking the meds for at least 10 days to see what would happen. By day 3 the headaches had stopped completely. When he went back on them the headaches returned on the second and third days of ingestion, so he stopped them again and made his doctor's appointment.  On day 3 after quitting again the headaches stopped again. Thanking God this doctor has a listening ear and an understanding mind. He rarely if ever makes assumptions and that is very much appreciated. 

Today after the appointment we ran a bunch of errands, stopping for an early dinner at a place that is new to us: The Paddy Wagon. It began a number of years ago as a food truck and now has a couple of brick and mortar locations in the city.  Usually at meal times it is packed out and we haven't felt like bucking the crowds just to get a burger. Today though we were early enough to miss the dinner crowd and had the place almost to ourselves.  Our smash burgers were delicious, hamburgers that actually tasted like real beef, excellent veggies and sauces on the burgers, reasonably sized locally made buns that have a lower carb count than most of the burger buns/breads at other restaurants here, so I was able to eat the bun. The fries were to salty for my husband's tastes but we can ask for no extra salt next time. My husband enjoyed his Greek burger that had a ton of feta cheese and lettuce and tomato slices on it. I particularly enjoyed the crunchy onions on mine...and there was no problem at all requesting that none of the bbq style sauces be added to my burger.  It isn't particularly inexpensive, but it is still less money than the burgers at most other restaurants here, so we were very happy with what we got for our money.  We found out when their slowest times usually are in the course of a week and next time we have the chance to go there we will bear those times in mind.  From what I can figure out, the meal cost us about ten dollars more than combos from, say, A&W and the quality of meat and what is put on the burgers is higher.  That is our opinion anyway. The only "almost a complaint" is that the metal chairs are not comfortable and if your behind size is larger than a woman's size 10-12 or a mans' Medium there could be trouble fitting into them at all.  Takeout may be preferable in that case.  It was fun to try somewhere different.  We almost always go out for a meal after my husband's medical appointments, usually rejoicing in him receiving fairly good news.  As he gets over the other physical issues associated with this latest round of CFS, the mental stresses also are decreasing, fortunately.  

And now, it is time to watch the last couple of days of the present Sumo Tournament!!  It has been quite a tournament for injuries, with all but two of the top tier fighters out of the tournament...the number of injury withdrawals has been terrifying.  Both Yokozuna are out and there is only one Ozeki left, along with two Sekiwake, one of which is hoping for a promotion back to Ozeki at the end of this tournament.  It will be really something if a rank and filer Maegashira fighter takes the Emperor's cup this time, although I suspect the Sekiwake bucking for promotion who won the last cup will likely take it again for back to back wins.  Fun to see what happens.

Hope your day has been happy too. 

 

All The Broken Bicycle Repairs, Breaking Up Kid Fights, Frustration and General Noise Both Inside And Outside Of Our Building Is Worth It.....

 ....when we go out grocery shopping and our newly adopted "grandkids" are standing at the other end of the court waving wildly and shouting "Hi Grandpa and Grandma!!" as we walk to our car, their little olive and black faces grinning happily at us.  Our hearts are so touched...bless the little blighters!  They are incredible little souls with all their foibles and immigrant based confusion regarding life in Canada.  Love 'em to pieces!!

Doing Thursday’s And Friday’s Chores Tomorrow…Bad Storm Forecast….

 Looks like my morning coffee time on Thursday with my friend is going to end up being cancelled again if the weather forecast tonight holds true. Good grief....we both just laughed and laughed when we read tonight's weather warning.  The fact that it was issued more than 24 hours in advance of this particular storm system coming in from the west tells me there is a very good chance the storm is actually going to happen and is, as reported, going to be a pretty bad one with gale force winds starting tomorrow evening at about 50km to 70km and cresting throughout Thursday with gusty periods of 110km.  Along with wind serious enough that we have been warned it could cause everything from prolonged power outages to roof, tree and vehicle damage, (so high sided vehicles like semis and RV/trailer units are already being warned to consider staying off the highways all together for a couple of days),  we may receive between  20mm and 40mm of rain in a less than 24 hour period.  Sigh....well, climate change or whatever is fuelling these unusual weather patterns in North America, is showing itself finally in our own area of the world this spring and summer.  Tonight my husband went outside after dinner and shovelled a fair amount of black dirt from the pile in the parking lot. He filled in the space all along one side of our suite where the dry soil has pulled away from the building as there tends to be leaks there when the wind tosses large amounts of rain in that crack.  He also checked to make sure the two huge slabs of lumber we have in our basement are still there so that we can pull them over the deep window wells on the other side of the building.  If they begin to fill with water, that water finds all manner of little cracks in the foundation to flood our basement with.  I am glad I thought to purchase a new mop for our kitchen floor when we were at Princess Auto yesterday, so the old one could go to the basement, along with the old pail, in case we have to do some serious mopping up in the next few days.  Although my husband has done a masterful job sealing the foundation cracks, when driving rain in vast amounts hits us, there are always undiscovered cracks just waiting to welcome the excess water pouring down the sides of the building and through the small gaps in the basement window sills.  Oh Lord, deliver us all from damage. Thank you, bless you Father and Amen.

I was able to do six loads of laundry today while my husband spent his afternoon with his hiking buddy planning their trip to the mountains of Alberta in June. They got their routes planned, but will have to check for bear incident related closures right before they leave as there have been so many closures after multiple bear attacks already this spring.  They have their food and accommodation and equipment needs looked after, so it is an exciting time for them. Unfortunately his friend's wife who had planned to spend time with me has been called out of town to work during that exact time, so I will have to be certain I actually make plans for myself, to see some friends, or it will be a very long and boring time for me. Thanking God I have our vehicle to use while he is gone. 

 My husband had some inside work he wanted to do in our basement this evening, after shovelling dirt and, with the help of another new neighbour fellow, sweeping up the mess in the parking lot some of the kids made tossing dirt and gravel around from the piles sitting out there,  but when the African children from the next building, whose bicycles he repaired last summer, realized he was out there they descended on him en masse!  He had three of them out there explaining this year's issues with their poor old bicycles.  Fortunately the new parts we put on them last year held up, but padlocks were lost on some of the bikes, the combination lock combinations to open those types of locks long forgotten over the winter.  So, he spent the evening pumping up tires, sawing old combination locks off and then locating the brand new locking system he bought for himself some years ago and never used.  It is the kind they can wrap around all of the bikes at once and then secure them to their back deck.  He put the key on a long red ribbon that the oldest girl put around her neck, showed her how to make it all work and she thanked him profusely. It is the most lovely thing to be told, "God bless you." by a 13 year old immigrant girl who has never had the material items we are so used to. Her gratitude is deeply felt and very sincere.    

After the initial repairs, when my husband went back inside to locate the new locking system, dear little bully Mohammad decided to attack one of the smaller African boys, not realizing I was standing right there watching.  I used my best school teacher voice to tell him to cut it out, which shocked him into at least temporary submission. hahaha  Then the oldest boy from next door to us decided he was going to ride one of the African kid's bikes and snatched it away from her. She said that no, he wasn't allowed to ride it any more because he and his  younger brother have been stealing the African kids' bikes right off their deck and their mom has already had to go and speak to the other mom to get the bikes back.  Apparently no consequences of any consideration were handed out by the little thieves' mom. Our neighbour boy grabbed it back from her and said he was going to ride it and as far as he was concerned it was his bike now. So, the old school teacher said she thought not, actually.  Apparently my stern tone got through so he released the bike.  I helped the kids get their bikes back to their place just as my husband reappeared with the wonderful locking system.   Hopefully the drama will end soon or it is going to be a loud, brutal, thieving, bloody nosed summer around here for the first time since we moved in over 11 years ago.  The kids causing the problems are all from the same country, have all fled to and from refugee camps at about the same time, have all experienced horrors beyond my imagination and have had to fight with other refugee kids over every possible little broken toy or rusty bike that made its way into their camp.  It is going to take some time for them to settle down, if they ever do.  I feel for them.  They have had rotten lives already and they are already only aged 8-13.  All of their dads suffer from varying degrees of PTSD and other mental health issues. The African kids haven't seen their dad in 3 years.  A problem in his family caused him to return to Africa to help solve the issue and when he tried to return he had visa issues, so he is still trying to return to Canada.  His daughter is afraid he will have forgotten all of his English and she has not spoken Swahili much since she started school here three years ago, so that is a stress for her.  Oh these kids...what they have been through in their short lives. My husband and I have decided that our "ministry" to these kids, if we want to call it that, is to simply be a presence this summer. My husband purchased a nice lawn chair so he can sit out on the back deck and read late in the afternoon when the kids get home from school and will really enjoy spending some mornings out there in the summer before it gets too hot.  The kids seem to love it when we are out there talking to them and praising their soccer and bike riding prowess, at least temporarily submitting to our admonishments to treat each other more kindly....there are some talented little fellows in this complex when it comes to playing soccer, bully Mohammad being the star. Wow, that kid is talented...so smart and articulate too. I really hope he can eventually get a handle on his behaviour.

Haircut tomorrow!  I can hardly wait!  Then a run to the water refill store to get all our water jugs refilled instead of waiting until Friday....not certain where I am going to put the last gallon's worth as I don't have quite enough containers free to take it, but I will work something out.  We have a library book due on Friday and have renewed it twice already so it has to go back even though we aren't quite finished reading it, but it is an older book that doesn't have a waiting list, so likely we can take it out again next week.  Not waiting until Friday, just in case the storm actually arrives.  

It has been lovely sitting here beside the wide open windows while the suite cools down for the night. It is nearly 11pm and I haven't had to close them yet.  I spent the day doing laundry so the heat built up a bit upstairs.  It has been so many months since we could open the windows that I am unwilling to shut them so I can go to bed and sleep.  Guess it is that time though. Sleep well tonight all.   

 

 

Last Summer We Had Ibrahim The Little Dickens; This Summer We Have Mohammad The Suave Supersalesman!

 It is going to be an interesting summer around here in terms of the kids in our court playing outside.  Last year we had Ibrahim: brash, forthright, demanding, sailor-mouthed, tomato thieving, but adorable. This year we have Mohammed: suave, fully bilingual in Arabic and English, our supersalesman.  

Mohmmad is 8 years old and in grade 3.  He is the one who sold us the local coupon book for raise money for his school.  He is intelligent and quick to answer with plausible sounding excuses for the mischief he does around here. When we came home from church today and were about to cross our lawn where he was tossing a ball with our neighbour, I motioned for him to go ahead and toss it before I attempted to cross their "playing field" to get to my back door.  Slick as anything he bowed, motioned with his hand for me to go ahead and said, "Ladies first!".  The same little man saw my husband look out our open bedroom window when a terrible thump-bang occurred outside and called out, "I'm sorry sir." "Hmmmm", said my husband. "What are you sorry about Mohammad?"  He was sorry that his soccer ball had gotten out of his control and landed with great force on the roof of our car.  He was telling the truth though when he said, "But it didn't dent the roof."  (lucky for him)  A few minutes ago he was playing outside our back step with a big clump of damp black dirt from the maintenance pile in the parking lot spilling out of his hands. We wondered where that large ball of dirt was going to end up and sure enough, when I followed my suspicions and opened up the back door a few minutes later there were smaller clumps of damp dirt all over our back deck.  hahahaha  As I was sweeping it up my husband came out to ask Mohammad what had happened. He said that he was trying to throw it at his friends from next door but he had missed and it landed on our deck and fractured into all those smaller clumps.  My husband told Mohammad that he is good with a soccer ball (usually anyway) but not so good with clumps of dirt.  He also told the young man that it isn't really a good idea to throw dirt clumps at his friends.  Mohammad's reply had me in stitches. "It is okay, they allow it." hahahahahahaha

It took me several weeks to get over everything Ibrahim pulled around here last summer before his family moved away last September, but it is likely Mohammad and his little trouble making brother are here for the long haul. SO my decision is to pretend, for every harmless if frustrating prank he pulls, that he is my grandson and that is just life as a grandparent.  It will help me cope, but to be honest, as I get older I find the kids less upsetting and annoying. They are who they are and unless they are deliberately causing damage, I will choose to chuckle at their antics instead of letting OCD rage over the unfairness of it all take over.

It IS going to be a good summer with the local kids, it IS, it IS, it IS!!!! I am turning slowly into a softy toffee with the neighbourhood kids....wow...never thought I'd see the day, but I am glad I am becoming more reasonable and getting more control over the OCD responses.

Update On Middy

For those of you who have started praying for Middy! An appointment has already been scheduled with the specialist in Saskatoon tomorrow! 

Now we are asking for dry roads for the several hours long drive for Middy and his mom to get to that hospital. Right now there may be freezing drizzle on those highways. We have it here where we live and I pray it stays away from their connecting roads to the city.

We are pleased that our football team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, won the Grey Cup tonight. Way to go guys! The party we went to was fun….a small group, but a great group of friends.

We had a most delicious lunch with other friends after church this morning at the Cafe Francais. The menu was more extensive than we thought it would be and the food was delicious! Perfect egg dishes and bacon fried to almost crispy but not over done deliciousness, French Toast that was outside slightly crispy and inside soft ‘n’ melty, a small yogurt and fruit parfait, delicate croissants stuffed and heated with a variety of fillings….it was a very nice meal, made all the more special by sharing it with friends. 

The kids and younger teens did a lot of the church service today. Between 15 and 20 kids took part in the greetings, prayers, music and scripture readings. My goodness we have a great number of excellent readers and from many different cultures whose first languages are not English. They did a great job. Even the youngest ones in kindergarten and pre-school said their parts perfectly. It was awesome.

I went to the pharmacy today to pick up an antihistamine and before leaving the building the Lord gave me the presence of mind to ask the pharmacist if the prescription I ordered yesterday for Monday pickup might just be filled already and it was! It means that when tomorrow comes with tonight’s foggy drizzle turned to a coating of ice all over everything by morning, I will be able to stay home and not have to endanger myself by having to go out. Yay and amen! 

This Week's Outdoor Entertainment!

 

It began with a small group of goslings!

The group began to grow!

 

                          The little munchkins have the full meal deal on our back lawn area.

I Guess “Uncle Harry” Has Finally Gone To Meet His Maker…

 ….the usual trio of first to arrive geese have not returned this year. The constantly squawking Uncle Harry, as I dubbed him, has not come  back to continue his years long frantic search for his missing mate. I hope he is finally at peace. This year there are two couples screeching at each other as they vie for whatever teensy dry patches of still dead grass are available in among the still deep snow cover on the lawns. None of them are banded so none of them are the returning “Abraham and Sarah” who, along with Uncle Harry, arrived back in the area incredibly early each year for at least six years. These four are slightly smaller in build and are far feistier than our former early birds. My poop scooping shovel has been retrieved from the basement and is at the ready for what may be a very crowded spring out on our lawns…..another reason our next door neighbours are moving is the constant poopy mess from the geese. I get it….it is disappointing that such gloriously beautiful birds have to be so destructive and messy.

Yup, As A Retired Person, I Get It...See Below!

 

Truth From The Peanuts Gang!!!

Our Morning Menagerie!

This morning at 7 o’clock I  was awakened by an avian ruckus going on in the parking lot. Three large gulls were chasing the crows and our widowed goose, the dear Uncle Harry, (who has spent the last three summers wandering aimlessly about our complex seeking and incessantly honking for his former mate), away from the remains of the shrinking puddle created in our parking lot from Saturday night’s rain. The gulls were screeching, the crows were cawing and Uncle Harry was more confused than usual as he was chased away from the water so the gulls could drink their fill and splash about throwing water up onto their backs and wings. Hares who began hopping across my back lawn heard the gulls, stopped and looked about, then loped off at high speed….all nine of them. Then I noticed the tiny body of our front step’s resident gopher sprawled out under our window. The maintenance staff must have finally realized he was here digging underneath the steps. They took care of things. Poor little fellow. He was making quite a mess though and was also gnawing daily on the bottom post of our back porch railing, so unfortunately the sad deed had to be done. Do I shovel his remains out from under my window or run a contest about how long it will take maintenance to find and remove his wee carcass? Place your bets ladies and gentlemen!! The neighbours’ beautiful black and white cat is also not thrilled by the presence of the noisy gulls. She is curled up on their deck railing gazing mournfully at them and flattening her ears as the level of cacophony rises. Aaaah, early morning activities at our own personal zoo……included in our rent too!! 

My Kinda Gardening Store

 A friend sent this to me the other day because she and I share the same type of gardening “skills”. It was seen on a sign at a plant and gardening retail store. 

The sign said:

“I don’t know what it is…..but it has green leaves. Now In Stock!”

Yup….

Congratulations To DarBar!!

 We have had such a blast this week celebrating birthdays and anniversaries....our own and other peoples' as well.  Last night we went to DarBar and ordered plate after plate of their marvellous Indian food.  We brought home six take out containers!!!  What fun!  We ate Indian food today for lunch and dinner and there is enough left over for us to eat one or two more meals tomorrow as well.  YUMMY!!  We were so happy to find out from the owners last night that beside their second location in Warman that opened a few years ago, they will be opening a third location in Saskatoon this coming weekend.  We hope it is a huge success there like it is here.   Okay, we admit that part of our hope for them to flourish in Saskatoon is selfish:  we only go to S'toon occasionally but when we do, probably because we don't know the city, we seem to end up eating at restaurants that run the gamut from mediocre to downright terrible!  hahaha  At least next time we go there we will have a great place to eat a meal! hahaha  Seriously, we hope they do well there.  They work so hard and their food is about the best Indian cuisine we have found in this province thus far.

My husband had an early morning meeting today, so my husband ditched the idea of doing any income tax and he spent most of the afternoon looking up campsites in AB for a planned trip with our son this summer....a men's trip to the mountains.  He will do income taxes tomorrow instead.  I slept horribly last night because I pulled some muscles in my shoulder hauling a heavy water jug around during the day and then I slept on that shoulder awkwardly for some unknown reason.  I spent most of today sitting in my recliner in pain, feeling horrible!!  Fortunately by late afternoon the pain was nearly gone and tonight those muscles are still tender but I think if I am careful how I lie in bed tonight I will be a lot better tomorrow.  So, I didn't do any taxes either.  My husband will get a jump start on his in the morning while I am out with a friend and then I will join him to do mine in the afternoon.  Thankfully our income taxes are pretty uncomplicated so we can do them ourselves.  We shall see if we can get them done by the following day and into the mail so we can concentrate on other things of the next most immediate importance.

Had a cute thing happen just before dinner tonight. Someone started pounding on the back door. We opened it to find the two young visiting cousins of some neighbours in our building. They are about 8 years old at most and have been visiting for a couple of days. One of them had stuffed one of our neighbours cats into his backpack with just her eyes and ears showing and the other was the spokesman for their cause. hahahaha  "We were wondering if you had some garbage we could take out for you for $2 and maybe a tip as well, so we can buy cat supplies for this cat we found." hahaha  Enterprising little liars, I will give them that.  We kind of chuckled and pretended to believe them, handed them a full bag of kitchen garbage and watched the pitch man run it to the bin while the second waited at our door to be sure they were going to get paid.  My husband gave them the requested tooney...no extra tip...when the pitch man returned from the garbage bin. We wished them well.  The pitch man turned to us as he was heading down the steps and said, "Our cousins told us to come here because you are really nice people." hahahahahaha  Unfortunately we are likely now going to have a run of visiting cousins and friends of this family...and there are many....thinking of various ways they can pitch us a reason why we should give them money.  Fortunately I have a stack of toonies to spare and if I am correct about what may happen, it will be interesting to see how many crazy stories they can come up with to get their money. hahahaha  After such an excruciatingly painful day for me, these two little characters really cheered me up and made me howl with laughter after they left.

This should be the last really cold night before the weather starts to warm up for awhile...hopefully until the end of October!!!  My husband had to do some serious ice scraping off our windshield at 7:30 this morning and I will have to do the same tomorrow moring I am guessing. But then, slowly the spring temperatures will begin in earnest. I can hardly wait!

Did We Actually NEED Another Reason To Move Out Of Here?

Our neighbour on the other side of the wall has a new puppy and it is the cutest thing ever.  It is some kind of cross breed that I don't immediately recognize, but who wouldn't fall in love with deep brown eyes and long floppy brown/white ears, right????  hahahaha SO ADORABLE!!!!

Said puppy is very, tiny, very young and thus makes very little noise even when it cries and barks, so we didn't even know he was there until we saw her carrying him past our window yesterday.  Apparently he is going to grow a LOT larger in the coming months and therefore quite a bit louder when he make his wishes known.  Our neighbour is paranoid about the dog making enough noise to disturb us and we don't want her worrying about that because as he grows into himself and finds his voice, we will be on the cusp of moving out of here and the next neighbours in here may not have issues with a bit of barking....they may have their own dog to deal with.  We are among the last of the tenants in our court who do not have a dog or several cats or other pets.  The dog friendly property managers in this city are reducing the number of possibilities for us to find a rental where I will not be dealing with left over dog and cat hair and dander that leave me struggling with my asthma, so the Lord is being asked on a regular basis to find us the miracle home we are going to need if we are staying here in this city.

This dear puppy next door was found by our neighbour's family many miles outside the city, abandoned and freezing in a snowbank.  Poor wee thing.  His tiny frozen paws are recovering and he is going to be just fine, but what a horrible start to life.  Grateful he was found and rescued. Attempts to locate an owner came to nought and perhaps that is a good thing by the sound of the situation.

How I would love NOT having asthma and be able to be one of those doggy or kitty people so I too could have a pet...or pets...even better......

We Are A Happy People!

Over the past several days my husband and I have met some very interesting people who work in retail and banking.  What makes them so interesting is how much they enjoy their jobs.  Interacting with smiling, friendly folk who work with and for the general public is becoming less common as life in that sector becomes more stressed and strained.  This week we have met three different bank employees between Conexus and RBC who love what they do, enjoy the challenges both of the actual work involved and also in straightening out the inevitable misunderstandings that occur with banking clients.  It was a joy dealing with all three of them due to their positivity.  We met a couple of employees at Sears this morning who were falling all over themselves telling us that today is Senior's Day and explaining the discounts, as well as making certain we were getting the assistance we needed for one particular transaction.  The other day we interacted with a Canadian Tire cashier who exuded good humour: she mentioned to my husband as he paid for his items that the security bars at the exit doors were malfunctioning that day and might start beeping and screeching as he exited despite having paid for his purchase, in which case he should just stand there with his receipt in his hand and wait for a few seconds for her to come and shut the system down long enough for him to get out.  "OR...", she said, "you could just make a run for it and see how far you got before a security guard takes you down. That would be WAY more fun for the rest of us!" hahahahaha  We have dealt with her before and she is a most hilarious character.  If we are purchasing something from CT we always check to see if she is working that day and try to get into the line at her pay station.  

I don't ever remember having the enthusiasm and joy in any of my jobs that these particular people displayed to us this week.  It was so very refreshing to see them having such a great time in their positions.  I hope that can soon become more of the "norm" as their cheer is contageous to us.  We came away from all of these interactions feeling buoyed up and happier than before.  Way to go people....may you always have reasons to feel the joy you feel right now as you go about your daily work.  YES!!

Wow....it is tres chilly outside today.  Earlier this morning the windchill was between -35C and -40C depending on where in the city you happened to be.  Fortunately there has been very little wind, so it is tolerable to be outside for a few minutes.  I was able to spend over half an hour shovelling and windshield clearing at 8:45am and only partially froze all my fingers in the process! hahaha Thanking God for having 2 pair of warm mittens that fit inside each other, without cramping my fingers, allowing for maxiumum air circulation inside their woolly warmness.  This kind of weather is quite alright if I put on the proper outdoor wear.  No doubt we will have a few more days of this actual winter weather interspersed with more unseasonably warm days before spring arrives in.....mid to late April??  We should be so fortunate, right?

My Li'l Buddy

 My buddy Milo looking pensive: 

How cute is this buddy, right? I am enjoying other peoples' pets these days!

 

Well, the verdict seems to be in on our mattresses:  YES!  POSITIVE!  Great sleep!!  We will test them out for a few more days to be certain, but if last night's good sleep is any indication, all will be well with those mattresses for some time to come!  YAY!

Surely Cuteness and Mercy Will Follow Me All The Days Of My Life!

 Pentecost Sunday service at my church today was quite marvellous!  The kids did most of the service and it was an absolute hoot!!  As the pastor said when he got up to preach the sermon, "Animals and kids....the preacher can't compete!"  How very true.

The prelude music was provided by our senior pastor's very musically accomplished 12 year old daughter.  It was lovely and she was thrilled that the congregation broke the unspoken rule and actually applauded her excellent efforts.  Then the Sunday School kids processed down both aisles carrying the Bible, candle and snuffer and all waving long poles with red, orange and yellow streamers on the ends.  Oh how those kids, particularly the wee ones, enjoyed waving those streamers!  So much did one teensy 18 month old girl enjoy it that when the children's pastor tried to have her put it down so that the next part of the service could start, she whacked said pastor in the face and announced her intention to retain it with a loud and emphatic "NO!!"  Unfortunately for her the pastor was not fazed by the whacking, removed the pole from wee one's hands and convinced her quite quickly to take her next assigned spot with the other children so they could share the presentation of the Call  To Worship...complete with giggles, lisps, shyness and some crystal clear readings.

Many of the kids were wearing some article of clothing that was red in honour of the Pentecost celebration, but one preteen stood out. He is a sweet kid with a speech impediment who manfully delivered a reading he had obviously worked hard to prepare. His hair stuck out in all directions, his glasses were crooked on his face and falling down his nose and his bright orange tee shirt had Los Angeles County Jail printed on the front. hahahaha  He is also autistic and wow, he really overcame a lot of fear and shyness to make his excellent presentation. So proud of him!

A most articulate three year old boy was included in saying some of the Prayers of the People.  Each of the children, the youngest in the Sunday School, were asked to pray and thank Jesus for something.  Accute Audience Awareness kicked in for some of them and suddenly they had nothing to say, but the children's pastor gave each of them several chances. We had thank yous to Jesus for homework completed, for bicycles, for Mommy, for sunshine and of course there were a few who never could get beyond, "Ummm.....". hahaha Then they were asked to pray for something they wanted Jesus to do for them and the articulate three year old paused, thought, and waited for a minute without saying anything, so when the pastor asked him again what he wanted to pray for, he indignantly told her, "I'm THINKING about it!!!" hahahahahaha One girl who is about ten wanted to ask Jesus that love would spread around the world. How sweet. She was so very sincere in her request.  The choir came downstairs out of the choir loft and joined the kids in a joyful song about the Holy Spirit, with the congregation joining in part way through.  That was so much fun for everybody.  Then it was time for the sermon and instead of the kids heading downstairs for Sunday School, they were given papers to draw on, pencils and crayons and as a group they sat on the carpeted floor on one side of the sanctuary.  There were about 20 of the smaller kids and then a couple of the older kids and associate pastor sat with them. That large group of children, tucked into a fairly tiny space for the rest of the service, did not let a peep escape them as they worked diligently on their drawing projects. The little fellow with the bright orange prison tee shirt stopped working part way through and sat listening to the rest of the sermon, completely entranced, engaged by what the pastor was saying.  The service ended with one of the older teens doing the postlude: Mozart's Sonata in C Major. My, he did a beautiful job of it.  He is an excellent pianist, very relaxed, a great performer.

The first batch of my music was delivered today to the family of the Mozart pianist. They are all musical and will enjoy a little trip through the decades from the 1960's to the present time as they go through my old church music books. hahaha  I think they will all have fun with it.

Person #1 is apparently not interested in my piano after all, so this afternoon Person #2 will be approached by  one of the pastoral staff about taking it for his daughter's piano lessons. I do hope he will agree to take it.  It is a real piano, proper keyboard, even though it is electric.  Praying it will work out for him as I don't really want to just drop it at a thrift store.  I really want to get it out of here so I am not tempted to become emotionally upset about losing it, but also because I want to rearrange the furniture properly and purchase a small loveseat I have my eye on and a new floor lamp to fill that space the piano was in.  We are in desperate need of more seating, especially when both our fellowship groups are here.

Well, we have also been the recipients of great mercy in the past 15 hours or so!  Our city received quite a bit of flooding after a huge thunder storm last evening and another one overnight.  Rain deluging everywhere and everything, hail, wind....there was an actual tornado that touched down not too far from the city...minimal damage it seems.  I watched a video last last evening taken of an intersection only a few blocks from our place: there was water so deep that only the 3/4 ton trucks were able to drive through it without sparking out their motors!  

After church today we tried to stop at our nearby pharmacy/convenience store and a big sign on the door announced it is closed due to flooding and so was the adjoining building that houses a medical clinic...there will be no clinic today. They are flooded right out!  So, to get what we needed to purchase we had to go to a different grocery store only three blocks from our home.  It was open and busy, but as we were standing in line a fellow came up to the cashier and said he was there with his crew to assess the water damage in the basement and try to suck all the water out.  Wow...another flooded store!

And the mercy for us is this:  our basement, by rights and by history, should be absolutely filled with water!  Instead, there is a quarter of a pail full in the one corner that leaks if a mouse spits on the ground. The siphon system my husband created was working perfectly to keep it off the floor.  There is NO WATER anywhere else down there and believe me, we looked. We looked before bed, we looked in the middle of the night, we looked when we woke up this morning and we looked again after being out this morning....everything is dry!  THANK YOU JESUS!  I don't know why we were spared when so many others were not, but we are grateful, grateful, grateful!!!

Received a happy email from our son today. He is out at the summer house on Long Island enjoying the ocean and beach, working on his computer and getting a bit of a relaxing weekend for a change.  He had much good news to share: a gallery owner he knows is going to ship some of his paintings to a well known Miami art fair at the end of this year and next year is offering my son his first solo exhibition at his now quite well known gallery.  It is just what my son and the Department of Homeland Securities need to have happen to help ensure a visa renewal a couple of years from now.  Again, THANK YOU JESUS!  We are almost as excited and grateful as our son is.

My husband is able to work at his friend's house this afternoon. All the boards he needs to paint for that outdoor project were moved into his friend's garage yesterday so they stayed dry during the storm. YAY! 

So much cuteness today...so many mercies...wow!!

Mid Storm Cuteness!!

 We had a pretty heavy storm tonight!  Teeming rain attacked us for over an hour, the wind gusts became ferocious and there was a bit of hail, that fortunately didn't do much damage at our place as my husband braved the stones to haul our herbs and tomatoes into the kitchen so they wouldn't be pummeled into bits and pieces. Wow....we have been praying for rain for some time...guess we got  a resounding YES from God tonight!  A friend from AB just contacted me because there is flooding in this city and a tornado that touched down in the area and it all made the national news tonight.  I had better get onto my newsfeeds and find out what has been going on right around us all evening.

After the worst of the storm was over, we happened to look out the window just in time to see a teensy gosling emerge from underneath a mommy goose sitting on our front lawn.  What a sweetie!!!  He was flapping around, pulling at the grass, paddling around on the puddle that formed in the lawn in front of our window.  He was having a wonderful time.  Daddy goose put the run on another pair of adult geese that dared to come too close to the gosling and shortly after they moved off a second, equally adorable gosling popped out from underneath its mom. hahahaha  What an incredible wee pair.  We so rarely have any goslings over here at our place. Usually the family groups remain in the park across the street. There were some events going on in the park today, so perhaps this family of geese felt unsafe and came over here. Now of course I am panicking in case the goslings aren't safe from traffic as their parents lead them back to the park in the darkness of night.  Aiiii yiiiii....you see why having pets in years gone by stressed me right out....yikes! Worry, worry, worry....it was as bad as the worrying I did about my own young son's safety. Sigh.

Well, it was fun watching the goslings for a long time during the lull in the storm, before another brief deluge of rain arrived.  Thus far our basement is fairly dry and we have our flood towels spread out in the areas most likely to cause problems from having so much rain fall on the dry, cracking ground  around our building.  By morning we may be mopping up, but for now I think we will just not worry about and get some sleep.  I need to get up REALLY early in the morning, get my breakfast and get dressed by 8am so I have time to watch the Canadian National Diving event.  The granddaughter of a dear friend here in Regina is competing....her first national event and she is only 14!!!!  She recently moved to Montreal to have access to better training.  She wasn't expected to do well as she was competing against experienced Olympic team divers and trainees and she still managed to make it to the finals, in the one meter springboard event.  I thought she would likely come last in the results, but she didn't.  She finished a position or two up from the bottom. In the morning she will be competing on the 3 meter platform, so I really want to see it. I so enjoy watching diving anyway, but having someone I actually know competing makes it even more exciting!

It will be raining again in the morning, so it is a good thing I got my walk in today. Tomorrow there won't be much chance for one.

Human Weather Vane!

 Happy 4:05am! 

If I hadn’t already read the weather forecast I would still know for certain that a cold weather system is about to descend. My complete inability to fall asleep for more than three or four ten minute stretches  since I shut out the bedside light five hours ago is a guarantee the forecast isn’t incorrect! 

Thankfully I should have all day free to nap and get caught up before a meeting this evening. So happy I got the housecleaning done the other day, so no stress over the meeting being held here. Yay! 

After a relatively quiet weekend of laundry, reading and church attendance, I was hoping for a good sleep so I could spring into action this week and be filled with energy, but ‘tis not to be. Oh well. 

We are going to a large group dinner next week and I agreed to bring dessert. Fortunately I have a few days to search the Internet for recipes that will be safe for celiacs, vegans, diabetics (c’est moi), and the lactose intolerant....in hopes of finding SOMETHING to take that is NOT a fruit salad!! Fruit salad is the go to dessert around here these days and I am tired to death of seeing it everywhere we go, but it certainly is the answer for providing a dessert nearly everyone can eat....except for me the diabetic. It would be easier on my personal blood sugar levels to eat a small square of chocolate than to eat a nappee sized bowl of fruit. Anyway it will be fun sleuthing to discover what to make! 

In the midst of the general chit chat and children running around screaming at the top of their lungs thanks to indulgent visiting grandparents, my husband managed to deliver his final short presentation at church yesterday. It was absolute bedlam yesterday, the worst since these after service presentations began. However my husband’s presentation was well received by most of the people who could actually hear him over top of the shrieking. After hearing the volume one tiny toddler was able to achieve, I instantly became grateful that the same little girl had settled for only talking all through the church service and saved her screeching demonstration until afterward. Between the hollering by these two and another large group of adults and teens on the other side of the room clattering about, laughing and chatting at full volume, I was once again grateful for my husband’s never ending supply of patience as he struggled to make himself heard. Our own pastor suffered the same fate during several Sundays of his own presentations. I am not sure what he was thinking by having presentations during coffee hour, but he obviously had his reasons. Yesterday was the final one, thank goodness.

My only chore today is to get Mom’s Estate tax info over to FedEx....if they are even open on this provincial Family Day weekend. If not, the drive there and back before it gets too cold this afternoon will do me good. 

Despite the lack of sleep, and plummeting temperatures, I think it will be a good day today! 

Cinnamon Buns For Dinner Tonight! YES!!!!

 Wow, is it ever cold today!  I am finding it far easier to adjust to the small warm spells this winter than to the more expected plunges into the deep freeze!  I am feeling for friends on Vancouver Island and in the City of Vancouver with their somewhat extreme weather issues of deep snow, below 0 temperatures, strong winds and black ice on the highways!  At least here in Regina we are used to winters like they are getting this year!  

My husband is making cinnamon buns today!  YUMMY!!  They will be our dinner tonight.  I am so excited that my blood sugar has dropped two tenths as of my latest A1C test that I am going to just go right ahead and cheat tonight.  I haven't had much of a blow out in the month since my last test, so this will be it! AND I will exercise for a good hour or more after eating them to help keep my sugar from climbing too high too quickly.  Oh, excitement!! CINNAMON BUNS!!!!

This morning I had my first of two eye examinations at the ophthalmologist's office.  I have this double whammy every six months or so, ever since having the retinal issue a few years ago.  Today was kind of fun.  I have learned to approach the peripheral vision test, with all its flashing little lights, like I would a video game.  My little clicker device was busy today, as there seemed to be more flashing lights than ever to record, so I hope and pray I passed the test....with both eyes!  One of these days I won't get the greatest news about my peripheral vision, but as long as I can, I will enjoy being able to see well enough to be able to drive and read and watch tv and blog!  

I was so happy when the tech asked me if it would be at all possible for me to give up the 8am January 9th follow up exams and meeting with the ophthalmologist and move them to the day after tomorrow instead. Would it?? It would indeed!!!  AND the 2:30pm change of time is even better for my husband as he has to drive me to this long appointment requiring dilation of my pupils.  Going home after those sessions is always a bit fuzzy, so I am grateful he is able to drive me home. One year I took the bus, as he was unavailable, but I nearly got on the wrong bus because I couldn't read the bus banner properly. hahahahaha Thankfully I realized my mistake just in time or I would have ended up out in the boonies way to the north east in the industrial park. hahaha

I stopped in at a grocery store on the way home to pick up the groceries we need for making Christmas dinner that can either be put in the freezer or cupboard until the weekend. I am making a salad, but the produce in this city rarely lasts more than 3 or 4 days before turning brown and mushy, so I will have to brave the last minute shoppers on Friday or Saturday to be able to have fresh enough salad veggies.  I think I will make a spinach salad if at all possible. There are so many fun things a person can do with them.  I have some excellent dressings to make as well, so later this week I will decide what direction I am going to go with it all.

This week's plans, completely non-existent a few days ago, are coming together nicely!  The addition of two eye appointments to my week has worked out well.  My walking partner is coming for a visit one morning.  My husband has his pre-Christmas holiday wrap up meetings with his mens' groups, is meeting a new friend for coffee one morning and we are likely going to be able to have a visit with Kat and Val at some point during the week.  I love it when a week's plans come together!!

My husband has started watching the new season of "His Dark Materials".  He is watching it right now in fact, but when he is done we are going to watch the newest episodes of a programme about an Orangutan rescue centre in Borneo.  They stopped filming when COVID began and I am so excited that a new incarnation of the programme is being shown this year.  The title of the show has changed, as has the format, but the stars of the show are the same adorable orphaned orangutans, much more grown up and closer to being released to the safety of some reserve forest lands than they were a couple of years ago.  

Hope you are surviving winter, wherever you are and that life is treating you well.