Pilates, publishing & rejuvenation

How did March get here so quickly? The great thing is that Spring is coming too, gotta love that! Time for rejuvenation!

I set a goal for myself in December '09 to read more this year. So far I have kept up that decision, having completed 22 books so far, children's books included in that list. I enjoy reading. I like to write. In my opinion, reading broadens one's horizons, either in understanding more of the world around us on so many levels or in increasing one's ideas for stories - or both.

February 15 I heard from a publisher interested in my children's picture book. Exciting news! We discussed it at length, but after much thought, prayer, and discussion with my husband, I decided against publishing with them since they are the type of publisher whom the writer has to pay for printing of his/her book. That, combined with having to do much of my own promoting and sales, added up to too much for me. I know I would not be able to keep at it effectively in order to sell all my books to make a profit. It was disappointing to have to say no thank you, but I realized that that approach is not for me. It is fine for some people, though, and this publisher would be great to work with judging by our communications. Her goal is to help new and yet unpublished authors get published. But, oh well, perhaps waiting will pay off for me at some point down the road.

Now I am working on Valley Sunshine publication again, and then it is back to business on the website. And I do plan to squeeze some story writing into my time somewhere, too.

On March 1 I decided to start doing Pilates again - you know the exercise program? - to get more fit. Not going for my daily walks in the winter is not a good thing for me. I got off to a great beginning yesterday doing the 20 minute workout, but when I moved to get out of bed this morning I discovered my abs - which I had not thought much about until then.  owwww  :)  I guess it's working already! I will continue with the workout as long as I can. Tomorrow morning could be quite interesting, though, since we have our grandson overnight tonight. I wonder if he will join in or just sit back and giggle at Grandma.


So ... What do you do for exercise?  and ... How do you spend your 'rejuvenating time'?

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

website updates & other things

Just a quick post tonight to keep things updated ...

I have been busy working on my website. Yes, I finished loading onto my Quickbooks program everything that is on the website, (yay!) so this weekend I started adding patterns.  Some are for sewing but most are for quilt projects.  Such lovely patterns.  I have many more to add, plus books and other things.  Keep peeking in to see what is new. 

This year I have been taking our little grandson to Sunday School and he is enjoying it.  Today was his third time.  It is beginning to look as if it may become a challenge for me as he is getting more settled into being there - and more restless before the children go downstairs for their class.  It is important for him, though.  :)  After church we go to my husband's and my favourite little seafood restaurant for dinner - great food there.  Our grandson likes to eat in the "pirate's boat" which is fun for him. 

I am reading more and loving it as I am rather eclectic in my reading.  I was in a writers chat room tonight and when they drew someone's name for a copy of our guest speaker's book ... I won!  What a fun surprise! :)  I look forward to receiving that.


Very soon I have to get to work on the next Valley Sunshine issue.  (Please contact me if you want to subscribe or ask about it.) 

As you can see, there is always lots to do around here. :)  Remember to check out the website (link at right).

So, what has been keeping you busy so far this year?  Any new projects?  Any old projects to complete?  I'd love to hear about it. 

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

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!  :)

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. :)