Hanging it all out!

Its official....I'm a country girl now!!!  I'm doin' my warsh and hangin' out on the ole clothesline like Mamma use to do.  


Actually its energy efficient and a great way to save money.  The dryer eats us a lot of power and ain't cheap ya know.  I can't even call it exercise it was so easy.


We've had some nice weather around here lately so I've been doing a bit of everything I can to get outside.  This close to Easter I decided it was a good time to go on a personal 'Easter Egg' hunt.  Yep!  I got a couple of plastic grocery sacks and went searching around my acreage for Teddi pooh.  I actually had a hunting plan walking in small sections at a time until eventually I had searched the entire property. Technically I didn't walk an acre cause the house and the shop take up some ground but still...I'm just sayin'.  


Then I hung my laundry on my country clothesline.  My mother would be proud of me -- at least that's one thing I did learn from her when I was growing up -- did it once or twice when I was a young, complaining, lazy kid.  


Then I raked leaves out of my garden (that was actually the day before) and bagged them up. I've got to get a compost area going so I could make use of that stuff by turning it into dirt for my garden.  We're still working on that.  


I decide I better go for a bike ride, which is another good way to get exercise and use green energy -- mine!.  I rode 9 km -- the roads I've been trying to walk from our house around all the farms and back.  I figure if I can't get there by walking maybe I'll just ride my bike since we brought it back from storage from my mother-in-law's house.  I had no sooner gotten home that day when my neighbors called up and asked if I wanted to go with them for a bike ride.  I hated to turn them down so I thought, 'sure I'll go a little ways with you'......we ended up riding 4 km!!!  So all total I rode 13 km (8 miles) on my bike and some of that was up a few steep hills but I didn't get off and walk, no siree, I just shifted gears, gritted my teeth and used sheer determination.  I can do anything in short bursts, its being consistent that I have trouble with.  I ride my butt off one day and rest doing nothing for two days straight.  It was a hard ride and my poor bike was probably screaming for mercy if it really could talk unlike those TV commercials "can we go out sometime, its me -- your bike"...yeah, right!  I bet my bike has shut its mouth now!  


If we're going to do this a lot more then I have to get a wider bike seat with a lot more padding cause the way it is now, me and my bike are just hanging it all out!  


So now that I've aired my dirty, I mean clean, laundry, I better go get the clothes off the line as it looks like it might rain.


There's no place like home and home is where the heart is.

What's Up The Road Ahead?

I believe you should always ask God for safety when you travel.  You never know what accidents lay waiting before you.  I'm not saying you will always avoid an accident if you pray but I do believe when you ask in Jesus' Name for safety God sends angels to watch over you because you turned to Him first to ask for traveling mercies before you start on your trip.  Sometimes I forget until we are traveling along the highway but because I am a nervous passenger whenever my husband gets behind the wheel, I usually always bring anyone in the car before the throne of grace to ask for God's divine protection.  Its not that I don't trust my husband's driving -- he's a good driver but he does tend to speed and take risks I wouldn't take.  I usually gasp or make other noises when he gets too close to high speeding traffic.  I always tell him, 'you never know what the other drivers are going to do'.  I forget that there are other things beside traffic that can cause accidents beyond your control. 


Well, I prayed last night as we headed back from his mother's house in Orillia.  We were speeding through the end of rush hour traffic heading home from Toronto on the 401.  It was scary as always for me so I remembered I hadn't prayed yet -- so up went my request for safety to my God.


We made it out of the insanity and were well on our way home.  As we neared our home, only 5 km away, we were on a country road at about 10:15 last night.  My husband was speeding down this gravel road when suddenly a deer jumped out of the brush and froze in the headlights in front of us.  


My husband slammed on the brakes.....

Thank you God for Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) in our 2009 Ford Focus. 

Thank you God for my husband's quick reaction.

Thank you God that we stayed on the road and didn't go off in a ditch.

Thank you God that my husband, my dog and I were all safe. 

Thank you God for no damage to our car and that you kept us from hitting the deer.

Thank you God for keeping the deer safe.

Thank you God for the opportunity to gently discuss my husband’s need to slow down when he’s driving on these country roads.

I’ll leave you with this photo taken 5 years ago when we were on a campout.  Our friends, Vic and Deb had come out with their son, Jayme and a friend of theirs to join us for a barbecue.  When they got ready to leave, everyone got into the car and they turned on their car headlights.  I decided to be funny and jumped out in front of their headlights to impersonate a "deer caught in the headlights".  Our friends, Vic and Deb, had the photo blown up as a poster for my 50th birthday.

We never know day to day when we will see someone for the last time.  Please make sure the people you care about know how much you love them.  Don’t take for granted the life God has given you and make the most of it. 

“Dear God, please keep me!”  

A keep is a strong central tower used as a dungeon or a fortress. Often, the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armory, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during asiege. 

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.  Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."  Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.  Psalm 144:2  He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge...

Ur In Nation

wind turbines towering high above the trees 

traveling life's highway

My goal is to get healthier now that we've moved to the country and lose weight by exercising, right.  I knew when we moved here I would begin walking as soon as the Winter season was over. The last couple of weeks have been ideal for getting outside to begin my walking plan.  The plan was to "walk around the block" keeping in mind that my block is 9 kilometers or 5 1/2 miles because I live in a rural area.  I measured the distance by car, marking down each landmark for every half of a kilometer. I try to take a few photos along my journey just to keep it interesting.

old buildings, possibly used for hay storage for firewood

The first day I walked 2 km, which is 4 km round trip (almost 2 1/2 miles).  No problem.  I was so proud of myself.  The next walk I made it 2.5 km, which is 5 km round trip (3 miles) but half way in I felt the need to urinate.  Holding it as long as I could I was finally forced to hide and relieve myself before I got home.

twisted tree branches

Today I walked 3.5 km, 7 km round trip (4 1/3 miles).  Once again the strong urge to eliminate came upon me.  I was able to hold it until I got home. 

trickling, running water, snow melting in the fields.... 

The need to urinate is disrupting my workout so now I'm wondering what I can change to avoid voiding while I'm walking.  My long-term goal is to walk much longer and a much further distance so I've got to figure something out.  I've decided to try walking earlier in the morning BEFORE I've had my coffee or anything else to drink.   I don't want to become dehydrated because that really does make me sick with headaches, body aches and nausea.  One article I read suggested that I drink a large glass of water one hour before going on the walk, then urinate immediately before I start my walk.  The reason for this is to make sure I am well-hydrated but have eliminated extra fluid before starting my walk. 

If this doesn't work, I may have to invest in adult disposable undergarments.  

It "depends" on how things don't go.  

Two embarrassing moments in one day

Yesterday was a beautiful day! The sun was shining so nicely spreading around a healthy dose of Vitamin D.  I went for another walk to get back on track with my walking plan, which I had started a few days ago. That first day I managed to walk 2 km, with a total of 4 km round trip.  This day I managed to walk a total of 5 km.


As I walked, I prayed for my family and friends and for the survivors in Japan from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.  Before you know it I had easily surpassed the 2 km mark and was headed for my next landmark for 2.5 km. 


When I stopped to catch my breath I took a few pictures.  I spotted a black and orange Caterpillar inching its way across the highway. 

I couldn’t compare my challenge with that little fellow as his a life-or-death risk of not achieving his goal.  At least I didn't have to yield myself to a deadly automobile tire running over me.  I was not hurting like I normally would have been; I was actually feeling pretty good until I felt that pain you sometimes get when you take a long car trip.  


Why does the need to relieve your bladder always happens at the most inopportune times?  Here I am taking a long walk along the countryside 2.5 km away from home with no place to relieve myself other than finding some heavily wooded area or a deep ditch along side of the road.  I could see our house from across the large open field.  

our house from across the field

If it was possible to cut across it I would have been home within 5 minutes. I think you can figure out what had to happen before I got home so if you don't mind I'll skip the rest of this part.  The first embarrassing moment of the day has just happened.

After my walk, I needed to drive into town to get some groceries and do some banking. The Town of Tillsonburg is about a 30 minute drive from our house but on this beautiful, sun-warmed day, I enjoyed the opportunity to get out for a drive.  I managed to get my banking done and headed to the local Wal-Mart and Dollar Store before going grocery shopping.  While I was at the Dollar Store I did something I never, ever, ever do!  I took my purse out of my cart and sat it down in the isle I was shopping in.  I had been filling my cart with several large containers when I ran out of room.  I temporarily sat my purse down on a child-size chair that was in that isle. Then I tried to rearrange my cart to hold everything but walked away without picking up my purse.  It could happen to anyone, right?  I guarantee it won't happen to me again!   I was two isles over when I realized it and then the PANIC hit me! You would have thought I had lost my child in the department store.  I started yelling as loudly as I could for everyone in the store to help me find my purse, fearing the worst that someone had walked by and taken it out of my cart.  Like the children’s story, Chicken Little yelling “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” I may have actually yelled something like, "Lock the doors and don't let anyone out! My purse is missing! My purse is missing!!!!"  I’m sure I started yelling, "Help me, please, help me find my purse!”  There was never any doubt whether everyone in the store heard me or not!  I was determined that if someone did take my purse from my cart, they were not leaving the store unnoticed so my intention was to make a loud scene and I didn't care what anyone thought of me. 

I got a couple of very nice ladies responding to help me.  Somebody asked what area I had been shopping in last.  While running toward the back of the store peering frantically down each isle to try and spot a thief with a red purse, a lady yelled out, "What color is it?" and I yelled back "Red!"! Then I heard the relieving words, "Found it, it’s over here!"   I had been running to the area I was shopping last and toward the sound of their voice.  The lady pointed to another woman saying, she said she didn't even notice it until just now when you said it was red.  I was so relieved and started thanking everyone near me as I grabbed it and checked to make sure the wallet was inside and that my ID, bank card and credit cards were all there.  Such relief, all was well.  The second embarrassing moment of the day has just occurred.

Miche purse my daughter bought for me

By this time, my heart was pounding out of my chest.  It hit me pretty hard when I realized I had caused it to happen myself by being so careless.  What an idiot!  Thankfully a sweet older lady took the time to tell me she knew how I felt because something similar had happened to her.  I was talking out loud to several people around me about how there is nothing worse next to losing your child in a department store.  I am thankful to God for the empathy and assistance of those few ladies that cared to help me.  The saddest part is out of 30 people in the store, including employees, only 3 people reacted to my pleas for help.  Everyone else completely ignored me as though it wasn’t their problem or it never even happened.  I hate to think what their reaction would have been if a child had been missing. It seems kind of silly now – after all it was just my purse -- but by yelling loudly and making a scene I had a clear purpose in mind.  I thought if someone had taken my purse from my cart they were not going to just walk out of there unnoticed because I had drawn attention to the situation even if over half the store didn’t seem to care, a thief doesn’t like any act of possible attention to his crime. 

Do I sound a little paranoid?  Ok, well, you see, over 20 years ago, when I lived in Kansas, my purse was lifted right out of my shopping cart while grocery shopping all because I carelessly left it in my cart and turned my back.  The thief just walked by my cart, took my purse and kept on walking then went a few isles over, removed my wallet and stashed my purse on a grocery store shelf.  I lost everything and had to start all over again replacing my driver license, credit cards, etc and this is why I never let my purse out of my sight ever since that day. At this time in my life as an American living in Canada with permanent resident status, I cannot afford to risk losing my identity. I actually have copies made of everything that is in my wallet and keep it at home in my file cabinet.  I just recently stopped having a reoccurring nightmare of losing my wallet and my identity.

Ok, maybe I made a scene in public. I feel it was validated regardless of what anyone else thought.  I hope you never have to find out the trouble you have to go through when you have your purse stolen.  There is a whole lot more to identity theft these days and besides we have our whole lives in our purses don’t we ladies?