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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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

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!

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!

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!

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.