New Friends and New Names.

We had Gma's pancakes for breakfast. Same old recipe. I showed Micah the OLD cookbook. I think it looks like I poured the pancake batter on it, it looks so bad.
Then Jim wanted to study the WT with the boys. (LONNGGG study but the boys endured.)
The boys are enjoying sign language a lot. Again, they prepared hard to answer on Sunday. Darren's 2nd answer was " Old friends bad influence. Need new friends."
Micah's answer was " People know you United (Connected with) Jehovah". He wanted to make sure he used Jehovah's name in his comment. It's a challenge commenting on camera, but they did it! Not a bit shy about it.

Since they put so much effort into signing at the meetings, they saw everyone at the meetings have sign names and wanted ones of their own. A sign name is one that a deaf person gives you. Usually they know you well and give you a name fitting your personality, likes, etc. Joan and Joe are a deaf couple in our hall the boys met. Joan gave most of us our sign names. The boys tried to meet them and talk with them at the meetings. So, Joan gave them new sign names! What an awesome gift! Darren's is a D like a tall sign, and Micah's is an M on his dimples. So, the next time they go to a meeting in ASL they can say in sign, "Hi my name is (M or D). I'm learning Sign Language."

After the meeting we were invited over to friends. for pizza and fun. Micah and Darren are enjoying their boys, Tristin and Austin. Julie is one of our regular pioneers and Houston is an huge asset in our congregation, great at techy stuff for ASL.

After Pizza, enjoying a 4 way WII game. Great pizza and fun!

One more day in Winnipeg. We will try to pack as much in as we can in one day. I don't think they are bored anyway! Monday sledding and packing for home. :(

Fun and a Friend with Bunnies.

We finally have snow! Not just a dusting. It has been one unusual winter without huge snow drifts. I think we were just sharing the fun with all the provinces and states around us. So, Gpa Jim had a huge job snowblowing all of it. But he had a willing helper!

Once the driveway was cleared we went to our Human friends home. (Jim kindly did the neighbors. We thought he must be away because he is usually on top of things, only to find out he was sleeping in!)

Our "Human" friend has 4 bunnies. If you look at her face, you can tell, she LOVES all of them!

That is an "Awe" face, not a bad picture! We even got to feed them a treat.
After good food and good friend time, we went shopping, (Boxing day and we couldn't pass up all the deals out there.)

I GOT MY NEW WASHER AND DRYER!!!

Well, I do have to wait for delivery, but on Jan 9th-Bob's your uncle! I will have them!! YIPEE! Now, if I only had them to do the boys laundry, we would be happy campers you can bet!

Simple Ways to Keep 2 Boys Busy

TAKE THEM SLEDDING .

GIVE THE (almost) 14 YEAR OLD A VIDEO GAME TO GET HOOKED ON.

AND GIVE THE 8 YEAR OLD A HARD HAT AND A BALL TO STAND ON!

Music to my ears.

These are some musically inclined boys! We were playing pick-up-sticks and it ended up being a jam session-practicing their rhythm I guess. The game went by the wayside, for sure.

So, I decided to call over a person with a bit more music ability than I have for sure. It was a fun Friday! Except maybe for his son to the far left. I think he has heard his Dad's singing a few times.

And some more new friends to remember. Madison, Wayne and Matthew (Played Guestures and Madison is awesome! She helped our side win!! )

Practicing ASL

My "English" visitors have been learning a lot of ASL! Tuesday was service with our sign language group. Our lone Pioneer Brother "Scott" was our leader and their teacher for the day. Not sure what words they learned from him! But hopefully, the helpful ones. I think he at least taught them their numbers.

They were dressed and ready for service in winter in Winnipeg. Not a bad day, they did experience Tim Horton's. They have learned that there are almost as many Tim Horton's as there are gas stations. (Coffee shop in Canada-named after a hockey player)

Wednesday we practiced our comments for the meeting. Darren raises his hand. Micah calls on him (Finger spelling his name) and then focus's the camera on Darren (If you don't have a camera to practice with you can use a hockey stick) . Then Darren signs his answer. We were successful in one comment from Micah and 2 from Darren! What troopers!!!

They have been signing to me all week. At the stores, at home. They will come home with signs that I certainly didn't teach them! But, if you ever have the flu, they know how to describe it! (Thanks to the young friends in the congregation!)

Day 2 Lovin it!

We had such a fun day! We looked up things to do in Winnipeg to plan our week. We will pretty busy, if we get to do everything, for sure!
We had to start the day with a game. So we chose, Simpson's Clue and "You might be a Redneck, if...". Darren was the 1st to get his hounddog, sattelite dish, jerky, tv, recliner and flyswatter so he is the official "Redneck" for the day.
Then, it was on to the slopes. Well, in Winnipeg they are really just hills, but the boys had a real riot heading down the hills. We went with a friend and her 8 year old daughter, Kylie. They begged for more, but since we didn't want to end up with a Gma Icicle, we went for something warm at a local bookstore/coffee shop. Micah had leaves all over his hat. I asked him if he was keeping them, or if I could take them off. His reply, "Yes, I'm naming them!"
The boys cam home to Wii games, and the ultimate Pick-up-stick game. Again, Darren won. Whats up with that? And, yes I tried.
And after the movie Mr Beans Holday is over, it's off to bed for another busy day.
And, for you mom, yep... the boys commented. Micah once and Darren 3 times! They have been signing to me all day!

YIPPEE!!! THEY ARE HERE! But they are gone :(

I don't often get to see my grandkids because we live so far away. So, my son and daughter in law gave me the BEST they could give! They loaned me their boys for 10 whole days! They even brought them to me, drove up and back in two days! WOW! Am I ever blessed!

I got to spend Saturday with the whole family. But sorry they had to leave so quick.

Okay, now we start the fun. Not without a disclaimer, boys. "What happens at Gma Cheri's STAYS at Gma Cheri's!"

First project is Sign Language. We were preparing comments for the meeting. We need a lot of techy stuff to even prepare. I can't imagine what it would be like even 20 years ago!

We have had several "visitors" to our little congregation, most are scared to even try to comment. But not these guys! Micah had his answer ready and Darren his 4 answers.



I might just loose their passports so that I can keep them! New adventures today!

My "Human" family

Here you go Darcie! You asked for it! I will have a few problems with the pictures because they are picture shy. So, I scammed some from my picture archives!



I met my "Human" family a few years back. You know when you meet some people, they are just so MUCH fun and SO encouraging to be with, you can't even believe they want to be with you too? Well, that is my "Human" family. We are just a great match!

We have this strange relationship, but it works for us! I adopted Karen's mom as mine! I told her I wanted her as my "Mom" and she agreed. So, we tell people that I am the one child she had that never gave her an ounce of pain or problems.! She just forgot she had me.
Karen agreed to let her be my mom -as long as I am the oldest. Easy deal!

Karen's loves coffee, Loves her family (will do ANYthing for them!) Is an awesome grandma to her 3 grandkids. And struggles with some of the same things I do. She has one thing I don't. She has this infectious laugh! I even downloaded it on my phone! You can pick her out of any crowd. Just wait...... there it is! Karen's here!

Before Sign language, we spent nearly every Sat together-the 4 or 5 of us. Jim and I, Karen and Kelly-her daughter. And whoever else was nearby. We have walked, talked, exercised and ate together!

So, about 2 years ago, Kelly agreed to go with me on an "adventure!" I wanted to go to Omaha to see my granddaughter's baptism and she was willing to travel 11 hours with me and listen to my "Stories" for 4 days! (FYI You can make it all the way from WInnipeg to Omaha on a Starbucks Venti!) She met my family and still likes me!

We will never forget that trip! We laughed ourselves silly, and the phrase "Over the bridge through the lights, left, left" is forever burned in our brains. (If you want the details -that is another blog.)

We joined sign language together-made all our ASL classes together. (How come she is way better?) She makes her mark wherever she goes and our congregation loves her! She can make any pressure filled day be a "No Stress Buddy" day!

Kelly and I have two of the same weaknesses, though. We are both directionally challenged! (Went to the downtown mall and got lost!) This is a hint to the "Over the bridge" explanation! And we both are OCD people-study our WT with a ruler stuff!

One more important thing about Kelly. She has 4 bunnies she lives with that she adores. She is a true animal friendly person. I told her the cows in the pastures on the way to Omaha were pets-all of them!

She will absolutely KILL me for putting these pictures on my blog. But what is "Gma Cheri's life without a Karen and Kelly entry! Sorry Kelly! ILY! (We'll do a bunny blog one day, K?)

One HUGE task-Phase One

On Tuesday, I had a little "I've had it!" discussion with the "Boys" (my hubby and his son). After our Family worship so that we were all in a "spiritual" frame of mind.



I know I'm fussy about things, but after all, I do live here! And, I want my house clean! We have SO much junk and some days I feel like the walls are moving in on me. Anyway, they are always so agreeable. Jim is not a complainer and Spence is just a Jim clone (Problem is getting them to follow through). Jim is great about helping, I just have to ask. And, remember this picture? I know Spence has it in him, too.

So, after our "little discussion" with printout detail, Jim took Friday off work and I posted this message on the refrigerator:

I was up early-I usually go to the gym, but I figured this would be one day I could bail and I was fairly sure I would get a workout. We have shelves in the basement office. Jim and I are both book people. We could just sit in a library or a book store all day and never get bored. Problem is, we bring them home and they accumulate. So, we build more "Storehouses" for our books. Thus the problem. All of these shelves were LOADED UP with books / VCR tapes / DVD's /Bound volumes/ Photo albums and our model car collection!


So, phase one was to go through each book and ask ourselves these questions:



1. Do I use it NOW or have I in the last year-two years-10 years?
2. Can I get the information off the Internet or at the Library?
3. Is it in the WT Library?
4. Is it a keepsake?
5. We don't even have a cassette player anymore!

I should have take a before picture. You might think this IS the before picture. Actually, its an "In progress" picture. But see the empty shelves?

The next step was up --out of the basement--out of the house! This is the "don't go to the gym reasoning I used. I was determined it would not just sit downstairs waiting to be removed. I didn't have boxes, so my "Sacks" came in handy! I bagged up the books in sacks!

After Many Many loads up and down the steps-don't make a trip without something in your hands rule, we had these piles upstairs:

We actually filled up my car two times-one all for charity. We went to the side door, they saw what we had and sent us to the Large ramp in the back because it was a Large Load! YIKES. I often take things-2 or 3 bags to drop off and get out of the house. I wanted to tell them, "we are cleaning out my parents home for them.-they are such pack rats, we thought we'd help them". But they looked at us and probably just knew that we are the parents that need the help.



Can't wait to finish it all. That was just Phase 1 in the basement!



Had LOTS of help from the "Boys"! I was SO excited to have them chipping in, really doing an AWESOME job!


As for Spence, one discussion and he not only did the dishes Wednesday-ALL of them, he emptied the dishwasher AND made us dinner on Thursday. Then did a MAJOR part in the clean-up Friday!

WOW!

As for Jim and I? We are well pleased at our efforts.

Our bodies, however, are NOT!

Looking forward to Phase 2! The upstairs office-and other book shelf.

The latest in my diet saga.

Well, I told you I would only report if it was DOWN. And here's the news:

(Notice I covered the weight!)

(Kind of ugly tights, though too)

Week one: Down 3.4

Week two: Down 1.2

Week three and four: 0000 Not down, not up. Status quo (And these weeks I was REALLY trying!

Week five: Down 1.8
(And this was the week we went to Fargo and I ate myself SILLY!-Culvers icecream, 660 calories, 42 GRAMS OF FAT! As well as Mexican-Paradiso, Famous Daves, all you can eat Valentinos buffet, and waffles every day for breakfast! WOW! Would love to keep up that diet and loose!

Week six: Down 1.0
Now, this is the week I was SURE that I would be up. We had Deep fried fish and our pioneer dinner. I knew it was a wash.
So, when the Weight Watcher lady, who unfortunately doesn't look like this lady, she is old and not in the greatest shape so, I'm not sure how she qualifies as a mentor, told me: "You did good!" I said,

"NO! THAT"S JUST WRONG! You NEVER LEARN if you NEVER have to PAY FOR YOUR SINS!!!"
Well, can't EVEN figure this diet thing out. But I know one thing, I want that sundae because apparently per my record it will make you LOOSE weight! (Look close at that scale!)

After all that eating, I am down

-7.4 LBS

I DID IT!!

In sign language service, there are many "techy" things you can do. I have my Palm phone that allows me to show videos. There are DVD players, always useful to play the DVD's of the books and the Bible. Then there are laptops. Now they are usually quite large, but the latest thing is a Netbook. Didn't think I needed one until I found out I could get one! (Thank you dear one who helped me!)

Amazing! Small enough to carry anywhere, but capable of down loading all our videos! I just LOVE IT!!!
Of course, if you never have anyone to show it to, it's really not necessary. And, my whole focus in joining a language group was to be able to help the deaf learn the Truth about Jehovah. It has been an enormous challenge!! Several factors...including the age factor.

I maintain that there is just so much stuff up there in my brain that I have a hard time fitting any more in. If I could just delete in my brain as easily as I can on the computer!!! But as is the case even with computers, seems like the WRONG stuff get's deleted!

Anyway, 2 years in, I am getting more comfortable. But I am very intimidated by my abilities. I don't want that "dear in the headlights" look from a deaf person!

I have been going with a dear friend on her study for a couple weeks. Awesome deaf woman who seems to LOVE learning. This dear sister-friend is leaving town for 6 weeks & asked me if I would take care of a study for her"I immediately said "Yes" before I realized what I was commiting to! Afterward, I also realized she is leaving this wonderful student in my hands over the holidays...you know what that means? Explain why we don't celebrate the holidays, but not in English.... in SIGN LANGUAGE???

After a HUGE amount of prayer, I decided I would give it a try. After all, Jehovah can move mountains and all he needs to do with me is move my hands in harmony with my brain, right?

I had my first responsibility today. She willingly let me come to her home. I told her, "I teach Bible 36 years. But teach English! Not sign Language! I learn Sign Language 2 years. If you not understand, think "YOU CRAZY!" Please ask what mean?" Anyway, that is not even ASL lingo, but I had to warn her.

I PASSED THE TEST! She said my signing was GOOD! And, I think she understood me! That is .... if I understood her!

YEAH YIPPEE!!! With Jehovah moving my hands, I just "Might" be able to do this! Only 6 more studies to go!

Pioneer Meeting

So, here we are. This is our group in Winnipeg Sign Language!

We have our young brother-notice he is set apart from the rest. Always a bit different he is! He will be our fill in School Overseer. Why? You see the next two, our only pioneer couple? They are deserting us for a couple months and going to Guyana, South America!! They say they are going where the need is to help out, but we know, living in Winnipeg, the REAL reason is to get away from Winnipeg Winters. So, maybe the rest of us will hang in there for the winter?

Three to Mexico.

1 to California.

There is only ONE sister left that will stick it out for the ENTIRE winter.

That is unless you think of Omaha, Nebraska as going south???

(I have asked our fill in School Overseer if he can be bribed since I have a talk in December. He says, "Give me the money and I'll let you know!") I'm in for a LONG winter!!!

So what's up.

Trying to think of a new topic. All I have on my mind is the diet thingy.
Jim is also dieting. He does a different kind. He goes on his "juice" diet. (The you can "drink and drive" kind of diet) So, after a couple days, it gets him going in the right direction. Today was his 4th day and he's ready for semi-solid food. We went for chinese tonight-he gets soup and I get vegetable's ++ stuff. It's amazing when a bowl of soup makes you ecstatic!

I am starting a new week. Back to the grind. Service, work work work, Service, Service. I travel about 30 minutes either to work or service 7 days a week. So, my dear sweet friends offered to meet at MY house tomorrow! WOW! So, it gives me at least an extra hour! Now, I will use that extra hour to clean my house because I would be mortified to have them come and my house not clean. So, am I getting extra time? Well, at least my house will be closer to clean.

I have often said, if I had a cleaning lady, it would just make more work for me because I would clean the house before she came. Heaven forbid she see my house dirty!

De Ja Vue all over again.

I do not have any pictures of myself. I choose the pictures and I know what "I" look like so "I" don't need any of "I". And, at this point, I don't want to post the old pictures because that is not what "I" look like right now and "I' don't want to think about what "I" did to myself.

This is close to how I think of myself right now. Large and wrinkly. Don't even tell me my dear daughter in law about wrinkles! And, mine are NOT smile lines, they are clearly wrinkles! Look at those sags at the top of the legs! Then there's the belly. And those tusks? That is how the "Chin hairs" feel or as I choose to call them-stray eyebrows.

And with a large......you know what. You know it's bad when you buy Extra Large nylons and they bag at the ankles but won't fit over the thighs or belly.

So, I am, once again, back to Weight Watchers. A great friend and I decided it was time.

So, we dragged another friend with us.

The only nice thing is once you have done this before and reached goal-you are now a life time member and don't pay sign up fees. But, this is one club that being a "Life-time member" may or not be something you brag about. Depending on whether you are still at your goal weight. If you are way over (as some nameless people are) people will look at you and say,

"What? Is that what your goal weight is?"

And so, we choose not to brag about it.

I hate the "Goal" thing they start you with. They set your goal at 10 percent of your weight. So, when I looked at that I said, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" That is the 1st 10 percent?

I have gone down this road so many times that I have lost count. It's very familiar. I don't like admitting that I need to do this. I seem to be like a trampoline dieter.

Reach your weight and BOUNCE back up again.

So, yes, we will do this for the __th time. And we won't talk about where we are starting or why we got here, again. I will ONLY tell the downs, you will not hear about the ups of the trampoline. But for two weeks, it's been relatively easy!

I am down 4.6 lbs. YEAH! At least it's going the right direction.

PS. Jim is fine. Took his own stitches out and is less sore. We don't let him near the roof anymore.

Beware! This is NOT pretty! Well, some of is.

We are glad Jim is alive. I mean really! You know how many times I have said that?
I walked in the door Thursday from work to hear, "Spence come here! I'm bleeding all over!" Freaked me out? You bet!
Jim has been trying to build a gazebo type room on our back deck where we can go to hide from the rain and mosquito's. He thought there was this thingy (a technical term too hard to explain 'cuz I really don't know what it was) that he needed to nail on the roof. So, he did what anyone would do, (except for me 'cuz I have a huge fear of heights and I'm not stable on flat ground), and went up the ladder to handle it.
His description was that his foot slipped and it was like he was in slow motion falling down to the deck.
Now, we really don't want to contemplate the BAD stuff that COULD HAVE happened. Like: you had a HAMMER IN YOUR HAND!!! or broken legs-arms-body-concussion-etc-etc.
Anyway, we made a trip to the walk in clinic to get him sewed up. He was a bit sore, but just 3 stitches and he was good to go.
After 3 days now this is what he looks like. (Warning! If you are squeamish, maybe look away.)

I think the lip was to make him look like a pirate growling. No, I did NOT hit him! He really did fall off the roof!

So, I spilled the gory details at the service group on Friday. Brother says to tell Jim NOT to do that again! Why? I need him. AND the congregation is short of brothers and can't afford to loose any! So, he's on the mend, although a lot sore. He says each day he actually feels worse. So, I try to encourage him and say, "Oh, that's a good sign! Means you are healing!"

Now for the "Pretty" stuff. We were privileged to have this family over last Sunday night. He gave the English talk at our hall-interpreted. Long time friends with a new little Shayla. Is she adorable or what?!?!?!

Our goal this week? Is to all stay alive and no stitches! And maybe, hopefully, wishfully finish my service time for the month.

Oh, the roof thingy to be fixed? We offered up Spence to do it. Not that he is dis "Spence" able, but because he is much younger and more agile. In my opinion, at "over" 50 you should NOT be on a roof.