My blog

A little bit about me and a lot about the things we do.

Sunday 28 July 2013

One month ago...

Our new life began.  Our house deal closed in Swift Current and our furniture was delivered to Deschambault Lake.   The first month has been interesting.  I have been getting use to a new routine.  It is strange being so close to Ron's work....well I guess not strange, different.  When Ron was a Pastor we lived in a parsonage beside the church so it was very close to Ron's work but now it is definitely different.

I am glad that he comes home for dinner breaks and sometimes even coffee breaks (no Tim Hortons here).

I have enjoyed having the days off together.  We use to only have a weekend off together about every 6 weeks.

I have been keeping busy with exercise, baking, planning meals, knitting, scrapbooking and normal household duties.  The house is now in order.  I have registered for two courses for the fall and have some contact names for possible work.

As promised here are some before and after pictures of the house:
 
Kitchen before


Kitchen with our furniture



Living Room before

Living Room after ...I even hemmed the curtains!
Our bedroom before

Bedroom after
Spare bedroom downstairs before

 
Ready for company!!!



One side of the basement before

Now exercise room and library
Other side of basement before

Now a cozy tv area
So now you have had the tour of our home for the next two years....of course I didn't show you where I hid all the boxes that I won't open but if you want to come for a visit you can search that out for yourself.
Enjoy your Sunday!

Friday 26 July 2013

Ahhhh....

When the kids were young we lived on a beautiful lake and one of the activities that we enjoyed was canoeing.  There is nothing like the feeling of canoeing on a calm lake.


 Ahhh...Ron had the day off.  There was no wind.  It was warm and we found the most beautiful lake.


I can't even remember being on such a quiet lake.  It was so peaceful.  We saw two boats at a distance and only one little cabin that no one was around.
 
And so while Ron fished for supper I gently paddled and enjoyed the birds in the air and water. 
Love the sound of a loon
Not sure what kind of duck this was but he wasn't concerned about us.


Such an impressive bird!

Little Mama with her cute little family

  I also kept my eye along the shore line for some bigger wildlife but I was only treated to a look at this little guy.

And the scenery...ahhh.  Well pictures don't really capture it but I tried.




It was an absolutely perfect day.  Hopefully we have more days like this in the next two years but if not that day was worth it.


And the good news is that after about five hours on the lake we actually found the spot where we had parked the truck.


For me it was an Ahhh kind of day....
 
Hoping you have an Ahhhh kind of weekend!

Wednesday 17 July 2013

The Question...

Okay, I knew it would come.  It just had to.  I mean after you talk about the weather, your health, your husband's job....it just has to come.  Actually I was asking myself the question before we moved.

So, what are you doing to fill your days?

Yes, that's the question.  This is the first time in my married life that I have not worked at least one job or had children around the house to look after.  So, like others, I wondered what would I do to fill my time.

Well, up to this point I haven't had a problem.  First there was the mountains of boxes to remove from the house and lets just say that takes a fair amount of time especially when you are trying to move a garage and shed into your house along with all the regular furnishings.

And then there is the regular house cleaning duties that never ends.  Somehow there is always dust finding its way into the house.  The floors need to be cleaned.  Laundry still has to be done and there are always dishes....and now no dishwasher.  





We have taken time to walk around the community and take part or watch events that are happening.








And we have tried to keep up on our exercise....
Walking
Indoor Exercise


Canoeing

 And then there is always the crafts that I would like to work on and actually have time to complete:
Seven RCMP spouses are working on Circle Journals.  We each pick a theme, work on the journal and send it to the next person to complete their scrapbooking page.  They then forward to the next person until all seven have entered the information and it comes back to the original person.
Not too mention all the other scrapbooking projects I want to do....like for three grandchildren!

I also started knitting a baby blanket just to give me something to do when we are following The Amazing Race or keeping up to date with America Has Talent.
 
And then of course there is always baking....oh I have made lots of things:  cookies, pies, squares, cakes.  With my husband having three single partners I think they appreciate some homemade goodies.

And a delivery during a shift.

 So, what do I do to fill up my days?  I don't seem to have a problem.  The question is what should I do first?  My blog, my facebook scrabble games....catch up on email from friends?  Or what about all those books that I want to read and never had time before?  Oh, and I forgot to mention that I am still doing a little bit of long distance training for the job that I just left and I need to remember to register for my fall courses.

The question doesn't seem to be so much what do I do but what should I do first....and I guess I picked doing my blog. 

And maybe, just maybe some days I may just choose to do nothing at all.

How are you filling your day?

Saturday 13 July 2013

Rainbows and a Box of Sunshine




Sometimes life throws things at you that are not so enjoyable but in the end it can turn out to be quite amazing.  
  Like the rainbow after a storm. 
 


If you didn't experience the storm you would never get to enjoy the beautiful colours of the rainbow. 

Like for example if I never moved I would never have found so many great friends in the places that we lived.....Friends like Roxane who sent me this wonderful parcel in the mail.

Rainbows always make me smile and "A Little Box of Sunshine" made my day!
 
 
Thanks Roxane!

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Moving Week

One week can pass so quickly and with so many different events, emotions and places that it can leave your head spinning.  Here is a quick pictorial view of Moving Week.

Sunday....Church in the morning, church picnic in the afternoon which included a water baptismal service.  Being in ministry with my husband for 19 years I had found myself being a part of many things but never had I baptized anyone.  I felt honoured to be asked and very nervous at the same time.  Once it was all done I was very happy to have been a part of this special event in Casey's life.  She is a special young lady.
Following that time we sorted, organized and tried to be prepared for the week ahead.

Monday....Another work day and a special walk through the park with some of my favourite ladies (and one gent joined us on this day).  I will miss these times.  Catherine from cornerofcatsmind took me out for a special farewell lunch.  It was so nice to sit and enjoy a quiet lunch with a very good friend.  She gave me a wonderful gift that will always remind me of our "tea walks."


Tuesday.... Packing day.  Three ladies arrived at our house and began to wrap, box and sticker everything. 






But since I didn't have to be there I found something much more important for me to do!  There are priorities!

A couple of Ron's partners stopped in the evening to say goodbye and my good friend, Lynne stopped and helped me pack some things that the ladies didn't pack.  Oh, so many goodbyes....it's hard!

We moved into the Best Western for the evening and met our Pastor and his family for icecream, more hugs and more goodbyes.  I wonder if I am cried out yet?


Wednesday... Last day of work, more goodbyes.  Cake, hugs, gifts and a surprise visit from a special friend/boss who retired a few months ago.  And I threw in a little bit of training!

Nope, still not cried out!  Although it was funny listening to the CEO read Catherine's farewell words put to the tune of Carley Ray Jepson's "Call Me Maybe" song. 
It is amazing that all your household belongings, including a garage and shed full can be loaded into one truck.....surely it will all fit in the house that we are moving to???

Kind of interesting watching men say goodbye.  Notice my pictures with my friends and how close I am .....men keep their distance and their composure.  I guess that is good.  I just keep a Kleenex close by!
And off we go....into the sunset....away from life as we knew and unto a whole new adventure!

Thursday....is this still just one week?  We loaded up our truck with groceries, supplies and anything that we could think of.  We still had 5 hours to drive and the nearest grocery store to us will be 1 1/2 hours.  Yes, I was checking my list more than once and hoping that I didn't forget anything.  Oh wait, one more thing to add to our purchases!

We arrived at our new home in the evening, slept on the floor and awaited the arrival of our furnishings.




Friday....The truck arrived around 11:00 a.m.  Two young, strong men begin to carry boxes and furniture into the house with us giving instruction on where to put everything.  The house filled up!  Once the truck was empty and the house was full, they began to assemble furniture and by 7:30 p.m. they were on their way....leaving us with a bed to sleep in and a mountain of boxes to unpack.

Saturday....The end of a very busy week.  Let me see, what should I do?  Where should I start?

Before and after pictures to follow....I think I need to lie down!  Reliving that week was exhausting.