New Appliances -- Gifts SO Appreciated!!

WOW!! A shiny new kitchen got delivered to our door this week! Stainless steel fridge, dishwasher, and stove. Thanks to Jennifer Odendaal, a wonderful friend from St. Simon's and one of her bosses who didn't just make available good used appliances (which was what we thought the original plan was) but who went to the warehouse and had these wonderful matching and BRAND NEW appliances delivered to us.

So, along with the regular food co-op work on Friday we had someone cleaning out the fridge so the guys could take it out. Then they brought in the new fridge ... look at the picture below and start counting the stairs -- I think it's 13. Then they took one of our "even older" fridges out of the food co-op and moved the kitchen fridge in there. (didn't get a picture of that move unfortunately) Someone read the instruction manual -- hmmmm -- and attached the handles, levelled it etc.

Someone else is coming this afternoon to hook up the dishwasher ... and you get the picture don't you. These appliances get used for lots of community projects and the community gets involved from many places to see they get installed. Even in small projects like this you see the "Partners in Hope" experience in action.

OUT GOES THE OLD ONE

OUR SHINY NEW FRIDGE IN PLACE

Life Around The House

What DO you do in the house? I get asked that question often and the short answer is "live as a family". I was reminded of that clearly in the last few days where we celebrated birthdays and then sat around and sang some songs. Last Thursday evening I walked around the house after dinner and Laura and Alayne were fixing Mom's watch. Mom was chatting at the table. Chris and Margaret and Ryan and Johanna were watching something on TV in the living room. Terra was texting something on the phone while she sat outside chatting with Winnie. Kelly was booking a flight on computer. It was so "natural" and "nothing special" but "just right" ... that's life here in the house.

(Clockwise from top left) Kelly Types; Mom and Lorna Chat; Terra Texts With Winnie; Laura and Alayne Fix A Watch
(Clockwise from Left: Rose and Rose; Johanna, Chris, Margaret
(Clockwise from left: Birthday Party Moments: Winnie & Johanna; Jana & Terra; Elsie & Cathie; Jennifer & Kelly
Birthday Party Moment: Lorna on the Phone -- we think she was talking to a good looking man!!!

Birthday Party Moment: Singing in the back yard after dinner ... we've done it often and it was great to do it this time with Lorna even though her voice is weaker these days.

Computers and the Co-op

"No Alayne. You can't play on the computer until the work is done. (Notice that Alayne's monitor has an ad for single men showing .... look out Roger.)

Meanwhile, Sarah is busy doing the data entry .... actually Alayne is training her for that as she has trained so many others to do various jobs in the co-op

But then it's back to her knees to get things right!! Smile! This time it is the sorting or orders into delivery routes so the cars don't drive back and forth around each other in taking food to clients.

We all appreciate the many hours Alayne gives to Partners in Hope week after week and month after month. She and Roger were away for a couple of weeks and we certainly missed them and were reminded once again of how generous they are with their time and their hearts in Partners in Hope.

Trip With Lorna To Nanaimo

Lorna was feeling well enough to make the trip to Nanaimo so off we went for a couple of days this week. We scheduled the naps and didn't bug her too much about what she was or wasn't eating. Had a lot of fun. You need to ask Lorna why she was looking out the window with field glasses ..... something about "swimmers at night ....". Be sure to ask her. She has a story to tell.



Good friends, good food, painted toe nails, time in the hot tub, doing puzzles on the ferry, in houses not far from water ... under the down blanket with the teddy bear .... a couple of new pieces of clothing .... thanks to Gillian and Frances for your warm hospitality. It's good to be with friends.

Prison Visits and Dairy Queen

It's all Winnie's fault, you know. She loves peanut buster parfaits at Dairy Queen. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. One of the fun parts of the trip to Maple Ridge to visit women in prison is that we pass by more than one Dairy Queen and on a lovely summer evening, it just seems the right thing to do to stop there on our way home -- just to debrief our experiences, of course!! A few of the volunteers couldn't be with us tonight but believe me, they are right in there with us at Dairy Queen on the nights they are with us!! Just because you don't see them tonight doesn't mean they aren't part of the action!! Smile!!



Every other Monday evening a group of women spend a couple of hours at the provincial prison visiting with women incarcerated there. It's a simple ministry of visits and listening, acceptance and celebration of a person's life. On the way out tonight after a visit in one of the units one of the women said, "So what does it take for ME to get a hug" .... clearly the friendships and sharing that goes on between the volunteer and the inmate is a simple witness of something good that brings out a longing in others to experience some of the same.

There are always more women in the prison looking for a visit than there are volunteers to make the contacts. We'd love to have you join us if you are interested. Take a look on our webpage (www.partnersinhope.ca) under the "Ways to Help" section and you'll find all the information you need. You could be part of the next Dairy Queen expose!!!!

Birthdays and Fun With Friends

She's 2!! Sierra just had her birthday and it was so much fun to actually watch her rip open the presents and respond to what she saw. How much she's grown and what a lively young lady she's become!!



Just a few scenes from the yard and the house from recent days. Whether it's folks chatting in the yard or Rose and Jodie playing jokes in the kitchen, there's a lot of fun around. Can you believe that this handsome teenager Christopher is the little guy who moved into our house 10 years ago with his mother!



We're happy to have Winnie here for her summer internship along with Mun Hee a missionary on loan to us from WEC. Jodie is trying to keep them in line as you can see. Every week many folks check e-mail and play games on the computers. We never run out of things to talk about as you can see as well, including stories of how Joe hurt his foot at the job site. Sundays are good family days every week and with the lovely weather we've been having, our afternoons together in the sunshine are everything we could hope for.

Well Done Tessa

She used to be one of the "kids" on Sunday afternoon. Now she's a mom and a valued employee of the warehouse where we buy our food co-op supplies every week. It's so much fun to see her coming down the aisle or to page for help in the meat department and have her be the one respond to the page!! Tessa, we are SO proud of you!!

Update on Lorna

It's been awhile since I posted news about Lorna. I think the last news was the fire in her apartment building in mid-May. Here we are early in July and the scaffolding is up around the spot where the fire was and renovations are taking place. Although it will be a new apartment, there is a space available to Lorna for moving back in the first week of August if she's well enough, so she's pretty happy about that.



In the meantime Lorna is living in a Salvation Army residence called Grace Mansion. Not a bad name I'd say. She's growing a beautiful orchid and during a little ride we had in the car last week we saw this amazing rainbow as we drove down her street. The room is small and there are some restrictions but it's a safe and comfortable place for the moment for Lorna as she relaxes in her easy chair.



We still have hospital and clinic visits. Lorna had another difficult few days in June where it was necessary for her to be in hospital again. Nurses come on a regular basis to keep track of her. We get great medical care and even get house calls from the family doctor. Not bad during 2009 to get a doctor to the house I'd say. Lorna's diet is limited and she doesn't eat a whole lot ... but we've had a visit to the Dairy Queen recently and that's what you'll see in the picture below. Her weight loss has resulted in some new clothes that fit her better than what you'll see in these pictures, and she looked pretty snazzy at church today. Lorna had a pretty good day in her lawn chair at the Immanuel picnic recently too.


So, we give thanks for each day and the fun we can have. We talk about life here on earth as well as life in heaven. We know that each day we have for now is a gift and we want to live each one of them well.

What Goes Around Comes Around!

They always find a way. Practical jokes are a way of life around here. If it's not Rose doing the "soapsud thing" to Elsie, then it's Elsie doing it to Rose. Don't let Elsie whine too much. However, let everyone beware. The balance swings pretty easily to the other side!

Kitchen Job For Guys -- Yeah Don!!

Well, it's a new way to build those muscles ... we women have been doing it for years but now the guys are catching on! Build those forearm muscles, grate carrots!!!




There's no where else you could come early on a Sunday morning to volunteer and drive the van, get roped in to grating carrots for the salad, and have Elsie trash you in the process!!! How's that for service with a smile!!

By the way, the salad tasted good!!

Food Co-op's Cutest Volunteers

You are never too young to have something helpful you can do in the food co-op. Megan and Regan came to the co-op with their mom. They both love to help and help they did.

Picnic at Buntzen Lake 2

So, the weather is still perfect and the food was still good. Here's the 2nd of the slideshows .... I'm not sure about the quality of the volleyball .... some folks seemed to spend quite a bit of time in the sand .... best fun was chasing the ball around the little ones who were wandering about the same sand. See for yourself ....

Picnic at Buntzen Lake

The weather was perfect. The lake was beautiful. Food tasted great. It was one of those days that just go right and you get home feeling it was just good. Not bad for something called a "church picnic" but there you go .... lots of us from Partners in Hope attend a church that meets in a theater (the Rio at Broadway and Commercial, 10:30am on Sunday) and this was our first of the season event outdoors. I'm sure we'll have more. It took a couple of slide shows to get the photos in so I think this is the second show .... I doubled up the pictures of the little kids in the water because they are cute. Enjoy.