Pinga, are you having any help?

The tools are being organized by my brother, the china is something that I am doing.

It is all good...no problem

I loathe moving - so I feel for you Chemgal and Pinga!

I just spent the day up at a beautiful campsite with some friends who are spending the weekend there. I spent a couple of hours in a hot car driving there, so was really glad to go for a dip in the nice cool lake almost immediately upon arrival! Others in our party weren't quite so brave, but I'm glad I went in - it was very refreshing! We lounged on the beach for a couple of hours, then went back to the campsite for that most traditional of camping meals: hot dogs or hamburgers, roasted corn on the cob and s'mores! 

It was a good day!

Tomorrow will also be a good day, I am certain. The 15 United Churches in our city are getting together for a joint service in a tent on the local fairgrounds. Our guest preacher is going to be Gary Paterson and local folk band comprised of young adults who are all connected with the United Church will be the musicians. It should be an excellent service.

I hope you all are also having excellent weekends!

Enjoy Gary Patterson! He is doing a community service in July at naramata!

Today I moved both of my kids. One out of my house, with girlfriend and cats, and into their new place. One into my house, as a temporary measure while she finds a new place. Well, I didn't actually move. I provided the truck, and sat in the shade and read my kobo while people much younger than I did the actual shifting.

Happy Canada Day, everyone. Wish we could drag our national anthem into the 21st century by having daughters as well as sons involved...or better still, citizens or something neutral.

I'm just back from the service, and it was wonderful - one of the best services I have ever been to. It was an absolutely perfect day to be worshipping outside - temperatures were hovering around 30 degrees. Summer is officially here! Gary, as always, spoke beautifully - and he seemed very impressed by the set up that we had. He said afterwards that he will be blogging about this. I got to participate in a small way - helping to take up the offering and then again helping to pack things up at the end. 

This is the tent we were using. Just imagine it packed with hundreds of people!

how lovely, what a great day for you and others that attended.

moving kids in & out, people buying homes, parents starting to disperse items.....lots going on with coming & going

have fun folks, enjoy canada day

Somegalfromcan - that sounds invigorating!  Just what the church needs.  Nice that 15 churches came together.

Tabitha - hopefully he's experiencing the '3 steps forward' stage, which helps carry them through the '1 step back' blips.  Many of my daughter's friends are doing extra courses next year, catching up this summer, discovering that volutneer hours count, and they didn't get to participate in the grad activities.  It was a bit of a shock to see how their group was split up, and emotionally too.  Also, so few have jobs.  Some have legitimate reasons for turmoil at home or in themselves, but I miss Grade 13, for the extra year of maturing.

My daughter had a good first training day on Friday and came back bouncy with a hat & tshirt. I don't know how many hours she'll be getting, but hopefully lots.  The first day starts on Tuesday so we had to shuffle things around, but let me tell you, I'll shuffle everything to make room for her job.  Her brother was a bit miffed about all her success & attention, especially when for months, it has been a rocky road, so he was a bit grumpy. However, he has been helping my sweetheart build a deck for friends, and he's pretty good at helping.  So good, in fact, that I'm relegated to pouring cold drinks and lounging in the shade.  Anyway, our friends 'paid' him yesterday and he was well compensated - so his eyebrows went up and his shoulders got straighter and I think he's all fine now ;)

Yesterday was fun & tough all at once.   Being at home, relaxed, no job pressures or whatever, we decided after much debate to stay close to home, smoke a brisket for supper, and take a walk at the lake at some point.  My sweetheart was mired in a tough day, and the kids ended up stuck on computers until I'd had it.

I threw the kids in the car and we went to Canadian Tire and bought a little firebowl for a campfire in the backyard.  (Any firefighters listening - we were VERY careful, as always!!)  That gave my son something to put together, and we also rigged up some sun shade.  Then for the first time ever, the patio became a hang-out spot instead of just adult conversation spot.  We had chips & fresh guacamole, with good salsa, Coronas & whatever, and played some mean Crazy 8's.   Later, sweetheart & I had a good bike ride that helped him chill out - we have enough greenspace around us that we got some "Nature Therapy".  Then supper - brisket and salad from the garden, then the walk at the lake.  Got home as twilight was setting in, just in time for a campfire & marshmallows.  Tada!  Turned out to be a nice day.

Kudos to you Birthstone for seizing & making the day better.  Drop by anytime you're down this way for a walk by the lake!  We always have cold beer & wine!!   Canada Day parade today on the Lakeshore!!  A bit cloudy, so not soooo hot, which is good!  

Lots going on with folks I see - life unfolding as it should, as another summer gets underway.  Hello July! 

Very hot in the southern interior of BC this Canada Day.

Happy Canada Day, everyone!

Summer camp has begun for another year! I really hope that every day is much like today. My group was absolutely awesome - and so easy going. They really got into every activity that I offered. Our theme this week is Pirates - so today my group played Pirate People Bingo, made pirate ID sheets, built pirate ships, made a pirate flag and came up with some of the cheesiest pirate jokes you could ever imagine. We took our first out trip - an easy trip to the park across the street. As icing on the cake, we also had perfect weather. It was a great way to kick off the summer.

Today, I went to the visitation for a man, 53.. a friend, a father of a pre-teen, a husband. It is so sad to see someone go so quickly, and someone who was cared for and was such a good soul.  

I am aware that the frequency of losses of people my age or younger is increasing.  I am aware that many of my friends don't have parents any more.  Life keeps marching on, and for those of us who live, we see death.

I think, though, of the woman who is a friend, who ponders if her daughter understands the death of her dad, as her daughter lives with down's syndrome..

i think, though, of a man who is missed..and what a good guy he was.

I spent time with his mom, who lives far away, sharing stories of her son, hoping that they helped her to see how much we too cared for him.

She had been writing letters to her son during his short illness, and was mentioning she won't be doing it any mre, ....so i suggested she write them to her granddaughter....and, it was a good moment, when you think, that is why i was here tonight.

sad though

That is indeed sad Pinga. I am so glad you were able to be there for his mother - what a great suggestion you made to her about writing letters to her grand daughter. Over the past couple of days I've found myself thinking a lot about a family I know who's teenage son has cancer. This weekend he slipped into a coma and is unlikely to wake up again.

oh, i am sorry, somegal.

There is a sense of  lament.  It isn't grief as it is for a family member or close friend, and yet, there is that deep sigh and awareness of how suddenly things can change

I'm enjoying the slightly cool temperature in the house right now.  Yesterday was the 2nd time in a decade there was a humidex warning here.  A young child was left in a car and they were hospitilized, hopefully they are doing better today.  The cooler weather brought some storms, just some heavy winds here, but other parts of the city were pounded with hail.  I haven't heard if there were any tornados, but it wouldn't surprise me!

The 3 year old girl died.

It makes you wonder what people were thinking when they leave young children in a vehicle knowingly.

Chemgal - that is so sad. 

And Pinga, I echo that lament - in my case it's also not a family member or close friend, but there is definitely a feeling of sadness. At this point, this young boy is still in a coma.

Yes chemgal-so sad and preventable

Somegal-sadness too

and Pinga-yes the gal with Downs will understand IF people  tell her about death, allow her to participate in visitation funereal etc.

10 degrees cooler today here by my car's thermometer-only got up to 30.

Much more enjoyable!

Thanks Tabitha, she was at visitation and funeral and had been visiting her Dad throughout his illness (he never came home after diagnosis)

There is a palpable sadness.  I've got three deaths in my circle in the past week or so - one, the 32 yr old husband of a young woman I've known all her life - they have a new baby boy & were so crazy in love and settled - he was killed in a freak accident on a drilling rig in Northern BC - service this Sat in Victoria;  secondly a longtime (from univesity days) friend's aged father - a bon-vivant Greek man - a true character with a life well lived, now gone to his rest - and probably his next party :-)  and lastly a young neighbour's cousin who suicided last week - his mom already struggling with a recent cancer diagnosis herself.  So yes - a reminder for sure of the preciousness and unpredictability of life.  A reminder to me to recognize my blessings and moments of grace and mercy.  

On the other hand - I did seize the moment & joined Pilgrims & Baylacey for dinner last night - lots of fun and good food.  No sign of the roofer although we did have several attentive Italian waiters ... 

Such sadness Carolla. The young man I wrote about is still hanging in there - his Mom wrote a heart-wrenching post on Facebook about his last few waking moments and their journey from the north island town that they were visiting to coming back home to Victoria in a series of ambulances.

Ah yes somegal - I think there must be nothing sadder than to experience the death of one's own child - at any age. It is heart-wrenching.   It's just not how we expect "the order of operations" (to borrow a phrase from the math world) to unfold.  Thinking of chansen living daily with acute knowledge of that possibility, which the rest of us can be blissfully ignorant of, most of the time anyway.  

Now off I go to my garden - I've decided my jasmine plant needs new soil - so repotting is in my 'order of operations' list for this evening :-)  We do what we can, right? 

I really can't imagine what it must be like for a parent to lose their child. A couple that I know lost two children in the space of 5 years - both unexpectedly (an accident and blood clot). Their pain, to me, is unimaginable.

On a completely different note - I had an awesome day at work today. We took the kids on a full day treasure hunt. We told them that we were pirates and that somebody had stolen our treasure and they had to help us get it back. They had to collect magic items from the sea in our morning out trip to help us retrieve our treasure in the afternoon. We took them down to a wharf that has a replica pirate ship tied up to it. My co-worker and I even dressed up a little with pirate bandanas and fake mustaches. In the afternoon, we were back at our centre and the treasure hunt resumed. They found treasure boxes filled with jewels - which they got to share. This was followed up by games and an impromptu art project, which the children really got into!

Carolla, hugs ...I am glad you got to go out and be with BayLacey and Pilgrims.  what fun that would be.

Good messages as always in this thread.

take care folks, and have a good weekend.

I'm checking in before leaving my sister's place in Elliot Lake.  It may be some time before I am able to sit at a full-sized computer - just tablet for the next few days.  I'm reminded as I read this morning that life goes on.  And death is a part of life.  Death at the end of a long life - death in the midst of living. 

I remind myself that I will see my sister again when on the return trip.  I have the feeling that might be the last time.  Her health is failing.  She was in NB two years ago - she won't make the trip again.  And who knows if we will be able to come here in another year or two.  

We head out for 'north of Superior' this morning.   Meanwhile, do I understand that Pilgrim is now in Canada - heading east while we head west.

Yes, she sure is Seeler......

I've some time for the internet this morning - as my washing is spinning around on another floor of this hotel.

As usual I've enjoyed my time in my second home here in Toronto.

Tomorrow I set off with LBmuskoka for Newfoundland -just hope the Newfies can cope with this dynamic duo. 

It was great to meet up with Carolla and Baylacey for a meal at a swish Italian restaurant. Excellent food, wine, and company......

(I think it's only fair that my personal assistant here in "Trono" should confirm that I'm ringing her up less frequently in a panic about "what to do!")

Enjoy the remainder of your holiday Seeler - take it from me - Crazyheart is great fun!

Happy travels both East and west w/c friends.

I just finished a quilt top and backing yesterday! Feels like a good accomplishment. Need to pop into work for awhile today-to deal with some left over stuff. Happy Friday all!

Pilgrims, you're so self-sufficient now I'm almost obsolete as a PA!  Watch out for the screech in Newf - and I don't mean LB in a cold shower!!  Although one may be needed if the two of you DO get into some screech :-) 

Tab - big accomplishment indeed!  Well done!  Will you quilt it yourself or do you send it to someone with a long-arm machine?  I did that when I made a quilt for my daughter a few years ago - I hadn't even known such an option existed until a quilter friend steered me in that direction - and I was glad she did!

Nice Tabitha!

We had another really relaxed day at camp today. We took all of our kids to the beach today. I led a hike for a few children before lunch and after lunch I got to sit and play on the beach for over an hour. I have become an expert at capturing crabs - I must  have caught dozens today for the kids.

or a cold shower .............giggle

Thanks Carolla, Yes I know about and use long arm quilters.

This is my 6th big quilt. I have another in at the quilters right now.

Trust everyone is enjoying their summer!

Today I am thinking of the family of that young man with cancer that I spoke of earlier. He passed away in the early hours of this morning.

Well, that's the end of that idea.......

There is a town here called Dildo -and I WAS going to ask LB to take my photo in front of the sign - but, er, maybe not........

 LB doesn't intend being screetched but I'm game - at my age I'll settle for being kissed by a cod.  (How the mighty have fallen!)

Psst, Pinga........

At an Irish pub tonight LB and I met an AUSTRIAN - we had our photo taken with him for a magazine in Austria..

Carolla, you're irreplaceable as my Toronto p.a. 

Sympathy to somegal- may you feel God with you in your grief!

Pull up a chair here and sit with friends for awhile-I've put out some cheese and crackers and some naramata wine.

Hugs somgal - yes, let's sit & chat a while & munch on Tabitha's lovely snacks & wine.  

It was the BIG 3 here today - Hot Hazy & Humid - sunshine, clouds, drizzle, downpours!  July weather.  We were at a big Italian picnic to celebrate a little friend's birthday today - home-made wine was flowing freely, games for the kids, lots of food, bocce tournament & good natured Italians everywhere :-)  

I'm thinking St. John's may never be the same after LB & PP's visit

Yard work day here-the nice neighbour-2 doors down-and my 17 and 22 year old hauled cedar hedge-cut down as it was dead and fire hazard) off to the dump-freeing me to go to church. Then eldest fixed the same neighbour's trailer lights and I swep for over an hour-cedar leaves and twigs. It filled 4 yard waste bags.

I'll be baking blueberry oatmeal muffins either later tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for the hugs and sympathy folks. Today has been another mixture of emotions - from the sheer joy of marching in the Gay Pride Parade with my church and three other United Churches to driving past a serious accident not long after it had happened and seeing what I feared might be a dead body. I've since found out that it looked worse than it was and the injured person has non-life threatening injuries thankfully.

The young guy who passed away was a 17 year old named Justin Plunkett (his name has been all over the media, so I feel okay mentioning it here). I know that his family is asking for prayers of support - in addition to his parents, he leaves behind a twin sister and another, much younger sister.

Prayers for his family and friends.

and for you somegal. Take some time for yourself and be gentle with yourself.

Tabitha, I'm surprised you didn't keep it for wood!  The last resale home my parents bought had a bunch of chopped up wood that the previous owners left, from a large tree they had to chop down.  My Dad added to it a little when he had to cut down a few big branches.  More than 20 years later and in a new city I think they are close to finishing it up.  With it being so old it's dry and great for fires!

Somegal, the thought of someone losing their twin so young is horrible.  I'll be thinking of his friends and family.  I hope you have some down time if you need it.  The highs and lows can be exhausting.

It is hard to catch up when one has been "away" for awhile.  Once in awhile I have "popped" in to read a few points, so have kept up a very little bit.  I will not go back and comment on all the happenings but wish to say that I have noted that there has been a lot of sadness in people's lives . . . but there has also been some joy and some successes and some happy moments.  All are part of life . . . for those who are grieving and struggling - I am sorry you are going through that kind of life in your life right now.

Over these last months I have been going through some health issues . . . not serious as in life-threatening, but for me they have been debilitating these last 4+ months.  I feel somewhat better, but still have a ways to go to be feeling restored health.  Physical tests have turned out good, so I believe I am dealing with a GI functioning issue - of which the remaining issues appears to be some kind of reflux (I am not 100% sure of this, nor am I sure what is causing it, nor am I sure what to do to treat it as I'm not sure if I have an acidic stomach or not enough acid - tried ppi medication for 10 weeks - not successful).  I lost an enormous amount of weight in a very short time and for a long time was very weak.  I feel a bit stronger now.  I am on a fairly restricted food plan (chicken, fish, yogurt, eggs, all veggies, fruits, almonds - no grain products at this time except a little brown rice and quinoa) and it is an effort to maintain my weight (this is a real irony in life - if you remember I was one who was always struggling to eat healthy and lose haha - no DC since Christmas - and I will probably never have one again in my life :).  I am awaiting a few more test results and seeing another doctor this month - hopefully some answers for me.

And all of you . . . you are constantly in my thoughts.  I rejoice in your rejoicings and think of you in your sadnesses.  Especially thinking of those who are grieving loved ones or walking alongside loved ones who are grieving.

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

re chemgal and keeping for wood-they were very bush like trees-not good for wood-with the dry summers here storing wood can be a firerisk  this were tinder dry

Beloved-Rest well and get better-give thanks for the silver lining-you are now on a healthy diet!

Ah Beloved - I was thinking of you this weekend, so I'm delighted to see your note here.  Sorry to hear you've been having a rough time - GI stuff can be so challenging.  But as usual, your gentle and gracious spirit prevails in your writing, as no doubt it also does in your life.  Be gentle ... healing thoughts coming your way. 

Ah, I was just thinking cedar wood, and not hedge!

Beloved, it's good to see you posting again!  Sorry to hear you're still not feeling well though.  Hopefully this round of testing will help!  I still have to go for a test for the issues I had this last year even though I'm so much better.  The last time I saw my specialist he was concerned about how a short term illness might be related and just wants to either rule out a concern or treat/monitor something that has the potential to create a problem again.  It's time for me to focus on my weight though - opposite problem as you.  I was so hungry all the time for a while and small amounts of activity caused body aches.  Now that I feel better some weight has come off, I just need to decide if I actually want to really watch what I eat and lose the weight faster or to just go with a gradual approach.  It's funny looking in a mirror I figured whatever, I'll lose it over time, but then I recently saw some pictures of myself and yikes!  Funny how that works!

Beloved, so good to hear from you.  I have also wondered and am glad to hear that you are doing better.

There has been sadness, like a melancholy over many, and stresses, but also joy.

SomeGal shows us how they both are held in one's heart on the same weekend.

Do take care, and know that we miss you.

Beloved - I am glad to hear from you. I am so sorry that you are not feeling well, hopefully those upcoming tests will put the final pieces of the puzzle into place. 

Don't worry about me folks - I am doing fine. I'm definitely sad, but I wasn't close with Justin - I'd only met him once or twice. I had a mostly good day at work - only tempered the fact that I got a parking ticket (which was totally my own fault). We spent the day at the swimming pool with the kids - the morning at the playground outside the pool and the afternoon swimming. Everyone had a good time!

Not worrying about you somegal-just saying that death is hard and we need to make space in our lives to acknowledge it, especially when it touches those too young or deeply loved etc.

Muffins finally made-lowfat blueberyy oatmeal muffins. Enjoy!

Thanks for all your kind words, caring thoughts, and well wishes carolla, somegal, Tabitha, and Pinga.  That means a lot to me.  I have missed this place.  I hope I am back to stay :).

Today I started a type of digestive enzyme (as suggested by my naturopathic doctor whom I am seeing again on Monday) that I am putting a lot of hope into - hope that it will be positive and make a difference and begin a healing within.  I also added some protein powder to my daily intake of food.  Although I think I am eating lots, I'm not sure it is enough to hopefully experience a gain.  Now isn't that a laugh . . . looking for a gain instead of a loss . 

The muffins sound delish - but for the time being I am grain free - will see what the future brings - going to try to make some muffins with coconut flour one day soon.  I might even be tempted to try paleo, Pinga.  I've heard that it has helped a lot of people with a variety of GI issues.

It is a beautiful day here today - and I'm going to enjoy some time outside puttering with my flowers (no garden this year - not enough energy).

How is everyone today?

Beloved - we also hope that you are back to stay!

Tabitha - those muffins sound yummy! 

I am tired, but it's been a good day. My group of kids certainly kept me on my toes today! They needed a lot more help than I had anticipated for my craft this morning - but they really enjoyed making it. We made kites that we will fly on Thursday). We also made passports, since this is "Around the World" week. In the afternoon, we walked down to a park and played some games as well as had some free play on the playground there. I have to say that I am really appreciating the fantastic behaviour that I am getting from my group! This is my sixth year doing summer camp and, as I told my kids today, I think this may be the best group of listeners that I've ever had!