Category Archives: Day to Day

I’m not sure I really qualify for this title.  But I did spend this evening at St Mary High’s tournament – and watched Sara play as her team got soundly beaten by LCBI from Outlook. 

I realized that it has been many years since I have watched basketball.  No, I did watch at least one game last year.  But I think it was a game played more just for fun than for competition last year.  Last year the tournament almost got snowed out.  I can remember almost not making it to the school last year – wouldn’t have except for my four wheel drive.

This year I was volunteering in the canteen as well.  We weren’t very busy tonight.  There is a lot of chili and soup.  I don’t think they will run out.

Sara said that at one little town where they played a couple of weekends ago, the canteen closed down early, nothing was open in the town, so the team which had not eaten before the game had to go hungry.  Not good planning on the part of the organizers.  The one restaurant in the town had on the menu two choices – chicken fingers and fries or a cheeseburger and fries!  Yum.

Half way through the first week back at work.  Or pessimistically speaking – half the week to go.

For some reason, I have had a headache since the week began.  I haven’t gotten back into the rhythms of work life yet, I think that is the reason for the nagging headache.  That and the fact that this week has held its share of “interesting” patients. 

One real weird woman.  Wants the impossible, books an appointment for a specific procedure.  Gets in the chair and starts to question what is planned; couldn’t we do this instead.  Then severely overreacts to the slightest discomfort by wincing, jumping and worst of all, by reaching up and grabbing my hand or some instrument.  Almost a guaranteed way to get a penetrating injury!  I can deal with fear in patients but weirdness is so unpredictable!  And maybe the most uncomfortable part – she knows someone I know and so she comes in and addresses me on a first name basis as if I were a long lost friend. 

That is almost as bad as the obnoxious Christian patients who are unreasonably demanding and uncharitable to boot.  I keep hoping that the staff who must cheerfully listen to them whine and complain do not identify their behaviour as typical of all followers of Christ.

Then there are a lot of just difficult cases that can show up in the same week – technically difficult or glitches that have to be worked out, taking more time than planned.  Those can be challenging or simply tiring and this week they may be more tiring just because it is the first week back.  And it was so nice to be off for a full week and a bit!

Jan 1, 2006 is speeding along towards it’s end and the beginning of another week of work.  Back to normal tomorrow I guess.

Today I was mostly lazy.  I went up to read and found myself falling asleep.  So I did. 

Tomorrow there will be no chance for that!

For sure this year will bring work.  And all the other stuff this year will bring – who knows?  But I am looking forward to seeing what becomes of some of the possibilities. 

Some of the possibilities?
        – studying – I always do some of this since there are minimum continuing ed requirements to keep up with but I am considering something else a bit different.  I need to hear God on this so am waiting for a bit and doing a bunch of praying. 

        – change in our church structure – I wonder if the changes will make enough difference.  I wonder if  we will transition into a form that will call to the hearts of people on the periphery.  Where people at the structural centre will be able to connect to the people out there touching the world around with love and care.  I wonder if we can do it?

The rest of the possibilities?  I think they will unfold as we move along through the year. 

One that I am looking forward to in the next little while is discussing a book that I have almost finished reading – Colossians Remixed, Subverting the Empire by Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat.  Susan Arnold has a book discussion blog and this is going to be on the menu.  It is a good book, uses big words but challenged me to resist getting sucked in by the world around me.  Santa came through for me getting the book to me just before his workshop shut down on Christmas Eve.

I have been very busy over the past week putting the finishing touches – actually rewriting at least 6 drafts – of an article on postmodernism for our denominations Canadian quarterly paper.  It has been hard work but is work I like and I even like the discipline it requires.  It makes me really sympathize with Becky writing her Master’s paper.  It helps to have a couple of helpful souls around who don’t mind editing.  Thanks Randall and Leo.  Without you two I would be way too verbose.  I wonder how much it will get edited before it is printed. 

I will maybe post the whole thing here even if it is a bit long.  But maybe I’d better wait till it is published in print first.

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming and I have a score of things that were not getting done while I was writing.  Pizza to organize for this Sunday’s church Christmas party, gifts to get for certain people, hampers to help with, and my least favorite – phone calls to make.  I also have to call and make a doctors appointment; another thing I have been putting off way too long.  And our outdoor lights have not even been hooked up yet this year.

This weekend is going to be a bit hectic I think.  Making lemon squares, tourtiere and shortbread.  Housecleaning and wrapping presents.  I need to do so many things.  And then Christmas arrives and I have a week off.  That will be the best – some time to sit and read in front of the fireplace.

Not sure how to get the accents into the title bar – but anyway – yesterdays events, in brief.

We have made it through the weekend of parties and my being on call.  On call for me just means carrying the cell phone and being available.  I am so glad that the hospital staff handle the non-emergency dentistry.  Since we make ourselves available for emergencies in our office throughout the week of call we have almost no evening calls.  Evening we get just the real emergencies – like broken teeth.

The parties were good.  It is good to get to know staff and their spouses in a different place than the office.

Last night we had two functions so went to the Cooperative Health Centre’s party and then to the Carrefour Fransaskois concert.  Had a fabulous meal at the health centre’s party and then went over to the Carrefour’s concert.  if for some strange reason you were listening to Radio Canada or French CBC TV that is the party we were at.  Joe Marchildon was recounting traditions from the old French Canadian communities, old songs were sung.  And we gave Yves a good sendoff as he leaves for Victoria. 

Then home- late enough for me- to babysit.  Kieran is spending the night with us since his mom and dad were having a big party at their house last night.  So we made his little bed on the floor in our room and read a story and called it a night.

You may wonder why I am up so early.  Force of habit I guess.  That and a loudly snoring husband.  After I lay there listening to the loud – very loud – snore for about an hour, I decided to actually get up and do something more fun.  So here I am writing.  And running the dishwasher which was totally forgotten last night.

I think we will get all of our parties out of the way this weekend.  No.  I guess I should rephrase that.  We will get all of our staff parties out of the way.  Mine tonight and Leo’s tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also a farewell for Yves over at the Carrefour.  He has been there for a number of years and now he is moving west – Victoria.  He has had a big influence on the developement of music in the francophone school, encouraging the kids to stay and jam together using the schools instruments, etc.

And then I think time begins to accelerate till we hit Christmas Day.  After that – a week off and sleep.

Charlie over at anotherthink tagged me for a meme.  Seven questions with seven answers:

Seven things to do before I die:

1. See my children become self sufficient
2. Go back to the Congo one more time
3. Successfully retire from dentistry – practice sold, patients well cared for.
4. Go on a snorkeling vacation
5. See the east coast of Canada
6. Accomplish something artistic – in poetry or painting
7. Study one more time in a new field

Charlie over at anotherthink tagged me for a meme.  Seven questions with seven answers:

Seven things to do before I die:

1. See my children become self sufficient
2. Go back to the Congo one more time
3. Successfully retire from dentistry – practice sold, patients well cared for.
4. Go on a snorkeling vacation
5. See the east coast of Canada
6. Accomplish something artistic – in poetry or painting
7. Study one more time in a new field

 Seven things I cannot do:

1. Get over my fear of heights.
2. Fly a plane
3. Crochet
4. Make pie crust
5. Do French braids
6. Take sulfonamides
7. Ski downhill or on water

 Seven things that attract me to my spouse:

1. His trustworthiness
2. The way he treats people with respect
3. He loves me and I know it
4. His sense of humor
5. His competence in his field
6. His intelligence
7. The way he supports me in all I do.

 Seven things I say most often:

1. I don’t know.
2. Just open up real big and wide.
3. Hi!
4. Drive carefully.
5. And how are you doing?
6. Open up just a little bit wider. (occupational risk)
7. Well…

 Seven books I love:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis
2. The Hobbit by J S Tolkein  
3. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
4. Plan B by Anne Lamott
5. The Bible – New Living Translation, especially the Psalms and the Gospels
6. A New Kind Of Christian Trilogy by McLaren
7. Toward Holy Ground by Margaret Guenther

 Seven movies I would watch over and over again:

1. Love Actually
2. About Schmidt
3. Steel Magnolias
4. A Beautiful Mind
5. Rainman
6. Lord of the Rings – all of them
7. Wit

 Seven people I want to join in too:

1. Lauralea
2. Becky
3. Dixie
4. Toni
5. Gavin
6. Janine
7. Peg

Laptops are so nice – and frustrating.  Mine has gotten very slow and I am not knowledgeable enough to have the reason figured out.  So here I am posting from the desktop at home.  It is so nice and fast and free since Leo is away. 

But now I am off to Gatecrashers so my post that I have ready on my laptop will just have to wait.

You might want to check out Gavin’s new site.  Yeah, another blogger!

Not much blogging has been going on here.  I think things will get back to normal but I have been too exhausted to blog.  I’m usually a very early riser but have found myself sleeping in and still waking up tired.

This week has been full – from preparing for Dad’s funeral at the beginning of the week to attending the funeral of Rev. Cliff Campbell, my sister’s father-in-law in Saturday.  It hasn’t been so much the sadness, since both served God and now have gone to spend eternity with him, but it has been, just the same, a highly emotionally draining week. 

Then Friday was a long day in the operating room.  Our anesthetist, who is really a nice guy and who I hate to complain about since he is very careful and very kind, is sooooo… slow.  So a good part of the day was spent waiting for him to induce a patient or wake them up.  That took over an hour for each case.  We didn’t get out of there and back to the office till 2:30.  An hour late for seeing the afternoon patients.  No lunch hour.  My partner saw four of my patients for me – thank you Roger!  Everyone had ordered food from Boston Pizza for noon.  We came back to cold strombolis and still had a few patients to see.

Then home to get ready for the drive to Alberta for the funeral. 

The drive is pretty in the daylight.  Friday night was dark and moonless.  Fog hung heavily over the hills, coating everything with hoarfrost.  It also made seeing any deer on the roadside almost impossible.  It was good to get as far as Loydminster safely.

Meanwhile back at the church we had prayer week.  The preparation wasn’t too much work since we used resources from the past two years which Randall had saved but there were two extra take downs for the funerals at the church and two extra set ups.  Final take down will be on Sunday which is also the first Sunday in Advent and our family advent program in the afternoon.  Grey Cup parties in the evening.  Not sure we could have packed more things into this week.  I love the prayer week leading up to Advent, the freedom to just go and sit there in the presence of God and the way the stations direct my thoughts and prayers.  I only wish I could have had more time free from all the other stuff that I had to do.  That is life I guess.  And God is there in the midst of all this stuff, the unavoidable busyness of this week.

When I make a major faux pas, I feel pretty rotten.  Well, I made one today.  I assumed that Rachelle knew things.  I made her feel bad by not communicating very well at all.  I am at my worst when I am stressed so I could use that as an excuse.  But mostly I am just not the world’s most organized person and I messsed up.  I am glad she accepted my appologies.  I have to remember that communicating dosen’t just involve me thinking something – I have to say or do what has to be done. 

The past few days I haven’t remembered very well who I told what so that didn’t help much.  Lists – I need to make them and use them.