July
Journaling
1. Day ten: second sea day.
The second part of the on-board behind the scenes excursion of the theatre,
kitchen, bakery, laundry, and supply storage. Very interesting. It’s also
Canada Day. We dressed in red and brought the flags to dinner again.
2. Day eleven: Kiel, Germany
again, so we stayed on board. I had a Bali foot massage and pedicure.
3. Day twelve: Copenhagen,
Denmark. We did a hop on hop off Royal City bus tour. It was nice to see the
little mermaid but it was otherwise unremarkable and the stops weren’t clearly
marked to get back on, so we took a cab back to the ship so we wouldn’t miss it
and also it was raining. The weather changed every five minutes there. That
evening we rewatched the theatre show Aziza with this amazing contortionist. We
heard our three-year-old granddaughter broke her leg on the trampoline. This
kind of fracture is common in preschoolers, apparently.
4. Day thirteen: fourth and
final sea day. Packed, dinner at Butcher’s Cut. They didn’t serve butter with
the lobster so it wasn’t very good. I guess I compare it to the Keg which is
much better. And for it being the only specialty restaurant on board this ship,
they should have chosen a better location without a view of the lifeboats.
5. Day fourteen: Tallinn,
Estonia. I liked this place; it has a language closest to Finnish so I could
make out most signs. Everything is cheaper there so many Finns go over by ferry
to buy alcohol and other things. We also went to a KGB prison which didn’t
close down until 1991. It was near the Russian embassy which had a bunch of
signs protesting the war in Ukraine.
6. Day fifteen: Returned to
Helsinki. We had the morning here, so my sister invited us for a beautiful
Finnish brunch. Then we had a long return flight home. We flew on Finnair and
American Airlines. I watched two movies because I couldn’t sleep well. We had a
layover in Chicago. We were awake 24 hours. Glad to get home.
7. So. Much. Laundry. My mom
was dropped off by my cousin. She was in London with my aunt the whole time.
8. I pulled a muscle in my
leg so I’m limping around.
9. Back at church. Picked up
the grandkids for VBS this coming week. The little one has a cast but can
weight bear a little bit.
10. First day of VBS; the
theme is Keepers of the Kingdom about the armor of God and the two kingdoms. I’m
in charge of snacks this week. We took the kids swimming today and we covered
the little one’s cast and dipped her ‘like a teabag’.
11. The busiest day for
snacks this week because it is baking and we only have two hours to make enough
for 80 people. Then I go out to the grocery store to get the food for the
following day.
12. Went for another swim
today after VBS and I swam too.
13. The kids had VBS then the
older ones were taken to a trout pond to try to catch fish, but only one of the
adults caught four, and none for anyone else. It was her first time. We ate
them and they were good.
14. Final day of VBS and then
we had a hot dog lunch for the kids and their parents. Our daughter and her
husband came to pick up the kids on their way home from a few nights away
together.
15. Finally a calm and quiet
day for the first time after our trip.
16. Church. I was on coffee
time, and there was a lot of leftover stuff. I also baked an apple cake.
17. Our daughter is visiting
her boyfriend in Colorado for the weekend and meeting his dog, Aldo.
18. Guest speaker at church,
then we had him over for lunch. It was Roger Fellows, whom we’ve known for
thirty years.
19. My mom had an appointment
with a kidney specialist a year and a half after her acute renal failure.
That’s a bit ridiculous. Went to Hamilton to help out and will stay overnight.
My mom is coming too, but it’s harder for her with CPAP and things like that.
The three-year-old is starting to weight-bear.
20. Took the grandkids to
Giant Tiger to buy hats and sunglasses for the kids in Uganda. Of course they
got some too.
21. Women’s ministry meeting.
Finally back to my podcasts after a month. Some are missing. I’ll have to
re-record them.
22. Church then out to Pickle
Barrel with our travel companions for lunch.
23. Taking my mom to the
hospital for a scheduled iron infusion. It should top her up for ahile.
24. The cleaning lady is
coming today, but we’ll be out in Hamilton for two days.
25. The two older kids are at
gymnastics camp all week, so it’s just the three-year-old with the broken leg
with us during the day. It’s also our 37th wedding anniversary, but
we’ll celebrate on the weekend. I’ll post our wedding photo and a recent one.
She is weight bearing quite well and can scooch up and down the stairs on her
butt.
26. Trying to figure out how
to reduce the price of my book on amazon.ca They are charging over $80 for a
paperback copy, whereas it started out at $21 and I’d be happy with $9.99 They
are not an easy company to work with.
27. Going out to the Keg for
our anniversary dinner. Our daughter is coming home for the weekend for a
concert.
28. Had an awning installed
on the deck for more shade. It’s almost back to normal after the fire in
mid-April.
30. Church this morning.
Concerned about my mom’s health. An x-ray showed calcification of both her
carotid arteries and aorta. I contacted the cardiologist to see about
increasing her blood thinners. No change.
31. Organized my spices into
a drawer instead of a cupboard for accessibility. Much better. Dropping our
daughter off at the train. She won’t be back until Thanksgiving.
