Category Archives: Day to Day

I didn’t make it to Gate Crashers today.  Over the past few weeks I have appreciated the time of sharing in prayer for my and other’s needs and joys.  But today I couldn’t go.  I couldn’t go for both emotional and temporal reasons. 

Today is the first day of school for the three kids I have left at home.  I hear one up showering now – she’s the early riser.  Now I know they will all be up in time to go even though I am not home to shoo them out the door.  They are all ready – spent last night organizing all their stuff.  I had to make two quick trips to Wal Mart in the space of two hours last night to get the last minute stuff.

I’m glad to see school starting again, although we will all miss the freedom of more relaxed schedules.  And school isn’t that easy for some of my kids, so it brings a lot of added stress into our lives.

But the hardest thing to do today was to give Patrick a hug and send him on his way.

Patrick knew so little when he came to live with us nine years ago.  He couldn’t speak or write English and his written French was to put it mildly “difficult” to read – no punctuation, no spaces between words and very phonetic but incorrect spellings of all those words that ran together.  Now he sits and writes away at his first novel – in French.  I think it his way of journaling to relieve some of his own private angst.  And his English – well it remains his second language, but he ‘s off to study at the university level in this second language of his – pre-law – philosophy as his major.

And oh, am I ever going to miss him!  This kid become a young man in front of my eyes.  This morning he was up early to leave for Saskatoon with Leo.  He sat down in the office next to me.  “I’m really going to miss you, Mom.” 

“Well, you really won’t be that far away,” I said.  “And I will see you on Sunday in Saskatoon.  And you can come home or call anytime you want to.”

Meanwhile my emotions are starting to churn and I look at him realizing that this is one of those moments a mother wants – but doesn’t want.  Separation.  Growing up and leaving home.  Taking a part of me with him.  He, leaving a part of himself behind with us – the part that has grown deeply rooted inside my heart.

So I didn’t make it to prayer this morning at the church.  I couldn’t leave early and not say good-bye. 

From my morning readings:

Proverbs 18: 2 and 4  (NLT)

2  “Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.”

4  “A persons words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.”

I’m back to work today.  The break has been too short. 

Chuck at The World According to Chuck writes some really great stuff.  In his latest he is sending his daughter off to school.  And as I send one of my kids off to University too, I identify with the feeling that something is going to be missing around here.

Sunday’s are always full of stuff to do.  Not work stuff, unless I have the misfortune of being on call, but full of family and kids and friends. 

My oldest son and wife were up from Saskatoon.  They moved some of Patrick’s stuff down to their place yesterday so they brought him home and stayed overnight.  They don’t come because we have the greatest beds that is for sure!  Usually they just sack out on the couch but last night Sara was away so Michelle got the use of her bed. 

Michelle’s mom lives on her farm just north of Prince Albert so they went out there for supper then back here to sleep so they could come to church with us this morning.  Today we all ate lunch with Steve and Lisa(our youth Pastor and wife) and Mathias.  Then Eric and Michelle headed back out to the farm to see Michelle’s mom again and then back in here to visit Grandpa who is 84 today.  They do an incredible amount of visiting while they are here – like non-stop!  I admire the way their relationships with people are so important to them.

I was visiting my dad too, before they arrived at his house, eating some cake and ice cream with my aunts who are also getting up in age.  The conversation was something else!  We were discussing (or at least they were) which were the better choices for seniors homes.  There is a new one being built just across the street from our church – fairly expensive.  Basically a room with a bath, common living and eating areas – very nice layout.  But the concern seemed to be that someone else might mistakingly take their stuff from one of these common areas and that would create conflict. The other concern was that they had better get on a list somewhere or you might end up needing a place and have nowhere good to go. I sat there thinking – is this going to be the subject of my conversation in another 30 years? 

I don’t know what I am thinking will be happening when I am 84- maybe that I would be discussing current events?  Grandchildren’s lives?  Music and artistic things?  Maybe I should go and get on a list and get that hurdle out of the way!  Ah Heck!  When I’m 84 it probably won’t matter what the people around me are discussing – it will all be new to me!

Our home is heated by hot water through a boiler, pipes, radiators.  We haven’t needed much heat over the past few weeks.  In fact every summer we keep wondering if there is any way that we could put air conditioning in.  Every year we run out of the necessary funds to even consider it so that is about as far as it goes.  This year, it sure would have been nice – but now we have made it to almost the end of August – surely it will start to cool off.

We have had more than our share of trouble with this boiler.  It was installed during a nice cold snap in February about two years ago – while we heated the house with every electrical heater we could get our hands on.  We survived for about a week then.

Last year we had a problem with one of the valves.  We discovered then that no shut off valves had been put into any of the four loops of circulating pipes. 

Also trouble with the air intake – if it doesn’t get enough air it shuts itself off.

We couldn’t call the plumbing company we had bought it from – they went out of business – wonder why?

Our hot water is heated through the same system. By the same boiler.  Yesterday morning we got up planning on nice warm showers.  No hot water!  This time the ignitor went.  And to make things worse, the part has to be ordered in.  This time we decided to go with the largest and most reliable plumber in the whole city.  They ordered the part and maybe today sometime we can finally get those warm showers we are all waiting for.  If not, well friends and relations – here we come!

Update:  The part came in! Yeah!!!  We have now been cleaned with hot water.  All ready for church tomorrow – can’t go to church without the good old Saturday bath!

One of my daughters is in love with bright colours.  I promised her that she could paint her room this summer if she was willing to do most of the work herself.  And I did say that she could pick out her own colors but please not to pick black. 

Well she did Not pick black.  First of all there were several coats of Marigold Yellow.  She was disappointed because she really wanted Neon Orange and the color just was not orange enough for her.  So like a good (ie: too easily persuaded) mom, I went and bought a quart of Orange and we just spent the afternoon doing a thing to the walls with cheesecloth and paint.  Now it is orange!  With the stippled ceilings Marigold Yellow!  If you walk in you think you are a little closer to the sun – not desirable these hot days.  Maybe in the middle of the winter the brightness will help her to wake up early for school!

Next thing she is doing is to paint her furniture Lime Green.  No kidding!

I would have taken a picture (and maybe will later) but the camera has gone on a journey with it’s rightful owner.  Leo has gone down south.  In this province that is just about anywhere south of Prince Albert.  He is going to the deep south- south of Assiniboia – down into French Canadian territory.  He grew up in the little town of Lisieux and this weekend is going down to help his brother pour cement.  They are pouring a grave cover for his father who passed away a few years ago now. 

Rachelle, our oldest daughter, is driving down with him, which is nice since it is a long drive.  She is anxious to see the dog which she gave to Uncle Paul because the dog was too rambuncious for our backyard.

Patrick is also in the process of moving down to Saskatoon.  He moved out some of his stuff this afternoon.  I think he will enjoy university but is a little bit nervous about it all.  Glad he’s going to be living with Eric and Michelle (our oldest son and wife). 

As I sit and work at the computer, I can look out on the riverbank of the North Saskatchewan River.  Right in front of our magnificant climbing tree is a gopher hole.  The little creature has caused significant damage to the grass around his hole and since it has been so dry, where there was green grass, there is now a small mound of dirt. 

Gophers are a bit of a plague in this part of the world.  I remember one time as we were travelling, we stopped at Horseshoe Canyon just outside of Drumheller – in our badlands.  A couple were there from Europe – feeding a gopher!  You wouldn’t find any respectable farmer doing that!

But I am admiring the adaptability of these rodents.  Here it is setting up house, so to speak, in a city, not out there on the open prarie where it belongs.  It seems to be getting along quite well although I wonder if some of the neighbors wouldn’t like to poison it.  I imagine another one would just move on in to the abandoned hole if that happened.

I guess their being so adaptable helps make them the plague that they are.

Well, we are getting there. I am beginning to blog on my new site. You will find me from now on at linealanoie.com Over the next little while I guess everything will get moved over and set up so please excuse the mess while I’m in the process of moving.

Somehow my archives have vanished from my home page – just become invisible.. They are still there on my posting site but they are sure not there on my home page. And I don’t have a clue what I did to bring about this disappearance.

It may be all Randall’s fault since he was here tonight helping me put a site meter on my page. And that is when the mysterious disappearance occurred – or shortly thereafter. But if I blame him then he might get insulted and not help me with maybe getting my stuff moved over to a different server so I can’t do that. At least I don’t have comments yet so he can’t leave me a nasty reply!

While Randall was here we were talking about the book The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian McLaren. I am not done yet but the way the author relates the story of the Good News is so simple yet so profound. It just makes so much sense to me since I do see things through scientific eyes to some extent.
As I’m reading it, there is the rather startling realization that he is telling the story that I am in and that I believe, and he is telling it as I have always wanted to tell it.

If you are of a similar (ie: scientific mindset) then you may want to visit the site of The Canadian Scientific And Christian Affiliation and read more about this organization.

Update:  The vanishing archives were found – Randall you are off the hook.  My appologies!!!!

Thursday was kind of a blur.

It started off with a wonderful breakfast with a few friends at Lauralea’s table. Wonderful scones and jam. I haven’t had gooseberry jam for ages! And Lauralea’s cherry jelly was – well it did make one want to eat too many scones! Thank you so much Lauralea. It was a treat.

Then I was off and running – quite literally driving – for the rest of the day. I had to be in Saskatoon before 12:30, pick up my son and his wife who were leaving for Washington D.C. for a wedding, drop them at the airport and then pick up the returning CHICers who were coming in at 1:00 on the same plane my other kids were leaving on. I was told later that not much sleeping was done by these three the night before. In fact maybe none – Don’t they look alert! And here’s another one that didn’t get much sleep either along with the fatigued looking fearless leader.

We went directly back up to Prince Albert after a short stop (I had three guys in my car) at Mc D”s. Got home in time to rest my eyes for 30 minutes then headed off for Saskatoon again to get there in time for a soccer game – by 6:00. The Celtics recorded their first loss of the season. They were outplayed – I hate to admit it – by Saskatoon Hollandia and lost 2-1. Hopefully a loss will make them sharpen up their game. Not too good for one to go through life never losing!

Needless to say, when I got home at 11:00, I was exhausted and hit the hay!