Images from La Belle Province - Pt. 1

When we arrived in Joliette on an early summer's day, the sky was partly cloudy and partly sunny. It had rained earlier in the day and it was very humid.  I was so tired from the overnight flight and had absolutely no sleep on the plane.

I took these sky photos in anticipation of Skywatch Friday but never got around to using them for that purpose.  I really didn't feel up to photo taking on my first day but felt I needed some photos for the record. Hopefully my photos improved as the trip went along. I will be posting more in coming days if you want to come back and take a peek. Thanks for visiting!

 

My cousin took us for lunch at this chain restaurant in Joliette. It was incredibly busy in there and it was non-stop line-ups right up until we left.

A relative we crossed the country to visit.  She is well into her 80s and can still run several blocks without getting very winded! I also got a chance to meet her younger sister who is 80.

The lobby where my cousin lives.  It is a good thing we didn't stay with her as she had originally planned.  The heating in her apartment was on full blast and the temperature outside was hot and humid.

It is always interesting seeing what you can see in the village streets. There had been a bit of a flood as we arrived in town and a diversion of traffic going on as they repaired the town streets.

In these next set of photos we are on the way to Lanoraie, another small town. I may have these photos mixed up as to where they are but the three small towns in close proximity are: Joliette, Lavaltrie and Lanoraie.  We first went to Lanoraie and backtracked for dinner to Lavaltrie.

 

The map below is interactive. You can click on it and find out exactly where we were.

This sign was very common throughout the province. It means "For Rent". It is a sign you will seldom see where I live.

You will see large, beautiful churches in every city, town and village in the Province of Quebec.

The Catholic Church is the predominant church in the Province of Quebec. It is common to see large grave markers in Catholic cemeteries.

I love seeing the signage in French.

The country side around these parts is very beautiful and also very near to the St. Lawrence Seaway (which you can see peeking out in the background).

There are many beautiful homes in the area too.

 

This beautiful driveway leads to the waterfront home of a very wealthy person in the area.

 

This home is lovingly kept by one of the family members for other relatives who currently live abroad. I got to stay here overnight and absolutely fell in love with it's quaint charms.

I'm joining up with Our World Tuesday this week.

It's Friday!

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

Chief Seattle (c. 1786 - 1866)

At long last my mother's new room in the facility will be ready in the middle of September. This is one month later than the original date we were given.  It is a shame because it means I won't be visiting mom until after her birthday. I'll also be attending a care meeting with staff after the move so I will at least get a chance to visit with mom over a longer period of time than usual. She will like that because she gets lonely with most of her family members living far away.

I'm hoping that things will improve for mom's state of mind once she moves into her room and that the new staff on the floor will be more compassionate and sensitive. I haven't been impressed with things at the new facility so far.  If it weren't for the knowledge that many people are praying with and for me, I would be feeling very stressed out about the entire situation. In fact a few weeks ago I was very stressed out .  But after much prayer, I have calmed down and am trying to take things day by day. I also talk to mom daily.  Sometimes several times a day. When her anxiety levels rise, I just try to keep her calm and talk her through it.

Some of you will remember that mom is also still waiting for several pieces of medical equipment.  These have all been on order for awhile but they are slow in arriving.  I'm hoping by tomorrow (they didn't and neither did we get a phone call) she will have most of the items.  I don't think the Occupational Therapist ever ordered the over the bed hospital tables that she can get on loan from the local Red Cross. I haven't followed up on it yet because there are so many others things to follow up on and deal with.  The big ticket item we are waiting for is the demonstration model wheelchair.  It should be delivered next week if all goes according to plan but I'll believe it when I "see it".  It is a demonstration model so it won't be customized.  But it will have some features that should make mom more comfortable.

Mom's new wheelchair will have 6 wheels like this one.

We are most excited about her move and the arrival of the new chair because living on the ground level will give her more freedom to get outside for fresh air.  She misses that so much.  She doesn't like getting into the elevator due to poor eye sight.  Once she is on the ground level it will be a little easier for her to navigate on her own to get outdoors.  What a simple thing it is for most of us to go outside and yet I wonder if we fully appreciate the blessing that is.

Fresh air won't address my mother's loneliness at not seeing her children so often. but it will help her a lot.

I get lonely too but for different reasons. If you've been a caregiver I'm sure you know the loneliness of shouldering the burden of care for loved ones. We want to look after our loved ones but sometimes it just takes so much out of us.  In part, it explains why I've been posting a lot lately about my financial and health matters. Though it is rare, there are times I just want to reach out and share my heart and experiences with others and feel connected to others by hearing from them.

Isn't that what the blogging experience is all about?

When the response is resounding silence, it can exacerbate the lonely experience.  When the response to a post are great comments, encouragement or shared experiences, suddenly the world doesn't seem like such a lonely place. It's nice to make blogging friends and sometimes those blogging friends get to be friends you meet in real life. Now that's special!

I love the pink in these flowers and wanted to share them with you.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Update - August 18, 2013- I learned that my nephew & his girlfriend will be visiting my mom at the end of this month for her birthday. God is good!

Note: I wrote this post for  5 Minute Friday but discovered later that the prompt word "lonely" was for last week :-0