John and Betty 2014 Visit

This summer we were blessed by the visit of Nelson's brother, John, and his wife, Betty, from Ottawa, Ontario. It had been ages since we saw them and so it was a special time of catching up. The plan was for them to spend a few days in Regina, then here at Draper's Acres while Nelson was on his days off, then back to Regina before heading home. 

Alice Draper with her kids from L to R - John, Teresa, and Nelson.
Photo taken Aug 2014 in Regina, courtesy of Teresa and Francis Untereiner

Unfortunately, the weather on Nelson's days off were wet and chilly for mid August which kept the farmers out of their field. Most of the time we stayed in the house where JJ hooked my laptop up to our big screen TV via an HDMI cord so everyone could view the genealogy records and old photographs at the same time. This was fantastic because it allowed everyone to contribute to the conversation, sharing memories and correcting misinformation. 

The spattering of rain played havoc with our photo taking sessions though, as you can see by the blotchy photographs.

Both Nick and JJ were working at Circle Square Ranch (CSR) Wolf Creek, and we had to get them back to the ranch right after lunch. In fact, the rest of the staff were inside preparing for a meeting when we were taking these pics, which shows on Jeremiah's face as he's the most logistical one and didn't want to walk in late. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

But as you can see in the above photo, a raindrop is hiding Betty's face, so we went for another one. 

L to R back row - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout, and Nick.
Front row - Grandma Alice, and Betty holding Peanut.
Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

Hmm, nice shot, but Grandma's face is obliterated and others are hazy. So we tried one more. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, Scout, John hiding behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, and Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

And that's a good shot of everyone including the dogs...except John is hiding again, Nelson has lost his smile, and both Nick and Scout are looking to the left where someone has just come out the door to find out what's holding the boys up. *sigh

Since Montmartre is the Paris of the Prairies due to its French history with Montmartre, France on the outsirts of Paris, we stopped at the 1/38 scale model iron Eiffel Tower to give John and Betty some fun pics to take back.

This first one is Nelson telling John and Betty to look wa-a-a-a-a-a-y up so it appears the tower is taller than its actual 30 ft height. 

Nelson taking photo of Betty and John at Eiffel Tower,
Montmartre, SK.

Unfortunately, Nelson never showed me the result of this angle. My version was for John and Betty to move closer to me thus putting space behind them to make the Eiffel Tower look bigger. 

Betty and John at Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

Montmartre is building a real nice park beside the Eiffel Tower and while there, I mentioned that it would be nice to take a photo near the gazebo with the CN Montmartre sign in the background, but after being cooped up while we were in church, and then while we had a big family lunch in Wolseley, Scout and Peanut wanted to go exploring, so the best photo of that excursion is this one of John taking a pic of ME. 

John taking photo of me with Betty and CN Montmartre sign in background.
Taken at the Eiffel Tower Park, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

This last one is cropped from one of Teresa's photos and is kind of grainy so I can't enlarge further, but I thought I'd end this post with these 2 precious members of John and Betty's family, Peanut and Scout. 

Peanut and Scout in Regina, SK, August 2014

It was such a nice visit. I hope you come back soon... and bring the kids and grandkids next time. :)

A Cup of Christmas Cheer

I finally changed my Blog Header to reflect the publication of my story, Riding on a Christmas Wish in A Cup of Christmas Cheer Volume 1 by Guideposts Books.

This publication is a dream fulfilled - a dream I've had since I was a child and enthused about books and where they came from.

All the events leading to publication (My Call Story) and anything to do with writing the story and the book's release, blog hops, prizes, etc, can be found by clicking the tab for My Writing Blog or at  Woven Under Western Skies.

A Cup of Christmas Cheer is a 2 volume set available only from Guideposts and it's October 2013 release has been so successful that the publisher has sold out of all copies. That was a surprise to me as I'd held a very successful Book Signing at the Montmartre Library and had requests for more books than I had on hand.

But with so many people trying to order the books from Guideposts Online Store and getting a "Sorry, we're sold out" notice, the publisher decided to go for a second print run. I'll be getting my order from this 2nd batch any day now although I'm not sure when it will be available to the general public. Soon, I hope.

Meanwhile, I'm thankful for Guideposts Books having faith in my writing and including me in this wonderful collection of Christmas stories.

Jessie's Blog from Indonesia

Back on June 22nd, I blogged about Jessie flying to Indonesia until January 2014.

Since then, she has Skyped with us several times, trying to hold up photographs to her laptop videocam so we can see where she lives. It was good, but not the best. Since then, she and the second Canadian team member have started a blog about their life and adventures...

Musings From Indonesia - the inner thoughts of two canadians adventuring, volunteering, and living, in beautiful indonesia

If the link doesn't work, try http://musingsfromindonesia.wordpress.com/

It made my day when I read the post of Jessie finally checking something off her bucket list - the chance to see and photograph primates in the wild! Wahoo!!!

And the current post is how 2 Canadians cope with a not-so-Canadian Thanksgiving.

If you get a chance, leave a comment. Being so far from home, I know they'd love to hear from you.

Slideshow Test

I made a Tribute to a Father slideshow as a Father's Day gift to Nelson this year, and although the day is long past, I can't seem to find the slideshow itself. However, I had posted it as an education in making a slideshow over on my Inkwell Inspirations group blog, so I have the html coding. I'm posting it here to see if it works.

If this doesn't work, I'm not sure how I can retrieve it. I had it on a flash drive, but JJ had it with him when he left for Street Invaders on Sunday and I'll be gone before he gets back. I'm trying to make a DVD of photos, etc to bring to Mom in Ontario. I guess this slideshow really is an education for me.

Jessie's Flying to Indonesia

Do you remember when we went to Calgary in April for Jessie's convocation?

Well, she's now been out of college for 2 months and by the time you read this she'll have left the country and be on her way to Indonesia - if not already there. I feel like bawling.

I'm thrilled for her - really, I am. And so proud of her. She applied for one of 16 internship positions with Samaritan's Purse for an overseas mission. So did 71 other applicants.

When we saw Jessie in Calgary, she'd made it to the short list and by the beginning of May she texted to say she got the internship. And in case you're wondering, yes, this is the same organization that collects for the Operation Christmas Child every November.

The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind of preparations. Her passport wouldn't expire for 3 months after she got back, but they wanted her to get a new one before she left Canada. Just in case.

She needed a physical, shots, and lots of paperwork completed. Just when she thought she was done, she'd text that she had more stuff to do.

A couple hours ago she texted with the details:

• Leave Calgary tomorrow at 0700
• Fly to Vancouver
• Fly to LA
• Fly for 20 hrs to Singapore
• Fly to Indonesia
• Arrive Monday morning local time (not sure what time that is here)

And she won't be back until the new year.

Yes, that's right... she won't be back until January 2014 since the mission lasts 7 months. Minimum. *sniff

When we asked what she'll be doing, she texted, I'll be doing sustainable agriculture research including vermiculture and pig farming...

In case you're wondering, vermiculture is using earthworms to compost kitchen scraps into soil. We practiced it when we lived in Ontario and it works great. The worm casings help create a nutrient-rich compost that goes back into the garden. (Don't add add meat scraps, citrus or banana peels, though.) So it sounds like she'll be getting her hands dirty. Heh.

I just went to the Samaritan's Purse Canada website and Jessie is listed as an intern on their blog which talks about the 2013 interns and says in part:

These interns will support Samaritan's Purse and local partners by researching and applying sustainable agriculture and natural farming techniques, developing training materials for future community use, and helping our local partner develop results-based management skills.

And then it has her name listed like this:

Jessica Draper

Jessica is from Montmartre, Saskatchewan, and graduated with a Human Services degree from Rocky Mountain College in Calgary, Alberta. She has a passion for volunteering and non-profit work.

*sniff - I'm so proud of her. And I miss her already although she's still in Calgary as I write this. 

Please remember Jessie in your prayers - not only for a safe flight en route, but her well-being while she's away.

I'm going to miss texting her. I need a hug.