“The RoseBouquet”

Back in 1987-88 I self-published my first family history book (A Godly Inheritance). I started it in 1985, to honour my beloved Grosz’mama, but then she got sick and so did Mom and Dad, so I was very busy with my own private nursing home for a while. Persistence is my middle name, so of course, I finished it eventually, typing every page onto a waxy Gestetner stencil, then cranking them off, 500 of each on the old Gestetner behind our furnace. - Mom told me I was aiming too high,300 would be enough, but I was sure that in time I could sell 500 copies of this book.

Now I wish I had listened to Mom. You see, I did get 300 bound and after giving the first 100 copies to Grosz’mama’s children and grandchildren as heirloom copies, I have sold all but about 14-15 of the rest. However, those last 200 copies of each page were still stashed in 13 boxes in the basement at Dad’s house. When I started packing up to move I asked the Lord, “What shall I do about them?” I didn’t feel good about dumping them in the garbage, but oh– I have no room for them here! I had no intentions of binding them any more.

By last Saturday night I knew what I must do. Despite the heat I carried one box after another - with rest breaks in between - up the stairs, and into my car. Five boxes in the trunk and the other eight on the back seat, stacked two layers high. It took me over two hours! Even before I finished I could see the car was hanging low at the rear.

I camped there overnight. When I backed out of the garage for church on Sunday, the rear of the car scraped the ground! It did so again that afternoon, when I had spent hours picking the very ripe and ready raspberries.

Monday morning I took this load to a recycling place here in Saskatoon that had said they paid for bulk office papers. There I had to drive onto a truck scale, then off and around through a maze of huge bales of paper and into the warehouse-work area. One man on a forklift pointed me to the corner with the office paper bales, but no one came to help me unload, so I parked there, and by myself, unloaded all these boxes, plus a few flattened cardboard ones. Since I was just pulling them out of the car and dropping them on the floor beside the car, it only took about 5-10 minutes and I was finished.

I nearly took a wrong exit and would have dropped down a long way at a dock where semi-trucks backup to load, if I hadn’t stopped and got out of the car to see how steep the ramp might be there. Whew! Close call!

Then I drove around to the weigh scale again, and went into the office where the gal at the window gave me a yellow slip showing that my load had been 335 kg. (The next day when I told someone else who is quicker at math, he said, “700 lbs?!”)

But I had another shock when the woman handed me the money for that load. “What? I did all that for $6.70?”

I wish I had listened to Mom!

Now as I mull this over, I think the 700 lbs (I’m of the old school and understand that better) stands for a miracle. Didn’t I have a 40% compresssion fracture in my T6 vertebrae in February? God has given me Sampson’s strength over the last 5 months, and I didn’t even have to grow my hair long.

Tomorrow I plan to go again, and flatten a load of empty cardboard boxes. They may only total 17 lbs in the end, but somebody has to go clean that stuff up. There are still 2-3 areas in the basement to clean, and the garage.

It is raspberry season, and when they don’t get picked every day, the picking takes a lot longer when you get to it. I have invited the neighbours to help themselves, but Mom taught me to pick thoroughly when I pick, and not to waste precious berries. So I’ll probably get another couple of pickings there.

Next Wednesday is August 1, the day the keys are to be handed over. I expect to be there, but don’t know what time yet. If it’s the morning, my RoseBouquet will be later in the day.

Business-wise, I’m making valiant progress in my email backlog. I had it down to just 33 the other day, but then more came in.

I’m also busy working on client’s websites. In just the past seven days I’ve helped two of them discover they have access to the domain of their choice - or are sitting on it and unaware of it. I guess you have to know a bit about registering and hosting domains to get the joke, but I’m grinning away here to myself about all this. I’m also glad I could be the right person at the right time to help them sort these problems out.

I hope to get the one client’s site up and running tonight, and the other tomorrow night, most likely.

Several WTM friends have reminded me that I’m suppose to be at the office for lunch today. I’m bright enough to know that once a month they have a birthday party for those whose birthday falls in the month. Do you suppose I should put on my garden hat with the large crepe paper rose? Or would that be a bit too dramatic?

So then, I better stop dilly-dallying here.

If you know Joe Robson owner of the Newbie Club, you know that he has NEVER, ever had a sale on his digital products in the seven years that he has had this company. Joe is nervous as can be that people will rush to buy at this give-away price, so he is reserving the right to cancel the sale the moment he thinks it is going through the roof.

Here, I’ll show you a part of his email;

……………………………………
Purchase ANY Newbie Club Product listed on the Website at NewbieClub.com and claim a SECOND Newbie Club product of the same value or less ABSOLUTELY FREE!

In other words … You BUY 1 - you get 1 FREE. I said you BUY 1 - you get 1 FREE! Did you get that? You BUY 1 - you get 1 FREE!

Every time I read that phrase I start to sweat a bit, because to be honest I’m a bit nervous about doing this in case too many Free products are claimed, and my August/September sales are affected.

I want to keep this simple so I have not prepared any special sale pages or installed any fancy software. Just purchase your product in the normal way and then email me your receipt and tell me which FREE product you require. My Support Team will email you the download link within 72 hours.
…………………………………..

If you’re a “Windows” computer user, and you’ve been needing some helpful advice books, etc., I suggest you hurry out there and get your two items quick before a stampede of buyers scares Joe into abruptly cutting this sale off. NewbieClub.com

(Reprint from my Sharing Library)

“How do you get God to provide for you like that?” people have asked when I share some of the surprising ways God has supplied funds and contacts at just the right times.

“Uhm- He just decided to give it.”

But that answer doesn’t really help, and it doesn’t give credit where it’s due. I’ll do better now.

You know of people who have prayed and received what they prayed for, but you also know of those who prayed hard, and didn’t get the provision desired. So you suspect there is a catch, a secret. If you could just learn that secret code or magic word, then you’d walk into Heaven’s vault as you please.

Here are five key thoughts I’ve found helpful.

1. It’s almost a given, but before you’ll receive specific gifts from God, you must humbly admit your need of God and His intervention. Our very breathe comes from Him!

Access to Him in prayer is limited to those who come by faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. I’m sure God answers some other prayers because of His great mercy, but the promises of answered prayer in the Bible are for those who come in the name of Jesus. That is, you’ve got to belong to Him.

2. God desires intimacy with us. Yet we must draw nearer on His terms: free of sin, and as sincerely as a child. Feel free to tell Him everything, and know your confidences are utterly safe with Him.

3. Want what He wants - fall in love with Him! This is often referred to as knowing and doing God’s will, but that comes quite easily when we focus our devotion and admiration on Him.

4. Listen when He whispers to your spirit/conscience. It’s not spooky. His voice is quiet, and can be both firm and comforting. When it is God speaking it will not be at cross-purposes with anything in the Bible, and it will be sensible. In fact, most often I find God speaking to me in, and while I am reading Bible passages.

In this intimate dialogue God tells us what is really important to Him, and we get longings to do things that line up with those values. So tell Him about your desires, and ask for things you need to carry them out.

5. If you leave it at that, you’ve had a lovely fantasy. (I know, I’ve made that mistake!) But if you behave as if He’s going to give it - that is, get ready - God will see to it that the resources you need to continue are there.

Others will watch and think you have a secret code, a magic password to get good gifts from God. It is all in that wonderful give-and-get friendship you have with Him. You and God are on the same page.

……….
Read sample chapters of my first novel online, starting at the index

Order the e-book to download and read on your computer; Order page (or if you email me, we can make a deal and I’ll send it to you on CD).

You can order the softcover paperback from Booklocker.com

Yes, I’m testing those two principles still. Problem is, I don’t have everything in it’s place yet. Hey, but I’m making progress every day.

Another friend, Archie, had put in the missing window panes for me last Thursday, so Friday I painted the window and door frames and the ceiling, etc.

On Saturday morning Joe came over to lay a thick wooden floor over the squeaky grey boards, and then to carpet it from a roll that Dad had squirreled away. That’s sort of a rusty brown. Joe also had been given by someone else some used reddish brown paneling, which was taking up space in his garage. He cut the pieces and did all the walls over in this paneling. He apologized for a gap in one seam, but I tell you, the porch looks much MUCH better than before, and besides all that, it will now be warmer in the winter. A strong outer door with a lock would turn that into an extra little room, where I’ll keep my plants, and boots, and things like that.

While he was doing all that, I started building another shelf unit for the basement. Then Arnold came along and helped me finish and set it up. The rest of that long hot day, I carried boxes and stuff from the trailer, into the back door, through the kitchen, living room ,and down in the basement. I had the trailer nearly empty too, about 9:30 at night, when it started to rain. I was so tired I needed no further excuse to stop.

I went to Hague on Sunday. On Monday I tackled the last seven boxes in the trailer, and the two sacks of oatmeal - but Elsie’s trunk was too big and heavy. It wouldn’t budge for me. However, I relaxed. At the rate God had been sending help, I was sure that someone - likely Joe - would get that trunk into my living room.

Sure enough, before I finished my supper, Joe and Penny came over. I showed Joe to the trailer. We looked at the trunk. and I showed how it wouldn’t budge for me.

Joe looked up and saw my neighbour on the other side of my house. “What’s his name again?” he asked me.

I said, “Randy, I think.”

“Hey Randy,” Joe called out. “Wanna come give me a hand with this trunk?”

The man vaulted over the fence and away they went with it!

I hurried after them with the creeper (board with four wheels under it) which they put under the trunk in the living room so that whenever I need to move it,I can - just by shoving it.

When we thanked “Randy” he told us that is name is Brad. His daughter’s name is Brandi. Oops. But he was nice about it.

Yesterday the brother of Brad’s wife Michelle, came out and spent most of the day trimming dead branches out of the trees, including some on my side of the property line. I loaned him my ladder, and was grateful for the opportunity to help them.

This week I’m taking back my afternoons to catch up on my backlog of emails. I think I got about 50% answered and filed or deleted already.

In the mornings I’m trying to unpack these 10 boxes of books still sitting around here, and oh, about eight boxes of photos! I’m out of library shelves again, but Larry is going to bring me some long pine boards in the garage at Dad’s in Hague. So it’s going to come together. By next week, I hope to take back my mornings for business hours again. The rest of the renovations will have to be Saturday projects.

I have been working evenings for some clients, namely Western Tract Mission, MHSS, (my paying client), and one UK mission.

Here I have an interesting observation. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Now I’m a missionary with WTM, and what are the first big assignments I get, besides my usual work? Interviewing some interesting people and writing up their testmonies for this gospel booklet that we plan to mail out to every address in our city this fall. Challenges that I can enjoy and get myself wholeheartedly into!

Truly, my life is falling into pleasant lines.

Here’s feedback from subscribers/friends while I wasn’t answering much; (Each note was encouraging).

I and my co-workers here at the college looked at your photos together, they were already here when I opened up your email, and we all agree, we LOVE your new wallpaper… (Carla)

Glad to hear that things are running smoothly…& you are blessed with those God uses to help you as well…. Pray the auction is a success & many are blessed by the Lord through you… Pray also that things continue to come together in the city house It sounds cute & from the pictures looks like it will be really nice. Much love in Christ (Janice)

Blessings on your new home from me and Your Lord. So glad the move is over with and the settling in is beginning. (Barbara D).

What a wonderful experience you have had and there is no doubt you will be happy in your new home! My computer seems to be operating well (new hard drive) and I look forward to following your news. Thanks so much for sharing your terrific writing with me. I am VERY grateful.(Gerry)

It is so good to see the pictures of your new place I know in no time you will have that fixed up just like a little picture. It has taken me several days too look and read your email and still have not finished. I hurt my back so it is hard for me to sit for anytime. I go Monday to the dr… My prayers will be with you and I sure hope you get this pretty rose on this letter too…Will keep you in my prayers. (Margie)

Thank you for the updated view of your new home. What a nice place you have. I have taken careful notice because I’m a carpenter and enjoy house renovations very much. Your home is just right for you. One of these days we will have to call you. And visit awhile on the phone. Is that possible? (Ed).

I went into your web site and saw the photos and read about your new house. It gives me a tingly feeling all over:o) It’s so much fun preparing a home like that, although moving is the pits! The worst part is packing. My next move will be easy because I’m only going to take with me what I absolutely have to have since I’ll be moving to Mexico. The biggest thing will be getting rid of all my furniture and stuff. Otherwise I’m staying put, love my house and am happy there.

I love your little yard, it is so cozy. I’m sure you will be spending a lot of time out there. The doors you purchased from the resale shop are lovely, it really makes a difference. (Judy)

We’ve enjoyed your ezines SO much, with all the updates on your progress - and the photo stories are just great. It’s almost like being there with you. How you do so much so fast though, we’ll never understand. Amazing! (Connie & Charlie)

Well, thank you one and all! It’s comments like these above that kept me to my commitment to prepare a weekly update. I’m aiming to find things that can be of benefit to you now for a change.

Are you thinking that by the end of this summer you should get a web site up on the Internet? Perhaps you’re planning to check some things out over the summer. Here’s some keywords and links for your search;

Domain registration - You need to choose a name and get it officially registered at a registrar. There are many, but GoDaddy.com has reasonable prices.

Hosting service - I offer very economical hosting - Azaleas Virtual Assistants. Or if you are looking for the high quality, multi-faceted services of experts, you want to go higher to my own good hosting service at HostGator

If these links don’t satisfy you, check out the Creme d’ la Creme of Site-building/hosting/maintaining/promoting packages. This is my goal for this fall!

True Stories of people who brought their imagination to SBI, and are now successful web-business owners! Got Questions?

(Sorting my books reminds me how my fascination with books all started years ago).

When I started school it was to a small one-room country school near Laird, Saskatchewan, on the Canadian prairies. I’d had to wait a year because my appendix nearly burst before it was removed the year earlier, so I was impatient to go to school and learn to read.

On top of that I had to learn English. My parents spoke Plaut Dietsche, or Low German, at home though they knew a bit of English. Mom had prepared me for my first day by training me for weeks to have a few handy English answers ready.

If they said to me, “What is your name?” I should answer, “Ruth Marlene Friesen.”

If anyone said to me, “How old are you?” I should reply, “Seven years old.”

On the big day, Dad took time from his work as a farmhand to drive me the three miles or so to the school on his tractor. While he went to find the teacher at the Teacherage I walked up to the school steps with my lunch in a lard pail, to greet the students I saw were already there.

One of them asked or said something, and I rattled off my answers, “Ruth Marlene Friesen seven years old.”

The big boys hooted and did cartwheels. While I had a sinking feeling that this had not gone the way Mom had told me.

To continue this story…
How I Learned to Read

Whew! That took 4 hours? Well, I’m sorry for being late here if you’ve been impatiently checking for my RoseBouquet today. But yes, I’ve got it done. (Two photo story pages and about 30-40 pictures takes a bit of time to prepare).

If you want them in sequence, the one about the trailer I told you about last week is here; Moving with a Loaned Trailer

The long one about Dad’s Estate Auction in Hague last Friday, July 6th, is here; Dad’s Estate Auction July 6, 2007

Things always take longer than you think, but I sincerely hope I can take back some hours each day next week to go back to my office routines. Mainly that will mean catching up on emails like a white tornado. But for this week, I’m going to focus on my porches and unloading the trailer, and finding a spot for everything.

The secret to living in a small house is to have a place for everything and to keep putting it back as soon as you’ve used it, right? So we’ve heard. I’m about to test that principle!

And … there’s always room for one more? I’ll test that one too.

First of all, a Happy July 4th to all my American Sisters and Brothers! I wish you great joy as you celebrate your liberties and freedoms as a nation. We know it is an unearned gift, and the Giver deserves some praise.

Two Days to Auction!

I’m going to skip the photo story this morning as I need to get back to Hague to continue to clean out the house and prepare for the Auction sale of Dad’s estate on Friday. I do see minor miracles every day, so I’m going to take time to describe some of them to you, and promise a more full report next week, when that part of my life is finally wrapped up.

Last week I stayed mostly here in the city and tried to put away the stuff already here. I even got to hang a few pictures on the wall.

On the Thursday night four College and Career young adults came to help paper my kitchen. I wanted a quilt look, but we what we got was more of a collage. We had fun, but next morning when I saw a number of those patches come down, I realized that I’d have to take time later to do it over. Later. There’s other things pressing right now.

Friday I wanted to go back to Hague, to sort and load up stuff, but had my fan belt go on the car just after I got on the street. A man on a bike stopped and advised I cut off the shoestring strip that was flapping around and sounding like a tree caught under the hood. I ran back to my place for a knife, cut it off, and was able to get as far as the WTM office, where Joe (my blessed neighbour) went to buy a belt for me, and installed it too.

In the evening he came to join me in Hague with his young friend Caleb, who is strong as an ox, and friendly as a puppy. Together they tried to get the upright freezer out of the basement. When they got stuck I ran next door and called my neighbour Larry. Between the three of them they accomplished a very, very hard task!

We had all agreed that the chest freezer couldn’t get into my little house at all. This upright freezer, the size of a medium fridge, managed, but only after Joe took the door off of it, and also took the screen door off it’s hinges.

We also brought as many boxes as we could, so my living room was piled high again.

In fact, when I looked around as we left that that house I calculated that I still had another 6-7 or more cars full to move! But there were not that many days left to the auction sale date.

Saturday I went back to Hague, and my neighbour Larry made me a wonderful offer. He’s in construction and uses a large white covered trailer to take his tools along from site to site. He had just bought a newer, bigger trailer, and he was going to spend the day moving his tools and cabinets to the newer one. He offered to park the older one in front Dad’s house, and I could fill it at my own pace, and when full I should just let him know and he’d tow it to my house in the city for me.

What a wonderful offer! How could I refuse? It was an answer to prayer!

I took time that afternoon to go to Mr. Jacob E. Friesen’s funeral in the Hague Mennonite church, just around the corner. He turned 101 on May 30th. (You might recall that I used to tell stories about him some years ago, as he was a part of Dad’s and my life).

When I got back, Larry had finished emptying his older trailer, and parked it in front of our house. I got the padlock key from him, and went to change back to my work clothes, and then I started loading it. I stopped for breaks when I got to huffing and puffing too much, but I kept loading until 11 PM. Or was it 11:30?

Sunday I went to church from there, loaded the car with craft boxes meant for a friend, and headed back to the city. I spent Monday baking and cleaning up some of the boxes sitting all over the living room. I also had a visit from cousins in the Lethbridge, AB. area.

Yesterday I was back in Hague, and after visiting with other neighbours over the fence and in the volunteer garden (yes, things are coming up even though I haven’t sown anything there!) and I got back to loading that trailer. By 6 PM. it was more than half full.

And still I have piles of boxes that need to get in there. That’s why I need to put in another full day there.

I have a paying web design client eager to get their site up and ready to advertise, so I need be back here for the evening, but I do hope I get the packing and loading done this afternoon.

Tomorrow my favourite uncle, Henry Kroeker, is coming from Alberta, and we’ll pick up Tom, my brother, and head out to Hague again to clean and prepare for the Auction sale the next day. It starts at 10 am. but the auctioneer wants everything out on the street (which we have permission to block off) by 9 am. so that prospective buyers can browse ahead of time. That means, ALL the stuff I have in the garage and in the house has to be carried out at a steady trot from about 7 am to 9 am.

I’ve already tried to recruit every able-bodied man I meet to be there early to help with this huge task. A woman from church is going to do what she can to recruit some more, and the youth pastor, who is organizing the teens to run a consession stand in the garage is going to see if some of the teens will come early to help too.

So you see, Friday is the big climax to all of the first six months of this year. It is going to be terribly busy in the early hours, and then I expect to hob-nob with the buyers and visit and try to hold myself together until the sale is over about supper time. I will be taking photos all over the place to preserve the memories. Hopefully I’ll have extra batteries ready.

Of course, the beds will be sold by the end, so we’ll come back to the city, but I expect to go back on Saturday for my last final push to leave a clean house behind before I turn the keys over to the new owners, Kevin and Caitlin.

Next week? I’ve been telling myself I need to just hold on for this week yet, and then I’ll be able to slow down and sit at the computer more, but I do realize in the back of my mind, that then I’ll still have to unload that trailer full of stuff, and find a cubby spot for each item. I still need to fix and finish both front and back porch, and deal with the basement issues, water heater, walls and tiling the floor. However, I’m getting so weary of all this physical work that I think I’ll do just the bare minimums and put a lot of it off to spread over the summer.

I need - I want desperately to get back to my old work routines at the computer. I need to earn money to cover my bills. Although I must praise God that sufficient came in last week to meet my automatic deduction bills. And I got a free haircut too!

Some have commented that my family doesn’t know or fully appreciate how much I’ve done to close up Dad’s affairs. I agree, but then I’m convinced that the Lord is going to reward me, and He will do it fairly. I’m asking that He bless my business ventures, if He’s looking for tips on how I’d like to be paid. As with many jobs, you don’t always get paid the same day that you do the work. My pay day is coming! (Psalm 62:11-12).

Okay, if’ you’ll excuse me - I’ve got’a get a move-on here!