I Pigged Out

Man, I did pig out. Tonight we had a "hallelujah" party for the kids at church. The only disappointment was that the turn out was much smaller than in the past (but that may be due to it being a Monday night). But we never had more fun than we did this year. We had games and relays and the kids had a great time. We also had time to throw people in jail as well. We laughed and as I ran in the relays I got out of breath and hot. It was amazing that on October 31st it was so warm we didn't even need jackets. I couldn't believe it. We had lots of goodies to give to the kids, but also enjoyed non-sweet snacks in our breaks between games. That's when I pigged out. I resisted the sweets, but the nachos and cheese and sour cream, well now that's another story! I did enjoy myself. After being out of commission for several days with a cold, it was good to be back to my normal self. Having fun and making a pig out of myself. Life is good. Oh, you can see more photos of the party at Hallelujah Party

Twenty years after the fact

Twenty years after the fact
Originally uploaded by Peggy Jo.

Some time ago, in a real blast from the past, I got a phone call from "Hilary" Dawn who had worked with me at Camp Viewmont in Virginia in the summers of 1981-82. Through persistent investigation she found me here in Canada. She invited me down - well actually she did more than that - she bought me a plane ticket. So off I went to Fredericksburg, VA, for a marvelous reunion with her. I got to meet her fabulous family and even help with a GA sleepover and a Missions Alive encounter at her church. As an added bonus, on Saturday another former Viewmont staffer, Sonja, drove over to visit us. We had a great afternoon of reminiscing. Truth be told, we may have grey hair and put on a few pounds, even have some different perspectives on life, but "we are still us", just richer, surer and more deeply "us". It is so wonderful to reach back and pull our memories back to the present so our current "persona" is more firmly rooted. Make sense? It was a great experience. For those who know us, do you think we've changed a lot since 1982? Post a comment and let me know.

Come Away

The One Way Ministries of Ottawa offered a "Come Away" retreat to pastors and spouses in Ottawa and we were able to make our reservation for this Sunday night. So we went away with 10 other ministerial couples to the Sam Jakes Inn in Merrickville yesterday. I still can't get over the generousity of the this organization that gives to ministers without asking for anything. They are doing these get aways over a 14 week period - for 140 couples! So yesterday, after lunch, we drove down. It was quite cool, so we were just delighted to find an antique inn with a cozy room for us. The feather duvets on the beds were just what we needed on a cold blustery night. To our surprise there were two other couples we knew (Baptist) and we enjoyed talking and getting to know others as well. The food was just great too. This morning we had a delicious country buffet and enjoyed more conversation before taking a shopping/historical walk around town.
As you can see it was a fine fall day (actually kind of chilly) and we loved these two sites - a tree that really shows what fall is about here (the half "empty" tree) and a sign prohibiting snowmobiles (only in Canada) on the main street.
It was a lovely morning and finally we started for home. We decided to take the meandering route home, so we drove along the Rideau River/Canal and appreciated the beautiful colourful leaves.
What a wonderful retreat! Just what we needed.

Happy Thanksgiving Birthday

I am so blessed. Not everyone has two families, but I do. I have my "blood" family, into which I was born. They bless me everyday that I live and I love them. I also have a "church" family that stands in the gap. Today some members of my church family came over to help us celebrate Thanksgiving in family. There were 12 of us. None of us have other family nearby, so we came together to celebrate giving thanks. I had lots of fun preparing the food last night, so today it wasn't all that much work. The biggest crisis was that I overslept and the turkey got into the oven later than I had planned. That pushed back lunch to a later time. No one seemed to mind. The house smelled good and the conversation was fun as well.
At dessert time, we gave a card to Sidney, which told him to look in the basement for his present. We all came down as he looked around and we told him "hot", "cold", as he approached his present. Many people at the church had gone together to get him a new (used) computer that he needs for his doctoral studies. That was so much fun, as I am sure he didn't expect that. He had a nice big smile. We really had to laugh at Roberta who was so deeply touched by the gesture that she began to cry. Then all of us mushy types joined in and soon it was a weepy little party. Really what she touched me, was her comment about hard it was to be here without family and much this meant, because it showed we are a family. I love to surprise people and this was a great moment, because it was a sucess. Roberta brought a beautiful cake, so we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed the delicious cake (and some pumpkin pie). We topped it all off with some of that wonderful freshly roasted coffee.
Everyone pitched in and cleaned up, so my house looks spic and span. All I had to do was put away a few things here and there. It really has been a day that has made me grateful. My heart is full to overflowing. Yesterday in our thanksgiving prayer time in the church, I thanked God for bringing us to Canada. He has given us so much here. Not least of which is our wonderful church and the dear friends he has given us here.
"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."- Psalm 103:2

Birthday Bathroom

No one can say it wasn't an original gift! While my mom and sister were here, they decided to do a make-over on my downstairs bathroom. You have to understand this bathroom must have been a last minute thought when the house was built in the 1940's. It's under the steps. It looks like the only thing that had been done for it since the house's construction was to paint it. Pepto-bismal pink. Yuck. This photo doesn't do it full justice. It was much worse. Concrete floors and cinder block (PINK) wall. Bulging sheetrock walls too. So scrub, scrub, scrub. Work, work, work. Paint, paint, paint. Glue, glue, glue. Hammer, hammer, hammer. Calk, calk, calk. Six days of work. And voilá! A yellow bathroom, with one grey wall and nice tile floors. And these photos of the "after" don't do it justice either. It looks twice the size it was before. It looks all nice and clean. I don't think I will have to apologize anymore when I tell people they can use the basement bathroom. Looks downright decent. It really is a transformation. That has to be the most original, as well as useful present I've ever gotten. I know I will remember it every single day. Thanks Carolyn and Mom. It was fun to watch the work (I didn't lift a finger to help) and will be even more fun to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Family fun

Last week my mom and sister arrived to spend a week with me. They've been working hard at my house (and more about that on another day), so today they got their reward. We took them on a boat cruise down the St. Lawrence River to see the thousand islands ( well we probably only saw 20 odd islands I guess). Here they are at the left boarding our boat. I couldn't believe we had such a spectacular day in October! We had to run the air in the car. Of course it was windy on the boat. (See mom on the bow of the boat? She says it looks like she has horn - it was just the extreme wind.)
I think everyone enjoyed the day. The only disappointment was that the trees hadn't turned much. We thought the drive down and back would be beautiful, but this year the trees seem to be late. Well that's okay. We are glad for the warm weather. Hope it lasts a while.