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.