Moving Forward with Joy

Six months.

2011-12-06T18:42:00.001-08:00

I realize its been six months since I blogged here. I think occasionally about this space and how to best sum up the last six months of my life and since I didn't have words to do that, I've stayed away from here.

My life became very difficult in about April (despite what my perky blog posts would seem to reflect) when I begged my doctors to change one of the medications that I'm on. Zyprexa had been a good drug for me, mentally. I've had stable moods for nearly seven years, but it wasn't so good for the rest of me - weight gain, the beginning of metabolic syndrome (high cholesterol and high blood sugars) and teetering on the edge of diabetes. There were two new drugs that came on the market and I bent my doctors' arms into letting me try them out. Neither Abilify or Zeldox (Geodon) were what we'd hoped they'd be which was incredibly hard as my moods raged out of control. It was five months of sky-highs and soul crushing lows and in September I went back on Zyprexa. It didn't take long for me to go back to being stable.

Even though Zyprexa evens out my moods, it can be a frustrating medication in other respects. Not just the physical things (weight gain, etc) but also how sedated it makes me. If there was one amazing thing about my time off Zyprexa, it was that I could think with crystal clarity! I haven't thought that clearly in years and giving that up, no matter how hard the mood swings were, was a very hard decision. It was nice to be able to spar verbally with dad and Jill and to engage in meaningful conversation and debate with other people in my life. Unfortunately the extremes that my moods went to made going back to the world of 'stoned indifference' the only option. As hard as it is to be foggy and to not be able to concentrate or read for pleasure (or learning, for that matter), I decided that it was more important to be stable and reliable than it was to argue passionately.

Some would say that sharing my medication woes and deep truths about what its like to have a mood disorder isn't appropriate. They've said I should just mind my P's and Q's and keep this sort of information quiet except to the closest people in my life but ya know, I'm tired of living like that. I'm not ashamed that I've got a mental illness. Its just a piece of what makes a whole and its not shameful by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately some think that mental illness is best kept quiet. I wonder if they really understand what keeping this kind of thing secret is really like and if they know how it only compounds the problem. I refuse to let my mood instability be something people whisper about behind my back. I welcome questions and curiosity!

But the good news is that my life is back on track, thanks in part to my old medication but also because I've got amazing family and friends who stand by me no matter what my moods do. I'm grateful.

Moving Forward with Joy.

2011-07-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I trust this finds you all well.

Things here are getting busier and busier! We're gearing up for our family reunion in a little over two weeks! Gosh, we can't believe how quick this is coming upon us... mom and dad in particular have been busiest. They've done lots of yard work - no more than normal, actually, but it has a special feeling about it now because we're expecting 85 of our closest relatives for three days. Gotta make the place shine! This is dad's side of the family that we're expecting and we couldn't be happier. We're only hoping now for good weather. We've had an incredibly wet spring in the Fraser Valley and we're praying for at least one sunny weekend - namely the weekend of July 15th!

And in that vein, we took a family trip to Costco yesterday. I've been there only once or twice as a young child so its still very exciting to me. I'm certainly not in the market for hardwood flooring or bulk flatwear but I picked up a few good deals on olives, toilet paper and peach cups (in apple juice of course, not syrup - 15g of carbs in each cup and less if you don't drink the juice! yay.). Also found a deal on canned cat food that I'm sure Georgina will appreciate and even managed to find the world largest bag of chocolate chips - 5 pounds! Ok, I'm sure there are bigger bags but its the biggest I've seen! It was a great experience and as a birthday gift to me, Mike bought me $40 of my groceries. So kind!

Mom and dad got some good deals, too. Plastic cutlery, ketchup, and pickles... and who knows what else. It'll all be well used for the reunion.

I'm doubly excited about this reunion as I wasn't originally intending to go. My seizures are triggered by camera flashes so large gatherings have been completely out of the question for the last eight years. But my dear friend Michelle has been teaching me mobility skills for the blind and even bought me my own cane. So I'll be at the reunion, just in an adapted, Deedee-safe, sorta way! I have my sleepshade and my cane and will be getting a funky pair of sunglasses to go over top of said sleepshade... and voila - Deedee can go to the family reunion! I know its rather unorthodox but it would be more of a shame for me to miss the whole shin-dig then for me to have to come 'blind'. I'm excited to see everyone and hug the life out of my aunts from Alberta. Plus we're having a pig roast on Friday evening and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss that! lol. I think its a good way to have both me there as well as all the pictures people want to take. Best of both worlds, in my opinion.

Am just on my way out the door to mom and dad's for supper. Homemade pizza. YUM!

Moving foward with Joy!

2011-06-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

As you can see, I've given this blog a facelift. It needed some lovin' and a new Spring look! Let me know if you have any strong view on the new colours and fonts.

Mom and dad spent the afternoon here, helping me with a few things. Dad fixed all my screen windows as well as my hide-a-bed that was broken ages ago. We got lots accomplished and even started on the adapter for my patio window, where the air conditioner will hook up. (Its previously been attached to my kitchen window but its no long practical to have it there). We finished with supper, which mom made for us while dad and I worked away, fixing things. It was strange to have someone else cook in my kitchen but the meal was delightful.

I've had two major excitements in the last two days.

One of them is this:

I have a 'pest' problem. I live on the ground-floor of my apartment block and there are squirrels and cats galore who enjoyed using my planters as both a place to store their treasures (nuts and the like) as well as using it as a convenient bathroom. It was a major pain in the neck for me... as soon as I'd get anything growing, the squirrels and cats would dig it up. BUT this contraption should fix that problem. It was originally a habitat for raising hamsters and guinea pigs. Dad found it abandoned downtown by the old court house and immediately saw potential in it. It was in really really sad shape but after a few weeks, its been reinforced, repainted and re-fibre glassed and is lookin' pretty spiffy! I've planted my 'garden' in it, beans, carrots, spinich, dill. And I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy some of those veggies this year! yay!

The other most major excitement of my last couple days is the arrival of Georgina:

Sorry the picture is a bit blurry. She's 7 weeks old and weighs in at 1 pound! And she's about as big as a brick of butter, too. So adorable. She's currently confined to the bathroom... now that I know she's figured out the litter box, I've been letting her explore her surroundings a bit more - adventures in the living room, kitchen and dining room. I think I'll keep her in the bathroom at night for a few more days but she seems to be settling in very nicely. We have a new apartment manager who doesn't mind us having pets, so I've paid the pet deposit and now Georgina has a home with me.

There's been plenty of other things going on, most notably preparing for the reunion next month. Golly, I can't believe how fast its creeping up on us! I've been baking lots for it... every 10 days I've been making a different kind of Amish bread and then freeze both loaves. They freeze and thaw well plus it means that I'll get my baking done while its still cool out. I found this site. Its got TONS of new amish bread recipes. I've got the Apple Streusel Amish Bread in the oven right now. Lookin' pretty good and smells even better! I'm looking forward to trying the coconut cream one next. I split my starter this time, so I've got three other starters. I'm gong to freeze two so that if I kill my starter again I won't have to pester my patient Aunt for some of her sourdough starter! And the remaining starter (besides the one I'll keep to make even more bread!) will make the coconut cream one tomorrow after I go grocery shopping. There'll be over 90 people at the reunion - I'm sure they'll eat all the Amish Bread I can make! haha.

Blessings for all of you out there as you go about your days.

Moving Forward with Joy

Egg-Free Breakfasts

2011-05-27T01:10:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Its interesting what can happen in a month's time, isn't it?

My month has mostly centered on medication changes. It hasn't been easy but I think we've got a keeper. I'm pleased to report this, as my month has seen highs and lows. I'm not out of the woods yet by any means since these drug changes (adding a new drug, taking away another) won't be finished for another month or two. There's a light at the end of my tunnel, I'm happy to say.

This new drug of mine has to be taken with a meal ("not a snack" as the pharmacist and doctor have told me time and time again) so I've actually had to start eating breakfast and supper at the same time each day. That might not sound so bad but it truly is a pain in the rump! Working nights doesn't help but I think I've found a system, thank goodness.

Breakfast is the biggest challenge as I'm badly allergic to eggs and eggs happen to be one of the quickest and easiest breakfasts out there. So, I've turned to oatmeal. Porridge, granola, and the newest addition to my diet, baked oatmeal. I had to go searching the web for new things to do with oats and came across a recipe for it on a vegan website (vegan = no eggs or dairy). I've had some success with the recipe and have made a few tweaks to it, taking into consideration my many other allergies. And all the while, still counting carbs.

Vegan Baked Oatmeal

2 cups oats (I use rolled oats)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk (I used coconut but the recipe actually calls for rice)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Mix wet ingredients with dry then pour into a greased 8x8 pan.
Bake at 350*F for 25 to 30 minutes
Let set 5 to 10 minutes before serving

1/6 of the pan = one serving = 33g carbs

I was short on cow's milk this last time but I happened to have canned coconut milk. I don't use it very often and I always forget to shake it well before opening the can! I did some fancy work with a wisk and then went from there.

The baked oatmeal turns out great and freezes well. I freeze single-servings and then throw it in the fridge to thaw at night, then heat in the microwave in the morning for quick breakfasts. Top with milk (think: porridge) or yogurt and you're good to go.

If anyone out there has egg-free breakfast ideas, please pass them on!

Bed is calling but I hope this finds you well.

Moving forward, as ever, with Joy.

"A left-winged radical at heart"

2011-05-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

This post is an extension of a conversation that was had on my Facebook wall. I had to remove it to keep things pleasant but I wanted to write about it here just so that people better understand what I meant when I posted on my wall that: "You're right, celebrating someone's death isn't the Christian thing to do. I'm not happy that I'm glad someone is dead. Its great that some of ya can live that Martin Luther King Jr quote but I know I can't"

The quote that prompted that was this:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

A number of my friends posted that quote from Dr. King and while I agree with the principle - that we can't fight hate with hate - I think that its far too idealistic and that Martin Luther King Jr meant a lot more about hatred then just us being mad at one son-of-a-bleep who inspired such hatred and evil in the world.

Let me be honest and to-the-point, I'm not happy that he's dead. I'm just happy that he can't go on leaving such destruction and death in his wake. I agree with the spirit of the quote - we can't fight hate with hate - but I don't honestly think that's what we're doing. The Canadian war in Afghanistan isn't about us hating Muslims, or even extremists. At least, that isn't my understanding of it. Its about putting a stop to the way awful way people are treated and the terrible way a country is run. I think its fair to say that the Extremists there hate us but I can safely say that I don't hate them. We're fighting hate with "get them to stop destroying lives, already!". I think that most Canadians don't really give a damn about extremists (of all stripes), I just think we want them to live their lives as peacefully as we live ours.

I think Afghanistan is a very interesting and beautiful country and I think the people that live there are even more so. I don't hate any of them! And I never hated bin Laden, my naive Canadian hope was that he would see the error of his ways and would decide on his own to stop hurting people! At least now he's no longer a threat.

I can't truly live that quote which is why I posted my comment in such a way. I'm not proud that I'm pleased he's no longer breathing but I know I'm not the only one who feels that way!

Facebook isn't a good place for strong opinions, in my opinion, so I took down my post. I think everyone has a right to their opinions (and you're all welcome to share them in the comment section here, if you choose) but I'm very aware of the variety of people who read my wall... I don't want them offended. It wasn't wise of me to bring up something so inflammatory there which is truly why I removed the post.

Thanks.

ten simple things

2011-04-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

In the same vein as this gal

Simply Ten Good Things:

1. A long night at work
2. Good company through that shift
3. A mom and dad who are waiting expectantly for details of that shift
4. Six hours sleep with no interruptions (not for another hour, though)
5. Banana-Peach yogurt smoothies
6. The mere fact that I can eat both peaches AND bananas
7. A sister and her man-friend who ply me with iced coffees to keep me going
8. A nice warm shower
9. Porridge for supper
10. Another interesting night ahead of me

Hope you can make up your own list of "ten simple things" that have made your day.

Moving forward with Joy

2011-04-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Thanks for all the support you all have sent me following my rant about seizures and how they're portrayed in the Bible. It means a lot that not everyone is crazy and thinks folks with seizures are full of demons. Unfortunately, there are people I've come into contact with (some of them being former friends) who believe that my seizures are a result of past sin. Its stupid really but what can I say? I'm glad to have people around me who aren't narrow minded like that! Merci Bien!

I have some exciting news - I had a conversation with my boss earlier this evening... and she's given me the thumbs-up for a trip to Halifax this September! I can't tell you how excited I am!! I'm trying not to get lost in the thrill of it but its hard. I'm really looking forward to time with Jenny, Josh and the kids... seeing their new place, being a sneaky house-elf while she's putting the kids to bed, leaving little presents for everyone when they're asleep. I'm looking forward to it all! I miss them so much and I dearly look forward to another chance to experience the friendly atmosphere of the east coast!

We're still determining how long I'll be gone for and whether I'll be traveling alone or with one/both of my parents. But I know that there's lots of time to figure that out. September is still five months away! I know how fast the time flew when preparing for my last trip and this time will be no different. But more than anything, these trips of mine are bathed in prayer. Prayers for safety as I travel, for a seizure-free experience altogether, etc. When God's involved, anything is possible.

Joyfully moving forward, now more than ever.

From my Perspective...

2011-04-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

I went to church two weeks ago – to a lovely Presbyterian crowd over in Agassiz. I have some friends who go there and I often tag along. It’s a good group of people with wonderful contemporary worship and sermons that actually mean something (and aren’t a history lesson on some obscure passage in Ezekiel).

I was there two weeks ago when a fill-in pastor preached. Seems like a nice enough guy but I had a hard time swallowing the first scripture reading, from Matthew 17:14-20, which made swallowing his whole sermon difficult.

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Now, some of you know that I, like the boy, I have seizures. Big, ugly seizures. And most of you know that I don’t like a whole lot of fuss made over them. They’re embarrassing enough without people falling over themselves feeling sorry for me.

I understand that the dad in this scripture was not blessed to live in an age of anti-convulsant medications, Ketogenic diets, and other therapies and surgeries that could have helped his son. For this dad, the only hope for his son lay with a man of miracles who could heal the boy. I get that. Heaven knows my dad has been in his position... when the doctors even in our age of science don’t know how to help. And like the dad in the scripture, he ended up on his knees praying in faith that I’d be healed and made whole. But ya know, I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how hard dad prayed, it isn’t all about conviction. ‘Cause if it were, then I’d be healed purely by my dad’s faith. And I don’t mean to put too fine a point on it, but I’m still having seizures eight years later.

So, when ministers and pastors everywhere stand up and preach about mustard seeds moving mountains and fathers having faith the Lord can heal their sick children, I get a little pissy. I know they’re trying to underscore an important lesson but I want to stand up and shout at them “It’s not just about faith, buddy!”

I think faith plays a part but the other side of that coin is God, in His power, has to know that the time is right for healing to take place before he’ll ever let it happen. I don’t want to sound negative but I’ve moved past the point of wanting God to heal me. Yes, it’d be nice to drive again, to go out and be social without having my anxiety overwhelm me that someone has a camera or someone is going to flick the lights in a room to get our attention. Ya, that’d be great. But I’m not going to pin my hopes on it happening. God knows I’d like to be rid of my medication, God knows I’d like to live without these seizures, God knows I’d like my family to not have to worry themselves sick about me when I go grocery shopping. But it isn’t all about faith – it’s also about God’s perfect timing.

< deep breath >

And while I’m slaughtering sacred cows, enough of this ‘possessed by the devil’ hogwash! I don’t have any more demons in me than the average Joe. And to any pastor who might be reading this... please be careful with this passage. It’s damaging enough to the poor people with Epilepsy in the room who have to sit through you discussing their condition like they’re some Biblical tragedy! There’s also untold damage done to each person in the congregation who inevitably take away from this scripture that people who have seizures are afflicted with demons, and that we need to feel sorry that Jesus hasn’t healed them yet.

So folks, please realize that healing happens in two parts – first faith, followed by God’s perfect timing. And please educate yourselves about the conditions in the Bible that Jesus heals, not just seizures. Think about the paralyzed, the blind, the bleeding disorders, etc. I figure that God gave us science as a way of healing ourselves but at the end of the day God still wants us to talk to him... I just don’t think he wants us praying for stuff as if we’re still living 2000 years ago when there were few other explanations for things like seizures.

The real message people need to hear is that seizures are a normal part of life for 1% of the population of the world. We’re not crazy and we don’t have to deal with any more personal demons than anybody else out there. Epilepsy is just a disorder, scar tissue in the brain, nothing more.

2011-02-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Its been a good day here... no complaints, that's for sure. Got to spend the afternoon with dad - it went well. We ran errands and puttered around the 'farm', then dad brought over his drill (gosh that thing is loud!) and we hung up some coat hooks in my hallway and by my buffet. We made little plaques for the hooks about two weeks ago. I'm particularly excited about the one by my buffet - its a home for my apron and my rag bag. Looks great! We hung these hooks higher then the last ones which is fantastic... my coats aren't hanging in the way of my shoe rack anymore. Horrah.

I've spent the last few days creating, sewing, and have neglected all forms of housework. The dishes will be first but everything here needs a clean. And my poor plants - they're crying out for water! Shame on me.

I work tonight... in a little over an hour. Its been snowing on and off all day, hopefully that means a busy night. We shall see.

A few pictures from this fall:
We had a record number of beets this fall. And not just in sheer numbers but also in size. They were gigantic. We pickle them all (yum!) but mom tried a new technique for cooking them - she read about baking them instead of boiling them and she said its much easier and there's way less mess - no beet juice covering everything within splattering distance. And the skins come off just as easily. I think this new way of doing things will stick.

We took a ton of pictures this year for the Christmas card... this is one of the funnier ones. Jill and I were just being silly and it sure got everyone laughing.

Joyfully Moving Forward.

2011-02-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

Hey folks.

Yep, I know its been a while. It seems like I've fallen out of habit of writing here.

To catch up:

Christmas was awesome. Jill's man-friend Mike was with us as his family is in Manitoba and Ontario. It made sense for him to join us and we couldn't have been happier. The day itself was awesome and fairly standard as far as Christmases go. I was blessed with gifts and had a wonderful time blessing my family right back! I didn't get all my Christmas projects done... in fact there's still a few waiting to be finished... but they'll get done eventually. Now that Christmas is over there isn't such pressure to finish 'em! There's one that I absolutely need to do in the next month or two - a baby karate uniform for my friend's baby gift. Her husband is big-time into that mixed martial arts stuff and asked me to make it for her. I started but its sitting there, unfinished. Shame on me!

Work is awesome. No complaints there. I feel like I'm always learning something new. This week it was all about medium-duty vehicles and what we charge for towing them. I've committed most of it to memory except I get hung up on the Dodge vehicles and get a bit confused. I just need to sit down and write it all out about twenty times and I'll remember it then. Its the only way I can memorize - how very grade 2 spelling tests, eh?

I've had a moderately busy afternoon and evening. I went up to The Preserved Seed today to pick up some Organic Salt. Its not easy to come by but boy is it ever good. This stuff is sea salt but the last stuff I bought from them was Himalayan Crystal salt. Its all delightful and is worth the $5 a pound I pay. I picked up some for Jenny, too. From there I went to the hospital to say hi to mom (who was on shift) and my friend Iris, a lady from church, who has been in hospital for five months now. She's in good spirits and will be moved to the Bradley Centre next week. She's looking forward to that which is awesome. Plus her husband lives just around the corner so they get to spend all sorts of time together even though they don't live under the same roof anymore. I hit up the thrift store (MCC) and picked up a few things I need for a project I'm working on for Michelle and then, finally, went home.

Once home, I cleaned and cooked and cleaned some more. I baked up some cheese twists (recipe will follow this post) for Adam and I - we had a good visit. Once he left I busted out all those nifty new grains and flours I bought to make a batch of multigrain sourdough (recipe will follow). Auntie Gloria gave me sourdough starter last week and I've been dutifully feeding it and watching it bubble... and tonight was the night - I mixed up almost 16 cups of dough (it was almost to the top of my KitchenAid 16 cup bowl!). Its sitting on the counter, covered, where I'm hoping it will double in size over night. I'd like to bake it up tomorrow but we'll see. The recipe said it takes 12 to 24 hours to completely double... and then another 2 to 6 hours to double in the pans. Its quite a process but I'm looking forward to fresh sourdough bread! And once that was tidied up, I made a batch of dad's fudge. Its the easiest recipe in the world and makes the best fudge ever. I think he got the recipe from the Vancouver Sun last year (recipe will follow). Its cooling and tomorrow I hope to take it up to the folks at the office. Its so nice to have people to bake for.

And now my day is done and I'm off to bed.

Joyfully moving Forward.

--------------------------

Cheese Twists

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk

Mix together to make a dough. It needs to be soft but not falling apart or sticky.
Press out into a rectangle (about 6x10")
Using a pizza cutter, cut into three long rectangle strips

Brush tops with :
1 tbsp melted margarine

Grate:
2/3 cup cheddar cheese
and spread over two dough strips

At this point I often cut up strips of sandwich meat (whatever I have in the fridge - usually ham) and place those on the two strips with the cheese.

Stack the three strips with the stop strip being the bare one, margarine side down

Using a pizza cutter, cut into 10 to 12 short strips.
Twist each strip gently and pull slightly and place on an ungreased baking sheet

Bake at 425*F for 10-12 minutes

Aunt Gloria's No Knead Multigrain Sourdough – makes 3 large or 4 medium loaves

per 28 gram /1 ounce serving: about 70 calories, 2 g. fat, (0 transfat), 48 mg. sodium, 11 g. carbs, 1.9 g. fibre, 2.5 g. protein

5 cups wheat flour, white all purpose

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups rye flour

2 cups oats or oat flour

1/2 cup flax, ground

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/4 cup wheat germ, lightly toasted if you like

3/4 cup bran

1/4 cup poppy seeds

6 tbsp. vital wheat gluten

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

3-4 cups water

1 tbsp. molasses

6 tbsp. canola oil

3 tbsp. vinegar
1 cup sourdough starter

Mix 1/2 cup flour with your starter, and add enough water to make a thick pancake-consistency batter (sponge). Let it proof covered and get bubbly on the counter overnight. Measure out 1 cup in the morning, put the remainder back in the jar add 1/4 cup water and a scant half cup of flour, let this bubble for 2-4 hours and stick it back in the fridge for next time.

In the morning, mix flours, seeds, wheat germ, gluten, brown sugar, salt.

Mix wet ingredients. Add them and your sponge to your dry ingredients. You need it to be a very moist dough or even a thick batter. Add a bit more flour or water as necessary.

Leave it covered at room temperature for 12-24 hours or until it doubles.

Divide dough into loaves (this is easiest with a sharp knife and wet hands), shape gently, and transfer them to greased loaf pans (glass ones are good because you can tell if the bottom is getting too brown too quick but if you use glass then knock the oven temperature down by 25 degrees). Place in a cool oven and allow to rise for a second time, for 2-6 hours, until the dough is doubled or about level with the top of the loaf pan.

Turn oven to 425 F. with loaves still in the oven. The bread should be done 35-40 minutes later (if it browns too fast, cover with a piece of foil). It should sound hollow when you tap on the top of the loaf.

Tip out of the loaf pans onto a wire rack and allow to cool for several hours. If you cut this bread while still warm it gets quite squodgy. If you can't resist cutting and it seems way too gooey, stick it back in the pan and into the still hot oven for 10-15 minutes to dry a bit. If you want a soft crust, store it in a plastic bag; to keep the crust crisp use a paper bag for storage.

Dad's Vancouver Sun Fudge

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Microwave on high for 10 minutes

Take out every minute to stir

IT WILL BE HOT - don't burn yourself.

Mix with electric egg beater on medium for five minutes. It will thicken

Pour into a 9x9 inch pan preferably lined with parchment on the bottom and sides but greased also works... and let cool for about six hours on a rack. Let sit overnight.

2010-12-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hello folks.

I can't believe Christmas is just a day away. Wow.

I'm pleased to report that I'm done my 'elving' (a term I picked up from another blog I read here). I didn't get it all done... the PJs for my friend's son didn't get finished nor did I made a fabulous pair of wire-work ear rings for A. I ended up buying an easy setting and a pretty bead to put in it. Less work but still looks adorable.

I did tons of baking and have one pie left to make - a raisin one for dad. I baked up the last of the goodies for my work pals - an apple crisp that I delivered today much to their delight. I told them that Christmas is the one time of year that you get to bake for a solid month and no one questions you! Seriously - its my favourite part of the advent season.

I'm recuperated from my 'illness'. I had a combination of strep throat and tonsillitis which was incredibly delightful! And then the antibiotics gave me oral thrush. That was almost a fate worse than death. I don't know how to put this delicately but it felt like a regular yeast infection, only in my mouth. There were moments where I wanted to scrape out the inside of my mouth! Fortunately the doctor I saw gave me a prescription for a mouth rinse that gets all that lovely yeast under control. Charming.

I'm almost all done wrapping gifts. Only two remain! I took a page out of soulemama.com's books and sewed cloth bags for all my gifts. I have a crisis of conscience every Christmas about using wrapping paper... it all goes into the landfill and just takes up space. So I opted for reusable wrapping this year and they sure look cute, I think. I had tons of ribbon from another project which came in handy! Here's my gifts all wrapped up:

Hope the season is bright for you all and that your Christmas is blessed.

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-12-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas is upon us! 15 days to go. Yikes. I have two major projects left to make plus a few little ones... and a couple extra projects I'd like to do if I can swing it!

The two major projects are of equal importance - one is a blue crocheted bunny for my little 'nephew' Eli for his birthday. The yarn is still in skeins and has yet to be made into balls... I want to have it done by Wednesday so I can have it in the mail on Thursday. A tall order, I'd say! I'm working Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights so I'll have time to just sit and crochet. I think it can be done!

The other project is a white karate uniform for my friend's son (yet to be born), though its really a gift for her husband who loves all martial arts. She asked me to see what I could dream up so I've picked up a pattern I can alter because, surprisingly, they don't make karate uniform patterns for six-month-old babies. I know, I was shocked. But I'm eager to do this, I just need to block off an evening so I can cut out the pieces and alter the top in the karate fashion.

The 'minor' projects is an ongoing one that I pick up and put down whenever the mood strikes me. They're adorable crocheted Christmas tree baubles that I've been making as gifts for family and friends. A friend from school forwarded me the pattern a few weeks ago and asked if I could show her how to make them. She's due here any minute, actually. I've made about three dozen so far...

And if I have time, I have two other projects I'd like to make. One is a crocheted angel tree topper for mom and dad's tree. I started it the other night and got the head about half done. It looks good. Its awaiting the last four or so rows and the stuffing. I've been dreaming up ways to make the body and wings that don't involve starch. If anyone has any ideas... feel free to post a comment. Right now I'm leaning towards wire - I've got some 30 gauge craft wire in my bead box that I might try experimenting with. We shall see!

The other project I'd love to make is a repair of an old braided rug that mom's Grandma (Mattie, for those of you who know my mom's family) made. Its old and the stitching that holds it together is rotten. I've picked up some invisible nylon thread but the tricky part is trying to get the rug into my hands without mom finding out! I've sent dad on an expedition to find it but he's come up short both times. I'll have to send Jill in to have a closer look. I know its upstairs somewhere.

All my baking is done except for a few things I plan to make for dad a little closer to Christmas. Oatmeal Lace Cookies, Christmas Cake and Raisin Pie. And if dad is really lucky he might even get a mince pie out of me, too. We shall see! All my cookies have been baked, delivered and devoured and the ones I'm sending out of province are waiting patiently for me to finish the parcels.

But in all the hub-bub of Christmas crafting, baking, visiting not to mention the goings-ons of our regular lives, I hope we're all able to stop and reflect on the real reason we're going out of our minds with busyness. God sent Jesus down as a baby so that he could do some really rad stuff on earth... including is death for my sins. I need to remember that Jesus doesn't expect me to have everything done by December 25th, that he loves me regardless of how much or how little 'Christmas Spirit' I have!

Love to you all.

Joyfully Moving Forward.

2010-12-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Hope you're all doing good.

So... its been a while since I blogged. My life feels like it's a never ending cycle of busy, busy, busy. But when I look at my calendar at the end of the week I see very few 'booked' things! It never ceases to amaze me that I no longer have time to sit around and craft! I don't have spare time anymore. I gotta say, its a good problem to have! So beyond crafting, blogging as taken a backseat to all the things that happen that keep me out of the house.

Work has been extraordinary. I really can't tell you how much I love my job and the people I work with. The business actually won an achievement award a few weeks ago for a business with 1 to 10 employees. There's only 10 of us but I think we do great things in the world of towing. *cheeky grin*.

Last night was the staff Christmas party. It was a good shin-dig and even though I ended up on the floor in a seizure at the end of it, I don't regret going. Everyone was pro-star, taking care of me. I've received countless apologies from the people who were playing with the flashlights that triggered the seizure. But really, they're not to blame. Yes, they triggered the seizure but really its my fault for not educating everyone enough about my freaky seizures. We all learned a lot last night but whats important for everyone to remember is that, in general, I'm not breakable. Yes, I'm sore, bruised and a little off balance (I just about went ass over tea kettle into my clothes drying racks this afternoon!) but this is normal. This is my life. Seizures suck but I don't blame anyone. Accidents happen.

Some reliable information on Epilepsy

So Christmas is upon us and I've got a list of projects and baking that need to get done this week. Its a frighteningly long list but I think it'll all get done. My first priority is a pair of flannel PJs for a friend's kid and then a gift I want to make my sister. Plus I have high hopes of baking up a storm... I'm not going to overwork myself trying to get it done but I think there's hope!

I hope your Advent season is going well.

Moving Forward with Joy

2010-10-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Its been a busy couple weeks in my world... and one of the first things to get dropped from my life is blogging. Sorry to you loyal readers out there.

I've been busy working Sun, Mon and Tues nights. I think I've found a balance but it'll be nice to go back to two nights a week. The extra money has been a real treat, though. I'm paying mom and dad back for the computer and am putting money into savings for my flight to Halifax next fall... plus there's Christmas coming up sooner then I'd like. I'm grateful for the money to say the least.

Beyond work, I've been busy getting caught up with various friends. Its so nice to sit down with a cuppa tea and hear about the goings-ons of their families. I'm super excited for Thursday and Friday! Thursday my good friend Kathy is coming for tea. She's an old PYPS friend (Presbyterian Young People's Society) and I love our visits! Friday is also fantastic because an old camp friend is coming to visit with her three daughters. I'm really looking forward to seeing both of them.

Church is what it is. I don't know how else to describe my current situation. I've spoken with the minister at my home congregation and am going to go back there for one Sunday a month. The other three I'll spend at the contemporary church in Agassiz. I still feel like I'm trying to serve two masters but the reality is that I don't know where to go or what to do. I don't have any peace about leaving my home congregation and this contemporary church has some seriously antiquated views on women in church government. I don't want to split hairs with this new congregation or challenge what they believe... but at the same time, I don't think I can be a member of a congregation where they don't have women in any part of church gov't. *sigh* Its the feminist in me, I think!

All the best.

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-09-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Its been a while but there's not much new here, honestly. Work, church, friends, volunteering. Nothing out of the norm... but here's an update on all four of those things.

Work...
is going well. I've picked up a third shift each week (Sunday night). We're going to see how well I tolerate it. I'm currently working the second night of this new schedule. The other night dispatcher desperately needed another night off so I agreed to take on the extra shift. I hope this works out for both of us. My boss said the other day that they might be looking to hire a third dispatcher. Not sure when that'll happen but am looking forward to it because it would give us all greater flexibility.
We're still on rotation and that's going well. Last night (Sunday night) was really quiet. There were two tows - one at 11pm, the other at midnight which cleared at 1am. The phone didn't ring again til 8:30am. Kinda nice. I suspect tonight will be busier... but tomorrow night we're done rotation at midnight. horrah.

Church...
is fantastic! The 'new' factor hasn't worn thin yet... so I'm sucking all this up while I can. Though I suspect that even when the 'newness' is gone, I'll still be thrilled to go every Sunday. The people there are so lovely and the music and message are so relevant to my life.
That said, I'm missing a lot of my friends at Cooke's. They're such good people but I think my time there is done. I feel like I have to justify leaving even though everyone tells me that I don't. I still feel like I'm failing them by leaving. Few people seem to understand how I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions. I'm missing so many of the friendly familiar faces. But even with all those fantastic people, I'm still not happy there. So why should I go to a church where I'm on the verge of tears because no one seems to see that they're not letting the Holy Spirit move! He's got such great things he could do but they're so mired in tradition.

Friends...
are all doing reasonably well. My good friend had her second baby the other day. A little girl - 9lbs 6oz! We're all really happy for her. Everyone seems to be pretty busy now that its fall and the kids are back in school.

Volunteering...
has taken a backseat to my job over the last few months. I no longer volunteer at Parkholm and because I'm not at Cooke's anymore, I'm not volunteering there either. I'm still editing and publishing the newsletter for the PCC's Women's Missionary Society and we sent out an edition earlier this month. Its nothing fancy but its a good gig. Its nice to be in touch with all these Presbyterian women who have a heart for missions work.

And in other news...
Mom is coming home from the island today. She spent some time there on a course for work. It'll be good to have her back. Dad is still hunting up north. They got a moose which is exciting (one of dad's friends did, not dad himself) and dad is staying up there for the rest of the week. Mom and Jill are heading up there on Friday to spend the weekend and bring dad home. Jill is taking her apprentice, Shelby, and they're going to trim and shoe as many horses as they can in two days. I'll be house sitting for mom/dad/Jill for two nights... feeding the chickens, picking up eggs, taking care of the horses.

Well, that 'bout sums up my life!

Until next time...

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-09-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Hope you're all doing good.

Things here are pretty good. I've had a few days off which is nice but am back at work tonight.

My main news of the past few weeks is that I've been going to a new church in Agassiz. I'm not announcing that fact to anyone but to the few people who read this blog. Its a really rad church - like my home congregation, they're also Presbyterian but nothing else about the service is anything like any other Presby church I've been to in my entire life! They have completely modern worship, the minister and a few other people actually raise their hands in worship and the sermons actually speak to me. Its not crazy-evangelical or anything but its the perfect balance. The minister at the church where I'm a member is a great guy and his sermons aren't too shabby but they're geared for the 75-year-olds in the congregation, not to my generation.

I'm going to this new church's adult Sunday school for the next few weeks. They're doing a series on what they're church believes and who they're affiliated with. I know they're more conservative theologically then the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) which is who my home congregation is affiliated with... and they're affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) but that's really all I know beyond the fact that I noticed there are no women elders in the congregation. I don't know of that's a denominational thing or if that's just cause there were no willing women in the congregation. Who knows. The service really speaks to me and I feel spiritually charged when I leave! I knew I was going to love it when, at the beginning of worship on my first Sunday there, the worship team did a peppy/rock/contemporary version of "It is well with my soul". It happens to be my favourite hymn of all time, the one that has kept me at peace through all this garbage that's going on at my home congregation.

I'm not going to make a decision about leaving my home church until I know more about what this one believes. And even then I don't think I'll leave my home church completely. I feel like my life is tied up there and I can't just walk away. At the same time, the church is dead and its hard not to cry on Sunday mornings simply because there's no children, no young people, no joy. Its sad hymns and a routine that no longer celebrates Jesus.

I found this video on the web that really speaks to me right now. I thought I would share it with you:

I don't know what my future holds but I'm ashamed to say that I made the decision five years ago between being passionate about my faith or being Presbyterian. I chose being Presbyterian. But now I see I can have both. I can be joyful in Jesus and still be Presbyterian. I honestly didn't think it was possible to be both.

On a different note:

It started off as a bit of a chaotic night but its calmed down quite a bit. I had one completely belligerent guy who figured he could tell the drivers how to do their job, and me as well. Seriously a jerk. I treated him with the respect he wasn't giving me but in the end I had to tell him to call someone else.

I've been working lots and its going well. We're starting Rotation with the RCMP tomorrow at midnight so things will get busy again. I'm thankful for the extra hours I've been getting. I ended up having to buy a new computer so I owe mom and dad for that... the extra hours help pay for that! And they also pay for the new lenses in my glasses. Will call the Ministry (gov't) to see if they can help me out, too.

I should go find some supper and settle in for a night. I hope its quiet.

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-09-01T17:52:00.001-07:00

Hello folks!

Happy September. Gosh, it feels good to say that. September is my favourite month by far! It means that the weather is cooling off, the leaves are starting to change and it means that we're getting back into a routine I can count on.

Things here are moderately okay. I've got the phones for the third night in a row. I'm pretty tired but after the pay cheque I got this week for the last pay period (where I also worked four straight nights), I'm thankful for the extra work! More work = More money. Its good to put some away for Christmas and I'm also able to pay mom and dad more money towards my new computer. I have a little extra money left over after my contribution to the grocery fund and my savings fund so I'm going to buy a dock for my iPod so I don't have to keep hauling my computer speakers around my house!

I had a doctor's appointment last week that was frustrating. I went to get the results of some blood work and she told me that I'm pre-diabetic. This is honestly no great surprise but that doesn't make the news that my diet is changing drastically once again any easier. I really don't want to be full-blown type 2 diabetic by the time I'm 30 so I'll definitely be behaving. My doctor said that my status as a pre-diabetic is due, in part, to some of the medication I'm on (Zyprexa). We're going to look at getting me off this drug... I'll be seeing one of my specialists this fall to discuss my options. My doctor has also written me a referral to a dietitian who can hopefully help me balance a diabetic diet with my many food allergies.

Hope you're all enjoying the beginning of Fall. Its a really blessed time of year!

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-08-24T08:11:00.001-07:00

Good Morning!

Things here are pretty dandy. I worked last night... I still have the work phones, but only for another half hour. It was a quiet night. Much more quiet then last week Monday! Last week we were still 'on rotation' with the RCMP and we were the tow company for that big wreck on the #1 where the semi went over the rail into the Vedder Canal. It was a busy day for us following an equally busy night. I got about an hour and a half's sleep that night but I was pleased with how I managed that call. There were moments of doubt but we came through just fine. And I was doubly pleased that I didn't have to call my boss for help at 5am!

An article about the crash with some pics of the damaged bridge: http://www.vancouverite.com/2010/08/19/driver-killed-as-truck-plunges-from-vedder-canal-bridge/

Having survived that night shift, I'm feeling more confident. There are still huge holes in my understanding of towing, though, and I feel like I'm always pestering the guys with questions. They're generally pretty good about it, thankfully (just not at 6:30am when I've rudely interrupted their sleep!).

I had the weekend off and went to church with some old friends who have left my church. They go to a PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) church plant in Agassiz that was a gust of fresh air. It was the best parts of being Presbyterian mixed with all the right parts of a contemporary service. The music was entirely contemporary, people even raised their hands in worship. They sang a few hymns but had made them peppy - there were no hymn books! The sermon was unmistakably Presbyterian - based entirely from scripture. And they don't meet in a church either - they rent a community centre for Sunday morning. I loved it. My friends have invited me back with them next Sunday. I'm going to have a hard time balancing this with my commitments to my home congregation, 'cause the temptation is to just leave Cooke's for what seems like the greener grass on the other side of the fence.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-08-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Its been a good day here.

Church this morning was pretty decent. The hymns were great and we sang one that always makes me smile "Guide me, O thou Great Redeemer/Jehovah". Michelle and I made up inappropriate lyrics for it a few weeks ago and I can't help but giggle when I hear it played or we sing it in church. All I can think of are the awful words we came up with! The sermon was good - it was about how Jesus challenged the fishermen to cast their nets out into deeper water and how they were blessed with enough fish to sink the boats! He said the same can be true for us - even though our congregation is struggling right now he feels that we can be blessed if we throw our nets out into deeper water. I agree, though I'm not sure what that will look like.

Jill and our our mutual friend Jess are coming over at 5:30. We're going to pick up some subway and then head back here to watch a movie. Not sure what we'll watch but it'll be nice to hang out with them - they both make me laugh!

I work tomorrow thru Thursday night... it'll be a long haul but will be more money in my pocket, so I'm ok with that. Plus our main dispatcher is exhausted. The weekends take a lot out of her - which I totally get. I worked one weekend and ended up sleeping for 18 hours after I handed back the phones. No small wonder she's tired!

I wrote this next bit earlier today:

I've just taken my first galette out of the oven. I've never eaten one before but I saw a picture and recipe for one online and thought "YUM!" so I picked up all the various ingredients that I don't normally have on hand (Ricotta, sour cream, Parmesan) and then life got really busy so didn't have time to make it. In the meantime the sour cream went bad and the Ricotta was questionable so last night when Jill and I went to superstore to pick up a few things I bought more sour cream and ricotta. I put my first Galette together today! A galette is basically a free-form pastry filled with whatever kind of delightful filling you can imagine. You can make them sweet - like with fruit or pie filling but today's is a chedder, ricotta, parmesan and garlic base topped with Zucchini, mushrooms and some cheddar.

And I have to be very honest here - that was the most satisfying thing I've ever eaten! Yum. The pastry was flaky and the filling was rich but not too rich - just perfect. I highly recommend it even though the whole thing takes about three hours to make. (You have to chill the flour then make the dough, then chill the dough, and the vegetables have to 'drain' on paper towel for half an hour - which I did at the same time the dough was in the fridge - and then it bakes for 35 minutes).

The recipe is here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/06/zucchini-and-ricotta-galette/

Mine isn't as pretty as her's but here's a pic just so you can see what yours is bound to look like!

I made a few changes - I used white vinegar instead of lemon juice. I used cheddar instead of mozzarella and I added five large mushrooms to make up for one of my zucchinis that went mouldy while waiting to be used. I topped it with cheddar cheese instead of basil and added a little salt to the ricotta mixture.

It was certainly worth the work. Delicious!

Enjoy!

Moving Forward with Joy

2010-08-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Good Evening!

Hope this finds all of you well.

Things here are pretty good. I've got the phones again tonight - its been quiet so far but my boss just called to say that there's a big wreck on the #1 (highway) that we might be responding to shortly. Should be busy. Am saying a prayer for everyone's safety.

'Rotation' has been a real learning curve. I've learned how to fill out the dispatch sheet better, what important questions to ask the RCMP when they call for a tow, where the different kinds of calls go (stolen and recovered vehicles go to the Ident bay, burnt out vehicles go to the yard, etc). I feel like my brain isn't big enough to learn everything I need to know! Its a challenge but I love every minute of it.

The diapers I made for my friend were a real hit. I gave them to her yesterday and we sewed one together so she knew how to make them herself from here on out. Including the one we made together yesterday, there were 10 diapers (and they're all so stinkin' cute!).

A pic of my friend's baby in one of his new diapers. So cute!

Froggie Bum!

Its been a glorious couple of days here, weather-wise. I think Fall is just around the corner, thankfully! We've had overcast skies and rain... totally welcome for all the people fighting forest fires and also welcome for me - I don't do well with all the sun, light and heat. I'm definitely a Fall/Winter girl! I was cheered yesterday while riding my bike in the rain when I saw the first of the leaves falling from the trees. Not a lot, but certain species of trees are loosing their leaves. Hip Hip Horray!

I've decided what I'm getting mom for her birthday. It was a hard choice but I've made up my mind and will pick it up after I get paid on the 15th. Can't tell you, though, because she sometimes reads my blog!

Next week I've got a long haul, I'll be working Monday through Thursday nights. I'll be exhausted but it'll do good things to my bank account!

Hope you all have a good evening. I'm going to go find some supper.

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-08-08T23:31:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Things here continue to move along at great speeds. I've been busy baking oatmeal molasses cookies (my ultimate favourite cookie - will post the recipe at a later date) for my pals at work and have finished four more diapers for a grand total of nine. I can't wait to show my friend, who is coming over tomorrow. I've still got more flannel for her and will give her a quick how-to so she can make the remaining diapers.

A pic of all nine pretty diapers:

In an effort to be as cost-effective as possible, the green and light blue diapers are made of old (but barely used) bedsheets from the thrift store. All the inserts are made from scraps - either scraps from the diapers themselves or scraps from old quilts. There's four layers of flannel in each insert and there are two inserts that go with each diaper. I have a feeling she may need to triple up on the inserts, though. Heaven knows there's enough fabric left over to do that!

I'm so pleased with my latest sewing project! We're getting together in the afternoon and I can hardly wait!

I work tomorrow night which should be interesting. It'll be my first ever Monday shift. I don't know if it'll vary greatly from any other weekday night. We'll find out shortly!

Time for bed. This is one tired pumpkin.

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-08-07T03:05:00.000-07:00

Hello!

If there's one downside to working nights its that it completely up-ends my sleeping schedule. Its 3am and I'm wide awake. I thought I would do some sewing earlier (midnight to 1am) figuring that would tire me out... no such luck. I crashed shortly before 2am thinking I would drop off no problem but here it is 3:10 and I'm not anywhere close to sleep.

So... while I'm awake I'll bring you up on whats going on in my life!

Work is going fantastic. There's still so much to learn. I have one serious short coming and that is that even though I've lived in this town my whole life (26 years) I don't have a clue how to group jobs together so that we're not wasting gas and time. The map of my town is muddled in my head, unfortunately. I took some constructive criticism from one of our drivers after I sent him back to the same area of town twice to do a service call when I could have lumped it together with a tow he was doing there an hour earlier. A big whoops on my part! Its just something to work on and I hope to do better next time.

My two shifts on 'rotation' went reasonably well. It was busy, particularly the second night, but still wasn't unmanageable. I managed to even get a few hours sleep in (a total bonus!). I asked one of our office gals (the one who delivers and retrieves the phones from me each night that I'm working) if what I experienced was typical of a weeknight on rotation and she told me yes, that it was average. I was relieved. I had all sorts of situations imagined that I would be up to my ears and unable to cope but those terrors never materialized. I hear that the weekends on rotations can be every bit as horrible as I imagine but since I work week nights, I don't think I'll be experiencing that any time soon (I hope!).

I went to a friend's bridal shower earlier this evening. I'm so happy for her and her fiance. Its awesome to see them this happy! The shower was good. I only stayed for the first bit so that they could take plenty of pictures of all her gifts. While I was there I was chatting with our other good friend who was telling me that she was switching from disposables to cloth diapers for her 10 month old. Nothing thrills me more!!! She's picked up some at the thrift store just to give it a whirl but she wants to make more so that she's not washing diapers every day just to keep up (I think she only has 8 or 10). I came home inspired. I've made lots of diapers for other girlfriends but haven't made any in a while 'cause everyone already has their stashes made! I'm SO excited to help my friend make her stash. I used the Rita Rump Pocket (RRP) pattern from this site: http://handmadebyrita.blogspot.com/2007/10/classic-rrp-ritas-rump-pocket-pattern.html Total time from printing out the pattern to two finished diapers with two inserts each was 1 hour and 10 minutes! I was impressed with myself. I can't wait to make more. I've got tonnes of left over flannel from rag quilts that I've offered up... I can't wait to sew more for her! Here's a pic of the finished products:

I'll make more tomorrow (I can't contain myself when it comes to cloth diapers!).

I'm off to A's tomorrow to hang out with her. I got her camp pics printed so we're going to put them in an album and I got a few enlarged so we can frame them. She got a lot of great pics!

I need to get some sleep or I won't be able to function tomorrow. Morning comes soon!

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-08-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Things here continue to roll along. I'm working tonight, my second RCMP rotation shift... and its going well. We've been up to our ears in other tows but I haven't received one from the police yet. That'll be later tonight. Last night wasn't too busy but it was steady pretty much all night. I caught about two or three hours sleep total... I survived and was thankful for a shower and sleep after I handed back the phones.

I worked late last week, too, and had the weekend off. Not much got accomplished but I went to Michelle's church (United Church in Canada) and heard her preach. It was a wonderful sermon about being authentic - being who God created us to be. It was really great to hear her preach and lead a full service! Totally fantastic!

Dad and I are going to work together in the shop this weekend I hope. We're going to make a wooden attachment thingy so I can hook up my A/C to my patio window. It currently takes up waaaay too much space in my dinette. It'll be nice to have it out of the way.

Sorry my recent posts have been so short. There hasn't been much new going on.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-07-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is just going to be another short post.

I worked last night and the night before. It went well, no major problems. I'm exhausted though, and am heading to bed.

I opened up my birthday parcel from Jenny and am in love with everything.

I bawled my eyes out when I opened up this rag quilt. I know how much work these darn things are - I've made five! That she took time out of her hectic life to make me this just reduced me to tears. I love it. Mom said I'm crying because I'm overtired... I disagree. I'm crying because I love it!

She took at trip to PEI and while she was there she bought me the most delicious blueberry tea. Its like drinking blueberries, I swear! So good. And the Anne of Green Gables mug and coaster are so nice, too. She knows me well - Anne of Green Gables is easily my favourite books and movies of all time.

Bed is calling me, though, so I should go 'surrender'.

Hope this finds you all well.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-07-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hope you're all well.

Just finished updating the look of my blog. I got a note that said my cutestblogontheblock.com background was going to expire and that I should do something about it. I opted for one of the fancy-dancy new backgrounds being offered by Google... I hope its easy to read/navigate.

Its been a wonderfully cool day today. It was almost chilly this morning while I sat on my patio, waiting for the gal who picks up the work phones. That could also be because I climbed out of a nice warm bed shortly before (just long enough before to get dressed!).

Work is going well. I enjoy it! Its a quiet night so far. Am going to go scare up some supper and wait for the phone to ring.

Moving forward with Joy!

Vegan Perogies

2010-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Hope you guys are all doing good.

Its been a great day in my life - I saw A earlier today and we hung out. Mom and dad smoked some salmon to give as gifts so they gave me a good-sized chunk for her. Dad and I vacuum-sealed all of it so it'll freeze better. Pretty darn tasty! I came home and made a double recipe of my tomato soup for Rebecca and her fiance Ben. It was so awesome to meet him! He's a really great guy and I'm so happy they've found each other. The soup was a hit. I have one bowl left that will make a great snack either tonight or tomorrow. While they were here I put them to work peeling and chopping potatoes for tomorrow's perogy-a-thon! Michelle and her friend are coming over at 1:30 and we'll make perogies til the cows come home. I'm making two batches - one vegan, one regular. The vegan one is onion and vegan-cream cheese (plus vegan mozzerella). The other is baccon and cheddar. Mmmm!

I just finished perfecting the vegan filling. Claire came over tonight for a movie and ice cream but I made a batch of dough so we tried out the vegan filling... it needed a little zip so I grated and friend some onion as well as some minced garlic and added them to the potatoes with a little salt. Michelle is bringing over her vegan Mozzarella so we'll add a bit of that to the perogies and then we'll be good to go!

I tasted the regular filling and its pretty yummy. I'll add some salt tomorrow before we start rolling the dough. All the dough is vegan. Michelle and I are both allergic to egg so I got Claire to pick up some tofu on her way over. I wisked the life out of it with a little water to make a paste and it has held up really great. You couldn't tell the difference when we made our tester perogies - they taste just like regular pergoy dough. Mmmm!

Surprisingly, making everything was less work then I thought it was going to be. It helped that Rebecca and Ben helped me peel and chop 14 pounds of potatoes!!! I guess I'm so used to spending oodles of time in the kitchen that this just didn't seem like hard work. It also was great that I could make the dough in my kitchen aid mixer... it kneaded it for me. (I'm spoiled, I know! Thanks mom and dad!). So really, some Ukrainian woman is cursing me for taking the easy road and for ruining her recipe with tofu!

Here's the recipe:

Vegan Perogies

Dough:
In your handy-dandy kitchen aid mixer, put 1 cup water, 3 cups flour, 2 tbsp oil, blended tofu (2 large tbsps tofu plus 1 tbsp water), and 1 tsp salt. Mix until well blended. Take it out, make a nice ball and let stand 10 minutes before working with it.

Filling:
6lbs potato, peeled, chopped and boiled til they fall apart
2 onions, peeled, grated and fried with 2 cloves minced garlic in 1 tbsp oil til golden-ish colour
1/2 of a small tofutti cream cheese container (about five tbsp)
5 large tbsp vegan margarine
3 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper (to taste)
1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)

Mix it all together with an electric mixer til really mushy.

Find a circular shape that you like (a glass, can or jar) use it to make your circles. Put about 1 tsp of filling (or more depending on the size of your circle). Pinch close or use a fork.

We're going to try using actual perogy makers... I was given a dozen or so of different sizes. Pic of one: http://www.polandbymail.com/item.asp?n=435820&pcc=%23FFFFFF&tc=%237E7E7E&tfc=%23FFFFFF&t=Pierogi+Dumplings+Molds+Set+of+3&showbig=1

Well. I think that's it for now. I've got an eye doctor appt tomorrow and then Michelle and her friend are coming over. I'm SO excited except that I have dishes coming out my ears! Will do those in the morning.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-07-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Hope you're all doing well.

Things here have been good. I've been thankful for the cool weather! It got a bit warm today but wasn't unbearable. Its supposed to be much warmer this weekend but still not scorching. That will come, no doubt.

Last week I gave my BBQ away. I've never been a BBQ kinda gal. Mom and dad cook all their meat that way but while it tastes good, I've never been one to light it up and cook it that way. I gave it to some family friends but not before dad gave it a once-over with the pressure washer and diagnosed that it needs a new burner. Still, its a good BBQ and I'm happy it went to great people. In its place mom and dad gave me their small patio table. Its adorable and I've been enjoying sitting out there with iced tea in the mornings and evenings (until the mosquitoes and ants start eating me!). There's some really awful astro turf on my deck that I was told when I moved in I could rip it up. I plan to do just that one evening. Maybe early next week?

I'm excited for Tuesday. My dear friend is vegan and I'm always trying to think up interesting and tasty recipes that are vegan-friendly. My next project is vegan perogies. I've got a recipe and I've dreamed up some tasty options. Monday night I'm going to cook it all up and then Tuesday afternoon my vegan friend is bringing one of her other friends with her and we're going to make perogies til the cows come home. I'm also going to make a non-vegan variety for me and my vegan friend's friend. It'll be great! I have two perogy makers but was just given about a dozen more from one of mom's friends who makes them like they're going out of style. I guess she just had extra? Who knows. I'm thankful for them at any rate.

I've been busy crocheting monkey toques, too. I put a pic of this one on Facebook and I've now got 7 orders. People are actually paying me for them. It always baffles me that people would want to pay me for the stuff I make. I learned how to crochet just so I would have something to do in the evenings. As I got better at it, I figured out that I could save a lot of money by making my own gifts. But people obviously like this toque. I can also make it on a boy version with red instead of pink and a tassel instead of a flower. I gotta get crackin' on these orders. Three are for Christmas but two of them are for next weekend. I'm charging $10 for them but my Aunt Bev saw them at a funky store on the Island for $25! I guess I'm under pricing but at the same time, I don't have a store-front to pay for so it just makes sense that I charge less.

Work is going well. I have the phones tonight. I'm going to go dream up some supper and then I think it'll be time to hunker in for the night and see how many documentaries I can watch between now and 1am! Its a very educational way to spend the evening.

Have a great evening! Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts. :o)

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-07-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Its been a busy couple of days here.

Dad and I worked great-guns on my buffet and got a lot done. Dad did the finishing touches and then, the night before last, he and mom delivered it to my humble apartment. I'm SO excited about it and have been enjoying reorganizing things in my kitchen... I'm going to make this my baking station so will move all my bake ware, mixers, etc over. It'll make so much more room on my kitchen counters! Yay!

The drawers are HUGE... each bottom drawer can fit a 25lbs bag of flour and sugar laying down. I've got more storage space then I know what to do with! (Its a good problem to have.)

This was our first experience with tile and I think we did a good job! I love how it turned out. My job for today is to seal the grout. You can't see it in the pictures but my entire kitchen and dinette match now. That was totally unplanned. I prefer things to not coordinate - gives it a more organic look - but I must admit that it is kind of cool to have things go together (my kitchen chairs are white and my table is the same rusty-salmon as the tile and the darker trim goes well with my kitchen cabinets).

I've had the phones all night. It was steady until about 1:30am and then was quiet til 6:50 when some total hoser called and wanted us to tow his neighbour's car. Not likely to happen, buddy. He used some choice language with me and I cut the conversation off. How charming. I work again tonight.

I should get a move on... one of the office gals should be here shortly to pick up the phones.

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-06-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Sorry its been so long since my last post. It feels like there are never enough hours in the day! I'm sure you all share that sentiment!

I got busy spring cleaning my apartment yesterday... My kitchen and living room got an overhaul. I have tons of stuff for charity plus stuff that belongs to other people. It'll be good to get rid of all of it. The bathroom is next on my to-do list. So far today I've had tea with my cousin Mark and then cleaned up my patio and planted my 'garden'. Because I live in an apartment I have oodles of planters on my patio. I took before and after pics just for you guys!

Before:
The weeds had taken over and I had oodles of broken pots and a random assortment of loaned pots that needed to be give back.

After:
I cleaned up all those weeds and used up the dirt that was in the bags. I'm giving back all the pots that don't belong to me... less is more, I think!

I planted two planters each of beans and carrots and a one planter of dill and garlic, and one planter of green onions. I didn't plant any potatoes this year yet. When I go to the greenhouse later today I'll see if they have any on sale. I just need a few for the blue planters.

So things are more orderly. Its nice to look out there and not be overwhelmed... and really, its such a little job anyway. Now I just need to remember to water them every day! They get the sun steady all day long so the dirt dries up really fast! I managed to kill my carrots last year because I didn't water them enough during our heat waves in August when it got up to 40 degrees. Yick. I decided to stay inside my air conditioned apartment. It was very neglectful of me!!

It was my birthday last Friday. It was great to see/hang out with Cor - a real treat to have her here on my birthday! I worked a bit with A in the morning - she was having her teacher over for supper that night so she and I put together a chicken and rice casserole to impress her teacher with. I'm sure it worked - its a fail-proof recipe. Yum. Mom picked me up from there and we went out for supper, the four of us plus Cor. A good time was had by all. Mom and dad got me a beautiful wallet and Jill bought me a new pair of really nice sneakers. I was totally spoiled!

Tonight is my family birthday party with all my aunts and uncles and cousins. Its a ritual we do every time one of us has a birthday (and there's quite a few of us!!). I love getting together with everyone. My cousin Mark came over with a gift this morning - he has to work tonight and can't make it to the party. We had a cuppa tea and chocolate Amish bread. I sent him home with the rest of the loaf.

Well, I should get a move on and clean my bathroom.

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-06-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Oh my gosh, its been quite a weekend.

I had the work phones from Friday at 5pm til this morning (Monday) at 9. It was a long haul but I'm so pleased to report that when it came time to sink or swim, I swam! I was a bit of an anxiety case on Saturday - there were far more phone calls than I've ever taken... but the drivers were all incredible and answered all my "newbie" questions graciously. I learned a hell of a lot, that's for sure! It was sometime in the evening on Saturday that I prayed for peace (not sure why it took me so long to ask!!). My stomach was a knot - I was afraid that I'd fail and make the company look bad but I was so thankful for the peace God gave me. I realized that yes, the phone will ring and I have the capacity and resources to deal with everything the caller throws at me. Sunday was quiet in the morning but got busy in the afternoon/evening. I didn't stress at all on Sunday. There were a few moments where I wasn't sure what direction to take but the drivers helped me out - it was a case of who should do which tow - and the drivers know their stuff and provided much needed direction.

So, I learned how to manage multiple calls and multiple trucks... and how to manage it all without throwing up from anxiety! I'm thankful to my boss and the other gals who work dispatch for giving me the chance to work a weekend as preparation for some of our busier nights with the RCMP. I won't be working this rotation with the RCMP (because, even with this weekend under my belt, I'm still pretty green)... but in six weeks when we work with the police again, I'll be better prepared.

Everything else is good. I slept a bit this morning and then went to work with Jill while she did three trims up Ryder Lake. We got lunch and did a little shopping (dollar store and staples). Wednesday, Jill and I are going to buy me new sneakers. Mine are two years old and have are almost worn right out - holes along the stitching, no tread left, etc. I'm looking forward to a new pair. I also house sit this weekend for my aunt and cousin... plus Cor is coming down for a visit - haven't seen her in a dog's age. She's spending Friday night with me at my aunt's 'cause its my birthday. It'll be a good time!!

Well, I should go. I'm pretty tired and will be hitting the hay after a shower.

Moving forward with incredible Joy!

2010-06-13T23:54:00.003-07:00

I've been creating again!

This time, its crocheting.

First up is a bunny friend for my bff Jenny's youngest daughter. Rowan turned one last week and I've been busily working on this. I started a few months ago - bought the yarn and got about three quarters finished but stopped short of completion for a variety of reasons. I'm pleased to say its done. There are two things I want to change - one is the ears, the other is the whiskers.

As you can see, Rowan's bunny is modeled after a much older, well-loved bunny of my own. 'Bugs' was a gift to me from my Great-Grandma Nowlin (mom's mom's mom)... mine is made of acrylic scraps and was packed away in my mom and dad's attic until a few months ago when I cleaned out a bunch of stuff. I decided that Bugs needed to come home with me to my apartment. I can guarantee that my Great-Grandma didn't think she was making an age-less keepsake when she fashioned him for me! He's made of scraps of different yarn (the backs of the legs are pink, the fronts are yellow, etc) but now that I can crochet, I look at everything my Great-Grandma did with new eyes and appreciation.

I know that Jenny and Rowan will both love this as-yet-to-be-named bunny. She's made of 100% wool with clean carded wool batting as stuffing - totally crunchy and hippie (that's the way Jenny's rolls!).

I've got ideas for gifts for Jenny's other two kids... I want to crochet a dump truck for Eli and either a horse for Shea or else a dress. She actually asked me for a dress so I'm inclined to make that for her for her birthday. We shall see. Might make the dress for Christmas instead... who knows since that's a ways off yet.

My other creation has been three headbands. I was on my favourite site ever the other day www.craftster.com and saw a post a gal did with similar headbands and I totally fell in love. I made this one and wore it to church this morning. Its a little quirky but then again, so am I! I've since made two more!

Mom and dad went to the wedding yesterday and had a hoot. They loved being there to witness Nathan and Jill's big day and said they took tons of pictures. Mom and dad are visiting Aunt Sharron and Uncle Tim (dad's sister and husband) for the next couple days and will then move on to various other extended family members. They said they'll be back for my birthday at the end of the month.

We have a big church meeting tomorrow. Presbytery has come to a few decisions about our congregation after consulting with us, the Session, our Minister and all offended parties. Not sure what those decisions will be but there was definitely a level of tension at church this morning. Still, we had 10 kids in Sunday School. Thank goodness Marg offered to help me out. I would have borrowed one of the Minister's teenage sons to help me if she hadn't offered... it was more like containing the chaos than teaching a lesson (the days of creation) but still, we got quite a bit accomplished and I think the kids had a good time! I don't know what the future of Cooke's Presbyterian is but I can only pray that the Presbytery has been open to the Holy Spirit. I hope we can all accept the Presbytery's decisions with a modicum of grace.

Bed time is come!

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-06-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Things here continue to truck along.

I'm on the phones tonight... there's a tow in progress and that's it. Hopefully its a quiet night although its nice when its busy, too.

Mom and dad left this morning for Alberta. My cousin Nathan is marrying his long-term girlfriend Jill on Saturday. We're all really happy for them! Mom and dad are driving straight there and will visit with family in Edmonton before they head to Calgary later this week for the wedding. I'm bummed I'm missing out on seeing those relatives but I have a job now that keeps me home (and that's a good thing!!).

Ooooh. I just downloaded some Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and are they ever good. Kinda gospel-ish but fun to listen to as I *groove to the music*.

Yesterday was a full day. I house sat for my aunt and cousin all weekend and was finished yesterday morning. I took mom out to lunch afterwards - chefs salad at Homers (Mmmm!) - and then we headed to Penningtons to meet Jill and pick out an outfit for mom to wear to this wedding. Then Jill and I went and picked up Michelle and we took her out to the 'farm'. She got to hang out with the horses and Jill did an amazing and rare thing - she saddled Brandy and Michelle got to ride. When they were tired of that, dad suggested that Michelle and I rip around the property on the quad, and we did! Gosh that was fun!

Today has been good, too. I ran errands on my bike... it felt great to get out riding again even if the busier roads still scare me. I dropped off some eggs at Nancy's and then hit up Liquidation World to pick up some Ocean Spray juice that they had on sale for $2.50 a jug. Picked up a few other things and then headed home (they had a deal on canned diced tomatoes, too). After I got home, Janet and Aunt Aileen (who I was house sitting for) popped over to pay me and drop off a gift - beautiful seashell beads. That was very nice of them!

Dad and I didn't get around to grouting my buffet top so we'll do that after they get back. By the time they're home the handles we ordered from Lee Valley will be ready for pick up. They're just plain oak handles that I'm not sure if I'll stain it the same colour as the trim or if I'll paint it the same white as the buffet. Its a hard decision. I'm leaning towards staining them, honestly. Dad wanted to have my buffet in my house before they left for Alberta but it just didn't work out that way - he hurt his finger really badly while loading a TV for a friend who lives in Alberta. An "incomplete amputation" It cut the flesh away to the bone. Poor guy. The doctor has stitched it together and *hopefully* it'll heal fine.

I should get going...

Moving forward with joy!

2010-06-04T17:41:00.001-07:00

Hey there folks!

I'm at mom and dad's right now. Dad and I have been busy making my buffet. Its coming along really well! We just finished our very first tiling adventure and I think we succeeded! Well, so far anyway. We mixed the thin-set and set the tile. At first we didn't get the spacing right but we quickly fixed that.

A pic of me, dad and our tile challenge.

There are twelve drawers in this unit... and we'll put a nice trim around the tile. Dad said he'd cut the trim down to size tonight. We're putting drawer pulls on at a later date (mom and dad are going away on holidays on Tuesday for two weeks so it'll have to wait til they get back.

The nearly-finished project. Its on wheels to make cleaning behind it easier.

We've got a few good ideas for the hutch. The more I look at Welsh huts, the more I love them. I found one that's kind of mennonite/amish inspired. Dad said its totally old school. Here's a link to the one we're planning to copy. http://liwfurniture.com/images/pine_slant_hutch.JPG My buffet counter top is higher then this one but I like the basic design of this one. We're going to trim it in the same stained fir that we're using to trim the buffet.

I'll take more pics when the handles are on and the trim is finished/tile is grouted... and of course when the hutch is built.

Hope you like it - I know I love it!

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-05-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well, my third night shift has just gotten under way. I'm waiting for one truck to 'clear' (take the vehicles off his truck) and gave another driver more work for the morning. Fortunately one of the office gals was able to help me with the logistics of the morning dispatch. Everyone has been super great about helping me out... I couldn't ask for better people to work with.

So, as promised, I took some pics of my latest creations.

First, a baby car seat blanket. It was a lot of fun to make... so much fun that I actually have another one half done. I have a pregnant friend coming over next week so I think I'll give it to her. She's actually the gal who taught me to crochet.
'
And here we have the first of two skirts that I put together. This blue jean one I made while housesitting for Missy and her family ( http://missy-memories.blogspot.com/ ). Its uber comfortable and one of the more flattering skirts I've made.

This second skirt is one I put together this afternoon while I couldn't sleep. One of mom's friends gave me the beige denim. It was already cut out into the worst/ugliest pair of plus-size pants... I took the pant pieces and cut out the skirt pieces. The two back skirt panels were a bit too short so I did some fancy sewing-work and made them a bit longer. I won't wear this skirt to church but it's good enough to do regular life-stuff in.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you're all well.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-05-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks.

Its been a while since I wrote!!

I've been very busy - in a good way.

I'm currently housesitting for some friends... they were only supposed to be gone for a few days, just Friday til Tuesday but the transmission in their truck blew on their way to 100 Mile House. They should be home some time tomorrow (Friday) with a new transmission. Its been an extended holiday for them at the ranch they're visiting. Sounds like they're having a good time despite being stranded!

Me, I'm looking forward to going back to my little apartment. Big houses are lonely when I'm alone. Still, I'm glad I could help my friends out!

I've also had my first shift as a dispatcher last night and I have another shift tonight and tomorrow night. I managed pretty ok. Had to call my boss twice but she's super good about it and is really helpful and patient. I hope tonight goes well, too.

I've got supper in the oven, I'll wait to eat it til after the phones quiet down tonight but its good to have it cooked - broccoli, cauliflower and chicken drum sticks. Mmmm!

As far as crafts go, I'm in the process of making a blue and white baby blanket. Lots of friends are pregnant so I stock-pile blankets in all sorts of colours. Shhh, don't tell anyone that I make them ahead of time! I made a yellow and white one last week, too.

I also went to Fabricland and picked up some denium and sewed a really rad skirt. It was a bit too big when I made it so I made 'er a little smaller and it fits pretty darn good!

I'll take pics of all of this and post it early next week.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-05-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Hope you're all doing good.

Things here have been pretty good. I spent some more time at the office, taking calls for the tow truck company. There was one call in the three hours I was there today... it was uber quiet. It would almost be nice if it would rain so there would be a few accidents and therefore more calls for me to practice on! (But that would be a horrible thing to hope for so I won't wish for that!)

In the meantime I've done some bead and wire work. A necklace and three pairs of earrings. One pair is currently adorning my sister's ears.

I was given a whole bunch of rainbow coloured beads, all different shapes and sizes. There is a pattern - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple. Its wire wrapped which takes forever and is hard on the thumbs. I think I'll wear it to church on Sunday.

I saw a pair of similar earrings on a friend and decided that I could most definitely make some myself. I rooted through my box of beads/supplies and put these together. I also made a pale blue pair... I'll get them back from Jill at some point and will take a pic of them. The white ones are fresh water pearls and the bright blue ones are just plain glass beads. The pale blue ones I made that Jill is wearing are made from shell.

I also did a major over-haul of my living room. It just wasn't working the way it was so the pieces that I could move, got moved (my arm chair and ottoman, my bookcase and my sewing table). I think the living room flows much better! I'm going to do a little bit of a dinette switcheroo in a bit... my air conditioner is moving into the living room (I made room for it by moving my sewing desk)... which will free up more space behind the kitchen table! Yay for space and simplifying things.

Jill and I are going out in a bit so I should go get ready.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-05-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Its been an industrious afternoon here.

Auntie Gloria and I put our heads together earlier this week and I've spent the last few days tackling Vegan Amish bread... and I think I won! The recipe for you vegan-folk will follow this post. I made a traditional sourdough starter that uses water instead of the Amish Bread starter that requires milk. I substituted tofu for the egg and then used coconut milk for the milk that the recipe calls for. The final product tastes a bit tart... a little more sour than regular Amish Bread but its still delicious! I'm so glad that this is something my vegan friend and I can enjoy together!

Church this morning was good. Thank goodness people were so good about leaving me be about my seizure. I had a few words with our minister who swore that cameras would 'be as far as the east is from the west' from me from now on. Its a good thing to hear, lets hope its true. Sunday school was good. We had two kids and did a great Mother's Day card craft while we talked about all the rad mothers in the bible.

Jill and I just got back from taking mom a nice, big white chrysanthemum at work. She was surprised and tickled pink. She loves 'mums! I told her that every mom needs a mum and she agreed!

I'm on my way to bed.

Moving Forward with Joy!

-----------------------------

Vegan Amish Bread

Mix well:
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour

Add:
1 Tbsp yeast

Let sit two days, stir once every twelve hours to prevent a crust from forming. (I didn't stir it often enough and ended up with a crust so I just peeled it off and threw it away. No harm, no foul)

Will smell tangy, watch for bubbles and foam

After two days, stir down (mine was pretty flat by this point), and add:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sugar

Let sit twelve hours

Stir down and add 1/3 cup white sugar

Let sit for 20 minutes, then

Whip:
3/4 cup tofu plus 2 tbsp water until all lumps disappear (I found I still had little itty bitty lumps but over all, just make sure the water and tofu are well blended)

Add:
Yeast mixture
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce (I'm allergic to apples so I used another 1/2 cup oil)
1/2 cup coconut milk (make sure to stir the milk before adding it to the mixture)
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 large box vegan instant vanilla pudding (I found that the Jello brand vanilla pudding is vegan, so I used that).

Mix well

Prepare two loaf pans with either vegan cooking spray or vegan margarine (I used margarine).
Mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon and coat bottom and sides of loaf pans with it.

Pour batter into loaf pans, coating the tops with remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture

Bake at 325*F for 1 hour

2010-05-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Had a great day today.

Jill and I got together to fill up mom's planters on the back patio and the front porch. We had SO much fun and I think the final product looks pretty good, too. Today was the only day it would work for Jill and I to get together to put together her Mother's Day gift... and I think it was worth the effort.

I just got a call from mom. She got home late (10pm) from a meeting and wanted to tell me how much she loves all her new plants! I'm so glad she likes 'em!

We did these three huge planters...

Plus four hanging baskets...

Plus two smaller planters and two of Jill's old boots and finally the "coffee's not my cup of tea" mug. (We had a few extra plants... thankfully Jill had an old pair of boots that were worn through and then we found the broken mug!)

If I'm already going over to mom and dad's then I often take my laundry over, too, because its cheaper then doing it in the communal laundry room in my building. Today was such a beautiful day that I dried almost two full loads of laundry on their line. My clothes smell like sunshine and manure!! Such a good scent!

That's all for now. Bed is calling.

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-05-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Its late, late, late right now (3am). I made the mistake of taking a nap this afternoon and now, by gum, I can't sleep. *grumble* Its my own fault, though.

Things here are good. I took a walk down memory lane earlier today. I bought some yogourt that tasted exactly like the kind mom used to buy when we were kids. She'd buy plain yogourt and we'd flavour it with vanilla extract and a bit of sugar. This tastes much like that but is pre-mixed. I've been on the hunt for some good yogourt that isn't full of chemicals and gelatine. I'm not vegetarian or anything and I don't oppose gelatine on a moral level... I just don't want it in my yogourt! Its one thing to eat it in stuff like marshmallows, 5cent candies and Jello, but I don't think it belongs anywhere near something that's supposed to be healthy!

I asked a few of my crunchy friends where a yogourt without gelatine might exist and they directed me to the Olympia brand or Balkan-style... and gosh, does it ever make a difference. Now, these yogourts aren't exactly low-fat! But for the little yogourt I eat, its nice to know that I'm not eating something thickened with gelatine!

Oh, and I just discovered that my medication capsules are actually made of gelatine. How delicious. Oh well... c'est la vie.

I had my last morning in the AJ Towing office today. It went well but was really quiet. I took two calls. One call was for a tow and the other was a question about a car that was in impound. I dispatched the truck but gave the secretary the call about the car in impound since that's not something I'll deal with while on night shift. I'm going to meet their night dispatcher on Saturday (she covers the weekends) and have coffee with her at her house and hope that the lines are busy. They said they won't have me work during 'rotation', thankfully. Rotation is when the RCMP uses us for all their tow jobs and lasts two weeks out of every six. Apparently its pretty nuts during that time!

Worship practice tonight went well, too. Everyone was super good about not harassing me about Sunday and my siesta con the church floor. They were overly interested in my new job but that's a million times better then having to re-hash my seizure from each point of view. I don't know if one of them reads this blog or if they're just experienced enough to know I'm a bigger fan of just 'moving on'... at any rate, hello to which ever one of you is reading my blog! teehee.

Frig. I'm not the least bit tired. Time to do some dishes. Maybe chores will make me sleepy! Here's hoping!

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-05-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hello again!

Its been a busy couple of days.

I did two half-days, yesterday and today, learning how to be a dispatcher. Its going really well and I answered my first call today. It was a steep learning curve but I managed it with loads of help from Megan (their day-time dispatcher). I'll go back tomorrow morning and will try again. I know I can do this, its just a matter of practicing.

I'm 100% recovered from my flop on the church floor on Sunday. I have a little scratch on my left index finger from the floor tile that'll take a while to heal but seriously, if that's my biggest problem then really, what do I have to complain about?

I've had a bunch of calls from people at church, wanting to be sure I'm ok and pleading with me to forgive our minister for his mistake. It makes me wonder seriously how much of a hard-hearted bitch people take me for! Of course I'll forgive him. Gosh, if I was angry at everyone who ever triggered a seizure, I'd be a really miserable person. I don't have room in my life for that kind of baggage! Jeepers, people.

I've spoken to our minister a couple times and sent him an email, just to stress how much I don't blame him. Sure, he made a less-than-wise move by bringing a camera to church but like I said in my last post, people who are in my daily life still make the same mistake. It takes a lot more than a camera flash to make me hate someone! He's incredibly remorseful and I can tell he still feels bad. I suppose that's natural but I don't like adding to people's guilt.

The part I hate the most, even more than waking up on the floor, is having to deal with a group of people for the first time post-seizure. All they want to do is tell me about my seizure and how they either helped, didn't help, were shocked, dismayed or horrified. I have to re-live the seizure through their eyes about a dozen times and it just makes me mad at myself for putting these amazing people through the trials of a seizure. So I listen to them tell me all of this and then they usually finish by telling me how much they admire me. Its very sweet of them to tell me that they admire and respect me but I can't help but wonder why I can't just have the respect without them having to see me at my absolute worst. *sigh*

Well, onward and upward. There's no sense wallowing in any of this. Its helpful to get it off my chest, though!

I think I'm heading to mom and dad's so dad and I can work on my buffet and hutch with dad. Its really coming together! I can't wait til its finished and I can post pics! First I need to call Jenny, though. Gotta catch up with her.

Moving forward with joy!

2010-05-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks.

Hope you're all doing great.

Had a bit of an incident at church today. The minister forgot the 'no camera' rule in the sanctuary and took a picture of the Sunday School kids during children's time. I was at the back of the church and didn't see the camera but boy did I see the flash. I was out like a light bulb and woke up post-seizure to Ali rubbing my back telling me I'd had a seizure and she'd take me home after I'd recovered enough to walk. Joy of joys.

Just got a call from our Minister who apologized profusely and swears it'll never happen again. I can tell he feels pretty crappy about it... and I'm not about to make him feel any worse.

I know he said it'll never happen again, and its nice of him to say that, but I know that it isn't true. It might not be him next time, but it'll be someone else. Its just a reality of my life. Everyone tries their best to remember me and my photo sensitivity but people will always forget. Unless you're close to me, its easy to forget about seizures and all that related drama. And even people who ARE close to me forget from time to time.

The reality is that I see our minister once a week and we don't generally have a lot to say to each other - he stands up and preaches and then that's it. If I have a pressing concern that I need him to be aware of, I'll email him. But that's it. So I don't fault him for forgetting that I have seizures (even though there's about a dozen "no camera" signs posted everywhere in our church). There's a lot of stuff on a minister's plate and he's generally pretty good about remembering but it slipped his mind this time.

I only have a hard time with forgiveness when its someone who I have just directly explained the camera rule to, who then goes and takes a picture anyway. I still forgive but it takes work in those instances.

The only part I ever get upset over is that the count-down for my drivers license starts at zero again. I was five months seizure-free this time! A good number, but no where close to the 18 to 24 months I need for the doctor to give it back to me. I'll get it back one day.

Life goes on, though. I'm going to go lay down again.

Hope you're all well.

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-04-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hello!!

I've got some exciting news-

I got a job!

Yay!

Its a part-time gig as a night dispatcher for a tow-truck company. I know that's totally random but we have connections through one of mom's friends. I start training on Monday. There's going to be a lot to learn as I'm not too savvy about cars and trucks... but I can learn! And I will! I'm really looking forward to the challenge and the extra money each month. I've got a few things I'm saving for - a flight to Halifax, a new computer and then I just want to have some money in savings for once. What a novel concept, eh? This is definitely a step in the right direction towards coming off of disability altogether. One foot in front of the other!

I think my trip to Halifax last month was a real turning point for me. I decided while I was there that it was time for me to get a job, even if its just a small one like the one I got. I also made decisions about how to restructure several relationships in my life... and I came to the conclusion that God's got his own plans for romance in my life and I should just take my time and focus on Him while I'm waiting. Not that I've been unhappy with the lack of romantic stuff in my life but sometimes I think it would be nice!

Oooh, I picked up some tofu yesterday for the first time. I'm going egg-free (ever worsening allergies) so I plan to experiment with tofu in baking. My vegan friend and I want to do some baking but its quite the chore to accommodate both of our dietary restrictions. I think we'll bake some vegan brownies... seems safe enough! I'll let you know how it goes! Will pick up some vegan margarine tonight.

I need to go practice guitar and get ready for my lesson tonight. Jill and I are going out for supper before hand (*so excited*) and then we'll pick up a few groceries afterwards. I'm house sitting for the next four days and it'll be nice for there to be food in the house that I can actually eat.

Hope you're all well.

Moving forward with Joy!

2010-04-21T18:10:00.001-07:00

Hello folks.

Well, I'm gettin' ready for Christmas! I know, I know, how sick is that? I don't even like Christmas! I mean, I like the whole 'baby Jesus in a manger, the Saviour of the World' bit but not the mass consumerism and the pressure to buy things. What I mean is that I've figured out what my 'mass produced' gift will be. I have about a dozen or so friends that I love dearly who buy me a gift each year and while I'd love to buy them each something original, I simply can't afford it. And even if I could, I'd be buying into that consumerism garbage I was just railing against. So I look for something that's relatively easy to make, that's affordable, that's worth making and that I think people will either love or will say "oh, there she goes again, trying to suck into her tree-huggin' cult". This last Christmas I made flannel cozies for bricks... you heat the bricks up in the oven, tuck them into their cozies and then put them at the foot of your bed to keep you warm all night. I got a lot of strange looks from people this year but everyone who tried it has reported back to me that they love it. I know that flannel itself is NOT a green earth-friendly fibre and bricks are made using all kinds of chemicals but that's not the point, people! But ya know, I saved a lot of electricity this year, I didn't have to have my bedroom heater on at all this winter!

So my I think my project this year is going to be these: http://www.snacktaxi.com/ They're really quite adorable and can be used in boxed lunches to carry anything from loose snacks like cereal or chips to cookies to sandwiches, etc. Fortunately for me, the Snack Taxi website gives really clear descriptions of each item (including measurements and fabric choices). I've made a couple of them out of just plain cotton but the real-deal is lined with PUL (a plastic-y type of durable cloth used in diaper covers). I have some of it at home that I'll bust out. I'm going to borrow mom's serger to spare the poor zig-zag function on my sewing machine and I'll continue to experiment. Just think, I could have all of these little gems finished for Christmas in a month or two from now. Ah yes, the sweet smell of pre-planning.

I'm off to mom and dad's shortly for supper. We were hoping to have aunt Bev join us but she's still driving from Jasper and won't be with us til much later tonight... then I think she's headed back to the island tomorrow. Bummer.

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-04-14T23:57:00.001-07:00

Hello folks.

Its been a busy few weeks here.

Spring cleaning has been my most pressing concern. I attacked my bedroom today with vigour and brought it back to order. Its really a dumping ground for the rest of my apartment and easily gets overwhelmed with stuff (mostly yarn, fabric and laundry!). I'm pleased to report that I won't be tripping over anything in the middle of the night and I have another box of stuff for the Salvation Army thrift store. Always makes me feel good to get rid of stuff.

You guys know I love all things green. I found this blog a few days ago and keep meaning to post a link to it: http://givegreenatry.wordpress.com/

I frequent the Mothering.com message boards (even though I'm not married and have no children) and found this gal there in the "buy nothing challenge" boards. Its quite the challenge - to buy nothing but absolute necessities for an entire month. I'm already pretty good at not exceeding my budget for stuff but it might be a rewarding dare to myself. Maybe for May? Reading what these ladies are saying about simplifying things and coming to terms with North American overspending on stuff that ultimately doesn't make us happy... its really thought-provoking.

I hope you're all doing well.

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-03-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well hello!

Things here are goin' pretty good.

Auntie Gloria came over for tea this morning and we gabbed away!

I'm just thinking about heading over to Liquidation World - Auntie Gloria was just there and found a lot of awesome stuff. Michelle said they've got "method" brand hand soap on sale... I've been looking for a scent-free liquid hand soap that isn't anti-bacterial. Pretty hard to find, apparently! Michelle said that Method soap is pretty good for that. Will see what I can find.

I also got some nice pictures developed from my trip so I framed a few of them in my bathroom and I have a nice one of me at Peggy's Cove with the lighthouse that I'm framing for mom and dad. I also got a copy of it for me. I'm really looking forward to hanging it in my bathroom. A strange place for pictures of lighthouses, maybe, but I find I can hang random pictures in there and it won't disturb the rest of the decor/mood of my house. Will see if Liquidation World has picture frames, too.

Dad and I are making uber progress on my buffet and hutch. We're trying to figure out what we want the hutch to look like. I'm taking suggestions - let me know if there's a hutch design that you like! Dad's done a ton of work on it and I'm so excited to be helping (at his direction!).

My date with the dentist yesterday was fantastic, in the most sarcastic sense. I had a cavity to be filled but when they ground it away (kinda reminds me of the smell of burnt horse hoof) they found a second cavity. Shame on me! I forgot completely about those gigantic needles they use to freeze your mouth/face with. Yikes. I'm glad I forgot!! Lets hope it'll be another five years before I get another cavity.

Should get a move on.

Moving Forward with Joy

2010-03-28T12:04:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Just got home from church. It was a very uplifting service. There's still a lot of missing people but I continue to listen, pray, not get involved in the craziness and am following Willem. Its a plan that seems to be working! I helped with Sunday School, we had two kids. The lesson was on the 10 commandments and we did some activities and crafts. All told, a good morning.

Mom, dad and Jill are coming over tonight for supper. I'm going to give them their little gifts and spend quality time together. I'm making homemade tomato soup - I found the recipe online that calls for canned tomatoes (the kind I can actually eat!) and its quite delicious (so long as I remember to take out the bay leaf and not accidentally mince it in the soup! whoops!). I've got some cleaning to do and then I'll start the soup. Its a quick one, takes about an hour to make, all told.

I've had quite a hard time adjusting to the new time zone plus catching up on sleep after my 26 hour day on Wednesday/Thursday. That was more than I could bear plus the plugged ears and sinus infection. I'm glad to be doing better. Thanks to Dr. Fitzpatrick at the Chilliwack Emerg for medicating me!

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello!!

I'm so pleased to report that my trip to Nova Scotia and back have been seizure-free. Thank you to all of you who prayed for me and my safety and for 'traveling mercies'.

The trip home was painful and exhausting. I've managed to acquire a sinus infection that blocked my ears in the most painful manner. After we dropped Jen off, mom and dad took me to Emerg so I could get something for the pain and for some antibiotics. The trip was very long... we didn't leave Halifax until 3:40pm local time... and we arrived in Chilliwack at 11pm local time. Which was closer to 3am for Jen and I. We were both completely done and could have sat down and cried. Well, I could have. Jen was stoic and did get little bits of sleep. I was unable - my ears were screaming at me.

Mom and dad surprised me with a few additions to my house - cleaned carpets (did you know that I have light blue rugs?! I thought they were a medium grey!). Mom cleaned all my windows and dad built me the most fantastic over-the-toilet storage cabinet. I love it! Dad also fixed my bi-fold closet doors, built me brand new fantastic shelves for my storage closet and a set of shelves for my coat closet. And he fixed my cutlery drawer so it won't fall out when you go to grab a fork! All told, pretty freakin' fantastic! It was better than Christmas!

I'm doing some computer 'house keeping' and then I plan to reorganize my bathroom with what little energy I have left. It'll be early to bed for me.

Again, thanks for the prayers and thoughts. You guys all had a hand in making this trip a success. I can't wait to go again... will have to save my pennies!

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-03-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well, I'm all packed here, my suitcases are in the van. I'm ready to go. We don't leave for a couple of hours which is great - I plan to relax.

Its been a really wonderful and memorable trip. Being the 'auntie tree' for the kids to climb all over and bruise, colouring with Shea, tickling Eli, smothering Rowan with kisses. Sharing tea with my two 'Jenny-poo's', making meals together... doing dishes at super sonic speeds while Jenny isn't there to stop me! Getting the kids ready for bed so mom can read 'em stories and tuck 'em in. Being woken up at inhuman hours by two blurry faces (just til I get my glasses on!) and having them pester me into playing duplo or cars or horses. Josh's fantastic sense of humour!!! And Jenny's laugh. Aww, I'll miss that laugh.

Yesterday was the icing on the cake, Peggy's Cove. It was pouring rain, stiff freezing winds. It was perfect! The lighthouse was deserted - we were the only ones there, dressed in our winter woolies. I took a bunch of pictures... including the one at the top of this post.

I should get a move on. See if I can be helpful.

I'll be seein' some of you pretty soon! I get in late, late tonight.

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-03-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

Its been a quiet day in the McEwen house. Well... 'quiet' meaning 'not busy'. Not 'silent' at all - its been pretty loud here!

I forgot to blog earlier about Jenny's party at the in-laws last night. I think I mentioned the atlantic lobster dinner (yum!) but I didn't mention the part about the cake. I searched high and low here with the help of the folks at the grocery store for sour cherries to make the pie filling for Auntie Gloria's black forest cake but there was no such luck. Instead we bought pre-made pie filling. A total disappointment! And Jenny didn't have round cake pans so instead I made two 9X13" cakes (doubled the recipe). The cake traditionally has three layers but I found that two layers also works in a pinch. The cake was delightful, even with the bought pie filling. The German guys staying with the in-laws ate huge pieces and everyone told me how great it was! Thanks Auntie Gloria!!!

On the way home, Shea sang for at least 10 minutes about how good the cake was... she went into great detail about the gooey cherry pie filling and the sweet whipping cream and the soft chocolate cake... and on and on and on. It was so funny. I don't think I've ever heard someone sing about a cake!!

Well, that's all for now.

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-03-22T06:54:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone.

Its a cloudy day in the town of Head of Jeddore. They're forcasting rain for the next couple days... which is really good because we want to go to Peggy's Cove tomorrow to see the lighthouse. We're going after spring break is over here, on a week day and if its raining on top of all that then maybe it'll be deserted so I can get some good flash-free pics of the lighthouse.

Shea and I have had the opportunity to play 'horses' a couple of days in a row now... she's got a zillion different horses so I got one, a flying unicorn and she got the saddle horse. Unfortunately the big scary monster got to the saddle horse before my flying unicorn could get to her. The monster ate the saddle horse's heart and ran off... as gruesome as that is, its a good thing my flying unicorn was hot on the heels of the monster and carried a roll of duct tape. We saved the poor saddle horse's missing heart and wound with duct tape and unicorn kisses. I mean, really, of course that would work! Josh said Red Green would be proud!!

We went to the in-laws last night for supper - atlantic lobster! It was quite the experience. Even though I've had lobster twice it was still confusing and frustrating but SO worth it! They have two German teenagers staying with them... their cousins. One of them has been here for the past year going to school and the other lad is this guys cousin, a close friend. They're both hilarious and even the kid who came from Germany just yesterday's english was pretty decent.

I'm not sure what all we'll get up to today. I'm still sick. Ugh. Two more sleeps. I'm dreading leaving here but also looking forward to coming home. I'm going to miss Jenny SO much, Josh and the kids, too. Jenny's talking about maybe coming out west in a year or so to see her folks. That would be nice!

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

2010-03-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

I just had the pleasure of watching Shea give her new barbie-style horse's mane a trim. Fortunately she got it at Value Village so its not such a crisis but she was so careful with it. Adorable.

The kids and I baked Jenny's birthday cake this morning. We doubled the recipe and made 2 9x13" pans... its going to be black forest cake (Auntie Gloria's recipe) but she didn't have round cake pans so we'll make it two layers instead of three and they'll be sheet-cake sized. Ah well, ya gotta make do. To top that off, they don't have jarred sour cherries anywhere near here... I had to buy pre-fab cherry pie filling. (YIK!) At least the whipping cream is the real deal. I should have listened to my instinct and brought a jar of cherries with me. Oh well. Jenny's happy either way. I also forgot to buy marashino cherries to decorate it with but Jenny does have bakers chocolate I can grate onto the top. Its going to be my best attempt with limited resources. teehee.

Lunch is pretty quick. I cooked a Demerse-raised chicken last night but it came out of the oven so late that we ended up not eating it... we're picking it apart for chicken sandwhiches today. Jenny made fresh bread for the sandwiches, too. YUM!

I have come down with a fantastic head cold that's starting to feel more like a sinus infection. I'm hoping to wait until I come back to see the doctor but we're taking it day by day. I went to bed uber early last night and slept reasonably well until 3:30am... I took an antihistamine which cleared up my stuffed up nose enough for me to fall back asleep. I hope my blocked ears clear enough so that the flight home isn't painful.

Should get a move on!

Moving forward with Joy.

2010-03-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Good Morning folks.

Hope you guys are all good.

We've just finished a late morning cuppa tea and are getting ready to start lunch. Not sure what that'll look like but I'm sure inspiration will strike.

There's been a minor war over Shea's new glasses. Apparently Eli likes them more than Shea does. It was bound to happen, I suppose. The 'cool' factor has worn off... she's not too inclined to wear them. But she does look adorable in them!

Eli managed to make a disaster of all of Josh's special card games... I'm sure he'll be thrilled (not). Oh, they're playing hide and go seek now! Jenny and I were both wondering where they get their energy from. teehee.

Shea woke up aunty Deedee this morning. As much as I groan when I hear the bedroom door open, I think I'll miss it when I go home. The chaos is beautiful in its own maddening way!

Not sure what all we'll get up to today. We need milk so we'll head out to the store at some point this afternoon.

2010-03-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Hope you guys are doin' good.

Things here are pretty rockin'.

Josh is just getting ready for work, Shea is on a sleep-over at her grandparents, Jenny is sweeping up cookie crumbs with Rowan on her back, Jen is fast asleep and I'm sitting here writing you, waiting for my tea to cool.

Yesterday was Jenny's birthday and gosh did we ever have a good time! Jen, Josh and I stayed up late and cleaned like mad so that Jenny awoke to a sparkling house. They let me loose with crepe paper streamers... I used all four rolls. Needless to say, this place is very colourful!

Jenny opened her gifts and loved them all!

I didn't end up going to dinner with all of them because we ate egg-based pancakes for breakfast. I didn't even think to ask about their egg content. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in the bathroom, wishing someone would save me from my misery. ugh. I'm all better today, though.

It'll be a chill day here. We might go into Porter's Lake to pick up Shea's glasses after we pick her up from her sleep over.

I'm going to go drink my tea.

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

We've had an adventureous couple of days.

Yesterday's adventure took us back to Musquodoboit Harbour to Jenny's in-laws for hamburgers for supper... it was lovely to chat and see everyone. The kids adore their grandparents! And its clear that the grandparents adore the kids!!

We came home from there, put the kids to bed and then hung out for a bit. Josh restarted the fire (quite the production with green wet wood) so he threw out all the old ash... there was a cloud of dust that came up out of the garbage but the lid closed... and the 'dust' kept pouring out the sides of the garbage can! I opened it to see red embers sizzling at the bottom of the can with huge clouds of smoke rising into my face. I took the garbage can outside while Jenny got a few bowls of water and we put the fire out - laughing all the way!

I brought the second season of Little Mosque on the Prairie so we watched a bit of that and ate ice cream - yum!

Today our adventures took us to Hailfax. We left early this morning and headed into Dartmouth and across the toll bridge - so great and SO beautiful. Halifax has so many cool old buildings and the neatest shops. I got some shopping down and took a few pictures. Might get a chance to upload them after the kids go to bed. Jen took a whole bunch so if you're on facebook then you can look at them on her page.

We made our way down to the harbour to get fish and chips but the minute we turned the corner Jenny spotted a few people with cameras. That was a dealbreaker for me... Jenny walked me back to the car and we waited there for Josh, Jen and the kids. They said that the good part of the harbour was closed off and there weren't many tall ships parked so it didn't take them long to hoof it back to us. We hit up McDonald's for lunch. Kind of a disappointing alternative to Fish and Chips!! That's ok, its the company that counts. A good time was had by all!

We'll have a snack-y supper... none of us are really hungry. I'm just thirsty! They have great well water here. It doesn't taste all that different from Chilliwack. Thank goodness. I had visions of me having to drink abbotsford-type water for two weeks. That's SO not the case. Delicious! Jenny said its a drilled well.

Hope you're all well.

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hello!

We've just returned from shopping in Porter's Lake. Shea picked out her first glasses, they'll be ready in a week (not sure why, the lenses might have to be brought in from afar). I got to stay in the van with Eli while he slept... that was a blessing since he really has a hard time in stores, wanting things he can't have. Jenny says that Shea's glasses are rectangular square metal ones in a ravishing shade of raspberry

We went to Superstore afterwards and did some shopping. Its waaaay nicer than the Superstore in Chilliwack! And they bag your groceries for you - a real treat! I tried to find sour cherries so Jen and I can make Jenny's birthday cake. They didn't have any but in the process of finding that out I got a tour of the store and was told a few stories about how my tour guide (just a store clerk) made cherry pie for her family when she was 11 in Ontario and didn't realize that the pits needed to be removed! I thanked her for both the story and the tour and told her that the people at Superstore in Chilliwack aren't half as friendly and helpful. She laughed and said "you're in the Maritimes, dear, get used to it!"

I couldn't help but crack up!

Doug and Monika just called and have invited us for supper. Gotta get a move on!

Better get a move on!

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Things here continue to truck along.

We went to Dartmouth yesterday and looked around at some of the stores. I picked up a ball of yarn to engage in what Michelle calls 'the spiritual practice of crocheting'.

We're headed back to Dartmouth to buy glasses for Shea, her first pair. She's excited about them but I suspect she'll hate them after a while... we all do!

Sorry this is so short, I'm going to go have a cuppa tea and some breakfast.

Moving forward with joy!

2010-03-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks!

Yesterday was another chill day here. We didn't get up to too much, just got to enjoy each other's company. It was great.

The kids and I did crafts - collages. It was mostly Shea and I but Eli joined us after a bit.

Shea has another wiggly tooth so I imagine the toothfairy will make a visit while we're here.

We're off to Dartmouth today to do some looking around and shopping. Will update later.

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-13T07:06:00.001-08:00

Hello to my friends and family!

Things here continue to truck along really well. Am having a really fantastic time.

Yesterday was a chill day. We went to "abba" and "amma's" house last night for supper. (That's what the kids call their Grandma and Grandpa). It was delicious and the company was good. They have their 17 y/o relative (of some description... maybe a cousin or nephew) Theo staying with them. He's an exchange student from Germany and is hilarious!

Eli and I did some baking yesterday. I'm pro-star at baking with kids after all my experience with A. Fortunately all he wanted to do was stir and eat the batter. Thank to Auntie Gloria for sending me the instructions for Amish Bread. I brought the starter with me but forgot the recipe. Whoops! I also divided the started so we got four loaves out of the deal. I only brought one box of instant pudding so for one batch we had to use instant custard. Everyone says it turned out really great. I haven't tasted it yet.

Jenny is currently doing battle with Shea in the shower. tee hee. They don't have a bath tub here so its a bit of a production to get the kids clean. Eli loves the shower and hops at any opportunity to shower but Shea is another story.

Not sure what kinds of shenanigans we'll get up to today. We're about to have a discussion about that once the kids are out of the shower and Jenny has dried off!

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-03-12T05:25:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks!

Its a quiet morning in the McEwen house. Shea has gone to school, Eli is watching a movie and Rowan is chillin' with dad.

I took these pictures yesterday and hope to take more tomorrow.

The top picture is of Shea riding her 'horse' Brusa. Its adorable! She plays with that swing like its a real horse. Brusa even has a bridle, bit and reigns. Its really a bright pink jump rope. Three cheers for imagination!

A cozy family - Jenny, Josh and Rowan

Shea washing her horse. Jenny said she does this often. She also checks her feet (which are really the stirups - sp?) and takes her to the farrier. It was adorable and also kinda sad - she really would love to work with a real horse. She's slightly obsessed... reminds me of someone else I know... teehee. .

Shea asked me if I had a sister. I said yes, her name is Jill. Shea's eyes got really big and I said "the farrier". Shea nodded and said "yes, she takes care of the horses and their feet!"

My heart melted.

Rowan on Jenny's back.

Eli sneeking ice to throw at Brusa, the horse swing... much to Shea's shegrin.

Will take more pictures today and write more tomorrow. Its still super early for you guys but I hope you all have a good day.

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Well folks! Good morning to you!

Just to put you all at ease, I made it safely to Jenny's humble abode seizure-free!!!

The flight was uneventful. We stopped in Edmonton and Toronto and then got off in Halifax... it was quite the day flying over the Rocky Mountains, the prairies, the great lakes (or just one lake). Jen and I had our row to ourselves on our way to Edmonton (it was a surprise to go to Edmonton, we thought we were flying to Calgary). Jen slept a bit on the way to Edmonton and then we both crashed for an hour on top of each other on the 3.5 hour flight to Toronto. Jen brought travel scrabble and that kept us amused after we woke up.

The flight attendants were fantastic! The one gal kept things lively and interesting while they did the safety proceedures, etc - it was quite funny. When we boarded she looked at our boarding passes and said "you guys are with us all the way..." in a way that made us laugh. She even pointed us out to the rest of the 120 people on the plane "we brought these two all the way from Abbotsford!"

Jen and I were so stunned when we arrived in Halifax. We waited and were some of the last people to get off the plane. Jenny and Josh were there waiting for us. I had just stepped through the doors to the greeting area when I heard Jenny shout "Camera!!", I closed and covered my eyes and was the assualted by people trying to protect me. Jenny lead me out of the airport and Jen and Josh picked up our luggage.

It was SOOO good to see Jenny! I woke up this morning and couldn't believe where I was. Its so unreal! We had breakfast not that long ago and watched the kids make paintings. Loads of fun. Its so good to be here in the chaos. We had a morning cuppa tea - very peaceful! I brought my big teapot with me, its so awesome to be drinking tea out of it with 'my girls'. Jenny's teapot isn't big enough for all of us plus my pot is perfectly seasoned. :o)

My heart is so happy to be here but I'm still a-prayin' for my Cooke's family.

I should get goin' but I hope to post pictures in the next couple of days.

Chat soon.

Moving forward with Joy

2010-03-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hello folks!

Well, I'm almost done packing. I've got a few things left on my list and that will all come together in the next couple of hours... some stuff is frozen and that'll have to wait til tomorrow, I'll pack it last minute (like the frozen chicken I'm taking with me!).

I can't tell you all how thankful I am for your prayers. This is a very anxious time for me and it means a lot that you guys are lifting up my flight and safety in your prayers.

I found out today that mom can see me safely onto the plane... that's a huge relief for both me and mom and dad. I also was told that I can ask for 'pre-boarding' so that I can talk to the flight attendants so they're all aware of my situation and my anxieties. Plus, that way they won't be caught off guard if I have a seizure during flight. I'm praying against seizures for this entire trip but most importantly for the flights.

I'm looking at my nearly-packed suitcases and I'm just so freakin' excited I can't hardly think straight enough to type at the same time.

And for those of you who are following my 'swear jar' (I gave up swearing for Lent)... the tally as of last night was $13.25. I've practically eliminated all the really foul words and am working on the smaller 'offensive' words. This chunk of scripture is on the wall in the church office. "... Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Phillipians 4:8) I've been trying to think on those things when I'm fed-up and want to curse. Let me tell you, I've come up with some creative ways to express frustration!

I'm going to sign off for now. This time tomorrow I'll be safely in Nova Scotia!

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-03-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

Hello folks!

The service today was good. There were 74 people for worship this morning. I had the Sunday school class so I don't know what the sermon was like (we had one kid in Sunday School - an improvement on last week). At the beginning of the service our Minister read a message from Presbytery. Presbytery is the regional grouping of churches (the entire upper and lower Fraser Valley).... they sort of oversee things going on in all the churches here. They got wind of the trouble that's going on and are forming a committee to deal with what's going on at Cooke's. I don't think anyone is sure what Presbytery will say or do or decide. I don't think there's any sense in worrying - but still, everything that's happening plus Presbytery's visit is distressing.

There's still an awful lot of finger-pointing. People are trying to assign blame on one person or group of people when really, the problem/situation is systemic. We're all somehow involved and somehow guilty.

There were a few choir members who joined us in the pews today but I'd say about 90% of the choir have chosen to go elsewhere. We were missing about a quarter of the congregation. It wasn't as bad as many had feared. There were a couple people who showed up this morning just to say their goodbyes and then left, claiming that they'll never come back. I didn't realize that that's what was going on until I saw one gal leave the room in tears. Her two friends came to say goodbye.

I was pleased so see so many familiar faces, though they were all very grim. I tried to worship God with as much joy as I could muster. Its hard when faced with something so difficult... but isn't this exactly when God calls us to worship Him? When we're faced with something we can't see our way through, shouldn't we just leave it in God's hands and worship him with thankful hearts that we have someone to care for us?

I had supper at mom and dad's - dad made my favourite - a salt-packed roast. So Good! It isn't at all salty... its kinda hard to explain but it sure is delicious. I might take the recipe with me to Jenny's and make it for her and the family! Jill and I ran errands after supper - a few groceries and snacks for our flight.

My Elder is coming over tomorrow morning for tea so I ought to go do the dishes that are waiting for me in the sink.

Moving Forward with Joy.

2010-03-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Just getting the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. It'll be a miracle if there's any kids. If they do show up, the lesson is on Noah's Ark and we'll be doing a paper craft.

Things here are going reasonably well. Got a ranting email from one of the ladies in the church choir this afternoon. She sent it to a bunch of other people. Its quite... interesting.

I talked to Jenny today before I went over and hung out with A. Jenny is so excited about us visiting. She's got her house in order... I called her while she was making space for all of us to sit at the dining room table. Four sleeps!!!

I'm heading over to mom and dad's on Monday afternoon to do up all my laundry, then I can pack it away on Tuesday afternoon. Then Friday I hop on a plane and fly across the country!

Time to think about bed.

Moving Forward with Joy.

P.S. I trust that it was ok with everyone that I removed the music from my blog. I decided that it would be best, so that my relatives on dial-up would be able to read my blog while I'm gone.

2010-03-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers and notes of encouragement since my last post. Its been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. The shock is starting to wear away and I'm pretty devastated for my church. My aunt in Alberta shared a tidbit of wisdom that was passed on to her during a similar situation... she told me that every time a group of people leave the church, God brings in a new bunch. I hope and pray that this will be true for my church, though I still think its silly and sad that we've lost people at all.

I'm really looking forward to getting away for two weeks. I know that nothing will really change at church while I'm gone but, as my Auntie Gloria here mentioned, I need a break to look at this with fresh eyes. And who knows, maybe the people who are leaving in a huff will take a break and realize how much grace God really gives us to forgive who ever slighted us.

And reliable to a fault, whenever I'm uber stressed-out I loose my voice. I do believe I'm on my way there! Its kinda raspy today... I hope it lasts at least for tomorrow so that I can still answer phones. It might be asking too much to hope for my voice to last until next Tuesday for singing on Sunday and for my last shift at church before I head out to Halifax.

We're all getting so excited for our trip. Jenny's busy making up a room for us and for she mentioned doing some baking, too. I want to make some oatmeal molasses cookies to take with me to share - they're Jenny's favourite. I've got my packing list here and bought the last of the gifts for them today - just little things.

I'll do my best to blog and post pictures while I'm gone... that way you will all have a glimpse into my trip!

Moving Forward with Joy!

2010-03-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks.

Its been a sad few days here. Sad, confused and frustrated, actually.

There's a lot of heartbreaking stuff going on at my church (Cooke's)... a lot of bitter disagreements, anger and division. Its so complicated and everyone has a different version of the truth. There's both truth and deceptions in every different version that I hear. At first I thought it was my job to uncover the truth but after hearing five or six vastly different stories, I've decided that there's no sense talking to anyone else.

At the end of the day, we've lost our choir director/organist. Lines have been drawn and the choir and congregation are fit to be tied.

I guess what's upset me the most is the utter shock I feel. Until last Thursday, I had no idea any of this was going on. I knew that there were church politics but I didn't think it was anything earth shattering. The last ministers were friends of mine and they kept me pretty shielded from the evil stuff going on and after they left, the congregation has carefully left me out of it. I'm thankful to everyone who protected me from all this.

I spoke out of turn at the AGM on Sunday, not understanding what was going on, what the differing positions were. I upset a few people but that was certainly not my intention. I told them they were being silly. And maybe they are but they each believe their own version of the truth so strongly that it wasn't right of me to criticize. It would have been better for me to just sit and listen. I was upset to see perfectly intelligent Christian adults pointing fingers at each other and I thought that calling them out on their ridiculous games would be for the best, even though it wasn't. I came away from there confused above all but also hurt that these people whom I dearly love were slinging insults and conspiracies at each other... it was nothing like the 'brotherly love' they fake on Sundays. I saw true colours at that meeting in dark shades I didn't know existed.

After emailing a few wise people (friends and family) and getting their widely differing views on it, I prayed like I've never prayed before. Seriously, I've never come to God that broken before. It was humbling. I had some friends pray with me, both at the women's Bible Study last night and then with my dear friend Jen who prayed with such wisdom and insight. I went to bed still confused and calling out to God.

This morning was a whole new day! I woke with such peace in my heart. I got an email from my aunt and uncle in Alberta who cautioned me to not get involved, to not take a side, to just listen and pray. They also recommended that I follow our Minister and I plan to do just that. He's our shepherd and I'll trust that he's going to lead us with God in his heart. I know he's just a guy like the rest of us but I have faith that he's the right leader for this kind of chaos.

I'm volunteering at the church for two hours a day, three days a week until I leave for Halifax on the 10th. Today was my first day and it went great. Our secretary left me with a few jobs to do. I got them all done this morning so I asked our Minister if he has any little jobs that need to be done for tomorrow. I don't know if he will but I'll take my book and sit by the phone and wait for people to call just in case. We had one call today. I was nervous to answer but I did just fine. I'm experienced with cold calls, PYPS made me overcome that fear!!

I'm so excited about this trip! Only eight more sleeps! Jen and I told Jenny before church on Sunday morning. She shrieked in excitement for the next 25 minutes! It was so thrilling to listen to her!! haha. Jen and I are looking forward to celebrating her birthday with her. So now that the cat is out of the bag, I can tell you about my plans over the next few days.

Thank you to all of you guys who've been praying for me and my church. Please continue to pray that the evil that's passing from mouth to mouth at my church doesn't infect my heart. I need to read up on that spiritual armour stuff! Ya know, each of the people there are perfectly entitled to their opinions... I just wish they weren't so freakin' negative and awful to those who disagreed with them.

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Hope you're all doin' good.

Things here are good. Its been a moderately busy day.

I had tea with Auntie Gloria this morning - always a good time!

I did some shopping earlier this afternoon, picked up a few things at Liquidation World (like a shower radio for $1!) and popped by the Bookman to see what they had new (not that I need anything new to read!!). Was going to stop in at Logan's Hardware but they're moving to the old grocery store (Overwaitea, I think) on the corner of Mill and Victoria. They've been busy renovating. I'm going to call tomorrow to ask when they'll be open again (unless one of my avid readers knows when haha). They've done a great job with the old building! It looks really swanky now - much better then it did with all the random shops in it.

I've got myself another volunteer gig for the next two weeks. Our church secretary is leaving us so we're on the hunt for someone to replace her. In the meantime, I'll be answering the phones, directing traffic, receiving parcels and taking bookings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9 to 11am. It'll be good experience, I just hope I do a good job!

Our praise group will be getting some new music... six or seven new songs for us to start working on. I'm thrilled but I really was hoping for us to work on some brand-new songs that I don't already know. I already know all the ones we picked yesterday. Oh well, it'll be nice to work on some new stuff. We're starting with 'Come, Now is the Time to Worship' next Wednesday.

I should get a move on - I've got date squares to bake. One of the older gals passed away last week. I think she was 92. I joined the funeral baking group and got my first call last week - one pan of squares comin' up! I'll deliver them to the church tomorrow before 11. I figured date squares are easy enough... the date filling is cooling right now. I've also volunteered to help clean up at about 2:30/3ish after all the mourners have gone home. Better get bakin'!

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

Hello!

As you can see I gave my blog a bit of a face-lift... after an hour of playing with different backgrounds and editing various headers, I settled on this. Hope you like it!

Its been a quiet day.

I've been going great-guns on Rowan's crocheted rabbit. Its a real treat to make and the challenge that I've been looking for. I get a bit bored crocheting toques, mitts and scarves... this has been excellent - thinking outside the box again! I've got the entire front side of the rabbit done except for the ears and I've got her back and the back of one of the legs finished. I still have to do the arms (both sides) and both ears. I might have it all done tonight and can start stuffing it tomorrow. I forgot that I had clean carded wool in my closet so I'll use that to stuff Miss Bunny.

I talked to my friend's aunt who is a potter about making some pottery-buttons. I thought that would be totally organic and crunchy! She said she'll give me some clay and I can make them myself! I talked to my friend's mom who also made some buttons about the challenges involved and I'm really looking forward to it. Each bunny gets three buttons - two eyes and a belly button (quite literally a belly 'button' this time!). I'm so excited to give it a whirl.

I'm going to make some hot chocolate. I ate an early supper and am getting ready to go out with Jill for coffee after she eats some supper, too.

The casserole turned out great last night! It was SO good. I highly recommend it but be careful you don't overcook the hash browns... mine were just on the verge of being overdone and would have been mashed potatoes if I had cooked them any longer. I think the next time I make this I'll use my mixer/slicer and make the hash browns from scratch. Delicious.

Should get a move on.

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

I just put supper in the oven, a really yummy sounding hash brown bake with bacon, onions and peppers. The recipe will follow this note. It looks a lot healthier than the other hash brown bakes I came across that called for cream cheese or sour cream. I opted for the one that used a milk sauce thickened with flour.

I've come to the conclusion that my body really does hate eggs... and all the willpower in the world isn't going to make my histamines change their minds! Auntie Gloria has provided me with a really great looking egg desensitization protocol but for this to work I have to eliminate eggs from my diet altogether. I really hope this protocol works because I'm dying for a hard boiled egg!

So I was looking around for healthy egg-free breakfasts and this one looked pretty ok. Its a bit more work than I would go to on an average morning (actually its WAY more work than I would go to!) but it looked delicious enough for supper.

If anyone out there has egg-free breakfast ideas that don't involve cold store-bought cereals (ick) then let me know! Or any other egg-free recipes are good, for that matter! I have a chocolate cake recipe already but will clearly need to be experimenting with tofu as a binder in baking. One problem I find is that egg-free recipes often call for fruit like bananas or applesauce.

I'll forge ahead!

In other news, Jill went to the Corb Lund concert last night in Vancouver and had an absolute hoot! I think she went with some cousins and other friends but they're playing again tonight in Surrey so she's going again with some Farrier friends. There's a couple other people preforming tonight, too, like Dustin Bentall.

I started crocheting the rabbit I'm making Rowan based on the rabbit my Great-Grandma Nowlin made for me. I bought the wool yesterday and jumped in with both feet this afternoon... I had to make and re-make the face about half a dozen times before I worked out the pattern exactly. I figured it out eventually and am quite proud of myself now. The hard part is over (I hope, though the ears do look like that might pose somewhat of a challenge). Michelle is going to crochet one for Sebastien but I need to work out the kinks in the pattern before I can teach her.

Should get a move on, supper should be done shortly. Afterwards I'm going to attack the masses of cardboard I have stacked up in my storage closet... haha.

Talk to you soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hash Brown Casserole with Bacon

Ingredients

8 ounces bacon
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 lb frozen hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup snipped fresh chives
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Butter an 8-inch-square glass baking dish.

2. Cook bacon in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove slices; drain on a paper-towel-lined plate In same skillet over medium-low heat, cook onion and pepper in bacon dripping 8 minutes, until softened, stirring often.

3. Keep skillet at medium-low. Stir in flour. Slowly pour in milk, ½ cup at a time, stirring to incorporate smoothly with the flour. Cook until mixture thickens and comes to a simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Crumble bacon into mixture

4. Evenly spread potatoes in prepared dish. Top with half of the chives, 1 cup of the cheese, and the vegetable-bacon mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of cheese. Bake 40-50 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with remaining chives before cutting into squares.

http://www.recipezaar.com/hashbrown-casserole-with-bacon-and-cheddar-406719

2010-02-17T02:36:00.001-08:00

Hello folks!

I'm a bit of an insomniac these days so while I'm not sleeping, I thought I would write up a post on the latest happenings in my world!

Jill and her bff Sue popped over tonight for a movie night. We busted out the kleenex and watched "My Sister's Keeper". We all read the book and loved it and thought watching the movie would be a good idea. I've seen the movie twice before and bawled my way through it both times... Jill and Sue did an amazing job not sobbing. I was thankful that I could distract myself by making these mitts. I attempted to teach Sue to crochet a few months ago but it just wasn't her thing so she gifted me the yarn and hook and I whipped these together. Took about three hours - the pattern is my own design and they're really cozy and easy to make. I still have another ball of yarn so I'll whip her up a scarf, too.

Mom and dad hired me last week to go through their attic and decide what of my childhood stuff I wanted to keep. So much of it was just stored there after we moved to the farmhouse and most of it was forgotten. There was plenty of stuff to go through - books, stuffies, school work, toys, etc. At the end of each scholastic year dad would give us a box for all the stuff we wanted to keep. I had 12 boxes to go through... I made quick work of that and ended up with three boxes at the end of the day - one box for Kindergarten through grade six, one box for grades seven through nine and one box for grades ten through twelve. We took a whole bunch of young-adult novels to the bookman and got quite a bit of credit on my account. (YAY!)

While I was rooting through the attic I came across several hand-knit and crocheted items that Great-Grandma Nowlin made for Jill and I. It was a real treat to go through all the crocheted "gowns" she made for our dolls. I kept them all! Its amazing... looking at the dresses now I can see exactly how she made them and how plain they really are but as a child, they were true princess dresses! I also came across several "friends" that she knitted and crocheted for Jill and I. One of these friends was my rabbit:

After going through the wash at mom's, he has arrived and is currently camping out in my living room. I'm going to re-create him! His arms are knit but the rest of him is crocheted. He won't be hard to make at all and I hope to make him for Rowan's birthday this May. I think Jenny would really like that. This rabbit was a special friend to me as a child - you can't quite tell from the picture how worn he is... lets just say he's well loved!!

There's so much that I want to write but some of it has to do with surprises for certain people in my life. I'll have to write about it after the fact!

I think its time to give sleep another try.

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-05T13:37:00.001-08:00

Hello folks!

I thought I would post a few of my latest projects.

These towels were for my sister Jill. She was having a war with dad about whose towels were whose so I thought I would solve the problem by gifting her her own set for her birthday. I had a heck of a time with back stitching her name on them... the needle kept getting caught in the terry cloth. Very frustrating.

I don't think I've posted pictures of the blanket I made for Jill for Christmas. It was a lot of work but I'm generally pleased with how it turned out. The quilt is made of 200 patches, half of which are cut up denim jeans, all 9" squares. There was a colour pattern but it accidentally got reversed when I sewed the final two rows together. Ah well. The snipping took forever and would have taken longer had it not been for Melissa http://missy-memories.blogspot.com/ and her magical rag-quilt-spring-loaded snips!

I found a tutorial for these slippers online. They didn't quite turn out like the picture but I know where my mistakes are and I know how to correct them for the next pair I make. (The opening for the foot should be larger and should curve more around the toes.) They're really comfortable to wear!

I needed a new band for my medic alert bracelet and whipped this up the other day. Made from glass and shell beads. Love it!

That's all for now.

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Hope you're all doing well.

Today was largely uneventful. I'm ok with that.

Jill and I went to Staples to get toner for her computer printer but they charge and arm and a leg for it so we skipped that and just looked around at all their stuff. Then we swung by Pricesmart and I picked up a few groceries. I've been craving potato and onion soup and the recipe I found that looked good also called for carrots. I've just whipped it all together and its simmering away. Starting to smell really good. A few months ago I discovered the exciting world of bay leaves so every time I make soup, the pot gets a one! Delicious.

Yesterday's worship practice was short. There were just three of the six there and one of us had to leave early so I did, too. I can't sing my way out of a paper bag most days but I do love to raise my voice in worship. I know God likes it... I'm just careful to not sing into the microphone!

Guitar went really, really well! I'm "writing" a song... and that really means I get to pick the strumming patterns and cords and then Troy puts to together into something that sounds passable! I'm enjoying it a lot and can't wait to play it for mom, dad and Jill.

Well, I should get back to my delightfully smelling soup.

Talk to you soon!

2010-02-02T21:25:00.001-08:00

Hello to my peeps!

Sorry I haven't written lately. Like I told auntie Gloria, I stopped posting regularly when my laptop started to die and it was taking forever to load the pages. Then I got this spiffy new computer and it has a different browser (firefox) and it isn't as easy to bookmark pages like you can with Explorer. That's the only detractor from this browser - I love everything else about it! I had a routine of going through my list of web pages and blogs but now I have to actively remember which pages I want to look at. And my memory often fails me! whoops, eh?

But, I'm doing fine otherwise!

Jen's husband Elie flew out to the Dominican Republic (DR) today. He's taking some aid with him and then is going to his mom's to get their papers together so she can go back to France with his nephew (or cousin, can't remember). He's supposed to be there for two weeks and I sincerely hope that's all he's gone for - its too hard on my Jen otherwise. She heard from him today (he has cell service in the DR so we'll just have to wait and see if he calls tomorrow from Haiti. I hope he has cell service there, too. He arrived safely and made a couple of friends who helped him get to the bus station with his many bags. Now he just has to cross the border. Please keep him in your prayers.

Frank, the dad of the family I work for, is on his way home to Chilliwack after spending the last three and a half weeks in Haiti. I can't speak for his family, but I know I'm relieved to have him back in Canada! I'm not sure what his friend Chad is up to. Please keep the work they're doing down there in your prayers.

Jen and I took a break from all the craziness of life today and took a drive into Coquitlam to hit up IKEA. We had a hoot. I didn't buy much - uber tight budget this month - but it was fun to look at all the pretty things - especially the baby things! (no comment).

Well, I've got a bit of tidying to do. My pal Kathy is coming over for tea tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing her! Its been a while! Plus she's bringing me back one of my favourite books that I've been dying to lend my sister (Second Glance by Jodi Picoult).

I'll endevour to write more often. I do miss it!

Talk to you soon!

2010-01-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hello folks!

It feels good to be writing again.

I just talked to Jen and got an update on her friends and relations in Haiti.

Her husband's family is doing ok, though his mother is stomach sick. They're not sure what's wrong with her but they're hoping to get some medication to help her out.

They got word on one of their other friends's families... this gal lives locally and there's been much worry about her family. Her mother and baby sister are fine but her older sister has been injured, broken bones, and is in hospital. Unfortunately its not the 'good' hospital and while we have friends down there working, it isn't safe for them to go in and get her out to take her to a better hospital.

There's no information on the abandoned baby ward yet... no one seems to know if that ward was in the hospital that collapsed or not.

Things here are going reasonably well. I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I didn't go to church. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a headache but it seems to have abated. I'd really prefer to not get sick again!

Mom left yesterday for a two day course (for work) on the island. She's looking forward to tomorrow when dad goes to meet her. They're going onward to Qualicum to visit family Aunt Bev, Uncle Sandy and Aunt Jessie are all psyched to see them. Its been a while since they saw dad's aunt and uncle (Sandy and Jessie)... I think they'll have a great visit!

Jill is coming over tonight after supper. Not sure what kinds of shenanigans we'll get up to... might watch a movie.

Kristy just stopped over to drop off a fan I let them borrow this summer. She stayed for a cuppa tea and a visit. I love seeing her! She's great!

Am going to have another cup of tea and then attack my floors... they're in desperate need of a mop!

Talk to you soon!

2010-01-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

Have had a quiet day today. Its been a nice break from the go-go-go of the last week or two.

The excitement of my day was when my door buzzed and someone asked for the apartment manager. I hate it when that happens - because I'm #102, they figure I'm in charge here! Not likely! They were just dropping off phone books, so I met them at the door and let them leave the books on the table in the lobby. Wasn't sure what else to do with them!

Jenny called at lunchtime! We had a great visit and I got to hear the kids playing in the background. Sure do miss them and their chaos! Jenny dreaded her hair! They're just 'baby' dreads but I think they're going to look fantastic on her. They look pretty good already! She told me that they have a resident rodent (a mouse) so we named her Henreeka. They figure its a girl because she's always eating Jenny's chocolate! haha.

I've been getting reading my friends updates about their family and loved-ones in Haiti. Sebastien, Michelle's good friend, is safe with his mom and aunt, Elie's family is alive though their house was destroyed along with the rest of the buildings in Port-au-Prince. Frank and Chad are safe and sound and have been going from place to place making sure that everyone they're affiliated with are safe. It sounds like all the kids are ok but that they're running out of food and clean water. The buildings are in a sad state, though. Someone mentioned that just about everyone is sleeping outside because the buildings aren't safe to be inside.

I talked to Jen about my idea to crochet blankets for Haiti and she thinks its a good idea if its a loose-weave blanket, like a granny square. Neither of us know how to get the blankets down to Haiti but I really feel called to do this, so I'm making them in faith that they'll get down there somehow at some point. Its going to take a while to make anyway with my hands being so sore anyway.

Melissa is coming over tonight so I tried a new recipe for granola bars and they seem to have turned out ok. I baked them and they're currently chilling in the fridge like the recipe says I'm s'posed to!

I should go wash a few dishes and think about what to make for supper. I think I'll make up the last summer squash that's left in my crisper. Yum.

Talk to you soon.

2010-01-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks.

Wow. Its been forever since I wrote here!

I just had a surprise visit from my friend Danielle! She's recently moved to Vancouver and was in Abbotsford so called me up to see if I was home and up for a visit. Of course, I said! We had a real hoot (as usual!). I met Danielle about 10 years ago at camp. Gosh, I can't believe its been that long ago. She's been busy with nursing (maternity) up north but I'm so thrilled she's in the valley now.

What's going on in Haiti is just gut wrenching! So many of my friends have lives wrapped up in Haiti that its hard to look at the worry in their face and the images on the news and not feel called to action. I don't know what that action will look like but I know many of my friends are booking their flights down there, and a one has already left. My friend Jen's husband is Haitian and I just read from Jen that they got ahold of his family and they're all ok. The buildings on their road have collapsed but they're alive, thankfully. Some of their neighbours have died, though, which just breaks my heart. I can't imagine living through something so devastating! The gal I work with, A, her parents are affiliated with a few orphanages in Haiti. There are so many unknowns... how are the orphans, how are the staff of those orphanages, how will they find food and clean water? The papers have reported close to half a million are suspected dead. In a country that is already so unstable, this can't bode well for them.

Like A's mom said, we serve a good God. He's already there and won't be going anywhere! In the meantime, I'm going to start making blankets for the children. What more can I do at this point? If anyone would like to join me in my blanket-making endevours... please feel free to knit or crochet 10" squares!

Talk to you soon!

2009-12-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas folks!

I'm just getting ready to step out the door to mom and dad's. We're heading up to Harrison shortly for our four-day Christmas with all the relations. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

I've been so busy with Christmas projects that I haven't had time or energy to post here but I hope everyone has been having a good Christmas season.

Will write more in the new year!

Talk to you soon.

2009-11-27T00:54:00.000-08:00

Hello folks.

The Christmas season is almost upon us. *shudder* I'm still having nightmares about "winter wonderland" playing in Superstore last week.

I've been busy Christmas crafting, nonetheless. I wish I could give specifics about the crafts/gifts but some of the recipients read my blog!

I will tell you that I'm working on a rather large project for Jill and I made six tutus for all the little girls in my life with capes for all the little boys. I've also finished all the Christmas cards (including mom's) and they're ready with postage for Monday the 1st. I'm working on a scarf for Jess, too, but that's a thank-you gift.

I'm housesitting for mom and dad til Monday. They're driving a friend of theirs home to Calgary. She had surgery in Chilliwack a few weeks ago but is more recovered and can handle the long drive. I talked to mom at 9 and they were in Golden and we're going to keep goin'. Haven't heard from them yet but am heading to bed with the phone.

That's about it for now.

Talk to you soon!

2009-11-14T23:01:00.001-08:00

Hey there!

Sorry this post didn't get written last night. Not sure what distracted me. Oh well!

I can't remember if I posted a pic of the yard but lets just say that this pic is a major improvement! We hacked back the tree big-time to let more light into the yard and house.

A view of the livingroom. Fresh paint and a clean floor.

View of the bedroom. Fresh paint and twice-washed curtains.
Other wall in the livingroom. I painted the window trim blue in both the livingroom and bedroom. The door is new. Dad installed it - should help with the heating bills. There was no door there when we started and only an 'inside' door on the very outside. No wonder their electric and gas bills were through the roof!
Finished kitchen. I'm not a fan of the curtains there at all but ya gotta work with whatcha got. Mom gave them a good wash (twice). At least they don't smell like tobacco anymore!
We didn't do anything with the bathroom - just gave it a good scrub. And the backroom got a new coat of paint but its so small and awkward, I didn't get any good pictures of it.

So that's a wrap, folks.

Will post more in the days to come about my life in general.

Talk to you soon!

2009-11-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Sorry for the delay in posting.

Dad and I took a trip northward to Crescent Spur and visited with some family and friends. Dad snapped this pic of me smoochin' Monty on our last day there.

Good pic of dad, not so much of me.
It was a good visit up there. I got tons of sewing done. Just have one rather large project yet. I have to pick up supplies next week so I can get crackin' on it. I also have to sew Eli's footsie PJs and make him a cape. I'm going to make Shea a tutu, too. These projects won't make themselves so I need to get a move on.

I got a new computer. The tower is new-to-me but is a million times faster then my laptop. Its really a breath of fresh air! I've been saving up so I bought a nice new screen (I bought a cheap Acer one but then returned it and got a nicer one by HP). And of course I needed a keyboard and mouse. Lovely!

I got caught in today's rain/sleet/snow/hail storm. I was at the postoffice, mailing some stuff, and by the time I got outside it looked like it was easily 6pm - overcast, gray and gross. My bike seat was soaked but I made it home ok.

I haven't been feeling too great, probably just because I was eating food up north that my tummy isn't used to (mostly tomatoes)... but I'm feeling better today. It was great to get out!

Tomorrow is Barbara Visagie's memorial (a friend from church). She was a really great gal who would call and wish me a happy valentines day every year. I regret that I didn't make time to go visit her. She died of cancer a few weeks ago. I'm glad we got back in time for the service.

Well. I do believe I still owe you guys finished pictures of the cottage/cabin in Hope. I'll post those in a seperate post next.

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Another day of painting for me! I painted the inside windows/sills and re-installed the kitchen hardware. Tomorrow I get to cut shelf paper!

A labour of love!

Mom and dad worked hard on installing two new-to-us outside doors. They turned out great!

Kitchen drawers, last coat of paint!

While we waited for dad to return from the hardware store, mom installed the curtain rod holders in the back room (techincally the front room).

Tomorrow is a day of paint touch ups, curtain hanging, shelf lining, etc. Should be our last day there. The house has really come together. I'll post all the final pictures in the next day or two. I plan to put together a small album for Dave and Paula outlining our adventures in "face-lift land".

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Today was a day of painting. Sure am glad we're almost done... with the three of us, its getting finished quickly. One last coat on all the walls and cupboards tomorrow! After that, we just have to install new doors on the place.

That's it for now - bed is calling.
Talk to you soon!

2009-10-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!

We had another busy day.

This morning at church we had a 'dramatic reading' instead of a sermon. It was a real hoot! I must admit that I was skeptical but I offered my parents' video camera to record the presentation. It was Reformation Sunday so it was a three-way conversation between Martin, Calvin and the Pope as they meet in heaven and discuss the division in the church today. We borrowed costumes from the UFV Theatre department and gosh, did they ever look the part! The video I shot turned out pretty great. It would be nice to edit it a bit but my video editing software doesn't work properly. Oh well.

After church, mom and dad picked me up and we headed to Hope to do some more cleaning. Mom cleaned the stove/oven and behind it, too. Dad and I started painting - did the ceiling and trim. Mom and I removed all the hardware (curtain rods, light switch and electric socket covers, etc), too. We worked for about three hours before we called it quits. We're going up tomorrow afternoon to throw up the first coat of paint on the walls. It'll work out, I think.

This is one tired pumpkin who is going to go make some supper, eat it, and then hit the hay.

I'll take more pictures tomorrow. I wished I'd had my camera today - the difference between the white of what we were painting and the 'white' of the ceiling was huge! The ceiling almost looked brown compared to the fresh paint!

Talk to you soon.

2009-10-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Well, we've had a busy day. But first, a bit of history.

Jill is staying with Dave and Paula, two farrier friends of hers in Saskatchewan. She's having a marvelous time out there. Dave and Paula were here last week for a Farrier competition but they were also here because they have two rental properties in Hope. One of their tenants was moving out so they were needed here to check up on the place. While Jill lived here at home, she was hired by Dave and Paula to check on the houses every so often, just to be sure they were still standing.

Anyway, Paula mentioned to me that they had a little house in Hope that was for rent "The cottage" she called it. That perked my interest and I asked a few questions while trying not to be nosey - rent, square feet, yard, etc. I went home from that supper (we were chowing down at mom and dad's) and called Jill immediately to ask her opinion of the house. Jill said it would be perfect for me! I called Dave the next day to ask him about the house. He was so stunned he didn't have any words for me besides "yes" and "no". He eventually suggested that he and Paula take me up there to have a look. And gosh, folks, I fell in love.

Here's the floor plan. Ignore the little numbers - they correspond to pictures other then the ones I posted here.

Unfortunately for me, there's quite a hike between this little house and downtown Hope. Its technically in Silver Creek which is just so darn pretty and mountainy! Downtown is about 3km from the house and I could handle that if it was a flat 3km but there's a very, very big hill between me and Hope. I could deal with that in the summer but not the winter when its covered in snow and ice (Jess, Jill's bff in Hope, said that particular hill is nasty in the winter to walk because there's no shoulder to walk on - it gets piled high with snow). So that was the dealbreaker for me.

I'm still in love with the house. Dave and Paula have asked me, Mom and Dad to clean it up (it was a bit of a disaster when we arrived). So today the three of us spent a full day cleaning, scrubbing, washing, etc. The entire house (all 500-700 square feet) got a wash with TSP! The last lady lived there for three years and she smoked inside all year round... so needless to say, everything needed a good scrubbing. It could probably handle another half dozen scrubbings but Dave and Paula have someone interested in renting it sooner rather than later. They let me pick out the paint for the house too, which was very nice of them! I picked a butter yellow for all the walls and a wind-swept blue for the cabinets and trim (darker then a sky blue with more grey).

Tomorrow we're going to paint the ceilings. Dad wants to get two coats on it tomorrow afternoon. The only thing we didn't scrub today was the stove/oven... so tomorrow we're also going to pull out the stove and wash behind it.

Just think! I could have gone from a green toilet to a pink one! ha ha. The bathroom is teeny tiny. You kinda have to scoot in sideways between the hotwater tank and the bathroom sink. The shower was disgusting. We thought it was rust but mom scrubbed it with some TSP and other bathroom cleaners... turns out it was algae! GROSS!

The fridge is now in the back room (just off the kitchen, to the right on this picture) and it lets in so much more light to the kitchen and living room (I was standing in the livingroom while taking this picture). Mom brought all the curtains home to give them a good wash. They were pretty nasty.

The living room is quite dark as there's only one window. We put in a regular bulb (instead of those energy-saving ones that give us headaches) and it sure made a difference. Also helped by the scrubbing I gave all the windows!

Dad powerwashed the outside of the 'cottage' and took a huge load of garbage to the dump. There was enough in that one small yard to fill his truck up above the sides of the box! Dad made a few friends at the dump too... mind you, dad makes friends everywhere he goes!

Mom and I scrubbed the cabinets and peeled off the wallpaper decals. They were quite ugly!

Me, getting more wash water. That TSP stuff likely isn't good for the environment but it sure works like a hot damn to scrub away years of tabacco smoke and gross-ness.

Dad did all of the yard work today. He went great guns on the piles of garbage and then pressure washed the house. If its dry again tomorrow, dad's going to mow the law, too.

The white in this picture is the part mom washed with the TSP water and the beige in the middle is the unwashed part! gross!

I'll take more pictures as we continue our clean-up and will post them here.

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-23T21:47:00.001-07:00

Good Evening folks!

I've been busy sewing again! Tonight I made up footsie PJs for Shea. They turned out pretty good. :o) Had a bit of an issue with the hood but ended up scraping that for just a regular collar. It turned out not bad. I am worried about the legs and arms being too long but I know Jenny can fix that if need be. What I'm most proud of is the Zipper! I didn't ruin it or the fabric while putting it in. The PJs are made out of sweatpant material - cotton fleece. I still have to make Eli's PJs plus his birthday quilt and then I'll get their Christmas parcel in the mail.

I bought supplies for my mass-present making. Every year I make something small to give as gifts for my friends. I can't tell you what this is because friends read this blog and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. tee hee.

Ok. My brick is probably nice and warm. Time for bed.

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

I've been busy crafting! This is Rowan's Christmas present. :o)

I had a hell of a time with the collar and the back but I think I made both work (even though the buttons aren't straight!). The dress is actually a pale pink linen with decorative flowers in darker pink. The light makes it look orange in the pictures.

My next project is two pairs of footsie PJs for Shea and Eli.

Things have been good. I've been working once a week with A, volunteering at Parkholm, volunteering big-time at church and practicing my guitar.

Dave and Paula were just here for a visit. They're the people whom Jill is staying with. Really rad folks, very very funny and good story tellers. It was nice to hear people discuss horse hooves... I can't believe how much I missed that! Dave and Paula were here for a competition and to look at their rental properties in Hope. I had supper with them at mom and dad's twice. Such a hoot!

Jill is doing well. I spoke with her today while Sue was here (Sue is one of her two BFFs). She's pretty much had a week off but has been making shoes and pickin poop out of the field. Our cousin Chad went and visited her last week and they had a good time.

I should get to bed.

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks!

As many of you know, I've been busy crocheting butterflies for my next yarn bombing expidition. Today I kidnapped dad and he and I went around town to put them up.

My 'basket of wonders'... everything I needed - camera, tacks and about 60 butteflies.

I popped over to Katie's and left her two butteflies.

We went to Edward's Park (corner of Edwards and Princess by the Armouries). Pinned up a lot of butteflies there, including on the play park.

Dad and I also went to Central Community Park and pinned up a bunch of butteflies there. Dad was surprised by a lady who shouted "Is that Yarn graffiti?!" ha ha! He said it was so she hopped over the fence and grabbed one of the butteflies. Apparently she heard about yarn bombing on the CBC and by the way she jumped and waved at me (Dad told her I was the one who crocheted them all), she was pretty darned excited about it!

Dad pinning up a buttefly in Edwards Park.

We also hit up five-corners here in Chilliwack and pinned up a dozen butteflies on the trees around there. One guy, clearly drunk, asked me what I was doing. When I told him it was yarn graffiti butteflies, he said "well... I'm a butterfly!" Uh... ooookaaaay. Bizzare.

It was a lot of fun. I plan on crocheting a few more and will be going yarnbombing with Jill's friends Sue and Jess. Woot!

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Had a good day today.

Went over to A's today. We baked brownies, got her showered and did some of her laundry. She's really quite awesome and her mom said she asked a dozen times all morning long if her mom is going to go pick me up yet. tee hee. We get on so well! I got her mom laughing pretty good today, too, so that was rad in its own right.

Things otherwise are pretty good. Did a big grocery shop with mom this evening. I really needed to stock-up on canned goods, various veggies that we didn't grow ourselves, and meat. We went to Superstore which isn't mom's first choice but... what can I say? Its just less expensive. I'm used to keeping a running total in my head based on Pricesmart prices and what I would have gotten there for $140, I got at Superstore for $92! I even had to clean out my cupboards and reorganize so that I have room for fresh stock!

Am grooving to a little Caedmon's Call right now... "Sacred", one of my top three favourite songs by them. I couldn't find a youtube video of that song. Its really quite pretty... guess you'll just have to take my word for it. tee hee.

Time for bed.

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-07T22:05:00.001-07:00

Hello folks.

Another picture from Jill! She shod this horse with a former member of the National Farrier Team and is quite proud of herself. She got lots of positive comments from the other farriers who were at this clinic... there were 20 of them and only 5 could hot shoe and of those five, Jill was the only one who was up to the challenge of shoeing with this former team member. She did the hoof that's closest to the camera. She had criticisms of her work but it looks beautiful to me!

I'm off to bed but wanted to share this picture!

Talk to you soon!

2009-10-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Had quite the day today. I worked with A... her mom was having an open house so I got to hang out with A and keep the two of us out of mischief! It worked well. We made paper decorations from construction paper (horses, a big tree, some grass) and put them up on her door. She was really into it, so that was good! I'm pretty tuckered now.

Here are two pictures Jill sent from Saskatchewan. Enjoy!

Talk to you soon!

2009-09-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Had a good day today!

I got to visit Kristy and cuddle with her new baby. SO adorable. A little boy, about a week or two old, weighed in at 8lbs 11oz. And what a total cuddle bum! Fell asleep on Kristy after nursing then she passed him on to me. I loved it! It was a nice bike ride to Kristy's, too! Lovely!

Had worship practice tonight... it went reasonably well. We had a crash course/refresher course in how to read music. At first I wasn't thrilled but it was nice to brush up on it again... its been a while since I actually read a piece of music!

Guitar was also good. Haven't had a guitar lesson in a dog's age. Troy's been under the weather all summer but was feeling better enough today. It was great! Nice to get back in the groove.

Tomorrow is another busy day. I'm having lunch with Jen, then am seeing Michelle for a bit. We're going to hoof it down to the yarn store and pick up some crochet hooks for her. Am going over to mom and dad's for supper. Mom and dad's old neighbour Ruth is coming over for supper with her daughter (who used to babysit me!). Should be a good time. Dad's cooking a salt-packed roast which is one of my favourite ways to cook meat!

I made Michelle a blanket. It was supposed to be her Christmas present but she could use a pick-me-up so I've made it early and am going to give it to her tomorrow. I think she'll like it. Here's a pic:

Jill sent some pictures from Saskatchewan. I'll post them in the next couple days.

Talk to you soon!

2009-09-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hello!

So, naughty me, I've forgotten to write lately. Things have been moderately busy but I'm not at home so I can't refer to my calander to give you a play by play of my week.

I'm currently at mom and dad's. Mom, dad and I picked concord grapes this afternoon and have borrowed Sam's steam juicer. We've picked six large boxes of grapes (and left at least double that on Sam's vines)! So, out of 3 boxes, we've got 9 quarts of juice! And fortunately, the jars self-seal so we don't have to mess around with the canner! Sam said we can come back for more grapes, too. It'll save me uber-money this winter when it comes to buying juice.

Jill's doing well in Saskatchwan. Mom's talking to her right now. Mom's going to be mailing Jill all her winter gear (coats, long-johns, mitts, toques). She's still looking for a job and a place to live but is hopeful she'll be able to track down both and move out to Estevan in the next while, depending on when she needs to start her new job.

Keep prayin' for her, folks. She's doing well but we all miss her big-time.

Will write more soon, I swear!

Until then!

2009-09-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.

Its been a busy week.

I'm so glad to be doing better... was pretty sick last weekend. Death to intestinal bugs! I missed out on seeing Alison, which was pretty sad! She has a few more weeks off so I hope to see her the next time she comes to town.

On Tuesday I got together with Michelle in the afternoon. We spent our time crafting and chatting. She's keen to learn wirework so I showed her how to do the wire-wrapping. She picked it up pretty quick but practice makes perfect! A few weeks ago I got her started on crocheting. She learned how to chain and practiced that for a while and then I showed her how to do a single crochet. She's really patient with me while I teach her which is so nice!

I housesat on Wednesday for a client of Jill's who was going out of town just for the day and needed someone to let her dogs out and feed them supper. Such great dogs. I had a lovely time. I love my bike!! She lives slightly too far for me to walk (over by townsend park) but I got there on my bike in short order.

I saw Jen and Elie on Thursday and we caught up. We had lunch together, with friend and fellow blogger http://www.frugaldreamer.com/, Melissa. It was a good visit! I love catching up with all of them!

Yesterday was a great day! I volunteered at Parkholm. Shannon is back from being off all summer and we're officially back in the swing of things. We had a lively group in the pool, lots of chitter chatter! I love it!

I was planning on coming home, having a nap and then going to pick up some groceries but dad called me and asked if I wanted to come with him to visit Aunt Aileen and cousin Janet. We had a great visit with them - they're always a hoot! We picked up fish and chips and went home to surprise mom with supper. We hung out afterwards and then went and picked up some groceries at Superstore. Mom and dad have resisted going there but mom was thrilled that she could save $3 per box for dad's tea and $2 a bag for her fair trade coffee! It was a lovely day all told and mom and dad said they'd consider going to superstore again, even if the store is too big!

Today was good, too. I got home a little bit ago from working with A. We had a great time - made blueberry crisp that smelled so good I was dying for a piece. We made two of them. A's mom said "oh good, one for you and one for us?" But no, their family is so big, we made two pans just for them. That way, at least, they have dessert for two days now. A's mom has also asked if I would be available to come in once during the week and get Angel showered and ready for bed while she's off taking a course. I'm totally up for that!

I talked to Jenny this morning too. They're all doing good and are all settled into their new house. Josh is still looking for work but are feeling hopeful that he'll have a job in the near future. The kids are all doing well and Shea is so excited because she's going to public school! They have a TA in the class who checks her blood sugar before lunch (and as she needs it). She's really thriving and is even more excited because she gets to ride on the big yellow bus both ways!

I put on a pot of soup in the slow cooker before I left for work and I'm dying to go eat some supper now.

That's about it for now. Talk to you soon!

2009-09-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hello.

Today and yesterday were total blah days. I've been fighting a stomach bug and for a while there it was winning! I'm still feeling quite unwell but am gettin' better.

The excitement of my day was calling the police on my neighbours for riding their pocketbikes around the block in the dark (oh, there they go again). It was the first time calling the non-emerg line for the police. Its obviously been a dull day if the exciting moment was filing a police report!

Hopefully I'll be back to feeling normal in the morning.

Talk to you soon.

2009-09-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Shea's birthday blanket is finished. I sewed for two days straight and here is the final work. I made one major boo-boo but hopefully it isn't noticable!

I'm glad its finished. I'll be starting on Eli's birthday quilt pretty quick. Hopefully I can find some dump truck fabric!

Talk to you soon

2009-09-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I have spent yesterday evening and the better part of today cutting and sewing squares. I'm in the process of making a rag quilt for Shea's birthday that I think she'll like. I went to the fabric store the day before yesterday with mom and asked the sales lady flat out if she had purple flying ponies flanelette. She looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head and it was then I realised I was on my own! Fortunately, I turned around and there it was, purple flying unicorns. Could it get any better?! I think not! We discovered that the sale on flanelette was set to start the next day so we went back yeseterday and bought all the flanelette that I needed (8 meters at 50% off) plus notions for 42 bucks! yay! I'm always so excited when I stick to my budget!

Last night I cut out the squares and sewed them together and today I sewed the squares into strips and then sewed the strips together to make a very nice twin-size blanket. The next step is to take a pair of scissors and snip along all the raw edges to make it fray... then I'll put it in the washer and dryer and it should fray and get all fuzzy!

I must say... I am getting tired of looking at purple unicorns but I'm positive Shea will like it!

I did go for a bike ride - loads of fun. I road around the backroads of downtown, through the 'burbs. Its a lovely day for riding... I wanted to get a ride in before the rain started to fall (looks like it'll start any minute now). Its so fresh out there I've opened my windows and doors to let the fall air in. Lovely! My favourite season! So now that I've expended some energy I'm going to go sit still for a few hours and snip at the raw edges of the quilt. Woot.

Talk to you soon!

2009-09-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello to you all!

Things here are pretty good.

I saw Jen and Elie again today... and yesterday, too. It was a lovely visit both times. I've been biking my butt off (did 5km yesterday) and biked over to Jen's mom's house today to see them. Its so good to have Jen home!

After my big bike ride yesterday, mom dad and I went out for supper at Homer's downtown. Lovely to hang out with my parents! I also worked in the afternoon with A. It was a short day but great to see her nonetheless. I work with her again on Saturday and then we go to once a week (because school is starting on Tuesday). I can't believe its September already!

Aunty Gloria is coming over for tea tomorrow morning and then mom and I are running errands in the afternoon. I need to pick up some flanelette to make two rag quilts (Shea's birthday present and Kristy's baby gift) and I look forward to hitting up Fabricland. Jill is supposed to call sometime to catch up now that she has long distance on her phone and really looking forward to chatting with her! Melissa is coming over in the evening to chat and catch up. She's awesome at picking colours and matching them for quilts. I'm horrible at it so I like to ask her opinion! It'll be a busy day. I plan to fit a bike ride in there sometime, too, because bike riding is so much fun!

Anywho.

Talk to you soon!

2009-08-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well, it certainly has been a while since I posted.

Honestly, Joy's passing has been a very hard thing to deal with. I've been keeping busy but there's still a slight sadness in my daily life, knowing that Joy is no longer here. I know I ought to be happy for her, that she's in a rockin' place and that she lived such a long, healthy life... but not having her around is just plain sad.

Two weeks ago I went camping with mom and dad in Manning Park. It was a lot of fun. I posted some pictures on Facebook but I know not all of you are on there so I've posted the best pics here:

I know I've told most of you this story... but here it is: we were in such a dither about the trailer breaks not working properly that we forgot to pack a third camp chair. We didn't realise it until we got there but *thankfully* we had this lovely one in the trailer, just waiting to be used in God's great outdoors. Yes, I felt like a hick.

We went for a drive one night and came across mule deer city. There were at least half a dozen of 'em. So pretty. This is one of the better pictures. Its a fine line between zooming in too far, and not far enough. My camera isn't the greatest but it did a good job here.

This is the best pic of me and mom. Mom looks happy but I just look confused (and slightly stoned, as dad so kindly pointed out)!

Dad was so enthralled with the newspaper I don't think he realized I was taking pictures. Its a good one of us, I think.

Aw, yes, the love-birds. Full of piss and vinegar as ususal. Looks like dad said something sassy... can't remember what it was!

The camping trip was a lot of fun but I was glad to come home. I spent two nights at home and then have spent the last week housesitting in Rosedale for a wonderful family with a whole managerie of animals! 2 donkeys, 5 rabbits, 7 cats, a dog and a guinea pig. All the animals were lovely and well behaved. I enjoyed my week there but am very happy to be home in my apartment (was getting a bit homesick).

While we were camping I mentioned to dad that I would love to have a bike of my own again. Dad hijacked mine a few years ago when his crapped out and I'm getting tired of needing a ride from mom and dad just because something is across town and is too far to walk. So dad fixed up mom's bike for me and put a larger seat on it (for my larger butt) and I went on my frist adventure tonight. I went to Pricesmart and picked up some groceries and the bank across the street to deposit a cheque. It was awesome! So quick, too! I came home, unloaded my groceries and had a snack then went over to Jen's mom's to visit with Jen and Elie. I stayed for tea and a piece of delicious wedding cake. It was so good to see them!

And that's good news, too! Jen and Elie have safely arrived in Chilliwack. Her mom threw her a big party/wedding reception. Jen said it was a lot of fun and a lot of people. I look forward to seeing the pictures. I got to catch up a bit with them yesterday when I worked at with A (they live next door) and it was so good to see them and give my sweet Jen a big bear hug!

I talked to Jenny today, too! She's doing ok. She's overtired and has a fussy baby. Little Rowan isn't giving her any peace. She's three months old now and is quite the chub muffin! 13 or 14 pounds, Jenny said (I think that's what she said!). They're moving into their own place in a few days which just thrills them to bits and pieces. They might paint before they move their stuff in which would probably be a good idea - Jenny was telling me about the paint choices and its sounds kinda scary!

Tomorrow I'm going on a big bike adventure with dad! Dad's going to show me how to get to Katie's house. Its no secret that I have no sense of direction and that I get lost easily (even when walking) so dad offered to bike the route with me. That way I can pop over to Katie's and play with her and her kids without Katie having to pack up the kids and come pick me up. Just for the record though, I never panic when I'm lost but I sure can get myself turned around. I'm hopeless!

I'm going to endevour to write more often. I've been having a busy summer and will likely be having just as busy of a fall.

Talk to you soon!

2009-08-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

This is my 100th post and its in memory of Joy.

Joy passed away this morning at the ripe ol' age of 91. We should all be so lucky to live as long and be in such good health. She died of a stroke, in her sleep. Sort of one of those "come home, good and faithful servant" moments, I think. She said she could never live in an old age care home and I'm so pleased to report that she never had to. She lived in assisted living for the last little bit but that was a blessing, I believe. She lived independantly but still could rely on them to cook her supper. She had one heck of a sweet tooth and I'm sure God had a stash of Mars Bars waiting for her when she showed up today!

I'm really feeling for her daughter right now. She has other family but her father, brother and now her mother are all gone. If anything, I know she could use our prayers right now. I know Joy was quite elderly but this was still unexpected. Now I know what people mean when they write in the obituaries "Died suddenly at 95 years old."

I've cried enough tears of loss today but I decided I needed to get out and get some fresh air so I marched off to Pricesmart and picked up some Twinnings Lady Grey tea... its what Joy drank and its what she served me out of her good china when I would visit. I'm pleased to drink a toast to her out of my great-grandma's good china.

Here's to you, Joy!

Joy was a sweet, strong, independant, loving woman and I can only hope that when I'm 91, I'm still all of those things.

God called her home, and home she went!

That's about it for now.
Talk to you soon!

Here are some pictures of the lace she helped me create

I tried to find this on youtube but there wasn't a good version of it. Here are the words instead. If anyone is itching to hear the actual song, message me and I'll send it to you.

Our prayers have all been answered. I finally arrived.

The healing that had been delayed has now been realized.

No one's in a hurry. There's no schedule to keep.

We're all enjoying Jesus, just sitting at His feet.

If you could see me now, I'm walking streets of gold.

If you could see me now, I'm standing strong and whole.

If you could see me now, you'd know I've seen His face.

If you could see me now, you'd know the pain is erased.

You wouldn't want me to ever leave this place,

If you could only see me now.

My light and temporary trials have worked out for my good,

To know it brought Him glory when I misunderstood.

Though we've had our sorrows, they can never compare.

What Jesus has in store for us, no language can share.

If you could see me now.

2009-08-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hello!

More of my sister's adventures:

Jill left Edmonton and headed towards my uncle's brother's last night when she managed to hit and kill a deer! It took out her headlight, marker and grill but she survived unscathed. She was a bit of an emotional wreck and thankfully a family, split between two cars, stopped to make sure she was ok. She was quite upset, crying, and the lady of the group asked if she was upset about the deer. No, she sobbed out, I'm worried about my horse!

Taser is fine and in good shape. The family was quite nice about it and one car drove ahead of her and the other drove behind her to make sure she got to where she was going safely. Turns out Uncle's brother owns a pig farm so Taser spent the night with hogs! Jill was quite proud of him. This will certainly be a trip that neither of them forgets!

Jill was never so happy to arrive in Prince Albert/Spruce Home Saskatchewan today. We've had a few calls/texts from her to say that she arrived safely. Dave and Paula are at a Black Smithing competition of some description somewhere else in Saskatchewan but drove back today just to be sure Jill arrived in one piece!

I'm missing her badly. I never really understood why she was always so upset when I would leave town to go to camp or PYPS but I get it now!! Having her gone is quite painful! I know two months will fly by (I sure hope so anyway). All of Jill's friends have been awesome to me, too. So if I need a jolt of Jill's brand of humour, they're all only a call away! I was quite a basket case last night, missing her, so mom brought over a 5lbs flat of blueberries and she and I ate the whole thing. It was quite a delicious moment in time!

I saw A today. We chatted away for over an hour and a half and made sure she got a shower, too. Even had time to paint her nails before mom and dad picked me up. Didn't bake anything today... didn't really have time plus Daena was just finished canning. We'll probably bake on Saturday.

That's about all for now but I'll keep posting about Jill's trip to keep everyone up to date.

Talk to you soon!