When Calls...Nostalgia

Back in the day, when I followed the Christian faith, Born Again Christian, to be exact, I read and re-read the Canadian West Series by Janette Oke. To say that I loved these books was an understatement. A gross understatement. They were so endearing to me.

Now, way past the Christian days, and for certain reasons only my children and a special friend know, I long to read them once again. I tried to put them on hold at the Saskatoon library. They only have half of the six books in the series. I tried to order them only to find they were out of print. On to EBay.

I sought them, I found them and I conquered them. All of the books, printed long ago but in mint condition for the low low price of $10. They arrived yesterday. They sit in a prominent spot on my bookshelf waiting to be read. Waiting until a time in the short future when hopefully, they will become more personal. They will become new to me. They will be cherished. Perhaps read over and over by me. Perhaps my adult daughters will want to read them. Perhaps Athena too when she is older.

But just seeing them there on the shelf, just knowing they are mine forever is a comfort in an odd sort of way. Just beyond explanation at this time. I may divulge in the future. I may not.

Not A Great Day

Edited: Water was turned back on at noon today. Now we are under a boil water advisory. Again.
Coupled with the very frequent power outages make small town living a bit inconvenient.

To say yesterday was not a great day is possibly an understatement.

My last post lamented the too hot weather. Yesterday when I walked Athena to school, in the dense fog, it was -1. Yes. A woman we passed by walking her Grandchildren to school aptly stated "From the air conditioner to the furnace!" So true. I did tell you I won't complain about the weather and I won't.

Our water has been turned off by the town because of a water main break. We all managed to get our showering in before the water was turned off, luckily. But, try to brush your teeth, flush toilets, make coffee, all without water. This is not good. All indications are for the water to be back on by noon today. I sure take available, potable water for granted and I am not a happy camper when it is not. Eye opening. Shame on me. Moving on...

The most disappointing thing about the day was that I finally finished the first toque that I have ever knit. You may recall my problems with starting it. Everything went well from there until I tried it on the girl. (insert expletives at will) I cannot believe this. I will not use acrylic this time(what was I thinking?) and real wool, from sheep, is on sale this week for a sweet price. Back to the drawing board.

Anyone have a baby with a really wide flat head who wants a toque?

Enough!

I am not joking. This weather is horrible. As I type this on September 23rd, SEPTEMBER 23rd!, It is 32 degrees Celsius. That is 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The normal high for this time of year is 16 degrees Celsius, or 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

You may think to yourself that I will be complaining when it is -30. Decidedly, I will not.

The Girl's Art

Weekending

We had a great weekend. Lots of family, lots of fun. My Mom and Sister Dana came for a quick visit. They were in Saskatoon for my Neice's Judo. My Mother gifted me with some wonderful surprise cash. Always appreciated and always welcome. I have my eye on one of those Gel Pro kitchen mats but I haven't looked into it too deeply yet.

The dinner I had planned for Paul's birthday didn't turn out to my expectations but I was told the food was great. Not great to me. We had fall off the bone ribs but I felt they lacked flavor. My baked onions were a tad under baked. The new "World's best Braised Cabbage" recipe I tried was anything but. Oh well. But I must say I was pretty darn pleased with the cake. It was Ina Garten's recipe for Pumpkin Roulade. It looked wonderful and it tasted great and I am not even a dessert person.

Auntie Mona and Uncle Stephane brought Athena a bag full of goodies, as usual. Some play dough, lollipops, bracelet craft kit and some cat masks. I must say, the cat masks were the biggest hit and oddly enough, she hasn't even asked to eat one of the suckers.

We stayed up into the wee hours and probably drank too much wine, but when the Lindeman's Merlot came out, I just had to have a little bit... then a little bit more.

The next day was spent knitting on the couch in front of a fire. The temp had totally reversed itself and was a rainy 12 degrees C. Perfect for someone who didn't want to be doing too much. I made a healing chicken stew with knuckles (dumplings) which hit the spot.

Believe it or not, Athena and I were sound asleep by 8:30pm. We had a luscious 10 hour sleep. Just what the doctor ordered.

Today, back to business. Yoga was excellent. 75 minutes. Same video. It is getting easier but I just can't get Revolved Triangle these days. Must be too much bragging from a previous post. Half moon was much better today. Chaturanga is coming along nicely. That nagging pain in my neck/collar bone area is all but gone, thank goodness.

Laundry is done already. I even had the opportunity to do the ironing so I am way ahead of myself this week. Paul is taking me out for lunch in the Big City on Wednesday so I look forward to that.