Tag Archives: The Lighthouse

Father’s Day

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Our Father’s Day were supposed to be spent out at the cabin enjoying the peace and quiet.    It’s been quite a month for us as it is a month since Jordon quit his job at The Lighthouse and found a new job but is still doing what he loves and is pretty excited about new challenges.  So are we.

Instead of going to the cabin on Friday night, Jordon informed me that we were going to the wedding of our good friends Bert Lang and Don Lafreniere.  Don is quite ill with cancer and the wedding was a total last minute surprise, even for Don and Bert.  The wedding was in a suite at the Holiday Inn and we joined a small group of their friends and family who put together a nice wedding on about 28 hours notice.

Of course with Bert being ill and just about ready to move into palliative care, I shed a lot of tears but we had a wonderful time.  So while we didn’t make it to the gay pride parade (we were frantically looking for gifts and getting reading for the wedding), we were at marriage for two dear friends.

Bert and Don's wedding

As I mentioned, today was the gay pride parade today in Saskatoon.  I don’t always understand the nuances of politics like Jordon does but I do appreciate the stand that 8 of Saskatoon’s city councillors took when they took out this ad and marched in the parade.  As we were leaving, we ran into one of the grooms downstairs and he was just saying that a guy who was there was so homophobic that he couldn’t even listen to the story of Bert and Don’s marriage.  Homophobia is alive and well in Saskatoon.

Later this morning Mark and Oliver get along really well with Bert and Don so we are taking the boys to visit Bert in St. Paul’s Hospital later this morning where we are told to sneak in cold Coca-Cola into Bert.  Since Coke is the only thing he can consume, we took him up a small cooler to keep it cold in.  The nurses can get him ice which m

Before we leave to see Bert, we did have a chance to celebrate Father’s Day with Jordon.

Jordon is a great father to the boys.  He has also taught me a lot about being a better parent.  He is pretty much impossible to manipulate, understands the boys really well, and can be fun when he needs to be and firm when it is called for as well.  The boys are lucky to have Jordon as their dad.  If you ask Jordon, he says that he is lucky to have two great kids.

For Father’s Day the boys got him a reciprocating saw.  We want to do some projects with the wood from pallets and to take them apart, you need a good saw.  This could also be a gift for me as I am the one that wants to do some stuff with pallet wood so we all win at this.  Well I win.  The more I think about it, I think Jordon could end up losing.  Sorry about that babe.

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We all pitched in an got him a pair of Bose AE2 around the ear headphones with my, err, our AirMiles.  Jordon loves his Bose in the ear headphones and the sound on the AE2 are even better.  Even if I wanted these to be for me I don’t think I could pry them off his head or out of his hands.

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From me, I bought him a dual sided barbecue grill topper with a griddle on one side and a flat surface on the other.  According to the barbecue cookbooks, they are ideal for doing hamburgers on and I am really curious what it is like to grill on. Snow power 1 0 edt M 500x500

The dog got him a Hydro Power razor and some Snow Power cologne from Swiss Army.  Yes that cologne bottle is reinforced and has a carabiner on it so if he goes mountain climbing, he will be able to take it with him.

Maggi was concerned that wasn’t gift enough so she got into the garbage and spread it through the house.  Nothing says, “Happy Father’s Day” like garbage in the house.  We are thinking of trading her in for a racoon.  Of course Mark see’s the carnage the throws up all over the place.  Nothing says Father’s Day to Jordon like having to clean up his son’s vomit.

Of course Jordon goes “bad dog” and immediately Maggi climbs up on his lap (her admission of guilt) until he pets her or says, “It’s all right”.  Last night that was a little slow coming so we had a dog underfoot for part of it.

It’s good to be together as a family.  Tonight we are trying to make a spicy perogy pizza.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I hope your Father’s Day is a good one.

Easter

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It was a quiet Easter around here.  I worked at Safeway for all of Good Friday.  After I got home, Lee and Brittany came by for appetizers and dessert.  When they left, Jordon and I went to the Rook and Raven with Sean, Megan, and Councillor Zach Jeffries.  While we were there, were of course harassing Zach and he invited us for a late night tour of City Hall and Council Chambers.  I learned a lot of things but I found out that city councillors don’t have offices at City Hall, they don’t even have cubicles, they actually share a cubicle (unless you are Zach or Mairin Loewen).  I also found their stash of chocolate bars where Jordon may or may not have stolen a Kit Kat.  I just hope it doesn’t lead to a mill rate increase.

While we were being accompanied by a city councillor, it did seem funny to be walking around a dark and empty City Hall late at night.  Of course the only thing we did that was really over the line was that we parked in the city councillor parking.

Saturday I worked at The Lighthouse Supported Living for a shift and on Sunday we got up early to see what the Easter bunny dropped off.  He brought all of us some chocolate.  Mark got a NFL football, an iTunes card, a magazine, a drafting pencil and some 11×17 drawing paper.  Oliver got a Transformer, two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a diving mask.  I got a jacket and a mug while Jordon got a Starbucks mug and a iPod case.  

The plan is to have a nice supper with some friends tonight.  I don’t have to cook but I do have some chocolate to bring by… because as we all know some extra chocolate on Easter is what all of us need.

We all sound better

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iHome portable rechargable speakersBack in 2011, Lee gave Jordon a gift certificate for Best Buy for his birthday.  Jordon went out and bought some iHome portable speakers that sounded great.  This year we gave Mark some Hype rechargeable portable speakers which are a similar concept and design.  Today Jordon picked me up a Headrush Pop Up Speaker which is a rechargeable mini speaker which gives out an incredible sound and it was on for half price.

Headrush portable rechargable speakers

When Jordon and I were first married, all I wanted was a really great component stereo system.  Jordon won that argument we never got the stereo system that would wake the neighbours (Jordon hates loud music)  Despite not having the biggest and best stereo system, Jordon has always done a great job is keeping me in stock with great music, good headphones, and fun speakers like that that make listening to music a lot of fun.  Unless you have listened some of these mini speakers, you have no idea how great of sound they produce.  It won’t replace my sound dock anytime soon but it will be a constant companion for my laptop.

While we were out today, I did buy Jordon two watched from The Source.  One is a dress watch and the other one is a scrolling LED watch that I will have to post a video of to appreciate. (Note: The one watch didn’t have a manual for it.  Jordon went to the website and was able to quickly find it and download it which is awesome)

Mark did pass grade 6 and his marks were pretty good (not perfect but decent).  To celebrate his report card and to kick off summer, we bought Mark a PS3 game that has all three of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell games on it.  Stealth and Mark don’t aways go hand in hand so we will see how he does.

Finally on the way home we stopped by Staples where I got a really cool ceramic tumbler coffee and tea mug that was been blown out.

Tomorrow we will head to the cabin for a bit to drop some stuff off.  We are lending the cabin to Jared Siebert for the week and we thought it was the week of Family Camp but it’s not.  We had planned to go up today but after the stress of a horrible week, it was better to take some time around here.  I want to bring some stuff up, hang some blinds, and we will chill out for a while until it’s time for the Sieberts to get there before heading back home.

I work Monday at Safeway and Jordon is going in to upgrade some computers at The Lighthouse so that is our weekend.  I hope your Canada Day long weekend is a good one as well.

New website and URL for The Lighthouse Supported Living

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The Lighthouse has a new URL and a new website to explore.  The theme is by Lemon Productions but the content is largely by DeeAnn Mercier and other staff at The Lighthouse.  It has a lot of information about the services that The Lighthouse offers and a lot of resources about human trafficking in Saskatchewan, homelessness in Saskatoon, and a new email newsletter.  Make sure you check it out.

This weekend

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It was a long weekend around here.  The Lighthouse opened a complex needs wing in partnership with the Saskatoon Health Region.  The contractors were still upstairs as the ceremony was being finished.  Jordon and I spent a couple of nights up there painting and doing whatever needed to be done.   The end result is that there will be eight beds in the city for those with significant mental health issues and concurrent disorders. 

Jordon was exhausted.  I think he has taken one day away from work since he started at The Lighthouse and really needed to get away.  That idea was shot down by Mark getting incredibly sick this weekend so instead of getting away, Jordon just went to bed.  He slept until noon on Saturday, got up for a bit and went back to bed.

We finally started to function on Sunday when we went to XS Cargo.  I bought Jordon a new iPad keyboard case and we picked up a birthday present for Mark.  Jordon is amazing at picking stuff up for the boys and he got him a fantastic gift that he will love for a really good deal.   

Other than Jordon writing a really long blog post about the frustrations he has working within such a broken system, it was pretty uneventful.

Easter

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We had planned to go out to the cabin this weekend but there is a weather warning for the lake so it isn’t going to happen.  As Environment Canada says

An intensifying low pressure system is forecast to track northeastward out of Wyoming today, across the southeast corner of Saskatchewan tonight, then into Central Manitoba on Saturday. Precipitation is already spreading northward across Southern Saskatchewan today, mostly in the form of rain and even with some thunderstorm activity in the southeast. In the southwest, snow has moved into the Shaunavon region where it will continue much of the day along with strengthening north winds and some reduced visibilities later today due to blowing snow. The rain is expected to either be mixed with, or change over to snow in the Assiniboia, Moose Jaw, Humboldt and Wynyard areas during the day today, while northeastern grainbelt regions will continue as rain at least for today. The snow will move out of the southwest tonight, but in areas farther northeast the area of snow is expected to intensify and gradually shift eastward by Saturday morning into the east-central grainbelt. On Saturday the area of snow will move out of the province late in the day. The snow tonight and Saturday will be accompanied by strong north or northwest winds of 40 to 60 km/h with higher gusts. This will result in widespread blowing snow and near zero visibilities in many areas. Total snowfall amounts of 20 to 40 cm are likely in the hardest hit areas. Current indications point to this area being north of Regina and Yorkton, and generally east of highway 2. As this system moves into the province today, and it becomes evident where the rain snow boundary sets up, the regions which have warnings could shift somewhat.

It’s actually okay as I am not feeling that great tomorrow.  If the lake doesn’t get any snow, we may head up tomorrow but even if there isn’t, it’s no big deal.  Last Easter we had summer like weather but this year it is freezing.  Life in Saskatchewan I guess. 

Since we are sticking around Saskatoon for the weekend, we ran some errands, got some groceries and checked out Zellers liquidation sale.  It’s amazing that at 20%-40% off, it is still much more expensive than what Walmart is.  I for one am glad that they got sold off to Target, even if the Conservative Party isn’t.   We did get some nice cushions for the cabin though and I got some cute Olympic gear for the boys.

We did run to Walmart for a quick trip and for some groceries but we did pick up a couple of cheap upright floor lamps.  Jordon wanted them for some poorly lit rooms at The Lighthouse.  I am told that in the 1970s, there was some renovations made to the Capri Hotel and the rooms had a funky valance installed in the roof which looks really cool but it doesn’t allow a lot of light to disperse.  I haven’t been in the rooms at night but Jordon has said that it is impossible to even read on the one side of the room, hence the need for lamps.

While Mark is at the age where he can read my blog, we picked up a couple of gifts for the boys.  We got Oliver a child’s tennis racquet.  He has been obsessed with Jordon’s new racquet and this way when we go to play some tennis, he can hit the ball around without wrecking our racquets.   We also got him a red Power Ranger.  While all of us hate the Power Rangers, he loves them.  While we were out this weekend, Jordon bought some Vibram Fivefinger shoes.

This & that

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Some new things

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The Lighthouse in SaskatoonQuite on accident I started as casual at The Lighthouse.  I didn’t really need the money but they get really short staffed at times and for some reason they seem content to pay me.  My first day was eventful as instead of training, I spend the day seeing up close how messed up the healthcare system is in Saskatoon.  DeeAnn and I did something so horrible that I can’t even describe it and it was because no one in the health region wanted to do anything.  It was really disillusioning and disturbing to see how low income and low functioning senior citizens are treated by the system.  I know Jordon has written about it but it bothers me when I actually see it.

I also got to see how stressful Jordon’s job is up close.  It’s also the first time I have ever worked for him.  Well I don’t actually work for him but I work for someone who reports to him.  I also learned that while he may value my opinion and feedback around the house and as his wife, there are times at work that he doesn’t nearly so value my feedback.  Well he may value my feedback but not when the day is really, really rushed and they are short staffed and things just have to be done.

On a good note, The Lighthouse opened it’s new women’s shelter last night. Three more beds for a total of 20 in the congregate area and there is a respite room for those that are better off isolated from the main group.  Despite only adding three more rooms, they added three times the living space and there are more showers and bathroom stall for people.  It makes the space a lot more comfortable for the women.  It is also an upgrade for the men who will get to move to the old women’s shelter.