Fall in the city

It is September 14th, and fall is creeping up on us. The heat of summer has disappeared, and the days are sunny and cool. The leaves are beginning to change color. I have always loved the changing seasons, and fall brings with it feelings of anticipation... as if something great is just around the corner. Perhaps a feeling that comes from those years when I looked forward to another school year.

But it is also an ending. And there is an urgency to take full advantage of the days we have left before winter arrives. There is a need to spend the last days exploring whatever there is to explore. The instinct is to head to the mountains.

We left the Rockies behind, and Kananaskis is no longer a weekend option. So we must compensate. We must find the beauty that is here. Each place has a beauty of its own.

Our destination today was Kildonan Park, not far from where our kids live. Rachel & I picked up Haley and took her and Josiah out for fresh air. No mountains here, but the trees... ah, the trees! We meandered through the flower gardens. Everything grows in Manitoba is what my friends tell me. I'm not sure about 'everything', but I have had a much easier time with my flower gardens here than I ever did in Alberta.

And when we had seen the flowers, we stopped to watch the ducks, and to watch Haley watching the ducks. Everything is so much better when seen through the eyes of a child. Josiah slept peacefully in his snuggly, and Haley tried out the baby swings, and even without a vocabulary, I knew she was asking for more when I took her out of the swing. So, of course, she got more.

We found the river walk, and passed by the picnic tables and fire pits which we will have to try out very soon. A fall picnic is just been added to our schedule. And next year, it will be both Haley & Josiah wanting more of the swings, more of the ducks, and hopefully, many more picnics by the river. We've found a little bit of heaven right here in Winnipeg.

Country Places part 2

Where can you shop at a garden centre even when it's closed? And get advice from them at your home so they can let you know where to plant or not to plant? (Even though they really know the yard quite well since they know everyone in town by name...) Ile des Chenes, of course!

And the library... I admit I walked in with very low expectations. First, this is a French town, and I don't speak or read French. Secondly, it is a town where you can know everyone's name... how many books could they actually have in the library?! (Which, by the way, is only open 1 evening and 1 half-day each week.)

I was looking for an author which is new to me, but fairly familiar. Nope. Nothing by him. The aisle of English fiction isn't terribly big. But so far I've liked almost everything about Ile des Chenes, so I decided to join anyway. Maybe I'd find something I liked. The librarian came over to the section I was wandering through, apologized for leaving some kids books on top of the CD's (from the morning Kid's time), and gave me a tour. I wasn't sure I needed a 'tour' of this little place, but it turned out to be very helpful after all. Especially when she told me that if there were any books or authors I wanted to read, she could order them from any library in Manitoba. And that any DVD's or videos that were strictly French were marked with a green sticker. That will be helpful to know. I joined, took home 2 borrowed books, and bought a cookbook for 25 cents.

Yup, I love our chosen community.

Country Places

I find I am frequently amazed by country living. When we thought about it, it seemed we'd have to give up a lot of conveniences. Grocery stores aren't open as late. And grocery stores in the country have a tendency to just carry groceries. What's that about?? Could I really live without the one-stop Superstore shopping? What if I need groceries, household items, baby gifts, and hardware?
Ile des Chenes doesn't even have a grocery store. Not really. We do have a good-sized convenience store, and it is handy if I just need 1 or 2 items, but I am used to the Superstore prices, and that's not what this one is about.
Lorette's grocery store is a good size for a country store, and only about 10 minutes away. But consider my shopping trip last week.
I drove about 10 minutes... maybe a wee bit more, and picked up cheese at the cheese factory in New Bothwell, and then fresh sausage next door at the Country Smoked Meats. Across the highway... less than 10 minutes away, is the town of Niverville. The bakery (which is also a cafe and coffee shop) had wonderful fresh bread. (Although I was reminded of the 'small town' issue when I wanted buns, and was told those were available Thursdays, not Mondays. Quaint). Not far from the bakery, there was a small vegetable vendor with her garden produce. I went home with real food. Beats Superstore any day!!
By the way, they tell you that if you want to eat healthy, you should shop the outside aisles of a store and stay away from the middle aisles. I guess that's very much like what I did here! Only my 'outside aisles' were a bit further apart than they normally are.
Niverville also has a wonderful coffee shop/gift shop where I have had a wonderful London Fog or Vanilla Latte. Maybe I don't need Starbucks at all anymore! The MCC Thrift Shop there also ranks on my list of favorite places.
Other favorites.. The Back Porch is a coffee/lunch spot that a relative of mine opened in my grandmothers house. What a treat!! I think I'd love this place even if it wasn't my grandma's house, but of course this makes it a destination any time family comes. And it is also about 10 minutes away in Linden.
Then there is Apple Seed Attic. My daughter & I had seen the sign on Hwy 59 many times and wanted to stop in there. We finally did it when my sister was here from BC. The owner, who lives on the property, has set up a cute shop on the yard with gift items for the home. I couldn't leave emptyhanded, and made a small purchase. I love the entreprenureal spirit shown here and want to support that as much as I am able.
I'm sure my list of favorite places will grow as we live here longer. Yes, there will be city favorites as well, but I am glad I can find almost everything I need right here in rural Manitoba.

Home!

Home! What a good feeling. I was born in Steinbach and spent my first 15 years in Kleefeld in a house that my father and brothers built. Then was a longer stint in Squamish, B.C., and an even longer one in Calgary, AB. Both of those locations became 'home' at one time or another. But now I feel like I'm really home.

I've been asked more than once if this felt like 'coming home.' After all, my roots are here in Manitoba. My answer was generally something about having been gone so long, that Manitoba isn't really 'home' anymore. Today, however, as I drove the country roads from Ile des Chenes to New Bothwell - where the best cheese in the world is made - I realized I was indeed home. Where does that feeling come from?

Is it because our children live in Winnipeg and are just a call away? I can babysit for an hour or an evening very easily. They can 'drop in' for supper when we have family or friends visiting. We can share the produce from my daughter's garden, or from the market.

Or is it because my dad and several siblings live only an hour and a half away, and visits are much more frequent? Or that I'm running into cousins frequently... at church, or especially at The Back Porch - the coffee shop being run out of my grandma's old house?

Or perhaps it is our home... we've unpacked and hope to be here a very long time... The view from the couch where I frequently sit is our deck and the trees beyond. The green of the Manitoba Maples and the Purple of the Schuberts. Beautiful!! With a 70' wide yard, I can hardly even imagine that half a year ago our view was the siding of our neighbors house. Our neighbors are the friendliest people around.

Or maybe it is being back in the country. Not quite 'country' like the farm where I grew up, but at least it's not city. I can drive 10 minutes and be in the city, or, if I choose, as I did this morning, to drive in the other direction, then I can find a cheese factory, meat & sausage market 10 minutes away along country roads, and 10 minutes from there, a vegetable stand, bakery and grocery store, and friendly conversation in every place. The drive takes me past beautiful green and golden fields (I must add that I am not speaking as a farmer here - they would not say the fields are beautiful this year. The rain has made things grow poorly and the fields are patchy.) But it is still scenic; everything green and yellow and golden... pair that with a blue sky full of fascinating cloud formations.

Today someone told me we've had terrible weather here in Manitoba... so terribly wet. But it mostly rains at night, and when it does rain, it is still warm. The mosquitos were bad our first few weeks, but even that has settled down. We have eaten many, many meals outside.

There are some serious flaws in our yard. There is no lilac bush, nanking cherries, strawberries or raspberries. That will need to be fixed. But I feel like I have years to make this place perfect. And for now, I am home.

Josiah Simon Budala

June 10, 2010

Our big news that day was supposed to be the possession of our house in Manitoba.

Josiah trumped.

It is an odd feeling to have your daughter in labor and to wish that the pains would increase. That's really not what I wished for, except that I know that it is necessary for the completion of the task ahead.

We spent the 8th together - going for coffee at the Back Porch near Landmark (once my Grandma's house) while she counted the time between contractions. Stopping at our lawyer to sign one more paper for our house. Running errands. Then, checking in at the hospital to see if we should be concerned about the closeness of the contractions. And back home to wait it out.

Late in the evening Rachel and Paul headed back to the hospital and she was admitted around midnight. All the next day we waited... sometimes at the hospital with Rachel, and sometimes with Kirsten & Matthew & Haley.

Our kids all opted to be surprised at the birth with the sex of their babies. That makes the wait both harder and more exciting, I think. Would Haley end up with a girl cousin? Or would we have one of each? I changed my mind frequently as to what I thought she'd have. But I think I really expected a girl.

Josiah Simon was born at 2:33 in the morning of the 10th. He was about 2 weeks early, and was tiny - 5lb 2oz - and very very cute.

Today we pulled out Rachel's old photo album and discovered that he does indeed resemble his mother as a baby. He does have black hair, though not a lot of it.

So now we have a granddaughter and a grandson. 2010 will be a memorable year for having gained 2 grandchildren, and 2 new homes. I'm hoping for many more grandchildren... but, no more moving...

Packing Day

Wow! It's here. Packing day, that is. So why am I taking the time to write in my blog, you ask. Well, one of my criteria for this move was that Interstate provide movers, and they complied. So now my house is being packed while I sit on the couch with my laptop. It is really a very odd feeling.

We have enjoyed our home in Airdrie, though not as fully as we expected to when we bought it. Now we are hoping for many, many years in our new place in Ile des Chenes, Manitoba.

With this move there is such a load of mixed feelings. Our church, Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, has been a haven for us for 19 years. We have many dear friends to whom we will be saying goodbye tomorrow. Hopefully we will see many of them in Manitoba in the years to come, and in our visits back here. Keeping up with friends is so much easier these days with the Internet as well.

My job at Mennonite Central Committee was a dream come true in many ways. I was able to be a 'missionary' of sorts in my work in Material Resources, and through both that position and the Thrift Shop Coordinator, I learned to love so many generous folks who volunteer time and money to help those in need all over our world. To top that off, the office atmosphere was one that many people only dream about. I had to say goodbye to all of that.

The bonus in all of this... being close to our kids and grandkids. I use the plural even though there is only 1 grandchild yet. Rachel & Paul's baby is due in a few weeks. We are so thrilled that we will be able to be close enough to watch the babies grow up. At least until one of them gets transferred... We'll deal with that when it happens.

I leave behind a sister and brother-in-law and their family. I hate saying goodbye. But they have ties in Manitoba too, and who knows if they will join us there one day. And I look forward to being closer to the siblings and my father in Manitoba.

Yes, we will be further from BC and all of the family there. But, as Einar reminds them, we usually fly there anyway. We haven't driven to BC in a very long time.

So we will look for a home church that will one day feel like home. We will look for new friends - not to replace the old - but to make our life in Manitoba feel like home as well. We will welcome all our Alberta and BC family and friends when they have reason to go to Manitoba.

And, hopefully, we'll be done with winters in June!!

A Temporary Home

8 years ago we built a new house, or rather, had Excel build it for us. We chose the floor plan, the colors, and anything where we actually had a choice. It was a fun process and we had a house we liked.

Unfortunately, there was no yard. And it was in the city. Late last year I was able to convince Einar that we needed to move. Out of the city. To a place with a view and a yard.

When we found 68 Sun Ridge Place in Airdrie, we felt blessed. It has a lovely dining room with a view and a large back yard. I looked forward to the move and we both thought we had found our 'dream house' - a place we could enjoy for many years to come.

The move itself was much more stressful than I expected. The stress was compounded by the information we received after we had loaded our truck but before we unloaded it a week later. Interstate bought the Manitoba operation. That may not mean much to someone else, but when we heard that, we knew there was a high possibility of a transfer for Einar.

Of course we could always say 'no' to the transfer. But we wouldn't. Our children and grandchildren live in Winnipeg. We wouldn't 'follow' our children to Winnipeg, except for reasons such as this.

I'm not always sure what to think of the timing. Einar's company will move us, so the major work won't be an issue. Living in Airdrie (out of the city) has been, for both of us, a breath of fresh air. We will definitely consider living outside of Winnipeg as well.

Meanwhile, there is a lovely home in Airdrie for sale...