Note to self

When you put something into the freezer, remember to label it.

I took something that looked like pumpkin puree out of the freezer a few days ago and thought I'd make a pumpkin pie with it. As I mixed the ingredients together, I noticed some little red flecks but didn't think much of it. Kristen suggested that maybe it was a bit of pumpkin peel that got more red while in the freezer. It smelled good while it was baking although there was a definite curry smell to it. Someone suggested that it might taste good with a little mango chutney and sour cream.

Anyone want some pumpkin soup pie?

Bathing Suit

Wes and I were at Superstore today browsing the Joe clothing. At one point Wes drew my attention to a bathing suit and commented on how it was nice. A few seconds later, he showed me another one. I found this a little odd and asked him if he didn't like the bathing suit I have.

Ever see a man squirm? I could see all the synapses in his brain on high alert. (If I say no, I don't like her bathing suit, she'll be offended. If I say yes, I'd be lying. What am I to do?)

I let him squirm for just a little while.

He made some lame comment about my current suit being not very chic. He didn't actually use the word chic but if he had said old fashioned, he would have been in big trouble. Believe it or not, I actually like my current suit and have absolutely no desire to buy another one.

Wes was happy, I think, that I found the whole exchange funny. And I really don't care what he thinks about my swimming attire because I'd rather have a tooth filled than go bathing suit shopping.

Memories of the Renovations

Before Rob and Michele moved into the basement apartment this past fall, we had already removed a wall which opened the apartment up to the rest of the basement. Rob felt that it had to be re-erected so that his family could be a little separated from the construction. It also kept the dust down.

The wall was a very clever use of use found and scavenged material. The door was most unique. It used to be the door to the closet under the stairs, a little narrow and short. It is the most fun door I'd ever seen. Every morning, when I walk down the stairs, this is what I would see:

If you look very carefully, you will see Dixie just to the right of Jed. They never made it through the little opening but they really tried!

Peace in the middle of chaos

Every now and then a thought pops into my head that there is something I need to work on in my life.

When I was a teenager, I read a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "If." "If you can keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs..." was the phrase that caught my eye. This past year the phrase kept coming back to me and I felt that God, in the gentle way that God works, was telling me that this might be the year that I could focus on those words. And so I gave God permission to lead me along a path that would teach me about being a calm, peace loving influence in the middle of chaos.

The interesting thing is that if you ask for patience or the ability to remain calm and peaceful during chaos, God doesn't often just "give" you calm and peace, he tends to send chaos so that you can learn the things you ask for.

To say this has been a chaotic year would be a pretty good description of the last 8 months or so. The chaos that has been most prevalent has been the renovations of this old house. It is a much bigger project than any of us anticipated. We've lived with mud, plaster dust, drywall dust, tradespeople, hopes and expectations of a completion date, moving boxes, beds, appliances from one spot to another and then back to their original spot. I think that the biggest challenge for me has been the fact that home has not been the sanctuary that home usually is for me.

I was asking God one day how I could keep perspective and a peaceful spirit in all of this chaos. And then it hit me. I am getting exactly what I have been asking for. Have I handled it in the calm peaceful way I would have liked? Sometimes.

I'm glad that life is almost back to normal. I think that I have learned a thing or two about tolerating chaos. I think that I was able to "keep my head" most of the time. I appreciate more than ever the peace and security of a home, something that so many people in this world do not experience.

And to be honest, I'll miss having the workers around. A little bit of chaos keeps life interesting. But just a little bit. I'll enjoy the peace and quiet for now.

Some Christmas Surprises

Kristen spent a week in a small town near Knoxville, Tennessee with Andy's family. She came home with this beautiful, unique bowl, made from a beech tree. Carved into the bottom of the bowl. Thanks Kristen, Andy and Mark!

And, on Christmas morning, a surprise from Sinterklaas. He visits homes in the Netherlands on the 6th of December so it's no wonder it took him until the 25th to get to Canada. Sinterklaas knows what I like: Chocolate, red wine, an iTunes card and an orange. The Guinness is for Wes.

I think it was Eric who let him know our new address.

Grandma Linda Days

I must get back to posting a little more regularly but it seems that for the last 6 months, all I could think of was renovations. And that gets old, really fast. How many times can I complain about the dust and mud before I lose all of my faithful readers?

So...what to write about.

My adorable granddaughter will be hanging out with me one day a week starting in March. I am looking forward to spending time with her. Oh the things we will do!

Many years ago, I would hang out with my 2 nephews one day a week. The boys called these days "Auntie Linda days." Those were fun times. They'd watch a movie, play with different toys, read and create with glue, tape and markers. We usually managed to get out once a day, to visit the mall, go to a pet store, or, weather permitting, go to a park.

I am looking forward to creating memories with Aryana, to starting "Grandma Linda days."

I will post a picture of the lovely Aryana but I need some help from our resident tekkie first. For now, you will find a photo here.

Got a new computer

It's a Mac. One of the people who live here has convinced us that Apple is the way to go. We were having lots of trouble with our old lap top and needed something faster and more up to date. Now, we're just trying to figure things out.

This computer is faster than a speeding bullet. Wow! All I have to do is figure out how to work it. There is a CD that I stuck into the CD spot but I don't know how to make it work. Have to wait until the house tekkie gets home. Micah has been mighty busy setting all of this up for us in addition to supporting and advising others in this house about everything related to technology.

Handy to have someone so willing to help out living so close by.

I wrote this post about 3 weeks ago...

Well.

We have moved in. To our house. When we first moved 6 1/2 months ago, it was home. Then it became "the house." Later, we referred to it as "Dumoulin." Now, it is "our house" and in only 2 or 3 or maybe 4 or 5 weeks, we will once again call it "home".Our bedroom is mostly finished. We use 2 washrooms, one for the shower/bath and toilet and the powder room which has a working sink. The 100 year old floors have been refinished and are looking beautiful as is the newly installed cork that seems to fit in so well with the old/new look of this house.

The basement apartment is our current living/kitchen space which we share with Rob, Michele, Joey and Micah and the two dogs, of course. Almost every evening we sit together for a meal and talk about our day and any house related stuff that needs a decision.Before we began this restoration project, I insisted that I would not move in until EVERYTHING was finished.

Ha.

In retrospect, things have gone well. Most of the workers have been wonderful. I particularly like Greg, the floor finisher who prefers repairing and refinishing old wood floors to new ones. He gets it. There are many people who do not understand why we wouldn't just build something brand new, with level floors and straight walls. It's hard to explain the beauty and uniqueness of an old house. Fir floors that have a look about them that can no longer be duplicated. Tin ceilings that must have taken 100 hours to restore if you include removal, sanding and cleaning, reinstallation, caulking and finally painting. They are gorgeous. A stairway that we were able to save that is unlike any stairway anywhere.

Six or 8 months of renovations, considering I'll be here for at least 30 years doesn't sound too bad. We have certainly had our moments, times when we wondered what we were doing and if we'd ever be finished but now, the end is in sight so it's easy to be philosophical about it all.Will I ever do this again? Not on your life. I am going to live here until someone has to carry me out. This will be home, the place my grandkids will know as grandma's house.

No Apologies

I have not been terribly prolific with my posts this past year or so but I will not apologize. The worries of selling our big old house and then jumping into a renovation that has consumed my life and the lives of a good number of people around me has kept me from doing much outside of our home. This blog was begun for me to have some fun and to document my life and posts will come only when I feel that I want to write something.


Today we are not only moved in, we are actually living in our house. The kitchen is finished and everything except the dishwasher is working. I've been handwashing dishes for the last 6 months so a few more days will be just fine. The dust is still settling but there is less and less every day. And tomorrow, I call the company who has been storing our piano and that will be delivered by the end of the week. Oh joy! I have missed my piano!

While in Quebec Wes and I bought our second piece of original art ever. The new piece, created by a Quebec artist will be placed over the sofa in our new living room. It should be coming sometime this week.

There are lots of little things to be done before this place is finished but I am happy and content now to finally have my own place once again.

Quebec

I have fallen in love with this city. People who have been here before have told us that it is much like Europe and they are right. It reminds us so much of our trip to Italy. People seem to walk a lot more here than they do in Winnipeg (and believe me, it has been cold, so that is no excuse!) so there are usually plenty of people walking on the street, day and night. The shop keepers are friendly and do their best to speak English to us when they learn that we cannot speak French very well. Every restaurant we have visited has been outstanding. We cannot say yet which one we liked best. The service is excellent and the food, divine.

We are staying in a Bed and Breakfast in the old part of town where the streets are narrow and in the evenings we hear the clop clop of horses hooves. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine what it was like around the turn of the century. The heat has not yet been turned on in the house so it feels pretty chilly but it is heated by hot water and we understand that kind of heat. If it were to be turned on now, the rooms would be uncomfortably hot. Hot water heat is the best in the winter but it is hard to regulate in the spring and fall.

Today, we spent the day driving around Ile d'Orleans, an absolutely charming island only 15 km from Old Quebec city. We stopped at a small village bakery and had a delicious croissant and a pastry simply called "pomme" which means apple in French. Chocolate from the chocolaterie, wine tastings at several vineyards and a number of apple cider tastings; a few pieces of cheese, a stop at a lovely old church and sightseeing, art galleries and apple orchards. I think the best surprise of the day was our visit to a maple sugar shack. There was nobody around when we first drove in and we were ready to leave when a woman came and asked us if we were here for maple syrup. She told us to wait a minute while she got her coat and then she proceeded to give us a tour of her maple sugar enterprise. That woman had maple sap running through her veins. She was passionate about maple syrup and we learned a lot about the work that she did. I think you have to be passionate about maple syrup to own a sugar bush and make maple sugar.

The view of the St. Lawrence river and the mainland beyond is beautiful even though most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. Apparently, we missed that by only 2 days.

The people are friendly and when I enter a shop I always say greet people by saying "Bonjour." Then they start speaking to me in what seems like rapid fire French and I have to hold up my hands and tell them I cannot speak French. I guess my "bonjour" sounds pretty authentic.

This evening we are having dinner at a restaurant called "Aux Anciens Canadiens" which is in the oldest building in Quebec City. I am consuming far more calories than I am accustomed. Good thing it's cold and we're walking a lot because I think the intake and output of calories is close to equal.

I have at least 15 posts that are partially written but have not yet been posted. This one I intend to post because I'm sick of my last post, which was a rant. An acceptable rant in my opinion but it's time for something more positive.

Yesterday we moved most of our furniture out of the SeaCan and garage and into our house! As I was sitting on the couch, I marvelled that this day has actually come to pass. We are mere weeks away from being completely moved in. It is a wonderful feeling. And the house looks BEAUTIFUL. Just gorgeous. I am so thrilled that I love the paint colours more than I did at first and that the tin ceilings look beautiful and the floors are gorgeous.

Pictures will follow. And we are going to have one doozie of an open house. I'll let you know when because everyone is invited.

What gets me REALLY MAD is those idiots who will not take their place in a line of cars when one of the lanes is closed. They go flying by all of us who have been waiting patiently in the right lane because it is obvious that the left lane is closed. Then they try to push their way in front of us.

Who do they think they are? Are they so important that they need to get to their destination sooner than we do? Do they think that we WANT to stay in the line? Grrrrrr. I'm still mad.

Randomness

Today is the first day in a long time that I have had the time or energy to sit at the computer to read up on the few blogs I follow. I realized that it has been over a month since my last post. So here is an update on my life for those of you who might be interested.

The house continues to look like a construction zone. A construction zone with a GREAT lunch room. I actually made chocolate chip cookies there one day for coffee break.

The mud at the house is just awful. There is no other word to describe the thick, sticky gumbo that gets tracked everywhere. I wish it would stop raining.

Spent a week in Ontario with my mom while my dad was working on our house. I haven't driven on the QEW or any of the 400 highways for years but it only took me a few moments to start driving like an Ontarian. 120 km per hour and people were still passing me.

I went on a canoe trip with 13 other women. It was great. We had 2 gorgeous summer days in Northern Ontario where the water is so clear that you can see to the bottom of the lake.

Michele has been taking care of Dixie for most of the last 6 weeks. I think Dixie likes her better than me.

We moved to another apartment in the same building at Ft. Garry place last week. It is a lovely apartment with a balcony on the 12th floor. I am enjoying apartment living very much although I'm sure that one day I will long for a real house. For now, this haven is suiting me just fine. It's just a little hard to have people over for a visit.

My granddaughter is adorable. I saw her today for the first time in 2 weeks.

I watched "Julie and Julia" last night and enjoyed it thoroughly. I read the book earlier this summer and still enjoyed the movie. You must watch it if you get the chance.

Tomorrow, I paint. Things are definitely progressing at the house.

New Digs

I suspected it would come to this. We have renovated before and have survived and I was sure I'd survive this one too. But this one is different. EVERYTHING is being restored. Every wall, every bathroom, every floor, every ceiling. And so it was that we decided we had to move out. Eric and Tim have found temporary places to live and Wes and I are now on the 18th floor of Ft. Garry Place, downtown Winnipeg. Kristen is still in the house with the dogs but I suspect she won't last long.

I can see the Golden Boy from my living room window and the rear of the Fort Garry Hotel from the bedroom window. If I stick my head out the window, I can almost see our house. This is a wonderful, peaceful, respite from all the construction and I am so grateful for it.

Indoor parking (great on a rainy day), washer and dryer, kitchen, internet, quiet, dust free and housekeeping on Mondays to boot. I am looking forward to the completion of the renovations and enjoying our new space but for now, this is a great place to be.

Sigh.

Another fantastic Folk Festival weekend.

Construction workers leave all kinds of things around the place after they leave.

Power tools
HammersPictures of the bossAnd...their pants? I believe these pants belong to the drywall taping guy. I'm not sure what he was wearing when he left.

Restorations

I've decided to change my attitude about the renovations. I'm calling this a restoration project, rather than a renovation project. Restoration has a more positive ring to it, don't you think? And, we are finished with the tearing down and everything is looking better every day.

When you are living with a huge project such as we are, you have many interesting people coming around every day. That is one part of the construction that I will miss.

Back Lane

After not having one for about 22 years, we have a back lane behind our house. When I first moved to Winnipeg thirty years ago, I didn't even know what a back lane was.
There was nothing like that in the town where I grew up. For those of you who don't know, a back lane is a lane that runs behind houses, eliminating the need for front driveways and giving homeowners a place to put their garbage cans and other junk that have no place to be stored. I have not seen a back lane that doesn't look shabby and messy. Most back lanes are rutted and in disrepair. I have never really understood the need for a lane especially because it takes up space that could otherwise have been used as backyard. IMHO.

I have discovered a great use for back lanes, now that I have one. Because we are sharing a house and yard with Michele and her family, we find that we have some surplus stuff to deal with. Michele had a patio set which was great until the fabric started tearing and the glass in the table exploded one day. It was a great set and with a little work, (well actually a lot of work) could become quite usable again. Neither one of us has the gifts or talent to pull off one of those "we found this set and for only 40 dollars were able to make it look as good as new" makeovers. And we really didn't need the set because between the 2 households, we have plenty of lawn furniture.

So we put it out in the back lane and voila! It disappeared within hours.

Now, what else can I put out there?

We buried an old friend yesterday. He was 51 years old, a husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was much too young to die and had many years of living to come as far as I was concerned. But somehow, cancer invaded his brain and continued it's deadly growth for 9 months until his body finally succumbed to it.

When we found out in September about the tumour, we began praying. Hundreds of us, praying hard. We reminded God that he had the power to heal with just a word. We prayed for a miracle. What a testimony that would be! We'd tell the world that the tumour had miraculously disappeared and we'd give God all the glory. God is good, we'd say.

But that was not to be. As I watched Gerald lying on the hospital bed, the life slowly seeping out of him, I wondered about the healing. I thought back to the times in the previous 9 months when he rallied and we ached to believe that would be the beginning of restoration to health. I watched him as his laboured breathing became slower and the times between breaths became longer. I saw his body, once tall, strong and athletic, reduced to skin and bones except for the puffiness that came from medications.

Where God, is the healing for which we so fervently prayed? Where are you in all of this? What do you mean when you say that my prayers will be answered if only I ask?

And then it occurred to me that the healing was indeed beginning. God knew that Gerald's time on earth was coming to an end and God knew that he would no longer need his mortal body in heaven. Flesh, bones, organs and bodily systems would only weigh him down like a ball and chain, impeding his ability to enjoy eternity. As I watched his body wasting away, I began to see his spirit, his God-essence become larger than his formerly imposing body, created for his time on earth. The healing of his spirit accelerated as his earthly body deteriorated.

We were created to live with God for eternity. Our time here on earth is short and none of us will experience complete healing from pain and sorrow until all that holds us to this earth is removed and we meet God, unfettered by our human bodies.

Today, the tears come frequently and the sadness easily overwhelms me. He will be missed and I know I will still wonder why it happened this way and why Gerald had to die so young. But I am grateful for answered prayer. Today, Gerald is healed. He is happy and free of pain, free from his feeble, weak body. Our prayers have been answered.

Gerald Folkerts

Rest in peace Gerald.