“The RoseBouquet”

In the USA the 11th of 11th month is Memorial Day, and in Canada we call it Remembrance Day. While the holiday is meant to honour our veterans, it is also an opportunity to be grateful for our nations. My friend Elaine sent me this link yesterday to a very lovely powerpoint, showing the beauty of the 50 states in the USA: My Beautiful America

She wondered if there was one for Canada like that.

Yes! I recall getting one from another friend, Reg, last year. I went looking online and see that for each site that has it, it wants to download the file all over for me instead of opening it up. I already have it. So my solution is to upload my copy to my site’s Resources and Gifts section for you to see. Or if it wants to download, you can do that, and then see it on your computer. I clicked “slide show” once I had it open, and oh-what a treat! Gorgeous photos of Canada!

If your computer lets you open powerpoints in your browser, use this link; OhCanada!.pps If it tries to download, use this zipped file for a bit more speed, and then unzip it to see it on your computer. OhCanada!.pps.ZIP

(You will need MS Word or OpenOffice.org to see it. OpenOffice.org happens to be free and can do EVERYTHING MS Word does - and then some).

When Remembrance Day comes around each November, our family has always treated it very low-key. I think it’s because we are rather confused about what to do with it. On the one hand we know that Mennonites are known to be pacifists in their faith. We’ve heard it all our lives, and yet, I don’t recall getting any in-depth teaching about it as I grew up. I learned more from my reading after I was an adult than I learned from my parents or church in my childhood.

But there’s another factor. Our family for three generations has had someone sign up to be a soldier. This seems to have messed up our pacifist thinking in each of those three generations. This is all on my mother’s side of the family. On Dad’s side he had a brother who went to war. Uncle George was conscripted. Uncle Johnny became a Conscientious Objector. I have some photos from his time in the work camps in B.C., but no hard and fast details. Dad was away working on a farm/ranch when the conscription officer came, and escaped having to join or make a decision, for which he was always grateful.

Let me profile the ones on Mom’s side, since I know the most about those stories.

First there was my maternal great-uncle, Peter Kroeker. Gran’pa Kroeker’s younger brother left home and signed up as a Canadian soldier in the second world war. He was stationed in England. Beyond that I know nothing of his service, where, when, etc. But I have seen this letter in 1942, which my grandmother had in her possession. (It may have first come to his parents).

Dear Folks,
I am well and happy and hope this writing finds you all the same. I hope you will all forgive me for not writing sooner. I have received so many letters, cards and parcels, and I am very sorry I have not written before this. and I can’t thank you folks enough for all this kindness and love you have shown me by writing and sending parcels.

And now that I am out of the kitchen I will try and write oftener. I hope you won’t laugh at what I am going to tell you next. Now just take a guess while you turn this page.

_____over________
I got married on the 17th of Jan. 1942 to a Miss Lillian Alice Baker, from London. I won’t describe her now, but I can tell you that I think she is all right and I have not changed my mind yet.

[This article got too long for here. You can read it in full on my family genealogy site; Our Family’s Solders ]

Whew! I have just spent ALL morning at this photo story of the craft party! I think I’m going to short-change some of the other sections to get this out now in record time.

You can see and read all about the Craft Party I had on Halloween night here; Craft Party Photos

I have enjoyed some extra fine blessings here at home though in the past week. Let me quickly mention them. On Friday, Henry Dyck, the widower, whose wife Tina was a corrector at our mission, came over to help me with my plumbing problems. In one morning he fixed the steady leak under the bathroom sink, and also the cold water tap in the tub that just spun around. (I had to carry cold water to the tub from the kitchen each time I wanted a bath). I just had to pay about $21 for the fittings he had to go buy.

On Thursday, neighbours Joe and Penny took me shopping at Home Depot for the fittings needed to fix my gate and back fence. yesterday afternoon I came back from my lunch walk to find Joe and Arnold building me a new gate and fence! By 5 pm they were done. I went out to clean up and then brought my car into the back yard and locked the gate with the new gold padlock!

We’ve just decided not to hold our breath any more for the RRAP gov’t inspector. Some things can be done without their “okay.”

Okay, I’ll just give a progress report on my SBI adventure. I have now done Day 3, and have a draft blue print for my site. Because of my experience with building sites, and having already applied a number of the tricks I’m learning, I KNOW it will be a good source of income. But my Day 4 stage is likely to have some surprises for even me.! I can hardly wait.
,br /> I’m also gearing up for preparing my Christmas mail, and have begun taking photos of my house (interior) since I did a major cleanup on Saturday. But the length of time I spent on this morning’s photo story makes me nervous about how much time this Christmas treat is going to take. (sigh! Oh well, I’m a sucker for work, and once I plunge in I stay at it).

Another writer who is even further ahead in preparing Christmas stuff, is Marnie L. Pehrson. She’s written a little Christmas novel which is available as an e-book, or as an audio book. That means you can listen to it being read while you do other things. (I listened to it on Saturday while doing my housework).

Marnie is allowing me to give this book away from my site. So just go here to get it; Miss Humbug

[Today the Craft Party photo story counts as my article ]