back to bloggerdom

My long absence from bloggerdom means naught except I entered facebook and became lost in its mazes, re-acquainted with old friends, and in general just having facebook fun aka much of the populace I suspect. The facebook craze has struck young and old turning even grandmas into avid facebookees.
The summer became a hodge podge of comings and goings....soon to end with the youngest returning to England. Jo moved to an awesome beachhouse cottage with her friend. Soon I leave for school again. Summer of '07 you were fun, and mostly about relationships, which in the end is what life is mainly about.

To the one who travels far

Sleep my daughter on the night train to Geneva...and dream, dream of chocolate dark and rich....and know that here the trilliums bloom, pools of white lighting the dark green undergrowth of cinnamon fern woods....dream of mountains tall and cool while I view orchards of pink and white bathed in the glow of sunset ...

St. Simons Island

Yesterday we visited St. Simons Island, Georgia. For anyone who has ever read "New Moon Rising" by Eugenia Price, the visit is a must. On the northern part of the island we found ourselves in a grove of live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Rhodedendrons of various shades of rose and white and lilac blanketed the area under the canopy spread by the tall oaks. Following the sound of a lone bagpipe player we found our way through the Wesley Memorial Garden to a large celtic cross. The sight was breathtaking, mystical, tranquil....a natural sanctuary bathed in the rays of sunset.

Tribute to Dean

In the heart of cold, snow filled Saskatchewan is a thirteen year old boy. Like many thirteen year olds he loves computer games, plays basketball, has a busy social life and school schedule. Yes, bright and energetic he is also unselfish. For the past two weeks he has given up his room so I have a place to sleep and study when I come out to school. He has done this not just once but a few times already this school year. When I come, he has a bed set up in the music room.
Not only does he give up his room, I see him caring for his 6 month old nephew, feeding him pablum and taking care of the cats both able and diabled. This blog is for you Dean, as promised, with thanks.

Lame legs

Curled up in front of the wood stove in rural Saskatchewan lies a tawny cat who will never catch a mouse. With legs tucked under she looks the picture of contentment. Only when she moves do I notice, her rear legs are on backwards....seriously! At her birth her mother tried to abandon her. Unwilling to watch the kitten starve to death, my friends fed her with a eye dropper. Now she spends her days contentedly resting by the stove observing her ginger sibling called "No Name" racing round the house, occasionally stopping by for a friendly wrestle. Lame legs walks on the joints of her twisted back legs as if that is normal. She uses the kitty litter and can access the food bowl. At 5:30am she wakes everyone up as she hops down the hall. Some may argue a disabled cat should not be allowed to live. Who are we to judge her quality of life...a warm stove, well fed and loved. What do you think?

Jordan is out of Africa

Yes, it was a great way to start my birthday. Jordan phoned early this morning after almost 2 weeks of no contact. He arrived back in England from Africa late last night. In spite of the certain country's troubles, Jordan had an awesome trip.

Is your Christmas an adventure?

Expectations logged in our minds from Christmasses past tend to be the paradigm from which we approach Christmas. It can be unsettling when Christmas doesn't go quite the way one expects and one may think one is having the worst Christmas. If one decides to just expect the unexpected, well then Christmas becomes an adventure, and so ours did. We knew J2 would not be flying home. We hoped the rest of us would spend Christmas Eve and day together. After an interesting time locating the meat thermometer, which happened to have travelled 11 kilometers to J4's absent friends house, J3 and J4 went to work. They wound up having to work until gone 8:00pm, after which more adventures began. While the turkey cooled its heels, they went to find J1. J1 wound up being so sick that j3 and j4 delivered food to him and let him sleep. Four us then ate the turkey together followed by j3 and j4 delivering more food, this time to their workplace, the infamous Dominos. After their food run they had a dog run to care for a friends dogs who had suddenly been returned to their home. Finally the four of us that were home opened gifts late at night, tried to watch a movie, all fell asleep...and well....all the Christmas baking is still in the fridge! Today at least four of us head for our grandparents and wonder what adventures will await us for this day.

Grandparent void

This past weekend we did something we have long been tardy in doing....we visited a family who have claimed us as grandparents to their children. Thankfully this little family also has found grandparents who live close by to adopt for their kids. This visit and other families I have connected with over the past month brought to my mind the sad fact that there are untold numbers of children who have no grandparents. They may be separated by distance or death. There are children and their parents who long for the participation of an older couple in their family lives. My own family was blessed by adopting an older lady from our church as 'grandma' when grandparents were far away. Age does not diminish the significance or responsibility of one to interact with the community.

Daily showers--our north american right?

Last week on the mount was an interesting experience. Going without the normal northamerican amount of water allowance for showers led one to reflect on the state of water in the world. My african colleagues seemed unflummoxed by our lack of shower water due to the water crisis. The north americans were panicked. No showers for 6 days, finally rainwater to wash ones hair by the weekend. How much we north americans do take our daily showers for granted? Do we actually need to take daily showers? Most of the world's population is not privy to such extravagance. Overall the experience was valuable and alerted one to the unthinking presumption we North Americans can have about our right to a continuous abundance of water for our personal use. Yes, everyone needs clean water to drink. This is a basic human need, and yet, not all of humanity even has this basic need met. In North America, we cannot forget, we live a life of priviledge and often unthinking ingratitude. Daily showers are a priviledge not a right. Yes, today, I finally had the priviledge of a hot shower and was never so thankful in my life.

The lonely racoon!

Empty beaches

It sometimes amazes me, I live in a world of billions of people, and yet, I can walk the east beaches at Canada's southern tip and they are empty. It was still warm enough to wade in the slightly chilly water. The sun had not yet dropped too far. Miles of golden sand, waves lapping the shore, and the only sign of life, one enormous raccoon ambled out of the woods to drink at the lake edge.

Family haunts...

Lucy Maud Montgomery once wrote that a house never became a home until there had been a birth and a death there. I disagree. A house becomes a home as families live their lives together and build memories. This summer was a time of renewing relationships with many family members close and extended, filling our house with memories. Likewise, special places visited become a cherished memory as the moment is shared with special people. We will never forget vacationing with our two youngest making wisecracks from the back seat. J's #1 and #2, wish you could have been with us!

The overdue promised picture!

Finally, at last, I have time to post the promised photo of our bike ride in Nassau. It was fabulous and recommended for anyone who visits there. We avoided bike peddlars until we exited the customs building. Close to the street we found someone peddling bike rentals. This time we covered the western half of the island. The water was an incredible crystal blue offset by white sands. I recommend getting one of the more expensive bikes as ours broke down in the middle of the island. Fortunately I travel with an expert mechanical technician as spouse!

Family news

Once again we are empty nesters, this came home after I had to downsize the milk in my grocery cart today. We had a fun filled two hectic days in the GTA visiting Niagara Falls and Toronto's CN tower before sending the youngest off to England. He arrived safely and is preparing to head to Mattersey Hall for the end of September. Jo is back at Redeemer....eight months until graduation!!! You go girl!

Family news

Sadly the engagement is definitely over.

B.C. Bathrooms! The height of cleanliness.

I think B.C. has the most highly advanced washroom technology I have ever used. At "The Cactus Club" last night I discovered the toilet seat was covered in plastic. You push a button before you use the toilet and the plastic rotates to give one fresh plastic to sit on! Yay, for North American technology in the bathroom!

The bride price

This morning, following church, I was offered 10 goats and 3 sheep for my youngest daughter. He has promised to wait for her to finish school.

Engagement photos

Jeremy and Tabatha, June 2006

Family news

Jeremy and Tabatha just got engaged! I will hopefully post a photo tomorrow. No wedding date as of yet. They would like to get married in England.

And the bride wore black

Last Sunday I had the privilege of being invited to an Old Colony Mennonite wedding. As we drove up to the plain white wooden church I noticed my young friend, the bride, standing outside the church with her sister. They both carried large black Bibles. The bride's dress, although black, was fairly intricate. The many pleated skirt fell from the stitched bodice to just below the bride's knees. Her hair was unadorned and flowed freely. Her sister wore a light grey dress with puffy sleeves. We entered the church and sat with the men on the right side. The left side was entirely women and children. At the front of the church many of the women wore black with veiled bonnets leaving the face exposed. The bride and groom entered the church from the front with twelve elders dressed in black suits, no ties. The elders sat across the front of the church while the bride and groom sat facing them. The service then commenced in high German. Occasionally the elder would interject an English sentence for the few English speaking invitees. The hour long service commenced with the singing of a hymn, minus instruments and harmony. Many Scriptures were read in high German before the couple said their vows. Following the ceremony we went to the church basement for a light meal of noodle soup, homemade breads and sausage, cheese, cookies, coffee and wedding cake. A coffee can was passed around to collect donations to the couple, apparently they used to use the bride or groom's shoe.
Apparently the reason for the black dress and somber ceremony is to symbolize the solemnity of the wedding vows. Perhaps this is something we have lost in our society. While I am not advocating all bride's wear black, the message of the solemnity of the covenant the two are agreeing to is well taken. Currently in some regions of the United States couples can engage in a covenant marriage. In this marriage they pledge to do all they can to try to work things out before separating. This runs counter cultural to our easy divorce society. I wonder how many divorces would be less likely to occur if couple's had the support of their community. I have hope for my young friend's marriage. She is surrounded by family and friends who take her commitment seriously and will endeavour to help her and her spouse if struggles arise. It takes a village to raise a child, and it may take a community to grow a marriage.