Oct 30th - A project you're working on.

Well, here’s the thing. One project I’ve been working on has morphed into quite a few projects. It all started with thinking about my mom coming for Christmas. If my mom came for Christmas I would really like to get the bed frame back in my guest room so that mom doesn’t have to sleep on the floor. I mean, if we have the bed frame, why not.

And if I’m going to set up the bed frame it just does not make sense that I wouldn’t paint it first. So, I hauled the pieces out to the shop and gave the bed frame three coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint. Next, I’m going to clear coat it.

But in the mean time, I got to thinking, that if per chance we would actually be putting the bed back together in the guest room and this ginormous bed frame is probably not going to be moving for a long time, I would need to finish the trim first and put it up.

So, out to the shop with the trim and I gave it all three coats of shiny white trim paint. And in the midst of it all, my mind a whirling, I got to thinking about putting the trim up and the gouges and places where the paint pulled off in the guest room when everything was wet and flooded this summer.

So, I hauled out the paint pails and the mud and spatula and sander and started filling holes. It doesn’t take much when a person gets going and I’ll admit, I went a little wild with hole filling.

At the end of the day, Pat came in to mud spots in the dining room, all the way down the stairs and the main full wall of the basement. He seemed a little surprised and not exactly interested in the whole process, a little afraid, I think, that he would be roped in to help. But do not worry, midnight is my hour.

And today, at this point in my life, my dining room and basement look nice and new and put together. I need to get a little tin of paint to touch up the lighter stripes in the guest room - White Truffle by Behr. And today I hope to clear coat the bed and staple in trim.

And perhaps this is why my projects seem to take forever.

The end.

Oct 28th - Bible Verse

Oct 27th - 50 Words To Describe Your Day

sunshine

maple bugs

babysitting Keziah

baked oatmeal and

baked eggs for lunch

jumping on the tramp

Lego everywhere

reading stories

word-of-the-week

people opting out

preparing for

Villa pizza night 

barbecue chicken pizza

apple crisp and ice cream

red disposable cups

song books and games

clean the bathroom

vacuum floors

coffee

Oct 26th - Words of Wisdom {when times get tough}

Hmm. I don't know if I have any wisdom at all but I've had a tough time or two in my life. Seems like the older I get the less wisdom I have! One thing that my mom used to say when we were little was It'll all feel better in the morning. Isn't that the truth?


And something that always comes back to me is what Arnie & Mel's Grandma Klassen used to say. Drink lots of water and rest and get fresh air. Isn't that just a good way to calm down and smell the roses?


I think we all pray and sing and read the bible and have devotions and those are wonderful things. Another good thing to do is write down things I'm thankful for, specific things that bring joy or are beautiful.


And it all depends what kind of tough we're going through, but I believe that our physical, spiritual and mental health is all intertwined and a good multi vitamin is always a safe helpful thing.


Be happy. Laugh. Read something humorous. Dance with the little kids. Sing loudly in the shower. Learn a new skill. Think of others. Give your time to a good cause. Take a nap. Have a bubble bath. Give in. Exercise. Time yourself and do the dirty work - ten minutes does wonders. Let out the bad in a safe place and let it go.


In acceptance there is peace.

Oct 25th - Cleaning

So cleaning isn't my most favourite thing to do but I must admit that I am a little bit particular in this area. I don't ever do a huge fall or spring cleaning and clean my house in a week. For many years I've done, like, one or two rooms a week and tried to get through my house in a month. I spot clean and dust and clean bathrooms and vacuum daily.


But I never feel like I'm on top of the world for cleaning. My dear mother-in-law is the world's cleanest lady and I never measure up. She never makes me feel that way, it's my own interpretation. But when she came over to help me set up for a Christmas business party one year she came in with stuff to spot clean my carpet. And I was just thinking about enough food and chairs at that stage of the game. That just tells you how different we all are.


Sometimes I come home and see my house through different eyes and usually I think, Hey, it's not too bad in here! I think my biggest thing that makes me feel like things are messy and dirty is disorganization. Little piles of this and that sitting around drive me completely batty. I do definitely have zones that get hit bad but there's nothing quite like the feeling of totally cleaned off countertops and a place for everything and everything in it's place.


I am fiercely choleric and a lot of melancholy on this subject. I would nine times out of ten do a quick job and not necessarily a perfect job of cleaning. Also, I would almost always choose a way that to me looks appealing and spend a little bit more time on looks than making sure every crack and crevice is spotless. One thing I do love is clean windows and I'll do many quick window cleanings during summer on my front windows and my main lived in rooms. But I'm doing good to get my bedroom windows cleaned twice a year, partly because they're way up and hard to reach.


I obsess about cleaning garbage up off the yard and making sure the grass stays green and edging beds and trees and spraying weeds. And parking things in rows and lining things up and stuff. Now doesn't that sound almost like an obsessive compulsive confession? And I'm tremendously bossy and get all my men to help me with it all. But really, Pat is always supportive of the tidying and cleaning and the boys helping. I think we've both thought that everyone is happier if they help out. And Pat himself is fiercely particular about looks and cleanliness and so is his family. And perhaps, that is partly why it's important to me too. Whew.


So many confessions. Who would've guessed that was all waiting to escape the pen?


I'm not going back to edit. All I ask is that you'll still be my friend! ;)

Oct 24th - Favourite Person/People to Call for a Mood Lift

First I call my mither-mother

Then I call my sister B

Next I call my sister Karen

Then I call my sis Penny

 

After that I call to Jodi

Ruby, Viv and Lana too

Char and Lisa, Pam and Kim

Talk to Pat for change of view

 

Then I call my neighbour Heather

Melanie Miranda Am

Maybe I should talk to Cindy

Just depends how busy I am

 

Prob’ly time to whatsapp school friends

Arnie, Mel, Lur, Lila, Eif

Rose and Jane, Ters, Sharon, Marva

Bev n Allison, It’s the life!

 

But most of all my time spent talking

Is focused on a certain few

It’s my family, Colb, Zach, Wyatt

Pat’s the favourite in view.

 

Along the way, I’ve learned to curb it

Somewhat keep the thoughts subdued.

But if I really need to dump it

Guess Who hears me through and through?

Oct 23rd - Things that are causing you stress.

So the thing that stresses me the most I think is the responsibilities.


Honestly. That sounds crazy. But on the flip side, I'm so very grateful for a faithful husband. We have way too many spiritual widows around here and this is the thing that goes with it. We have way too many 'thangs' to do!! Gah.


There you have it.


So what stresses you?

Oct 21st - A song

Just as I am - I Come Broken


Just as I am without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God I come, I come.


Just as I am and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God I come, I come.


Chorus:
I come broken to be mended. I come wounded to be healed.
I come des'prate to be rescued. I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned, by the blood of Christ, the Lamb,
And I'm welcomed with open arms, praise God, just as I am.


Just as I am I would be lost, but mercy and grace my freedom bought.
And now to glory in Your cross, O Lamb of God I come, I come.


Chorus:
I come broken to be mended. I come wounded to be healed.
I come des'prate to be rescued. I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned, by the blood of Christ, the Lamb.
And I'm welcomed with open arms, praise God, just as I am.


I come broken to be mended. I come wounded to be healed.
I come des'prate to be rescued. I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned, by the blood of Christ, the Lamb.
And I'm welcomed with open arms, praise God, just as I am.
Praise God, just as I am.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I heard my baby singing this song the other day while he played. And my throat felt tight.


It's a favourite of mine.

Oct 18th-20th Nonsense, Change a Room and Where's the Coffee???

So, it's a three-meal-deal in one, my friends.


First the nonsense. It's been crazy, Grandma-Dora-ish around here. Just random things like moving office stuff into the new office, finishing painting, our first sewing of the season, finding cooks for the Villa, dentist appointments, filing GST, PST, payroll deductions, etc. It's this grand dance I call my wonderful life. I send one boy off to work at the chicken barn one or two days a week and to his uncles welding shop another day or two a week. I send another boy off to school by himself. And the littlest one, oh, the littlest one. He keeps us all on course.


Of course, I'm dreaming of changing up my kitchen. It's for one person, square, with the tight little walkway going right through it. I picked it out as a young bride of 20, with no inkling whatsoever of what I'd like in a kitchen. It's the oak look of the 90's which is turning orange in it's age. It had a lowered ceiling which we removed a few years ago but it still sports a fancy scallop border above the window. That would be one of the main things I would like to remove. Then I would paint it white-white-white and get long straight black handles to match my laundry room and do new countertops the same as my laundry room as well, huge marble-look laminate. I think some white subway tile or little white hex tile or something for a backsplash would finish it off. Then I'd add the bright splashy colors that I love, like a huge blue and green plate displayed in one corner and my aqua box Colby built me in school that houses my prolific stack of cookbooks.


And coffee? I love a good coffee and I'm a little picky about it. Of course, I would enjoy any coffee you served and friendship is definitely more important to me than coffee. But. BUT. Fresh ground coffee beans cannot be beat. I love French press coffee and a nice glug of rich cream. I love flavored coffees but I'll skip on flavored creamers and sugar. And this all being said about coffee, I really love a good cup of tea and my sister Penny beats all in making tea. Hers is THEE very best. And so, coffee in the early morning, chai tea in the late morning, some flavored healthy THM tea in the afternoon and maybe a sleepy time tea before bed. It's all good.

Oct 17th - A project you're dreaming of doing.

I'm going to write a list of all some of the projects!

• Paint shop lunchroom, office, bathroom.
• Paint guest bed frame - ugh, yes, it's still waiting patiently in the garage.
• Dream up a quilt pattern for the browns, greens, oranges, greys that the sewing ladies sent home with me today.
• Build a narrow tall table to fit the exact spot I need in my entrance. I've been dreaming about this one for a long time. I think I'll do the X on the end like I got the boys to do on the one in my dining room. Painted white, of course.

Oct 16th - Seasons

Tis the season for:

• painting the shop office, lunchroom and washroom
• leaves flying
• fields of geese (having church, like Wyatt says)
• first sewing day this fall
• pumpkin spice everything
• my oldest boy getting offered jobs here and there and ever so far away
• braces almost done
• maple bugs and flies in excess
• cleaning windows and walls
• Villa fall cleaning
• used book sale in Saskatoon
• quilt fabric pulled and no time to sew

Oct 14th - A recipe

Helloo, dear friends,


Today is my mither-mother's birthday. And I love her. And I'm going to join my sis, the Q-mom in a party at the Long Bar Ranch. So, here goes. This is what I'm going to bring.


Layered Ranchera Bean Dip


Find your prettiest fall platter. I like my huge dark red leaf one. Open 2 tins of refried beans with mild chilies and spread them evenly over the platter, leaving at least one inch around the edges for pretty. Now mix up 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup mayonnaise and about a tablespoon of taco seasoning. Spread over the bean layer. Next, mash up 3 or 4 avocados with a dash of lime juice and spread or clump over the sour cream layer, spreading as best you can with a fork. Next, sprinkle lots of shredded cheddar cheese over, maybe around 3 cups. From here you can go two different directions, hot or cold. I'm doing it cold today. So just before serving chop up one large tomato and sprinkle over the top. Then crack open a tin of sliced black olives and sprinkle maybe half of them over the top. Serve with plain taco chips. This is pretty and huge (feeds a crowd) and is a little dangerous for the hips.


Enjoy!

Oct 13th - little moments that you love

• Wyatt sitting on my lap while I'm relaxing in my chair.
• Saskatchewan sunrises and sunsets
• Clean counter tops and a candle lit
• My bed made and our room tidy, blinds up
• The smell of laundry taken off the line

Oct 12th - Your go-to place for alone time.

• My garden - nobody wants to weed garden with me, except, occasionally Wyatt will choose to help. I love being by myself in my garden. It's surrounded by trees and at times deer.
• My bedroom - shut and lock the door. Even for a little bit helps.
• And this past week I hung out by myself in the shop bathroom and office and painted and painted and painted. Truly, alone time, if I ever was longing for it. I did get a little lonesome.

Oct 11th - Countries I've visited or want to visit.

I've been blessed to get to a couple countries already in my life. Long ago, when we were first married we left our little boys and went to Belize to visit Jerry & Dawn Baerg. I think that was my first impression of a foreign country with the open markets and little food booths along the roads. We went with Jerry's on a little holiday to Caye Calker, a little island belonging to Belize. We took a snorkeling tour and touched the stingray and ate banana-apples together.


One year we took a trip with Pat's folks to Romania where we got to meet Vila and Lee. We rode a train, toured an old castle, visited an orphanage and shopped the markets. We ate delicious lasagna at Lee's and stood on their little porch that slanted down in a shocking manner many stories up in their apartment. Best of all, we made life long friends.


Then we took a trip of a lifetime to China to visit Ryan & Arlene and their family. Aunty Cheri came with us and we toured the world's largest building in Chengdu, and the huge fabric market where they sell rolls of 120" wide fabric for a song, and visited a Chinese zoo. We ate hot pot with rabbit meat and one lone cockroach plus many more foods of various standing. We were carefully watched and attended to by the natives and guards and people all around us. In the crowded elevator in one hospital Maddy screamed with terror when she came face to face with a live chicken in a gunny sack. We ate with chopsticks and stood in groups while people freely took pictures and I even had the privilege of escorting a rat between my feet at supper one evening. We watched the lights light up the skyscrapers at night and watched the Chinese ladies dance in the evening along the river and shopped the underground Wal-Mart in Leshan. Pat and Colby even got to visit the leprosy village way up a mountain.


I dream of traveling more. As a child I went to the Northwest Territories with my family and Pat & I have done Niagara Falls and PEI but I dream of taking our boys these places. I dream of touring the Yukon and Northwest Territories and Alaska with our boys. I dream of traveling the States in one long drawn out trip. I dream of Europe in general and particularly Paris. But mostly I'm very grateful for the traveling I've done and the memories I have.

Oct 10th - Your current favourite time of day.

Maybe the best time of day
is the morning chill and quiet
and darkness lingers
cozy and still
and my eyes don't open
so I say a prayer
of thanksgiving and joy and peace
and I wiggle my toes
and cuddle deeper into my
fluffy white blanket.


Or maybe the best time of day
is mid morning, still and quiet
when Wyatt runs out to the shop
for coffee-break with his dad
and my kitchen cupboards are clean
and the dishwasher is humming
and a load of towels on the line
swings in the autumn breeze
and I make myself a cup of
piping hot chai tea in a
chunky mug.


Or maybe the best time of day
is early afternoon when the sun
shines brightly in the spiffy west window
and the leaves dance on the new mown grass
and the window washing supplies
lie ready to be picked up again
and the fridge holds warm leftovers from lunch
and the bills are paid
and the pinto beans are stacked neatly in
the small toy trailer on the table.


Or maybe the best time of day
is late late afternoon
when the table is set for supper
and yummy smells permeate the house
and the doors slam
and the taps run
and chatter and noise is everywhere.


Or maybe the best time of day
is evening, solid and still
when tall boys put their feet on the
couch while they read
and the vacuum hose is neatly
coiled in the closet
and the lamps are on
and the sun is long set.

Oct 9th - The story behind a plate/quilt/family heirloom.

I have a plate almost identical to this one hanging on my dining room wall. It's been passed down through the ages to the second son in every family. My dad was the second son in his family but my Grandma chose to give it to me because it's both Pat's and my heritage. My plate writing on the back that says


Brought from Russia by Grandma Giesbrecht's Grandparents Henry Esau's 1874


I love it.


I miss my Grandma.


I miss my dad.

Oct 8th - Your latest answer to prayer.

A few weeks ago I was in town with my sister, Bren. We stopped at Staples before we met our friends, Tami, Deana, Grace and their mom, Val, for lunch at The Chopped Leaf. When Bren and I ran out of Staples my phone dropped on the ground beside my van. Fortunately, I have a cover to protect my phone and all was well. Sitting and having lunch a while later, my phone started beeping a funny beep. I looked at it and here my stylus was missing. I searched my purse; searched all over. I decided to leave it and look in the van, though it did seem mysterious. All of a sudden it hit me. My stylus will have popped out when my phone dropped in front of Staples. I prayed that it would still be there and enjoyed the rest of my meal and our time together as friends. Bren and I drove straight back to Staples when we were done and right there, in the same spot my phone dropped, was my white stylus. God is so very great. Even in these little things.

Oct 7th - A quote

Oct 6th - Favourite items in your home.

• My black leather rocking recliner. It makes me happy. I write most of what I write from here.
• Cozy blankets. I have a wicker basket filled with blankets by my rocker and fireplace year round.
• My favourite (or one of my favourite) coffee mugs is black and white striped with huge pink flowers and in gold writing says Hello Lovely. It's gifted to me by one of my favourite little girls, Brianna Jo, made even more special because she picked it out for me herself.
• Lamps and candles.
• Stacks of pillows in colourful array.
• Books and books and more books.

Oct 5th - Whatever spills out at the moment.

{WW} pink

 

My Not-So-Pink Life

 

Jeans drying on the wash-line

Guns, bows, planes and go-carts

Lego, Lincoln Logs, Meccano

Fidget spinners blown up to see how they work

Dead magpies and coyotes

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Batteries, knives and flashlights

Cabela’s catalogues

Haircuts

Unicycles, bikes, balancing wheels

Forklift rides, old vehicles

Cranes and skid-steers and backhoes

Blown up pop bottles

Acetylene explosions

Peterbilts and chevy’s and engines

Gas, tires, patches, crazyglue

Whole batches of cookies devoured in one setting

Burping contests

Boats, tents, fires

Porcupine quill collections

Axe deodorant and razors

Bats, balls, volleyballs, hockey pucks and sticks

Corners full of books, empty granola bar wrappers

Flat brimmed hats and toques and old gloves

Coveralls hung only to dry

Shelves filled with deer sheds

Wrestling, whistling and whittling

Slingshots, glueguns, popguns

Paper airplanes

Walking on hands contests

Cowboys and Indian

Shrink-wrap, ropes and chains

Oct 4th - Something you've accomplished lately.

So my latest accomplishment is to accept four coyote paws abiding in my freezer. There's a bounty on coyotes now. I cried and then I laughed. Please don't judge.

Oct 3rd - Give the highlights of your last trip.

 This is Maligne Canyon in Jasper, curtesy of Albertawow.com. Words can hardly do justice and neither can pictures. This beautiful spot is hot on a summer day and cools down to shivery cold as you hike the five kilometres down to the bottom. There is nothing to explain the grand awe and majesty of God's glorious mountains. I came home with my heart full to the brim and overflowing.


We took a ten day trip this summer to Bill & Penny in Quesnel, B.C. and Jerry & Karen in Creston, B.C. This is a trip we've hoped to do for a long time so it was extra special.


One day we went with Bill & Penny to Barkerville, a revived gold mining town. It was full of actors and actresses and everything from bygone days came to life again. That was especially special to me because my dad took our family there when I was little. We went to church in Quesnel, met Bill's friends, had Sunday lunch with old friends, toured Penny's lovely yard and just loved being together. Penny and I even got a little bit of sister time together, shopping and going for chai lattes to the neatest little joint town. Bill took the men touring down by the river and the boys went gold-panning. Kajsa had a little sidekick named Wyatt Benjamin.


On our way out we stopped at the Ancient Forest where huge old cedar trees grow. It was just breathtaking, the lush undergrowth and flowing creek and the walk. One thing I probably won't forget is Zach walking most of that hiking trail on the wooden handrails. We set up our tent in Jasper at a beautiful little spot by a splashing dashing river. We shopped little souvenir shops in the town of Jasper and bought a couple groceries for a picnic by Maligne Canyon. We toured Lake Louise and Athabaska Falls and Johnston's Canyon and many other little spots along the way.


We stopped in Radium for night on our way to Jerry's at little hick joint. We ate funny food from a little grocery store and trail mix from Costco and chips from a tiny little service station where the man asked many questions and told us where to find the best coffee and where to drive down to the local river beach. We toured way out to Lussier Hot Springs (still too many people for our liking), down a long gravel road with many hairpins and drop-offs and wonderful camping spots.


We had a wonderful time with Jerry's. They went all out of their way for Zach's 13th birthday, including a Dairy Queen icecream cake. The men and older children went zip-lining on the Kokanee Mountain Zipline while Karen and Wyatt and I talked and waited. We toured an ancient forest with the hugest tree I've ever seen in my life. It took eight of us, fingertip to fingertip, to reach around the biggest one. That gorgeous mountainside we walked with them was luscious with ferny undergrowth, gigantic rocks covered in moss and the most beautiful stream bouncing and singing and praising its way downhill. We picnicked for supper one night, rode the ferry, had supper with Carl & Teresa and Danny & Marcie, shopped the local market, ate fresh fruit from the road-stands and swam in Jerry's lovely pool.


On our way home we watched a for-real-and-true forest fire break forth before our eyes. We toured through Banff again on our way home, stopped in Calgary for night and then my man took me to Cross Iron Mills, a huge mall near Calgary. I came home so inspired, so full in heart, so thankful for my dear sisters. It was truly a trip of a lifetime.

Oct 2nd - Something on you bucket list.

Isn't it amazing how we can accomplish one thing in life, only to start planning and hoping for the next? The other day when I was teaching the grade fives and sixes I got them to write a list for me including 3 things they wanted to do or be when they grew up. I nearly cried when I read one little grade five boys list which included: I want to be a dad. This particular little boy is rather naughty and loud but I would say this one thought vouches for his home life. He wants to be a dad.


Bucket List for Jo

• watch my kids grow up
• sew a quilt-along
• start a coffee/fabric/quilting shop
• volunteer again in the hospital
• take a two or three week trip with our family driving through the United States
• take the boys to the east coast
• paint my kitchen cupboards
• spend a term as house-parents somewhere

Now that's a few things. I guess I'm not a sky-diver, bungee-jumping type of person. I have enough excitement in my life! :):)

Oct 1st - What does it mean to worship?

I'm not going to let myself read one word of sweet wisdom from my fellow bloggers until I've posted my own. So the truth is, I may not keep up. More truth, maybe I won't be the only one. Even more truth, I really want to. My beauty-hungry eyes are feasting on trees of yellow and russet and green against thick grass carpeted in leaves. My house is overrun with men. Young men who smell, like, well, young men. My oven is full of fresh chocolate chip cookies which will be devoured in the blink of an eye. My cup of steaming chai tea is long cooled off but my heart is full. I don't know what God means by giving me so much today but I'm going to take it as a blessing and hope for a nap in the near future.

What does it mean to worship What does it mean to worship? And they that worship me must worship me in spirit and in truth. I don’t know. There are so many ways to worship our Lord. Honoring our family, making them food without grumbling, taking time to admire nature and thank God for the beauty around us. Singing. Any thing that is beautiful and right and good is a form of worship. Resting. Prayer. Trust. Thoughts of thankfulness. Asking for wisdom. Honoring the church, the home, the people we’re given to love. Acceptance.