Feasting for the Soul

August ended on a rather spectacular note...

Donara invited a bunch of us up to her place for a house concert featuring the fabulously talented Norm Strauss.

He strummed and sang and told funny stories.

We sang along and a few people danced.

It was a feast for the eyes and the ears with the backdrop of the setting sun over the lake.

There was delicious food involved so there was literal feasting as well. 

It was one of those delicious nights where the soul is nourished and you leave humming and happy.

We were supposed to be out on the patio for the evening but there was a storm passing through the valley and things were wet and cool out there. 

Golda was also in the mix which always makes me happy. 

Norm's lovely wife Loralee got up do a little commercial for a fun series of children's books they are involved in producing for our dear friend, Sherri Funk.

Back in the day I was privy to hearing Sherri try out these tunes on us in the staff room at Heritage Christian School.  Now her ideas have morphed into the real thing accompanied by amazing illustrations by Dave Watland.

Something about a Walrus named Stanley brushing his tusk in order to clean up his so that he could attract a good looking lady friend. 

Really cute and funny.

I think you can find those books on Amazon and here's a link to their Funkland World site. 

https://funklandworld.com/about/

So many talented individuals collaborating to get Sherri's idea off the ground.

I love that.

My people are just plain kind and full of the love of Jesus.  

August Evening Alone

I was going to go into town tonight to meet up with Anita & Ollie.
To wheel along the boardwalk and watch the sun set over the lake on this gloriously warm sunny Okanagan evening.
Pick up an ice cream cone with a coupon that I've been carrying around in my wallet for over a year!

So I got up and watered my thirsty patio  plants first... they are so spectacular right now.  Flowers joyfully blooming, sending their bright colours into the atmosphere like a thousand cheerful little "hello's" and the tomato plants are eagerly pushing out clumps of tiny tomatoes that are daily ripening in the hot August sun.

I warmed up lentil soup and added in some leftover beets and potatoes which I then brought out to the patio and ate while gazing out over the beautiful valley where the city lay bathed in the summer light.
And then I realized my back was hurting and the city suddenly looked far away.
Too far away to visit tonight, so I'm still here.

Laying on the bench while the warm evening air gives me a big, long, gentle hug.
The  blue sky is sending down kisses and I am content to be here looking out over the flowers and hills and the sliver of lake just visible from where I lay.

Birds fly overhead, heading out for a night on the neighbouring orchard or over to the local bird jamboree.
Diving, gliding, soaring and then fluttering as they pause in mid-flight trying to ascertain where the most insects are to be had.
A little herd of quail just scuttled by, making their sweet sounds and nudging their younger teens along.  I'm amazed at how many of them keep coming.  They must have heard about the jamboree as well.
I think the crickets told them.

And me?

I feel happy and yes, also often joyful.
My wings have been clipped, but I am content to be here right now in this peaceful haven I call home.
No one to look after tonight except me.
Ladybug is here too, a sweet peaceful presence lounging nearby.

Circumstantially the sun and warmth really do effect my mood to some degree, but I feel joyful in the fullness of my life in this season even on the overcast days.
It feels so right to have mom living with me and I do get lots of breaks allowing me to go shopping to go for coffee with friends.

Mom is incredibly content and easy to be with.
She seems to have settled into this new rhythm that is now her life despite some confusion regarding where she will sleep on any particular night.
We talk about how happy we are together and how much we love each other.
This morning when she was getting up she said how she had dreamed about her mother and how she had called out "mommy, mommy..." as she was so happy to see her.  That line between here and forever is blurring for her.
The angels are very near.  Probably a big part of the reason for the incredible peace I feel most of the time.

Plus the reality of God's nearness and the truth I have repeated so often from His Word has formed new pathways in my brain... I AM being transformed by the renewing of my mind.  I will fear no evil, for HE IS with me.  Always.  HIs Angels surround me and He has a plan.

He's got this.  Every part of it.
Today my bible reading contained this piece of life-giving truth from Psalm 37 in the Voice Translation (which I only like some of the time...):

"Believe in the Eternal, and do what is good—
    live in the land He provides; roam, and rest in God’s faithfulness.

Take great joy in the Eternal!
    His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!

 Commit your path to the Eternal; let Him direct you.
    Put your confidence in Him, and He will follow through with you.
 He will spread out righteousness for you
    as a sunrise spreads radiance over the land;
    He will deliver justice for you into the light of the high sun.

 Be still. Be patient. Expect the Eternal to arrive and set things right.
    Don’t get upset when you see the worldly ones rising up the ladder.
    Don’t be bothered by those who are anchored in wicked ways.

So turn from anger. Don’t rage,
    and don’t worry—these ways frame the doorway to evil.
 Besides, those who act from evil motives will be cut off from the land;
    but those who wait, hoping in the Eternal, will enjoy its riches."

So when I make sure to nourish my heart with truth I can navigate the uncomfortable parts of life that crop up.  His Word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.

Also, thanks to modern technology, I can be in contact with my kids on a fairly regular basis.  Sometimes a week goes by and I don't hear from them so I send out a little hello via cyberspace until I hear back I due time and my heart feels content again.
Or if the news is troubled or troubling I can go to Jesus with it.
The ongoing conversation we have.

Nicole is here right now preparing for a wedding and Daniel is on the road right now coming to join her.  He has just finished his second week at a hospital getting oriented and making MONEY!
I love that they often stay with me when they come to town.
I can get re-acquainted and reoriented to where they are at and to see their lovely smiles.

God's goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my. life.

Breathtakingly Beautiful Life

I wanted to squeeze in one last outing with Marcia before they headed home so we picked up some nice drinks and sat in the car by the lake visiting.  However, I was rescued from the "same old routine" when someone pulled their car up RIGHT beside us, ruining our private ambience.

They also made some comment about how we had parked so we just gave them a nice smile and drove off.

We found another beach access close to the bird sanctuary and I decided it was time to switch up my routine and actually go INTO the bird sanctuary instead of just sitting in a car near it. 

The seemingly rude "interlopers" gave me the opportunity to rethink my pattern and to take advantage of some beauty that I usually don't see that is right here in my 'front yard'! 

There were ducks and birds, bullrushes and flowers and all sorts of beautiful sights to drink in...

I need to make sure not to miss what's right around the corner by using my wheelchair as an excuse.

Of course, sometimes I am legitimately tired and I don't have the energy, but I need to be careful not to get in the habit of missing out because it feels too hard at the moment. 

Because just look at this! 

A little piece of paradise with delights just waiting to be discovered.

On their last evening in Kelowna we had supper with Vic & Marcia & Elsie at a fun little eatery not far from where I live.

They even served Chinese Food which is one of mom's favourites!

And this was our view!

Us three. 

From the youngest to the oldest...

Still together and loving each other more than ever. 

I am so grateful for these siblings.

For this family.

Nothing deserved, but lavishly granted.

On the way home I stopped to snap a few pictures of the lake and the golf course where we had just eaten.

I know that I am so beloved of my Father.

I am surrounded by love.

I get to live here and see this kind of beauty on a daily basis.

It's all simply, breathtakingly, beautiful.

Downtown & Sundown

Vic's middle daughter, Christine, drove up from Vancouver to spend the weekend with all of us.

It was such a delight to have her here and Vic got some valuable father/daughter time in when they went biking up on the trestles nearby. 

Thankfully the weather was beautiful and Marcia's bike worked for Christine with a little seat adjustment. 

Even though mom has a hard time figuring out where exactly everyone is and where exactly she lives, she still knows who we all are for the most part.

She is always so happy when her kids and grandkids show up as you can see by her radiant countenance and smile. 

After supper together we went outside to enjoy a rather fabulous sunset.

I took Ladybug for a walk so I could catch the beauty from another angle.

It was like watching a really great movie as the sun burned it's way over the mountains and the sky darkened.

On Sunday after church we thought we'd try something a little adventurous with the ladies so we met downtown at the Sails and went out for lunch.

One must definitely have a sense of humour and perseverance with this crowd! 

Tante Hilda was trying to protect mom from the sunshine and the length of the walk was a little more than they had bargained for.

However, we soldiered on with walkers and wheelchairs until we finally reached our desired destination. 

The lunch was delicious and some of us even sprang for dessert!

Mom and Tante Hilda were more than happy to head to her place for their afternoon naps and to recover from the strenuous events of the day.

Vic and Marcia went to the lake with Christine to spend some extra time with her before she headed home.

I drove up to my little nest where Ladybug is more than happy to nestle in with me for an afternoon rest as well. 

Loving my Community

Having family here to look after Mom gave me the opportunity to head out to a couple of events that I really wanted to support.

My good friend Patricia Goertsen heads up one of my favourite local charities and even though the team are super busy looking after the disadvantaged in our city that "fall between the cracks" with groceries, visits and cleaning - she extended the tent pegs and decided to create a mobile dental clinic for her clients and many others who aren't able to access affordable dental care.  

We had a city official, Luke Stack, and a number of others on hand to give speeches, congratulate and cut the ribbon to get the show on the road! 

Two of Patricia's daughters have both recently graduated as dental hygienists and they are excited to begin work in the mobile clinic. 

Raising money for an enterprise as big as this is no small task, but Patricia trusts in our AWESOME GOD who provided in amazing ways.

I was delighted that there was a wheelchair lift (of course there was!!) and I got to be the model and was excited to be able see the inside of the clinic.

Arianna and Alicia are just amazing young women! 

Here they are showing off some of the state of the art equipment that they will be using as they serve the clients around Kelowna.

I also had a chance to pop in on my friend Dawn and her daughter Amber and to have a cuddle with the latest batch of golden retriever puppies they are raising.

Dear Amber has been going through a terrible time of anxiety regarding a medical issue that she has struggled with for many years so we are praying that they will have success with a surgeon they found in New York.

Two days later I got to pop in at a volunteer appreciation lunch at a local thrift store that helps out the struggling ones in our community.  Asher was the DJ and he invited me to the party.

He was amazing as usual and he had a bunch of people up and dancing with the fun tunes he was cranking out. 

My friend Leanne was downtown so she joined me for lunch and a catch up visit.

Gotta make the time count when I have the opportunity to run around town!

Home to Family!

It was fun getting home to our beautiful Kelowna summer weather and to the wonderful crowd of people living in my house! 

Vic & Marcia very kindly came to Kelowna to look after Mom so I could go to Ottawa and Anita is usually here in the evening with Ollie so it's already a party, but on this particular evening Becca was able to join us AND I invited Lisa over for a belated birthday meal. 

These warm evenings and patio suppers are the BEST!

It was also a treat to share "mom duties" with Vic & Marcia.

Since Vic is always up early he happily made mom a smoothie and toast, and one morning he created a  very fun banana concoction as you can see above.

Marcia and Ladybug were happy to keep Mom company on the patio.

One day when I was out Marcia made peroshki with sour cherries from their Calgary backyard.

Mom had gotten into the action and joined in by pinching the tops of some of these delicious little dainties together.

I'm always so touched by how Marcia will look for practical ways to love on all of us.  Somehow I don't get around to making the "Mennonite" specialties that Mom loved, but wouldn't you know it's the Scottish import to the family who is taking the lead!  She also spent a rather arduous hot day at Tante Hilda's making dark bread with her for all of us to enjoy. 

Marcia is definitely a keeper! 

We also ventured out to Peachland for a day where we visited our favourite German Restaurant so that we could have Mexican food! 

Mom and Tante Hilda absolutely LOVE the nachos here and we added a few other yummy dishes so that we would all have plenty to munch on.

Such great ambience, great company and perfect weather.

Marcia and I also headed out to have some fun together by visiting thrift stores and stopping to fortify ourselves with coffee's and snacks when our energy began to ebb. 

This time we pretended we were in a Paris coffee shop when we noticed the pretty painting above our table. 

A staycation is more affordable and easier at this point in the gameplan!

And dear Becca has not only been wonderful company (when she's not working our out visiting one of her many friends) but she has kept the yard in great shape over the summer months.

Elsie has also been taking a little break from regular mom duties, but she was missing mom and had a sweet moment with her at bedtime one evening.  

We were eager to show Elsie the cute pyjamas we had found for mom on one  of our treasure hunts at the MCC store. 

So incredibly much sweetness and love.

I'm endlessly grateful for this powerful legacy that Mom has modelled for us and that we are able to continue.