Whatever He Says

My friend, Joanne, rang the doorbell at precisely twelve noon. We are walking buddies but hadn't seen one another since January due to busy lives and inclement weather. After such a stretch we were excited to see one another again. We never lack great conversation, but now we had a backlog to catch up on! She even had a new haircut--instead of the longer style in this photo, her pure white hair sported an elegant tapered pixie bob. Joanne started talking right away as if she couldn't wait--"I just had a vivid dream about you," she said. In Joanne's dream, my house was full of friends who loved being there so much that they didn't want to go home. It was so crowded and busy that I built a third-floor turret where I could escape when I wanted to have some quiet reflective time! Meanwhile, downstairs, when I went to the kitchen to bake some pies, it was full of people bustling about, and fixing themselves snacks! Joanne couldn't know that one of my ...

We saw Helen Scott each Sunday at church in the early 1980s. She was elderly, then, or so she seemed to me when I was only in my thirties, preoccupied with a busy life as a working mom. I really don't know how old she was--maybe only the age I am now, almost 69! She had short white hair and was also short of stature, and stockily built. My father-in-law, the pastor of the church at the time, often published poems when I wrote them, in the weekly bulletin, and because of this, Helen knew that we shared both a love of God and poetry. She died during those years of cancer, I believe, but before she died, she gave me a treasure, a small, red leather-bound copy of a devotional book entitled, Come Ye Apart, by J. R. R. Millar. It was first given as a gift in January 1938, by "Elbert" to his dad, on his birthday. Helen gave it to me on June 28, 1981. Now, 81 years after it was first gifted, I still treasure it as a footprint of several people's faith.  One day, Helen...

As dusk fell gently over the green and gold patchwork of fields ripening for harvest, I counted down the kilometres to my destination, the farm in Norfolk County, where the mother of a friend lived. I had seen Lois once or twice from a distance at functions and talked to her over the phone a few times. Although she lives quite distant from me, our relationship is one of a shared affection for her daughter.  On this July Saturday, I had been visiting my daughter who lives just an hour from her farm and realised that being so relatively close to Lois's home was an opportunity too excellent to miss. I drove with a sense of adventure, following the disembodied voice of a GPS app to a place I'd never been before. I called the day before to make plans with Lois, saying that I would get there in the evening, on my way home from the town of St. Mary's and she graciously consented to my dropping by with the latest news of the person that connected us. My secret motivation was...

This is what "vacation" looks like if you come to stay at our house. :) All of those apples were peeled, and 7 apple pies were made,  to raise money for South Sudan;   and this was just one more in a stream of memories absorbed into the walls of our home. As we peeled together I said to Eileen that I remembered her sitting and chopping or peeling on a previous visit, and she thought for a minute and remembered too, the exact occasion and what it was we were preparing for.  I reminisced about when there was a deck where the large back room is now, and Mum and I peeled, with a glass of wine, got really silly and laughed and laughed as we sat in the sun and worked. Later in the day I went shopping and while out I bought Bourbon to make Fannie Flagg's  Kentucky Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie! Three of these pies for Easter weekend joined the apple pies in the quota for the day--can't wait to try a slice tomorrow evening at cell group. I spotted Marmite at No Frill...

By Belinda  It got a brief mention in  The Secret Adventures of Susan's Scottish Scarf :  Port Soiree  in  Schomberg . When I wrote about it then, I mentioned the artsy ambiance and tasty food. Although Susan and I decided to share a slice of apple pie for dessert, instead of serving it on one plate with two forks, the host, Alvaro, presented us with two plates, with our mini slices of pie, beautifully presented, each with a swirl of caramel sauce. Susan had joked with him that the pie would not be as good as mine. Alvaro said, "Oh, you make pie?" And after we ate every crumb of the scrumptious pie and proclaimed in ecstasy over its perfection and the tangy cranberries hidden among the slices of apples, he said, "But not as good as yours?"   "Oh, better than mine," I had to admit! I regretted then that I hadn't taken my camera along, but today when I went there with another friend, Joanne, I remembered. And here, so that you too can know a...

By Belinda 29 years ago one of our big life transitions was happening. We had spent the past 9 years, from August 1974 to December 1983, raising our children, living in a farmhouse between  Aurora  and  Newmarket  and supporting 12 men with developmental disabilities. Paul was also working in upper management in an institution and was now helping the final few people left there, to move to the community as it closed. It was a big transition for the people moving into the community, but my transition was from living with people as a house parent, supported by a multidisciplinary team of professionals at the institution, to moving out of the house we had shared with them, and working for the community agency that took on the care of the people we had lived with. From mid December to early in 1984, I hired staff for the team I would manage as a program director, a role at which, for all my years of experience with people with disabilities, I was a greenhorn. ...

By Belinda It seems so long since writing about anything but Mum, who has consumed much of my thoughts this week! Tonight there was little change since yesterday--if anything she was a little less well,--but we are reconciled to the fact that the original doctor's prognosis of, "She could be well enough to come home in three days," was wildly optimistic. It will be a slow process for Mum to regain her strength and we are taking one day at a time, just grateful she is safe and cared for and we are so grateful for loving support in prayer and will share any more breaking news as it happens. :) So back to the night before this week of anxiety started--this time last Friday...Paul and I headed out into a snow storm to drive the hour to Mansfield, where our friends Brian and Frances and God children, Jake; Summer-Lily and Eden Belle live, on a road aptly named Mountainview. We drove ever upward in the dark night, peering through swirling curtains of snow, snug in our stu...

(Country Living) 3/4 cup icing sugar 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 tbsp cornstarch 1 tbsp flour 1/8 tsp salt 3 large eggs 3 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla 1 deep 9 inch pie shell, baked 1/4 tsp cream of tartar   1) In a small bowl, with fingers or fork, combine icing sugar & peanut butter to make coarse crumbs. Set aside. 2) In a 2 quart saucepan, stir together 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the cornstarch, flour and salt. 3)Separate eggs, placing whites in medium sized bowl, and set aside to warm to room temperature. Add yolks to sugar mixture in saucepan, along with milk. With wire whisk, stir until very well combined. 4) Over medium heat, stirring constantly, heat milk mixture to boiling. Cook, stirring 2 minutes longer. Remove pudding from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. 5) Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle 1/3 of the peanut butter mixture over bottom of pie shell. Spoon 1/2 of the pudding over crumbs. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of ...

By Belinda She brought it to a Christmas party, the pie, and she presented it as the luxury it turned out to be.  She held it out to me in both hands as though offering treasure, saying that it was her favourite pie. In a household shared with men, this peanut butter pie with home made vanilla pudding beneath and topped by the lightest meringue was a work of art too delicate for their taste;  when she made it at home it was for herself, her own special treat.   But it struck me then that the pie was so much like her. She is a classic beauty in the Katherine Hepburn style; graceful and stunning, even her late --who knows--it is impossible to tell. Her long hair is white-gray now, dramatically drawn back from a widows peak that frames her face like a heart. Bold eyebrows arch over blue, observant, intelligent eyes. She holds her small frame like a dancer, straight and lithe. She is quiet, but with a quick wit; yet orderly, sensible and wise. I heard of h...

By Belinda I'm still working on finding a conversation partner for our cell group study Holy Conversation . Paul and I have one person in mind to ask--and if he says yes, we will ask him if we can share him! He asked me with great interest if I've found my "person" yet, and when I said no, he said "Well, don't give up." Next time I see him I'm going to ask if he wants to be the "person" and whether Paul and I can share him. It sounds rather predatory doesn't it? :) I know there were people who prayed for my brother, Rob, after I wrote about how downhearted he felt when I spoke to him just over a week ago. This past Saturday he was feeling much brighter in spirit--thank you for praying. My nephew John came over every night last week after work to walk Bruce--a big help. I have been checking flights for January and Paul has decided to go with me this time. Rob was so happy to know that we would be there soon. His pain and fatigue are ...

By Belinda I left for the worship practice on Sunday morning thinking to myself that I wouldn't  be an asset to the team at all. I had been in denial all week with a cold. "Take a decongestant," said Paul. "I swear by vitamin D," said Susan. And Terry said, "Cold fx," does it for me." I thanked them all politely but said that I expected my immune system to do its thing. I believed that it would through streaming nose and tickle in throat. It let me down a bit. I have to admit my expectations were not met! All this to say that by Sunday, my voice; never anything more than "nice" and not strong at its best; was squeaky. But I am nothing if not as steadfast as the Tin Soldier in the old fairy tale, so I went to the practice ready to bow out if not needed. Frances, who leads our team, was there already. I was amazed really because she had just moved house on Friday and had also been unwell with a kidney stone. Added to...

By Belinda We've been trying to get together since late August--Luisa and I; two busy friends, juggling appointments and schedules. We hadn't seen one another for some time and there was so much catching up to be done! After a false start or two, I planted a figurative flag on September 27. Nothing, I promised, would encroach on this day; it was sacred to this particular friendship! We arranged to meet  at 9.30 for breakfast at the  Cora’s  at Dufferin and Steeles and I began to look forward to it more and more as the day approached. I had not been to that particular Cora's before and so I printed off the directions. The travel time was supposed to be 40 minutes, so I planned to leave at 8.30, leaving time for a leisurely drive to the restaurant. I had the day off from work and felt so peaceful driving down towards the city with no agenda but God's for our time together. I didn't even turn on my car radio as I drove, or listen to my latest aud...

By Belinda It has been a wildly busy day. This week I am preparing for eye surgery, which is next week on Thursday. I have three pre-op appointments today and tomorrow; and the one tomorrow, is 3-4 hours. And it is the week of The Word Guild Awards Gala  and Write! Canada , a conference, two events I would not miss if I could help it. This morning I went for one appointment, with my ophthalmologist. He peered into my eye and asked it I could leave my contacts out for a few days. I must have winced because by his reaction I felt compelled to explain that I am going to a gala tomorrow night. He was so interested in the gala and wanted to know what I was wearing. "I haven't decided," I said, "But probably something I already have." He laughed. I guess he has a wife and daughters and knows something about women because upon thinking it over as I left his office, I headed for the mall--where I had been going to buy some shoes, but now I decided to also see if ...

By Belinda Today I received two perfect yet very different gifts. It was at the end of cell group and our big hallway was crowded with people putting on coats and gathering up books while holding conversations oblivious to the others going on all around at once as they readied themselves to go out into the dark, rainy night. Jamie said, "I bought you a small gift," and ran out to his car to fetch it. A few minutes later he came back in with a big Benix bag and inside was something weighty. The mysterious bag contained a rolling pin! And not just any rolling pin. This one has specially weighted handles so that they stay in the right position--and the surface is non stick. I cannot wait for Saturday when I think I will be making rhubarb pies and can try it out. I smiled and smiled at the unexpected gift. It must have been the day for gifts to shower down like the rain beacause this morning Susan and I were at a training session where our friends Dave ...

By Belinda Frances broke into the late afternoon busyness of my office, announced by the ring of the telephone. "Hello dear," she said, "I'm just calling to tell you that there's no worship practice tonight." She  went on to explain that there was a forecast of blowing snow, and around here we all know that when wind combines with a snow storm, the roads between Bond Head, Alliston and Tottenham resemble a white version of the Bermuda Triangle. Things vanish and are never seen again. . I couldn't let her go without asking, though, "Did Brian like his pie?" When Brian donated two bushels of apples to The Cause he said with a smile, "I hope I at least get a pie out of this." I was only too happy to oblige, I was so grateful for the apples. And I had entrusted the golden treasure to Frances at church on Sunday morning, to give to him. As I waited, she hesitated, "Well," she said, sounding like she wished I hadn...

By Belinda I spotted her at a nearby table; my dear friend Frances. We and many of our other friends were at a gala to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the agency we work for. When I went over to say hello, she was shimmering--her hair and face dusted with sparkles. And she was bathed in the fragrance of her Christmas perfume, Cinnabar; a floral blend of incense, spice and amber . At her place was a white folded place card that read, "Mrs. Francis." None of us even had a place card, let alone one on which our name was so uniquely enscribed. The evening was a very special celebration, with an appearance by His Honour, David C. Onley Lieutenant Governor, the Queen's representative in Ontario; to bring greetings and congratulations. The Delta Meadowvale Conference Centre banquet hall was filled with an ocean of white clothed round tables as far as you could see. There must have been 300 people or more, present. Part of the program involved...

By Belinda A couple of weeks ago, when I was still in England, Brenda sent me a message to ask if I could "hold May 28th" for some "mom and daughter" time. "Sure," I said, "Consider it booked." Friday came, and at the end of the day I was zonked after an all day meeting at our home, where we have our managers meetings. Susan left, hugging me and saying, "See you next week." She was off to her annual, "Girls weekend away," at the cottage, with her 6 daughters, counting daughter-in-law Heather. Before going out with Brenda, I unwound by watching the end of a series that Paul and I had almost finished. In the bathroom afterwards I tried to do something with the puffy eyed face, surrounded by a mop of uncooperative hair, that stared back at me from the mirror! Glued and sprayed together, I looked at the clock. It was 7.00, the time we had arranged to go out,  but Brenda, who  is always hyper-punctual, had not come upstair...