The Latest from 2nd Ave.

Since I listed the people who have visited, which was FOUR days ago, I've had visitors from Puerto Rico, Germany and Bolivia! Welcome!! (Especially to Kallie in Bolivia...)

Here's a few shots from today's adventures in the dirt:

First they pulled out a some fence posts...

 

Then they dug the hole.

This is the after.  I love how ALL our grass is gone.  A nice line of dirt right up to the neighbor's lawn.  Nothing like starting from scratch!

So when you come over next, this is what you can look for.  I think the curving sidewalk is going to drive me nuts.  Have you ever noticed this?  From one side of our property, the sidewalk is right along the curb, and going the other way, it's back from the street.  Poor planning on somebody's part!  And it was nicely hidden from my view from the house before, but now it makes the yard look lopsided.  The pronounced jutting out of the window makes the house look unbalanced, too.  Oh, well.  We'll see if I get used to it.

I had a brainwave today - you know how we bought new couches and haven't sold the old ones yet?  The ones that were supposed to go downstairs but didn't fit and are still in the living room?  Yeah, I figured we should take them to a shop and sell them on consignment.  So when they sell, great.  No rush.  And they won't sit here until they do.  I'll have to look into that tomorrow...

Have a great night!

Decades to Grow, an Hour to Fall

 They started by cutting off the lower 10/12 feet of branches.

 

 This tree was 2 1/2 times the size of our house.

 

Then a guy went up in a bucket and tied a rope near the top.

Then this guy made a wedge cut on the 'fall this way' side.

 

 After they made sure the angle was right, these three pulled on the rope (which was anchored to one of Garth's trees!) while he used the chainsaw on the 'don't fall this way' side.

 

 Falling!

 

 And DOWN.

 

 They cut off the rest of the branches and fed them into the chipper machine.

 

 Then cut up the trunk with the chainsaw.  (Check out the upright part!)

 

 We asked for the wood to be left for Sheldon's wood burning stove, so this is what was left when they drove away.  What a difference, hey?

 

 Can you tell how old it was?  I'm going to print this one off for M to figure out.

 

 Just after I got home from work, Sheldon and the kids came by to pick up the wood.

 

 And after M got home, we raked up all the leftover mess, leaves and sawdust, and when Sean got home, he pulled up the one sprinkler that was in the 'to be destroyed' zone.

And now we're ready for tomorrow.  Eleanor, our neighbor on the side you can see there, likes the no-fence look better, and Garth, across the street says it looks way better.  He likes the open look of it.  Also, he said that the city will pay for you to have your sewer lines cleaned out every six months, so if we take our bill from last Friday down, they will send us a cheque.  And we can get it done every year, for free.  Good to know!  Another thing, we shouldn't end up with a big mound.  The guy said it should settle maybe an inch.  Nice.

Check back tomorrow for the latest installment of our exciting world!

It's a Posting Party!

My first post on Sunday was my 200th post on this blog.  Wow. 

I posted twice on Sunday, once yesterday and this is my THIRD today.  It's a posting frenzy!  I'll be keeping it up all week to celebrate 200 posts - thanks for coming along for the ride!

the destruction begins

I have a story for you. It's not a finished story; it's in the middle. I will tell you the story up to the minute, then you can check back for updates.

It started on Thursday night. Madeline went downstairs to pick out some games to take to school for their month end party. "Mom," she calls upstairs, "the floor is wet!" Either the sewer had backed up, or the basement was leaking, which it's never done before, but we have had some rain... Yes, it's the sewer. Then Sean gets home, and we move everything out of the corner and Sean calls Roto Rooter. He'll be over as soon as he's done his other overtime job. He does his thing and tells us that the cardboard tube covered in tar (seriously?) has collapsed on the bottom, so we'll need to have the line replaced. Oh, yeah - overtime is $175 an hour.

Sean vacuumed up the water in his shop vac and dumped it a bunch of times. Then the carpet got rolled back and we ripped up and threw out the underlay and the lino tiles over the concrete. There's a nice crack on our concrete floor.

Friday morning I rented a Rug doctor and steam cleaned the carpet, then did it again after work, along with the hall, stairs and porch; figured why not, since I paid to rent it anyway! Sean started making calls to get quotes from the people who come and fix things and leave a big 'grave' of a mess on your lawn. Then we went to the farm Friday night and Saturday and didn't worry about it.

Sunday I picked up some kitty litter which we sprinkled under the carpet and in the laundry / storage room which was a bit damp, too, and that did a good job of taking away the last of the damp and odor.

Monday and today Sean talked to people about prices and now we've got our week laid out. The tree cutting down guy is coming tomorrow, and the trenchers and fixers are coming Thursday or Friday. The line goes right under our big (hugely tall) evergreen, so it has to go. I'm sad, because it's a big beautiful tree, but at the same time, our house faces north and the tree blocks the biggest window. Our living room is slightly cave like. I'm hoping having the tree gone will improve that. And pine trees kill grass. We've been fighting to grow grass on that part of the lawn for a decade. Once the 'grave' is gone, there is hope for beautiful grass!

So, because tree cutter guy is coming tomorrow, tonight after supper we went out in the dark and got to work. Remember all that nice landscaping we did this summer? It all got undone. Sean took the steps off the deck, I moved all the bricks to a corner of the yard, and Madeline moved all the mulch to a safe place. And then, Sean pounded out all the slats of our fence and we threw pretty much the whole thing in the back of the truck. Now, we are planning to re do our fence anyway, and we had talked about just ripping out the front and not replacing it. We hadn't decided on when, but now it's half done. The truck was full or we'd have done it all. We'll have to get the other half done soon so it's doesn't look quite so awkward. Here's some shots from tonight; check back soon for more drastic changes to our home front!!

 Before the destruction begins.  (Fun big work lights!)

 Sean with the steps off, adjusting under the deck; Madeline bagging the mulch from around the tree.

 

 After:  mulch raked over, bricks moved, steps off...

 

 The fence, before.

 

The lack of fence, after.  Notice the emptyness around the tree, too.  Tomorrow the whole tree will be gone!  Crazy.

Good Advice

If Money was Unlimited...

...this is the date I'd take Sean on.

I would find somewhere for M to stay, make a few arrangements with his work, and pack a bag or two. When he got home from work, I'd tell him to jump in the shower because I was taking him out for dinner. I'd have a limo pick us up and take us somewhere for a nice steak dinner, and then have the limo take us to the airport, where we'd hop on a plane to Vancouver, and then straight to a fancy hotel, because it would be late. The next day we'd sleep in, go out for brunch, then do some sightseeing, I would plan it around some awesome concert or maybe a pro sports game, and we'd take that in. The next day, when he's expecting to head back to the airport, we'd pick up our rental Hummer and drive up to Whistler for 4 days on the snow (because I would have packed our boards on the sly...). We'd of course have a sweet condo rented there, with a hot tub. Then we'd hum along back to Vancouver and fly back home.

Yep. If I wasn't limited to my bank account, that's what I'd do.

Couple of Links

Check out this video of an elk calf playing.  Cute.

And these kids rock the skipping ropes - check out the King's Firecrackers.

Oh, and I added some comments to my post with the layouts below if you want to check those out again.

Have a great sunny Sunday!

Visitors!

I am thankful for all of you who come and visit. I really am. I just checked my map (that's on the bottom of the side bar --->) and thought I'd share where you're all coming from (this is since May):

Canada (CA)	1,518
United States (US)	102
United Kingdom (GB)	19
Australia (AU)	11
Malaysia (MY)	7
Barbados (BB)	4
Brazil (BR)	2
Russian Federation (RU)	1
France (FR)	1
Netherlands (NL)	1
Israel (IL)	1
Kenya (KE)	1
Hong Kong (HK)	1
Italy (IT)	1
Europe (EU)	1

I appreciate the ones I know who are visiting; I'm amazed that you're all interested enough in my life to come and see what I'm up to. I do think of you when I write. And I get a real kick of seeing places listed there where I know no one. Thanks for coming by - I'm so glad you did!

the Layouts

"For Ever!" is what Sean always says when he does things to make me roll my eyes...  I'm stuck with him forever.  And I'm happy with that!  It also says "3 years and counting" - it'll be our third anniversary on November 18th.


A funny old pic of M - I think she was doing a recycling badge for Brownies and made herself a monster outfit out of the boxes.  I used a punch and papers from a bright fun kit for the squares.


The journalling on this one is about how she's not a little girl any more and not a young lady yet; I like these times when I can see both at once.  The first picture is of her playing with playdough, but she made it by herself on the stove.  The second one is of her fiddling with her MP3 player, but she's chasing butterflies at the same time.


Our first time going to the Ward family farm by Grenfell; first time meeting the people who were going to end up being family.


This one uses glimmer mist - I cut three stars with the Cricut, used them as masks and sprayed over them.  The photo is of me slacklining - so fun.


We brought the boys these shirts back from Florida in 2007.  The dots on the top and bottom are flocking I added - I like the softness and imperfectness it adds.


Just a few cell phone shots of M getting a hair cut.  This paper was all at our work spots at the retreat on Saturday morning, so I thought I'd make one using it... Fun getting freebies.


And these are a couple of 8x8's for M's little album - have had these shots of her year in highland dance in the to do pile for a few years now.

A Teaser...

Here's a little shot to show you what's coming:

 We had a nice relaxing time out at Riverhurst this weekend.  I think I figured I did about 17 hours of scrapbooking before I left at 8:30.  That seems a little ridiculous to me...  I got 10 pages done - half are finished and I will post them later and the other half need a little finishing but will be up soon.

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

I just read this again while browsing an ezine I subscribe to & thought I'd share because it's such a good one. We so often are so backwards in our thinking. I know I need to be much more aware of others around me and much less aware of my self, my thinking and feeling and wants...

Good Idea...

I found this little something on (in)courage the other day and thought I'd share:

Fall in Love in Four Minutes A Day
It only takes four minutes a day to move into a deeper heart place. It only takes four minutes a day to connect in soul intimacy; to breathe in oxygen for the other half of my heart. Don’t and I too begin to suffocate, the death heave. I wish someone had told me in the beginning.
Four Fixations
Four times a day think on love. When I leave the marriage bed, leave the front door, when I return to front door, return to marriage bed. These are the four critical archways of time in our day. Touch or whisper a sweet nothing when passing through these gate points, and we walk into hours of closeness. Forever love fixates like fresh love.
Four Embraces
Four times a day, wrap up in husband. Embrace fully and hold each other's eyes. That’s all. Repeat four times daily. The one flesh breathes best when the skin pores are close; connected.
Four Affirmations
Four times during the day, thank him. For working faithfully to provide, for hanging up his towel, for putting gas in the van, for making this heart skip a wild beat. Look for the ways to thank him and watch how moves closer.

New Layouts

 

 

 

A Wednesday

The bus:
Did not show up. I usually see M out the door then go sit by the front window until I've seen the bus go by. I lost a couple minutes getting to my window seat this morning, and after sitting for 10 minutes, guessed that the bus was a few minutes early like yesterday and I just missed seeing it. So off I went and started cleaning the bathroom... Almost done, just scrubbing the toilet, and "DING DONG" (x10) - there's M at the front door. It's after 9. School has already started. "The bus never came! Can you drive us?" So I run and get the van and pull around the front - no kids. What is going on? Then a bus comes down the street, turns beside me, pauses and I get a wave and thumbs up from the driver, and off they go to school.

M tells me later that the bus broke down, and they had to come with another bus; that's why it was so late. I don't even want to know what else is going to happen with the bus this year. So bizarre.

The not-routine in our week:
Conflict Manager Training (for grade 5's to help on the little kid's side during recess), Tuesday and Wednesday, 3:30 - 5.
Piano Lesson, relocated to Wednesday 12-12:30, because of Conflict Manager Training.
Girl Guides Cookie Sales, 6-8 Wednesday (instead of 6:30-8).
(Catch that? I picked her up at 5 at the school and had her up to Guides by 6. I confess, we had canned stew for supper.)
Field Trip to the Floral Conservatory, Thursday afternoon. I get to go along and chaperone!
Class (for me), Friday night and Saturday.
Food Bank Drive with Girl Guides, Saturday 10-12.
I'm so glad we had a relaxing weekend before this!

The traumatic:
Tonight as M was walking down the street to knock on another door to sell cookies, a man walked towards her, "limping a bit." She said to herself, "Oh, poor man," and then he fell over into the bushes. She turned around and went to the car, the mom with them got the 3 girls into the car and then went to one of the neighbors, who said that he recognized the man, and that the police were over at his place lots and that he was probably drunk. M said the neighbor was over with the man and then they drove away, so she didn't see if he was okay or not. She was pretty freaked out; thought he might have had a heart attack. So we had a little debriefing to do before she went to bed tonight.

The living room update:
Carla and Larry came and got the old sewing machine tonight; he was teasing her about why they'd want that old thing and pretending not to get the whole emotional attachment thing... It's a beautiful Singer that was her grandmas and she learned to sew on it when she was little.
Sean took apart our tall bookshelf and re-made it shorter to suit our tech needs and put it in the corner in the place of the table with pictures and plant that is now where the sewing machine was.
The old couch and loveseat are still in there but I listed them on Used Regina tonight...
Sean is picking up the coffee table tomorrow. I think it will have to go downstairs to wait until the couches go, otherwise we'd only have two square feet of floor space!
So it's all coming together...

Guest Blogger!

Madeline has written a post for you about what happened in our house this morning:

**********

Today I was doing my hair and I had 2 stands in front. I wanted 2 crimp them so I took a comb and I twisted it up to my forehead and let it stay that way for a while. Then I went downstairs and said to mom, “I have something stuck in my hair!” Mom came to where I was and saw that the comb was stuck - in my hair - on my forehead so we went to the bathroom and slapped some conditioner on it and it took 20 minutes to get it out.

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My head still hurts.

Bye for now peoples,
Madeline!

Memories of KBK

This is something I just published on our staff blog on our church website:

This past Saturday was a 60th Anniversary celebration for Katepwa Baptist Kamp. KBK is part of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), same as we are at Westhill, which makes KBK 'our' camp.

The banquet was held at a location that was NOT the camp in order to seat the 300 people we hoped to have out, and we sold out our 300 tickets and filled the Balgonie Multiplex with people that love KBK and appreciate that rich history, including people that came from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario just for this.

For me, (and I'm sure most others there) the camp site itself is special. I remember leading a group up Vesper to the crosses as part of a prayer exercise I led at a retreat. I remember the feel of the icy water when we went wakeboarding in October one year. I remember hours pruning back the mountain bike trails, and sleeping under the stars up on Mini Ridge. I remember sitting on the lodge balcony watching storms come up and put on a sky filling display.

While the site itself is special, most of my memories are tied up with people, too.

I remember watching my nephew try kneeboarding for the first time on the beach, and my daughter's first steps there. I remember all the female staff that I camped out with at the bivouac, and how our dog Kizzy joined us there. I remember 'becoming dates' and a first kiss and a proposal and a first home there. I remember the feeling of parental pride as I saw the same faces move from being campers to LITs to staff to directors, and knowing that that growth is the whole point of all the fun. I remember the Sunday afternoons dropping off my own daughter at camp and visiting my own camp friends who are dropping off their children.

It was a wonderful time on Saturday to see so many faces that I know and love because of that place. Wonderful to see people stand who had been part of the first camp in 1949. Wonderful to hear the dreams for the future, and see new babies that will grow up to be campers and staff and on the board... and continue on this great part of God's story.

A Couple of Layouts...

Changes

Sean's birthday was on Sunday; he's caught up and is now 36 like me.  He's been wanting a new set of golf clubs for a while, so we were shopping for that on Saturday before our fancy birthday dinner out (while M was at a birthday party sleepover - that's a whole 'nother post!).  We didn't find the ones he wanted for the price he wanted, and he decided that he'd wait on that, since there was some car stuff that he was considering for around the same price.

I think it was that same day that I said (while flipping through some home style magazine (that I got out of the library!)), "We should get two nice leather couches for there and there, and a big area rug and coffee table for in here."  This is not a completely random thing; we have been talking about what we want to do in the house for a while (new kitchen was topping the list, and therefore nothing was getting done), but at the same time, this was not said as a definate plan.  I was just, you know, tossing it out there.

But Sunday, we went shopping.  We looked around at a few places, saw some nice stuff and some not bad prices, and decided to leave it for a while.  Monday morning, I got a text saying he was going to pick up those two couches on his lunch hour.  And the coffee table is ordered and will arrive next week.  The car will get minimal funding this year, I will not get golf clubs for Christmas, and the house will get some work!

Monday evening was spent moving two new couches in, the couch, love seat and chair from downstairs out to the Salvation Army, and oops, not moving the couch and love seat from the living room downstairs because they didn't fit.  Oh, well, guess we'll have to get a new couch for down there, too.  A cheap one.  (Sean is allergic to the cat hair that is still on both sets of furniture, so we've wanted to do this for a while anyway.)

Right now the living room has 3 couches and a love seat in it, and a piano in the corner on the wall that borders the kitchen.  Yes it is a little too big for that spot, but not too too big.  It should work.  And it may or may not be broken from us moving it 5 feet.  Correction - something broke, but whether it was a crucial-to-the-music part has yet to be seen.

Then tonight.  Tonight we went shopping again.  For a TV to go on the wall.  Yes, it's big and flat and will sound fantastic.  If you want to know more, talk to him.

And over the next couple of months we will pick out the right area rug and curtains and chairs for east wall under the TV and new lights for over the table and new accessories for it all.  Should be fun.  I'll share pics as it all comes together.

Scrapbooking Retreat

I've been scrapbooking, and I think there are a couple of completed ones to share with you (maybe tomorrow when I can get at the other computer), but I'm trying to leave some half done, too. Why? Because in one month I will be off to a scrapbooking retreat, and a whole weekend of scrapbooking may strain my creativity just a bit, so I want to have some stuff I know I can work on / finish to take with me. Who knows. I may get impatient and finish them before then. I've got to get out pictures and sketches and put together some little kits for myself... I'm quite looking forward to it. (Maybe I'm looking too much forward to the bag of M&M's I'm planning on taking.)

*BUT* This retreat is in danger of being cancelled, due to a group of women that have had to back out. So if you want to come and scrapbook with me and Carla and Holly (and maybe Elizabeth and Brandie and Pam - we were working on them today!) then come join us! It'll be more fun with you... It's put on by Photoworks by Laura, it's in Swift Current and $185 gets you two nights accommodations in the hotel, a bunch of meals (which I've heard are really good) and a whole weekend of scrapbooking - Friday to Sunday, October 23-25.

You Choose the Title for This One

I have a story for you from my morning.

I have planned to make an appointment to give blood for a while now, but it never seemed to get crossed off my to do list. My friend, Lori, last week commented that she was going to donate, so I told her I was inspired and would go home and make my own appointment. And I did (but maybe it was the next day that I called). And I proudly reported back to her that I did it and I'm going! So this morning I made sure to have breakfast (a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, like every other morning of my life) and to have lots of water so I'd be good and hydrated, and I headed down for my 9:35 AM appointment.

The lady at the first desk got me in her computer and gave me a reminder card for when I could go back and the other paperwork I needed, and sent me on to the next desk. The second lady I talked to checked me out on her computer and had to prick my finger to check something. She drew a mini vial of blood from my finger tip and released it into a large vial of blue liquid, explaining that your blood should sink...

Mine floated.

"Hmmm," she said. This was a test for iron, because you have to have a certain amount in your blood in order to donate. "We'll have to do another test." So she pulled out another contraption, tested some of my blood on there and came up with a number. 12.5. "You're okay to give," she said, "12.4 is too low, but 12.5 is ok."

So I was sent on to the third station with a long form of questions about medications and diseases. (I have very mild asthma. Otherwise, I'm healthy, incase you were wondering. Although apparently a little anemic today.)

Then I sat on the chairs facing the pink doors until another lady (younger, with the start of dreads) took me into an enclosed room to ask me the "serious" questions about HIV and other bad things. Before she got to the questions, though, she double checked all my info, took my blood pressure (it was good) and my pulse (it was also good) and my temperature.

Not so good.

My temperature was 37.5 C. The upper range of 'normal' is 37.4 C. She went and double checked with someone, but no, they had to defer me for a day because I was such a hottie. So I can go back tomorrow, or she recommended waiting a week, to see if maybe I'm at the start of a cold or something...

I tried. And got thwarted. Can I challenge you to call today and make an appointment to give blood? On my behalf, maybe, since they won't take mine? Or because you're inspired by my too long story to go out and help? Leave me a message saying that you made an appointment. Or even just one saying what title you liked best.

Here's what I came up with:

adventures giving blood
a difference of degrees
snuck by on the iron, foiled by the temp
too hot for cbs
no bloody way!

Fitness

I have an ongoing love hate relationship with TaeBo.

What do you do to get exercise and stay fit?

WINNER!!!

Sean likes poker.

Every once in a while he'll play at a friend's house, and the other night we had people here to play. There's rarely money involved; maybe a $10 buy in. He plays often online, though (again, just play money), and when he was invited to a poker tournament fundraiser for a friend's sports group, he said sure.

That was tonight. There were 47 people; 6 tables. At the end of the night, the one left, the one to bring home the winnings, was the one coming home to me.

Way to go, Sweetheart!

Bus Blues part ???

This morning the bus didn't come.

I was mostly ready for work, so after going to check if the kids were still there, since I hadn't seen the bus, and finding they were, I brushed my teeth, threw my work bag together and drove them to school.

When she got home, she had a new schedule. That they handed out yesterday. And which started today.

No problem except that M wasn't on the bus yesterday afternoon because she had piano. And Kaine wasn't on the bus yesterday afternoon because he was sick. So the bus drove by to pick them up just around the corner, at their new pick up spot, just far enough away that they couldn't see it. And they waited for their bus, at their spot, on time, and never got picked up.

I'm shaking my head. This new driver remembers their stops. This new schedule has been bang on the minute. The new stop now? I like that I can see it out my window. Could there be any other changes?? Seriously?

Reviving Ophelia... thoughts before the Adopt A Youth launch

I've just started reading Reviving Ophelia by Dr. Mary Pipher, and it's making me realize how important this Adopt A Youth program we're launching next week is. She quotes the African proverb that states "It takes a village to raise a child." Do you see the Godly truth in that? I know I want my daughter surrounded by adults other than myself who are also teaching her that it's ok to be herself, and not to conform to peer pressure. I see many adults, myself included, who don't take the initiative to take children, adolescents, teens under our wings. We are concerned, sure, but what do we do about it? I hope that we can present this program as something that will capture the imagination of the adults; one that gives them the opportunity to do something where they've felt unsure about what their part could be. I hope that it inspires our church to live as the church, concerned for one another. I know that does happen in lots of ways already; I hope this is the catalyst for many more good relationships and for the strengthening of many of our adolescents.

Underwear?

We got a letter in the mail this week from Ghana - another letter from Salomey. It was a thank you for her birthday gift - she had requested that the money be spent on a backpack, sandals and underwear. Madeline looked at me with disbelief on her face - a girl exactly her age wanting UNDERWEAR for her birthday?

We had a good talk about the differences in how people live. I hope this relationship continues to shape how she understands the world. She lives a very privileged life, and I want her to understand that and translate it into "what can I do to help?"

As a side note, I am thrilled with how many letters we are getting from her - they are all written by a social worker, "Salomey says..." but we've had 4 just this summer. The ones from Mexico come twice or three times a year, so we were not expecting this at all.

She said...

She said, "Shall I put the kettle on?" because we were going to have tea after supper.
She said, "I'll make yours just the way you like it!" after we picked our flavors. White tea for me, Vanilla Nut Creme tea for her.
I said, "How do I like it?"
She said, "You like it weak - I put in the tea bag, pour in the water, and then take it out. And then a spoonful of sugar."

I didn't even know I had her so well trained!

Kallie, fish, tea and golf.

Kallie - our summer youth intern and my good friend is off to Bolivia for the second half of her internship. Her blog is kalliedebolivia@blogspot.com if you are interested in following along.

Fish - You'll notice some new fish on the side ---> Move your mouse over there and they'll follow it. And if you click the mouse on there, it will give them food. Just some random fun.

Tea - I finished Three Cups of Tea last week (because it was a one week loan from the library - they give one week no renewal loans for the 'new hot' books). It was a good true story of one man's life building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan - I love hearing from someone who knows what it's really like in a place describe life there. Inspiring, too. I'd recommend it.


Golf - Sean and I went golfing this morning. I like not keeping score. At some points I'd be thrilled with this new sport and want to go out and buy clubs of my own and make this a regular thing, and then the next swing I'd be very unimpressed and sure I would not take this up after all. Is this common? Do you golf? Do you recommend I take it up or leave it alone for the sake of my sanity??

Highlight of the day

Today had its moments. I went for a run this morning - the first half had more running than walking, and the second half, more walking than running. It was nice to be out - it was still a little wet from the rain last night and cool, but perfect running weather, I think. If I ever do it again, I'll have something to compare it to.

We went to a car show and looked at cars. I like the minty old ones.

We shopped and bought me two sweaters, some pants and a skirt... fall work clothes. Although I bet the skirt never gets worn outside Sundays. Smart Set just did renos and now have the coolest changerooms. They have spots in the wall for - and shaped like! - your coffee, purse, mp3 and sunglasses. Pretty sweet.

The highlight was going for a bike ride all together after supper down a bike path we've never ridden before, along a creek, with the sky ablaze in sunset colors. Very richly satisfying.

What was the highlight of your day?

The Weekend - or - a long ramble about not much.

We had planned to go camping this weekend, but Sean got sick this week so we (happily on my part, I must confess) canned those plans. We were going to have to come in a couple of times anyway...

Friday night we had a fire in the back yard and made smores. It was the first time we've had a fire this summer. Pathetic! Glad the warm weather is finally here now.

Saturday M started swimming lessons. She's at the Lawson pool, which also has a fieldhouse and weightroom, so our big plan is to get a pass and work out while she's swimming. Of course we didn't this week because Sean was sick, and we will both miss a couple of Saturdays for other things, but here's hoping we get some good workouts in.

Then we headed out to Sheldon and Lynsey's place for a housewarming at the acreage. Good times - we got to see family and meet her parents and grandparents. The kids had lots of fun playing ball and soccer (boys), UNO and water fights (girls) and quad-ing.

Oh, and I got my hair done on Thursday, and it's pretty much the same color as Lynsey's - she got hers done on Wednesday. Yep. Unplanned, and it's not the first time we've looked similar. Her's is still short, though, and I've been letting mine grow. I should post pics now, right? Soon... (It's just a straight dark brown, no streaks or anything this time, and looks a bit red in the sun.)

Church was good this morning - the newsletter I've been working on for a while now went out today. Now it's on to the next projects... our big fall church kickoff is out at the camp Sunday afternoon, so that's what I'll be doing this week. Also meeting with our tech guy to learn how to manipulate our website. Fun. I'm looking forward to messing around on there.

And this afternoon we went and shopped around a bit - I picked up a new album for me at Michaels (a 12x12 ring binder) and we got M an album, too, both American Crafts brown linen (her's is post-bound). She made a couple of pages with us a couple of weeks ago, but she made 12x12 and the album she has is 8.5x11. So I got her a big one, but picked up a decent price kit - 50% off coupon of course - I try to never pay full price there! Now she's got some stuff to work with and we went through photos on the computer picking out some to print off for both of us. It'll be nice to do that together once in a while.

I did feel like we were somewhat productive this weekend. I re-screened M's window (it's not in yet, though) and worked on the stairs. When we got the floors refinished, he didn't do the backs of the stairs. So I'm sanding them up and we'll cover a few holes and paint. We've put it off way too long, but it's going pretty quickly.

"Life in the Pits" and others

Just one I came up with because I had the pictures around from last Christmas and I had nothing current I wanted to work with... I like the colors of all three of these pages.

This one you might recognize the photos from - my friend Dori did a shoot this spring as part of her portfolio for school. She sent this hard copy recently, so I thought I'd do it up and throw it in the book. I'm not sure if it looks unfinished to me or just simple... The girls liked it, so I just left it.

And this is my favorite of the three. I've taken lots of pictures while we're out racing, but this is a bit of a compilation of the behind the scenes shots. This is what racing is really like for me - not so much about the car...

Welcome to the new me!

I needed a change around here again. What do you think? I had a hard time finding a template I liked, because you want to pick something that is YOU, and nothing quite measures up. I'd have to do it myself, but I don't have the skills to get what's in my head out onto paper or the screen. But this one will do. I browsed well over 1000 templates, and this one caught my eye more than most, so it will be the 'me' I present to the world. I guess my words say more than the design about who I am, but first impressions and what you communicate with your visuals say a lot, too. That's a big part of my new job - I'm enjoying it quite a bit, the managing of the visuals and words and output... Getting good feedback on the first couple of projects, too, which is nice. Nothing's released yet, but I'll send you over to the site to see when they are.

Have a great night! I'm off to sleep away the last hour of August.

A Facelift (for the other blog)

I changed up my other blog now, too, to line up with my new role. Check it out if you'd like - I'm calling it the churchy blog. This will be the one that is linked to our website and that I'll use to write more churchy stuff. If it's good, I'll post it here too, so no need to follow both!

No. 175

By the numbers:

This is post # 175 on this blog, which I've been writing since November 11/05.

I wrote 5 posts in 05. 0 in 06. 16 in 07, 40 in 08 and 113 in 09.

There have been 3321 visits by you in the last 11 months - I started keeping track September 27, 2008, about the time I started writing a lot more.

My visitors (since May of this year when I started keeping track) have come from 13 different countries.

I have made lots of style changes, and had 3 (at least) different names for this.

There are 39 labels of things I write about.

The most comments I have had on a single post was 7. That was 6 posts ago.

**********

Please leave me a comment with a number in it that has to do with your day today.

Also please leave a comment and let me know if you follow this blog in a reader of some sort (because if I follow YOUR blog, it's through Google Reader and you probably don't know I follow... so I'd like to know who you are that do!)

And thank you for reading. It's a little more motivation to write knowing you're checking in.

Bus Blues

First Day of School!

She said she had a great day, got the teacher she wanted, one friend she was hoping to be in the same class with isn't again this year, and one trouble making friend tattled to the teacher that she spoke English... back to the same old, same old.

This is our second year doing the bus thing - last year was pretty smooth for the most part. This year, off to a rocky start. The bus never showed up this morning, or was more than 18 minutes late, which is when I drove Madeline and the other boy she waits with to school, getting them there after the 9 o'clock start. She is supposed to get picked up at 8:41 this year, which is 8 minutes later than last year. We're ok with that. I pulled into the garage about 5 to 4 this afternoon, hoping I had beat her here - we've got the plan in place if she gets home before me, but I was hoping I wasn't late on her first day! No sign of her for the first while - there were a couple of buses, but not the right ones, I guess. I gave it some slack, knowing that if she gets picked up later, she might get dropped off later, too... I don't panic easily, but I was starting to wonder when it was 20 after and still no sign of her. No phone calls to say she was still at school, so I just kept watching for the bus. Finally at the 4th bus sighting, there she was - at 26 minutes after 4, almost a full hour after school let out - "He missed my stop, TWICE" she said. Ok, so we'll see what time she gets here tomorrow...

Last Day of Summer Vacation

M is back at school tomorrow. The good thing is that I won't be torn so much between getting my work hours in (and finding somewhere else for M to go) and spending time with her. I don't think she's suffered - she's spent time at Grandpa's, time at friend's homes, time with uncles and aunts and cousins... It's just me, I guess, wishing I could be supermom taking her to the pool, riding bikes, flying kites, and doing creative things together. We have done lots of fun family things together, though. It has been a good summer.

Yesterday we printed off a sheet of labels with her name to stick on all her school supplies. She's asked for another sheet because every marker is getting one, and we split the 50 pack... Washable markers, duotangs and paper (no binders on the list this year), pens (no pencils), glue sticks, round tip scissors, a flash drive... It seems a curious list between 'still a kid' and 'grown up'. That sums up grade 5 though, doesn't it? I watched her stretch out this morning, and she is LONG! Growing up. But yesterday she spent some birthday money on a skip-it. Still a kid. I like this stage, I think.

Leave me a message with your favorite school supplies. Mine are the pens and paper, by far.

Eighteens

I golfed 18 holes today. This has happened exactly once before in my life. That was 18 years ago. When I was 18.

The story then: Grade 12 phys ed. We each had to teach something to the class; I taught horseback riding. A couple of the guys took us to the driving range then golfing - I had to miss the golf day for some reason, so to make up the credit, I went with my dad and his golfing buddy Howard. We did the full 18, and I remember it being a cold miserable day. I was trying to think of excuses to get out of the back 9... Sorry, Dad, but that's not my favorite memory.

Since then: I went once in college, Melanie and I and Dale and Jerry, I think it was. We made it to the third hole then gave up and left to do something else.

Present day: I have gone to the driving range with Sean a few times, and have been open to going with him to a real course, but it's never happened till now. His friend Jeremy threw a tournament/party for his staff and some friends, and invited us. I knew there would be at least one friend I knew there that golfed as much as I did, and we were happily paired with Brandie and Steve. Plus it was a Texas Scramble which means you all shoot, then pick the closest ball and all shoot from there. So no pressure at all. We all ended up having some shots we played from, and didn't have to ride Sean's success for every one! There were a few holes that had extra prizes riding on them; Sean won the men's closest to the pin prize and I won the ladies farthest drive prize!!! I was pretty impressed with that!

Sean likes golfing with his wife. I wouldn't be surprised if I found a set of clubs under the tree this year.

what's in the water???

I plugged in the camera to show you a shot I took today, but saw these birthday party shots, so I thought I'd throw one in for you of the girls who came out on Sunday to wish M a happy birthday.



And this one... I had to get out the camera when I saw what Ana had in the pot. Madeline came in the living room and told me, "I just saw an octopus!" Right. And it's not - it's a Portuguese cousin of the octopus. Ana, also Portuguese, was simmering up some sea creatures for the stock. To flavor the rice. On the menu tonight at our house was sweet & sour meatballs, rice and corn. Much simpler fare.

How to Leave a Comment

It has come to my attention that some of you don't know how to leave a comment on this here blog.

I know this since you comment - on facebook - about what I write here.

I enjoy your comments wherever they appear, but I thought today I'd offer a little tutorial on how to leave a comment.

Step one: Locate the 'comments' word at the bottom of the post.

Step two: Click on it.

Step three: Write all your comments in the box that automatically pops up.

Step four: If you have a google address or one of those other links looks familiar to you, go ahead and use that. Otherwise, mark the button that says "Name/URL."

Step five: Enter your name in the box that automatically pops up.

Step six: Click on the orange 'publish your comment' button at the bottom.

That's all there is to it!

Now, so you can go give it a try, leave me a comment with your favorite summer ice cream spot.

School Lunches

I just heard a bit on the radio on the way home about what to send your child for lunch once school starts up again. Our school is a peanut free zone (are there any that aren't?), but she does have access to a microwave, so it's not as big of a problem as some people face.

Usually, I will send supper leftovers 2 or 3 times a week which cuts down on the need to be too creative.

Sandwiches are good (I remember I did NOT like sandwiches - sorry Mom!) - she likes canned meat (ham, chicken or turkey), so I keep a few of those on hand to mix up for a sandwich. I'll get lunch meat once in a while, if we're out for dinner and I know Sean will need a lunch too (he pretty much always takes leftovers). She also likes lettuce and cheese sandwiches - found that out one day trying to figure out a lunch:
me: "we've got everything for sandwiches except meat..."
her: "that's okay, I can take it without the meat."
me: "lettuce and cheese???"
her (after school): "it was great!"

Sometimes I'll send half a can of soup - we always have that around, and it'll still be warm if I heat it then stick it in a thermos.

I think I've sent a muffin with cheese as the main part before, and crackers and cheese, but she needs more filler then.

What are your kids favorites? Share some tips with the rest of us! Also, what extras do you put in? I do fresh veggies or fruit when we have them, canned fruit when we don't, applesauce, pudding, cookies, 'fruit snacks', granola bars... I'd love to hear some other suggestions to stock the pantry with.

bikes and canoes, stings and buns: our week

Monday afternoon M and I headed up to the Evraz park with the family to see the buffalo and enjoy the hot day. After supper, the three of us went for a bike ride around the lake. The other half, by the University and Science Center, since there was no parking and too many people around the usual side. Madeline's getting the hang of shifting on the fly...

Tuesday we walked down to Brandee's corner store for Slush Shakes. The best in Regina. (It's on the corner of Dewdney and Lewvan if you want to see if I'm right!)

Wednesday M went out to the farm for a photoshoot (see two posts below) and in the evening we went to see Wall-E and Ghostbusters at the IMAX. It was a fundraiser for the Food Bank and was a good night. Wall-E is quite the commentary...


Thursday M and I drove out to KBK to hear Kallie (our summer youth intern) speak and visit our other friends on staff. It was warm, slightly muggy and still. Madeline and I took a canoe out while the teens had cabin hang time - the water was glass, and everything was so quiet. It was awesome. Not so awesome were the two wasp stings M got... Poor baby. They swelled up pretty good on Friday!


Yesterday and today were wonderfully full of nothing. It's been rare to have an empty weekend this summer, and we enjoyed relaxing. Still are. It's 5 to 7 and Sean is just about to start supper... That's partly because I baked cinnamon buns this afternoon. My mouth is watering again...


Tomorrow afternoon we are heading to a hotel with waterslides for M's birthday party with her school friends. She's been 10 for 3 weeks already, but like I said, the summer has had few open weekends...

That's our week. I feel like I should have got more tangible work done, but I guess I usually feel that way, so what's new? I really enjoyed all the stuff we did as family - it felt like summer is supposed to feel.

How many have you read?

My friend Deanna sent me a list of books on facebook, and I'd read 20 of the 100. I have a little brochure from the Regina Public Library - '100th Anniversary, 100 Books - RPL's Favorite Books of All Time!' and I've read 24 of those. So for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd compile those into what I've read, what I would like to read, and ones I might get to some day. Feel free to suggest some good authors or some good classics!

Books I've Read:
The Bible
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - JRR Tolkien
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility - I went through a Austin phase and read more than this I think. Mansfield Park?
Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
The Karamazov Brothers - Fydor Dostoevsky
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - read this last week!
Anne of Green Gables Series - LM Montgomery
Little House of the Prairie Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
Charlotte’s Web - EB White
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Lots of Enid Blyton's kid's books
Lots of Gordon Korman's kid's books
Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Roots - Alex Haley
The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel - this whole series
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
Exodus - Leon Uris & most of his other stuff
Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy & pretty much everything else she's written
Pretty much everything Dick Francis has written

Books I Think I've Read, but Maybe I Just Saw the Movie:
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo - I saw it live in London... so good

Books I Would Like to Read:
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - and it has been sitting on my shelf for years
A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - I read half of this for a book club I never went to. I should finish it.
More books by Jody Picoult - I just discovered her & think she's a great author.
The Red Tent - Anita Dianant

Books That Made the Lists, So They Might be Worth Getting Around to Someday:
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - I've read a few of them.
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - this one is on my shelf
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo - I own this one too
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Ulysses - James Joyce
The Inferno – Dante
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Watership Down - Richard Adams
Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller