Patience

Oh, it's an achy day and I'm not doing so well in the patience department. So I did some laundry and some baking (my two favourite household chores) to take my mind off the pain.
I went to the lab this morning for some bloodwork and the lab technician commented on my hair. She thought it was beautiful! She liked the colour and the curls. She thought maybe I had red hair before I lost it but I had strawberry blonde hair 24 years ago, before I lost my hair for the first time. I am pretty pleased with my new hair this time around. No straightening iron for me! I love those curls!
I just need a reminder - "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

Still trusting,
Sandra

Saturday Stuff

Feeling better today, although my legs have been pretty achy this past week, and today, too. I shall attribute that to my body fighting this cold, or maybe it's the weather. I baked some muffins, and made my weekly trip to the library, and picked up some groceries.
I just finished reading The Cellist of Sarajevo this morning. Wow, that's a pretty intense and powerful novel. Definitely a book club kind of book because it gives you lots to think about and talk about.
And a big Happy birthday to my older brother! Hope your day is wonderful and you get spoiled by your family!

Love, Sandra

Turkey Dinner with Family

Feeling better today - yesterday not so much (spent most of the day on the couch). This morning I had an appointment at the cancer agency with the genetic testing department. I now have to go for blood work, but it takes 8-10 months before they can tell you if you have the breast cancer gene or not. The work is very labour intensive and there is such a backlog so that's why it takes long. We will pray that no BRCA gene is found because that would have such huge implications on our whole family.
Happy Thanksgiving to my American family and friends! I'm going to celebrate with a turkey dinner tonight, too.

Thankfully,
Sandra

Forward in Hope

I brought my niece to the airport this morning and she has returned safely home. It was wonderful to have her over for the week. And my sister has completed all her radiation treatments and is done, done, done. Praise God! We go forward now full of hope and pray that recuperation from all the treatments will go smoothly.
I'm still struggling with my cold - it's not getting worse, I don't think, but it's not cleared up yet either. I'm definitely supporting the Kleenex company!

In Him,
Sandra

Almost done!

My niece and I have been having a good time together - quilting, baking, reading, watching movies, and visiting. We went to my mom and dad's for tea this afternoon and my sister was there, too. She just has 2 more radiation treatments and she's done!
I've been fighting a cold the last couple of days. It's not real bad, however, and hasn't settled into my chest. That's good. I hope it clears up quickly. I'll just take it easy this week and make sure I get lots of rest.
I hope you have a wonderful week in whatever you do!

Love, Sandra

Dreaming...

Here are a few pictures of my trip to South Carolina. I am back on B.C. time now and able to sleep in again in the mornings. I am feeling well with hardly any pain. I rarely have to top the pain medication that I'm on with more pain meds. That's so good. It helps me to feel more energetic, stronger, and now I'm dreaming of teaching again. I'd say that's a good sign, right?
A niece from Alberta is staying with me for a few days. We are doing some quilting and just enjoying each other's company. It's nice to have someone else in the house.
Tonight I am attending the Breast Cancer Support Group and looking forward to a presentation by the dragon boat racers from Vancouver.
Oh, gotta go - my paper carriers are here for a cup of tea.

In praise and thanksgiving,
Sandra

The Lord is My Shepherd

Adjusting to the time change... three hours isn't a lot but enough to wake me up early this morning and now I'm so tired I just would like to sleep. I had a wonderful time in South Carolina and the flight home yesterday went smoothly. Good to be away and good to be home again. I am missing that warm Carolina sunshine, however. My time away helped me to forget that I've just gone through cancer again and it made me feel "normal." Does that make sense to you?
I bought a new piano book and was playing in it today. The book contains hymn tunes based on Psalm 23 as well as a variation on the melody by Bach called Sheep May Safely Graze.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23: 1-3)

Tired but refreshed,
Sandra

Windy and Rainy

It's been so blustery - windy and rainy - leftover from Hurricane Ida, they say. I feel right at home! This afternoon as I was sitting on the couch, a tree from the neighbour's fell over landing straight across the road! No one could get through, although the city, or county, came through pretty quickly and removed the debris. It's been cooler the last two days but the forecast is for sunshine by Friday again. On Sunday I went for a walk around a lake with my friend, and took some gorgeous fall pictures! It was so warm people were walking around in their shorts!

I'm enjoying my stay here in the South and this morning I even poked my head into a music room at a Christian school here. They were busy practicing songs for their Christmas program in December. I missed the students and teaching music when I heard the children singing.

Time to do some more knitting now... take care!

Love, Sandra

Greetings from the South

Hi y'all,

If I could add the southern accent to this message, I would! I'm in South Carolina alright and just enjoying fabulous, sunny, warm weather. Today it was up to 76 degrees Farenheit (sorry, there are no celsius temperatures given here). Anyways, it was a beautiful day. We went up to Asheville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. What gorgeous scenery with the fall colours so vibrant and rich. It does get very cool at night so the leaves are changing colour and falling off. I'm having a very relaxing, and wonderful time and getting a taste of the Southern life.

I'm feeling good and though my legs were pretty sore the last couple of days, I didn't have to take extra pain medication today.

May you be richly blessed in God's presence tomorrow at His house of worship.

Blessings,

Sandra

South Carolina!!

Guess what I'm going to do? I'm visiting friends in South Carolina and leaving early Thursday morning!! I'm excited to go - I've never been that far south along the east coast before. It'll be a big day of travel but I enjoy flying. It's warmer down there; they've been having beautiful weather lately. And I don't have to pack my curling iron because my hair is just so curly all on its own. I am amazed at the curls - I've always had pretty poker straight hair. Kinda fun!
Take care and have a good evening!

Love, Sandra