Forecast: Windy and Gloomy

What a crazy day this has turned out to be. It started out warm and sunny and 'out of the blue' literally, it has turned windy and cool with occasional raindrops or hail. Alberta! What a province!

I had a coffee visit this morning with a lady I don't know very well. I know her a lot better now. Spent 3 hours with her talking about stuff. Though she has a sunny disposition on the outside, in the inside she is hurting. Makes you wonder about how many other people are in the same boat, eh?

The Kenmore man was supposed to be here to fix my dishwasher as well. Called at 8:30 and said he'd be here between 1 and 3. Well, it is 3:20 and no sign of him. I am guessing it will be later in the day and just when I am headed out the door for my other meeting.

I am looking forward to tomorrow as my brother and wife are here from Sask and we are planning on doing some Canada Day celebrating. Hopefully that crazy Alberta weather will cooperate for the day and the evening fireworks. Happy Birthday, Canada!

I am headed to my Stephen Ministry meeting tonite. I wonder how many other people will be thinking it is such a lousy day...maybe I will just stay home. You can't do that when you are the leader!!

Think I will just relax for an hour and read my book 'Good to a Fault" by Marina Endicott. Maybe it will take my mind off this crazy weather!

Oops, just got a call from the appliance man. He will be here in 15 minutes to check out my dishwasher. Hope that it will only take 15 minutes too.
...to be continued!

I picked up my friend Isla from her 'secured facility' yesterday and brought her home with me. She was happy to 'get out'. When I say that I usually mean that I have been keeping myself busy with something and have just not been able to leave the house as I have been preoccupied. When she says it, she means it 'literally'!

Anywyay, I had planned that she might help me with making an Amish Friendship Loaf. It was time as it was Day 10 on the recipe instructions. I have read and re-read this receipe a trillion times and it still seems fuzzy to me. Nevertheless, I worked through it once more. I asked Isla to mix while I got the ingredients, measured and then put things away etc. She was so cute. Her short term memory is 'not there' so I must have heard her say at least 10X 'If it doesn't turn out, you can always say that Isla did not have her glasses on and did not read the recipe right." At first I thought it was funny but then I realized she really thought she was saying it for the first time, EACH time she said it. It was kind of sad at the same time as funny. Anyway, we had a lot of laughs. The next thing she said was "This is sure getting thick" which always caused me to stop and check it out just in case there was something going wrong with the recipe - not that I could change anything by then!

So we popped it in the oven finally. Two loaves were made. I thought it was a cake but it turns out to be a bread loaf. Chocolate bread loaf. Very good too. Lots of cinnamon in it. So this morning I am taking one pan to work with me so others can enjoy it (and I don't eat the whole thing myself)!

I had bought a new 48 piece puzzle of Toy Story3 for the grandkids so I opened it up and we tried to do it on the table on the deck. We actually finished it after about an hour! 48 pieces...big pieces. I said I wanted to be able to do it before the grandkids tried it out. They seem to know how to do puzzles better than gramma. I can still remember trying to do a Spiderman puzzle with Josh when he was about 4 and he finally said to me "It's OK gramma, we can ask mommy to help us." How does a girl feel, eh? Well, she was very definite in every move. Things that were obvious she totally missed but once in awhile she would find a piece that fit where I didn't even see it - not that that is any accomplishment as puzzles definitely are not my thing. We had a few laughs and hopefully she enjoyed herself. Taking her back to her place she thanked me for 'getting her out' and for doing something different.

I feel good about her feeling good. I want to be more regular with her (not that she will notice) but I will.

Worth a Thousand Words

I picked up my pictures from Walmart yesterday. They are great. Having said that, grandkids have got to be the best thing since sliced bread. You have way more patience, you try more things that you have never done before, you are always available whenever they want to talk (no replies like 'wait a minute, can it wait? hold that thought) but "sure, honey, what do you want? or 'no problem sweetheart, let me help you". I say that even though I know I was available for our daughter but somehow it seemed a bit more difficult to always reply with a 'yes'. You always had other things to do too. Not that you don't now but somehow now you know, yes, I said it, KNOW where the priority lies! Anyway, 'I am just saying ..." that it is important to make every moment count. Since our grandkids are miles away, we want to 'be available' whenever they call. That's a given.

I can hardly wait till next month when we go camping with them. More memories to make. Ahhhhhhhh! I was trying to figure out how to put a picture of them on this blog but the little thingamajigger that used to be on here for me to click to add pics is no longer on my dashboard. Who knows where that went. Maybe I did something when I was trying to add music. Well, now that means I have to start looking through all my settings again. Yuk! Maybe it is sufficed to say the grandkids look great! We are so thankful and grateful for them.

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you-- I, whom, you have redeemed. Psalm 71:23

Ok, I got to the dining room windows, bathroom and second bedroom. Window washing basically took the full day - well until 4 pm anyway. I still have the master bedroom to do. I thought I would do that in the morning so I could do the drapes at the same time. Another full day project. There is something to be said about a 'complete' day of work. Very satisfying.

Well, the morning came and went and I did not get to the bedroom windows or drapes. I started working on downloading some photos for London Drugs to develop and had to open an account and then download the photos. I usually go to Walmart. I thought I would give it a try at a new place. Well, that took about one hour and then it didn't work right. I can't even remember now what went wrong with it but I quit and went back to Walmart. I don't like their process much better, although this time I actually figured out what I have been doing wrong . I think it will work this time. It is not a 'wham, bam kind of thing'. You do have to spend some time cropping each photo unless you want them to do it for you which is an automatic thing and not the human eye. Ok, anyway, got it done and now I am headed out to pick them up. I have a few errands to run at the same time so hopefully they will be ready by the time I get to Walmart and the Saturday crowds. I remember specifically telling myself NOT to do Saturdays anymore. Once you are used to the relaxed atmosphere of weekday morning shopping, you will never go back. Ooops, except for today! I need to pick up the photos for a gift for a friend. I am hoping people are home enjoying the weather instead of shopping. hahaha

I also am returning a black hoodie that I picked up for our youngest grandson. He wanted black. Well, this was basically black and then turned grey with some waves at the bottom. A really need hoodie but he wouldn't even try it on - he said "gramma, I can tell it is too big". Besides that it was not totally black. Kids...go figure!! Anyway, I am now on a search for a black hoodie for the little guy. Not an easy task in the middle of summer. This might become a fall gift!

Enjoy your day...my little perpetual calendar states "Friends are life's little "pick-me-uppers" so we are going to be 'picked up' tonite by some friends we have not been able to be with for awhile. Hope we will accomplish this for each other!

Coffee Break

So far, so good. I have finished washing the kitchen and back door windows. It is a lot more work than what was just said. For short ME, it means I need a stool to take out all the windows which are of course over the kitchen sink. These are not small windows either. They are BIG. So that took me an hour and a half. To take out... wash... wipe... and then ... put them all back in again (in order). How many times have I tried to put them back in backwards. Too many to mention. The back door is another story. We have the bar across it for easy exits - just push and it opens. However, that bar is right across where I need to get my little fingers to clip it out of its pocket. Yes, I end up always with cuts and gouges to my fingers. It's such fun being a housekeeper! Next come the dining room windows. At least there is not a kitchen counter obstacle in front of me. These are just tall and narrow windows. Still heavy. The bedroom ones with the bunkbeds half covering them are the challenge for the day! I might not get to them just yet.

It is very nice though to sit at my kitchen counter and look out the window ... the CLEAN window. Almost seems like there is NO window in there now. Just how long they will stay that clean is another story. As nice as it seems out there, and having a covering over our deck, the wind still blows up the dust (from who knows where) and gently lays it on my windows. Oh well, not to worry about that right now. I will just enjoy the clear view while I have it! One last sip of my morning coffee and back to work.

What was I thinking?

After finishing supper last night, I was casually sitting and enjoying the news on tv (well, not actually enjoying the news as it was about the tornado down East) but sitting and enjoying being able to relax and watch the news for a change. As the dinner dishes were beckoning me to 'wash me, wash me' I casually turned on my computer to see if I could multi-task and accomplish all three at the same time.

As my computer took time to download, I put dishes in the sink and kept my ear tuned to the next show on tv which was Law & Order, Special Victims Unit - one of my favs. Anyway, as I was doing all three, my Outlook Calendar popped up to remind me of a meeting at 7 pm. TONITE!
It was now 7:05.

My heart stopped. It is amazing how much can go through your head in a short space of time. I remembered this happening before. De ja vous! Actually 2X for the same meeting. The first time was in January of this year. I was hosting the meeting and I was NOT THERE. The others were! They went into the church, found a room and carried on without me. I did not realize it until a few days later when I received the Minutes from that meeting by one of the attendees! Yikes! I was so embarrassed! No problem, they said. They just carried on. No big deal! (except to me!) The next meeting was setup and we all agreed on a date - including me. However, I did not think about it clearly or I would have realized that I was going to be in Phoenix that week. Ooops. Last minute change!

On the day of the meeting, I was on the computer in Phoenix and checked my calendar for updates and sure enough... I was doing it again! At least I had a day to make the change. I suggested they could go ahead without me or wait until I got back in a week's time. They agreed to wait! Of course, you know where I am going with this. Yes, you are right!

Last night, my computer calendar reminder popped up to do just that. Remind me of the meeting I was missing. Why is it that when you need a phone number or address, you can never find it? I am so good at the details and yet this detail was not visible to me. It was like a hand covering my eyes. Every page I read in my Minutes did not display a phone number or address.

So, I head to the phone book. Did you know that the white pages are now divided into businesses at the front and the residential pages are all together? I didn't. When did they start doing that? Anyway, I looked and looked and could not find the business address nowhere, nohow! Of course, I was under pressure too. Finally, I switched to the Yellow Pages, under Churches and found what I needed. That process took precious minutes. Tick, tick, tick. I found the home of one of the leaders hoping to have her husband answer and hoping to hear that she had a cell phone so he could give me the number so I could phone her to tell her I was on my way! No such luck! Answering machine came on. I left a frantic message and hung up! Ok, I thought. I can still do this. It is not that far away. Perhaps they will think I was thinking it was at 7:30 and not 7 pm so they will wait.

YES! I grabbed my books and hollered at my husband that I was late for a meeting and would see him at 9 pm!!! "What?" he hollers back. "Where are you going?" I was gone. I do admit to speeding - thankfully, no ticket. I was careful but I was speeding! It took me 15 minutes to get there and I parked at the west end of the building assuming we would meet where we met before. No, that was not to be. I had to go all the way around to the south east door. One good thing was I saw one of the leader's car in the parking lot. YES!! She is still there. Oh no. The doors are locked. Now what? Of course, just bang on them. Harder! How about on the glass? Yes! I see a face. She answers the door and unlocks it for me. Sorry about that, she said. Guess I forgot to unlock it. I had made it. It was 7:35 and they had just started. They had done their 'preliminaries' of hello and how have you been, etc. That took awhile and they assumed I might have gotten the time wrong so were not in a hurry.

We carried on with the meeting and set up our next one. This time, I am hosting again. This time, I plan to be there. I am marking it down on all the calendars and adding a 'day before' reminder to my computer calendar. Of course, I thought I had done that the last time but perhaps sharing this embarrassing news will make me more cognizant of my lapse in memory and will help me to remember.

There is no moral to this story. My fellow meeting members were gracious in saying I was a busy lady and not to worry about it. Personally, I think I have allowed too many 'little' things into my life that have sidetracked me. But, that is what retirement does to you. A little bit here, another thing there and before you know it...the day is gone. Time gets away on you. I have always been a 'structure' kind of person and with retirement I felt like I wanted to just 'relax' and 'go with the flow'. Well, seems like the flow is more like a river and I definitely was 'up the creek without a paddle' so I'm headed back to the 'organized' way of life. I will be sticking to my hand-written day-to-day calendar/daytimer and hope this will eliminate any of these kinds of problems in the future.

I realize that I will have to actually 'write it down' now but I think I can handle that. Oh yes, thanks to my husband who 'in my absence' was doing the dishes and kitchen cleanup when I returned home at 9 pm. "All I do is work" was his comment to me. I know he was joking but that's another story for another time.

Can't Think

Well, that was interesting! It was an experience trying to make my playlist and get it on my blog but I find it too distracting. I heard someone else say the same thing. But... I had to do it just to see for myself. I enjoyed it on someone else's blog but somehow it was different. I will just enjoy my playlist on my own. Hope that goes well with everyone. Then again, it is MY blog, so ...

Finally got my exercise ball out of the box and blown up. It says to fill it 80% and then let it sit overnite. Fill it 100% and then wait another nite. By Sat I should be able to exercise. I was at the chiro today and had a half hour massage (nice) and my Dr. said it would be good for me to work out on a ball so I do take instruction well (from a professional)! Sorry hon.

I think if we all did a little more bending and stretching (perhaps gardening?) and maybe even a little more walking (oh my sore feet) I could lose some of this belly fat! Yuk! It is not as easy as I thought. I wish I had taken myself more serious when I was in my 30's but somehow the years go by too fast! When you are 30 you don't have to exercise - well I didn't - but no work (out) and you gain weight. It is as simple as that. I get it, I get it (now)!!

Ok, today is the day I start drinking more water (to fill me up). They say it also helps with digestion, your skin, circulation... why didn't I do THIS before? Oh yeah, same reason. Who had time or even needed to?

The more you drink, the more you pee (for awhile). Eventually, my system will get in sync with all this liquid. The thing about drinking more water is I now get thirsty. Guess I need it though.

So that is my newest 'thing'. Hope it can last till at least the end of the week anyway.

Jiggity Jig

Home again, home again...

Well, the time with the grandkids went fast. It is so nice to be able to be 'part of' their life physically. You get to live their life with them for a short while. In some ways that is better than living in the same city and just visiting occasionally for supper or for afternoon coffee. If you know what I mean! Nothing is the same as being 'immersed' in their life. We were able to walk them to school and talk and walk them home from school too. Those 1//2 hr walks are pretty special. One on one time with the new baby is pretty special too. She likes her mom but will put up with me for short periods. By the time she left she was feeling more comfortable looking up at gramma!

Next trip is camping with them at Radium. That will be totally different as they will be overniting with us. Should be interesting. We will need to plan on hikes, campfires and just general good play! We definitely will want to 'make memories' for them (and us too)!

It is hard to get back into it this morning. Feeling pretty lazy. I have a chiro appt and a massage so hopefully my hip and MY shoulder will feel better later on. Likely I will be hurting more after she is finished with me. Ugh. Need to get this body back into shape but I think I have been saying that for awhile now. More action is required!

Ok, overcast with a light breeze but still very comfortable. Happy to be home. Back to routine.

FINALLY!

Thanks to my brother and my son-in-law, I have been able to add music to my blog. Now I am not sure if this is going to be better or worse. When I first saw it on another person's blog, I thought it was a great idea. However, after spending a l-o-n-g time on mine trying to get it to work...I finally had to turn the sound off as it was driving me bananas. So....I will leave it on for awhile but if I get tired of listening to it, maybe you will too. I will decide in a few more blogs whether to keep it or not.

We have made it to Vancouver and the weather here is a bit cooler but still sunny and not raining as they predicted. We missed our grandkids' school performance but got to see it a number of times as they sang us one or two songs. We also got to see it on the video that they took.

Went to our granddaughter's piano recital. She is doing really well. We also had a conflicting engagement of our grandson's ball hockey final. He lost. He is looking forward to Fall when he can start 'real' hockey - on ice! Went out for supper to Swiss Chalet as a treat. The boys went for pizza for the hockey team.

Tomorrow is Father's Day and we are going to Toy Story 3 - something for all of us - in other words, the kids want to go see it! We watched Toy Story 2 last night just to refresh our memory!

Enjoying our grandkids and new granddaughter. She definitely recognizes her mom. I can help when she is in a good mood but if she is crying, my picking her up somehow makes her cry all the more! Go figure. I think she just is not accustomed to me yet. Maybe I should stay here longer. haha

We are headed to Toy Story3 this afternoon for Father's Day. I am not sure that is the 'pick of the week' for my husband but he will do what the family wants - especially since they are paying today!

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Heavy Discussion

Ok, so I was at my Stephen Ministry group tonite and we were talking about the book that the founder of the ministry wrote called 'Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart". We were discussing the common sayings among Christians that really are not found in the bible like, 'God doesn't give you more than you can handle". Actually although people quote it as a biblical truth, the Bible does not state it. It is loosely based on 1 Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has seized you except what is commmon to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. This passage actually refers to resisting temptation, not at all about bearing up under pain and suffering. The context of this verse clearly points to temptation, not suffering.

On discussion, we felt that most Christians are simply trying to offer up encouragement and hope that maybe it won't get worse, or whatever happens, God is with you and will help you. However, a person who is hurting might feel the burden even worse in that they aren't doing a good job at 'overcoming' or 'dealing with their burden' and end up feeling worse.
Another part of "God doesn't give you..." Why add to the burden of a hurting person by saying that God is causing the suffering? Come on people!

Basically, when bad things happen, people don't need platitudes and cliches; they need to be able to lean on each other and support one another. Hopefully, that is what this ministry is all about. I continue to learn things from our meetings and surprisingly, from the people who we are giving care to. What goes around, comes around. I like that saying and I think it works out to be true.

I'm No Techno

My brother told me about a blog that he checked out besides mine. He was telling me about the running music on it and that I should try it. Sounded like a great idea. So, I did. However, it is not quite as easy as it sounds (to me anyway). I signed up to playlist and got the songs but the difficult part was getting it from one place to another. I copied the http: address as they instructed but it seemed like there was no place to 'paste' it on my blog. It was frustrating. It reminded me a lot of when I used to type on the old Remington typewrtier (remember that?) and then we went to the electric. You didn't do the manual carriage return (CR) anymore - you just clicked the return button. However, for what seemed like forever, I was always attempting to return my 'imaginary' carriage. Of course, it was a wasted movement. Just like my 'copy and paste' movement with playlist.

I will have to ask my son-in-law when we visit and he will fix me up. I need to find out a few definitions as well. A little information will go a long way I am sure. As well, a little information can be dangerous too! thankfully, I did not ruin my blog format although I sure thought I was doing so as I went in and out of all the menus. Technology. A blessing or a curse?!!

Nothing Much Happening

Quiet day at work so thought I would work on my blog. Nothing of consequence to say but that hasn't stopped me before! I have caught up with all my work and just answering phones (whenever)!

We are heading out to Vancouver to see our kids on Thursday. Looking forward to that. We have not seen them since the end of February. It is time! That baby (more commonly known as Grace) is now 4 months old and growing... Looking forward to seeing how this growing family gets along!

I have been trying to talk my husband into getting a firepit for our backyard. So far...not successful. I have not given up yet though - when the snow starts to fly - then I will know it is a definite NO.

Looking forward to camping this year. Will be spending a number of days with our kids and grandkids as well as my brother and family. Also, a few days with my 'main man'. We will celebrate our anniversary 'on our own' which can be very nice as well. I hope to visit my other brother on our return home.

I have a friend whose husband passed away a few years ago. She is still young and has now met a man. When or how do you know IF he is the right one? she asks. Yikes. That's a toughie! can't imagine doing that again but I am sure she thought that at one time also. She seems totally swept off her feet and is doing all she can to 'make sure'. Right now it is long distance but they will be on the same page by fall. I said to do a lot of talking on a lot of different subjects and cover as much as possible. In long time marriages, however, both parties change and grow so nothing is constant or remains the same. That is a good thing - as long as you are going down the same path or at least in the same direction. Change is good but it can cause a lot of problems too. In the end, I know she will do the right thing. I told her that a common belief system is very important or that can cause more problems. She is working on that one. Said it would be the tie-breaker but so far, so good.

Ok, well, that is about all I can come up with today. Sometimes, a dull day is just that ... a dull day. Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting!

Delayed

Wow, it has been a few days now since I have blogged. There just didn't seem to be anytime to actually sit down and write. Guess I have been busy.

Went to my Ladies group on the weekend. Did an 'overnite' with a bunch of girls. It was a hoot! Just like when I was a 'tweenie'! Ate lots of snack foods (root beer floats) and watched a super movie "The Ultimate Gift". It got late so we ended up watching it in the morning with our coffee and fresh tea biscuits. Thanks Dianne. Ate lots of food as I said and then ate bison burgers with Caeser Salad and 'fruit smoothies' for lunch. The weather was hot and so it just added to a wonderful day. Not all the ladies could make it but that was ok as those that did enjoyed themselves. It was nice to be at the lake too.

Sunday I brought my friend who has Ahlzhimer's to my house. I had not seen her for three weeks and there was a bit of a change. I had her watering my outdoor plants and helped me hose everything down. She was happy to do something she said. She stayed for supper and ate well. We had a lot of laughs. What a terrible disease that takes away your memories. She does remember though - all the things of her youth and young adult life. Maybe that will go too someday. For now I ask her a lot about her youth and recall stories of when we used to go camping and play ball with the guys. She seems to remember certain things. When I took her back and checked her in we went to her room. There is a picture of the two of us from one of our visits before to our place pinned on her wall. After looking at it, I asked her who the people were. She looked at it, removed her glasses and looked at me and said "I think that's you?"  I agreed and then asked her what my name was. She did not know. Amazing. After 35 years of friendship. She knows she should know me and perhaps she does but just can't put a name to the face. Sad.

What a beautiful night tonite even though it is cooler. The sunset here at 9:45 has the sky a bright orange and yellow. Beautiful! This time of the year is wonderful. It stays bright out for so long. We bought 4 new deck chairs as we threw out all those white plastic chairs as you can't get them clean after awhile. These match nicely so hopefully will last a few years.

I am in the midst of a time frame for making an Amish Friendship Loaf. It takes 10 days and no refridgeration needed - You slowly put the cake together. I will try it out and see if it works. One friend gave the 'beginnings' to each of us and we will get to the point in 10 days to actually mix enough to make four other bags and bake the cake. It is supposed to be really good. Will keep you advised. Baking is not my thing.

Well, early to bed, early to rise, makes a girl healthy and wise or at least 'bright eyed and bushy tailed'!

April Showers in June?

"Rain rain go away". That's all I want to say of that nursery rhyme as the next line is 'come back another day' which has turned out to be the next day over and over again. Something like 'groundhog day'! I have been keeping myself busy this morning, doing laundry, making return phone calls, responding to a friend's blog and trying to get my things in order for my Stephen Ministry info meeting this Sunday. I need to get out and get to the church to update stuff which I now see won't happen until tomorrow or Friday. Oh well. Just keep plodding on with my 'to do' list, I guess.

I can't believe how far behind I can get when I only work two days a week. Of course, usually Wed becomes a day of washing etc and Thur I make appts and Fri seems to swooosh by with return calls, etc. How did I do it when I worked full time? I think I have asked that question before. Actually, I think I ask it a lot - maybe too much! Just what more am I doing that I didn't do then. I respond to most people when they tell me how busy they are when they retired, with the comment that we do more 'little' things now than we did when we had 'one big job' that occupied 5 out of 7 days! Now, we seem to squeeze in these 'little' things but there are hundreds of them!! Because they are 'little' we often think of them as being 'non-essential' or 'unimportant' certainly not 'big enough' to complain about as in "My goodness, why am I complaining about these 'little things' when other people have big important jobs and accomplish so much more and they don't complain - or if they do - they have good reason to!" And yet... these 'little things' accumulate and multiply and use up our day!!!

Since it is raining outside, I am taking this opportunity to 'complete' a few things. I need to do that so I feel like I can actually 'accomplish' something. Laundry may not be all that important an accomplishment but it still needs to be done. It was 'quietly' overflowing the basket! However, it becomes something you can't ignore. Now, since I am home, it seems like it HAS to be done. When I worked, it was a job for a specific day and that day alone! Now, it can be done anytime and usually it is the day when I am 'cleaning off' my desk and clearing off my 'to do' list. I can set the dial and go and do something else. Sort of like, killing two birds with one stone. Oh that sounds bad. How about...???  Hmmmmmmmm  Oh, I can't think of anything different. The message is the same anyway.

A friend of mine is in the hospsital today getting some reconstructive breast surgery after cancer treatments. I can't imagine going through half of what she has already done! I guess God really does give you His grace when you go through things. She said she is grateful for her life and for the opportunity she now has to bring some normalcy to it. Go girl!!

I am not sure about you but doesn't this dreary rainy weather cause you to want to go back to bed? Ugh! On the other hand, it reminds me a lot of my mom. How? you say? Well, I recall coming home in the rain after school and mom was busy ironing clothes. The humidity in the air and the smell of damp clothing brough in from outside, well.....it has got to be one of the best smells and memories in the whole wide world! I know lots of ladies who I have taked with who will say the same thing. It's nice when the nostril picks up the smells and passes them down to the brain which signals 'warm and fuzzies' out of the past. So, even though I am housebound today, I am being filled up to the brim with good things!

On the other hand, my husband is out in the rain golfing! Not because he likes golf that much but because he paid his $$ for this charity golf tournament a month ago! I am hoping it doesn't 'downpour' but merely 'drizzle' so that he can enjoy it a bit. Why is it that it rains on these things? Gosh, it's for charity!!!

Well, I guess I should go and have a bite to eat to keep me going! I have lots to do yet and the day is still young - unlike myself! Thankfully, my 'self-efficacy' is based on a good self esteem and good life experiences!! Hope you are enjoying the sunshine (someplace out there) but if it is raining where you are - remember your mom and all the hard work she did for you - and especially the laundry - that should make you smile!!!

Sunday Summary

Well, we had our life team wrap up BBQ last night. Only we did potluck instead of bbq. Nice variety of food and lots of it. It was a good time to capsulize what happened within the group, the prayers that were answered and the new requests. A good bunch of people and now we are good friends. Started with only one couple that we knew and out of 14 of us, now we all are friends. Amazing.

This morning during the two services at church we hosted on behalf of Shepherds Care Foundation a cake and coffee time celebrating SCF's 40th anniversary. Lots of cake was eaten and a number of enquiries into the lodges and extended care facilities. A good time of fellowship. After cleanup (after the 2nd service), we went out to lunch with friends and then hurried home to change and go to another 'part-time work' office bbq! Thankfully the weather was agreeable and a good time was enjoyed by all.  It has been a busy weekend and it now appears we have to get back to work to get some rest!

In what seems ordinary and everyday there is always more than at first meets the eye...Charles Cummings.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Where has the day gone? I spent the morning on the computer. I was checking out SmileBox and sending some pictures as it was my son-in-law's birthday today. Two came back as 'sorry' and the third one finally went. I sent another set to a friend, one came back and the other one went. I am still not sure what I did wrong (if anything). I didn't change the name or address but somehow (maybe by holding my mouth the right way) it seeemed to go ok. Computers and all that webstuff really 'eat up your time'.  Four hours. Yikes! I don't take that long getting ready for a special event!

Our neighbors are moving out today. They came over with a thank you card and a hanging basket of flowers as a thank you. Wow. We hardly ever saw them but did offer to cut their grass (we did often), shovel the sidewalks and driveway (more often) and babysit their new daughter (only once). The latter, I would have wanted to do a lot more but no offers came. I guess I should have offered more. Too bad. So sad. It will be interesting to see who the next neighbors will be! It is a rental home so no one stays for too long.  This couple was here for three years and has now bought a house of their own. The last  renters ended up buying their own property. The owner lives in the basement but works out of town. Alas, we start all over again. Who knows...maybe the next renters will become lifetime friends!

I went to a friend's place last night to look at some jewellery she is making. Beautiful. Makes you wonder what you could do yourself if you put your mind to it. She is a busy lady with lots of other things but has now entered into the creative world of 'hands on' creations and is going to be successful. I know you are not supposed to compare yourself to others but still I ask....why? or how can I? or what do I want to do? What can I do? These are all good questions. I think I may have to ponder it for awhile. My daughter asked me the same kind of question this morning "what did I want to do with the rest of my life?" so to speak. I had no good answer. I have always just done what was needed at the time.Not a lot of pre-planning. Perhaps I should do one of those self-assessment questionnaires? Maybe I just need to take some time for myself and 'ponder life' or even just start doing something and things will begin to happen? I need to work on my 'bucket list' that a friend of mine has done. OK, let's see...number 1.....paint the deck...number 2....paint the garage window sills...number 3...clean up the spare room....NOPE! Stop!  This seems too much like work.  Maybe instead, I will just go grab a coffee and read a book. Actually, I hear my husband coming so it may be time to actually do some yard work with him. I can think about what I want to do with my life later.

I read a quote from my perpetual calendar which reads "I talked to friends and found myself."  by Lois Wyse. I think she must be wise as talking to all of you 'out there' does help me put my thoughts in perspective. Thank you.

Green Thumb? Not!

It's that time of the year again. Spring I mean. Flower planting, gardens, etc. Personally, I like 'green'. No, I mean it...green shrubs, green trees, green grass. How can you beat that? You don't have to do anything to it. It just happens. On the other hand, flowers take time and attention. I'm not saying that I don't like them - I do - it's just that - well, like I said....they take time and attention.  Usually, my flowers don't get very big. They often die too soon and I have a tendency to forget them. There just seems to be too many other things to do - like this blog! Oh, I do know that I enjoy them. As I sit and write this, I am looking out my backdoor into our yard and I see the beautiful flower box that is there. My neighbor planted them in her yard - and I get to enjoy them. I wish they were in mine as well but alas, I watch from afar. Of course, her hard work pays off for me as well, as it seems to enhance my back fence! I must thank her.

I did go out today and buy some flowers and yes...I did get them planted as well. Oh my aching back!  We will see if they work out this year. I tend to change the flower every year, hoping for just the right one. It has not yet happened. Friends of mine spend $$, time and effort and of course, it pays off for them. Not so for me. Not sure if it is the $$, time or effort that is lacking - perhaps all three!!

Anyway, they are in and right now they look good. They are for shade areas so this might work this year. Here's hoping. The little description reads 'shade or part shade'. I think that is me. The planters face north and get light but no direct sunlight. Guess I am now into the waiting game. They were well looked after in the garden center and they look very nice in my flowerbox (right now). Time will tell.

So, I am looking forward to sitting on my back deck and looking at the green grass, green trees and hopefully a shot of colour from my flower boxes. I can hope, can't I?

Happy gardening.