Well, all that snow is just the odd patch - the temperature and the wind speed both increased so we're back to wet and windy Prince Rupert. Feeling very tired at the moment, which is odd as I've slept quite well the last couple of nights.

On the Countess Dowager of Pembroke

Underneath this sable hearse
Lies the subject of all verse:
Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother:
Death, ere thou has slain another,
Fair and learned and good as she,
Time shall throw a dart at thee.

Marble piles let no man raise
To her name: for after days
Some kind woman born as she,
Reading this, like Niobe,
Shall turn marble, and become
Both her mourner and her tomb.

William Browne
c1590 - 1645

Well, the "little bit of snow" has turned into a LOT of snow - with more coming down - and I'm pretty much stuck up here on my hill. Not a big worry as I don't HAVE to be anywhere until Tuesday morning. However, I am going to find my cleats and my walking pole just in case I have to walk down the hill then. It's supposed to warm up to 6 degrees and rain tomorrow, but the weather forecast is never guaranteed.

It was my Cancer Support Group lunch yesterday and it was a great time. Especially now, it was so good to be with other women who understand exactly how I'm feeling and have been through the same thing. I came away feeling much more positive about everything.

After lunch I went down to the Craft Fair at the Civic Centre (and voted of course as the voting stations were also at the Civic Centre) and then had a lovely time wandering around looking at the skills and craftmanship of local people and some from Kitimat and Terrace. Bought a few things and found out the items I had put in were selling well. That's always a nice pat on the back.

Prayer the Church's Banquet

Prayer, the Church's banquet; Angels' age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet, sounding heaven and earth;
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days' world-transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted Manna, gladnes of the best;
Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the souls blood,
The land of spices; something understood.

George Herbert
1593 - 1633

I have my appointment! It's December 12th, which seems a long way off still, but I've relaxed considerably now that I know. If the highway is decent, Denise is going to drive me, but if it's a mess - or the weather is going to be bad - we'll take the Northern Health bus. Not as convenient once we're in Terrace, but safe.

Finished a few small stitching items yesterday - bookmarks, ornaments, fridge magnets - and gave them to Cynthia to put on her booth in the craft fair. I need to work on finishing the rest of the ornaments - they're not doing anyone any good sitting in a bag!

We're supposed to get a little snow today and tomorrow, then back to rain for the rest of the week.

How Sweet I Roam'd from Field to Field

How sweet I roam'd from field to field
And tasted all the summer's pride,
Till I the Prince of Love beheld
Who in the sunny beams did glide!

He show'd me lilies for my hair,
And blushing roses for my brow;
He led me through his gardens fair,
Where all his golden pleasures grow.

With sweet May dews my wings were wet,
And Phoebus fir'd my vocal rage;
He caught me in his silken net,
And shut me in his golden cage.

He loves to sit and hear me sing,
Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;
Then stretches out my golden wing,
And mocks my loss of liberty.

William Blake
1757 - 1827

Well, same song, 'nother verse - 3 weeks and 1 day and I still haven't heard about my appointment. I'm so stressed that my neck and across my shoulders was sore from the tension. How long can it possibly take to set a date and a time to use a piece of equipment???? They confirmed last Monday that all the paperwork was in order!

The Little Black Boy

My mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I am black, but O! my soul is white;
White as an angel is the English child,
But I am black as if bereav'd of light.

My mother taught me underneath a tree,
And sitting down before the heat of day,
She took me on her lap and kissed me,
And pointing to the east, began to say:

"Look on the rising sun: there God does live,
And gives his light, and gives his heat away;
And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive
Comfort in morning, joy in the noon day.

"And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love,
And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face
Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove.

"For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear,
The cloud will vanish; we shall hear his voice,
Saying, 'Come out from the grove, my love & care,
And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.' "

Thus did my mother say and kissed me;
And thus I say to little English boy:
When I from black and he from white cloud free,
And round the tent of God like lambs we joy,

I'll shade him from the heat till he can bear
To lean in joy upon our father's knee;
And then I"ll stand and stroke his silver hair,
And be like him, and he will then love me.

William Blake
1757 - 1827

Well, it's definitely late fall weather in Rupert. About 10 a.m. we had a downpour of hail, followed by an equally strong downpour of rain and now we have wind and grey clouds, but nothing is falling out of them.

Last night we had a lightning and thunder storm - very short but very intense and rain coming down so hard it sounded like hail and for about 5 minutes I couldn't even hear my TV it was so loud. The cats were NOT impressed - Yoda pressed in as close to my side as he could get and Snowy climbed on to my chest and had all 4 sets of claws through my clothes.

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

William Blake
1757 - 1827

I hope everyone is doing something in remembrance of, and gratitude to, our service men and women today. It's not raining in Rupert today, so the turn out for the cenotaph service should be pretty good. We owe them huge thanks for their service and sacrifice.

Going to be another quiet day I think - hoping this afternoon to get some stitches into O Canada - I really want to finish that "N" and maybe even my oldest UFO. There needs to be at least some progress when I post my update picture at the end of the month!

The Chimney Sweeper

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep' 'weep' 'weep' 'weep?
So your chimneys I sweep, & in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,
"Hush Tom never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet, & that very night,
As Tom was asleeping he had such a sight--
That thousands of sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned & Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins & and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing they run,
And wash in a river and shine in the sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

William Blake
1757 - 1827

Worked on Sisters' books - bank statement is reconciled and everything is up-to-date until we do our deposit on Thursday. Feels good to have that off my mental to-do list.

Going to be a quiet day I think - it's windy and drizzly and I don't HAVE to go out for any reason. I may get a few stitches into something while I wait for my phone call.

To the Evening Star

Thou Fair-haired Angel of the Evening,
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves; and while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes

In timely sleep. Let thy West Wind sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
And the lion glares through the dun forest:
The fleeces of the flocks are covered with
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence.

William Blake
1757 - 1827

Well, having decided to join the SAL for finishing your oldest UFO, here's a picture of the completed pattern.



And here's what I've stitched so far.



Actually, the right side is the same as the left, but the scanner I'm using at the moment isn't big enough to show it all. It will feel so good to get some stitches in this and, as I said in my earlier post, maybe I'll even get it to Mike and Nikki by their 15th anniversary!! LOL

Well, I heard from the Terrace doctor's office this morning - all the paperwork is in order, but apparently the radiation department is short handed, so it's taking longer than usual to set up appointments. So I'll wait until end of day tomorrow, which will be two weeks, then I will get my referring surgeon to start bugging them. Doctors always get faster results than patients.

My first load of laundry is underway with 2 more to go, so I should be done by mid-afternoon as long as I don't get so wrapped up in what I'm doing that I forget about it.

Yoda has discovered that the laptop is nice and warm, especially if you sprawl across the keyboard, and is quite indignant that I keep moving him off. You can't do the usual spray bottle trick when your cat is lying on a computer. You know how it is with water and electronics!

Surprised by Joy

Surprised by joy--impatient as the wind
I turned to share the transport--Oh! with whom
But thee, deep buried in the silent tomb,
That spot which no vicissitude can find?
Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind--
But how could I forget thee? Through what power,
Even for the least division of an hour,
Have I been so beguiled as to be blind
To my most grievous loss!--That thought's return
Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore,
Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn,
Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more;
That neither present time, nor years unborn
Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.

William Wordsworth
1770 - 1850

Written for his daughter who died age 4.

Time change last night and the cats were not happy - it messed up their breakfast time something awful! LOL But, food has been et and we have a black blob on one living room window perch and a white blob on the bed, so all is well - and peaceful.

And I've decided to put laundry off until tomorrow, procrastination being an art I am very skilled in. I'll probably kick myself tomorrow, but so be it. I really want to work some more on "O Canada" right now.

She Was a Phantom of Delight

She was a phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely apparition, sent
To be a moment's ornament;
Her eyes as stars of twilight fair;
Like twilight's, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From May-time and the cheerful dawn;
A dancing shape, an image gay,
To haunt, to startle and waylay.

I saw her upon nearer view,
A Spirit, yet a Woman too!
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty;
A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet;
A creature not too bright or good
For human nature's daily food;
For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine;
A being breathing thoughtful breath,
A traveller between life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance foresight, strength, and skill;
A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.

William Wordsworth
1770 - 1850

Poem written about his wife.

Well, I've been invited to join a SAL to work on my oldest UFO and I think I will. It'll be a good way to get some stitches in my Antique Wedding Sample and maybe Nikki and Mike will get it before their 15th anniversary. I'll post a picture of where I am and the chart cover early next week.

Still no appointment date. Yesterday afternoon I tried calling both the doctors' offices here and in Terrace and they both close at noon on Fridays so I won't hear anything until Monday at the earliest. AAAARRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!!

Cynthia came over though and we had a great craft night - and she brought me cake pops! They were so yummy and so cute - I ate the cat and Frankenstein. She worked on making dish clothes and I got some more stitches in my "O Canada" project. I just have to do the "N" and I'm half done! It was nice to be able to concentrate and I managed not to make any counting errors. Now that's a definite plus.

Still no call from Terrace. I do so wish I would hear something - I'm all tied up in knots and I am NOT sleeping well.