Four Years

 What have I accomplished in just over four years?

A town without possibilities is not really the way a person wishes to think about somewhere new.

So, while I applied for positions I wished to work in, I just got down to work building this gazebo. The photo you're looking at here, was a kit, a 12x12 Arlington gazebo with electric. Now, what you really need to know is that it comes in heavy flat boxes... over 600 pounds. The photo you are looking at is the 'built' kit which I did with the help of Warren. Warren actually didn't know which kit to buy so I made that decision for him because the vision of how to turn this bare shelter into a screened wonder with sliding doors, was definitely, my vision and then, of course, execution. 

If you notice the double 2x4's all the way around, that was necessary to put bracing edge to edge in order to put a 4x4 treated lumber post, ceiling to floor. Two braces were installed in each section of the gazebo.

 I made so many trips to McMunn's, while Warren was at his job,... this became my work. As you can see, from the photo, the deck was completed at this stage. It should be noted that Elfrieda and Warren were the only two people who built this project. Truly, that is most amazing because there was a step, in the instructions, that said... 'This is a three man step,' but we, somehow, handled it even though I thought it was a bit dangerous to do so. We used pulleys to drag the roof into place. It was a slow step, that one.

I had brought two sets of barn door hardware, about $369.00 plus taxes (Home Depot), with  me, when I moved to this property.

These were used to build two sliding doors on the front of the gazebo. 

As you can see here, the sliding doors were two $49.00 finger- jointed screen doors that needed to be heavily shored up to give them a stable structure. This was accomplished with treated 2x4's on the sides and the bottom. That gave the doors a nice heavy form that has weathered three winters. All the front part here, I designed, specifically, for this project. On both sides of these sliding doors, a garden arch, pictured below, was installed. I had, originally, purchased five of them for our backyard wedding, October 8, 2022 at 225 5th Avenue, N.E. Dauphin, MB.

I, Elfrieda, screened the entire gazebo while Warren was at his job. The three sides were reinforced with fence panels that I purchased at Canadian Tire, Panacea Finial Decorative Border fence panel, 30"x37" each. I used nine panels for the gazebo and then bought six plus for my gardening. The large piece of fencing you see on the left, I had purchased at Lowe's before I moved away from Winnipeg. 

The gazebo, being a 12x12, actually had a bit of a smaller footprint so a 12x12 deck was what we built to put the gazebo on top of it.

The awnings I specially designed for this gazebo. 

When I moved to this property, there was quite a lot of backfill that was needed at the back entrance to the house. The soil had eroded and there was at least a six inch height that needed to be filled in order to bring the ground up  to a 'seven inch' space from ground to back door. This was done after the gazebo was built. A seven inch step is normal for any stairs. After this back fill, I scrounged every Barkman Bridgewood Slab that I could find in that town. Then I purchased a couple more from a garage sale... someone who had built a 'fire table barbecue stand' and had some pieces leftover.

I really felt that the location of this gazebo was a good one for a number of reasons. There was a step, concrete, in the back yard, that I smashed my toes on so many times, my toenails still haven't grown out. This strange idea would likely have been done by the original homeowner... possibly before we were born. That dastardly step is now covered by the gazebo... never to cause harm again.

I dug all the post holes for the concrete blocks, which were not very deep. The back of the gazebo has adjustable jack posts for leveling. 

I painted or stained everything the way it is. 

The space between the gazebo and the house is now a very nice courtyard.

I laid more weed cloth than I have ever done. The entire ground under the gazebo is covered in weed cloth. All the gravel and stone paths that I created had weed cloth underneath as well.

This garden box I dragged all the way from Winnipeg to 225... and, it may be coming back now. I am the gardener. Warren is not. 

I planted enough tomatoes, last year, to make enough homemade tomato sauce for my winter cooking. It was such a delicious sauce because I used about 5 varieties of  tomatoes in my sauce and we ate meals, from my work, all winter, until about April, this year.

The tomatoes are, again, coming in. I had a taste last week that is just spectacularly delicious. I hope I can get the rest of my crop.

So, this was quite a heavy investment, on my part... so much design, building and sweat equity. 

I'll talk about the bathroom renovation another day.

Couch Slouch

 Dear Elfrieda,

My friend, who was forced into some couch surfing, since the marital discord, has really had hard questions about her human rights. 

Is a fist a weapon? Is a frying pan a weapon if its used the same way? 

                                                                                            Very Concerned

Dear Very Concerned,

I am assuming that your mention of your friend couch surfing means she doesn't have a solid home to live in... or, was the home she was living in not solid? Marriage does bring certain rights, you know... even now, in our strange relationships world.

Now, dealing with your second question about a fist being a weapon; I was informed that there are combat fighting arts, like jujitsu, that require self discipline and restraint in day to day living circumstances. A person trained in such an art would certainly not be flailing fists and saying they're a peace loving individual. 

Most people use frying pans for cooking. Movies portray a vastly different use of a frying pan in kitchen scenes. This is such a strange question, I hope my answers were sufficient to help you figure out defending motions.

Another tip- make sure your lawyer knows you have a storage unit ready for all your belongings. Contact immediately with a note- storage unit booked and then make an exhaustive list... even if you have to make it from memory... to make sure you can get a truck rolling... to get your house contents to where you are. As soon as you get the phone call that your things are ready to be transported, safely, to the correct 'rented storage,' then you can rest easy about theft and that kind of thing.

                                                                                             Hope this helps  

P.S. Is this a situation of... 'They who are not for me, are against me?'

Not Romantic

 Dear Elfrieda,

My friend is in a relationship that has turned very sour. The man she married, now 65, seemed like a good guy for almost two years and then things took a turn for the 'are you remembering correctly' next two years.

Lately, he had taken to sleeping outside because he said it was cooler. His temper was not cooler. On a weekend, after midnight- ish, on a Saturday, my friend awakened. He had decided to sleep in bed that night. Going to the bathroom, the wife heard him demand... "Did you close the windows?" She replied that she had not closed the windows. He had turned off the air conditioner and opened all the windows. He must not have heard so when she re- entered the bedroom, he was snapping like a turtle and then he leaped out of bed and confronted his wife, an inch from her face, and said, "I will punch you in the face." His wife pulled back and he landed his fist under her chin and across her chest."

Do you think their relationship is over?

                                                                                            Very Concerned

Dear Very Concerned,

The 'over 65 agers' can be a vibrant group of people but not everyone has perfect health and physical fitness and optimal thinking as this is the beginning of retirement for many and the transition from full- time thinking to handling all of lifes' ups and downs takes quite a lot of patience; with oneself, and with others.

At 65, we aren't backpacking and camping and trekking through the woods like we do in our 30's. We have a bit more sense in knowing our boundaries of output and our levels of exhaustion have certainly changed.

If there is a personality change that has turned from agreeable to hostile, it would be best if a physical exam, which most people get once a year, is adhered to. If there has been a huge dietary change, some people go from 'Canada food guide' to 'Keto crazy' and think there won't be any adverse effects. Fad diets are called fads for a reason. Fasting, overly much, brings about a drastic change as well. There can be this... 'I went without food for 20 hours so I need food now' thing. That is a very demanding schedule for anyone if their partner is a traditional 'man goes to work' and 'woman takes care of the home' relationship.

Brain energy, a fantastic book I read this year, gives great detail about the huge variances of thinking, reacting, and behaviour. 

                                                                                        Hope this helps

Winnipeg

 So, now I'm in Winnipeg, looking for a place to live.

I'm looking to the future, for a future.

All my belongings will need to be hauled to Winnipeg... I've got a whole houseful of furniture and stuff and quilts... and bookshelves, and my bicycle. I could list things here but that would take a lot of time.

This is a lot of work, for me... to get done by third party?

Who Gave More?

 Today, I would like to talk about a conversation I once had with a person I went to church with. This person was always complaining about how much the leadership expected them to give... they were on a church board. These people are now in heaven so it is the perfect time to tell this story.

I, Elfrieda, was responsible for a family of five, every day, all day long, seven days a week. 

The person who would phone me to complain about how much they were giving... time, money, food, special event fundraisers... had grown children who were on their own and their health was good and they were doing quite well. Let's call these people 'couple.'

Let's call Elfrieda 'family.'

So, I explained giving this  way...

If couple gives 10% of their income in a month and, just as a example, let's say their income is $5,000.00 per month... 'Couple' has $4,500.00 to live on for month. (2 people)

If 'family' gives 10% of their income in a month and, just as a example, let's say their income is $2,200.00 per month... they have $1950.00 left to live on for the month. (5 people)

                    Who gave more?

In the next few posts I will address things like health, safety, and what makes it possible to earn a living and what makes it impossible to earn a living.

Who's with Who?

 Still haven't seen my children and grandchildren...

I called Alan yesterday to see if he could find out where my children are. Sometimes you have to go to a common connection... someone who knew us as a 'family.' This becomes important as people lose their phones. I could still reach Alan, yesterday, and I hope that continues.

So, I, Elfrieda, have always been a 'Winnipeg' person... over 40 years in Winnipeg before moving to Dauphin. My three sons were born in Winnipeg and two of them lived at 90 Forest Cove Drive their entire lives, until they got married. My oldest was two years old when my brother built that house for me. I was, definitely, the person who worked with my brother to find the perfect little plan for the next 29 years.

I believe, Jordan, my youngest son, has been very badly harmed by people I don't know. It is possible that the people who have harmed him are known to Dave and Janet Dueck of Kleefeld, Manitoba... 22 Aspen Bay. I would have these people questioned as to the whereabouts of my children, Scott, Tyler, and Jordan. I do not trust Dave and Janet nor the people who are associated with them. They are having a lot of trouble with their daughter Stacy because she is the most rebellious of their children... she's the youngest. Tim is the oldest and Brett is the middle child of this David Roy Dueck, who is the brother of Elmer John Dueck, two of nine children in the Dueck family. 

Ironically, my sister Sara, is married to a David Roy Dueck, who is not at all related to the David Roy Dueck of the nine child family who moved from Winnipeg to Kleefeld when Dave decided his Red River Insurance job would be a placement job he could work from almost anywhere in Manitoba. These families are not related to each other. My sister's husband only has one sister who used to work for the Winnipeg Police Department for over 25 years, answering 911 calls.

I will continue to give information, on this blog, because it is the only way for people to keep track of what is going on.

I will never go to Kleefeld. I am going to make sure my children are not kidnapped there either. 

I have really tried to reach Scott, my oldest son. He was baptized by Alan, whom I contacted yesterday. I don't know if Denny and Janet Chau are still in a close relationship with Alan but Janet Chau was the person who held the towel for Scott as he came out of the baptismal tank. I have a photo of that. Janet worked for IBM for many years but I think she is retired. The last place I was in their company was likely Ashdown. 

Jordan was baptized by a man from his group when he attended a church, in a school, in Charleswood. A very young Falk might have been the leader there, at Oasis? I have photos of his baptism.

I am not sure if Tyler is, yet, baptized. 

So, I am still wanting to visit with my sons, Scott, Tyler, and Jordan, on a regular basis. I hope Alan can make some arrangements regarding this. 

My sister Sara said she has not seen my children in person. I called her last week. My sister Eva certainly doesn't want to go to Eden as her husband often threatens. Eden is not a good place for anyone I know. 

I will update as soon as I receive more information. Please continue to pray about this situation.

   

The Keep

This morning I was thinking about a keep, which I thought was a castle or a home dwelling. Where I made my mistake, in trying to keep my keep... both times... was, that, I didn't get a lawyer. 

They say that, during siege warfare, the keep is the safest place to be. So, I will tell you, my keep that I was forced to sell, in 2014, was, definitely, my safest keep I ever owned.

Every terrible rental I lived in, after that, was not safe. 

Yesterday, my sister informed me that three of my brothers have sold their keep and don't, currently, have a keep. I think she still does.

I used to have a friend, many years ago, who did not have children, yet, she had a lot of impossible advice for the younger generation. Crazy things he and she would say, like... why don't you make five thousand dollar a month payments to clear a little debt. I looked at Crazy and thought... where in the world do you think people are going to find that kind of money to clear away debt?

Anybody who sets up that kind of payment schedule is Crazy. After thinking about this insanity for two seconds, I thought, this is not what it seems. I think this person, who has set this up is, literally, setting up someone for failure. So, the next question I ask, after this, is, why would a person want someone to fail... if they say they've helped this person?

The first thing that came to mind was this... they are waiting to see this person fail so they can steal all of their assets. Who else thinks this is probably what is going on?

Secondly, if these 'high living' people imagine they can make others find such exorbitant amounts of money, maybe they, themselves, don't have what they want in order to live in a 'high society.' What if some of that is going to 'unknown' people and not to the person who is trying to pay down debt? Who else thinks this? 

My suggestion is this. Get all the paperwork of the purchases... trace it back to the original date of purchases and see what went wrong.