My Service Partners on Four Feet

Okay, about two weeks ago, in the resort where I live I saw a man walking that I had seen at the Memorial at the Kingdom Hall a year and a half ago.  But before he was very athletic and healthy and now he was very ill looking using a walker.  I decided I HAD to go see if there was anything I could do for him because I knew that he lived all by himself and may have been too sick to run errands.  Anyway, I have been watching this last week to see if I saw him walking again. WELL, tonight as I was leaving my place I looked up the road and saw him walking ahead and decided I was going to catch up and chat.  I mean, how hard does that sound, catching an ill guy using a walker???  Well, if you have ever walked Pearl with me you will know that it is much harder than it should be.  Sooo....I take off trying to walk at a normal pace with Harvey keeping up just fine - Pearl on the other hand is trying to smell every blade of grass and rock along the way.  Usually I don't care but this time I had a mission, plus I was kind of anxious because I didn't really know how I was going to start this conversation.  Therefore, as I was walking down the road I was praying in whispers under my breath over and over, "Jehovah please grant me some wisdom about what to say in this situation....I don't know what to say, because this person is sick...I feel really unprepared but I know I have to say something...so please PLEASE help me think of something to break the ice and say something..."  over and over - I am sure all of you have had those anxious moments.  PLUS Pearl is frustrating me by walking so slow and locking her feet because she wants to smell stuff, that between my utterances to Jehovah, I am frequently breaking in by talking to her and saying, "hurry up, HURRY UP! What is is wrong with you???  Why do you have to be so slow today??  Don't be a little slug - MOVE IT, MOVE IT!!  I just kept saying this to the poor little thing over and over (bad pup parent, I know).  Anyway, suddenly the man stops and turns around and says, I am sooo   sooo sorry but I can't go any faster.  I apologize, this really is the best I can do. (With sad look on face).  I looked so surprised and so did he, because I explained I was talking to Pearl the entire time.  And he said he honestly thought I was talking to him. :-/  So the right words at the right time came to me.  :-0  We ended up having a great discussion, talking about meeting at the Kingdom Hall before, and I was able to offer help.  Not sure if this is the best introduction to try on people, but it was effective in the end.  :-)

Two Posts In One Day - wow!! First, Today One of My Students Touched My Heart.

Today one of my students touched my heart. He has autism and prepared a presentation for the class using PowerPoint. It was all about him and his autism and how it affects his life. He is nine years old, and was so excited to prepare his presentation but then when it came moments before he was to stand in front of the class he started to shake and have second thoughts. I pulled him into the storage closet and showed him how to deep breath. He took 3 deep gulps to fill his lungs. At that moment I thought maybe it would just be too much, but then he lunged out the door to the front of the class, plugged his usb into the computer and started talking. It was incredible. When he was all finished he smiled widely and kept saying to me, "I am so proud of myself". He had tears in his eyes to have done this and could hardly wait to get home to tell his mom and dad. I am so sincerely grateful to have the opportunity to help students like him achieve their dreams. 

Amazing

Harvey has very bad back.  A few years ago when it first happened, because he couldn't walk for 3 weeks I had to keep him confined to his buggy and just lifted him out a couple times a day to do his business.  With the help of anti-inflammatories and tramadol to control the pain he finally healed.  Since then he has had a couple bad episodes and we've just done a replay of the anti-inflmmatories and tramadol.  This week it happened again :-(  He was in bad shape.  I gave him a tramadol to take the edge off the pain, but then decided to follow the natural vet's advice and start him on tumeric.  Apparently it is stronger than ibuprophen and given to humans and animals now for inflammation and pain.  I thought I would give it a try because it does not have side effects like the drugs.  It has been nothing short of amazing.  He is responding so much quicker than anytime before.  I still have him in his wiggless vest to be cautious but there is no "pain shaking", and I can tell he is feeling better.  I never knew something like tumeric could be so effective, or act so quickly.  Absolutely amazing to me.

Love to all,
D, H, and P. . :-)

Fall is Here

Sept 1 Fall arrived.  Big chill in the mornings and at night now.  Most of Saturday at Rock Creek was pretty chilly - Pearl's face says it all.  :-)  Had a great time anyway.  And Dad won the brother's rib making contest by using Aunti Helen's recipe.  Cheers for him!

Fantastic Week Camping

Hope everyone is having a great week!  We just got back from camping.  A group of sisters started out by camping at Herald Provincial Campground in Salmon Arm, BC, but then when the forest fire smoke got too thick in the campground, I, Harvey and Pearl took off to the coast to finish the week.  It was awesome!  I loved camping especially at Derby Reach.  Lots of trails to walk and then Fort Langley was close by to go and wander around shops, or just take drives to explore.  One night we had a bear in the campground - people were banging pots and yelling to scare it off, and at that moment Pearl decided it was the PERFECT time to go out to pee. :-( She darted down the steps so I had to follow.  Anyway, she speed-peed and we got back in the the truck tent.

Yesterday a big storm moved in so we headed on home and now is the unpacking and washing time. :-/

Okay, everyone take good care!  Love to all,
d

Having an Incredible Time in NYC and DC

Found some family at the Stanley Theatre.  My friend Marlene hs been doing NY with me since Friday but now I will be on my own for a couple days.  Big blisters on feet but totally worth it.  Gonna rest for a couple hours then off to Staten Island ferry.  If anyone wants to see more pics I am posting on instagram.  Even found a pic of a dog like Harvey doing sandwich-board work way back, when during the Bethel tour.

Okay, everyone have a great week.  Love to all!
D

Another Great Nature Walk at Kekuli Bay Today

It is just gorgeous there.  Thought I would attempt a selfie with Pearl - it is more of a anti-selfie, or me with Pearl's bum selfie.  Nonetheless, a pic of what we were up to.  And then of course the pups were exhausted after.  :-)

I Love Walmart

Hey hi!

Hope everyone is having a good week.  All is good here.  I have been doing renovations on my RV during Spring Break.  I have to do everything on the skinny because I don't like debt, so when I decided to make some changes I decided I was going to use the local thrift shops as resources.  Below is a picture of some bench covers I made.  Now I can't afford to go to an upholstery store and look for material so I went to one of our shops and found the end of a bolt of upholstery material that someone had donated.  It was $2 for the entire thing and just the colors I wanted so it was the perfect purchase.  But then I was thinking that it would be really hard to keep clean without inhibiting the living style of the fur-kids, so I knew I had to cover it with plastic.  Buying the plastic by the yard was more than I wanted to spend, so off to Walmart I went shopping for a solution.  I found I could by a shower curtain made of the stuff I wanted for $19 - too much.  I could buy what they called a Fancy tablecloth cover for $10 - still more than what I wanted to spend....so I kept wandering through the housewares section to a deep dark little corner where the cheapo stuff was and found the treasure I was looking for.  It is a piece of plastic of the exact material the shower curtain and Fancy tablecloth are made of but it is called the $2 tablecloth - no edging or anything, but long.  Snatched it up and it did the trick perfect.

Everyone is snoozing around here right now (Meeting not til 1).  Here is a selfie of my cutey Harvey and me.  Bad hair and no makeup but basically that is how we look at 6am - Harvey doesn't do anything with his appearance until he is ready to run down the hill.

Okay, everyone have a wonderful weekend!

Love to all,
from Darci, Harvey, Pearl & Otto

A Quick trip to Rock Creek...and White Knuckling it Back

Hey hi everyone! :-)

Hope everyone had a great week.  I was so excited to finish work on Friday because it is the beginning of Spring Break  Yayyyy!   First thing on the agenda was a few days at Rock Creek to bring my rv home for some projects.  So went up early Saturday morning and was planning on staying until Monday afternoon.  But as the four of us were lounging in bed on Sunday morning listening CBC the news broadcast said a sudden snow storm as moving in to higher elevations and the mountain areas and roads would be getting six inches of snow.  So I flew out of bed and started getting things together.  There was no way I could afford to be trapped up there while highway people  were clearing snow.  Everything came together very quickly.  Bill Godfrey, who was conducting the WT for his congregation got home just after lunch, came over and checked my tires and topped them off and then we were flying down the road.  If was odd/funny, that as soon as I started driving with the RV in tow the dogs all sacked out completely.  They just slept and slept which was nice because as soon as we hit Beaverdell the snow started.  It was coming down pretty heavy all the way through Big White.  I had it in my mind that if it started packing on the road then we would just pull over, climb into the RV, and wait for everything to be cleared.  However, it was still early enough in the day that temperatures kept it watery when it hit the highway.  Tonight will probably be another story once the temps drop.  But the high point is that we got back!!!  The pups had a few good walks and runs up there and I had a couple hours of sharing a drink in front of the fire with Jan and Bill at their place.  Jan is regular pioneering up there.  She says even though they drive miles and miles through their mountainous and ranch territory she has a good call or study each time she goes out.  She says her two service partners are a 90 year old couple.  They like to go out for 7 and 8 hour days and it just works out perfect for her.  Anyway, even though the trip was cut short by weather it was still a wonderful time.  Now, I am going to join Otto, Harvey and Pearl and lay like a vegetable on the bed.

Love to all,
d  :-)

Raptor Trail

Hey hi everyone :-)

After service today we headed over to Raptor Trail.  Beautiful and quiet - only met one other hiker the entire time.

In one section the ground brush is bright red - must be a spring thing.

Harvey and Otto LOVE hiking.

On the North Side of the hike you have to use ATV trails at some points.

Beautiful views of Wood Lake.

Pearl did great - didn't need to be picked up at all.

Have a great weekend!  Love to all, d H&P...and O

Kekuli Provincial Park

Hey hi everyone :-)

Thought I would show you a couple pics of our walk around Kekuli Provincial Park.  I have driven past it many times on the way to the assembly hall in Vernon so when I got a day off last Friday I threw the dogs in the truck and headed out there.  It is absolutely gorgeous!  The walking trails are fabulous and the campsites are situated with a view of the lake and mountains no matter where you are.  I think I will plan a few days out there with the RV this year.

All the campsites are so spacious.  Many parks now are so close together you feel like you are on top of one another, but these were wide with a view.  No utilities though so it is strictly battery only.  There are four with power down the hill...but who wants that. :-b   ...no view.

The hiking trails were rustic yet well groomed.  Benches along the way for a rest if needed.

Pearl in her trusty pink winter sweater.

Absolute perfect hiking for the dogs...and me. :-)

Otto and Harvey taking a snooze after getting home.

Everything has been good here.  The next day we did another hike but I forgot the camera.  I have made a list of ones I want to do now that it is Spring.

Pups are doing good.  Otto gave me a scare last night.  He has a bit of heart failure happening so he has to clear his tubes sometimes - usually doesn't have to do it until he wakes up in the morning.  ...He and Harvey have the cockroach style sleeping method generally mastered: flat and stealth - you don't know they are there til morning.  However last night at 2am I heard him start to clear his tubes but started having trouble.  He started to panic and fell and couldn't get his legs under him, so I leapt outta bed grabbed his chest and got him up.  It worked. Gave him a little shoulder massage for a few minutes and he was good to go.  Crawled back into bed and no more problems. 

Anyway, off to work now, so everyone have a great week!

Love to all,

d  :-)

February Is Off To a Snowy Start

Hey hi everyone! :-)

February blew in with wind and snow today.  Cold but beautiful.  Went walking with the dogs and watched the snow fall around us.

I am pup-sitting for my mom and dad while they are in the Desert for 3 months, so here is their baby all tucked in and ready to sleep for the night.

Have a wonderful first week of February!  Love to all, d  :-)

Snowmageddon

Hey hi everyone!  :-)

Here is a little update on the big storm that went through this week.  We haven't had this much snow at one time since I have lived here. So a few photos to show you what's up with us:

Mom and Dad are in Palm Springs for the winter so I thought I would clean their patio for them.  I tried but it was just too much.  I told Dad just to pray for a heat wave to come.

Otto, whom I am dog-sitting for 3 months, and Harvey are slow waker-uppers in the morning.

Otto, trying out the new dog path that I carved.

Pearl, surveying the room, making sure all of us are behaving ourselves.

Otto and Harvey are so funny.  I got up from teaching online this morning and found those two had cuddled themselves into a chair behind me.

Stylish babe alert.  I'll tell you, the most ravishing part of the outfit is a neon lime green touque I bough at the hospital auxilliary for $1

I decided that since the snow was over the pups' heads that I should carve a path down the hill for them.  I wish I could have had a camera as it was me with snow up to the top of my legs with the three of them following behind as I pushed through.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fun winter too!  Love to all, from Darci, Harvey, Pearl & Otto.