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Unbelievable

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I’m not sure I’m ever going to eat store bought bread again.

Until just over a year ago when my aunt gave me her bread machine, I’d never baked bread. I raised my family on store bought. Over the past year, however, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with all sorts of breads; raisin bread, cheese bread, whole wheat, cracked wheat, multigrain, and cornmeal bread and even honey wheat bran bread. Delicious! We seldom use store bought bread anymore but once in a while when life gets hectic, a loaf comes in handy.

The days just before we left for Japan were just such a time. I fully intended to put the half loaf of unused McGavin’s 100% whole wheat bread into the freezer before we left but I forgot to. Imagine that bread sitting in the cupboard for 44 days. Eww!

Not so! Believe it or not, when I opened the bag there was not one spot of mould nor does the bread even smell bad! Granted, we turned the heat in the house down while we were away so the cupboard was cooler than usual but still, what must they put in bread to preserve it for that long? Whatever it is, I doubt it’s good for us!

Obviously, in spite of the fact that the bread still looks and smells fine, we won’t be eating it. In fact, I’m not sure I ever want to eat store bought again! There’s a loaf of Country Harvest bread in the breadmaker right now and soon the aroma of freshly baked bread (without any preservatives) will fill the house.

International Women’s Day

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I didn’t expect to be able to update the blog this week. We’re in Vancouver visiting my parents and I probably shouldn’t admit that I’m ‘borrowing’ internet from a neighbour! It’s a very weak connection so I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish and post this or not but I really do want to comment on the fact that today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

What does that mean to those of us who had the good fortune to be born in a time and place where women’s lives are relatively easy? Hopefully, it’s a time to reflect on the progress that has been made over the past century that brought us to this point as well as a time to consider the plight of sisters worldwide whose lives are not as easy; women like those in Afghanistan. Though there have been many important improvements in that country in the last decade, Afghan girls and women continue to have vastly disproportionate access to education, justice and health services. They also have the worst maternal and newborn health outcomes in the world.

What can we do to help women in Afghanistan and other developing countries achieve a better life? According to CARE Canada, “women are the poorest and most vulnerable, yet greatest agents of change.” When women are empowered, conditions improve for their families and their communities. When mothers are given the resources to provide for their families, children go to school and when children go to school, great things happen.

This is why I’m a Kiva lender. I choose to contribute to loans that give women hope and enable them to climb out of abject poverty. For more information about how you can do the same, visit the Kiva website or click on the banner in the margin to the right. For other ideas, visit the Care Canada website. That’s what I’m going to do as soon as I have a better internet connection!

A favourite place

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moon jellyfish

We paid a visit to one of Sam’s favourite places this afternoon; the Vancouver Aquarium. Of course, at 17 months old he doesn’t have a very long attention span so Matt & Robin have a membership which allows them to make frequent short visits. It was fun watching Sam’s delight as he ran from one display to the next and we all enjoyed watching the sea otters frolic. It was the jellyfish that mesmerized me though. They looked like delicate moving flowers!

sea nettle jellyfish

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

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I’ve always found names and their meanings fascinating. While doing my devotions and reading in the book of Isaiah yesterday, I came across an intriguing one. Tucked in the middle of Isaiah 62:4 is the phrase “you will be called Hephzibah”. I’m not a Hebrew scholar so I was delighted to discover a footnote that gave the name’s meaning. Hephzibah means my delight is in her. I realize that the prophet, Isaiah, was referring to the city of Jerusalem when he penned those words but I began to wonder what kind of woman God might call Hephzibah. What kind of woman would delight God?

That’s when I came across the pig’s snout! Proverbs 11:22 says “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.” Whoa! Now that’s a very non Hephzibah image; a woman whose God given inner beauty is wasted like that of pure gold rooting in the mud!

Next I had to pull out my trusty dictionary to find out exactly what discretion means: using or showing good judgement, wise, sensible. Apparently that’s the kind of woman that God delights in. Does that mean that she has to be staid and steady all the time, that we can’t have any fun in life? Absolutely not! After all, a God who would include a gold ring in a pig’s snout in his Word must have a sense of humour. But, I ask myself one more question; am I living my life in such a way that God could call me Hephzibah?

Do you know anyone who is a Hephzibah kind of woman?

Walking in snow

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I’ve always loved walking in fresh fallen snow but these days, with four wheel drive and good winter tires, it’s actually easier and safer to drive. With the latest deposit of loose snow underfoot, walking can be quite treacherous and in those areas of town where there are no sidewalks and the snow has piled up along the roadsides, it’s difficult to get out of the way of vehicles.

A couple of weeks ago while trudging through several inches of loose snow, I twisted or wrenched something in my right hip. I didn’t realize that I’d actually done any damage until later in the day when the muscles in my thigh began to spasm. OUCH! That was nasty! Fortunately, heat and ibuprofen settled things down but the experience definitely slowed me down for awhile and has kept me from attempting any more walking in snow. It seems silly to start the vehicle to make a quick trip to the library or the post office or to go to the church which is only a quarter mile away but these legs have got to be in good shape when we arrive in Japan next week so I’m not taking any chances!

After challenging myself to walk 100 miles and accomplishing that goal a little over a month ago, my body has become accustomed to doing a lot of walking! My usual pace on the treadmill is 3.7 mph but for awhile after hurting my hip I could only manage short stints at about 3.0 mph. Total rest might have been a better idea but my body wanted to walk and as long as I didn’t make any twisting motions, it seemed to be okay. Happily, I’m back to pain free and full speed but the snow is still falling so, as pretty as it is outdoors these days, all my walking will be on the treadmill.

For those who might be wondering, I’m up to 141 miles now (227 km) and I’ll be wearing a pedometer in Japan so I can continue to keep track!

Shoes, shoes, shoes

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If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you probably saw my post about making baby shoes back in October. As I predicted back then, the first pair which I made for my granddaughter, Jami-Lee, definitely wasn’t the last. Before that pair had even been delivered to Calgary, Buck and Chrissy came to visit and, of course, I had to make a pair for their wee daughter, Joanna.

Jami-Lee's

JoJo's

I gave the  next pair, the tiniest ones that I’ve made so far, to our son and daughter-in-law for Christmas. They’re expecting their second son in February.

These two pairs, made today, are going to Japan with us. They’re for two of the newest members of the Hope Church family, both born to friends of ours in recent months.

With the exception of Jami-Lee’s, all these little shoes have been made of recycled fabric. After all, most worn out blue jeans still have lots of usable fabric in them. Even the straps on the last two pairs are recycled. In their former life, they were the handles on a little shopping bag! I don’t remember for sure but I think it came from La Senza.

Going back or going home?

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When we went to Japan to teach English for a year, I didn’t give much thought to the fact that that would be long enough to establish some very meaningful relationships. At that point, even though we’d visited once before, to us Japan was still a mysterious country with a long history and a fascinating culture to be explored.

Now, as we prepare for a return visit, it’s all about the people! It’s about the friends that we made, the church family that we became  so much a part of and the two little boys who call us Grandma and Grandpa.

Sure there are places that we look forward to seeing again and some that we haven’t been to yet. Since we won’t be working this time, we’ll definitely have time to do some more exploring and to soak in a little more of the culture but those are no longer our main reasons for going.

Canada is still our home and probably always will be but as I look forward to going back, I’m surprised to find that it feels a lot like going home!

Digging out

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There’s something about weathering a winter snowstorm together that brings an enhanced sense of camaraderie to our small town. Yesterday, we had one of the biggest dumps of snow that we’ve seen in a long time. For twenty-four hours, the wind blew and the snow fell; some 30 centimetres or more of it.

Views from our back door:

The town owns three pieces of snow removal equipment. Ordinarily, the grader ploughs the snow into the centre of the street where it’s picked up by a giant snow blowing machine that loads it into the back of a truck that carries it away and dumps it in one of several designated locations. It’s an efficient process and our streets are often in better winter driving condition than those in the larger cities. Unfortunately, however, this time the town foreman, who is also the only grader operator, is away in Saskatchewan and the truck that usually hauls the snow away broke down! One of the town employees was out with the snow blowing machine earlier today doing his best to make the main streets passable but without four wheel drive or good winter tires, getting around town is pretty difficult. Everyone seems to be taking that in stride, however. In fact, there’s a real sense of adventure out there. A man against the elements feeling seems to prevail and everyone is pulling together to dig out. We even saw one guy trying to clear a street with his snow blower!

The street in front

Richard has done a lot of shovelling both here at home and over at the church but he hasn’t been alone. Yesterday, while we volunteered at the local thrift store (yes, amazingly, people did show up to shop!) a friend with a brand new snow blower cleared our driveway. By this morning, it had filled in again and so after church, Richard was out with the shovel again. Before long, our next door neighbour showed up with his snow blower and helped him finish the job.

Those who live out in the country are completely snowed in and according to the latest road reports, the highway is in poor driving condition. There’s every likelihood that school busses won’t run tomorrow but here in town, we’re digging out!

A new blog in the family!

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There’s a new blog in the family! My daughter, Melaina, started her own today. I hope you’ll take a moment and check out Prattling of a Housewife.

When Melaina was growing up, I thought she was most like her Dad but now that she’s older, with a family of her own, I realize that she’s become more and more like me. It should be no surprise then, that she loves to write and I’m proud to say that she’s good at it. She’s just a couple of courses short of a university degree with a major in English and I’ve had the privilege of editing many of her papers. Now I’m looking forward to reading what she writes of a more personal nature. Of course, I’m also looking forward to more pictures and anecdotes from the lives of two of my grandchildren!

Welcome to the world of blogging, Melaina!

The Vanishing Breed

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I have always loved to write. Even as a student, I was the weird kid in class who liked writing assignments. Long before the advent of the internet and blogging, I tried my hand at freelance writing and had a few short articles published. Recently, I came across one of them. It was written in early 1980 shortly after the birth of my second child. As I read through it, I realized that my daughter could have written it today and so I decided to reprint it here. Melaina, Robin, Chrissy, Seiko, Natalee, Mardell and all the other young moms out there who’ve made the choice to stay at home with your children, this one’s for you!

The Vanishing Breed

Sometimes I feel as though I am a member of a vanishing breed. All around me young women like myself are having babies, finding sitters and returning to work but I have chosen to be a full time housewife and mother. I do not bother trying to fancy up my position by calling myself a homemaker or a domestic engineer because it simply is not a fancy position. I am on call twenty-four hours a day every day. My job offers no sick leave, no holidays, no pay, no prestige and no hope for advancement.

Why, then, have I chosen this way of life? It most definitely was not a matter of necessity. I have a university degree and could be earning a salary equal to my husband’s. If I returned to work I could easily afford to pay a babysitter and could also hire someone to take over some of my household chores. In addition to this, I would also be able to afford some of the luxuries that I am presently doing without.

I do not believe that laziness was the reason for my choice. My days are very full for mine is a demanding job and I have many roles to fill. I am a teacher, a counsellor, a housekeeper, a cook and a laundress. Sometimes I am a seamstress, a hairdresser, a chauffeur, a gardener, a decorator or a first aid worker.

In spite of its drawbacks I chose my career for purely selfish reasons. I feel that it gives me greater personal satisfaction than any other could. I enjoy my children immensely. Certainly they get on my nerves at times but every aspect of their growth and development fascinates me. I have no interest whatsoever in paying someone else to enjoy their childhood while I pursue a career outside the home.

I would be lying if I claimed that I enjoyed housework to the same extent that I enjoy time spent with my children. I do appreciate a clean, comfortable home and find a certain amount of satisfaction in keeping mine that way but I must admit that I do not become as ecstatic as the typical TV housewife over shining floors or sweet smelling laundry. Many times the tedious household chores are left waiting while I read to the children or take them for a walk.

In spite of the fact that sleepless nights and dirty diapers do not seem to compare very favourably with the glamour of the working world, my job does have many advantages. Because I am my own boss and my schedule is very flexible, I have a great deal of freedom that is lacking in most other professions. I am not constantly trying to meet deadlines and am not forced to compete with others. I have only myself and my family to please.

I do not want to imply that my choice would be right for all women but I do resent the fact that those of us who have chosen to be ‘just a housewife’ are often made to feel as though we are simply unambitious and somehow inferior to ‘the working woman’. Perhaps someday, when my children are older, I will return to work but in the meantime I am proud to consider myself a valuable member of society fulfilling an important and satisfying role.