On Our Evening Walk...

We just got back from our evening walk.  I was hoping to find something interesting - some blessing to share with you in this blog post because I had run out of new pictures. I wore these humongous old glasses. Out of all my former prescriptions that I still had lying around, this pair offers me the clearest long distance vision while my eyes are adjusting after the surgery. Don't worry, I'm not wearing them anywhere important. Just on this walk, to protect my eyes from whatever might be flying around in the strong winds outside. Wow! Styles sure have changed!

how do you like these glasses?  from the 80's maybe?

We played in two puddles that were so big from the downpour earlier today, that they met each other in the middle of the road! Gerard was playing on one side of the street and I was on the other, clearing the debris away from the blocked drain covers. It was fun watching the water rush down the openings we had made and seeing the puddles get smaller and smaller in a matter of minutes. Wish I had thought to take a picture. It was fun and exhilarating!

First thing I saw, coming out of the front door for our walk, was this bunch of daffodils - the first ones in bloom on our property this season.

And how do you like these three cute little stone puppies in this stone wagon?  It's the first time I've seen them, just up the street from our house. I love little surprises like this, and they're so cute! 

And look what else we found!  A set of door knobs that match the original door knobs in our house! Some of ours are missing so Gerard took these off a door that was being tossed out along with a whole pile of other renovation waste. When our realtor toured us through our house about 35 years ago, the owner especially pointed out the glass doorknobs, which she thought were a very special feature of the house.  I'm not particularly fond of their appearance, but I like the idea that they were the originals in our house - giving a little sense of history.

comparing the knobs we found in the garbage to our own. 

All along our walk we saw buds opening, revealing the beginning of new fresh growth.  The weeping willows were especially covered with tiny green leaves already.  If you're looking for something to photograph, it's amazing what you can all find on a routine walk in your own neighbourhood. There's always something new and interesting. We just have to be tuned in to looking for blessings in all the little every day things around us. And the biggest blessing for me right now is that I can actually see them!

Bright Colours of Early Spring

Sharing with you the bright colours in our early spring garden.  There are lots of low-to-the-ground little plants in bloom in our front flower beds.  The grass is greening up over the yellow spots left by the snow mould.  A bush along our driveway is breaking out into tiny green leaves.  The daffodil buds are starting to show yellow. And when it rains the soil looks dark and rich.

We've had some little adventures these days. When I went to feed the fish two days ago I noticed that the water level in the aquarium was down a few inches.  The carpeting below the tank was wet. So we had to pull apart the whole aquarium and curl up the carpet to help it dry.  We think it had something to do with the filter overflowing, so we cleaned everything and put the whole setup back together again. The fish are now happily swimming around in their new clean surroundings. The problem seems to be resolved. We're hoping!

On Friday we went to see Stephie in a figure skating competition. She's in Toronto training for the 2018 Olympics.  We pick her up for church once in a while and talk about her skating. Yesterday's competition was the first one we were able to attend one of her events.  It was great seeing her skate!  She's in the Junior Women's division and placed third yesterday out of twelve competitors, so we were pretty proud of "our girl"!

No major plans for this week.  I hope to pick up some mulch to spread over the flower beds.  I'm not allowed to do Pilates for a few weeks and may not swim for a whole month, so will have to get my exercise some other way. Actually no gardening or other bending for ten days either. Not sure what I'm going to do. Good thing I'm into a new book!                              

Which Glasses Shall I Wear Today?

Once the freezing wore out after the cataract surgery, my eye felt itchy and aggravated by what felt like grains of sand in it. I was so tempted to touch it or rub it, but it's a good thing I couldn't with that patch covering it. Fortunately my eye settled down on the evening of the day of surgery already so I've been comfortable since.  I just realize as I'm typing this that I can see everything on the screen very clearly! - a great improvement over two days ago when I couldn't even see what I was typing. I'm trying to figure out when to use my glasses. The surgeon implanted a lens to make (keep) me near sighted.  So anything about 10 inches from my eyes is very clear (including the computer screen and my book! - Yay!), but at a distance all is blurry.

So I'll have to be patient while my eye adjusts and completely settles down. Then we can get my prescription lenses adjusted to my new vision. In the meantime, I wasn't sure what to do. Gerard suggested I look for some of my former glasses with varying prescriptions.  Maybe one of them would tide me over for the time being. (what would I do without him?) I went on a hunt for my old glasses and found eight pairs! in a box and I have some butterfly-shaped and huge round plastic frames somewhere too yet!  I couldn't believe it!  Kind of interesting to see how the shapes and sizes change over the years.  I chose a pair that gives me the best vision for the time being.  So sometimes I wear those, but most of the time not wearing any glasses at all is working the best.

It's hard to imagine that there are people who would give anything for one pair of glasses and here I have all of these just sitting around doing nothing.  It's probably time to donate them to be used by people who really need them.

Cataract Surgery Completed!

Just a quick update because I can't see very well yet.  This morning I had a cataract removed from my left eye.  It all went very smoothly and efficiently.Once I got called in  I sat in this reclining chair and received three rounds of eyedrops and got an IV inserted.

Then they wheeled me into the operating room, lowered the chair and it was an operating table@  They shot some aneshticcs into my IV and next thing I knew it was all done. Back to the waiting room for an hour. Then the surgeon examined my eyes and sent us on our way.

I' was so surprised to get this see-through patch!  So far I can see almost as well as before the surgery  so I can get around the house no problem.  I prepared my own sandwich for lunch and now I'm going down for a nap. 

I have to keep this eye patch on for one day and three more nights.  The eye tends to feel itchy so it's  tempting to wipe or scratch it.  I also have to continue eye drops for ten daus to prevent infection.  The surgeon said my eye should heal up completelyu in eight to ten weeks.  I'm looking forward to the final result.  

(I'll ask Gerard to proofread this when he has time.  I can't really see the computer screen clearly ye, but I know my blog format well enough to guess at where things are.  Hopefully it came out OK.  

They Left Us Everything

               

 I just finished reading this book, "They Left Us Everything" by Plum Johnson. It's a true story - memoir - of a family home in Oakville, Ontario. Once both parents passed away, the adult children get together to plan the sorting and clearing of the house. Plum, the daughter who lives in Toronto and has spent many years taking care of her parents as their health was failing, volunteers to stay at the house for a few weeks to do the bulk of the sorting, and her brothers come and go from far and wide to help with major decisions.  

What started as a six-week stay stretched into 16 months! As she sorts through dresser drawers, bags and bags of letters that her parents wrote each other while her father served in the army overseas, she recounts memories associated with each find, so gradually the family story gets told. All four of the adult kids felt overwhelmed by the task and initially wondered why on earth their parents would have left them all this stuff! Why not just toss it? But as Plum moves along reading letters and finding all kinds of things, she comes to know her mother and gains respect for where her parents were coming from.  

In the end she concludes, "Earlier I'd resolved to clear out my own mess, too, so my children wouldn't have to face it, but since then I've had a change of heart.  Now I believe this clearing out is a valuable process - best left to our children.  It's the only way they'll ever truly come to know us, discovering things we never wanted them to find " (p.219).  

* * * 

This book has made me think about my own process of purging and cleaning.  So far I've only given away things, mostly dishes and things that I've collected from Value Village over the years. And I've shredded binders and binders full of papers from committees I've served on in the past. This book has made me wonder what people would learn about me from the things I will leave behind some day, and seriously consider what to dispose of now, and what to leave behind.

Helping my parents move two years ago was an emotional and at the same time valuable experience for me.  It helped me through the grieving process.  They have moved many times and so didn't have much that was just taking up space.Most everything was what was needed for daily living. But they had to down-size once again and so decisions had to be made. What about the family photo albums? What about my father's theological books and his great music collection - which he can no longer hear? What about all the copper and silver trinkets that have been passed down through the family?

So this book struck a responsive chord in me.I found it emotional and funny, thought provoking and profound, all at once. A good read!  

Racoon Family Finds New Home

Yesterday Gerard went into the garage for something and found items scattered around out of their normal places.  Then he noticed a hole in the screen.  He thought he heard birds on the roof, but when he went out to check there were none. Do we have a racoon in our garage? All was quiet for the rest of the day. Just in case, he closed the glass window over the screen to prevent any creatures from coming in.

\\\\\                  

the hole in the screen was bigger today than yesterday

Then this morning on the way out to our morning swim, Gerard quickly checked the garage. Again there were items out of place, the glass window was open and the hole in the screen was bigger than before.The minute we got back from the pool he called wildlife control services. From there on in our morning took an interesting turn. A wildlife control representative showed up within the hour and the racoon and her family of four was evicted from our garage within the next hour.  We were asked to stand well back from the garage window while the man went in to find and move the mother out of the garage.  I was able to zoom the camera in from the far end of the deck and just caught the mother emerging through the hole in the screen, her initial access point.

The service man found four baby racoons way up in a large computer box on the rafters in the very back corner of our garage.  He put them in a bushel basket outside the garage, right below the window the mother had used as her access point.  He told us that they are required to release adult racoons within one kilometer of where they are caught so they'll know their way around.  And if there are babies they may take them out of the building, but have to release the mother right there and leave the babies out where the mother can find them. He told us that she would go out to find a new home for her family and then come and get the babies.  He warned us that she may only take one or two, but hopefully eventually maybe all of them.  

Here's a picture of the four babies in the basket, waiting for mommy to come and rescue them.The man estimates that they were 3 to 4 weeks old. So we've had racoons in our garage for quite awhile already without realizing it.  I know racoons can be a real nuisance,but these babies are so cute, and helpless! I couldn't bear to think that we'd have to decide their fate if the mother didn't come for them. And what would we do?  I doubt the humane society would be interested in having four more newborn racoons to take care of. The man said that if they died, just to wrap them up and throw them in the green bin. Oh my!  

I was surprised at my emotions about these helpless little babies left out there exposed in the basket. At my nap time I actually shed a few tears and prayed that the mother would come to rescue her little ones.  After about an hour Gerard saw her pick up and leave with one of the babies.  I was napping at the time so missed the excitement.  After that I sat and watched for her return for over an hour, but did not see her again.  I went to check the basket and felt so bad for the babies!  What are we going to do with them if the mother does not come back for the rest?  I'm really not much of an animal lover, but these little ones and the mother who got separated from her babies and evicted from her family's safe home really tugged at my heart strings!  

                        

It was time for us to go out (to watch the movie, "Heaven is for Real", so very reluctantly we (I) left the three little ones to fend for themselves.  By the time we got home there was only one baby left in the basket!  I was so-o-o relieved and thankful! We're hoping that mommy will come back one more time to bring her last little one to its new home.. 

P.S. Well, by now it is 9:49 pm.  I just went out into the back yard with a flashlight to check on the last baby.  The basket was turned on its side, the towel was half out on the grass, I lifted it up and there was no baby!  The mother has moved all four of her babies to a new home!  I am so relieved!. When I see any racoons around here from now on, I'll probably always wonder whether it is one of "our babies".

Around the House

It's been an Easter weekend full of activity. Lots of special worship services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday; Congregational Easter Breakfast; very first family gathering hosted at Jeff and Alida's on Saturday; walking; gardening; etc. I've been so living in the moment from one activity to the next, that I have no pictures to show you of all these events. Coming and going, picking up and dropping off stuff has given our house a very lived-in look.

On the kitchen table here's a basket of the leftover Easter eggs I coloured on Saturday.  There are signs of window cleaning that Gerard is doing.  There's a new jigsaw puzzle in process on the dining room table. The window sills have trays of seedlings and pots of spent daffodils and amaryllis plants. The coffee table is cluttered with church liturgies, magazines, books, and Saturday's paper.

eye drops in preparation for cataract surgery on Thursday

The bathroom counter looks like this picture above.  Gerard created a chart to help me manage all the eye drops I have to take in preparation for the cataract surgery (one drop once a day every other day in both eyes, two four times a day in the cataract eye only, one twice a day in both eyes).  See why I need a chart to keep track of it all?  I'm looking forward to getting the surgery done.  It's really not a big deal - such a common surgery that so many people have experienced.  However, the big deal for me is that it's my only good eye, so I'm counting on this procedure to be successful in order to restore my vision. I'm excited and a bit apprehensive all rolled into one. I'll keep you posted.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Alleluia!

Visiting Our Grandchildren

The development of little children is an absolute miracle!  What a blessing to have such open and easy access to time with our grandchildren! On Wednesday we spent time with Hannah. Each time we see her we notice new things she has learned.

Fluttering her eye lashes as Opa blows on them

Look at those lashes!  Hannah picking up finger foods.

Hannah is starting to feed herself small finger foods. She has five teeth now.  It looks like she's going to start crawling soon because now we see her pushing herself up on all fours and rocking back and forth, as if she's getting ready to take off.  When drinking from her bedtime bottle she's gotten into the habit of putting both hands up on her head and curling her hair around her fingers. I can totally identify with that because that's what I did when my hair grew back in and was curly.  

Then on Thursday we got to spend time with Oscar and Charlie. Not as many pictures of them as of Hannah this time because we see them every week so there's not as much to catch up on with them. 

There was just enough space in the big new chair for Oscar to snuggle right in beside Opa.

reading one of Oscar's favourites - The Big Firetruck Book

  

 And here's Charlie just watching and taking it all in. 

What a blessing - these precious little kids!

What is the Meaning of Life? - Ecclesiastes

Do you ever wonder, "What is the meaning of life?" or "Is life really worth living?" This past Sunday our church hosted a theatrical reading of Calvin Seerveld's* translation from the Hebrew of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes as a chorus of voices. I've been thinking about it ever since.
(* Cal is a member of our congregation)

 In the book of Ecclesiastes The Preacher poses the age-old questions that all of us ask ourselves at some point or another: "What is the meaning of life?" and "Is life really worth living?"  He says "I applied myself to search for understanding about everything in the universe.  I discovered that the lot of man, which God has dealt to him, is not a happy one.  It is all foolishness, chasing the wind."(1:14)."All is futile, utterly futile". (12:3) Next I observed all the oppression and sadness throughout the earth... So I felt that the dead were better off than the living." (4:2)

Then there is the passage made popular through the song, "To Everything, Turn, Turn, Turn, There is a Season, Turn, Turn, Turn," (1:2-8) And The Preacher says, I have thought about this..But though God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, many cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.  So I conclude that, first, there is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can: and second, that he should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of his labors, for these are gifts from God.  And I know this, that whatever God does is final - nothing can be added or taken from it; God's purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God. (3:12-14)  

One verse that stood out for me: "It is a wonderful thing to be alive!  If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer and that everything down here is futile in comparison."(11:7)

After struggling with these questions in my own life I am coming to the conclusion that

Life is meaningless apart from God 

and 

it is a wonderful thing to be alive! 

Another Beautiful Day

Another beautiful day!  We started it off with grocery shopping.  That's where we found this one and only yellow lily on the rack.  I smelled it and there was no fragrance coming from it at all, so we bought this yellow one, because I react to the white lilies.  This yellow one was such a happy splash of colour in our living room!  But unfortunately in the early evening it started emitting a wonderful fragrance :(  So now it is spending the night in the pantry.  Hopefully we can bring it up again in the morning and enjoy it during the day.

Asiatic Lily

We spent a lot of time outside today:

* coffee on the deck

* laundry on the new clothesline.

* hamburgers on the BBQ for the first time this season

* meeting neighbours who are coming outside after a long winter

* doing some more spring cleaning in the garden.

Aah - the warm sun feels so good! Another beautiful day!

Thursday Visit

We're still making our weekly Thursday visits with Oscar and Charlie.    Yesterday we walked to the playground with the two of them for the first time. At first Oscar was not too pleased that Charlie was coming along, but he got over that very quickly. 

He had something new going on yesterday on the way to the playground. At least every half block he'd stop walking, pull a kleenex (tissue) from his coat pocket, and say, "Have to wipe my nose." He'd wipe it, slowly put the kleenex back into his pocket and carefully close the flap on the pocket.  Then he'd run to catch up with us again. Half a block later, same thing.  As I watched him do it over and over again, I wondered whether he was copying Gerard, who also stops to blow his nose and then stuffs the handkerchief back into his pocket, a tactic to get some attention, or just something new he's thought up. It's hard to refrain from laughing when it's so funny to watch him.

Oscar tracing his hand in a card for Opa.

Charlie "hanging out"...

And here's little Charlie boy at seven and a half months, relaxing in his crib.  I went up to get him up from his nap.  The minute he opens his eves he's smiling.  What a relaxed cheerful little guy!  Two days ago he slept through the whole night for the very first time.Mommy and Daddy are very happy!

The plans were for us to visit with Hannah today, but that got postponed.  Rosemary feels like she's coming down with something and doesn't want to risk passing anything on to me just before my surgery, which was very considerate of her and Mark.  Hopefully I'll have a new picture of Hannah to show you real soon.

Spring has Sprung!

Pansies! We bought some this morning! I love their friendly little faces! Every year we have pansies in an urn on the deck just outside the kitchen window. Normally we buy them right around my dad's birthday at the end of March, but with the long cold winter this year, we're a whole two weeks behind. I'm so happy to see pansies from our kitchen window again!

And the crocuses started flowering in the front flower beds yesterday.

Spring has sprung!  Almost every day this week I've spent about an hour a day spring cleaning and edging the flower beds out front. One or two more days and they'll be all cleaned up. Earlier this evening Gerard hung a new clothes line to replace the one that snapped in the ice storm. So we're pulling the place back together after the winter and the ice storm. And then we can sit back and enjoy. 

Preparing for Cataract Surgery

Only fifteen days until my cataract surgery!  We've been busy with appointments, tests, and eye drops in preparation.  Yesterday we went to get a pre-operative form filled out by my family doctor.  I thought it would just be a quick in and out - get the form filled out and signed and we'd be on our way. But she ended up ordering blood and urine tests, an ECG, an ultrasound of my heart, and today we went for a chest x-ray. Apparently chemo can damage your heart, so they want to be sure everything is in good working order to be able to manage the surgery. They seem to be overly cautious with me because of the treatment my body has endured.

I tend to swing from being cynical about all this seemingly excessive testing and medication, to being thankful for all the medical support that is so easily and freely accessable to us.  We are hoping and praying that this surgery will restore some of my vision and would appreciate your ongoing prayer support over the next few weeks.  

And on a totally different note - here is a little treasure that I ran across while sorting my files. Found this quite a few years ago and have to chuckle every time I read it. I saw this saying posted at a farmer's market once.You may have seen it before too, but here it is again for you to enjoy. 

Spending Time Outdoors

As temperatures are gradually rising we're spending more time out of doors. Doesn't it feel great?  The sidewalks are finally clear of ice so we've really picked up our walking; to and from the pool and church.  We've also started cleaning up the yard.     

It was warm enough to sit in the sun watching Oscar play in the sandbox at their local park.

chives

I've been cleaning up the flower beds.  Today I found rhubarb and chives coming up!

rhubarb

evidence of Gerard's clean up project

And Gerard's been washing windows and continues to clear the back yard.of fallen branches. He's almost done, but there are still some stuck in the ice. Anyways, for now we've reached our limit of garden waste for this pick-up period.  We can prepare more for the next round in two weeks.

Still waiting for the ice to melt so this remaining storm debris can be pulled out and raked up 

2014 Gardening Season Now Open!

Yesterday I worked out in the garden for the first time this season.  It felt and smelled so good!

Brand new shiny clean gloves to start off the new season.

I discovered the first daffodils of the season!

and the tulips have grown a lot since I first found them 5 days ago.

For Behold, the Winter is Past...

For behold, the winter is past,

the flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing has come.

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Our day started out as usual with a green smoothie, breakfast, devotions; and then a trip to the cataract specialist. After checking and measuring my eyes he concluded that the cataract in my good eye is ready to be removed. We were sent to the receptionist to schedule our next appointment and to book a date for surgery.  

As we were waiting there I overheard her telling someone that they are now booking surgeries into September! My heart sank. At least five months away! That's a long time when my eyesight is getting progressively worse.  Back to the receptionist: "I'm booking your surgery for Thursday, April 24th. Would that be all right?"  Me:  "Would that be all right?!!! Yes, definitely that would be great! April 24th?!  That's only three weeks from now! Wow! So soon!  Yes, thank you very much!" She told us that the doctor directed her to give me one of the spots he keeps open for emergencies and for urgent cases like mine (having only one good eye in which the cataract is growing rapidly). Halleljah!  Thank you, Lord! I can't wait for the surgery! Only 21 more sleeps!

We went home rejoicing, had lunch and a nap and then headed outside to enjoy the spring-like weather. It feels so freeing to be outside again after this long winter.  What a treat it is to be turning over the soil again!  Out of the wind and in the full sun it was quite warm, actually. Wonderful feeling!

My very first time of gardening this season! 

 I got this whole flower bed spring cleaned today. Some gardeners do this cleanup in the fall, but I like the look of sedums and black-eyed susan seed heads in the snow, and also that they provide seeds for the birds during the winter.  

Gerard raking out the snow mold

Gerard has been spending as much time outside as he can - going for walks, spreading remaining snow to make it melt faster, still pulling downed branch debris from the ice storm out of the melting ice, raking snow mold out of the front lawn,  cleaning the car.. whatever he can find to do outside.

getting rid of all that winter salt and grit

After the gardening I sat in the sun on the front porch making some phone calls, while Gerard was enjoying his completely ice-free, branch-free dry deck in the back, relaxing with a coffee.. 

Yes, today it feels like winter is really finally past!