skating with the chings

So, last night was a fun skate party with the Chings. Back to our house after for a rowdy round of our new game. Lots of hot chocolate, tea, chinese buns, and cake. Who could ask for more?

sunday school show

These wild boys make class interesting.

Me, with some of my sunday school class on the day we did a little Christmas presentation. Joseph (where's mary?? well, er... never mind)
We'll miss you when you move to Cameroon!

Ode to Kristin and Val

Thanks for 9 1/2 years of sandbox fun. (and for the great gifts.)

It's December, yet we've had more rain than snow. Feels like England. So here is a reminder of what it's like to have a white world once again.


The Snow

It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain,
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it, rail by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces;
It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem,--
The summer's empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen,--
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.

Emily Dickinson

White Bison

The majestic white bison, lord of the plains.

my first american turkey

Heather, my dad and I drove to Minnesota for thanksgiving the other week. Here are some pics from the trip. (my only requirements were picking up hot chocolate from Target, and getting some delicious Wisconsin cheese).

walking off the pumpkin pie...

Janelle is the "trains" queen. She and Heather cleaned up during that game.

umm.. delicious Christmas cookies. we had fun decorating with the cousins.

All hail the cavity king. Mark and Janelle loved the sprinkles. Too much? Never!

In Minneapolis for the Holidazzle Christmas parade.

Black Friday... and heather and i were at the stores by 6 am to get all the great deals. It was all stuff we needed, really. (actually, i'm a little embarrassed by this picture)

moo

I was checking out the blog of an old camp friend, Mark, who is in Indonesia right now. I got so excited when I saw this pic, I just had to steal it. This is pretty much the best ice cream shop in Ontario. It has a huge cow on the roof. (Hey, CHiPs, remember stopping here on the way home from the canoe trips…good times) Mark, it looks like you're having an adventure and a half over there!

how to's of lolly-gagging

I’m up late tonight working on my teacher’s college applications. I have known about them for a looong time and I half hoped it would be different this time, but of course, I have left things to the very end. You think after all those sleepless nights I’d have learned to be all those scary words like diligent, proactive, organized, industrious… But no, instead I have perfected the art of procrastination. For those of you who have never felt the 4 am buzz from brain-overwork and sleepiness, here are my best tricks.


PROCRATINATION 101

During the month/week/day before the due date:
-Read books, lots of them. Preferably ones that don’t teach you anything. Or, if you’re not a book person, watch low-budget movies and full house reruns. It’s amazing how entertaining they are.

-Sleep, because you know you won’t get to sleep later.

To do once you’ve decided you Must start working:

-Clean your room, or do some other dull task that now holds untold appeal.

-Email that person you’ve been avoiding for the last 3 years.

-Creating a killer play list. After all, it’ll help you to study.

-Keep a glass of water handy. Whenever you struggle for words, or need a distraction take a sip. When the glass is empty you get to take a trip to the kitchen. Bonus breaks to use the washroom. It’s amazing how much water I drink when writing an essay.

-Eat sunflower seeds. They take so stinkin’ long to eat, plus it’ll make you thirsty (see last point).

-Complain to anyone still awake about how stupid you were for leaving everything to the last minute.

-www.popcap.com beat your high score.

-Keep a candle burning nearby. Candle wax is so entertaining. (And for those non-procrastinators, you may not realize how riveting it is to watch a candle burn).

-Bang your head against a wall. Or throw something. It helps the creative process.

-Post on your blog.


HAPPY DAWDLING!

Note: I am proud to say that this time i demonstrated restraint. I only thought about what I’d write in this post but didn’t post it till after I was finished my assignment. Amazing. And I’ll actually get sleep tonight. Wow.

things that have inscape

I've been reading a beautiful book called Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff. It is a father's honesty about his sons death, and I highly recommend it. Here's what he writes in the Preface:

"A friend told me that he had given copies of Lament to all of his children. "Why did you do that?" I asked. "Because it is a love-song," he said. That took me aback. But Yes, it is a love-song. Every lament is a love-song.
Will love-songs one day no longer be laments?"

You can tell from that just how beautiful, and Romantic, the book will be.

Wolterstorff, (or Nicholas, as i feel close enough now to call him) speaks of the poet G. M. Hopkins's notion of inscape-- the combined characteristics that give a thing its uniqueness, perhaps its essence. (more on inscape)

Like Hopkins, we also had a tree that was full of inscape. It was an apricot tree that we planted sometime after we moved into where we now live. We grew with it. It never produced much fruit, but I loved it anyways. It started leaning terribly, but that only added character. Well, a few summers ago we rebuilt the back deck. And the tree was considered in the way. My brother had fun with the chainsaw... and (I am not ashamed to say it) I cried. I would be lucky if this is the extent of my sorrows or losses. Or maybe not. It is, perhaps, a greater glory to share in the sufferings and sorrows of God, and to grow through them.

There are a few others trees with inscape that i know well. The Emily Carr tree on my bus route to High School; the "joshua tree" tree on Morningside Ave (which is really nothing like a joshua tree at all. But that is what it is called in my head); that huge white pine at camp; the jumping tree that leans over the canal, also at camp....
I love things with inscape.

little known fact

Although few realize it, Pizza Pizza does in fact have a mascot. His is the Dough Dude and no, he is not a slice of pizza (although i admit, it'd be ridiculously hilarious). I'm told that the Dough Dude got to play soccer with a bunch of other mascots at intermission during a sporting event. He was knocked over by the mouth wash. Or was it the giant m&m? I'll have to double check that. There is a whole world of mascotting that i never knew about until i started working with Pizza Pizza promotions. (and no, i have never had the... er... "honour" of wearing that costume, thankfully)

Our Fall Shindig

MCBC youth.... don't miss out!!

we've decided the event will have:
Fun sports (ie, games),
fabulous sustenance,
fine society,
festive soul---
a full smash at the fall shindig!


If you need more info, call me or Fraser (our numbers are in the church directory.)


(oh, and kudos to Simon for the great colouring of the flyer)

When “the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along”…

When my almond tree blossoms...

I want my grandchildren know just where I keep the cookie jar.
I want to host big get-togethers
I want to have lots of comfy, lived in furniture.
I want others to feel welcome and loved.
I want to feel loved and wanted.
I want to be a prayer warrior.
I want to listen to good messages from the “Christian giants”.
I want to read books.
I want to laugh a lot.
I want to still read the comics.
I want to be full of grace, joy, happiness, peace.
I want to dream.
I want to meet my grandchildren’s dates and give them a hard time until I decide if they’re ok, then I’ll dote on them.
I want to lavish.
I want to have loads of knickknacks and bric-a-brac.
I want to rearrange my house periodically (say, once every 15 years! Or every 5)
I want to have great conversations with people.
I want to be a godly example.
I want to do silly things, and dress up just for fun.
I want to go on dates with my husband.
I want to be able to speak words of wisdom.
I want to eat whatever I want.
I want to play.
I want to be unattached to my worldly things enough to gladly give them away to people who will appreciate them more.
I want to live in a house with lots of windows and sunlight.
I want to be surrounded by loved ones.
I want to have laugh lines.
I want to keep growing.
I want to write down good quotes and give them to people.
I want to go on picnics… and have tea parties in the back garden.
Most of all, I want to finish the race well and finally hear, “well done my good and faithful servant.”


I'm actually looking forward to being old. how bout you? What do you want for when you're wrinkled?

Canadian Cookies and Cupcakes

Tonight Kaylah, Deanna, and Elijah came over and we baked up a storm for tomorrow’s “International Night” potluck extravaganza at the church. To represent our Canadian heritage we decided to bake cupcakes (from a mix) and super yummy double chocolate chip cookies (from scratch). Of course, we snitched plenty of dough as we baked… ummmm. what’s baking with out the proverbial raw-cookie-dough-stomach-ache?

.

We took some pics of our exploits on the webcam… and then got a little carried away.

As you can see, it turned into a funky hair jam.

Finally, it was time for bed.

John Ching for PM!

For city councillor, actually.
Today, for the first time ever, I went out canvassing. If you haven't had the privilege of meeting Mr. Ching, (yes, that's right--- Amanda's dad) than you are sorely lacking, socially deprived and incomplete. This man is running for City Councillor of Ward 41, and I think you should vote for him. And tell others to vote for him. And let us put a sign up on your lawn. And then bask in the benefits of having him as your city councilor.





part 2 of today's post.

In case you didn't know, today has been a torrential downpour all day. Ok, so i'm exaggerating a bit. But it was constant rain. As I waited on potential voters’ front porches, I decided that I love the sound of rain on my umbrella. I just don’t like the rain in my shoes making them soppy. But the sound is great. It makes me think of Bambi and the “drip, drip, drop little April showers…” song. It also made me think of that great Nora Jones song “Come Away with me”… ahh… so i was singing that one in my head the whole time. I enjoyed it fully. This pic is from Brussels, not that it really matters.

some cat...

Yesterday the girls in my bible study said my cat was crosseyed!!!! No way! ...or is she?

close shave

So i may have started a riot last Wednesday.

I was reading this article and realized...

Scarborough Town center... I was there!
Just after 6... That's just when i was leaving!
Sears parking lot.... that's the lot i was in!

i figure maybe they were fighting over my parking spot.

Actually i was in the lower level lot. the shootings were in the upper level.
Those angel's were working overtime for me that night.

golf...

Amanda and I decided that golf would be so much more fun if we looked the part. And we were right. I was hoping it'd distract from my bad game. There was some excitement around the 4th tee.... concerning a club and lots of blood... i'm sticking to the story involving snarling jealous golf partners, wild chases, self-defence, and cowering male protectors. Thanks to Ryan and his mom for the pink balls and tees.

holland

coming soon to a computer near you

London calling

O la la... Paris

Notre Dame



Sur la tour Eiffel


Crepes and bagettes...


Ahh, gay paris

bonnie scotland

Yelling "FREEDOM!" at the willy Wallace monument





Edinborough castle, and some of the Scotish highlands