MRB's Talking Fingers

  We had just finished our breakfast on Friday morning when the doorbell announced a visitor. We were looking forward to the moment, hoping that the plans hadn’t been unexpectedly changed. I opened the door and came face-to-face with a beautiful tall lady who looked familiar but we had not seen her for over two years. Who could forget that smile … and the hugs were wonderful. She lives a bit over a thousand kilometers from us and a combination of circumstances has deleted any past opportunities to come over the Rockies for a visit. I had one of those “how did that happen” moments that I talked about in my last blog. It doesn’t seem to be that long ago when she was a little girl, graduating from kindergarten, enjoying ballet lessons, and attending Sunday school. We had been invited to several presentations by her high school drama class, and even one play that she created. Following those memories, she studied in Britain for a year, did some travel in Europe, and graduated from un...

 It seems as though there was a time when if we were to retire, we would have lots of free time. Wrong! In our situation, the days don’t seem to be long enough, and a ‘short afternoon nap’ takes a big chuck out of my day. I still have morning chores to complete and it’s now almost 3 p.m. How did that happen? For those of you who have followed me in the past, I’m here to report that my husband and I are still on the top side of the grass, and ever so grateful for each day that we are able to enjoy. We are on a ‘first-name basis’ with many of the medical community who have been involved in our senior stage of life ‘overhaul’. The neighbors have been informed that they are stuck with us as long as we have our driver’s license. It’s hard to leave the neighborhood where our 50+ year old children grew up. How did that happen? You may be wondering if my computer still works and I’m happy to say that it works better than me some days. I now spend more time looking for directions and he...

  Some of us had been planning and anticipating in the 61 st anniversary of our graduation from nursing school. The second weekend of May, 2022 finally arrived and it was even better than what we were expecting. Whoever thought we were getting too old to have a party, just don’t know any nurses! We’ve had a lot of practice! We were able to check into the hotel on Friday afternoon, and Marj., one of our classmates, did a wonderful job of booking the suite on the 12 th floor with a view of the city and the mountains, and staying in contact with the hotel until the day of we were to arrive, making sure there were no ‘glitches’. Other classmates were arriving during the afternoon, some who were waiting for the classmate who is sharing a room, and others who were not planning to stay after the banquet, but came to help start the ‘party’. Enjoying a glass of wine (donated by Maureen and Jack D), and snacking on bagged peanuts, pretzels, and chocolates (donated by Carole and Morris S)...

It was 1958 when a group of almost one hundred young girls, most having just completed high school, met for the first time. It was the beginning of a three-year adventure… living and working together. They often socialized together, shared some tears together, and enjoyed daily fun times. In 1961, they graduated as Registered Nurses, and the ‘Sisterhood’ was well established. Many moved to far and near destinations, some to further their education, some to new employment opportunities, and some were finally able to marry the love of their life. The tradition of celebrating a Homecoming Reunion every five years with the ‘Sisterhood’ became an event that was fondly anticipated. Letters were written in cursive handwriting to stay connected, giving updates on life and family, and shared with other classmates. A weekend of activities, starting with the Homecoming (Alumnae) Banquet at the Palliser Hotel, followed by a Coffee Party in the Sunken Lounge of the Residence and a tour of the hospi...

While watching the news this evening, it gave me an idea for a new blog from me. I do enjoy writing but the last couple of months have been filled with ‘other things’, and my list of ‘no-no’ topics that won’t be entertained by me is getting longer. I try not to be a ‘negative’ person. There is too much of that these days. Back to the news this evening… a town in the northern part of our province has announced that the last pay telephone in town will be retired, because it had only been used about ten times the past year. Following that announcement, the news broadcast stated that there are still 700 payphones in use in our province. I guess this is an important and newsworthy item for this second week in February! We even got to hear the sound of coins dropping in the coin box. Wow! That was exciting! OK… I didn’t promise not to be sarcastic! Payphones were important in my younger days. There were many reasons that we needed to make a phone call when away from home. We had no idea ...

 It’s been quite a year, and I wish you all a Happy and Wonderful New Year! I’m sure that the past year has been similar for most of us… some ‘hav- to’ jobs, some happy moments, and lots of spare hours. As I wrote in our year-end newsletter, I did a bit of cooking, a bit of cleaning, a bit of napping, and spent many hours refreshing memories through boxes and albums of photos, writing letters, sending emails and text messages, and talking on the phone. I use my computer every day, but I’ve been reminded about the progress of the telephone in my lifetime. The first eight years of my life were on a farm, and there was no phone to be had. There was no power and no running water, and the evening light in the room was an oil-burning lamp. When we moved to the city, our first telephone was attached to the wall in the hallway, and when we finally had a ‘curly’ cord, I could sit on the floor when talking on the phone. There was no area code, just a number like 75945, and we dialed ‘0’ to...

  Our Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, November has arrived, and we've just experienced our first snowstorm of the season. It has been quite a year, and Christmas is just around the corner. This year, we are being encouraged to shop early because supply may be a challenge. I am so happy that I don't have to go shopping. Years ago, our two adult children suggested that we should find a Christmas project to donate to, because none of us needed anything. We agreed with their request that if we wanted to gift the children, one gift for each was enough. One gift didn't mean one big box with six items in it... it meant ONE gift! During the year, we could still remember birthdays with cards and gifts, and “just because” gifts were always acceptable. We also stopped sending piles of Christmas cards with just a salutation, but send a New Year’s newsletter to our friends. It was not our original idea, but when we started receiving letters from friends that included their spec...

  Last week, I posted a list of books that I “rediscovered” on the shelves of our personal library, books that I know I’ve read but I can’t remember the contents or what I liked about a book. I must have liked it or I wouldn’t have kept it. This week, I want to tell you about the lasting impact that several books have had on my life. The first book that I daily enjoy reading and re-reading, starting in print and now on my Kindle, is ‘The Voice’ (‘ a modern language, dynamic equivalent English translation of the Bible developed by Thomas Nelson (a subsidiary of News Corp) and the Ecclesia Bible Society. The original New Testament was released in January 2011, the revised and updated New Testament was released in November 2011, and the full Bible was released in April 2012 (copied from Wikipedia). My departure from reading my leather-bound King James Version started in the early 1960s when I was introduced to the paraphrased version called ‘The Living Bible’. I appreciated the absenc...

  This blog may seem to be a repeat of things that many of us have experienced and thought about, but here I am… writing again now that I have some “extra” time on my hands. We had an experience a couple of days ago that got me thinking about all the “new” stuff we have learned to enjoy during our lifetime… a lifetime that may seem to be very long, but in the whole scheme of things it is less than an instant. I recently wrote about the progress of photographs from hand-tinting studio photos to personal digital photo treasures that can be stored on our computers. This week I’ve been thinking about the collection of ‘hardware’ that has been in my family’s possession in my lifetime, and in my personal collection. My parents had a treasured box camera that accommodated a spool of negative film that copied the intended photo in black and white. It then needed to be dropped off at the drug store in our town to be sent away to be developed and printed. There was great anticipation for...

I have always had a passion for photographs. When I arrived in our family, my mother purchased a box camera. I still have quite a few photos of myself, starting as a babe in arms, and my growing up years on the farm. I don't have any siblings so I was the 'star'! When we moved to the city, and I was attending school, Mother used a Brownie camera, with the glass view finder, which I still have in my collection. The definition of a trove, according to Webster, is a collection or store of valuable or delightful things, and I certainly have a trove of photos. My first job, when I attended High School, was at a photo studio where I learned to hand-color photos, both studio wedding photos and portraits. It was a fascinating art and desired by customers because there was no such thing of colored film for cameras. My parents gave me a camera when I entered Nursing School so that I could create memories of three years of training, with new friends and of new experiences. During thos...

  We've just celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving... and I even wrote a blog about it. It has been a busy time in our household... birthday celebrations, a bit of travel, thanksgiving with some of the family and missing the rest, plus the daily activities that hopefully keep us out of trouble.  October 22/20 didn't seem to fit in those categories. It has been said that "life is the sum total of all experiences...", and for me, it was a 'dousie'! I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry, but it happened... and as I said in my previous blog, it is a good practice to look for things we are thankful for, even in the bad times. So here's my list for that day. I'm thankful for: ⦁ ... the lady who drove to our rural location to cut our hair on the driveway, not once but twice, during this pandemic. ⦁ ... the suggestion that I come to her small indoor salon in the city, located in a Seniors' apartment', now that the weather is looking more like winte...

 It is the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend in our area, and we had a delightful early dinner with family to accommodate working hours of family members. I've been reminded of a Thanksgiving Challenge that was given to me many years ago.  It was the spring of 1975, filled with many happy expectations and unplanned and unpleasant events. My mother succumbed to her rapid developing illness before her 65th birthday, and my husband was hospitalized because of an propane explosion at our new home under construction on our acreage. On one occasions, when sitting with my husband in the hospital, our pastor came for a visit. In our conversation, he suggested that I could make a list of all the things that happened that month which  I was thankful for. I didn't take the suggestion seriously and thought that he had no idea of what we were going through. I tried to dismiss the suggestion but it kept coming back to my mind. I had time to write something down when hubby was resting ... i...

I don't know about you, but I'm getting so tired of political rancor in all of our countries, and the information, varified or speculated, about the virus, the economy, the society, the rights of everyone, and whatever else the media thinks is important. Thank goodness there are spots on the internet where we can read and celebrate with people who think "outside of the box" and show kindness and empathy in unexpected ways. The sacrifice and service from the medical profession, the police and firefighters, the teachers, and the farmers, is beyond my comprehension, even during the fault-finding and bitterness that has crept in when we haven't been watching. On a personal note, what can I do in a positive way, to express what is important to me, and still be an encourager, a helper, and a friend to those who 'cross my path'... in the neighborhood, in town, or on the Internet? I'm classed as 'old', even though I don't want to admit it, and some...

It has been quite a week… and it seems that my computer took control of much of my time. Not really, but knowing that I’m always anxious to learn (or ‘relearn’) something on my computer, this was a new experience. I’ve been hooked on computer technology since the early 1980s. To describe my present computer, which I purchased almost two years ago, it will help to understand the event. It is a 15" HP computer that is a tablet with a full keyboard that is attached with magnets; my preference now that my office has changed size from a full basement suite, to my favorite chair near the large window where I can enjoy the view of our 'green valley’. This week, when I checked my messages and emails first thing in the morning, I noticed that the computer screen had come out of the frame at the left lower area and it seemed somewhat warped. Why? I called the company who sold the computer to me and described the situation. I was told to turn off the computer and not use it until I could...

The experience that I had today confirmed that I’ve been having too much spare time with my computer, while sitting in my favorite chair near my favorite window. There are so many things that I enjoy with my computer, and I love to learn new things. I’ve renewed my interest in restoring vintage photographs, but the software that I used many years ago was not made for Windows 10, so I’ve been trying all sorts of software, especially the ones that are “affordable” for me. I’ve had time to do a lot of reading about computers and photographs, and trying to organize the hundreds of photographs and graphics that I have on my computer and tablet. All of this activity seemed to have made my computer run much slower. I also received several “error” messages that there were files missing or unavailable that were necessary for the smooth operation of a software. It was time for me to have my computer serviced by my favorite service company… Cloudeight Direct Computer Care. If that sounds familiar...

With all the reading that I’ve been doing this past few weeks, I have been tempted to revert back to ‘the way things were’ before the global endemic has tried to stop us in our tracks. There was always some place that I wanted to go, someone to visit, do some travelling, go shopping, etc.  The media tells us to ‘carry on’ and follow the rules, don’t worry, we’ll get through this, or they tell us that it’s going to get worse, no matter what we do. I don’t want to hear the news these days; who are we supposed to believe. One posting that sticks in my mind is this question… ‘Do you consider the present global situation to be a ‘Time Out’, intended to give us time to re-assess our life’s journey? I haven’t thought much about ‘time- outs’ since our family are all adults. In my generation, I don’t remember any time-outs, but I do remember the occasional trip to the shed, to receive a dose of corporal punishment. It was never a nice experience, but it left an indelible impression on my ...

You may not believe this, but you haven’t heard from me this past month because I couldn’t come up with a topic that would be even slightly interesting in a blog. We’ve been staying close to home these days, except for necessary trips to town for groceries and medical appointments. Our favorite dining spots have been closed, except for curbside service, and the food would be cold before we got back home. A treat in town would be a drive-thru for donuts or hamburgers, but eating a meal in our vehicle can get messy. Back home, my husband and I have different “comfort” zones, but both of us have decided that we have no time to be bored. There are too many things that still grab our attention. He spends hours every day in his shop… cleaning, repairing, organizing and building a variety of items in his shop. Living in a rural area gave him space to build a separate building, giving him space to accommodate his two hobbies… vintage telephones and tractors. We’ve been here so many years tha...

I have received some wonderful private messages from friends here on The Hill, and other sources. I thought I was giving everyone a “break”, because I’ve been known to be an adamant and frequent user of words, both in live conversations, text messages, emails, and blogs. However, the messages are checking to see if all is well at our patch of land, has our ‘isolation’ become a ‘seclusion’, or have I been distracted by more interesting activities. Well, here comes a ‘deluge’ of words that I’ve been saving up! According to the media, public opinion, and assumed expert advice, my husband and I are in the most vulnerable age group, so we began our voluntary personal isolation in early March, and thankful that we are still able to enjoy rural living. My husband spends many hours each day in his shop… fixing, painting, sorting, rearranging, and sometimes, trashing long preserved items. One never knows when the saved items would be just what is needed, saving a trip to town. He also can have ...

Father’s Day is this weekend … we are happy that our son and his wife are bringing both families together to honor Dads, present and absent, as an expression by the families. We will miss those who are not able to be with us, but know that their hearts will be here. My father was the first-born in his family, arriving in the winter of 1906.  The family tragedies in the first few years of his life, resulting in a major move to another country, contributed to his early maturity and diligence in his commitment to given responsibilities. He had little formal education, and in his late teens, became a cattle-driver in the Cypress Hills.     I was his favorite child… and his only child, arriving in his 34th year. He was my personal entertainer and playmate when we lived on the farm. He made sure that I learned about the important things in life, and supported my mom in my pursuit of music. Dad was a “people” person, and preferred to be known as ‘Gus’, and not by Mr. H...

It has been quite a week at our little spot in the valley. I was feeling “a bit below the radar”, not so much about my health but about my appearance. I should have had my hair cut the week before this whole pandemic-altering lifestyle, but thought it would be good for a couple more weeks. Now it was a couple of months, and I was hoping that my dear hubby wouldn’t go and buy a dog tag for me. One morning, I had a “news flash”! We used to have our hair appointments in a city shop, and our favorite stylist was a certified barber and hair stylist. When she resigned and started a mobile salon, we mutually agreed that we would find someone in our town because she wasn’t interested in driving to any rural location. Why not call her and ask if she would cut our hair if I drove to the city to pick her up. “I can come by myself if you will give me clear directions,” she replied. “I would love to get a bit of ‘country air’ in my lungs, and a cup of coffee on your patio.” It was a lovely day ...