It's almost time for a new school year to begin. Most of the kids around here will start on Wednesday. But we're still waiting for books, so will probably start much later...like say around the middle of October??? Ok, maybe not. But we're going to have some serious flex time until our place is built. The kids are learning so much, though. Not the least of which is how important math and good communication skills are. It's neat to watch them assimilate things and then use the information they've gained to work out problems that come up from day to day.

Tonight has been spent trying to work out how to organize this year's schooling. It's hard to wrap my mind around what needs to be done when we're in such close quarters, but I'm sure it will come out alright. Now, if only we could find the hole punch, dictionary, and a couple other things....

Yesterday we accomplished something wonderful! We were actually able to disc a bit of our back field. And get most of the lawn mown, and had a back hoe delivered so that we (Eric) can start work on filing in the existing basement excavation and smoothing out our foundation area. Granted, it took all day to get this stuff done, but it's done! Now to actually finish the disking...

Anyway, today Hadassah and I went to Joch's to pick up most of our stuff that was there, and get the things we need for communion. We're also doing the laundry and a bit of grocery shopping, and then stopping by the garden before we head home to get ready for Sabbath. Tomorrow should be wonderful. Hope it is for you all, too.

Tuesday, July 27

Sometimes things take you by surprise. And sometimes, after the shock wears off, you realize that the action a friend has taken was only a natural consequence of their attitude and disposition. And then you are humbled and oh so honored to be blessed with a friend who cares for you so much. Here is my tribute to such a friend.

The past two weeks have found us incredibly busy and several hours (think 12 or so!) from home. This, of course, has detrimental effects on one’s garden. Such things as weeding, watering, and general maintenance kinda fall by the wayside when one is gone too long. And so today found Hadassah and myself headed to Ft. Vermilion to pick up some equipment needed here at home, and do some repairs to the garden in the form of weeding, hoeing, and harvesting. Visions of waist-high weeds danced in my head, so we had decided that Hadassah and I would only spend an hour or two weeding the most “needy” crops (think carrots and beets), and then head back home. This scenario would be re-enacted every day until the garden was back under control.

After a beautiful drive we pulled in and were greeted by a very cheery J., who was quite happy to go with us to view the garden. I was moaning about how much work was going to be needed when she quietly said “Well, I did something while you were gone…” by this time we got close enough to see the garden clearly. In shock, I stared (briefly!) at a completely clean and gorgeous garden! Even the carrots—which were absolutely NASTY to weed two weeks ago—were weed free. I’m not sure who was more surprised, Hadassah or myself. However, we did manage to recover fairly quickly and babble away about how happy and relieved we are. Truly, it felt like babbling, because words can never express how much relief and joy we felt at seeing the garden lovely. With so much to do here with water and sewer that need finishing, fields that need fallowing, and a house to be building/finishing, not having to start behind on the garden again was wonderful. Now if we can keep it this nice we’ll be happy! Thank you, J. We’re completely humbled and blessed to have friends like you and P.

And now for the harvest list for today:

Peas (two grocery bags full), Beans (1/2 to ¾ grocery bag full), Swiss Chard (3 grocery bags full), Beets (just a few, will get more later), and Lettuce (1 grocery bag full). There’s more coming for sure. The Zucchini has babies, and once the freezer is here we’ll harvest greens in earnest.

In full disclosure, Hadassah did most (95%) of the harvest today while J. and I loaded equipment into the truck. We all had a good time J.

Thanks again, J. and P. We’d not have had this beautiful garden without you guys.

We're on our way home from camp meeting. It was a wonderful week, and we are now ready for the quiet of our new home. The beauty is incredible the further north we travel. There have been several little natural dugouts/ponds tucked in the trees with perfect reflections on their surfaces. So peaceful to catch a glimpse while passing by at 70 mph. Couple that with the prolific flowers, blue sky, white clouds, deep green spruce trees and the shimmery medium green poplar trees, and it's a sight you'll never get tired of seeing.

So far today we've seen the following flowers:
Fireweed, yarrow, cow parsnip, butter 'n' eggs, coreopsis, clover, indian paintbrush, and possibly thistle. There are also some incredibly beautiful yellow flowers I can't identify right now. The cattails have changed from green to brown in the time we've been gone, and the foxtails are shiny now instead of muted. It is amazing how things change in a short amount of time.

Somehow we managed to be ready to leave camp by 1:00 p.m. (including eating in the cafe!), even though Eric had camp cleanup! We were soooo happy, because we have to be in High Level tomorrow morning sometime to do a final walk through and closing on our new place. Tonight we plan to stay with Yves and Beverly in Jean Cote. It will be nice to have at least an evening to catch up on everything that has happened in the past month.

And on a final note: We saw a very strange thing on our way out of the "south" today. It was a green Lamborghini! What it was doing in Alberta with our bumpy, heaved, patched roads I'll never know. It was pretty cool, but definitely out of it's comfort zone! lol.

There are few things that can bring a smile to a child’s face like the return of a parent who has been on a trip. It was so fun on Sunday to watch Elias eagerly anticipating his daddy’s return, to the point that he could hardly stand the ½ hour extra wait because the plane had been delayed. It’s also really neat to live near one of the very few airports in North America that still allow up-close and personal views of the runway and waiting with/for leaving/arriving loved ones. Anyway, we heard and saw the plane land while waiting in the truck and then dashed into the terminal to watch it taxi up to the door and unload. Elias had his little nose practically pressed against the glass to watch, turning around only to make sure we were watching as well, and to make sure we knew precisely which direction the plane was taxing, where it turned, and “Wow! Did you see it turn all the way around right there, mom?” (the plane did a 180 right outside the window). It was a very happy day. J

Today has been absolutely beautiful. We had warm sun (actually, HOT sun), cool breezes, nice rain, some hail, and then more sun but with cooler temperatures. Now it’s thundering and clouding over again in the east, but there’s a pink glow from the Joch’s siding on the west, so it must be clear that direction. Never a dull moment, I can assure you!

During the ritual bike ride/walk this evening Hadassah met with disaster. It appears that despite parental warnings against using her brakes too hard, and/or using her front brake too much, she decided to go from 90 or nothin’ to stopped within a couple of seconds. Suffice it to say she evidently flew over her handlebars. Thankfully she sustained very little damage—a skinned knee and hand, and a few bruises in inconvenient places from the handle bars. Elias was nearby and sped to her rescue, lifting the bike off her back and pretty much carrying her to the side of the road, then going back for help. It’s a rough lesson, but I’ll bet she doesn’t ever do that again unless the other options are waaaayyyy worse. Poor kid.

For supper we tried a new recipe. It’s called Rava Doses with Chickpea and Potato Curry. Wow, was it yummy! It’s basically an eggless crepe filled with a potato/chickpea/onion/etc. curry. (I know, I know, crepes are French, and this is an Indian dish. But it’s the best description I can give on short notice! ) Anyway, that combined with avocado slices, and steamed asparagus made up the main part of our supper. Dessert was soy ice cream and Carob Coconut cookies. Yummy. Alicia, I’m not sure where you found the Rava Doses and Curry recipe, but it’s good!

And since it's late, late, late--goodnight. Ummm...I mean, morning??

Recently it has rained at least once a day. This can be a problem when scheduling times to meet friends at the park, or when to go weed the garden, but all in all it is very good for the ground. Today's rain was enough to cancel the park plans, but not quite enough to cancel weeding plans. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to finish the whole garden before we had to head back to La Crete for laundry and library time. I guess that's what Friday is for, right? Or maybe it will be next Monday. The carrots really need finishing, though.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

It is 9:47 p.m. and I’ve just taken a nice stroll down the drive with the camera, trying to capture the beauty of this place. And yet, it’s not possible. The eye can see far more in one glance than the camera lens can. Not to mention the skin enjoying the sun and breeze, the nose alive with the scent of wild roses and canola, freshly cut grass and the myriad other scents on the wind.

Zadu and Rigel went to their pen willingly enough, which was a great relief for me. Hopefully they continue to be easygoing about the whole “folks-aren’t-home-guess-you-have-to-substitute” thing. They are really nice dogs, and I guess that so long as we feed them at night their tummies will help them cooperate J.

The field next to us decided to bloom today. It is a beautiful shade of yellow. Too bright for a room, too dim for the sun, beautiful in its own way. If the sun is out tomorrow I’ll try to capture the beauty on “film”, but no promises!

Blessings. They come in all sorts of ways. Today we've each been blessed in some way, shape, or form.

Hadassah's blessing was being able to get together with new friends and enjoy making a craft. Elias' blessing has been getting to play with Zachery, and watch a remote-controlled airplane fly. My blessing has been clean laundry and happy children.

Behind all these blessings are people who are also blessings. People who care so much they're willing to go out of their way to make events and time with friends possible. People who show every day that God is part of them in a very real way.

Thank you God, for blessings. And thank you for people, too.

Thursday, June 24 2010

Do you know where creativity flourishes? It’s in the little towns and rural areas of the world. The reason? What you don’t have or can’t find, you must make. This weekend we have a birthday party for a most adorable 1 yr. old little boy, and I can find NO birthday cards in this town for children that young. The cards go directly from baby dedication to “You’re 6 Today!”. I kinda wonder if they expect there to be any birthdays in-between those two, but that’s probably neither here nor there… Anyway, seeing as the easy option was null and void, I took myself off to the discount foods store (where they sell more than dinted cans and bashed in boxes of food!) and for approx. $2.50 and a little ingenuity (not that I claim to have any ingenuity. Just desperation! lol) and time (umm…anyone know what that is???) I have the makings (or partial makings) for at least 2-3 cards! Only problem is I don’t have Hallmark to write the verse…

NEWS FLASH: Mosquitoes LOVE rain. This evening after the nice downpour, there were- at any one time- between 16-20 of the little buggers outside our window, humming beautifully in hopes for supper. Alas (for them!), the screen thwarted their diabolical plans. The almost-no-see-um’s, however, were able to break through and wreak havoc on the inhabitants of our fair fortress, so we must erect our most effective barrier to date: closed windows. Good bye fresh air, welts, and itches. Hello stuffy cabin fever, peace, and (eventually!) sleep.

(P.S. Just so you know, aerosol hairspray is an excellent mosquito silencer if you have some in a place you can’t reach (like in a vent cover, or between screen and door…), and you also don’t wish to listen as they futilely try all night to eat you…but no, you didn’t learn this here, because would I ever try to stick their little ity-bity wings together in such a sadistic way??? Nah, never.)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Wow! What a wonderful weekend! Sabbath was a very good day, with Church, potluck, and Adventurer/Eager Beaver investiture. Afterward we went out to Ft. Vermillion to hang out for the afternoon/evening. Eric went in to High Level to visit a friend in the hospital, but everyone else kinda hung around and enjoyed sun--and the rain. It was really neat to see little Matthew's reaction to raindrops. We tried really hard to get his expression on film, but no such luck.

Today has been really nice, too. Little Matthew's 1 year birthday party is today, and has been lots and lots of fun. The kids have played tons, had lots of yummy sandwiches, salads, crackers, and watermelon...(from Texas of all places!) And of course Matthew is adorable. :) (It's so nice to have friends who have babies so we can enjoy them, lol) All in all it has been a very nice day.

The only not-nice part so far in today was having to drive Eric to the airport so he can go to Boulder for the week. It will be so good to have him come home next Sunday! I really hope the week goes quickly and well for both him and us.

And on that note I'll sign off for now. God Bless!

Yesterday we spent most of the day weeding and watering our garden in Ft. Vermillion. It was a beautiful day, 24*C in the shade at 7:00 p.m., nice sun, etc. Along about 8:30 it started to cool down and you could smell that delicious scent that you'll only find in the north. It's a woodsy/fruity/heady scent, one that makes you glad to be alive, and glad to be living more north than south!

It's also a scent that is stronger when you're about to have a thunderstorm. And we had a really nice storm last evening. It rained enough to almost fill the cistern here where we're staying, and that's a huge benefit :)

Today has been beautiful. Sunny, but not too warm, and everything is fresh and clean looking. Elias and I went into town to wash clothes at a friend's house, and he thoroughly enjoyed playing outside with my friend's little boy. Now we're home again with the laundry happily drying on the line, (gotta bring it in before dark...but that's a few hours away! lol) and the kids ready for bed. Good night :)

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while. We are now living further north...and in a "tin can" (travel trailer) to boot! The "tin can" is temporary, but the move isn't. We're really happy to be here, and are looking forward to settling in for a while, Lord willing.

In other news, it's SPRING!!!! How exciting! :) Things are greening and growing like crazy. I can hardly wait to help some poor unsuspecting soul plant their garden, then wander by every few days to watch the progress. :)

Have a good week!

It seems that life goes in fits and spurts. There are tons of things that need to be done at home, but Hadassah had a friend over for a sleep-over last night, and we brought her (the friend) half way to town to meet her mom, so we decided to come on in and do some shopping/web work.

The weekends get more and more hectic. And yet, the results this weekend--the most hectic to date for me--were so wonderful I'm almost ready to do it all over again! It's a great feeling to have your daughter tell you with shining eyes "mom, I had a great weekend, and the best part was being with you!" Praise God. You've gotta know it isn't me, but Him! (And thank you, Eric for all the hard work you put into the weekend, too!)

And so now we're headed into another week, with what feels like scant time for the fun stuff. Perhaps we'll go home now and tackle the duties so we can have more time later on.

Have a great week!