Lend a Helping Hand

Philip Yancey is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I am currently reading "In the Likeness of God" which is co-written by Dr. Paul Brand. Dr. Brand was a leading leprosy doctor, and he uses his tremendous insight into how the body works to explain how the Body of Christ (the church) should work. While every chapter has given me pause, there is one story in particular that has stuck with me.
It is the story of a Frenchman named Abbe Pierre. He was a Catholic friar assigned to work among the beggars after World War II. As help was slow in coming, and most people were not interested in the plight of the beggars, he set about showing them how to do their tasks better. Then he led them to build a warehouse and start a business. "Finally, Pierre inspired each beggar by giving him responsibility to help another beggar poorer than himself...After years of this work in Paris, there were no beggars left in that French city."

Can you imagine the impact in our own city if each person set out to help someone poorer than themselves?

But get this - Pierre came to see Dr. Brand at his leprosy hospital in India because he had a problem:

" 'I must find somebody for my beggars to help!' he declared and had begun searching in other places around the world. It was during one of those trips that he had come to Vellore. He concluded by describing his dilemma. 'If I don't find people worse off than my beggars, this movement could turn inward. They'll become a powerful, rich organization and the whole spiritual impact will be lost! They'll have no one to serve.' "

Lyrical Musings

I've been pondering the following lyric from the new Switchfoot album...

"The shadow proves the sunshine"

from the song of the same title.

---

Also thinking about the following...

Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life; you made it this far
Welcome, you got to believe
That right here, right now
You're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome to wherever you are

Be who you want to be
Be who you are
Everyone's a hero
Everyone's a star
When you want to give up and you heart's about to break
Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes

Snowbirds

Animals

At the end of a long day, I like coming home to my cat. Sometimes animals are so easy to be with compared to people. There are no politics to deal with. You feed them and play with them, and they love you. Simple as that.

Bloom

Little Princess

Contemplating

I like listening to music in my car. It provides the perfect environment for really listening. There is nothing else you need to be doing, aside from driving of course. You can't really do this at home, where it's hard to justify sitting on the couch doing nothing but listening to music for 1/2 an hour.
Lately I've had a worship CD playing in my car, and there's one song that's been cycling through my head over and over. It's a remake of a classic, called The Wonderful Cross. (Which is a bit of an oxymoron to me - but that's a whole other line of thought.)
The verse that I've been contemplating is this:

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

I wish I could somehow insert the track here, so that you could hear it, because it's so much more powerful than just reading the words. But nevertheless, it's the words that have captured my thoughts...

Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all

In the Know

"For I know the plans I have for you..."

Of course God knows the plans He has for you, but don't you wish sometimes that you knew the plans as well? I feel as though I am coming to the point of knowing...

More on this in the days to come.

Lobelia

Timepiece

Running

lacing up my shoes

perfect fit

anticipation

warm sun and cool breeze

legs pumping

lungs working

possibilities

everything is possible

everything is positive

exertion

and accomplishment

Good, Not Safe

Throughout the summer, Pastor Brad has been doing a series in church called "Got Wisdom?" and it has been fantastic. I don't typically take notes of the whole sermon because the complete text is posted online on our church's website (www.lakeviewchurch.com). I do, however, write down thoughts that stand out to me, that I want to take home and digest. As I was rummaging through my purse this last week I found a crumpled up bulletin from a couple of weeks ago, and the thought I'd written down jumped out at me and has been floating around in my head ever since.

"God is not safe, but he is good."

The sermon was based on the fear of God being the beginning of wisdom, and one of Brad's points was why we should fear God. That being - because he is not safe. When you look around at all that God is doing and has done, safety does not seem to be His main priority. But because he is also good, we can trust Him implicitly.

Not safe...but good.

Reflection

urban landscape

Winston's

geranium

Web Preserved

(I didn't take the original photo, but merely modified it)

Goldenweb

(I didn't take the original photo, but merely modified it)

...And if You Swallow One?

So...West Nile hey? I've tried to avoid mosquito bites as much as possible, but can you get West Nile from swallowing a mosquito? Say, if you were walking down the street and you had the (rather gross) misfortune of having one fly into your mouth and down your throat?
Just wondering...

2nd Avenue Sidewalk Sale

Today was the first day of the 2nd Ave Sidewalk Sale. I took my lunch hour to peruse the goods displayed all along 2nd Avenue, basking in the sunshine while meandering from booth to booth. I love street fairs. The sun, the music, the aroma of street meat...and the deals.
I found The Neverending Story on VHS. This was one of my all-time favorite movies as a kid, and I'm looking forward to watching it again. I'm sure it will be completely different from what I remember, as most things are when you experience them again as an adult. But nevertheless, you can't go too wrong with a $5 movie.
Also, I found a store selling used books for $1-$5, so I picked up a few. One of them was bought (almost) purely for name's sake - The Frumious Bandersnatch. Now if that doesn't peak your interest...

And that is how I enjoyed my lunch hour today.

Worlds Apart

I'm reading a book right now called "Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson."

The other night I watched an episode of the new reality show "Who Wants to be a Hilton."

What a difference between these two!

The Hilton show is all about how to fit in in high society - how to act, what to wear, what to say. In a word - superficial. And the book is about what becomes important to a man when he is preparing for death. While there are so many ideas in the book to stop and make you think, I'll offer this latest one that I read today because it is such a contradiction to the Hilton tv show.

"We've got a form of brainwashing going on in our country...do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that's what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it - and have it repeated to us - over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this, he has no perspective on what's really important anymore."

As aptly shown on tv. And in magazines. And every form of media really. So what do we do with this then?

"You have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. Create your own."

I love that line.

And with that unfinished thought, I'll head off to bed, and hopefully write more tomorrow.

My Heart Will Choose to Say

We sang this song in church this past Sunday, and it's still echoing in my head. It's a simple song, but the more I think about what it means, the more meaning it takes on.

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in , Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Just be a Tourist

I did a little walking downtown today. I needed to pick up an attachment for my vacuum and thought it would be easier to walk than to find parking. (As it turns out it was quite a bit further than I thought, and I could have found parking, but then I would have missed this moment.) Eventually I arrived at the vacuum store and found and paid for the part. Then I was offered a cookie. That's right - a homemade cookie. That would be a first I think; being offered homebaked goodies in a vacuum store. Or any store for that matter. Now I have to admit that upon hearing the offer of a cookie, my first thought was, "don't take candy from strangers" and close on the heels of that was "but she's probably not going to poison her customers." So I took the cookie. And it was good. And then I had my moment.

I was walking back to work, the sun was shining brilliantly, and I felt for a brief moment like a tourist walking through the downtown of an unknown city. This is a wonderful feeling. You have no pre-conceived notions about anything, and everything is interesting. I had the desire to peek in little shops I'd never been in, and perhaps try the little Chinese food restaurant on the corner. I admired the old buildings, window shopped a little, and hoped that I would make the time to come back downtown one day this summer and just be a tourist.

The Artist

I was recently in Victoria, BC for a weekend, and I had the chance to wander around downtown, going here and there and wherever my heart desired. I happened upon a craft market that stretched for several blocks, and was filled with an amazing assortment of crafts, artwork, jewelry, soaps, woodwork, gadgets, books, and just about anything a person could think of. It was all very good quality, and I had the fortune of speaking with some of the people selling their wares. While they were all very interesting, one in particular stood out to me. He is a Metis artist who rendered some of the best pencil drawings I have ever seen. The detail and life in the pictures at first had me believing they were photos. Upon closer inspection I could see that they were indeed drawings. The artist was quite a quiet man, and was drawing a new picture as he sat by his kiosk. He spoke fondly of the people in his pictures, both those historical figures and those still alive. I regret not having bought a picture, and if I am ever back in Victoria I hope that he will be there again, selling his art.

Sunday

As the weekend is almost officially over, I now pronounce it good. I went to bed early Friday night, and woke up early Saturday morning. I ate my breakfast on the balcony, enjoying the sunshine and happily chirping birds. What a great way to start a productive day. I saw the Broadway production "Grease" in the evening, which was good. Not spectacular, but good.
And then came Sunday.
Today was a great day. Church was awesome - the service was done entirely by the kids. They sang, and acted, and ushered and put on a wonderful production of "Cool in the Furnace" - the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then I went to Mom and Dad's for Mother's Day, and had a wonderful afternoon. The highlight of my weekend may well have been flying paper airplanes in the backyard with my nephew. The evening was calm and the temperature moderate - that perfect "not-so-hot-and-not-so-cold" in between temperature.
And now it's time for bed, and so another week begins...

Stop and Take Notice

Note to self: When you happen across a good quote in a book, write it down so that later you don't have to go and re-check the book out of the library and spend hours (or what seemed like it) flipping page by page through the book to find it again. Because once you think about the quote, and the fact that you forgot to write it down, then you must go and find it. Or maybe that's just me. Most probably the latter.

So here's the quote I had just about given up finding. It's not even so much a "quote" as it is a thought that popped out from the page; a thought that struck a chord; that made me want to remember it.

"One thing that leads a person to poetry is an inner life of some activity - often even turbulence. There is a weight of emotion, a burden of feeling that has to come out."
- from the Vinyl Cafe: Unplugged by Stuart McLean

Mmmmm....Barbecue

I had my first BBQ of the season today. Mmmm...homemade hamburgers.
The day was brilliantly sunny, enough to make me believe that Spring is finally here. It's amazing the anticipation I feel every year at this time; as though I've never experienced Spring before. I guess it just brings with it so much promise. It feels like a new beginning - more so even than the start of a new year. Spring is the time when anything is possible. Sigh...I should go before I break into song...

Happy Springtime!

Welcome to My Salad.

And that is Inspiration

Having another happy moment...tossing together a salad for supper, snacking on Havarti and crackers, listening to Lonestar.

Pausing to photograph the lettuce.

It's all good.

Thoughts Before Bed...

So I've been working out to country music lately. Yoga and Faith Hill. Seems like an odd combination, but it works.

---

I've decided (again) only to read good books. Now that should go without saying, but I'm the kind of person who feels like they need to finish a book once they've started. As if it's the cardinal sin to put down a book half-read knowing that you will never pick it up again. This decision came about while reading "The Roommating Season" by Rona Jaffe. I was incredibly disappointed with it, and read 100 pages before tossing it aside. When a main character suddenly dies and the reader couldn't care less, it's not worth the time. I had previously read (and own) Jaffe's novel "The Road Taken," which was superb. I suppose because it dealt with more serious and somewhat controversial subjects, (if I remember correctly), it held my attention quite easily. It seemed worthwhile.
And so on to the next novel I went, and I'm enjoying this one considerably more. It falls perfectly between the books about nothing, and the ones that steal your emotions and entangle you so completely in their story that you grieve and laugh and live alongside the characters. (I recently finished such a book and will write about it tomorrow.)
For now, though, I will continue reading "The Good People of New York," by Thisbe Nissen, and leave you with this quote from it:

"...she wonders if that's just what growing up is: the process of that space
between you and your self getting bigger and bigger and bigger until one can't
see the other anymore, and you don't remember what it was like to be a kid, or
what it was like to want something so badly that you can't ever imagine not
wanting [it], least of all imagine wanting something and not knowing what that
something is."

The Castle in the City

winter moon

Sunset near Cranberry Flats.

Sunset over the lake.

Kneeling Man

On a Related Note...

Funny thing - when I ran the spell check on my previous entry, "pics" was not in the dictionary, but "boo-yah" was. Huh. Go figure.

I'm Back!

Boo-yah baby! I'm back! Inspired today, for the first time in a long time, to take out my camera and create something. To actually get out my tripod (the joints of which were rather in need of WD-40 since I haven't used it in so long), create, and properly capture my idea. It's so great now that I have a digital camera, because I can take the picture over and over with minor variations to find what I like best.
Anyhow, thanks to my friend for showing me her travels pics today - that just may have been my inspiration!
And of course I should be in bed right now, but that's when I get my best ideas - when I should be doing something else!
Check out the last photo I posted on carmsclicks to see the pic I took tonight.

Wheels

Westminster Abbey, British Columbia

Three Junes

I recently finished reading a fantastic book. Filled with richness and depth, it was a solid novel; weighty. Split into three parts, the first told the father's story; the second told the son's story; and the third told the story of a character introduced in the second part - an outsider almost. It was a story about now, and about the past. About love and families. About trying to figure out where you belong. It reminded me a lot of the musical "Rent". It was filled with a tangible sadness; not the kind that makes you want to cry, that's born of an unfortunate event, but a sadness that life does not always turn out the way you want it to. The kind of emotion that dwells in you; that underlies even the happiest occasion; a companion, of sorts, through all things good and bad. This is not to say it was mirthless. It wasn't one of those books that takes place entirely at night, in the shadows, where it's always raining. There was sunlight and new beginnings; births and friendships; varied scenery and new experiences. And in the end, you walk away knowing that the story isn't really finished, but that's ok, because

"Here we are - despite the delays, the confusion, and the shadows en route
- at last, or for the moment, where we always intended to be."

Light a Match

Now this is what all music sites should be like. You can listen to 4 complete albums, song by song, and access the lyrics for all of them. And they're a great band to boot. Too bad I didn't go and see them the last time they were here.

"...you're laughing out loud at just the thought of being alive..."

tears

Sunsets

I had the priviledge this past week of doing some highway driving during sunset. The first time, I had to drive Nicole out to Perdue to pick up her car, and then drive back by myself. It was the perfect "golden hour" - that time before sunset when the light is rich and warm and absolutely wonderful. Because there is still quite a bit of snow, everything around me was reflecting this perfect light. And then the sunset was spectacular. I love that moment when the clouds are lit from underneath and you can see the pink sunset behind you reflected in the clouds before you. After a somewhat hectic day, it was the perfect calming drive.

A few days later I was driving out to Martensville when I witnessed another wonderful sunset. I used to love that drive into the city before work. The landscape is so wide open, it seemed as though the sky was breaking open each morning, flooding the world with beauty and the promise of another day. What a wonderful way to start out.

"The heavens declare the

glory of God;

the skies proclaim the

work of his hands.

Day after day they pour

forth speech;

night after night they

display knowledge.

There is no speech or

language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into

all the earth,

their words to the ends of

the world."

Contemplating

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"O Lord...you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar...you are familiar with all my ways...you created my inmost being...ALL THE DAYS ORDAINED FOR ME WERE WRITTEN IN YOUR BOOK BEFORE ONE OF THEM CAME TO BE..." from Psalm 139

Still thinking about this sermon.

dance

splinter

music

This Guy is so talented, and I am SO EXCITED to see him live on June 8. Check out his website - you can hear 3 of his songs by using the >> arrows in the top right hand corner. (You have to enter the site first.)

Shakespeare: Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Color

Feb 27, 2005. Frosty tree as seen from my balcony.

FGBI Football Weekend 1997

Impending Storm

Dreaming

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

The sermon this past Sunday was about dreams. Not the kind of dreams you have at night, but the dreams people have for their lives. It was the kind of inspirational message that shakes you awake, and reminds you that there is more to life than what you are living right now. Pastor Dean challenged us to take some time to figure out what our dreams are, and then to pursue them. For some people this is easy; they have always had a great, overriding ambition to do a particular thing. For others, like me, it's harder to figure out exactly what your dream might be. Sort of. When I quiet my thoughts, when I still myself, it's like there's this whole other world that opens up to me. And then it seems that my dream is right there in front of me, in caps lock and bold, underlined, with multiple exclamation marks. But that quietness is hard to hold onto. Before long the "real" world crowds back in - there's laundry and other various housework that needs to be done; supper to start; groceries and birthday presents to be bought; decisions to be made. Oh ya and I should probably exercise, too.

But despite all these distractions, I'm trying to take some time this week to be quiet, to think about what kind of dream God has given me. To think about the fact that every person is unique, and has something that they are destined to do. And when I think about it that way; that in the whole scheme of things I have been cast for a very specific part; then it seems pretty important that I figure out what that thing is. Because whatever IT is, it's the reason for my being here. And I just don't want to miss it.

Fall 2004

Scrapbooking

So I decided awhile back that I would start scrapbooking again. I bought an album and some paper and was so excited! That was about 2 months ago. I finally started my album last night. Sort of. My sister invited me to go with her to a local store that offers "Late Night Crop" - they have a room in the back that stays open till midnight, and anyone can come and scrapbook there, using their tools and such. So I dragged Nicole along with me, and off we went. As it turned out, I spent all of my time there wandering the store and picking out paper, trying to formulate my ideas. Nicole made one very nice page, and my sister made 2 or 3.
I think my problem may have been just a little intimidation. It seems there is this whole scrapbooking subculture that I was unaware of. Almost all of the women in the room had these giant scrapbooking-suitcases-on-wheels full of paper, tools, pictures, etc. And here I was with my plastic bag containing a few pictures, some paper, and an album.
However, I had another go at it tonight, in the comfort of my own home, and voila! I have completed my first page. (In just a few short hours, to boot.)
You can check out my first page here, as well as viewing Nicole's first two pages. Thus, my scrapbooking journey has begun...

Singular Beauty

Double Vision

They call me "legs."

Thankful

Feeling thankful for the people in my life.

Thankful for the great supper my aunt made last night for a few of her nieces. (Myself included, obviously.)

That seems to be the theme this week: good food and conversation shared with friends and family.

Food, Friends, and Fun

What a wonderful evening! 9 friends sharing a great meal and 3 1/2 hours of conversation.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feeling Good

I am in the midst of a happy moment. I just posted a new picture to carmsclicks. I love my pictures. Because they are something that I've created. Something that did not exist before I decided to create it. Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and I do have those kinds of pictures, but my "fine art" pictures are my treasures because they happened purposefully.

Also, I'm listening to one of my favorite CD's - a mix of some fantastic songs. Some great 80's songs that require an air guitar/air drum accompaniment; others that just cut right to the soul; and those that require a little hip hop action. Some days I could sit and listen to music for hours. Today could be one of those days, but that is just not practical. Aaahh, the tyranny of the urgent. I love music. I miss my guitar. One of these days, I'll buy a new one...

I had a great conversation at lunch today. It wasn't about anything spectacular, but it was so nice to genuinely converse with someone, and not just make small talk.

And while I haven't written much here and it's probably a little disjointed because I'm listening to music and "air guitaring", I just wanted to share these happy moments with you. Right at this moment, listening to my music, writing here, I wouldn't change a thing.

inspiration

Footprint?

The Conversation That Almost Happened

It still makes me laugh. Yesterday my friend Kyla called. I was in my bedroom, where I do have a phone, but the call display was not working. As per usual, I waited until the answering machine clicked on and the caller started leaving a message. (Yes, I do screen my calls. Diligently.) So the machine clicks on and Kyla starts leaving a message. I think "Yay! My friend is calling" so I pick up the phone. And here's where it starts to get fuzzy...I mean funny.
I say "Hello" and she says "Hi it's Kyla" and we start having a conversation about our upcoming Valentine's Day party. She suggests that we go to a movie after supper and I agree wholeheartedly. This carries on for a minute or so until she says something very strange - "So anyways, call me back when you get this. Bye."
Then I realize that we were not having a conversation at all. She was in fact still leaving a message because when I picked up the phone, it did not disconnect the answering machine (like it usually does)! It just so happened that she paused in all the right places to accommodate my end of the "conversation."
So I guess I need to call her back now, seeing as we didn't actually talk the other day. (Much as I thought we had.)

My Guitar

That Sinking Feeling

That Sinking Feeling

So I'm at a church meeting last night when it happens. We're sitting on these orange plastic chairs with the metal legs. You know the ones? And all of a sudden I feel as though I'm sliding down in my chair. So I straighten myself up only to realize that I have a problem of another sort. The seat of my chair is slowly caving in! Trying not to draw attention to myself I discreetly re-position my body over the frame of the chair, in an effort to avoid ending up with my knees around my chin, my bottom half sinking slowly towards the floor. That seemed to do the trick, and I made it out unscathed.

Of course, I could have just moved to a different chair.

The Bessborough Hotel at night.

Mittens Reunite

Canada now has a National Mitten Registry. Yes that's right. No more mittens going MIA. Check it out here and here.

Belonging

I attended a membership meeting tonight at my church. It was so great! I met some very friendly people and learned a few things about the Free Methodist denomination; but most importantly I found where I belong. With every passing minute I felt a growing desire to belong to this church, this particular group of people. They are people I can learn from; people I can grow alongside, and minister with. Their vision and mission inspire me. I haven't felt "at home" in a church since I moved to Saskatoon 6 years ago. You know, that comfortableness of knowing where things are, having people to sit with Sunday morning, being involved in the goings-on of the church, feeling like you are an integral part of the ministry.
I know all I've done so far is attended one meeting, but it feels like I'm on the edge of something great! Praise God! He is patient and wise, and leads us into good things.

Summer 2004. Tiger Lilies in Mom's garden.

Autumn Splendor

Autumn 2004. One day after work. At the park behind my condo.

Another New Blog

Check out my photo blog, over on the left called The Way I See It. Because I didn't have quite enough to keep me busy.

Christmas Review

This Christmas was, I think, one of the busiest on record. For me anyway. I seemed to have an event every weekend, and a "to do" list a mile long for every other day of the week. Not that I'm complaining. I enjoyed all of the Christmas festivities, culminating with our family gathering on the 25th, which is always the highlight for me. My nephew is 4 1/2 and has figured out this whole Christmas thing - as evidenced by his suggestion that we all form a line and pass the presents along, with him at the end!
Seriously, though, I do enjoy our gift opening time after the meal. I suppose if my family has one tradition, this would be it. The youngest child hands out the presents, (I remember oh so well when this was me, handing out presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house), and we open them one by one. This year I decided to do something different and treat my family to a night at the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, instead of buying gifts. While the food was delicious, and the play was hilariously well done, I found that I missed buying gifts for my family. I realized that it's not about needing something, or thinking that I have to buy something, but wanting to buy gifts for the people I love. (So I did end up buying a couple of things.)

---

This year I attended the big Christmas work party, for only the 2nd time in my almost 7 years at work. It was a lot of fun, shopping for a new outfit, and getting my hair done on the day of the party. In fact, I think the preparation and the "getting dressed up and going out" was almost more fun than the party itself. The food was fine, but not spectacular. (I think it's hard to do spectacular when you're feeding 325 people.) And because I'm not much of a drinker (in fact, water was my beverage of the night), or a dancer (although I do cut a rug pretty good in the comfort of my living room!) that pretty much just left small talk. Needless to say I was home by 10:30. But it was fun to get all dolled up for a night out.

---

This year my roommate and I hosted our 4th annual Christmas party, which was a huge hit. (In my very unbiased opinion.) This year we had an hors d'oeuvre night. (In the past we've had a "sit down" meal and last year was fondue. Mmmmm...) So we're thinking "hors d'oeuvres...small food...kind of a late night snack idea." Wrong. Small food does not mean small quantities. We had SO MUCH food. Of course, that was probably due in part to my roommate making 4 items and me making 3. You think? So everybody was absolutely stuffed by the end of the night, which I consider a good indicator of how the party went. There was also that little deal about the prize for the best homemade hors d'oeuvre. The prize that my roommate won. Is it right to win the prize at your own party? I'm not sure. I think the vote was split on that one. Anyways, we also indulged in the $5.00 gift exchange (where everybody buys something that is most definitely more than $5.00). And we got to steal. So I stole. And I wound up with some real pearls from China, and a salad set. But mostly I was excited about the pearls. Yay for stealing!
To top off the night we played CatchPhrase, which is a great game. Highly recommended. To those of you not playing Cranium, which seems to be the game of the year.

---

Well, those are my highlights of Christmas 2004. I am hoping to start my photoblog soon, where I will post pics of these and other events. For the last time this season, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This is Your Life

Thought-provoking lines from a novel I recently finished:

[This] is not something to be gotten through. It is not some
fleeting phase of life - it is your life..

The lines in the book are referring to motherhood, but I think it applies to all areas of life. Too often I find myself thinking, "I just want to get through this," without realizing that "this" is my life. That every part of every day makes up the whole of my life. That life will go by fast enough without me wishing it away.

This is your life...

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken

Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes,
This is your life.
And today is all you've got now.
And today is all you'll ever have.
Don't close your eyes.

This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything that you dreamed
that it would be when the world was younger,
and you had everything to lose?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?

*book quote from "amanda bright @ home" by Danielle Crittenden

*lyrics by Switchfoot "This is Your Life"

Not Really So Bad

It's that time of the year again. Time to pull out the 10 year old winter boots and lament that I didn't buy new ones, again, this year. Time for multi-layers, and doing the shuffle so as not to freeze when filling up the car with gas. Time to get up earlier to allow for snow removal off the car, and the treacherously slow drive to work. Also time for a little tradition of mine. That is, I like to wait until it's at least -20 degrees C and dark out before I find the extension cord for my car. This was not so bad this year, so I thought I'd spice it up a little. Maybe stay out in the cold an extra 10 min or so. I thought I'd be nice and get my roommate's cord out of the shed and bring it down and set it up so that she just has to plug in when she gets home from work tonight. This would be the orange cord. The 30 foot orange cord. The tangled 30 foot orange cord, that I didn't decide to untangle until I was already outside. Thankfully I'd thought ahead and had on that 2nd winter layer of clothing, complete with hood and all. But I'm not really complaining, as I am now nice and warm inside my house, with the Christmas lights turned on, and feeling merry. And with that, Happy Holidays! May you stay safe and warm.

It's the Small Things

Sitting at my computer, writing a poem, listening to jazz music. I close my eyes and pretend to play the saxophone. Hearing footsteps in the hall, I turn and look over to see my roommate pretending to plays drums in the doorway. And that is why we are best friends.

It's the Most Wonderful Time

I would like to extend my first Merry Christmas, as tomorrow is December 1. Yay! Happy Holidays! The other day I put up my Christmas lights, and since then have been very much in the holiday spirit. This week the tree will go up, and presents will be wrapped, and isn't it just the most wonderful time of the year? It's nice to be in the mood so early, as it often takes me awhile to "catch" the Christmas spirit.

I've heard several Christmas songs on the radio already, which seems to be earlier than usual, but it may just be my imagination. Whatever the case, I had a "well that's interesting" moment the other day when I heard a carol on the radio. Have you ever noticed that Christmas is the only time of year when adults can legitimately sing children's songs? The song I heard was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sung by Gene Autry. Adults can even make whole CDs of children's songs and not be thought strange. You can't do this any other time of the year. For instance, I don't think good ol' Gene would make a CD featuring Sesame Street songs. (You never know, but probably not...) And I think that is just wonderful. (Adults singing kids tunes, not Gene and Sesame Street).

Anyways, those are my Christmas ponderings for today. I'm sure there will be more to come as the month progresses. Once again, Merry Christmas all!

Adjectives

Amazing. Heart-rending. Hilarious. Spell-binding. Impressive. Desperate. Magnificent. Tragic. Eye-opening. Poignant. Light-hearted. Emotional. Inspiring. Intense.

This was Les Miserables. I saw the Broadway production last night, and it was all of this and so much more.

Mary and Joseph

Better late than never?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

...But sometimes you need the words to explain the picture.

Now what do you suppose is going on here?

It's Been Decided

She's keeping The Beautiful Purse. A replacement has been found to give away, and the necessary arguments made to justify keeping the original Beautiful Purse. This makes me happy, because now I can borrow it for my Christmas party that is coming up in a few weeks. Three cheers for The Beautiful Purse! (And for My Friend deciding to keep said purse!) (And also for My Friend letting me borrow The Purse for my Christmas party.) (And perhaps one more cheer for when she reads this and discovers that she's lending me The Beautiful Purse.)

Cheerio!

Cheerio!

So I'm sitting at my desk, daintily trying to eat my nuts and bolts and not make a mess, when it happens. I grab several cheerios at once, kind of pinching them together to get a grip, and I squeeze so hard they fly out all over the place. I remind myself that I am not 3 years old, and perhaps I could find a snack more appropriate for an adult workplace.

To Give or Not to Give

A friend of mine is in a bit of a quandary. She has in her possession a Beautiful Purse that was purchased with the intent of giving it as a gift to her friend. Alas, she has fallen in love with The Beautiful Purse. Oh how she longs to keep it! Unfortunately, her friend specifically pointed out The Beautiful Purse the other day when they were shopping. To keep The Beautiful Purse now would mean never using it when aforementioned friend is present; secreting it away to keep from causing a scene. What to do? What to do? *wringing hands*

Stay tuned to find out whether our heroine unselfishly gives up The Beautiful Purse or gives in to desire...

but can you do creme brule?

But Can You do Creme Brule?

It's coming. I can feel it. One of these days I will cross the threshold from "Well at Least it's Cheaper than Ordering in," to Chef Extraordinaire. That's right. I will make fancy dishes that require precise timing in order to turn out, and they will turn out. The chicken will be done the first time I check it. The pork chops will not be overdone. The sauce will thicken gosh darnit! The first mouthful will elicit ooh's and aah's, followed by rave reviews at the meal's end. My table will be graced by succulent, flavor-infused masterpieces! Watch out world, Canada, Saskatoon, Roommate, here comes Chef Carmen!

When Scissors Go AWOL

Why is it that scissors never seem to be in the right place? Not in the kitchen drawer, where they're supposed to be, but in the last place you left them. (Which is always the last place you look.) This is a phenomena that has been going on since I was little. Mom would go to use the scissors, and of course they would not be where they were supposed to be. Then I would hear, "Carmen, where are the scissors?!?" To which I would respond, without even thinking, "I don't know!!"
Mom: "Well where did you put them?"
Me: "I didn't have them!"
This would carry on for awhile, Mom sure that I had misplaced them, and me wondering why I always got blamed for the missing scissors, all the while scouring the house to find said scissors. They always got found, and without fail they were exactly where they had been left the last time they were used. (Not necessarily by me.)

Well I'm an adult now, and I have my own scissors to worry about. And they are consistently AWOL. And although I don't have children, I do have a roommate, and when the scissors go missing, the first thing out of my mouth is, "[Roommate] where are the scissors?!?"

mmmm....chocolate

This weekend was all about The Chocolates. My roommate and I spent most of yesterday and today making all sorts - milk, dark, coffee flavored, amaretto flavored, pink, yellow, white, green, with nuts, with crushed candy canes, with ganache, and more! So many chocolates...so little time. I have to admit, though, that having spent this long with The Chocolates, I'm not all that inclined to eat them. After 12 hours or so, I almost go into sugar shock just looking at them. Therefore, they will become little gifts to just about everyone I know. Can't you just wait? :-)

What a great movie! It had the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud and please-pass-the-kleenex moments. With a story that moves along exactly as you expect it will, this movie garners a genuine "nice" rating. No shock value, special effects or unnecessarily vulgar scenes; just a wonderfully nice movie.

When Fact Mirrors Fiction

...or is it the other way around? This reminds of the recently released movie The Day After Tomorrow.

Don't Judge a Book...

Here's a great article published on The Ooze awhile ago about The Passion of the Christ.

Pure Delight

For a Monday, it's been pretty good. I got home from work and decided to try some more Fall photography in the park behind my house. And everything just worked. The sun was blazing, and the leaves were pure gold. I found some images that I loved; some that I looked for and some that just materialized in front of me. (Like the ducks swimming in the lake.)

There are times when photography just sweeps me away. When I see everything around me through a lens, and it all looks like magic. Those moments are joy and happiness in it's purest form. When you wouldn't change even the tiniest thing, because at that moment, everything seems perfect.

That was the kind of photography moment I had today. So of course I needed to finish off my film (only 2 pics left!) so that I could take it in to London Drugs tonight and get it developed. I used the last 2 frames for a still-life and an abstract pic at home. And I have to confess, I was so excited to get my pictures developed that I could hardly sit still in my car on the way to the store! Like a kid at Christmas...

Alas, I will not be able to pick up the photos until tomorrow, as they were already full for tonight. Sigh.....

So I settled for buying a book :-)

And that was my fantabulous photography day. I'll let you know tomorrow how the pictures turned out.

Sunday in September

It was an absolutely beautiful Fall day today. The leaves rustled across the parking lot with the breeze, and the sun shone warm on my face. I went to the early service at church, and it was fantastic! The sermon today was the 3rd in a series, all based on music, and it was entitled "Faith that Sounds like Blues." The worship team did a few amazing blues numbers, aside from our regular worship songs. Then I went for lunch and was out and about all afternoon, enjoying the day. (Complete with ice cream from Dairy Queen!) I capped it all off with a productive yet relaxing night.

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Aaarrgghh!

For some reason I am unable to add any of the links promised in my previous post. I will try again tomorrow...

The Missing Link

The Missing Link

I've added a few links....

Compassion Canada - because I sponsor a child through them, and I think they are an amazing organization. One day I would love to be able to visit my sponsored child...

The Off Broadway Dinner Theatre - because they rock! Seriously, the food is fantastic and the acting is top notch!

[Aside: While surfing the web, I happened across a site entitled Canada Only. Apparently if you're outside Canada and you have a hankering for some good old fashioned canuck food, you can order it here. The funny thing is, if you go to the Marketplace section, where you can order your food, you have to change the currency because "All prices in the Marketplace are in U.S. dollars." It's an all-Canadian site and still the prices are in US dollars?!? How much sense does that make? I mean, I suppose if you're ordering from the site you're probably not in Canada, but wouldn't it make more sense to have it in Canadian dollars and then convert to whatever the currency is wherever you are? Anyways...I didn't know that Maynards Wine Gums are Canadian. They have the funniest commercial right now....the one where the girl backs into the car? Funny. As an aside inside an aside, you can find reviews on just about anything on the web. Here's one on Maynards Wine Gums. Incidentally, it was posted by someone in Ireland. A former canuck??? Possibly ordered from the Canada Only site??]

The Motley Fool - a good place for unbiased financial advice that anyone can understand.

Fabulous Fall Foliage

Fabulous Fall Foliage

Aahhh...Autumn. The trees are awash in color, longing to be photographed. So out I went, in search of stunning Fall photos. With my camera bag strapped to my back, I hopped on my bike and took a tour of the neighbourhood. I started with the wonderful park behind my apartment complex, and found one shot along the bike path. Lying on my back, looking up through the lens, I captured this tall golden tree, flanked by the tops of two evergreens. With such a promising start, I carried on to a few more parks across the way. Alas, I was only to find one photo tonight. The sun was almost a bit too bright, and washed out the colors a bit. (Although I'm not complaining about the gorgeous weather we had today!)

I decided to check out my favorite spot next - the grasslands. I love to hike and take pictures out there, but hadn't been there yet this year. (That I can recall, anyway). I figured that with so many different kinds of trees and grasses it would yield at least a few amazing shots.
Well. It was not exactly the picture-paradise I'd been hoping for. Rather, it was bug central. So here's me, walking down the skinny paths waving my arms like a windmill, mouth clenched tight lest I swallow a swarm of flies, barely even noticing the beautiful riverside scenery. Needless to say, my hike did not last too long.

And now I am home. I hope to go out again tomorrow, perhaps into some of the older neighborhoods, to photograph this city that is daily changing. Today it is greens and yellows and reds, tomorrow browns, until the snow-white of winter covers the land...

Melange

I went to the library today after work. I love going to the library. I could spend hours there. Sighhh....so many books, so little time. I went to see if they had a particular book in - The Wealthy Barber. I've read it before, but I want to try and implement some of the guidelines into my own life. The book was not at the branch I was at, so I decided to look some other financial planning/investing books. There are a lot of them. And while I do know a little bit about investing, I would like to learn more, and be able to apply it as well. The problem with me is that I like to learn things, but I have a short attention span. I would like to read a few pages of a book and then know how to successfully invest my money. Or read part of a tutorial on HTML and then be able to design a really cool web page. Or learn a few chords on the guitar and then be able to solo with the best of them. So....I must learn to be patient and methodically study something, anything!, and then apply and practice what I know. Just one more thing on the "to do" list....

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I've been getting back into photography a bit. I would like to start a photo blog, but at the moment I do not have access to either a scanner or a digital camera. But hopefully I will have one or the other soon. Until then, stay tuned.

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I came across this interesting article the other day. (When I googled "Mary Poppins".)

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I added a new blog (dooce) to the list of blogs that I like to read. It can be quite comical and also quite touching. The last sentence of yesterday's post is one of those that just cycles through your brain because it is so poignant...."my soul wrapped inside the palm of a baby." Read the whole post to get the big picture.

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melange: a motley assortment of things (as per dictionary.com)

Oddly enough, the word, omnium-gatherum means the same thing. wha...???

Mary Poppins

I had an original thought today while dusting and cleaning up my house. I wonder if my mom is actually Mary Poppins? The reason being, her house is never dirty. Ever. I have never accidentally come across some forgotten layer of dust in some out-of-the-way place. At my house on the other hand, there are forgotten layers of dust in just about every room. That may be because I rarely dust. And the reason I rarely dust is because there are so many surfaces in my house! I started yesterday and still am not finished today. How in the world can someone possibly keep all of those surfaces dust-free? All the time? That's what got me thinking....Mary Poppins.

The View Is So Much More Colorful

Good Article.
link

An Investment in Happiness

You know, it's funny how inconsistent I can be. I'll drive to the store specifically to pick up toilet paper if it's on sale, and then pick up a bunch of other stuff that I really don't need while I'm there. So I decided today to make a concerted effort not to spend money unnecessarily. As a result, I talked myself out of buying everything that was on my shopping list tonight. Except for a gorgeous spray of yellow daisies for my kitchen table. How can I justify cut flowers that will just die in a little while? Well, I consider it an investment in happiness. They are so bright and cheerful, they improve my mood as soon as I walk into the kitchen. And while I am trying to be a little more frugal, I think that you still need to make room for those little extras that can mean so much.
Hey, they even made the checkout lady at Superstore smile!

Hang a Question Mark

Hang a Question Mark

"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted."
Bertrand Russell
English author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)