The Gate of the Year

King George VI in his 1939 Christmas message ended with these words:  

In the meantime I feel that we may all find a message of encouragement in
the lines which, in my closing words, I would like to say to you: 'I said to the
man who stood at the Gate of the Year, "Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put
your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and
safer than a known way."'
 
May that Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.

He was quoting from this poem;


"God Knows" -  "The Gate of the Year"

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart bestill:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.

Minnie Louise Haskins  1908

Queen Elizabeth handed a copy of this poem to her husband, King George VI, and he quoted it in his 1939 Christmas broadcast to the British Empire.  The poem was inspirational in the early days of the Second World War. Its words remained a source of comfort to the Queen for the rest of her life, and she had its words engraved on brass plaques and fixed to the gates of the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the King was interred. Queen Elizabeth was also buried here in 2002, and the words of "The Gate of the Year" were read out at her state funeral.

Family Christmas Gathering

On Tuesday we went up to Saskatoon for the day  to a Christmas gathering of Elaine's family  at David and Sonja's home. 

This is some of the group during the gift exchange.  

Elaine's parents

Janice and Chanel

I wore the new sweater and scarf I got for Christmas

It made a long day since we left home after 8AM and got back about 10PM.  The weather was good for traveling and we had good food and visiting.   All in all a great day. 

Christmas at Home

We had our Christmas dinner here today as we have usually been doing on Christmas Eve. Mike and Nicole came to be with Elaine and Janice and I.   We celebrate on the 24th so Mike and Nicole can be with her family on Christmas day.  Janice made the turkey for today which she enjoys doing, and Elaine made the dressing and potatoes, etc for the meal.  

After dinner we had Chris and Maryanne on Skype while we opened our presents.  Janice had her Macbook hooked up to the TV for this.  We could see their presents and they could watch us open our presents.
 

    

The family gave me a Rider cardigan made from rugby jersey material and a matching neck scarf.  I love it. It is just perfect for me.

We had a great day today. On Christmas day we will have a quiet day here and graze on leftovers and goodies, etc.  Then on Tuesday Dec 28 we go to Saskatoon to be with Elaine's family for  a Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas everyone from Elaine and I.     

Handel's Messiah

Handel's Messiah is performed all around the world especially before Christmas. This video is from a choir in Brazil performing  the final parts of Handel's Messiah -  Worthy is the Lamb - Blessing and Honour  and Glory  - Amen.     Most people are familiar with the Hallelujah chorus but the ending is just as powerful or even more.    All of the Messiah is sung from the scriptures and I love all of it.   I attended the performance of Messiah on Wednesday evening with the choir Elaine is in plus four excellent soloists  together with the symphony orchestra.    One of my favourite solo parts is always The Trumpet Shall Sound.  This year the tenor and alto soloists were particularly good.    But the best parts for me are the Hallelujah chorus and the ending  Worthy is the Lamb - Blessing and Honour  and Glory  - Amen.  These build up to full volume of the choir, orchestra with timpani and pipe organ.  I will have to listen to it on CD or DVD again before I get to attend again next December.    

Praying for Kaia

 

This picture was taken at our summer church camp when the children had their fun day. This is my friend Kaia age 8 who was rubbing my back and asking me how I was feeling while she talked to me.  I have been thinking about and praying for Kaia quite a bit  since she has serious health problems with a brain tumour and her heart.   She has had health problems all her life so she is very concerned about how other people are feeling and is full of love for people.   I want to see her again next camp running around having fun with the other children.

Happy Birthday Mary

Here is one of my favourite pictures of Maryanne looking very happy to be starting her first day of play school.   Today on her 30th birthday it doesn't seem that long ago to us that she was just off to school with her cute smile.    She has come a long way in her education since then and into the final phase of completing her Phd.   We hope this is a happy, healthy and successful year.   Happy birthday Maryanne.   

Disability Conference

I was at conference all day today on fostering a positive environment for employees with disabilities.   It was for provincial  crown corporations, department and agencies.   For the last year I have been on  a committee (called an affinity group) that promotes education and advocates for issues related to employees  with disabilities.  This committee organized and hosted the conference and the two co-chairs of our committee where the MCs.   In the afternoon I represented our company on one of the panel discussions.    Each of us on the panel spoke in response to three questions related to promoting a positive environment for employees with disabilities: the role of the organization, the role of supervisors, and the role of affinity groups.   The real value is in hearing what others are doing and learning from their successes.   I really felt it was a very successful conference. 

Christmas a Month Early

We wish our US family and friends a happy Thanksgiving which they have the 4th Thursday of  November.  But up here "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."   Our post-polio group has its meetings the 4th Thursday of the month and today we were celebrating Christmas a month early.    We had a short meeting and then a big turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and cabbage rolls and all the trimmings, and black forest cake for desert.   It was really a wonderful meal catered by an older couple from out of town which someone in the group knew. After dinner there was some Christmas carol singing and visiting.    

The weather here has also seemed like Christmas a month early.  By three weeks into November we have already had at least 3 big snow storms that clogged up the streets.   This morning it was -27C with -39C windchill but the temperature went up during the day and it was -8C when we were coming home from the Christmas dinner.    So we hope for some more moderate weather for the next while.    

Weekend: Music, Football, and Birthday Party

Last week Elaine was busy with practices for her choir concert which I attended on Saturday evening.  It is quite impressive that they got about 600 people out on a cold Saturday night to their concert. They first performed Te Deum by Charpentier  which was composed in the late 1600s.   It was said that King Louis XIV of France decreed this piece be played at all official ceremonies.  This was a very enjoyable hymn of praise with the choir, soloists, orchestra and pipe organ.    The longer part of the program was The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Ken Jenkins which they performed before in December 2007 (when Ky and Lyn were in the choir.)   The Armed Man is quite a dynamic performance with goes from the glory of war to the horror of war to remembrance and then to the promise of peace.  It starts out with the choir singing to the beat of the drums and marching feet of the choir (army) and then builds up in the "war" part of the performance at full volume.  It is quite an experience that has you wide awake with timpani and drums at full volume with the orchestra and choir.  It was a  lengthy performance which finished with some beautiful songs of peace.   Now the next concert to look forward to is the annual Handel's Messiah on December 15.     

On Sunday afternoon/ evening all the church was invited to celebrate little Rueben's first birthday.   The Riders were in the western final so the main event was eating supper while watching the football.  It was a lot of fun watching the game with the group. The game didn't look too promising at first but the Riders seem to always let the other team get a lead at the beginning before coming back for the win.  We had birthday cake at half time and then more visiting while Rueben opened presents after the game.   It was a good time. 

Driving Carefully

We had wet snow starting last night and continuing today.   My timing turned out to be good just getting the snow tires on my Mazda yesterday.  It doesn't have much traction with regular all season radials but much better with snow tires.   I did go to work this morning but took it easy driving on ring road.  The traffic  was moving along about 60 km/h when I went which was not bad.  There were some people in the ditch mostly ones who get impatient and try to pass and spin out into the ditch.  When I went home at lunch the city streets were ridiculous with ridges of wet snow, but when I got onto ring road it had been cleared.  It was slippery but OK if you are careful.   I was just as glad to stay home then and to have Thursday off for Remembrance Day.    

End of a Beautiful Weekend

Looking across Wascana lake to the Legislature just after sunset

We had another beautiful day today with a high of 18C.  Yesterday was 12C and it was very nice all last week, a very welcome change from the stormy weather the week before.   

Yesterday Elaine and I went up to Shellbrook for her Aunt Violet's memorial service.   It made for a long day going up in the morning and coming home in the evening, but we were very glad we went.  It was good to see the family and so many people there.  With the beautiful weather the traveling was no problem.

It would be great if the nice weather would last a while longer.  It looks like the downward trend is coming this week but we may still stay a few degrees above normal. 

Staying in Our Bomb Shelter

The storm that blew thorough here this week was called a "weather bomb"  which is defined as a drop of barometric pressure of 24 millibars within 24 hours.  We had a drop of pressure of 27 millibars within 21 hours and was the lowest barometric pressure on record in North America other than  in a hurricane.   We did not have as much snow here as areas south and east of here but the sustained high winds made some pretty big drifts.

With the weather bomb we just stayed home in our bomb shelter. I worked from home from Tuesday to today.  The wind was gone down by Wednesday night but the roads out to where I work on the edge of the city were not cleared yet.   I was reviewing documents and had several conference calls which I could do just as well from home. We stayed in until Thursday afternoon when Elaine went shopping and then we were to a meeting with our polio group Thursday evening. The roads were not great but passable then. 

We had Elaine's parents here visiting since Monday. It was raining as they were coming but the big storm hit that night. They stayed here until this morning so the roads and weather would be better for traveling home. It was good to have them stay a few days. In the pictures you can see from the smile that Elaine was very happy to have her parents here.

Snowing and Blowing

 View from the side window with our van near the neighbour's house.  

 

View from the front window

Our warm weather is gone for a while as a snow storm has blown in.  I decided to work from home today and not venture out because the wind and wet snow were making slippery driving conditions.   Elaine's parents are here visiting and will likely stay until Thursday when it looks like the weather will be better.  By next weekend we are supposed to be back to 11C and sunny which will be nice if it is true. 

Another Week

Another week has gone by since I last blogged so thought I would just do a little update.   During the week I didn't really go anywhere other than to work each day and then home.   Yesterday I enjoyed helping Janice with making display panels for her  "magnetic grapes" experiment.  

Today we had lunch together at the church after the service with chili, salads, corn bread, etc.  There was quite a bit of variety with four different kinds of chili, including one made by Janice with ground turkey, a vegetarian chili with pumpkin, and two with beef.  Of course there was more than enough and desert as well.  And we had a nice time visiting during and after the meal.

I was hoping to go to the park again for Sunday afternoon which we have enjoyed several times this year.   I thought this may be one of the last nice days before cooler weather and possibly snow is in the forecast by Tuesday.   The temperature got up to 11C but it was cloudy with rain showers so we stayed home in the afternoon.   Then  this afternoon Elaine's parents phoned that they are planning to head over to our house tomorrow after visiting in Manitoba for the weekend.  So it will be nice to have them here for a visit.

Weekend Visiting

We had my cousin Stan staying with us for the weekend.  He had a course all day Saturday and Sunday.  We visited with him for a while when he arrived Friday night, and then each day after his class.    On Saturday Stan and Elaine and I were invited over to Bronwyn and Wade's place for supper.   It was very enjoyable to have supper and visit with them and see their home.    We visited more with Stan back at our house that evening.  We were listening to a CD he has of a pianist playing medleys of old hymns, and making a list to the hymns in each medley and were able to identify almost all of them.  Then Stan was back to our house for supper Sunday after his class and we had another visit before he left for home.

Then Sunday evening I helped Janice with her science experiment demonstrating the magnetic properties of grapes. (Actually any fruit with high water content will work.)  She has the video of the experiment  on her blog.    We had fun with that.   

We had a nice relaxing weekend.    I was not feeling too energetic since I had a trach change Thursday and have had more soreness, coughing and congestion in the nights since then, which disturbed my sleep (and Elaine's as well.)  So we just need a good sleep tonight and then back to work tomorrow.  

Norwegian Thanksgiving

We were up to Elaine's family's farm for the Thanksgiving weekend.   While we were there some relatives from Norway were visiting in the area.  The two couples are cousins on Elaine's father's side of the family.  We first met them at church on Sunday.   In the service Elaine's father gave a message and read scriptures in Norwegian to have something for the visitors, especially the older couple who spoke little English.   We could follow along the verses in our Bibles.  He told a story of the experience of salvation that his aunt from Norway had told about in a letter at the age of 90.    The visitors found the story quite touching since this aunt was their grandmother/ great grandmother.   Also in the service 20 children went up to the front for verses and songs. That is always an important and enjoyable part of the service.   After the service there was a Thanksgiving dinner for all the families related to these visitors.   We stayed around for a while in the afternoon for more visiting with the folks from Norway and some picture taking, etc.     We haven't had a chance to go through the pictures yet but will try to get some posted. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

This is the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada which has historically been a time to give thanks for the harvest.   With the nice weather the reports from the Saskatchewan harvest are looking better than they were earlier.   The latest report for the period Sept 28 to Oct 4 is that 60% is complete, which is more than double the previous week's report of 29%.    The normal for this period is 85% so more good weather is needed.

We are heading up north to Elaine's family's farm for the weekend.   I hope we can get away in good time today. Janice has some work to complete at the university before we can leave.

Let's remember to be thankful at all times and especially be reminded of God's faithfulness at this Thanksgiving weekend  The hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness expresses our thanksgiving for God's goodness.  

1. "Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
   There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
   Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
   As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
• "Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
    Morning by morning new mercies I see;
  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
      "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!
2. Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
   Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
   Join with all nature in manifold witness
   To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
   Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
   Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
   Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Have a great weekend everyone.  I will try to post some pictures after our trip.
 

Another Nice Afternoon in the Parks

I haven't blogged since last Sunday when we went to the park in the afternoon. It was so nice today at 25C with little wind  I wanted to go there again.  But Elaine wanted to take her bicycle and start up in the northwest of the city at the beginning of the bike trails.  So I dropped her off there and drove to meet her at another park farther along the trail.

 

Elaine at the start of the bike trail

Elaine took pictures along the bike trail as she rode toward Wascana Park

Elaine took this picture from near the Marina looking toward Pine Island

Elaine took another picture from the Marina zooming in on Pine Island.   She could not see me from where she was but I was going to meet her at Pine Island after she crossed the bridge to that side of the lake.  When I looked at the picture afterward and zoomed in I saw myself (with Tilley hat and oxygen tank)  where I was sitting after walking around the island (enlarged in inset.) 

The beautiful warm sunny weather we have had for the last 10 days is supposed to last at least another week.  So we tried to get out and enjoy it while we can.   And we are very thankful the farmers are getting some harvesting weather.   

  

Fall in the Park

We were at the park again this afternoon and there is a noticeable change from two weeks ago with the leaves starting to get their fall colours.   We had a sunny hot day with high of 29C but by late afternoon when we went to the park it started to cloud over and was a very pleasant 23C.

      Driving through the park across from the legislature

 

The lake near the legislature looking toward downtown

(If you click on it you can see the Rider logos on the twin towers)

 

View from the walkway under the Pine Island "waterfall" 

As I mentioned when I posted two weeks ago about being at the park, Pine Island is our favourite place to go for a view of the lake.  I hadn't walked around to the side of the island along the walkway under the waterfall before.  We also walked around to the upper lookout above this waterfall.  I am so glad to be able to do some walking without getting out of breath.  I carry my oxygen tank but just use it at 1.5 litres/min while walking compared to the 4 litres/min I used to need.    And there are a lot of benches around the island that we can sit on when we want to for a while.  We had a very nice time in the park.
   
Update: Here is a link with more information and pictures for the waterfall on Pine Island on the old Broad Street Bridge.   

Getting Our Hopes Up

The weather forecast for the next 6 days is getting our hopes up for some nice sunny warm days.  IF it turns out as forecast (big IF)  the start of fall will be better than most of summer.

Update:  So far the actual temperatures are better than forecast.
Friday  19C    Saturday  23C    Sunday  29C

Aunt Helen

I called my Aunt Helen and had a nice conversation by telephone.  She lives in the US in Delaware and was married to my father's youngest brother George who passed away in 2004.   Aunt Helen is the only one living of aunts or uncles on my Dad's side of the family (and none on my Mom's side.)    She will be 89 in November and still active, driving to get groceries and to appointments.  But she is careful to only drive in her own local area and not when traffic is busy.   She told me she had some surgery a while ago but it was "a piece of cake" and she was up and around again in no time.

In the picture behind Aunt Helen is her daughter Carol and her sons George and Roy (and Tara the dog.)   The picture was taken when we were visiting in 2004  at the time of Uncle George's memorial service.   Then Aunt Helen had 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.   Now she has 9 great grandchildren with 1 more on the way.   It is nice that some live in a nearby area. 

It was very nice to talk to Aunt Helen by phone. And Elaine heard from Carol via Facebook that she was very happy to hear from me.  I will have to remember to call Aunt Helen more often.

Soccer Final

Elaine and I were out this evening to watch Mike play in the city soccer final game.  His team had won the quarter final and semi final and were up against the top team in the final tonight.  Unfortunately they lost tonight but they played a good game.  

The temperature was about 10C with light rain so it was quite cool out watching at Mosaic stadium/ Taylor field. There were about 35 - 40 fans in the stands watching the game in the rain and cold weather. A temperature of 10C may not sound that cold but with the rain and some wind it is cold enough.  We had warm jackets with hoods up and gloves, and with a quilt across us and an umbrella.  Quite a few of the others had umbrellas as well.  We fared reasonably well watching the game for 1 and  1/2 hours,  but we did not hang around for the team pictures and awards.        

Now we are at home having hot drinks of tea and warming up.

Sunday Afternoon at the Park

Elaine and I went to the park this afternoon since it was a nice day mostly sunny and high of 18C.  We first went to our favourite place to look at Wascana Lake  from the outlook on Pine Island.

 Elaine on the bridge to Pine Island with the Legislature in the background

  Looking across the lake from Pine Island past Spruce Island toward the Legislature

Looking north from Pine Island toward the marina with downtown in the background

Kayakers sharing the lake with the birds near the Legislature

After spending some time in the park Elaine showed me where the end of the bike path is near the park.  She has gone for bike rides several times along the bike paths and wanted to show me where she rides.   So she took me to different points across the city where there is a view of the bike paths that follow the creek, and then up to the northwest of the city where the path starts.  The path follows the creek through a series of parks that intersect the city.  All these parks and scenic areas are pretty amazing for a city that started as nothing but flat prairie.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon out in the sunshine after is seems like quite a while of rainy weather.        

Updates

The sun is finally shining this morning.  It was another rainy day yesterday bringing us another 25mm ( 1") on top of all the rain we got earlier in the week.  At our place we  had over 4'' of rain in the last week.  The amount in different areas was quite variable. At the airport where the weather is reported  they got about half that.  The next week is supposed to be mostly sunny which will be a nice change.

After the noisy ventilator problems  on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, it was quiet the last two nights.  It was nice to be able to sleep without that disturbance.  Hopefully whatever was causing the noise has worked out of its system and we are good to go now for a while with this machine.

Noises in the Night

I am still using a ventilator at night to help my breathing since I was in hospital in 2007.    The ventilator I use is called a Respironics PLV-100 as shown in the picture.  Once a year the respiratory therapist brings a replacement ventilator so the one I have been using can be sent away for servicing.   On Tuesday  I got my ventilator changed and used it that night.  I had tried it out  for a while during the day and it sounded and felt fine.  It has a moderate rhythmic breathing sound when operating.  But 15 minutes after I went to bed the machine started making strange noises, kind of a scraping and rattle and intermittent knocking.  I tried to ignore the sounds and get some sleep but was mostly awake until after 4 AM.

Then Wednesday morning I called the respiratory therapist and he brought me another replacement ventilator.  I tested it for over half an hour  before supper to make sure it was working normally.  I went to bed that night and all seemed well.    I woke up at 2 AM to the ventilator making sounds like a cricket chirping.  This time I shut it off and turned it back on and it quieted down to normal sound.  After a while I got back to sleep but at 4 AM the cricket sounds were back in the machine.    I got it quieted down again and got some sleep before the cricket sounds were back at 6 AM.  I fell back to sleep then until 8AM and awoke to a quiet ventilator.  

I emailed the respiratory therapist to report the latest in the noisy ventilators saga.  He still has the one I was using for the last year and will bring it back if I continue to have trouble with the replacement machines.  We will see what happens tonight.   I hope all is quiet in the machine so we can get a good nights sleep.  
 

The rain came down and the floods came up

Yesterday evening I posted that we had a downpour of 38mm of rain in about 20 minutes. Well that was just the start. By this morning the rain gauge at our house showed 81mm (3.2") of rain since yesterday afternoon. A lot of streets were flooded and likely many basements. We came out fine. We did not get any more water in our basement, just the small wet spot in the corner we already had yesterday.

It sounds like this rain was fairly general over the south central prairies. This will not be good for the farmers trying to harvest crops. Prior to this rain the news reports were that  the harvest was already behind due to wet weather.  This much rain will put the harvest farther behind.   And the forecast is for more to come in the next week. 

If it rains it pours

We watched the Riders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-23 in the Labour Day Classic on TV this afternoon.   This makes it 6 times in a row the Riders have beaten the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic.     Let's hope they beat them again in next week's rematch  in the Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg.

At least the rain downpour held off until after the game.  We got about 38mm (1 1/2") of rain within about 20 minutes.  We checked downstairs in one corner of the basement floor that gets wet sometimes when we get a lot of rain.  We are keeping an eye on it to see if the water seeps in at floor level or is coming down the wall.  The floor was a little wet along the edge of the wall in the corner but nothing major.

There is not much else new around here.   I am looking forward to having Monday off before going back to work on Tuesday.

Update 8PM:  Just after I published this another rain downpour started.     

Birthday Toys

Mary said that on my birthday I wanted to sit in my big chair and fly the helicopter they gave me.  So I made a video of me doing that.  The helicopter takes off from the ottoman circles the room and then lands again on the ottoman.  I am getting a lot better at not crashing into things. 

For my birthday supper we had some of the pot roast Janice made on Saturday when Elaine and I were out.  Janice also made  mashed potatoes and gravy, and apple crisp for dessert, and  Elaine made a salad   And  Lyn was here with us for supper to help celebrate my birthday.  It was a good day.

Smoky Day

Downtown Regina this morning with smoke in the air. 

The weather report has been showing smoke from fires all day.  

We are having heavy smoke today from forest fires  in BC.  The smoke from BC is covering the prairies all across Alberta and Saskatchewan and into Manitoba.  This morning the Saskatchewan Health Ministry warned people with asthma and other respiratory and heart conditions to consider staying indoors with the windows closed.   I went out to work this morning but didn't stay outside very long.  I put the fan in the car on internal recirculate and didn't have any problem while driving.   And we kept our windows closed at home.   On the weekend Environment Canada says that rain showers in Saskatchewan could  "cleanse the air" from this smoke.  

There is a website BCwildfire.ca with reports on the fire situation.  Today they are reporting that another 330 firefighters are coming from across the country to help the BC fire crews with the increased fire activity.  And for everyone's sake we hope and pray for rain for BC to help get the fires under control.     

Family Weekend

We were at Good Spirit Lake for the weekend with Elaine's family.  Elaine's parents and all the brothers and sisters were there with most of the family.   Of the grandchildren only Maryanne and Mike did not make it.   We stayed in the large cabin with 4 couples, and others were in trailers and tents. 

This is the view from the back of the cabin toward the lake.  Normally it is a long way from the cabin out to the water, but with all the rain and flooding this year the lake was very high and up near the cabin.  

 We did lot of visiting inside the cabin because the weather was cool, windy and wet.  Here is Elaine's father showing the little great-grandson how he does push-ups.   Elaine's mother is in the back looking at an album made in honour of her 80th birthday.

 Here are the parents and brothers and sisters on the back deck of the cabin. 

    Several people had left but this is a picture of most of the ones still there Sunday afternoon. 

 
It was a very enjoyable weekend even though the sun did not come out until Sunday afternoon when we were getting ready to leave.  Mainly it was a good time getting together with family.

Good Neighbours

This evening Elaine and I were at a 25th anniversary celebration for the couple who live next door to us to the north.  It was at the community centre in our area with many of their family, including some from as far away as Alaska and Florida, and many of the neighbours as well.   Their son made BBQ pulled pork and chicken in his custom made barbecue unit  which is over 8 feet long on a trailer behind his truck.  It is bright red with 4 chrome smoke stacks on the top.  We wish we had a picture of it.

We were glad to go to the anniversary since this couple have been very good neighbours.   In winter he clears snow with his quad ATV with a blade across our two adjacent driveways.   And the last few years he has rototilled our garden when he does his.   They travel a lot both winter and summer and Elaine always looks after their place while they are away.    It is great to have good neighbours.

The older woman who was our neighbour to the south just moved away this week and the house is up for sale.  Her husband passed away a year ago and I had a blog post then that we lost a good neighbour.   They were our neighbours for over 30 years moving in  about one year after we did.   She would have liked to stay in the house a couple more years but her family wanted her to get a condo.    Before she left she told Elaine that she is praying that with the house sale we will get good neighbours.    That is our prayer as well.  

New Patio

We have our new patio finished now at the back of our house.   I had made the original patio almost 30 years ago from used 24" x 30" sidewalk blocks.  It was sinking near the house and many blocks were broken.  The guys we hired to make our new patio did a great job.  They first removed the old patio and dug out the area with a small bobcat.  Originally they thought their small bobcat would go through our back gate.  But they made a hole in the neighbour's fence  to get into our yard.      (Fortunately the neighbours were not upset when they got home!)  They filled the area with crusher dust and leveled and packed it.  Then they put down a layer of sand to set the stones in.  They were very careful with their work, always measuring and checking with their levels and straight edges.  We are very pleased with the finished patio.   The stones are Barkman Holland  in sierra grey with charcoal borders.

After a little more clean up we just need to put the patio furniture back out and start using it while we still have some summer weather!
 

Ready to go

This morning Maryanne and Chris packed up and left our place to start heading home.  We had a great time while they were here and a lot of fun.  They have been in Regina about 3 week since NB camp, and about half the time at Chris's parents' place and half at our house.  They will be stopping over in Calgary and attending a wedding near there on Sunday and then going on home.    Janice is also away at a wedding in Winnipeg so Elaine and I will have a quiet weekend.   

Our visiting rocket scientist

This afternoon Chris was out on our street demonstrating the rocket car that his father made.  Our friends Brandy and Chad were here with their little girls and everyone was out to watch.   Chris first fills the cylinder in the car with water and then builds up pressure with an air compressor.   In the bottom picture you can see the car making a turn on two wheels and shooting across the street toward the neighbours' driveway.  
    

Trying out the new toy

I am trying out my new iPod touch that I got last night. It is an early birthday present. So now I am trying out blogging with it.

Yesterday we had the whole family here for supper. Maryanne made pulled pork in the slow cooker. It was great. We ate outside but it was too hot to stay out there. We came inside and had a nice evening visiting.

Watching Soccer

We went to watch one of Michael's soccer games this evening.   He had an early game today over by 7:30 so we thought it was a good one to attend.  Some of his games go to 10PM and it would be too late for us by the time we get home and get ready for bed.  Unfortunately this evening both teams were short players (maybe on vacation?)  Mike's team was short 2 players and the other team was short one player.  So everyone had to play the full 90 minutes with no subs.  

It was a beautiful evening 22C with little wind so quite enjoyable to be out watching.   I had the camera along and was trying to get some pictures. (Mike is number 15.)

 

At the Park

Darlene and Lisa have been visiting at our house since Tuesday.  We finally have some nice summer weather so yesterday afternoon we went out to the Wascana park. 

We walked across the bridge to the small island you see in the background.  We also drove around near the legislature and other areas of the park.  

We had supper out on the patio in our back yard.  It was perfect for being outside with hardly any wind.   After supper Darlene and I stayed sitting outside visiting for a couple hours.  It was very enjoyable. 

Home again

We got home yesterday evening after being away 8 days at North Battleford camp.   It was a wonderful time of services and activities for young and old. It seemed like the children and young people out numbered the older ones.  Most days the threats of rain held off enough so they could have some outdoor activities in the afternoons.    In the picture I am talking to two young ones after they had the Saturday afternoon "fun day."  The little girl with her hand on my back (grand daughter of our friend Eunice), has had a lot of health problems and we have prayed for her often.   She was always concerned to ask me how my back is, and told people I am her friend.  

We did have a wonderful time, but it is still always great to be back home in our own house and our own bed.  We had brother-in-law Steve stay at our house last night on his way home to the US.  Darlene and Lisa will come tomorrow and stay to visit for about a week. 

Maryanne and Chris are in Regina until the end of July.  They are staying first at his parents' place and will be with us later.   They came over today to give me an early birthday present.  It is a remote control helicopter.

 It is an "indoor" helicopter since it couldn't fly in any wind outdoors.  So I have been practicing in the living room.  I did bounce it off the ceiling a couple times, but  fortunately it is does not hurt anything if it crashes.  I will try to post a video of it when I get practiced up.