Last Blog

This will be the last blog I write here (or anywhere for that matter). I have decided that my life is not only boring but depressing and because it is boring and depressing for me, it will be all the more boring and depressing for other people.

I mostly lost interest in blogging after everyone left Yahoo 360* and I can't seem to get any enthusiasm back. Actually I find I can't get enthusiasm for much of anything these days. Maybe if I had an actual life . . .

Anyway, I shall spare the few of you who do read what I have written.

Thanks for the memories.

Odd Day

Today was a very odd day in a rather odd week.

We had a Valentine's Day party today at our ladies' coffee hour. It went very well until the midway break. Someone (and I wish I could remember who) came up to me and told me that one of our church ladies was dying. Now this was not a total surprise because this dear lady has been in the hospital twice in the past few months and was already there for a couple of weeks on oxygen. Also we had a larger than normal number of deaths last year and the trend seems to be continuing. However this lady seemed to be improving.

Her husband is one of our babysitters for coffee hour and when I watched him leave to see his wife, I totally believed the story. Fortunately I only shared this message with a couple of leaders - not the whole group and, after we prayed for her, we moved on with the programme.

I felt extremely sad because this lady is one of those special ladies that makes everyone feel special while thinking that she has no particular gifts.

When I got home at lunch time, I got a call from the minister's wife telling me that the lady is NOT dying. In fact she is well enough to be discharged tomorrow. I felt terrible - glad that she is not dying but terrible that I had upset so many women. I had to call several people and apologize for spreading this falsehood.

Although I cannot remember who told me, I do know that it was someone whose word I trusted and did not doubt for a moment that the story was true.

I feel like a fool.

Uniquely ours

I had no idea that we who live in Ontario, Canada were so unique. Here I thought that everyone, at least many, many people, were familiar with the kind of milk packaging seen in this picture. At least 80 per cent of the people in this province buy their milk in plastic bags such as this one. These bags come in groups of three inside yet another plastic bag. All four bags are then placed in the recycling bin. today, in the Toronto newspaper I learned that most of the world has no knowledge of this odd way of packaging milk.

We used to buy milk in cartons and these are still available. Then we switched mostly to large three litre jugs which were difficult to pour when filled. People also used them oddly when the milk was used up. Some put gasoline or other noxious substances in the jug and a few children got very very sick by drinking the contents thinking it was milk.

These plastic bags have their challenges as well. First you have to have these plastic jugs for the bags to fit in. You could make do with one but we have three so that we can put all the bags in a jug. This takes up less space in the refrigerator. Sometimes the bags are filled too full and the first time you try to pour, it kind of overflows. You can end up with a bit of tea with your milk instead of the other way around. The garbage police insist that you rinse out all traces of milk from the small bags and this gets old really soon.

So - - - we're all odd here. I thought it was only me!

Wondering . . .

It was announced at church today that the 40 something son of one of our ministers had passed away last night. How very sad for his family.

2009 was such a sad year with so many deaths in our family and circle of friends that I was hoping for some relief from constant deaths for at least several months this year. It was not to be. There was one year not long ago that we had no deaths that we know of. I know that this is partly because of our age but not entirely, I think.

Even when you don't know the person who died, there is an aura of sadness around any death. The 5 Canadians killed last week in Afghanistan is a case in point.

I wish I could blog about something happy and positive but right now I am trying to come to grips with this sadness. (Yes, I know I've used the word "sad" way too much!)

Hope your year is much more upbeat!

Every year I say that time flies faster every year and 2009 has not been an exception. It seems as if it was yesterday that everyone was wondering what 2009 would bring. It wasn't the greatest year for us. There were a lot of deaths in our family and in the family of our friends. Some were not unexpected. My mother was 96 and we knew that she would not live much longer but it is always a shock when you lose a parent. A lot of our friends also lost a parent and there were also some sudden and unexpected deaths. Two of the deaths were very young people. I sent more sympathy cards out this year than in the rest of my life total.

This was also a year when many of our friends developed cancer. This disease still has the power to strike dread into the hearts of those diagnosed and the ones who love them. Another awful disease is Alzheimer's. We have four friends and two cousins living with this and it is awful. The disease robs you of your memory and the connection you have with friends and family.

On the positive side, we took my sister out to Calgary to visit our grandchildren and the Rockies. This was a real treat since we had been out west in 2008 and usually can't go every year.

We also had some awesome landscaping done in the backyard. Although actually GETTING it done was frustrating, the final product was lovely and should get better every year.

Despite a car accident and having to move unexpectedly, my daughter went back to school and completed the first semester of an 911 emergency response course.

What are my hopes for 2010?

Well, first I would like to do more reading and writing and spend less time on Face Book.

I would like to be more proactive in my community. There are many needs all around and although we do help out now, I think there is more that we can do.

I also want to pursue a new ministry at our church. One of the groups I am involved in has been very challenging this year. I need to talk to one of the "leaders" and see just what is going on. She seems to discount all my ideas and seems to be angry (in a very subdued way) with me all the time. I may be wrong but I feel there is something wrong between us although I have no idea what it could be. If we can't work this out. I may need to move on. I have already put out feelers for a new ministry with a couple of our pastors and they seem to be supportive.

I would like to publish some of my stories, poems and devotions in book form. I know I would have to self-publish but I really want to pursue this idea.

I also am going to work on developing better ways of reacting to events that annoy me. I realize the world does not revolve around me and my needs but sometimes when I am tired or in a lot of pain, I do not react well to unexpected challenges and disappointments.

I guess that's enough food for thought for me!

Christmas Gifts

My overall favourite gift this Christmas was from my husband. He arranged to have this loveseat and chair recovered for me. This is the "Before" shot.

I bought this set several years ago and we moved it to this new house about 8 years ago. I love it. It is very comfortable and I sit on the loveseat every day and watch TV, read or do writing.

The arm on the left side of the seat where I sit was wearing very badly. In fact, the stuffing was beginning to come out of it so it was time to either replace the cushions or buy a new set.

I really didn't want to replace the whole set so we looked for an upholsterer. We found a great one down here who was able to get almost exactly the same patterned material. I hope that the "After" shot appears at the end of this blog so you can see what a close match it is. I really liked the original material and was thrilled that we would not have to repaint the room a different colour or replace the carpet.

The new material has been discontinued but he was able to get just enough fabric to do the job and he did great work. He even was able to replace the material on the little stool.

Christmas memories

Tina wrote about her favourite memories so I thought I would add a few of mine here too.

My dad was the greatest fan of Christmas. Every new invention that came out, he would have. I remember the pink tree, and the blue tree and the white tree. These were not plastic but spray painted. To a youngster like me they were magical. Then he got some candle lights that had liquid in them and bubbles would rise up when they got warm.

Mother knew how to celebrate Christmas, too. We would often have 20 or more people to dinner. She would start in November making her Christmas cakes and puddings. Not many of us really liked Christmas pudding but she would wrap coins in waxed paper before cooking them and so, there was added incentive for us to actually eat some. She made the best shortbread cookies I have ever tasted and I am not the only one. Many people recalled eating these treasures when she died this year. She also made hermits and rum balls and ice box cookies. The turkey was stuffed with sausage dressing which I loved. I remember when I was 4 or 5 telling my aunt that Mother's dressing was MUCH better than her bread stuffing. My poor mother nearly crawled under the table in embarrassment but I was only telling the truth.

Mother was also the very best at filling our stockings. I don't know where she got the stuff she put in them but many years opening our stockings was the best part of the day.

I remember when Jennifer was 2 and my mother-in-law had bought her a teaset for Christmas. Unfortunately Jennifer opened a teaset from a dear neighbour first and wouldn't open any other presents because she wanted to play with it. It was my turn to be embarrassed.

I remember when Jonathan was 6 months old, we bought him a stuffed bear that was bigger than he was. I still have that picture somewhere.

I also remember my husband and mother-in-law staying up until all hours of the night trying to put toys and a huge playhouse together.

I remember the year when it rained so hard for so long that the power went out while the turkey was in the oven. Fortunately it came back on it time to cook the bird OK.

Christmas should always be about making precious family memories. If you are able to be with family this year. appreciate them. As we have found out, they will not be around forever and you will miss them.

Food for thought . . .