Today has been an almost perfect summer Saturday. I know it's not really summer yet, but today I could feel summer drawing close. I felt bare feet on freshly mown grass today. I lunched al fresco - tomatoes and ham and my favourite cheese and the Vancouver Sun. I ran useful errands with the windows rolled down and started to notice that it was a little hot inside my Civic. I had the first frapuccino of the season and I didn't even have to pay for it. (I had to wait a whopping 2 extra minutes for my latte the other day so I got a magical - anything - you - want coupon. The hardship of two whole minutes....)
And now I'm sitting at the picnic table in the backyard testing the limitations of our wireless signal. How far does it reach? Far enough it seems. Today has been as perfect as the blue sky above me, as refreshing as the shade cast by the 40' cedars behind me. Imagine the stories they could tell of perfect summer days. Days that were flawless, like sunshine.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
snapshots
Everyone seems to have really cool photos on their blogs lately, and I know how much I like seeing other people pictures so here a few random scenes from my life. Enjoy the randomness, or just let it pass you by.
Here is Amanda, graciously agreeing to one more picture, provided she can do it on her own terms. This was taken Saturday when everyone was over at her parent's place for the Easter Egg Hunt and there really were a LOT of cameras going off. I heard a runour that Amanda was actually chased by a camera-wielding parent at one pont. No wonder she's camera'ed out. Nice shot though.
This is the ubiquitous pet photo. Every blog has to have one. So here's mine. This is Gandalf, commonly referred to as Furrball or Flieg. I don't think she minds. As you can see she is training hard to perfect her sleep technique. She practices relentlessly. It cracks me up that she covers her nose with her paw sometimes. Cute. Altogether now . . . . aaaaaaaawwwwwwwww. Moving on.
Of all the Egg Hunt pictures that I took this one is my personal fave. This is Kaitlyn caught just at the moment where she's found an egg. It takes some planning to co-ordinate all the eggs, but as you can see it's always worth it.
Kendra has a brilliant system to maintain a little order in the midst of a 6-child multi-family hunt. Each child is assigned a sticker to look for. All of the eggs are stickered and hidden and then the rule is simple: if you find an egg with your sticker on it, say blue smiley faces or red hearts then it's yours. If it has someone else's sticker you have to leave it for them to find. A brilliantly simple strategy that makes sure young and old kids get equal crack at the eggs. It also means you can really have some fun hiding the eggs for older kids in sneaky places. Smart.
And here is Kendra's AMAZING 3-D bunny cake! I have never seen a cake with such a great expression before. If you look carefully you can see that she even made a little pink icing for inside the ear. You can't see all of them here, but there was an easter egg cake for each of the little nieces, and one for Shannon who was celebrating a birthday that day. And yes, each egg cake was decorated with a unique pattern. NICE.
Here's one last shot of the cake so you can truly appreciate all of it. Very impressive. Not only did it manage to survive a half hour trip by car unscathed it also tasted great!
That's about enough randomness for now. Reminds me, I need to burn a CD and empty out my memory stick. It's almost full. I can't imagine how that happened...
Here is Amanda, graciously agreeing to one more picture, provided she can do it on her own terms. This was taken Saturday when everyone was over at her parent's place for the Easter Egg Hunt and there really were a LOT of cameras going off. I heard a runour that Amanda was actually chased by a camera-wielding parent at one pont. No wonder she's camera'ed out. Nice shot though.This is the ubiquitous pet photo. Every blog has to have one. So here's mine. This is Gandalf, commonly referred to as Furrball or Flieg. I don't think she minds. As you can see she is training hard to perfect her sleep technique. She practices relentlessly. It cracks me up that she covers her nose with her paw sometimes. Cute. Altogether now . . . . aaaaaaaawwwwwwwww. Moving on.Of all the Egg Hunt pictures that I took this one is my personal fave. This is Kaitlyn caught just at the moment where she's found an egg. It takes some planning to co-ordinate all the eggs, but as you can see it's always worth it.Kendra has a brilliant system to maintain a little order in the midst of a 6-child multi-family hunt. Each child is assigned a sticker to look for. All of the eggs are stickered and hidden and then the rule is simple: if you find an egg with your sticker on it, say blue smiley faces or red hearts then it's yours. If it has someone else's sticker you have to leave it for them to find. A brilliantly simple strategy that makes sure young and old kids get equal crack at the eggs. It also means you can really have some fun hiding the eggs for older kids in sneaky places. Smart.
And here is Kendra's AMAZING 3-D bunny cake! I have never seen a cake with such a great expression before. If you look carefully you can see that she even made a little pink icing for inside the ear. You can't see all of them here, but there was an easter egg cake for each of the little nieces, and one for Shannon who was celebrating a birthday that day. And yes, each egg cake was decorated with a unique pattern. NICE.
Here's one last shot of the cake so you can truly appreciate all of it. Very impressive. Not only did it manage to survive a half hour trip by car unscathed it also tasted great!That's about enough randomness for now. Reminds me, I need to burn a CD and empty out my memory stick. It's almost full. I can't imagine how that happened...
Monday, April 17, 2006
the words remembered
Yesterday as I was leaving for church right on schedule I realized that I was never going to get a seat. I'm usually pretty good at remembering that our church gets completely packed out on major holidays and I need to leave early. Not so this year. Off I went. I actually found a parking spot (impressive) and made my way inside. There was one spot left on the benches that line the windows at the back of the sanctuary. Perfect. I could find everyone to say "hi" afterwards.
As soon as I sat down I realized why the seat was available in such a crowed room. It was directly behind one of the support columns. I couldn't see who was playing, let alone the words to whatever we might sing. But a curious thing happened.
The service I go to sings mostly choruses and more modern music, but for Christmas and Easter they bring out a few of hymns. I grew up in a mostly-hymns church and what I discovered yesterday is that the words are still there. After all these years, after so many Easters, so many attempts to find a way to say "Thank you", I found the words were there, remembered, like a rosary.
As the opening bars struck a familiar note I was able to join the others in singing.
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
As soon as I sat down I realized why the seat was available in such a crowed room. It was directly behind one of the support columns. I couldn't see who was playing, let alone the words to whatever we might sing. But a curious thing happened.
The service I go to sings mostly choruses and more modern music, but for Christmas and Easter they bring out a few of hymns. I grew up in a mostly-hymns church and what I discovered yesterday is that the words are still there. After all these years, after so many Easters, so many attempts to find a way to say "Thank you", I found the words were there, remembered, like a rosary.
As the opening bars struck a familiar note I was able to join the others in singing.
Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
LoveÂ’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
i've got a theory, it could be bunnies
Last week-end while house sitting for Monica I came across a curious sight. Monica had left a couple of Lindt bunnies to sustain Kendra and I during the arduous task of sitting her very nicely appointed condo. (Hint, if your place comes with a hot tub no further inducement is necessary, but thank you!) After a little while I noticed that one of the chocolate bunnies had managed to morph itself into a slightly larger, stuffed version. Surely a fully animated, live Lindt bunny is only steps away. Is this an insidous plot to take over the world? Watch this space. In the meantime, it's probably best to eat your chocolate bunny before he gets a chance to transform....
Monday, April 03, 2006
just four little words
I was surfing around today and came across a post on Craig Newark's (of craigslist fame) personal blog. It was so perfectly crafted, just four little words, title and post together:
Donna and Josh
...finally
And I had to smile. I stopped watching The West Wing two or three years ago when my favourite character (Rob Lowe's 'Sam Seabourn') left followed quickly by the writing talent of Aaron Sorkin. But I have to admit all this time later I'm still happy to know that Josh & Donna FINALLY got together. I may have to go back and watch this season, or last night's episode at least.
The West Wing used to be an incredible show. When Sorkin was on the payroll the show was written like theatre. It had an amazing use of lighting and silence. Whatever Sorkin was smoking it must have been the good stuff. I hated to give it up but when the show started its decline I couldn't forgive it its mediocrity. Perhaps it's time to make amends.
In the mean time I need to do a little research and find out what exactly happened last night. Then again, perhaps I'll wait until the reruns start this summer and see the whole thing in context, spend a little time back on the hill.
Donna and Josh
...finally
And I had to smile. I stopped watching The West Wing two or three years ago when my favourite character (Rob Lowe's 'Sam Seabourn') left followed quickly by the writing talent of Aaron Sorkin. But I have to admit all this time later I'm still happy to know that Josh & Donna FINALLY got together. I may have to go back and watch this season, or last night's episode at least.
The West Wing used to be an incredible show. When Sorkin was on the payroll the show was written like theatre. It had an amazing use of lighting and silence. Whatever Sorkin was smoking it must have been the good stuff. I hated to give it up but when the show started its decline I couldn't forgive it its mediocrity. Perhaps it's time to make amends.
In the mean time I need to do a little research and find out what exactly happened last night. Then again, perhaps I'll wait until the reruns start this summer and see the whole thing in context, spend a little time back on the hill.
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