A New Abode

We've arranged for Mom to go into a care home because of her increasing weakness and instability so we knew that day was coming up soon.

It was with a sense of relief, but also sadness that we began to prepare for that.

Patrice enabled us to keep mom home longer which was a gift but it wasn't really sustainable so we agreed to the room at Mountainview when it came up.  

Nice and close by for easy visits.

There was a lot of care-giving going on between looking after mom and keeping the three pups happy.  

So much cuteness! 

Sweet Ladybug is getting thinner and weaker, but still LOVES her treats! 

And here is the regal beauty Willow scoping out the neighbourhood for dangers to protect us from. 

Despite the sickness that visited our camp, the flowers kept blooming and the apples kept growing.

I'm always kind of sad when I see the apple bins set out as I miss seeing the beautiful fruit hanging thickly on the branches, but the seasons march on despite my reluctance to let the warmer ones go! 

Patrice and I went out for a bike ride on a blustery day.  

So great to be able to move with ease and speed on my little motor-bike!

The evening before Mom's move to the care home Anita & Ollie joined us for our regular Sunday dinner.

Watching our two elders decline hasn't been easy, but it is so special that we've been able to celebrate the good times and laugh our way through the harder ones as we try to make the best of things.

Ollie and Mom have slowly become less aware of each other and their surroundings, but they still love a good meal and good company! 

The day of the BIG CHANGE arrived on the first day of fall and Patrice escorted Mom into her new abode.

It's a spacious place but we'll definitely have to cozy it up for her.

The staff seem nice and the food is good so we will hope and pray for the best!! 

We made sure to bring in mom's CD player and devotional tapes.  Sadly, she will  have to quarantine for two weeks since she is coming from the outside and had the dreaded disease.

It's heartbreaking but I can't think too much about it. 

So grateful that God will never leave Mom and His angels will take up residence with her.

Praying, trusting and praying some more...

Big heavy sigh. 

And the HEROINE of this story is...

The season of delicious peaches and the calm before the storm...

Patrice arrived to help out with mom again.

She had to come sooner than anticipated due to some un-forseen circumstances. 

It was a little complicated this time around, and here's how it played out.

Elsie attended a camp in mid-August where several of the participants were not well.

As you can imagine, she came home with more than just memories of a good time in the woods with all her pals...

She started feeling sick while looking after mom so we got Mom to come back to my place.

But before Patrice brought her up she stopped off at a clinic to have mom tested.

Just in case...

The results were positive.

I don't think I need to mention what she tested positive for.

But we didn't find that out until after cousin Harry dropped by on his way back to Alberta and had a really special visit with mom.  He was made aware of the possibilities but he was unfazed and very eager to see mom since she had such a positive impact on his life and he is forever grateful and loves her deeply.

(Turns out he remained negative following the visit which was a definite plus as we didn't want Elsie's camp experience to travel any further.)

In her eagerness to protect me from infection,  Patrice decided to bring Mom back to Elsie's.

Poor Patrice.

This was all really hard on her nerves and really unfair.

We felt badly that she had to get involved in our conundrum and to expose herself as well.

But thankfully she was protected and able to help us out in our time of need. 

I got this picture from Elsie during their quarantine and despite feeling pretty crappy, Mom was able to produce a smile.

Meanwhile, back at the orchard, I was coming to the conclusion that I had not escaped unscathed as a headache set in, followed by fever and a few days of rather extreme body aches.

It was a relief in some ways as I had been hearing of my friends succumbing to the plague and as it works out I just prefer to get things over with and to move on rather than waiting. 

So, I was getting on with it! 

I felt very peaceful in the quiet house, able to lay down and just rest.

I had no desire to listen to or watch anything, but felt very content to be able to warm up my heat bags, take some painkillers and lay on my bed undisturbed. 

Thankfully I had prepared for this possibility and I began my course of horse treatment and made sure that Elsie was taking hers.

I had no appetite so it was easy to look after myself. 

And I had my own personal Dr. Anita to call with any questions or concerns. 

 When Patrice returned with Mom 5 days later  we recuperated together.

There was coughing involved and I got Mom some antibiotics to make sure that things didn't get more complicated.  

Week two involved extreme exhaustion and looked a bit more like this. 

Mom would come into my room and we would watch travel documentaries and sleep. 

And in the midst of it all we had Winnie and Willow in heat.

That part was a bit over the top, but one cannot time these things. 

As I ended week two I headed into town and my doc listened to my chest to make sure all was well and I was grateful not to have to go on antibiotics. 

It was good to get out of the house and the autumn beauty was soothing on the eyes. 

The colours of this season never fail to inspire and God's creativity in the minute and in the vast give rise to awe and worship.

We managed a Sunday night dinner and Elsie was well enough to join us and to bring sweet smelling roses from her garden. 

She is so beautiful, a fair and lovely rose herself!  

What a sweet blessing to have a sister,

all pretty in pink. 

So glad we have family to push through the storms with.

I'm incredibly grateful to Patrice for her kindness and devotion to the cause!

She's the somewhat reluctant but amazing heroine of this story.  

Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

Still waiting for the energy to return.

But we have all lived to see another day!  

Auspicious August Occasion

                             

We all have circles of friendship and fellowship that fit into our schedules and lives. Often I will meet someone and realize how much I'd like to get to know  them more, but there usually isn't time and space and that's ok.

I comfort myself knowing that eternity is just around the corner and that there will be unlimited "time" to visit with all I have longed for and a whole lot more!

Leanne and I have prioritized our friendship, more and more over the years  and we make time for each other, without pressure, on a fairly regular basis.

She has met with these two lovely ladies, Theresa and Cori, for many years and they have forged deep bonds of friendship and camaraderie in Jesus.  

I know of them and admire them from afar,  but we all got to experience one of those wonderful set aside times  of delightful togetherness, (something we all hoped for) through some maneuverings of dates and times. 

It all fell together on a beautiful August morning and we had a brunch fit for queens with correspondingly lovely fellowship. 

The best part was prayer, as it usually is.

Even though God is always in our midst, the setting aside of time - together - to honour and seek Him is a powerful act.

We worshiped Him.

Because He is always worthy...

We spent time in intercession and heard from Him.

This is heaven on earth.

A most auspicious occasion that we went away from feeling rich, full and hopeful.

There were words spoken of "dancing feet" and a whole lot more...

"Then those who feared the lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. 

In His presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honour of His Name."

Malachi 3:16

It is my prayer that we will be those ones who fear Him, always thinking about the honour of His most wonderful Name.

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Here below are a couple of pictures from the "archives"of Leanne & Karen's journey. 

We would never go back but are grateful that we met and have had each other for support and encouragement over the years.

And that our daughters are such good friends as well.

Caterpillars, Cars & Controls

Found this little beauty making it's way across my driveway and Winnie was fascinated and a little afraid! 

Winnie has adapted to her big beautiful yard and all of the fun adventures that come along with it. I'm always praying that she'll stay away from the main road, but she does make her way down there fairly regularly.

Thankfully the walkway with the fire-hydrant is on our side of the road so that solves quite a bit of the potential wandering.  

She's a delightful little companion and makes a nice lawn ornament, finding her way into far too many pictures, be we are having fun!

There was another cousin connection on the back patio with dear Esther! 

So nice to be able to spend time outside together - drinking in as much summer sun and balmy air before our wonderful summer draws to a close. 

(I am always too aware of the impending cooler weather so I reeeeally try to suck the marrow out of our warm seasons!!)

Daniel had a free weekend so he came up and the timing was perfect.  

Patrice had returned my car to me with hand controls installed and then went back to Surrey and Elsie had gone to a Church Camp for the weekend so I had help looking after Mom in the interim. 

I decided this was perfect timing to get the controls put into my car since John with all of his electronic expertise was available. 

Daniel worked on getting the roof rack moved while John did the electrical part.

It took WAY longer than I expected so I was incredibly grateful that the guys were able to work into the dark and get it DONE! 

So many superstars in my life to keep me rolling!

VOILA!

Here is the finished product 

It took a while, and a lot of extra man-power to get the car to a drive-able state for me but now I'm  very gratefully ready to roll, hoping I won't have to get a new car for a very long time! 

WHEW!

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When my friend Grace found out I had new wheels, she suggested that we do a trip to the Penticton museum to celebrate. 

 She broke BOTH of her wrists in the Spring and has been quite house-bound during her recovery so it was a lovely day to go for a drive.

 

I had never been so it was interesting.

Discovered some local history and enjoyed meeting an artist and admiring the paintings.

We took a little stroll along the lake

and Grace treated me to a delicious lunch from the bakery.

My car often doubles as a restaurant so I get some pretty stellar views with my meals!

My new Holy Roller did not disappoint and we arrived home safely, but not before enjoying this lovely vision below at a stop light!

Pretty much made my day.