Goodbye TX, Hello Canada!

Thursday, October 2, 2025

One of the fun things about having a creative daughter? Her home is constantly evolving. This week we toss around some options and W makes them a reality.

When she moved in, K covered a board with Washi tape to match a table top. That served well to cover a "full sun" window. 

This week, she finds an abstract print and hangs curtains so it looks like a landscape outside, especially with a sliver of sunshine coming in on each side. Nice.

When W and I walk the neighborhood, I'm struck by the rhythm of the garbage cans. You even get standardized bins when you have an HOA.

The last meal together is lunch at a favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall. She and I order potato wraps.

The flight to Seattle is uneventful. I picked up sushi from Costco, so W and I eat that before boarding. There's no decent food on the plane anymore.

We watch the sun go down as we soar above the clouds.

By the time we land in Seattle, night has fallen.

As we wait for our luggage to arrive, I admire an art tapestry by Naomi Wajiku Gakunga: "As the earth basks in sunrise, another day of hope unfolds," 2021. It hangs on the gallery wall beside the luggage carrousels.

We pick up the loaner car from the parking lot and drive less than an hour to our flat. We're asleep before midnight.

Friday

But we're on the road again at 8:30 in the morning, after saying hello to the grandkids and children. This shorter drive, 3 hours north, crosses the Canadian border. We visit our mothers for the last time this year. The scenery is beautiful. The canals low, waiting for the water that is sure to arrive with the autumn clouds.

W drops me off and zips to visit with his mother and sister an hour away. He brings a 5 Guys burger for supper. We stay overnight with my mom.

Mom asks for a tour of her house to see what's still waiting to be given away. I pull her around in the walker, opening drawers, taking pictures of things to send to others. She urges me to take more family treasures. "Take whatever you want!"

I write the kids and grandkids along with photos, asking if there's anything they want. 11-yr-old L wants Grandpapa's collapsible measuring stick. Got it!

I find a wildebeest head in the sauna. Friends of our parents shipped home all kinds of African purchases in the 1970s, when Mom and Dad (and W's parents) visited and helped with a building project. The trophy head and other items were taken off the walls when the basement flooded a few years ago. 

Culture has shifted so much. The wealthy and powerful still bring whatever they want back from wherever they go, but no way could ordinary people take home that zebra tail anchored in a carved ivory post now!

I send "look what else I found!" pictures to our Kenyan and Tanzanian friends. "Wow, history!" they write back. They're amazed at what tourists collected 2 generations ago (in the 1970s.)

Another fun find is a dozen cookbooks. I taught a Sunday School class of 10-12-yr old girls when I was 15-16. W's sister was in it as was my friend Elaine. I text to see if they want a copy. The class collected recipes, I typed them out, had them copied, and stapled the pages together. It sold for 50c to fund a class project. The chocolate birthday cake Mom made for us as kids in included, a happy memory.

Saturday

After breakfast, Mom and I call grandchildren, children, and Auntie Edith who lost her husband last month. Mom takes a nap before we say our farewells.

The drive back to Seattle is under 3 hours. Since W is under the weather with a new cold, he showers and has a nap when we reach the flat. I start to pack the suitcases ... (and yes, that is a zebra hide ottoman in the background.)

Melissa brings one of our favorite tastes home for supper: Szechwan food. 

The sun goes down on the maples that are turning color in the forest behind the house.

The family prays together around the table before we all head for bed. W and I have another early morning coming up.

Sunday

We're out the door about 7AM. We turn around partway down the freeway. W has left behind the iPad we speak from. Do we have time to get it? He decides to ask someone to print out the talk instead, so we loop back on course on the next exit. That's a complete 360o in 10 minutes.

The Grove Church is pretty special, with a real family feeling. We enjoy time with fellow disciples of Jesus. Lots of people come up in the foyer, asking questions and sharing their lives. 

Lunch is at the nearby harbor - Chinese fusion food that is delicious. 

The "pin and thread" art on one wall is gorgeous.

Of course, it's the company that makes a meal most special. The guys are former students of W's from Northwest U.

W and I stroll along the docks in the beautiful crisp sunshine. I'm shivering with a thick sweater and W feels the cool air after our walk.

We're home in time for a hot shower, some tea, and a quiet evening. I cut my hair, just because.

Read more: 

* Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:1-7

* I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.nEven on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:28-30

* The one who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Moravian Prayer: Steadfast Rock, your loyalty to us never wavers. You kept your covenant with us through Jesus Christ, our Lord; we pray for strength to live into the promise of his death. May we be faithful to you, as you are to us. In Christ’s strong name, we pray. Amen.