It's Summer!!

 Happy SUMMER, friends! I hope you are all doing well, and trying to stay cool, and out of the heat. Do you like summer? The heat? No? I like a little bit of both :)

Here are some randoms...

1)..it is HOT, people! And it is supposed to get even HOTTER!! I am not entirely sad about...:)

2) We had a very low key Father's Day this year. We didn't even go up to the ranch, though I realized that we probably could have gone up there if we had wanted to. A and K went up (for various reasons), and they had a nice time with the family..BBQ, etc. I love me a party, and I was a tad sad that I didn't end up going...but I stayed at their house and Quail-sat, and watched tv :) So, I really can't complain :) I did get a card and a gift card for my own dad, that they took up with them. I said a nice thing on FB (but I forgot to do one on IG..oh well), and called Dad twice, and that was that :)

3) I found out that I won a contest on IG with DQ and Reece's! I love me some free stuff. I also had tried to win a STAYCATION in Kamloops, but I didn't win that, and I was sad. I am currently entered to win another prize pack (which includes Golf!), so I hope and pray I win it. 

4) I seem to be busy doing this, that, and other other thing. Btwn the boys, hanging out with friends, I seem to be busy!

5) Our garden (such as it is this year) is growing! Anker planted a smaller garden this year. We have already had spinach, and we have a ton of strawberries coming..FINALLY! Sunflowers seem to have SOMEHOW gotten planted AGAIN this year! Anker had taken down the stalks last year, but somehow those little seeds just planted themselves :)

6) Life is still slowly returning back to normal. Life is happening, and I am here for it. Even the most cautious of people are starting to live life again. BC-wide travel for recreation is now allowed (I think?), and interprovincial travel (recreationally) is soon allowed, if it isn't already. Movie Theatres have now opened. I went with my friend to see Peter Rabbit 2, and it was a good movie! Maybe even better than the first one? My friend and I had seen the first one in the theatre, and I thought it would be fun to see the second one in the theatre as well. And yes, I did order a big old thing of popcorn with LAYERED butter! Masks are still being worn in public indoor spaces, and, when it comes to church, meals (our restaurants have reopened!), and movie theatres while you are walking around, otherwise, you can take them off. 

7) I am definitely feeling old sometimes...:) I have my twice yearly back pain...I think it was from sleeping A and Ks couch (guest room wasn't avails), combined with sitting the movie theatre chairs...It is getting better....I think.

8)  I had my 45th bday earlier this month. Y'all...I am oooold! The day itself was pretty low key. Anker had made us waffles (which turned to pancakes), which was sweet. I took myself out for my Starbucks birthday drink, and I met up with my friend for a quick birthday chat at the park. She gave me some lovely gifts (I posted them on my IG..go ahead and take a look). Then, I went to the library, and of course, I enjoyed seeing the well wishes on FB :) We ended up having a quick picnic of Mary Brown's Chicken. It was a bit windy, so we didn't stay long. I spent the rest of the evening on the phone with family. It wasn't a bad day, at all, really. Earlier in the week, I had gone up to the mall to get my free gift from Sephora, and I spent some of my bday money (and I "told" Anker that he had bought me a gift!) at Saje (yes, I am THAT lady now..I never would have thought I would become that crazy oil lady!), and I had bought a CD (yup, I still have CDs!) from Sunrise Records. I also think I used some of my bday money on bills..oh well :) Ha! So, instead of Anker going out and buying me a gift, I will usually go and buy myself one, and tell him that it is from him :) I also had a little picnic for one that same day as well :) The week before, I was at the ranch with the boys, and Mom had asked me what I wanted to do for my bday...a tea party there (my aunt has her bday 5 days before me), or for her to come into town, and we have a girls evening. I decided to do the tea party. Mom had invited two friends that I have connected with (well, one more than the other), and my SIL, and my two aunts, and it was perfect! We had a lite supper, and we were able to have most of the party outside before the mosquitoes came to say hello! I wanted pie instead of cake, and Mom had a lovely pie. It was the first time in awhile that I had had my bday at home. The next weekend, some of my friends from town took me to Kelowna (the next largest city south east). I might blog about that as well. It was a lovely and hot day.

9) I am looking after the boys (along with my brother-their dad) for two weeks while K is travelling for work. I am thinking of what we want to do...we might go to the ranch for a few days...at any rate..send help! I am sure we will find things to do..H (10) and I already have talked about what we want to do. I am staying over, to save on gas, etc. I will most likely come back (I have to switch clothes, I am sure), every couple or few days to say to Anker :)

10) I have had picnics in the park with friends, playing in the park with the boys; and basically general fun as been had.

11) I am still looking for work. I had my first interview in ages yesterday. It sounds like it might be promising..we will see, though. I kind of like not working, but I do miss the routine (and money!). Bills are starting to get behind...fun times :)

12) I have decided NOT to get V'd..at least not for now. I don't feel that there is substantial evidence to say that it is safe. And no...it isn't b/c I have followed Conspriracy Theorists on Social Media...well, I guess it has partly to do with that....it just common sense...it is like the fast food of vakseens. Just sayin'. I did bring it up with my Nurse Practitioner (see below), and said that I should get it. He did say that they were working on when SARS was around, but didn't need to use it, as it had "gone away"..so that made me feel a bit better, but not much. I will do a bit more research, and I will probably get it done in the fall. I fear that the end of the world is coming. I don't want to make decisions out of fear/propaganda. I know that in most countries, you aren't really allowed to travel unless you have had the Jab...I dunno; I am scared for our children! I could go on about this, but I will leave it for now..lol.

13)  And I have a Nurse Practitioner now! After not having a PCP for nearly 2 years, I have finally got one! He is great, and on this side of town :) I like having a health care provider that I can count on. One of our longest standing WI clinics have closed; so having one that is designated for me makes me happy! And, yes, very THANKFUL!

14) Y'all, gas is expensive!!! $1.42/ltr. I am not happy! We also need to get brakes done on our car, and an oil change is due...:)

15) Movies and Mags are still abounding :) I still watch tv (lots..lol; whether it be on NF, OD, PVR'd, or LIVE tv/movies. I still get magazines out of the library by the truck load, as well as books, but I don't seem to read books much anymore...H always wonders why I don't read books..lol :) I just tell him that I do sometimes, but magazines are a quick thing to read, and they make me feel that I have accomplished "something". I am still watching Hallmark movies, and I have no shame! It is now Summer Nights on W Network :)

16) I had my MRI a few weeks ago...my cysts on my ovaries seem to be slow in growing since my last U/S, which is a blessing. I think they have even shrunk a bit..Yay. I haven't had any pain (I don't think my stomach pain I have had on and off for a few years is related; but yes, I am keeping an eye on it). And yes..Peri/Pre menopause is real, friends! I also found out art I have gained a the "quarantine 15". Sigh.

17) So far, no real fires (there are a few, but they have been semi-contained) or floods, for which we are very happy about.

18) There is a new (well two) ice cream shop in our city! They serve the same kind of ice cream that the other one does, but it is closer to us, instead of us having to go downtown. The Ice Cream Social opened up a couple of months ago, and Anker and I went for a quick date to run a few errands, and we decided to try it out. Oh my word. DELISH, Y'all!! I had the Saskatoon Pie, and oh my goodness! It was SO GOOD!! It is also hilarious, b/c it is by a medical clinic...ha! I think I might take the boys there sometime during my stay :)

19) I am having my monthly sushi date with my friend. The last one we tried was Taka Japanese Restaurant, and it was really good!!!

20) Anker's sister gifted us not only a week's worth of meals from Good Food, but she also gave us an extra GC to help offset the cost that I would have had to have paid. She says she loves out of the all the ones (HF, CP) that she has used. I do like that they offer some groceries, as well as some brunch meals. I personally don't think that it is MY favourite, but hey, free is free!! It WAS nice having to have meals planned for us. 

21) Our little place gets SO HOT...so we finally broke down and put in the window A/C after a few hot days at the beginning of June. The kitchen gets super hot, especially around 5-6, so often, we will have a light supper that doesn't involve a lot of use of the stove or oven.

This is why I don't blog often..it takes HOURS (this took 2 or more hours), and I get obsessed by what I post (links, photos). I have a few other posts that I want to write and publish (I had abunch last year that I was going to write and publish, but I never got around to doing it, so I just deleted them..I might do one on our new floor, but I don't think so now).https://www.makegoodfood.ca/en/home.

I have realized that through all this that God is Good, He still sits on His throne, and He has provided for us!!

Happy Summer, friends! I leave you with the sunset from Sunday night. Feel free to head on over to my IG/FB to check out my photos!

Where Does the Evangelical Church Belong Admidst The Grief?

 Again, I am no expert, and I am sure I will (or have) say the wrong thing (in regards to TRS), but again, I took to IG to post some of my heartfelt and what would some say as my inexperienced advice :

This was recorded in Ontario with First Nations (i am assuming) joining in the worship. I love the feel of this album's music. In Rev.7:9, it says that every tribe and tongue(nation) will stanf before His Throne and will worship Him. Some of the songs are sung in French and Ojibwe. I 100% agree that it is time for the church to rise up. Kamloops (Tkemlups) is from the Shuswap/Secwepemc language that means #meetingofthewaters. Meeting and to join. Together. Unity. I blv that this the time for #firstnationsand whites to worship and join together! I blv this is the time to come together and to let the healing of what happened not so long ago begin. 

215

This is a high number. Numbers are like experiences; they are relative. Last month, the entire country was in shock when RCMP and ground-penetrating radar equipment found the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School (from here on in, I will be referring to it either as KRS or TRS). For those who might not know, from the late 1870s until 1996 (yes, you read that right), The Canadian Government, and then the Catholic Church (and at times, both) forcibly removed First Nations/Aboriginal/Indigenous children from their homes to be "educated" in a Residential School; which was in most cases, far from their homes. In some cases, the "school" was across from their family home. What happened there was nothing short of a prison (though I have read that in SOME cases, and probably few and far between the children had a semi-good experience). Not only were they forbidden to speak their language, wear their own clothes, have their faith, but they were abused, tortured and experimented on. In the heart of our city, there still stands the old "school" (I put that word in quotation marks, b/c they don't deserve to be called schools) that housed up to 500 (most likely at one time) kids; ages 3 to high school age. It was a Residential school until 1969, then it became a day "school", where although the kids could go home at night, they were most likely abused while there, as well. This is a dark and dirty secret of our country. As a Canadian, Christian, and Caucasian women, I am actually embarrassed! It gives the Church a bad name, and it makes ALL Christians look bad. That is NOT how Jesus loves and cares for His kids! 

I am sorry. I am sorry that this happened. On behalf of the Church, I am sorry. On behalf of my race, I am sorry. On behalf of my country, I am sorry. This was not ok. This was horrible. Deplorable. This is evil on all kids of levels. Evil in almost every form. I wrote this little blurb on IG the day or so after it happened, and I am going to share it here:

There are no words. ❣215❣ We mourn and weep with and for you at this heinous tragedy. We are listening. We are s.will speak up and out about this. We are doing our research. We are reading and remembering your history. We are remembering the lives lost. The last residential school closed in 1996/7. There were so many children who died while in these "schools". I am so, so sorry. Jesus heals and He sees you in your grief and trauma. He can heal and restore.

There is going be a special place in Hell for anyone who did harm to those children (I think there will be a special place in Hell for anyone doing ANY harm to any child). I cannot even fathom what they(you) must have (and are) going through. I am comforted that they are in Heaven, dancing with Jesus, but that does not make this loss any less bearable for the families.

Why didn't they bury them in marked graves, you ask? Well, simply put, they killed them. There is a cemetery for the children who died "legitimately" while in their care, but as for the rest? Well, they were told that they simply "ran away". Here is an article from CBC that can explain it better than I can..you can read it here. 

There is a ton more that I can say on subject, but I won't, mostly b/c I can't say it as we as our First Nations friends can. We must be learning and researching; we must rise and and comfort them; we must not sit idle. This cannot happen again. We must speak up and out for those who are unable to do so.

Here is another good article. This is from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (a group formed from 2008-2015 to listen to families and survivors of TRS; they created documents, etc for the. public to read and research) website...you can find it here.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4