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. :)

receiving and giving

A new week, a new year for me. Yesterday I received some very nice things for my birthday, a day I spent with my sister helping her manage a table at a craft fair. On our table we had mostly donated items to sell to raise money for Missions in Rwanda. We did well for our first effort and it was a fun day. I am quite tired today though, and plan to 'turn in' early tonight.

While we were at the craft fair, sometime in the afternoon the wind picked up to almost hurricane strength and it rained heavily. Some areas lost their power but at the school we were not inconvenienced except that for some of that time less people arrived to shop.

In my last post I mentioned that I am thinking about 'supporting' a deployed Canadian soldier. A few days ago I remembered that one of my Valley Sunshine publication readers has a son who has been sent to Kanduhar (do I have that spelled correctly?), and I called her to tell her what I want to do. I could hear the excitement in her voice and she said she will be getting back to me this week with details on how I may send packages. I am looking forward to hearing from her about that.

Interestingly, my mother-in-law gave me a book for my birthday, a book of poems written by soldiers from WWI. What a timely gift and such confirmation for me! This book, in case you are interested, is called In Flanders Fields and other poems of the First World War, and is edited by Brian Busby. One paragraph on the jacket reads: "Selected from the work of soldiers killed in action - starting with Rupert Brooke in 1915 and ending with the tragic loss of Wilfred Owen seven days before the Armistice - the poems capture a broad range of emotions, contemplations and states of mind, ranging from anthems about the brutality of war to wistful evocations of home and loved ones left behind." I find it difficult to read, and by difficult I mean sad, revealing, and insightful.

I feel that yesterday was a great beginning to my next year of life, which I hope and plan to be a successful and satisfying one as I learn what God has in store for me and what He will do through me.

What are your aspirations when a new year begins in your life?

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

Remembrance Day

It has been two weeks since I last wrote! Where does the time go so quickly?
I have been going to my sister and brother-in-law's each Wednesday for five weeks now, and I plan to go tomorrow. Last week the kinship group surprised my nephew and me with a birthday cake and a card for each of us signed by the group. Both of us have a birthday this month.

The past few days I have been busily working on Valley Sunshine, the Christian publication I publish quarterly. (I don't have a website for it, but if you want to ask about it you can write to me.) I have to get this issue completed, put together and into the mail before the end of this month to keep up with subscription dates.

Today has been a somewhat sobering day. Remembrance Day - or Veteran's Day in the US - always does this to me. My dad is a WWII Veteran and I am so proud of him. On this date each year we gather with hundreds of other people for a long but meaningful service at Acadia University. The service is conducted by the local branch of the Legion of which Dad is a member, and Dad is in charge of the many memorial wreaths that are laid by family members and other representatives. He has a lot to keep track of, but does it so well, keeping things moving along.

The service consisted of singing by the Annapolis Valley Honour choir, music by Acadia University symphonic band, Scripture readings, prayers, reading of the Honour Rolls which contain the names of our local soldiers lost to World War I, World War II, Korean War/Conflict - and then comes the laying of wreaths. This is a long process but so good to do as part of the remembering.

Of course the two minutes of silence near the beginning of all this sets the mood. For me it is a time of contemplation, prayer, thankfulness, and some emotion welling up. War is horrible! How wonderful instead to be at peace and not lose anyone to such travesties, but unfortunately our part as a nation is sometimes necessary. For that reason it is not sensible or beneficial to condemn anyone sent on deployment. I have, in fact, been thinking today about some way I may personally support a deployed Canadian soldier so far from home and loved ones. I will have to look into that. Many will not get home for Christmas and I am sure they can use some cheering up.

Following today's memorial service, certain friends and family members of the Veterans who belong to the Royal Canadian Legion met at our local Legion hall, the Dr. C. B. Lumsden MM Branch No. 74 in Wolfville. There we were served a tasty meal and our Vets were awarded medals and certificates. And, did I say? - I am so proud of my dad. :)

Please feel free to be in touch. I would love to hear from you.
** If you know of any organization that sends care packages to deployed Canadian soldiers I would be very interested in knowing about it. **

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

determination

It is truly a Fall day here today! Windy, rainy, but warmer than usual - for which I am thankful. The fields are being covered in a golden and red carpet of leaves now, though.

I am later posting than intended, but sometimes it is difficult to put thoughts in order. I have been going to my sister's on Wednesday evenings for housegroup meetings and coming home late on Thursdays, and that has been a welcome change and blessing for me. On my way home last Thursday I went to my doctor and told him I have bronchitis. After his questions, during which I assured him that yes, it is bronchitis, :) he listened to my breathing and agreed with me. Because I have been 'patiently' (his word) waiting for it to go away and it hasn't, he gave me a prescription for an antibiotic because it has obviously turned into a bacterial thing. Apparently it is affecting many people around here in the same way. I started the meds on Friday afternoon, and what a difference in how I feel in just three days. I hadn't realized how pulled down I had been by this. It is so good to have more energy again.

Business news is that I have finally listed some fabric on my website, long overdue, and there is much more to add. (Funny, isn't it, how one's brain works better when feeling better?) The shopping cart is not giving accurate shipping rates, though, so anyone wanting to order anything has possibly been put off by the cost of shipping. I have added a statement that the quote is an estimate and to contact me if wanting to know exact postage. This has been such a concern to me, but I will find a way to make it work. Someone told me today that "determination is the battle", and if one is determined enough then things will get done.

An exciting thing for me is that a friend is selling her treadle sewing machine to me! I have wanted one for years. Mum used to have one, but Dad thinks they sold it because it isn't there anymore. I think they did, but I will have my own by the end of this year. Why am I 'collecting' sewing machines?, you may ask. Well, why not? :) I am interested in the good oldies that have been proven to be hard working and efficient. Perhaps they will add to my decor more than being used, but that's okay too. :) They will be enjoyed either way.

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