To set the scene, Ted and I are double first cousins — our fathers were brothers and our mothers were sisters. The average of our ages comes to a few months shy of 80. We live in different communities outside of Saskatoon. Yesterday I took my car to the dealer for repairs and it wasn't … Continue reading Cousins who agree (about some things)
Whimsy
Winter grumbles
It was -36° when I got up this morning, wind chill -47°. Those numbers are on the Celsius scale, but the Fahrenheit numbers don't look any better: -33° and -52° wind chill. This is the depth of winter, the whole week is supposed to be like this. There can be advantages to days like this. … Continue reading Winter grumbles
Why wait for spring – Do it now!
I first posted this five years ago. Readers enjoyed it, and nothing much has changed. So here it is again. A few days ago my wife and I got to talking about a catchy advertising jingle of fifty years ago that was heard incessantly at this time of year. My wife even remembered all the … Continue reading Why wait for spring – Do it now!
Sister’s Last Good-Bye
This is my wife's account of her sister's funeral. I think Rose was nine when I first met her. Her older sister was pretty young then too, and I didn't pay much attention to either of them. In time the big sister became much more interesting and through her I had the opportunity to get … Continue reading Sister’s Last Good-Bye
My Sister’s Obit
My wife posted her sister’s obituary.
The obituary for Rose Pearl Free can be read at the Funeral chapel website. Seeing her photo brought tears to my eyes; that was so her! So alive! I’m going to post (and flesh out) the obituary here, in case anyone is interested:
Rose Marie Pearl (Vance) Free passed away Sunday, December 29, 2019, at the age of 61.
Rose was born in Melfort, SK, the fifth of seven children to Allen and Louise Vance. In poor health as a toddler, she went to live with her aunt and uncle, Fred & Myrtle Forsyth, and sister Christine in Saskatoon for four years, returning home to Pathlow, SK, in time to start Grade One.
The family moved to Moose Jaw in 1969. At the age of 15 Rose married her best friend Butch Free; they celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in October. The couple had two daughters.
Rose worked…
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Pressing On
Another inspiring post from Bill Sweeney.
Happy New Year!
I believe 2020 will be a great year.
Regular readers of my blog know that I’ve had ALS for twenty-three years. I’ve been on hospice for the last fifteen months, and in that time, I’ve had three close encounters with death. I don’t mean to make light of this, but I think you could say that I have one foot in the grave, and the other is on a banana peel. Knowing this, and reading that I’ve declared that 2020 is going to be a great year, you might be questioning the state of my mental health. I get it, but please hear me out.
I’ll admit that my mental health is not as good as it once was. I recently watched a movie for twenty minutes before realizing I’d seen it before. I don’t know if this is related to the ALS or just getting old…
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2020
2019 is almost done; a brand new unspoiled year lies before us. May we begin it by thanking God for bringing us safely thus far, and trust our hand into His to lead us safely through all that 2020 will bring our way.
Why Mary?
The story is hardly credible to our modern minds. A fifteen-year-old girl informs her parents—I am assuming her parents were still living, though there is no mention of them—that an angel has visited her and now she is pregnant with the long-awaited Messiah. We don’t expect the birth of Messiah, and few people know the … Continue reading Why Mary?
Too close for comfort
The days are getting short, the nights cold. These are the days when folks used to gather around the Quebec heater to visit. Stoves like the one in the picture below were found in most Saskatchewan farm homes, and in most stores. Most wood stoves still come from Quebec, for the same reason that most … Continue reading Too close for comfort
Suspicions of Suppression
Some years ago, a backyard mechanic on the Canadian prairies invented a new carburetor that got fantastic gas mileage with no sacrifice of performance. He drove a car equipped with this carburetor from Winnipeg to Vancouver, averaging 130 miles per gallon for the trip (or 107 miles per US gallon). Or did he drive 217 … Continue reading Suspicions of Suppression
Flatlander Faith 