My Dad's 89th Birthday!

I'm very thankful that today I got to spend time with my dad on his 89th birthday! It was a nice quiet celebration with my brothers Jeff and Carel and my sister-in-law and Gerard. Together we enjoyed delicious birthday pastries, sharing memories, especially rejoicing in the grace and the faithfulness of the Lord through all these 89 years of my dad's life.

Just me and my dad!

We also witnessed the delivery of my dad's brand new computer. In fact Gerard and I borrowed a wheelchair from the front lobby to bring the big box up to the apartment.

Yes, at 89 he e-mails and facebooks with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and once his new computer gets unpacked and set up, he's hoping it'll all go much faster. I guess it's OK to brag about my dad doing this at his age, isn't it?  I'm pretty proud of the way he keeps up with the times through extensive reading, and the computer.

He is blessed with a very comfortable apartment and with good health. He still drives, preaches once in a while, writes the monthly newsletter for his building, participates in aquafit three times a week, leads the bi-weekly seniors' Bible study at church and keeps up with the whole family, especially on birthdays.

Wow!  He is blessed and we are blessed!  Thank you, Lord! Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Celebrating Life Today

Today I'm sharing a quote from Emily Yeskoo's Blog, written by her mother, Lindsey, who is a constant source of inspiration for me.  Her daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with a rare fatal neurodegenerative disease eleven years ago. And yet she just celebrated her 21st birthday recently!  The family has committed to caring for her at home.  Someone (mostly her mother) is by her side round-the-clock. It has been a demanding, exhausting, overwhelming and at the same time holy experience for Lindsey.  In her blog she shares Emily's inspiring miracle story. Here's what she wrote earlier this week that once again spoke to me: 

So what I would like to share tonight is one of the important things I have been learning through these years since the diagnosis.  The temptation, especially when the events of life are so enormous and overwhelming and one is exhausted, is simply to spend life in reaction mode... doing little more than reacting to people and circumstances.  The invitation in the midst of it, I keep discovering, is to learn to switch off the perpetual reaction button and instead take initiatives to actively LIVE.  I leave that thought with you, because it has been a key factor in surviving all these years.

About three years ago I watched Dr. Price of People Church interview mother Lindsey in a worship service.  She shared how the doctor had advised the family to start planning for Emily's funeral.  They tried, but just could not do it.  Instead they decided to plan a celebration of her life while she was still with them.  Dr. Price responded, "So instead of preparing her for dying, you are teaching her to LIVE!" "That's right." Lindsey said.  

And that phrase, "teaching her to live" vs. "preparing her to die" has inspired me ever since. 

Today, once again we have celebrated life.  Our family had brunch together in honour of Melanie's 35th birthday.  It is so wonderful to spend time together.

We celebrated new life in our family - watching the babies interacting with each other. 

I thank God for the fact that I'm alive and well, able to participate in celebrating all these blessings.

And when we came home there was new cause for celebration in our garden! Thank you, Lord!

celebrating new life!

 

Update on My Vision

For the past couple of months my vision in my good eye has slowly been getting blurrier. I can no longer read the overhead at church, the large print calendar in the kitchen, or details on the TV. However, reading up close is fine both with or without my glasses.

At our last appointment with our opthalmologist two months ago he referred us to the cataract specialist who subsequently notified us of our appointment for June 24th! Four whole months away! So this morning we saw the opthalmologist again. He checked my eyes and once again reassured us that my eyes look physically healthy - no sign of lymphoma as far as he can see. He believes my vision problems in my good eye are because of the cataract. So that was good news number one!

Then his assistant walked with us to the cataract specialist up the hall and guess what?! They had a cancellation for next Wednesday so instead of June 24 we now see him for our initial consultation on April 2nd! Good news number two! Hallelujah! She did advise us that they are now scheduling cateract surgeries into July and August. But at least we're starting the process. So we left the clinic quite excited and relieved.

Then we went grocery shopping. Gerard picked up our regular items and I was looking for some special things. In the process I lost track of Gerard. I looked all over the store, but couldn't find him anywhere. You wouldn't believe how many blurry looking men, about six feet tall with a dark coat and gray hair are pushing shopping carts up and down the grocery aisles! There was no way I could find him. I was on the verge of tears. Thankfully he finally found me after looking all over the place as well. Anyway, up and down; lots of good news and then disappointments. But that's life. A constant roller coaster ride.

I'm thankful to know that God is not on a roller coaster. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We can rest in that security.

Eight -Year- Old's Essay on God

Sorting through my files this week produced some interesting things that didn't make it into the recycling bin because I still really like them.  Today I'll share a little essay on God, written by an eight year old Southern California boy*  Enjoy!

One of God's jobs is making people," the boy wrote...

He makes these to put in the place of the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.  He doesn't make grown-ups.  Just kids.  I think it's because they are smaller and easier to make.  That way He doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them how to talk and walk.  He can just leave that up to moms and dads.  I think it works out pretty good.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers.  An awful lof of this goes on, especially in church and at bedtime.  God sees everything, hears everything, and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy.

Jesus is God's Son.  He used to do all the hard work, like walking on the water and doing miracles and trying to teach people about God who didn't want to learn.  They finally got tired of his preaching to them and they made him die on a cross.  But He was good and kind like His Father, and He told His Father that they didn't know any better and to forgive them, and God said , "OK!"

Jesus' Father liked everything He had done and all His hard work on earth, and He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore.  So He raised Him up to heaven and told Him He could stay up there.  So Jesus did.  And now He helps His Father out by listening to prayers.  You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they've got it worked out so at least one of them is on duty all the time.

 * I found this on a scrap of paper so name of the author or source.  

Letting Go

Today I'm officially declaring that my desk area has been sorted and purged as much as it's going to be for the time being.  I was determined to get through it.  My desk area is one of the spots in our house where things end up when I'm not sure what to do with them.  And while sorting, I still didn't know what to do with them. I still like them, so I'm still hanging on to some of them. Wow! It was such an emotional and stressful process! And that's why this is one of the areas that always gets left to the last and usually not done at all, because I run into gardening time.  So maybe this long winter is a blessing in disguise.  I have not been able to escape to the garden yet.

There really isn't all that much stuff  in and around my desk which only has three shallow drawers, a filing drawer, and an in-out tray that was piled full,double it's height.  I found all kinds of things:  a time capsule that we found when renovating our family room about 30 years ago; all my bank books from 1979 on; my financial record book that showed that in 1970 I paid $480. for one semester of university tuition! $217. for a flight to Amsterdam! and $68.39 for books for a semester in 1972!  You can't even get one book for that price right now, in fact they sometimes don't even use books anymore. I found letters and photos, an old passport, my high school and university ID cards, etc. etc.

In going through everything, and reading lots of it, I still didn't know what to do with most of this stuff.  That's exactly why it was still there. The way I managed to pull through this was to set the timer on the microwave and work at my desk for 15 or 20-minute segments.  Slowly but surely the recycling bin filled up and my desk got more space. The stress this causes me is totally beyond Gerard.  He figures if you haven't used it for a while and you aren't legally required to save it, Toss it out!  Easy! Done!

Well, now that the main floor is sorted I'm moving on down to various corners of the basement. We'll see how long I last, or how soon it becomes gardening weather:)

So last night my sister and I were commiserating about how hard it is to let things and people go. Why can some people just let things go and we both find all kinds of sentimental attachments? She reminded me of a devotional we both read a few days ago. (* quoted from "Jesus Calling" March 24 by Sarah Young)

THIS IS A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU MUST LEARN TO LET GO; Of loved ones, of possessions, of control.  In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete.  Take time to bask in the Light of My Love.  As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care. You  can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of My continual Presence.  The One who never leaves you is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  As you release more and more things into my care, remember that I never let go of your hand.  Herein lies your security, which no one and no circumstance can take from you. 
(based on  Ps. 89:15, Heb. 13:8, Isa. 41:13)  

When I'm sorting like this it's a bittersweet emotional journey; a mixture of celebration and loss - memories, dreams, experiences.  Release, trust, and let go.  I'm working on it, walking with God one step at a time.    

More flowers from the Centennial Conservatory

New Life!!

Wonderful signs of new life in our living room's bay window!

Two of the five daffodil bulbs are in full bloom with another bud starting to show (bottom right).

The first of ten bean seeds has sprouted.

The kale seeds are sprouting, but no sign of any basil seedlings yet.

Don't see any parsley yet either. 

So exciting!  I'll keep you posted.

Did You Know? re. Clementines

Here's something new, at least for me. I found this display in the grocery store recently. Have you ever seen this before - clementines with the stems and leaves left on them?  I thought it was interesting and and so bright and cheerful.  

Is there an advantage to keeping the stems and leaves on? I checked on the Internet, but couldn't find any information on that.  

These tulips were right next to the clementines.  

So if you want to experience spring, just go to the grocery store!

Our Visit with Hannah

Yesterday we went to visit Hannah so it's her turn to be in the limelight today. She was in her exersaucer (stationery play centre) near the entrance hall when we arrived, and for the first time ever she welcomed us with a big smile! It used to take her a while to warm up to us, but yesterday was different and throughout the visit she smiled at us a lot. So cute! We noticed a number of changes since we last saw her about three weeks ago.

no socks because she always pulls them off somehow

First of all she's up for much longer stretches at a time so there is more time to observe her and play with her. She's really starting to interact with us. So it was fun to visit with her.  She makes sounds back and forth with us as if we're having a conversation.  And if we're not paying attention to her she finds ways of attracting our attention.  

Hannah at eight and a half months

Hannah was very active yesterday - bouncing and turning in her exersaucer, jumping in the jolly jumper, and rolling and pushing herself around on the floor. She likes to play with her feet and chew on her toes. Rosemary has given up on putting socks on her because Hannah always manages to pull them off one way or another. Speaking of chewing, she chews on everything.  It looks like she'll soon cut some teeth on the top in addition to the two she already has on the bottom. She's gradually being introduced to various solid foods and likes to chew on her spoon and a toothbrush.   

Gerard tried an activity on Hannah that he used to do with Oscar at this age.  Gerard hit his flat hand on the table a few times and she watched him.  Then he guided her hand to do the same. After that whenever he hit the table she responded by copying him. If he didn't do it again right away, she would look up at him as if to say, "Again, Opa!"  It was fascinating to watch!

Opa and Hannah playing, "hit the table" game

Hannah wears a little necklace of amber beads during the day. The beads have to be in contact with the baby's skin. This ancient traditional teething remedy is said to reduce teething pain and the excessive drooling that tends to come with teething.  Rosemary's somewhat skeptical of those claims, but figures wearing it won't harm Hannah and if it helps, that's great. So now we've learned something new again in connection with child rearing. I don't know how we managed to raise our own children without all these new ways;)

Hannah's amber necklace

So that's it for the update on Hannah for now; our favourite precious little grand daughter! 

                                       

In Celebration of Spring

1. 

All things bright and beautiful, *
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flow'r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Spring will officially arrive here at 12:57 p.m. today!  Looking outside you wouldn't say so, but that's what the calendar says, and the computer too.  Yesterday we saw a robin and the tips of two groups of tulips peeping through the soil in our warmest flower bed. It's happening!

So feast your eyes!  In celebration of spring.... 

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

* Cecil F. Alexander 1848

What's Happening around Here?

Look at this belated anniversary gift we received recently!  Oscar's left footprint was hard to get onto the page. He was squirming because he said it tickled! Anyway, a fun gift to receive.  

What's happening around here?

* really looking forward to spring weather!

* I've seeded parsley, basil, kale, and green beans so far.

* the daffodils are starting to form flower buds.

* I brought in a second bunch of branches to force some more greenery.

* my three-month check up went fine. Dr. said, "See you in three months."

* Gerard is trying to encourage spring along by raking and shoveling snow around.

* I need to get back on track with my sorting and purging project.

* got my first haircut since I lost my hair after the last round of treatments.

* I'm reading the books of Daniel and Hebrews for small group and Bible reading group

* too much sitting around with cold weather and icy sidewalks.  Time to get exercising!

* sorting through Jeff & Alida's hundreds of wedding pictures to decide which one(s) to print. 

* resting and trusting in God's presence to enjoy one day at a time.

Another treat of spring flowers for you

Did You Know That This Actually Works?

Have you ever heard of War Amps tags?  We get them in the mail every once in a while, along with a request for  a donation to War Amps.  A few years ago I put a tag on every key chain we have. On the tag it says, "Finder please call 1-800-250-3030 or deposit in any mail box".  I once found keys with a tag and threw them in a mailbox, but still always wondered whether they actually found their way back to the owner. 

Well, a few weeks ago Gerard couldn't find one of his house keys and thought it probably fell out of his pocket along with something else he pulled out. Unfortunately he figured he must have lost it after parking the car in quite a snowy area, so, unless someone happened to find it, he pretty much resigned himself to having lost it.

And then surprise, surprise!  A few days ago Purolator Courier dropped off a big cardboard envelope. And in it was Gerard's key with the War Amps tag!  No note.  No explanation.  Just the key.  So we'll vouch for these tags and encourage you to use them if you have them. They really do work as promised!

A few more flowers to cheer you until spring arrives in a few days.

Our Unique Call

Here's quote that I found on Facebook yesterday and it really spoke to me. When I hear the news from around the world there seems to be so much pain and sadness and evil.  I wonder about the people involved.  What can we do to bring healing to those experiencing pain and suffering? My lifestyle feels so self-centered and uninvolved. 

more spring flowers at Centennial Conservatory

Here's a good thought for the day from Henri Nouwen's "Bread for the Journey," 

Our Unique Call

So many terrible things happen every day that we start wondering whether the few things we do ourselves make any sense. When people are starving only a few thousands miles away, when wars are raging close to our borders, when countless people in our cities have no homes to live in, our own activities look futile. Such considerations, however, can paralyze and depress us.

Here the word "call" becomes important. We are not called to save the world, solve all problems, and help all people. But each of us has our own unique call, in our families, in our work, in our world. We have to keep asking God to help us see clearly what our call is and to give us the strength to live out that call with trust. Then we will discover that our faithfulness to a small task is the most healing response to the illnesses of our time.

Putting in the First Seeds

Here's a little update on some indoor gardening going on here.

The geraniums are in full bloom. Actually some flowers have dropped off already.

Ta dah!  Daffodil number five pushing up through the soil!

  

 starting up the first batch of seeds

I'm trying again this year; starting seedlings in toilet paper rolls.  When I first tried it a few years ago, I cut the rolls in half so they were half the height of these and then tore the rolls off the roots before planting the seedlings.  Later I read somewhere to use the full roll so the roots have more space to develop, and then plant your seedlings, roll and all into the garden. They also suggested using these plastic boxes from spinach as a little "green house" to help the seeds germinate. So that's what I'm trying this year. 

Yes, that's what I love about spring - the joy of watching new life emerge from dead-looking seeds, bulbs and dormant plants. Reminds me of the resurrection of Christ from the grave; the transformation from death to life.  What a miracle!

What a Difference from Yesterday!

What a difference between yesterday and today!

 yesterday - warm, sunny, water, soaking up sun on the front porch

 visit to the green house

today - blustery cold, shoveling piles of snow

visit for lunch at Alida's

I just saw my first robin of the season!  Kind of ironic that it would be just as we came in from shoveling piles of snow. 

A Taste of Spring

Blue skies, warm sunshine, the sounds of birds and running water.  What a day!  And in addition to all of that, we visited the Centennial Conservatory in Centennial Park in Etobicoke.  I've heard about this place for quite a while and always wanted to see it.  Then recently I saw pictures on Facebook, that rekindled my desire to go.  This morning Gerard asked, "How would you like to go to the greenhouse at Centennial Park today?" Without a second's hesitation I responded, " Yes!  Love to!" So we did.

I took a lot of pictures so I'll share some with you today and then save the rest to insert in upcoming posts leading us into spring, when hopefully we'll be able to go outside and see our own plants coming up.

 

interesting new (for me) hyacynth 

I hope you enjoyed this little foretaste of spring.  I highly recommend this place - Centennial Conservatory - 12,000 square feet of interesting plant collections in three glass houses.  Free admission and free parking. 

New Experiences on Our Trip

Two of the things that make trips like the one Henry and I took last week so energizing for me are: interacting with people all the time and new experiences. I don't do very well with limited social interaction and with routine. So this trip has revived and energized me. Here are some of the new and interesting things I experienced on our trip:

It seems that along the 401 highway most (or all by now?) of the service centres have been replaced with brand new bright and spacious Onroute buildings.  And in one of them I noticed a "Fresh and Healthy" food stand!  I was so surprised to see containers of apple slices, grapes, carrot and celery sticks, and whole fresh fruits like apples and bananas and fresh salads!  We already had most of those snacks with us in the car, but it was so good to see that there is finally something fresh and healthy available in addition to fries, hamburgers, donuts, pop, chips, etc.

Fresh and Healthy food stands in the new ONROUTE service centres.

One day we went to see the brand newly installed Brinston wind farm that my family members were involved in initiating. The turbines were installed by a new owner of the project, but my brother and nephews knew a lot about it.  Did you know that there is an elevator in the core of the shaft of each turbine and also an office up at the top where the blades are?  Did you know that it takes three flat bed trucks to transport one blade?  That's how huge they are! Did you know that they had to come through Toronto at 3 a.m. when the 401 is relatively free of traffic?  And some intersections in the country had to be enlarged to allow these huge loads to make it around the corners?  So Interesting!  

deep fried pickles!

While we were out there checking out the wind farm, we stopped at the Brinston General Store for a bite to eat.  It was the only place selling food that we could find out there in the country.  Apparently they did booming business when all the workers were installing the turbines.  The little restaurant (seats 12) even delivered food out to the work site. Their food was delicious!  Henry had a good old home made hamburger and I had a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Really good!  Just for fun he ordered a side of deep fried pickles. Not so good, in my opinion. O well, chalk it up as a new experience.  Apparently they're really popular out there.  

names of my grand nephews and nieces

With my brother's help I wrote up a list of my grand nephews and nieces (all his grandchildren!).  On our way to visiting each household we would review the list so we would hopefully know who was who by the time we got there. We mixed up a few, but on the whole did pretty well. Really fun to meet the three new babies and to see how much the older ones had all grown up since I last met them on a similar trip with Alida three years ago.  

Rainbow Loom bracelets

Another new experience was learning about Rainbow Loom - something very popular for girls about 6 to 12 years of age.  I had heard about it and seen them in the store, and then on our visit my great niece, Leah, sat near me, first showing me and then teaching me how to make a bracelet using her fingers and all these colourful little rubber bands. At the end of the visit Leah and her sister Sarah each gave me one that they made for me.  Such sweethearts!

The left one from Leah and the right one from Sarah

We also heard a lot about solar power since some of my family members owned companies that installed solar panels.  Every household had anywhere from one to six solar panels.  Did you know that a snow-covered panel does not generate much power?  Did you know that you can earn a lot of money by feeding this power into the grid? 

Some of you have asked me how I managed the trip. Was it tiring? Was I able to handle it all? Thank the Lord, I managed the constant switching of gears and I slept very well, We did pace ourselves and I had afternoon naps just for some down time.  All in all, rather than being too tiring it was a fun and energizing three days out for me.  I feel revived.  Thanks,Henry!  It was a wonderful way to spend time together and to renew ties with family members!

Quickie Vacation in Eastern Ontario

Henry pulled up to our house on Monday morning at 9:15, loaded my stuff into his car and we were off! He's a very relaxed driver so I gradually relaxed about this adventure and settled in for the ride. We stopped for lunch in Kingston at The Sleepless Goat Cafe. Their whole menu features my kind of food preferences: vegetarian, organic, local food.  I loved the atmosphere and the food - burrito (H) and quesadilla (me). Delicious! And then off to my Brother, Bart's, place.

comparing our hair do's - both bushy and grey

We were warmly welcomed by his big brotherly bear hug!  His home became our home base. We settled in with a nap and then for a relaxing dinner and evening with Bart and Wendy. From there we went to visit four of his five children and sixteen of his seventeen grandchildren and my sister-in-law, who all live in the area.

my brother's new octagonal sun room in progress

It was great!  We were warmly welcomed at every home and had wonderful visits with everyone. They're all big thinkers and full of ideas and energy. Very refreshing and inspiring! Out of the six homes we visited four or maybe even five were being renovated so we got the grand tours.  We met three new babies and got re-acquainted with the family members we hadn't seen for a while. What an awesome family!  It was such a joy and privilege to hear everyone's stories!  I loved it!  

love the web of trusses in the ceiling of the new sun room!

One of the renovations we saw was my brother's new octagonal sun room.  It's going to be beautiful! There are six large windows, that make you feel like you're sitting right in the yard among the trees. Can't wait to see it all done. 

my brother Bart in his home office. 

I was so busy enjoying all the visits, that I hardly took any pictures, but I'll share some more stories in the next couple of days.