“The RoseBouquet”

Last night’s Board meeting was over by 10 pm instead of 11 or so. I got home and felt a bit at loss to know what to do. I didn’t think I was quite ready for bed, and there was this Christmas craft on the corner of my desk that needed more work, there was my usually Monday night work load that I should tackle, I could do a bit of mending from my overflowing box of sewing projects, I could get in some reading, or, how about some research on the item that I need to buy for a gift project? So many things all vying for this surprise bit of time.

As I weighed my options I lost half an hour and then 40 and 45 minutes went by. Finally I decided that the thing I was most inclined to do was sew on some buttons. My pajamas and two blouses each needed one button sewn on and then they could be removed from the to-do box of mending/sewing projects. I decided
that all I had time for any more was just three buttons.

But then I had to go on a hunt for the missing buttons. Have you ever played, Button - Button - Where’s the Button? It’s a children’s hide and seek game where someone hides a button in the room and all the others have to come in and find it. It’s been eons since I played that, but that’s what I was thinking of last night as I went on my hunt.

I remembered that I’d picked up the PJ button somewhere and put it in the pocket of my black skirt. Sure enough, it was still there.

I hunted through my plastic shoe box sewing kit and found an old film canister which had assorted missing buttons. One of those would work nicely for the one shirt. Ah, but then I discovered that the factory had sewn a spare button on an inside seam. Nice. Thank you!

But the third one was suppose to be small, flat and white with a gold rim. I couldn’t find the missing button. Finally I solved that by moving a correct button from the bottom of the blouse up to the gap, and sewing the
other white button I’d found in the film canister at the bottom, where it would not be so noticeable.

Do you know that feeling of accomplishment when you’ve slipped something into your schedule that didn’t have a place before, but that needed doing? That was my feeling as I got ready for bed.

Now I’m wondering… if I could close off my usual evening’s agenda by 11 pm, maybe I could plan to spend 15 minutes at a little mending or sewing job before going to bed.

(Sigh!) Ah, but I’m suppose to find a slot to research foundation grants for the mission, a new job the Board added at the meeting, and I was going to look for a spot or two each day to add maintaining my Facebook pages to a daily routine. - I think I need a Prayer and Planning retreat before year’s end!

I’m still working on who to give my Thursday evenings to (client-wise).

Meantime, I’m happy to report that two long-term projects reached a milestone in the last few days.

Back in June I decided to work at revamping the site, Generosity-Alive.org with a new template and look and to theme it around more profitable keywords. However, this scheduling matter was a problem. I solved it by saying that I’d use whatever was left over after I did my bookkeeping on Friday nights, and it would just take as long as it would take. Some Friday nights there was no time left over, and as I reported last week, sometimes I might just fall asleep.

This past Friday however, I just managed to finish converting over the last six pages. It was too late to tackle the upload of all the pages, and I knew there might be some trouble-shooting to do if I found problems. Saturday morning I decided to sacrifice the half hour I usually spent on a devotional article page. I hoped the upload would only take half and hour. Unfortunately, I took more like two hours, but I just crowded other things further into the day. And the regular pages are now up! Hallelujah!

I still need to tackle the redesign of the blog to match, and checking out other things like a forum, etc. Oh, and I need to go through all the pages and add some affiliate banners too.

It has not been as many months that I’ve worked on a new template design for the aloe vera site, but that was a Monday morning project. I had just enough time to finish the last page before lunch yesterday. (A potential Thurs. night client had dropped by and delayed me). So I decided to give up half of my lunch hour and do the upload so that it wouldn’t have to wait another week.

The only error I see so far is that the new ezine subscribe box does not show up via the includes line. I need to either paste that code in manually on EACH page, or find out why the includes is not working in that instance. But I’ll deal with that next week. I’m just happy to say that this site is now done over and though it too, needs more affiliate banners, I’m hoping that the AdSense will start paying off quickly. To have a look you need this link; www.aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com

On Sunday I was talking with a friend/subscriber about ezines over the phone. That reminds me that those new ones I was telling you about still need more subscribers.

For more Joy in your life, subscribe to Joy Gems, which has a weekly article showing a Bible principle about Joy that we can apply to our daily lives, and a bit of news about Revival Time Ministry in Uganda.
Subscribe to Joy Gems

To improve your prayer life, subscribe to Effective Prayer, a monthly article on prayer that can prove very useful to you. It also has a bit each month on the activities and needs of the Pentecostal Missionary Church in Tanzania. Subscribe to Effective Prayer

I will start publishing another new ezine shortly, called Aloe Vera Tips & Solutions. It will be monthly and will most likely begin next Monday morning. There is a subscribe box here;
Aloe Vera Tips & Solutions

Last week our weather got considerably colder. Here in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan we can take the single digit temperatures below 0 Celsius (freezing point) in stride. Naturally, it’s winter! But when they get to -20 C and then colder when you add the windchill factor, some of us get more careful about decisions to go somewhere, and if we do, we bundle up in layers of warm winter clothing.

I resorted to driving and making some shopping expeditions to look for a better hat. Sometimes I’ve felt downright chilled at my office desk which is in front of a window (though there is a heat register in front of my feet). I keep an extra light parka jacket nearby and I also have a thick siwash sweater - but it is a pull-over and it is always a struggle to pull it back over my head when I want to take it off.

So I had hinted a few times that I should go to Value Village or the Sally Ann to find a second-hand fur coat to huddle in. I had not gone through with that yet, when on Thursday one of my elderly supporters phoned up to say that she had a fur coat to give me. She had no clue what I’d been thinking.

But I took the car on Friday and went to see Betty, this dear ol’ lady in her 80s after office hours. She gave me this luscious-looking deep pile mouton fur coat that she’s had since 1963. It is so heavy it is hard to carry.

I took it home and after a belated, quick supper I sat down for my evening’s work at the computer. A chilly draft from the window made me realize that I ought to try out my fur coat right away.

So I put it on, and guess what happened!

As I snuggled down inside it I fell asleep! It was the oddest sleep too. I
could hear myself snoring and I knew I wasn’t getting to my bookkeeping, but I couldn’t seem to wake up. I was zonked right out. It was after 10 when I managed to pull out of it, and get my most basic bookkeeping work done by midnight. But no time for the GA site I meant to work on.

Yesterday I brought it to the office, and almost the same thing happened. I don’t know, but I may have to be very careful about how often I use it.

Anyway, I thought you might want a peek….

[Notice that I don't show you the frayed sleeves or worn down buttons, etc. It's not for wear in public - just for my own warmth, just what I needed!]

Oddly enough, today our temperatures are back up in the single digit negatives again. Much easier to cope with.

My Thursday night client has backed out for financial reasons, except when a new book comes out that needs to be put on his site. I was going to keep quite about this for a while as I have some personal projects I’d like to sneak into that slot. I’ve already been telling people who ask for my services that they need to stand in line and take a number. That is - wait until I have an opening.

Well, this morning I had a phone call from a long-time friend who had not emailed me for quite some time. He said that he’d been trying to reach me at the old email had for me, to ask if I’d help with their ministry website. (They have since found someone). I gave up that ISP address a couple of years ago because of all the spam coming through on it.

Now, at the end of that old email address of mine was a business man who wrote back to my friend and said in essence, “Hey, I need a web designer too. How do I reach that Ruth?”

There are two ministries for whom I built websites, and I sort of look after them, but they need more work. Now I feel like I better contact them and see if they really want me to advance, or shall I take on a new client.

In fact, another friend from way back said some weeks ago when we were on the phone that he needs a website. I gave him my standard answer, “take a number!”

Today I’m asking myself whether he’s got # 3 in the waiting line. I should check with him too, before I take on anyone else.

Hmm.. And I was hoping for a few quiet Thursdays to take on a learning curve regarding designing my own WordPress themes. Dare I hope that I can do that yet while we sort out who next gets to reserve my Thursday nights?

What do you think are my chances?

First of all, I want to wish all my dear American friends a very Happy and Grateful Thanksgiving for day after tomorrow. I understand that the next day triggers a stampede to shop and get ready for Christmas.

I’ve been slipping in time to make some tabletop Christmas trees for decor. It is fun of course, but I tell myself I have a very good, practical reason. We need a Christmas craft to put on the Kids Korner of the WTM site. So last week Wednesday, my trainee/helper and I made up a batch from my embossed wall papers sample book. I dressed them up a bit more over lunch hour bits of time, and now have oh - 15 that i can see if I spin around in my chair. We took photos of the steps, and I hope I can soon get the craft page with step-by-step instructions and photos of my models ready to upload. (A lot depends on how tomorrow goes).

Meantime it occurred to me this morning that I should be telling all my friends and readers about the Christmas helps I have on my newest website for you.

www.online-shopping-guides.com is all about showing you how simple and safe it can be to do your shopping online.

If you have never tried it before you might want to start with the easiest 7 steps; how to shop online

But there are a number of helpful pages for you to review on that site.

Also, if you are in charge of getting out the company Christmas cards for your business or employer, I’ve got some great tips on this unique page; Business Christmas Cards.

After a long frustrating Remembrance Day at the office, trying to install the newest operating system on my computer three times, and each time booting into a screen full of messy gray lines, and then having to install the previous version again - the next day was full of blessing and a big surprise.

It was our annual Day of Prayer here at Western Tract Mission, where I work and have my office. We invite others to join us and then we go through each dept., having one of the staff report on answers to prayer in the past year and give us new ones to pray about. We send for pizza at lunch and then carry on until we have thoroughly prayed about everything.

What was different this time was that right after Arnold had made the opening welcome and prayer, Joe brought forward a big box wrapped in gold paper and bright orange ribbons. He presented it to me - from the mission. He didn’t say, but implied it was for giving more than 100% of myself.

Everyone watched and waited while I opened it. There was some teasing about which of my desires/prayers this would be an answer to. (We’d recently been talking over lunch about my need of a garage for my car - but all could see this would not be a garage). From the size and shape of the box I was thinking an LED flat screen monitor, and that was something I’d been thinking I would buy for myself if I get any Christmas gifts of money.

Everyone here knows that I usually take others castoff computers and fix them up and use them as long as I can make them - and my friends are often amazed at how much life I can squeeze out of oldies. Well! It was a Toshiba Notebook laptop. Brand new with a 3 year warranty!

I was floored. So I set it aside on the end of the table I sat at, and we went on with our meeting. I eyed it from time to time, and wondered if it wouldn’t fit into my backpack so that I could carry it back and forth with me. Which would mean I could keep all my emails in one place, for instance, instead of forwarding them back and forth between home and office and sometimes losing them.

When I got home at three I shoveled my walk (until Joe came over to finish for me - shoveling still wakes up the stitch in my side), then I cleaned house and did dishes, etc, until 6. Then, as I sat down to eat supper at my desk I opened the laptop, answered the basic questions, and then explored it for a few hours.

It had Windows 7 on it, and it didn’t take me long, even with a very open and curious mind, to decide that I like my openSUSE far better. And because it has 500 GB on the hard drive, I knew just what to do. First I followed Joe’s instructions for charging and discharging the battery fully, and then on Sunday just after 6 pm I started to install openSUSE 11.4 on it via a NET install. It took much longer than the efforts at the office on Friday, for it worked on and on through the night, and finally finished Monday morning at 9:45 am. I was waiting for it with my parka and boots on, so that I could unplug it and take
it to the office.

Yesterday I started setting up some of my email addresses. There’s still more to do, but if this works out I should be gradually changing more and more of my work to the laptop, and have my work machine with me where ever I go! Just give me another week or two to get things smoothed over.

I hope you had a great Remembrance Day or Veterans Day weekend too! If you can top mine, do let me know.

I think I just told you my biggest news.

Winter weather has set in here, but you don’t want to hear about that, eh?

I am NOT doing well on my Christmas projects yet. But now my Saturdays should be clear, so assuming good health and strength, I hope to make good progress soon. The days and weeks are clicking by so fast.

Last week one evening I was glancing through some ad flyers when I saw a very simple but elegant Christmas decoration. A stylized (read modern) Christmas tree out of gold filigree paper. Hey, I could do that with some of my embossed wallpaper samples! So I took a few minutes to try that out, and have since done several others.

There’s still more work that can be done on the idea, but I’ve brought my efforts and that wallpaper sample book to the office so that tomorrow when Judy my volunteer in training is here, we can take photos of the steps to make these, and I’ll write it up as a craft page on the Kids Korner section of the WTM website. Meantime, the samples we make may well turn out to be handy little gifts to give to friends here at the office.

See how once I have an idea it snowballs and sprouts many other to-do projects? That is WHY I need to start earlier on my Christmas projects. There is no telling how much extra work my ideas will make for me.

Over lunch on Saturday some visitors who came to present special music were asking about my business, and I mentioned my novel. I ended up running upstairs to fetch the two copies I keep on hand for such situations. Do you know - as soon as they and another woman had the book in their hands, they wanted to buy it? Yes, and not only that, but they overpaid and told me to keep the change!

Right now is a good time to order a book, get it read yourself, and then give it as a gift to someone else. (Of course, it’s okay to do that! Lots of us do it all the time).

My stash of real, paperback copies of the novel is dwindling. I may have to order some more real soon. But if you are not living close to me you might be far wiser to go order it directly online from my publisher. Booklocker promises that any book you order will be on it’s way to you in 48 hours. In the USA that is by UPS, so delivery is quick from Booklocker

I have to charge people $25 to cover my shipping costs, but the price online at Booklocker is just $19.95 plus shipping, so you might get it for less if money is tight for you.

Now, if I was you, I’d want to read more about the book first of all and see if it is what I’d want. So go here, to read up on Ruthe’s Secret Roses

Oh, and I sell the e-book edition on my site for less than Booklocker.
See, I’m helping you to get the BEST deal on this. Only the reading of the book should take you some time, as it is 647 pages.

I’m grateful for the friends who wrote last week after I mentioned that stitch/stab in my side. Your concern is touching. And I’m happy to report that it has decreased somewhat. If I sit very still I don’t even feel it.

I did go to the doctor last Monday and also for an x-ray, but since he didn’t call back I called the office again on Friday. The nurse said it was a lengthy report, and I could come read it, but if it had anything urgent in it the Dr. would have had them call me in. That is sort of reassuring. That told me that my hunch for a fractured rib was most likely correct. The fact that it only hurts when I move or get physically active confirms it in my mind.

Now I MUST toughen up.

We had our first snowfall on Sunday. Winter is now here. The sweeping/shoveling of snow makes that spot in my lower right ribs really hurt! Maybe I’ll have to hire someone to do my snow removal this winter. I have struggled through the pain ’cause that’s what you do when you live alone.

On Sunday morning the car would not start until I’d found my long orange cords, plugged it in and waited 15 minutes. On Monday morning I couldn’t get into the car right away. The moisture in the door frames had frozen them shut. So I had to bring out my hair dryer to blow on it, and a big screwdriver to wedge in the crack - and just deal with it. By the time I could drive away to go vote in our provincial election, and to the post office for a parcel (that wasn’t there), my whole ribcage was achy and sore.

But my faith in the Lord’s measure, and some long quiet hours in front of the computer revived me, and so this morning I bundled up in layers with long johns, lined wool pants, two pair socks in my leather (army style) boots, and my big bulky purple parka, with a fleece scarf over my old wool hat, and two pairs of gloves, I walked to the office. (I’m plotting to design myself a better hat).

Instead of pulling my summer backpack on wheels, I had loaded the larger one for my shoulders I forced myself to walk slow so as not to overwork my poor ribs, and it did seem much longer. But that’s because I’d been driving since my cold and my muscles need to become used to this exercise again. If I don’t I fear I will become a crooked, humped over, hobbling ol’ lady. (I was like that on Saturday!) So I’m determined to fight that role off with all my might! Yep, I MUST toughen up!

Are you tough and ready for winter?