Halloween

Halloween is not usually the first thing that pops in my mind when October 31 rolls around, even though it's all around. For me, October 31 is the day that I can celebrate the birth of my fourth child. She's 20 today.

I keep reminding myself that she's 20. I can't believe that my baby is 20. I no longer have teenaged children. They are all in their 20's. Where did the time go?

Kristen is on the road today, travelling from Alberta to Vancouver with the rest of her "Outtatown" team. She's having a great time and I think that she will say that the year she turned twenty was one of the most memorable years of her life. I think she misses home a wee bit but she has always been very adaptable which makes being away a little easier for her than for some.

Happy birthday my schatje.

The Road Trip Continues

We left Chicago on Sunday morning and drove to Minneapolis. Chicago was amazing. We had a wonderful time. The Flemish house was the absolute best place for us to stay-beautiful, comfortable and in a very cool part of town. It was also within walking distance of downtown.

All we did in Minneapolis was to stay in a cheap, crappy hotel. I suppose we were spoiled by the luxurious Flemish house in Chicago but when the washcloth looks like Dixie got to it, you know you're in a cheap place.

We stopped at a lovely cafe in St. Cloud, called the the Meeting Ground. If you ever find yourself in St. Cloud MN, you must stop there. We also discovered an absolutely lovely quilt shop and happily spent some of our hard earned money there.

Now, we're in Fargo, at the Radisson. No more cheap hotels for us although this one is pretty reasonable, especially with my CAA discount. We'll go out for dinner in a little while and then tomorrow morning, it's back to real life in Winnipeg for us.

This has been a fabulous road trip for us. And we still like each other.

Pictures will come once I get the camera out of the car.

Day 2

Another lovely day in Chicago. I woke up at some point in the night, hearing rain and lots of it. By morning it had stopped and we actually saw the sun by late afternoon.

We walked to the Art Institute and wandered around there for a few hours. On the way back, we came upon this famous sculpture, "Cloud Gate" or more commonly known as "The Bean" or "That Big Shiny Thing in Millenium Park." It is very cool. One thing I like about outdoor public art is that you can touch it.

We passed by some places that I thought Tim

and Kristen

might appreciate.

This evening, for dinner, it was wine and cheese purchased from an amazing little shop that we happened upon called Pastoral Artisan Cheese. Mmmm.

We have walked miles and miles and enjoyed every minute of it. This is a great city and the people are incredibly friendly. Tomorrow should be another stellar day.

Our Road Trip

I could write about all the stuff we're doing but I'll let Michele do it for me.

We're Already Taking Pictures

Carolyn, baby and the 2 grandmas.

Must update. But what to say? Not much has happened around this place lately. I am looking forward to a road trip with my sisters to Chicago. The last time we went away together was about 12 or 13 years ago so it's about time, wouldn't you say?

I won't post anything for about a week but that's pretty normal for me these days anyway...

Bye!

Thanksgivng 2008

Most of the time, I find myself wishing that this house was already sold and we'd be preparing to move into something smaller. This weekend though, with 8 of Kristen's friends and another 20 or so for dinner, I was grateful that we have a house big enough for everyone.

When they saw this shower, the young people saw a wonderful photo op.

Happy Thanksgiving

50 things I'm thankful for, in no particular order:

a warm dry house on a cold wet day
family
friends
a big house that makes it easy to have 8 extra guests for a whole weekend
enough resource to be able to feed them all well
good food
wine
apple juice
socks that stay up
slippers
a yet to be born grandchild
peace
democracy
books and people with whom I can discuss them
music
the piano
this computer
laughter
my faith community
the ability to practise what I believe without fear of persecution
the opportunities to practise tolerance
new underwear
stuffing and gravy
hot water
good coffee
vacations
my bicycle
comfortable jeans
the dog
2 ovens so that we can cook a stellar Thanksgiving dinner for almost 30 people
the digital camera
my ipod
my most amazingly comfortable bed
a place to go when I can't sleep
the changing seasons
the people who lent us their mini van this weekend
wes. we make a good team

the dog cousins who always provide us with a good laugh

potable water

sisters with whom I who love to cook
the colours of fall
the saturday crossword puzzle
brand new babies
adorable toddlers
public health care
good, strong coffee
taekwondo
good health
a pain-free back
outdoor walks

What Did You Do this Weekend?

We had 8 of Kristen's friends here and these are some of the things they did...

Kristen was home for dinner on Saturday evening. Along with the other 29 people of Site 2, South Africa, she spent the weekend in Winnipeg in what she referred to as an Urban Plunge. She worked with an organization that has had a presence in Winnipeg's downtown for a number of years and it seems to me that Kristen and her new friends have already had their ideas and beliefs challenged. She told me that after spending time in this Urban Plunge, her preconceived notions of homelessness and the disadvantaged have changed. It is neat to see her willingness to learn and grow and to be open to having her thoughts and ideas challenged.

I asked her if it seemed strange, being home on Saturday night while everyone else in her group was together someplace else. She told me that it felt like they were her family, her community. I understood what she was saying and acknowledged that it was a good thing.

And I felt the apron strings unravel further.

It is all good.

A New Dream

When I joined a Taekwondo club about 10 years ago, I thought I'd get my black belt by the time I was 50. After 2 years, I had to quit for various reasons and so the dream fizzled out.

A few weeks ago, I met someone who had been a member at the club and told him about my plan, how I was one year beyond 50 and how I had never reached the goal. His response to me was, "Why don't you make a new goal for yourself?"

And that my friends is what I'm doing.

Tomorrow I start.

I'm a little nervous.

Who Doesit?

Most mornings when I come downstairs, this is what I find...

I don't know who is responsible but here are the suspects:

Wes

MeEric

Dixie the dog

Laughing and Crying

We had a wonderful time, celebrating Wes' birthday. Lots of laughter and joy. Old friends and new. He had the opportunity to do something crazy. How fortunate.

It was only a few days later that we heard some devastating news. A dear friend has just been diagnosed with a serious brain tumour. We are waiting to find out more but the prognosis does not look good. He is only 50 and should have many more years to live, enjoying his wife, children, grandchildren, extended family and friends.

If you are a praying person, please pray for Gerald. Pray for a miracle.

Happy Birthday Wes!

We celebrated a milestone in Wes' life on Saturday.

Watch the video to see what he did to usher in his 50th year!

Oops

We thought they were coming on Thursday night so imagine my surprise on Wednesday when the phone rang and it was Wes' dad, wondering if anyone was coming to the airport to pick them up.

They are both fine and have forgiven us.

Our home (Winnipeg) to Lockport, 23.8 km.
Average speed: 18 km per hour

Time in the saddle: 1 1/2 hours

We DID let a little rain stop us today.

I've been thinking about anxiety and growth lately. Both in the same thought, mostly because I thought I had "grown" enough to be able to deal with anxiety in a more healthy way.

Have I got a long way to go.

We have not yet sold our house. I knew it would not be as easy to sell this house as some of the other houses here in Winnipeg. I knew that. But in my heart I hoped, prayed, begged, that it would sell in days. What a testimony that would be! "We put our faith in God, knowing that he would take care of us blah, blah, blah..., and the house sold in one week! God is good!"

Well, that testimony's no good anymore as it's been almost 4 months and we have not yet had one offer. It keeps me awake at night. I'm beginning to feel anxious and I thought that I was way beyond that. If I go to the doctor and ask her for some anti anxiety meds, she'll suggest that I try non-prescription ways of dealing with it like meditation and exercise, which I'm already doing. But I still obssess. I just can't seem to turn my brain off.

I have faith that it will sell sometime but I'm tired of living in limbo, waiting for my life to start once this place is sold. I want to be able to live and enjoy life, even in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. I want to move forward, to grow and expand my brain but it seems to be stuck, like the needle on an LP player that stays in the same groove.

It's not just the house that's on my brain these days. It seems that I have begun worrying more and more about stuff that I have no control over. And at three o'clock in the morning, all of it seems to be insurmountable.

I thought I was further along in my emotional development. I thought I had more faith. I thought I could rise above these petty, relatively small inconveniences. After all, there are people who have no homes or possessions, have lost their families and friends and live where there is little to hope for. And here I'm obssessing about selling a house.

One day I will be able to look at this time in my life with a little more perspective. I will be able to see that even though things didn't happen the way I wanted, everything worked out. I'm hoping that new perspective will happen soon. Until then, I'll enjoy the days when I don't obsess and try to get through the days that I do.

Minnesota Bike Trip

Greatest Birthday Gift

My daughter-in-law Carolyn is one of those people who give a lot of thought to the gifts she gives. One of the very endearing things about her is the fact that she cannot wait to give her presents away and it is not unusual for me to receive something early.

So when Ben and Carolyn came by on Saturday with my birthday gift, I wasn't too surprised. A couple of bottles of wine and some delicious cheese. They knew that with selling the house and all, I didn't want anything that I would have to move. But the real surprise was in the card they gave me:

Yup. That's right. I'm gonna be a grandma, for the first time. Woo hoo! The whole family's thrilled!

Greetings from Minnesota

This post comes to you from the C'mon Inn of Park Rapids.

We've been here for a couple of days, enjoying the beautiful bike trails of Minnesota. Yesterday, we biked 18 km in Itasca State Park. It was only 18 because the day before, we biked 100 km which was stupid. We were feeling good and thought we'd go to the next town. We weren't thinking about the return trip. That was kind of stupid. Today, we'll try for about 50 km and see if our butts can handle it.

The weather is gorgeous, the biking trails are lovely, and the people are friendly. Everytime we pass people on a bike trail, they say hi.

We are trying to decide if we prefer biking on flat or hilly terrain. Going up the hills can be challenging but there is always the reward of coasting down. On flat terrain, you never get a break. You're always pedalling. We'll have to do a little more biking in order to discover what we like best. I do know that I prefer beautiful vistas and scenery. Today, we're off to Cass Lake because I have it on good authority that it is a lovely area to bike around. Stay tuned for pictures!