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. :)