memories - old & new

A flurry of thoughts ...

I hope you enjoyed a very Merry CHRISTMAS and made sweet memories.  Already that busyness is past as fast approaches another new year.  Can you believe 2010 is nearly here?  2 0 1 0 !

 
Christmas day was not as sad as I had thought it would be.  I guess I used up my teary time before then.  That, or someone was praying for me.  With only the two of us in this house most of the morning it was so quiet around here with the absence of my sniffling.  Our second daughter, with a friend, arrived around 11:00, and later we all went to my Dad's to meet the rest of the family (including our oldest daughter, son-in-law and grandson) for our celebratory feast and gifts.  Another friend had been invited to join us, so we had twelve at dinner.  Just before mealtime our two youngest daughters called from Alberta, so that made it even better.

I really think my mum would be proud of her family.  By the afternoon of December 30, she will have been gone from us for twelve years.  Twelve years!  How can that be possible? :(

On December 31 I hope to be able to attend our New Year's Eve service at church .. weather permitting.  Tonight there is a snowstorm happening in my part of the world, but the weather report does not say there will be more snow coming on Thursday.

Well, the author I met a month ago is a kind, generous soul.  Yesterday she sent me the link to a publisher I did not know about in BC, so this afternoon I sent off my manuscript once again thinking it would be my last attempt this year.  Then today - bless her! - she sent me information about a new publisher here in NS!  I am considering sending the manuscript of another of my stories to them and see what transpires, although I am not sure it will be mailed this week/year.  It is rather fun to finish off 2009 sending out manuscripts, though.  Something started for the new year.

Oh, I must say that when one reads an author's work it may not always be what one expects.  I have read some of Sheree Fitch's children's books and they are fabulous!  Recently her first adult novel was published and it was promoted as being 'laugh out loud funny'.  I was excited to read it so my husband gave it to me for Christmas.  Okay, to be fair here .. have you read it?  What did you think of it?  Me? wellllll .... no offense to Sheree, but somehow I missed the humour!  It just ... I'm just ... hmmm ... I am sure many people reading Kiss The Joy As It Flies will enjoy it but for me the humour was lost somewhere between its pages and my sense of what is funny.  (Sorry, Sheree!)  But ... I guess that is how my brain works.  Now, that is not to say it was not a well written novel.  Of course it was! she is an amazing writer, and I did read the whole book, even her interview at the end.  It's just that its point was lost on me throughout, BUT .. did I say .. I love Sheree's children's books!  I guess that is where my heart is ... for now.

In closing, I will leave you with some questions that I would love to read your answers for if you would kindly oblige me.  Thinking back over your childhood reading:

1. what was/were your favourite children's book(s), and why? .. and/or ..
   
2. who was/were your favourite author(s), and why?

BE SAFE this Winter!
Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

live, laugh, love

Whoever came up with that motto was right on.
Live, laugh, love.
I am finding that the three must go together or something is greatly lacking for me.

For me to really live and enjoy living I have to find humour in situations, at least find the bright side, the spark, the little gem of goodness and hope that may be hidden there.  I have suffered from depression too much of my life and I am determined to not let it get me down anymore.  Life can get far too serious sometimes and if the song is missing, if the laughter fades away, it is time to do something about it.

Earlier tonight (Tuesday, December 15) my husband and I did something different, something we have never done before.  The co-op store where we are members (and he is on the board) had a Moonlight Madness for about five hours. We arrived just after the busiest time, but for two hours he and I were there in costume.  My husband was dressed as a Christmas tree and I was dressed as an elf. :) Quite impressive, I guess.  It was fun for us.  Three times (four for him) we stood outside on the sidewalk in the cold and waved at the people driving by.  (A few cars pulled in.)  It was delightful when some folk waved back at us, and several honked their horns.  I loved it! :)

Of course, our daughters think we are crazy to do such things but .. why not?  My take on it is this: Life is too short!  And it is passing far too quickly!!  I am tired of too often being a spectator.  Life is not intended to be a spectator sport - for those who just watch everything happen in other people's lives.  Of course, one has to be selective and make wise decisions on just how to use their time and talents, but the point is ... DO SOMETHING!  LIVE your life!  Enjoy it and LOVE yourself and the ones in your life.  And be sure to find the LAUGHTER.  Make someone laugh and learn to laugh at yourself.  It will chase away the blues, help you handle stress better thereby improving your health, and change your grey skies to blue.  Yahoooey!  Sounds good to me!

Several years ago I signed my husband and myself up for tidal bore rafting one summer weekend, and that was an exhilarating experience!  Frightening, exciting, thrilling, and I loved it!  Now I can say "I did it!"  I have yet to skydive (tandem skydive, that is) but I plan to - although my husband refuses to go with me. 

Aside from my wonderful role of wife-mother-grandmother, I also want to write for children, run a good business, bless people however the Lord leads me, and mostly be all God wants me to be.

How about you?  What have you determined to do with your time in this life?


Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

Christmas, birthdays & writers

Only a few more days and it will be CHRISTMAS!!  Am I ready for that?  NO!  Are you?

I am missing our girls so much. This year my husband and I will be alone with no children at home with us.  Their absence is bothering me already and I'm finding it hard to not be 'blue'. Today I was thinking about four excited little girls who used to run around here - helping, and getting in the way, and giggling, and ... are now all grown up -- far too quickly! The house is so empty ...

My birthday on the 16th was quiet. I was busy answering phone calls and especially happy to hear from each of our girls, and our darling little grandson ... "Happy Burt-day, Gwamma."

A little each day this week I am gradually making our home look Christmas-y, putting up some decorations, changing things around, trying to make it more welcoming for the season. Soon I will be baking Christmas cookies and other goodies ... alone.  *sigh*  I'm needing some Christmas cheer. This empty-nesting is not very acceptable sometimes, in my mind. 

On Saturday my husband and I went to the mall to do a little Christmas shopping, and while there I realized there was an author - Laura Best - doing a book signing in front of the bookstore.  It  had slipped my mind about this event ... but I purchased her book Bitter, Sweet and asked her to sign it.  She was encouraging when I told her that I am not yet published, but still hopeful.  At her urging I may be in touch with her in the near future.

It is interesting how God puts things together, isn't it?  Last week He formulated a plan in my mind, and through it I am hoping to help another lady with her writing dream.  I talked with her last Thursday about it, and if it comes together as I foresee then it will be marvellous!  And exciting!


To continue with my story ...
After our time at the mall we continued on to another community and another mall which has a 'playhouse' for kids .. and a laser tag room.  It was a 'party' for our nephew's 13th birthday, and ten of us combined our 'skills' to play this crazy game.  It was our second time to do this, but of the ten of us five had never played it before.  It was hilarious! After 25 minutes of running around in the semi-darkness trying to 'hit' each other and not be 'hit' most of us were pretty tired.  :)  Pizza and cake .. and we were on our way home.

Do you have experience with laser tag, and if so .. any strategies you care to share with this novice?

We are enjoying fairly warm weather here at present. Today there was a skiff of snow that lightly covered the ground, but that will disappear soon. Temperatures are expected to warm up more this week before it turns to seasonable winter weather.  Do you like the colder weather?

Is anyone having trouble with mice this Fall?  Makes me wonder what's up with that?
Is there any old wives' tale or a Farmer's Almanac prediction concerning survival habits of mice?

I guess that is all for this time.  If you have any comments or answers to my questions, please post them.  I would very much appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day. :)

rainbow promise

This morning I saw a rainbow.  It was a misty morning, and on the way to church I looked toward the gray backdrop of clouded sky and there it was.  Just one pale section of it, but a rainbow nonetheless.  As we drove along I kept checking, and as we got closer to it the  rainbow became more visible as the clouds in the distance got very dark with rain ... and then suddenly, there it was! The whole thing set against the clouds.  A beautiful rainbow.  A perfect arch.  God's promise.

'Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ... "As for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ...  Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. ... I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth."'  - excerpts from Genesis 9:8-13 in the Bible

Thank You, God, for Your promises.

website update

Just a brief FYI:

On my website ( http://www.novascotiaflavour.com ) I have added more to the Crocheted Items category. Also, I have listed a few beautiful pillows in the Ring Bearer Pillows category - with more to come.  In case you are interested or curious to look, those items cross categorize with Jewellery and Sewing.

I am gradually getting things on there.  Tomorrow I hope to add more products and then I may have to pause for a few days as I must get into Valley Sunshine newsletter publishing. It is time for the Winter issue already!  If you have any questions regarding that, please send me an email and I will be pleased to inform you.


Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

refreshing, relaxing, relationship

Everyone needs refreshing.  I do.  You do.  We all do.

Last weekend my husband and I went away for the weekend, something we cannot remember doing - just the two of us, since ... well, we can't remember!  It was the most quiet and relaxing and private weekend we have ever spent.  Ever.

We rented a fully equipped cottage about three hours away from our home, and set out Friday afternoon, returning home Sunday afternoon.  Why did we do this?  A friend told me about it and insisted we go there, so as it was our anniversary on October 30 - our 33rd! - this seemed the time to do it.  Besides, we needed the time away.

What a pleasant vacation, although short.  Saturday morning we walked along the windy beach collecting seashells and discovering fascinating swirls in the sand.  In the afternoon we did some sight-seeing and shopping in lovely little shops in nearby communities - even did some Christmas shopping!  That evening we enjoyed a special, private dinner in a quaint little dining room of a privately owned cottage inn a few miles away from where we were staying.  Only by reservation can anyone dine there and the meals are uniquely created and served with elegance.  It was Hallowe'en and very amusing how the owners presented themselves to the trick or treaters - and special guests - coming to the door.  One of the ladies and the two men were in costume, one man being used to playing Santa Claus at Christmas.  It was so funny to hear the Grim Reaper forgetting who he was and saying 'ho ho ho' each time children came to the door.  :)

That weekend my husband and I found it was wonderful being alone with uninterrupted time to relax and talk or just be still, enjoying the quiet with no dog barking, no phone ringing, no meetings or errands to handle. It was quality time well-spent and much needed to unwind from daily stresses and pressures.  Would we do it again?  Yes! 

Home again and back to our 'normal' life ... but it does not feel as demanding now.  Perhaps we have learned a little about appreciation of life and each other.  Long overdue.  It is interesting and even surprising how we get to this place of not knowing how to relax, how to communicate well, how to even truly enjoy what is around us .. because of always being busy and distracted.  I think we will make more effort to stay 'connected' in our relationship now as we approach our retirement years.

Today I will load more items onto my website and tonight I will go to my sister's for our housegroup gathering.  But, you know what? -- the Lord is good and greatly to be praised no matter what is going on in one's life.  We must never lose that connection, our most important relationship.

So, where do you go to unwind?  What do you do to stay connected?

Thanks for reading, and  ... Blessings on your day.  :)

security

Just a quick note: 
Today increased security has been set up on my website so that anyone wishing to place orders online can feel safe about it.  Security is an important issue, and Starfield makes it their business to provide that security.

There may possibly be small glitches to work out yet on my website, but if they do exist those will be discovered and handled as we go along.  That is the normal for when starting out.  There are around 100 products loaded onto the site so far, and that number plus many more have yet to be listed. 

I hope you take a few minutes and check it out.  (Address in the right column.)

Thinking of security .. some of my family were experiencing stressful situations this month and for one member in particular security was found almost immediately in and through prayer.  It is always encouraging and reinforcing to be reminded that God hears and acts on behalf of those who love Him.  PTL!

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day.  :)

programs, patience & progress

Wow!  Has it only been four days since I last posted?  It really seems longer than that.  It could be due to the fact that I have been hours and hours working on trying to improve my website pages.

I am making progress.  I am learning to work with the programs.  AND I am finding it to be a test of my patience. But, did I say .. I AM making progress!  PTL! (Praise the Lord!)

My website designer, Ray, is such a patient man. He explains things to me and understands that I just don't get it the first time, or maybe even the second time, but I keep at it until it makes sense to me .. or just happens to suddenly fall together and work.  LOL!  He is deserving of lots of credit as he is trying to help me so that I can do this work myself.

I am enjoying this process, though. My frustration level goes up and down, along with my stress level, but perseverance pays off.  Last night is a case in point.  Earlier in the day I asked Ray many questions, he gave me appropriate answers and instructions, and I set off last night to make it work. Well! At 2 AM I gave up, wrote him an email saying please help me fix this mess I have made! But I didn't send it.  I decided .. this is not going to beat me! Instead I kept trying (and praying to understand) and at just before 3 AM .. click!  There it was. The way I wanted it. And the email got deleted, I got a few hours sleep, and here I am again.  :)  There is so much to do.  I tend to be a perfectionist and I want this website to be a nice place for people to spend some time.

This morning I enjoyed being outside for a little while on this lovely Fall day.  Between working on my website and probably catching a nap this afternoon, (up till after 3 AM does not work for me very well!), I knew that I would need to get out and appreciate a little of God's world.  It inspires and refreshes me .. and we all can use more of that gentle calm in our lives, can't we? 

Now, back to business.  As for you ... what are you working on that is taking so much of your attention and time?

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day.  :)

it happened ... life IS good

It happened. 
Frost. Five nights ago the first frost of the season settled on our property, making the deck slippery for when I went out for my early morning walk. The chill is in the air. Autumn winds blow. Colourful leaves let go and fall to the ground where they are pushed and tossed carelessly in the breeze.
I don't particularly like the cold, but ... life is good.

It happened.
My first online customer! Four days ago an item was ordered. A sale was made. 
Still a few things need to be tweaked, but it shouldn't take much longer before everything is working as it should. I consider this to be the testing period, the time to learn what needs further adjusting.
I get frustrated over things that I cannot figure out, but ... life is good.

It happened.
I did not get out to Sunday fellowship today. Things did not go as I had hoped.
But, we had dinner with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson before they all go to Alberta on Tuesday ... son-in-law to stay until coming home for Christmas, his wife and son to come back in ten days. They will visit with the two youngest sisters while out there.
I miss my daughters, but ... life is good.

It is all in how we look at life, the attitude we have, that determines for each of us what life is.  I choose to see that ... life is good.

It happened. Again.
Someone on the radio interviewed another someone who says there cannot be an all- powerful and all-loving God.  How sad.  How deceived.  How pathetic. 
He had reasons that fit his small view.
So many people fail to see that it is not about us at all, it is all about HIM. We fall short.
HE is Holy. HE never changes. HE is always Good and Loving.
HE is there for us to seek and to find. We are not left alone but we fail to look into His Face.
HE has a plan and a purpose for our lives.
HE cannot be contained, as much as mankind tries to explain Him and limit Him and make excuses for their own sin and failures, judging God by the same narrow determinations.

Don't give up! Don't despair! Underneath all the rubble, all the facade, all the shame and disappointment .. life IS good. 

And you ARE loved.

Thanks for reading, and .. Blessings on your day.  :)

Website open to the public

Just a quick note ...

This is to announce that I am 'officially' opening my website to the public.  Even though my site has actually been available for viewing on the 'Net' for months, it has taken me (personally) a long time to get to this place.  Now I am in the process of activating the items I have on there, and this is just the tip of the iceberg as I have many more to load on.  I also have more things to order in after that, bolts of fabric to be specific, which I plan to do as soon as I can manage it. There is so much to do with just what I have so far!  It doesn't help that I am so slow at it, but ... little by little ...

Small beginnings, but I hope you will accept my invitation to at least take a peek at my website, and maybe even let me know what you think.  That would be great!  Thanks!

so ...

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

thankfulness, time & anger

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Canada! 

Today is Thanksgiving Monday, but yesterday our family got together at Dad's for our annual Thanksgiving feast.  Our son-in-law is home from Alberta for a few days, but even so, there were only ten of us this time since two of our daughters could not get home.  (I'm really missing them lately.) One of our daughters out there celebrated a birthday last Tuesday. (Happy 26th, Sweetie!)

It is such beautiful weather right now.  The leaves have turned colour and are starting to blow around in the nippy Fall wind, but as long as the sun is shining I don't worry too much about the cold yet.  So far we have not had a frost here in our location, but that will happen all too soon. It rained earlier - with a quickly passing thunderstorm last night - but now my husband is taking advantage of the good weather to get our wood split and put into the shed for Winter -- hard work. We have an outdoor wood furnace which my husband decided several years ago that we should buy, and it has made such a positive difference for my health.  Once we start using the furnace in the heating season, it only has to be filled twice a day - and I don't have to do it!  It has eliminated our need to purchase furnace oil, too.  Gotta love that!


Last week marked a whole year since I started meeting with the housegroup once a week.  Amazing how quickly time passes, isn't it?  I really think the world - and the whole universe - is turning and moving faster, all part of the creation's appointment in God's plan. Any thoughts on that?

This past week was productive regarding work on my website.  Yaaay!!  :)  It is coming together better now, but someone visiting it will notice little change since I have not validated many items yet. I have other things to address first, but it is coming along.  PTL!  Soon there will be lots to see on there.

Last week I posed questions about Twitter.  I still have not made a definite decision, but I will mull that over further.  I'm still hoping to hear from more people about their experience with it, so please leave comments for me to ponder.  How time consuming is it to keep track of postings on your account?

I will leave you with this to consider:  On Sunday our pastor talked about Thanksgiving and how we often express what we are thankful for as being those things we have materially, or healthwise or things like that.  He pointed out that true thankfulness comes from the heart and mostly within our relationship with God. It is a spiritual thing.  He also addressed anger, saying that anger is mostly based in our often deeply rooted anger toward God about things that have happened or that we wanted to happen and didn't, and such.  Bottom line .. we blame God.  I believe that those two points are really beneficial to consider, and it will make a huge difference in how we view life and live it out.

What do you think?  I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

to 'tweet' or not to 'tweet'?

October already! .. and with this month comes Canadian Thanksgiving in one week's time. I will celebrate with family by gathering together on Sunday for a 'feast'.  More about that in a later post.

Tonight I am thinking about communication. Time was, a few years ago, that it was my regular practice to chat in online chat rooms where I met a lot of people.  All sorts of people. I haven't done that for some time and I miss it.  I do have a few friends I 'Yahoo' with periodically, and occasionally I use MSN, but I have no chat room to visit.  No place to call 'home' on the Internet.  It is nice having this blog which has its own dynamic, but it's not a chat room where I can 'hang out' and meet a few people at a time to talk and share, or just listen and enjoy others' company.

So, this week I am thinking about Twitter. What about it? Have you tried it?  And what do you think of it -- pros and cons?  I know it is not a chat room, but ... what can you tell me of your experience with it?

As I said in an earlier post, I chose to start a blog here rather than to use Facebook.  I think they (FB) are working on their privacy issues now, though.

What I would like is to find a safe, friendly, chatty place - but not overly populated.  :)  Just a semi-quiet and respectful chat room.  Any ideas?  Or, is that too hard to find these days? 

My preference is Christian rooms or even craft rooms, or quilting rooms.  Know of any good ones to try?

Please let me know.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day.  :)

change can be beautiful

I realized today that it has been a whole year since I started blogging, having begun in September 2008!

Already it is the end of the first week into another Autumn, and - after rain this morning - today is warm and beautiful. The leaves have been changing colour, as I was pointing out to my little grandson yesterday to draw his attention to the beauty that God has made. He is so teachable at this age, being all of four years old as of June.

Sammy is four as well, born in September. Last week I took him to a professional groomer for the first time. Sam is a Maltese x miniature wire-haired Dachshund. That means he has a medium long coat, long body, longish ears, and short legs. Cute. His 'mama' (my daughter) kept his coat trimmed to a more manageable length, but with her currently being in AB I decided the grooming part of his care is not for me. The groomer had her problems with him, and it took 3 1/2 hours instead of 3 for his first time. I had her shave his coat right down short and I guess he was not happy about this stranger being so intimate! Oh well, he seems to feel a lot better now ... and he looks much more like a dachshund. And still cute, although the images below do not capture that very well.                                                       

                                                                                              
<-- Before              After   -->


     Yes, it's the same dog!
                                           (doesn't like the camera flash)

I have added a few titles to my "Other Blogs I'm Following" list, some of the blogs that I decided I am interested in enough to follow. It would be nice to have more followers of my own, but maybe that will increase once I get things going with my website.

If you 'happened upon' my blog I would love it if you would sign up as a follower and/or leave comments. It is nice to know someone is reading what I write. Comments would make it even better. Thanks!

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day! :)

moves, machines & missionaries

If you have been visiting my blog for new postings, then I must apologize for the long delay in updating. This will be an abbreviated one just to catch up.

The month of June was busy, the highlight being a wonderful visit with our daughter home from Alberta. It was so nice knowing she was in her old room for a few weeks. The time passed far too quickly, though, and before we were ready she was on her way back to AB. As for her, she was glad to be home in NS, but missed 'home' in AB. It seems that for now she has found a good fit for her life. Since her return there she has a 'boyfriend' - a nice young man who is a bull rider and also has a steady (less dangerous) job.

At the end of July - four days after her 19th birthday - our youngest daughter took her first airplane flight and is now living with her sister in AB for awhile. This pushed my husband and me right into 'empty nesting'. After over 30 years of having children at home it has been a bit of a shock. I still have the 'feeling' of her going to be coming home from work some days. Hard to get used to. Her move has left her little dog, Sammy, in our care. Each evening for the first two weeks he would sit near the door waiting for her to come in. He now seems to have adopted me.

I was late getting the last issue of Valley Sunshine mailed out to my subscribers. Along with other delays, the final one was that my printing equipment quit working properly. I now have the drum being checked over, and I am hoping that the problem can be corrected. Printing the publication on my printers is too costly. If I need a new drum for my machine I may be in real trouble. What I have been using is a now very outdated Gestetner duplicating machine - a Gemini 5170 copier/printer that uses copy printer ink CPT1 and CPMT1 masters. I had to order comparable supplies from a company in the US and if I need a new drum ... not sure where I will find that. I hope I don't have to start shopping for a new machine!

Speaking of shopping, my husband and I have been looking to purchase a new or kindly used car. My! There are so many new styles to choose from now. Have you seen the new Nissan Cube? I like it, odd as it is.

The last thing I will mention in this posting is a missionary family home on furlough. At housegroup this week Patrick Finnerty joined us and gave a very interesting presentation about their mission work in Rwanda. I would love it if you would check them out at http://www.vineyardrwanda.org . The Vineyard church is mainly their support church, but our housegroup - which includes people (myself included) associated with churches other than the Vineyard - is actively and enthusiastically supporting them and their cause however we can. I hope you will check them out at the above mentioned website as they are sincere and wonderful people with a heart for the Rwandan people, even through much personal sacrifice. The Lord has been working through them for the undertaking of a great work there.

Finally, I am trying again to get my own website/business worked out. If you have been interested in that, please don't give up on me. :) I easily get confused with details but once I have it things should go well.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day! :)

prayers, pilots & pets

May passed far too quickly, don't you agree? To me it brought a mix of events and emotions.

Are you keeping well? A few weeks ago I was exposed to H1N1, otherwise known as 'swine flu'. One Sunday I felt really blah so stayed home from fellowship just in case, but fortunately I did not come down with the virus.

Our son-in-law got home from Alberta for about three weeks in May, which was wonderful. He keeps busy while home and I do not have our grandson to babysit when his daddy is around.

My web site is not progressing quickly yet - admittedly my fault as I have not been working on it because of other things ... and work on Valley Sunshine took priority because my readers subscribe to it. This issue just sent out on Friday is on Prayer - a very important part of our relationship with God. It is - simply put - conversation with God and touches on all areas of our lives.

2009 marks 100 years of powered flight in Canada. There was a related contest held for school age children, and I am pleased to say that my 12 yr. old nephew (my sister and brother-in-law's son) won in the intermediate photography category. On May 20 we attended the impressive demonstrations, air show and activities at Greenwood Base. During the awards ceremony my nephew received a certificate and other things, which he was very happy about. Following that was the air show and if you have never seen the Snowbirds in action you have got to add that to your "things to do" list! Those pilots are AMAZING! It was exciting, loud, breathtaking, heart stopping and so worth seeing as they demonstrated their skill and teamwork. I loved it! - prayed a lot, too!

After the air show my nephew got the pilots to sign his certificate. He and the other young winners stayed overnight on the Base on May 22nd for a fun time, from which he came away with a bag stuffed full of neat gifts. My husband picked him up at the Base the next morning and we had the pleasure of his company that day because his parents were attending a conference. Not having sons, only daughters, I always find it interesting how boys' interests differ from girls', although now video games and such make it fairly neutral ground.

Our daughter who lives and works in Alberta arrived home last night for a visit of a few weeks with us. SO happy to have her home!

Now for the very sad news -- Late one night last week our beloved, healthy, nine year old dog, Shasta, started having seizures. We took her to the Animal Hospital and even though they did all they could for her, she passed away in the wee hours of May 29. It is a puzzle as to what happened to her. It seemed like poisoning but we cannot find anything that would have harmed her. The veterinarians have not been able to figure it out, except it may have been fungal infection which is usually devastating to dogs. Whatever it was hit her hard and took her quickly.

I am surprised at how much losing her has upset me; it is a great sorrow and tremendous loss to us. Shasta was such a good dog, the offspring of a purebred German Shepherd (her mother), and a husky/wolf (her father), so had personality plus. She was protective, funny, smart, loyal, playful, affectionate, and enjoyed her family (us) so much. She was excellent with our little grandson and motherly with our daughter's miniature breed dog. The two dogs played ball together, and if Sammy would get too rambunctious, Shasta would walk over and put her foot on him until he calmed down. Sammy has been confused by her absence.

Gone are the days of hearing her howl (so much like a wolf), and my being playfully pushed over when I squat down to tie my shoes, and being informed when anyone comes onto or near the property, and seeing her sit for hours patiently waiting for a scolding squirrel to attempt its descent from a tree. Pets play such a huge role in our lives, don't they?

Tonight we bring our beautiful Shasta home from the Animal Hospital where they are keeping her for us and then we will bury her beside the flower garden she liked to snuffle through (and sometimes dig in). My heart is heavy, but I have lots of good memories. She was a happy dog.
Hmmm ... I just realized, my husband will have gooseberries to eat this Summer; Shasta won't be here to pluck them off those thorny bushes before he gets to them.

Do you have any stories to share about what interests you, or anecdotes about your pets? I'd love to read them.

Thanks for reading, and ... blessings on your day. :)

Spring projects

Welcome Spring weather! Warmer days and nights. March winds, April showers .. and mayflowers; love those sweet bouquets of Nova Scotia!

Since I last wrote we have celebrated the meaningful Easter season. On Easter Sunday I attended a combined service, some of the members of four fellowships all together in one church. It is always special to meet with others and worship the Lord together, rejoicing in Who He is and what He has done.

Later my family and a couple of guests met at Dad's for Easter dinner, but we missed two daughters and a son-in-law who had to work or were too far away (in Alberta) to be with us. Even so, there were eleven of us there for a great meal and family togetherness.

In April a second copy of my manuscript for a children's book was rejected. :( I am not sure right now if I should spend time pursuing that dream as my business website is ready to be fully launched, as far as its construction is concerned. My designer had the work done in four weeks, earlier than he had expected! There will be some touch-ups later, and I have yet to load my items on there and get the site ready to my own satisfaction. There is so much to learn, but my designer is patient and willing to help me when I need it, even after all his personal instruction. It is a challenge for me to remember everything. Hopefully, I very soon will have it to the place where I will take down the Under Construction sign and welcome customers and visitors. (Actually, I am already getting visitors even though there is not much there to see as yet.) So, I guess the writing has to wait again, the business takes priority right now.

My husband is going to start building shelves for my business so that I can have better storage for fabric and books and things I will be selling on my web site. He is such a great guy, my husband. :)

Further to the above projects it is soon time for mailing of another issue of Valley Sunshine publication, the Christian newsletter I publish, so that is also on the proverbial drawing board. There is a lot of activity going on in my life, anyway. :)

Do you have any interesting Spring projects on the go? I would enjoy hearing about them.

Thanks for reading, and .. Blessings on your day. :)

rejection & possibilities

Well, it happened yesterday. I returned home after a day consisting of playing train dominoes with my sister and brother-in-law, sitting in a lengthy meeting with my new website designer discussing the possibilities for my new website that is soon to be under construction, chatting with a friend briefly and making conversation with my young soon-to-be-a-teenager nephew, followed by the drive home ... then rushing around to get the house set in order after my being away since the day before ... and making supper for my dear husband and myself ...

then it happened. My husband came in with the mail. My first manuscript copy -- the one I had to send twice because their address in two public places was the incorrect address ... the first copy of my manuscript was returned.

I told my husband .. I am on my way to being published! This is my first return.

One less thing to use brain cells on right now, anyway. Two more publishers to hear back from .. one of them not at all if not interested.

So, ask me if I am having fun yet!

Life is full of ups, downs, sunny days, foggy days, days not worth the time it takes to crawl out of bed, and those days you love to live over and over and over again in your head and heart. I have had all of those in the past two weeks! No wonder I am tired! lol

And how is your day?

(The above is an email I sent a friend & I thought it worked well for here. I am not terribly disappointed about the rejection letter with my returned manuscript. There is still hope for my story and lots more ideas where that one came from.)

So, how is YOUR day?

Thanks for reading .. and Blessings on your day. :)

under construction -- God's timing

I can hardly believe it has already been two weeks since my last posting! During that time Spring has finally taken hold here; although we got more snow it is fast melting away now. Gotta love that! It's quite funny that many people think that all of Canada is covered in snow and ice most of the year, but that is not the case. We may not get a very long summer, but it is beautiful and hot when it comes. But right now I am looking forward with great anticipation to Spring's fragrance of new grass, flowers, sweet warm breezes, and more birds' songs.

If you recall, in past postings I was bemoaning my website woes. Well .. I had been praying for weeks about this, but last week I gave up and in desperation told God I can't figure it out or find anyone to help me, and I don't know what to do. I asked Him to "Please Help me! I need direction!" On Sunday things started falling into place, although I still couldn't see it yet. A friend told me that God had impressed upon him the word 'direction' for me! wow! He prayed for me right there and I knew God was doing something; I experienced His peace. On Wednesday the next step was taken - at housegroup that evening another friend contacted a friend who builds websites. Well!... on Thursday I met with that person and oh my! We are on the way to great new things! I am excited! The original website is gone as I refused to pay the other people another cent when my year of hosting was over yesterday - since they would not fix the errors nor give any help at all. My new design team is on the ball and has it in hand. SO, right now if anyone goes to my site they will see an Under Construction sign, but that doesn't worry me since it will not be there longer than it needs to be. What I will have when it is completed will be far better than what I had. PTL!

I have learned a lot over the past months regarding websites, business ethics, and giving God time. It is that last point that I will explain a little. I had been asking God for help, but always I kept looking for the right person or company to come to my aid. What I needed to do was keep waiting, and through each contact God showed me something more to learn. It has been a rough ride, but it was when I gave up that the Lord put the final pieces into place. As an extra blessing there will be much more 'direction' and guidance for me as this company is very goal oriented. That is so good for me.

God knows just what we need and when, we cannot rush Him. Waiting could be the hardest thing we do but He can see the whole picture whereas we can see only the moment we are in. It is an exciting walk if we allow Him His place in it. :)

Do you have a similar story to relate? I truly would really love to hear it!

Thanks for reading ... and blessings on your day. :)

pursuing dreams

It has been too long since I last posted - in November - and now it is already well into March '09! We recently had more snow and this time more ice too, which resulted in such a beautiful world around us. I just had to show you. Soon Spring will have full sway and there will be new beauty to enjoy.

I mentioned in an October post that a friend was selling me her old Singer treadle sewing machine, and as of very early in January it now belongs to me. I haven't even tried to use it yet, but I am delighted to have it. This machine came with the cabinet, and perhaps I can take a photo later and show you that, too.

Further into my "spiritual walk", I have been going to a church again as of the first Sunday of January. I go where God sends me, which is a nice place to be. :)

In December I sent a box of items to a deployed Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. He will be returning home in April, so I am waiting for information of another soldier in order to send the box I have almost ready to go.

This week I mailed out another issue of Valley Sunshine publication, later than it should be, but it is in the mail and already received by some. Now I am free again to do other things. One of those things is writing children's stories. I have had the interest for years to write children's stories (books) and took a great course of study which covered every angle. I had, several years before that, gone to Acadia U. for an evening class in literature which introduced me to Professor Hilary Thompson. She became someone very special to me, a lady I deeply admired and respected for her talent, courage and view of life. She was very encouraging to me and gave great advice, and we would chat whenever we got the chance. Not long ago Dr. Thompson passed away at the early age of 65, due to cancer. Such a sad loss to so many .... I, for one, will really miss her.

This sharing was to say .. I think Hilary would be so proud of me if she could know that I have come back to writing and have sent off manuscripts with the hope that someone may take a liking to my most recent story and want to publish it. That would be a very exciting event for me!

My website still is not proving out, but one fantastic thing has come from it. A lady sent me an email to ask about an item she saw on there, and it turns out she is an author! We are corresponding now! How about that? (A "God thing" if I ever saw one!) :)

Do you have a dream that you have not pursued yet? What is holding you back? I would love to hear about it. Or, have you had a dream and finally set off to take hold of it and make it happen? I would especially enjoy hearing about that!

All for this time. I hope to hear from you.

Thanks for reading ... and, blessings on your day. :)