hello dear, how was your day?

Today was a very strange day. From unexpected packages to Indonesian poetry written in my honor (no I'm serious) it's been a very strange day indeed.

First the package. I'm an editor so people send me stuff from time to time. Most of it is books (whoo hoo!) Now if I could just convince that powers that be that we should run a book club on the site so publishers would start sending me fiction... I also receive samples. Sometimes it's really useful stuff like shampoo or band aids, other times CDs from lounge singers (yes really) or the most memorable of all -- a lightbulb filled with paper clips (I have no idea). Today I got in to work and there sitting right in the middle of my desk was a huge box containing . . . . . . home pregnancy tests.

Um, thanks. The box's contents were emblazoned across the package. I've been at a conference for a week so who knows how long this thing has been sitting on my desk. Let the rumours fly. Not exactly what I anticipatedsetting my latte down beside this morning. I currently have no need for such tests, even if this particular variety is digital and lights up in different colours. (Again I have no idea.) If it could be of use to you, let me know, I've got the hook-up.

Then a Dilbert from a few days ago got me thinking:

He uses schadenfreude in a cartoon, just one more reason to love Scott Adams. (PS, if it helps, schadenfreude is defined as " a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortune of others.) The reason the cartoon got me thinking however was that there is another German word that refers to a general sadness over the state of the world. I couldn't remember what it was and it was driving me crazy. It sat there, niggling away at the back of my brain. Several attempts to Google it were unsuccessful (it does happen to me some times). We have dictionaries where you look up words to find definitions, why don't we have reverse dictionaries where you can search by definition to find a word? Fortunately, finally I hit upon an better phrasing of the question (editing is everything) and found the word:

Weltschmerz.

How could I forget such a delicious word? I breathed a deep sigh of relief. And then the thing with the poetry happened.

Towards the end of the day, Leah, my co-worker (and friend) called over the cube wall, "hey Claire, there's an email you need to take a look at and I want to see your reaction when you do." Oh great, I thought. Usually I handle all of the upset reader email and things get handed over to me for bulldogging. If someone's waiting for a reaction it often means a particularly colourful wacko, I mean, valued reader, has decided to drop us a line. In a thousand years I could not have guessed at what this email held.

It turns out that one of our readers in Indonesia was doing some research and came across one of my articles and was inspired to write me a poem. It's an acrostic of my whole name and according to the email that came with it, it is supposed to be sung to the tune of Josh Groban's "You lift me up". Wow. And very cool.

I don't think anyone has ever written me a poem before. Years ago a friend of mine wrote me a song which was pretty amazing. If you ever gets your hands on a copy of Achilles' Lament, it's track 6 "I'll fly Away". I'm in the liner notes and everything. Sweet. But for Indonesian poetry, this was definitely a first. I have to admit I tried singing it in my head and I can't quite get the lyrics to scan. Maybe that part is getting lost in translation somewhat.

Like I said, it was a very strange day at the office. I think I'll work from home tomorrow.

i do not have two left feet

Photographic evidence to the contrary, I do not have two left feet. However, both Kendra and I are now sporting our traditional summer henna/mehndi body art. We had gone down to the Spirit of the Sea festival on Sunday and as hoped there were several artists on site. We were pretty happy with our results. As a side note, I learned that henna is the Arabic term and mehndi is the Hindi term. So there's your useful tidbit for the day :)


White Rock, as always, was gorgeous. This time they had festooned the pier with flags. All this time I thought the brackets were only used for the lights at Christmas but apparently not. If it were up to me I'd keep these flags up all year. I think they're lovely. Anyone know what the final three flags are? You'll probably have to click on the image to be able to see them clearly. They're blue and white patterns and maybe they're just there to be pretty but I wondered if there was something more to it.

After giving the henna some time to set we headed off to Dolce Gelato. Of course. The store was recently written up as the best gelato in Vancouver. Finally someone with a newspaper has spent some ink on what we've known for years. I tried to find the link to the article but it hasn't found its way into Google yet. Congrats to Davide and Elizabeth on a FANTASTIC job well done. I for one plan to continue doing all I can to keep you guys in business for many years to come.

iRevolution 2006

I spent the past week up at Whistler attending a staff conference. We did do more than just sit around and eat, but I only brought my camera out on the last night. Pics of plenary sessions are less interesting anyway. Trust me.

beautiful disaster

Over the past 2 weeks I'’ve been watching CNN'’s coverage of the situation in the Middle East. I'’m watching AC360 which is filmed live, so for a 10pm EST show they'’re filming from the region at 5 in the morning. They shoot the anchor standing outside and I keep noticing the incredible sunrises going on in the background. They'’re quite distracting. Here we are talking about war and the threat of war and Hezbollah and Katyusha rockets and there behind the anchor'’s head is this blatant display of increadible beauty.

At 5 in the morning the sky is still a deep indigo. As the broadcast continues it moves from blue to pink to a yellow that looks so . . . hopeful. From Larneca to Tyre to Haifa to Beirut it's a lovely view, or at least it used to be. For a moment it looks like just another day and then you hear the sirens.

On one hand it's so humanizing, the sun also rises. But at the same time it's jarring. It's so incongruent -- all this suffering framed in the colours of the morning. In in a philosophical way I suppose it's good to know that there is still beauty in a world gone mad, but I imagine the sunrise is cold comfort to those spending the night in basements and shelters and hospitals.

I wish these beautiful dawns were breaking over more peaceful days.

saving the world (a tiny little bit)

A couple of days ago I received an email from Bernat (a yarn company) that contained a very depressing stat and also news that people were doing something about it. First the stat:

"Four million newborns [in developing nations] die each year within the first month of life -- half within the first 24 hours of life."

The email went on to say that a Save the Children report released around Mother's Day of this year outlined practical ways to address the situation:

"Three out of four newborn deaths could be avoided with simple, low-cost tools that already exist, such as antibiotics for pneumonia, sterile blades to cut umbilical cords, and knit caps to keep babies warm." - State of the World's Mothers Report 2006

What people are doing about it is very simple. STC is asking people to knit or crochet a little hat and send it to Washington where it will be included in aid kits sent overseas. All they ask is that you use one of 4 patterns provided (in part so that the hats will fit) and that the hats arrive in Washington, DC by January 2007. You can download the action kit from the Warm Up America site (partners with STC in this project). The kit has the patterns (very easy), the tag you need to put on the hat and the address to send it to.

As I was reading about all this I couldn't help but think about my niece, Corrina. She's 6 months old, happy and healthy and a delight. Janie was able to get all the medical help she needed while pregnant and if anything were to happen to Corrina now there are whole teams of medical people who would rush to her aid. We are fortunate indeed. So I decided to make some hats.

I'm aiming for 6, one for each month that Corrina has been here so far. So far I've completed the 4 pictured above. Technically I've done 5, but the first one is gymped (read the pattern wrong.) I've got yarn left over from other projects so all it's going to cost me is a few stamps and some time. Years ago I remember someone talking about the idea of tithing our time, how in some seasons of life it becomes fairly easy to give money and tithing time instead is a more noticeable sacrifice. I'm not sure I'm in a place where I'd say giving money is easy, but I like the simplicity of giving time working such a simple pattern that could have such a profound impact.

I remember the first time I got to meet Corrina. She was 6 weeks old and I kept marveling that her head fit in the palm of my hand. Now looking at these little hats it's easy to be reminded how defenseless little heads can be. It's almost absurd to think a little hat can help save a life, but then it's equally absurd that it takes so little to end one.

It's a tiny thing to do, I know. But the smallest gesture is an infinitely larger contribution than doing nothing. I can't save the world, but I can save it a little tiny bit.

ferrying around BC

Mom and Dad have been here visiting this week and we've had a great time. As I was deciding what I wanted to show them this trip we ended-up spending a lot of time on ferries. And thoroughly enjoying ourselves. On Tuesday we took the Grandville Island ferry back and forth across False Creek. We grabbed a great lunch at Grandville Island market and then rode the waves all the way up the creek to Science World. (And in the process discovered where they stash the Symphony of Fire, I mean 'Celebration of Light' barge between seasons.) We headed over to English Bay to see the Inukshuk and ended-up back at the maritime museum. A great day on the water for just $12. Nice.

Thursday we went from the itty-bitty Grandville Island ferry to the Granddaddy of them all -- the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ferry. Even bigger than the ferry to Manatoulin Island that I remember from when I was little. (Although they call that ferry the Big Canoe which is much more fun.) The big ferry took us over to Victoria where we learned a new word -- muckle -- had an amazing high tea at the White Heather (highly recommended), toured Craigdorrach Castle and went for a walk along the water.

Today, Saturday, we headed in the opposite direction and took a mid-size ferry to Bowen Island. You have to love a place that calls its main harbour Snug Cove. (Altogether now. . . . . .awwwwww) We had perfect, amazing, beautiful weather. Bowen Island is classic west coast picture postcard -- blue water, big sky, blue mountains and lots and lots of green.

G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.

I can usually go a long time between dreams of owning a boat but today. . . .today it would have been really nice to be able to get out on that water. Ferries are a great start, but it's not quite the same.

I really feel like I've stepped out of my regular life this week and had a vacation. I didn't do things that probably needed to get done, I didn't think about work. I even managed not to check my email even though decisions are being made that had I been in the office this week I would have been part of. For me the mental rest is as important and as physically being away and I think I really achieved that this week. How incredible to be able to spend these days with people that I love laughing and talking and looking at incredible beautiful sea and sky. A true vacation indeed. And I have the photos to prove it.

sushi for beginners

My parents are out visiting this week so it's vacations all 'round (Whoo hoo!). Yesterday I took them to Shinjuku, my favourite Japanse restaurant, for their very first taste of sushi. I have to say they did very well. We kept it vegetarian (because I can't do raw fish) and had a great time. They tried edemame (my new favourite snack), vegetable tempura, gyoza and a couple of maki. I made sure there was nice, safe chicken teryaki just in case some of the other tastes didn't sit so well but they were champs. They even masterted the art of picking up a single grain of rice with chopsticks. Nice. We were already down at the beach so we had to stop by Dolce Gelato to see what Davide had in store. The man is an artist and his gelato. . . divine. Good job there's a lot of boardwalk down there for walking it off.

memento mori

I came across a new phrase the other day -- memento mori. It translates from Latin as "remember you are mortal". The phrase came up in an article I was reading last week and then again in my current book -- Brad Thor's Blowback. I haven't read Thor's work before but I needed something a little more suitable to a long week-end and so far he has not disappointed.

I'm intrigued by the concept of memento mori. Apparently it shows up in art quite a bit. Thor writes that in ancient Rome when a returning General took his victory parade through the city a slave would walk by his side whispering "remember you are mortal, remember your death". Macabre on the surface perhaps, but I think that we would do well, I would do well, to remember that we're not here forever.

Last week I was thinking about how as humans our 'finiteness' defines us. We are fundamentally limited -- not in potential, but in time. I was reminded of a friend of mine who was on Phi Phi Island when the tsunami hit. He spent hours and hours helping to get people to safety and reached a point where he couldn't lift his arms. He had nothing left to give. Walking back to where he was staying people called out to him and he had to walk by them and it tortured him. But he was empty, he had already given everything he had and more. He had reached the edges of his strength, the horizon of his endurance. And yet the guilt was there even though he had nothing in the world to feel guilty about. Finite cannot apologize for failing to reach infinity.

Reminds me of Blake's lines, often quoted:

To see a world in a grain of sand, And Heaven in a wild flower, To hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.

Maybe that's simply the reality of being finite, that yearning to reach out towards the infinite. Perhaps it's what draws us to beauty and ultimately to faith. I think so often we try to outrun our mortality, our limitedness, in trying to look younger, move faster, cram more into the day. I don't think denying finiteness is the way to go. Memento mori could prove a much more effective way to redeem the hours.

nina simone saves the day

This is my desk at work and today the Nina Simone CD so prominently featured saved the day. This was one of those days when there was only one time-critical thing that needed to be done and I was finally able to finish it 20 minutes before the end of the day. Everybody needed me today. And hey, it's great to be needed, but sometimes you need a little back-up and the William Shakespeare action figure just isn't going to cut it.

Enter Nina, stage right.

"Darling, you are always needed. . . "
"I wish I knew how it would feel to be free. . ."
"I need a little sugar in my bowl. . ."

Preach it sister.

I was first introduced to the wonder that is Nina Simone my third year of university. My roommate Roni had Nina Simone Sings the Blues and it became our go-to album for late nights and term papers. When our brains were too tired to think and our fingers too stiff to move we'd skip over to track #8 and let the world melt away. Worked every time.

Turns out it still does.

idiots throwing rocks

This is not going to become a political blog (with or without street-corner ranting if you read the comments on my last post), nor is it going to turn into an Anderson Cooper blog, however when I read David Carr's article in the New York Times it made me mad. And that often makes for good blogging.

David Carr it seems, is jumping on the 'we're real journalists and therefore we hated Anderson Cooper's interview with Angelina Jolie' bandwagon. The basic gist of the piece is that both Cooper and Jolie are wealthy and dress nicely and therefore cannot possibly have anything of substance to say. She's an UNHCR Goodwill ambassador and he's a CNN anchor with extensive experience reporting tragedies on the African continent. What could they possibly have to talk about?

Carr writes, "Anderson Cooper. . .gave more than two hours of his program to Angelina Jolie for a two-hour infomercial fomenting an agenda -- saving Africa" Well to be precise, do the math, AC360 is a two hour show, so how Cooper gave MORE than two hours to Jolie is an act of metaphysics yet to be explained. But more to the point, Jolie wants to save Africa? What a terrible idea. How outrageously selfish of her to suggest it. Now I'll admit that a New York Times columnist like Carr is likely better researched than I am on most subjects, but last I checked Africa was still facing some major issues and could use some help. I've heard worse ideas.

If Angelina Jolie had come on the show talked about refugees for 5 minutes and then started fielding questions about Brad I could see Carr's point. But they talked about refugees. For two hours. There were reports from Uganda, vintage footage from Niger, live feeds from Darfur. It looked a lot like news to me. I was reminded of something I saw a few weeks back. Bono was offered a one day guest editorship of The Independent. His headline read:

NO NEWS TODAY*

and then in tiny print way down at the bottom of the page *Just 6, 500 Africans died today as a result of a preventable, treatable disease (HIV/AIDS)

Looks like news to me.

Like several other writers this week Carr chose to make snide reference to the clothing both were wearing for the interview. Jolie reportedly gave a third of her income away last year. Should she be required to give the rest of it away and dress in rags to better tell her story? He then went on to comment on her body art suggesting it seems that someone who changes her mind about a tattoo cannot be relied on to stay with anything else:

"Ms. Jolie proudly talked about having "Know Your Rights" as an alluring tattoo -- an homage to the United Nations refugee effort -- — but that same medium has also served as a signpost for her ex-husband, old What's-His-Name."

Maybe Carr was watching a different interview. In the one that I saw Cooper commented that he'd heard Jolie had "Know your rights" tattooed on her and she admitted that she did. She went on to say that she had once visited a prison in a tank top that showed the tattoo and it caused quite a stir. Hmm, incarcerated men and a tattoo about rights. . . yeah can't imagine why. I wasn't there, obviously, when she got the tattoo, but I'd be willing to guess that Jolie didn't pick "Know your rights" for its sex appeal.

My Director at work is fond of saying "any idiot can throw a rock". It takes no skill at all to poke holes in someone else's ideas. Get some decent boots and head over to Uganda Mr. Carr. I'm sure what you find there will make for a much more interesting column.

hanging out in the JPod

Okay Douglas Coupland, you're forgiven.

Last summer I read Coupland's Girlfriend in a Coma, and I was mad. In place of his usual witty and introspective fiction was a whacked out tale featuring a deus ex machina ending that can only have come from a bad batch of BC Bud. When I heard that he had come out with a new book, and one that was said to be Microserfs for the Google set I was cautiously happy.

Microserfs for me is Coupland at his best. After being burned on Coma I hesitated, but only a little. JPod was worth the ride. In this novel Douglas Coupland brings together a group of video game programmers doomed to share a cubicle because of a glitch in the system. Their last names all start with J. That's all they have in common. But as they quickly learn, there's no way out of JPod.

This book had a great mix of tech stereo-types and lampooned local custom. One of the main characters has a Mom who's growing weed in the basement of their home in the British Properties while his Dad goes after the ever elusive speaking part. He's constantly filming on location in Cloverdale, mostly as an extra. I found myself laughing a lot while reading this.

The plot here is a little more far-fetched than Microserfs, but you have to give Coupland credit for writing a version of himself into the story. I was reading an article in Wired that said that Coupland had read so many strange things about himself on the internet -- he hates phones and never answers them! -- that he decided to create a character named Douglas Coupland who embodied them all. Very nice.

two days with Anderson Cooper

I just finished reading Anderson Cooper's New York Times bestseller Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival and I'm impressed. It's not a title I would normally pick-up and it's certainly not something I would expect to finish in two days but that's a testament to the book itself.

For me it started with a photograph. On the cover of the June 2006 issue of Vanity Fair there's a photograph that stopped me in my tracks. It's a close-up of a man, Anderson Cooper as it turns out, and he's not crying but you can see the water beginning to pool in the corners of his eyes. I stood there thinking "how in the world did they get that shot?". I bought the magazine and the article turned out to be an excerpt from Cooper's book. Having now read both I don't imagine that it was so hard for him to find something sad to think about.

If you do a little research on Anderson Cooper you'll quickly learn 4 basic things about him: his mother is a Vanderbilt, his father died when he was 10, his brother committed suicide 12 years later and he has some very strange, albeit committed, fans. Oh and he also has this day job where he's an anchor for CNN. Since when do CNN anchors have fans?

The interviews all seem to focus in on the sadness. In the book Cooper himself admits that he started going to wars and disasters because it was more comfortable to be where other people were hurting but I am surprised that so many of the interviews focus on just this one aspect. Time Magazine's Andrea Sachs sat down for 10 Questions with Anderson Cooper for this week's issue. I would have expected something a little better than "when did you realize your Mom was famous?" and "how did you feel when your father died". Maybe it's easier to stick to the script.

I don't know if I'd say that I enjoyed the book -- famine, war, tsunamis and hurricanes are hardly fun topics. But here at the end of it, I'm glad I read it. Cooper often speaks of trying to get people to remember what happened, to not forget, and reading the book is one way to do that. It's hard to wrap your head around suffering on the scale he has seen time and again but his writing style helps take you there. I got the feeling from time to time that he was holding back, but perhaps that was for my benefit as a reader. Throughout the book he talks about the ways people try to deal with tragedy -- soldiers, aid workers, reporters -- and I wonder if he had to edit himself a bit for those of us who haven't been there.

If I had a criticism of the book it would be this: pick a verb tense. Memoirs, traditionally, are written in past tense and this one keeps flicking back and forth between past and present tense. Maybe for a journalist who lives in telling stories that are happening now asking him to abandon present tense was too much to ask. Maybe it's so ingrained it's just part of how he tells the story.

It's a good book, I'd recommend it. Fair warning: this is not a book you curl up in bed with. I have a feeling it will also prove to be a book that stays with me. There are photos in the hard cover edition but mercifully they're mostly family shots and not field shots. The field shots have definitely been chosen carefully. There's one of Cooper sitting in the remains of a hotel in Sri Lanka mud and refuse and Christmas decorations still hanging from the ceiling. But given the stories, it's relatively clean.

It's been interesting reading some of his other articles. There is a levity and humour in them that isn't in the book. It would have been out of place in the book to be sure, but it's good to know that it's in there. I'm glad he didn't leave it behind in the field somewhere.

There's more to say, but I think it's another post.

slipping into summer

All the season finales are over. I've got 4 or 5 months to wait before I find out if Meredith with choose McDreamy or the vet or if George will ever get what he deserves. In the meantime I've been enjoying the absence. Tonight I sat in the living room working a New York Times crossword puzzle (although it's a Monday so it hardly counts) while Ceone sampled the world music offerings on iTunes. It's quiet and not quiet and I like it that way.

We headed down to the beach for sushi and gelato tonight. There's something undeniably summery about that. (And wonderfully Vancouver-ish about Japanese and Italian cuisine side by side and hand in hand.) I'm still wondering who the wedding couple are in the photo above the register at Dolce Gelato. One of these days I'll have to get around to asking Davide. He seems like an approachable guy I'm sure he won't mind. He's always smiling when we come in. Maybe if you spend your days surrounded by that much gelato there's a lot to smile about.

I can feel myself slipping into summer. Kendra's classes are winding down. I am jealous, again, of the weeks of rest she has ahead even though I know because I've witnessed it that she has already paid for each hour in the sun. There are a few long nights ahead for her. But it's almost summer. Almost. There's a new tank of gas under the barbecue, the flower beds have been weeded and are waiting. My parents will be here in just a few weeks. I have no idea how it can be time already, but I'm slipping into summer. I can feel it.

flickrtoys, Furball and a field trip

Sometimes you just need to play. Years ago a good friend of mine told me that his idea of a perfect day would be a blank canvas the size of the wall, paints and no brushes. I think there's a scene in Benny & Joon that's the same sort of idea, just fingers in paint, a lot of paint. I wonder if he ever got around to trying that? Play comes in many shapes and forms and I think grown-ups would do well to put down their pens and remember that.

Last Saturday three quarters of the House of Mirth headed into Vancouver for girly fun. There was a fund raiser at the Vancouver Museum in support of the Vancouver Food Bank. There was a desert competition, fancy cupcake bake sale and best of all students from the Blanche MacDonald Center were doing hair, make-up and hand massages to raise donations. We decided to play.
Too funny. The BMC students were fantastic. Very personable and a lot of fun (especially when jogger or two happened to pass by the patio doors). I don't know how much money was raised in the end but we certainly enjoyed ourselves. Summer is coming. More time to play!

disneyland 2006 pics

Magical days in the Magic Kingdom. Who says you can't be a little kid again? The full set of vacation pics are now up on Flickr.

i can do this

I've been thinking a lot about age this week - no real surprise there. A friend of mine asked if I was a member of the "30 and Proud" club and I am. No turning 29 again for me. I was thinking back to what I was doing ten years ago and I realized that for me, my 20s were a lot of upheaval, a lot of totally changing my life and wondering if I could do it.

You're going along through high school, and if you live in Ontario you're 19 when you graduate. It's time to go away to university and your whole world changes. I remember sitting in my room at my parents' house and I could almost feel it slipping away. I could always come back, but I could never GO back. Off I went to school wondering "can I do this?"

Four incredible years later it happens again. You graduate and this life that you have built for yourself is pulled apart again. You have to move, find a job, make new friends and I wondered again, "can I do this?"

Many people spend their 20s looking for someone to share their life with and some find them right away and others don't but I think in both situations people are asking themselves "can I do this?" Can I build a life with this person? Can I build a life without them?

What I'm finding now is that there's a reason to be 30 and Proud because sitting here I can say with confidence, "I can do this". I know how to build a life. I know what I need to be happy, to be healthy, to be who I am. Because I also know this, that at some point it will happen again, the world will change and I'll be ready. I can do this.

30

After a rainy start the sun came out yesterday. I'm pleased to say that I passed a very pleasant birthday and I reached 30 smiling. You hear so many people who get negative about turning 30, I highly recommend a trip to Disneyland as the antidote to that. Worked very well for me.

There's a British expression that says "start as you mean to go on" so I took that to heart yesterday and began the day with chocolate covered strawberries for breakfast. Nice. Throw in some of your favorite tea and you can handle anything. (I went for my current fave -- Empire Blend #34 from the Harrod's Heritage Collection. I'm more than halfway through the tin now, I might have to ask my brother to pick me up some more.)

After that I had a quick appointment to keep and then went shopping. My parents let me pick out my own birthday present so off I went. I've worn a silver Celtic knotwork ring on my right hand for years but it broke a few weeks ago so I went to one of my favourite jewelry stores in White Rock to search out a replacement. I picked out a silver and peridot ring. Yes, technically peridot is not my birthstone, but I thought this ring was gorgeous and now it's mine. It only seemed right to get a manicure to go with it. It was my birthday afterall.


(Side note: Any guesses on why this pic is so small when I loaded it exactly the same was as the other two?)

In the evening I went out for dinner with some friends and then we headed off to see X-Men 3. Dinner was great. The waitress even gave me a second sparkler because we couldn't get a photo of the first one before it burnt out. X3 was a little disappointing. And yes, we stayed to watch the final scene but still. I know that they brought in a new Director for #3 and I think he lost his sense of story. The movie finished and all I could think was "I bet Bryan Singer is pissed." It had no compelling narrative -- yes there's a cure for mutancy and is that a good thing or not? But a good story tells itself through the characters experiencing it and this movie felt like little dioramas that we were peering in at but never actively engaged with. (Remember dioramas from grade 4?) But even with all that said, there was a lot of Hugh, so it wasn't a total loss.

After all the celebrations in Anaheim last week I felt like I had already celebrated my birthday and wasn't really expecting anything particular on the day itself. What a nice surprise to have such a great day too. Bonus. Happy birthday to me. That was fun. I think we should do it again next year.

embrace the magic

I am a couple of days from turning 30 and in honour of this momentous occasion I headed down to California with a few good friends. I had never been to Disneyland and it seemed like a good idea to sprinkle a little pixie dust on the big 3-0.

We had an amazing time. The first afternoon we had a little extra time between flights so we took a look at the map from the rental company and decided to head up to Santa Monica pier for a few hours.

After walking the beach and riding the Ferris Wheel we found a guy flooding the pier with bubbles. There were bubbles everywhere -- huge ones and tiny ones -- it was beautiful. We danced.

Here's Amanda and I on the Ferris Wheel. You could see miles up the beach from up there. I kept thinking California looks just like it does in movies -- right down to the lifeguard stations.

Once the rest of the group arrived we headed to Anaheim. We stayed at The Lemon Tree and I'd recommend it. Decent sized rooms, each with a kitchen, a pool and hot tub outside and beautiful gardens. Some time on that first day Coli declared that the whole trip should be my birthday and so I got to hear "Happy Birthday!" at least twice a day the whole time we were there. Who gets to have a 5 day birthday? How cool is that?

The next morning we headed to Disneyland. Here's Monica, Amanda, Kendra, Coli, Shannon and I just inside the gates of Disneyland. It was crazy to be somewhere that I have only ever seen in pictures. Right off the bat, there was the Mouse and the Disney brand of perfectionism that we'd find throughout the park. You can just about see the Mickey made of flowers in this photo. Where do you get black flowers to do that?

The first ride of the morning was "it's a small world" (and yes, it's written all in lower case and yes that bothers me a little). We sang. Loudly. Some of us even attempted some of the other languages. Hilarious. We went on all the rides. We wore the ears. There are more stories to come but for now I think this photo of Coli best sums up the trip:

Good times, good times. Happy Birthday.

bringing the indoors out

It's time to move life back outside. Time to sit close enough to smell the lilac and the cedars. Time to move from my favourite reading chair to my favourite reading hammock. It's time to be still enough to hear the windchimes, time to walk slowly enough to notice if the honeysuckle has bloomed yet. Winter has had its day. The days are growing longer and like a flower I turn toward the sun. There have been enough days indoors. It's time.

going california

It's just two weeks now until I head off to California to celebrate getting old and being young. Good times await. I decided that if I was going south, I might as well have the hair to go with it so RuthAnn and I headed into the city to get me some highlights. This is the second time I've been blonder for the summer (at least this year I've headed off all of the post a picture comments). I am expecting to have more fun. (I'm going to Disneyland, how could I not?)

I was quite proud of myself this year for not freaking out. One of the things I have learned about myself is that the reason I don't tend to deal with change well is that I see change as loss. When things change, even when it's a good change, I feel it first as a loss and I mourn for what was. (Earth that was for the Firefly fans :) There's a line in a song from the early 90s that says "All I want is what I had before" and it runs through my head sometimes when change comes and I just want to make everything stop and go back to the way it was.

Last year when I dyed my hair I struggled a bit with the "different-ness" of the experience, this year I'm pleased that I was able to look in the mirror and say "it's different and I like it". Baby steps, baby steps. Maybe one of these days I'll actually move the furniture around in my room.

Maybe this is the real celebration of getting a little older -- that I'm better able to see the world around me with clarity. Maybe this is my gift to myself, finally believing what my brother said to me years ago -- "Change isn't always bad Claire, it's just different." Getting older might not be so bad after all. Especially if you get to go to California.

chocolate chip cheesecake

Ingredients

1 1/2 C Oreo cookie crumbs
2 to 3 Tbsp butter melted
3 (8-oz each) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14-oz) can EAGLE BRAND® sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 tsp flour

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F. Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan or 13x9-inch baking pan.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND® until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla; mix well.

In small bowl, toss 1/2 cup chocolate chips with flour to coat. Add to mixture being careful not to dump the extra flour in with them. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until set. Cool. Chill.

Garnish as desired.

TIP: For best distribution of chocolate chips throughout cheesecake, do not over soften or over beat cream cheese.

I first made this cake as a student at Trinity. I knew nothing about cheesecake making but I saw the recipe on the label of a can of Eagle Brand and had to give it a try. It hasn't let me down yet. The great thing about this cake is that it doesn't require any of the usual fancy baking practices that you run into with cheesecakes. No water bath, no New York method required. Nice. Just put it in the oven and try not to burn it.

I had to put a foil collar on it about 45 minutes in as the edges of the cake were getting dark before the middle was finished. The only other thing to keep in mind with this cake is that it settles quite a bit. It comes out of the oven a good inch or two higher than it will be once it has cooled. Apparently this is perfectly normal.

The photo was taken on Wednesday when I made this cake for a work get-together. I wasnt sure what to granish it with so I put whipped cream around the edges, lined that with sliced straberries and drizzled a little chocolate over the whole thing. Doris, you asked for the recipe, I figured this was the easiest way to get it to you.

Enjoy!

flawless like sunshine

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.

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...

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.

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!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

i've got a theory, it could be bunnies

bunnies
Originally uploaded by flickrloon.

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....

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.

fully God, fully man

I've been putting off reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code . I had serious doubts that there was much substance under all the fuss and I really objected to paying for a hard cover copy. But I was asked to read it for work (and they were willing to let me expense it) so last week-end I grabbed a copy. This week paperbacks hit the shelves. Classic.

I thought the book started out pretty slowly but once it got going it was a decent chase. I think this will be one of those rare cases when the movie turns out to be better than the book. There's a ton of controversy surrounding this book and for the most part I wish people would remember that it's a novel. It's not listed as non-fiction for a reason.

For me the most intriguing question is not so much "What if Jesus had a child?" but rather "What difference would it make if He did?" Now hear me out here, I'm not saying "What if Jesus had a child and the Bible forgot to mention it?" But would being a father have made His sacrifice in any way less valid? If I believe that the Scriptures are true when they say that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, would He have been any less of a Saviour if he had had a child?

Jesus came and walked among us and it says that He experienced all the emotions that are common to man. Would that have changed if He had experience parenthood? I've heard it argued that if Jesus had a child He would be less divine (sorry I can't remember where I read that, I'll look for it) and I can't see the logic in that. Afterall, God Himself is a Father. (As a friend of mine likes to point out, God is a single parent family :)

I believe that the biblical account of Jesus is accurate, and that He did not father any children here on earth but even saying that, I don't think that He would be any less the Son of God if He had had a child of His own. I don't know if it would mess with the Trinity but I don't think so. God exists in three persons, one of whom, the Son took on humanity for a time. If in His humanity He had a child that child would certainly be someone special but would it necessarily require a change in theology?

how does your garden grow?

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. It would have been a sin to stay indoors. I had to go to the greenhouse, the flowers were calling. After spending a good hour walking through Koko's dreaming of fruit trees and lavender patches practicality prevailed and I decided to plant primroses. I know it's Vancouver, but it's also still March, a little early for lavender.


I planted up the little triangle garden at the end of the driveway and it turned out really well. Primroses come in such great colours and they go in in no time. Instant gratification. Now I've got a little patch of colour welcoming us home. It won't be long now before I can get my hands in the other gardens.

Gandalf couldn't resist coming to inspect my work. Looks like everything passed muster. I just hope the flowers are all still there in the morning.

spring break

The past two weeks were Spring Break (well for SOME people) and while I didn't get to go to Maui or climb the Great Wall, I did get to spend a few days with a few great Walls right here in White Rock.

Amanda and Coli came to stay with us for a few days and we had a great time. They went to the beach with their Auntie Kendra while I got to go to work. . . .but when I got home they let me in on the rock painting. Nice.


I haven't played with paint in a long time. In the spirit of the day I decided to do a stickman tribute to the House of Mirth. I have no idea how I ended up giving myself poodle hair. But hey, we can't all be da Vinci. (I can assure you there are no hidden meanings laced among these Madonnas of the Rock . But more of that later.) All in all, I think we should borrow the girls more often. They're a lot of fun.

minois coiffeur

Who needs cable?
Originally uploaded by flickrloon.

Sometimes a picture is so wonderfully ridiculous you have to share it, even when you're the star of the shot. This is Ceone and I working the hightlights at the House of Mirth. Ok, I admit it, Ceone is the one in the background.

One of the many great things about living with fabulous and talented roomies is that sometimes, if you ask them nicely, they'll do your hair at a mere fraction of the cost of retail. The only downside. . . well let's just say that I've had highlights done at the salon and they didn't pile all the foils up on my head quite like this. Ceone claims "it's suppose to look like that". Um hum, riiiiiight. I have a feeling I've heard that one before.

But hey, as they say no pain, no gain, and if you can't handle a little silliness no amount of foil and ammonia is likely to save you. As for me, the highlights turned out great and the exclusive salon of Minois Coiffeur lives to 'light another day.

Sidenote: the highlights didn't work so well for Ceone. Anyone know of a good blond dye that will bleach over red? I know Blondissima would probably do it, but is there anything a little less toxic?

visiting Corrina (and her parents too)

Are we done here?
Originally uploaded by flickrloon.

Earlier this week I braved the cold and head east to meet my niece in person. She is a doll. It was incredible to finally hold her in my arms and get to spend time with Dave and Janie. I am so impressed with them and the job they are doign raising this little girl. New parents never get much sleep and it would be understandable if tempers got a little short, but I never saw that in my time with them.

We had a great few days hanging out. I got to bounce Corrina and dress her and bath her and generally stare at her. I was in love before I arrived, I am fully gone now. Click on the photo to get to the full set of photos. Warning: These photos are extremely cute and may cause you to make very ungrown-up like noises. View at your own risk. Also, this is the director's cut full length version. If you're looking for the highlight reel check out Corrina - short version. Thanks Dave & Janie for letting me crash on your couch. Can't wait to do it again.

paradiso

Last Saturday I had the great pleasure of hearing Vancouver's own Tango Paradiso perform at the Art Center. The concert was in celebration of the release of their latest CD Post Nuevo and it was magical. This is the fourth time I have heard Tango P perform and they never cease to delight. Masterful musicians all, they cast these moments that just take hold of you. When it comes to the end it almost seems disrespectful to clap and break the spell. It's music you can just lean back into and let yourself fall.

The concert took place at Gallery O at the Art Center (2060 Pine Street). It's a very cool venue. If you ever get the chance, I highly reccommend it. The place was packed. If I have one complaint it's that there wasn't a lot of room left to wander around and look at the art. But that's a small complaint. I came for the music and I was not disappointed. Now with CD in hand I'm already anticipating the next time.

happy birthday Amanda!

Amanda turned 14 today and her Auntie Kendra and I had the priviledge of hosting her birthday bash. Her Mom made the sweet balloon cake. Very fancy.

Happy Birthday Amanda!! Thanks for sharing your special day with us. You can come over anytime :)

Send us a postcard from New York okay?

here's to us

Right around Valentine's Day we like to gather the extended House of Mirth for some serious celebrating. Our usual tradition is to hit the Keg for steaks and toast every beautiful/ brilliant/ sexy man we have even known or ogled on a screen large or small. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. We toasted movie stars and a string physicist, past love and current love. As we like to put it we were just "appreciating the beauty and diversity of God's creation". Here's to good friends, here's to us.
(r-l: Monica, Kendra, Claire, RuthAnn, Ceone & Judy)

one month & also two weeks

Here's Corrina at one month. What a doll. I haven't met her yet but I'm pretty sure I'm in love.

In a just under two weeks I'll be heading to Winnipeg to see for myself and visit with her fabulous parents.

I was talking to a friend of mine today who used to live in Winnipeg. He said that early March is pretty well the coldest time of year. Coldest time of year FOR WINNIPEG. Only a face like this could get me to make a trip like that. I can hardly wait.

happy valentine's day

Happy Valentine's Day I trust everyone is feeling the love. Today I had something very unexpected for Valentine's -- an interview with a radio station! I received a call yesterday from WJBC AM 1230 in Bloomington, IL asking if I'd be willing to come on the air and talk about an article I wrote on How to Write a Love Letter.

I had a great time chatting with hosts Steve Fast and Beth Whisman and even got to judge a worst pick-up line contest. My choice: What's a girl like you doing in a nice place like this? (And no, you didn't read that wrong, it's a burn AND a bad pick-up line. Kindof appropriate that the winner received a prize pack from Budweiser.)

What a funny, funny world. I don't know which part of the day they're going to podcast but if it ends up being mine I'll post the link. And for anyone who's not feeling it today, here's one Valentine quote we can all get behind "Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate."

going down to meet the sea

The wind whipped the sea into a frenzy today and I went down to meet it. There's been a storm brewing for a few days and high wind warnings were issued for today. When I woke up this morning I could hear the wind howling and I knew I had to go and see it for myself.

It was incredible. The wind was so strong I had to pay attention to how I was standing to make sure I kept my balance. There were quite a few people down at the beach and almost everyone had a camera. The wind was playing something down there, I think it might have been the hydro wires but whatever it was you could hear it singing over the sound of the storm itself. It kept changing between three or four notes. I can see why sailors believed in sirens.

I am not a storm chaser, but there is a terrific beauty to the rawness of open water caught in a prevailing wind. The whole beach succumbed to it. The seagulls were grounded, all of the drift wood was mobile again. I'll have to head back after the storm clears to see if my favourite spot still exists.

Down by the pier the spray was going right up over the breakwater. I hope that the boats moored there are riding the storm well. Walking along by the old train station the waves were high enough and close enough to drench the boardwalk with each passing. I met a lady who was down there just trying to walk and she looked like she had jumped into the sea itself.

I had my fill and headed home to a hot shower and a latte and a cinnamon bun. As I got in the car I could taste salt water on my lips.

Update Sunday: This should have been posted Saturday but the power was out. Anyone know how to edit the date stamp on a post?

what's for dinner?

I cooked my very first roast tonight and it turned out so well I thought I'd photograph it and share the recipe. It took a little longer than anticipated but it was worth the wait in the end. And there are leftovers. (Even better, Safeway has roasts on for half price right now.)

Here's the recipe, originally from The Joy of Cooking. I've modified it a little.

Garlic-and-Herb-Studded Sirlion Roast

2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
several stalks of fresh rosemary
3lb sirloin roast

Thinly sliver the garlic, bruise the rosemary and combine together with salt and pepper in a small bowl. Make slits in the roast and insert the seasoned garlic slivers. Rub remaining seasonings over the meat, then marinate, covered, for up to 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 450 F.

After marinating, place the roast fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast uncovered for 10 minutes. Do not remove roast from oven but reduce temperature to 250 F and roast until a meat thermometer reads 145 - 155 F for medium. Approx. time 20-30 minutes per lb. (My roast took quite a bit longer to reach the right temperature but that might just be the oven.)

When desired temperature is reached, remove from pan and place on a carving board. Cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve and enjoy! Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed veg.

For gravy I started with a package of Knorr's Demi-glace gravy mix. I replaced the water with the water I boiled the potatoes in, added the pan drippings (including rosemary and garlic from the roast) and finished it off with a heavy splash of red wine (I used Red Truck, a nicer wine than I would usually use for cooking, but it's what was open.)

Yummy yummy.