Books

 There's a long row of books on the floor in front of the fire place:

The Bobbsey Twins In The Great West

The Last Chance Detectives

Biggles Flies East

I Survived The Children's Blizzard, 1888

Animal Ark Racoons On The Roof

Animal Ark Animal Ark Favorites

Taking The Reins

I Survived The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941

I Survived The Great Molasses Flood, 1919

Biggles In France

Health, Safety & Manners

This is Wyatt's current list to read.

March Musings

 It's the last day of March in 2022, a very exciting event, as it brings spring one step closer. Large snow flakes swirl and cling to wet surfaces outdoors. Inside, Wyatt taps the window incessantly and I tap the keyboard. Pat is on his way home from Edmonton with (probably) the last load of coal for the season. Colby is at Paul's, welding today. Zach went to Delisle first thing this morning to help Jeff install cabinets at folks, then headed to Jeff's to help him on their house. 

So far today, I've napped. And read a bit of Black Heals to Tractor Wheels. And done some work for Pat in the office. And drank some coffee. 

Really big stuff.

But yesterday was bigger. I had a group of ladies over for coffee in the afternoon. And Colby invited the youth over for Easter practice in the evening. Both events involve food prep. Also, after school Wyatt came running in, all excited, because he had just watched Polly hatch a kitten by the back deck! We warded off the dogs with a straw broom and Wyatt fetched a plastic storage container from the garage to haul Polly and her offspring to safer grounds. Polly proceeded to 'hatch' kittens for the rest of the day in the warmth of the garage. 

I have taken on a new job since we last talked. I am currently doing books for school. The first learning curve here was talking with Victoria from the Royal Bank of Canada and setting up the GRSP accounts for the teachers along with arranging online appointments for each of them, all while they were gone for in-service and  I was gone to Colby's class program. What I'm trying to say, is that I don't always sit around and do nothing.

And.

I quit my writing group. And it was such a good writing group. I truly loved it. But. I couldn't do it all. 

This is how I got here; to the old blog, dusty and unused. 

Do I dare to dream of writing once again?

In Which Wyatt Goes To School

I'm trying to do a bunch of free writes. Hopefully I can joggle the old brain and see if I can write again.

So Wyatt started school on September third. I want to capture these moments. He's six and a half, not super tall, very slim and fast and wiry and fun. He's reading short children's books. He's self taught in his reading but has quite a propensity for large words. He is my only child who has done this.

Some things I worry about with him starting school is how sensitive he is. He gets embarrassed over the minutest things. And how in charge he is. Will he boss the whole school around? My other two boys are followers and quieter people. This one is in charge. This one is the alpha male.

Another thing that's a little hard with him is that he still struggles with asthma tendencies. He's so very much better than when he was a baby inhaling baby powder and Raid. But he still gets a fever instantly and a serious croupy cough that can turn asthma-ish without his medicine. And so, of course, I'm this mama that doesn't know when to send him to school. If I was willing for him to bring his puffer and use as needed I suppose he would be fine. But the puffers scare me and I go natural with him as long as possible. I guess his teacher is his fine and lovely cousin who would learn the puffers if I wanted her to but... we shall see.

PARENTING IS NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED.

I'm sorry. I yelled. But this whole thing of sending another feisty handsome man through nine grades of school scares me. And it's almost funny, starting again in the youngest class. We've been used to upper grades for quite some time. Also, I'm glad we don't have a year of no school children like some of our friends.

On we go. Making little lunches. Home for early bedtimes. Cuddles and stories together. And listening to all the funny stories that come home from school.

Did I mention that this child talks far more than my other two put together?

It's interesting.

Of Algorithms and Work and Boyish Obsessions

As I said earlier, this has been the very best summer ever. For one thing, the boys worked almost every day. There has not been one bored day, not one. This is huge. Suddenly my oldest two are grown up. Wyatt spent hours and hours along the fence, watching the men building shop on our back yard.


The shop is up and starting to be used for some work, although the three-phase power still is not hooked up which means no welding yet.


One thing Zach got into this summer was the Rubiks cube. Tristan, Wendel & Sharon's son, got him going on it when they were out this summer. It took him about a week and now he can solve it in a minute (shortest time). He used his money from Grandma Isaac for his birthday to buy a fancy fast Rubiks cube. We feel like it's a good thing for him to focus his mind and energy into things that are not harmful and take thinking and perseverance. The other day his face was lit up and he was telling me which algorithms he uses to solve the Rubiks cube. I listened and when he ran out again, I looked up the word algorithm. This motherhood thing is truly over my head sometimes.


And talking about work, Colby has worked part time for a few weeks now for Carlin Toews, in his chicken barns. The shocking thing is that he can arise before 6am to leave for work. It used to be such a struggle to get out of bed for school... And this morning he was up by 7am, ready to go hunting.


Which leads me to Colby's obsession. It's hunting season. Every spare minute is spent perusing Cabela's online and adjusting his compound bow and target practicing. Not to mention the hours and hours he spends in his camo clothes, walking the home quarters with binoculars in hand. He's a naturally quiet person and he manages to find the little hidden animals and hiding places the rest of us miss completely. For example, this spring he found a tiny little Bambi hidden carefully in the trees behind our garden. It was so very adorable with big blinking eyes (the only part of the baby that moved) and huge baby spots on its back. I've never seen a baby deer that close and the next morning it had vanished, hopefully safely with its mother. Also, he found a duck nest in the tall grass under the trees which he watched carefully and came in with a new egg count every day. One day at the beginning of bow season, Colby had his friend Gilwyn over to go hunting with him. They spent almost all day together in the great outdoors. So far, there are no new venison roasts in my freezer but I'm waiting for them.


Of course, Zach is in school again, which is new for him to go alone. He's in a grade by himself this year and feels a little lonely at times. He devours books. Whole sets of books. He's working through Eric Walters books right now. Do you all have good ideas for books for him?

Life & Feelings

And then one morning she woke up and thought why not? Why not write again? Why not quickly chop half the group off and write again with freedom? This doesn't mean that I don't want people here. It means I'm sometimes afraid of the silence. In times past, I've merrily written things from my viewpoint only to have them passed on and I feel so vulnerable.


But I've taken a nice long break. And it hasn't only been that. My life has gone from full throttle to overdrive. I am in no way needing something to do with my time like I used to. (I know. I admitted that.) My older boys have so much going and happening and it's just different writing about them. I just have to respect them in a different way than a four year old. So maybe now I could write a little bit about some of the things.


Like, Colby graduated this year! Like, seriously, the whole thing took me by surprise. Forever and ever we've been doing homework and trying to get him to sing and just like that he was standing with his grade, singing The Open Road (nervously, no doubt). But he did it. I'll always have this picture of him in his black shirt with the red bits of trim, his dark jeans and canvas high tops. We couldn't see the emoji socks that the boys all wore, matching, but they smiled because of them. He will always be my quietest boy, with a shy smile that you know hides a lot on his beautiful face. (I'm the mom, forgive me.) He has so much love for wildlife and little children and people that are left out. He's loyal beyond his years. He's grown in leaps and bounds this last year, in the area of spiritual understanding and the depth makes me cry.


There are so many things I want to write down and remember but my 'moment' is swiftly coming to a close. Bren and I are doing a 40th birthday party for our men at Pike Lake this evening, about a hundred people. (And we used perfectpotluck.com to plan it.) Chris Boese has been painting for me and will be here in a couple minutes. Yesterday she painted Zach's room, a medium grey and then on one wall she's going to do a wide stripe at an angle in lime green and a narrower stripe in charcoal a little ways away. I have Wyatt's room and our main bathroom on the list yet too. So hopefully I can write an update on it all soon.


Thanks to my faithful family and friends for bearing with me.


Talk again soon.

Thursday Thoughts

Hello, my friends!

It's a gorgeous Saskatchewan wintry day; some wind, big fluffy flakes of snow and -10C (colder than most of our winter has been).

I'm having a home day with only one small interruption so far when my neighbour friend, Alice Kearnan, came for coffee. She's older, lost her husband a couple years ago and loves to bring me fabric and get me to sew random things for her. Today it was a skirt (to sew for her) and MANY seriously amazing and outdated pieces of fabric that I ruthlessly sorted through. She loves to discuss it all and so we talked about what this old green denim could be used for and what kind of dress this white satin and crepe would have made. We even found cross-stitch fabric and an old house-robe pulled apart. Then we sat together and had hot tea while Wyatt climbed the cupboards and measured the couches with his measuring tape.

Yesterday I had a shopping day (with a rather trying 3-year-old) which included a stop at Periwinkle's Quilting Fabrics down on Broadway. I lovety-love that store. They even have a little room with toys where Wyatt contentedly occupied himself. It was heavenly.

Now I'm thinking of making supper: cheeseburger soup and butter-dips.

I'm also contemplating how to unplug the toilet (Gah!! This doesn't go with supper thoughts!!) on main floor where Wyatt unrolled a {WHOLE} roll of toilet paper and then went {STINKS} on top. It's horrific. I have all the candles lit that I can find. The bad thing is that this is the {SECOND} time he's done this! He has really been trying me out lately. Maybe you don't understand the full implications of that thought. What I mean is, Wyatt has been completely IMPOSSIBLE lately. The other night he got up every hour or two all night, no fever, no sickness, no nothing that I could figure out. When we talked about it the next day and I told him that could not happen again or I would 'help' him, he slept all night. He is so very very strong-willed. Oh, deary me! Will he ever manage as a normal human citizen?

What's going on in your realm?

A Bit of Wood-Work

Our boys are in need of work. Jobs. More than swishing toilets and vacuuming floors every afternoon. Winter cuts out the mowing, weeding, trimming, and all that. So, we came up with a bit of a plan. We have some wood-working tools, not very much space in the garage and a few things the boys could try building.

Last Friday we took the family to town and bought all the supplies for this bed from ana-white.com:

Well, the next day, Saturday, we spent the day working in the garage together. And they FINISHED that bed!! Now what?! I mean, I am so very proud of them! It looks awesome! They did a good job. But we are never going to be able to make that much stuff! And they are so enthused, it seems a shame to shut them down. We are a little stumped.

Anybody else need to keep teenage boys busy? What are your ideas? This is why we wanted a shop on our yard! They need a place to go to just be boys...

They do need to sand and paint it yet so I guess it's not quite done. :)

Happy July

Just for laughs! Does this even look like us?

I'm sitting in my pyjamas in my living-room with a Caramel Drizzle coffee and two cream. Wyatt is roaming and singing. It's still raining, a continuation of yesterday and it's wet, wet, wet; a good thing for our dear land.

My mom and Grandma Eidse left early this morning. They stopped for a full day on their way to Richard & Vicky's wedding and a full day on their way back. We are truly blessed. I don't think many children get to know their Great-Grandparents in that way! Also, Uncle Arvid & Aunt Linda stopped for Sunday lunch and night. Last week Bill & Penny, Kajsa and Ster stopped for a couple days. And Clint & Chels did as well. We've been blessed-blessed with company! And we love it! And just to clarify, Bren and I have split company for nights and we've spent lots of days and meals together.

Abigail's Hotel in Victoria

Yesterday was Shani's 14th birthday and Zach's 11th birthday and last Friday was Jenae's 12th birthday so yesterday we had a big ol' birthday party for all three of them!

Also, this month we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary! Rennie's kept our boys (we traded earlier when they went for their 15th) and we flew off to Vancouver for a couple of lovely days. We had a wonderful relaxed time. One highlight for me was getting our caricatures done down at the water-front in Victoria. Les Bignold (my grade 7 teacher) had just passed away and this artist that drew us reminded me so much of Les. It was therapeutic. We also took the ferry across to Victoria, spent time at the Butchart Gardens, ate lovely food, went for ice-cream, had beautiful hotel rooms and drove along the coast. It was awesome! Refreshing, rejuvenating, inspiring, relaxing.

And! Zach got the go-ahead from the plastic surgeon last Tuesday that he is good to go with his back! Then on Thursday he got his cast off and he is truly healed! He's still limping a bit, the doctor said he would, but that day Mom bought an ice-cream cake in celebration and we all celebrated together; Bill's, Rennie's, Mom, Grandma Eidse and us.

I'm not sure what all else we've done in the last couple of weeks. The boys went to bible school (and I wasn't one bit involved); I've spent a few days at the shop (Cobra year-end); we went to Shane's for a picnic supper one night with Lance & Lana and Margaret Fehr; we went to Saskatoon for a picnic with Jays, Arley's and Rennies.

The Sunken Garden at the Butchart Gardens

And summer flies by... I'm looking forward to school starting again, believe it or not. Not the busing part or early mornings, but the schedule. One more month of holidays. School starts on September 3rd.

Have a wonderful day!

Of Mishaps and God's Goodness

So...

We had a really wonderful time at our Eidse Festival in southern Alberta. It was relaxing, inspiring, exciting, delicious. It was poignant, memorable, delightful, humorous. I honestly haven't laughed so long and hard for a while. It was just good. I love me my family!

And then we got home.

And two days later Zach had a rendezvous with the go-cart, a very scary episode. He ended up being in the hospital from Tuesday night until Sunday morning; a broken foot, seven stitches in his knee and surgery on his back Saturday night to stitch up the wound.

Now he needs to be off his foot for 6-8 weeks. He can't do anything with his back for two weeks, like not bend over to tie his shoes or pull on his jeans. And then no sports, go-carting, jumping on the tramp, etc. for another six weeks.

It's been... hard, crazy, tiring.

I never dreamed I'd be able to nap in the hospital on a flimsy little cot in the middle of the afternoon. I've never thought about watching my child go in to surgery or wheel-chair hospital halls or get stitches in his knee. I don't want to think about it. But I still see him under the go-cart, jumping up and running across the driveway only to fall on his stomach. I see the open wound on his back, his shredded clothes and the look on Pat's face as he scoops him up and carries him inside.

We are so blessed. We have life, we have clothes to wash, dishes to do, shoes to buy. We have everything we could ever wish for. And more.

I'm so very grateful for my dear sister and all her help and support, my dear husband and his constant vigil (he did all the nights at the hospital), for my mom-in-law and her free bed and breakfast and babysitting service, my friend Jodi and her instant help (driving me in to the hospital) and late night pizza and Tim's drinks, etc. I'm so so thankful for the people that took the time to come in and show they cared. Today my friend Ruby came for coffee and ended up vacuuming my whole house and cleaning up. I'm so very grateful....

And so I cry.

For what could have been. For what I have. For the dear church and people around us. For the teachers, the students, the network of love around us...