Thursday musings

This wonderful picture of Mount Rundle in Banff, Alberta was in our newspaper this morning. I felt a bit homesick for the Rocky Mountains again. However, the knowledge that we are planning to visit Banff again in June - two years in a row! - makes things a bit more bearable. The article is more about skiing than anything else but the writer does admit that people go to Banff and Canmore and Lake Louise and Jasper for the scenery - first and foremost. He is exactly right.

The majestic mountains are awe-inspiring. I feel so grateful when I visit there and I just know that God created those mountains specifically for me! :-) The actual town of Banff is not great. The gift shops unfortunately are full of souvenirs made in China or Taiwan. I am a true connoisseur of gift stores so I know! The best ones I have found so far are in Northern Ontario!

Part of me would love to live in Banff but that's not going to happen. First the real estate there is way too expensive for our budget and their winter is far too long.

The last couple of days have been trying ones for me. We have had and continue to have snow and more snow. Add to that four bad headache days in a row - unusual for me lately - and my still sore fingers and you can see why I am not a happy camper.

Things could be worse, however.

Tuesday

We have had no snow today. That is the good news. The bad news is that we are back in the deep freeze and will be for a couple of days. Someone said how pretty the snow looked today. It is pretty if you don't have to drive in it or shovel.

I watched most of Obama's inauguration today as did a lot of people around the world. My daughter-in-law reminds us that he is just a man. I agree, of course, but he is a remarkable man. I watched the reports of the racial conflicts in the 1950s and 60s. So much violence and bitterness on both sides. I would have said it would take a century at least before any black person could ever expect to be President of the most powerful country on earth.

If the only contribution President Obama makes to his country is to give the American people hope then he has accomplished a very great deal indeed. Most people have lost hope these days. The economy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lack of integrity in business and politics have resulted in a loss of faith in people and if Obama can even partially restore that, he is a great man.

It has been snowing here ever since Saturday night. Even now it is snowing lightly. It doesn't seem to know when to stop! 

We drove to church yesterday through the snowstorm. It was a very stressful drive that took us twice as long as usual. It would have been OK if it weren't for the trucks that are still in summer mode. No wonder there are so many accidents involving large trucks. Perhaps the wonder is that there are not more accidents especially in the winter. Not too many people made it to the first church service but Baptists are tough and the parking lot was full when we left before the second service.

My fingers are still swollen and sore. I am typing with only one finger on my right hand at the moment and probably will pay for that later. I called the doctor this morning but can't get to see him until Wednesday afternoon and the antibiotics run out tomorrow morning. Ah well . . .

Other than that, not much is new. I am hoping for an early spring!

What an attitude

I love this picture. It says it all as far as attitude is concerned. Once in a while I wake up and this is my attitude. This happened this morning. Although usually there is no rhyme or reason for feeling this way, I do have at least an excuse or two today.

For one thing, I didn't sleep well last night. I've mentioned my very sore, swollen fingers. When  I put the cream on that the doctor recommended, they burn and they burned last night for about two hours. I dozed off and on but didn't really sleep until the burning let up.

Then I had an odd dream. All my dreams are a bit odd, of course. This one was about a family member who is going through a rough time and is ignoring the advice of people who may have a wiser view of the situation. This dream just showed the person doing what others had advised against.

We also found out this week that the mother of a very dear friend has pancreatic cancer. This is the same cancer that killed my mother-in-law in 2007  so it's like reliving that sad time all over again. We can only pray and hope that the outcome is different this time.

Add to this our frigid temperatures (Minus 25*C this morning - way too cold for all but a very short walk) and you can possibly see why I was a bit irritable this morning.

Hope your day is going better.

I am going to try to upload the picture I wanted to show yesterday. I hope I have more luck today.

I went for my walk this morning in -15*C temperatures. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. The sun was shining and there was very little wind. I have an infection in my ring finger on my right hand. It has been infected for about three weeks - not really bad enough to go to the doctor or so I thought. I did show it to my pharmacist and she said I should go to the doctor: that I probably needed a mild antibiotic. This was on New Year's Eve. I decided not to go then because I was afraid that the only patients there would have colds and flu and I didn't want to catch anything.

This week, however, the infection isn't any better (but no worse, either) and two other fingers are also mildly infected. I wish I knew what is going on.

I had to take a lady to the medical building where my doctor's office is located this morning and I went in and made an appointment for Tuesday. Hopefully he will suggest an effective treatment.

Part of the reason I decided to go for treatment is that the very cold temperatures really make the fingers throb. Also I am having trouble gripping a pen. This is not so good for my resolve to write more letters!

The lady I took over for blood work was lovely. I have met such nice people  driving for Community Care. The only problem I have is when the ladies have walkers. This lady did and now my back, arms and neck are letting me know that they didn't appreciate the extra lifting. I feel it's a small price to pay for these seniors who have much more serious health problems than I do.

Snowy Day

This blog may be more disjointed than others. I still find this blog site very frustrating. I have been trying to upload a picture and it has taken 20 minutes and still isn't here so for the moment I have given up and will try to upload it later. (After 4 tries to upload a simple picture, - the last taking 20 minutes -  I have given up and you will have to read this blog without a picture!)  I much prefer Yahoo 360* despite its challenges. Jennifer didn't teach me how to link the two sites so I will try to write another blog for Yahoo later today or tomorrow. I also have two articles to finish and a couple of letters I want to write. I may have a busy afternoon.

This is one of the "interesting" weather days here. We have had rain, a tiny bit of freezing rain, ice pellets and now snow - about 6 inches so far. At least it's mild. Our ladies' coffee hour was cancelled so I had a free morning but didn't accomplish all I wanted. I did a wash and went for my walk and picked up some fresh veggies at the store.

One job we have been doing since the new year began is getting rid of empty boxes. Since we have relatives out west and I send them gifts from time to time, I have been saving boxes that are appropriate for mailing. Unfortunately the boxes have greatly outnumbered the gifts. We have weeded out about 50. I had no idea since they are downstairs and out of sight. It's always good to get rid of excess and this has been good.

Have you noticed how prices are going up? We buy cored pineapple and it used to be $2.99 for one pineapple or even 2/ $5. on sale. Then it went up to $4.99 ( in one week) and last week it was $5.49. I don't know if this is a fair price or not since we obviously can't grow pineapples here in the winter. This is not the only price hike, of course. I try never to buy anything that is not on sale but this is a challenge.

If I am able to upload this picture, I took it in 2002 on a visit to the Rockies. I have been missing them today although I wouldn't want to live there in the winter. For one thing, it is way too expensive and I don't imagine the winter driving is a treat!

We have booked a flight to Calgary in June and will see the Rockies again then. I can't wait.

Christmas aftermath

We put the Christmas decorations away yesterday. It is always a slightly sad time for me. I especially feel badly that we have to take down the outside lights. We have a lot of long dark evenings in winter and the colourful Christmas lights do make the street brighter.

This is the newest addition to my collection of nativity sets. It was a Christmas gift from my son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. I love the simplicity of the design.

I look forward to putting it out next Christmas!

I have put on a couple of pounds over the holidays so on Monday, it is back to counting calories. It may not be exciting but it seems to be an effective way to keep my weight under control.

I have not made any New Year's resolutions because that is a recipe for failure for me but I do hope that I will be a kinder, more sensitive person in 2009 and that I will hear God's voice and understand what He is trying to say to me.

I am also hoping that 2009 will be a much better year than the "experts " are predicting!

2009

Jennifer is visiting so I have asked her to get this blogging site set up properly. She has assured me that all is well at the moment.  I sure hope she is correct or this site is history for me.

The experts are all predicting doom and gloom for 2009. I hope they are wrong. Some people are already experiencing pain because of stock market failures and job losses. I don't want anyone to suffer unnecessarily but I do think that a wake-up call is not a bad thing. As a North American culture we are far too used to buying anything we want without thinking. If something like a downturn in our economies gives us pause about buying the latest gadgets that we don't need and that will be out of date a few months down the road, that may not be a bad thing.

Of course, chocolate is NEVER a bad thing. Just so you know!

May your blessings outnumber your challenges in 2009.