Happy Birthday Chelsea

Chelsea is my absolutely favourite Winnipeg niece. Yesterday was her 15th birthday. This great picture was taken while we were singing "Happy Birthday" in 16 part harmony. I wish you could have heard us.

We are a talented family.

Yesterday, I had a problem. A pretty big problem. Some very well meaning people planned an outing for me that they thought I'd enjoy. My problem is that after checking the website of the speaker and of the conference, I was pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy it. I know that there will be many women at the conference who will be inspired, challenged and encouraged but this kind of thing is just not my "thing."

My problem though, is how to tell the people who planned this for me that I really didn't want to go. A wise woman suggested to me that I have 2 options: Either be true to myself or keep the peace.

To be true to myself would be to tell my friends that I could not attend this conference. To keep the peace, I would attend, paste a smile on my face and agree that the speaker was indeed funny, inspiring and challenging. While the second option would be easier in some ways, I knew last night that I had to decline the invitation. I'd want to explain why I couldn't go but the reasons for that run deep. I'm pretty sure that my friends would not understand and it would be hard for me to even articulate clearly why I couldn't go. Two hours out of my life is not a long time but there are values and principles that I hold which I would have to deny or set aside in order to participate in this conference.

(At this point some of you who have not clicked on the links for the speaker and conference might be wondering what kind of evil has she gotten herself into and who are her friends anyway? Just click on the links. Those of you who know me will understand)

I have been thinking a lot lately about my values, my passions, my principles and the things that are really important to me. It is for this reason that at this time, I have to decline the invitation. At this time in my life, I need to be true to myself and what I believe and let the chips fall where they may. There will likely be misunderstandings. I may be seen as arrogant. But I will have to live with that. I know that God understands where I'm coming from and that he knows my decision is one that I have made after prayer and consideration and with as much integrity as a fallen, broken, imperfect person can.

During this year, my year of Jubilee, I have decided that I can no longer do things in order to please others. I have spent most of my life doing that, afraid of standing up to people who might not understand where I'm coming from and afraid that they may no longer "like" me. I am realizing in a new way that what they think of me is not my problem, it's theirs. I know that God likes me, he actually loves me. A lot. And that is all that matters.

So, for today, I will be true to myself, to the person God created me to be.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Kristen broke up with CJ today, her boyfriend of 18 months. She is very sad and in tears but she knows that it is for the best. Her hopes, desires and goals did not match those of CJ and she knew that this relationship could not last. It was stagnant and not going anywhere.

I had suggested to her a while ago that CJ might not be the best person for her and it seems that lots of people were telling her the same thing. I've always felt that a relationship could not last much longer than 1 1/2 years without something happening. Either a couple needs to move forward and make some kind of commitment to each other, or they should break up. Of course, there are exceptions to that "rule" but it seems to be the case for most people with whom I am acquainted.

It is the best thing for her and she knows that. I'm happy that she has finally taken this step and I told her that I admire her for doing it. She has known for a while that it had to happen and today she found the courage to do it.

CJ is not taking it so well and I understand that harsh words were spoken. That's too bad but I suppose breaking up can be pretty messy.

Kristen will survive this, I know. She will learn from this too. She will grieve the loss of a friend and I hope she will remember the good things about CJ, not only the bad.

It is my hope and prayer for her and my other 2 sons who have not yet met their "significant other" that they will meet someone who will encourage, challenge and bring out the best in them. I hope that they will meet someone who will love them in spite of their flaws. I hope they will meet people who desire to grow, who are life long learners.

Settling for someone less is just stupid.

The Joys of Having A Dog

It is 4:30 AM. Dixie's been crying/whining/barking on and off all night. I thought I'd better take her out in case she had to go. There are a few people in this old house who have to work tomorrow and I want to be sure they can sleep.

Well, she didn't "go" and now she is sleeping peacefully on my feet while I am wide awake.

Spring is Coming!

I was just packing my groceries into the car and I heard them. The geese. There were hundreds of them and I took a moment to watch them.

They sounded happier now than when they left in the fall.

Looking for Average Male Models

Harlequin Enterprises is having a tough time.

I didn't know this but they use real live models for their book covers. And the real live male models are looking too boyish and thin. So Harlequin has put out a call for average looking men to grace the covers of their romantic novels. If you'd like, you may rate your favourite Harlequin book cover hunks here.

So, any of you average looking men can just head over to Harlequin Enterprises. Maybe you will be the next Harlequin man.

Strange. There doesn't seem to be a problem with pre-pubescent looking girls.

For Whippersnapper

When Whippersnapper asked if my husband was in a rock band I thought, wow, would it ever be cool to be married to a rock musician. But, then again,

maybe not.

Wes, my husband is a humble estimater with a construction company. Not nearly as exciting as a rock musician but a very good husband and a good provider.

Eric's my son and he is part of a band called Aslan's Child.

10 things that show you have crossed the line from being a dog tolerater to a dog lover...

1. You are all dressed wearing your fancy fake fur coat and you reach into the pocket for a tissue and you find liver treats in one pocket and an empty plastic bag in the other.
2. Dog poop no longer totally grosses you out. It only partially grosses you out.
3. You have a baby gate in your house and your youngest child is 18.
4. You visit your sister so the dogs can have a play date.
5. You find yourself actually considering that a dog stroller would be a good purchase.*
6. You have weird dreams about dogs and babies.*
7. You are offended when your son doesn't love your dog as much as you do.
8. You consider buying shares in a paper towel company because you use so much to clean up the dog messes in your house.
9. You become fastidious about cleaning up EVERYTHING that falls on the floor in your kitchen, otherwise the dog will chew it.
10. When you step in a dog pee puddle in the kitchen, you calmly take your socks off and put on a pair of clean ones. Without freaking out.

*Dixie is afraid of traffic and we live on a very busy street. When we take her for a walk, we have to carry her about one block before we can put her down. She is still small enough to carry but if she doesn't get over this fear, it will be hard to take her out for walks.

*I dreamed that Ben and Carolyn (my son and his wife) came over one day carrying a car seat. I didn't know that they were pregnant and while I found a little strange, it seemed quite acceptable for me. I pulled back the cute pink baby blanket and out peered, a black lab puppy, just like Dixie. I oohed and aaahed over the puppy just as I would over a baby.

Dixie

Eric is borrowing my laptop while he is on tour so I will not be posting too much in the next couple of weeks.

Today, I will leave you with some photos of the newest addition to our family. When we decided that Sammy had to go, we all agreed that we would get another dog.

Meet Dixie.

She has been with us for about 2 weeks now and is settling in nicely. She has already learned "sit," "down," and today we started working on "heel." The pooping and peeing is another story but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it one of these days.

Dixie is a lab cross and seems to be a relaxed, happy dog. We are really enjoying her.

Sammy

Sammy's gone to a better place. No. We did not put him down. I could not have done that.

On Saturday, we brought him back to "Cause for Paws," the place we got him from in the first place. They were able to find an adoptive couple for him by Sunday. That made me happy. Apparently, he is now living with an older couple-a very good match I think. I was honest about his behaviour with the CFP people because I didn't want him being sent to a home with children.

It was hard dropping him off at the foster home. On the drive home, Wes was crying and my eyes were a little wet. We knew we had done the right thing but it was still hard.

So long Sammy.

Happy Birthday John

It's a day late but I want to wish my big brother John a happy birthday. Michele blogged about his cool car. I need to tell a story about him too. One that he has probably forgotten.

I received a VERY COOL pen as a Christmas gift when I was in grade 8. It was orange and had psychadelic dots all over it. It (not I) was the epitome of cool, back in the seventies. I was very careful of that pen-didn't want to loose it or anything because I did have a habit of losing things. (My mom went a little balistic once, when I lost a pair of pants. How can you lose PANTS? You WEAR them. How can you lose something you're wearing?)

Sure enough, one day, the pen went missing. A week or 2 later, I noticed that a boy in my class had my pen and was using it. He didn't even look guilty or try to hide it. Frank was a smallish, wiry kind of guy with a temper so I was not willing to confront him. But I knew someone who would.

I wrote a note and passed it to brother John. I still remember walking over to his side of the room and casually dropping the note on his desk, all the while keeping a close eye on the teacher. Passing notes of any kind was absolutely prohibited. If the teacher got a hold of the note and read it aloud, Frank would be embarrassed and I was a little afraid of what might happen on the playground at recess.

After recess, John walked to my side of the room and dropped the pen on my desk. Although he had denied stealing it, Frank was quite willing to relinquish it to John.

I actually kept that pen until the ink ran out. I think I even bought a new refill for it once. I don't know what ever happened to it but every time I used it, I remembered that even though John and I had some major sibling rivalry going on, I could always count on him to stand up for me.

Thanks John. Have a great 52nd year!

Fountain of Youth

I am half way through my 49th year, my "year of Jubilee." I have been contemplating life, dealing with the inevitability of the empty nest, and finally, I am beginning to accept this aging body.

A few days ago I realized in a new way that for most of my life, I have not appreciated my body. I have felt too tall, too short, too fat, too skinny, my feet were too big, my hair wasn't right, my knees were too knobby, my thighs too big, my arms too long...You get the picture.

For much of my life I have tried to beat this body into submission by doing both good and bad things to it. Dieting (bad), exercise (good).

As I was reading the Free Press today, I finally found the answer to my body woes.

All I need is a body makeover and I will look like this woman. Imagine, after living almost 50 years, married for about 28 of them and having 4 children, I can look like this. Oh joy. No need to diet, exercise or do anything except be willing to "go under the knife."

Recuperation would include me, lying on the couch for several weeks and having those wonderful children of mine at my beck and call. I'd read books, eat grapes, watch bad TV and read trashy magazines. At the end of it all, I'll look great with no effort on my part.

For mother's day, this is all I want. Start saving your pennies kids!

Give Aways

"Free, to a good home: 2 year old cocker spaniel. Shots are up to date. Shy. Would do best in a quiet home." Sammy has to leave our home. We had to make a decision between him and the 4 teenagers living in this house.

Last year, when Alvaro was living with us, Sammy would bark and growl at him. Alvaro was okay with this and he accepted the fact that Sammy didn't like him.

This fall, when Medardo came, and later Nik, the growling and barking increased and he started chasing after them and nipping them. Amanda, who lives in the apartment in the basement has also felt Sammy's teeth on her heels and hands. They have all been very gracious to us while we have tried to deal with this problem. He is also beginning to act aggressively toward Tim and Kristen at times.

We've spoken to dog lovers and dog trainers. I perused books in the library and spent time on- line looking for solutions. Wes and I took him to another obedience class and asked the trainer there for suggestions. We have tried everything but shock therapy and nothing has worked. Sammy's aggressive behaviour is getting worse and for the safety of the people living with us, Sammy has got to go.

Sammy has never growled or barked at me or Wes. I believe that he thinks it's his job to protect us (me especially). His behaviour is worst when I'm home alone and someone comes in. I suppose Sammy is only doing what he thinks he must. When I am home alone with him, we have fun. I really like this dog and he loves me. He has turned me from a dog tolerater into a dog lover.

Giving him up is hard and I'm sure that I will shed a few tears when we send him off to another owner. We will give him away. Trying to sell him seems wrong to me.

Our home is a busy one. We have 2 of our own children living with us as well as Medardo and Leo. (Leo came to our home from Brazil a couple of weeks ago when Nik went off to Argentina.) Wes and I are pretty consistent with our comings and goings but the young people in this home come and go at all hours of the day and night. We frequently have people dropping in too. I think that all of this activity is hard for a sensitive dog to deal with.

I'm feeling a little guilty too. Before Sammy came along, everything I read reminded me that this is a big commitment that can last for many years. I felt I was ready for that. I guess we just weren't ready for Sammy. He would do best in a home where there is less activity and more predictability.

We cannot risk Sammy biting someone. Leo and Medardo spend little time downstairs, partly because of Sammy and that's no good. Amanda gets chased down the stairs when she comes home. That does not make for a very peaceful household. I worry that one day Sammy may bite a younger child who comes here. Nipping at heels and legs is one thing but if he were to harm a young child, I could not forgive myself.
I've posted an ad in the Buy and Sell. If anyone who reads this post knows of someone who might like a loveable, sensitive, eager to please dog, who sits, heels, lies down and is working on staying, let me know.

We will get another dog. Our experience with Sammy has been by and large, a positive one. We'll just have to be a little more careful about breed (no purebred) and temperament (calm and gentle).

Happy Birthday Michele

Okay, I Lied

I decided after my last post that I really should do something for my sweetie on Valentines day. So I did.

For Wes, I put my coat and gloves on, slipped into my wooden shoes and put the garbage cans and recycling boxes away.

Nothing says "I love you" in quite the same way.

Happy Valentines Day?

My 2 nephews Micah and Joey have been staying here for the last week and a half. This morning, Micah asked what the date was. I told him February 14.

"Is this Valentines Day?"

"Yeah."

"We're supposed to bring Valentines cards for the whole class. My mom already bought them but they're at my house so I guess I can't hand them out, eh?"

I guess not.


Valentines ranks right up there with Halloween for me. The great thing about Halloween is the fact that it is my daughter's birthday. In my life, there's nothing good about Valentines. Maybe it has something to do with my tendencies to be rebellious. "They" are telling me that I need to show my Valentine that I love him. Well, you can't tell me what to do. So I won't.

Maybe it has something to do with the emotional baggage I've been carrying around since grade 4. Most elementary school teachers require students to give cards to everyone in the class if they are going to hand them out. That was not something we did at school when I was young. And every year, there'd be a few kids who got nothing, a few who got something from almost everyone and the rest (I was one of them) would fall somewhere in-between. Most years I would get 3 or 4 which would remind me again that I was not one of the more popular kids. And I never got one from a boy.


One year, my best friend wrote a poem for me on a card:
Roses are red
Violets are black
You look better
With a knife in your back. (Just kidding!)

Ha. Ha.

Maybe I don't like Valentines day because it simply reminds people who don't have a special someone that they're missing out. I used to get depressed every time Feb. 14 rolled around.

Or maybe Valentines day is an just opportunity for retailers to guilt consumers (primarily men) into buying stuff that they probably think is a waste of their money but they better otherwise they'll be in big trouble.

Early on in our relationship, Wes would give me the prescribed chocolate and flowers. It wasn't too long into our marriage when I suggested that he didn't have to waste his money. Flowers just add to the clutter on my counter and chocolate, well, I can never eat just one piece. So I'd cram the whole box into my mouth and not share. It was ugly. I did not like the way I acted. And then I had to live with the after effects of a sugar rush and heartburn.

Needless to say, we won't be celebrating Valentines day today. I will tell Wes that I love him (something I do most days) and maybe I'll make something for dessert.

So there. That's all.

Winnipeg Remembers

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/02/14/firefighters-memorial.html

Sometimes, the best lessons are taught by the most unlikely people

Last night, as I was reading to Micah, I heard some yelling outside. I ignored it for a while but soon decided to look outside the window to see what was going on. There was someone on the driveway, yelling and acting very strangely. Our neighbour was also out there, speaking to the person in a calm, quiet way, encouraging her to keep walking. I made sure all the doors were locked and then I called 911.

At one point, Tim drove into the driveway and for a brief moment, I was afraid that he'd drive right over her. We have a pretty long driveway and he would not be looking out for a person standing in the way. Fortunately, he saw the woman and was able to avoid her. Tim and the neighbours stayed outside to watch and make sure she wouldn't hurt herself or anyone else. About 30 minutes later, a police cruiser came by and took her away.

Joey, Micah and I were standing by the upstairs window, watching, while all of this took place. The whole situation, while not dangerous for us, was disturbing.

And no teacher, parent or textbook could have taught the lesson about alcohol and drug addictions in a more effective way.

Busted

Did you know that you can edit a web page using "Word?" I learned that today from Micah although I just tried it myself and am unable to do it. I'll have to ask him after school how he did it. This morning, Micah showed me the following item on the CBC Radio website:

"Today, the transpotation said that busses are cancilled because of cold wether ecept st. jhons ravencourt."

I was a little suspicious when I saw that because on the live radio broadcast, it was being reported that all busses were running except for one school in the city. We listened for a little while longer and I was pretty sure that the busses were running.

They are in school today.

Hibernation

Today, I want to stay at home in my jammies, drink tea and let the world go by. Winter in Winnipeg feels like too much.

"Today..Sunny with cloudy periods. 30 percent chance of flurries this morning. Wind becoming north 20 km/h this afternoon. High minus 20. Wind chill minus 34 this afternoon. Tonight..A few clouds. Wind north 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 32. Extreme wind chill minus 43. Saturday..Sunny. Wind up to 15 km/h. High minus 25. Extreme wind chill minus 44."

Those temperatures are in celcius. For those of you more familiar with fahrenheit, -44 is about -48 F.

Brrrrr.

Medardo and Me

The following is a little conversation between Medardo, our Mexican student and me, a slightly deaf homestay mother.

Medardo: Do you have a map?
Me: A map?
Medardo: Yes a mop.
Me: Oh. A mop
Medardo: Yes
Me: I just have to clean it out because the water in there is dirty and I had to wipe up Sammy's pee yesterday and then I had to clean up the honey that I spilled on the floor blah, blah, blah, blah.
Medardo: Okay

Medardo waits patiently while I rinse the mop and fill the pail with clean water.

Me: Here it is. Fresh water with a little cleaner in it. I like to use the orange smelly stuff blah, blah, blah, blah. The mop is nice and clean and you can just leave the water in the pail because blah, blah, blah, blah.
Medardo: No words, just a puzzled look on his face.

Me: Is something wrong?
Medardo: You got that for me?
Me: Yup.

Pause

Medardo: I asked for a map.
Me: Oooooooooh. A map! Not a mop!
Medardo: Yes a mop. (Giggle, giggle)

Medardo's English is actually very good and my hearing isn't all that bad. To my credit, I always get really excited when someone in my household asks for a mop or a vacuum or anything that might be used for cleaning. I think I just got carried away because I was so pleased that he was asking for a mop. Maybe I need to improve my listening skills.

At least I have a nice fresh pail of water with a clean mop. I wonder what I should do with it?

Hockey Again!

Friday night we played hockey again. A bunch of women and a few younguns. Here are a few images of that night:

We threw our sticks into a pile and split into teams by dividing our sticks into two groups. That's Jayne, splitting up the sticks. We made sure that the 2 teens were on opposite teams as both of them were able to skate circles around the rest of us.

Yvonne's first hockey injury. She is looking just a little troubled here but actually she was quite proud of the fact that she is not yet too old to sustain her first hockey injury. That's me, her big sister, holding up her leg. For those of you who have never experienced real cold, you can see that my glasses are not just fogged up, they are iced up. That is one thing that sucks about cold. I wonder if you can buy ice scrapers for glasses?

One of our players, Linda S. actually broke the blade right off of her skate. Here she is carrying parts of her blade into the skate change area.

Six Weird Things About Me

Michele was tagged with this and even though I wasn't tagged, I'm going to share with you, my dear readers, 6 weird things about me. (My children would come up with, say, 60 weird things but I can only come up with 6)

1. Orange Pekoe Tea makes me feel sick to my stomach. When experiencing morning sickness many years ago I was told to drink a cup of tea before getting out of bed. If I were to drink that cup of tea, I'd have to do it while crouched over the toilet.


2. I love peanut butter and I love jam but never will I ever eat them together on the same sandwich.


3. I enjoy listening to opera at almost full volume in the car. I always switch the station so that nobody will discover this little secret.


4. I rinsed out disposable diapers before throwing them away when my children were young.


5. I take pictures of food when it looks particularly good. I personally don't think that is weird but my children do.
(What's so weird about this? Doesn't this stew look delicious?)

6. I wear wooden shoes when taking the dog out to do his business. They go on nicely over my slippers although they clunk loudly. Sammy didn't like them at first but he's gotten used to them. I wear them to honour my relatives in The Netherlands.

My Sister's Book

You must go over to Michele's blog to check out the most recent textbook she wrote. It is amazing. If I had textbooks like that when I was in school, I might have enjoyed History and Geography more.

I am so proud.

Friday Five (because I've only got time for 5)

1. I started a cleanse on Tuesday and just realized that I will be away this weekend. I have 2 options: Give up on the cleanse or take my own food. The food is usually pretty good but I suspect that there will not be too many things that don't include at least some of the fobidden foods. Taking my own food would require too much work on my part today so I think I'll just try to be careful this weekend. Perhaps I should take some red wine along to help rid my body of the toxins...
2. Wes, Sammy and I are attending obedience classes, Level 2 (he passed level one already, in case you were wondering). Sammy's having a great time. I think he enjoys having Wes and me all to himself, focussed on him, with nobody else demanding our attention.
3. Sammy heels very well in class but when he goes outside, it's like he's forgotten everything. I think he's trying to impress the cute female German Shepherd in his class.
4. Yesterday, Michele gave me a bowl of black bean soup for my lunch today. Yum yum! It didn't even need any salt. (I tend to add salt to my food. I know, it's bad but I don't have high blood pressure so I don't worry about it.) I'm eating it with Wasa Fibre Rye crispbread with black bean dip. Today is a black bean kind of day.
5. I read my first crime fiction type of book in a long time this Christmas. It is by Carl Hiaasen. On his official website there is a paragraph that reads, "Since 1985 Hiaasen has been writing a regular column [for the Miami Herald], which at one time or another has pissed off just about everybody in South Florida, including his own bosses." If you're interested, it's called "Basket Case." It was entertaining, well written and funny. I'm looking forward to reading some of his other stuff.

A Cleanse

A few weeks ago I began considering that I might want to do a cleanse. You know, the kind that's supposed to get rid of the toxins in your body. After Christmas, there were a lot of toxins although it's hard for me to think of all those delicious foods as "toxins."

It's funny because my sister was thinking about doing the same thing. And we didn't even talk about it until we both realized we were going to start in the same week. Weird eh?

I started Tuesday and things went well. Unlike Michele, I am taking some herbal formulas that will assist in the cleanse. I will try to drink 8-10 12 oz. glasses of water everyday and eat a healthy diet leaving out things like processed foods and red meat. It is suggested that if you have to drink coffee, you add 2 glasses of water for every cup of coffee you drink. I'm glad that one cup of java per day is good enough for me. (I promised my family that I'll be careful about not drinking too much water) I also need to avoid wine but when I was talking to a friend about cutting out wine she told me that we only need to avoid wine. Not cut it out. This is a friend who knows lots about cleanses and nutrition so I will take her advice and avoid wine this week, not cut it out. Whew.

No sugar, no white flour, no trans or saturated fats...

Then why did I make cinnamon buns yesterday?

Our Trip

Plans for our trip are coming along nicely. We have reserved a spot with a bicycle tour in Tuscany. We are borrowing some videos, CD's and books from the library so that we can at least ask "Where is the washroom?" in Italian. We are close to booking our flights.

We also thought it might be nice to do something else while we're overseas. So, I called my aunt, my mother's youngest sister, in Carlisle UK this morning to ask if we could visit for a while. She was thrilled that we would want to come and see her and her husband and told me she'd love to show us around.

I can't wait till September.

My Advice to Me

Someone once asked me the question, "If you could travel back in time and meet yourself as a young woman, what advice would you give her?" These are some of the things I'd tell her:

Take more chances
Don't worry about what other people think
Travel more

Don't let your fear of failure stop you from trying something risky

Laugh a lot
Develop your own sense of style
Don't be afraid to cry
Learn as many musical instruments as possible
Don't ever start dieting
Join the school band
Do some volunteer work in another country
Buy shoes that don't hurt your feet
Lift with your legs, not your back
Play your instrument for fun! Don't just practise.
Appreciate your body
See yourself as God sees you-beautiful and deeply loved
Pursue your passions

Anyone like to add something?

My Sabbatical

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, I read an article in a magazine written by an elementary school teacher. She asked her students (Grade 1 or 2) to write something about their grandparents and how they impacted the lives of their grandkids.

Many of the stories were typical.
"My grandpa always gives me peppermints."
"I like making cookies with my grandma."

But one story was different. A little boy wrote about his grandma and how she was funny, how she read stories to him and how she reprimanded his father. He talked about visiting her house and being allowed to touch all the interesting objects that she had. He mentioned how much she loved her family, and how much she loved him. He talked about the many people who came to her house daily to visit with her.

This may not seem like such a unique story coming from a little boy but what made this unusual was that the teacher knew that this boy's grandma lived in an iron lung for 23 hours of every day. No mention was made of the iron lung in his essay. It was as if he didn't see it.

This story was such an inspiration to me. I seem to recall that this grandma was happy, had a great sense of humour and was very involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. How does someone who is virtually paralized and who remains in one place all the time feel value? How could she come to terms with the effects of polio in her life and still embrace life and feel that she had an important part to play? She certainly impacted her little grandson and I would suspect many people. She sounded as if she enjoyed life and was happy despite her challenges.

Every now and then, I think of this story and this grandmother. She is probably dead by now but she impacted the life of a little boy. I'd love to meet him now and hear his memories.

My hope and prayer is that I too may impact the lives of the people around me and not allow the things that I think are insurmounable (my self imposed iron lung) to keep me from living a full life.

This post is entitled "My Sabbatical." Since last fall, I have stepped back from the work I had been doing at the church. I have decided to take some time to consider what to do with the rest of my life. I don't want to be 80 years old and feel that I've wasted my time because I've allowed fears, insecurities and other things to stop me from doing what I was created to do.

The woman in the iron lung inspires me. If she could live what sounded like a full life, engaged with her family and her church community while being confined to an iron lung, I think I can too.

The Man on the Corner

It is stinkin' cold today. It's around -24 C and with the windchill, it's supposed to feel like -48 C or so. How does that feel? I don't really know how to describe it but it's not really pleasant. I don't mind the cold too much but the wind makes it hard to deal with. There are 3 things that I hate about cold like this:

1. The warm breath coming out of my mouth finds it's way up to my glasses. It then freezes up and I literally "walk blind."
2. I have to wear a hat which results in hat head. I can be a little vain about my hair. I like it a little pouffy but when I stick a hat on it, it goes really flat and looks bad. Sigh.
3. Cold legs. I know, you might wonder why I don't wear long johns or snow pants. The problem is that when you get into the grocery store, it's hard to take those extra layers off and by the time I'm at the produce section, I'm sweating.

There are other things I don't like about the cold but I don't want to complain. Actually, we Winnipeggers tend to brag about the cold and about how we can survive and even thrive in this climate.

I was driving this week and saw the same man I've seen often before, standing at an intersection near the grocery store. He carries a sign that says something like, I'd rather be working but I can't get a job and this is my only option. On the outside, he looks "normal." He's dressed quite warmly and doesn't even look too shabby. What is it that makes this man stand on a corner, begging for money when it's really too cold to be outside? I'd like to know his story but I'm not yet ready to invite him into my car and go out for coffee.

Sometimes, if I've got a sandwich or some fruit handy, I'll open the window and pass it to him. He takes it and thanks me but I can hardly look him in the eye. At those moments I feel like I'm the one with all the power, the one who has everything going for her and he is reduced to a weak, needy man. I feel really uncomfortable in that situation. Maybe he doesn't know that but at those moments, I can feel really guilty about everything that I have going for me and I am keenly aware that life is not always fair.

I know that we all make choices, good and bad. I also know that an addiction, relationship or health crisis or a layoff is all that separates me from the man on the corner. I once had a friend who I will call Simon, who was married, with 2 children, a mortgage and a good job. He and his wife were having problems and I cared for their children many times while they attended marriage counselling. Despite their efforts, the marriage still fell apart and so did my friend. For a time, he disappeared and I heard that he had been living on the streets. During that time, he was unable to see his young daughters much because there was no place that he could call his own where he could take them. And he was a good dad who loved his girls. Thankfully, he was able to rise above his challenges and is now once again, gainfully employed and has a good relationship with his adult daughters.

When I see the man on the corner, I wonder if he has a community of people who know him, who love him and support him. I believe it was Simon's family, friends and faith community who helped him journey through his pain. It would have been easy for them to judge him and to tell him to "smarten up" but they stood by him, holding him up when he could no longer stand on his own two feet.

The man on the corner reminds me that I am not so different from him. He also reminds me that it is important for me to remain connected not only to my family but also to the community of which I have chosen to be a part.

And he reminds me that there are no easy answers because I still don't know what I should do when I see him on the corner.

Music and my Aging Ears

I asked for, and received an MP3 player for Christmas. It holds about 120 songs and can receive FM signals.

I thought it would be good to have at the gym as the music there is TERRIBLE! I know I sound like my mother but did my music, when I was a teenager sound that bad to her? It couldn't have. At least there were lyrics and melodies and you could sing along. With the music they play at my gym, either I can't hear the words or they're so bad, they make me blush. What's more is that very few people are younger than 30 when I am at the gym. I'd guess that most of them don't like the music either.

So, I thought having my own music would be good.

There are a few problems though. I don't know very many songs or musicians. I downloaded 10 songs yesterday but I gotta tell you that Bach's "Air on a G String" or Debussy's "Claire de Lune" don't really help me get my heart rate up. They tend to slow me down. I need something fast and peppy.

There are televisions at the gym too. I guess they are supposed to help us pass the time. If you tune into a certain spot on the FM dial, you can hear what's on TV. Did that this morning too with little success. The headphones don't block out sound very well so I was listening to the TV while the "music" was pounding loud. My heart rate was going up alright, along with my blood pressure.

I think I sound like my dad.

Maybe I'm just too old for an MP3 player. They say that as you age, it becomes more difficult for you to block out and ignore background sounds. I'm finding that's true for me. It's no wonder that the older people complain about noise more than the younger ones. I'm beginning to understand. I hear the music on my player but I also hear all the other sounds too and it can drive me nuts!

I haven't given up on the MP3 player yet. I'll try to download some of my kind of music that will help me get movin'. I filled in and submitted one of those suggestion cards at the gym so we'll see if we get anywhere with that.

I'll keep going though. It's been almost a year since I joined Shapes and it has been good for my physical and mental health. I guess I'll just have to work out a little harder to get the stress of being at the gym out of my system.

A Great Sport

There is nothing more Canadian than lacing up your skates and going out to the pond. When I skate, I just glide around the ice and don't bother to play hockey because it has never really caught my interest. I don’t care to watch it unless it’s the Olympics or the Stanley Cup playoffs

However, last week, I actually played hockey. Twice.

I have skated since I was a little girl but never did I play hockey. In the opinion of many people in the 60’s and 70’s, hockey was for boys. In more recent years, we have gone skating with friends and what tends to happen is that the men and children (boys and girls) play hockey while the women skate around. This has suited me just fine because it seems to me that playing hockey with men and boys over the age of 10 can be very dangerous.

The first time I played the game was at Pinewood Lodge. This is a lovely place in Whiteshell Provincial Park on the shores of Dorothy Lake. In addition to the indoor pool, hot tub and steam room, there are lots of outdoor winter activities to be enjoyed. There is a pond which is available for skating and ice hockey, a small tobogganing hill, trails for walking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and snowmobiling. One afternoon, a number of our group decided to play a game of hockey. Last year when we played, a goalie was needed, so Chelsea and I volunteered. Because we didn’t have sticks, we used snow shovels to protect the goal. We only let a few in. I had such a good time that this year I decided that I would join in the game with a real hockey stick. It was pretty dangerous but I managed to remain uninjured and even scored a couple of goals and assists.

The second time I played hockey was Friday night when a friend of mine organized an informal game of hockey for women only. What a blast we had! We were not very good. We’d miss a perfect pass; we’d be 2 feet in front of the goal and miss; some of us had trouble stopping so we’d just glide into the boards. We cheered for every save and every goal as well as any good pass that happened. We made a lot of noise. There was a group of people (all male) playing around with pucks and sticks. When there was a break in our play, all we could hear was the swish of skates on the ice and the sound of wood hitting the puck from the other group. When we started playing, there was laughter, cheering and all sorts of noise. There was also a lot of good natured competition.

We all agreed that we’d like to do it again. We also realized that our skating improved while we were playing. By focusing less on our skating, our bodies began to do what felt natural. What a great sport. I think I’ll start watching “Hockey Night in Canada” for pointers.

Here is our group photo:

Happy New Year!

A New Christmas Tradition

For all of my life, our big family Christmas event happened on Christmas eve. My dad would come home early, we'd play games and then eat a massive turkey with all the fixings. As a matter of fact, one year the turkey was so big that it didn't fit into the oven (this is the absolute truth) so my mom asked the local baker, who happened to be a friend of ours if she could cook the bird in one of his ovens. He graciously complied.

There was another time when mom had put the bird into the oven and a little later, we went to church. We came home after 1 1/2 hours only to realize that the oven wasn't working. I think we still had "the old stove" which still had a working oven which cooked the turkey nicely. I seem to recall eating around 11:00 PM that day.

We have kept the Christmas eve tradition for our family here in Winnipeg too. It has always worked well, until this year. We decided to have a church service on Christmas eve rather than Christmas day. This made it difficult for us (there are about 20 of us who are part of our family group) to find a day to "do the turkey thing." We'll be having our turkey dinner tomorrow evening, on January 1. But for Christmas, we decided to have brunch, rather than a dinner. This way those of our family who had other Christmas dinners to attend could spend some time with us all on Christmas day.

It was a lovely brunch and we ended up staying the whole day at George and Yvonne's. We agreed that the brunch was a great idea and I think it won't be too hard for us to agree to begin a new tradition.

I am so grateful for the family I have. I can hang out with them for a whole day and then look forward to seeing them all again the next day. I really don't tire of them. And I don't think they tire of me either. At least I've never been sent home.

Yet another reason why I don't do christmas baking...

This is my rather pathetic attempt at shortbread cookies with chocolate drizzle. However, I must say that they do taste pretty good.

I Know What I'm Getting

I know what I'm getting for Christmas. Wes and I are going out this afternoon to pick it out. We have decided that we will purchase bikes for ourselves. There are some great sales on now. Stores are getting rid of their 2006 inventory. That doesn't matter much to us because Wes used his bike for 27 years and I've had mine for about 20 years. After a couple of bike rides, it won't matter if we have an '06 or '07 model. These bikes will probably last us 20+ years too.

The main reason for purchasing the bikes is the fact that we are finally going to take our 25th anniversary trip this fall. That anniversary was 2 years ago and it just didn't work out for us to go away for a couple of weeks but it looks like it will work for us in 2007.

So what do bikes have to do with our anniversary?

We plan to take a 7 day bicycle trip in Tuscany. (Every time I say that sentence I get all weak kneed and butterflyish in my stomach. I cannot believe how excited I am about this trip! It is honestly, a dream come true.) We need bikes so that we can train and be prepared for the trip.

This is no back pack kind of trip. The tour organizers send our bags to our daily destination so all we need is what is required for the day. I am looking forward to seeing a beautiful part of the world and also meeting people from other countries on this tour.

We have talked about this trip for several years but I was afraid it would never happen. It really sounds like it is almost too good to be true. For us, this will be a trip of a lifetime.

Until I go to Africa with Heather.

Freezies

Michele mentioned freezies in her post the other day and that reminded me of a cute kid story.

I too had those freezies in my freezer and frequently doled out quite a large number to the neighbourhood kids.

One day I had been out for the morning when I came home and realized that I had forgotten to lock the door. I entered slowly and saw that everything seemed in place and it looked like nothing was stolen. But when I got into the kitchen, I saw a chair right in front of the frig, scissors on the counter and the ends of two freezies. I was puzzled. The chair, scissors and freezie ends were not there when I left. Had Ben grabbed a couple just before we left? That was impossible because I had been with him all the time.

The answer suddenly dawned on me. I went outside to talk to David, Ben's little friend who was probably 4 years old at the time. I asked him if he had eaten a freezie that morning and he said he had. I then asked him where he got the freezie and he replied matter of factly that he had gotten it from my house. Apparently he knocked and when no one answered, he tried the door which was unlocked and proceeded to help himself and his sister to a freezie. He knew where I kept the freezies and the scissors which I used to cut the tops off.

I found it all hilarious and very clever. David's responses to my questions were straightforward and I believe that he felt he didn't do anything wrong. I guess any other time he asked me for a freezie, I would give him one. If I wasn't home, he would just help himself.

His mom did not find it quite as funny as I did and told David that he was never to do that again. I don't believe he ever did and besides, I was not in the habit of keeping my door unlocked when I went out so there was no opportunity for him to do it.

David is 24 by now I think. I wonder if he remembers?

All Cleaned Up

Heather was talking about being blessed. I am feeling so blessed today and I'd like to share some of my blessings with you. Several months ago a couple friends of mine (Keith and Stephanie) moved to St. Lucia to work for a Baha'i mission. They decided that they would give away most of their possessions before they left as they are making steps to simplify their lives.

Keith is an artist and he generously allowed me to go through his stack of art. I chose several watercolour pieces and here are 2 of them. They look like angels to me. I just got them framed and picked them up yesterday. I feel like I've been given a wonderful gift from them. I will remember them everytime I look at the paintings.

Today Kristen and I started and almost finished my Christmas shopping. We had a lot of fun. That is a blessing. As some of you may recall, we had some real challenges last spring. We are enjoying one another's company a lot these days as she is only working part time these days.

I had coffee with a friend last Friday. It's been a while since I've done that but somehow, after we parted ways, I was left feeling so blessed and honoured to have a friend like her. I heard the loving voice of God coming out of her mouth.

Sarah McLachlan CD. Beautiful.

There are so many more things I'm thankful for but these are the ones that come to my mind right now.

I'll leave you all with a parting blessing from God himself:

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Our Christmas Tree

There are several people in my life who have said/written lately that they just don't feel like putting up a Christmas tree. Everyone has different reasons and I respect them.


I however, love to have a Christmas tree in my house although I don't particularly like putting it up or decorating it. We purchased ours on Friday night and by 3:30 Saturday afternoon, it was up and decorated. I had two meetings on Saturday so I had nothing to do with it. Wes did it all, the sweetie.



It's beautiful, with a straight trunk and very tall. Tall enough for our high ceilings.



Unfortunately, while it's been looking just lovely for several days, this morning, this happened. I can't blame it on anything. I was talking on the phone and heard the crash. That's all. Nobody, not even Sammy was close by.


I will post the "fixed up" tree when it's fixed up (when Wes gets home).

Random Thoughts

• I just bought a new CD. It's Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong CD. What a beautiful CD. And it doesn't have "Oh Holy Night" on it. Thank goodness.
• We bought our Christmas tree yesterday. I was away today until about 3:30 so Wes ended up decorating the whole thing. It looks lovely and smells divine. I think we'll stick to real trees.
• Right now, I'm listening to my new CD while Wes is cooking supper, Kristen is sitting next to me working on a gift for CJ and Tim's around somewhere. It is a very peaceful, sweet Saturday afternoon. I am blessed.
• Tonight we are going to the symphony with some friends of ours and out for late night snacks afterwards. It will be a lovely evening.
• I had a music team practise this afternoon. It was wonderful. It amazes me how a bunch of amateurs can sound so good when they all work together.
• I want to memorize the music to "The Christmas Song" this year.
• I took Sammy to the vet yesterday. He has some skin problems-rashes and such. Apparently, rashes are fairly common in Cocker Spaniels. Taking him to the vet is no problem but when they refer to him as "Sammy Postma," I feel really weird.
• Sammy seems to be feeling more comfortable today than he has been for the last week.
• This past week Michele and I did a fairly big catering job. It was such fun! The recipients of our cooking were very encouraging with their comments. What was especially good was that Kristen and Chelsea (my neice) helped out. I am impressed with how well they worked and with how much fun we all had.

NaBloPoMo

I'm kind of sorry that National Blog Posting Month is over. Not for me because I was finding it hard to post every day. I miss it because everytime I check for new posts, there are none. You bloggers who I love to read are not posting every day anymore and I miss that. So, I'm going to keep trying, just so that you have a new blog to look forward to from me.

I will not post every day. That's just too tough. And this week especially, there won't be a lot of time. Michele and I are catering a few jobs this week and we'll be pretty busy shopping, cooking and serving. It will be lots of fun though.

Today, Wes and I finally, almost, finished one of the chairs that I started reupholstering last spring. The chair is actually looking pretty good. Next week we'll start the second one. By January, we'll have all kinds of chairs to sit in.

Making up for not posting every day in November...

In my last post I mentioned that I am trying to create a place in my home where I (and others) can pray and meditate. I have a chair, table and a blanket to keep me warm. I hope to have some candles in there as well as a fish aquarium to help create a mood of peace and serenity.

Any other ideas about what I can include in my spot? What are things that help you to focus on God and your spirituality?

Thrift Store Shopping

I do not usually go to thrift stores unless I am dropping something off. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I so seldom find anything that works for me. One of the last times I shopped at a thrift store, I found 2 shirts for sale that I already owned, were hanging in my closet and I still wore. That was so depressing I vowed never to go in again.

I do go on occassion. On Tuesday, I had something to drop off and thought I'd go in and have a look. We have a lovely little room in our house that I call the turret room. It is octagonal in shape with 5 huge windows. When we bought the house, I said that I wanted to turn it into a prayer room or meditation room. Alas, we had to put the TV in there.

Today, the room is empty, the TV is tucked away in a room upstairs and I can finally create my oasis. Hence the visit to the thrift store. I found a round table that with a table cloth will be perfect for a candle or something. $15.00. And the thrift store is run by MCC with a lot of people volunteering their time so even my $15.00 will be put to good use.

I also found 2 prints. Having just had some paintings framed, I know the value of a frame and mat. The prints themselves were not something that I would choose but I could see that they had been professionally framed. I decided to buy the pair ($15.00) and just replace the print. When I got home and looked at them again, I realized that they would look perfect in my living room-as is. They are botanical prints with colours that are just right. So, I'll hang them up without changing anything.

I think I'll shop at thrift stores more often.

Headline in the Free Press today: "Billion pounds recycled."

Wow! That's good. Something to cheer about. We Manitobans have now recycled one billion pounds (467 million kilograms) since 1995. The increase is approximately 3.4 percent over last year.

As I read this I thought that Manitobans have finally jumped on the recycling bandwagon. We've been slower than other provinces. Finally, we have our act together.

"The jump is probably due to a solid economy, as people toss more containers into blue boxes when they buy more goods, MPSC (Manitoba Product Stewardship Corporation) general manager Jim Fogg surmised.

"The economy has been strong, and that means people consume more," said Fogg."

Suddenly, I don't feel like cheering quite so loudly.

The Neighbours

Our neighbours have lived in the house next door for about 3 years. When the previous owners told us they sold their house to an exotic dancer, we were a little concerned, although her occupation was just a rumour. I met her briefly that first summer and grew more concerned when I realized that her brother, who she had left in charge while she was in Toronto working, did nothing to curb the weeds or the grass. The house was looking run down and in disrepair.

By the end of the summer, the brother had been kicked out and Angela invited 2 friends of hers to live in the house and care for it while she was away. One of the men lives on the 3rd floor, in his own suite and the other in the basement. The main and second floors are designated for Andrea and her son.

I was a little concerned about this turn of events too. There were always all kinds of people coming and going, men mostly. But I began to notice that when they came, they worked. Slowly, the house began to look like a home. They painted the trim, opened the pool, planted flowers, mowed the lawn and fixed and painted the garage.

Another thing I noticed was that these people were friendly. If I was outside, they would often come over and we'd talk gardening or weather or dogs. They were hard workers. When Andrea was home, we'd often chat about the challenges of owning a home, the behaviour of our dogs and all kinds of things people talk about. Another thing I noticed was that these men LOVED Andrea. They adore her and this summer, I asked her how she did it. She just smiled and proceeded to tell me about how wonderful her friends are.

Andrea is down to earth and friendly. Somehow, she has created a home for John, a chubby bartender with bad teeth and Ted, the manager of a video game store. A couple of men who have had some hard times and their friend, the construction worker who is there almost every day doing construction work.

Before she moved in, I worried about what kind of neighbour this would be-an exotic dancer of all things. Now, I can say that these are some of the best neighbours we have ever had. Certainly more friendly and approachable than the previous owners who, on the outside seem more "normal." And far better than the neighbours in the house we lived in before this one.

Today, they just did the greatest thing. John, Ted, the construction worker guy and another person I don't know, just cleared 10-15 cm of snow off our whole driveway! They must have spent almost 2 hours at it. First snowblowing and then cleaning it up with shovels. Wes said they did a better job than he'd ever do.

Can't ask for better neighbours than that, don't you think?

I think I'll bake them some cookies tonight.

Piano Tuned

Oh sweet music.

I just got my piano tuned and I just love it. It's a little like washing your sheets and then getting into bed and feeling like the sheets are new.

I will go and play my piano now.

November 26

So, I gotta post something today. I've failed at Noblopomo or whatever it is. I had every intention of posting every day but then my life got boring.

I could give you a short synopsis of a typical day but you'd be rolling your eyes by the time I got to 11:00 AM. While I am quite content with how my life is playing out these days, to write about it would be boring.

As some of you may have noticed, Wes, my husband read my Thursday Thirteen blog and left a comment suggesting that he would like to look at the chair I loved. We did that yesterday and... we bought the chair! I can't post a picture of it yet because it has been ordered and will get here in several weeks. Maybe I should post my Christmas list on line and Wes will read it...

Today, we put new hardware on our freshly painted dressers. They look great, don'tcha think? For less than $200.00 we got what looks like brand new dressers. I am thrilled and very thankful to my BIL George who sprayed them for us.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I have attended a centering prayer time at the University of Winnipeg several times over the last few weeks. It is a good time to slow down my mind and think about God and other things holy.
2. Thursday is my "big gym" day. I do a power class with barbells and weights and then a class called "centergy" which is a combination of pilates and yoga. I am amazed that I can actually get through them.
3. Tim didn't have classes this afternoon so he's home. You can always tell when Tim's home because he is either whistling, singing, listening to music or playing the guitar. Guess what Tim is passionate about.
4. Supper times are becoming fun again. For much of the summer, Wes and I ate alone. Now, we have 2 international high school students living with us and Tim and Kristen are frequently home for supper too. I love the conversation that we have around the table.
5. While the weather has gotten a lot colder, today was still a beautiful day. Cold, crisp and sunny.
6. I planted about 120 tulip, narcissus, anemone and other assorted bulbs yesterday, November 22. I didn't think I'd get any of them planted.
7. I bought a large metal star the other day, spray painted it white, added some glitter and garland and will be putting it on my front door. I am very pleased with my creation. I am also a little surprised because I am not very crafty.
8. Sammy, our cocker spaniel had a bath yesterday. He doesn't stink today so I don't mind if he comes up to me and rubs my leg.
9. I went shopping with Kristen yesterday, at Osborne Village. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and we had a good time together. I also saw a chair that I LOVED! Sigh. I am usually more content when I don't shop.
10. Thursdays we run a food bank at our church. I just love working with the people there and serving the clients who come. We serve soup, coffee and cookies because it starts at 6:00 PM and several of the clients come directly from work or school. We have made some good friends and good soup.
11. I started knitting myself a scarf out of silk yarn. The colours are just beautiful.
12. Today, I'm going to help friends with some painting. They are moving this weekend and want to get the painting done.
13. When I am home on Thursday nights, I watch Grey's Academy and ER. I will miss them both tonight.

Welcome Lurkers

I would like to welcome a couple of lurkers that I have just learned about.

They are not particularly computer savy although one of them has taken a computer course. They probably didn't know what a blog was until they started reading mine. Together they make a pretty good team. One of them knits while the other reads the blogs out loud. One of them has a few useless fingers but is quite able to use the good fingers to turn on the computer and find his way around the keyboard, albeit slowly, in the hunt and peck manner.

Their computer isn't particularly powerful and they are still on dial-up so if you try to call them and their line is busy, they're probably on-line.

I never thought they'd ever read my blog. I didn't think that people in their 70's, who have never been into technology (you should see their TV) would actually read blogs.

I guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Welcome to the blogging world mom and dad!

Novmeber 18

Grey Cup Sunday!

I actually gave my ticket away to CJ, Kristen's boyfriend. Instead I was at the MTS Centre where 500 people who receive food from Winnipeg Harvest were able to watch the game on the Jumbotrons. The caterers from the centre donated a fabulous buffet (which we helped serve) and there were many other sponsors who gave door prizes, snacks and other fun stuff. It was a great party.

So, I still was able to watch the game and managed to stay warmer than the rest of the family too.

This one made me laugh

I don't have much energy to write a new post today. I was at the Prairie Leadership Development Network weekend. It was just great but I am a bit tired. I will leave you with a great joke that Jae told me this weekend.

What do you call a bad Mennonite poet?

Corny Reimer

guess where we're going on sunday!

My Favourite Piece of Jewellry

Heather posted some of her jewellry and I thought I'd show you my favourite piece. It is not expensive but I love the setting. My parents gave it to me for my 16th birthday and it is one of the few things I own from my youth. I am not into saving things and I am not terribly nostalgic about stuff so it is pretty cool to still have it. The stone is a Peridot, very pale green, which is the birthstone for August.

Wednesday's Wonderings

1. I wonder what a tower crane operator does if he has to go to the bathroom. It's an awfully long way down and then back up the crane.
2. I wonder if I should do something when I see a drug sale happening right in front of my nose.
3. I wonder what will happen to the cute little girl in the stroller whose father was being escorted out of Portage Place Mall by security this afternoon.
4. I wonder if there is something wrong with me when I need to wear a coat and hat or if there is something wrong with the crazy guy who is walking downtown with only a tee shirt and jeans.
5. I wonder if I'll ever get the painting done in this house.
6. I wonder why Eric never leaves me a comment.
7. Or Micah.
8. I wonder if we'll have snow for Christmas.
9. I wonder how long the island in the kitchen will remain clear and uncluttered.
10. I wonder how often I should mop my new kitchen floor. You cannot see the dirt on it at all so I don't know how dirty it is. And I don't want to mop unless it's absolutely necessary.

I read this today and thought that it was profound.

at the centre of our being is a point of nothingness

which is untouched by sin and by illusion,

a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to god...

this little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty

is the pure glory of god in us...

it is like a pure diamond,

blazing with the invisible light of heaven.

it is in everybody, and if we could see it

we would see these millions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely.

thomas merton

and...

"Let there always be quiet, dark churches in which people can take refuge....Houses of God filled with his silent presence. There, even when they do not know how to pray, at least they can be still and breathe easily."

Introducing... Alisha, my niece, to the blogging world.

What's Your Favourite Meal?

A few days ago I was talking with Michele about a favourite meal. We both like to cook and enjoy trying new flavours and foods so it was a little hard to know just what would be my favourite.

I think for me that it doesn't really matter what is actually cooked. I just love anything that someone else cooks for me, as long as it's from scratch. It can be as simple as meat, veggies and potatoes.

For a few years, when our kids were playing a lot of sports, I would often be the parent who spent Saturdays in the gym, watching the tournaments while Wes would be at home, "holding down the fort" as it were. Frequently, especially when our team was doing well, we wouldn't be finished playing until late afternoon or even early evening. On our way home, we would be hungry and tired and when we walked in the house, supper would be cooked, the table would be set and there might even be a glass of wine by my plate. Those were the best dinners for me.

There was another time when Wes, Rob, Michele and I went to an out of town funeral. Yvonne and George had not yet moved to Winnipeg but they were visiting. When we got home from the funeral, around 7:30 PM, Yvonne had prepared a delicious, lovely, tasty meal for us. All I remember is that she made an amazing chef's salad. I don't remember anything else. It was such a wonderful thing to come home to after an emotionally draining day. It also happened to be my birthday that day and so the gift of the meal was doubly special.

I'd like to encourage all my blogger friends (and even you lurkers) to tell me about your favourite meal. It could be one that you've already had or maybe you have an idea of "the perfect meal" and you can blog about what that looks and tastes like.

Lest We Forget

Happy Birthday Eric!

Wow. Michele already posted about Eric's birthday so I better get going here.

Eric is 23 years old today. It's interesting when I look at him and all my children. I see the young man that he is but I also see the baby, toddler, adolescent and teen, all in the same package. It's hard for me to exactly describe what I see in my children. There is a love that is different for them than for anyone else; there is a sense of awe that these are really my offspring and, how did it happen that I have 4 adult children? I still feel like a kid myself!

Last year I posted for his birthday and in some ways, not much has changed except for a few things. He has a new car. He's in his final year of college. He's still living with Justin and Nicole. He still plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin but even better than last year. He and Thomas made some amazing potato guns this spring.

And there are lots of things that I don't know about him too. That's a good thing. A mother really doesn't want to know everything about her kids. I prefer to be in denial.

Eric's always been really good with younger children. He has been part of our Children's Community at the church for a long time and I think kids know that when he hangs out with them, he's having as good a time as they are. He's playing with Aslan's Child again this year and is really excited about that.

Tonight, we'll be having a dessert party around 7:30 for Eric. If you're in the neighbourhood, or even if you're not, take a trip down to our place to wish him a Happy Birthday! I'll leave you with a few pictures.

Don't ya just want to eat him up?

This is when Eric got really cool. Notice the amazing belt buckle he is wearing.

Last Christmas, Eric was thrilled to receive this cookbook. A man who enjoys cooking is a pleasure to have around.

Taking Some Time to Thank Someone

About 7 years ago we had to sell our cute little 5 speed Honda and the truck we owned. It's a long story that I won't go into but our income was cut in half overnight and we had to make some big adjustments. We ended up with a 10 year old Cutlass Cierra (the good car) that Wes drove and a 15 year old Toyota (my car).

I liked the Toyota but after owning it for a few months, we had to replace the engine as well as deal with several other expensive repairs. Once we had a new engine, the car was great and I really enjoyed driving it.

About 2 weeks after all the work was done, I was heading to church on a Sunday morning when someone rear-ended me at a stop light. He was going very fast and actually pushed my car across 3 lanes of traffic. I remember calmly looking at the cars coming towards me and thinking, "So, this is how it's going to end." I was not so calm when I stepped out of the car and started yelling at the idiot who did this to me. (Note to Michele: I think this was a time when you'd agree that yelling was an acceptable response.)

Obviously it didn't end because I'm still here. Surprisingly (miraculously) I didn't even have any whiplash, nor did Kristen or her little friend who were in the back seat.

No, what I was worried most about was how I was going to replace this car. Money was very scarce for us at the time and I had heard of so many bad stories about MPI (Manitoba Public Insurance) that I was certain that I would not get enough money from them to purchase another vehicle.

When I met with the insurance adjuster, I brought along all of the car repair receipts and told him that I felt the car was worth $5,000.00. He took the receipts and told me that he'd call me in a few days.

Sure enough, he called me in a few days and told me that I would get $5,ooo.00. I was ecstatic, never expecting that I would get exactly what I had hoped for. The adjuster was a compassionate man and my experience was so positive that I wrote a thank you note to him.

One day there was a message on our voice mail from the adjuster. He called to thank me for the thank you note. He actually gushed a little. I don't think insurance adjusters get many thank you notes. They get mostly criticism (at times, well deserved). But this time, I was treated so well and received a fair price for my car, I thought that a thank you card was in order. I'll bet he still has that card stuck on his bulletin board at work.

The point of this story? I think that a thank you note is such a small little thing but it can make someone's day. Especially someone who seldom gets positive feedback from the people he deals with. And writing these kinds of notes gives me a good feeling too, a feeling that I am somehow passing on a small bit of kindness to someone who needs it.

Does writing comments on other blogs count for nablopomo? I hope so because that's all I'm doing today.

Yvonne's New Job

Blogging every day can be a challenge! Today, because nothing much exciting happens in my life, I will blog on behalf of my dear sister, Yvonne. She says every now and then that she should start a blog but has never started one. She is what we bloggers call, "a lurker." She reads a number of blogs regularly.

"Yesterday, I started a brand new job.

It was amazing how it all worked out. I was talking with a friend at church who was sharing how the receptionist in her husband's dental office quit, the day after she had finished all of her free dental work. I think that they were feeling used. Linda was saying that they wanted someone responsible and reliable and would I like to work for them?

I gave it some thought, talked to my husband George, kids and my sisters and went for an interview on Friday, November 3. Monday (yesterday) I started my training.

I have never done anything like this before. I have worked in retail for many years at quilt shops and was a favourite teacher at quilting classes*. As a matter of fact, I'm a very gifted quilter.* But I'm pretty smart* and learn things quickly*. I am also very responsible and reliable*.

This is a full-time position for me and I'm looking forward to it. The benefits are great and I will get every other Monday off so that I can still go to Winnipeg Harvest to prepare lunch with my sisters, Linda and Michele. One thing that sucks is that I will not see my sisters as much during the week and Linda will have to haul her butt to the gym on her own.

Last weekend, I cooked 5 meals, baked cookies, a dessert and bought some work clothes. Of the 3 sisters, I am the most organized one* so I think, with some help from my family, this new job will work out really well. And Brad and Linda will be great people to work for."

A great* picture of Yvonne and George. (Yvonne's on the right)

*Because this is MY (Linda's) blog I can include what I want. Yvonne is much too humble to say these things herself.

November 6

Gotta post today. As Dale so kindly reminded me, I did not post last Friday but he (and others) may not have noticed that I posted TWICE on Saturday which makes up for the lack of Friday post. Harrumph.

The house is pretty quiet now except for the sound of the dishwasher and Tim playing his guitar. Pleasant sounds after a busy day. I don't have a lot of energy now and there's laundry that has to be folded but here are a few thoughts flitting through my mind right now.

• I'm sorry the Bombers lost yesterday. It would have been so cool to have the home team playing at the Grey Cup.
• We had Monday night dinner here today. Have I mentioned how much I love Monday nights? The whole, extended family comes here for dinner and even the girlfriends and boyfriends are great.
• Kim performed a couple of songs for us tonight. Beautiful.
• Michele and I volunteered at Winnipeg Harvest today. Yvonne usually does too but she just started a new job and wasn't able to come. I love the people at Winnipeg Harvest. I worked there for about 4 years and a couple of days after I quit the kids said that I didn't have any good stories to tell them at the supper table anymore. At Winnipeg Harvest there was always something bizzare, odd, hilarious or gross happening. Every day.
• We now have 2 international students living with us. Medardo is from Mexico and Nik is from Germany. I was afraid having 2 would seem a little overwhelming but I actually really like it. They get along and they are both great guys. I'm enjoying having them around.
• The weather today was warm (for November) cloudy and a little rainy. It reminded me of winter days in S. Ontario, where I grew up. Give me a cold, sunny day anytime.

That's all folks. Nothing too exciting happening here but life is good.

Church

I love my church community. Sunday mornings I often can't wait to get there to see what our musicians will sing, what our pastor (my BIL) will say and what other interesting and creative things the Service Planning and Implementation team has added.

The building is nothing to look at except for the amazing mural we have painted on the side of it. It has no steeple, pews or organ and the carpet is so stained, it's starting to get to me. It's kind of cluttered and the walls have scuff marks and scratches from the wheelchairs. The kitchen needs a lot of work. And it seems to me that on many Sundays, I end up with a broken chair. Sometimes, I dream about a beautifully decorated building with new chairs, new carpeting and a new kitchen.

But then I remember the church that I used to attend and the day that all the children (only the kids mind you) were told to remove their muddy footwear because they would dirty the carpet. And the feeling I would get when I walked into the place and wasn't sure if I was allowed to sit on the couch.

Give me a dirty carpet any day. Give me a place where kids are allowed to run and play; a place where the participants of Community Venture (a Salvation army program for mentally and physically challenged adults) can play floor hockey; a place where an amazing costume party can be held on Saturday, followed by an inspiring service on Sunday.

I love the people including John, the old bachelor who doesn't usually smell too fresh, the family from Nigaragua who can barely speak English, the pastor's wife (my dear sister) who doesn't look or act like a pastor's wife but is one of the most spiritual, honest and funny people I know. I love my blogger friends (you know who you are) and all the broken people who make up our motley crew of people. Some are long time born again Christians, some are brand new Christians and some (quite a few actually) aren't really sure where they stand on the God and Jesus thing. They only know that they like what happens in our building and want more of it.

More than anything, we encourage people to ask questions and to wonder about God and spirituality. We don't try to fit them into any kind of a mold or force them to dress or act in a certain way. We don't tell them that once they become a Christian all their problems disappear. Most of us have experienced too much disappointment, loss and pain to believe that for a second.

What we try to do is to laugh with each other, cry with each other and support one another in any way we can. And in doing so, we reflect the incredible love that God has for everyone of us.

We are far from perfect. There is a lot that we don't do well but there are enough things that are good about this place that keep me coming back. Never does a Sunday go by where I don't learn something about God or myself.

It is a place where I experience life, love, community, joy and peace. A place where Jesus is becoming more and more real to me.

A place where I belong.

New Boots

Yesterday, I left my new boots by the back door and when Tim, my 19 year old son came in and saw them, he said, "I see Kristen bought a new pair of boots."

I am one cool mom, wouldn't you say?

Back in Canada

Most times, when I am in a strange city, I'm with Wes and he does the driving. He doesn't mind and I'm just as happy to sit in the passenger seat and keep my eyes open for whatever it is we're looking for.

This last trip in Fargo, I did all the driving. Kristen, like me was happy to let me do the driving and she just watched for street signs and such. Most of our driving was good and I was feeling comfortable in this city. It helps that the laws, signs and traffic are much the same in the US as in Canada. We did have a moment though where I was afraid that we might not make it home without a serious mishap.

We were looking for a restaurant for supper and when we saw it, I went into the left lane to get into the parking lot. Once I got there however, I realized that this was not the right entrance and I had to go to the next opening in the boulevard.

So I kept driving. Everything seemed okay until I noticed the left turn sign, painted on the road was upside down and pointing in the opposite direction that it should have been. And while the boulevard was on my left earlier, it was now on my right.

Have you ever had a moment where the truth of what was happening to you dawned on you very slowly and suddenly you realized you were in a very vulnerable position with no way of getting out? That's what happened to me. I was in the left turn lane alright but it was the lane for oncoming traffic. Cars that had to turn left were coming towards me and there was nothing, absolutely nothing I could do. I calmly said to Kristen that I thought I was in the wrong lane and WHAT SHOULD I DO? I CAN'T MOVE BECAUSE ALL THE CARS ARE COMING TOWARDS ME AND I SHOULD TURN THE THING ON!

Without missing a beat, Kristen turned on the hazard lights. (It's a good thing she understood what I was trying to say.) She remained very calm, a character trait that reminds me of her dad. I think she even told me to relax or something but I was too busy being hysterical to rememeber what exactly she said.

We stayed there, in the wrong lane for what seemed like a long time, but in reality was probably only 15 seconds and when there was a break in traffic, I did a quick U-turn. Whew.

And that was enough excitement for that day.

November 2

Today, we shopped till we dropped.

As you can see, there were quite a few purchases that Kristen and I made. I'm afraid we'll be over the $250.00 per person that we are allowed tax free. Hopefully we'll have a friendly customs officer who will wave us through. I got a pair of boots and a coat, 2 things that I was hoping to buy. Kristen got some jeans, a cute pair of shoes and some work pants. Both of us were able to purchase the things that we had hoped to get so it has been a pretty successful shopping trip thus far.

A few more things we've noticed about North Dakota:

• Kristen noticed that the guys who work at Abercrombie and Fitch are generally quite hot.
• I discovered a store that I love. Coldwater Creek . Too bad it's not in Canada.
• We saw very few visible minorities. Almost everyone we saw was caucasian.
• In Canada, when you are carrying clothing that you'd like to try on, a salesperson will take it off your hands and start you a change room. They don't do that here. You carry all the clothes you want to try on and take them to a fitting room yourself.
• When it comes right down to it, West Acres Mall is not all that different from any mall in Canada.

That's all for now folks. I think we'll visit Abercrombie and Fitch again either tonight or tomorrow.

Just to look.

Happy Hallowe'en

Hello. My name is Linda and I hate hallowe'en.

That's right. I hate it. My creativity does not extend to making costumes out of popsicle sticks and cotton balls and everytime October 31 came around, I was reminded of my inadequacies. My procrastination would find me going nuts in the morning of the 31st, trying to find something that would fit over a snowsuit in case of cold weather or not, in case of warm.

And the candy. How can a candy addict possibly hand out candy to children and not eat at least half of it? My stomach would be aching and my tongue would be hurting from all the sugar.

I am so glad that I don't have to deal with any of that anymore. Last year only very few children came by our house so yesterday, for the first time in my life, I did what all the grouches do. I turned out the lights and pretended I wasn't home. I know. I'm an ogre. Too bad. I hate hallowe'en.

I was also a lazy mom. Allowing them only 2 treats per day as the "experts" recommend seemed to require far too much time and effort on my part, so, I allowed them candy eating periods. They were allowed as much candy as they could eat in 15 or 20 minutes. This way, all the candy was gone within a week. Hallowe'en was quickly forgotten.

I really admire all the people who can enjoy this holiday. Many of you enjoy the challenge of creating a unique and inexpensive costume. You have a creative bent that I can only dream of. But now, as I am dealing with an impending empty nest and the hard things that come with it, I know that hallowe'en is one thing that I never have to sweat about again.

So there.

November 1

This month is NaBloPoMo month and like ccap, I will attempt to post every day. There is a good chance that you'll get bored because interesting things don't usually happen in my life daily. I will try to keep most of these posts short.

Today, I am writing from the Best Western Hotel in Fargo, ND. I am not in the habit of cross-border shopping but for Kristen's 18th birthday we thought it would be fun to have a "girl's" outing. We did a bit of shopping this evening and will shop till we drop tomorrow. Friday morning we'll be heading back to Winnipeg.

Things that I have noticed so far:

• North Dakotans are generally a very friendly bunch.
• Male salespeople welcome both of us into their stores but they look at Kristen, not me.
• The roads in the US are much better than the roads in Canada. But I always remind myself that if we didn't have public health care, the government would have more money for roads.
• There was almost no snow south of Grand Forks.
• The lattes at Starbucks taste the same.
• Alcohol is a lot cheaper here! (hic)

That's all for now folks. Good night.