I have now been at my new job for four weeks and am wondering if I will ever get to do all the work that should be part of the position. I would guess that I actually only work about 2 1/2 hrs each day of eight I'm payed to work. This is not of my choosing but all that my immediate supervisor is giving me. It is frustrating. He works most evenings and weekends but yet will not pass work to me. I am unsure if he doesn't trust my abilities or if he just has a hard time relinquishing control.
Take for instance payroll, this is supposed to be part of my position as Senior Accountant, there have been three pay periods and not one have been done by me. I was supposed to assist with Year End, which I have tons of experience with, and yet again, I have done absolutely nothing towards the year end process.
The days drag by and I'm more tired due to the lack of work. I believe it is time for me to sit down and ask for trust in my abilities and to be given work that takes advantage of those abilities.
It seems I've gone from one extreme to another when it comes to the amount of work that I have to do. At the hospital I had so much work that at times I was over loaded, here I am in a position with really no work at all to do.
This past week I actually stood up for myself, probably for one of the first times ever in my work life. The receptionist, front desk girl, worked her last day on Friday, and they will not be replacing her, at least not for the next while. I was asked to share time shifting with the junior accountant working until six to answer phones. This would be too hard on my body which needs to be fed at a regular time before six in the evenings, expecting me to act as the receptionist when I'm supposed to be the Senior Accountant. Everyone answers the phone at some time during the day, when the phones are really busy or when the receptionist is not available, but it's one thing to help out and another to be acting as the receptionist. This was not part of the job description I was interviewed for and am not being payed to just sit and answer phones. So I said no I was not willing to alternate working times in order to answer phones. It is one thing to work late because my responsibilities and actual work requires it but not to stay and answer phones.
This action may have hurt me during my three month probation period but I don't believe at my age I should compromise or need to compromise. If they end up letting me go then so be it.
Sunday 15 November 2009
Sunday 4 October 2009
Much Neglected Practice
Recently my thoughts have been pondering the practice of Private Confession and Absolution. A much neglected practice in many of our Lutheran Churches (LCC) today. Yesterday Pastor Mike Keith posted a link to his Facebook wall and I would like to bring it to the attention of those who read my ramblings here at 'Where to Start'.
http://hope4thehapless.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/too-much-so-what/
Which in turn is the blog of Pastor Ken Maher, who was the previous Pastor here at Redeemer, Prince Albert. I pray, like me, it has you pondering and reflecting on the need to personally hear words of forgiveness spoken directly to you, rather than corporately during the Divine Service.
http://hope4thehapless.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/too-much-so-what/
Which in turn is the blog of Pastor Ken Maher, who was the previous Pastor here at Redeemer, Prince Albert. I pray, like me, it has you pondering and reflecting on the need to personally hear words of forgiveness spoken directly to you, rather than corporately during the Divine Service.
Friday 2 October 2009
Telemarketers!
I believe most people hate those calls that come during meal times or evenings. They used to try and sell you something or offer you a product but always with strings attached, or a survey that won't take very long. We were tired of telephone marketers so Richard and I decided to opt out of receiving such calls. We signed up for our phone number not to be called, so no longer would we get those annoying calls.
Little did we know things would get worse. That's right, worse. At least every other day, or so it appears we get a call which goes something like this:
"Can I speak to Veronica?" Ah; the first hint, only my mother and the government calls me Veronica.
The second hint: "You probably remember me as I phone you each year..." ummm! just a minute I've only been at this number for a few months (nine now).
The Third hint: : "I'm calling to tell you about a program... " aha! money is needed.
I very politely explain I cannot help.
"but this is for children, deaf people..." Do they not listen! I had politely told the party on the other end "No!" They continue on and do not apologize for bothering you or lying or disturbing you but carry on until you end up having to hang-up on them.
So what went wrong? We had signed up to NOT receive such calls, the catch, this sign up does not apply to charitable organizations or your own bank. That's correct. Now the regular telemarketers can no longer phone you the charitable organizations have filled that niche; just in case you were missing having those annoying calls.
Little did we know things would get worse. That's right, worse. At least every other day, or so it appears we get a call which goes something like this:
"Can I speak to Veronica?" Ah; the first hint, only my mother and the government calls me Veronica.
The second hint: "You probably remember me as I phone you each year..." ummm! just a minute I've only been at this number for a few months (nine now).
The Third hint: : "I'm calling to tell you about a program... " aha! money is needed.
I very politely explain I cannot help.
"but this is for children, deaf people..." Do they not listen! I had politely told the party on the other end "No!" They continue on and do not apologize for bothering you or lying or disturbing you but carry on until you end up having to hang-up on them.
So what went wrong? We had signed up to NOT receive such calls, the catch, this sign up does not apply to charitable organizations or your own bank. That's correct. Now the regular telemarketers can no longer phone you the charitable organizations have filled that niche; just in case you were missing having those annoying calls.
Tuesday 22 September 2009
The God Whisperers
I just added a link to 'The God Whisperers'. To quote Pastor Mike Keith from his blog: "Pastor Bill Cwirla and Pastor Craig Donofrio host it and have lots of fun doing it. However, there is some great theological discussions on the show. They cover some very deep stuff but they do so in a very understandable way. Give it a listen!"
http://www.godwhisperers.com/
http://www.godwhisperers.com/
Wednesday 9 September 2009
All New Flower Beds
As most of my family know I love flower gardens, if I had my way the whole yard would be nothing but flowerbeds. That being said this is what I managed to accomplish this spring and early summer. Even though our spring was very late or non-existent on the nice days you could find me outside digging flower beds. In case you have forgotten what the back of the house looked like when we purchased it I've added a picture.
The back of the house faces South with the back of the shed facing East.
These beds are on the east and north side of the shed. We had to raise the east bed, while digging out the driveway, to make room for the motor home, we moved topsoil to areas that needed to be raised, the east side of the shed was one of those areas. Some of the plants have finished blooming, they are all new most are transplanted from parishioners gardens, divided perennials do not have many flowers the first year. The delphiniums are finished as are the tiger lilies, most of the colour comes from the few annuals that I purchased or members of the congregation gave me.
A closer view of the north side of the shed, the ornamental grass will probably be moved as I am thinking of adding a small water feature on that corner. I love adding rocks to the garden to give interest.
This is a small bed that I made by the steps, the bed is east of the deck and south of the house. You will notice I brought my old runners that were in the garden at Nipigon and Gram ma Emma's purse, my frog garden ornament is also there. The tall delphiniums are just about finished. I have lots of hens and chicks in both the shoes and the purse and the ground with a few other plants to fill in and a couple of annuals to add colour. My only flower box is on the deck to appear part of this garden.
On the east side of the house I found peonies, lots of peonies, which I dug up and once all the weeds were clear I replanted many of the roots, they never bloom the first year after transplanting. I plan to mainly have interesting greenery in this bed with hostas, elephant ears, Bergenia's, for flowers: columbines. Next spring I shall take advantage of the early sales on hostas to add here and I might just dig up most of the peonies as there are just too many.
The concrete patio has a small flowerbed against the south side of the house but the few plants I put here will be moved and will be replaced with planters to cut down on the amount of water that is sprayed against the house. As you see we love to encourage the birds to the garden, our cats TV. I find it hard always winding and unwinding the hose so it usually sits on the concrete as you see it in this picture, it doesn't look very tidy we will have to try something else to make watering easier for me.
This flower bed is on the west side of the house against the chainlink fence of the school playing field. I had two big cauliflowers in this small space which have been cut and eaten. The tall plants at the back, I have no idea what they are called, but they are a late blooming flower to add interest in the fall. I have various types of day lilies, a white veronica and a purple veronica (which isn't in the picture), the other flowers are annuals with of course my rabbit garden ornament.
I just had to take a picture of a cauliflower that is in the garden. This is the third one that was big enough to harvest, as you can see from the leaves this is truly organic no powder was used to keep the cabbage butterflies away so the heads have to be cleaned really really well to get rid of all the green caterpillars.
So there you are, my gardens that I worked on this year. Hopefully next year I can work on the front of the home to add colour and interest. Of course that will all depend on if we get the porch repaired or replaced. I hope you enjoyed walking with me through my garden.
The back of the house faces South with the back of the shed facing East.
These beds are on the east and north side of the shed. We had to raise the east bed, while digging out the driveway, to make room for the motor home, we moved topsoil to areas that needed to be raised, the east side of the shed was one of those areas. Some of the plants have finished blooming, they are all new most are transplanted from parishioners gardens, divided perennials do not have many flowers the first year. The delphiniums are finished as are the tiger lilies, most of the colour comes from the few annuals that I purchased or members of the congregation gave me.
A closer view of the north side of the shed, the ornamental grass will probably be moved as I am thinking of adding a small water feature on that corner. I love adding rocks to the garden to give interest.
This is a small bed that I made by the steps, the bed is east of the deck and south of the house. You will notice I brought my old runners that were in the garden at Nipigon and Gram ma Emma's purse, my frog garden ornament is also there. The tall delphiniums are just about finished. I have lots of hens and chicks in both the shoes and the purse and the ground with a few other plants to fill in and a couple of annuals to add colour. My only flower box is on the deck to appear part of this garden.
On the east side of the house I found peonies, lots of peonies, which I dug up and once all the weeds were clear I replanted many of the roots, they never bloom the first year after transplanting. I plan to mainly have interesting greenery in this bed with hostas, elephant ears, Bergenia's, for flowers: columbines. Next spring I shall take advantage of the early sales on hostas to add here and I might just dig up most of the peonies as there are just too many.
The concrete patio has a small flowerbed against the south side of the house but the few plants I put here will be moved and will be replaced with planters to cut down on the amount of water that is sprayed against the house. As you see we love to encourage the birds to the garden, our cats TV. I find it hard always winding and unwinding the hose so it usually sits on the concrete as you see it in this picture, it doesn't look very tidy we will have to try something else to make watering easier for me.
This flower bed is on the west side of the house against the chainlink fence of the school playing field. I had two big cauliflowers in this small space which have been cut and eaten. The tall plants at the back, I have no idea what they are called, but they are a late blooming flower to add interest in the fall. I have various types of day lilies, a white veronica and a purple veronica (which isn't in the picture), the other flowers are annuals with of course my rabbit garden ornament.
I just had to take a picture of a cauliflower that is in the garden. This is the third one that was big enough to harvest, as you can see from the leaves this is truly organic no powder was used to keep the cabbage butterflies away so the heads have to be cleaned really really well to get rid of all the green caterpillars.So there you are, my gardens that I worked on this year. Hopefully next year I can work on the front of the home to add colour and interest. Of course that will all depend on if we get the porch repaired or replaced. I hope you enjoyed walking with me through my garden.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
We are now into September and still nothing much has happened to write about. Last Friday I went for an interview, which I though went really well. It was an accounting position at a non-profit group who build and rent low rental units and are involved in various other activities. They are linked with the Habitat recycle shop, the Community Kitchens, and handle grant moneys for organizations that are not incorporated. I think it would be a good fit for me.
Looking for work when you have so much experience is tough. People don't want to pay a really experienced person, they only want to hire individuals with minimal experience. I don't even get phone calls to see if I would be interested. The other downside to looking for work here is they offer below average salaries, which means taking a cut in pay if I do get offered a job.
I do have lots to keep me busy at home though. Trying to keep the yard looking presentable without starting any new flowerbeds is hard work. Not the starting flowerbeds is easy. The lawn, if you can call it that, gets too long for our push mower which means once we've mowed I then have to go round and pull out the weeds that did not get cut because they were too high. We all know that weeds grow far faster than the grass. I would love to have the funds to rip the whole of the yard out and start again but there really isn't any point to doing that until we decide what to will do with the front porch.
The front porch needs leveling and does not have any proper footings. Putting footings under an existing porch will be hard. We are now considering ripping out the existing closed in porch to put up an open porch that would have the illusion of being a wrap around. If we do that where will the freezer live? We could purchase two smaller freezers to put in the basement and sell our large one, unless anyone can come up with a plan on how to get the large one into the basement. Once we have decided on the porch we then have to change the siding and we have no idea what is under the old wood siding. Landscaping will have to wait until we sort these two things out.
Keeping up with the house work is also very hard. With no air conditioning and sealed windows on the main floor, so no cross breeze, it isn't long before I am dripping and exhausted. Richard does the upstairs because there are carpets up there and it is too hard for me to vacuum.
The other things I have that can keep me busy are my many sewing projects that need doing, and of course there is always work to be done on my One Name Study. I recently finished transcribing all the entries in the USA 1930 Census for my BOXALL and variant name.
So there you have it although I haven't had any offers for work I do have enough to keep my days pretty full.
Looking for work when you have so much experience is tough. People don't want to pay a really experienced person, they only want to hire individuals with minimal experience. I don't even get phone calls to see if I would be interested. The other downside to looking for work here is they offer below average salaries, which means taking a cut in pay if I do get offered a job.
I do have lots to keep me busy at home though. Trying to keep the yard looking presentable without starting any new flowerbeds is hard work. Not the starting flowerbeds is easy. The lawn, if you can call it that, gets too long for our push mower which means once we've mowed I then have to go round and pull out the weeds that did not get cut because they were too high. We all know that weeds grow far faster than the grass. I would love to have the funds to rip the whole of the yard out and start again but there really isn't any point to doing that until we decide what to will do with the front porch.
The front porch needs leveling and does not have any proper footings. Putting footings under an existing porch will be hard. We are now considering ripping out the existing closed in porch to put up an open porch that would have the illusion of being a wrap around. If we do that where will the freezer live? We could purchase two smaller freezers to put in the basement and sell our large one, unless anyone can come up with a plan on how to get the large one into the basement. Once we have decided on the porch we then have to change the siding and we have no idea what is under the old wood siding. Landscaping will have to wait until we sort these two things out.
Keeping up with the house work is also very hard. With no air conditioning and sealed windows on the main floor, so no cross breeze, it isn't long before I am dripping and exhausted. Richard does the upstairs because there are carpets up there and it is too hard for me to vacuum.
The other things I have that can keep me busy are my many sewing projects that need doing, and of course there is always work to be done on my One Name Study. I recently finished transcribing all the entries in the USA 1930 Census for my BOXALL and variant name.
So there you have it although I haven't had any offers for work I do have enough to keep my days pretty full.
Monday 3 August 2009
GOLDEN WEB
One of the items that Richard brought home was this picture: Golden Web by Alison Kobylnyk of Victoria, BC. This is art made with materials. I've taken this on an angle so you can see the wonderful spider web detailing. As soon as I saw this picture I knew where it would hang.
Here it is hanging above my bed in the blue room. The colours in the picture just make the room pop. It is as if this picture was made for this room.
This is a gift from Aunt Moneca and I love it, one would almost think she had seen this room and knew exactly what it needed to finish the rooms decor.
The other gift that I am thrilled with are the windchimes from Mom. If you go to this website:
http://seagifts.com/chimofwesbyw.html
you will see what they are like. I've wanted a set of "Westminster" windchimes since Mom received hers on retiring from work it was at that moment I knew which chimes I wanted to have hanging in our yard. Richard is going to hang them high on our home because things are not that safe left out in your yards. But I will still hear them and enjoy them for years to come.
Once the chimes are hung I will post a picture here.
What happened on the way home!
Once Richards nose is pointed t0wards home he drives as long as he is able, which is, more often than not, the rest of the way with very small breaks for snacks, bathroom and maybe a catnap. He will also work out a route that would miss major cities and lots of traffic.
Richard arrived home on Thursday morning at 8:30. He had dropped Aunt Moneca off, at her home in Salmon Arm, B.C., at Noon on the Wednesday. In theory he should not have been home until late Thursday afternoon.
This trip was true to form instead of using the major highways he took the less traveled ones, which didn't matter until he reach Saskatchewan. He decided to use highway 3 and reach Prince Albert from the north. What he didn't know was there was road works on that highway. He made a decision which proved to be a bad one for our vehicle.
I gather as he turned onto highway 3 there were three pilons across the road, which only left one small open lane on the opposite side of the road. There were no signs to give him any details, the one side was quite a bit higher than the other so his thoughts were the pilons were to indicate the difference in road height. There were tracks on the right side so he moved over to the right side so he wasn't driving towards oncoming traffic. The road surface felt weird but he figured that it had been oiled to keep the dust down. This was quite a long stretch and several vehicles passed coming from the other direction which would have meant he would still have had to move over to the right of the road.
To cut a long story short our car is now covered in tar, not a few splatters of tar, but a thick layer at the bottom and splattering up to the windows especially on the drivers side. you will see from the pictures, our car is black so it is a little difficult to tell. Let me just say that our hubcaps are not black but a mat silver.
This is the passenger side hubcaps are the correct colour but look at the lower section of door, see how black it is and the bottom of the bumper.
This is the drivers side, I know it looks very clean but that intense black is tar, check out the hubcaps and tire, the bumper and back light, all this is tar. The splatters are on the windows.
Here is a closer look at the back tire. We have yet to get an estimate on having this mess cleaned off but we believe it will be between $500 - $1,000.
The lesson here, it does not always pay to go the fastest and less traveled route.
Richard arrived home on Thursday morning at 8:30. He had dropped Aunt Moneca off, at her home in Salmon Arm, B.C., at Noon on the Wednesday. In theory he should not have been home until late Thursday afternoon.
This trip was true to form instead of using the major highways he took the less traveled ones, which didn't matter until he reach Saskatchewan. He decided to use highway 3 and reach Prince Albert from the north. What he didn't know was there was road works on that highway. He made a decision which proved to be a bad one for our vehicle.
I gather as he turned onto highway 3 there were three pilons across the road, which only left one small open lane on the opposite side of the road. There were no signs to give him any details, the one side was quite a bit higher than the other so his thoughts were the pilons were to indicate the difference in road height. There were tracks on the right side so he moved over to the right side so he wasn't driving towards oncoming traffic. The road surface felt weird but he figured that it had been oiled to keep the dust down. This was quite a long stretch and several vehicles passed coming from the other direction which would have meant he would still have had to move over to the right of the road.
To cut a long story short our car is now covered in tar, not a few splatters of tar, but a thick layer at the bottom and splattering up to the windows especially on the drivers side. you will see from the pictures, our car is black so it is a little difficult to tell. Let me just say that our hubcaps are not black but a mat silver.
This is the passenger side hubcaps are the correct colour but look at the lower section of door, see how black it is and the bottom of the bumper.
This is the drivers side, I know it looks very clean but that intense black is tar, check out the hubcaps and tire, the bumper and back light, all this is tar. The splatters are on the windows.
Here is a closer look at the back tire. We have yet to get an estimate on having this mess cleaned off but we believe it will be between $500 - $1,000. The lesson here, it does not always pay to go the fastest and less traveled route.
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Church Programs Wrap-up for the Summer
I have never truly got used to Church programs stopping during the summer. You would think after all these years in Canada I would understand that summer time means holiday time. Our congregation has several groups; the voters meeting (which usually consists of the council and committee leaders) held their last meeting in June and will not have another one now until September.
Next to wrap-up for the summer were the Golden Agers. We were invited to have a picnic at Hilda's acreage. The day was a little on the windy side but several of us ventured outside to play bocce ball and another fun game, which was new to me, Bolo Toss or Ladder Golf;
http://thefuntimesguide.com/2005/10/bolotossladders.php
Several of us also took time to walk around Hilda's property admiring the many different plants and trees.
We picnicked inside on lawn chairs as it was a little too windy for most of the seniors to sit outside. There were a few brave ones, mainly the men, who sat on the deck. I joined the ladies inside as you can see. I still have my hat on, by now I was suffering from 'hat head' after being outside playing games.
We managed to tire Richard out and here you see him having 40 winks. The ladies thought that was funny and teased him just a little.
The last order of the day was to have cake and ice-cream. As I've said before you can't have a celebration with out a cake. They celebrated everyone's birthday that fell during January to June. We also gave special recognition to those who have not missed a Golden Agers gathering from September 2008 to June 2009.
The next group to wrap things up for the summer were the LWML. The ladies met at the church for supper which was catered so everyone could sit and enjoy the evening.
Here are just a few enjoying their meal. After we had eating we shared stories about our lives and had some fun with jokes and humourous articles that Gerdie had found. Pat brought everything to a close with a responsive Bible reading, songs and prayer.
These are our LWML ladies who will meet again in September. While the ladies were having their time together at the church Pastor invited the men to our home for an impromptu men's gathering where they drank beer, ate junk food and after a game of ring golf outside they watched Richard's sport highlight tapes that he has made over the years. I gather they had a good time although no pictures were taken.
The one event I am so happy will continue is the Sunday morning Bible Study. There are members who will not attend just because they aren't used to having Bible Study in the summer so our numbers are down but what a lot we are learning as Pastor opens up the parables to us.
Summer is here and families do many things together, but let us not forget that Christ should be first and foremost in our lives and Sunday Services will continue as they should.
Next to wrap-up for the summer were the Golden Agers. We were invited to have a picnic at Hilda's acreage. The day was a little on the windy side but several of us ventured outside to play bocce ball and another fun game, which was new to me, Bolo Toss or Ladder Golf;
http://thefuntimesguide.com/2005/10/bolotossladders.php
Several of us also took time to walk around Hilda's property admiring the many different plants and trees.
We picnicked inside on lawn chairs as it was a little too windy for most of the seniors to sit outside. There were a few brave ones, mainly the men, who sat on the deck. I joined the ladies inside as you can see. I still have my hat on, by now I was suffering from 'hat head' after being outside playing games.
We managed to tire Richard out and here you see him having 40 winks. The ladies thought that was funny and teased him just a little.
The last order of the day was to have cake and ice-cream. As I've said before you can't have a celebration with out a cake. They celebrated everyone's birthday that fell during January to June. We also gave special recognition to those who have not missed a Golden Agers gathering from September 2008 to June 2009.The next group to wrap things up for the summer were the LWML. The ladies met at the church for supper which was catered so everyone could sit and enjoy the evening.
Here are just a few enjoying their meal. After we had eating we shared stories about our lives and had some fun with jokes and humourous articles that Gerdie had found. Pat brought everything to a close with a responsive Bible reading, songs and prayer.
These are our LWML ladies who will meet again in September. While the ladies were having their time together at the church Pastor invited the men to our home for an impromptu men's gathering where they drank beer, ate junk food and after a game of ring golf outside they watched Richard's sport highlight tapes that he has made over the years. I gather they had a good time although no pictures were taken.The one event I am so happy will continue is the Sunday morning Bible Study. There are members who will not attend just because they aren't used to having Bible Study in the summer so our numbers are down but what a lot we are learning as Pastor opens up the parables to us.
Summer is here and families do many things together, but let us not forget that Christ should be first and foremost in our lives and Sunday Services will continue as they should.
10th Anniversary
Richard has been a Pastor for ten years and our congregation celebrated with him by having a special luncheon. It was not possible for this to be a surprise as Richard does the bulletins each week and it was requested that he put an announcement in the Bulletin for this occasion.
As you see Richard is sitting in a chair while Brian Maier read the small devotion that is printed in the Lectionary for such an occasion. Just as a Candidate on the occasion of his Ordination sits on a chair in front of the congregation it was only fitting that Richard should once more sit on that chair during the devotion.
Unknown to Richard our Lutheran Life (Faith Life) chapter of the congregation wrote to Faith Life to inform them that their Pastor was celebrating his tenth anniversary. In recognition of this faith Life sent a cheque to be presented to Richard at this celebration. What a wonderful surprise. Brian Poir did the presentation.
Brian had a few more words to say then he past things to Pat Rocheleau.
Pat asked me to come forward where she presented me with a tray of annual plants for our garden in acknowledgment of my support to my husband and his ministry these past ten years.
And of course you cannot have a celebration without a cake. To add to the memories Verna did not know how to spell our last name. She did not realise that like her last name begins with 'sch' our's ends with it in true German form.
Pastor cut his cake, it was his special celebration so he cut the cake alone.
Sunday 31 May 2009
Prince Albert Relay for Life is
On Friday May 29th I took part in the Relay for Life at the Harry Jerome Track in Prince Albert. This is an annual event where teams come together and walk around the track all night each member taking a turn or several members of the team on the track at a time. This all done to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Marjorie from our church felt I should take part so I signed up with Helen, Marjorie and Julie (Julie was unable to join us). There are many different coloured t-shirts handed out, the survivors of Cancer are yellow. Team members are white or they dress up in various constumes, committee members are orange, volunteers are blue.
Here we are waiting for the event to begin. Although the sun was shining the wind had picked up and was very cold. I was determined to have fun so I wore my fancy leg cover. It is supposed to be green lightening Richard says it looks like mold. I also had on a lime green t-shirt but had subsequently covered that with my sweater then the survivors t-shirt.
After much standing around while the various committee members and dignitaries gave their speeches, this was hard on me as I find it harder to stand still than I do to actually walk. We had various groups represented as our escort around the track. The RCMP Officers in their Red Serge. City Police, Firemen, Sea and Air Cadets and several other groups that I now forget. Two survivors carried a white banner on which each survivor taking part had outlined their hand with their name and how long they had been cancer free written in the middle. I have now been cancer free for 8 years.
Here we are doing our victory lap. As you can see I used my hiking poles to help keep me balanced I also find they allow me to have more stamina to take part in such activities where I need to do a lot of walking (for instance shopping).
The next set of photos show some of the teams that took part in the actual relay. One or more members of the teams would be walking all night. As the sun was going down it was getting colder. I had already finished my lap and was sitting down with Marjorie's extra jacket on and a blanket around my legs. It was hard to take pictures from this location so I finally went closer to the track to take these of the teams.
The name of this team is the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.
This team had several youngsters and they all wore top hats and tails and carried canes they looked so cute.
This picture really doesn't do the Legal Eagles justice! They wore black gowns with their white wigs and bird beak on the forehead.
These are only a few of the 80+ teams that participated. Once everyone had circled the track once the official relay began. We went off to the Survivor's tent to have a bite to eat and a hot drink to warm up. Once we left the tent we did another lap of the track.
During the evening and night there would be entertainment. While we were still there they were shaving heads of those who had raised money for this event. One girl had raised $11,055 to have her hair cut off. Even though it was getting to be very cold I was glad I was there to witness this event. There were 200+ survivors signed up for the victory lap but many did not show probably due to the weather.
I decided I would like to walk the track again, this time to find my luminary.
This is my bag. They have a special coating on the bags so they do not burn, then holes in the sides, sand is placed in the bag and a candle. At 10:30 pm they would light all the candles. The bags lining the track were either for those who are survivors or in memory of those who have lost their battle with cancer. Marjorie told me she wrote 800 of the bags, she did this one for me and wrote the inscription on the bottom.
As we walked around the track we looked for her mother's and husband's who had both lost the battle and her's. We also looked for a few other luminaries of other family members of her friends or church people.
Hear I am standing behind my luminary.
At 10:30 the Luminary Ceremony began. The Prince Albert Highland Pipe Band played Amazing Grace while the candles were all lite. Then there was a minute of silence while we remembered all those who had lost the fight. After that Megan Fournier sang Ava Maria. I was not able to get a picture of the sign once it was lite up but you can imagine how moving it was, not only to see these all glowing but also all the bags around the track. They would be left burning all night.
By the time we left for home, around 11:00 pm, I had actually walked the track three times, not all at once, but at various times in the few hours we were there. I've had trouble getting back to walking any distance this year so I am proud of my accomplishments during this activity.
Marjorie from our church felt I should take part so I signed up with Helen, Marjorie and Julie (Julie was unable to join us). There are many different coloured t-shirts handed out, the survivors of Cancer are yellow. Team members are white or they dress up in various constumes, committee members are orange, volunteers are blue.
Here we are waiting for the event to begin. Although the sun was shining the wind had picked up and was very cold. I was determined to have fun so I wore my fancy leg cover. It is supposed to be green lightening Richard says it looks like mold. I also had on a lime green t-shirt but had subsequently covered that with my sweater then the survivors t-shirt.
After much standing around while the various committee members and dignitaries gave their speeches, this was hard on me as I find it harder to stand still than I do to actually walk. We had various groups represented as our escort around the track. The RCMP Officers in their Red Serge. City Police, Firemen, Sea and Air Cadets and several other groups that I now forget. Two survivors carried a white banner on which each survivor taking part had outlined their hand with their name and how long they had been cancer free written in the middle. I have now been cancer free for 8 years.
Here we are doing our victory lap. As you can see I used my hiking poles to help keep me balanced I also find they allow me to have more stamina to take part in such activities where I need to do a lot of walking (for instance shopping).
The next set of photos show some of the teams that took part in the actual relay. One or more members of the teams would be walking all night. As the sun was going down it was getting colder. I had already finished my lap and was sitting down with Marjorie's extra jacket on and a blanket around my legs. It was hard to take pictures from this location so I finally went closer to the track to take these of the teams.
The name of this team is the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.
This team had several youngsters and they all wore top hats and tails and carried canes they looked so cute.
This picture really doesn't do the Legal Eagles justice! They wore black gowns with their white wigs and bird beak on the forehead.
These are only a few of the 80+ teams that participated. Once everyone had circled the track once the official relay began. We went off to the Survivor's tent to have a bite to eat and a hot drink to warm up. Once we left the tent we did another lap of the track.During the evening and night there would be entertainment. While we were still there they were shaving heads of those who had raised money for this event. One girl had raised $11,055 to have her hair cut off. Even though it was getting to be very cold I was glad I was there to witness this event. There were 200+ survivors signed up for the victory lap but many did not show probably due to the weather.
I decided I would like to walk the track again, this time to find my luminary.
This is my bag. They have a special coating on the bags so they do not burn, then holes in the sides, sand is placed in the bag and a candle. At 10:30 pm they would light all the candles. The bags lining the track were either for those who are survivors or in memory of those who have lost their battle with cancer. Marjorie told me she wrote 800 of the bags, she did this one for me and wrote the inscription on the bottom.
As we walked around the track we looked for her mother's and husband's who had both lost the battle and her's. We also looked for a few other luminaries of other family members of her friends or church people.
Hear I am standing behind my luminary.
At 10:30 the Luminary Ceremony began. The Prince Albert Highland Pipe Band played Amazing Grace while the candles were all lite. Then there was a minute of silence while we remembered all those who had lost the fight. After that Megan Fournier sang Ava Maria. I was not able to get a picture of the sign once it was lite up but you can imagine how moving it was, not only to see these all glowing but also all the bags around the track. They would be left burning all night.By the time we left for home, around 11:00 pm, I had actually walked the track three times, not all at once, but at various times in the few hours we were there. I've had trouble getting back to walking any distance this year so I am proud of my accomplishments during this activity.
Thursday 7 May 2009
Snow in May
Not only can you see the snow we had yesterday but you can also see our house. Two days ago we had temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius, today the temperature is -2 with snow on the ground. It matches how I'm feeling, I have my first cold in at least three years.
As you can see all the trees that we wanted removed are now history. The City came and took out the Maple by the house and pruned the three that are left. We still have the two Spruce in the front and another two in the back. The house should be able to breath and maybe the rot in the siding will slow down.
You would be amazed at how much brighter it is inside our home. No longer do we have that closed in feeling. Now we can see out the windows we plan to utilize the porch during the summer. Our couch, that would not fit inside the house, we will put on the porch through one of the side windows, which we can now access with the trees gone. The freezer we will move to the other side of the porch so we can utilize the larger window. We will fix the coffee table and put that out there in front of the couch, put a table cloth over the freezer so it can act as a table. Richards bike we will store in the basement or shed depending where it will fit.
Saturday 18 April 2009
Spring Clean Up
One of the biggest jobs outside is the spring clean up. So this week I began the task of raking up previous years leaves and grass cuttings. I started on Wednesday and the first picture shows how much I accomplished first time out . I began at the Maple on the side of the house, which the City is supposed to be removing for us and managed to get half way down the length of the house on the East side.
The following day I began at the same Maple but this time worked towards the avenue. These photos do not really give a true idea of how much leaves and grass is actually being raked up.
Friday I gave my body a rest and began again today, Saturday. I finished raking under the spruce, again this tree will be removed, and worked towards the Maple in the corner, which the City will prune for us. I cleaned from the sidewalk around the power pole and Maple creating another pile of leaves etc.
My efforts for today were not complete, I began raking the other direction across the front of the property. I cleaned under the Spruce and the other side of the Maple and worked towards the next Maple tree. By this time I was beginning to ache so decided to try another activity.
Still in the front yard. Having no success finding the ice chipper, Richard probably locked it in the shed and I don't have a key, I use the ice chipper in the Spring and Summer as an edging tool, I made do with the spade. We wanted to know how far our front sidewalk went and so I scraped out the overgrown lawn edges only to find out that it does not go very far from the step near the Maple trees. There is a chance there could be another step here and I need to dig down further to find the path but I don't think that is the case.
As I was already in the front with the spade I figured it would be a good idea to the lawn at the front sidewalk. This is my efforts for today, there is a good six to eight inches of grass grown onto the sidewalk. I worked back to the same level as my pile of raked leaves and called it a day. I'll suffer tomorrow for my efforts but seeing the yard beginning to look clean and a little cared for is well worth the pain of the next few days. It's weird but I have always done the raking from the moment I first lived in a house with a garden. Neither my first husband nor Richard have ever been predisposed to do any raking, without my efforts it would never get done. Come to think of it I believe I did a lot of the raking when I was a child too.
Friday 17 April 2009
A Visit from Ian
This picture was taken yesterday morning (April 16th). At 8:00 am the phone rang; it was Ian "had we had breakfast yet?" No we hadn't so he asked us to wait and he would be here in about and hour and a half.
He had taken the Greyhound bus from Calgary to Saskatoon to purchase a truck he had seen advertised. An acquaintance had checked the vehicle out for him once Ian had a good report he agreed to purchase the truck. So here he was in Saskatoon just over an hour away from us.
I was so excited. Our children do not visit very often and I miss them all so very much. To have one of them, out of the blue, tell us they will be at the house within the two hours was wonderful.
Once here we headed out to Smitty's for breakfast and had a great time visiting. Discussing his work and how happy we are living here in Prince Albert. The shame was he could not stay long as he was on duty the next day. Once we were back at our house he took a short nap and then had a shower. Richard and Ian took a quick spin in the new vehicle going to NAPA for an air filter and Richard needed a replacement for the sledge hammer he had purchase from Canadian Tire just the other day, the handle had split on him. So they took Ian's truck and ran their errands.
It was sad that he could only stay for a short time, but I would take just a short quick visit like that than the years of not seeing any of our children.
This is one happy Mum still basking in the visit from her son.
Work or not to work
My plan, once we had settled, was to find a job where I could work just three days a week, preferably Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
I had seen a bookkeeping position advertised for quite some time, at least since January. The company were looking for someone with just basic bookkeeping skills and about three years of experience. As it was a full-time position I kept passing it by. I got to thinking about it and thought I could probably do the job in three days each week. I decided that I would offer my services but for three days a week. I felt I had more experience than they were looking for and was sure I could do the work in less time. Knowing that the industry they were in would not really have very much work in the winter.
I phoned the company, went for an initial interview. It sounded like they would be willing to make the position part-time. I left the interview feeling very confident, they wanted to check my references before proceeding any further.
I received a phone call the following week asking me to come back to discuss the position and wages. He had spoken to my previous employers and said that to his enquiry they informed him I had left very good manuals for that position. At once bells began to ring. Why would he want to know if I left manuals on how to do my job? What bearing did that have on the position he was offering?
Anyway I went to chat with him again, this time he had me write a test. I was not impressed but took his test. After checking my answers we talked again about the position.
This is what he finally offered me. For $15 an hour he would want me to complete the previous years Financial Statements and clean up the mess that had been left by the previous person. She had left in July and their year end was November. He expected me to complete this in three weeks. He wanted me to write a manual for the position with a completion deadline of five maybe six months. Plus keep the everyday work up to date. All for the grand wage of $15.00 an hour. If I meet his deadlines he would bonus me back $5 an hour for the first deadline and then maybe another $3 or $4 an hour after the next deadline.
None of this sat well with me. There was no safeguard for me, he could utilize all my abilities and not like what I do or put other hurdles in the way. There was no guarantee that he would actually pay me a final wage of $23 or $24 an hour. Not only did I feel completely insulted by his offer but felt his intent was to use me. Once he had what he needed that would be the end of the position for me. Of course he did mention other perks such as cost plus 10% on any stock items I purchased; and the company gas credit card once in a while if I used my car for company business. Both of these items I would expect.
He kept telling me he had been burned in the past and did not intend to have that happen again. He also told me he had another person he was thinking of hiring but she would take more training than I would and was looking for full-time work. I told him I don't have to work I was just looking to get out of the house for a few days each week.
My final decision was; thank you but no thank you. I told him $15 an hour was far too low even with the possible bonuses.
I was not putting myself it that sort of position where he held all the cards. As for the other person who he was considering hiring, obviously a fabrication, in the week-end paper was an advert for the bookkeeping position. I'm not so desperate for work that I would take a position that paid me almost $10 an hour under what I believe I'm worth.
I had seen a bookkeeping position advertised for quite some time, at least since January. The company were looking for someone with just basic bookkeeping skills and about three years of experience. As it was a full-time position I kept passing it by. I got to thinking about it and thought I could probably do the job in three days each week. I decided that I would offer my services but for three days a week. I felt I had more experience than they were looking for and was sure I could do the work in less time. Knowing that the industry they were in would not really have very much work in the winter.
I phoned the company, went for an initial interview. It sounded like they would be willing to make the position part-time. I left the interview feeling very confident, they wanted to check my references before proceeding any further.
I received a phone call the following week asking me to come back to discuss the position and wages. He had spoken to my previous employers and said that to his enquiry they informed him I had left very good manuals for that position. At once bells began to ring. Why would he want to know if I left manuals on how to do my job? What bearing did that have on the position he was offering?
Anyway I went to chat with him again, this time he had me write a test. I was not impressed but took his test. After checking my answers we talked again about the position.
This is what he finally offered me. For $15 an hour he would want me to complete the previous years Financial Statements and clean up the mess that had been left by the previous person. She had left in July and their year end was November. He expected me to complete this in three weeks. He wanted me to write a manual for the position with a completion deadline of five maybe six months. Plus keep the everyday work up to date. All for the grand wage of $15.00 an hour. If I meet his deadlines he would bonus me back $5 an hour for the first deadline and then maybe another $3 or $4 an hour after the next deadline.
None of this sat well with me. There was no safeguard for me, he could utilize all my abilities and not like what I do or put other hurdles in the way. There was no guarantee that he would actually pay me a final wage of $23 or $24 an hour. Not only did I feel completely insulted by his offer but felt his intent was to use me. Once he had what he needed that would be the end of the position for me. Of course he did mention other perks such as cost plus 10% on any stock items I purchased; and the company gas credit card once in a while if I used my car for company business. Both of these items I would expect.
He kept telling me he had been burned in the past and did not intend to have that happen again. He also told me he had another person he was thinking of hiring but she would take more training than I would and was looking for full-time work. I told him I don't have to work I was just looking to get out of the house for a few days each week.
My final decision was; thank you but no thank you. I told him $15 an hour was far too low even with the possible bonuses.
I was not putting myself it that sort of position where he held all the cards. As for the other person who he was considering hiring, obviously a fabrication, in the week-end paper was an advert for the bookkeeping position. I'm not so desperate for work that I would take a position that paid me almost $10 an hour under what I believe I'm worth.
Friday 27 March 2009
What a great day
All my cards and my flowers
My Birthday morning arrived I awoke to my first treat, a special cup of English toffee coffee nice and frothy and the first of many cards. Once up and about the treats and cards continued to come. I opened the cupboard where I keep my bullet cups for making my morning smoothie and there in the cup was a bag of maltesers, I love maltesers. There was another card on my chair. Richard went off to the church to work and I continued getting ready for the rest of my day.
Richard came home for lunch with the news that he would be staying home for the evening. Tuesday is his night for teaching confirmation class, the class was canceled for that evening, not because it was my birthday,one of the girls was not well. We decided that we would decide during the afternoon if we would go out for supper or stay home.
As I had plans to go out for the afternoon Richard went to the gym to work-out as usual. Jeanette from church picked me up at three and drove me over to Shananigans coffee house. Gerdie met us there and we had special coffee and a fruit cup dessert. Jeanette was disappointed that none of the other ladies from church were able to join us. It was a great afternoon out.
As I had already gone out during the afternoon I was quite happy to stay home for the evening. Before Richard prepared supper he handed me another birthday bag which had a bar of Walker's Traditional Slab Toffee inside. I have been craving this toffee for months and it is hard to find here in Canada. On Sunday we went into Winners, after lunch with Pat and Merv, where Richard saw the English import of my favourite toffee. Of course that wasn't the only item in the bag there was another card.
Supper was Richard's wonderful chili with chopped fresh tomatoes and grated cheese on top. It was so good. I always like something sweet after dinner and Richard out did himself. He had purchased a toffee cheese cake which he served with toffee crunch ice cream, fresh raspberries and blackberries, talk about decadent.
Another bag was handed to me with yet another toffee slab and card. Then came my main gift. I have a brand new Sony Vaio Laptop computer. Of course I am using this evening to type this blog. The first advantage of of having a laptop is that I can sit in front of the TV and type while watching my favourite shows and spending time with Richard.
What made the day so special were the phone messages that I received. Yes it meant I had missed all the calls from the children but each one had left a message for me. First one was Kegan wishing Nanny a Happy Birthday, it was so cute. Next was Ian with a happy birthday wish and a reminder of his phone number. The final message was from Evette with a promise that she would phone later, which she did later in the evening once Zachary was in bed.
I love having birthdays, I never worry and it does not bother me how old I get, I love the fuss that my darling husband makes of me. Many will think six birthday cards a bit overboard but I love cards and love the fact that he puts them where I will find them and be surprised. My last card was on my pillow when I turned in for the night.
Thank you Richard for making my day so special.
Friday 20 March 2009
5 Pin Bowling
On Sunday the congregation had an afternoon out to 5 pin bowl and pizza afterwards. Richard signed us both up for the fun.
I have not been 5 pin bowling since my kids left to live with their father. Of course I had two good legs back then. Also back then I would pride myself in not being too bad a bowler.
Bowling today is quite a challenge (different from bowling in our living room on the Wii too!). The first hurdle was finding bowling shoes that would fit my prosthesis, no success so they allowed me to wear a clean pair of runners that I brought with me. Verna had mixed up the teams really well, I was with Merv, Mark and Sheila. The two guys were obviously fairly good especially Merv who bowled a 232 on his second game this also was the high score of the afternoon. Sheila and I were fairly evenly matched although by the third game she did a lot better than me.
It was weird not being able to do my old stride forward and let the ball go. I had to walk to the edge of the alley, take a deep breath to focus my mind, aim, and then throw the bowling ball. I couldn't get the correct balance at all, by the third game I was over compensating for my lack of balance first right then left, gutters that is. I only managed one strike and no spare on all three games. I was disappointed I could not break 100.
I'm still proud of the fact that I went out and bowled. I didn't just watch because of my amputation, I actually participated. The time after the bowling was great, sharing pizza with everyone who came out. Richard took some time out to teach the teens how to play pool or billiards, not sure which one, they had a blast. This was a good Sunday afternoon of entertainment with our new church family and I look forward to many more.
Sorry there are no pictures but Richard and I forgot to bring our camera and I guess everyone else did to, so no pictures of the wild event.
I have not been 5 pin bowling since my kids left to live with their father. Of course I had two good legs back then. Also back then I would pride myself in not being too bad a bowler.
Bowling today is quite a challenge (different from bowling in our living room on the Wii too!). The first hurdle was finding bowling shoes that would fit my prosthesis, no success so they allowed me to wear a clean pair of runners that I brought with me. Verna had mixed up the teams really well, I was with Merv, Mark and Sheila. The two guys were obviously fairly good especially Merv who bowled a 232 on his second game this also was the high score of the afternoon. Sheila and I were fairly evenly matched although by the third game she did a lot better than me.
It was weird not being able to do my old stride forward and let the ball go. I had to walk to the edge of the alley, take a deep breath to focus my mind, aim, and then throw the bowling ball. I couldn't get the correct balance at all, by the third game I was over compensating for my lack of balance first right then left, gutters that is. I only managed one strike and no spare on all three games. I was disappointed I could not break 100.
I'm still proud of the fact that I went out and bowled. I didn't just watch because of my amputation, I actually participated. The time after the bowling was great, sharing pizza with everyone who came out. Richard took some time out to teach the teens how to play pool or billiards, not sure which one, they had a blast. This was a good Sunday afternoon of entertainment with our new church family and I look forward to many more.
Sorry there are no pictures but Richard and I forgot to bring our camera and I guess everyone else did to, so no pictures of the wild event.
Friday 13 March 2009
Outside Jobs Planned
These are not new pictures but old ones I've put notes on to make it easier to explain the work to be done, hopefully, in the Spring. That is, if spring ever comes!
This is the front of our home and as you can see there is so much forest you can barely see the house. The first order of the day is to get quotes to remove four trees and the two cedars from the property. Here I've marked the two cedars to be removed. 
I've marked three tress here. Numbers 1 and 2 are probably Elms, although they could be Maples, and they are probably on City property. If they are Elms we have to remove or prune before April 1st as per a City by law; Maples can be removed and pruned anytime. 
The next project; the need to replace all the eavestroughing on both sides of the house and along the front of the porch. Again four companies were contacted initially over a month ago, having heard from none of them I recontacted them two weeks ago. So far only one has been out to discuss what we would like and take measurements. No quotes have been received but we should here by Monday from the first company.
With the Eavestroughing we to remove the existing flashing that joins the porch to the house and replace it with flexible flashing. Once this is done the leaks into the porch should stop. We have also requested a quote for a zinc strip to be placed on the porch roof to stop the moss from growing there. The house faces north and this part of the roof will always be prone to moss growth even with the trees taken out. The house inspector informed us that the Zinc strip will impede the moss growth. This quote will also come from the companies who quote on the eavestroughing.
This is the front of our home and as you can see there is so much forest you can barely see the house. The first order of the day is to get quotes to remove four trees and the two cedars from the property. Here I've marked the two cedars to be removed. 
I've marked three tress here. Numbers 1 and 2 are probably Elms, although they could be Maples, and they are probably on City property. If they are Elms we have to remove or prune before April 1st as per a City by law; Maples can be removed and pruned anytime. Now if they do belong to the City and we cut them down there will be a fine. The fine being the value of two fully grown mature trees. Number 1 tree has grown against the house and is beginning to cause moss damage to our roof. If we do nothing to the tree our roof will need replacing a lot sooner than the estimated 6 to 8 years from now.
Tree number 3 is a spruce and is on our property therefore will be removed. Number 4 tree (not in any picture) is a Maple in the far bottom corner of our property. This area we intend to level in order to a place to park our motor home. The dirt from here will be used to regrade the land on the west side of the house.
I've called four tree removal companies and received two quotes to date. The first one is for $1,565, not including stump removal. The 2nd quote for exactly the same trees is for $790, also not including the stump removal. We still have two other companies to give us quotes. The City still needs to let us know if trees 1 & 2 are theirs and if they will remove them. If not both at least tree number 1 by the side of the house.
The next project; the need to replace all the eavestroughing on both sides of the house and along the front of the porch. Again four companies were contacted initially over a month ago, having heard from none of them I recontacted them two weeks ago. So far only one has been out to discuss what we would like and take measurements. No quotes have been received but we should here by Monday from the first company.
With the Eavestroughing we to remove the existing flashing that joins the porch to the house and replace it with flexible flashing. Once this is done the leaks into the porch should stop. We have also requested a quote for a zinc strip to be placed on the porch roof to stop the moss from growing there. The house faces north and this part of the roof will always be prone to moss growth even with the trees taken out. The house inspector informed us that the Zinc strip will impede the moss growth. This quote will also come from the companies who quote on the eavestroughing.
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