Toronto Travels

I'm back from Toronto and I survived. What an interesting trip. I left on Thursday afternoon ready for a relaxing 4 hour train ride. I had been so busy the last few days, I was ready for some time to nap and read and then arrive in Toronto and get a good night's rest before my two days of meetings. I got more rest than I counted on. I sat on the train, in the Ottawa station for 90 minutes. You can imagine how much fun that was. Got lots of relaxation on a dark airless train. Turned out someone had a psychological episode and they had to call the police to talk him down and off the train. That's a unique excuse that Via Rail arranged for being late. Lots of people nearly had a melt down. It was cell phone city. Me I ate my apples and walnuts and yogurt and dried fruit and most of the rest of my food supply for the weekend. Who says I eat when I'm tense?
Nevertheless I did arrive in Toronto and managed to get to the hotel by 11:30 at night, even with some other delays along the way. Then they wouldn't let me check in, since they said I was already checked in. I looked at the guy, very frazzled and tired and said: "Do I look like I am checked in? Look at me. I am standing here." I tried my best to be nice as he made me wait for 20 minutes as he looked for me. It was a great chance to apply my Fruit of the Spirit study on patience for this week. All's well that ends well. Got in and got to bed and had a wonderful day of meetings on Friday. It was productive and fun.
Friday evening we returned to the hotel and met the women's ministry links from Ontario and Quebec. I think almost all of the associations were represented. I was moved as we heard about the ministry of the Friendship House in Brantford. Over and over again I am impressed with the passion people have to serve God in the most diverse situations.
Saturday the meetings continued and I felt encouraged by the direction in which Baptist Women are heading. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that our goal is to introduce women to Christ, not just have a good time!
There were two special bonus' during the weekend. My roomie was Brenda Mann, the new Exec. for BWOQ. I loved getting to know her AND had fun staying with her. That was so gratifying. Secondly, on Saturday we stayed over for the Kelita concert, as promoted by BWOQ. She was funny and moving and talented. It was delightful to just forget everything else and immerse myself in the music. You can see her at the left, as Jude from Timmons, Ontario. It was a riot.
I was also able to visit Kingsway Baptist Church on Sunday morning and enjoyed their worship so much. It is a beautiful sanctuary, and the worship was uplifting. I was glad I was able to enjoy the experience. Brenda had a car and was then able to give me a lift to the subway so I could get to the train station downtown.
I finally arrived home on Sunday night. Late (*sigh*) again, as the train was just slow. No reason we were an hour late. Maybe it was the rain. Who knows? I was glad to be home and in my own little bed last night. I slept late this morning and am ready for a new round. I will be leaving in a just a bit to take Sandy to the hospital for exams. Then (FINALLY) today I am going back to my aqua fitness after several months off. (BAD GIRL). Have a great week. I plan on having one.

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.

A Journey of 10000 steps

Today the three of us went to the Gatineau Hills to check out the hiking trail. Tomorrow, on Saturday, we are taking a group up to walk, to kick off our month of "walking" at the church. It's something new we are going to try. We've got pedometres and our goal is to make at least 10,000 steps a day. He who walks the most, will win the contest. I think it will be interesting to see how we really do. So on our walk today we did over 8000 steps. So in the evening I am sitting at 11, 377 steps. Pretty good for an old lady, eh? Well Nora, Sandy and I had lots of fun our hike. We didn't hit all the side trails or anything, but it wasn't a hard hike at all. A nice young man offered to take our photo at the high point. It was all downhill after this. Those who are going on the hike tomorrow are looking forward to it. From quilting last weekend to hiking this weekend. We are a unique group, aren't we? Tomorrow I am looking forward to really looking around. I decided today that João and I need to go up to the park weekly and walk or hike. It's just nice to get away out of the city. Next year I want to be sure to do this in the spring when the wild flowers are at their peak. God's world is truly beautiful and I am glad I have eyes to see and health to appreciate it.

Eastview Women's Retreat

We had a wonderful women's retreat this past weekend. There were 28 of us total (I think) together with the theme of "Patchwork People". We used quilts as our theme. We talked about God as our Master Quilter who takes all the scraps of our lives and makes them into something beautiful. As you can see we were quite an attractive group. We were so pleased because everything went so well for us. Everyone arrived safely on Friday night, albeit two cars arrived late enough to have us worried, as it was raining. We started making our quilt blocks on Friday night and everyone was pretty reluctant and nervous about it. But before we knew it, it was after 11PM and we didn't even realize it was so very late. The next day (after a not so good night of sleep) we did so many things, it's hard to believe we left by 6:30pm. We had lots of praise and worship, we had a message from Ephesians 2:10 and another from Isaiah 49:16, two small group Bible study times, time for quilting and eating, lots of eating! The weather was just great, as on Saturday it was warm, but not hot. Some people even found time for naps and walks. We had lots and lots of first timers - more than 10 of us, but amazingly the group really jelled. Everyone was just so congenial. It's fun for us to get together and do this. I will confess, though, that the drive home on Saturday was tiring. I fell into bed by about 9:30 on Saturday evening. And even today, Sunday, I was tired enough to take a 2 hour nap. I think I've recovered now. I feel so satisfied. The words of Is. 49:16 (Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands) continues to echo in my ears and I can remember how special I am to God!

If you want to see lots of photos of the retreat, visit my photo album on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peggyfonseca/44509773

At Lac Philip

João and I had a great Labour-less day! We went to Lac Philip with Moises, Ellen, Matthew, Martha, Nora and Brian. We had such so much fun. We had 4 guitars going, and before long a group of Lebanese children fascinated by the music and they came to hear us sing and eventually sing with us! I loved hearing the little girl singing "This Little Light of Mine", even though she was francophone. I think we have some new talent for our Praise team at church. It sounded really good. (The guitar players, not the little kids)
The little children were thoroughly entertained by João's antics as well. He ended up playing games with them, even though we had no idea who they were.
We found time to take a nice canoe ride (João and I didn't even tip over or go in circles!) and take a a walk along the lake. It was so relaxing. João said he thinks canoeing may well be an addictive activity. Can't you just see the two of us buying a canoe????
The food was good and the company was even better. We stayed for most of the day - singing, eating, playing soccer, canoing, walking, and of course talking. I don't think anyone will have to rock us to sleep tonight, do you?

She's go-n-n-n-e

Today was our last day with Sissy! There was lots to do. I took her to get her hair done and then we shopped a bit. In the afternoon, we worked (or she did and we watched) on the suitcases. Boy it was a tight squeeze. Finally we headed out of here around 5:45, for her 8:00 flight.
On the way it rained and the sun shone and we saw the most beautiful rainbow. We told her it was a promise that she would come back! We got to the counter and they decided to put her on the 7:00 flight, to give her more time in Toronto for her 10:15 flight. So then it was rush, rush, rush to get through security and board the plane - we only had about 15 minutes. But they were so nice, as suprisingly they let João go through security with her. She had so much electronic stuff, that it was really helpful (cd, mp3, camera, computer). I was able to grab a few shots of them from the viewing glass on the next floor up. That's why the shots are a little foggy. As soon as they cleared security she got in line to get on the plane and off she went. Her plane arrived on time in Toronto and she just called from there. She will leave for São Paulo in just a little bit.
Our house is a bit quieter... our hearts a bit lonelier.

And now the time is near

I guess this photo says it all... tonight is Sissy's last night here. We took her to Wakefield for a going away lunch today. We had a really good time. She is excited about going home and seeing her family and friends. I know she has missed them, but she hasn't complained and has been a real trouper. We will miss her so much. Her scandalous laughter and easy smile. Her joy at little things. And the fun we had as a "family." We've enjoyed our time together and rejoice that we had this opportunity.
There had to be one last "event" in her time here, so Barb invited her out to the cottage and Sissy actually went canoing. As usual, she had a great time. We loved watching her. Here she is.

On the way home

Since we got away late from Quebec City, we found we were unable to drive all the way back to Ottawa on Monday. We decided it would be the better part of valour to stop and spend the night on the road. We were tired from the walking and heat and just not up to facing Montreal traffic. We stopped just some kilometres out of Montreal. We laughed since the name of the place we stopped was Mt. St. Hilare, and one hotel we stopped at was $250! Hilarious, but fortunately there were no vacancies and we were spared the embarassment of saying we were too poor. It was a great looking spot along the river, so we decided we might return there on our 25th wedding anniversary. This was a big tourist area, so it was hard to find a place that we could afford, but at least we stopped at what looked like a typical 1950ish motel, where we got the last cabin. It was a cute little 2 bedroom cabin, which was nice for us. Again, we tried in vain to find something open for supper after 8:00PM. Ended up eating fast food, alas. At least we had something in our tummies.
On the way home the next day, we decided to take a drive through Montreal, since Sissy had only seen it under several feet of snow. We even stopped at the Olympic Park and went up in the tower (largest of its type in the world) to get a good view of the city. It was a cool cable car ride up. We even pretended we were Olympic gold medal winners!
We took a drive down through old Montreal, downtown and ducked by McGill University before getting back on the expressway.
Our new old car, did a great job on the highway and was very comfy as well as easy on gasoline (and considering it was $1.15 in Montreal that was a relief!). The air worked like a charm, which made all the difference in the world.
When we saw our little house, we were glad to be back home again. As my mom always said: "The best part about travelling is coming home."

Quebec City

Since Sissy is in her last week here, we thought we would like to take her to Quebec City, so we took off Sunday afternoon. We decided to wing it, leaving late, but surprisingly finding it an easy trip, arriving before it was too dark. We found a nice (read cheap) hotel and slept well after hunting everywhere to find anything open for supper. We found something, but wished we hadn't. Not too good... But the next day we had a wonderful time in old Quebec. We just loved the city.
Although they had predicted rain, we had a hot, humid day. On the left João is at the Royal Plaza, that made us feel like we were int he 18th century. On the right, I am at the beginning of a great shopping street, with tons of people. I especially enjoyed the flowers in all the windows. Of course the Chateau Frontenac was one of our favourite spots - we just kept looking and taking photos. This is Sissy and her dad looking down on the hotel from the Citadel. We walked more than we had walked in a really long time - we counted about 12 kilometres, and most of it up and downhill. We started the whole day down at the docks you can see down by the water. On the right you see a few of the steps we climbed in the process. I think I made everyone tired by oohing and ahing over everything. It was a feast for the eyes and we learned a lot of history in the process. By the time we got around to the cathedrals, we were ready to just sit and be quiet. I especially enjoyed the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral. There were so many beautiful churches in town. Finally we just had to stop and eat and think about heading out of town. We found a charming little restaurant where we sat in an open window/door and enjoy a delicious full course lunch. Of course, being french, the quantities were microscopic! But the atmosphere was great and the view was terrific. In the end, we had to bid adieu to the lovely walled city. It was a lovely, lovely day. Tomorrow I'll write about our trip home from Quebec City.

Thousand Islands

Today we finally got around to getting down to Brockville to take the 1000 Island Cruise. We couldn't have chosen a more beautiful day. It was sunny and bright and warm. It was a quick drive down to the St. Lawrence River and then a short wait to get on the boat. It was a smooth ride, but so relaxing to see the islands, water and big blue sky. It wasn't crowded, so we could wander around the boat and just generally enjoy ourselves. Since it was only an hour ride the time went by way too quickly. We saw lots of nice homes as well as people who were camping on islands. It really was a lovely way to spend the morning. On the way home we just HAD to stop at the Hershey's Chocolate Factory. It was a very busy place today. We got to see them making lots of candy and of course brought some home. Sissy doesn't have much time left here, so we have to make haste to have fun while she's here.

We took me out to the ball game

Here in Ottawa we are home to the Baltimore Orioles farm team, the Ottawa Lynx. The stadium and field (to left) are really quite nice, although evidently the sport is not too popular here in town. Every year there is rumbling about the Lynx leaving. I suppose there are just too many immigrants. I tried to get a group from the church to a ball game and there was very little interest. I gave up. But Sissy and João and I did go to a game this afternoon. It was a great day. Very sunny and moderately hot ( we actually switched seats since we felt like we were roasting where we were.). I tried and tried to explain the game, but although they understood a few things, it was pretty useless. Despite their confusion on when to cheer and when to boo the umpires, and a 7-4 loss, we did have a good time. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I enjoyed being taken out to the ballgame, even if there were no crackerjacks or peanuts!

Coffee maker

I am currently an enthusiast of my new hobby. Since coffee, which I really do enjoy, although am really not addicted, causes me so much grief (heartburn), I don't drink it much. One day I read, if you roast it fresh and grind right before perking it, it won't bother you. That peaked my curiosity and I had to discover... how do you roast coffee at home? After lots of research on the internet, I learned about the process. Next step? Buy green coffee beans (not so easy to find). Then the hunt was on for an old air popcorn popper (and not just any old one, it had to be a kind where the chaff wouldn't fall into the motor and catch on fire.). Found one at Value Village and another at the Salvation Army - dirt cheap (much better than professional coffee roasters than run hundreds of dollars - after all, who knew if I could enjoy doing all this). When I assembled my equpment, my big question was: would it work??? Yep, it did. Here (on left) you see the beans as they are just starting to brown. It only takes about 5-6 minutes depending on how dark a roast you want. After roasting, I have to immediately find a way to stop the roasting process. The smell is so delicious. You have to toss them around for a while in a metal basket to stop the roasting. Now supposedly they have to "de-gas", or get rid of the carbon dioxide, for several hours. The best place to store them is in a ball mason jar, so I found some old ones I have and voilá - de-gasing coffee beans. I only do enough for a couple of days, so I always have fresh beans. Of course, the trick is to be patient enough to wait to make your coffee when you can smell that heavenly fragrance of freshly roasted beans. Torture. I usually have to make some fresh coffee on the spot. Grinding just one spoonful of beans is enough for two cups of coffee. Now I'm no gourmet, so I don't have any of these fancy coffee machines. I just want that fresh coffee taste. And I get it. It is so smooth that even I (queen of half coffee/half sugar) can drink it with no sugar. Look closely, you can see the steam rising and almost smell the fresh - really fresh coffee. Now steam some milk, add a shot of vanilla syrup and a dash of cinammon and you are in coffee heaven. Join me in a cup? The whole process only takes about 30 minutes or so. Isn't it worth it?

Sound and Light Show

Since Sissy only has two more weeks with us, we are trying to do a few more things together. Tonight we went to see the Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill. It was so well done and creative. It really was a show for the ears and eyes. Sissy took her camera and got some great shots and she generously shared them with me, who was too dumb to take her camera! Cool, huh? Don't you wish you were here? It was chilly though. We huddled together to stay warm. Reminded us that fall is definitely just around the corner. It's at 59 and should get down to 50. Nippy out there!