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 What I have been using is a now very outdated Gestetner duplicating machine - a Gemini 5170 copier/printer that uses copy printer ink CPT1 and CPMT1 masters.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. :)