“The RoseBouquet”

Dad has never really got the hang of buying or giving gifts. Not that he doesn’t want to - he just doesn’t know how. Sometimes I’ve helped him out, but I hate to appear manipulative, so often I’ve just let it go. It’s no big deal to me. So when he found he had to replace the toilet downstairs last week, and we found a slightly used one at the ReStore for $30, I told him that could be my Christmas gift from him. Good enough, that solved his problem.

However, this was the year that both his sons gave him more expensive electronic gadgets.

Dad had admired the indoor digital thermometer at Ernie and Penny’s in July. It sat on an end table and could tell you the temperature both inside and outside the house. They bought him one for Christmas. This one is even more deluxe and shows date, time, relative humidity, and even has a weather boy who appears in different clothing depending on the temperatures outside, and whether it is snowing, raining, sunny or whatever. We’ve been busy figuring this thing out.

We went to fetch my brother Tom from Saskatoon on Christmas Eve, and he brought along a DVD player for Dad. Along with a loan of a whole shopping bag full of mostly Gaither homecoming DVDs. We spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the morning of Boxing Day trying to understand how to use that player as we watched four or five DVDs.

Is that what’s happening at your house too? Learning to play with each other’s new toys?

Health-wise I’m on the mend now. My coughs are not as deep or often any more, but when they happen the sensitive and tired pleural lining between my lungs and rib cage sure hurts. I’ve lost 18 days to this stretch of bad health, and I’m resolving to be done with it.

This week though, I’m still taking some half days off for my annual year-end retreats, to pray and to go over my goals and agendas and see where to tighten up my schedule and where to make changes.

Since I am making it a semi-holiday week, I’m also taking some half-day sections for working on the next novel. I’m afraid with the computer problems in November, and sickness and Christmas preparations in December, I’ve fallen behind. But I spent a very pleasurable evening at it last night, and look forward to making more strides forward this week.

If you’ve hung around and read the RoseBouquet a few years, you’ll recall that I always get rather excited and enthused when I get through my retreat/planning sessions. My vision is refreshed and I’m eager to plunge into my plans for the new year.

It’s true I’m not getting any web site work done, (just a couple of evenings for the missions), nor writing articles, or compiling e-books this week, but I am trying to get all caught up on my email.

I did finish printing out and collating 9 copies of my new Friesen book on Christmas day. Three were promised as gifts. Tom got his, and I’m sending off the other two today. Then I’ll have to start advertising the other 6 for sale.

Next week I expect to be back to my full productive schedule and roaring full-speed ahead.

How about you? Does 2006 worry you? Or do you have a plan for what you’re going to accomplish? Remember, just having a plan puts you into the category of those who WILL succeed!

I know i didn’t accomplish everything on my 2005 plan, but whoa, I got a lot more done than if I had not had a plan!

(Hmmm…. maybe I should work on a retreat week for some time in the future, when I could invite friends together to help them work out their New Year plan at the end of the current one. Think that would go over?)

I wish you a Happy New Year!

Here’s a site with interesting news items about safety for your kids online.
netfamilynews.org

A Canadian site for reporting and finding missing kids.
cybertip.ca

A USA site for helping to find missing and abused kids
ncmec.org

Whew! What a week! I got antibiotics from the doctor last Wednesday, but seemed sicker for a couple of days. Strength began to return towards the end of the week. Just that crazy cough to conquer. Then, Sunday the coughing cracked a rib on me!

Dad noticed that the toilet in my bathroom downstairs had a slow leak. He hates to see water wasted and shut it off, and got a part from the Hardware to fix it. The dribble was still there in the bowl. So he decide to take the tank apart and fix it in earnest. Unfortunately as he tightened the nut, he gave it one turn too many. Crack! End of that old tank.

Yesterday we went to the city. I knew we needed some groceries for tonight when Ernie and Penny arrive for supper on their way to spend Christmas with their kids in Alberta. Also for next weekend. But now we needed a new toilet too.

We found one at the ReStore (recycling by Habitat for Humanity). The whole unit was there, looks brand new, and in a dusty pink/beige colour which goes okay with my honey/rust ceramic floor tiles in the bathroom and matches the flowers in the wallpaper..

My cracked rib got a fresh spasm in the city, so I’m not much of a handyman’s helper, but Dad’s friend Jona came around this morning and helped Dad get the unit down the stairs. Then I decided the base needed some tiles first, so that’s what I’m to do next. A few minutes work on my knees… as I see it. [Gulp! Dad insisted on doing it - but I helped].

If Dad can’t get it all set up by the end of the day, we’ll press Ernie into helping when they get here.

I’ve got dough rising for brown buns, and as soon as I’m done posting this I’ve got to turn into a white tornado here in the kitchen and living room. I want to make a special supper too! Tonight we’ll have a mini-family Christmas here. In the morning they’ll be travelling on.

Saturday we’ll go fetch my brother Tom to spend the Christmas weekend with us.

Your plans may be more wonderful, but are they as colourful? (Not thinking of lights at the moment).

Getting out my Christmas mail, and printing out some books and binding them for giving as gifts is about all I’m getting accomplished these days. Being sick is a viable excuse, but not a fun one. I’ll be making up some IOU certificates yet.

One thing is that my printer/copier is getting a work out.

I’m also glad that in January I had ordered some ink refill kits, and so almost daily now, I pull out either the black or the colour cartridge, get out my syringes and refill them. It only takes a few minutes but can get messy, so I always have to spread out newspaper, and wash up my syringe afterward.

I have plans to print out some photos to make some collage collections as gifts for Dad and Tom; I’ll see if I can pull it off on tomorrow and Friday.

Last Saturday I managed to finish and print out and bind a very special kids’ book for my niece Jalise’s two children. It introduced them to their family and relatives in Plaut Dietsch (Low German). Jalise wanted my help to teach her kids this ancestral language in our clan. I hope they will be as pleased with it as I am!

“How will you your Christmas keep?
Feasting, fasting, or asleep?
… Be it kept with joy or pray’r;
Keep of either some to spare;
Whatsoever brings the day,
Do not not keep but give away.”
(Eleanor Farjeon)

Here’s a touching online song about the First Christmas by a Daddy who is in conversation with his kids;
http://www.andiesisle.com/thefirstchristmasgift.html

As I take a break from my schedule and writing, I want to also take this opportunity to wish you a most Blessed Christmas with your family and friends. May it be a break from your routines, but a break with a purpose, and one that refreshes you, and restores ties of love to those dear to you.

Oh, and don’t forget to give a present to the Birthday Boy!

Do you ever have trouble deciding whether to go see your doctor when you’re sick?

I’ve been wrestling with this for several days now. I came down with a flu bug on Saturday night. I felt somewhat better on Sunday morning, which was good, as I hate to miss church, but it’s been getting steadily worse since then. It comes and goes, but much of the time my skin feels scalding hot and my bones are rattling with cold. I took some Advil on Sunday, which broke the fever for a few hours, but by Monday morning had a fierce cough.

Oh-oh! I know that always happens. When my head is drained it goes down into my lungs, and I end up with pneumonia! So I’ve been trying to fight with alternative remedies.

Early yesterday, in the wee hours, I promised myself I’d go to the doctor. But then woke to find it snowing white fur caps all day. I just didn’t think I had the strength to drive the distance with the tension of watching out in that weather. Dad doesn’t drive in the city, so I put it off. In a few days this should wear off, right?

This morning I’ve resolved to see a doctor in Rosthern. It’s a town nearby that has a doctor, and Dad is able to drive there. So if the Doc sticks me in the hospital, at least he can drive home too. In that case, you need to pray for him, as he doesn’t batch very well.

My bulk order of 15 copies of my own novel arrived on Monday. I’m rather excited about selling to folks locally here whom I hesitated to urge to buy because I knew the cost. Only, I’m not very good at sales this week:)

I’m blessed with many friends and relatives. Lots of them are not on computer, or afraid of them. So I’ve been busy printing out pages and making wee booklets to send them with my letter and Christmas story. It’s going slower, because I’m not at my usual high speed, and the printer suddenly doesn’t like to print non-letter size cardstock so I’ll have to study up on that. Thankfully, I’ve found a way around that for the time being. So I’m plugging away. About another 17-20 to go, I think.

Others might give up and go hide in bed if they were sick. I enjoy my work, and therefore, I cough and squirm in front of the computer, so that little bits of work do get done. Slowly, emails do get answered. You’ll understand then, why this RoseBouquet is rather short - even puny?

If herbal remedies intrigue you, you might be curious to know which ones I’m trying out. Not that I wish this on you at all! But chances are you might end up with such a bug too, and might like a few ideas.

My first effort is to drink lots more water, and I find that hot water soothes the cough some. Especially if I put a teaspoon of honey in it. I use a tall beer stein that I found at the thrift store. It holds about two cups worth at a time.

Sometimes for variety i put a spoon of molasses in there rather than honey.

I’ve had enough of Dad’s chewable Vitamin Cs to give me nosebleeds, so I’m holding off on those right now.

I read that a tea of bay leaves was good, but that didn’t taste very appealing. I dumped over half of it.

I am drinking several glasses a day of the Kombucha Tea which has to be fermented over several days. I do a tall gallon jar at a time. It helps to clear out toxins out of the system.

The other night, in the bathroom I recalled that our new relative, Kathleen, had given me a tiny bottle of Oil of Oregano. I put a drop under my tongue. Brrr! Not a pleasant taste, but it is suppose to clear up bronchial problems, and seems to work towards that end, so i’ve tried it a couple more times. I just drink something after it.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that my cough abates when I get my body warm enough, so I lean on, or hug my heating pad a lot. In fact, getting warm enough seems to break the fever better, without drugs Well, except for last night. It gave me a frightening coughing spasm, so I moved to a recliner.

Sometimes the best remedy is to stop fighting so hard, and go rest; it will run it’s course, and you’re home free again. Or, give up and go to the doctor for some medications.