Short & Sweet

We had a good trip to Vancouver. Weather here is very nice - a little cool to start but warms up. It is always nice to see green grass and flowering trees, shurbs and flowers everywhere. Who can argue with that?

We walked the kids to and home from school on Friday and will do that same tomorrow. Always a great time to chat. Also, we have been to both boys' floor hockey games and enjoyed watching them. Tonite we are having turkey with all the extras. Looking forward to that. Time goes by so quickly. Will show some pics later.

Enjoy your day.

A Long Drive Ahead

We are organizing our lives so that we can go and visit our daughter and family in Vancouver. However, there are always last minute things to do when you get involved in community life!! A few meetings and of course a lot of laundry in prep for some time away! On the upside of it all is the recognition that we will be seeing the grandkids! It has been a few months since Christmas and we are needing our 'fix'!!

The weather is pretty dull and cold. Thankfully it is not raining but likely we will experience it in the mountains or even snow might happen. We are taking our tent trailer out to the coast so the kids can be off the ground the next time they holiday! I'm sure they will enjoy it. We on the other hand purchased a very nice trailer for our retirement years. Looking forward to the May long weekend already!



Cleaning it up shiny & new for the kids!



Our new baby!

We can hardly wait until we are able to 'take her out' and 'show her off'. Hopefully, she will be all that we are looking for and more!  There are so many things I will miss about the tent trailer though. I loved the 'openness' of it when she was opened up at both ends. I also liked it when it was warm out and the canvas makes it 'toasty' inside for a nice afternoon nap with the window open! I don't think the trailer will be able to replicate that or the wonderful smells of canvas and outdoors mingled!  Certainly the TT is more lightweight and easier to pull and see over and around but the trailer is lightweight as well (at least compared to other trailers). Likely, our 'favorite' spots will not be availble anymore in our favourite campgrounds but we will start NEW adventures and memories in new locations (with hookups)! I know I will be a little more conscious of 'cleaning' with this trailer (for the first year anyway)! We will still cook outside and enjoy the outdoors but it will be nice to have a bathroom and cleanup there without having to wander around in the dark at night (at least for me)! I won't miss that part of camping!

Anyway, I am sure there will be lots of camping stories over the next few months. Looking forward to this new adventure.

Happy Birthday David

It's my oldest brother's birthday today. He and his wife, Myrna were visiting us on Friday and continued on their way home Saturday but we did do an 'early' celebration of his birthday on Friday night. However, today is THE offical day so I did want to send a special Happy Birthday greeting to him.

Happy Birthday - to the guy who is always going to be older than me! My older brother!



Box of Cracker Jacks - just like the ol' days!



Wearing his fancy 'hair' hat!

David & Mryna - soon to be 45 years together!

Hope you have a great day! Happy Birthday!

Waiting

My brother & wife are visiting on their way back to Regina. They have been in the USA for the past 5 months or so. Now they are 'flying' back (Snowbirds) to their hometown. They have stopped in to visit overnite with us and we had a lot of food, fun and fellowship all packed into one afternoon, evening and now morning.

I am patiently waiting for them to come inside as they are staying in their big motorhome unit that is parked on the street. When I opened the front drapes, it was the 'sign' for them to come in (if they are up). So far.....I am waiting....

Changes

I woke up this morning as I always do (thank you God) and was prepared to write my blog when unbeknownst to me, they had changed the format! They say "It will be easier" but THEY are wrong! Of course, that is simply because I have seen it for the FIRST time.

First times are always interesting...I could have said 'difficult', 'hard', or 'painful'  but that would be a negative attitude. I could also say 'challenging', 'fulfilling', 'enlightening' and end up having a better day!

So, that is exactly what I did. When I opened my dashboard this morning, a whole new world appeared to me. Oh yes, I had seen the little notices that 'we are changing' but had not taken the time to investigate it. I thought I would just wait and deal with it when it happened. Well, it happened.

This morning, I did have a little difficulty in getting into my compose page but here I am. Whether I get it to publish will be a different story. But, I am taking 'the high road' and assuming I will get to my destination.

I am feeling so positive because I was sent an email from a friend who suggested I watch this 17 minute video clip of a positive speaker. I figured I had 17 minutes (which by the way, is actually quite a long time but you won't really notice it if you go to the web page I will share with you).

As I am writing this blog, I am noticing the many changes. I guess I will have to check them out later. First, I will get this printed and hopefully, you will enjoy the shared blog info. It's a good 'first step' for your day! Positive thinking - shared in a whole, new way!

Go to: http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html and enjoy.

Spring Flowers

We had our windup for TOL (Time Out for Ladies) yesterday. Some of the ladies had brought in their china and set up individual tables with fancy napkins, flowers, etc. It was very 'springy' and lovely. It was a smorg as well, so that made it a very nice morning. To thank the leaders of the groups we each got a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers. Again...absolutely gorgeous!

Here is a pic of the flowers all grouped together on the piano. I thought it was one large table decoration and it looked great.

Then they presented an individual bouquet to the leaders and this is what it looks like now at my home!

Each individual bouquet had a purple and bright yellow holder on it. Made it easy for carrying and it looked beautiful. I removed it when I had to put it in water but they still look lovely! This has been a beautiful flower week as a friend brought flowers when they came for dinner on Easter Sunday. They were gorgeous too!

You can never have enough flowers! I had bought tulips for myself two weeks ago, and then last week, John & I were in Sobey's and they had tulips on special. I was going to get some more when the man in the line behind us said to John "You should buy your wife some flowers" (as he was purchasing a bouquet for his wife). By then, I had already picked up a bundle of tulips and I told him that was exactly what my hubby was doing! It has been a good flower week!

Must Be Spring

It must be Spring as our local rabbit has returned - or at least is now visible! His coat of white has now turned brown and it is difficult to see him on the brown grass! There are two of them but I only got the picture of this guy this morning. I am sure he heard and saw me looking out the window! 'Oh bunny, what big ears you have." "The better to hear you with, my dear!"




Taken from the front window




He moved when we opened the door




'Hopped' across the street when we came out



He seems quite accustomed to us coming and going but he did not hang around once we opened the door. All you could really see was the white tail and the tips of his ears. Guess Spring is really on the way!

Must Be the Weather

It is overcast and 10 C but with the light wind it feels cool, not a bright sunny day which may account for my more downcast mood. However, I don't think I can blame it totally on the weather. I went to the west end of town (always a bit of a trip) to drop off our income taxes at the Accountant and while I was 'out there' I decided to drop in on my friend who has Alzheimer's. It was just before noon and she was sitting in the dining room. Someone was feeding her. Not that she can't feed herself (as was proven when the aid left and I talked her into having more). I convinced her (for the moment) to come for a walk outside which they tell me she hasn't done yet. We did not get far as she did not have a coat but at noon, the sun was shining for a short while so we make it out into their garden area for a quick walk around the garden and back into the main floor atrium. She did have a sweater over her sweatshirt. She said 'oh, it's windy. She does not want to go'.  She meaning Her! We webt anyway as I tugged her outside and out of the wind into the garden area. She seemed intimidated by the puddles on the ground once I made mention of them and tried to jump over most of the wet spots. She was quite agile, I must admit!! She said to me "She jumps!" She speaks of herself in the third person and if you want a response, you have to as well!

Anyway, we were out for awhile and I hope that helped her mental, emotional disposition a bit. I asked her at lunch what she wanted to drink (orange juice or milk) and she said 'coffee'. They don't serve it at least didn't have any available. That was the one thing I made sure she got today in the atrium. They have a $1.00 machine that makes coffee so we got one. She said "only one?" and I responded I would get one also if she told me it was good so she tried it. I was nervous as it was quite hot and she did burn the tip of her tongue as she sipped it too fast but she learned and put it down for awhile. She responded 'She thinks its hot" and I agreed. Once it had cooled off, she drank the whole thing. Kept drinking until it was gone - no sipping for her!

I was there as I said for a few hours and then headed home. The weather has clouded over quite a bit and it is supposed to rain tonite and tomorrow all day. I have a bunch of ladies coming over tomorrow nite to watch a movie (girls night) and I have to work tomorrow during the day so time will fly by. I don't usually work on Fri but one of the girls has taken the day off so I said I didn't mind coming in. Since I didn't work on Mon (holiday), I thought I could work the Friday instead!

Count your blessings, people, while you can still count!

From my Perpetual Calendar, "There are certain things in life that can't be overlasvished -- smiling, giving, caring, loving, being thankful, and being a good friend. ..Bonnie Jensen
I hope I have been that today!

Good Friday

People ask, "What is Good Friday?", meaning, "Why do we call it Good Friday if that’s the day that Jesus died? What’s good about that?"

Here's a response I read on the web this morning from Kelly at http://www.faithfulprovisions.com/

"As a Christian, I explain the meaning of Good Friday as the basis of my faith. Honoring Good Friday, along with the celebration of Easter on Sunday, is so special. It’s important to me that my children understand it as well, to the best of their ability. This day says we cannot save ourselves. Without Christ’s selfless act, without His choosing to give His life, we would be living by the law, and not by grace. That’s the reason Christians put so much emphasis on Good Friday and Easter as such important holidays. It is the “why” behind the celebration of our salvation."

She also provides this further comment by Robert Trache.

Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality, and then it turns us to that cross and to His eyes and we hear these words, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” That’s us! And so we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. We see in that cross a love so amazing, so divine, that it loves us even when we turn away from it, or spurn it, or crucify it. There is no faith in Jesus without understanding that on the cross we see into the heart of God and find it filled with mercy for the sinner–whoever he or she may be. ~Robert G. Trache

So, the sun is shining today after all the snow we received yesterday. It is blue sky and sunshine and a cool temp of -4 celcius at 8 a.m.  It's time to get ready for our combined services at our church for 10 a.m. A special celebration this morning. A good time to reflect on what Good Friday means to me...to all of us.  Looking forward to Easter Sunday when I can say "He's Alive, He has risen!  Hallalujah!

A Quick Overview

A quick review of the past week. The Easter Musical is over and it went very well. It always amazes me how many people (when asked) have not seen it before. Usually over 1/3 say it's the first time. That's wonderful!






Getting everyone set up for photos after performance

   





Always love the angels!

    These pictures were taken following the Sun afternoon performance so they have new pics for next year's brochure. It must have been difficult for the professional photographer to take the snaps with the audience standing at the front taking their own pics! He was in the balcony so I guess he didn't have too much interference as long as the flashes of their cameras didn't interfere with his work! (You can pick out John as the pharisee as he is the one with his head bent downwards.)

On Wed night John was saying he felt like he was 'all dressed up with no place to go' as no need to get to church early and get makeup and dressed for his part! I had a meeting so I was out of the house but I think he finally was able to relax and do nothing for the evening. As usual, he did a fabulous job as Caiaphus!

With all the snow this morning (see my earlier blog) it is a good day to stay inside. I need to get the laundry going, finish up some letters, do some prep for next week's ladies morning out study and a little reading. That will take up the whole day! Oh yes, I do need to venture out on the roads to pay my Visa bill as the banks are closed tomorrow but maybe it can wait till next week.

SPRING???

Well, it's been awhile since I blogged but it has been busy. The latest REAL news is the snow. Went to bed last night and the snow was all gone and it had been warm (although it cooled down to 0 by 9 pm). Woke up at 6:00 am and it was blowing and snowing and obviously had been for awhile! It is beautiful, if I was still interested in cross country skiing!!

Tree outside our front window

It was like a real blizzard at 6 am though with the wind blowing the snow everywhere. It is heavy and wet - although sometimes the snowflakes looked huge and light but you can tell by the trees they are heavy and wet. Our cedars are starting to b-e-n-d !

Through our bedroom (screened) window at 6 am



8 am out the kitchen window

It is starting to let up a bit which is good news. I needed to go out to pay my Visa but might have to wait till after lunch. It is 0 C now and going for a high of 4. We were left with a nice blanket (plush blanket) of white but it is supposed to start melting by tomorrow and by Monday it will be  clear again! Rain might have been easier to deal with as you don't have to shovel!

Happy and safe driving to those of you on the road! I hear the snow has been so heavy it has taken out the power lines so a lot of the intersection lights are out - practise your 4-way STOP techniqhes! Be safe!