Today's quickie prayer is particularly applicable to those of us using worship space shared by three different denominations:
"Lord, like a box of coloured crayons we have an assortment of opinions and beliefs in our family--and it's sometimes challenging to get along. But even though they differ from me, help me to respect and accept them. Help me to love others the way You do."
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Sore, Successful, Safe.....
...and HAPPY!!!!
This afternoon my husband is over at the Cathedral having a meeting with the Dean. On his way in the car he dropped me off at Cornwall Centre so I could pick up a few airline friendly sized hair products for our trip. The idea was that I would do my first solo one mile (or so) walk back home; my first cane-free sojourn of that length. The other day I started realizing how much walking I am going to have to do in Vancouver this coming week and I started to panic that it would not be possible. Today was my day to attempt a real walk for the first time since last September.
Wow, it went so well. Unbelieveably well. SO WELL!!!! Yes, I remembered to just go slowly to decrease the risk of another fall. I watched where I was placing my feet at every step. I planned to stop for a short time of sitting down in a park along the route, about half way home. Well......somehow I missed the park! I came down a sidestreet on the wrong side of it so it didn't make sense to double back another block, then retrace my steps just for the sake of a few moments of rest.
So, I walked in total, with a 2 block side step to the bank, just over one mile without a rest. YAY!!!
Yes, I am sore and if I sit too long now I will have a difficult time getting out of this chair, but I am so excited! I need to be doing this sort of thing at least 5 days a week again...and will be once we get west in a few days. Walking decent distances is the last step in my physio and I can't neglect it any more from sheer mental and emotional laziness. I should have done this weeks ago all ready, BUT now I have started.
AND other good news about my self-discipline: the little treats in the coffee room after church looked particularly appetizing. Without thinking I picked up a tiny shortbread cookie and took it to the table. It looked so cute and delicious sitting in its mini-sized muffin cup. As I set it down on the table I realized it was not a good idea, so returned it to the tray untouched. YAY and thank you Lord!!!
Slowly the discipline in many areas of my life is returning. Whew! I was starting to worry......
This afternoon my husband is over at the Cathedral having a meeting with the Dean. On his way in the car he dropped me off at Cornwall Centre so I could pick up a few airline friendly sized hair products for our trip. The idea was that I would do my first solo one mile (or so) walk back home; my first cane-free sojourn of that length. The other day I started realizing how much walking I am going to have to do in Vancouver this coming week and I started to panic that it would not be possible. Today was my day to attempt a real walk for the first time since last September.
Wow, it went so well. Unbelieveably well. SO WELL!!!! Yes, I remembered to just go slowly to decrease the risk of another fall. I watched where I was placing my feet at every step. I planned to stop for a short time of sitting down in a park along the route, about half way home. Well......somehow I missed the park! I came down a sidestreet on the wrong side of it so it didn't make sense to double back another block, then retrace my steps just for the sake of a few moments of rest.
So, I walked in total, with a 2 block side step to the bank, just over one mile without a rest. YAY!!!
Yes, I am sore and if I sit too long now I will have a difficult time getting out of this chair, but I am so excited! I need to be doing this sort of thing at least 5 days a week again...and will be once we get west in a few days. Walking decent distances is the last step in my physio and I can't neglect it any more from sheer mental and emotional laziness. I should have done this weeks ago all ready, BUT now I have started.
AND other good news about my self-discipline: the little treats in the coffee room after church looked particularly appetizing. Without thinking I picked up a tiny shortbread cookie and took it to the table. It looked so cute and delicious sitting in its mini-sized muffin cup. As I set it down on the table I realized it was not a good idea, so returned it to the tray untouched. YAY and thank you Lord!!!
Slowly the discipline in many areas of my life is returning. Whew! I was starting to worry......
Saturday, June 4, 2016
A Dietary PS
For my own sake of keeping encouraging records to look back on I am going to record some of my wee successes at getting back on the dietary track for my diabetes.
Last night at the baptism there was the temptation of a freshly baked rhubarb cake and a strawberry cheesecake. Ooooh, how I would have loved to have just a tablespoon of each one. HOWEVER before I could fall into any temptation to do that...which would have lead to another tablespoon of each...which would have lead to another tablespoon of each...you know the drill with me.......I noticed a plate of teensy, lemon flavoured, gluten free cookies. The bag was there with the nutritional values label on the back, so I checked it out. I knew the carbs would be high: 18 grams in only 2 of the bite sized biscuits, minus only 4 grams of fibre! Yikes! Gluten free often means "made with beans and/or corn", unfortunately for me. Anyway, I picked up a cocktail napkin and placed ONE itsy bitsy cookie in the middle of it, poured myself two tablespooms of punch into a plastic cup to wash it down with, turned that bite sized morsel into 6 bites and patted myself on the back for beginning to regain some measure of self-control! We had to eat supper so early and it was evening snack time for me anyway, so I am delighted I was able to have something with low sugar and within my evening snack limit.I woke up at a reasonable time this morning feeling properly hungry like I used to feel before I fell off the food wagon. It felt GOOD!!
The challenge is on, thank you Dr. I will rise to it, Lord willing!
Last night at the baptism there was the temptation of a freshly baked rhubarb cake and a strawberry cheesecake. Ooooh, how I would have loved to have just a tablespoon of each one. HOWEVER before I could fall into any temptation to do that...which would have lead to another tablespoon of each...which would have lead to another tablespoon of each...you know the drill with me.......I noticed a plate of teensy, lemon flavoured, gluten free cookies. The bag was there with the nutritional values label on the back, so I checked it out. I knew the carbs would be high: 18 grams in only 2 of the bite sized biscuits, minus only 4 grams of fibre! Yikes! Gluten free often means "made with beans and/or corn", unfortunately for me. Anyway, I picked up a cocktail napkin and placed ONE itsy bitsy cookie in the middle of it, poured myself two tablespooms of punch into a plastic cup to wash it down with, turned that bite sized morsel into 6 bites and patted myself on the back for beginning to regain some measure of self-control! We had to eat supper so early and it was evening snack time for me anyway, so I am delighted I was able to have something with low sugar and within my evening snack limit.I woke up at a reasonable time this morning feeling properly hungry like I used to feel before I fell off the food wagon. It felt GOOD!!
The challenge is on, thank you Dr. I will rise to it, Lord willing!
A Particularly Fun Baptismal Service
Last night at church we had a glorious service of baptism. A fellow in his 30's who has had quite a revelation of the power of God in his life, son of one of our own clergy. He is a great asset to the kingdom and is a powerful witness to his friends.
It was a lot of fun being able to accompany the music. The Lord...it HAD to be the Lord's interference with my arthritis...granted me a far better ability to play without too many glaring mistakes this time than I have had in a couple of years. What a relief! What made it so much fun for me is that most of the family in attendance are from the Pentecostal church, many of them in my own age group. I felt led to play about fifteen minutes of older Pentecostal choruses for the prelude, but wasn't sure how it was going to go over at an Anglican baptism. Whew! It went very well. As I played there were a number of folk either humming along or singing the lyrics to those 70's and 80's ditties. It seemed to relax them as some of them were a bit uptight about all the pomp and ceremony in an Anglican service. Thank you Lord for your leading is all I can say.
The lectionary readings yesterday were all about persecution and suffering, the problems in Uganda being a major prayer focus. How on earth to tie all that negative, horrible stuff into a joyous baptism...but my dear husband pulled it off in his sermon and the Bishop made a solid, positive a connection as well in his prayers. The joy of having Jesus and his kingdom to live for and to die for, to enjoy and to be persecuted for all tied into the baptismal service very well.
We were delighted with the comments about how much the congregants from othe churches enjoyed our liturgy, the level of participation they were able to experience. It is always nerve wracking having people from other denominations at a service that is filled with a fair amount of formality because we don't want to offend them, we don't want to scare them, we just want to all enjoy being in God's kingdom as brothers and sisters together. I would say that goal was more than accomplished. The spirit of the Lord was present all evening. The coffee hour afterward led to some serious sharing back and forth, great visiting around the delicious rhubarb and cheesecakes that the family of the bapstimal candidate baked for us all.
The one bad thing that happened is that our deacon took a tumble off the riser coming down from the pulpit near the start of the service. She wrenched her knee badly and had to be sent home after a half hour with an ice pack. Apparently her knee was dreadfully swollen when she left. I am going to call her in a few minutes and make sure she is okay. Hopefully she did not end up in hospital. It was a wicked fall.
Today the 3 congregations in our building are hosting a garage sale to raise money for the maintenance budget. I could take some time and attend, but I know I will feel obligated to buy things I don't need...actually there is little obligation attached, I simply don't have the discipline to refrain from garage sale purchases! I will be tied up the rest of today doing last minute laundry and ironing and organizing suitcases for packing up on Monday. So, that is my reasoning for not going.
My husband is at a pre-Synod meeting today with the rest of our diocesan delegates. I like these sorts of diocesan meetings because lunch is provided or ordered in and it is one day I don't have to scratch about attempting to find a good lunch to put together for my husband.
After church tomorrow my husband has one meeting to attend and then he is officially on holidays...by dinner time tomorrow evening he will be free and clear to relax and celebrate a month off work. YAY!
It was a lot of fun being able to accompany the music. The Lord...it HAD to be the Lord's interference with my arthritis...granted me a far better ability to play without too many glaring mistakes this time than I have had in a couple of years. What a relief! What made it so much fun for me is that most of the family in attendance are from the Pentecostal church, many of them in my own age group. I felt led to play about fifteen minutes of older Pentecostal choruses for the prelude, but wasn't sure how it was going to go over at an Anglican baptism. Whew! It went very well. As I played there were a number of folk either humming along or singing the lyrics to those 70's and 80's ditties. It seemed to relax them as some of them were a bit uptight about all the pomp and ceremony in an Anglican service. Thank you Lord for your leading is all I can say.
The lectionary readings yesterday were all about persecution and suffering, the problems in Uganda being a major prayer focus. How on earth to tie all that negative, horrible stuff into a joyous baptism...but my dear husband pulled it off in his sermon and the Bishop made a solid, positive a connection as well in his prayers. The joy of having Jesus and his kingdom to live for and to die for, to enjoy and to be persecuted for all tied into the baptismal service very well.
We were delighted with the comments about how much the congregants from othe churches enjoyed our liturgy, the level of participation they were able to experience. It is always nerve wracking having people from other denominations at a service that is filled with a fair amount of formality because we don't want to offend them, we don't want to scare them, we just want to all enjoy being in God's kingdom as brothers and sisters together. I would say that goal was more than accomplished. The spirit of the Lord was present all evening. The coffee hour afterward led to some serious sharing back and forth, great visiting around the delicious rhubarb and cheesecakes that the family of the bapstimal candidate baked for us all.
The one bad thing that happened is that our deacon took a tumble off the riser coming down from the pulpit near the start of the service. She wrenched her knee badly and had to be sent home after a half hour with an ice pack. Apparently her knee was dreadfully swollen when she left. I am going to call her in a few minutes and make sure she is okay. Hopefully she did not end up in hospital. It was a wicked fall.
Today the 3 congregations in our building are hosting a garage sale to raise money for the maintenance budget. I could take some time and attend, but I know I will feel obligated to buy things I don't need...actually there is little obligation attached, I simply don't have the discipline to refrain from garage sale purchases! I will be tied up the rest of today doing last minute laundry and ironing and organizing suitcases for packing up on Monday. So, that is my reasoning for not going.
My husband is at a pre-Synod meeting today with the rest of our diocesan delegates. I like these sorts of diocesan meetings because lunch is provided or ordered in and it is one day I don't have to scratch about attempting to find a good lunch to put together for my husband.
After church tomorrow my husband has one meeting to attend and then he is officially on holidays...by dinner time tomorrow evening he will be free and clear to relax and celebrate a month off work. YAY!
Friday, June 3, 2016
Payin' the Price
My doctor is a sweetie. This morning at my appointment she did not berate me in any way over my A1C going up slightly for the first time in nearly three years. She did not chew me out one bit for the extreme dietary cheating and total lack of exercise I so enjoyed for over half of the last trimester between lab tests. Instead she congratulated me on lowering my blood pressure, obeying her orders to rest, not gaining any more weight and still managing to keep my blood sugar well under diabetic range despite the complete lack of discipline. If I bring my sugar down again and lose the eight pounds I still need to lose again by my August lab tests, she is going to change my lab test schedule from every three months to every six months.
What a wonderful challenge for me to work toward! She also told me I can stop home testing as often as I have been. I told her I knew from my home tests that my A1C was likely up and she told me I need some time off from scaring myself witless. So, I will take my ten days away without testing, be strict with my intake of food, I will get a ton of daily walking exercise in Vancouver, then I will start regular testing again as soon as I get home and see if I am regaining the lost ground.
The other factor putting my system out of whack has been extreme stress, but the main cause of that situation is soon changing and I am all ready getting over that.
So, good changes to aim for. My doctor is an expert at relieving my stress over health issues and giving me achievable goals. Instead of being discouraged I am encouraged that I can do this!
What a wonderful challenge for me to work toward! She also told me I can stop home testing as often as I have been. I told her I knew from my home tests that my A1C was likely up and she told me I need some time off from scaring myself witless. So, I will take my ten days away without testing, be strict with my intake of food, I will get a ton of daily walking exercise in Vancouver, then I will start regular testing again as soon as I get home and see if I am regaining the lost ground.
The other factor putting my system out of whack has been extreme stress, but the main cause of that situation is soon changing and I am all ready getting over that.
So, good changes to aim for. My doctor is an expert at relieving my stress over health issues and giving me achievable goals. Instead of being discouraged I am encouraged that I can do this!
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Not Such a Nice Walk
I had a prescription ready for pickup at my pharmacy, so decided later this morning would be a nice time to go for a little walk over there to get it, beating the forecast for rain this afternoon.
What a disappointment. I wasn't thinking about the myriad tent caterpillars I would encounter along the route. Eeeeeyukkkko! Apparently Regina is on the third year of what may turn out to be a six year infestation of the blasted things. The caterpillars were all through the grass in our complex, so I had to check my clothes after arriving on the sidewalks, they were falling out of the trees so as soon as I reached the pharmacy parking lot three blocks from home I had to stop and check my hair, they were crawling en masse across several of the complex sidewalks so I had to check the bottoms of my shoes before going into the pharmacy and again before re-entering my house.
When I arrived home there were two spiders of different varieties crawling up the inside back door that lost their lives in quick succession before I could unlock the inner door to go inside.
The best part of the walk was not seeing any fresh goose poop in the lawn after yesterday's pick up!
Part of the reason I detest insects so thoroughly is that the mere sight of them makes me itch! On sight, my skin starts crawling as if there is a bug crawling on me! My scalp itches, my legs feel like ants are racing around under my jeans, my ankles start feeling "spider bite hot", and generally it is a miserable feeling from head to toe, even though only rarely do I have any such thing actually on my person.
As I sit here writing about it, my head feels like there is a caterpillar trapped in my hair. Of course there is no caterpillar....I know this because as soon as the feeling began I grabbed a brush and gave my newly shorn mane a good treatment.
How stupid is this automatic reaction to insects? Pretty stupid, I'd say.
Any ideas out there as to how to conquer it?
At least I beat the rain drops....mostly....
What a disappointment. I wasn't thinking about the myriad tent caterpillars I would encounter along the route. Eeeeeyukkkko! Apparently Regina is on the third year of what may turn out to be a six year infestation of the blasted things. The caterpillars were all through the grass in our complex, so I had to check my clothes after arriving on the sidewalks, they were falling out of the trees so as soon as I reached the pharmacy parking lot three blocks from home I had to stop and check my hair, they were crawling en masse across several of the complex sidewalks so I had to check the bottoms of my shoes before going into the pharmacy and again before re-entering my house.
When I arrived home there were two spiders of different varieties crawling up the inside back door that lost their lives in quick succession before I could unlock the inner door to go inside.
The best part of the walk was not seeing any fresh goose poop in the lawn after yesterday's pick up!
Part of the reason I detest insects so thoroughly is that the mere sight of them makes me itch! On sight, my skin starts crawling as if there is a bug crawling on me! My scalp itches, my legs feel like ants are racing around under my jeans, my ankles start feeling "spider bite hot", and generally it is a miserable feeling from head to toe, even though only rarely do I have any such thing actually on my person.
As I sit here writing about it, my head feels like there is a caterpillar trapped in my hair. Of course there is no caterpillar....I know this because as soon as the feeling began I grabbed a brush and gave my newly shorn mane a good treatment.
How stupid is this automatic reaction to insects? Pretty stupid, I'd say.
Any ideas out there as to how to conquer it?
At least I beat the rain drops....mostly....
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
If You Love Indian Food and Live Within 100 Km of Moose Jaw....
....you MUST try eating at Desi Touch! It is worth a bit of a drive for the splendid food! The decor is typical Desi ethnic fusion, (the poster of Marilyn Monroe in a sari is cute, cute!), the place is clean and bright, there is a selection of seating areas, one featuring comfy upholstered booths and another sporting low tables and coffee bar lounge chairs. The decor features calming dark yellows, oranges and reds. The tiny washrooms are updated and clean as well.
But, it is the delicious food that will have us back on the highway soon for a return visit! We had a small meal this evening on our way home from Caronport, the car loaded with my husband's hiking gear after his most glorious trip into the mountains. We shared a bowl of white rice and smothered our plates of rice with the most delicious daal makhnai and chicken jalfrezi we have eaten in a long time. We ordered only one naan to share but it was so huge we still ended up adding it to our leftovers in its very own take away box. The heat of the cooking spices and herbs were not as "dumbed down" for our boring western palates as many of the Induan restaurants around here have had to do. However, the warmth was not too much to handle at all.
O my goodness...I can only hope and pray that the dreadful location on east Athabasca Street, just east of downtown in an almost entirely abandoned former light industrial area is not their undoing. The place is a breath of fresh air out there. May the wonderfully efficient prairie "word of mouth" grapevine be at its best to let all of Moose Jaw know about this somewhat hidden gem. That is how we learned of its existence. So glad we did!
In other news, my husband is safely home, happy, relaxed, cooking up pancakes for the morning and preparing for work tomorrow. This is the most rested and energetic I have seen him after climbing in several years. The conditioning he has been doing in preparation for this trip is paying off! Even waking up to 5cm of snow the first morning out did not decrease his enthusiasm!
But, it is the delicious food that will have us back on the highway soon for a return visit! We had a small meal this evening on our way home from Caronport, the car loaded with my husband's hiking gear after his most glorious trip into the mountains. We shared a bowl of white rice and smothered our plates of rice with the most delicious daal makhnai and chicken jalfrezi we have eaten in a long time. We ordered only one naan to share but it was so huge we still ended up adding it to our leftovers in its very own take away box. The heat of the cooking spices and herbs were not as "dumbed down" for our boring western palates as many of the Induan restaurants around here have had to do. However, the warmth was not too much to handle at all.
O my goodness...I can only hope and pray that the dreadful location on east Athabasca Street, just east of downtown in an almost entirely abandoned former light industrial area is not their undoing. The place is a breath of fresh air out there. May the wonderfully efficient prairie "word of mouth" grapevine be at its best to let all of Moose Jaw know about this somewhat hidden gem. That is how we learned of its existence. So glad we did!
In other news, my husband is safely home, happy, relaxed, cooking up pancakes for the morning and preparing for work tomorrow. This is the most rested and energetic I have seen him after climbing in several years. The conditioning he has been doing in preparation for this trip is paying off! Even waking up to 5cm of snow the first morning out did not decrease his enthusiasm!
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