Friday, October 28, 2011

October Update


 Update October 24th

It has been a while since I have updated so I will give you a quick run-down of the last month and a half.

In early September we made the long trip to Red Lake to see Josh Lynne and Ivy.  We decided it was a good opportunity to make the trip with Kate as she had not been to Red Lake yet.  We helped Josh move his stove, change the counter top in the kitchen, install a dishwasher and new faucets.  The highlight of the trip was constructing a swing set for Ivy.  It was Kate's birthday but Josh took the day off work and  we built the structure together while Ivy and Grama kept a watchful eye.  We returned home bringing Gloria as well for a visit.

The Retirees Retreat at ABK, was the next event and we really enjoyed catching up with some old friends and making some new ones.  ABK provided some good activities and excellent food.  Jack Correll gave us some great Bible teaching. 

We are still making the trek to Sudbury Hospital every three weeks.  The Herceptin treatment seems to be going well.  The treatment take about 2-3 hours and we come home the same day.  Mary is tired for a couple of days but tolerates the stuff okay.  She is also taking the clinical drug every day.

On Sept. 24th we made a surprise visit to Kingsville for John's birthday.  He was turning 60 so we had to make it for that milestone.  We celebrated and finished off the deck we had started in August.  Ruth treated us to some very good meals and we got to try out Michaela"s new car.  We had a nice visit  with Katie and Amy as well.

We returned home and managed to get a few jobs started and done at the cottage and on the farm.  We helped Mary's older brother Harold with baling straw and butchering chickens.  My job was to catch the chickens in the coop and help with plucking and cleaning.  Mary was in the kitchen preparing the chicken for freezing.  We prepared about 25 chickens with more to be done later.

Ruth and Gordon Hanna from Chitokoloki dropped in for a visit on their way to Sault Ste. Marie.  It was wonderful to catch up on all the news from Zambia and just enjoy  the time.    They will be in Canada til mid November then return to Chit for some warmer weather.  They have a lot of projects on the go as well as day to day running of the Mission Station.  They are amazing folks!

Thanksgiving was really nice as the weather was great.  Katie made the trip north with John, Ruth and Michaela.  On the Saturday we put them right to work as the cattle needed to be brought home from the summer pasture.  The OPP came in force to stop the traffic as the cows made their way across the highway.

Over Thanksgiving Katie found out that she had two job offers and after much deliberation she decided to take the job in Kitchener.  We needed to deliver 48 boxes to the south for shipment to Africa and decided to take Katie as well.  We needed to  take Tim's truck as it was a big load.  We dropped the boxes off at Ken Wagler's in Tavistock and had a nice visit with them.  We then travelled to Hanover for a quick visit  with Harold,  Muriel, Johnnie and Betty.  We arrived back home in Thessalon exactly 40 hours from when we left.    

On October 18th we set out for Red Lake but by a different route than normal.  Josh needed windows so we decided to travel through the States and pick up windows at Menards.  After crossing at Sault Ste. Marie we travelled to Marquette Michigan,  bought two windows then continued on to Duluth MN.  We crossed back into Ontario the next day at International Falls.  We arrived in Red Lake Wednesday night and started work on Josh and Lynn's house the next  day.  A week  later we have installed two windows, strapped the house and installed vinyl siding as well as getting to spend time with Josh, Lynne and Ivy and Gloria, Mike and family. We leave to go home Friday morning and hopefully we will stay close to home for a while.  We have a trip to Sudbury on  November  1st  for Herceptin treatment number seven.  Thanks for  reading our blog and for your prayers as well.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

October Trip to Red Lake


New siding job on Josh and Lynn's house in Red Lake.

birthday surprise for John


Trip to Kingsville for John's birthday, new deck and a Bug for Michaela.  Sudbury Regional hospital for Mary's treatment and a chicken thief.

September trip to Red Lake


Ivy and Katie trying out the new swing and an ABK shot.