August Birthdays

 I've let the birthdays slip by, 

but the memories of this month do need to be kept.
Being together during a time like this can't be taken for granted.

 Makenna came over on her mom's birthday, August 3, to bake a cake.

It was carrot cake, an old favorite.

She had a lot of fun decorating it too!

 We were invited to Shaun and Kristal's for dinner.

 A very nice evening out. 

I've cherished these times, maybe more than ever. 

 The following weekend we had our bi-anual girls' night in the city.

We shopped, ate, laughed and slept like queens

in a king, a pull-out and a cot.

 The evening we were away, the rest of the family ordered pizza

and enjoyed time in the back yard.

 Even the rain did not deter them from trying out the pickle ball court. 

A few days later we took these three out for Tehya and Paeton's birthday.

The New Cora just opened in town and the surprise was on us.

When we got the bill, we were told someone else had already paid. 

An unexpected kindness like that lingers for long after you receive it.

 We had a family dinner at the lakehouse.

The big boys took turns pushing Jack - they are so kind to him,

and he adores them.

 The Sawyer dogs are the best behaved dogs I know.

It was a nice evening around the fire pit,

while the kids played. 

Some even ventured into the weeds and muck of the lake.

 Not even a week later, it was my turn.

Dinner and family all showed up at our house.

 I was not allowed to lift a finger and

watched from the kitchen as they set up.

Random moments.

 And a great big embrace with the three littles

who don't care and don't know how old Mimi is.
They would likely say she's very old ...

and not think anything bad about it.

All of these blessings ...
with the bonus of no goodbyes this month.

My heart is full.

♥️♥️♥️

The Secret Garden

So, I'll start by saying that I don't know much about gardening.

My H is the one who keeps our yard looking nice.

I enjoy planting flower pots in May and pruning the lilac and rose bushes. 

My small contribution.

However, maybe things can change just a little bit.
This space has been a good distraction during these days
- as well as a good starting point
to do some more dead heading and exploring.
It's been fun to choose plants and to see the results
of caring for them.
Maybe I'm a late bloomer. 

The sound of the fountain has added it's own beauty and calmness.

The purple flowers are called Lily of the Nile and they are finished now

but I look forward to them coming back next year. 

These tiny roses along the patio table area have had, what seems to me, two seasons already.

They were full when they were planted in May,

Once they were done, I cut them bare and they filled up again.

This little area continues on beside the patio.

The red roses are a bush we took from the old house,

roses grown from a stick off my mom's rose bush many years ago. 

Here's a view from farther back.

The big trees are one of my favorite things about this lot,

giving it an established feel.

Since the yard had quite a slope, we had retaining walls put in.

I've learned that lavender keeps blooming when you cut off the dead flowers. 

At least, that's what's happened around here.

In the front yard, the deer take off the fresh tops. 

(sawdust from the tree house construction) 

Back to the fountain now and going the other direction ...

I didn't get a good picture of the David Austin roses,
I just cut them back and have enjoyed the bouquets inside.
Then there is the globe thistle.
I had one plant in the other house and told the landscaper that I like it.
He put in a lot of them, just because I said that.
And that's how it went.

Black eyed Susans are in full bloom now
and there's several patches of them.



Zinnias are starting late.
Most of the plants are still small.
I'll see what happens ...
next year I think I'll dump more seeds.

Sedum has a beautiful long blooming season.
I love it green, but it's changing to its fall color.

I've always admired the lupines growing wild beside the highways in BC.

Now we have them in the garden.  I'll see what they do.
They may need thinning out after some time.

And this ends our little tour for now.

I guess it's not a secret garden anymore.

Of Treehouses and Growing Up

These days, when I've  gone down to check on Chris and Paeton's

treehouse building in our back yard, 

my mind has taken me back a number of years.

In November 2005 we visited our kids in Indonesia.

This is when we got to know Paeton.

Papa decided to use the visit to build a playhouse for the kids,

and with that, found out about Paeton's love for tools.

Day after day, he would crawl right inbetween Papa's legs and try to help.

When it was time for his nap, he went to sleep with a screw clasped tightly in his tiny fist.

And when it was time for us to go home, 

we hoped we'd left a memory of us behind.

About five years later, we were back to visit them at a new location

and this time the guys decided to build a treehouse. 

Paeton was there to watch every detail. 

Again, it was such a great way to connect.

 In the end, maybe it didn't help the good bye,

but there was something tangible to leave behind once more.  

So this is where my thoughts have been ...

how is it, that now he is taller than I am

and buiding a treehouse with his dad for us

before they head back again.

I enjoy checking the progress 

and he just grins at me. 

 

Excitement mounts even in a Grandma, to see the thought put into this

and imagine the fun. 

In the meantime, Paeton, maybe you know how happy we are

that we've been able to see you for an extended amount of time.

It's been an unexpected gift.

This week as you turn sixteen, 

we can only imagine the last bend in the road to becoming an adult,

and we want you to know how proud we are of you!

Our prayers are with you in these unknown times,

and we will cheer you on to see God's very best for you. 

Love, Papa and Grammy

The Fence Visit

 As I've been mulling over my visit with mom,

I've realized how she's come to the stage of the disease 

that I knew was coming, but could not bear to think about.

Add Covid 19 distancing ... and it can just break your heart.

As I've read about the seven stages of Alzheimer's 

- ironically taking over the past seven years as well - 

I've pictured her in each of them. 

From undetectable,

to telling me she was forgetting things, while I thought it normal.

I laughed that she missed her appoinment at the Memory Specialist.

Next came some unexpected habit breaking -
due to her inability to create order,

everything was a mess around her.

Telling her what time I'd pick her up was immediately forgotten.

There were frustrations on both sides,

because this was not really her.

She knew .... and she thought she was disappointing us.

Stage five, she needed help dressing

and it just got to be too much trouble, so she didn't bother,

having no sense of season or what was appropriate.
Pictures and mirrors played tricks with her -

causing illusions of time and circumstances to confuse her more.

To my dear mom, it was torture. 

It was probably around stage six when we moved her,

with no recollection of where she had come from.

She moved into a wheelchair, had to be fed, 

bathed and put to bed by a Care Aide. 

There were still times she laughed,

found the words of familiar hymns,

and told me that she loved me.

This year has brought her to the final stage. 

I read for more ... but there is no more.

Except for what I know to be true,

a sense of anticipation for her,

to know that her next stage is release from this earthly tent,

and a home prepared in heaven.

Yes, we grieve, but not as though we have no hope.

I was so happy to see Julene and Kristal join me on Friday afternoon.

 Monika and Rosie came as well.

We sang, we prayed for her, we laughed and we cried.

 So good, that each of us knows who she really is

and what a blessing she has been to us. 

 Every once in a while she'd look up ...

she seemed to love good laghter

and songs from way back brought a distant yearning to her eyes.

We all struggle with why certain things happen ...

this is life, imperfect and temporal.

Our only hope is to look to what is eternal.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror,

then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part, then I shall know fully,

even as I am fully known.

1. Corinthians 13: 12