60th Birthday

My husband threw me a 'surprise' birthday party, except it wasn't a surprise, at least not the party.  The surprise was having my daughter, Evette, Smiley (Richard) and Zachary show up at the front door just before the party began.  I was so shocked, surprised and emotional that I cried.  Michelle had already arrived for the party so had answered the door.  I can't even now express the delight, happiness and many other emotions that went through me at that time as I cried tears of joy. 

I had teased Evette about insisting she come to celebrate my 60th birthday but not really meaning her too as I know funds are very tight for them and Victoria, BC is a long way from Prince Albert, SK.  They worked out their options for the costs of coming and realized that the cheapest way would be to drive.  Yes, they drove with a three year old to spend this special time with me.  The last time I saw them Zachary, my grandson, was only three months old and now here he was three and a half years old.  Of course we had chatted on Skype so I wasn't a complete stranger to him.  Evette said he was so excited all the way here until they arrived and then he became very shy.  It wasn't long before he was giving me a big hug.  This was a day I will not forget.

When Evette said she had an idea on how to surprise me for my birthday I fleetingly thought she's coming to visit but just as quickly dismissed the notion.  They drove all that way to spend from Friday evening until Tuesday morning with me.  Evette had to be back at work on Thursday.  Needless to say I took Monday off, phoning in to say my daughter and family were here and so I was staying home to spend quality time with them.

Those of you who follow my blog know that I have a big bathroom on the main floor which has a sunken jacuzzi jet tub.  We asked Zachary if he would like to use Nanny's big bath, of course he did.  Evette gave the bath a good clean filling it with water past the jets, adding vinegar, we ran the jets to clean them out.  We got Smiley to pop out to the garage and get my net that I skim the ponds off with and we used that to remove the yucky scum and bugs from the surface of the water.  After running the jets several times we let the water sit in the tub.  After a couple of hours we drained that and put a fresh batch of water and vinegar skimming off the top again anything that was unpleasant,  there wasn't much this second time and after letting it sit we drained the water, rinsed the tub and then Evette used a regular cleaner to give the bath a good scrub using a brush to scrub around the edges of the jets.  Once this was all rinsed off we felt the tub was clean enough for Zachary to use.

The excitement from our little man because he was having a bath in Nanny's big bath was wonderful.  Of course we had to have bubbles, using baby body wash and shampoo in the water we turned on the jets and here are some of the pictures I managed to capture during this bath time.

Before the jets were turned on.

While the jets were on, a very excited grandson. I love this picture as you can see the actual water drops in the air as he splashed excitedly.

Lots and lots of bubbles.

His favourite part was putting his face in the bubbles and then spitting them out.

Blowing into the bubbles

 

One happy little boy.

He had one other time in Nanny's big bath with bubbles but this time we told him to keep the water in the tub.  The first time the floor was swimming in water but Nanny didn't mind because I laughed so hard, it was wonderful to see him having so much fun in a tub that I will never be able to use.  We had quite a bit of water in the basement too.  It wasn't until he had his second bath in this tub that we realized that the bath leaks probably at several of the jet connections.  You know, I did not care.  This little man had so much fun that the water in the basement did not matter.

I was one very happy Nanny with an opportunity to watch my grandson have so much fun in his Nanny's big bath tub.

Allergies or Intolerant to foods

Those that know me will know that have to be careful what I eat.  Nitrates in processed meats now are a major problem, there are times when I would love to go and have a sub, but because they use processed meats I can no longer eat them.   We know that I can not eat oranges or grapefruit as I can have an asthma attack from just one orange.  Richard buys me those boxes of mini mandarin oranges I can have one or two but no more in one evening.

The large pails of ice-cream that are a staple in the summer, I can no longer have.  Because we never buy the big pails, there are times when I forget and have some ice-cream at church with-in the hour I am having an asthma attack.  I can eat the higher priced brands of ice-cream, that you pay twice as much for and only get a fraction of the amount you would get from a pail of ice-cream.  There is a substance in those pails of ice-cream that isn't in the more expensive brands that gives me an asthma attack, so ice-cream is a treat.  I also can no longer have the soft ice-cream or milk-shakes from fast food places.

The only wheat flour has to be highly processed and bleached and have no goodness left in it, for me to not feel so sick that I cannot function.  Every label has to be read.  You would not believe how many products have added gluten, wheat starch or may contain gluten on the label.  The littlest bit will have me feeling so ill within the hour that it is not worth even trying to have treat.  Enriched white flour we have to really read all the ingredients because in most cases it means, added gluten or wheat starch.

Take for instance tonight;  Richard had purchased some packets of shaved beef already cooked and seasoned in a BBQ sauce.  An hour later I am feeling sick, sweaty, shaky and not being able to walk anywhere, I keep gel gravol handy at all times.  The question was what was in the meat other than beef and seasoning, could the beef have been processed first so contain nitrates?  Could there be some other ingredient that we never considered looking for.   So Richard just went to pulled the box out of the garbage.  It was not nitrates, in one of the sugars, of which there were many, there was molasses powder which contained wheat starch (gluten).  The reason for my feeling awful was a small item used to actually make molasses a powder, wheat starch.  Richard is very careful he reads every ingredient label as my tolerance for such items is getting worse as I get older.  Who would have thought to check the sauce that beef was cooked in.  Sometimes I can have enriched wheat flour but we still check the other ingredients to ensure that other parts of the wheat are not added.  I have the same problem with medication as gluten, wheat starch, are common binding agents.  The gravol gel capsule is slowly kicking in.  The reaction I get is so bad that can't even go upstairs to lie down.

Gravol, an anti nausea medication, the regular orange flavoured ones, I throw up almost instantly, not because of the medication but to do with the binding agents.  They now make a Gel Gravol but it is expensive for just eight, it is also not easy to find, we actually get our drug store to order it in for me and I keep at least six packets on hand.  Not only do I need it when I eat something that my system does not like but I also take one with my migraine medication.

When we moved here to Prince Albert every Sunday within about an hour or so I would feel sick to my stomach and have to take a gel gravol and lie down for a couple of hours.  Richard and I spent weeks trying to figure out what was different, what was I getting at church that would have this reaction on me.  After much trial and error we finally discovered that powdered creamer has the same reaction as nitrates and wheat starch/gluten has on me.  Now we make sure there is creamer in the fridge at the church at all times so I can have a cup of coffee with everyone else. 

I, like everyone else, have my dislikes, I don't enjoy carrots and try not to eat them, the same with celery, I hate the taste cooked or raw I just do not like it.  Do you know how many individuals always put both in stews, chili's, soups, etc.  Of course I pick them out.  Because of that I am told that I am fussy that I don't like very much.  It is no fun not to be able to enjoy a dessert because it has a Graham crumb crust on the bottom or Graham crumbs on the top.  Not to enjoy a ham sandwich because the ham is processed and contains nitrates, to no longer be able to eat bacon, or eat a nice healthy loaf of whole grain bread.

A Pastor's Day

Today was a tough day for my husband.  Just before service he received a phone call from one of our members to let him know that her husband past away this morning.  She understood that he had the Divine service, but he promised he would visit in the afternoon.

It was very hard for him as he carried on as usual, trying to keep his composure as he led us in Word and Sacrament.  After the service and the announcements were made.  Our Pastor let his church family know that we had lost a brother in Christ, that our Lord had called him home.  Such a shock as we all sat remembering that just last week we had spent time visiting over coffee.  In that moment we realized that we do not know the day or hour when our Lord will take us home to be with him and shock that our fellow brother in Christ was no longer here with us.

After the service, when everyone had left the church, Richard took me home to ensure I had something to eat and then we drove out to our sister in Christ's home to spend some time with her.  We have a great church family and know that our sister will be receiving many phone calls and visits over the next while and when her family return to their homes her church family will still be there for her.

Obviously she is still in shock but there will be things that only she can decide in the next few days.  As I sat by my husband (and Pastor) and listening to him gently consoling and allowing our sister in Christ to share what she wanted for her husbands funeral.  The hardest part was listening to her having to decide on what she could afford, cremation is cheaper because there is no coffin to purchase.  What a choice to have to make when deep in our hearts we know that burial would be the preferred choice.  Without  making a promise our Pastor told her he would talk with the congregation and see how and if they can help with the purchase of a coffin.

Recently the congregation had a Bible Study on burial or cremation.  I did not participate in the Bible Study as I teach Sunday school during that time.  But I understand that the general consensus, of those who were part of that study, felt that no one should have to resort to cremation because of the lack of funds.  This also was confirmed by Richard as we chatted on the way home.

The rest of the week will be a difficult one for our Pastor as he keeps in contact with our bereaving sister, writes a sermon for her husbands funeral and talks with the ladies of the congregation regarding the arrangements for a luncheon after the funeral service.  And as he talks to the chairman and treasurer to see if we can assist with ensuring our brother is buried and not cremated.

Those who are Pastor's wives know how tired our husbands are after the Sunday morning Bible study and Divine Service, yet they do not think twice of giving up their afternoon nap to visit a distressed parishioner, to share comfort from our Saviour.  May our Saviour not only be with our sister in Christ but also with her Pastor as he ministers to her over the coming weeks.