Yesterday

Yesterday I went swimming for the first time in about a month and I could read the clocks!!! Haven't been able to see them since early last fall, so this evidence of progress with my vision  was very exciting!

Last night we went up the street to a vacant lot beside an empty house, where someone has been dumping wood chips.  We filled up all kinds of containers and spread the wood chips under and around our garden swing. I love the bouncy feeling of walking on wood chips. Now I can do it a little bit in our own back yard.

On our evening walk we found this cute little tree house.  

 Praise and thanksgiving let everyone bring,

Unto our Father for every good thing,

All together joyfully sing.

Look What We Found

Look what we found at the curb on our walk this evening. Just needs a little cleaning up 

and then to be tested

so cute the way she's holding onto Mark's hair

by Hannah and Charlie, our two little exersaucer experts.

 first time we had Charlie in the swing (this morning)

I hope it works. The babies love it. It would be one less thing our kids have to haul along when they come to visit us and one more thing to help us keep the babies entertained and happy.

Restrictions Lifted!

Good news!  I can go swimming again! This morning we saw the cataract surgeon. My eye has healed and settled down enough to lift all the restrictions (no bending over, no swimming, no eye make-up, no other stress on my eyes like Pilates and no lifting over 10 pounds).  He checked my vision and said that I'm seeing better than three weeks ago. Gerard said that too as he saw how much more I could read compared to our last appointment. 

my new cheerful little windmill

So we delivered the prescription for new lenses, to match my new level of vision, to the optometrist. And since this change in prescription is required due to cataract surgery and was within six months of my last new lenses, this round is completely free of charge!  When I get my glasses back in about a week, I'll hopefully be able to see clearly again. Yay!!!

Weekend of Celebrations

Here I am in the nice cool basement, escaping from the 29 degree weather outside.  Never would have imagined saying that a month ago when we were still eagerly awaiting relief from the long cold winter. I'm also intentionally having a low-key kind of day - after a busy and exciting weekend.

It all started on Friday when Alida treated her mother-in-law, Cheryl, and me to lunch out together, her gift to both of us for Mother's Day. I went down to her place by public transit and we worked in the garden for a while.  Then we headed over to Brampton to meet up with Cheryl.  We all enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and quesadillas and unanimously agreed that we do this again sometime soon.  I love these "time together" gifts!

Saturday we prepared for and hosted our small group.  Sunday morning we were off to the 30th Anniversary celebration of the Richmond Hill Community Christian Reformed Church - the daughter church of our congregation, where I worked for five years in the 80's.  It was good to join the celebration and to briefly catch up with people I hadn't seen for quite a while. Great singing too!

Home for a nap and then off to Mark and Rosemary's for our May family celebration of Rosemary and Ken's birthdays and Mother's Day.  

The cousins playing "together"

hamburger-like muffins. Nice job, Melanie!

"Everyone on the couch! Mom wants a picture."

(Jeff and Alida had left by this time because Alida had to work)

Yes, it was quite the weekend!  Lots of blessings to celebrate!

Another Fun Surprise

We saw this picture posted on Facebook, thanks to Dickson Corro.  It peaked my interest and I really wanted to see it. So we went to check it out on our evening walk yesterday.  This interesting looking vehicle - half police cruiser/half taxi cab is parked out  in front of our local police station as part of the RIDE program (Reduced Impaired Driving Everywhere).

I love it!  Great way to catch people's attention! RIDE offers programs and campaigns dedicated to preventing impaired driving, including a sobriety testing program used by the police in Ontario.  

On the front hood it says that 

you could choose to drink and drive and it could cost you...

OR you could choose this ride 

and all it would cost you is approximately $40. 

Brilliant way to catch people's attention!  

Another one of these random surprises
that make life fun and interesting. 

Love it!

Slowing Down

The other day as Gerard was touching up the paint on some of our window frames he said, "How did we ever have time for our jobs?"  I wonder about that too sometimes. It's not only the time I wonder about, but also the energy. Recently I was flipping through some of our kitchen calendars from about thirty years ago (yes, I still have them all) and was amazed at what a non-stop life we lived, and that included three young children and our jobs! Our life-style has definitely changed and slowed down a lot since then.  

Retirement allows us to spend lots of time with our grandchildren. The picture below shows you how we spent part of our day today...  Our grandsons, Oscar and Charlie, were both a little under the weather so we decided to stay close to home.  This is the very first time we played in their own back yard like this instead of going to the local playground. 

relaxing with Oscar and Charlie in their private playground

Look at the amazing playground Oscar and Charlie have in their very own back yard!  Poppa (Melanie's dad) just built this sand box for Oscar.  Many of the rest of the toys (slide, wading pool, picnic table, basketball hoop, riding toys, etc.) were found out on the curb, just like all of our garden toys. 

And then there's gardening - I've been spending increasing time in the garden since my cataract surgery.  It didn't take retirement to get me into gardening. I have loved gardening for as long as I can remember. However, retirement does free up lots of time to do it. The other day my sister had a post on Facebook that said, "You know something is an enjoyable pastime when you completely lose track of time while doing it."  And that is gardening she's talking about. Anneke and I both inherited this passion from our mother. All three of us can get so engrossed in gardening that at that moment the rest of the world ceases to exist. 

 

 bleeding heart - one of my favourite perennials

 clump of trilliums in our back yard

The blossoms on our crab apple tree were at their peak yesterday.  Today it is "snowing" blossom petals. 

crab apple tree in full bloom in our front yard.

If I'm ever exhausted or depressed, spending time in the garden is a good remedy. I come out happy and energized.  Yes, for me gardening is therapeutic, healthy, and enjoyable.  It never fails to lift my spirits. Watching new growth and nurturing it along and being creative in arranging the garden is life giving. I love it! And retirement living allows us lots of time "to smell the roses".

Walking at Bruce's Mill

On Victoria Day we went walking at Bruce's Mill Conservation Area with friends.  We used to do this together a lot, but hadn't done it for a long time.  It was great spending the afternoon in the woods. The trilliums were at their peak.  Several areas were just covered with them!  

  

         

After our walk we had a BBQ and spent a few hours socializing around the fire pit.  It was a wonderful day; perfect weather, exercise, fresh air, restful nature, good food and friendship.

In Our Back Yard

Our back yard looks so different from last summer after losing at least a third of our silver maple tree in the ice storm.  All the lower branches are gone and the only branches with leaves are way up high where we don't see them from the kitchen window. 

Top 2/3 of our tree. Below is just bare trunk

Now the view from the deck is clear all the way to the back fence.  I'm still getting used to the big change.  Every time I look out back the new look surprises me.  The vast expanse of lawn pops out at me, compared to the tree's branches being the main feature of the back yard before. 

the view from our deck now

                 

the view from our deck last summer

                                  

It feels more spacious and lighter, but I miss the cover of the tree.  Hopefully that will grow back in a few years.  Meanwhile, I'm watching to see how the plants are responding to their new environment. So far so good. The rhubarb is thriving this year and so are the mushrooms!

our first harvest of rhubarb this spring

surprise patch of mushrooms at the base of the maple!

I love spring in the garden. There is an abundance of fresh growth popping out of the ground and it all looks so lush and healthy. There are new surprises everyday, like these mushrooms yesterday. Love it!  

English Conversation Group and a Concert

Every Thursday evening I help out with a small English Conversation group at our church. We talk casually about all kinds of things; anything to get the participants speaking English. This week the conversation landed on a benefit concert for the Reaching Up Homework Club and Music School offered by the University Presbyterian Church in the Jane/Finch community. Two of our ESL participants were heavily involved in the concert, so to show our support we (group leaders) decided to attend the concert.  

It was amazing!  In the concert, volunteer teachers and students of the music school joined together and performed solos, "8 hands 2 pianos", "4 hands 1 piano", student and teacher in a guitar duet, and other unique styles of performances. It was so touching to see the students and teachers performing together in duets, with the teachers embellishing the children's simple melodies to make them sound like masterpieces!  Very moving to see how this experience could give the children inspiration and hope and confidence! Wow!

Four professional pianists playing together on two grand pianos!  I was amazed at the volume and energy and beautiful music that came from those two pianos.  It almost sounded like a whole orchestra. I've never experienced anything like this before. 

They had two large screens so that you could see the musicians up close.  Especially fun to see when eight hands are flying across two keyboards at the same time. Here are Hubert (pianist) and Kathleen (opera singer) contributing their talents to the event.  This husband/wife team are both professional musicians and both attend our English conversation group.  While I was listening to them perform, I couldn't believe that we are weekly helping them with their language skills!  The whole program was a beautiful experience!  I'm so glad I could attend!  What an evening!  I just loved it!  I'm sure there'll be lots to talk about at our conversation group this week!

Oh Happy Day!

Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles,

it takes away today's peace.

Finding this quote on Facebook last weekend helped me shift my focus from worrying about the strange sensations my eye drops are causing in my head and letting that influence my days, to living in the moment and intentionally receiving the gift of each new day with grace and thanksgiving. And so it's been a good week so far. 

On Wednesday I cashed in on a promissory note received as a gift from Rosemary earlier this year, "This is good for a trip to the Toronto Botanical Gardens."  We met in the parking lot and transferred some perennials from our garden into Rosemary's car.  Gerard headed back home from there and left us to our ladies' day out.  

Rosemary and Hannah at Toronto Botanical Gardens

We wondered about the name change from Edward Gardens to The Toronto Botanical Gardens, and found out from a volunteer that there actually was no name change (and I quote from the TBG's website,) "Many people believe the TBG and Edwards Gardens are synonymous.  We're not.  Edwards Gardens is a public park owned and administered by the City of Toronto.  The TBG is a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to disseminating horticultural and gardening information. It is strategically located within Edward Gardens. So that was an interesting bit of information. We strolled around the botanical gardens and into Edward Gardens just chatting and soaking in the peace and beauty of the place.We saw groundhogs, squirrels, birds, and  watched this mother Canada goose with her five goslings!

Then we headed home to Rosemary's for lunch.  While Hannah napped, the two of us worked in the garden.  I sat on a little stool,clearing the flower beds.  Meanwhile Rosemary did all the heavy digging and planted the perennials I brought her from my garden.  We accomplished a lot in the back yard and later a little in the front as well. In between the garden work I managed to have a short nap, we fed and played with Hannah, had dinner with Mark, and then at around 8:30 I headed home on the subway.

It was a day I had always dreamed of having in my retirement; taking public transit to visit one of my daughters, doing something together (like working in the garden), playing with the grandchildren... yes, it was a dream day!

And then I came home to my own garden, which looks beautiful right now!  Oh Happy Day!

the main flowerbed in our front yard.

Window Washing Surprises

While Gerard's been washing the basement windows this week he's been coming up with surprises. Yesterday he brought this orchid, full of buds, upstairs. Surprise! It was tucked away behind a closed blind in the spare room. It's going to be fun to watch the buds growing and opening up in the living room.  This will be the third time it flowers for us! 

orchid producing lots of buds

Then later in the day I heard a noise and a groan coming from the basement.  I rushed down stairs to find Gerard sitting on the office floor with desk papers and a window strewn around him. He's not sure what exactly happened, but somehow he must have lost his balance and landed with his shin on the corner of a metal window frame that he was taking down for cleaning. Three cuts were bleeding and continued to ooze drops of blood overnight.  It just wouln't scab over. So this morning he went to the walk-in clinic.  They cleaned and bandaged the wounds and told him everything will be fine.  Being his practical no-nonsense-self, he wants to assure everyone that "It looks worse than it is. I'm fine." 

Gerard's shin all bandaged up

Today Gerard was back at the windows. As he moved the plants to clear out the window sill he was surprised to find the filo cactus in bloom. So it came upstairs to the living room as well, where we can enjoy the two beautiful flowers and watch the three buds as they open. It's amazing that this very unattractive plant can produce such beautiful flowers! They were facing the window so I hadn't noticed them while watering the plants just a few days ago.  

Surprise! The filo cactus in bloom! 

So the window washing turned out to be full of surprises yesterday. I'm so thankful that Gerard routinely takes on this big job every spring.  Window by window, usually one or two per day, he gets them all done. It seems like such a big and unpleasant job to me.   I admire his discipline and determination to get the job done! 

Mother's Day 2014

Feeling richly blessed  that we have been entrusted with such wonderful children!

L-R: Mark & Rosemary, Jeff & Alida, Henry & Melanie

The other day Gerard and I were talking about Mother's Day and noted that as we grew up it was not a big deal in either of our families. So I guess we've carried on the tradition of not having much tradition around Mother's Day. Both of our mothers passed away two years ago, so now we sit and reminisce about our mothers and realize that everything has shifted one generation, down to us. On Sunday Henry, Mark and Alida all called and Mark, Rosemary, and Hannah also dropped by for a visit. So I felt especially loved and appreciated that day.  

 Mother's Day flowers

Mark took this picture of Hannah with Opa and Oma

Hannah's shoes

Hannah showed us that she learned to crawl (two days ago)! And that she now has eight teeth.  And don't you just love her shoes?! But Hannah being Hannah, they're not on her feet. She prefers to go barefoot and likes to put her bare toes into her mouth. I just had to take a picture of these cute little button shoes, even if she wasn't wearing them.   

The Joy of Beans and Dandelions

Good news!  Exactly one week ago today I started over with my bay window garden.  And look at this!  Fifteen bean seeds have sprouted and are thriving (compared to three coming up and one surviving last time)!  I transplanted the kale seedlings from the toilet paper rolls into a flower pot and they have doubled in height since last Saturday!  And all the basil seeds are sprouting.  So quite an improvement over this spring's first round of bay window gardening. I used the same seeds and the same soil, so I have no idea why everything did so poorly the first time. 

seeded exactly one week ago!

And here are some flowers that I picked from our neighbour's lawn.  Poor dandelions don't get much credit for their beauty.  I love them!  So we have this little bouquet on our kitchen table where we (I) can enjoy them at every meal.  

highly under rated flower - the dandelion - so beautiful!

Unfortunately they only last for one day once they're picked.  Fortunately (unfortunately?) there are lots more where these came from!

Today's Post-Op Eye Check-Up

This afternoon we went for a follow-up appointment for my cataract surgery.  Dr. Lloyd checked all kinds of things, including pictures of the inside of my eye and concluded that everything appears to be in good shape, including the pressure in my eyes.  I have to continue with some things like eye drops, no swimming, not lifting heavy things over ten pounds, (so that includes all of the grandkids - but I can still hold them!) until my next appointment in 3 weeks.

He noted that my vision had not improved as much as he had expected, but considering all the treatments I have been through, he said it might take my eyes a little longer to recover than most.   He had just seen another patient whose vision improved a lot in his third week after surgery, so mine might very well do the same. 

Appointments like this, with all that is connected with them, stir up all kinds of memories and emotions and make me feel so vulnerable again.  The eye drops (4 kinds) cause various sensations around my eye and parts of my face and brain and then of course I fear the cancer is active again, but Dr. Lloyd says other patients have reported similar sensations so that puts my mind a little bit more at ease. 

So on our way home we were talking about the whole experience and Gerard's sensibilities once again helped to put things back into perspective.  BBQ'd hamburgers, an ice cream cone for dessert, our mealtime devotional, a walk, and a chocolate chip cookie from Tim Horton's helped shift me into a more positive frame of mind, and I feel almost back in balance again.

First thing when we came in the door this morning,  

"Look Oma, I got a new wagon!"

Can You Believe It?!

SOLD for close to a million dollars!

                        

Can you believe it?!  Just up our street this modest little bungalow, identical to our house, just sold for $941,150. !!! Almost a million dollars! The real estate prices in our neighbourhood (and everywhere else in Toronto) have gone crazy. It's not the house, but the property that's in high demand.  Almost weekly we have realtors phoning us, coming to our door, dropping off flyers, asking whether we've given any consideration to selling our house - because they have clients interested in our neighbourhood.  "No, thanks. We're happy here and have no intention of moving in the next five years."

And look at what we discovered in one of the flower beds at our church!

Aren't they unique? I've never seen these at our church before.  We had lots of daffodils, but these are new.  

Crown Imperial (aka Frittillaria Imperialis) 

They look so impressive.  I'd love to find bulbs for this plant, but I imagine they won't be available anywhere until the fall. I'm really curious who planted them there. Aren't they amazing? I love them!                         

Memories - Changing Role of Women

Have you noticed how many prominent women have been in the news lately? Kathleen Wynne - Ontario Premier, Andrea Horwath - Leader of the NDP, Alison Redford - recent Premier of Alberta, Christy Clark - Premier of BC, Janet Epp - lawyer proposing Christian law school at Trinity
Western, Jennifer Keesmaat - Chief Planner of the City of Toronto, Wendy Gritter - director of New Directions, a ministry with the LGBT community,...the list goes on and on.

I was surfing through stations on our kitchen radio switching from a discussion about Kathleen Wynne and Andrea Horwath when I landed on a talk show hosted by two male radio hosts.  Hearing two male hosts caught me by surprise - being used to so many female broadcasters on CBC, and also anchors on TV lately.

It got me reflecting on the changes I've observed and experienced in the role of women over the last fifty years. Before my time, I understand that a woman's role used to be mainly homemaker and mother.  The main occupational options available outside of the home were domestic help, nurse, secretary and teacher. The Second World War changed all of that.  While most men were serving overseas, the women had to move into the men's positions to keep things rolling in the homeland. When the men came back from service, many women were no longer satisfied with shifting back to their traditional roles.

Enter the sixties with all it's freedom and challenging of the status quo.  I was still surrounded by role models in the traditional roles, but social winds were changing. I attended a Christian college to become a teacher.  A standard joke at that time was that Christian women attended Christian colleges to get their M.R.S. degrees; (hoping to meet a nice Christian man).  When women didn't show up back at school in September, others would condescendingly say, "She's not here this year because she got married. "

In the seventies I witnessed first-hand our denomination's synodical debates on women in office. Some Christian Reformed families and churches split up over this issue. The seventies was a painful time for many women who felt put down for not being allowed to hold leadership roles in the church. The "women's liberation movement" with all its accompanying debates, conferences and soul searching was in high gear.  I left college, not with an MRS degree, but a BA degree. Shortly after coming to Toronto I met Gerard and a year later I got my MRS degree.  We agreed right from the start that Gerard would work outside of our home and once we had children, Lord willing, I would be a stay-at-home mom. That was still generally the expected/accepted thing to do, right?

The Lord blessed us with three children in the space of five years. Much as I loved the kids, and much as I was committed to being a stay-at-home mom, I struggled with this new role.  With my father's gifts and interests but with different gifts than my mom, who I was holding up as my role model (and a good one she was!), I was trying to be a super-mom and never meeting up to my own standards. I was conflicted about my role.  So much so, that for a number of years I cynically hung my Bachelor of Arts diploma and certificates of service and appreciation from City Hall and the Red Cross, beside the washing machine, figuring, "If all I'm doing with my education is changing and washing diapers, I might as well hang my credentials here." Looking back now, I probably wouldn't have changed a lot, but I probably could have done everyone a favour by going back to working part-time. 

So what triggered all these memories and emotions? It was running across the picture above when I was sorting through my files recently. And on the cover of our denominational magazine at that! This picture had such a profound affect on me the minute I saw it!  For some reason it felt so empowering and affirming and freeing!  I felt a surge of excitement and confidence, and I still do when I look at it. I just l-o-v-e this picture and all it represents for me.  

So after being home with the kids for ten years (and doing tons of volunteer work on the side to keep me sane) I went back to part-time work.  It instantly felt like coming home - it helped to calm down my constant search for my purpose and identity somewhat.  I absolutely loved it! I thank God for providing me with a number of part-time jobs over the years that allowed me to be who I was. I have learned that God gifts each one of us uniquely.  It's not healthy to be living up to others' expectations all the time.  Living and serving according to our gifts, passions and calling is a joyful and liberating experience!

Re-seeding My Bay Window Garden

On Saturday morning I decided it was high time to direct some attention to my bay window gardening projects. The geraniums and the amaryllis and daffodil bulbs provided us with lots of colour and joy especially in March. Then all at once all the flowers were done at the same time.  The vegetables have been very disappointing. Not much happening there. Out of ten bean seeds, three came up and in the end only one survived. It is producing flowers and one tiny little bean so far, so that's fun!

Our one and only bean plant.  Do you see the tiny little bean starting?

The kale and bean seeds that were put in about mid March sprouted in a matter of days.  So I was getting excited and I was looking forward to basil and parsley seedlings as well, but nothing happened in those containers.The kale germinated in two days, grew to about two inches high and then just sat there, seemingly not growing at all. What is happening with all these seeds that are normally fool-proof?! Time to take action.  

second set of leaves on our kale seedlings

 I was experimenting with growing seeds in full-length toilet paper rolls this year, as opposed to half  length rolls a few years ago.  I thought it would provide more space for developing a good root system.  And that's exactly what the kale seedling have been doing.  I cut a few of the rolls open and sure enough - a solid ball of roots the full length of the roll!  So it looks like the plants have spent all their energy growing roots.

very tiny plants with lots of long roots

I wasn't sure what to do.  So I cut three of the cardboard rolls open and planted the seedlings straight into soil. The rest I'm leaving as is to see what happens.  We bought new basil and parsley seeds and started over with them and added some bean seeds to the bean pot.  We'll wait and see.

The purpose of my little bay window garden is not to produce food necessarily (except for the herbs), but to experience the joy of watching things grow, especially when all is still cold and frozen outside. And despite the disappointment of my little garden not doing so well this year, I've still enjoyed the process of seeding and daily checking for progress. Only a few more weeks until hopefully the soil will have warmed up enough to put seeds directly into the garden outside.