One Day Off

Well, the rehearsals are over and we have a day off  before the REAL performances begin. It's that time of the year again. With more people in the cast this year, it is a full house on the platform for the passion play 'the Mystery'. The passion play runs March 31 to April 3. Check out  http://www.millwoodsassembly.ca/   There is excitment as the new participants hustle about wondering if they will remember their lines, or their places, or if the person standing beside them will remember theirs! Andy, the donkey, is ready to go. He seems to be the only one who is relaxed. He does his part well and then he gets fed so he has great motivation! Hey, maybe we should do that as well.

One of the pharisee's had to leave the production on the morning of the 2nd rehearsal night. His mom had passed away suddenly so he was off to the east coast to be with family. There are no stand-ins for this production. We are all volunteers. But thankfully one of the pastors is game and away we go again. Thrown into the flurry of activitiy and memorizing lines, he is doing a great job as are all the others who just got their lines a few days ago! It always seems to work out each year as for a concentrated period of time, everyone eats, drinks, thinks, and breathes their role in the play!

Last night I took a few pics of the rehearsal. It is nothing like the 'real' thing but gives an overall impression. If you are nearby Edmonton, come and see it.

My hubby is Caiaphus (the one with the gold medallion). Rehearsals definitely get the blood flowing!

At least the weather is nice and the sun is shining and the snow is gone. No predictions of snow storms around the bend. Saturday should be a great day and evening for our first performance. Looking forward to the real thing as usual! What a great way to start the Easter celebrations.

One More Birthday!

I had a good birth-day on Saturday. We went out for supper to Cactus Club and enjoyed a great evening - just the two of us. We had never been there before and it was really different. Very busy - even at 5 pm - which we thought we might catch a quiet moment before the rush but we still waited 20 minutes for a table. Food was very good and ranged from $11 - 32 dollars but a nice variety too. There was a lineup the full 2 hours we were there.

Sunday evening we went to the Sawmill restaurant and enjoyed some fellowship time with our friends. Still celebrating, we enjoyed $25 off because it was my birthday and we had a gift coupon as well, so we 'lived it up a bit'!

Well, another year has come and gone. Still feel pretty much the same and can't say I look too much different than last year at this time - although thankfully I can say I am a few pounds lighter. I hope I say the same thing next year at this time!  Surprisingly, I didn't take any 'birthday' pictures. Oh well, next year...

He loves me...he loves me not...HE LOVES ME!!

Early birthday gift - who can argue with that? Absolutely perfect - each one! What a guy! Thank you, hon, I love you too!

Setting another deadline

It's time to work on the spare room again! Tomorrow we are getting our upholstery and carpets cleaned. The big ticket item is to clean off all the 'accessories' to help move the furniture which is a great incentive for me to clean up that junk room! Although I had a ladies event this morning, I have taken today instead as my 'D' day to get that room cleaned out. No excuses - oh..maybe one...my nephew is coming for supper and since I also have a meeting tonite, we are eating early which will cut into my 'cleaning' time! Here's hoping I can actually accomplish my task. I am the first appointment in the morning for the cleaning crew!

ONE WORD

I was taking some time this morning to read my Chatelaine magazine. Usually I get it but never 'get around' to reading it. Then my hubby is telling me to clean out the papers and it often goes with the recycle. There is so much to read in Chatelaine - lots of little articles. I like that.

I read the Editor's letter (Jane Francisco) which was called "in a word" about an 'art exhibition' called "Mille Femmes".  In order to take part, she needed to contribute one word to describe herself. (The exhibition was the brainchild of French photographer Pierre Maraval, who travels the world shooting portraits of 1,000 people within a given community.)

Anyway, she posted the pictures of her contributing staff for Chatelaine with the many 'one word' descriptions they offered about themselves. I found it very interesting. I tried to think of one to describe myself before I allowed myself to review all of the words shown on the page. I came up with a word for my hubby - POSITIVE - and I also asked him to describe ME in a word. He said 'NICE'. It took me a long time to come up with my own descriptive word and I needed to develop a list and then scratch off all but one! So, my word is............................................................ you're right...I can't decide! I think it depends on my mood. Maybe the kind of day I am having. Perhaps what I am involved doing at a given time? or is it just that it is hard to wrap yourself up in ONE word?  I am not sure. I will continue to think on it. I am sure there is something out there that I would feel comfortable in describing myself as being.

What about you? We're all so different. How easy is it to describe yourself? Maybe once we think about it, we'll see ourselves in a different light? Maybe we need to improve in certain areas? or perhaps it is just what we needed to realize we CAN DO different things and we are complex! Stop being so hard on yourselves and like my hubby, be more positive - more productive - more caring and concerned with others.

Anyway, I will leave you with that 'thought for the day'. Have a good one!

Your Call Cannot Be Completed...

I'm doing some volunteer work so that means answering the phones.

 It's a different system than what I am used to and provides all sorts of interesting moments.  The incoming call rings and lights up on two separate lines so that either myself or the other receptionist can answer. If I am on another call, it will still ring on the other line and if she is not there, it will ring on a 3rd extension and a 4th in the work room. Just having one call come in lights up two lines so you can imagine 'the fun' I have when more than one call comes in at a time! You can put the call 'on hold' if you need to find an extension but that just adds another 'flashing light' to contend with. I must admit there were many anxious moments!

Today, I have cut off a few people who graciously phoned back and said they were disconnected somehow - not inferring that I did something wrong.



I put them through the 2nd time without problems. One time, the system went down but I guess that is expected every now and then as they are having a few problems. Great...just what I needed to hear!

Thankfully, it is a fairly quiet day - obviously - I am doing my blog!  This is volunteer work not paid hours of work!

Pictures

It's always nice to see a picture now and then so here's a few:

Half/door in the ladies biffies at Tortillas Flats - caught ya'

John & I with Abe Lincoln in Fountain Hills

The fountain in Fountain Hills



Local plant life!



I'm Back

I feel like I have been having 'writers cramp' this past week. Not that I think of myself as a writer, p-l-e-a-s-e!! It's just that once you start something on a semi periodical basis, you put pressure on yourself to continue the process. Not to mention that others also ask you what's going on? when you don't. Questions like, 'are you ok?' or 'have you been sick?' or simply 'what's going on with your blog? You haven't done anything lately?' Nothing like being right up front!

I remember starting this blog a few years ago in response to my responses to someone else's blog. She said you should write your own. I am not sure now whether she just didn't like my responses to her blog or whether she thought I really had something to say! I am kidding when I say that as I still respond to her blog (when she gets around to writing on it). Heck, I send her personal emails to get my thoughts across as well! Maybe I am using up all my words with all the emails I send in a day. My 10,000 words a day don't have to be vocal - more like 'just out there'! I definitely think I use up my quota every day.

However, maybe not this past week. Being sick throws you off a bit. The past couple of weeks with coughing and feeling overall lousy, allowed me some down time to reflect. I think that means that I have been 'storing up' a few words and perhaps you might see more words coming at you this week!

Here's something interesting that took place last night. I was watching the news at 11 pm and John had gone to bed (or so I thought). Anyway, I thought I heard the tv downstairs as it seemed to be getting louder and louder. I thought he had gone to bed so it was weird that it was so noisy. Anyway, I put my tv remote on 'mute' so I could hear better. It was not from downstairs but from outside. The noise got louder and more consistent. They were men's voices and quite a lot of swearing - mainly that one word - I don't like it! I peeked out of the drapes. Now....let me interrupt for a moment - when you have a nine foot wide window with verticals on it and it is black outside and light inside and you 'peek' out the window, I am pretty sure whoever is outside can see you peeking! That being said...I peeked out the window to see about 8-9 guys (likely 17-22 in age) (don't ask me how I knew that - their build, their dress, their actions, the overall look even though they were dressed in black and it was black outside).

Anyway, they all had a beer or drink in their hand and were simply talking (very loud and swearing) and walking past on the sidewalk. I must admit, it put some 'fear' in my heart. Not sure if it was the simple fact of 'more of them' and the language or 'less of me' being a woman and an older woman. It caused me to think of 'groups' and the strength they have in and of themselves. Even a large group of women could be intimidating, depending on their demeanor.  I remember meeting up with a group of about 4-5 rough looking young boys (likely in Gr 5 or 6) who ignored me but were quite rowdy and vocal as I passed them on the sidewalk. I was trying not to show any emotion but after hearing on the radio about small gangs of kids beating up other kids, it made me very nervous. I admit feeling quite vulnerable. 

Anyway, I digress (again). They slowly walked by and likely were not up to anything bad - just partying - but when you don't have that as a 'norm' on a Friday night in your neighbourhood, it kind of makes you nervous. They continued on past our house (thankfully) and walked through the connector sidewalk to the main road. Again, I was surprised at how intimidated I felt - even though it was not personally directed at me! I was thinking to myself that they were being quite rude as it was 11 pm and they were quite noisy - nevermind the poor language. On the other hand, they were just a bunch of kids out at a party and it was only 11 pm, not 3 am or so.

I have no message to convey, simply a fact, an event, an occurence in front of my home. I am happy to say that our little cul de sac is usually quiet and uneventful. Guess that must be my age creeping in. I like it quiet and uneventful.

So, not sure how many words I used up but I am 'back on track'. Have a good day and as Ellen Degeneres would say 'be good to each other'!

A Moment in Time

I went to visit my friend who has Alzheimer's. I have not seen her since they took her to the hospital. I had been away and then sick so it had been awhile. She didn't remember me but she is always happy to hear me say that 'I am her friend '. You can tell that she is trying hard to remember but it doesn't come. She was talking in the 3rd person so I got a chance to hear what she was thinking. She also said "The Dr told me that her memory was not  very good and that she did not have a lot of friends". It was so matter-of-fact. My eyes started to tear. The look in her eyes was confusion which made me tear up even more! I had to walk away. I quickly asked her if she would like to go for a walk. She is in lock-down, as are the other 20 people with her. She is willing to go for a walk and will hold my hand.

I met a man who was visiting his wife there. He said he comes every day to visit and had not seen my friend with anyone. I felt very guilty about that but said I had been visiting her where she used to be (as if I had to defend myself). I said we had been out of town recently and the last 10 days I had been sick with a cold. I felt like he was not pleased. He told me he visits her every day, when he visits with his wife.

I know that I would like to see her more often but realistically, it is not going to happen. Too many things get in the way - work, other responsibilities and social commitments. Distance is another thing, although it only takes 20 minutes to get there. But, you add it up and an afternoon is taken. I certainly don't regret going but I do realize I can't go there all the time. That being said, I definitely appreciate those workers who go every day. It must be very frustrating for them as well and difficult to keep 'in the present' with those they are looking after. It would be easy to just do the support work and not 'engage' at all. There was a resident who looked like he was in his 50's or early 60's who would stop and stare at me. I was never quite sure what he wanted - or IF he wanted anything. When you don't know their history, you become 'unsure' of their actions.

Anyway, I am glad I went and will definitely go again. While I'm with her, she's in the moment whether or not she remembers what I talk about or refer back to. I know she won't remember my visit or who I am for the next time but I know it is still the right thing to do and I know that she does enjoy having someone walk with her and talk with her.

Life is pretty precarious and very precious. Enjoy the moments you experience and cherish the memories you make - especially if you can remember them. Life is just too short.