Is It November?

Is it November? The weather sure doesn't seem like it. Usually, by this time we are packing up and heading out to BC to our "home away from home". Since it doesn't seem to be in the stars this fall, I am glad the weather here is decent. Winter is going to be just a little shorter now.

I was worried that our trees wouldn't loose their leaves before winter. That Mother Nature knows what she is doing (as all moms do). It warmed up a bit, the leaves changed colors and have now fallen off just like it was planned.

What a difference 2 weeks make. When we left for BC it was cold here, wet with a bit of snow. I thought to myself that the flax that was out would be still there in the spring. Not so, by the time we got home the combines were out and going hard. Our neighbor is finished now, he had an appendectomy and still got finished thanks to his neighbors, family and friends. I see a neighbor to the West of us is still going today. They might even get finished before the bad weather comes back. I hope so!

We are still in the remodelling mode...... our flooring is in the house now. The installation has to happen when our carpenter/farmer gets time to do it for us or atleast help RK get started. The carpenter/farmer said he couldn't come until the snow flies. There is part of me that is wishing for the snow to fly. The other part of me says......not snow, not yet! I am not in charge of weather anyway....... guess it is a good thing, eh?

Our trip home was quite uneventful. We picked up my mom at Wynndel and came back as far as Medicine Hat. My poor mother was so tired and confused that she didn't know where we were and why we were there. Lethbridge was a complete mystery to her. She is too old and got too tired for a trip like that. She enjoyed the visit with her brother and family but I am afraid it is her last trip West. She just gets too confused. Sorry mom!

Today was my old friend's birthday. She is 92 today. The older I get the more old friends I get. Funny how that happens! My mom says her friends are in underground apartments. I guess some of mine are there too. That happens too, as we get older.

My thoughts today are on our soldiers........ tomorrow is Nov. 11...... take a few minutes out to think about how fortunate we are in this country and about the people that fought and are fighting to make our country great. Reeny

Happy Halloween

When did we quit spelling Halloween without an apostrophe? I always thought we spelled Hallowe'en like that but sometime the word got change to be spelled Halloween. Why did I take spelling when I was a kid ........ Spell check takes care of all that for me anyway.
So, happy Hallowed evening everyone. I have always said I don't like this celebration. Dressing up in costume seems silly to me and then handing out candy to children that come to the door seems really silly. Those same parents that take their children door to door have some one at their home handing out candy to the children that come to their door. So......... everyone buy a bag of candy.......... give the bag to your kids and let them go at it. Job done!
Noooooo , I am just being silly now. The little grandkids here were so excited about dressing up tonight and going out with their bags. They were so cute, Liam dressed as a pirate and Dannon a blue princess. Rylan, the baby wore a tigger suit, he wasn't really impressed until he figured out he got candy at the door, then he just ran with the other kids door to door. They had such fun.
Now the big kids (parents of the little kids) have gone to a party. They dressed up in costume, J as a pirate and S. a cat. they were pretty darn cute when they left as well. I wonder how cute they will look tomorrow?
Nana and Papa have to stay up pretty darn late baby sitting, wonder what we will look like in the morning? Atleast, we can sleep in.
As you might have guessed by my comments we are now in BC. and will be here for a few days. Not sure if we will be here this winter. Maybe in the new year if all goes well. It just seems right to be here. It was 14 degrees today and the sun was shining. The grass is green but the flowers are all gone.
We rented a suite in a hotel for a week, it was too early to house sit at our "home away from home". It is nice to have our own spot. When things get to rowdy with the grandkids we just go back to our spot and have a rest. Sound old? Yup, I think we are!
My thought for tonight is .......don't forget to turn your clocks back, in BC or Alberta......if you are in SK don't touch your clock. You know when to get up without messing with the time.
I tried to think of a Halloween joke but can't. So here is one my grandson told me.
What were Tarzan's last words?................................... Who greased the vine??! Reeny

Make an Appointment

Last Friday I took mom to the city. She thought that her car needed servicing so I made an appointment for 9:30 am. She had a hair appointment at 10 am. Everything should work out I thought. The lady at the service desk told me, when I called in to book the service work, that it would take until noon. That was fine, I thought, we can have lunch and do a bit of shopping and then the car will be ready.

We left home here at 8:30 right on the dot (mom likes to go early), I dropped her off at the Zeller's door. We had gotten to the city in lots of time so mom was going to have a coffee before getting her do done. I drove over to the dealership, feeling good about getting there a bit early, I walked in and told the gentleman, that looked like a mechanic but he was sitting at a computer, that I was there with the car. He said "oh, we are really booked this morning".

I said, " I have an appointment at 9:30AM". Well he explained that they had gotten a lot of cars in that morning because the weather wasn't good. He said I would have to wait until after lunch.

Did these other people have appointments this AM too? No, they just dropped by because of the change in the weather. I said to forget it for the day, my 90 year old mom was not going to hang around the Mall all day. So, I made a new appointment, went back to Zellers in time to have coffee with mom before she went to her hair appointment.

I forgot to mention that our daughter was coming home for the week end. She had asked me to make an appointment for her at this same dealership. I told the lady in charge of appointments what I needed. I also told her that I didn't want to make P's appointment if they were going to be too busy to get to her. The lady in charge went out to talk to the mechanic and came back in promising that P could bring her car in at 1:30 on Sat. and they could rotate the tires and change the oil. As it turned out I hadn't got the instructions quite right, she didn't need an oil change.
Anyway, we got in there on Sat. by 1:30 P explained what she wanted and that she had an appointment. Once again......... they were very busy and were 5 cars behind but they could get to her by 3:30. As it turned out all she was getting done was a nail pulled out of a tire.
They sent us to the Mall in a taxi because they don't have or didn't have a courtesy van. When we had looked in every corner of every store in the little Mall the taxi was sent to take us back to the shop.
There was TV there and a coffee pot.....what more could we ask for? Finally, at 5 PM we were allowed to leave.
Now I ask myself......... what does making an appointment mean to these folks? Certainly not very much, all it does is assure them of work for the day in case someone better doesn't come along. I think if I have an appointment I should be in before the vehicle that just showed up behind a tow truck. That person can wait....... just because your car broke down that isn't an excuse for bumping to the head of the line.
Now tomorrow I go back to the dreaded business again with my mom's car. All we need is a tire rotation and an oil change. The appointment time is 9:30 again, wish us luck. If I have trouble again, there is going to be a letter sent to the manager or to the owner, if I can find out who he or she is. They need to know what is happening......... It is a service department people.
My thoughts tonight are.......... I wonder if we should book a room? Reeny

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week end is over......... we can still be thankful though right? As I thought this week end what I was the most thankful for I came up with a long list. I thought about the usual things........ my family, my home, our good health and our friends. Then I thought about our weather ........ the snow......I am thankful for the snow? Not likely I tell myself. I hate the thought of winter coming, so, is it safe to say I am not thankful for winter? No....... I like the seasons, winter isn't my favorite season but some people like winter and snow. In the city on Sat. I saw some folks dressed in wedding clothes.... I wonder how thankful they were for the weather conditions. I was told last fall when I was complaining about winter that that is what our warm clothes are for. So......I am thankful for warm clothes.

This fall our home is under going some renovations. The house is 30 years old so we decided to give it a face lift. After replacing the living room window this fall we started to think about the floors. First of all the sunken living room needed to go if we are going to live here in our "senior years". One wet day this fall our son and RK raised the floor. Quite a change, thanks JK for all your work. I am very thankful for that.

We ordered laminate for the whole house except the bathrooms and bedrooms. It should be here in a couple of weeks. A farmer/carpenter will help RK install the flooring "when the snow fles". Once again I give thanks for the snow.

My shoulder has been causing me problems, so we decided to hire the painting done. The young man lives in a town nearby, came to Saskatchewan from Naniamo, B.C about 6 months ago. He isn't finished yet, but, he is doing a lovely job. Needless to say, I am thankful for him as well. We have a mess upstairs right now and everything is covered in plastic. When I started to cook a turkey supper on Sunday I thought I wasn't thankful for that. After some thought about it ........yes, I was thankful for even the mess. When the plastic comes off and everything is back in place everything is going to look great. Also, because I couldn't vacuum or do laundry we as a family of 3 sat downstairs and watched TV or read books all week end. We didn't even have Internet on the week end. I am very thankful to have the Internet back.

So on thinking about it.......what is there that I am not thankful for. War and starving people are about all that I can come up with. I am very lucky woman.

My thoughts for tonight are...... I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and to my friends celebrating an anniversary many happy more years. Reeny

The Last Harvest

"The last harvest" sounds so final.......no I am not predicting the end of the world or anything earth shaking like that. My husband RK has finally decided after 40 years of farming to pack it in. I like living here on the farm, I loved raising the family here but, I didn't like the gamble we took every year. For the most part, we did very well financially. We had some dry years and one year we got hailed out 100%, that wasn't good. Not sure how we were able to plant a crop the next year but we did. My parents farmed at a good time and fortunately for us found themselves able to hand over a section of land to help us get going. We also were fortunate to buy a 1/4 section close by when the land prices were reasonable. Farming is such a crap shoot for the most part and every once in awhile we have to get lucky. Farms are getting larger all the time. If you haven't got atleast 6 sections of land, 2 combines, a semi or two and a cart in your field you just aren't doing it. Our machinery is worn out, probably $100,000 would buy the whole works. The young farmers now put out that much for a down payment on a machine these days. How do they do it, I ask?
Now the question comes down to where are we going to live, what will happen to the land? My mom still owns the homestead section. It has been owned and operated by the family for over 100 years. Now what?
We have decided to stay on the farm here as long as we are able to drive. RK has a shop that he can spend his time in and a golf course near by. I will carry on doing what house wives do, I guess. For quite a few winters we have gone to BC to help "raise" our grandchildren, this year might be an exception. Mom can't get along without me these days and even if she does get a place to live in MJ I think I might need to stay close by.
Besides my mom, I am getting some implant work done. In Dec. if all goes well, I will get my bridge installed. I need to be here for that, although I can put it off until spring, I don't want to. I am quite excited to get the job finished up.
We are renovating our house. After 30 years we decided to change the flooring. The living room was sunken an while J was here he helped RK to raise the floor. We are having lainate installed through out. I am hiring a painter to come in and paint the living room, kitchen and entry before the flooring goes down. I know I am being lazy and should paint it myself. We have a painter in our area that will come in a few weeks, bring the paint, fill nail holes and paint. Since I have been doctoring with a torn rotator cuff and arthritis in my shoulder I decided it was a great investment. He even cleans up after himself. You got to love it!
We have decided to rent out all the land if we can. Live here and enjoy life. RK, if he gets feeling like he wants to drive a truck or a tractor he can fly at it. There is always a farmer looking for some help. I can't see my life changing, I will still have the laundry to do and the floor to scrub. I will have old RK around a bit more, I can handle that, I think. I am used to him after all these years.
RK is on his last field, it is canola. He is very happy with the yield. Probably tomorrow, if everything holds together, RK will close this chapter of his life. The bins are full, the quota is full at the elevator and the fellow that is going to haul out the canola should be here in few weeks. So much for that!
My thoughts for today is .........no party, no fan fare, no tears, just so done. yippee Reeny

Sept. already?

Oh, my goodness, I can't believe it is September all ready! Harvest is in full swing on our farm finally. Our son came from BC yesterday to help the old farmer here with the harvest. I picked J up at the airort and we got here just in time to move trucks to the next field. J was in the grain truck working before he even got into his farm clothes and this morning they left the house by 8 to move grain to the elevator. That was last year's grain that didn't get sold. We are going to be short of grain space, so, the guys are doing some juggling. A good problem to have, the crop is doing a lot better than K had anticipated. Now the race is on....... it is cloudy today will we get rain? Is it going to freeze before the wheat is off. What would a harvest be without those questions.
The birds seems to be having their little meetings to arrange travel plans. They always seem to know something about the weather that we humans don't. K. says this is his last harvest........ he figures 40 years is enough. I will believe it when I see it.
September brings the Terry Fox Run/walk. Every year our little town gears up for it. There is always a big turn out. The walk starts with a lunch at the hall and then we set out on the trek from there. Everyone that participates knows atleast one person that has had cancer, I am sure, how could you not. This year one of the town's residence has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. She is in our prayers and thoughts for sure. Our daughter will be home to walk with me not sure if the two combiners will walk or not. I am thinking not, they will probably just go for the lunch. I have been doing some practising. Hope the day is nice, I enjoy the walk and the visit with friends and family as we go along.
If anyone is interested in sending in a donation the web site is http://www.terryfox.org/Run/donate_to_participant.html
You can find our town there and then a participant if you wish. It is for cancer research and you will get a tax receipt in the mail.
The school students and university students are all back to school now. Our little grandson is very worried he will have to go to study hall if he doesn't get his work done. He is most anxious about a history exam, hmmmm that was the first day back. I think he worries too much, wouldn't you say? He is in grade 3 this year. I feel sorry for him, I remember worrying about school stuff too, and that was 50 years ago and more. Why do I still remember the bad part of school? There must have been something good......oh, yes, I remember recess, that was the best part. I don't think I learned much at school. I learned the basics, reading, writing, math. What more do you really need to get through life? With tongue in cheek, I tell our daughter the teacher of 3,4,and 5 year olds that I don't think they should have to go to school until they are atleast 7. I get some argument there, of course.
The time is flying by, every year the time goes by a bit faster. I have always said that a person needs to make every minute count. When your life flashes before your eyes you want to make sure it is a movie worth watching.
My thoughts today are.......hope my movie is going to be worth watching. Reeny

Good News to Report

Our little grandson R had to go to Vancouver Children's Hospital again. That isn't the good news. He had to have a procedure done to check his heart and the arteries that were effected by the surgery last Jan. The test is over and they are back home again tonight. His dad reports that they couldn't have asked for it to go any better. He got a good report, no signs of scaring and his heart is great. The pictures of him laying in his little bed yesterday, not quite out of anesthetic yet, brought tears to my eyes. He looked so sick. By 2:30 yesterday afternoon he was discharged and they were off to visit friends. I asked J how he seemed to be today and the answer was "he is just fine". What great things they can do these days with such little bodies.

Yesterday was Aug. 28, my dad's birthday. I remember a year or two that we were finished harvesting on that day. Those were poor crop years. Mostly, what I remember, we usually had supper in the field, cake and all. This year we haven't started yet. RK has swathed some canola and says on Monday he will swath some wheat, then atleast in a week there should be something to harvest. Sure hope the frost stays away, the crop looks good. .....a good time to quit!

Once again I picked up my form for the Terry Fox run. I always think I have really done it when I WALK not run 6 miles. I have 2 good legs, not good maybe, but they are mine. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with my legs as far as fat old legs go. Our little town always goes all out for that Sunday afternoon. My aunt used to be very involved and now that she is gone I have started to walk in her place. So, this is a reminder everyone, pick up your form and join the walk somewhere or if you can't do, that sponsor someone. It is for a good cause, everyone knows someone that has been touched by cancer.

My thoughts for tonight are with our BC family as they take a sigh of relief, home again with the the older children. Remember God doesn't give us more than we can handle. Reeny