fish...

Ya, well, I caught my limit of jack......and husband caught his limit too....but they ended up on my hook somehow. Not sure how those things happen.

Anyway, MY fish was large, as in....my reel made that high pitched spinning sound as soon as he got near the boat. Away he would go with my hook in his mouth (poor fish), under the boat and around the other side, but I managed to reel him in. About a 7 or 8 pounder. Not sure what I would do if they were any larger.

Best fishing day I've ever had. Poor husband though had to not only net them and take them off my hook, but he also had to clean and filet them too! But I just feel so important that I can contribute to the provision of food to our household. Until now, it's been husband with deer, antelope and elk.

I'm right in there with him....a "hunter/gatherer".....well, a "fisher/gatherer" at least.

More stories from the north country in due time.

SHUT THE WATER OFF!!!

It's coming down so fast and furiously that I can hardly see down the block. Well, that's a slight exaggeration but it's pouring out there.

I can just see God, washing supper dishes, chatting away to...oh, let's see.....my mom and dad and the Apostle Paul, and mentioning about the good times they all had while they were down here on this ole' earth....water running in the sink.....chatting and chatting.....water pouring over and down the side of the sink.....and right down on Prince Albert.

God says, "Whoa there, I'd better pay attention to what I'm doing here!"...and shuts off the taps....

Now I can go to see Aunt Connie.

I hope he doesn't get too busy with more dishes and more people....at least not 'til I get home.

Sickness...

Poor husband is sounding like I did a few months back. Sounds like his lungs may disintegrate any time soon and land on the floor. But you know, that bronchitis makes you feel like that. He's weak and wretched.

Poor guy. He's trying to get ready for our vacation...you know, the things that guys do...packing rakes and tarps and hammers....ya, guy things. I think my friend Val would fit into that category though.;-) She's handy dandy that way. Me, on the other hand, well, I'm the "helper", which is perfectly fine with me, more commonly known as the "gopher"... I go fer this and go fer that...

Not even sure if we'll make it to the lake in the morning, with trailer behind. If he's not feeling any better, we'll simply have to wait it out. I won't let him tackle setting everything up alone, that's for sure!

Have you ever tried to get your husband to take some Tylenol and go to bed early. May as well try and coax a mule to get up off his mule ass....you'll get just as far.

Oh well, life is pretty good, bags are packed, and sun awaits....but not before a lot of work.

God bless us every one...

the library....

I must make a stop at the local library before vacation hits.

So much to read.....and so little time.

I think I'll even take a book that makes me think.;-)

My list is filling up with things I can't forget to take....pretty much everything but the kitchen sink...and the bathroom. Those are in the trailer.

I know the ice went out on the lake just a few short weeks ago, so I aught not to get overly excited about my first swim....but I can't help it. I love the water, but it would be better to have it like a bathtub than the Arctic ocean. Perhaps I need to go further south for vacation.....but then I'd miss the Spruce beetles and army worms and all those other critters that make up the boreal forest.

First though, I have a Council meeting tonight. Church duties....well, privilege actually. It's good to help where I'm needed.

Enjoy your very warm evening.

Getting ready...

Don't know what's worse....getting ready for vacation....or the coming home part.

The in between part is so enjoyable.

Perhaps one day I'll just jump right into that middle part where it's all fun and relaxation. No prep time, no fuss, no muss....and simply stay put, not bothering to actually come home.

I'd say that would be a good vacation.

Although I do get excited ahead of time for actually getting there.

I'm praying for a good time anyway. Even if it's cold and rainy every day, it will all be good.

A day for dads...

A great day to remember my dad. He was the best dad a girl could ever hope to have. The thing I recall most about his life was his patience....beyond what most people could muster. He had patience with everything and everyone. Then there was his sense of humor. He laughed often. I can still hear his laugh...

He had a kind face too. Actually, he was very handsome. Dark curly hair when he was young, vivid, big blue eyes that danced and a smile as big as his heart.

He loved to tease. He hated to have his feet tickled. He loved nature. He endured the death of his youngest son.

He loved God. He loved the church, his community of believers. He encouraged people in their faith just by how he lived his life.

He was my example of a life well lived. He was my husband's example of how to love his wife. He was my children's example as to how a grandpa should love them.

He must have had faults...but there were just too many good things abut him, that the faults were simply overlooked.

He took the time to care for people....that was his legacy.

So, today I thank God for my father....Philip Benson (1913-1986).

A man of honor, of strength, of character...a man whom I called "Dad".

I was reminded...

Yes, today as I clipped, pulled, yanked, and snipped the hedge and wretched "wild flower bed sitting at an equally wretched angle", I was reminded again of one of the great reasons we left the old homestead on the east flat.

Yardword and I simply don't get along well anymore.

Oh ya, not to mention equally wretched hornets at every turn.

....AND not to mention the even more wretched little worms hanging from every possible tree and plopping on my head and into my hair and down my shirt.

Makes you want to have a shower just reading that, doesn't it??

Ya. Just to make sure those little guys weren't crawling around where the sun don't shine, a mid-day shower was in order.

Happy Spring!!....as summer sits waiting in the wings.

The end...

The end of life came swiftly to a 76 year old fellow named Jim Gardner last Sunday. I work with his only child, Corinne.

I didn't know him personally...as in, face to face kind of knowing. I did know him though, over phone conversations. He would phone for his daughter for this or that, (he was always making sure she was OK and helping out with his grandchildren), so when he would phone the office, he and I would have this talk for maybe 30 seconds or so. It got so that we felt we actually knew one another. He would talk about his stay at the North Side Care Home where he resided, or the weather and we both figured it would snow soon....or rain...or that it was too hot or too cold........ and we would end our conversations by making one another laugh...before I passed the phone to his daughter.

I knew he hadn't been well this past year or more. I also knew that in the past year, he had a wonderful renewal of his faith in God....was excited about it too! I would ask Corinne about her dad often, and she would update me on his physical state...and his spiritual state. Jim and I had that wonderful common bond, of knowing Christ, our Savior, and knowing where we would be going when we left this world. It made me happy to think about that.

Corinne asked me to read the 23rd Psalm at his funeral today. She said Jim would have liked that.

And so I did. But, I wanted to make it more than just a familiar, funeral piece of Scripture....King James version. With Corinne's permission, I wrote out what I had learned over the years about that Psalm...about how God is our Protector and Provider, about the author of the Psalm, Israel's 2nd King, David, who was born into a family of sheep herders. I talked about how sheep need someone to bring them along and lead them to fresh water and lush grass and places to rest. I talked for 5 minutes or so about that Psalm and I was reminded once again, just how much like a sheep I am...and all of us, actually. We have all strayed from the fold and need the Good Shepherd to gently prod us back to where we will be taken care of once again.

It was good to be able to talk about Jim and his relationship with Christ, the Good Shepherd and how he knew exactly where he was going after this life. Those kinds of things don't always happen at a funeral.

Sometimes people just don't know about getting into a relationship with God. They have either forgotten about Him or they don't have time for Him, or they have never learned anything about Him and really don't know how to go about it now. Some don't believe at all, nor do they wish to. Sometimes it is death that actually makes us think more on spiritual things and we come away with a sliver of hope for life after death.

I always say, as someone has said before, "it's better to believe and find out there is no heaven, than not believe, and find out there is." It's not the reason I believe, but I think the saying has some merit.

It is a difficult road, being a Christian. Life is not always easy or fun or fulfilling or joyful, even with a Good Shepherd leading us. There are things that must be learned along the way in life, hard things, like the death of someone we love. But today, I saw a family in a difficult time of their lives, who trusted in a God who cares for them, even as they face death.

Last Sunday may have been the last day on earth for Jim Gardner, but it certainly wasn't the end......

Peace to his memory.....and peace to his family in these days.

The time is right...

Yes, the time is right for fasting and praying.

There are many major things going on in the lives of people I care about, so I am doing the best thing I can possibly do.....concentrating on Christ, the lifter of heads, the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, the Lion of Judah, the Creator of the Universe, the Great Healer....

Some folks need God to be present in the lives of their children, children who are making huge mistakes with their lives.

I have a friend, whom I haven't heard from in a long time. I have attempted to call that friend, but one of the phones is not in service and the other phone has a message with a person on the other end whom I don't know.

Daughter and family are having to move, yet again. Tiring. Tiring. Tiring....for all of them.

Son is concerned about many things these days....and just wanting to hear from God about all of it.

Another friend also is waiting to hear from God....about specific direction in that friend's life.

Another has a son whom she loves and wants the very best for, but she is unsure of his future as he matures and begins to find his own way in life.

Some people have marriage problems.

Some need money.

Some need physical healing.

Some are grieving over a death...

The list goes on and on and on.....

So, in all of that, yes, the time is right for fasting and praying.

People need you God....we need to hear from you.

I ask for your presence and your annointing.....

Good weekend...

Heading off for the weekend to Regina, about 20 minutes into our trip, (after making our ritualistic beginning-of-trip stop for egg and sausage McMuffins and coffee), we came upon an accident which had happened only moments before we arrived on the scene. By today's paper, it looks as if no one was seriously injured. Makes one think about things....like "what if"....what if I hadn't taken that 1 minute potty break at the restaurant......

We arrived safely at our destination and we were grateful for journeying mercies.

If we did nothing else this weekend, we certainly ate well. Steak supper/rib supper/pizza supper and of course daughter and son-in-law made their exquisite pecan, butterscotch waffles with whipped cream, strawberries and raspberries for a Sunday brunch, not to mention daughter's banana caramel cheesecake with whipped cream and hot caramel sauce for a dessert. She loves to treat us to these marvelous delicacies that she knows we would enjoy...and we do. We appreciate all they do for us while we are guests in their home. They even let us sleep in their bed while they sleep on air mattresses!

We watched granddaughter dance too. WOW!!! The whole evening's production was phenomenal! But of course, our dear sweetheart was the MOST beautiful, and the BEST dancer, and made the entire evening worth being there just to see her perform. :-)

Now that we're home, it's back to reality....with a lot less food.

I often wonder why God gave me such a wonderful appetite??....

The dance...

Exciting times around the daughter's house. Gearing up for granddaughter's huge dance recital at the Conexus Arts Centre Monday night.

It's good to be here with daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.

We saw the new condo they will rent in a few weeks. Yet another move for them. They're pros so it shouldn't take them long to pack and unpack.

I missed being with our friends from church though, today....and the BBQ afterwards. Shoot.

Seems like everything happens on the same day/weekend.

Being away from my church family, even for a weekend, makes me more appreciative of them.

Yes, it is good to be a part of the Gateway family of God....and it is good to be a part of my own family, a family who loves God, too.

On with the dance.....

Ulterior motives...

So, when one of the "big bosses" comes along and asks me to take a break and join him at the coffee shop...he'll pay, I initially thought, Hmmmmm......perhaps this is one way of politely and without too much fuss, to tell me my job has been cut. Or maybe I messed up in a really huge way and he needed a venue to express how disappointed he was in me.....OR ......OR.......ya, maybe he just wanted to be nice and give an old lady a break.

I'm really glad it was the latter.

It was nice. We talked about birds and farms and homesteading and working hard as kids. He's an exuberant kind of fellow, very expressive, loves to laugh and generally a good guy to work for. He's kind of a "hippie" type with longish sandy hair, wears flowery shirts, and seems like a pretty free-spirited sort.

It was good to get to know him a little better. It is always the wit and humour that I enjoy about his personality. Very funny and very sensitive and conscientious in his work ethic.

All in all, it was a beautiful way to end a busy week.

Day's end....

Watered my flowers, swept off the millions of cobwebs around the back door, put water in our new plastic metal-looking bird bath and came in the house to a supper of BBQ'd burgers and rice pudding with ice cream for dessert. Oh my.

After all that, and dishes washed and put away, I sat down to watch a bit of telly and put my very swollen feet up before venturing off to see dear Auntie.

I was watching a nature show. ....about a young girl in Australia who was attacked by a shark. I couldn't watch it. The show was entitled "Saved by Dolphins"....but I was too psyched out to watch how she was saved. I hate stuff like that. So "off" went the TV.

NOW we're off to see Auntie. Anyway, who wants to watch a young girl get her leg chewed off....

NOT me.

So, I'll watch my own nature show, right outside our back door. Flowers blooming. Birds picking and bathing and pooping on our lawn chairs. I love nature.

Year End Party...

Six friends and I meet every Sunday night over at the church and read a book together.

We not only read, we talk about things...children, circumstances in life, needs, dreams, hopes, failures, jobs, vacations, sex and God, of course. Funny how those last two on the list are so intermingled, so much a part of one another. We talked about that, about how God made us to be sexual beings and how do we put that into perspective and to have it healthy and good and whole.....and fun!

We said that sex isn't just "you know, the act", but it encompasses our whole beings. We talked about the differences between men and women and why we thought God made us similar and yet so different but also that in and through those differences, we should become "one flesh" in marriage.

And we talked about those who chose to not be married, and how their sexuality is vital to those persons as well.

Good stuff.

So, to celebrate all the good books we read last year, plus the odd "quirky" one, we went out for supper this evening. We toasted one another with a glass of wine, we ate our marvelous food (well under $300. per person, unlike some meals some people have had!!!!), we laughed ourselves silly, we talked about our plans for the summer and finished off the evening with decadant desserts.....and coffee, of course.

I am blessed to have such friends. We share an intimacy with each other and with God that few people have the opportunity and privilege of experiencing.

It was quite the Year End Party!

I wonder what next fall will bring.......

It's getting to this...

Ever go along in your day wondering to yourself periodically, that something is just not right, but you're busy and you just keep on going....until you flop into bed, fall asleep only to wake up and think, THAT'S what the trouble is. You're aching all over. Arms. Hands. Shoulders. Ankles. Fingers. Hips. Legs. Neck. Muscles. Sciatic nerve....ouch!! But my teeth don't ache or my hair. There's a plus side to everything, I always say.

So, get up out of bed.

Take 2 Extra-strength Tylenol caplets and I'm good to go. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........back to sleep.

There's something about constant pain. You sometimes just don't notice it much. It's there....but not bad enough to set you on your keester.

Now the dilemna. Since Tylenol makes me sleepy, should I take a couple in the morning before I shuffle off to work and risk falling off my chair as sleep overtakes me....or should I press through the day with that pain constantly nagging at my heels until bed time.

I hate getting to this........but it sure could be much worse, to my way 'a thinkin'...........bring on a sun-bathed vacation.

Missing...

I read in the paper tonight about a man who is missing, traveling alone from Winnipeg to Leask, a town quite a ways west of Prince Albert. Where could that man be? He was traveling alone, delivering a truck to someone in Leask and now there is no trace of him. Family members have come to retrace his journey and find where he was last seen.

I know of another fellow that went missing quite a few years ago, as well. He was travelling alone too, north from P.A. to, I can't quite remember his destination but they found his burned out truck...with him inside. Seems like noone really knows what happened to him.....

Things like that really bother me. It makes me wonder how safe it is for people to be traveling alone these days. And I feel it more keenly especially when our son travels alone too.

So, for that man who is missing this night, I am asking for God to make provision for him, whatever his circumstances are....and if something sinister has happened to him, may he at least be found. It's the "wondering" that would be difficult to handle, I believe.

God, would you help this man and his family members who search for him, in their hour of need.

The "eyes" have it!!!

Husband and I were talking the other day about which of our senses we think we could do without.

We listed off various scenarios, attempting to make a case for where each of us stood regarding our answer.

Husband said his sight...right first off. He said our sight gives us so much and we could lead pretty normal lives without our other senses.

I said I wasn't sure. I can't imagine not hearing the voices of those I love and of my friends, of music, of the wind roaring and the rain pelting on the roof, the whisper of a secret, the sound of children on the other end of the phone. I said I could use my imagination as to what they all looked like and everything else around me.

But after thinking it over, I was swayed by the sense of sight as well. How could we appreciate our surroundings, the faces of our families, an apple tree in bloom, a sunrise, a bolt of lightening, a humming bird or crow, watching the expressions of love from my children and husband.

The tasting, smelling and touching....well, those weren't in the running with sight and sound....but they were important too, we figured. Touching a baby's skin, tasting strawberries and cream, smelling a rose.

We are quite the human beings, aren't we? Marvelous actually. Just how all the senses work together with our brain, is a miracle in itself. God simply does good stuff.

The writer of the Psalms also recognized that fact when he wrote Psalm 139:14 -
"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."

Now let's end our day by appreciating all we have......while we have it! We just don't know what tomorrow will bring.....