I went outside with the kids this afternoon. It started as a job. We had finished another row of wood and I couldn't reach the top of the next row. My oldest daughter offered her help (in capris and my housecoat) as I climbed up on the chair on my tiptoes to reach for the afternoon's firebox fuel. When the job was completed I look around, for my son had joined us and I couldn't find where the kids had wandered off to. They were off somewhere in the back of the property. I decided to set aside my work and trudged through the still deep yet melting snow to see what they were doing.
A chickadee caught my attention as it fluttered from branch to branch almost in a conversational dance. He cocked his head in a way that seemed to suggest a salutation of some sort. We followed squirrel tracks around and around and around the yard. I looked up to the clear blue sky and let the sun fall on my face, enjoying the quiet sounds of nature. As I turned around and saw my house bathed in warm sunlight, icicles dripping with the remnants of a bitterly cold January, I was struck with awe.
It is a beautiful creation that God has made for us. It is wonderful redemption that God offers us. It so permeates all our lives that we see it each year in the renewal of nature, in the cycles of life. The old melting away, the new bursting forth with vibrant colour and strength.
O Glorious Spring, we wait for your arrival with expectant hearts (and cold feet).
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Barbeque Anyone?
Well, it's 10:45 pm and we just came in from hooking up the propane to the house. Yes, the propane. We live miles from civilized society, there's no delivery system of natural gas here. So, there's propane and it runs our tankless hot water heater, fridge and stove. Outside of electricity, it's the most important source of energy for our house. And we run out of it about every 4 weeks! Just like the firebox for heat, we need to maintain the propane so that we can heat our water and cool our food. It's a bit of a pain and at times I remember my suburban life of not remembering.
I have to admit that we are somewhat unprepared to live in the country in Northern Ontario. We drive a minivan, not a four-wheel drive SUV, we don't have a truck or trailer (key in the transportation of things like...oh... propane tanks which can't be put in enclosed vehicles) and up until a couple weeks ago I didn't even own a pair of long underwear. We didn't think about how we would get a new propane tank here in the first place. Let's just say that the past couple months have involved calling friends upon discovery of the empty propane tank and asking them if they would kindly drive the 25 minutes to our house to get the tank, drive another 15 minutes to the exchange depot and well, you get the picture.
A solution had to be found for this problem and buying a brand new Ford Explorer Sporttrac XE in pearlized black with a bed extender and heated seats and moonroof wasn't an option. Fortunately my husband, ever the industrious man, called the propane company which furnishes the store out here in Goulais and they said for an small fee they would deliver the propane to us! Perfect, so now we can get it here.
The countdown had begun as we knew it had been about 4 weeks since last begging a friend to come and bring us propane. We were trying not to use too much for fear of running out. So, the propane was delivered today and waiting for my husband to hook it up when he got home. I bathed the kids, and cooked our lasagna and as I pulled the cooked dinner out of the oven discovered that we had finally run out. God's grace or good timing? Now all I had to do was wait for Darren to come home and magically put on the tank...or whatever it is that he does.
Darren got home tonight at 10pm and I decided that I would come out while he performed the installation...moral support. So there we are, in the dark, Darren dragging the hundred pound tank over the snowbank and around to the back of the house. The part of the house that faces 100's of acres of crown land. It is at this point in the story that I should mention the wolves. We heard a pack of wolves howling last night and they sounded mighty close to our street! So here we are, at the back of the house in the dark. Didn't have a flashlight and couldn't find the lantern so I'm standing with a mirror trying to reflect the light shining from the bathroom window into the area where Darren is working. Oh, and holding a pipe wrench to fend off the wolves...should they come.
As I'm sure you can deduce. you are reading this blog post so we did not get eaten by any wolves. And, we were successful in restoring some of our beloved amenities (that would have just been provided without thinking had we remained in suburbanville). It's kind of annoying to me that we have to do it, especially when its cold and late and dark. BUT, it did provide my husband and I with a good laugh...and hopefully you too. Isn't that what life should be about?
And I thought propane was just for barbeques!
I have to admit that we are somewhat unprepared to live in the country in Northern Ontario. We drive a minivan, not a four-wheel drive SUV, we don't have a truck or trailer (key in the transportation of things like...oh... propane tanks which can't be put in enclosed vehicles) and up until a couple weeks ago I didn't even own a pair of long underwear. We didn't think about how we would get a new propane tank here in the first place. Let's just say that the past couple months have involved calling friends upon discovery of the empty propane tank and asking them if they would kindly drive the 25 minutes to our house to get the tank, drive another 15 minutes to the exchange depot and well, you get the picture.
A solution had to be found for this problem and buying a brand new Ford Explorer Sporttrac XE in pearlized black with a bed extender and heated seats and moonroof wasn't an option. Fortunately my husband, ever the industrious man, called the propane company which furnishes the store out here in Goulais and they said for an small fee they would deliver the propane to us! Perfect, so now we can get it here.
The countdown had begun as we knew it had been about 4 weeks since last begging a friend to come and bring us propane. We were trying not to use too much for fear of running out. So, the propane was delivered today and waiting for my husband to hook it up when he got home. I bathed the kids, and cooked our lasagna and as I pulled the cooked dinner out of the oven discovered that we had finally run out. God's grace or good timing? Now all I had to do was wait for Darren to come home and magically put on the tank...or whatever it is that he does.
Darren got home tonight at 10pm and I decided that I would come out while he performed the installation...moral support. So there we are, in the dark, Darren dragging the hundred pound tank over the snowbank and around to the back of the house. The part of the house that faces 100's of acres of crown land. It is at this point in the story that I should mention the wolves. We heard a pack of wolves howling last night and they sounded mighty close to our street! So here we are, at the back of the house in the dark. Didn't have a flashlight and couldn't find the lantern so I'm standing with a mirror trying to reflect the light shining from the bathroom window into the area where Darren is working. Oh, and holding a pipe wrench to fend off the wolves...should they come.
As I'm sure you can deduce. you are reading this blog post so we did not get eaten by any wolves. And, we were successful in restoring some of our beloved amenities (that would have just been provided without thinking had we remained in suburbanville). It's kind of annoying to me that we have to do it, especially when its cold and late and dark. BUT, it did provide my husband and I with a good laugh...and hopefully you too. Isn't that what life should be about?
And I thought propane was just for barbeques!
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