Broken Glass

Well the house is on the market at long last. That is to say that we are relieved. The market itself seems quite unmoved by this achievement. After a week and a half we have received 0 calls or visits. Oh well....

Yesterday however was our first open house and there were 3 couples who viewed the home, all were apparently impressed with it. We'll see what the color of their money is before we get overly excited though.

We think the garden has come up rather nicely and just at the right time. Some of the spring flowers are a bit sprung though!

A special note of thanks to Bob and Colleen for the work they did to make our property look as nice as it does. They drove out here, crossing nearly 1/2 of the continent and got stuck in to all sorts of hard labor. The lawn looks so much better and we can actually see through all the windows in the porch for the first time in a long time.  Its fitting that as our time in the US draws to a close that we remember with equal gratitude the loving support that Coleen was to Judy during a different period of adjustment to life in 'merica. You (pl.) have been a blessing to us both.

With the house on the market we are now really starting to focus on getting ready to leave - the countdown is speeding up. June 17th will be our last day in Connecticut. So much still to do! However Judy was able to relax a little for the first time in a long time on the Saturday after the Open Home. We are very grateful that her health has stayed as well as it has. Sola Dei gloria.

 Now - Broken Glass? Firstly as we were getting ready to visit Eliot and Chana before Church this evening Troy dropped an Arcoroc plate (sort of like Pyrex). It shattered in a quite spectacular manner and I could hear glass shards sliding out of the kitchen, through the lounge, even down the steps to the front door. That was a good plate and had served us well for at least 25 years.

Secondly, we went to another spectacular concert at Yale on Friday night. Bach's Mass in B minor is a truly beautiful piece of worship. To be honest though most of it is way beyond me. For me it's like a glass of really great wine. I can't tell you why the wine is special, but I will take a second glass.

Our trip home after the concert was full of discussion about the different soloists, the instruments used etc. The Alto was sublime and the tenor also had a beautiful solo with flute accompaniment. Then we called Troy and he told us that 'Doug' had my iPad. That was all the information Troy had. Things slowed down for me at that point.

Who was Doug? Why does he have my iPad? Thinking back through the day I hadn't really left the house at all. Was senility setting in that fast? Had I really gone to visit my good friend, lent him my iPad and then forgotten even that I know him?

Well Saturday morning answered all my questions. 'Someone' had left the iPad on the roof of the car. There it stayed for 5.5 miles until it decided enough was enough. Doug came  past a little while latter and saw this sad sight on the side of the road, stopped, picked it up and then managed to find my phone number and return it to us on Saturday morning. Here she is. 

You can see the glass is shattered, the case (the black edges) is shattered as well. It now rattles. It also still works! This picture shows Mum de Vries calling us on Skype. The touch screen still works, the speakers, the internet. The only thing I'm not sure about yet is the camera. That area is really badly damaged (you can see into the case there), but I'll have a play with it in the morning. Right after I make an emergency trip for a replacement!

Thirdly;

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us - if at all - not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

I do love this poem!

HELLO .. Hello .. hello

A short post just to record the progress on our activities.

We finally found people to do the floor. Initially they didn't return calls, then missed appointments so we had quite low expectations. When they finally showed up to give us a quote we were happy to arrange to have the floors done the following Friday. 2 large vans arrived, filled with enthusiastic flooring people, bright and early on Thursday morning! Sorry guys try again tomorrow when we've actually moved all the furniture out!

The floors have now been sanded and 2 coats of varnish applied. Monday will see the final coat and hopefully Tuesday will see the furniture returned to more normal places. Until then we live in the basement, somewhat perched on top of our furniture and clothing. We spent Saturday trying to avoid the pervasive smell of varnish, so were camped out at the mall and various furniture stores.

I really should have managed things a little better on Saturday though. The mall was safe enough but visiting a couple of higher end furniture stores resulted in a small but financially impact-ful group of items added to Judy's shopping list. I had pretty well talked Judy out of this shameful, flagrant consumerism (our furniture has lasted us nigh on 26 years!) when I compounded my foolishness by letting Judy know that our tax return had arrived. And a small bonus. If you're sitting there (smugly) thinking 'how could 1 man be so stupid?' I will admit that today I also allowed Judy to speak to a family member about these planned purchases. Oh well. Any Americans want a Rimu dining suite? Going cheap.

Tammy update. We've had a bit of interest and are pleased to let you know that a home has been found for her. While we are not leaving for a few months yet we are keen to get her relocated sooner rather than later. An attitude that seems to confuse pet people. We really aren't pet people!

Judy is well. Well enough to be cheating at WELDER actually. Really.

ticks

The clock has been doing far too many of them, with no word of progress or regress from us. I do apologize.

Firstly, we continue to celebrate Judy's continuing good health. She is feeling some of the side effects of her hormonal treatment but is bearing up pretty well. Her blood tests continue to be nice and stable and the Dr is happy that her disease is remaining nicely out of the way.

So what have we been up to in the past months? The main item is still selling the house. We had Art come down and 'help' out for a week. That week amazing things happened to our house. Words cant express our gratitude and admiration for all Art did that week.  Every item on Judy's extensive to do list was done. Then on Wednesday we had to make a new list. By Friday we nearly had him working at the neighbors. Things slowed down since then but we have carried on with the smaller jobs, painint doors, windows,m ceiling, walls, the back porch etc. Now that Spring is crouching at our door we are ready for a few more outdoors activities, more painting and cleaning, repair the driveway a little more, planting and lawn maintenance etc.

The last major item to tackle is sanding and varnishing the floors. True to  form and history we attempted to do this ourselves. We got one room done and decided it really was worth pursuing a professional to come and do it for us. Hopefully this guy turns up on Friday! It is a clear sign of an improving economy when it's hard to get tradesmen to come to your house. Art being exceptional in this respect as well as many others.

We have also been getting ready for the move - sorting out 'stuff', throwing away all that we don't need, boxing books (the old fashioned paper type). Judy is inordinately pleased that we are able to use the boxes she saved from our move TO the States 14 years ago. They are in surprisingly good condition! The wrapping paper that the movers used is also still available. I'm pretty sure I was not supposed to mention that Judy IRONED this flat 14 years ago, so lets skip that.

We have a section of the garage cordoned off for the 'sell this stuff' pile. Pretty soon we will be dedicating the entire garage to this category. Lots of electrical goods need new homes. The Keurig has already been promised to  a good home. I confess that I'm missing it already and it still sitting here on the desk next to me. Addicted? Moi?

Also in need of a new home is Tammy. Any American residents interested in a very lovely dog please let us know. She has 2 bad points - she sheds hair and has so far killed 3 skunks as well as sundry other rodent family members of similar sizes. Otherwise she really is a great pet, companion, and house guard. Whle she is getting a little grey in the snout (and what's wrong with that!!!) she still behaves like a puppy when we take her for walks.

We may have a house rental sorted out for Christchurch through a colleague at work. It is only available on September 1st though so we would still need temp accommodation when we get there. Lots of details are coming together, lots more to do!

We are also planning our trip to the west coast. We leave CT on June 17th and will head to Canada, Chicago, and a Canyon. Any other suggestions that we should see while we are passing by would be helpful.
 We need to be in LA by July 3rd and will then head fairly directly to CHC.

In summary: Judy feels well, house is looking very nice. Please buy it, or anything in the garage.

Love love

Cat is out of the bag

With apologies to Stella as clearly cats dont belong in bags!

Yes, we have finally come to the decision to return to New Zealand. We plan to let Troy finish off the term at school, sell the house and return to Christchurch in June this year.

Work will have a job for me in Christchurch but otherwise are really taking the line that it's me wanting to go there, so I have to fund it myself. Given the way the respective housing markets have moved over the past few years, and the exchange rate, I have been walking around the house like a grumpy, wounded bull witha thorn in it's paw(hoof). Appearances are deceiving however as money is not a factor in our decisions. Yes it's useful stuff to have but we see that the Lord has put an opportunity in front of us to be closer to family, church, and friends. A few dollars doesnt get in the way of that :-)

So we are very excited although not without sadness at leaving our friends in the USA. We have actually lived here longer than we have anywhere else in our married lives. The logistics of the move back are also pretty daunting to us right now. We will be looking for a rental apartment or home in Christchurch in June/July (as well as a school!). If you know of anything available please pass on the details. Also if you know of any one who wanted a freshly painted house in Connecticut .....

From Animula (TS Eliot)


Issues from the hand of God, the simple soul,
To a flat world of changing lights and noise,
To light, dark, dry, damp, chilly or warm,
Moving between the legs of tables and of chairs
Rising or falling,
Grasping at kisses and toys,
Advancing boldly, sudden to take alarm,
Retreating to the corner of arm and knee,
Eager to be reassured, taking pleasure
In the fragrant brilliance of the Christmas tree
Pleasure in the wind, the sunlight and the sea'
Studies the sunlit pattern on the floor.

The pain of living and the drug of dreams
Curl up the small soul in the window seat
Behind the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Issues from the hand of time, the simple soul,
Irresolute and selfish, misshapen, lame
Unable to fare forward or retreat,
Fearing the warm reality, the offered good,
Denying the importunity of the blot,
Shadow of its own shadow, spectre of its own gloom,
Leaving disordered papers in a dusty room;

Pray for Floret by the boorhound slain between the yew trees,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our birth.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

I had planned a post to update you all on things in the Snoek household over the past weeks. However there were so many goings on that I really don't know where to begin.

We have been busy (in a very relaxing and blessed way) with family and friends visiting. People have asked if it was tiring to have visitors - but these visitors were a blessing, an encouragement, great support, and domestic super heroes.

Here are the Sistas being an encouragement and general life-of-the-party

As the dust settles (now that you understand that phrase correctly) our next oncology scan was done this week. Judy came home with a nice certificate explaining to officials that her radioactivity was entirely due to medical reasons. Apparently the isotope they used had a half life of 2 hours and would be undetectable after 20 hours. Pretty spooky stuff if you ask me!

Well that was a few days ago and we've let Judy back into the house. Fortunately there was no snow that night, only light rain.

Today we had the report from the oncologist and it was perhaps a little confusing, but mostly good. So the Good : Judy's tumors in her spine are reduced and there was no sign of spread to any other bones. The scan also showed 'stuff' around both lungs, consistent with the disease but the oncologist said that he thinks this is due to the surgeries on both lungs. Certainly Judy is feeling no pain, suffering shortness of breath, or coughing. So the oncologists more cheerful conclusion has our endorsement. Another confusing (and maybe 'bad' part of the report was that the liver lesions appeared to have increased. The initial PET scan didnt show very clearly what was going on in the liver so a CT scan was performed which showed 7-9 lessions, 2 of which were significant. So we don't THINK this result stands. Again Judy feels well (she even put on a few more pounds!), and that counts for a lot.

The oncologist really did feel this was a good result, confusion not withstanding and not altogether unusual. He said it was days like today that got him into this business and we were quite happy to have made his day for him!

As for the ugly, that is clearly the events in Newtown. While we celebrate and praise God for his answers to prayers regarding Judy's health, the events of last Friday cast a pall over all around us. Please continue to pray for all those affected by this horror.

Gangnam Style

Yes I'm still in the top 800,000,000 people in the world for knowing what is hip on Youtube. Although it was a close run thing.

I was also going to post snapshots gangnam style but while pictures of me with dark shades made it past the censor the closeup photos of my **** lady's ****** didn't.

So what else to talk about?

Part of the reason for the delays in posting is that we are still awaiting the tests to catch up with what we are seeing. It really looks like the hormone therapy is managing Judy's disease. She is feeling better and better each day. At the last oncologist meeting he said she has the sparkle back in her eye. He set the next appointment for a months time. So we can see her regaining strength after this last op, but we still have to wait for the scan to confirm what is happening with her tumors. Clearly though it's hard to keep down the mounting excitement.

When I picked up the 'sistas' (oh yeah they are gangsta) I said we feel fraudulent having you come all this way to see us, because Judy is really starting to feel well again. Happily they stuck to family tradition and ignored me.

After a wonderful visit Esther has gone home again, albeit with a vicious cold that Troy has managed to pass around to all the family, except Judy and Sandra. Sandra is being kept behind for another week to see if Troy can complete his Typhoid Mary mission.

Eliot came home for 2 days over Thanksgiving and saw the state of Troy, Esther, and me and decided he was having none of this. So he spent the 2 days with a bandana tied bandit style over mouth and nose. Friday dawned to see another sick Snoekie.

 So Thursday (Thanksgiving day) was pretty muted for most of us although we did spend time in gratitude for, not only the amazing love and support from friends and family near and far, but also the Lord's answers to our prayers (some of them!) for Judy.

In other news - We have more visitors coming this weekend, followed by Stella and her husband. Such a blessing and encouragement!

 I have also had my eye surgery put forward - it'll be this week! I'm hoping that it will improve my night vision as well as being able to see my computer screen properly again.


In the meantime I'll continue to hone my YouTube skills - hey - have you seen the guy who does the evolution of dance?

E.S.T. Delights

Well what an honour this is, updating the Snoek blog!  Hopefully it makes it past the resident censor.

It has been pure delight to be here with the family in Connecticut, experiencing their world, albeit for a short time.  Judy has been gaining in strength since our arrival which has been very encouraging for all of us, and she is hard to keep down at times!  We would like to think its because she has extra support from home on tap, but truth be told, it probably has more to do with recovery after the op.  We have been taking pictures here and there of various situations and activities, a few are posted below. 

There are many delights to be thankful for, and listed below are the ones that come to mind:

Seeing Judy (and Ron and Troy & Eliot)
Being part of the Snoek family for a short time
Being able to help out here and there
Meeting Eliot for dinner (and his girlfriend Chana) and seeing his digs
Spending quality time altogether
Witnessing the generosity of the American people first hand
The drive to Newtown, so picturesque
Panera bread (coffee and food outlet)
The rustier nail (more food)
The American homes
Shoveled snow at roadsides
Having the chance to revisit stores like sears, Macy's, Kohls and more
Troy coming home from school on the yellow bus - in this picture Troy is the only passenger!
Hanging up washing on that funny line
Experiencing thanksgiving dinner, all ready to go from the supermarket!

Thank you Ron, Judy and Troy for making us so welcome
From the sistas