It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection of sunlight.” David saw these when he worked on the diamond mine project in northern Ontario. This was my first time to see one. Kind of neat, huh?

So, Valentines Day, we drove an hour and a half north of here to Prince Albert, SK. As it was so cold, we didn’t really do much exploring. We drove around a little and then ate lunch at Subway, got a coffee at Tim Hortons and headed back to Saskatoon. On the way back, we drove through the smaller towns off of the highway. The area reminded us of Nebraska. Each small town had a grocery store and a hardware store. Some had an antique store or gift-type store. We stopped at a couple of them.

David gave me the BEST gift for Valentine’s Day….he wrote me a love letter. It is the first one in our 20 blissful years of marriage and something that I will cherish.

This weekend, we had about 17 people that David works with over for a pot luck dinner. It was a nice time with great food. I had each person write down a question that they would like to know about everyone. Some of the questions were: Other than where you live, what is your favorite place in the world? Beatles or Rolling Stones? What is the happiest period in your life? The most memorable place that you had a coffee or drink? It was a nice evening.

So, this past week, I have received some incredibly sad news. My nephew, Patrick, who enlisted in the Marines right out of college and has been “neatly” tucked away in Okinawa; received his orders for Afghanistan this week. He will be reporting to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA for training on March 2. We don’t know when he will be leaving or if he will get leave to return home before heading out. It has been 2 years since we have seen him. We are very proud of Patrick, but personally, I just feel that the marines are not using him to the best of his ability. He is such an intelligent kid and has been doing administration work….he is so capable of doing much, much more. My sister, Kathy, his mother is dealing with this latest news much better than I am!!!

Next, I learned that my dear friend Jill, whom I met when we lived in Columbia, SC …. when was that….2002? Jill has been battling colon cancer for the past 2 years. She has gone through 2 rounds of chemo. This last Pet scan has revealed that the cancer is now in her lymph nodes and has spread to her pelvis, stomach and chest. At this point, the doctors are giving her time. It is so unfair and sad. Jill is in her early 40s and has a precious 6 year old son.

On Saturday, I learned that my dad is going for a stress test on Wednesday as he has been having breathing issues and wants to know what the cause is.

Finally, Sunday, I received the news that my sister had to put her Bichon Frise down. Schroeder had been in the family for 10 years. It is so sad that he is gone. Sadly, Kathy was alone as Kevin and Nathan were in Boston looking at colleges for Nathan. Also, on Sunday, I learned that Dick Choate, Steve Choate’s father, passed away. Steve is a dear high school friend and I always tried to make time to visit his parents whenever I was in my hometown of Hallowell. Mr Choate was very special to me and will be greatly missed.

I am flying to Maine on Thursday for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I will miss Mr Choate’s funeral by one day, which really bothers me. I just can’t make different arrangements at this point.

So, please remember these people in your prayers. Take time to hug your loved ones today….and let them know how special they are to you. Sometimes in the fast pace of life, we forget to tell each other how much we appreciate them.

Blessings to all…..