2010. Here we are the last 2 months of the year. I was looking back to what happened in recent months and at present things and what was to come in the future. A lot of things to ponder on.
On Nov. 2 my sister came out for a lunch date with me and brought some treasures. The items she brought were extra things from Mom's possessions and good reminders of her.
On Nov. 3 I received a cheque from the insurance company, they paid out the balance from the fire claim. I was quite pleased with the way the insurance company was handling the claim. God provided much during this time and had people in place to do the job. I never felt like they were neglecting their responsibilites and answered my questions in proper time.
Now with the added funds I could pay off my new belongings and buy other things that I was holding off on until I had my final payment. I purchased a new sewing machine which was good timing (got it at a good sale price) and replaced my George Foreman Grill.
So with that in mind I could also take in some entertainment functions. One function was a play at the P. W. Enns Concert Hall presented by the Flatlands Theatre Company. I've attended several of their past preformances and they've always done a great job. On Nov. 10th was another function at the Concert Hall and it was a Natalie MacMaster Concert. A Concert I was really looking forward to and well worth seeing. It definitely was a highlight moment for me since I've always wanted to see her perform in person.
Then on Nov. 13 we had our CT Staff Christmas Banquet. It sure was early for a banquet, but when you work in retail it has to be done early. It was a relaxed evening with some good laughs along with gifts & prizes. This time the banquet didn't get late and everyone seemed to appreciate going home at a reasonable time.
Nov. 21 Six months since the tragic apartment fire. I took some pictures of the building again to update my album.
As I had bought things to replace the items I had lost I also accumlated a lot of boxes. Now it was time to pack them up and put them out for the recycling truck.
Nov. 25th.. one month before Christmas and we had our first snowfall. Glad I was prepared with proper winterwear and not having to buy things in a rush because of colder temperatures.
Nov. 27th Computer crashed, not quite six months since I bought it and I wasn't happy about it. Since I didn't know what to do and it beng a weekend I would have to wait till monday to place a call.
Dec. 4th my saturday off meant taking my computer into Wpg to get it checked out. The computer tech called back after checking it and it was a defective motherboard. It was under warranty, so now it just meant waiting for the part to come in. They would replace it and make sure nothing else was required before I went back to pick it up.
Dec. 8th... WSO Christmas Concert. A good performance and a relaxed evening.
Around the middle of December I got another cheque from the insurance company and that was extra due to the person liable for the fire (determined between the insurance companies).
Dec. 17th. After working a day shift I drove into Wpg to pick up the computer since it was fixed and ready to go. Being without a computer at home for 3 weeks sure was long enough. Glad the weather and hwy conditions were good. By now I had also done some Christmas shopping, as if I hadn't done enough shopping in the last 6 months. I was thankful for the ability to purchase gifts for the family.
Dec. 19th. First Christmas gathering with sisters and extended family.
Along with it being the busy season at CT and other functions to go to I was experiencing some discomfort in my legs & ankles. It seemed like my ankles had swollen up over night and I had no idea what caused it. Some mornings were slow going and by the end of the day my ankles looked pretty bad. This didn't go away quickly, but eventually they did get better in the weeks to come. Naturally as soon as I made an appointment with my doctor thats when it cleared up.
Dec. 20th had the pleasure of babysitting my grandchildren at my place. My son Diedrich dropped them off in the morning and picked them up later in the afternoon. It was a good day with them.
After a busy week at CT with the last minute Christmas shoppers I was looking forward to an actual weekend off. Boxing Day fell on a Sunday so that meant we would be closed. So glad that was the case.
Dec. 25th Christmas Day was spent in Wpg at Melody & Ryan's since they were on call at their apartment. We had a wonderful Christmas gathering with only 1 granddaughter not feeling good, which was too bad since it was her 1st Christmas. I was also thankful that the weather cooperated this time and not like Christmas Day of 2009.
Boxing Day was a relaxed day at home.
During the month of December I had also checked with the Post Office again as to how long they would keep our mail. They had really gone up and above of what was required. They decided to keep mail until the last day of December since people might be getting gifts & cards in the mail for Christmas. So on December 31st I checked with the Post Office for the last time for any mail.
So long 2010. There were many ups and downs, and I have grown stronger.
2011 will be as good as I allow it to be!
THANK YOU LORD FOR CARRYING ME THROUGH THE STORMS.
Posting the Hymn "JESUS IS ALL THE WORLD TO ME" as a seperate note. Another hymn that speaks to me.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
LIFE GOES ON
The month of September had other challenges to face, but life goes on.
All summer I had been meaning to go to Farmer's Market, but one thing after another always got in the way. So finally on Sept. 2nd I went to Farmer's Market and bought a few things. I like to have at least 1 pot of fresh green bean soup in the summer or fall and now was that opportunity.
After purchasing some new photo albums I was finally able to put my Australia trip pictures into them.
Last holiday of the summer (Labour Day) was spent at a Church picnic in Steinbach. It was a good time of games & fellowship along with some singing, devotional & bbq. The weather even cooperated this time.
During the second week of September a special song (Hymn) came to my mind a lot. The hymn "TELL IT TO JESUS" was an encouragement to me and to keep my eyes focused on Him. I guess other personal matters were a burden on my heart & mind. One situation was the disapperance of my camera. I had retrieved the camera from the fire so was glad I didn't have to replace it, but now it was gone. We determined it was stolen. So here I had to shop around again and couldn't find one similar to what I had. To this day I still miss it and prefer it to the one I have now.
On a saturday off I took advantage of some shopping in Wpg again. I needed to replace my winter boots and wanted to make sure I had warm & good quality boots. This time we shopped at the Polo Park location and since Cabela's wasn't too far from there I decided to check for boots in their store. I did make a purchase in Cabela's at a good price. Dress shopping at Polo Park was difficult again, but did get some other clothes like tops and a skirt.
September 17th I received an envelope in the mail from the insurance company. The envelope was sealed with scotch tape and after opening it and reading the letter I thought someone had tampered with my mail. I read it again and checked the dates and was wondering if something wasn't right. I tried calling my adjudicator with no answer so I emailed instead. The adjudicator was fairly quick in getting back to me and explained the letter. The amount in the letter looked familar and so everything was legit. At first I was quite upset and just wish they had worded the letter differently. It meant reading it several times in order to understand it properly. In another phone conversation with the adjudicator he was reviewing some things on the worksheets. He reassured me that it was being handled properly and that I would get whats owing in due time. He also complimented me on how organized my worksheets had been and that I had been very cooperative.
When I checked my mail I had to check at 2 locations. The main post office was still keeping mail from the Stephen Street address and so I checked with them at least twice a week. They were going past the 3 month period to hold mail, which was very nice of them. I had changed as many addresses as I could think of, but there were some that I did miss.
I also replaced some cookbooks (Company's Coming went on sale) and storybooks that interested me.
So even with all the business of replacing things it was good to celebrate my son & grandson's birthday. Both are in September. The birthday party was at my place this time on Oct. 3rd a few days after grandson's birthday.
The month of October started with a gorgeous day and on my saturday off. So I took advantage of it to clean windows and to give the car a good cleaning. It was good to be at home on my saturday off to catch up on things instead of shopping.
A few days later I picked up a fair size meat package to put into my new freezer. Now I was set for awhile.
October continued on with nice temps and special events. October 9th was a Thanksgiving supper in Wpg with Melody & Ryan at Ryan's dad & step-mom's house. This was something they've done for several years now and always something to look forward to with good times. Since I was in Wpg already I took a little bit of time for some shopping before supper. Ruby wasn't able to join us this time due to her new job.
Oct 11th & 12th were spent on a road trip to Kenora for some time away from home for 1 day and night. It was almost a last minute decision to take a short road trip plus the weather was comfortable.
Oct. 17th Time for extended family gathering for Thanksgiving, which we had in Roland this time. My siblings families are continuing to grow and only 2 of my sisters have a place big enough for famly gatherings. So this time it was their turn to drive a distance for the gathering. We had a wonderful time together.
Oct. 18th Received insurance report in the mail. After reading it through I took it to the insurance agency for signing & verification plus they had to mail it back to head office.
Another thing I had to clean out was my locker at work. I had lost my keys for the locker in the fire, so it meant cutting it with a large bolt cutter. Glad I didn't have any food in it at the time, but I had lots of papers & stuff. Some things had been in the locker for a long time, so it was time for a good clean up job.
It was also time to get the car serviced and then it was ready for winter.
Another special birthday was Ruby's 18th birthday on Oct. 23rd. She celebrated her birthday with her siblings in Wpg.
I had a concert ticket in Winkler that evening. I had purchased a season pkg of the Southern Manitoba Concerts which consists of 4 concerts from October to March. Oct 23rd was the 1st concert of the season.
Oct 27th was my day off mid week and so we took a fun day of shopping for the Christmas Shoe Box. A good thing to do and to consider others instead of myself.
Oct 29th An evening with the grandchildren while Diedrich & Judy went out for supper for their anniversary. Quite the interesting evening with the grandchildren.
Other things that I was replacing as I saw it was musical CD's and DVD movies. These weren't on my high priority list, but just something I kept my eye on as I did other shopping.
Then of course in the middle of all this I get a letter from Revenue Canada stating I couldn't claim Ruby in my income tax return. WELL they had something coming cause I had every right to claim her. It seemed like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing in regards to their procedure. (In due time that matter did get settled).
At this point life sure wasn't boring, but a good reminder for myself to keep my eyes focused on the Lord. The Lord would guide me through this as well.
By the end of October we saw good progress made at the previous apartment, new windows & doors were put in. So the building was getting closed proper for the up coming winter season.
Shortly after the fire we heard several reports as to how long it would take for them to redo the apartment. It was almost 6 months since the fire and it was obvious that no one would be moving in until spring or early summer. There were only a few people from the apartment that I knew and saw them in passing just a few times besides the 2 women from Church. The one thing I had to work on was my thoughts & attitude when I saw the person responsible for the fire. I prayed about it often that I wouldn't get angry or bitter towards him. Again it meant staying focused on the Lord and how I should act or react.
In closing this post a song comes to mind; "TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS"
CHORUS;
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.
All summer I had been meaning to go to Farmer's Market, but one thing after another always got in the way. So finally on Sept. 2nd I went to Farmer's Market and bought a few things. I like to have at least 1 pot of fresh green bean soup in the summer or fall and now was that opportunity.
After purchasing some new photo albums I was finally able to put my Australia trip pictures into them.
Last holiday of the summer (Labour Day) was spent at a Church picnic in Steinbach. It was a good time of games & fellowship along with some singing, devotional & bbq. The weather even cooperated this time.
During the second week of September a special song (Hymn) came to my mind a lot. The hymn "TELL IT TO JESUS" was an encouragement to me and to keep my eyes focused on Him. I guess other personal matters were a burden on my heart & mind. One situation was the disapperance of my camera. I had retrieved the camera from the fire so was glad I didn't have to replace it, but now it was gone. We determined it was stolen. So here I had to shop around again and couldn't find one similar to what I had. To this day I still miss it and prefer it to the one I have now.
On a saturday off I took advantage of some shopping in Wpg again. I needed to replace my winter boots and wanted to make sure I had warm & good quality boots. This time we shopped at the Polo Park location and since Cabela's wasn't too far from there I decided to check for boots in their store. I did make a purchase in Cabela's at a good price. Dress shopping at Polo Park was difficult again, but did get some other clothes like tops and a skirt.
September 17th I received an envelope in the mail from the insurance company. The envelope was sealed with scotch tape and after opening it and reading the letter I thought someone had tampered with my mail. I read it again and checked the dates and was wondering if something wasn't right. I tried calling my adjudicator with no answer so I emailed instead. The adjudicator was fairly quick in getting back to me and explained the letter. The amount in the letter looked familar and so everything was legit. At first I was quite upset and just wish they had worded the letter differently. It meant reading it several times in order to understand it properly. In another phone conversation with the adjudicator he was reviewing some things on the worksheets. He reassured me that it was being handled properly and that I would get whats owing in due time. He also complimented me on how organized my worksheets had been and that I had been very cooperative.
When I checked my mail I had to check at 2 locations. The main post office was still keeping mail from the Stephen Street address and so I checked with them at least twice a week. They were going past the 3 month period to hold mail, which was very nice of them. I had changed as many addresses as I could think of, but there were some that I did miss.
I also replaced some cookbooks (Company's Coming went on sale) and storybooks that interested me.
So even with all the business of replacing things it was good to celebrate my son & grandson's birthday. Both are in September. The birthday party was at my place this time on Oct. 3rd a few days after grandson's birthday.
The month of October started with a gorgeous day and on my saturday off. So I took advantage of it to clean windows and to give the car a good cleaning. It was good to be at home on my saturday off to catch up on things instead of shopping.
A few days later I picked up a fair size meat package to put into my new freezer. Now I was set for awhile.
October continued on with nice temps and special events. October 9th was a Thanksgiving supper in Wpg with Melody & Ryan at Ryan's dad & step-mom's house. This was something they've done for several years now and always something to look forward to with good times. Since I was in Wpg already I took a little bit of time for some shopping before supper. Ruby wasn't able to join us this time due to her new job.
Oct 11th & 12th were spent on a road trip to Kenora for some time away from home for 1 day and night. It was almost a last minute decision to take a short road trip plus the weather was comfortable.
Oct. 17th Time for extended family gathering for Thanksgiving, which we had in Roland this time. My siblings families are continuing to grow and only 2 of my sisters have a place big enough for famly gatherings. So this time it was their turn to drive a distance for the gathering. We had a wonderful time together.
Oct. 18th Received insurance report in the mail. After reading it through I took it to the insurance agency for signing & verification plus they had to mail it back to head office.
Another thing I had to clean out was my locker at work. I had lost my keys for the locker in the fire, so it meant cutting it with a large bolt cutter. Glad I didn't have any food in it at the time, but I had lots of papers & stuff. Some things had been in the locker for a long time, so it was time for a good clean up job.
It was also time to get the car serviced and then it was ready for winter.
Another special birthday was Ruby's 18th birthday on Oct. 23rd. She celebrated her birthday with her siblings in Wpg.
I had a concert ticket in Winkler that evening. I had purchased a season pkg of the Southern Manitoba Concerts which consists of 4 concerts from October to March. Oct 23rd was the 1st concert of the season.
Oct 27th was my day off mid week and so we took a fun day of shopping for the Christmas Shoe Box. A good thing to do and to consider others instead of myself.
Oct 29th An evening with the grandchildren while Diedrich & Judy went out for supper for their anniversary. Quite the interesting evening with the grandchildren.
Other things that I was replacing as I saw it was musical CD's and DVD movies. These weren't on my high priority list, but just something I kept my eye on as I did other shopping.
Then of course in the middle of all this I get a letter from Revenue Canada stating I couldn't claim Ruby in my income tax return. WELL they had something coming cause I had every right to claim her. It seemed like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing in regards to their procedure. (In due time that matter did get settled).
At this point life sure wasn't boring, but a good reminder for myself to keep my eyes focused on the Lord. The Lord would guide me through this as well.
By the end of October we saw good progress made at the previous apartment, new windows & doors were put in. So the building was getting closed proper for the up coming winter season.
Shortly after the fire we heard several reports as to how long it would take for them to redo the apartment. It was almost 6 months since the fire and it was obvious that no one would be moving in until spring or early summer. There were only a few people from the apartment that I knew and saw them in passing just a few times besides the 2 women from Church. The one thing I had to work on was my thoughts & attitude when I saw the person responsible for the fire. I prayed about it often that I wouldn't get angry or bitter towards him. Again it meant staying focused on the Lord and how I should act or react.
In closing this post a song comes to mind; "TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS"
CHORUS;
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Worksheets Submitted & Summer Goes On
(MONTH OF AUGUST)
As I said in my previous post that I had not tallied up my worksheets towards the end of my holidays. After making much progress during my holidays I did tally up the worksheets before going back to work. If I had tallied them up right in the beginning of my holidays I would have been discouraged from continuing with pricing items. I was over my insurance coverage and now didn't know what to do, should I continue on or stop. So I contacted the adjudicator and he advised me to continue with my list. As an after thought I realized I should have changed my insurance coverage when I moved from Winkler to Morden since Ruby was back with me and therefore had more household items. I did continue with my list and it seemed like I was still adding things to it as I tried to remember what was in every room, cupboard and corner. I also rewrote the insurance worksheet pages since they had to be categorized properly . The adjudicator assured me that whatever amount I went over would be submitted to the other party's insurance (person liable for the fire).
My goal had been to submit the worksheets at the end of my holidays, but that didn't happen. So I kept at it for another week and really tried to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I knew there was a good chance I would forget something, it wouldn't be 100% accurate.
As I get back to work after my holdiays I was also needing to adjust to my new orthotics and my shoes were still not the most comfortable. I really thought that after 2 months of wearing the shoes it wouldn't bother my feet, but my toes were hurting from the change. I changed footwear for a few days and tried returning the shoes with no success. So I finally went back to Wal Mart and bought a pair of Dr. Scholl's shoes which I've worn before. (After the fire I needed footwear, so didn't take enough time to try on several pairs of shoes. Another after thought).
August 9th, 10th and 11th were some days off again so I could make final adjustments to the insurance worksheets before submitting them.
August 10th... insurance worksheets completed and were sent off by courier when I brought them to the insurance agency. I had submitted 40 pages plus photo copied receipts of the purchases I had made after the fire. It was a great relief knowing I had finished my part. Now it lay in the hands of the insurance company. I was hoping & praying that I'd be reimbursed in good time.
I had heard stories of other fire victims still dealing with their insurance claims 1 year after a fire incident.
I was really hoping that this wouldn't be the case for me. I did get paid in due time. (More in another post).
We also had a heat wave during these 3 days that I had off, so I was glad to be at home and not at work.
August 11th..... My celebration on finishing the worksheets was going for a pedicure. This was my first time for a pedicure so it was a good treat and well worth it.
Now that I didn't have to do anymore pricing I could concentrate on other things, but just because the pricing had come to an end the shopping to replace items still wasn't finished. As I was continuing to replace things I was observing prices more then usual. Now I was more interested in finding things on sale or waiting for a sale. Plus any larger purchase items would have to wait till I got another cheque from the insurance company. Another thing I wanted to do was take a bit of a holiday away from home. So I checked some tourist spots for Manitoba on the internet.
Besides planning a holiday I also started going through more photos to put into my new albums. My sister Ruth had given me some photo albums that she had extra's of from Mom's belongings. Some of them were useful.
Like I said before I wouldn't be 100% accurate in listing my items and wouldn't you know it there were some things that came to mind in the weeks following. It was too late to add those items to my claim. Once the insurance worksheets were submitted it was a done deal.
After another 8 days of work I was ready for a holiday and just take it easy with no worries of anything. I booked a yurt at Spruce Woods Provincial Park for 3 days August 22nd - 25th. The first day we were there was a very hot day which was a Sunday. After taking a bit of a tour through the park we went to the beach to cool off. Then we went back to our campsite (yurt) for the remainder of the evening. We got settled in and checked out the wood supply for the fire pit. Ruby enjoyed chopping wood and getting the fire going.
On the second day(monday) we toured the area some more and took a walk to the sand dunes. We also took a horse wagon ride that took us to the sand dunes and down another trail. It was a cooler day with a little bit of rain.
There were several trails to walk through in the area so we took advantage of it while we were there. It was quite scenic in the area and therefore had good opportunity to take pictures.
Tuesday was a very windy day so we took a drive to Shilo and viewed the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum. The weather did improve later in the day so we were still able to enjoy the outdoors at our campsite (yurt). We also went for another walk on a different trail. There were maps for all the trails in the area and a person could walk for hours. Some were more difficult then others.
The beds in the yurt were comfortable for the most part, but it cooled off at night quite a bit. Thankfully the yurt had a small heater in it, which we made use of once we had figured it out. It was an electrical sight and the deck of the yurt was covered. It also had a small counter on the deck. So I had taken my toaster oven and electric pot along in case we weren't able to use the fire pit. I guess you can say we weren't roughing it very much with some of the conveniences.
The weather for the most part was reasonable and we weren't confined to the yurt.
On wednesday our last day at Spruce Woods we packed up our things in good time and checked out of our site in time.
I think we did go on another walking trail before heading out to Wpg. We enjoyed our time at Spruce Woods and I would recommend it to everyone for a vacation spot.
August 25th (wednesday).... spending the night in Wpg at River Gate Inn (Bed & Breakfast). We had the Manitoba Room. It's a beautiful house which was only open as a Bed & Breakfast for another week at the time we were there. It was sold and the next owner was turning it back into a private home. All the rooms had a theme during the time it was as a Bed & Breakfast.
Since we were in Wpg we also spent some time with family (Phillip, Melody & Ryan & Lexi).
August 26th.... we had a good breakfast. Then we made use of the pool after awhile before checking out.
We stayed in the city till later in the afternoon with watching a 3D movie at the IMAX Theatre and did some shopping. By supper time we were back home and unpacked some of our things.
The next day was a catch up day with laundry & other things. Seems like the laundry pile is always a lot bigger after camping.
Plus the Corn & Apple was on this weekend 27th-29th and Ruby wanted to take in the rides.
Melody & Lexi were coming out for the weekend as well, our first overnight guests.
Saturday morning the weather was quite dreary, but the parade didn't get cancelled. At the previous apartment (damaged by fire) we wouldn't even have had to step out the door. We could have watched it right from the balcony. Now we had to walk a few blocks and find a spot to watch the parade.
We checked out a few things during the festival before going home. The rainy weather wasn't comfortable.
August 29th...(Sunday). We went to our regular Church service in the morning which meant finding a parking spot... a distance from Church. Later in the afternoon we took in the car show at the Morden Park with the rest of my family. It was a good way to end my holiday with family.
The month of August ended with work & free time. Now that the insurance worksheets were submitted I catch myself thinking "now what ??" since no more pricing needed to be done.
Through the endless hours of pricing and shopping I'm thankful for family & friends that have been my support group in words of encouragement and prayer. The Lord has put them in my life for a reason.
HIDDEN IN THE HOLLOW OF HIS BLESSED HAND,
NEVER FOE CAN FOLLOW, NEVER TRAITOR STAND;
NOT A SURGE OF WORRY, NOT A SHADE OF CARE,
NOT A BLAST OF HURRY TOUCH THE SPIRIT THERE.
STAYED UPON JEHOVAH, HEARTS ARE FULLY BLEST,
FINDING AS HE PROMISED, PERFECT PEACE AND REST.----- HAVERGAL
"YOU WILL KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU."
Isaiah 26:3
As I said in my previous post that I had not tallied up my worksheets towards the end of my holidays. After making much progress during my holidays I did tally up the worksheets before going back to work. If I had tallied them up right in the beginning of my holidays I would have been discouraged from continuing with pricing items. I was over my insurance coverage and now didn't know what to do, should I continue on or stop. So I contacted the adjudicator and he advised me to continue with my list. As an after thought I realized I should have changed my insurance coverage when I moved from Winkler to Morden since Ruby was back with me and therefore had more household items. I did continue with my list and it seemed like I was still adding things to it as I tried to remember what was in every room, cupboard and corner. I also rewrote the insurance worksheet pages since they had to be categorized properly . The adjudicator assured me that whatever amount I went over would be submitted to the other party's insurance (person liable for the fire).
My goal had been to submit the worksheets at the end of my holidays, but that didn't happen. So I kept at it for another week and really tried to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I knew there was a good chance I would forget something, it wouldn't be 100% accurate.
As I get back to work after my holdiays I was also needing to adjust to my new orthotics and my shoes were still not the most comfortable. I really thought that after 2 months of wearing the shoes it wouldn't bother my feet, but my toes were hurting from the change. I changed footwear for a few days and tried returning the shoes with no success. So I finally went back to Wal Mart and bought a pair of Dr. Scholl's shoes which I've worn before. (After the fire I needed footwear, so didn't take enough time to try on several pairs of shoes. Another after thought).
August 9th, 10th and 11th were some days off again so I could make final adjustments to the insurance worksheets before submitting them.
August 10th... insurance worksheets completed and were sent off by courier when I brought them to the insurance agency. I had submitted 40 pages plus photo copied receipts of the purchases I had made after the fire. It was a great relief knowing I had finished my part. Now it lay in the hands of the insurance company. I was hoping & praying that I'd be reimbursed in good time.
I had heard stories of other fire victims still dealing with their insurance claims 1 year after a fire incident.
I was really hoping that this wouldn't be the case for me. I did get paid in due time. (More in another post).
We also had a heat wave during these 3 days that I had off, so I was glad to be at home and not at work.
August 11th..... My celebration on finishing the worksheets was going for a pedicure. This was my first time for a pedicure so it was a good treat and well worth it.
Now that I didn't have to do anymore pricing I could concentrate on other things, but just because the pricing had come to an end the shopping to replace items still wasn't finished. As I was continuing to replace things I was observing prices more then usual. Now I was more interested in finding things on sale or waiting for a sale. Plus any larger purchase items would have to wait till I got another cheque from the insurance company. Another thing I wanted to do was take a bit of a holiday away from home. So I checked some tourist spots for Manitoba on the internet.
Besides planning a holiday I also started going through more photos to put into my new albums. My sister Ruth had given me some photo albums that she had extra's of from Mom's belongings. Some of them were useful.
Like I said before I wouldn't be 100% accurate in listing my items and wouldn't you know it there were some things that came to mind in the weeks following. It was too late to add those items to my claim. Once the insurance worksheets were submitted it was a done deal.
After another 8 days of work I was ready for a holiday and just take it easy with no worries of anything. I booked a yurt at Spruce Woods Provincial Park for 3 days August 22nd - 25th. The first day we were there was a very hot day which was a Sunday. After taking a bit of a tour through the park we went to the beach to cool off. Then we went back to our campsite (yurt) for the remainder of the evening. We got settled in and checked out the wood supply for the fire pit. Ruby enjoyed chopping wood and getting the fire going.
On the second day(monday) we toured the area some more and took a walk to the sand dunes. We also took a horse wagon ride that took us to the sand dunes and down another trail. It was a cooler day with a little bit of rain.
There were several trails to walk through in the area so we took advantage of it while we were there. It was quite scenic in the area and therefore had good opportunity to take pictures.
Tuesday was a very windy day so we took a drive to Shilo and viewed the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum. The weather did improve later in the day so we were still able to enjoy the outdoors at our campsite (yurt). We also went for another walk on a different trail. There were maps for all the trails in the area and a person could walk for hours. Some were more difficult then others.
The beds in the yurt were comfortable for the most part, but it cooled off at night quite a bit. Thankfully the yurt had a small heater in it, which we made use of once we had figured it out. It was an electrical sight and the deck of the yurt was covered. It also had a small counter on the deck. So I had taken my toaster oven and electric pot along in case we weren't able to use the fire pit. I guess you can say we weren't roughing it very much with some of the conveniences.
The weather for the most part was reasonable and we weren't confined to the yurt.
On wednesday our last day at Spruce Woods we packed up our things in good time and checked out of our site in time.
I think we did go on another walking trail before heading out to Wpg. We enjoyed our time at Spruce Woods and I would recommend it to everyone for a vacation spot.
August 25th (wednesday).... spending the night in Wpg at River Gate Inn (Bed & Breakfast). We had the Manitoba Room. It's a beautiful house which was only open as a Bed & Breakfast for another week at the time we were there. It was sold and the next owner was turning it back into a private home. All the rooms had a theme during the time it was as a Bed & Breakfast.
Since we were in Wpg we also spent some time with family (Phillip, Melody & Ryan & Lexi).
August 26th.... we had a good breakfast. Then we made use of the pool after awhile before checking out.
We stayed in the city till later in the afternoon with watching a 3D movie at the IMAX Theatre and did some shopping. By supper time we were back home and unpacked some of our things.
The next day was a catch up day with laundry & other things. Seems like the laundry pile is always a lot bigger after camping.
Plus the Corn & Apple was on this weekend 27th-29th and Ruby wanted to take in the rides.
Melody & Lexi were coming out for the weekend as well, our first overnight guests.
Saturday morning the weather was quite dreary, but the parade didn't get cancelled. At the previous apartment (damaged by fire) we wouldn't even have had to step out the door. We could have watched it right from the balcony. Now we had to walk a few blocks and find a spot to watch the parade.
We checked out a few things during the festival before going home. The rainy weather wasn't comfortable.
August 29th...(Sunday). We went to our regular Church service in the morning which meant finding a parking spot... a distance from Church. Later in the afternoon we took in the car show at the Morden Park with the rest of my family. It was a good way to end my holiday with family.
The month of August ended with work & free time. Now that the insurance worksheets were submitted I catch myself thinking "now what ??" since no more pricing needed to be done.
Through the endless hours of pricing and shopping I'm thankful for family & friends that have been my support group in words of encouragement and prayer. The Lord has put them in my life for a reason.
HIDDEN IN THE HOLLOW OF HIS BLESSED HAND,
NEVER FOE CAN FOLLOW, NEVER TRAITOR STAND;
NOT A SURGE OF WORRY, NOT A SHADE OF CARE,
NOT A BLAST OF HURRY TOUCH THE SPIRIT THERE.
STAYED UPON JEHOVAH, HEARTS ARE FULLY BLEST,
FINDING AS HE PROMISED, PERFECT PEACE AND REST.----- HAVERGAL
"YOU WILL KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU."
Isaiah 26:3
Saturday, 21 May 2011
BLESSINGS & MUCH MORE
A start of a new month (July) and six weeks since the tragic fire happened.
Canada Day (July 1st) consisted of an assortment of things, but not really a relaxed day. I took some pictures of the fire damaged apartment from the outside. The fire/smoke smell still lingered in the area where the fire started. It was a smell that I would probably never forget. In fact cigarette smoke probably irritated me more now then it did before the fire.
I made time to go through the remainder of totes & boxes that I had stored in a friend's garage. One tote had blankets and I was glad that they were not damaged. As I'm going through the blankets I realized they were the ones my mom had made for my children many years ago. The blankets had their names on it.... WHAT A BLESSING. A wonderful reminder of my mom for the children and something she had made with her own hands. I did take the blankets to the laundry mat to give them a good washing and dry. Other things we went through were some more photos and movies. I had quite a few VHS movies from Feature Films for Families, so I gave them to Neufelds since they had a VCR player and could test them for quality. Photo albums were thrown into the garbage after the photos were removed. I also salvaged some fabric from the totes.
The restoration/construction crew was very busy disposing of many items into the dumpsters located close to the apartment. Several windows & patio doors were boarded up as they were in the clean up stage.
As progress was made at the apartment, walls were being stripped and then the building started looking bare. We drove past the damaged apartment several times a week since it was on our way to Church or other down town shopping. Several times I had some sad feelings as I drove past thinking my belongings were still in the apartment when really I knew they weren't. Even though we had only been living in the apartment for 1 year & 3 weeks there were memories for us in that suite.
We were adjusting quite well with most things in our new apartment. Ruby was always able to lock her bike up at the other apartment, but at our new location there was no bike rack. I asked the landlord about it and he immediately looked into getting one, but had to order it in. A change in one appliance was something to get used to and that was the oven. I really missed my own oven that I had in the previous apartment. One of the donated items we received was a toaster oven and it was put into good use even to this day.
The month of July was filled with many things such as continuous days of shopping especially on my days off, so I was never bored. Every day consisted of googling items on the internet and filling out my ever increasing worksheets. Sometimes commercials on TV would jog my memory about an item or similar item that I lost in the fire or conversations about things with others would remind me of something. In those cases I would try to write the item down on paper when possible. When it came to books, cookbooks or movies it was hard to estimate how much I had. Like I said we would google things on the internet. Ruby found the Feature Films for Families website and went through the list and checked off the ones we lost plus checked the price as well. The first cookbook I replaced (which was a must) was the "Mennonite Treasury Of Recipes" and was able to buy it locally. I did add more cookbooks as I came across them at a consignment store or if they were on a good sale. I knew I wouldn't replace all of my books or cookbooks, it would only be my favorite ones if they were available.
There was also the matter of replacing my orthotics which I had in my work shoes. I had an appointment with the foot doctor on July 7th and was able to order the orthotics, plus my car needed a service job as well. So here was another day off consisting of appointments, shopping and pricing. Sometimes I wondered if it would ever end.
Then the day (July 9th) finally came when the furniture store delivered my reclining sofa and Ruby's bed. The first evening of having the reclining sofa I relaxed by watching a rented movie. At last I could put my feet up again after a long day of work. The following week was another week of appointments along with some FUN. I needed to get my eyes tested again at Focal Point to see how I was adjusting to my glasses.
July 15th was my birthday as well as my younger sister's birthday ( 3 years difference), so that was a day set aside to spend lunch with my sisters in Wpg. After lunch it was shopping time with my daughters & granddaughter. It was a fun & full day.
The next day TV cable was hooked up.
Then the following Sunday we had a special lunch fellowship at Church for a newlywed couple. This was Ruby's first opportunity of making a special cake. We were finally getting into a routine with meals & such in our own home. Another event on this day was a staff function at Meadows Minature Golf consisting of a BBQ and taking part of the rides & golf. Another fun & full day.
The following week continued on with pricing, but I also started making photo copies of receipts. The insurance company would require them along with my insurance sheets of all the listed items. Some things I wasn't able to price through the internet so it meant physically having my list with clipboard and do my pricing in the store. Even when I wasn't in my uniform shirt and doing the pricing on my own time customers would still ask me for help. The only place that I wasn't bothered by customers was when I was pricing out my grocery items at Superstore.
Besides being in the middle of summer I also had to think of winter wear and not leave it for the last minute. So on another shopping day I came across some nice winter jackets plus Ruby was with me at the time so was able to buy her a jacket as well. I'm sure the temps were quite high the day I bought the jackets, but at that price I couldn't past it by. Buying used items at the Thrift Store was an option as well, which I did for some toys & stuffed animals that would be available for the grandchildren to play with when they came over to visit.
I took 1 week of holidays at the end of July (26th-31st) so I could make better progress on my insurance worksheets. I had done so much on my worksheets already, so I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. We also had special services at Church in the beginning of the week and wanted to take part of it. I was determined to get as much done on my worksheets during the day and then go to the special service in the evening. I knew I would get overwhelmed if I did too many hours of pricing in one day.
July 26th ... received a chq in the mail from the insurance company, which was a nice surprise. I didn't think I would get another chq until I had all my insurance worksheets submitted. The timing of the chq sure relieved the stress on me in wanting to get my worksheets submitted as soon as possible. As soon as I got the chq I called and emailed the insurance adjudicator. He got back to me in a quick manner. It was good to touch base with him and give him a progress report. A few things that he appreciated from my progress was that I wasn't on his frequent caller list. He knew about my situation.... I was on my own and that I needed to work in order to support myself & Ruby, so taking time off from work for pricing etc was limited. Several times he suggested that my children help in the pricing. I knew my children were all very busy with their own work so I only asked for prices on certain items. During our conversation the adjudicator also said what the clean up bill would be which would be noted as a moving expense.... it was at a reasonable cost. As I said in my earlier posts that I felt the adjudicator was keeping me informed about things and he was looking out for me. I never felt that he wasn't taking care of matters. He proved himself many a time. The LORD had people in place for me... for which I was very thankful.
After 2 days of making very good progress I took a break to take a trip into Wpg. Ruby had been at her sister's place for a few days. Since I was in Wpg I also took a bit of time for some more shopping. Clothes shopping was an endless task, but was glad I was able to get dryer balls from Quilts Etc. We also needed to be back home for our first supper guests. It was the final service at Church for the special services and the speaker, his wife & brother-in-law were our supper guests. The services were a real blessing.
July 29th spent part of the day at home pricing my worksheet again. Now it was time for a break away from home, so we took a trip to Steinbach. Before going to Steinbach I drove to my country home by Grunthal to show Ruby where I grew up. The state of the house & property sure had changed and not for the better, it was worse. I took some pictures of the yard. I almost felt like going inside the house since it looked very abandoned, but didn't have enough courage to check the doors. If the inside wasn't kept up it would have been disheartening.
(Just recently we heard that someone else bought the place and are redoing the house. We (us sisters) were glad to hear such news. Hope to take pics this summer again).
Then off we were to Steinbach and stayed at my sister & brother-in-law's place for the night.
Friday (30th) morning we took in the parade in Steinbach. After the parade we did some shopping. Ruby also had a short visit with a friend that she hadn't seen in quite awhile. We were home by supper for a quick meal since I was going to an outside play. I enjoyed a relaxed evening at the outside play "MOSES" with Church friends.
The last day of the month was a saturday so it was a mix of things like shopping, pricing, laundry & cleaning.
Plus my holidays were extended a few more days into August which would help me a lot so I could work on my insurance worksheets some more. At this point I had not tallied up the insurance worksheets, which was probably a good thing.
Another month come & gone. It definitely was a month of challenges, blessings & much more.
So grateful that GOD is GOOD and supplied all our needs in such a timely matter.
"I can always count on God, my heavenly Father,
For He changes not; He always is the same.
Yesterday, today, forever, He is faithful,
And I know He loves me, praise His holy name!---Felten"
Canada Day (July 1st) consisted of an assortment of things, but not really a relaxed day. I took some pictures of the fire damaged apartment from the outside. The fire/smoke smell still lingered in the area where the fire started. It was a smell that I would probably never forget. In fact cigarette smoke probably irritated me more now then it did before the fire.
I made time to go through the remainder of totes & boxes that I had stored in a friend's garage. One tote had blankets and I was glad that they were not damaged. As I'm going through the blankets I realized they were the ones my mom had made for my children many years ago. The blankets had their names on it.... WHAT A BLESSING. A wonderful reminder of my mom for the children and something she had made with her own hands. I did take the blankets to the laundry mat to give them a good washing and dry. Other things we went through were some more photos and movies. I had quite a few VHS movies from Feature Films for Families, so I gave them to Neufelds since they had a VCR player and could test them for quality. Photo albums were thrown into the garbage after the photos were removed. I also salvaged some fabric from the totes.
The restoration/construction crew was very busy disposing of many items into the dumpsters located close to the apartment. Several windows & patio doors were boarded up as they were in the clean up stage.
As progress was made at the apartment, walls were being stripped and then the building started looking bare. We drove past the damaged apartment several times a week since it was on our way to Church or other down town shopping. Several times I had some sad feelings as I drove past thinking my belongings were still in the apartment when really I knew they weren't. Even though we had only been living in the apartment for 1 year & 3 weeks there were memories for us in that suite.
We were adjusting quite well with most things in our new apartment. Ruby was always able to lock her bike up at the other apartment, but at our new location there was no bike rack. I asked the landlord about it and he immediately looked into getting one, but had to order it in. A change in one appliance was something to get used to and that was the oven. I really missed my own oven that I had in the previous apartment. One of the donated items we received was a toaster oven and it was put into good use even to this day.
The month of July was filled with many things such as continuous days of shopping especially on my days off, so I was never bored. Every day consisted of googling items on the internet and filling out my ever increasing worksheets. Sometimes commercials on TV would jog my memory about an item or similar item that I lost in the fire or conversations about things with others would remind me of something. In those cases I would try to write the item down on paper when possible. When it came to books, cookbooks or movies it was hard to estimate how much I had. Like I said we would google things on the internet. Ruby found the Feature Films for Families website and went through the list and checked off the ones we lost plus checked the price as well. The first cookbook I replaced (which was a must) was the "Mennonite Treasury Of Recipes" and was able to buy it locally. I did add more cookbooks as I came across them at a consignment store or if they were on a good sale. I knew I wouldn't replace all of my books or cookbooks, it would only be my favorite ones if they were available.
There was also the matter of replacing my orthotics which I had in my work shoes. I had an appointment with the foot doctor on July 7th and was able to order the orthotics, plus my car needed a service job as well. So here was another day off consisting of appointments, shopping and pricing. Sometimes I wondered if it would ever end.
Then the day (July 9th) finally came when the furniture store delivered my reclining sofa and Ruby's bed. The first evening of having the reclining sofa I relaxed by watching a rented movie. At last I could put my feet up again after a long day of work. The following week was another week of appointments along with some FUN. I needed to get my eyes tested again at Focal Point to see how I was adjusting to my glasses.
July 15th was my birthday as well as my younger sister's birthday ( 3 years difference), so that was a day set aside to spend lunch with my sisters in Wpg. After lunch it was shopping time with my daughters & granddaughter. It was a fun & full day.
The next day TV cable was hooked up.
Then the following Sunday we had a special lunch fellowship at Church for a newlywed couple. This was Ruby's first opportunity of making a special cake. We were finally getting into a routine with meals & such in our own home. Another event on this day was a staff function at Meadows Minature Golf consisting of a BBQ and taking part of the rides & golf. Another fun & full day.
The following week continued on with pricing, but I also started making photo copies of receipts. The insurance company would require them along with my insurance sheets of all the listed items. Some things I wasn't able to price through the internet so it meant physically having my list with clipboard and do my pricing in the store. Even when I wasn't in my uniform shirt and doing the pricing on my own time customers would still ask me for help. The only place that I wasn't bothered by customers was when I was pricing out my grocery items at Superstore.
Besides being in the middle of summer I also had to think of winter wear and not leave it for the last minute. So on another shopping day I came across some nice winter jackets plus Ruby was with me at the time so was able to buy her a jacket as well. I'm sure the temps were quite high the day I bought the jackets, but at that price I couldn't past it by. Buying used items at the Thrift Store was an option as well, which I did for some toys & stuffed animals that would be available for the grandchildren to play with when they came over to visit.
I took 1 week of holidays at the end of July (26th-31st) so I could make better progress on my insurance worksheets. I had done so much on my worksheets already, so I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. We also had special services at Church in the beginning of the week and wanted to take part of it. I was determined to get as much done on my worksheets during the day and then go to the special service in the evening. I knew I would get overwhelmed if I did too many hours of pricing in one day.
July 26th ... received a chq in the mail from the insurance company, which was a nice surprise. I didn't think I would get another chq until I had all my insurance worksheets submitted. The timing of the chq sure relieved the stress on me in wanting to get my worksheets submitted as soon as possible. As soon as I got the chq I called and emailed the insurance adjudicator. He got back to me in a quick manner. It was good to touch base with him and give him a progress report. A few things that he appreciated from my progress was that I wasn't on his frequent caller list. He knew about my situation.... I was on my own and that I needed to work in order to support myself & Ruby, so taking time off from work for pricing etc was limited. Several times he suggested that my children help in the pricing. I knew my children were all very busy with their own work so I only asked for prices on certain items. During our conversation the adjudicator also said what the clean up bill would be which would be noted as a moving expense.... it was at a reasonable cost. As I said in my earlier posts that I felt the adjudicator was keeping me informed about things and he was looking out for me. I never felt that he wasn't taking care of matters. He proved himself many a time. The LORD had people in place for me... for which I was very thankful.
After 2 days of making very good progress I took a break to take a trip into Wpg. Ruby had been at her sister's place for a few days. Since I was in Wpg I also took a bit of time for some more shopping. Clothes shopping was an endless task, but was glad I was able to get dryer balls from Quilts Etc. We also needed to be back home for our first supper guests. It was the final service at Church for the special services and the speaker, his wife & brother-in-law were our supper guests. The services were a real blessing.
July 29th spent part of the day at home pricing my worksheet again. Now it was time for a break away from home, so we took a trip to Steinbach. Before going to Steinbach I drove to my country home by Grunthal to show Ruby where I grew up. The state of the house & property sure had changed and not for the better, it was worse. I took some pictures of the yard. I almost felt like going inside the house since it looked very abandoned, but didn't have enough courage to check the doors. If the inside wasn't kept up it would have been disheartening.
(Just recently we heard that someone else bought the place and are redoing the house. We (us sisters) were glad to hear such news. Hope to take pics this summer again).
Then off we were to Steinbach and stayed at my sister & brother-in-law's place for the night.
Friday (30th) morning we took in the parade in Steinbach. After the parade we did some shopping. Ruby also had a short visit with a friend that she hadn't seen in quite awhile. We were home by supper for a quick meal since I was going to an outside play. I enjoyed a relaxed evening at the outside play "MOSES" with Church friends.
The last day of the month was a saturday so it was a mix of things like shopping, pricing, laundry & cleaning.
Plus my holidays were extended a few more days into August which would help me a lot so I could work on my insurance worksheets some more. At this point I had not tallied up the insurance worksheets, which was probably a good thing.
Another month come & gone. It definitely was a month of challenges, blessings & much more.
So grateful that GOD is GOOD and supplied all our needs in such a timely matter.
"I can always count on God, my heavenly Father,
For He changes not; He always is the same.
Yesterday, today, forever, He is faithful,
And I know He loves me, praise His holy name!---Felten"
Thursday, 5 May 2011
MONTH OF JUNE (Full & Busy)
The beginning of another week of work along with continuing with pricing on insurance worksheets. I didn't know if I had a time limit for submitting my worksheets so I was really trying to finish it as soon as possible. In fact the one morning as I'm getting up for the day I didn't feel rested since it felt like my mind had been going all night. So needless to say I felt tired even before my shift at work had begun.
The one evening shift that I was working a couple that I knew came into the store that had experienced a house fire in the winter. They didn't know that I had experienced the apartment fire until I told them. They were still replacing their items. I was able to get some good advice from them and they were quite willing to help me, They've been a source of encouragement to me during this time of loss & stress. Another person that was a source of encouragement to me was Merlin from Friesen Agency. Due to work and his work schedule it took a few attempts before we were finally able to talk. So when I went into the office to talk to him I also brought my worksheets along so that I could show him how I was listing things. He said I was on the right track and told me not to rush things. Merlin had also experienced a house fire, but many years ago when he was a a young adult living at home. He could relate to fire victims and gave some good advice. He even suggested taking note of what other family members would have in their house and compare it to what I may have had. It definitely would jog ones memory. I was also glad I had taken some pictures of the apartment even though it was after the fire, but sure wish I had taken more pictures.
Pricing older items like the rocking chair & stereo was difficult. Eventually what I did for the rocking chair I googled Amish furniture and found something similar and used that price as my replacement cost. Other items I would search on the internet like Canadian Tire, Sears, Home Hardware, Future Shop etc. When I wasn't able to find it on the website I would physically go into different stores to find something similar and price it that way. I also borrowed old CT catalogues from work (general manager had them in his office) to check for items and price accordingly. My computer desk wasn't that old, but wasn't available at CT any more. (I had bought it at CT). Some weeks I did more pricing then other weeks. It all depended on my schedule and other events. So pricing was a challenge and frustrating at times. Along with that trying to get into a regular routine of cooking a meal at home was a challenge.
Shopping for furniture was another challenge.
On June 7th I ordered a reclining sofa but would have to wait several weeks before I got it since the warehouse was out of stock. (I was missing my recliner A LOT).
June 11th. I did some more clothes shopping (an endless challenge). Here too I was missing a lot of my favorite outfits.
June 12th. A BIG shopping spree in Wpg. Shopping on this day consisted of a computer, printer, clothes, beanie bag chair (for Ruby), other miscellaneous items, replaced Ruby's grad shoes and my outfit & shoes for her grad as well. The back seat of my car was FULL(no room for passenger) and the trunk was almost full. I spent a lot of money that day.
June 14th. We went to the seamstress for a fitting on Ruby's grad dress. The seamstress waited till we had shoes before she did the final alterations. After that we did some more shopping. I believe I bought a Samsung TV that day. (I lost a Samsung TV in the fire and wanted the same thing since I liked it). Anything that needed assembling Ruby did and enjoyed it. Never ask me to assemble something cause I suck at it. (Just ask my children, they'd agree). I was also looking forward to my new tupperware that I had ordered from my daughter-in-law's party.
June 17th. Day off so another day of shopping which consisted of larger items like furniture. I had applied for a retail card at Home Furniture the previous week and was approved within minutes. Plus it allowed me time to pay it off since I was waiting for some more insurance money. The furniture that I purchased at Home Furniture consisted of my bed & frame, dresser with mirror/hutch, night table, Ruby's bed & frame, small freezer and desk (for computer). They were able to deliver most of it the next day which was very nice. Ruby had to wait for her bed (not in stock when I ordered). It felt so good to sleep in a normal bed again. Besides furniture shopping I also got a haircut so I was ready for Ruby's graduation.
June 19th. Ruby's dress was ready to be picked up, We were quite pleased with the alterations.
June 22nd. Internet hook-up and glad to have that convenience at home again. It sure was going to help speed up my pricing. I also had to change my email address, which I was hoping wouldn't be necessary.
This was the week of Ruby's graduation from grade 12, so I limited myself with pricing. I wanted to make sure nothing would spoil the preparation for grad.
June 24th. RUBY'S GRAD. What an emotional day. Ruby's friend came to do her make-up and then we went to the hair stylist. I sat in and watched the hair stylist do Ruby's hair. We got into a conversation of different things and ended up telling our experience with the apartment fire. When Ruby's hair was done I was ready to pay, but she didn't take anything for it. The hair stylist said that we should do some FUN thing together. Then I lost it.... the tears flowed out of pure happiness that she would do that for someone that she didn't even know (it was the first time that I met her). (I didn't tell my story for pity sake.) Like I said I had some emotional moments that day, but in all it was a wonderful day. It was a day that I wasn't sure I would ever see since Ruby wasn't under my care for almost 4 years. (That is another story in itself, which I won't go into). After the graduation supper Ruby went along with her sister & brother back to Wpg for the weekend. Now I had time to reflect on many things (good & bad). God knew I needed to see this day. It was an answer to prayer.
June 25th. I went furniture shopping again since I still needed a dining room set. So I went to Eldon's Furniture again and was able to purchase a dining room set which was the last floor model at a good price. They delivered it the same day.
The major furniture purchases were from only 2 stores which was quite adequate. I was pleased with my choice of furniture.
Several people have asked if I had fun shopping for new things. My view on that was mixed.... in some ways it was fun and in other ways it was frustrating. I guess some of the furniture had sentimental values or just very new.
As I was checking mail at the main post office and my new mail box I was pleased with the 1 package that I got from my Aunt. My Aunt from B.C. sent an envelope of pictures as a source of encouragement to me since she didn't know which pictures I may have lost in the fire.
Amongst all of these events during the month of June I was always glad for a day of rest (Sunday).
The Lord was continuing to provide and bless. "BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING; BUT IN EVERY THING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD. AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS." Philippians 4: 6 & 7.
The one evening shift that I was working a couple that I knew came into the store that had experienced a house fire in the winter. They didn't know that I had experienced the apartment fire until I told them. They were still replacing their items. I was able to get some good advice from them and they were quite willing to help me, They've been a source of encouragement to me during this time of loss & stress. Another person that was a source of encouragement to me was Merlin from Friesen Agency. Due to work and his work schedule it took a few attempts before we were finally able to talk. So when I went into the office to talk to him I also brought my worksheets along so that I could show him how I was listing things. He said I was on the right track and told me not to rush things. Merlin had also experienced a house fire, but many years ago when he was a a young adult living at home. He could relate to fire victims and gave some good advice. He even suggested taking note of what other family members would have in their house and compare it to what I may have had. It definitely would jog ones memory. I was also glad I had taken some pictures of the apartment even though it was after the fire, but sure wish I had taken more pictures.
Pricing older items like the rocking chair & stereo was difficult. Eventually what I did for the rocking chair I googled Amish furniture and found something similar and used that price as my replacement cost. Other items I would search on the internet like Canadian Tire, Sears, Home Hardware, Future Shop etc. When I wasn't able to find it on the website I would physically go into different stores to find something similar and price it that way. I also borrowed old CT catalogues from work (general manager had them in his office) to check for items and price accordingly. My computer desk wasn't that old, but wasn't available at CT any more. (I had bought it at CT). Some weeks I did more pricing then other weeks. It all depended on my schedule and other events. So pricing was a challenge and frustrating at times. Along with that trying to get into a regular routine of cooking a meal at home was a challenge.
Shopping for furniture was another challenge.
On June 7th I ordered a reclining sofa but would have to wait several weeks before I got it since the warehouse was out of stock. (I was missing my recliner A LOT).
June 11th. I did some more clothes shopping (an endless challenge). Here too I was missing a lot of my favorite outfits.
June 12th. A BIG shopping spree in Wpg. Shopping on this day consisted of a computer, printer, clothes, beanie bag chair (for Ruby), other miscellaneous items, replaced Ruby's grad shoes and my outfit & shoes for her grad as well. The back seat of my car was FULL(no room for passenger) and the trunk was almost full. I spent a lot of money that day.
June 14th. We went to the seamstress for a fitting on Ruby's grad dress. The seamstress waited till we had shoes before she did the final alterations. After that we did some more shopping. I believe I bought a Samsung TV that day. (I lost a Samsung TV in the fire and wanted the same thing since I liked it). Anything that needed assembling Ruby did and enjoyed it. Never ask me to assemble something cause I suck at it. (Just ask my children, they'd agree). I was also looking forward to my new tupperware that I had ordered from my daughter-in-law's party.
June 17th. Day off so another day of shopping which consisted of larger items like furniture. I had applied for a retail card at Home Furniture the previous week and was approved within minutes. Plus it allowed me time to pay it off since I was waiting for some more insurance money. The furniture that I purchased at Home Furniture consisted of my bed & frame, dresser with mirror/hutch, night table, Ruby's bed & frame, small freezer and desk (for computer). They were able to deliver most of it the next day which was very nice. Ruby had to wait for her bed (not in stock when I ordered). It felt so good to sleep in a normal bed again. Besides furniture shopping I also got a haircut so I was ready for Ruby's graduation.
June 19th. Ruby's dress was ready to be picked up, We were quite pleased with the alterations.
June 22nd. Internet hook-up and glad to have that convenience at home again. It sure was going to help speed up my pricing. I also had to change my email address, which I was hoping wouldn't be necessary.
This was the week of Ruby's graduation from grade 12, so I limited myself with pricing. I wanted to make sure nothing would spoil the preparation for grad.
June 24th. RUBY'S GRAD. What an emotional day. Ruby's friend came to do her make-up and then we went to the hair stylist. I sat in and watched the hair stylist do Ruby's hair. We got into a conversation of different things and ended up telling our experience with the apartment fire. When Ruby's hair was done I was ready to pay, but she didn't take anything for it. The hair stylist said that we should do some FUN thing together. Then I lost it.... the tears flowed out of pure happiness that she would do that for someone that she didn't even know (it was the first time that I met her). (I didn't tell my story for pity sake.) Like I said I had some emotional moments that day, but in all it was a wonderful day. It was a day that I wasn't sure I would ever see since Ruby wasn't under my care for almost 4 years. (That is another story in itself, which I won't go into). After the graduation supper Ruby went along with her sister & brother back to Wpg for the weekend. Now I had time to reflect on many things (good & bad). God knew I needed to see this day. It was an answer to prayer.
June 25th. I went furniture shopping again since I still needed a dining room set. So I went to Eldon's Furniture again and was able to purchase a dining room set which was the last floor model at a good price. They delivered it the same day.
The major furniture purchases were from only 2 stores which was quite adequate. I was pleased with my choice of furniture.
Several people have asked if I had fun shopping for new things. My view on that was mixed.... in some ways it was fun and in other ways it was frustrating. I guess some of the furniture had sentimental values or just very new.
As I was checking mail at the main post office and my new mail box I was pleased with the 1 package that I got from my Aunt. My Aunt from B.C. sent an envelope of pictures as a source of encouragement to me since she didn't know which pictures I may have lost in the fire.
Amongst all of these events during the month of June I was always glad for a day of rest (Sunday).
The Lord was continuing to provide and bless. "BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING; BUT IN EVERY THING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD. AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS." Philippians 4: 6 & 7.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
BACK TO WORK.....(May 31st - June 5th)
My start to the work week included many things along with breaking in new work shoes. My shift for monday (May 31st) wasn't a morning shift which was good. I had several things to do before work and they could only be done during the day. I went to Focal Point to reorder my eye glasses and since my glasses were less then 3 months old I only paid a replacement cost which was half off of what I had paid. I also went to the Post Office to see what the procedure was for picking up the mail and to give them my forwarding address. So every time I needed to check the mail it would have to be during the time that they were open. I also started making a list of people & places that would need my change of address. I had lost my address book in the fire so it was a little difficult trying to remember everyone that I possibly would have had in the book.
I gave myself some extra time for errands before going to work so I wouldn't feel rushed. As I get to work they had hot dogs in the BBQ for staff, so I had time to eat before beginnning my shift. Several people asked how I was doing and so I told them what kind of progress we were making and that we had a place.
My work day went well. As I'm serving customers I see many things that remind me of the items I lost in the fire. What was disheartening about some of the lost items was the fact that some things were quite new.... like my sofa, Samsung TV (less then 6 months old), apartment size freezer, pantry cupboard and some new clothes (or even my favorite clothes).
During the course of the week things were given to us that people didn't need or had doubles. Besides donated items money and/or gift card was given as well, which was appreciated very much.
My home phone was reconnected during the week as well, but no computer purchase yet.
So any pricing that I needed to do for my worksheets was limited since my time on a computer at the library or work was limited as well. Then on my day off during the week I did some major clothes shopping for myself and continued with my insurance worksheets.
There were many moments where I got overwhelmed with my ever increasing list of lost items from the fire.
Besides clothes shopping I also needed to look for furniture. I went to 3 or 4 furniture stores to see what was available and compared prices.
As I make my daily comments on facebook I continue to ask for prayer and also THANK everyone for their prayers & well wishes.
I also called the insurance adjudicator during the week and asked some questions in regards to how things should be listed on my worksheets.
I had started my rough copy list in a scribbler and then transferred to the actual insurance worksheet. Even then I had to redo quite a few worksheets because the insurance company wanted it categorized eg: (furniture, clothing, groceries, appliances etc.) So by the end of the week I was getting a little discouraged along with sore feet. It sure wasn't fun breaking in new work shoes. Glad our temporary beds were comfortable enough to give us a proper night sleep.
It almost felt like I had another full time job (not paid) besides my full time job. It was all very time consuming and lots of leg work. There sure wasn't a thing as free time to do fun things, at least not for awhile. We also checked the things I had retrieved from the fire that I had placed in someone's garage. Most of the photos that I had in the albums were okay, but the albums were finished. So we put the photos into plastic bags & boxed it up until I would have time to put them into new albums. (To this date of writing this post I still haven't put all the photos into new albums... side burner to do thing).
Due to the fire I had also missed out in seeing my cousins from B.C. who were visiting in the Wpg area for a couple of days.
After my day shift at work on saturday (June 5th) my sister & brother-in-law (James & Bertha) came out to see my place & have supper with me at the golf course restaraunt. (Ruby was out with friends). Besides having supper with me they also brought some more things from other family members and 2 large bags of clothes from her friend Betty.
Making meals at the new apartment during our first full week of living in it still wasn't much due to the fact that I lacked in kitchen supplies. I was buying kitchen or other household items several times a week and especially when I saw that it was on sale. Some items that were on sale came at a good time. Financially I was able to do all this since the 1st chq from the insurance company was a large amount, but I was still cautious with some buying. I didn't know when they would send me another chq.
So to close off this week I'm truely grateful for everyone's prayers, support and well wishes. Thankful for what the Lord has done in spite of the loss of material possessions. Again it also means taking 1 day at a time and keeping my faith in the Lord that He will supply what I need. HEBREWS 11:1 "NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN". My Bible that I lost in the fire always opened in the book of Hebrews.
I gave myself some extra time for errands before going to work so I wouldn't feel rushed. As I get to work they had hot dogs in the BBQ for staff, so I had time to eat before beginnning my shift. Several people asked how I was doing and so I told them what kind of progress we were making and that we had a place.
My work day went well. As I'm serving customers I see many things that remind me of the items I lost in the fire. What was disheartening about some of the lost items was the fact that some things were quite new.... like my sofa, Samsung TV (less then 6 months old), apartment size freezer, pantry cupboard and some new clothes (or even my favorite clothes).
During the course of the week things were given to us that people didn't need or had doubles. Besides donated items money and/or gift card was given as well, which was appreciated very much.
My home phone was reconnected during the week as well, but no computer purchase yet.
So any pricing that I needed to do for my worksheets was limited since my time on a computer at the library or work was limited as well. Then on my day off during the week I did some major clothes shopping for myself and continued with my insurance worksheets.
There were many moments where I got overwhelmed with my ever increasing list of lost items from the fire.
Besides clothes shopping I also needed to look for furniture. I went to 3 or 4 furniture stores to see what was available and compared prices.
As I make my daily comments on facebook I continue to ask for prayer and also THANK everyone for their prayers & well wishes.
I also called the insurance adjudicator during the week and asked some questions in regards to how things should be listed on my worksheets.
I had started my rough copy list in a scribbler and then transferred to the actual insurance worksheet. Even then I had to redo quite a few worksheets because the insurance company wanted it categorized eg: (furniture, clothing, groceries, appliances etc.) So by the end of the week I was getting a little discouraged along with sore feet. It sure wasn't fun breaking in new work shoes. Glad our temporary beds were comfortable enough to give us a proper night sleep.
It almost felt like I had another full time job (not paid) besides my full time job. It was all very time consuming and lots of leg work. There sure wasn't a thing as free time to do fun things, at least not for awhile. We also checked the things I had retrieved from the fire that I had placed in someone's garage. Most of the photos that I had in the albums were okay, but the albums were finished. So we put the photos into plastic bags & boxed it up until I would have time to put them into new albums. (To this date of writing this post I still haven't put all the photos into new albums... side burner to do thing).
Due to the fire I had also missed out in seeing my cousins from B.C. who were visiting in the Wpg area for a couple of days.
After my day shift at work on saturday (June 5th) my sister & brother-in-law (James & Bertha) came out to see my place & have supper with me at the golf course restaraunt. (Ruby was out with friends). Besides having supper with me they also brought some more things from other family members and 2 large bags of clothes from her friend Betty.
Making meals at the new apartment during our first full week of living in it still wasn't much due to the fact that I lacked in kitchen supplies. I was buying kitchen or other household items several times a week and especially when I saw that it was on sale. Some items that were on sale came at a good time. Financially I was able to do all this since the 1st chq from the insurance company was a large amount, but I was still cautious with some buying. I didn't know when they would send me another chq.
So to close off this week I'm truely grateful for everyone's prayers, support and well wishes. Thankful for what the Lord has done in spite of the loss of material possessions. Again it also means taking 1 day at a time and keeping my faith in the Lord that He will supply what I need. HEBREWS 11:1 "NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN". My Bible that I lost in the fire always opened in the book of Hebrews.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
WEEKEND (Shopping Day & Sunday)
Saturday, May 29th-----Another shopping day.
Morning. After a reasonably restful night we start our day with a list of things to do. First we went out for breakfast so we could begin doing what we needed to.
After breakfast we went to B & D Music where they were holding donated items for the fire victims. This was my first visit to the site so I wasn't sure what was available. Their backroom was quite full with many good donated items. We started going through the items and managed to get quite a bit. My first piece of furniture was a gliding style rocking chair with cushion (in excellent shape). The other items were micro wave, kitchen items (like a knife block with knives, glassware, cutlery wrapped in cloth, bowls, tupperware), pillows & bedding, some towels and Ruby chose some clothes. I managed to get everything into the car without having to make 2 trips. We unpack again at home and then head to Winkler for other errands and MORE SHOPPING.
One of my errands was to my landlord's (Wall's) house to pay for rent. As we're talking about things around the kitchen table I asked them how long the apartment suite was empty. It had been vacant for 2 months. I truly believe the LORD kept the suite vacant for us. (To this day when I really think about it I'm just in awe of how the LORD works in such mysterious ways... in our eyes). Mr & Mrs. Wall told us how things just didn't turn out for the ones that were interested in the suite. (Again there was a reason for that). I'm thankful for a Christian couple as my landlords.
Another errand was the MTS center. Now that I had a place of permanent residence I could get my home phone reconnected. As we're waiting in line for our turn the gentleman in front of us gives his address which was the same as ours (apartment fire address). I said hello to the gentleman and said we were neighbours. It explained why he looked familiar. We briefly talked as to how each of us were doing.
Before doing our major grocery shopping at Superstore we also check out TWICE AS NICE (Clothing store) and make a sizeable purchase at the store, which was more for Ruby then myself. We also shopped at DOLLARAMA for an assortment of miscellaneous items (cheaper isn't always better though).
In the midst of our many stops during our shopping we probably ate out again.
Finally last stop was shopping at SUPERSTORE. Ruby took a shopping cart and so did I. I can't remember the last time I used 2 shopping carts (last time may have been when the children were little). One cart was for groceries and the other cart was for miscellaneous. As we were shopping Melody text to see how our shopping venture was coming along and asked HAVING FUN?? She also recommended using store coupons. We did look for a sales flyer, but couldn't find one. Now if I had been more persistent and found a coupon I would have got a $20 or $25 gift card for having a purchase of over $200.
After we were done with our shopping it was time for a milkshake treat from McDonalds. Now it was home time to unpack all the things I had bought, it was a car full.
We also borrowed a very used table & chairs from one of Ruby's friends mother. I said it would be used temporarily until I had a new set.
It was a full day and wanting to relax wasn't the same. The one piece of furniture I surely missed was my recliner. Since we didn't have a computer or TV it meant occupying our time with other things, which wasn't too hard to do. I'm sure I continued with my insurance worksheets at every available time.
Bed time probably came earlier as well since the day had been busy. Thankful for a safe and eventful day.
Sunday, May 30th (DAY OF REST)
Morning. I was glad it was Sunday and looked forward to Church service.
The Pastor again announced a need for the fire victims and the donation site. I don't remember the title of the message, but its always good to be in the Lord's house on Sunday. A time to learn more from the Bible, sing songs from the Hymn Book and fellowship with other Christians.
After the morning service we went out for lunch with some friends from Church. This was almost a routine thing to do after Church and was glad that something wasn't out of the norm.
The rest of the afternoon we relaxed at home (at least it was a physical relax time), but mentally I still had a lot on my mind. I may have continued on with some paper work or my worksheet list.
We had evening service that Sunday as well, so we were back in Church.
After the evening service we were informed about the grocery hamper that we could take home. It was a sizeable amount and sure helped to fill our cupboards. The Lord was providing in many ways.
Again it had been a full weekend. Now it was time for bed and my thoughts were on what I would need to do during the week besides going back to work.
Morning. After a reasonably restful night we start our day with a list of things to do. First we went out for breakfast so we could begin doing what we needed to.
After breakfast we went to B & D Music where they were holding donated items for the fire victims. This was my first visit to the site so I wasn't sure what was available. Their backroom was quite full with many good donated items. We started going through the items and managed to get quite a bit. My first piece of furniture was a gliding style rocking chair with cushion (in excellent shape). The other items were micro wave, kitchen items (like a knife block with knives, glassware, cutlery wrapped in cloth, bowls, tupperware), pillows & bedding, some towels and Ruby chose some clothes. I managed to get everything into the car without having to make 2 trips. We unpack again at home and then head to Winkler for other errands and MORE SHOPPING.
One of my errands was to my landlord's (Wall's) house to pay for rent. As we're talking about things around the kitchen table I asked them how long the apartment suite was empty. It had been vacant for 2 months. I truly believe the LORD kept the suite vacant for us. (To this day when I really think about it I'm just in awe of how the LORD works in such mysterious ways... in our eyes). Mr & Mrs. Wall told us how things just didn't turn out for the ones that were interested in the suite. (Again there was a reason for that). I'm thankful for a Christian couple as my landlords.
Another errand was the MTS center. Now that I had a place of permanent residence I could get my home phone reconnected. As we're waiting in line for our turn the gentleman in front of us gives his address which was the same as ours (apartment fire address). I said hello to the gentleman and said we were neighbours. It explained why he looked familiar. We briefly talked as to how each of us were doing.
Before doing our major grocery shopping at Superstore we also check out TWICE AS NICE (Clothing store) and make a sizeable purchase at the store, which was more for Ruby then myself. We also shopped at DOLLARAMA for an assortment of miscellaneous items (cheaper isn't always better though).
In the midst of our many stops during our shopping we probably ate out again.
Finally last stop was shopping at SUPERSTORE. Ruby took a shopping cart and so did I. I can't remember the last time I used 2 shopping carts (last time may have been when the children were little). One cart was for groceries and the other cart was for miscellaneous. As we were shopping Melody text to see how our shopping venture was coming along and asked HAVING FUN?? She also recommended using store coupons. We did look for a sales flyer, but couldn't find one. Now if I had been more persistent and found a coupon I would have got a $20 or $25 gift card for having a purchase of over $200.
After we were done with our shopping it was time for a milkshake treat from McDonalds. Now it was home time to unpack all the things I had bought, it was a car full.
We also borrowed a very used table & chairs from one of Ruby's friends mother. I said it would be used temporarily until I had a new set.
It was a full day and wanting to relax wasn't the same. The one piece of furniture I surely missed was my recliner. Since we didn't have a computer or TV it meant occupying our time with other things, which wasn't too hard to do. I'm sure I continued with my insurance worksheets at every available time.
Bed time probably came earlier as well since the day had been busy. Thankful for a safe and eventful day.
Sunday, May 30th (DAY OF REST)
Morning. I was glad it was Sunday and looked forward to Church service.
The Pastor again announced a need for the fire victims and the donation site. I don't remember the title of the message, but its always good to be in the Lord's house on Sunday. A time to learn more from the Bible, sing songs from the Hymn Book and fellowship with other Christians.
After the morning service we went out for lunch with some friends from Church. This was almost a routine thing to do after Church and was glad that something wasn't out of the norm.
The rest of the afternoon we relaxed at home (at least it was a physical relax time), but mentally I still had a lot on my mind. I may have continued on with some paper work or my worksheet list.
We had evening service that Sunday as well, so we were back in Church.
After the evening service we were informed about the grocery hamper that we could take home. It was a sizeable amount and sure helped to fill our cupboards. The Lord was providing in many ways.
Again it had been a full weekend. Now it was time for bed and my thoughts were on what I would need to do during the week besides going back to work.
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