Back down to earth!

I suppose Sissy and I are back down to earth, but we certainly had an exciting morning. After just a few hours of sleep last night, we got up early (5:00) and headed off to Carleton University where we went ballooning to celebrate Sissy's birthday. Wow what an experience. It was fun to watch the balloon being "assembled" and filled with air. It was an adventure to get into the balloon. And then we took off.

It was such a calm, tranquil experience.. no bumping or jumping. Just gradully moving up into the air and watching the world below float away. There were two other balloons that took off together with us. It seemed like all the noises and hurry were just gone as we hung in the air and looked around us. It was surprisingly un-alarming and amazingly still.

The only real excitment came as we approached land. We went down a couple times (I was even able to grab leaves off the tree tops) and once we did a "Splash and Dash" (Thankfully avoiding the Plunk and Dunk). That is, we dropped down into a river, touching the water with the basket and then took off for the skies again. The photo below is our reflection in the water. I've kept the photos to a minimum, but I took 70 in the one hour we were up there. It was irresistible.

I must tell the funniest part, which was our landing. After we jumped out and had our champagne toast, the guys went to roll up the balloon and the rest of us stood around in this farmer's field. Suddenly a herd of cows appears to investigate (I think they liked the champagne). Everyone was rather in a panic, as there were a lot of them and they didn't seem to happy to see us there. We laughed until we cried. The "chase car" rescued us and then drove us back to the University where Sissy and I caught a bus home. It must have been 10:00 or so when we arrived - to João's relief. What a morning. Glad you could share the fun with us.

Saturday

Last summer we had 24 Alabamians here to help us reach out to our neighbourhood. As a fruit of that work, this year our church people decided to do it on their own! Cool idea. They did a great job handling it all. They came out in droves and really did a wonderful job setting up and cooking and making things happen. We had good attendance of our neighbours and really enjoyed getting to know folks. The kids did face (and arm) painting in the back, in the shade.

The little ones stayed for the whole affair and eventually began to play with bubbles in the back yard. I'm not sure who had the most fun... the wee ones, the church folks or the neighbours who stopped by. But it was a great day. I wish our "southern" neighbours could have seen it -as they were our inspiration.

Saving money on a visit to the dentist

Sunday I had a great day. We had a picnic lunch to celebrate Rosemarie and Manuel's 20th wedding anniversary. It was a great day to be outside. And the food was just great.
After lunch, I was inside for a bit and one of the Mary's birds, took a "liking" to me. It was her Love Bird, who gave me lots of "kisses". He even gave me a thorough cleaning - even of my teeth. I guess I won't have to go to the dentist any time soon, huh? What a hoot. Just had to share it.

Book Club

This is the book club (minus Anne who took the photo) that met on Thursday. We had a GREAT discussion on the book "Eve's Daughters" that we all highly recommend. We had a wonderful time being out at Barb's cottage. It was a gorgeous day outside and we enjoyed a peaceful walk all around the lake. The photo below was taken down at the lake. As we talked about the book we enjoyed this great view. Everyone brought something for a potluck lunch and we ate like queens. What a great way to spend the day. It's good to have friends and good to enjoy spending time together. It's fine to read interesting book and talk about them with others.

Oh, Canada!

We enjoyed Canada Day (July 1st) here in Ottawa. It's a great place to be. The night before we enjoyed the RCMP Sunset Musical Ride. It's really quite a show with horses, dogs, bagpipes, choirs, even Sky Hawks (parachute team). You can see the horses in their star formation below.

Canada Day was a good one here in town. Sissy and I especially enjoyed going to the National Art Gallery and seeing a special display on the Florence Rennaisance art, with pieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

In the photo above, Sissy is standing by the giant spider sculpture outside the museum. Note the ominous sky... We got caught in a rainstorm on the way home and were two drowned rats by the time we got home. João just laughed hysterically at us!!! The rain cooled things down a bit, so when we went back out to see the fireworks around 9:00, it was quite cool. Of course, the fireworks were late and some people even went home, thinking they had been cancelled. They weren't, and it was well worth the wait and all the nasty little bugs. What a show.
Sunday was a gorgeous day and we had a great service. Even being a long holiday weekend, the church was full. We had both baptism and Lord's Supper, so that kept the sermon short, especially being bi-lingual. Vince, who was baptized is Italian and his whole "clan" came in for the occasion. Filled up two pews. They sang and played the piano and flute and made for a lively service. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the whole experience. It was different.
In the afternoon, João squeezed in some visits and I was able to make sure all was clean and closed up at the church, as well as at the house. The evening, while Sissy went out with friends, I worked in the yard (as did João, until a visitor arrived). When the crew came home about 9:30, we ordered in pizza and talked and laughed until after 11:00PM. It was a wonderful day.
Today Sissy is off to start English (Intermediate Level) at a new school downtown. Tomorrow night she will start her French classes in the evening. She will be a busy little girl. In the afternoon, she has aerobics. No moss on her. Hope you are as busy and happy as we are.

Hot - Hot - Hot

After 3 weeks I'm back, but it's been an eventful 3 weeks. João and I went the Baptist Convention in London and really enjoyed ourselves. We learned a lot and got to see a lot of people. We got back on a Saturday and had all the preparation for Sunday.
The following week I was off to Toronto for a board meeting of the women. It's now my third year on the board and I finally feel I'm catching on to things. It was a productive meeting too.
In the meantime we had a tremendous thunder storm that zapped my computer. The damage was extensive, but fortunately repairable. More than could be said for my modem, router, cordless phone and remote control fan. So there went $500 down the drain.
Then last week Denny, a church member, had a bad motorcycle accident and we really felt that deeply. I'm glad to say that although he will have a long recovery, we feel he is well on his way now. But there were a few tense days.
One of our church members, Odete, has returned to Brazil (boo-hoo - we will so miss her!). She left us her car and we were excited, although it was quite old. But after spending money getting it partially fixed up, we discovered it couldn't pass the safety test. Alas and alack, more money down the drain and no license. Oh dear!!! But the guy at the garage is looking for the parts to fix the problem in a scrap yard and if he finds it, there won't be too much cost involved.
It's been quite warm here in Ottawa - with a humidex of 45 (that's around 105 or so) and we are feeling it in the house. I've been hibernating in the basement to be honest. The heat gives me a headache! So Sissy I went to the Rideau River (by bike) and jumped in. We were having a good time as you can tell. It cooled us down quite a bit. We needed a little bit of fun, that's for sure.
So that's enough news for one day, right? Stay cool and enjoy.

Under the Lilac Tree

João and I are offfffffffffff! Away we go the the Baptist convention for the first time since we've been here. We are looking forward to understanding things better, meeting new and old friends and learning new things. We will be in London (alas, Ontario, not England).
Couldn't resist showing you my beautiful Lilac bush in the back yard, taken as Mom and Carol were leaving to go back to Kentucky. Isn't it lovely? (you decide, us or the tree!)

Smith Girls

It was a whirlwind week with a lot of things happening and no time to write. But it was a great week. I so enjoyed having my Mom and Sister here. Although we didn't do a lot, we had fun hanging out.
Since all good things do come to an end, they both had to go back to their own homes, so on Thursday we all said good-bye, but here we are in my living room on our last night together.
After so many years of being far from my family, it is so nice being able to be together. I think now more than ever I appreciate ties - being able to talk about our mutual past and remember the same old stories and sing the same dumb songs. We are so much alike in so many ways. I think you can see - but I can feel - the family resemblance.

Merrickville

This has been a great week, as my Mom and my sister arrived for a nice visit. It's been a long time since they have both been here. We are enjoying our time together.
Today we drove down to Merrickville (except for Mom who wasn't feeling up to the trip) and enjoyed the day. Here you can see Sissy and I at the canal.

We particularly enjoyed eating at the Charles Dickens Restaurant and doing some shopping as well. We ended the day by having some delicious homemade gelatto.

Tulip Festival

We finally had a lovely day here in Ottawa so off the three of us went on our bikes, with our picnic lunch to see the Tulips. Here was a bike break, since it was a rather long ride.

The weather was warm, so we thoroughly enjoyed walking around and seeing the flowers, watching the buskers, and generally being glad that Ottawa has a great Tulip Festival. I've been able to go every year since we've been here, so this was my 5th Tulip Festival.
They were magnificent, but our "flower" threatened to outshine them all.

It's that Time of Year

It's that time of year is a Christmas song, that says "It's that time of year, when all the world seems to fall in love..." Don't you think those lyrics are more appropriate for Spring? Just can't seem to get them out of my head today. I just LOVE spring. I can't resist going outside several times a day to look at the flowers... as if I could see daily growth or something. There is nothing quite so rewarding as watching the growth of plants I put into the ground. Of course being Tulip festival time, around here, there are lots of flowers to be seen. Tomorrow, if the weather holds out, we all plan to get down to see the festival, although there are tulips everywhere, like below (These are in front of the Prime Minister's house).
I am making my list to start a vegetable garden, since I think we've seen our last frost. Up til now I've stuck with planting flowers. So let's see if there is any possibility of making other things grow. We'll see, right? Wish me luck.

50th Birthday

Today was João's 50th Birthday. We tried to give him a surprise party. Didn't really suceed in surprising him, although did manage to fool him to at least thinking it would be at night, not right after church. It was so much fun to gather together and wish the man I love a wonderful birthday. Here he is blowing out the candle on his ice cream cake.

After the party had pretty well wound down Brian took João for a ride in his 1955 Chrysler - that he had remodeled. It was gorgeous. We asked everyone who was in better condition... I won't tell you the answer! But it was a great day.

I'm home from the convention

I am just home from a fantastic weekend! I was in Waterloo, ON, for the convention of the Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec. We had a group of 410 women, a part of which you can see below.

I rode down and back with Carol Sollows in her car and we had a GREAT trip together - we even roomed together as well.
So many good things happened, that it's hard to give the "highlights". The speakers were stimulating, the fellowship fantastic, the hotel and service was super. To sum it up, I came back flying high.
One of the fun things I participated in on Saturday was the "Project Inasmuch", in which about 50 of us went out into the community to participate in various projects. Below you can see me loading up the materials the women had brought for the women's shelter that my small group went to. We had such a good time! In fact everyone did.

Now, we from Ottawa are dreaming about having the convention here in 2007. Wouldn't that be terrific?
It was a little tiring, but it was worth it all.

Car vs. Bus

We are getting along just fine without a car thank you very much! Mom just wrote and said she sold the old Buick, so now you see Sissy and I travelling around town in our red "limousine". It's quite easy to get around town on the bus system here. And more economical than a car! So don't cry for me Argentina.

Bike Hike

We had such a great Sunday! The worship service was so good this morning. And the attendance was great this morning. We had many terrific conversations with people.
The weather was also perfect. After lunch Sissy and João and I decided on a bike ride. We were having so much fun, we decided to head over to the Quebec side. We rode around behind the museum of civilization. We crossed back over into Ontario and tried to ride behind Parliament Hill, but discovered it was closed (after riding down a big incline!). So we went back to Quebec and came home the way we went. (I won't mention getting lost on Ottawa River Pathway on the Ontario side...)
It was a terrific little outing that lasted 3 hours. We all felt great when we got home - just a little sweaty and anxious to take showers. But I notice everyone was pretty quiet this evening. I think we will sleep well. We are all looking forward to a wonderful week. God was so good to us this week, answering our prayers in such good ways, that we know this week will be exciting as well as we discover the wonderful ways He cares for us.

Spring has done sprung

It looks like Spring is here in Ottawa. We are so thrilled. It's warmed up nicely and for the first time in our four years here, we really feel like we are having a real spring - a gradual warming. It's bright and sunny and we just love it. Little green things are poking up out of the ground. The day Sissy arrived, my mini-crocus appeared (white). Then over the weekend the purple ones came up. That's a sure sign of spring to me. Isn't she lovely?

We had a great weekend, enjoying the terrific weather. Sissy and her father went out biking on Saturday. She and I biked to a birthday party on Sunday. We did have to stop a few times, due to our very serious crisis - we couldn't stop laughing, making it hard to breathe and ride the bike.
We are SO enjoying having her here. She started classes on Friday and we were pleased that she has a native speaker as a teacher (a Canadian). She took a placement test and placed in the Beginner 3 level - together with people who have been in the country a long time. It's a challenge for her, but she'll do fine. Everyone wanted to talk with her on Sunday and it was a little overwhelming, but that's just what she needs. We are trying to speak English at lunchtime at least.
All else is going well in our corner of the world. Hope yours is too.

She's he-e-e-e-r-e!

Today Sissy arrived from Brazil. Not on schedule, but the important part is that she is here. She arrived in Toronto early this morning and had to go through immigration there. When she didn't answer all the questions to their satisfaction, she had to get into a line for the one translator for all the Brazilians and Argentinians. She waited and waited. She missed her plane and the next one as well. Fortunately there are planes every hour from Toronto to Ottawa. There was no problem on her side, because as soon as she got out, there was a desk and someone waited on her in Portuguese and re-checked the luggage and rescheduled her flight and even told her where to go to catch the plane.
In the meantime, however, we had no idea of what was happening since we had gotten to the airport early. So, I came home with Barry and left João at the airport. That way, if she arrived someone would be there. And if she called, someone would be home. I got home and got on the phone to Air Canada and discovered she was due to arrive at 11:00. (They wouldn't tell me at the airport because of privacy laws. But they did on the phone - Go figure!!!) When João called from the airport, I said: "She arriving now" and he said "No, she's here!" I then called Anne who gladly drove me back out to the airport (even with a terrible cold!) and there Sissy was. I jumped out of the car and gave her a big hug. I hardly waited for the car to slow down. There wasn't time to catch it on film, so we gave it a posed shot. See how happy we are?

Happy Easter

When João described our Resurrection sunday morning service, his comment was apt: "Only in Heaven will it get any better." It really was such a great blessing for us today. There were so many highlights, it's hard to know where to start!
Everyone seemed to especially enjoy the "flowering cross" that we did as a part of our children's message. We took the "old rugged cross" as the emblem of "suffering" and transformed it into a beautiful object of joy by covering it in flowers. The adults liked participating with the children. You can see the line-up to add their flowers. Then below, the finished cross. This very simple gesture seem to make tangible the meaning of the cross.

The music in the worship service was also beautiful and uplifting. The sermon about the resurrection was exciting as well. Then the worship service closed with the baptism of six new Christians. That was an emotional high, as the true symbolism of the resurrection was physically acted out by the baptisms. Between each one we sang "He is Lord... He is Risen from the dead and He is Lord." We really felt his Lordship!

After the very full worship service (By the way we had a crowd of 100 people!), we gathered downstairs for an Easter dinner. Wow, was the food ever delicious, the fellowship even better. There were many visitors to chat with. One of our newly baptized ladies had a special cake made with her fellow "baptizees'" (I just made up the word, as I didn't know what else to call them) names on it. It was lovely. One gentlemen had a family dinner and couldn't stay, but you can see the other five who were baptized.

Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed!

And now you know why it was such a great Lord's Day for us. We do feel that we completely celebrated our Lord's resurrection.

Seder

Last night we had a Christian Seder (Passover meal) as part of our preparation for our Resurrection worship service on Sunday. It was a lot of work, but certainly worth it. It was so meaningful to think about how the wonderful symbolism of the Old Testament that was fulfilled in the life of Christ. For me it was especially meaningful when we came to the part of the Seder where traditionally the door is opened for Elijah's coming to proclaim the Messiah. Then we offered a prayer of thanks, for we are no longer waiting for the Messiah. He has come! I think everyone enjoyed eating and drinking and it gave us all a deeper understanding of the Last Supper, and our own celebration of the Lord's Supper.
We are looking forward to our Easter celebration at the church. Especially the baptisms. I think that will be a deeply meaningful way of proclaiming Christ's resurrection.

In the Swing of things

Now that we've been back a few days, I think we are back in the swing of things. Life seems to have assumed a rhythm that's smooth. It was great to be back at church on Wednesday. We both missed "our" church. I'm busy about thinking about our Easter service. It's going to be so exciting! And next week we will be having a small Seder service on Wednesday night. Lots to do to get ready for that. Can't wait to see everyone this Sunday.
Our kitty, Sadik, has been so "needy" I can tell he missed me. We are babysitting a calico cat, called cha-cha and she is driving him nuts. It really was hate at first sight and second, and third... They growl and hiss and keep their distance. They both relax when each one is one a different floor. It's so funny to see them posturing. So far no fights.
We are getting used to having no car. I just have to be a little more organized. I can't just "run" out to do things. But we've been to Loblaw's twice for some small things - it's only a 10 minute walk. I've walked to the pool twice - it's only a mile, so that's not bad. Today, though, we did buy some bus tickets as we have some places to go next week that will require transportation.
So we are "springing" into a new lifestyle.