Monday, September 16, 2019 10:36 PM CDT

Bits and pieces of our lives

The ash trees along Memorial Drive on the way to church are turning a beautiful gold. Fall will soon be here.

I have my new glasses and I’m seeing better. However, I realize that my eyes are aging and I no longer see as I could see 10 years ago.

I went to the seniors’ Evergreen lunch at church and sat at the same table as Tim and Carol. Tim visits Dennis on occasion at Waverley House. Dennis enjoys hearing him read from the Bible and enjoys donuts on occasion.

Rachel went for a hike this past weekend with her friend Deb. This time the weather was nice in Kanaskas country and they didn’t get snowed on.

I’m going to InScribe’s Fall Conference on Thurs. – Saturday. I’m looking forward to it.

Rachel’s boyfriend has a job. We hope it works out. That’s an answer to prayer.


Tuesday, September 24, 2019 10:06 PM CDT

What a beautiful day Sunday was for the first day of fall. The poplar trees along our street are turning golden and the weather is still warm, but snow is predicted for the end of the week or by the coming weekend. My car is scheduled to be winterized and have snow tires put on next Friday, just in time for the change in the weather.

After church on Sunday, our whole family went to Denny’s to eat. It wasn’t for any special occasion, but it was nice to be together and it was the first time we’ve eaten together since Labor Day weekend. Dennis always enjoys their breakfast menu of waffles, bacon, and eggs.

On Thursday through Saturday, I enjoyed attending InScribe’s Fall Conference, an annual event. Our guest speaker, Sigmund Brouwer, has written many books and is delightful and hilarious. I also learned much in discussions on writing as healing and steps in getting published. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones.

On Tuesday morning, I got a call from Aubrey in Waverley House to let me know that Dennis had fallen in the night and wanted her to call 9-1-1. The paramedics checked Dennis out and he appeared to be fine and didn’t need to be transported to the hospital. Falls are always worrisome.

Rachel lost her billfold, but the person who found it graciously delivered it to her door.

Her boyfriend Rob now has a job, but it pays much less than when he was doing plumbing, so he will be taking a course to upgrade his skills.

Andrew enjoys the church youth group and keeps busy some evenings searching for Pokemon, along with his family. (It’s played on cellphones and requires going to malls, sports arenas, and churches to find them.)




Sunday, September 29, 2019 8:15 PM CDT

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The trees still have their golden leaves, but snow is piling up on the ground. There were 170 crashes in Calgary from people relearning how to drive in the snow after not seeing it for five months. Fortunately, I got my car winterized and winter tires on Friday before all of the snow. Will we get more of our fall back? We don’t know that.

Facebook post from Thursday, September 26
Please pray for my husband, Dennis. Right now he is in the hospital with slight bleeding on his brain. Doctors have had to reverse the effects of his blood thinner he is on because of his mechanical heart valve. His doctor called me at 5 a.m. to let me know he is at high risk for a stroke no matter what they do. Thanks for praying.

Post from Saturday, September 28
Thanks for praying. The bleeding in Dennis’ brain appears to have stopped, so the doctor is giving him Heparin (a blood thinner) and will be starting on Warfarin (his usual blood thinner) in a couple of days. Since he has had frequent falls lately and is weak, he probably can no longer live in the personal care home where he has been for 10 years. He needs to be in a facility with a greater staff to patient ratio (nursing home.) Please pray for wisdom.

Fortunately, the hospital where Dennis is hospitalized is just a mile from our house. On Monday, Rachel will be going there when they do an assessment of Dennis’ ability to walk.

Andrew had friends from school staying with him for the last two nights. Damian had never been to church and Domenic remembers going to church once with his grandpa years ago—so they both came to church with Andrew this morning out of curiosity.

I’m exhausted from spending a lot of time in the hospital with Dennis and just the stress of not knowing what's happening. Rachel spent a lot of time as well. Tomorrow is a new week, hopefully, a more peaceful one. Thanks for your prayers.
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Sunday, October 6, 2019 9:48 PM CDT

After the snowfall a week ago, fall is now back. I appreciate the much warmer weather.

Dennis is still hospitalized. He is getting stronger and today the nurse said he was sitting up in a chair three times for a long period of time. When I got to the hospital this afternoon, he was enjoying a Green Bay Packers – Texas Rangers game. What happens next? I don’t know. Will he be well enough to go back to Waverley House? What caused his falls in the first place? There are so many unknowns.

I have been given time off from work to deal with some of these things—until Dennis is in a safe place.

Andrew went to a church retreat this weekend. It’s good to see him getting involved in youth activities.


Sunday, October 13, 2019 7:52 PM CDT

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends or wanna-be Canadians. It’s officially on Monday.

What a difference two weeks makes. On September 24th I wrote: “After church on Sunday, our whole family went to Denny’s to eat. It wasn’t for any special occasion, but it was nice to be together and it was the first time we’ve eaten together since Labor Day weekend. Dennis always enjoys their breakfast menu of waffles, bacon, and eggs.” Now, looking back, I think it may have been a special occasion because I don’t know if or when we will be able to do that again.

Dennis is still in the Peter Lougheed Hospital, one mile from us. The assessment of his walking is that it’s not good enough to go back to Waverley House, so when the paperwork goes through in about two weeks, he will be on the list for admission to a nursing home. It’s sad for him to think about that and sad for us too. Please pray the place will be close enough so I can drive there and that it will be a good fit for his needs. He has been at Waverley House for 10 ½ years so it was really “home” for him.

This afternoon Rachel and Rob went over to Waverley House, removed all of Dennis’ things and stored them here until we know where Dennis is going. I’m thankful that Rob had a trailer so they could carry everything.

Right now I’m thankful that I have leave time from work to deal with all of this until I need to go back in early November.

On Saturday we celebrated Renylor’s 36th birthday by going out as a family for brunch at Cora’s, a restaurant in a nearby mall. It was fun! We’ve done that the past several years, but at those times it was a “girls’ time out,” we did have fun.

I hope all of you have a good week, and may the Lord encourage you and be with you, whatever season of life you are experiencing.


Tuesday, October 22, 2019 9:20 AM CDT

Bits and pieces of our lives.

This is a season of waiting. Dennis is stable and is still in the hospital, waiting for a place in a nursing home. He is getting impatient with waiting.

On October 14th, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, and also celebrated Renylor and Makayla’s birthdays. I visited Dennis in the morning, and someone from Elections Canada stopped to see him so he could vote. He really wanted to take part in the election.

Rachel and I visited a couple of nursing homes on Saturday. One we really liked and it was easy to drive there. The other one was not impressive. So many unknowns lie ahead.

Have a good week.


Tuesday, October 29, 2019 2:05 PM CDT

I talked with the Transition Services social worker yesterday. She said that she was doing Dennis’ paperwork and would be done with it on Wednesday. At that point, he would be put on a list of people ready to go to nursing home care. She said she would call the top nursing home we had listed (Dennis used to read to a retired pastor who had a stroke in this home.)

He will stay at the hospital until a nursing home is found. At this point, Alberta Health no longer covers his stay. Our family pays the nursing home rate of $58/day until he is placed in a nursing home. Your prayers are appreciated that it will take place quickly.


Sunday, November 3, 2019 9:01 PM CST

Happy “Fall Back” Sunday. Did you remember to change your clocks? I did.

We had the most “normal” Sunday we have had lately. Rachel was able to pick Dennis up at the hospital and bring him to church. It was good to have him there. It’s the first time he’s been out of the hospital since he went in on September 26. We went through the McDonald’s drive through and picked up lunch afterward.

I’ve talked with the social worker at Transition Services who said that Dennis is now on the list for placement. She called the nursing home we were hoping that Dennis would get into. He is now sixth on the list and she estimated it would take two months. In the meantime, if something else opens up elsewhere, he could be placed in another home. We wait and pray.

Today was a rainy day, and we had some snowflakes later this afternoon. I expect the ground to be covered with snow in the morning. We’ll see.

After having leave time from work to deal with the situation, I am now back at work.


Monday, November 11, 2019 8:28 AM CST

The snow is back again and this time maybe it will stay. November 10 is not unusual for snow and winter is getting ever closer.

Rachel went with me a couple weeks ago and helped me find a pair of boots that fit at an orthotic shoe store. They were expensive, but it meant that I no longer needed to wear my men’s boots. (One foot swells, and I have swelling in my ankles, hence the difficulty in getting boots to fit.). Later, we decided that a Velcro fastener would be better than a zipper for me so I left the new boots in the back of Rachel’s car until the boots with the Velcro were in stock. Rachel was ready to take me back to the shoe store—but no boots. We looked in her car, my house and back to her house. No boots. Then she recalled someone had gotten into her car and rummaged around for money. The boots were the only thing missing. So I pray for a thief—who probably has a drug habit, but at least has warm feet. God knows that person’s name and many needs. (Rachel thought she had locked her car, but then concluded that it hadn’t really locked with the fob.)

The next day a large check arrived in the mail from a friend. God had supplied my need and then some! I’ve had some major expenses lately, so felt blessed by the extra money.

This week we were told that a nursing home had an opening for Dennis. We live in the northeast and it was all the way down in the southwest of Calgary—quite near the hospital where Dennis spent three weeks with pneumonia three years ago. The major road through the area had major road construction. The sign where I was supposed to turn was missing and it was several miles before I could find a place to turn around. I made a major mistake trying to find my way back in the construction and got LOST. Rachel finally checked out the place and said it was OK, but the parking situation was bad. I also need a place I can find easily. So we needed to say no, it won’t work for us. The next place they offer us, we need to say “Yes,” no matter where it is. He will still be on the list for the one we requested when that becomes available.

I visited Dennis today. There are about eight people in his new ward who are waiting to transition to a nursing home. The staff treat them as if they are in a nursing home already. Dennis, who is normally in the standard hospital gown, was dressed in his Vikings shirt and pants and sitting in his wheelchair in the hall. His nurse told me he was able to wheel himself from his room to the dining room where they eat. This is the first time he has used his wheelchair in that way. It’s a left-hand drive, since he can only use his left hand. I’m excited that it gives him some mobility. Previously someone has always needed to push him in the wheelchair.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada (Veterans’ Day in the U.S.) and is a national holiday, so we have the day off. Andrew is having a birthday party with some of his friends who will come over to our house. His birthday is on the 13th.

Have a great week. God bless you richly.



Wednesday, November 20, 2019 2:55 PM CST

Bits and Pieces
After a week of beautiful fall weather, we are back to a world of white. However, rising temperatures should melt the snow once again.

My small Christmas cactus thinks it’s Christmas and is blossoming its heart out. I didn’t kill it over the past year. Yay!

The highlight of last week was a birthday celebration for Andrew and Dennis at Boston Pizza with the whole family. I was delighted that we could get Dennis out of the hospital and that he was able to do something with his family.
We’re still waiting for nursing home placement, but the place where he is now in the hospital is fine. The hospital is only a mile away, and he is waiting with eight others for nursing home placement. They wear their own clothes, eat in a dining room, take part in activities and sit in the hall in their wheelchairs. Previously he was treated as a patient, was dressed in a hospital gown, and spent a lot of time in bed.

I’m getting a new Amana dishwasher this afternoon ($398, no bells and whistles). The replacement part for the old one would have been $560.

I hope you are having a good week.


Monday, November 25, 2019 9:17 PM CST

Happy Thanksgiving, American family and friends. I hope your celebration is special. We had our Canadian Thanksgiving in October. There are a lot of Americans in the Wycliffe office and we used to have our own American Thanksgiving celebration on Thanksgiving night, but now no one carries on the tradition—we all just celebrate with all of our Canadian friends.

Tim and I picked up Dennis at the hospital on Sunday so he could come to church. He was in a happy mood and enjoyed being out of the hospital. Afterward we stopped at McDonald’s and he didn’t want to get food through the drive-in. He wanted to sit inside! Afterward Tim drove around hoping to find a place to observe trains. Dennis enjoyed being out and about for part of the day. He also enjoyed having Andrew with him.

Rachel wasn’t with us because she and her condo-mate, Melynda, are in Mexico with Melynda’s mom who has a condo down there. They will be gone for two weeks or so.


Snow comes and goes up here in Calgary. We had a full dump of snow last week, but by today everything has melted. More snow is predicted on Wednesday.

I was going to have my new dishwasher installed, but the installer came and objected to the wiring, so I now have an electrician coming tomorrow to fix the wiring. So I wait, hopeful that I will eventually get a working dishwasher.

Today while I was at work, I got a call from Renylor, wondering if she could use my pasta, and she would make enough food for her family and for me. I was amazed when I came home. Besides making me a meal, she washed all of the dishes in my sink and cleaned up my kitchen! Wow! That so special. What an encouragement!

I hope you are having a great week and get a couple days off to celebrate.


Sunday, December 8, 2019 10:33 PM CST

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” That’s a line from an old song I’ve been hearing on the radio a lot lately, and it’s comforting to me to remember Christmases from the past when we had more of our family with us.

No, you didn’t miss a post last week because we were waiting to hear about a nursing home. Finally, on December 5th I heard that Dennis had been accepted into the George Boyack nursing home, and the next day I got the news officially with a move-in date of December 10th. I’ll have a tour of the facility tomorrow.

Dennis is pleased about this because nearly 20 years ago he went to George Boyack weekly to read the Bible to a retired pastor who had a stroke. So he remembers the home and is happy to be going there.

Rob (Rachel’s boyfriend) lent Dennis a small scooter to use at the hospital. The two of us went to the cafeteria a couple times to buy hot chocolate with Dennis using the scooter. The social worker from transition services, Brenda, told me last week that they were having trouble placing Dennis because a scooter was listed on his personal information and many homes don’t allow scooters, including George Boyack. I told her to remove the scooter from his information. Sure enough, there was now an opening at George Boyack. Many people had been praying along with us that he would be placed there, and I know the scooter listing had kept him from being sent to another home far more distant. Thank you, Lord. The home is a couple miles beyond our church.

Today Dennis and I went along with a group celebrating Melynda’s birthday after church at Boston Pizza. I know he was happy to be at church and eat out again.

Rachel and Melynda came back from Mexico last night. From what I’ve heard, they had a great time down there, staying at Melynda’s mother’s condo.

Have a great week.


Thursday, December 19, 2019 9:14 PM CST

Just a quick update.

The weather has been warm the last few days and snow is beginning to melt. Will we have a brown Christmas instead of a white Christmas? That remains to be seen.

Dennis is now on the fourth floor of Carewest George Boyack with about 70 people. I think he finds that a bit overwhelming after coming from a house with just four people. However, they sit at tables with just eight people, and that might be a way to get to know a few people. The same people are at the table for each meal.

Rachel watched Dennis get around in his wheelchair and he is doing very well. He has never had to get around in a wheelchair previously.

We certainly appreciate Rob. When our water heater quit heating and started leaking, he was able to tell us we needed a new one, find the least expensive one for us and install it. We’re thankful! He also figured out why my new dishwasher wasn’t draining.

May you have a wonderful Christmas.


Thursday, December 26, 2019 9:50 PM CST

It was truly a white Christmas. After the snow stopped melting last week, a lot more fell.

It was truly a family Christmas with all of us gathered. Dennis came to the Christmas Eve service by Handi-bus and then after the Christmas Eve service, all of us went to Rachel and Melynda’s condo for Christmas goodies and snacks. On Christmas Day Dennis was at home from 11:30 to 8 p.m. It took two strong men to help him walk up three steps and down them afterward. Our house isn’t wheelchair friendly, so we pushed him around in an office chair in the house. It worked.

I discovered what worked for hot apple cider when I couldn’t find the spices in the grocery store. I dropped in a Bengal Spice tea bag. It was delicious!

In the afternoon people played table games, and later Dennis and I watched a couple of videos which we got for Christmas. It was a positive, peaceful day.

Today was Boxing Day, another Canadian holiday. I hope you’ve had a good week. I hope your Christmas was special.



Thursday, January 2, 2020 7:45 PM CST



Happy New Year! May this be a good year for you. Thanks to all who sent us Christmas greetings.

On New Year’s Eve, I stayed home and watched “Steele Magnolias” and “Awakening” (In “Awakening,” Robin Williams plays the part of Dr. Sawyer. It’s based on a true story from 1969 where catatonic patients were given a Parkinson drug (L-Dopa) and they “awakened”.) “Steele Magnolias” has well-known actresses: Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts in the1989 video. It was an interesting evening and I enjoyed staying home.

On New Year’s Day, I visited Dennis and the two of us watched Let’s Make a Deal.” He seems to be doing well, but I don’t think he feels at home there yet. It took me 15 minutes to drive home from the George Boyack Home because there was little traffic. I am so happy that he wasn’t placed in a home on the other side of Calgary or even out of the city as I have heard has happened to some people.

I hope that 2020 is a good year for you.


Sunday, January 12, 2020 10:23 PM CST

It was cold today, -23 degrees C. (-9 degrees F). People on Facebook are starting to count down the days until spring. I think that this is the coldest we’ve had so far this winter. It was too cold to have the Handi-bus pick up Dennis for church this morning.

This afternoon eight or nine of us went to see the movie “Little Women” to help Rachel celebrate her birthday which will be January 15. She has been so busy practicing for Taekwon Do that it was difficult to find a time that would work. She will be in Taekwon Do testing on January 25 for her fourth level (fourth dan) Black Belt. Yes, the movie was good.

I went to see Dennis a couple times this past week. It’s sometimes difficult to fit it in because I don’t do much driving after dark at all. When I am there, I usually read a devotional from “Our Daily Bread” and then we watch “The Price is Right” on TV for an hour after that. He enjoys my company watching TV. He is adjusting. When I ask him if he likes it there, he just shrugs. If he didn’t like it there, he would let me know.

My friend, Cindy, is a talented graphic artist who works with Wycliffe. She just finished laying out the first draft of my book. “Holding on to Hope” is compiled from inspirational articles of mine and devotionals of mine that have been published in anthologies and books over the past 18 years. It will be published independently. I’ll let you know more later.

This past week, I saw Andrew reading a huge book, about 700 pages long. He told me it was all of the Narnia books in one book and he was enjoying it. He said they talk a lot about it in youth group. Years back Dennis read the Narnia series (written by C.S. Lewis) to Tim and Rachel when they were little.

Prayer needs: Tim has had sinus infection and throat problems for weeks. He’s been on antibiotics, and now a doctor is telling him it is viral. Rob (Rachel’s boyfriend) is struggling with digestive problems (cholitis)and has been losing weight lately. He needs to know what he can eat that won’t upset his digestive system.

Have a great week. Keep warm.



Sunday, January 19, 2020 10:18 PM CST

Cold, cold, cold. The temperature has been around -30 degrees C. (-22 degrees F.) all week. I was able to do my work on my computer from home all week. My car didn’t want to start anyway. The weather forecast is for above freezing during the day this coming week. Good news! A regular heat wave!

Saturday afternoon Tim, Renylor and Andrew started putting a puzzle together on my living room table. The table was last used for our Christmas celebration. (Other than being a collecting spot for my mail and some of my writing.)

Sunday morning the temperature was -20 degrees and rose 22 degrees during the day so it is now hovering around 2 degrees. (above 32 degrees F.) Wonderful! This afternoon my car started without any problem. It was happy and so was I.

I visited Dennis this afternoon. It was good to see him after not being able to visit all week because of the cold. I read a devotional, and we watched football on TV. It was Kansas City playing South Carolina, so he wasn’t impressed. He had watched Green Bay earlier in the day, and that made him happy. I brought a can of Coke, so that made him happy as well. I told him I hoped it would warm enough this coming weekend so he would be able to ride the Handi-bus to church. That put a smile on his face. I think he is adjusting to the nursing home.

I went to a band concert with Tim and Renylor. Andrew played his trombone with the 7th grade band. The piece they did was called “The Siege.” The band director told us to think of it as charging a castle. Yes, that’s exactly what it sounded like.

The principal came up to me afterward and introduced herself. She knew that I looked familiar. Yes, I remembered her from church fifteen years ago when she taught a class I attended.

Both Rob and Tim need prayers for health issues.

Have a good week filled with blessings from the Lord.


Monday, January 27, 2020 8:10 PM CST

This past week felt like spring with temperatures up to 7 degrees. The Chinooks have been melting the snow so much of it has disappeared. No, there aren't huge puddles as the snow melts, because the air is dry and it simply evaporates.

Dennis was happy this past week because he was included with a group from George Boyack home to go by Handi-bus and eat at Perkins' restaurant. That put a smile on his face. He was able to come to church on Sunday because the weather is warmer.

Andrew called out to me as I was heading for the door. "Grandma, wait. I have something important to give you." I waited. What did he have to give me? A hug and a kiss. He's twelve now; I hope he remains as sweet in his teenage years. He is also doing well in school now and proudly showed me his report card with 2/3 of his grades 4's and the remaining 1/3, 3's. Previously he had difficulty settling down to do his work, but he has now caught on.

Rachel made 4th dan on her Black Belt in Taekwon-do. What a lot of work! I’m proud of her.

Have a great week. We are one week closer to spring.


Wednesday, February 5, 2020 9:58 PM CST

Dennis enjoyed coming to church on Sunday by Handi-bus.

On Monday. Rachel and I went to a family conference with Dennis’ doctor at George Boyack. She sees Dennis (and her other patients at the nursing home) at least three and often four times a month. We have the assurance that Dennis is getting good medical care. They said that Dennis is involved in three activities each week out of a possible six. Going to church counts as one of the activities.

On Wednesday Rachel visited him and took along her two dogs. People loved seeing the dogs, and Napoleon settled down on Dennis’lap.


Wednesday, February 12, 2020 8:51 PM CST

Going to Church was the highlight of Dennis’ week because (1) he gets to leave the nursing home and (2) friends greet him.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you. I stopped at the nursing home this afternoon and gave Dennis his gift—a box of Ferraro Roche candy. Dennis and I have a gift card to Denny's Restaurant which we received at Christmas, so we will be using it on Friday. He gave me some chocolate covered almonds and some pistachios plus a lovely card (purchased by Rachel) and I gave him Ferraro Roche candy. (We opened those gifts already today.)

Rob’s test came out normal Monday which is good news and bad news. It’s good that he doesn’t have cancer or any other dreaded disease, but no solution as to why he is so sensitive to most food at the moment. Your prayers are appreciated for a solution.

I saw my enocrinologist (diabetes doctor) this week. My A1C test results weren't quite as good as six months ago, but he understood that it was hard to eat sensibly all the time at Christmas. I enjoyed some Chocolate candy.

Feb. 17th is Family Day up here. People are supposed to do something with their families.It means an extra day off from work. I’m in favor of that.

God bless you all. I hope you’ve had a good week.


Wednesday, February 19, 2020 9:43 PM CST

Monday was “Family Day” and the house was full of laughter and people. Dennis enjoyed it. He and I went to Denny’s Restaurant with a gift card on Valentine’s Day. Then on Sunday, he was in church with all of us. I went with him on the Handi-bus on Tuesday to a doctor’s appointment.

Today Rachel visited with him at the nursing home. Lots of Family Times!

My brain is tired right now so I’ll say Good Night.


Wednesday, February 26, 2020 10:15 PM CST

It feels like spring is coming. The sun is shining brightly and is higher in the sky than previous months. Each day gets warm enough to melt a little more snow. . . until the next snowfall. Can you tell I’m eager for winter to be over? How about you?

Dennis seems to be doing well. He came to church by Handi-bus on Sunday and always enjoys being with family. WhenI went to George Boyack to visit him yesterday, he was in a good mood—except that his TV wasn’t working properly. I’ll let Rachel figure that one out for him.

I’m feeling happy this morning. I had an appointment with my Retina Specialist and he said I was doing great. My macular degeneration is stable and he doesn’t need to see me again until August. In September 2019, I got new glasses and 20/40 in each eye was all the better the optometrist was able to correct my vision. Today I was seeing 20/25 and 20/30 with glasses, so my vision has improved. Thank you, Lord!

My book, HOLDING ON TO HOPE, is becoming a reality. I am waiting for a proof copy in the mail on Friday or Monday from Amazon. Yes, it is self-published, but many books are now days and I will get a royalty for any sold online. (It does have an ISBN number and a bar code.)

I hope you are having a good week.


Thursday, March 5, 2020 9:31 PM CST

This has been a sad week for Dennis because his cable TV hasn’t been working so he can’t watch his favorite shows. Rachel and I are going to get it fixed tomorrow afternoon. I have the paperwork and she has the cell phone. It requires someone at the main office to reset it and us to unplug a cable cord and then plug it back in again. This is the second time it happened.

My friend Marie was here Monday and then stayed overnight. She had been in intensive care for three weeks with pneumonia and a lung infection. It was so good to see her again after wondering if she would survive. Thank you, Lord. Our friend Judy Mary came over and we had a writers’ meeting. I last saw Marie last July when she came back from her husband’s funeral in the U.S.

The COVID-19 virus is now in Alberta, brought in by a 50+ year old woman who had been on one of the cruises. She is expected to fully recover.

I hope you are having a good week.


Thursday, March 19, 2020 10:23 AM CDT

Bits and pieces of our lives

I hope you all are keeping safe from the COVID-19 virus. There was no post last week because I was having a computer problem which is now fixed.

I’m working from home and so is Tim.

Rachel and her roommate Melynda are self-isolating because Melynda has a cough. Melynda had a test but the results are not back yet.

I visited Dennis yesterday and he was doing well, but is sad that today the nursing home is on lockdown with no visitors.
Schools are closed in Alberta.

May the Lord bless you, provide for your needs and keep you safe.


Tuesday, March 24, 2020 3:39 PM CDT

It’s spring now, at least the calendar tells me so. Some days get warm enough to melt the snow. Some days the temperature doesn’t get above freezing. Last night we had some snow.

Rachel and Melynda have been isolating themselves because Melynda had a cough. Melynda wasn’t able to get tested so they just self-isolated. She is better now, but they both have been taking it easy.

I called the nursing home this morning. Jo Ann at the fourth floor front desk said Dennis is doing fine. She found a phone he could use, and we had a five-minute “conversation.” I was able to say, “Dennis, I love you,” which he repeated back to me. That is sufficient for a conversation and probably put a smile on his face. It’s almost as good as a visit.

I figured out how to have a Messenger conversation with Rachel and can see her by camera on my computer. I’ve also figured out how to take part in a prayer time with my department by Google Hangout. I’m coming up in the world of technology.

I read a book a week ago and did so with a magnifying glass. The print was too small for me to read.

I continue to work from home.


We live in scary times. May the Lord bring peace to your heart in this age of COVID-19. God bless you.


Sunday, March 29, 2020 2:55 PM CDT

Bits and pieces of our lives.

It’s now spring and today the snow is melting.

Today I watched our church’s worship service on my computer (vimeo). I’ve been able to figure out ZOOM (with Tim’s help) as I will need it for some meetings from the Wycliffe office, and I used the camera function on Messenger so I could have conversations with Rachel. Technology is wonderful when It is working. All of this makes working from home possible.

I had a short phone “conversation” with Dennis today. That makes him happy. It makes me happy as well. A few weeks ago he was fitted with new hearing aids, but because of the current situation, he could go by Handi-bus with me to pick them up. So Rachel picked them up and delivered them to the back door of the nursing home. He likes them!

On MWF, the local Co-op (grocery store) is open from 8-9 for seniors. People line up on the sidewalk with their shopping carts. Spaces are marked by plastic milk crates. As one person exits the store, another is allowed to enter.

Tim and Andrew are assembling a small robot. Tim is doing the soldering on it. It’s good to see them working together.

Have a peaceful, safe week.


Sunday, March 29, 2020 2:55 PM CDT

Bits and pieces of our lives.

It’s now spring and today the snow is melting.

Today I watched our church’s worship service on my computer (vimeo). I’ve been able to figure out ZOOM (with Tim’s help) as I will need it for some meetings from the Wycliffe office, and I used the camera function on Messenger so I could have conversations with Rachel. Technology is wonderful when It is working. All of this makes working from home possible.

I had a short phone “conversation” with Dennis today. That makes him happy. It makes me happy as well. A few weeks ago he was fitted with new hearing aids, but because of the current situation, he could go by Handi-bus with me to pick them up. So Rachel picked them up and delivered them to the back door of the nursing home. He likes them!

On MWF, the local Co-op (grocery store) is open from 8-9 for seniors. People line up on the sidewalk with their shopping carts. Spaces are marked by plastic milk crates. As one person exits the store, another is allowed to enter.

Tim and Andrew are assembling a small robot. Tim is doing the soldering on it. It’s good to see them working together. (6 p.m. It's working. It's a vehicle about eight inches long that runs on batteries and can be programmed to avoid running into things.)

Rachel and I renewed our U.S. passports a couple weeks ago. They came back with a little brochure that said, "With Your U.S. Passport, the World is Yours!" In this age of COVID-19, I don't think so.

Have a peaceful, safe week.


Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:55 PM CDT

I had a five minute “conversation” with Dennis tonight. He was happy to hear from me. When I told him I had sent a card to him in the mail, I could hear the happiness in his voice as he responded. As far as I know, his nursing home is free from COVID-19. It’s been found in three other nursing homes in Calgary and there have been four or five deaths.

We had a Seever get together by Zoom on last Wednesday night and an Ausmus get together on Sunday afternoon. Both were such a blessing. Each family had an opportunity to share how they were doing, and we were able to “meet” my niece Sarah’s two-month-old daughter, Melody.

Tim and I both continue working from home. Andrew has his school lessons online. These are things that wouldn’t have happened five or ten years ago.

Renylor is busily sewing masks for COVID-19.


Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:55 PM CDT

I had a five minute “conversation” with Dennis tonight. He was happy to hear from me. When I told him I had sent a card to him in the mail, I could hear the happiness in his voice as he responded. As far as I know, his nursing home is free from COVID-19. It’s been found in three other nursing homes in Calgary and there have been four or five deaths.

We had a Seever get together by Zoom on last Wednesday night and an Ausmus get together on Sunday afternoon. Both were such a blessing. Each family had an opportunity to share how they were doing, and we were able to “meet” my niece Sarah’s two-month-old daughter, Melody.

Tim and I both continue working from home. Andrew has his school lessons online. These are things that wouldn’t have happened five or ten years ago.

Renylor is busily sewing masks for COVID-19.


Friday, April 17, 2020 7:37 PM CDT

We have snow every couple of days and wake up to a couple of inches of white and then it melts. Spring is coming but it is slow. We are all doing well. I watched an Easter Sunday service on Vimeo from our church and then Tim, Renylor and Andrew had Easter dinner with me. In the afternoon we had a Zoom conversation with Rachel, her boyfriend Rob and his daughter, and Kelley. Dennis's nursing home is on lockdown so we can't go to visit him. I tried to have a phone conversation with him, but I don't think he had his hearing aids in because he didn't seem to know who I was and didn't respond the way he normally does. The person who handed him the phone ended up asking who I was. I had informed the persTon who answered the phone that I was his wife, but that information didn't get passed on. Maybe next time it will be better. This time everything is run together because my computer isn't working well.The "enter" function doesn't work. There are several other keys that weren't working as well.I need the computer for working at home so need to find a fix for Monday. Andrew says that I should hit the keys harder. Maybe, but even that doesn't seem to work.


Monday, April 20, 2020 9:57 PM CDT

UPDATE - This morning Rachel arranged a three-way conversation with Dennis at George Boyack nursing home. It was a great video chat and Dennis was SO HAPPY to see us. I was with Tim, Renylor and Andrew downstairs so he got to see his whole family. I told him "I love you," and he repeated that two or three times during the conversation. Wow! He looked great.
*****************************************
Saturday April 18 – I’m so fortunate, I’m not alone. I have the company of Tim, Renylor and Andrew in the basement. Today Rachel went grocery shopping for me, and afterward we sat on lawn chairs in front of the house. It was our first face-to-face conversation in about a month. We talk often on the phone but that’s not the same. I’m glad I have work to do from home.

Sunday, April 19th. Today was a beautiful sunny day, warm enough to melt the remaining snow except for on the north side of our fence in the backyard. I watched our church service on Vimeo this morning. It was the first of a series on the book of James. (Count it all joy when you meet various trials.)

This afternoon Tim went shopping and brought home two orange lilies, one for Renylor and one for me. Lovely! This afternoon I watched “Hope Rising” a musical benefit concert for people affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

I had a short phone visit with Dennis and this time he knew who I was. This time the nurse told him. “Your wife is on the phone.”

I’m greatly concerned for all of the people out of work. My prayers are with you.


Wednesday, April 29, 2020 9:55 PM CDT




Spring is truly here with warm temperatures and no snow. Some star flowers are blooming in my flower bed. I have no idea what they are called.

We had another meeting with Dennis on Messenger. It was good to see him and he was happy to see us. I said “I love you” and he repeated it. We gave virtual hugs and then I realized he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids so he couldn’t hear what we were saying. He was really happy to see us again. Two staff members at the nursing home have Covid-19, but they work on a different floor. So far there is no problem on Dennis' floor.

I hope your week is going well.







Monday, May 4, 2020 12:32 AM CDT

Happy May Day. April lasted forever, but May is finally here and with it come signs of spring. On Friday, we had a “first”. Dennis gave my phone number to a nurse and had her call me so he could “talk” to me. What a pleasant surprise that was. It put a big smile on my face.

Saturday was a warm, sunny day. I spent some time sitting outside watching Rachel and Rob (who kept a six-foot distance) while they worked on my garden. It was hopelessly overgrown with grass. They dug out the few perennials I wanted to save, and then Rob used his roommate’s roto-tiller to completely dig up the garden, something Rachel had done 14 years ago for my birthday. It’s beautifully free of grass and weeds. They replanted what they had taken out. As the years pass, the garden becomes more shaded by the huge spruce tree growing nearby.

Sunday, May 3rd was my 74th birthday. I got many lovely birthday greetings on Facebook. And then we had a family gathering—six-foot socially distancing—in the front yard for lunch. Renylor made the lunch (hot dogs, salad and green beans) and also made a lovely chocolate cake from a recipe. It was good to see everyone after not seeing them for nearly two months. Rob and Kelley came too. We figured out that we could actually eat together as long as Renylor was the one to dish up the plates.

The weather was only 55 degrees (13) and got colder and windier as the day went on. By evening it was 40 degrees with rain.

I called the nursing home tonight and “talked” with Dennis. Good news: there are no longer any COVID-19 cases in the building, and they are going to start allowing one relative per family to see their loved ones in a garden area by appointment and at a distance. I need to call tomorrow and see what will work out.

May the Lord keep you safe. Have a good week.


Monday, May 4, 2020 12:32 AM CDT

Happy May Day. April lasted forever, but May is finally here and with it come signs of spring. On Friday, we had a “first”. Dennis gave my phone number to a nurse and had her call me so he could “talk” to me. What a pleasant surprise that was. It put a big smile on my face.

Saturday was a warm, sunny day. I spent some time sitting outside watching Rachel and Rob (who kept a six-foot distance) while they worked on my garden. It was hopelessly overgrown with grass. They dug out the few perennials I wanted to save, and then Rob used his roommate’s roto-tiller to completely dig up the garden, something Rachel had done 14 years ago for my birthday. It’s beautifully free of grass and weeds. They replanted what they had taken out. As the years pass, the garden becomes more shaded by the huge spruce tree growing nearby.

Sunday, May 3rd was my 74th birthday. I got many lovely birthday greetings on Facebook. And then we had a family gathering—six-foot socially distancing—in the front yard for lunch. Renylor made the lunch (hot dogs, salad and green beans) and also made a lovely chocolate cake from a recipe. It was good to see everyone after not seeing them for nearly two months. Rob and Kelley came too. We figured out that we could actually eat together as long as Renylor was the one to dish up the plates.

The weather was only 55 degrees (13) and got colder and windier as the day went on. By evening it was 40 degrees with rain.

I called the nursing home tonight and “talked” with Dennis. Good news: there are no longer any COVID-19 cases in the building, and they are going to start allowing one relative per family to see their loved ones in a garden area by appointment and at a distance. I need to call tomorrow and see what will work out.

May the Lord keep you safe. Have a good week.


Monday, May 11, 2020 7:07 PM CDT


Happy Mother’s Day. We woke this morning to lightly falling snow. It didn’t stay very long. This morning we had a Seever Zoom meeting with Ken, Sharon, Greg and Kendrick in Atlanta, Mom and Al in Minneapolis and Matt in St. Cloud. It was fun to visit with all of them. Most of the corrections are in my book, Holding on to Hope. I’ll be in touch with Cindy on Friday through a Zoom meeting cto get the rest of the corrections in. It will soon be ready.

Review of the past week:
May 5th – Dennis looks forward to weekly Zoom meetings with his family at 9:30 each week. Yesterday one of the staff members at George Boyack took him outside into the garden. I think that soon (by pre-arrangement) I can go there for a visit with him in the garden.

May 5th - Rob made me a Pavlova birthday cake today. It was meringue, whipped cream dyed pink and fruit, It’s back from Australia days.

May 6 – We’ve had some rainy days and now trees have little green leaves and the grass has turned green. Things are as they should be in that respect for this time of year.

May 7th, There’s talk of people going back to the Wycliffe office. I don’t know when, of course. Also, I am a person with a high risk. There’s also talk of various things opening in Alberta a little at a time. It’s been 100 days since we first heard of COVID-19. It’s changed a lot of things in our lives. We'll be looking for a new normal.



Tuesday, May 19, 2020 10:28 PM CDT

I’m feeling sad tonight. This afternoon I had my first face-to-face visit with Dennis, and it did not go well. When I got there, he was seated in his wheelchair in an outdoor gazebo with orange tarp around half of it to provide protection from the wind. He had a sad expression on his face. Usually in our video sessions he is very animated and smiling. I had a face mask on and he usually lip reads. He then pointed out that he had a problem with one hearing aid. I couldn’t help him with it. He tried to wheel his wheelchair closer to me, but I had to tell him that he needed to remain in the square marked off on the cement with duct tape. Tracy said she would try to arrange another video session for us as long as this had been such an unsatisfying meeting for us.

Everything is now a beautiful green—new leaves on the trees and the grass is growing. We had our fence painted this past weekend and it is looking great. Now three of us in a row have had our fences painted by Elegant Painting They did an impressive, quick job.

I now have some news about my book. It is now being printed by Amazon and will be available by June 10. There’s a photo of me holding my book (proof copy) on my Facebook page and I received 157 likes on what I posted. My friend Cindy knows how to find the tracking numbers and said nine had been purchased this morning. Look for Holding on to Hope on Amazon.

For the first time this spring I’ve seen neighbors outside. I learned from the daughter of my Indian neighbors next door that they all went to India for a wedding in January. Her brother, age 33, had an asthma attack and as they were taking him to the hospital, he died of a heart attack. So sad.

I hope you are having a good week.


Tuesday, May 19, 2020 10:28 PM CDT

I’m feeling sad tonight. This afternoon I had my first face-to-face visit with Dennis, and it did not go well. When I got there, he was seated in his wheelchair in an outdoor gazebo with orange tarp around half of it to provide protection from the wind. He had a sad expression on his face. Usually in our video sessions he is very animated and smiling. I had a face mask on and he usually lip reads. He then pointed out that he had a problem with one hearing aid. I couldn’t help him with it. He tried to wheel his wheelchair closer to me, but I had to tell him that he needed to remain in the square marked off on the cement with duct tape. Tracy said she would try to arrange another video session for us as long as this had been such an unsatisfying meeting for us.

Everything is now a beautiful green—new leaves on the trees and the grass is growing. We had our fence painted this past weekend and it is looking great. Now three of us in a row have had our fences painted by Elegant Painting They did an impressive, quick job.

I now have some news about my book. It is now being printed by Amazon and will be available by June 10. There’s a photo of me holding my book (proof copy) on my Facebook page and I received 157 likes on what I posted. My friend Cindy knows how to find the tracking numbers and said nine had been purchased this morning. Look for Holding on to Hope on Amazon.

For the first time this spring I’ve seen neighbors outside. I learned from the daughter of my Indian neighbors next door that they all went to India for a wedding in January. Her brother, age 33, had an asthma attack and as they were taking him to the hospital, he died of a heart attack. So sad.

I hope you are having a good week.


Tuesday, May 26, 2020 10:09 PM CDT

The crab apple tree next door is ready to burst into bloom, my lilacs have buds and the lawn is a healthy green. Everything is as it should be at this time of year. . . except for COVID-19. How are you surviving? What changes have you seen in your life because of the lock-down?

We had a video call with Dennis today, but his hearing aids weren’t working, so he couldn’t hear us. We all kept waving at him. I told him, “I love you” and he was able to repeat that several times. He reads lips. Our 45th wedding anniversary is on the 31st. I can call him, but if he can’t hear me, it won’t do much good.

We had an impromptu gathering on our front step on Saturday morning, appropriately spaced: Rob, Rachel, Tim, Renylor and I. It’s so good to see people again.

On Saturday, Rachel and Renylor helped me with some cleaning. On Sunday, Renylor put plants in pots. Andrew mowed the back yard, a first for him. I appreciate my family.

Eighteen copies of Holding on to Hope have been sold on Amazon, split evenly between e-books and paperbacks.

I hope you had a good Memorial Day if you live in the U.S. May the Lord richly bless you.


Tuesday, June 2, 2020 9:57 PM CDT

Today is Tuesday already. We had our normal Tuesday video visit with Dennis. He was so happy to see us, even though he didn’t have his hearing aids in. We waved at him, he laughed at us, and even responded “I love you” when I said it to him with gestures. Rachel drew pictures of clothes she had gotten for him—striped T-shirts with pockets, pants, shorts and socks. That made him very happy as well. It’s time to get out of his winter clothes. Rachel is going to arrange some kind of a visit so she can check on his hearing aids and drop his new clothes off.

I had an extra video visit with Dennis on Saturday to wish him a Happy Anniversary. It was 45 years on Sunday. Last year I took him out to Perkins for a meal. Not so this year. I’m glad we were able to celebrate Valentine’s Day at Perkins. I hope we can do that again sometime when COVID is over (I wonder when that will be.) There is no COVID in the nursing home.

I watched terrible video clips of the riots in Minneapolis (as well as other places) and feel so sad about all that is happening because of the death of George Floyd in police custody. The place where the riots are taking place is a couple miles from where I lived with my cousin’s family when I went to the University of Minnesota. My second cousin Becky says there are National Guard members in the street by their house and she is happy about it because she and her brother feel safe.

Our neighbor had the spruce tree between our two houses cut down because she was afraid of a windstorm blowing it over on their house. The tree cutters (arborists?) cut off limbs until they reached the top, and then they cut the trunk down chunk by chunk. They did the job very efficiently. It left no mess behind. Our neighbors also removed a much smaller spruce tree from the back yard because they were afraid the roots would grow into their sewer system.

I saw my Indian neighbor, Vena, (neighbor on the other side of our house) for the first time this year. I had just learned about the death of her 33-year-old son in January a couple weeks ago. In the age of COVID it was impossible to give her a hug, so we sat in lawn chairs by our house and cried together.

I’m thankful that Rachel does my grocery shopping for me. I’m enjoying the assortment of vegetables I now have. I put together chopped red pepper, chopped ham, lima beans, Greek yogurt and lettuce in a wrap. It was good.

Update on “Holding on to Hope”: 29 copies sold on Amazon.

I hope your week is peaceful (if that’s possible now days.)


Wednesday, June 10, 2020 10:26 PM CDT

Just a quick update

Dennis continues to enjoy his video chats with his family. It makes him so happy. Tomorrow morning I will have a half-hour chat with him outside. His hearing aids are working this time, so I hope things go better. Tracy said she will give me a whiteboard so I can write things. (For Dennis it needs to be drawing pictures.) Same restrictions--six feet apart, I wear a mask and no hugging or kissing.

We are now entering Stage 2 in the COVID reopening. Churches are supposed to be able to hold services with some restrictions. Our Wycliffe office has now reopened – but most people are still choosing to work from home. Churches can reopen too with some restrictions.

We’ve had a lot of rain and the grass in the backyard has gone wild. I remember when my Grandpa Ausmus had sheep when I was a little girl. There were cottages along the lake, and during the week, he allowed the sheep to graze among the cottages. When the owners came on their weekends, their yards were “mowed” and the yards were fertilized as well. I was thinking I need a couple of sheep for our back yard. (Just joking, of course.)

I just made chocolate chip cookies with Stevia for half of the sugar. They still taste the same and look the same. I sent a plate downstairs and put the rest in my freezer. Tim and Andrew are grateful.

The pink and purple lilacs are in full bloom. I enjoy the fragrance each spring.

Rob is not working right now, so he has been collecting bikes that the owners don’t want because they need to be repaired. So he has been repairing bikes. He is going to check with the children's pastor at church to see if she knows of children who need bikes.

I hope you are having a good week.


Sunday, June 14, 2020 6:33 PM CDT

Calgary was hit by a massive storm yesterday. The sky darkened and rain came pounding down with water from our street overflowing onto the sidewalk, and traffic on the main street grinding to a halt. There was small pea-sized hail on the ground, but our area was the least affected. A few miles north of here, houses had siding smashed and serious roof damage. Some cars were a complete write-off and people stranded in deep water on highways were rescued by boat. Hail was the size of tennis balls. We seem to have a major storm like this every few years and needed our roof replaced a few years back. Today everything in our area was back to normal, but not so in other areas of the city.

I had a face-to-face visit with Dennis on Thursday that went very well. He had both of his hearing aids on, and they worked well. I had a double mask on, but he understood me in spite of the masks. He said, “I love you” four times during the visit. I picked a dandelion for him (He hates them when they go to seed.) I used a whiteboard to draw how the workmen cut down the spruce tree next door, first lopping off the limbs and then chopping the trunk into pieces. We watched a squirrel hopping across the lawn, and noticed the flower beds, all simple things, but things we could both understand and enjoy. I’ll get another six-foot face-to-face visit in two weeks. We continue to have family video chats once a week, and he greatly enjoys them.

Renylor made siopao (sho-pow) which is delicious. It consists of half a boiled egg and seasoned prepared beef, all wrapped in dough and steamed. Very good. She has a food program on YouTube with over 300 people subscribing. She makes Canadian dishes for Filipinos learning the Canadian culture.

Today would have been my mother’s 95th birthday. She left us in 1992 at the age of 67 and I’m missing her today. She would have been amazed at how her family has grown. A nephew and a niece both added baby girls to their families in the past couple of months—Melody and Mae. My sisters both became grandmas, Elaine for the fourth time and Sharon for the first time. Sharon is babysitting for her granddaughter three days a week and has retired from her work.

My books (coming from the U.S.) have been on order since May 16. They are supposed to arrive between June 10 and 17, so I wonder when they actually will arrive.

I hope all of you have a good week and keep well.


Sunday, June 14, 2020 6:33 PM CDT

Calgary was hit by a massive storm yesterday. The sky darkened and rain came pounding down with water from our street overflowing onto the sidewalk, and traffic on the main street grinding to a halt. There was small pea-sized hail on the ground, but our area was the least affected. A few miles north of here, houses had siding smashed and serious roof damage. Some cars were a complete write-off and people stranded in deep water on highways were rescued by boat. Hail was the size of tennis balls. We seem to have a major storm like this every few years and needed our roof replaced a few years back. Today everything in our area was back to normal, but not so in other areas of the city.

I had a face-to-face visit with Dennis on Thursday that went very well. He had both of his hearing aids on, and they worked well. I had a double mask on, but he understood me in spite of the masks. He said, “I love you” four times during the visit. I picked a dandelion for him (He hates them when they go to seed.) I used a whiteboard to draw how the workmen cut down the spruce tree next door, first lopping off the limbs and then chopping the trunk into pieces. We watched a squirrel hopping across the lawn, and noticed the flower beds, all simple things, but things we could both understand and enjoy. I’ll get another six-foot face-to-face visit in two weeks. We continue to have family video chats once a week, and he greatly enjoys them.

Renylor made siopao (sho-pow) which is delicious. It consists of half a boiled egg and seasoned prepared beef, all wrapped in dough and steamed. Very good. She has a food program on YouTube with over 300 people subscribing. She makes Canadian dishes for Filipinos learning the Canadian culture.

Today would have been my mother’s 95th birthday. She left us in 1992 at the age of 67 and I’m missing her today. She would have been amazed at how her family has grown. A nephew and a niece both added baby girls to their families in the past couple of months—Melody and Mae. My sisters both became grandmas, Elaine for the fourth time and Sharon for the first time. Sharon is babysitting for her granddaughter three days a week and has retired from her work.

My books (coming from the U.S.) have been on order since May 16. They are supposed to arrive between June 10 and 17, so I wonder when they actually will arrive.

I hope all of you have a good week and keep well.


Tuesday, June 30, 2020 1:20 PM CDT

No, you didn’t miss anything last week because I didn’t post anything. I’ll try to summarize a few of the things happening.

Happy Father’s Day, Happy First Day of Summer, and Happy Longest Day. Yes, all of those things converged on Sunday, June 21.

My printer stopped working, so I bought a new one at Staples on Tuesday the 23rd. When I went out to the parking lot, I couldn’t get my car out of park. I phoned Rachel on my dying cell phone and she rescued me. I had my car towed to the repair shop about a mile away, but it took a long time for AMA to tow it. There were so many car problems because of flooding the previous week, so they were still busy towing cars. Fortunately, the main problem was a fuse that needed to be replaced. So within two days, I had my car back.

I had problems with my computer as well so I arranged to borrow a spare laptop from the Wycliffe office. However, I discovered that one needed an external keyboard as mine did. So I’ve learned to work around the problems on my own. 1) My power cord is held in place with duct tape or the cord pops out and the computer screen soon goes black, since the battery is very poor. 2) I need to use an external keyboard with it because the backspace and enter keys are not working. 3) I can use Shaw mail for email, but to add an attachment, I need to use Outlook. Too much information? Well, maybe that’s why I didn’t write anything last week.

On Thursday, June 25, FedEx dropped off a box on my doorstep. As the driver was leaving, he called over his shoulder, “You’ll never be able to lift it.” He was right. It wasn’t a huge box, but it weighed at least 40 pounds and contained 85 “Holding on to Hope.” I’ve been busily sending out books and sent quite a load of them out by mail on Saturday. I hope the ones I sent arrive safely.

We’ve had some good video visits with Dennis. There’s not much to say except, “I love you,” and wave at each other. We don’t have a lot to say. Rachel keeps sending photos of the family that he can see. I’ll have a face-to-face visit on Thursday morning.

Renylor has her own YouTube channel on cooking and a number of subscribers that are now approaching 500, Filipinos who are interested in seeing her cook. She’s having fun doing it and she often shares the food she’s made with me. I eat things with mussels, shrimp, squid, and scallops. No one else does. I never cooked anything with shrimp years back because Dennis was terribly allergic to it. So, therefore, none of my family learned to eat seafood. (Tim and Andrew won’t eat it.)

Most mornings start out sunny, and we have a rainstorm by the afternoon. We’ve had enough rain now and everything is very green.

This week we have Canada Day on the 1st and Tim’s 41st birthday on the 2nd. Also, Happy 4th of July. There’s not much to celebrate when everyone is offended by something and statues keep being torn down. Next, I’ve heard they will be coming for any statue of Jesus or stained glass windows where he is depicted as being white.

May you live in peace wherever you are.






Monday, July 6, 2020 10:19 AM CDT

Happy Canada Day (July 1) Happy birthday, Tim (July 2nd) and Happy 4th of July. I hope you are having some good celebrations. I told Tim that on July 2 -- 41 years ago, I had a really busy day for me. He had to think about that for a while and then caught on.

We had a party for Tim on July 2nd, with our friends and relatives—Rachel, Kelley, Melynda, Rob, Tim, Renylor, Andrew and me. It was a pizza party by our front doorstep. It was a bit chilly, but it didn’t rain. That was a big plus. We had a fun evening.

On Thursday morning, I had a face-to-face time with Dennis. As he was being pushed in his wheelchair to the garden area, I saw a huge rabbit hopping across the lawn. Dennis couldn’t see the rabbit, so I reached out and touched his shoulder so I could point the rabbit out to him. S, the recreational aid, said sternly, “You can’t touch him.” (I felt a sense of shock. After all, Dennis is my husband and I was in no way endangering him.) I was wearing a mask and had no intention of doing anything more than pointing out the rabbit.) That made me feel really sad and I remembered the days we would hold hands in church. Will any of that ever come back?

In the past week, I’ve sent out a pile of books. May they bless the readers. I think I’m about done now. I went to the office today (Friday) to send out an email newsletter. When I got to my office, I found that someone had removed my mouse, and I had forgotten my password. All was not lost because I left a couple of things at the office. I was able to send the letters from home and then attach the mailing lists from the office.

On Friday I sold six copies of my book to a Filipino friend whom I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. We could only visit at a distance, but it was nice to see each other after all these years of sharing messages at Christmas.

Have a good, peaceful, safe week.


Tuesday, July 14, 2020 9:50 PM CDT

When I was a child, the school year ended the end of May. My mother used to say that once we reached the 4th of July, our summer vacation was half over and we were counting down to fall. I hate to think of the fact that our days are already getting shorter. I want to hold on to summer as long as I can. Spring was so odd in this age of COVID. Hope for the future is what we need. Hope for something that is more normal. I see (and feel) sadness around me, especially for people who want to work and don’t have jobs.

The number of people with COVID is going up, but a lot of them are younger, and they aren’t the ones who are dying. That’s because more testing is being done. So is it spreading. A friend in Australia says they are going into six weeks of lockdown. At a time when restrictions are being eased. People are allowed to go to more places. But not church.

Video visit with Dennis last week (July 7): Rachel wrote root beer on a piece of paper. He nodded and he made the motion of drinking something. This was encouraging because he could read the words, and it also indicated that it had been brought to him. (Rachel had dropped off a carton of 12 A & W root beer bottles last week for the nursing assistants to take to his room.) We also asked him about the money he had given me last week and he held up four fingers again. We still haven’t figured it out. Today (July 14) we had a video visit with Dennis. This time Mom Seever and Dennis’s brother Al joined us from Minnesota. It was a surprise and encouragement for Dennis.

Eleven degrees (51), cold, windy and rainy this morning. It even feels like fall. In the past three years, I had “No Greater Love Music Festival to look forward to in August. Not so this year.

I’m getting a new (refurbished) computer (desktop) from Amazon. Now I need to remember a bunch of passwords.

Tim, Renylor, and Andrew went to Taber for the weekend to visit Mama Maria. They had a good visit and Andrew came back with a badly need haircut done by his grandma.
I hope you are having a good week.


Wednesday, July 22, 2020 4:17 PM CDT

This will just be a quick note to catch up with the past week.

Last Thursday we had a ladies’ only birthday party for Kelley—on our front porch area. It was a Crave cupcake party. Crave cupcakes are a specialty of three Crave bakeshops in Calgary—mini cupcakes with 16 decadent flavors of icing in swirls. Peanut butter, coconut cream, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate, banana split and the list goes on.

I now have a new-to-me desktop computer. Tim assembled the parts and transferred all of the information from my barely functional laptop. I have one of his old, large screens. It will be a great computer when I figure out where everything is now located. I’m gradually figuring things out. Laptop screens are so tiny in comparison.

I had an extra six-foot face-to-face visit with Dennis last Saturday because someone cancelled their visit. I was thankful to have it. Will anything ever be normal? Rachel had a visit with Dennis last week on Wednesday and then got me up on Messenger, and then Ken and Sharon Seever. Dennis has been able to see most of his family last week thanks to modern technology.

Rob has been assembling whole bikes from broken, discarded bikes. This afternoon he brought one over for Andrew. Andrew finally learned to ride this summer. Previously he hadn’t learned to ride because he was afraid of falling and finally overcame that fear.

This afternoon is 22 degrees or 72 degrees F. It really feels hot in our house because there is no air circulation. None of the living room windows open. Why would anyone build a house with three nonfunctional livingroom windows? Cutting costs?

I’ve had vacation time this week and have been catching up on things. A little, anyway. No trips. No sightseeing. COVID-19 affects everything, although I don’t notice it as much as back in late March and April. In fact, putting a mask on your face now seems almost “normal.”

Voices from the past—Last week I got a call from Barb, the wife of our Bible study leader from 20 years ago and a close friend of mine. Great to have a visit with her. I also got a call from Yasmin, my Pakistani neighbor from many years ago. She is very unhappy in Canada and asked me to pray for her, so I did, over the phone, with her permission.

I’m making cookies this afternoon with Stevia instead of half of the sugar for Tim and family (mostly). I keep them in my freezer and have something sweet to eat that is low sugar on occasion.


Tuesday, July 28, 2020 8:19 PM CDT

Just a quick update –

It was HOT today, the hottest we’ve had so far this summer. The temperature was 88 degrees (31 degrees C.).

We had our morning visit with Dennis via Messenger, but our mic wasn’t working so he could see me but not hear me.
I had vacation time last week but didn’t accomplish much. I’ll have more vacation time in August.

I’ve gotten some interesting reactions to my book. I’m happy to hear from various people who like it.

On Sunday night, Rachel and I “attended” an online concert with my favorite singer, Jason Gray, and his son Kipper. We had “front row seats.” It was really good – at Redeemer Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake to raise funds for the Minnesota Epilepsy foundation. The audience was all online.

I hope you are having a good week in spite of all of the restrictions.


Wednesday, August 5, 2020 10:12 PM CDT

What a beautiful Sunday. The temperature got up to 84 degrees today (29 C.). I watched a Vimeo of Grace Baptist Church service. People are going to vote on a cautious reopening.

This (Monday) afternoon I wrote notes on newsletters while watching a Jason Gray online concert for the third time. I was able to focus on what I was writing and it made the time pass more quickly.

I’m enjoying my desktop computer with the large screen (one of Tim’s old screens,) It makes things so much easier to see.Sunday afternoon I went with Tim, Renylor and Andrew to Princes Island Park. It was a lovely place to be in the sunshine with beautiful flowers all around. After our walk, we went to an Italian place that sold gelato (like ice cream). I had a white chocolate raspberry cone. So delicious! Afterward we came home and had hot dogs on the barbecue, baked beans and fruit and ate our meal on the patio in front of the house. Everything about the afternoon was the same as pre-COVID except that at the Gelato place we socially distanced while standing on the sidewalk and all wore masks. Also, we needed a mask to enter the restroom at the park.

Rachel had a six-foot outdoor visit with Dennis on Wednesday evening. She used her cell phone to include me. It was great! A few days ago I tried calling him at George Boyack, but he had a problem with his hearing aid so couldn’t understand me at all. He did get the message that I love him.

I’ve been getting lovely notes back from people who are enjoying my book. I’ve given many away and 38 books have been sold online at Amazon.

News to note:

The Canada-U.S. border could be closed for months.

Schools will be opening this fall.

August 1st. We joined Wycliffe 45 years ago.










Wednesday, August 12, 2020 9:37 PM CDT

Good news! Carewest George Boyak now is allowing visitors inside the building. I can visit anytime between 9:30 and 1 P.M. on Monday in Dennis' room. I'm looking foward to the visit.


Monday, August 17, 2020 5:18 PM CDT

Today was a beautiful, sunny Sunday with a temperature of 85 degrees (29 degrees C.) The normal afternoon rains (downpours) of June and July have stopped, so the grass in our lawn has turned brown in the past couple of weeks. Monday—The temperature is now 90 degrees (32 degrees C,) It’s hot!

Saturday, August 15 – Tim, Renylor, Andrew and I went to Pearce Estate Park this afternoon, a place where I had not been previously. We walked down to the Bow River, where we enjoyed the sunshine and watching people float down the river on rubber rafts or just with life jackets and go over the rapids, which were neither threatening nor dangerous. One person was in a shortened, modified kayak and would go over the rapids again and again. Each time he paddled to the side to calm water to get to the top and sometimes he would flip over going down. Wisely, he wore a helmet.(Rachel says the rapids were man-made so people could practice going over rapids to give them experience.)

I’ve gotten numerous positive reactions to my book, “Holding on to Hope.” The postmistress saw me sending six copies to a friend in Australia who will use them as Christmas presents, so she wanted to buy one. Lynn wasn’t sure if she could read it because she is Chinese and still has a challenge reading English, but she found my book was easy enough to read. My niece is reading my book to clients in a nursing home—and they enjoyed it. She is now working in assisted living and has been reading it again.

Today was a first. I was able to visit Dennis in the nursing home and hold his hand. I tried to read my book to him, but it was too difficult for him to understand since I had a mask on. He did enjoy having me read a devotional to him from “Our Daily Bread.” It’s good to have things getting a little bit more normal. Slowly. One step at a time.
****************************************************************************************************
HALF PAST AUGUST (Yes, it’s that time of year again.)

I shared this last year as well as several years before that and want to share it again. The author, who is unknown, did a brilliant job of painting a vivid word picture. This is for me, as much as it is for the reader and always a reminder that fall is almost here.
*******
It wasn't the dusty look of the leaves or the flash of early goldenrod or the fattening pods on the milkweed. It wasn't those brilliant, cool days and chilly nights, right out of late September. It wasn't the different sound in the cawing of the crows, nor the chirping of the crickets or the katydids rasping in the darkness. It wasn't any one thing that made mid-August feel and look and sound like the very first stages of Autumn. It was all those things coming at once, and at a time when we really didn't want to think about any season but summer.

That's the way it usually happens. There you are, right in the midst of summer, enjoying the sun, climbing a mountain or sailing a boat, eating the best sweet corn ever grown and the ripest juiciest tomatoes a garden ever produced. And thinking fine, idle summer thoughts. Then an insect or a wildflower or a breath of Canadian air intrudes, and you glance at the calendar and see that just days away are the first day of September.

Then you hear the frenzy in the rasping calls of cricket and katydid. You see the first red leaf on a sumac. You look for a daisy, and you see that the first blue asters are already in bloom. And you realize that you can lie abed till 6 o'clock and still get up with the sun. Then you know. Then you can read the clock of the year almost as well as the cricket and the katydid. It's already half-past August, less than fifteen minutes till Autumn!

Author unknown

I might add the following: I know autumn is on the way when Anne outside my window exchanges her green "dress" for a gold one. (It hasn’t happened yet this year because we had a lot of rain in June and July.)


Wednesday, August 26, 2020 10:44 PM CDT

Our video visit with Dennis went well this week. He was happy to see us and happy to see the photos that Rachel had taken on Friday when the two of us were out at Reader’s Rock Garden. Reader’s Rock Garden is a beautiful botanical garden on a hillside next to a large cemetery. The area has been planted with many flowers and has steep climbing trails (rock steps). No, the two of us didn’t do any climbing. However, it was a lovely adventure.

On Wednesday, Rachel had an outdoor visit with Dennis and was able to bring three other people—Tim, Renylor and Andrew. She brought Dennis a burger and onion rings for a meal, and Tim brought Dennis A&W root beer. This is the first time Dennis has seen Tim and his family in person since March. He was very excited to see all of them.

I had some vacation days this past week and watched a number of Christian movies during that time. It got my mind off of work.

Andrew will be going back to school this fall. Two of us in the household are high risk so we will need to be extra careful around him. He will be more focused in a classroom than doing school online.

Tim continues to work one week at the office and one week from home. All of my work is done from home.

Have a good rest of the week.

.


Wednesday, August 26, 2020 10:44 PM CDT

Our video visit with Dennis went well this week. He was happy to see us and happy to see the photos that Rachel had taken on Friday when the two of us were out at Reader’s Rock Garden. Reader’s Rock Garden is a beautiful botanical garden on a hillside next to a large cemetery. The area has been planted with many flowers and has steep climbing trails (rock steps). No, the two of us didn’t do any climbing. However, it was a lovely adventure.

On Wednesday, Rachel had an outdoor visit with Dennis and was able to bring three other people—Tim, Renylor and Andrew. She brought Dennis a burger and onion rings for a meal, and Tim brought Dennis A&W root beer. This is the first time Dennis has seen Tim and his family in person since March. He was very excited to see all of them.

I had some vacation days this past week and watched a number of Christian movies during that time. It got my mind off of work.

Andrew will be going back to school this fall. Two of us in the household are high risk so we will need to be extra careful around him. He will be more focused in a classroom than doing school online.

Tim continues to work one week at the office and one week from home. All of my work is done from home.

Have a good rest of the week.

.


Wednesday, September 2, 2020 9:39 PM CDT

It’s beginning to feel like fall. There’s a chill in the air, and days are much shorter. However, there’s no clusters of yellow leaves on the trees as there normally would be.

Rachel and I had an outdoor visit with Dennis on Saturday and took along a slide projector and some slides from Papua New Guinea and some train slides. Although the day was too bright and the slides didn’t show up well, Dennis enjoyed being reminded of past days. On Tuesday we had a family video visit with Dennis, but he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids so he heard nothing and only understood that we were waving at him. How frustrating!

Andrew went to school today. He will need to be very cautious so corona doesn’t come home with him.

My friend Marie from Taber spent the night here last night. We were cautious and social distanced. It was good to see my friend again after such a long time of not seeing people.

Tim has decided to paint my kitchen cupboards, much to my delight. I last painted them in 1998 and changed them from brown to white at that time. They really needed painting but I couldn’t envision doing that myself. I’m thankful, and he’s doing a really good job.



Wednesday, September 2, 2020 9:39 PM CDT

It’s beginning to feel like fall. There’s a chill in the air, and days are much shorter. However, there’s no clusters of yellow leaves on the trees as there normally would be.

Rachel and I had an outdoor visit with Dennis on Saturday and took along a slide projector and some slides from Papua New Guinea and some train slides. Although the day was too bright and the slides didn’t show up well, Dennis enjoyed being reminded of past days. On Tuesday we had a family video visit with Dennis, but he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids so he heard nothing and only understood that we were waving at him. How frustrating!

Andrew went to school today. He will need to be very cautious so corona doesn’t come home with him.

My friend Marie from Taber spent the night here last night. We were cautious and social distanced. It was good to see my friend again after such a long time of not seeing people.

Tim has decided to paint my kitchen cupboards, much to my delight. I last painted them in 1998 and changed them from brown to white at that time. They really needed painting but I couldn’t envision doing that myself. I’m thankful, and he’s doing a really good job.



Monday, September 7, 2020 5:45 PM CDT

Another week has flown by rapidly, and we are quickly approaching fall. We’ve had a few chilly fall-like days, but for the most part, we’re still experiencing summer. I’ve seen a few clusters of yellow leaves in the trees that line our street, but not anything like most years.

On Sunday, I watched the online service from our church as I usually do. Then I discovered an online service with Rev. Chuck Swindol where he spoke on Hebrews 11, heroes of the faith. He quoted a song sung more than 30 years ago by the well-known Christian gospel singer, Steve Green. It meant a lot to me in the past and still does today. Yes, I want to be faithful. How about you?

Find Us Faithful

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road,
And those who've gone before us
Line the way.
Cheering on the faithful,
Encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament
To God's sustaining grace.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.

Today is Labor Day up here in Canada also. I’ve mostly been reading things on Facebook and writing up information on my book for a friend who produces a monthly writing newsletter for people living in Alberta. When my book arrived at Joy’s Orphans Home in India, which I help support, the pastor there had a celebration with rice and chicken with his church congregation and took pictures of them holding the book. He is translating some of the stories into Banjara for the people.

The Ausmus family in Minnesota has an annual Labor Day get together. Rachel and I had thought of going to Minnesota for it, but COVID certainly changed everyone’s plans, We had a Zoom meeting on Sunday with most of the family present.

Tim finished painting my kitchen cupboards. They look great! It makes me so happy.

Rachel and I have an outdoor visit with Dennis Wednesday evening. Today is chilly, but Wednesday is supposed to be warmer.

I hope you have a peaceful, safe week with God’s richest blessings.




Wednesday, September 16, 2020 9:10 PM CDT

Sunday -- We have transitioned from summer two days ago with a temperature of 80 (27) degrees down to a chilly 54 (12 C.) degrees today. I see a few more clusters of golden leaves on the trees, but still not looking like autumn. The golden leaves will be coming soon enough.

At Wednesday chapel (on Zoom from the Wycliffe office)The person leading it quoted the Steve Green song, "Find Us Faithful" which I quoted in last week's Caring Bridge. Was it just a coincidence or is the Lord challenging us to be faithful? I emailed Paul afterward, and no, he hadn't watched Rev. Chuck Swindoll's sermon in which he qoted "Find Us Faithful."

I had a meal at Rachel’s condo last Wednesday night along with Rob and Makayla. Then we went to see Dennis in the gazebo at the nursing home. He enjoyed seeing slides from our days in PNG and brought back a lot of memories for him and for me. We’re hoping to show him a film from days long past on this coming Friday night, but have not yet found the projector.

We finally figured out what he means when he holds up two fingers. He wanted two rolls of toonies to put into his coin book. I got two rolls for him and he was absolutely delighted when I held them up during our Tuesday video visit.

I was hoping to get new glasses when I went to see my optometrist a week ago. Unfortunately, new glasses won’t correct my vision. I’m now seeing 20/50 in both eyes. My vision gets better and then worse, so I hope I’m seeing better by next spring when I need to renew my driver’s license when I need to see at least 20/40. What causes it to worsen? He suggested the combination of diabetes, glaucoma, RK surgery 30 years ago, and macular degeneration. He said he wouldn’t tell me to stop driving, but I should limit my driving to daytime only, sticking close to home, and avoiding freeway driving. I’m doing all that already. I did get prescription magnifying glasses to read books, much easier than holding a magnifying glass over my book.

Rachel’s boyfriend Rob now has a job after being laid off in early spring. On Monday he will start working as a plumbing foreman. It’s a great answer to prayer and he realizes that people have been praying for him. Please pray that it will work out well for him. Everyone is excited.

I hope you are having a great week. Enjoy fall wherever you are. It’s happening soon.


Wednesday, September 23, 2020 10:34 PM CDT

Happy Autumn. The trees along the street are getting their golden leaves.

It will be a short post tonight. Last week, Rachel, Rob, Andrew, and I visited Dennis outside by the nursing home in the garden. Rachel helped him put toonies in a collecting book, which made Dennis happy. A huge jack rabbit hopped up to us, totally unafraid, and then went to sleep in a hollow in the ground four feet from us. I’m sure the rabbit was a regular visitor to the garden. The flower boxes are all about four feet off the ground so he doesn’t eat them.

Each year I go to Fall Conference for InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. This year it’s on Zoom. I hope I can connect with the Zoom sessions Friday and Saturday.


Thursday, October 1, 2020 10:24 PM CDT

Happy October! The trees along the street have turned to gold. A year ago, we had snow by this time. I’m glad it’s been warm yet.
**********************************
“Writing with unflinching boldness” was the theme of this years’ Fall Conference for InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship last weekend. I’ve looked forward to Fall Conference every year since 1999, and this year was no exception. What fun it is to see friends I’ve made in past years. Normally held each year in Edmonton, this year it was on Zoom. Our call to write lies in our faithfulness. First of all, we called to be followers of Jesus.

Our speaker, Randal Rauser, challenged us to not let our fears hold us back from doing what God has called us to do. 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Three fears that can hold us back are apathy, antipathy, attack. Apathy is when no one is interested, Antipathy occurs when people don’t agree with us, and attack is when people actually attack us for our view. Rauser gave us the example of Paul who got his calling by being knocked from a horse. He received his calling to go to the Gentiles. But he also was a tentmaker.

Rauser’s father was lamenting over all the money he had lost in business deals that didn’t work out. Until the Lord reminded him, “It was all my money.” That’s a reminder to me that all of my talent is what God has given me and He wants me to use it. I need to leave the results to Him.
******************************
On Tuesday we had a nice video visit with Dennis, and his brother Al and mother joined us from Minnesota. He indicated that he wanted some more root beer, so Rachel will buy some for him when she shops.

On Monday Rachel took me out of town for an adventure—we ate at The Station in Strathmore, 50 km. out of Calgary. It is a railroad-themed eating place, and Dennis was with the whole family when we ate there about seven years ago. We also saw a place where Rachel and her friends camped this year and then went to a Salvation Army thrift store. She found a lovely walker for $32 that would normally be around $400. She says I’m going to need it some day, which is true. I find it much easier to push a shopping cart around Co-op than to walk anywhere on my own.

I had an eye appointment in the far south of Calgary yesterday. Then Gayle and I went out to eat Chinese food. Gayle has often been my driver for eye appointments. It was fun eating out two times this past week. The last time I remember eating out anywhere was when Dennis and I went out to eat for Valentine’s Day, a long time ago.

I hope you are having a good week. It’s almost over.


Tuesday, October 6, 2020 9:50 PM CDT

The golden leaves are drifting slowly to the ground. The weather is still warm, but snow will be coming one day. I hope not soon. We’ve had snow in the past on September 24, but not this year.

On Sunday I went to church for the first time since COVID in March. It was strange to see so few people there. Rachel played keyboard and Rob picked me up and brought me. I was able to sell my book to four or five of my friends that I hadn’t seen since March. It was strange that so few people were there. After the service, we all congregated outside at safe distances.

******* I posted this on Facebook:
My daughter and I were shopping at a local thrift store when she brought her new “find” to me. She quickly looked it up on her cell phone. “It’s only $36 and a new one like this sells for $400. You’re going to need it sooner or later.” So, I bought it. My new acquisition? A walker. I used to walk around our neighborhood for an equivalent of eight blocks and can no longer do it. Pushing a shopping cart in our local grocery store is easy because I can keep my balance. Would I dare go out walking, pushing my new walker? I’m thinking about that one. Would you do it? ---I got many responses cheering me on. Renylor took a picture of me when we went out for a walk, and 135 people responded to the picture. The most expressive one was flashing red letters spelling out GO GIRL. Renylor wishes that I would have gotten the walker in the summer so we could have been walking together all summer.
**************
I got a flu shot plus the first installment of a shot for shingles at Co-op yesterday. I’m feeling a bit stiff and have occasional jabbing muscle pains. I get the second shot for shingles in December.

We had our normal video chat with Dennis this morning, but the connection was bad. Rachel has been making some arrangement. The two of us will have an in-person visit with Dennis on Friday morning, and we will be able to get a day pass for Dennis to come home on Canadian Thanksgiving Day for the day. How great is that?

Have a great week.




Tuesday, October 13, 2020 10:22 PM CDT

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. Fall is truly in the air, and many of the beautiful golden leaves have fallen. “Anne” in front of our house is now leafless and shivering in the cold. And the temperature gets down to freezing at night.

We were all so excited to have Thanksgiving together as a family, socially distanced around two tables and wearing masks. We had arranged for Dennis to come home for the day, his first time to be home since July 2019 when we had a Seever family reunion. Then one hour before the Handi-bus was going to pick him up at the nursing home, we got a call. He would not be coming home after all. Someone on the fourth floor of the nursing home (but on a different wing) had COVID. Now all of the clients at the nursing home are confined to their rooms. Pray that COVID won’t spread and for the healing of the person who has it. What a disappointment it was for all of us. Rachel made a cardboard cut-out of Dennis’ head and hands, dressed him in a sweatshirt, covered the lower half with a blanket and put “Dennis” into a chair. That way we remembered Dennis who couldn’t be with us.

We still had a puzzle on our dining room table from when Tim and Renylor had gotten it halfway put together back in January. I had covered it with a heavy clear plastic table cloth and we just ignored it. I did taxes on top of it. When Rob came over yesterday, he was excited to start working on it again, so he, along with Tim and Renylor finished it. Now it will be mounted on cardboard and will become picture on Tim and Renylor’s wall. (It’s a picture of mountains and a lake with canoes lined up along the lake.)

We had our Tuesday morning video visit with Dennis. He was happy to see us and if he was disappointed about not coming home yesterday, he didn’t express that. It was Renylor’s birthday on the 11th, so I asked him to sing “Happy Birthday” to her, so he did.

About the walker that I bought at a Salvation Army store Rachel: “The walker is a game-changer. You are walking better and faster than before.”

Rachel and I had an hour visit with Dennis at his nursing home last Friday. She played the piano in the tiny “chapel” and we had a great visit. He was so excited to see us. When one woman popped her head into the room, I thought she was going to tell us our music was too loud. No at all. She asked us if she could take a picture of the three of us for the nursing home newsletter. Later a man told us he liked the music. Rachel brought Dennis A&W root beer, candy and some other things.

Have a good week!


Wednesday, October 21, 2020 10:50 PM CDT

Winter is here! Not according to the calendar of course, but we’ve had snow on the ground for the past week. I’m already tired of it, so I hope it doesn’t stay.

Dennis was delighted to see his family on Tuesday’s video chat. His brother Al and mother stopped by from Minneapolis to chat.

Thought for today:
2 Chronicles 20:15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

I shared the following on my timeline three years ago, and when I posted it again today, I got a lot of responses. Matheson’s prayer has been very meaningful to me, and I thought it might bless you at some time if not now. Keep safe.

******************************************
Almost 13 years ago (on November 13, 2004) my husband, Dennis, had a massive stroke. While he was working hard to recover, I found a prayer written by George Matheson, a blind pastor and hymn writer, more than 100 years ago. I posted it on my wall and would read it daily. It gave me the courage I needed for each day.

Here is the prayer:
“Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience divine. You have taught us that your will should be accepted, simply because it is your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his cup yet still be willing to drink it because of a conviction that Your eyes see farther than his own. Father, give me Your divine power—the power of Gethsemane. Give me the strength to wait for hope—to look through the window when there are no stars. Even when my joy is gone, give me the strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night and say, ‘To my heavenly Father, the sun still shines.’ I have reached the point of greatest strength once I have learned to wait for hope.” --George Matheson, 1842-1906.

God bless you all and give you a good week


Tuesday, October 27, 2020 6:39 PM CDT

There’s not much to report for this past week. Today the temperature is up to 50 degrees. After two weeks of “Winter” the snow all melted. I’m happy to have fall back again.

We had a good Zoom visit with Dennis today. Things are a bit hectic as his nursing home. There are now 14 residents who have COVID and 10 staff who tested positive for COVID. Please pray for the Lord’s protection for everyone there. So far it sounds like the residents are sheltering in place. They all are on the fourth floor where Dennis is, but on a different wing. Alberta Health runs about eight nursing homes and so far, this is the only one with COVID.

I’m praying for the U.S. election and that there will be no rioting and violence afterward. No matter what, the world is still in the Lord’s control.


Wednesday, November 4, 2020 10:57 PM CST

Happy November! We had a lovely day on Tuesday when the temperature got up to 72 degrees (22 degrees C.) That’s quite a change from the two weeks of snow on the ground we already had this fall.

The number of COVID cases was at 15 residents last week at the nursing home, and 11 staff members isolated at home. It has now dropped to seven active cases, while the staff remains at 11.

Last evening Rachel and I ate at Edo Japan and then went to two stores for Christmas shopping. We drew names this year, which limits the number of people we need to buy gifts for. I am done with my Christmas shopping at this point.

I watched the election returns last night. Yes, we see politics up here in Canada too. In spite of the crazy events, God is still in control. I keep reminding myself of that.

Dennis' birthday is on Sunday. Rachel hopes to arrange a drive-by when we can drive by the front door and wave at Dennis if a nurse brings him down to the door. We'll let you know how it works out.


Tuesday, November 10, 2020 8:47 PM CST

Winter has returned with blowing snow on Sunday and more snow today.

On Sunday we tried to drop of simple gifts for Dennis’ 74th birthday (root beer and candy) but all the doors were closed to outside visitors, even to drop something off at the front desk. Rachel and Renylor had both taken family photos, so when we had our normal Tuesday visit, Rachel showed the pictures to Dennis on her cell phone. When he saw the words “Happy Birthday” on a cardboard, he started singing “Happy Birthday.” He was very happy and appreciated all of the birthday greetings people had left for him on his Facebook page.

Dennis' bother Ken and his wife Sharon have had COVID for a couple weeks. Ken is doing much better, but Sharon still feels very exhausted. They would appreciate prayers. They are both just a few years younger than we are, so this has been a big concern.


Friday, November 20, 2020 10:47 PM CST

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the U.S. in spite of not being able to celebrate with family. We had our celebration up here in October with most of the family together (eight of us including three non-family members.) There will probably be no group gatherings at all in December.

Dennis is no longer isolated in his room and can now eat in the dining room . He was happy to see us on Zoom last Tuesday. He is always happy to see us. I remember back when he could come to church in his wheelchair, I could give him a kiss and hold his hand. That is such a long time ago. Will those times ever come back?

This week Rachel, Andrew and I had a Zoom visit with Dennis’ mom, his brother Al, and Ken and Sharon (Dennis’ brother and his wife). Ken and Sharon are getting over COVID and had been very sick with it. We were all happy to see them on the Zoom call.

Andrew turned 13 on the 13th. It's been exactly 16 years since Dennis had his stroke.

My Thanksgiving cactus is blossoming. Outside, it is very much winter.


I had my car winterized on Wednesday. I didn’t need snow tires put on because I left them on last spring. I have been doing very little driving.

Have a good quiet, safe weekend.



Monday, November 30, 2020 9:45 PM CST

Christmas is coming! Christmas music is now on our local Christian radio station. We had 50 degree (11 degrees C.) temperatures this past week and most of our snow melted. I welcome Christmas this year as a nice change of seasons. We need something to focus on besides Covid-19.

I enjoyed listening to Pastor Chuck Swindoll for the past two Sundays. He was one of my favorite writers in past years with his books filled with devotional writing.

We celebrated U.S. Thanksgiving with Tim, Renylor and Andrew last Thursday. It was quiet this year without Rachel and Rob who keep things lively. We ate ham and scalloped potatoes and brownies that I had to peel off of the aluminum foil. Andrew pronounced them good anyway.

My small Thanksgiving cactus has 18 buds/blossoms, quite an amazing feat for such a small plant.

We continue to appreciate Zoom times with Dennis each Tuesday. We’re glad that he is happy and animated each time we see him on Zoom.

Covid-19 figures have spiked here in Alberta. Now they are limiting weddings and funerals to 10 people. Andrew is now doing his school from home, starting today. People are only allowed to have their own immediate family in their homes; no gathering for Thanksgiving and probably not for Christmas.

We're happy that Ken and Sharon Seever are doing much better after coming down with Covid a number of weeks ago.

Have a good, safe week. May the Lord richly bless you.


Monday, December 7, 2020 10:21 PM CST

Bits and Pieces

We’ve had spring-like weather with 57 degrees and 59 degrees (13 and 15 degrees C.) I’m enjoying it while it lasts. Snow is predicted for Thursday.

Covid-19 report from the nursing home: The numbers are up again. One person died of Covid on the North wing where Dennis lives, and everyone is on lockdown again. Pray that no one else will get sick from it. We’re thankful for our Zoom meetings on Tuesdays. Rachel was able to drop off root beer, Bounty bars and mints at the nursing home a couple days ago, so Dennis will get them and feel loved.

I hope things are going well for all of you in this season leading up to Christmas. May you know God’s peace.


Monday, December 14, 2020 9:30 PM CST

About 3,900 doses of the Pfizer-bioNTech vaccine will arrive in Alberta next week, and immunizations for ICU doctors and nurses, respiratory therapists and long-term care workers are expected to begin Dec. 16. Since two doses are required, that means around 1,950 people will be immunized.

The last time I held Dennis’ hand or gave him a kiss was last February. We still enjoy the Zoom visits but I miss personal visits. Oh how I miss personal visits. There are now five Covid cases on his wing. We’ll have a Zoom visit with him tomorrow.

People aren’t allowed to visit in other people’s homes, so Rachel couldn’t visit. Instead she came as a “caregiver” helping an elderly woman put up a Christmas tree. I enjoyed her help and I have a beautiful tree. Thanks, Rachel. It worked well.

The cats used to bother the decorations on the tree. This year they are content to sleep under the tree during the day.

I’m planning to retire in early spring — just five weeks before my 75th birthday. I’ve worked with Wycliffe for 45 years. I will probably still be volunteering at times and can come to the weekly chapel time.

After having some unseasonably warm weather, we are once again having snow and minus temperatures. We had new snow on top of our fence on Wednesday morning, and a black squirrel scampered back and forth along the top. I’m not sure where he was going or why. A little later a magpie sat on top of the fence pecking at something.

I received my second shingles vaccination. It’s a good idea because I’ve heard of people really suffering from Shingles. In fact, a friend of ours years back went blind in one eye when it was attacked by the virus.



Tuesday, December 29, 2020 2:16 PM CST


I posted this on Facebook on December 23rd. (Wednesday)
Dear praying friends, my husband Dennis is in a nursing home with 10 cases of Covid-19 on his floor. He has been in isolation for quite a while. Today he tested positive for Covid-19 although he is not yet displaying symptoms. Please pray for him and our family.
116 Comments

Dec. 23 I waited between 8 and 8:30 for the electrician to hook up my new electric stove. When no electrician came by 9:20 I called. No hook up on Wednesday the 23rd. They are coming Wednesday the 30th. The receptionist who answered the phone said she would see what she could do. When one of the electricians finished early, she sent him our way, and we got the stove hooked up.

Dec. 25th – Merry Christmas. Tim, Renylor, Andrew and I had Christmas dinner at our place and then had a Zoom call with Rachel, Rob, Makayla and Kelley at Rachel’s condo. We took turns opening presents.
The new stove was great!

We’ve had a lot of snow, and the city doesn’t plow side streets. I got stuck yesterday and Tim needed to shovel me out.

I have been doing some proofreading for a friend and finished it yesterday.

Zoom call with Dennis Tuesday morning. He has been well since Dec. 23rd, but this morning his voice was a little raspy. Is the Covid-19 settling in his throat? So far he hasn’t been sick from it. Many people have been praying for him.


Wednesday, January 6, 2021 9:51 PM CST

Happy New Year! I hope this year gives us more freedom than last year. What does “normal” look like? I think we lost normal last March.

Dennis is doing well and is now in the recovery phase. I’m so thankful. Thanks for all of your prayers.

I can’t believe what is going on in Washington D.C. Who could have even imagined it!

I hope you are having a good week. God bless all of you.


Tuesday, January 19, 2021 9:41 PM CST

On December 23, Dennis was diagnosed with Covid-19, which is extremely dangerous for someone 74 living in a nursing home. Many people prayed and God answered those prayers. Dennis came through it without symptoms and seems happy when we see him during the weekly Zoom family chat times. We’ve been able to see relatives from Minnesota and Georgia at times during the chat. I tell him “I love you,” which he slowly repeats, “I. Love. You.” This is the only sentence he is able to say. We got some good news this week that the second and fourth floors of the nursing home are now Covid-free and will start opening up to personal visits.

We had a “pandemic celebration” for Rachel’s 39th birthday on January 15. She came over to our house so I could give her a small cake and her birthday gift. Tim, Renylor, and Andrew came upstairs from their basement apartment and stood the kitchen doorway so we all could have a chat. This summer we’ll be able to have outdoor birthday parties, and but when will we be able to gather in person?

Tim continues to work at his programming job from home, and Renylor continues to do her cooking videos from their kitchen. Andrew did schooling online for five weeks, but is now back at school in person. He is now about 5’5” or the height of his Aunt Rachel and towers over Renylor and me. In the morning as he leaves for school, I tell him, “Andrew, I love you,” and he replies, “Grandma, I love you too.” That puts a smile on my face.

And what about me? I continue to do my work for the Wycliffe prayer ministries department from home four days a week. After working with Wycliffe for 45 ½ years, I’m planning to retire this spring. I have no definite plans yet, but will probably find enough to fill up my time. I certainly won’t be doing any traveling. Maybe I’ll work on some more writing, along with doing a lot of sorting and organizing.


Monday, February 1, 2021 10:09 PM CST

UPDATE
*****************************
We have had one staff test positive for COVID-19 on the 4th floor yesterday. In the abundance of caution, we have placed the entire floor on room quarantine. We have also tested all residents and staff who work on the 4th floor. We are waiting for the test results to return before we decide our next steps with the 4th floor. For this week at least, we will be deferring all family visits to this floor.
***********************************

No, you didn't miss a post last week. In this Covid-19 isolation, one week just blends with the next. The weather got colder, but now it's starting to warm up again. Dennis' floor was free of Covid-19 cases, so I have a visit in-person scheduled for Saturday the 6th of February. I'll believe it once I walk through the door. Otherwise it can be cancelled for any reason.

Have a good week. Spring is getting closer.


Sunday, February 7, 2021 6:02 PM CST

It’s cold today, -17 degrees F (-28 degrees C.) I’ve been the house all weekend and haven’t bothered to try starting my car. I was planning to shop for groceries yesterday, but that didn’t happen, so I make interesting meals from what I have in my freezer or on my shelves. I had carrot soup last night with cheese in it. I tried out my oven and made chocolate chip cookies last night, most of which I’ll give away to Andrew and family downstairs.

COOKIE CAPER Memory from seven years ago ---On Friday, I made chocolate chip cookies and stored them in a quart container after sharing a plate of them with my family downstairs (Tim, Renylor and Andrew live in an apartment in our basement.) Later Andrew’s voice came from the living room, “I’ll save some cookies for Grandpa.” I didn’t know quite what he meant, but I was busy at the computer, so I just answered “uh-huh” without checking anything out. The next day when I came home from shopping, there were exactly four cookies left in the container! Alarmed at all he had eaten, I carried the nearly empty container downstairs. No, he hadn’t eaten them all; he had been sharing them with his family ”to make them happy.” Renylor said they were all very happy. . . especially Tim. My life would be SO dull and boring if I didn’t have Andrew here to liven things up. This memory is from seven years ago.

Dennis will be watching the Super Bowl, the only thing that feels “normal” nowadays. I think I’ll watch it too.

I wrote “Trusting the Lord of All Hope for Prayer Alive at work.

Trusting the Lord of All Hope

On November 13, 2004, our lives changed forever. At 58 years old, my husband Dennis had a huge stroke that took away his speech, his ability to read and write, his ability to walk, and his ability to use his right hand. He learned to spell his name on a plastic children’s spelling board, which my daughter and I used with him almost daily for six weeks. He could read words that were important to him at the time—model railroad, auction, 4 x 4 from ads in the newspaper. A friend of ours said, “What a tragedy the stroke is.” I thought about it and chose to see it as a challenge. A tragedy looks back at all that he lost, while a challenge looks forward at what can be regained with a lot of hard work.

Three people gave me a verse at that time, and I held on to it. “May the Lord of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13 (NIV). Hope was what we needed.

When Dennis was transferred to a rehab hospital 200 km away, I drove the distance weekly. As I drove, I listened to “Faithful One, so Unchanging” and “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” They were such a comfort to me. God was with me—I wasn’t alone.

Dennis learned to walk slowly with a cane, but his speech never returned. He still knows that God loves him and that I love him. When I slowly say, “I love you,” he slowly repeats it back to me: “I. Love. You.” Then he gets a grin on his face and gives me an OK sign. That’s the only sentence he can say.

Dennis was in a personal care home for more than 10 years and now is in a nursing home.

Throughout life’s challenges I’ve learned to trust and pray. God answered my prayers in His own way. I always felt His comfort in whatever circumstance I was in.

God’s latest answer to prayer in our situation was when Dennis tested positive for Covid-19 in December at the age of 74 while living in that nursing home. That’s not a good situation at all. Many people prayed and he never developed any symptoms. Thank you, Jesus.

A verse I like is from 2 Chronicles 20:12b (CEV): “. . . we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” That’s true in so many situations. I’ve felt God’s comfort and peace through prayer over the years and have been encouraged by the many answers to prayer I have received. It’s also a comfort to know that friends and family are praying.

Why do I tell you this? I want to encourage you to never give up, to hold on to the hope that God can give you in all situations, even in difficult ones. In 2020, I published a book called Holding on to Hope in which I’ve shared some of my experiences. If you want to know more, you can ask me. (janet.seever@wycliffe.ca)

I’m reaching a transition point personally with new challenges ahead. I’ve been working with Wycliffe for more than 45 years and I’m planning to retire at the end of April, three days before my 75th birthday. What does the Lord have for me next? I don’t know, but I’m trusting His guidance in my life.

I’ve enjoyed writing “Prayer Alive” in its various forms since 2008. Prayer makes a difference and the work of Wycliffe depends on your prayers. You are important in God’s kingdom! Keep praying and don’t give up. God will bless you for it.











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Wednesday, February 17, 2021 8:41 PM CST

Good news – the nursing home is now Covid-19 free. I was able to visit Dennis in person last week for the first time since October 8.

Today Rachel and I were able to accompany Dennis to a dermatologist appointment. He had a lesion on top of his ear since December that the nursing home doctor wanted him to have checked out. Dr. Hackett took a biopsy of the area and immediately said it was a large 2 cm. basal skin cancer. Next he will see a surgeon at the Skin Cancer Clinic. Pray that his wait won’t be too long. It's a slow growing cancer and probably started a year ago.

Our house in Dallas is ready to put on the market, but everyone down there is just hanging on with cold, cold, cold. The person in property management said that at night their house gets into the 40s and when they warm it up during the day, they maybe get it to 66 degrees before the power goes off with another rolling blackout. I tell myself that spring is coming. The good news (when it warms up) is that there are more buyers than houses for sale.


Monday, March 1, 2021 10:03 PM CST

Just a quick update—

Happy March. The temperature got up to 50 degrees (10 degrees C. ) and everything is melting. It feels like spring is coming.

I’ve had visits with Dennis the past two Sundays. The first Sunday we paged through a train book, and yesterday we looked at an old photo album. Each time I read “Our Daily Bread” to him and then I pray with him. He enjoys my visits.

Step by step I’m working through what I need to do to retire. The end of April is coming up soon.

I went to church yesterday for the first time in about three months. It’s easier when it’s warmer and my car starts! Otherwise, I’ve been watching the service online.

In the fall mice apparently moved into our house and Tim trapped six of them. Our two cats aren’t earning their keep. The mice found some things on my corner shelf and anything not stored in a sturdy container got eaten. Rachel got stainless steel containers for a lot of things and rearranged all of my kitchen to make it more convenient for this older woman. Now, however, I can’t find things. Eventually, I will but in the meantime. . . .


Friday, March 12, 2021 3:54 PM CST

One week blends into the next. Nothing much is happening, but the weather is getting warmer.

I’m enjoying visiting Dennis at the nursing home, and he’s always glad to see me. Last Sunday we paged through a photo album dated from 1976 to 1981. Dennis enjoyed it and went back to page through it a second time.

Andrew told me he is the fourth tallest in his class. He is growing so quickly.

I am so ready for spring to be here. How about you?


Friday, March 19, 2021 11:25 AM CDT

Happy spring. The snow is almost all melted and I can a little green grass that was under it. I’ve waited SO long for this season to come. We could still have a lot of snow in the coming month and even into May, but for now, the world looks brighter. I’ll be getting a Covid vaccination on March 24, so we are moving forward.

I still get to see Dennis on a weekly basis, so that is good.

I went to a dermatologist on Wednesday. I have three small precancerous areas on the back of my right hand that she burned then off using liquid nitrogen. There is another precancerous area along my jawline, maybe the size of a dime. She didn’t say what would be done with that, but she will be waiting for the biopsy of another problem area which I thought a cat scratch that wouldn’t heal properly (for at least a year). She took a biopsy of it, had her assistant cut it down with a razor blade and I need to put petroleum jelly on it. She said that nowadays, biopsies are taking a month to get the results back. We are still waiting for when Dennis will have surgery on the cancer on his ear. All of this is from living in tropical climates under a blazing sun.

Story of my book: I gave a copy to a supporter in California. She told me how she had passed it on to her prayer partner. This friend of hers put it in a side pocket of her purse. She was standing in line and someone read the title of the book, Holding on to Hope. It started a conversation with that person on the topic of hope. Interesting.

I hope you are having a good


Saturday, March 27, 2021 12:13 AM CDT

Quick update:
Rachel visited Dennis last Sunday and was able to set up Zoom calls with family. Dennis enjoyed it immensely.

After having spring-like weather the past week, we got more snow two days ago. But it is melting. This will happen again and again throughout April. I saw human footprints made by bare feet in front of our garage late yesterday afternoon, then alongside of our car and across our sidewalk. The footprints were smaller than my feet. I’m wondering what it’s all about? Who was running barefoot in the snow?

The small unknown lumpy growth on my upper arm turns out to be cancer, and it's booked for removal on May 1st. (Minor surgery.)

Good news. Our rental house in Dallas (Duncanville, actually) is now up for sale. It was just put on the market this morning. Our realator is also our property manager, so that is very convenient, and I know he is someone I can trust. Pray for a quick sale. The money from the house will be our retirement money.

I’ve been busy working on paperwork for retirement-—filling out forms for people in Orlando office. I also need to go to the Wycliffe office to clean out my office.

Have a great week as we approach Easter. I expect to have a small meal with Tim, Rachel and Andrew and have a small ham in the freezer in preparation for that.



Sunday, April 4, 2021 8:43 PM CDT

Happy Easter! He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed! It was good to be at church this morning, even at a distance wearing masks. Rachel practiced six or seven hours for a difficult song for the worship service and then told Roxy that she had only gotten to Level 2 of the Royal Conservatory and mostly plays by ear. So, instead, Roxy played the piano and Rachel stuck with the keyboard. (The song was 23 pages long and provided a musical background for some speaking parts.)

Snow is swirling down, covering everything in a blanket of white. It’s early April, so snow at this time of year isn’t that unusual. However, the warm weather up to temperatures in the high 50s was nice while it lasted. The snow soon melted . . . until next time.

The mystery of the bare footprints in the snow is solved. Yesterday the young man from next door came and introduced himself as John. He said he was looking for his cat. I looked down and noticed he was barefoot. “Are you the one who ran barefoot through the snow and ran between the houses?” He said he was. His black cat –two of them, actually—have found a place to crawl under our front steps. Tim will need to find a way to block that opening again. I didn’t know our Indian neighbors had moved out. With distancing and masks, we don’t see neighbors as often.

I’ll visit Dennis late tomorrow afternoon. Someone else signed up for the Sunday slots and the only ones left were on Monday and later.

Have a great week.


Thursday, April 15, 2021 10:48 PM CDT

On Sunday we said good-bye to our Pastor of 14 years who is leaving to become the executive director of the North American Baptist Association. It’s a big loss for our church.

Pews are marked off so we don’t exceed the 15% occupancy. Sign on one pew: “I have prepared a place for you. Just not this pew.” I laughed when I read it.

I had my medical for my driver’s license. I managed to pass the eyesight portion of it and got a full driver’s licence—no restrictions. It’s for five years. My last one was only for two years. However, I know that I am NOT comfortable driving at night or on the freeway where traffic is going too fast for me. I can’t read the signs fast enough. However, I am so thankful to have my license renewed.

I had a real encouragement two nights ago. My friend Mary called me from Australia. (A friend has gotten her a great long-distance rate.) I was feeling a bit down, and the call really cheered me up.

I visited Dennis today. He was a bit upset that he wasn’t getting a signal on his television set. There are more restrictions once again. Covid is not going away.

Riots and the situation in Minneapolis is so upsetting. Brooklyn Center is the next suburb over from where my sister lives.

I hope you’ve had a good week.


Monday, April 26, 2021 9:21 PM CDT

CB April 26, 2021
Bits and Pieces
April is already coming to its conclusion with just a few more days left. I have three days left of work before retirement.

Three flowers came up in the flower bed. They are about the size of May flowers, but the leaves are different. Some days get up to 64 degrees and then the next day, we have snow. That has happened twice.

We will see Dennis on Zoom tomorrow. The nursing home is now on lock-down because two staff members tested positive for Covid.

I’m happy. My driver’s license was renewed for five years. My eyesight is borderline but no one questioned that. I still have my independence. I also know I don’t drive on the freeway or at night. Too dangerous for me.

My friend Gayle is taking me to an eye appointment in South Calgary on Wednesday.

Rachel took a vacation day and came over to help me clean on Friday. Such a blessing!

On Saturday night I “attended” a Livestream Jason Gray concert. It was great. The view was very clear and I didn’t need to travel anywhere. Nice! This is how it will be until the borders to Canada open.


Wednesday, May 5, 2021 3:28 PM CDT

On Friday, April 30, Renylor and I went for a walk and the temperature was 70 degrees (20 degrees C.). We saw green leaves developing on some of the trees. I got out my walker, which works well.

I am now officially retired. My department gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers which I have greatly enjoyed. I also received many notes of appreciation on Facebook after I posted a picture of the flowers, and many birthday greetings. Thanks so much for those who sent greetings.

Dennis has enjoyed Zoom meetings, especially when Al and Mom Seever joined us last week and Ken and Sharon Seever joined us yesterday. Unfortunately, there are four clients testing positive for Covid-19 in the nursing home, so it is locked down again. Alberta has the highest rate of Covid-19 of all the provinces and of all the states in the U.S as well. Not a great distinction to have. I’ll be getting my second vaccination on Friday.

Rachel and Rob hosted a birthday barbecue for me in Rob’s back yard on Sunday for my 75th birthday. How did I get so old? We kept the numbers down to 9, mostly family members.

My friend Gayle took me to my dermatologist appointment on Tuesday. (I still have my driver’s license, but just drive to local places that are familiar to me.) When Dr. Hackett saw how well the lesion had healed up after the biopsy, she decided not to do more cutting and instead prescribed a chemo cream that will eat away at the rapidly growing cells and leave the normal ones. The cream is applied five days a week, in the evening, and then skip weekends to give it a rest. I need to apply it for six weeks, and then see her in September.

I hope you are having a good week. May you experience the Lord’s blessings.


Thursday, May 13, 2021 5:14 PM CDT

My second week of “long vacation”—aka retirement. I’m slowly getting things done that I need to do and trying to not feel guilty in not getting everything done the first week or the second week. I need to allow myself time to just “take it easy.” I already worked on one story from the past. Rachel gathered together photos that will be used as a slide show for a Wycliffe virtual farewell for me for an hour on May 28.

Dennis has waited since December to have cancer surgery on his ear. Rachel took him to the cancer clinic this morning and initially, his blood pressure was too low, ( 87/60)—but it later came up to a more normal temperature. After the surgery and a follow up surgery to get the rest of it, Rachel wrote, “They got it all. He lost a chunk of ear and looks like some MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter.” Yes, it certainly does. It’s like somebody took a huge bite out of his ear. After Rachel took Dennis back to the nursing home, she had to go to work for the evening shift, 3-9. It was a long day for her. She had picked Dennis up at 6:45 this morning and was with him all day.

The number of new Covid cases each day seems to be dropping. That’s good news. I had my second vaccination last Friday.

Last Sunday, Mother’s Day, was a quiet day. Tim got Renylor and me both a bouquet of flowers and Rachel dropped off a package of licorice because she knows I like it. For the first time in quite a while there was no in-person church service.


Tuesday, May 25, 2021 9:28 PM CDT

Today was cool and rainy, not very springlike. The temperature at 8 p.m. is 50 degrees. This past weekend was the Victoria Day weekend and is usually the weekend that many Canadians venture out for camping. They often get snowed on (about every fourth year.)

The flowering crab tree next door is in full bloom, and my lilacs will start blooming soon. I look forward to that each year. Speaking of weather—we’ve already had a 79 degree day and snow on the 20th.

I’m in my fourth week of retirement and haven’t yet started on any fun things. I’m still catching up on everything I needed to do for retirement. I spent several hours this afternoon at the Wycliffe office, cleaning out my office. I still have more work to do. Some people were working at the office this afternoon, but the office manager assured me that my office won’t be needed any time soon so there is no rush.

Dennis had cancer surgery on his upper ear on May 13, and the surgeon took out a huge piece—like a huge bite from Cookie Monster. The surgeon got it all, for which I am thankful. The stitches come out on the 31st. I get to visit Dennis in person tomorrow and was able to visit him last week. I’m eagerly awaiting when we can meet outside and more of the family can visit with him.

Have a good rest of the week.


Wednesday, June 2, 2021 4:17 PM CDT

The air is filled with the beautiful fragrance of lilacs in our yard and pink crab apple blossoms next door. I enjoy spring so much! The temperature is 84 degrees and the next few days will be warmer.

May 28 --Today Wycliffe had a virtual retirement celebration for me. Rachel had gotten together a bunch of picture and the director’s assistant put together a slide show from it. I was greatly blessed by the kind things people said about me and my work over my 45 years with Wycliffe.

I talked with the person managing the sale of our house in Dallas (Duncanville). They keep finding more things that need to be done before it can be sold. Earlier in the year a company did foundation work and now there are three cracks in the foundation because the foundation shifted. I told Gary that I always dread it when I hear of tornadoes in the Dallas area because I can imagine tornado damage to our house—or hail destroying the roof. The two ladies renting the downstairs moved out last August, so work has been going on since then. It goes on and on and on.

Yesterday I took my car in for an oil change and to have my winter tires changed for summer tires. First they did the oil and then it was time to change the tires. Jay came out from where he was working and said, “Your car has four bolts in each tire. The rims of the tires you brought have five holes. They aren’t the right tires.” I said,”If the tires are mounted on rims, they aren’t my tires.” Tim had put the tires in my car and put the wrong ones in. As it turned out, I didn’t really need the tires changed because I use my car so little, only 1,000 km since October. (620 miles). So I’m keeping my winter tires on because snow starts flying in September some years.


I had an outdoor visit with Dennis on our 46th anniversary, on May 31. It was a outdoor visit in a garden. They had just planted all of the flower boxes, so it will be beautiful later in summer. At the end of the visit, the assistant told me if I put my mask on, I could give Dennis a hug. A hug felt nice on our anniversary—the first hug since March 2020. Dennis was really happy too, and also happy for the M&Ms I brought him. I counted about 25 flower pots.

I got money for my birthday and spent some of it on plants. Renylor also bought plants, so sh has been busy planting.

The Covid numbers are down. Three weeks ago there were 2,200+ cases a day in Alberta, and yesterday the number was 209. That’s good news.

I hope you are having a good week.


Wednesday, June 9, 2021 8:35 PM CDT


June 9th. Today is Mom Seever’s 94th birthday, so I gave her a call. The card I sent her arrived yesterday. Four years ago, we all celebrated her 90th birthday at a lake cabin in Minnesota. Most of the Seever family was there. The rental of the cabin was a retirement gift to Ken from his place of work. Fun!

The weather here in Calgary is cool (52 degrees) and rainy, a good day to stay inside. The lilacs have bloomed well all week and the petals are beginning to fall. We’ll need to wait until next year for their fragrance to once again perfume the air. Seasons change too quickly.

On June 8th, Tim, Renylor, Andrew and I visited Dennis in the garden at the nursing home. We had Rob’s small scooter with us (it can be taken completely apart and carried in a trunk). Dennis was delighted to drive around and around and around on the pathways in the garden. Tim and Andrew walked along with him and I followed behind using my walker. It gives me much more stability.

June 4th was a road trip day. Rachel promised me we could do something special for my birthday, so she took Renylor and me out to Strathmore as a late birthday gift. We visited Rob and Christina’s Climbing High farm (this Rob is Melynda’s brother) and played with baby bunnies and baby goats. We also saw their chickens. We then drove five more miles into Strathmore where we ate at Four Sisters Restaurant and went to several second-hand shops. All in all, it was a fun day—and I was exhausted.

The Covid number today was 139 new cases. The numbers keep going down, which is good news.


Sunday, June 20, 2021 8:14 PM CDT

Happy Father’s Day to all of you fathers reading this, and Happy Summer. This is the longest day of the year; days start getting shorter after this.

I make check lists and slowly check the items off the list. It’s good to have goals so I feel like I am accomplishing something and not wasting my time.

Rachel and I had a garden visit with Dennis Thursday night, and I have an 11 a.m. visit tomorrow. We no longer have permission to bring the little scooter with us.

I went to the Vale Greenhouse with Gayle (my driver) and two other ladies in Black Diamond on Friday. It’s an amazing place with so many plants (not the usual ones) and an art show going on. Fantastic! So many things to look at.

On Saturday, I visited my friend Cindy who did the layout for my book last year. She helped me once again get registered to buy author’s copies of my book. Since we first got set up last year, my email has changed, my password has changed, and I have a different credit card. Needless to say, I had been unable to get into the site. It was the first time I’ve seen Cindy since Covid started.

Have a great, productive week.


Monday, June 28, 2021 5:42 PM CDT

Summer is truly here with temperatures up to 84 degrees (27 degrees C). We appreciate our fans on days like this, since we have no air conditioning and none of the living room windows open. This is the third heat wave of the summer, and some years we hardly get any hot weather. I appreciate the hot weather, but enjoy the cooler mornings.

Dennis is being put into a nursing rehab program at the nursing home to get some of his strength back and see if he can be more independent. This is good news. He used to be much more independent before he had the brain bleed in September 2019 while he was living in Waverley House and kept falling. He was using a cane at that time and not in a wheelchair.

I visited Dennis this past week, and Rachel was there on Sunday. She brought the little scooter with her, took him out in her car, and then let him ride around the block. That gave him a lot of joy.

This week Rachel will be taking Dennis to the audiology clinic to see if they can get a better fit with his ear mold for the ear on which he had the cancer surgery. In the evening we’ll be having a birthday party for Tim and Dennis will be able to attend that—the first family gathering he will be at since Covid-19 shut everything down. That will be exciting for him.

Today is the third day in a row that there have been zero new cases of Covid in Alberta! This is exciting! Next week will be the Calgary Stampede. I’m not sure if that will be a good thing and if more cases will be back after people get together. Some people are carriers without being sick themselves. Will wearing masks be enforced? You won’t find me at the Calgary Stampede this year.

Church yesterday – Starting in September, we will have an interim pastor, Hugh Fraser, who was one of the pastors from 1999 to 2002. People are excited to have him back after the departure of Pastor Harry. We won’t be looking for a permanent pastor at this stage. Also, people will be allowed to sing next week while wearing masks. Do we still know how to sing?? We haven’t sung in church for so long.

A week ago, I went with three other ladies to the Vale Nursery in Black Diamond. It’s a huge place with many little houses filled with plants. It was also an art show with many local artists displaying their work. Afterward we ate at Boston Pizza.

On Saturday, I went to a musical matinee with my friend, Elaine. The musical group put on Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Trial by Jury”. It was held out in the yard by Pumphouse Theatre, with chairs spread out on the lawn to enforce social distancing. It was a hot day, so shade under the trees was very welcome.

Rachel and Rob both got their second vaccinations yesterday. Tim, Renylor, and Andrew went to a park. I got a couple more plants at the Home Depot greenhouse—Lantana and a planter with succulents. Did I need them? No, but they were ones I didn’t have. I seem to remember Lantana being considered a weed in Australia because it grew everywhere in the wild. It’s a beautiful plant with a very distinct smell.

Today is Andrew’s last day of school until the fall when he will be in ninth grade. Where has the time gone? I tell him, “Andrew, I love you,” each morning as he leaves, and he tells me, “Grandma, I love you too.” I feel sorry for children who don’t know they are loved.

The mother of a friend used to give us $35 a couple times a year. She died last year at 97 years old and left us $1,000 in her will--as well as that amount to four other missionary couples. I was surprised. According to paperwork from her estate, she had stocks and bonds and died a millionnaire. I am sure she lived frugally all of her life and had no idea she could have afforded to do so much more.

Have a good week.




Monday, July 5, 2021 8:24 PM CDT

This was a week of celebration—all low key. Happy Canada Day on July 1st. Happy birthday, Tim (on July 2nd) and Happy 4th of July. We’ve had HOT weather –two days of 97 and one of 95.

On July 2nd, Rachel and Dennis had appointments at the audiology place. I had never been there previously, so Rachel took me along. Rachel had her hearing aids adjusted to hear better. The plastic tube was shortened on Dennis’ hearing aid to get a better fit on the ear where he had cancer surgery.

Afterward Rachel took Dennis to Rob’s house where he got to rest in a chair when he was tired. Later on I rode with Tim, Renylor and Andrew to Rob’s house where we had a party for Tim. Rob did the grilling. Rachel took me and Rachel home, and then went back and they all played games. We had a fierce rainstorm in the afternoon, flooding a number of intersections. Police were out there, directing traffic around the intersections. My beautiful plants were all shredded by the small pellet-sized hail. It happened last year too.

On Saturday, the nurse called and said Dennis was worn out from his outing the previous day. He was so exhausted that someone had to feed him breakfast. But he was happy he had been with his family. He normally doesn’t walk and he had been walking with people supporting him on both sides.

Monday --Today is cool, and it feels so nice. No Covid cases. I went out to lunch at a Chinese buffet with my friend Gayle and two of her friends. It was great to go out and to be able to eat in the restaurant.


Friday, July 16, 2021 8:29 AM CDT

Quick Update:

The days remain hot—up to 84 degrees—and then they cool down at night. Smoke is in the air from the wildfires out west.

I am able to visit Dennis for an hour in person, but some restrictions are on again because a nursing home employee was discovered to have Covid-19 last week. That employee is on a different floor from Dennis.

Church services are mostly open now with few restrictions. All medical offices still require masks.

The Calgary Stampede is happening this week, but I don’t know how many people are brave enough to go to it, and I don’t know what restrictions apply to it. They won’t set any attendance records this year.

I hope you are having a good week.






Sunday, July 25, 2021 9:31 PM CDT


This week has been another warm week, although not hot like a couple weeks ago. Days are starting to get shorter. On June 21, sunset was 9:56, and tonight it will be at 9:34.

The nursing home is much more open now, and we no longer need to register in advance of our visits. Also, up to four people are allowed to visit at once.

Rachel, Rob, Makayla (Rob’s daughter) and Gage (Makayla’s half brother who is temporarily Rob’s “foster child”) are camping this weekend. It was a beautiful weekend for it—sunny and not too hot. It was the weekend that the whole Taekwon Do group went camping, something they couldn’t do a year ago.

This past week, Dorothea, a Wycliffe friend of mine, died of a stroke (brain bleed). We lived next to her family in the Wycliffe mobile home park at the International Linguistics Center in Dallas. At one point, she was paralyzed and was in a wheelchair. The only way she could move around in her mobile home was on a tall stool on wheels. She used elastic bands on both of her legs to lift them up. There wasn’t much she could do except pray and pray she did. She became a great Wycliffe prayer warrior and the Lord eventually healed her. When she came to Calgary for a prayer conference four or so years ago, she stayed with me for a couple days and we had some good visits. What hits me hard is that she was my age and apparently had no warning when the brain bleed came.
We had an offer on our Duncanville house and are waiting to hear in the next day or so if it all worked out.

I’m enjoying past memories, which I have posted on Facebook—1) our whole family’s visit to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park six years ago. 2) My sisters’ visit to Calgary in 2016. I certainly hope Sharon and Elaine can visit again. 3) Rachel and I visited Minnesota for Mom Seever’s 90th birthday four years ago. 4) The Seever side of the family visited Calgary two years ago. We had so much fun! Calgary is a beautiful place to live, but it’s so far from the rest of our family.

Have a great week.




Monday, August 2, 2021 8:22 PM CDT

Last week was another hot one with a temperature up to 90 degrees on Sunday and temperatures in the 80s the rest of the week. Today, a Civic Holiday, (also called “Picnic Day”) was cooler and rainy, a nice change. Dennis went out with us to Peter’s Drive In, where food tastes like it used to taste years back. It was fun for him to get out. Tim and family took us.

I visited Dennis last Tuesday in the outside garden where Butterfield Acres had set up a petting zoo with eight goats, four rabbits, and two piglets. It was fun for the people living at the nursing home—and fun for me too. Then on Friday, Rachel and I visited Dennis. It’s been great to have fewer restrictions.

On Friday morning, Renylor noticed two little kittens peering through the window at Goose, their cat. Tim got Jon from next door to claim their mother cat, who had given birth to five kittens in our little lean-to shed between the house and the fence. The kittens were under the lumber. One of them was pure white. The mother—Otsi--is all black. Interesting. I wonder what the father cat looked like. Otsi is the cat Jon was looking for in March and left bare footprints in the snow along the side of our car.

I hope you’re having a good week.


Sunday, August 8, 2021 6:35 PM CDT

Today was the coolest day we’ve had in recent memory with a high of only 61 degrees. It felt so good after some of the unbearable heat we’ve had. There was a lot of cloud cover, but, unfortunately no rain. Some of the poplars along our street are getting their yellow leaves. It’s already beginning to feel like fall after a hot, hot summer.

No masks today in church and we didn’t need to file out of the church by rows. That’s encouraging that there is an easing of the restrictions. Three Christmas trees in the foyer have been up since Christmas. They are a bright spot in a bleak situation.

After church, Rachel and I stopped to eat at McDonald’s and then went to see Dennis, taking a mango pineapple smoothie along with us for Dennis. He liked it. The piano downstairs in the nursing home was not in use, so Rachel played it for Dennis, and we enjoyed her music. Afterward, Rachel wheeled Dennis back to his room. On her way out, the nurse for the fourth floor stopped her and told her of their concerns for Dennis. He is now leaning a bit to the right in his chair. Is he just tired? Or did he have a mini stroke a couple of days ago? Tomorrow he will be having routine blood tests, and they will be adding a few more tests to find the cause of the weakness.

Rachel’s car is in the auto repair shop because it needed a timing chain and some other parts (after having the brakes repaired two or three weeks ago.) Cars can be so expensive! Because she needed to do some errands on Friday, she used my car and I went with her. After she picked up something she had on order, I needed to get my C-PAP machine repaired (on/off switch wasn’t working.) I found out that it is too old to be repaired and I had to buy a new one. I’m now adjusting to it.

On Thursday, Dwayne Janke invited eight of us who used to work in Communications at Wycliffe Some of the poplars along our street are getting their yellow leaves. It’s already beginning to feel like fall after a hot, hot summer.
with him out to lunch. It was fun to see people I hadn't seen in a long time. There were nine of us, and three of us were already retired.

The place where we ate opened at noon, so I was about five minutes early. There was a bench at the door so I sat down next to a beautiful young black woman who began telling me her story. She told me she had a three-year-old son, was a Christian, and was going through spiritual warfare. She said she was very confused about what she should do. I told her I was a Christian too, and believed it wasn't an accident that the two of us met. I asked if I could pray for her, and she said “yes” so I prayed a short prayer and gave her a copy of my book because I felt the Lord wanted me to do that. Her name is Esther. So please pray for her if you think of her. I put my email address in the book and told me to contact me if she wanted to do so.

I hope you have a good week and feel the Lord’s blessings in your life.



Monday, August 16, 2021 10:10 PM CDT

After three days of 90-degree weather, a day with a high of 68 degrees was welcome today. It’s been very smoky because of the wildfires raging out west. In fact, people are urged to avoid outdoor activities.

Rob’s birthday was on Sunday, so Tim, Renylor, Andrew and I picked up Dennis at the nursing home and went over to Rob’s house. We had cinnamon rolls Rachel picked up from Cobb’s bakery and I made brownies. We enjoyed being together inside of Rob’s house instead of sitting out in the yard (as we did for my birthday in May. Restrictions are more relaxed, and I’m so thankful.

Last weekend Tim and family went to Taber to spend time with Renylor’s mother and her husband. They hadn’t been there for a long time and had a good visit.

Our house in Duncanville hasn’t been sold yet. There is a buyer, but they wanted a few things fixed up yet. Maybe this week. . .

I had blood tests done on my cat because he lost 10 percent of his body weight over the past year. His kidney function is at 25 percent. “It’s not as bad as it sounds because humans can live quite nicely on one kidney (50 percent%.)” Dr. Morley told me. Then he added, “You have a 90-year-old man in your house.” (Pinky is 17 ½.) Pinky now has some renal-sparing pet food (pate) which so far he likes. I’m glad because he is a fussy eater.

I hope you are having a good week.



Sunday, August 22, 2021 6:06 PM CDT

After three days of 90 degrees last week, temperatures in the 60s this week were welcome. We also had rain on Tuesday, which was badly needed.

Tim had vacation time this past week and they ended up putting together a puzzle and going to Banff. They would done more things, but the smoke was so bad at the beginning of the week. In fact, people were being told to stay inside, even if their health was good.

On Sunday Renylor learned that her oldest cousin, Lorena, (42 years old) had just passed away from Covid. She was my Facebook friend too. So sad. (I never conversed with her because she wrote in Visayan, not in English.)

I visited Dennis in person on Saturday, and I read him the “Our Daily Bread” devotional as I usually do. We tried to go outside to the garden, but it was beginning to rain, so we went back inside. He was doing well and always enjoys company. Rachel had a cold so she couldn’t visit this week.

I watched another on-line Jason Gray concert on Thursday, which was raising money for micro-loans for women in Zambia trying to start businesses to support their families. (Like raising gardens.)

I appreciate the rain because it is clearing the air from the smoke, which has been terrible for anyone with lung conditions and for everyone else as well.

Have a good week and pray for the people trapped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.


Monday, August 30, 2021 10:08 AM CDT

Today was a beautiful Sunday with warm weather and blue skies and no smoke in the air. People at church are still distancing, but only a couple people wore masks.

I visited Dennis this afternoon. I brought an old photo album from PNG days, and that put a smile on his face. We later held hands and no one came by and told us we couldn’t touch each other, which was nice. I remember last year when I touched Dennis’ shoulder to point out a rabbit hopping in the garden, and a nurse yelled, “You’re not allowed to touch him.”

Yesterday when I went with Rachel and Makayla to the Sunridge Mall, I took my walker. Rachel was impressed with how fast I was able to walk.

Rachel is happy about a new job. A Taekwon Do friend told Rachel about a job opening, she sent in her resume, had an interview on Friday afternoon, and a few hours later she heard she had the job. She will be the office administrator at Chandos Construction Company. Maybe her experience in windows and doors at Home Depot will come in handy. Rachel had been looking for/thinking about a new job for about a year.

I hope you have a good week. Continue to pray for Afghanistan.


Tuesday, September 7, 2021 12:29 AM CDT

Good morning! I hope you had a happy Labor Day weekend. We celebrate it up here also.

The closing of our house in Duncanville was supposed to be on August 31st. The buyers had a list of things they wanted corrected, and that was done. Now they are trying to get out of their contract, and we don’t yet know why. No other prospective buyers have even looked at the house, so I think it is time to move on.

I saw my retina specialist last Tuesday. My macular degeneration is stable, but my vision has gone down. He couldn’t tell why that was happening. He doesn’t want me driving any more. I’m going to see my optometrist on Wednesday to see if a new prescription will help. I find that looking through the bifocal part of my glasses is clearer than the upper part.

Andrew started school (ninth grade) on Thursday, September 2nd. I can remember when he was in kindergarten and I used to buckle him into his booster seat. Now he helps me buckle. It was nice to have him in church with me on Sunday. Tim took us since I couldn’t drive.

Covid numbers are up again. After being under 800 in early August, the latest figure for daily new cases is 1,339. New restrictions have been put in place once again, and people in church are wearing masks.

Rachel took me shopping at Super Store on Labor Day. It was fun! I hadn’t been there in a couple of years and had points on my credit card which converted to $430, so I shopped for things that I’ll be using over the next six months, especially if I can’t drive.

Have a great week!


Monday, September 13, 2021 10:05 PM CDT

Fall is fast approaching. Days are now in the 60s and trees along the streets are beginning to turn golden. It would be a favorite time of year for me except I know what comes afterward—snow and a long winter.

I have some really good news—I will be able to drive again! My optometrist was able to fit me with new glasses. I told him I was able to see better out of the bifocal part of my glasses than looking straight through the lens, so he watched me. I did indeed tilt my head when trying to read letters with my left eye. There was a very significant change in that eye, and when he corrected it, he said, “You are now legal.” My vision will just be legal, 20/40 and 20/50. Gone are the days of 20/20 and 20/30.

Rachel brought Dennis afterward. His eyes have changed very little, but he did need new glasses because his lenses were scratched and one bow was held together with tape. Since he can’t read letters on a screen, the optometrist just bounces light into his eyes and figures out when it lands correctly on the retina. Rachel took us both home afterward. This will be my visit with Dennis for a while, possibly unt
il I am driving again. Or unless Rachel wants to take me. 1

Renylor’s mom, Maria, was here for three days, so the purple room was occupied once again. It was good to hear her and Renylor laughing downstairs.

Tim took our family to church on Sunday and we heard Pastor Hugh Frazer speak. He was our pastor many years ago, and now is serving as a transition pastor until next June.

I’m looking forward to Fall Conference in a couple weeks. I’ll be riding with Cindy Buckshon. She is the person who did the layout for my book, Holding on to Hope.

Rachel will be starting her new job as the office administrator at a construction company on Thursday. She is so excited!

Have a good, peaceful week.


Tuesday, September 21, 2021 11:38 AM CDT

More of the trees that line the streets now have their golden fall colors. The temperatures are fall-like, so I have taken a limited number of plants into the house before we have our first frost, which hasn’t happened yet.

I am happy to have my new glasses and am driving again. That gives me independence.

Dennis has had his third vaccination (booster shot). With the rise of Covid, there are more restrictions at the nursing home (two new cases). I can still visit Dennis, but I now need to arrange a visit beforehand.

I visited Dennis last week. I read a devotional reading to him, but I didn’t notice his hearing aids weren’t on, so he heard nothing. He turned on his TV, but didn’t want to watch baseball. And then he looked at his clock and gave me a little good-bye wave, dismissing me. It was lunch time. He likes lunch and wouldn’t miss it even though his food is finely minced. He did say “I love you,” spontaneously.

Rachel is enjoying her new job as office administrator at a construction company. Her clients at the care facility were sad to see her leave and one of them was crying. They had a pizza party to end her time there. She had worked in a care-giving capacity for 15 years.

Friendships are so important, and I treasure each one. Mary, a Wycliffe friend in Australia, has a super inexpensive phone rate, so she calls me every couple of weeks. Then another friend, Lynn, who was formerly with Wycliffe, was in Calgary last week so stopped in for an outdoor visit.

I am enjoying the series “Little Men” based on writing by Louisa May Alcott. It follows from “Little Women” with Jo March Baeher as a widow running a boys’ boarding school. I get it on Pure Flix, an entertainment channel with G rated movies.

We can still meet at church but once again the masks are back on.

Pray for the sale of our house in Duncanville, which we need for retirement funds.

Have a good week.



Tuesday, October 12, 2021 1:21 PM CDT


Sunday, October 10th.

This afternoon soft, downy flakes came floating down. The temperature is still warm enough, so they all melted quickly. Today after church, Rachel took Dennis and me to Wendy’s (drive-thru) where we got lunch and ate in the parking lot. To eat in the restaurant would have required proof of vaccination. Afterward we drove down to Fish Creek Park and saw the river and boat launch area, dropped off a bag of Makayla’s outgrown clothing for the daughter of one of Rachel’s good friends, and then went to the railroad yard where some trains were moving. Rachel even took us to the parking lot of the building she works in. When we dropped Dennis off, Rachel pushed him in his wheelchair to his room. She said a number of people said “hi” to him as she pushed him down the hall. He has friends there, so I don’t think he feels lonely as he did when he first went to the nursing
home in December 2019.

Monday, October 11 –Canadian Thanksgiving Day

The whole family (minus Dennis) spent the day at Rob’s. One year ago we were planning to have Dennis join us for Thanksgiving Day, and one hour before the Handi-bus was scheduled to pick him up, everything was cancelled because Covid-19 was found in the building—such a disappointment.
We each prepared part of the meal, so that made it easier. Afterward we had a fun time of table games. It was so good to be together. We are all double-vaccinated so were within the restriction limits.

Sept. 29-Oct.2

Now that I am retired, I’m hoping to start doing some more writing and am starting to make a list of stories I can write. This past weekend I went to the annual Fall Conference for InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship by Zoom, which was a great encouragement to me. I met a writer who has written several books and is now writing stories for her family. She has been putting her stories into coil bound books through Staples. It sounded like a good idea to me. For anyone interested, my book Holding on to Hope is still available on Amazon and I have a box of 30 at home.

Rachel is excited about her new job as an office administrator for a construction company. After working as a caregiver for 15 years, she was ready for a change. She does an excellent job of organizing things so is well-suited to what the job requires.

There were four showings of our house in Duncanville last week and so far no one is interested. Please pray that it will sell quickly.


Wednesday, October 27, 2021 9:56 PM CDT

I hope you are enjoying some pleasant fall days. We’ve had some freezing nights, ut daytime temperatures are still in the 50s.

Loretta, the occupational therapist at the nursing home, called me. Dennis has been leaning to the right on his wheelchair and needs a new chair for $500. His current chair has a left-hand drive, but she Noticed that he doesn’t use his hand, only his feet to propel himself. The original chair will be given back to Aids to Daily Living (a government agency).

I’m planning to visit Dennis tomorrow morning. Three people on his floor have tested positive for Covid-19, so more restrictions are in place.

On Saturday night our friends Tom and Neneng celebrated their 50th anniversary. I knew them from the time our family was in the Philippines in 1985. They immigrated to Canada in 1991, and we came up here in 1993. They have four grown children who are all married and twelve grandchildren . It was a very elegant evening.

On Sunday night I watched a livestream Jason Gray concert held in Albert Lea, Minnesota. It was a benefit for a women’s shelter. He also did three other benefit concerts for women and children over the weekend. He has a real heart for the disadvantaged and homeless because of trauma he went through as a child when he slept on his grandparents’ couch because his family was breaking up.

Our house in Duncanville still hasn’t been sold. The only offer we had was on July 19th,

I hope you’re having a good week.













Tuesday, November 9, 2021 11:51 AM CST

I hope you’re having a good fall. We had some cold weather a week ago and had two inches of snow on the ground on October 30. Last week we had beautiful weather, up to 55 degrees on a number of days. I enjoy weather like that. We had only seven trick-or-treaters on the 31st.

Dennis’ 75th birthday will be on the 8th. It was a beautiful, sunny day today so after church we all went to the food court at Sunridge Mall to celebrate.—Dennis, Rachel, Rob and Makayla, Tim, Renylor and Andrew and me. It was a lot of fun for Dennis to be out of the nursing home for an “outing” and he enjoyed a simple burger and fries. He was able to ride on a small scooter, which put a smile on his face.

We had a large (relatively speaking) television at home for a number of years, and I wasn’t using it because I watch movies on my computer. Rachel got the idea that Dennis would enjoy watching sports on it so she took it to the nursing home. He is delighted and was able to watch Green Bay play this afternoon on a TV so much larger than his tiny one. That put a smile on his face as well.

There have been no offers on our Duncanville house, although there were three showings last week. We would appreciate prayer.

Have a good week.



Monday, November 15, 2021 12:34 AM CST

As I look out of the window, all of the roofs I see are covered in white, and snow is in the air.. Our neighbor put up Christmas lights yesterday afternoon. It’s hard to believe Christmas is coming, even while we are having a pleasant, warm fall. It was 45 degrees yesterday.

Saturday was Andrew’s 14th birthday. We had hamburgers with peppers, onions and pineapple—s favorite for some of us, and afterward enjoyed ice cream cake. Rachel, Rob and Makayla came over afterward and enjoyed the ice cream cake. One of my gifts to Andrew was an alarm clock, but he was running late again this morning when the alarm didn’t go off. I’ll need to see how he is setting it since the clock is exactly like mine.

Dennis had a check up on his ear where he had the cancer surgery. All is fine. I rode with him on the Handi-bus to the check up.

Yesterday afternoon I wrote some stories from my past. It has taken me a while to get motivated.to start writing again. Nothing is of book quality, but maybe a spiral bound book done by Staples for $5.10.

Last night I had a call from my sister Elaine. Her daughter Kari and family all have Covid. Prayers are appreciated.

People look at the house (three times this past week) but no one is offering to buy it. I wonder why. . .


Tuesday, November 23, 2021 5:26 PM CST

Caring Bridge
Monday, November 22 was beautiful for late November with a temperature of 11 degrees (52 degrees F.). I pushed Dennis’ wheelchair out to the nursing home garden where we sat and watched squirrels scamper along, a rabbit hide behind a bush and magpies squawking at each other. It was a delight for Dennis. I said, “I love you,” and listened as he slowly repeated the words, the only sentence he can say. He was happy to get more M&Ms to add to his Tupperware container.He had left all of the brown ones on the bottom of the container. All in all, it was a good day.

Last week when I visited him, I read him the story of the motorcycle. He remembered, although it took place in 1075-1981. He smiled, laughed and nodded as I read it. Yes, he remembered.

Rachel now has three stitches in her hand, which will come out in a couple days. She was walking backward down a hallway, pulling a heavy cart with equipment. The hallway turned and she didn’t. Her hand went through the wall. She’s keeping count, and this was stitch #32 from various mishaps.

Elaine would still appreciate prayer for her daughter and family who are recovering from Covid-19.

Our house was viewed by five families last week, but we received no offers.

This morning, snow was gently falling.


Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
*********************************************
The Motorcycle
Dennis and I had just completed a two-month missionary training course in Oklahoma and were getting ready to head to North Carolina for additional training. Neither of us was working, and money was scarce. We had gotten married two months earlier, two weeks before the start of the missionary course.

Dennis came into his parents’ house where we were staying, bubbling over with excitement.

“I just bought a Yamaha motorcycle for $125. It’s a really good deal.” That was a lot of money in 1975, money that we couldn’t spare.

“Dennis, why do we need a motorcycle?”



“We can use it overseas,” Dennis explained. “The owner took it apart to fix it and couldn’t get it back together.” It was all in pieces—in a box.

I felt like Jack-and-the-Beansalk’s mother. “How do you know all of the parts are there?” I continued my questioning. “What if pieces are missing? What then?”

We had only been married for two months and I didn’t know how skilled Dennis was. Using a repair manual, he put it back together and got it to run. With the advice of friends and some fine-tuning, he got it to purr like a kitten.

Months later when we were packing to go to our missionary assignment in Papua New Guinea, we managed to get it into our crate in the garage of a missionary house where we were living in south Minneapolis. We needed to get the crate on the back of our truck, so my husband used a rope over a beam in the garage to winch it up. The beam creaked under the strain, but fortunately nothing broke. Later when the crate got down to the dock in California, the men loading it onto the ship had difficulty in getting it onto the ship. At that point they made a ruling: No more monster crates.


When we got to Papua New Guinea, that motorcycle became our main means of transportation. We were living at a regional centre at the time. Dennis rode it around and around in the yard to get practice in riding it, since he hadn’t owned a motorcycle previously. It was out of my comfort zone—way out—but later I was willing to sit on the back of it as a passenger.

The road between Jonita Centre, where we lived, and town was paved or at least had been paved. The paving was done for the Queen’s visit five years earlier, and it had now deteriorated to numerous potholes held together by bitumen. It required careful navigation with the motorcycle.

Dennis fashioned two baskets out of chicken wire, which he fastened on the two sides of the motorcycle. We used it to travel to Popondetta, about five miles away, to do our shopping. There we would buy supplies for translators living in the villages up in the mountains and would ride to the little airport to meet the mission planes that flew to the villages every few weeks. One time we put a broom in that basket and secured it so it wouldn’t fall out. Mosquito coils, several pounds of nails, and Sunlight bar soap were common items on their lists.

Another time we bought a live rooster from the local agricultural station. Peter and Bev Evans, living in the village of Itokama, wanted the rooster to raise baby chicks. They already had hens that were laying eggs but needed a rooster to complete the project. We got the rooster to the airstrip in a box on the motorcycle and met the pilot of the mission plane. Sadly, he was going to the Itokoma airstrip last and had a number of stops to make first.

“That rooster won’t survive in the pod under the plane for six hours,” he told us. “I can take him out there when I come by two weeks from now.”

Reluctantly we took the rooster back home. Our house was on stilts and there was space under the house to keep the rooster until the next flight. We tied a rope securely around the rooster’s leg and built a perch. Everything was fine until the next morning. At 5 a.m., the rooster chose to announce that morning had come with loud crowing. Every morning we were awakened as he greeted the dawn. I began thinking of chicken noodle soup. After a week of early morning misery, we finally found a small commercial flight going to Itokama and put Mr. Rooster on that flight. The chicken raising project was moderately successful, and we were certainly glad to get rid of Mr. Rooster.

We used the motorcycle during the day, and generally did not venture out at night for several reasons. Near the equator, the night came quickly at 6 p.m. with the sun sinking abruptly below the horizon. There was no twilight. There was another problem with driving at night—the light on the motorcycle drew too much power for the size of the battery, so the light would dim and Dennis would need to stop and rev up the motor to recharge the battery. We also needed to use caution because besides the numerous potholes, occasionally Papua New Guineans would choose the pavement as a warm place to sleep.

That night as Dennis was driving along, the headlight was getting dimmer. Suddenly we saw a huge white fire hose stretched across the 15-foot road!

“Dennis! What’s that?” I shouted.

We did not stop for it and went over it with a bump.
“That was a python,” said Dennis. We both breathed a sigh of relief, thankful it had not caused a problem. We had heard of snakes getting tangled up in the spokes of a wheel, but that didn’t happen. Pythons are not venomous and instead kill their prey by constriction.

We checked the next morning and saw no snake by the road, so we guessed the motorcycle gave it quite a backache but had not killed it.

That motorcycle served us well. I had to give up riding when I was pregnant with our baby (doctor’s orders), but it served us well for the four years we were in Papua New Guinea. Dennis eventually sold it for nearly three times what he paid for it, and he never had an accident with it. It turned out that the $125 was money well spent.
*****************************************************



Friday, December 3, 2021 3:53 PM CST

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There’s snow on the ground, our neighbors have lots of Christmas decorations in their yard, and Renylor put up our Christmas tree last night. I’ve also made some Chinese noodle cookies, something I do each year.

I saw my ophthalmologist yesterday, and my macular degeneration has increased. I’m thinking through things that will keep me reading. I got a book with large print that seems to be really helpful The next time I see him will be in June. I’m thankful for Gayle who is my driver for long distances on the highway.

People have been viewing the Duncanville house, but no one responds to it. We’ll take it off the market over Christmas, and then start looking for buyers again in January when it looks like a “fresh” house for sale. What don’t people like about it? Is the price too high? We don’t know.

Please pray for Tristan, who is married to my niece Karissa. Tristan has pneumonia from Covid as well as a kidney stone.

Have a great weekend.


Wednesday, December 15, 2021 8:19 PM CST

Caring Bridge December 13, 2021
I hope this has started out as a good week for you as we come ever closer to the celebration of Christmas. I visited Dennis today and he was delighted to get a new devotional booklet for the new year. Each time I visit Dennis, I read one of the devotional stories and pray with him. We’re looking forward to bringing him to our Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. Pray with us that it will all work out.

Rachel was a huge help this past weekend. She sorted through a bunch of white plastic boxes that I have used to collect paperwork. A lot of it was no longer needed, so we were able to throw it out. My problem is that I can’t look at it and read it without a magnifying glass. The macular degeneration has increased over the past couple months.

We’ve been getting more snow lately, so it is really beginning to look like Christmas.



Tuesday, December 21, 2021 8:44 PM CST

Happy Winter Solstice! The days are now starting to
get longer. We won’t notice the difference for a while.

I’ve been locked out of my mailbox since December 13. My key wouldn’t open it, so the lock was changed. Now I’m waiting for the new keys to arrive at the postal outlet. I’m not a patient waiter at Christmas.

Andrew was proud of the breakfast he made on Saturday –fried egg, hot dogs and a large pancake. Now he needs to work on cracking an egg with less enthusiasm, so it doesn’t go splat on the floor. Practice needed.

We are working on getting together for Christmas. So far it looks like we can all be together. We have five rapid Covid-19 tests to make sure that those of us who are most in the community aren’t bringing any virus with us.

Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas. It’s coming quickly.


Saturday, January 1, 2022 12:05 AM CST

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly did. The whole family except Dennis was together without masks at Rob’s house. (Chosen as the site because of fewer steps.) We had planned to bring Dennis, but it was -13 (-26 degrees C.) so we did not bring him out in such cold weather. In the afternoon everyone played a table game except me because I couldn’t read the little word cards on the table. Then someone got an idea and took a photo of the word cards with an i-pad and it worked. I was able to join in the game.

The next day Rachel and I went to visit Dennis at the nursing home. He was delighted to see us. Rachel brought her I-Pad and phone along, so we were able to have facetime with the whole family, including Ken and Sharon Seever and Mom Seever in Georgia. We had good visits. Dennis was watching football while we were there, so he had the sound turned down in the background and would watch major plays when they happened. It still was about -13, but the cold weather didn’t matter because Dennis stayed in the building.

My community mailbox lock was broken on December 13th, and I finally got the new key on December 23rd. It was fun to get a lot of Christmas mail that day. Yesterday Rachel and I saw the mail lady have trouble with the lock on a whole section of the mailbox. It finally opened ,
.
Rachel and I went to the bank yesterday to add her name to our accounts so if anything happens to me
she can manage our finances. It’s good to have a back-up plan.

Reading a large print book —written by a friend—over the last few days was exciting for me. Usually I need a magnifying glass to read a book and then I give up about half way through.

It’s also time to wish you a Happy New Year. May the Lord give you a peaceful happy year. I hope that Covid will gradually be a thing of the past. We were promised in 2020 that it would take a matter of weeks to get things under control, but it still hasn’t happened.


Thursday, January 6, 2022 3:30 PM CST

Happy New Year. I hope this is a better year for you than 2021.

Rachel spent Saturday with me organizing things—like putting away the Christmas tree and packing up all of the VHS tapes I can no longer use since my TV is no longer here. Dennis is thoroughly enjoying watching sports on it. The VHS tapes were no big investment since I got most of them from garage sales.

It took Rachel three days to get her positive Covid test back and by this time she is already much better. She was with me for eight hours on Saturday, but I wasn’t standing next to her and didn’t catch anything.

Dennis and I watched football on Sunday afternoon for an hour. I saw three touchdowns during that time.

Weather is cold here: -26 degrees (-14 F.) I’m beginning to long for spring.


Wednesday, January 12, 2022 8:45 PM CST

It feels like spring with the 46 degree (8 degree C.) weather we’ve been having. A Chinook blew through. It won’t last of course, but it’s a nice change from -13 (-26 C.). After a Chinook, people will see empty plastic bags hanging in trees and hear reports of empty semis being blown off the road. I’m counting down the days until spring.

Rachel is now back to work after getting over a mild case of Covid. Covid is now everywhere.

I had a phone conversation with Laureen last night. We used to go out to eat every six weeks and would work on the plot for a book she was trying to write. The friendship is still great, although it’s now a very occasional phone call. She teaches in a one-room school in a Hutterite colony—19 children in 10 grades. Wow!

I visited Dennis yesterday. It’s now masks and plastic face shields, but at least they are allowing visitors in. His hearing aid wasn’t working, so he had me put in a new battery. It still didn’t work, so Rachel will need to clean it. I prayed for him, but could not read the devotional because he couldn’t hear. (I’m not sure where his other hearing aid was, but he wasn’t wearing it. While I was there, he got out his package of wafer cookies, took one, and handed one to me. It seems to be a ritual each week, because the package of cookies lasts a long time that way.

I hope you have had a good start to the New Year.



Friday, January 21, 2022 4:25 PM CST

Just a quick update—

After such lovely weather, we had a bitterly cold weekend. Now it’s back to 46 degrees (8 degrees C.) , The only problem with such lovely weather is that the snow melts and we get a layer of ice on top when it freezes at night. A large patch of ground is bare under the two big spruce trees in the yard.

I was able to visit Dennis on Sunday and we watched sports.His hearing aids weren’t working so I took them to Rachel who cleaned them and returned them the next day.While I was visiting Dennis, he took down the one-foot Christmas tree and I took it home.

Rachel is getting over her case of Covid, but still gets headaches and her ears are still affected.
I got news tonight that someone has made an offer on our house for more than we were asking. Pray that everything will go through. It’s the first offer we’ve had since last July. There will be 45 days until closing so lots can happen yet.


This was a memory from 8 years ago.
COOKIE CAPER ---On Friday, I made chocolate chip cookies and stored them in a quart container after sharing a plate of them with my family downstairs (Tim, Renylor and Andrew live in an apartment in our basement.) Later Andrew’s voice came from the living room, “I’ll save some cookies for Grandpa.” I didn’t know quite what he meant, but I was busy at the computer, so I just answered “uh-huh” without checking anything out. The next day when I came home from shopping, there were exactly four cookies left in the container! Alarmed at all he had eaten, I carried the nearly empty container downstairs. No, he hadn’t eaten them all; he had been sharing them with his family “to make them happy.” Renylor said they were all very happy. . . especially Tim. My life would be SO dull and boring if I didn’t have Andrew here to liven things up.


Friday, January 21, 2022 4:27 PM CST

Just a quick update—

After such lovely weather, we had a bitterly cold weekend. Now it’s back to 46 degrees (8 degrees C.) , The only problem with such lovely weather is that the snow melts and we get a layer of ice on top when it freezes at night. A large patch of ground is bare under the two big spruce trees in the yard.

I was able to visit Dennis on Sunday and we watched sports.His hearing aids weren’t working so I took them to Rachel who cleaned them and returned them the next day.While I was visiting Dennis, he took down the one-foot Christmas tree and I took it home.

Rachel is getting over her case of Covid, but still gets headaches and her ears are still affected.

I got news tonight that someone has made an offer on our house for more than we were asking. Pray that everything will go through. It’s the first offer we’ve had since last July. There will be 45 days until closing so lots can happen yet.


This was a memory from 8 years ago.

COOKIE CAPER ---On Friday, I made chocolate chip cookies and stored them in a quart container after sharing a plate of them with my family downstairs (Tim, Renylor and Andrew live in an apartment in our basement.) Later Andrew’s voice came from the living room, “I’ll save some cookies for Grandpa.” I didn’t know quite what he meant, but I was busy at the computer, so I just answered “uh-huh” without checking anything out. The next day when I came home from shopping, there were exactly four cookies left in the container! Alarmed at all he had eaten, I carried the nearly empty container downstairs. No, he hadn’t eaten them all; he had been sharing them with his family “to make them happy.” Renylor said they were all very happy. . . especially Tim. My life would be SO dull and boring if I didn’t have Andrew here to liven things up.


Tuesday, January 25, 2022 7:36 PM CST

Only 55 days until the first day of spring. I’m excited. The temperature got up to 55 degrees on Sunday! (That’s
12 degrees C. I let Alexa do the conversion for me. )

Rachel and I were going to visit Dennis on Sunday but that didn’t happen. The report of Covid positive people in the nursing home has gone way up. One floor had 22 positive people and one person has died with Covid (not necessarily of Covid) Sad. But in a nursing home there are bound to be deaths from other things.

I’ve been out walking with my walker. On Sunday I went for a walk with Rachel—and She was impressed with how well I was walking. Today I went to the mailbox and back, not bad in 48 degree weather.

So far, the sale of our house is moving forward. We’ve not encountered any roadblocks yet. I appreciate your prayers.

I hope this week has started out to be a good one for you.


Saturday, January 29, 2022 11:45 AM CST

Yesterday the temperature got up to over 50 degrees (12 degrees C) and now most of the snow is gone. We’ve had some beautiful days. I’m enjoying it.

Dennis now has Covid (for the second time) and he is asymptomatic. He is triple vaccinated. Andrew has Covid too after being double vaccinated. He used a quick test and was negative but had a cough and cold-like symptoms so has been at home. On the fourth day, he went back to school, but when he came home, his quick test was positive. I have stayed away from him during this time. I am allowed to visit Dennis if I wear PPE, but I’ll just wait a few days until he is no longer infectious. Rachel can visit him because she just had it and is over it.

A dear friend of mine, Linda Halvorson, 74, died yesterday of pneumonia. I met Linda at church in 1964 when I moved down to Minneapolis to attend the university. Linda was good at keeping track of people and making friends. If you wanted to know where someone from the past was now, you just asked Linda. She was at our Saturday Zoom prayer meeting from her bed in the nursing home. She was now in bed. In her last couple of years, she lost her ability to walk and was in a wheelchair.

Our house sale is moving forward. I’m working with someone online with a title company in Texas. She will soon have something to be notarized. The nursing home has a Commissioner of Oaths, but nobody who can notarize something. By the time she sends me something, Dennis will no longer be infectious.

I now have clip on magnifying glasses that clip on to my regular glasses and allow me to see the computer screen or read a book. I also have four large magnifying glasses which I used before I got the clip-on glasses.

The print in my various Bibles is too small to read, so I’ve been listening to the Bible on CD—which is great but doesn’t allow me to go back and look up a verse or passage. Two days ago I got a Bible with “super giant print”. Yes, I can now read it.
My sister Elaine has a trick to get tulips to bloom in the house before tulip season outdoors. 1) refrigerate bulbs from October to February. 2) Plant them in potting soil and place them in a dark place for a month to establish roots. 3) Bring them into the light and let the plants emerge and blossom. I brought a large pot into the house to let it thaw out, and the two cats in the house thought it was a litter box. Not good. I have covered it with a black plastic bag and will need to change some of the soil.

There was a farewell time at the Wycliffe office a couple days ago for a couple I had worked with. Some others came to say “good-bye” so there were nine of us. It was so nice to see my Wycliffe friends and sit and talk.

I’ve had Alexa play music by Simon and Garfunkle and The Brothers Four. It brings back memories.



Saturday, February 12, 2022 4:34 PM CST

I’m enjoying the spring-like weather with temperatures of 55 degrees. The snow is almost all gone and the ice on the streets has melted. It even smells like spring.

I visited Dennis on Sunday and he was not a happy camper. He didn’t like the Pro-bowl and yelled at the players, turning the TV off part way through. I haven’t seen him that negative in a long, long time. I called on Wednesday and he was in a much better mood. I asked the nurse afterward if my phone call made him smile and she said he had a big smile on his face. He was also having breakfast in the main dining room today after being in isolation from his positive Covid test. Isolation is so hard on people at the home. They must feel like inmates with all of the regulations.

Covid regulations in Alberta will be relaxing in the next three weeks. It’s been such a long time since everything was “normal.”

The sale of our rental home is progressing. It will be either the 16th or 18th for a closing date.
I hope you are having a good week.


Tuesday, February 22, 2022 8:18 PM CST

Yes! Yes! Yes! On Feb. 18, all the paperwork was complete and accepted. The house in Texas was finally sold. What a relief! The money is in our bank account, and I’ll be meeting with a financial planner in the bank to see where to put the funds. I am grateful to have the funds for retirement. I hope we can find something fun and special to do for Dennis with some of his funds.

Valentine’s Day was special with Tim buying bouquets for both Renylor and me. I made heart shaped pineapple up side down cakes for Tim and family and one for Rachel and Rob.
On Sunday the 13th. Rachel and I visited Dennis and watched a DVD of “Gilligan’s Island” with him. . He enjoyed it. I know he watched the Super Bowl afterward.

My tulips are coming up! I used my sister Elaine’s indoor growing technique. I put the tulip bulbs in my refrigerator for four months and then planted them in early February, put them in a dark place for a few weeks to establish roots, and now brought them into the light, because pale shoots were emerging .I’m looking forward to 12 purple tulips in my large pot. It’s 45 degrees today (11 degrees C,) so it’s beginning to feel like spring.

2/22/22 Winter is back again. We’ve gotten a lot of snow and the temperature will be down to -30 degrees C.


Thursday, March 17, 2022 9:03 PM CDT

Just a quick update . . .

The weather has been beautiful, and we are looking forward to spring in a few days. This is my favorite time of year.

On Sunday I visited Dennis, and we watched “Men in Black” with Will Smith on TV. I had never seen it previously and didn’t realize it was science fiction with all of the weird aliens. Dennis must have been OK with it because he didn’t attempt to change the channels.

My tulip growing project was a failure. Instead of beautiful purple tulips, the plants didn’t get enough sun, especially on cloudy days, and the leaves all turned yellow. . . and died. I need to be content to look at my sister’s gorgeous photos of ger hyacinths and tulips.

The BIG NEWS is that Rob and Rachel will be getting married this summer. No details yet, but I’m excited for them. They are feeling overwhelmed with all the planning that needs to take place between now and then.
**Spring letter **************************************************************************

I hope you have been doing well despite the many challenges of the past two years. I’m enjoying the longer hours of daylight and look forward to spring. How about you? I’m also looking forward to Easter. May the Lord bless you as we celebrate what He has done for us. Happy Easter!

COVID has been affecting all of us in so many ways. Dennis, Tim, Rachel, Renylor and Andrew have recovered from a recent bout of the milder omicron variant, which I didn’t get. We’ve all been double or triple vaccinated. Coronaviruses have been around forever. We learned about them in my microbiology class in 1967 as one of the causes of common colds. Maybe they will mutate back to the common cold variety. Omicron seems to be headed in that direction.

We have a big praise item! Our rental house in Texas has finally been sold after being on the market for seven months. Vacant since August 2020, it has had numerous repairs and updates, so it’s a relief and answer to prayer to finally have it sold. Rachel and I have been meeting with a financial planner at the bank to put the money safely into investment accounts so it will be available to use in retirement but will still be earning interest.

I’ve been enjoying the slower pace of retirement since May 2021. I’m not accomplishing all I have wanted to do but have been working on more writing.

Life in a nursing home with lockdowns has been difficult for Dennis and the other residents. However, Dennis has enjoyed facetime visits with his family, watching sports on TV, and most recently in-person visits again. His nursing home is now free from COVID-positive residents and staff. We’re looking forward to a time when Dennis can be outside and we can do some fun activities. He would like to ride his mobility scooter again—it gives him so much freedom.

I keep in touch with Wycliffe friends through weekly chapel time on Zoom which I attend on occasion and prayer times for language groups in sensitive countries. Work continues to move forward, but at a slower pace. It’s especially hard for new Wycliffe members who are preparing to go overseas, but now can’t go because of restrictions.

The 60 girls at Joy’s Orphans Home in India are doing well. It was fun to have a video call with them before Christmas and have greetings from many of them. They call me “grandma” and pray for our family. I appreciate the financial gifts friends have given me to help with their food. Thanks so much!
Tim continues to work from home, and Renylor has also just started training for a job she can do from home, working with a telephone company. I think it will be a challenge for her,

Rachel enjoys her job as an office administrator with a construcion company. It suits her very well and she is able to use her creativity. A couple times when she had days off, she did relief work with her former disabled clients, and they were delighted to see her again. Rob, her boyfriend of 4 1/2 years, needs prayer for the rheumatoid arthritis which makes working as a plumber difficult.

I’ve been praying for Ukraine and think that most people have as well. Some of you have said you continue to pray for us. Thanks so much. I am grateful. Prayer makes a difference.

Easter blessings,
Janet Seever

(403) 285-8034



Friday, March 25, 2022 10:54 PM CDT

Happy Spring! It was 63 degrees yesterday (17 degrees C) and this morning there was snow on the ground. Figure that one out.

Sunday’s visit with Dennis went well I brought him some Timbits (donut holes ) from Tim Hortons, and we both enjoyed some of them. We watched some television. Dennis was watching a program on Ukraine when I arrived and after that some wrestling. It was warm so we went outside for about 15 minutes.

On Monday I had my appointment with my retina specialist< and it didn’t go well. at all. I can’t drive any more. On Wednesday I went to see my optometrist to see if there was any prescription he could give me to make my sight a little better like he did last fall to make me legal for driving. This time there wasn’t. He was sorry he couldn’t help me. My vision is now 20/60 in both eyes. So now I need to figure out how I can get to various places or have things delivered to me.

Co-op has a site where people can order online. I looked it up and could only find the most expensive brands listed—things I wouldn’t normally get. Maybe Tim can drop me off and then pick me up when I am finished. When I had the corneal ulcer a number of years back and couldn’t drive for nine months, we worked things out.

On Sunday Rachel and I are going to see “Steel Magnolias” at Theatre Calgary. I’m looking forward to that.

I hope you are having a good week.


Friday, April 8, 2022 9:11 PM CDT

I hope you all have had a good week. This will just be quick.
On Sunday, April 3rd, Rachel played in the worship band. Most people are not wearing masks and are sitting reasonable distances apart. It’s slowly getting back to normal. Rob was there with his daughter Makayla and her half brother Gage who is six. (There are now classes for elementary kids. ) Afterward we gathered up our Wendy’s coupons and all ate at Wendy’s. It was just like old times although the children are older. So much time has passed in getting back to “normal”.

Afterward Rachel and I had a short visit with Dennis in the nursing home.

I’m still grieving my loss of driving and trying to figure out how to get around without a car. I’m trying to remain positive. I’m positive it’s going to be a challenge.

April 8, I spent most of the day working on Income tax for Dennis and for me.

Today I learned that Rebecca and Carl Enderes, Renylor’s sister and brother, now have their visas to come to Canada, and will be buying their tickets—with money Tim and Renylor sent them—to come April 27th or 28. When Tim and Renylor were married in 2007, Carl was about three and Rebecca was seven. They will be living in Taber with their mother and step-father to begin with.
Have a good weekend.


Wednesday, April 20, 2022 9:31 AM CDT

Snow! Snow! Snow! It looks like a Winter Wonderland! Up to six inches are predicted by the time it stops tomorrow morning. It’s not a nice surprise for the 19 of April. Trees normally start getting their leaves the end of April.

I hope you had a nice Easter. We had a small Easter lunch with just Tim, Renylor and Andrew. Rob, Rachel and Makayla were all in isolation yet from Covid. Rachel had Covid a number of weeks back so she was not certain what she had was Covid, but she was sick with it.

Rachel got an engagement ring (family heirloom) on Saturday, April 9th.Excitement! She is now working on wedding plans for September.

I vusuted Dennis once this week by taxi since I can no longer drive to see how much it would cost. It was $54! I need a new solution to getting around without becoming a burden to my family to drive me places. Dennis and I had a nice visit. He shared some mint chocolate candies with me, I read the devotional reading for the day from "Our Daily Bread" and then we watched news together on TV.

I hope you are having a good week.


Thursday, April 28, 2022 9:23 AM CDT

Spring is back. All the 8 ¾ inches (22 cm) of snow is gone. The snow doesn’t melt, leaving puddles. It evaporates.

Rebecca and Carl Enderes arrived at the airport last night. It was the first time Renylor has seen her brother and sister in 9 ½ years. Tim, Renylor and Andrew are going to Taber this weekend to visit with them.

I mailed my Canadian taxes yesterday. It was difficult working on them this year, using clip on magnifying glasses and a magnifying glass while closing my right eye to focus.

Rachel and I visited Dennis last Sunday and we watched “The Money Pit”, an old movie with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long. There’s now an outbreak of Covid once again at the nursing home with new restrictions in place. I/m not entirely sure how I’m getting there this week without paying a fortune for a taxi.

Rachel and two friends went out wedding dress shopping last Saturday and found something she likes. I went with her when bought it on Sunday. It’s gorgeous. The wedding date has been set for September 23.

I went to the library yesterday to check on audio books. They need to order them in from other libraries around the city. Their large print books are on five shelves, four feet long—not a huge selection. I took out an Agatha Christie book and a Robin Cook medical mystery book.

I met our neighbor John last week, while he
was out on the street selling collectibles from the hood of his orange truck. He is completely deaf and converses by reading lips. He is totally accurate in understanding what a person is saying. He pointed out feathers under a spruce tree where a vicious owl, which had a nest in the tree, had been killing pigeons. He warned me not to get near the owl. I had never even seen it.

I hope you’ve had a good week.


Thursday, May 5, 2022 3:11 PM CDT

We’ve had some lovely spring weather lately. Right now it is 65 degrees F. (18 degrees C.). The little green leaves are just starting on some of the trees.

Last Saturday Rachel and I went to the 50th birthday party for a former youth pastor. It was fun to see people I hadn’t seen for a long time.

Afterward Rachel and I went to the nursing home to see Dennis. She brought along a small Carrot cake, paper plates and plastic forks. She pinned a ribbon on me that said “Birthday Girl” and said to Dennis, “You know what to do.” Dennis started singing, “Happy Birthday.” Rachel and I ate our cake in the parking lot since there was a restriction on sharing food with residents. In the past few days the number of Covid positive patients on the fourth floor has gone up to 20. Fortunately, Dennis remains negative.

I’ve enjoyed reading birthday greetings from friends on Facebook. I enjoyed a Messaging call from Pastor H. and the 60 orphans of Joy’s Orphans Home in India. They had a birthday party for me with cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to me.

We were going to have a lunch next weekend for Easter/Mother’s Day/my birthday, but children have been sick this past week, so don’t know if we need to reschedule it again.

I’ve now gotten all paperwork together and have applied to Access Calgary to get reduced fare rides. Pray that I will be successful.

I hope you have had a great week so far.


Saturday, May 14, 2022 1:08 PM CDT

Spring is truly here! I know, because my lilac bushes have buds. Otherwise, trees are about two weeks later than normal in getting their leaves. I’m appreciating the warmer weather and longer daylight hours.

I visited Dennis yesterday. (The first part of the trip was by taxi, and then Rachel picked me up after work.) I applied to Access Calgary to get transportation for the price of a bus ticket. I hope I am accepted for the program.
Twenty-three people on Dennis’ floor have recovered from being Covid-positive, so there are only nine on his floor still Covid-positive. Only two designated people are allowed to visit so only Rachel and I are allowed to see him—Tim and his family are missing out.

I brought a small photo album that I ordered through Facebook which had photos of Andrew when he was one year old, photos from the Philippines, photos from William Watson Lodge retreat center, a friend’s wedding and lots of Farmville pictures (Andrew was always snapping and posting Farmville pictures on Facebook when he was three years old). Dennis enjoyed looking at them all and had a Vcontinuous smile on his face. There are some special people in the pictures who are no longer with us.

Our celebration for Mother’s Day and my birthday last Saturday turned out to be just Rachel, Rob, Makayla, Gage and Kelley (our friend who is with us for holidays). Tim’s family had coughs and congestion and of course Dennis needed to stay at the nursing home. I’m longing for the day when we can all be together. Covid has affected our lives in so many ways.

The past two weeks I have listened to two Karen Kingsbury books—Distant Shore and To The Moon and Back. I enjoyed them and will get more from the library.

I hope you all have had a great week. Enjoy spring (or fall) depending on which side of the equator you live.



Saturday, May 28, 2022 4:43 PM CDT

The crab apple tree is in full bloom and my lilacs look like they will be opening during the week. Everything is so beautiful and green. I love spring! Can you tell? Renylor is putting annuals in pots this afternoon to put along the sidewalk.

I have an update on Dennis. On Tuesday he "coded" and his blood pressure dropped to an alarming 32/26 and they had difficulty "waking him up." They did not do the scope as they intended. The doctor thought the “episode” was from dehydration because he was not drinking fluids and had no breakfast in preparation for the scope which they were unable to do. Instead, they did a CT scan to make sure it wasn't a mini stroke.Recent blood tests show no bacteria in his blood. He is now back at the nursing home and will be on IV antibiotics for another month. On May 28, Rachel and I visited him and played a couple of games with him. He was very tired when we visited him.

Andrew’s school put on a band concert and I was glad to be able to attend. Grade 9s show great improvement over two years ago.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.


Thursday, June 9, 2022 12:07 AM CDT

I am enjoying the fragrance of the two lilac bushes (pink one under the spruce tree and the tall purple one near the garage. We had hail a couple days ago, but it did little damage to the potted plants.

On May 31st our 47th anniversary. Rachel picked me up and took me to see Dennis. He was happy that we brought him a fillet of fish. It was only a short visit, but the next day I spent a lot of time with him in the hospital having his PIC line checked. All is well—no rash from the antibiotic, and he will be on it until the end of June.

Rachel is busily working on her wedding plans and she seems to be making progress.

I’ve been busy sorting through boxes of cards and letters that I’ve saved over the years. Next on my list are shelves of books that I can no longer read. However, I’m enjoying listening to audio books . This week it’s one by Terri Blackstock.


Saturday, June 18, 2022 10:03 PM CDT



Rain, rain, rain. We finally have sun today, which is very pleasant. When it was raining so much, drivers were warned about water “pooling” on roads. My friend Gayle took me to an eye appointment in South Calgary and we only saw one big puddle on the road. The route she took was on high ground away from the rivers.

Today Rachel took me for an interview with Access Calgary, which provides rides for Calgarians for the price of a bus ticket. It would be a great savings over the price of a taxi, but I don’t know if I qualify for any of it. We shall see. I have a list of other programs for seniors which may be a help to me. If anything, it might provide rides to medical appointments. (but not to visit Dennis.)

For my visit with Dennis a week ago, we went outside for part of the time. He was very excited about it at first but was tired of being outside after half an hour. For Father’s Day on Sunday, we are planning to bring him out of the nursing home for the afternoon and have a barbecue at Rob’s house.

I’m starting to gather stories together while I can still see well enough to do it. I spent yesterday afternoon gathering sItories.


Tuesday, June 21, 2022 7:31 PM CDT

Happy first day of summer. I hope all of you had a good Father’s Day celebration with the fathers in your lives. Rachel took Dennis out of the nursing home for three hours and he celebrated with us at Rob’s house. Ground up hamburger, carrots and pickles doesn’t look too appetizing, but it was as close to a hamburger as we could get and still make it easy to swallow. We were hoping Dennis could ride his mobility scooter, but it wouldn’t charge properly.

On Saturday, Rachel and Rob helped Tim get rid of unused stuff in the garage which had been there since Dennis used it. Tim didn’t know what some of the tools were, but Rob recognised all of them. Some things are headed to the dump, some things will be going into a garage sale, and some things Rob can use. Rachel took in a box of scrap metal which she sold at a recycling place. It was a big job that would have overwhelmed Tim, but the three of them working together handled it They discovered three bikes had been stolen from the garage as well as a number of bags wotj cans and bottles for recycling. The garage was unlocked at some point and someone helped himself.

Last evening, I went to a birthday party at the Wycliffe office and rode with a former co-worker I hadn’t seen for eight years. I had good visits with many peopIe I knew.

I need to buy pistachio nuts without the shells. I needed a repairman to fix the dishwasher today by removing a shell from inside the water pump. What expensive pistachios!

My sister Sharon had some excitement early this morning when her daughter Sarah had her baby—a boy named Nolan Andrew. Sharon will be worn out caring for Melody, 2 ½, while Sarah is in the hospital for a couple days.

I got some great news. I was accepted by Access Calgary to be able to ride to medical appointments and to see Dennis for the price of a bus ticket. What an answer to prayer!


Thursday, June 30, 2022 7:14 PM CDT

Just an update – Happy first week of summer.

Last week when I visited Dennis, we watched TV and nibbled on a few M&Ms. The show that we watched was “Highway from Hell”—the Kokahala Highway through the mountains in B.C. in the winter. It showed tow trucks rescuing jack-knifed semis that skidded on the ice and snow. It was very dramatic and held our attention. On Saturday, July 2nd, we’ll be celebrating Tim’s birthday at Rob’s house and will have Dennis out of the nursing home again. It’s great to have more of the restrictions lifted.

On June 28th, I accompanied Dennis to the Peter Lougheed Hospital to have his PIC line removed from his arm –all 55 cm of it. (22 inches). The nurses pulled it out. I asked him afterward if it hurt and he nodded “yes.” The antibiotics worked and he no longer needs them.

Andrew is out of school now. I went to his closing (“Farewell”) ceremony on Tuesday. Yesterday he came upstairs and said, “Remember when you used to make breakfast for me?’ (I did that on Saturdays for five years.) Yesterday I had him make his own—toaster waffles and two eggs. I cracked one and showed him how it was done. He cracked the other and it ended up scrambled. He remembered when he cracked an egg previously and it landed on the floor rather than in the pan. He wants to make chocolate chip cookies with me when I buy some more chocolate chips.

I had a visit with my ophthamologist on Wednesday. My sight has changed dramatically since March when I saw my retina specialist. I can no longer see the big E with my right eye and had great difficulty seeing letters with my left eye. The macular degeneration in my right eye is like a dark “donut” that covers about eight letters of fairly large print on my computer screen. I close my right eye and read with my left eye using a magnifying glass. I read a friend’s book using one eye and my magnifying glass this week.

Happy Canada Day, Happy Birthday to Tim and Happy 4th of July, depending where you live.


Saturday, July 9, 2022 8:04 PM CDT

I hope you are having a good summer. We had some bright sunny days along with a rainy one.

I’m thankful for modern technology. I was able to talk with my brother David for nearly an hour two nights ago.

On July 2nd, we had a birthday party for Tim and Dennis was able to join us. This was the second time we got together as a family this year.

Rob helped me out by getting my vacuum cleaner working (he used to repair vacuum cleaners) and he located a good second-hand bike for Andrew to replace the one stolen from our garage. When I thanked him, he responded, “That’s what families are for.” He makes a good addition to our family.

On Friday afternoon I used Handy-bus for the first time and went to see Dennis. The Calgary Stampede is now on, so we watched the rodeo on TV—barrel racing, steer wrestling, bull riding, and broncho riding. It was fun. We had a close-up
view of the whole thing, better than a front-row seat.

We’re one-third of the way through July already. Where does the time go?


Wednesday, July 20, 2022 2:34 PM CDT


Hope you’ve had a good week so far. We’ve had lovely weather in the low 80s.

Last week Dennis and I watched the rodeo on TV at the end of the Calgary Stampede. It was fun!

I greatly appreciate the Access Calgary transportation for just the price of a bus ticket. Rather than taking a taxi and paying the full price.

On Sunday we had a birthday party for our friend Kelley at Rob’s house—an afternoon of games and snacks. Today we learned that Kelley tested positive for Covid. I was just thinking on Sunday how everyone was getting back to normal and no one was wearing masks. Renylor has not been feeling well, but she tested negative.

All for now. Have a good rest of the week.


Friday, July 29, 2022 8:48 PM CDT

Happy Friday! We had a temperature of 90 degrees (32 degrees C,) and we are now expecting rain.
Dennis was delighted yesterday when Rachel and I brought him a filet of fish and a small chocolate milkshake from McDonald’s. He was watching Canadian football so we watched along with him. Last week when I visited him, we went outside to the garden. He kept pointing out birds to me. He could see them but couldn’t hear them, and I could hear them, but couldn’t see them..
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FACEBOOK –July 8 ·

Today I need George Matheson’s prayer (shared in the past): “Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience divine. You have taught us that your will should be accepted, simply because it is your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his cup yet still be willing to drink it because of a conviction that Your eyes see farther than his own. . . “

No, I don’t understand, but God is still God and He’s still good.
George Matheson wrote the prayer more than 100 years ago. He was blind, his fiancee told him that she couldn't stand to be married to a blind man, and his sister, who assisted him, had just gotten married. What about me? I'm learning to live with macular degeneration. I can't read with my right eye and need a strong magnifying glass to read with my left. Sorry. I'm trying hard to be thankful.
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FACEBOOK –July 24
Thanks to those of you who have prayed for me. I am learning to be THANKFUL that the Lord has given me 76 years on this earth and not to focus on my steadily deteriorating eyesight. I now have rides through Access Calgary for just the price of a bus ticket. I was riding with a Scottish lady named Janet who is a couple years older than I am and was headed for a weekly trip to the Bingo Barn. “I have AMD –Age Related Macular Degeneration,” she told me. “I have that too,” I said. Then it struck me. . . Not everyone is privileged to live to 76 and get a malady that’s related to age. It was life lesson for me. Thank you, Lord.

*Since I can’t see what I am doing, I’ll be getting cleaning help every three weeks through Comfort Keepers. The person who came to introduce me to the cleaning service is Lucas, who is 6’6” . (Yes, I did ask, and he said a lot of people do ask.)

I hope you’ve had a good week. It’s raining right now, and the cool air feels so good.


Sunday, August 7, 2022 8:47 PM CDT

I hope the past week was a good week for you. We’ve had a few cool days, reminding me that fall is around the corner. Today is a summer day again with a temperature of 84 degrees (28 degrees C.)

I’m learning to get rides through Access Calgary, and I am so thankful. I meet some interesting people along the way. On Friday I went to visit Dennis and we went outside for half an hour. A young magpie hopped quite close to us. Afterward we watched some television. Dennis didn’t want to watch “Let’s Make a Deal” and wanted to watch “Jeopardy” instead. He doesn’t understand the questions so I suppose the fun of the game is seeing people win money.

Rachel has been getting some weekend shifts with her old job .She sat in the hospital with one of her former clients who is only 33 and is very ill with kidney failure. It’s a sad situation.

I’m beginning to see a few yellow leaves on the trees along our street.


Tuesday, August 23, 2022 3:03 PM CDT

I hope you are having a good week so far. Today was 86 degrees (30 degrees C.)

Wedding plans are moving along. Rachel has one more dress fitting and the final alterations are being made. There’s a wedding shower for Rachel on August 28th, hosted by Christine, a former roommate and one of Rachel’s bridesmaids.

Rob was a foster dad to Gage, a half brother to Makayla, for a year and a half. Gage is now with his biological dad in Ontario, and Rachel, Rob, and Makayla are able to keep in touch with him through Facetime. His dad and step-mother
picked him up from Rob’s house a week and a half ago.
I’ve appreciated meeting with a Calgary Seniors advisor and having a phone conversation with a woman from CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind to learn tricks on the computer for enlarging the print.

I’m enjoying my visits with Dennis, riding on Access Calgary. We usually go outside to watch for birds and then go inside to watch something on television. Tomorrow I’ll take a bag of M&Ms with me. He will enjoy that.



Wednesday, August 31, 2022 6:28 PM CDT

What a beautiful day Sunday, August 28th was—the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. A large group ol ladies gathered in Christine’s back yard for a bridal shower for Rachel. (Christine is one of Rachel’s bridesmaids and has been a friend since sixth grade) Renylor and Melynda were also involved in organizing the party. It was an amazing day, one she will always remember. She got so many lovely gifts.

In their “spare time” Rachel, Rob and Melynda have been going on bike rides to raise money for treating d doing research on kids’ cancer. Rachel and Rob both rode 23 km. before church on Sunday. Rachel completed the 75 k she had pledged, but Rob still has some km to go.

Rachel and I visited Dennis on Sunday just long enough to drop off some A&W root beer and get Dennis’ neck measurement for a dress shirt for the wedding. It was still 16 inches as I had told her from years back. When I visited Dennis on Friday, we watched television and then went to a birthday party for August birthdays on the 4th floor. We had carrot cake and coffee served in lovely coffee cups with matching saucers. I’m sure someone must have donated their old dish sets.

Have a great week.


Saturday, September 10, 2022 9:29 PM CDT

I hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend. We celebrate it up here in Canada as well. One day we had a temperature of 88 degrees and the next day the temperature got up to 56—quite a contrast. It’s definitely feeling like fall right now. One interesting thing is that the leaves haven’t yet started turning yellow, and in past years we would have a good number of yellow leaves already.

Wedding plans are moving right along. Rachel is busily trying to make sure nothing “falls through the cracks,” so to speak. Two of her friends’ children want to be flower girls, so she will now have two flower girls. They probably had been in other weddings previously and already have the dresses. They aren’t allowed to throw flower petals in the venue, so will need to throw something else that isn’t messy. (Or just carry it in their baskets?)

Yesterday I visited CNIB (Canadian National Institute of the Blind) and learned how to better use the sight I still have. I am now classified as having low vision ( 20/60 and 20/200). I learned about various programs on my computer that will help me enlarge the print so I can read it and learned about Orcam, an expensive devise that photographs print and then reads it back to you,) It’s something I’ll think about in the future. I bought a new light-weight magnifying glass that should be helpful. It’s something I can carry with me which has a folding handle and built-in light. It’s better than the magnifying glasses I currently am using.

Anita, the lady who explained some of the things about low vision, is a cousin of the Indian pastor and his wife whom I interviewed for an article I wrote for the Centre Street Church newspaper a number of years back, and Anita’s husband volunteered with Wycliffe for a short time a number of years back. Small world. . .

Renylor won a $100 award last week as a top sales lady out of 55 people working on five sales teams. She is amazing at her job. It’s good she can work from home.

I’m thankful I can get rides through Access Calgary. I have already used up nearly four books of tickets and need to buy more for traveling (almost 40 tickets).

Have a good rest of the week. (This was written on Wednesday. I'm just late in posting it.)









Monday, September 26, 2022 5:06 PM CDT

What a beautiful day September 23rd was for a wedding. Eighty adults and 20 children joined the happy bride and groom for the celebration which was held at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The people who brought things together smoothly were students at SAIT, studying for the hospitality industry.

Rachel’s Uncle Ken Seever from Georgia walked her down the aisle, and Tim pushed Dennis down the aisle n his wheelchair. Andrew, looking so grown up in his dress shirt, pants, and vest, was my escort. The officiant was the former children’s pastor from Grace Baptist Church who knew Rachel and Rob well. Melynda, Rachel's roommate for 17 years, Christine (former roommate) and Renylor were the bridesmaids and Makayla was a junior bridesmaid. Rachel and Rob wrote their own vows. Brenda (Rob’s mother) and his Uncle David came from Prince Edward Island--the home of the fictional Anne of Green Gables. While the Bowmans were here, part of PEI was affected by Hurricane Fiona.

On Saturday afternoon we got together for gift opening, and hamburgers and hot dogs. We would have brought Dennis from the nursing home, but his big day on Friday wore him out and he spent much time napping the next day.

Ken and Sharon wanted to go to Peter’s Drive In while they were in Calgary, so after church on Sunday, the whole family got together for hamburgers and milkshakes—food like that from the 1960s. Dennis had a big grin on his face because the food was more tasty than the ground up food he gets because he has very few teeth for chewing.

On Wednesday, Ken and Sharon will be going back to Georgia and Brenda and David left on Monday. Life will be getting back to normal for some of us. Rob and Rachel are already starting bathroom renovation by getting a new tub and vanity this morning. The house they are in is a house that they are renting from Rob’s former roommate who was their best man for the wedding.

The trees along our street are now turning yellow, a sure sign that fall is here. The temperature today was 73 degrees (22 degrees C.)


Saturday, October 8, 2022 7:27 PM CDT

Bits and Pieces
We’ve had some beautiful fall weather. The trees along our street are golden, and the leaves are starting to drop. We’ve had no frost yet.

This afternoon I went to the nursing home to visit with Dennis. We held hands and watched post-season baseball with the Phillies and Cardinals. He usually doesn’t like baseball, but today he was enjoying it. We were out of M&Ms so I’ll need to get some. We usually share a few as we watch TV.

I’ve been sorting books to donate to a used bookstore. It’s like saying “good-bye” to old friends.

On Sunday we will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving and Dennis will be with us for that at Rob and Rachel’s house. Each of us will be bringing part of the meal. We’ll also be celebrating birthdays—both Renylor’s and Makayla’s. It was easier to combine all of the celebrations.


Saturday, October 15, 2022 10:22 PM CDT

The trees along the street are all golden and leaves are fluttering down. The weather has been warm for the middle of October—50 degrees this morning, not snow like some Minnesota relatives woke up to this morning. It will come here too, but not yet.

We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, and Rob cooked half of the meal. Renylor made spring rolls and stir fry. (I brought things too, but Rob did the cooking, except I did bring dressing.) Dennis was able to join us this year, unlike two years ago when the nursing home was on lockdown. We celebrated Renylor’s and Makayla’s birthdays as well. Before we ate, Dennis enjoyed spending time in the backyard throwing a ball to Cooper, Rob’s part lab dog who enjoyed running after it.

Today I spent a couple hours at the nursing home with Dennis. We watched some TV and then went to the October birthday party for residents and both of us enjoyed the carrot cake and tea or coffee. They played 1960s music which the residents were old enough to remember—“Carol”, “Diana”, “Peggy Sue”, “Banana Boat Song”, “Mocking Bird Hill”, and a song by the Everly brothers. Do any of these sound familiar to you?


Saturday, October 22, 2022 11:15 AM CDT

It’s a beautiful, warm, windy autumn day, but it turned bitterly cold this afternoon. The temperature will get down to freezing tonight. We’ve had a beautiful fall. (Saturday, October 22: we woke up to snow on the ground.

Visit with retina specialist. My eyes are fine (structurally) but scarring on my corneas is preventing me from seeing as well as I could. He recommends cornea transplants in both eyes or at least one. He mentioned that in March too. I think a Wycliffe friend in Dallas had that done recently and is seeing so much better.

Dennis is now scheduled for dental surgery at the Peter Lougheed Hospital on December 22nd to remove all of his remaining teeth. The oral surgeon needs to do it in the hospital because of the bleeding problem because of the high level of coumadin he is on. The office assistant told me that the date isn’t set in stone. The next open date? May 4th. After all of this, he would be fitted for dentures. He really would like the prospect of eating real food. I told him about this on Friday and he was happy about it. It’s now marked on the calendar.

I met with Michael, the outreach worker for The Way In (Calgary Seniors Resources). He and Robin have visited previously. Talking with him was helpful and enco


Friday, October 28, 2022 9:30 PM CDT

The wind a week ago blew all the leaves off the trees. Then on Saturday morning we woke to 10 inches (25 cm.) of snow on the ground. I really wasn’t ready for all of this. A couple inches would have been much better for the first snow of the season. I watched church online on Sunday.

I use a walker when I am out and about, but there is no way I could push my walker down 15 small steps (each is only two or three inches high). I normally go down the lawn beside the sidewalk with my walker, but there was no way to do it with 10 inches of snow. Tim said he would have helped me, but I did just as well watching the service on my computer.
That is all it took to convince me that I should be living somewhere else. I’m looking into assisted living in three places in this area. The first is about a block behind Andrew’s school and the other two are near the nursing home where Dennis is living.

I’m thinking about selling our house and called Netty, a friend who lived with us in our basement 19 years ago for about four months. Netty retired from Real Estate last year after her sister, a Wyclliffe member, died at 62. She is 69 and questioned why she was still working when there were other things she wanted to do with her life than sell houses. She turned her Real Estate business over to a man named Cassius, who visited me today. He looked around the house to get an evaluation of it and will get back to me next week. It needs all new floor coverings/carpeting because they all are worn out. In that way, the house is a “fixer-upper.” Dennis has been unable to do those things since his stroke and I didn’t have the money to hire someone to do those things.

I’ll be visiting Dennis on Friday and will discuss all of this with him. Will he understand it? Yes, he will.
We also need to see what Tim and Renylor intend to do in the spring. In the meantime, I am downsizing everything.
In case you are wondering, we have had some warmer days and the snow has melted. I was able to get my walker out and walk to the mailbox today. It was nice to be outside.







Tuesday, November 15, 2022 4:52 PM CST

What a beautiful day we’re having today with a temperature of 41 degrees (5 degrees C.) and sunshine. Snow is predicted for later this week, but we’ll enjoy the warm weather while we have it.

I had a tour of Aspen Lodge last week, and it looks like a pleasant place to live. It’s only two blocks from Dennis’ nursing home, but I think there’s a fence on that side of the nursing home, so it may be a four-block walk to get to the front door. I’m keeping my options open. They have an art class once a week, so that looks like fun!

Andrew had his 15th birthday last Sunday, November 13 and Dennis turned 76 on the 8th. We celebrated both birthdays last Sunday at Rob and Rachel’s place with a beef roast dinner (made by Rob) with other people supplying parts of the meal. Andrew got the ice cream cake he requested. Dennis blew out nearly all the candles with Andrew helping him on the last one. It’s so good to be together without masks and other restrictions. (November 13 marked 18 years since Dennis’ stroke.)

I hope you are having a good week.

THIS IS FROM LAST WEEK

With snow swirling through the air, it seems like Christmas time. I thought it was appropriate to play Christmas music today. All I need to say is, “Alexa, play Christmas music,” and she locates Christmas music.”

On Friday I visited Dennis like I usually do. It was birthday party day for November birthdays, so Dennis was given a birthday ribbon to wear. He enjoyed his time and sang along with “Happy Birthday.” I enjoyed being there with him.

I hope you’ve had a good week.


Wednesday, November 23, 2022 3:20 PM CST

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are having a good week and are enjoying Thanksgiving with your family.
The warm weather we are having lately (6 degrees C., 43 degrees F.) is melting some of the snow and I’m grateful for that.

I’m also grateful for the rides I get through Access Calgary. I rode on Access Calgary taxis 12 times last week, to various appointments, to visit Dennis and to go to the bank. I can’t get down the 15 steps with my walker, so I hold onto the driver’s arm, and he carries the walker down the steps.

Dennis collected cans and bottles for ten years using his scooter while he lived at Waverly House. He would then ride his scooter to the bank and have the money he collected put into 50 and 100 dollar bills. This he would put into a locked box (little safe). I had no idea how much he had collected and thought it would be best to put the money into the bank, which I did last Saturday. It came to $8,200!

Yesterday I accompanied him to see his oral surgeon who will be doing his tooth extraction on December 22 at the Peter Lougheed Hospital under anesthesia. It needs to be done at the hospital because of the high level of Coumadin he is on and the possibility of bleeding. I think they will temporarily reduce his bleeding time for the surgery and then increase it again after the tooth extraction to prevent blood clots.

The extraction of 16 teeth /roots comes to $5,639 and dentures will be $3,200. All except about $600 will be covered by the $8,200 from the cans and bottles! There is a possibility of $5,000 toward dentures from the government, but I don’t know if Dennis will qualify since he has the money.

Please pray that all will go smoothly and there will be no need for a blood transfusion because of excessive bleeding and no infection afterward. Pray that healing will come quickly. We wouldn’t have scheduled the extraction of December 22, but Dennis has already waited three years. He really wants this and that was the only time available. Pray also that he will be able to wear the dentures once he gets them. Having only the use of his left hand may be a problem.

Now on to other things. . . My tomato-soup red 2003 Suzuki Aereo is now in Taber instead of in my backyard. I sold it for $2 to Renylor’s brother and sister, who have immigrated to Canada. It’s not beautiful as it once was, but is low mileage, considering how old it is. They.both want to learn to drive, so it will be a great car for learning. Rebecca is 23 and Karl is almost 18.

Rachel is feeling sad. She and Melynda lost their 15-year-old dog named Napoleon. He got to the point where he could no longer walk, so the vet put him down. He was a great companion to both of them.

I now have sent in my application for one of the senior homes with assisted living. I think it will take a month or so—maybe longer--to find out if I get in. I’ve been downsizing for a long time and saying “good bye” to a lot of things I won’t have room to keep.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving.


Saturday, December 3, 2022 10:11 AM CST

It’s cold! Last week we had a temperature of 50 degrees (11 degrees C.) because of a Chinook, and this week we have -9 (-22 C.)

I got a call on Monday that they had a place for me! When I said I couldn’t move until January, I’m not sure if I still will have a place. Stacy from Silvera is supposed to call me next week for a tour and orientation. Not sure what’s happened, but it seems my application was accepted.

I paid the money (needed ahead of time) for Dennis’ dental surgery. Now it may not take place on the 22nd. Someone else needed emergency dental surgery. The other alternative was January 3rd.

My visit with Dennis last week was watching two college football games, sharing a Coke, and eating M & Ms


Wednesday, December 7, 2022 8:44 PM CST


Just a quick update.

Yesterday the temperature was -9 degrees F. and today was 37 degrees (-21, 2 degrees C.)

Carewest George Boyack has a number of Covid-19 cases. People on Dennis’ floor mostly have pneumonia rather than Covid.

My car is getting used for driving practice in Taber, both by Maria (Renylor’s mom) and her sister Rebecca. Maria posted a video of her husband Dale giving her driving lessons.

Tomorrow is a Christmas turkey dinner at church. I’m eager to go.

Dennis’ oral surgery at the hospital has been postponed, but he will have orientation on Friday anyway. I will join him at the hospital.

I continue to be busy sorting and packing.


Sunday, December 18, 2022 5:43 PM CST

Today was near freezing, but much colder is predicted in the next few days.

Dennis and I watched a college football bowl game this afternoon, but it wasn’t exciting to Dennis because one team didn’t get past the 50-yard line for most of the game. Last week we went to Peter Lougheed Hospital to meet with the three doctors who are part of the tooth extraction (two internal medicine specialists and an anesthetist.) He will only have enough anesthesia until he gets groggy. The procedure will be on January 3rd. Please pray that all will go well. His Coumadin will be reduced over the period of five days. When it gets really low, there is always the possibility of a stroke.

Seniors and other adults over 18 had a turkey dinner at church last week. It was just like the monthly Evergreen group that used to hold monthly lunches before Covid. It was so good to get together again.

I went to the Wycliffe Christmas party at the Wycliffe office yesterday. I saw so many Wycliffe friends I used to work with in the past. It was so much fun!

I’m still on the wait list for assisted living. I have no idea when something will open up. When they first called me the end of November, it sounded like there was a place available for me, but when I said I wanted to wait until January to move, I think I was no longer a high priority.

I hope you’ve had a good week. I just was realizing a couple days ago that we’re almost at the end of the calendar.


Sunday, January 8, 2023 8:29 PM CST

From last week

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. We spent the day at Rob and Rachel's place. Dennis was able to join us. It was a quiet joyous gathering. I think we were all exhausted from pre-Christmas activities and the candlelight Christmas Eve service the night before.

We've had some really cold weather in the past couple weeks--down to -22 F, (-30 C.) Today got all the way up to 10 degrees C. (50 degrees F.) I'm not complaining, you understand.

Other events: We attended Andrew's Winter Concert, where he played the euphonium last Tuesday night. The weather was so cold that Tim's car wouldn't start and Rachel picked all of us up. While we were at the school--Lester B. Pearson, Tim and Rachel both found pictures up on the wall from when they were both students there.

My visit with Dennis last Friday: Santa came around and visited all the residents and gave them little panda bears. So that's where the panda came from last year.

I had an hour-long facetime visit with Pastor Hariyanaik and the girls living in the orphans' home in India. The girls sang for me, waved, and said, "Hi grandma."
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Happy New Year. I hope you had a good celebration. I spent New Year’s Eve with Renylor, Tim and Andrew. We had a traditional Filipino New Year’s meal at midnight!

Dennis had his oral surgery on January 3rd to remove his remaining teeth. I was at the hospital with him from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It was a long day for both of us. The doctor told me that it went well. He said, “Your husband is no longer wise. I removed his wisdom tooth.” (Along with all of his other teeth and roots.)

Friday –January 5 --I visited him at the nursing home today. He is doing OK. His face is still swollen and about a quarter of the bottom of his face is black and blue. He was sleepy because he is on Tylenol 3 to control the pain. He doesn’t complain of pain. His roommate, Andrew, died today; he was a very frail man and spent most of his time sleeping his wheelchair.

Sunday, January 7th. Church this morning. Our former pastor was back to speak to us today and we were able to greet Pastor Harry and his wife Cindy after the service. It was so good to see them.

Rob, Rachel, Makayla and I ate lunch at Wendy’s and then took a chocolate “Blizzard along with us to the nursing home to see Dennis. His face was still black and blue and swollen, and he was just plain miserable. He was happy to get the Blizzard and happy to see us but didn’t even want to watch football. Thanks for your prayers for him.

The days are getting longer, and I’m eager for spring. We’ll have more cold weather before then, but the days are passing. Have a good week.


Friday, January 20, 2023 10:55 AM CST

I hope you had a good week so far. We’ve had days sightly above freezing and some below, but no really cold weather, for which we have been thankful. Today the sunset was at 5:00 p.m., so the days are getting longer.

Dennis had a couple of difficult weeks of healing, because as his level of Coumadin was increasing to get him out of stroke range, his raw, painful mouth was more likely to start bleeding again. The doctor even put him on a different type of pain medication, so he was more likely to sleep and allow his mouth to heal. On Sunday when Rachel, Rob, Makayla and I saw him, he was in a small dining area where people were unable to feed themselves, but now on Thursday, he is able to eat on his own in his usual dining room. On January 26th, he will be having an impression made of his mouth for dentures.

Rachel went to see him on Wednesday night the18thand took Melynda’s dog Lucy with her. Dennis was delighted to see the dog and was looking so much better—the purple bruising is gone. Other people enjoyed the dog too.

Rachel’s birthday was on Sunday, and she had two former roommates over to her place--Christine with her husband and children--so they could all play cards.

I’m still on the waitlist for assisted living with no indication when it will happen. I can’t even go to the mailbox on my own because of 15 steps to get down my hill to the sidewalk.

Have a good weekend.



Thursday, January 26, 2023 9:17 PM CST

I hope you had a good week. I have just a short update today. The temperature was 43 degrees F,(6 degrees C.) with much melting snow. What a lovely day! However, the next few days will be much colder. It’s only one month and three weeks until spring.

Dennis went to the denture clinic today, the first of four visits to the clinic. He is getting more and more excited about the thought of eating REAL food—not pureed.

I’m still on the waitlist for assisted living. No news.


Wednesday, February 8, 2023 10:23 PM CST

No, you didn’t miss a post last week. Nothing was going on, so I didn’t write one.

Days are getting longer, and we’ve been having some nice weather. Spring is on the way, isn’t it?

Today was a busy day for me. First, I booked a ride on an Access Calgary taxi for a soup lunch at church, and then I booked another Access Calgary vehicle to the denturist where Dennis was going to try his new dentures and from there I booked a ride home. When I got to the denturist for the 3:00 appointment, no Dennis. Oops! I forgot to tell Dennis’ nurse to book a Carewest vehicle. We’ll try all of this again tomorrow.

Please pray for Rachel and Rob. Rachel just got over a week of illness—She lost her voice temporarily and had an ear infection. Antibiotics took care of the problem. Rob’s company won’t have steady work for him until they start a new project in March. When he’s been off work, Rob has been checking with his doctor about his rheumatoid arthritis which is getting worse. He now needs weekly injections which have some nasty, worrisome side effects. Scary!

I hope you are having a good week.



Tuesday, February 21, 2023 8:12 AM CST

Happy Presidents' Day or Happy Family Day, depending on which country you come from. Tim, Renylor, Andrew and I will be going to Rob and Rachel’s house at 4 p.m. to spend some family time with them. After warmer weather, we have had snow and -6 degree weather.

Dennis was excited to get his dentures last week and is now learning how to put them in and use them. He wants to eat a hamburger. I’m not sure when that will happen. I visited him on Friday and the afternoon activity was a Coke and ice cream float. Yum!

I’ve come to the top of the list for assisted living, In December I was told “We have a place for you.” Early last week, I was told, “You don’t qualify for anything.” I was then told I might qualify for a smaller place (178 square feet). Dennis and I lived in a workshop-"house" in PNG that was 184 sq. feet. for eight months. I’m going for a tour tomorrow at the Bow Valley Community. I’ve been sorting my things and packing up boxes that are now in the living room. I won’t be able to take much with me. Tim and family will move upstairs when I leave here.

I’ve been watching video clips from the Asbury revival. Lord, spread the work of the Holy Spirit across the U.S. and Canada. I remember the Asbury revival from 1970 and the changed lives in that generation. No, I wasn’t there—I just read articles about it afterward.

I had a Zoom prayer meeting with my Minneapolis friends on Saturday. We are all feeling our age—the normal aches and pains and physical limitations. Our bodies are wearing out. I really do appreciate all of them. God bless them all. Some of them are still traveling or going on vacations. I think the farthest I traveled away from home in the past year was about 10 miles.

My sister Elaine stored bulbs in her refrigerator and then planted them a month ago. She has beautiful tulips, hyacinths and daffodils in full bloom. Just gorgeous. I tried that last year and ended up with a few pale leaves which withered and died but produced no flowers. Can you tell that I'm envious?

Have a great week.


Thursday, March 16, 2023 11:06 AM CDT

I’m moving on March18th! I’ll have a room in Bow Valley Community, which has 60 rooms and is an assisted living facility for seniors. Rachel has been over two evenings, helping me sort, pack and prioritize. I’ve talked to people in the halls and they all seem very friendly. I’ll let you know more about it later. In the meantime, it’s still very much winter in Calgary.


Saturday, April 8, 2023 2:29 PM CDT

Happy Easter to all of you. I hope you’ve had a good week. Tomorrow I’ll be going to church and then riding home with Rachel. We’ll be having Easter brunch at Rachel and Rob’s place. I’m really looking forward to it. Breakfast is Rachel and Rob’s favorite meal. Dennis will be joining us for the meal.

Right now, it’s 55 degrees F. (12 degrees C) and all the snow has melted. Ah, spring. My relatives in Minnesota say that they still have a lot of snow. The Ausmus family in Minnesota will be having a family get together tomorrow for Easter. There are two new babies born in the past few months, plus some young ones in my sister Elaine’s side of the family. (Plus Sarah’s Melody who is about three.) These are all new additions to their respective families since Rachel and I were there in 2017, the last time we were in Minnesota.

Rachel is working on updating her Canadian and US passports with her married name. It requires lots of work to get everything updated.

I’m getting to know more people here at Bow Valley Community. We had a total of about 16 people with COVID, but now they are mostly out of isolation. We still need to wear masks to keep from spreading COVID.

FROM last WEEK
Caring Bridge

Much of the snow is gone, and it really feels like spring is coming. Much of the snow is gone, and it really feels like spring is coming.
I’m enjoying living at Bow Valley Community and am slowly getting to know some of the names. Everyone here is friendly and I am feeling at home.

Unfortunately, we have had a COVID outbreak with 11 people confined to their rooms, but they are now getting over the isolation which started last week. Because of that, I was unable to visit Dennis. I did not have COVID, but someone at my table had it so I was closely exposed to it. Now on Monday, she is out of isolation.
After church on Sunday, I enjoyed a meal with Rob and Rachel at Denny’s, while Makayla went to a noon youth event at church. The food was great. Rachel brought a few more things for my room and then rearranged some of the furniture to make the room more convenient for the cleaning team.
Kirk, who is at my table, has a new baby grandson, born this morning. Exciting for his family.


Thursday, April 20, 2023 3:59 PM CDT

Written on Saturday and Monday
I’ve been at Bow Valley Community for a month now, and it is feeling like home. I’m getting to know more people all the time. The good news is that the COVID outbreak in our building is now over.

On Saturday afternoon Rachel, Rob, Makayla, Dennis, and I went to SuperTrain, which hasn’t been operating for the past three years because of COVID. One arena and two hockey rinks are filled with model railroad layouts. Dennis was so happy to see it again!

We stopped to see Tim and Renylor afterward and pick up a couple items I needed. My cat Pinky acted as if he didn’t even know me. Some loyalty. . .

Today I went to see my retina specialist. Four years ago, I saw 20/25 and 20/30 in my two eyes with my glasses on. Today I could barely identify the big E with my right eye and saw a few random letters with my left eye. My Macular Degeneration has progressed in both eyes, but fortunately it is the dry kind, so I don’t need injections in my eyes.

I hope you are having a good week.


Wednesday, May 3, 2023 12:01 AM CDT


Happy May Day. We are experiencing beautiful weather here in Calgary with leaves coming out on the trees and flowers beginning to blossom. I haven’t seen this myself. Friends have reported this.

I had a lovely visit yesterday with two friends from my time at Wycliffe, Gayle and Helena. Helena and I have birthdays a couple days apart, so it was good to see both of them. Helena and I used to exchange cards and sometimes small gifts. They both are looking healthy, and we sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather. A fleeting feeling of sadness struck me as they read signs across the street, and I could no longer do that. Then my slight feeling of envy passed when I realized that both have battled cancer, and I haven’t. Losing eyesight is nothing compared to cancer, and I realized how fortunate I have been.

On Wednesday Rachel and the rest of my family are coming over to celebrate my birthday. Dennis will be able to see my home for the first time when he comes with them in the evening.

I visited Dennis last Friday as I usually do. He had a grin on his face when he saw the package of York mints I had brought him. He got out a paper cup so we could share a can of Coke and then offered me some of his M & Ms. Afterward we attended the weekly coffee party/birthday celebration. He looks forward to it. I read from the large-print Daily Bread devotional book but could barely read it even with a large magnifying glass and a flashlight.

I need to remember to count my blessings.


Wednesday, May 10, 2023 7:58 PM CDT

What a beautiful Sunday! Everything is turning green –the leaves, the grass, and tulips are beginning to blossom in front of the building.

May 3rd was my 77th birthday and I had such a special time. I was blessed by phone calls from my sisters Sharon and Elaine in Minnesota and sister-in-law Sharon in Georgia. My friend Mary called me on May 2nd all the way from Australia. In the evening my whole family, including Dennis, came over for cake and donuts. Dennis enjoyed singing “Happy Birthday” to me with all the others. I was greatly blessed by being with my family.

The orphans in India had a birthday party for me, which they do every year. It was exciting for them because they got cake and ice cream. I saw a lot of pictures from the day.

On Friday I had my usual time with Dennis. We shared an A & W root beer and watched “Family Feud”. Afterward we went outside and watched birds singing in the trees. I heard the story of a duck that has lived by the Carewest George Boyack building for several years. This year she laid her eggs in a flowerpot and they hatched.


Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:52 AM CDT

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers reading this. I had a wonderful Mother’s Day. After church on Sunday, Rob and Rachel took me out to eat at Ginger Beef (formerly called China Rose). The food was the best Chinese food I’ve tasted in years. It was a delightful time. Makayla wasn’t with us because she was spending time with her mother. Bow Valley Community gave each mother a package with three Ferro Rocher candies and a strawberry dipped in white chocolate.
=
On Saturday I was back at the old house, sorting, discarding, and putting things in a bag to be recycled at a thrift store. Rachel was the main force behind the sorting. She gave seven hours toward the process—what a gift of love. Two things discovered: a box with books that had my personal stories published in. I’m glad that I still have those books and now have them on the shelf. Rachel also found the autographed baseball from 1963 with all the signatures of the Minnesota Twins. What a treasure! I looked it up and found that it is worth $275. However, I have no intention of selling it.

There’s now a pile of black bags in the back yard bound for the land fill. Rob will load them into his trailer and take them to the dump/land fill. I am thankful for all of the help I am getting for this massive project. You need to remember that my current living situation is 178 square feet. I had to let go of a lot of things. But it’s only memories that I am giving away or throwing away.

Tim was mowing the backyard and discovered a mother duck sitting on eight eggs. We never had a duck there previously. The duck flew away but came back after Tim finished mowing. We are nowhere near a stream, so we’re not sure why she chose our backyard to lay her eggs under a May tree (pin cherry).

Because of my nearness to Carewest George Boyack, it’s easy to visit Dennis every Friday afternoon. All things considered he is doing well. When he sees me coming to his room, he gets out a can of A&W root beer, Which he shares with me. Then we eat a few M&Ms while watching Family Feud with Steve Harvey. We used to go to the Friday afternoon tea/birthday party, but that has been shifted to Thursday afternoon for the month of May. For my last hour there, we went outside and looked at birds in front of the building. It’s nice to see all of the leaves coming out on the trees.

Because of all the wildfires burning in northern Alberta, the sky has been filled with smoke. Today, however, the wind must have shifted because the sky is blue and there is no smoke. What a welcome change.

I hope you have a good week.


Tuesday, May 30, 2023 9:30 PM CDT

The smoke is gone now and we’ve had some gorgeous weather. The lilac tree in front of the Bow Valley building is filling the air with delightful fragrance. I’m enjoying spring.
I had a delight conversation with my taxi driver this morning on my way to church. He is a Christian from Ethiopia and having the Lord in his life was the most important thing in the world to him. He put a smile on my face and I put a smile on his.

I took part in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Last week. They measured everything that they were able to measure including height, weight, bone density, EKG of my heart, plaque in my carotid artery, ability to walk, full body X-ray and more. I’ve been doing this once a year for about 10 years. This time they didn’t make me stand on one foot or try to recall a long list of words.

Renylor, Rachel, Rob, Makayla and I went to Andrew’s band concert last week. The music by the concert band, jazz band, concert choir and jazz choir was delightful. It brought back memories of when Rachel had band concerts years back. Andrew playss the euphonium, which is a junior size tuba.

I visit Dennis every Friday afternoon. We’ve missed
going to the birthday party/coffee party on Friday afternoons so hopefully it will be moved back to Friday in June. I will be going with him to a dermatologist next week to check out a growth on his face for cancer.

On Saturday I had a lovely visit with my writer friend Laureen at Swiss Chalet. It's been a long time since we had a visit over a meal, especially since Covid kept people from getting together.

Have a great week. Some of you have been celebrating Memorial Day in the U.S.


Tuesday, June 6, 2023 8:45 PM CDT

Last week was a week focused on Dennis. May 31st was our 48th wedding anniversary, and we spent the afternoon in a dermatology clinic where Dennis had two pre- cancerous areas on his forehead treated with liquid nitrogen. No further treatment was necessary—just a check up in October.
On Friday I had my usual visit at Carewest George Boyack, where we watched “Family Feud” and then went to the weekly party which is now back to Fridays. We enjoyed punch and cake.
On Sunday afternoon, Rachel took Dennis and me to her house where Dennis enjoyed throwing a ball for Cooper, Rob’s dog who happily ran after it. Rachel gave Dennis a short haircut while I enjoyed sitting with him in the back yard.
I hope you are having a good spring.



Monday, June 19, 2023 7:16 PM CDT

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers reading this. Rachel and I are planning to visit Dennis after church.
It’s hard to believe that we have passed the halfway point in June already. We’ve had some really hot weather earlier, but one day this past week we had some welcome rain and a temperature of 46 degrees (7 degrees C.). Smoke in the air comes and goes, depending on the direction of the wind.
One day a week ago, seven people from our church got together for a time of fellowship. Three of them are living in Aspen Lodge, another assisted living place. It was fun, and we’ll do it again later this summer.
I’m dealing with some sadness. Four days ago I woke up and my engagement ring caught on something. When I looked down, the diamond was missing! No, we haven’t found it. It was a very small one .I’ve worn the ring for more than 48 years so I I guess the prongs had gotten lose.
I visited Dennis on Thursday, in time for their weekly party. He was glad to have me there.
Have a good week.


Wednesday, June 28, 2023 9:39 AM CDT

Happy summer
We had a fantastic Father’s Day. After Church. Rachel and family and Tim and family and I went out to eat at Denny’s Afterward we all wemt tp see Dennis in George Boyack nursing homeand gave him a cupcake and candy bar. He was happy to see us.
After church this past Sunday, Rachel, her family and I visited Dennis in a gazebo outside. It was cooler than we thought, so we were able toroll down clohs around the sides of the gazebo. We all had a nice visit.

I had a busy week:

*Went to an indoor picnic in church.
* Routine doctor visit.
*Birthday party at the Wycliffe office where I saw a number of my former colleagues.
*Monday, June 26, I went to H and R Block to pick up our US tax return and then went to the bank to pay it and then to the postal outlet to mail it. While at the bank, I met with our financial planner.I left my Bow Velley house at 10 am and didn’t get back until 4 p,m. I was SO tired.

I hope you are having a good week.


Friday, July 7, 2023 9:22 PM CDT

Happy Canada Day or 4th of July, depending on which country you are from. We had a nice celebration here at the Bow VellTey were great!ty. Yesterday a group of 12 line-dancers entertained us.
• Last week we had an Elvis impersonator who was really good. He had been the opening act for some big-name entertainers in Los Vegas. He also sings Harry Bellefonte songs.
• This is the start of the Calgary Stampede After having restrictions last year because of COVID, everything is now open. I’ll watch some things with Dennis on TV.
• On Sunday I went to see Tim, Renylor and Andrew because it was Tim’s birthday. We enjoyed Chinese food. Rachel and family were camping with her old roommates. and their family.
• Tim has done a great job of painting the inside of the house. Everything is blue-gray.










Saturday, July 22, 2023 4:24 PM CDT

July is quickly slipping away from us. Where has the summer gone already? We’ve had some lovely rain which the lawns and plants have needed.

This year the Calgary Stampede has set new records for the largest attendance. Rachel took Makayla to it, and they waited in lines for an hour to get on rides. No, I didn’t go to it. I visited Dennis Friday and Saturday afternoon. We watched the rodeo on TV both afternoons—barrel racing, chuck wagon races, calf tying, and steer riding Dennis grinned for two hours. Because he liked it so much.

There is always plenty to do at Bow Valley Community. This afternoon was a sing along and birthday party. Tomorrow some people are going to the Farmers’ Market on a bus. I’m one of those people.

i
I’m thankful for Facetime talks I had with wirier friends Pat and Laureen. I also had a chat with my friend Mary in Australia (by phone.)

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Please pray for my sister Sharon who was recently diagnosed with Mesothelioma. This is an aggressive type of cancer that is normally found in the lungs of people who have worked with asbestos. Sharon’s is found in the lining of the abdominal cavity. Only 200 people per year have this particular rare in the US. It’s deadly and chemo can only control it, not eradicate it. Pray that Sharon can soon get an appointment at the Mayo Clinic to find the best chemo treatment. She feels encouraged by the number of people praying for her. Sharon is only 66.Thanks for your prayers.


Tuesday, August 15, 2023 5:03 PM CDT

sUMMER IS SLIPPING AWAY AND THE dAYS ARE GETTOMG SHORTER.

On Friday, I visited Dennis. We watched TV for an hour and then went outside to the garden to watch the magpies squawking and hopping about. An attendant told me that Dennis enjoyed a petting zoo the previous d—a lmb, a chicken,a piglet, and a duckling. It was a happy time for him.

Rachel, and family are back from a camping trip in Sycamous, q five-hour trip through the mountains of to B.C. She said the bed in the cabin was the second worst bed she ever slept on.

Each week my eyesight gets a little worse. I had been reading with my left eye and a magnifying glass, and now my left eye is worse than my right eye. Sometimes I have my fingers on the wrong keys and need to go back and correct a bunch of words.

I had an allergic reaction to a bug bite on Friday, and an area around the bite the
U hope u size of an orange turned red and by 8:30, the red area was the size of a cantaloupe! Scary. Scary! A doctor put me on an antibiotic and now everything has calmed down. It is healing well.
Please pray for my sister Sharon who is waiting for chemo to start. Who was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago.
I hope you are having a gppd week. Fall isn't far away.




A couple weeks ago



July is quickly slipping away from us. Where has the summer gone already? We’ve had some lovely rain which the lawns and plants have needed.

This year the Calgary Stampede has set new records for the largest attendance. Rachel took Makayla to it, and they waited in lines for an hour to get on rides. No, I didn’t go to it. I visited Dennis Friday and Saturday afternoon Wes watched the rodeo on TV both afternoons—barrel racing, chuck wagon races, calf tying, and steer riding Dennis grinned for two hours. Because he liked it so much.

Ther always plenty to do at Bow Valley Community. This afternoon was a sing along and birthday party. Tomorrow some people are going to the Farmers’ Market. On a bus s. I’m one of the

I’m thankful for Facetime talks I had with wrier friends Pat and Laureen. I also had a chat faith my friend Mary in Australia (by phone,)

8888888888888888
Please pray for my sister Sharon who was recently diagnosed with Mesothelioma. This is an aggressive type of cancer that is normally found in the lungs of people who have worked with asbestos. Sharon’s is found in the lining of the abdominal cavity. Only 200 people per year have this in the US. It’s deadly and chemo can only control it, not eradicate it. Pray that Charon can soon get an appointment at the May Clinic to find the best chemo treatment. She feels encouraged by the number of people praying fo


Sunday, August 27, 2023 4:03 PM CDT


Janet Seever
Wed, 23 Aug, 19:14 (4 days ago)
to Elaine, Sharon, Mary, Paula, Rachel, Sharon

What a change in weather! We had 93 degrees ( 34) one day and it dropped down to and it dropped down to 52 degrees the next day (11 degrees.

Last Thursday, we had an art show at Aspen Lodge, a senior home nearby. I had three of my pieces in the show. Many talented artists live in these retirement facilities.

I had my usual visit with Dennis last Friday. We saw Family Feud, watched the Blue Jays baseball game and then I read a devotional for him.

I have been in isolation for the past six
days with Covid, but I'm getting better.


Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:36 PM CDT


Janet Seever
Mon, 11 Sept, 15:04 (3 days ago)
to Sharon, Sharon, Paula, Rachel, Elaine, Mary

The days are feeling more and more like fall with chilly temperatures in the mornings.

We had a celebration for Labor Day last week with a family get together at Rob and Rachel’s place. Rob made brunch with the assistance of some of the ladies present. Renylor brought spring rolls. Dennis came too. It was so good to be together as a family.

I was in isolation in my room for10 days. It’s so good to be out and over Covid. I was really sick for two days and after that started getting better. This was the first time for me and I am fully vaccinated and boosted.

Sunday after church, everyone was invited to eat pizza in the church gym. This is the first large gathering I can remember since Covid struck in 2019.

This morning I watched four black squirrels playing tag in the front yard at Bow Valley community. What cute animals.

Now when I visit Dennis on Friday afternoons, we sit and watch football. Dennis really enjoys it.

Rachel and I are going to Minnesota from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9. I am looking forward to it. We will be visiting friends and relatives, attending my niece’s wedding, and seeing my 96-year-old mother-in-law. We will also visit with my sister Sharon who is undergoing chemo for an aggressive cancer.Please continue to pray for Sharon.






Monday, September 25, 2023 4:17 PM CDT

The g9olden leaves tumble to the ground, reminding me of the changing seasons.We haven’t had the first frost yet, but last week a crew of volunteers in yellow shirts ame to Bow Valley Community and pulled up all the flowers that were still blooming in preparation for the coming frost.

Today I (Sept. 21) had an appointment with my retina specialist and had an injection in my eye. I now have WET Macular Degeneration when blood vessels grow randomly in the eye and leak.The drug used in the injection is Avastin. It’s the same drug used in my sister Sharon's’ chemo (A MUCH HIGHER AMOUNT) Avastin will block the blood vessels and stop them from leaking into my eye. Now, three days later, the black spots in my eye (blood) have disappeared.

Last week when I visited Dennis, we went out into the garden by the nursing home. The flowers were still blooming beautifully, especially the pansies and petunias.



Last Saturday Rachel surprised me. She stopped to visit Dennis and then wheeled him down the seven blocks from his nursing home to where Ilive. She played piano here while Dennis and I split a can of A&W root beer. It was a special occasion for all of us.It was harder to wheel him back in his wheelchair because part of her travels were uphill.

Happy first anniversary to Rachel and Rob on the 23rd.

Sunday, Sept. 24th--Dennis's awesome adventure:Rachel needed to bring a suitcase to me for our up-comiing trip to Minnesota, so she loaded the suitcase, Cooper (Rob's golden mixed Lab who loves riding in a car), and Rob's mini-mobility scooter that he got into working condition again. Rachel stopped at the nursing home to pick up Dennis. So here is how they came; a delighted Dennis thoroughly enjoying riding the scooter, Rachel pushing the red suitcase along the sidewalk, and Cooper bounding along beside them on his leash. Dennis hasn't ridden a scooter for four years and he did great.

Minnesota, here we come. (September 30.)



Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:30 PM CDT

What a wonderful time Rachel and I had in Minnesota from Sept. 30to Oct. 9. We stayed with my sisters Elaine and Sharon on various days and had visits with various family members. Sharon Seever came up from Atlanta, Georgia, so we enjoyed her visit. We all visited with visited Mom Seever who is still doing well at 96. While I was in a northern suburb, I was able to get together with seven friends I knew from university days, nearly 60 years ago –the old Bethany gang.
The highlight of my time in Minnesota was my niece’s wedding. I saw a lot of relatives I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.Leaves on the trees were still green since they had not had a frost yet.

The one thing I was sad about was that my favorite singer, Jason Gray, had a concert in my niece Karissa’s home church a week after we left Minnesota. Kari was able to get a photo with him.

Rachel and I came back to Calgary to falling yellow leaves. Autumn is certainly here. Snow is in the forecast a week from today.

I had two vaccinations a week ago for influenza and Covid (Moderna), Several people here reacted to the Covid vaccination. It made me feel very weak.

Dennis was very happy to see me last Friday. I read a devotional booklet (Our Daily Bread) to him and then we ate M&Ms and drank A&W root beer. Then we watched a football game.

On Sunday we had a birthday brunch for Renylor (40 years) and Makayla (13 years) at Rob and Rachel’s place. Dennis threw a ball for Cooper in the back yard. (Cooper is a loving yellow Lab/Blue Heeler.) Our brunch was a delicious breakfast prepared by Rob. Afterward people went out to the back yard to enjoy the warm weather. Dennis and I watched the movie “Blindside” ( Football movie about Michael Orr). It put a smile on Dennis’s face.

Thursday I will be going to the Southern Alberta Eye Center for an injection in my eye. The numbing drops are nasty, but the injection is totally painless.

Please pray for my sister Sharon who had chemo today. She will be feeling very sick in a couple days.


Wednesday, November 1, 2023 4:07 PM CDT

Snow! The seasons are changing. We had -10 degree temperatures (14 degrees F.) I wasn’t prepared for anything this cold this soon. We got the snow on October 23rd, but it will be melting by the end of this week with warner temperatures predicted,

We had a medical week. Dennis had two cancerous patches removed from his forehead.

I had a TIA, ended up with a CT scan the next day (nothing of concern found)and had an appointment at a
Stroke Prevention Clinic. I’ll have to wear a Holter monitor and have an echocardiogram in the next couple weeks. I also had an injec6tion in my eye for Macular Degeneration, which I will have monthly.

Last Sunday Tim and Renylor invited me over for lunch. Tim has finished all the painting of the walls and putting down the wood floor laminate. He has done a beautiful job of it. They have gotten some used leather couches and have a collection of plants on stands.

On Saturday, October 28, there was an art and craft fair at Aspen Lodge, one of the senior lodges near here. I sold four of my books, Holding on to Hope I’ll need to order more copies.

I visited Dennis and we watched football—our usual Friday afternoon activity.


Monday, November 13, 2023 11:38 AM CST

We have had some lovely weather and no longer have snow on the ground. One day the temperature got up to 55 degrees F. (12 degrees C,)

Last week Dennis had what seemed to be a small stroke, so he was taken to the hospital that specializes in stroke treatment. Rachel spent the day with him. The CT scan was clear, but an X-ray showed the start of pneumonia. Rachel visited him on his birthday and had a messenger link with me. However, he wanted to watch the football game that happened to be on. We were going to plan a birthday get-together, but there are now 18 Covid cases on Dennis’ floor and his roommate has Covid.

I had an echocardiogram yesterday, a follow-up from my visit to the stroke Prevention Clinic.

Please pray for my sister Sharon who ended up with very severe vertigo after her Chemo treatment on Tuesday and has spent several days in the hospital.

Have a peaceful weekend.


Wednesday, December 27, 2023 6:51 PM CST

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Just a quick update:

I went to Makayla’s concert last week,and Dennis joined us to goto to Andrew’s concert
.
We had a wonderful Christmas dinner here at Bow Valley Community with live music.

Each of us got a large box of gifts—It was overwhelming.
On Sunday I’ll go to church and then get together at Rob and Rachel’s place for our Christmas dinner.

This afternoon I spent three hours with Dennis. We watched TV programs on the Egyptian pyramids and Husky dog racing.
May the Lord bless you this Christmas.
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Thursday, January 11, 2024 2:28 PM CST


I hope 2024 has started out well for you. We’ve been hit with the full force of winter the past couple days with a temperature of -20 degrees F. ( -27 degrees C.) I’m staying bundled up in my room as much as possible. At least I'm not going outside.

Dennis is still enjoying his sports. I go over to Carwest George Boyack every Friday to visit with him. It will be a sad day for him when football is over.

I'm enjoying the activities here. Yesterday we did acrylic painting and in the past we were learning watercolors

One of the men at my table was so friendly and outgoing. Overnight he became confused and withdrawn--so unlike his usual self. We think he had a stroke and we're wondering why he was released from the hospital after only one day. I'm praying for him.

Please pray for my sister Sharon. The side effects of the chemo are many.

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Tuesday, January 30, 2024 2:46 PM CST

Last week we had some brutally cold weather (-36 C., -30 F), cur this week will be warming up. I think I’m ready for spring. Next week we will have days above freezing.
A week ago, we had a Black children’s choir here –about 15 kids. The director was Patrick, a worship leader at our church, originally from Africa. The children had only been practicing for two weeks, but did an excellent job. I hope they ’II come back sometime.

We now have movie night on Thursday nights, and so far we have seen an Elvis documentary and Mama Mia.
Dennis and I watched “Family Feud” on Friday our “date” afternoon.. When Rachel visited him a short time Sunday night, they were able to find a football game on TV. Soon football season will be over

I received some good news today. The head of the heart and stroke clinic called to give me some results of some tests I had previously, including an angiogram. All the results were normal. However, he would like me to get better control of my diabetes since the A1C was higher than it should be..
Have a great week.


Monday, February 19, 2024 11:49 AM CST

Just a quick update:

Yesterday we had a family gathering at Rob and Rachel’s place. We had a breakfast brunch after church w2ith egges, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes and melons. Rob did the ccking and Makayla made the pancakes. Dennis enjoyed being with his family.
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Winter is back with more snow after spring-like conditions last week.

I am now classified as legally blind in myleft eye. I fell three weeks ago and stretched my hamstring muscle. It was very painful but is now fully healed.

Football season is now over so Dennis will need to find some other sport to watch.
Have a good week.