Well, All Hallow's Eve is over for another year and now today is All Saints Day. It is almost over too. This is the day when all the saint's who have reached heaven are celebrated. Tomorrow is All Soul's Day and is the day for prayer for those who are in purgatory and trying to get to heaven can be helped by the prayers of those who arenot departed from this earth....
It is funny how many days have been taken by the almighty Roman Catholic Church as days for Christian celebration that were originally pagan special occasions. Lets face it so much of what the "church" does is political with very political reasons. Still I suppose it doesn't hurt to pray for those who are stuck in purgatory and I suppose that praying in any form is good in the end.
As a lay preacher for the Anglican church, it falls on me to know the Christian calendar. We are in the season of Pentecost which is considered the "regular" time of the year.... that is the time after the Ascension but before Advent. For the most part there is nothing special about this time of the year. Still we are only four weeks away from Advent. I like Advent. It is a time of waiting and a time for prayerful reflection. It is a time for those of us who take it seriously that the second coming of our Lord and Saviour will return and we need always be prepared.
Christmas is the culmination of Advent and everyone loves Christmas. Christmas is the time when the fat man comes down the chimney, Christmas is the time of the year when people give gifts to the people around them and for those who are very thoughtful... Christmas is the time of the year when we give to the poor. For me Christmas is not a time to get tipsy and knock back a few. It is not a time to party it up. That all changed in a slow and progressive way. The thing that I like best about Christmas, the miracle of Christmas is when the lights turn low in church and the candles are lit and everyone sings Silent Night... at that moment I feel like anything is possible. That is the magic of Christmas. A jaded old fart like me gets one shining moment of magic in the form of 'all things possible'! It is a lovely moment and I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world.
There I stand with my family in the night and all those voices are singing that lovely old carol and it just fills me up with pure joy! That's what I love about Christmas night.
So there you go a little bit of Christian information for you... from All Hallow's Eve to Christmas....
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A Spooky Story For Halloween
Maud was running. Behind her the brook babbled innocently and the sun was shining. Just in front of her were her two best friends Gene and Sarah. They were dodging branches of pine trees in their rush to get away. The picnic basket bumped awkwardly against Maud’s thigh. If they could just reach the next bend in the lane then they would be safe, for there the lane turned away from the brook. Maud’s breath came in short rasping gasps. She wasn’t used to running like this. It was all right for Gene and Sarah. Gene had four brothers and she was always trying to keep up with them and Sarah - well she just was naturally athletic. She won all the races at CGIT camp.
Maud slowed and snatched a quick look over her shoulder to see if he was coming, but there was no sign of him. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t following.
They reached the turn in the lane and slowed down to investigate the front of Gene’s dress.
“Gene, your mother is gonna skin you out for messing up your new dress,” said Maud ruefully. A big splatter of lemon dribbled down her chest.
Sarah bent over breathing heavily. “So much for a nice picnic,” she panted.
“Maud did you get mother’s plate? It’s bad enough that she’s gonna be mad at me for the dress but if I lost that plate I won’t be able to get the bike for a month.”
This was true. Gene’s family only had one bike for all five children to use and sometimes Gene’s dad would use it if he decided to go fishing, which meant that if Gene got in trouble it would be ages before she could get the bike again.
“Don’t worry Gene I got the plate. I even managed to wrap it in the cloth before we had to run.” Maud answered proudly.
“Did you see which boy threw the cow patty?” Sarah asked standing up slowly.
Gene and Maud shook their heads no. They had been sitting on a big flat rock by the edge of the brook about to start eating a nice lemon meringue pie when the first cow patty had been lobbed through the air from behind some pine trees on the other side of the brook. It had landed right in the middle of the pie splattering it all over poor Gene just as she had been about to cut it and serve it on plates. There had followed a hoot of laughter and then more cow pies had come flying threw the air in quick succession. Not wanting to be hit with something so fowl, they had scrambled to their feet throwing everything into the basket and sliding what was left of the pie into the water of the brook, dodging cow patties as they worked. Then they had started running, gaining the nearby lane in only seconds.
Maud had wanted to head for the main road and go home but she had been behind the other two and they had turned up the lane towards the dreaded Kitty Casey’s Hill and The Farm. Kitty Casey’s Hill had been the home of the infamous Casey Family. Maud wasn’t supposed to know but she had heard her granny talking about it to her mother. Kitty Casey had cut her throat fifty years ago from grief when her daughter had died of diphtheria. People said the old place was haunted and Kitty Casey would never find rest until a cure for diphtheria was found. Maud, not wanting to be left alone with a mad cow pie thrower, turned and followed the other’s in their bid to escape.
“I bet that was Jimmy Davis. He is always up to no good.” Sarah said with a frown.
“Well it did sound like his laugh.” Maud answered.
“We can’t go back that way or we’ll be dodging cow patties again.” said Gene.
“Now what are we supposed to do?” Sarah asked plaintively. “We can’t just stand here waiting for him to leave. He’ll just come after us again if we stay here.” They stood there looking at each other questioningly.
Maud thought about Kitty Casey’s Hill and the path beyond the old place that would lead them back to her father’s vegetable garden. It would work but she hated to pass that old place. The old house was gone now but the foundation could be seen through the grass, and rose and lilac bushes grew amok beside the old lane that had lead to the house when it used to be occupied. She had been through there a number of times with her father on their way to the berry picking patches on this side of the ridge but she always felt like someone was watching her. It was ridiculous of course because nobody was there and hadn’t been there for fifty years or so. Still it gave her an uneasy feeling. The problem today of course was that it was their only way to get home unless they wanted to brave Jimmy and his aim with the cow patties.
She was just about to tell her friends about the old path behind the Casey’s place when a cow patty came flying through the air and hit her square in the back. Maud yelped and grabbed Sarah’s hand since she was closest to her and began to run again.
“Come on Gene, I know a way to get home.” she called as she thundered up the lane away from Jimmy and his missiles. “We’ll follow Dad’s path behind Casey’s old place that leads back to our garden. It’s not far.”
All three girls ran quickly up the lane and veered up what seemed to be an old path. They passed a broken gate which was attached to a fence that leaned precariously and was grayed from age. Maud could hear Jimmy crashing though the trees behind them. Obviously he had found a place to cross the brook and was now in serious pursuit of them.
Maud let go of Sarah’s hand who was now partly dragging her along. Gene was right behind her but Maud was beginning to slow and she pressed her fist into her side where a stitch was starting.
“I can’t run for much longer,” she yelled.
“You had better keep going or Jimmy will get you.” called Sarah over shoulder.
Maud felt herself slowing down as Gene passed her.
“Go Gene, the path is beyond the old outhouse. It’s just left of the old foundation.” Maud had stopped now. The stitch in her side was hurting so much she couldn’t run anymore.
Gene turned back and said, “Let me take the basket. At least you can run easier without it.” She grabbed hold of the basket and Maud let go. Another cow patty landed at their feet between them. Where was Jimmy getting all the cow patties? Gene screamed and took off running again. Maud jumped into the bushes and felt her foot give way beneath her. She looked down and saw leaves sliding beneath her feet. A branch of an Alder tree whipped her face and for an instant she couldn’t see anything and then everything stopped.
She was lying on her back in a thicket of Alder bushes and the damp musty ground was sloping away from the old lane that lead to the Casey’s old place. She could see the lane above her head and behind her now. She heard the pounding feet of Jimmy as he belted after Gene and Sarah. For a moment she stopped breathing in case he might hear her and turn to come back to pester and terrorize her. Gene and Sarah would outrun him if they reached the path because not many people knew about the old path and with Jimmy being from the North Side, he probably didn’t have a clue about the old trail.
Maud’s shoulder hurt and her ankle hurt and her lip was stinging from the Alder branch that had whipped her face as she fell. Gingerly she put her hand to her mouth and it came away bloody. She sat up and looked around her. If she let herself slide down the slope she would just be getting into thicker brush. That meant that the only way out was to go back up the way she fell. She rolled over on her hands and knees. Nothing seemed to be hurting too badly. She slowly made her way up the bank to the edge of the lane where she had been running only moments ago. Very carefully she peeked out through the branches of the Alder bushes and peered up the path. Jimmy was returning back the way he had come. She ducked back into the Alder patch and waited, hardly daring to breath. Jimmy passed by muttering to himself.
That was good. He obviously hadn’t found the trail that the girls had taken. She watched until Jimmy was out of sight and slowly she got to her feet with the aid of several branches and pulled herself up the last few feet of the bank to the lane above. She brushed herself off and surveyed the damage. There was a mud streak down the side of her arm and her ankle felt stiff. Her shoulder would probably be bruised tomorrow but otherwise she seemed to be o.k. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her lip.
It wouldn’t do to stand here in the lane. Jimmy might come back looking for them if he thought they were hiding in the trees. She slowly walked up the lane toward the old Casey place. The lane got steep here and that’s why this place was called Kitty Casey’s hill.
It was quiet here with just a slight breeze whispering through the upper branches of the Spruce trees which surrounded the clearing that marked the garden which once had been tended so dutifully. Gooseberry bushes had grown high enough to dwarf the foundations of the cabin that had once stood in the clearing. The foundation was still there but grass had grown so that you had to look hard to find it. Maud walked toward a gooseberry bush so that she could make her way past the foundation to the old outhouse that leaned forlornly. She always wondered why the outhouse had been left when the old ruins of the house had been burned. It had been her father who had told her that Patrick Casey had returned years later and had burned the house to the ground. He had been a bitter old man by that time and had not wanted any part of the old place. So much sorrow here, Maud thought.
She was just walking past the gooseberry bush when the head of a woman came into view. The woman was picking berries and startled Maud so completely that she tripped but caught herself before she fell. The woman looked up and then standing said, “ Oh, hello. I didn’t realize anybody was here.”
Maud recovering from her first shock, said at the same time, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize anybody was here.”
They both grinned at each other. Maud couldn’t understand how this lady could not have seen Gene and Sarah being chased by Jimmy only a few moments ago. Perhaps this strange woman had entered the clearing just moments after Jimmy had retreated down the hill.
“I’m just looking for my friends who ran this way a little while ago. Did you see them?” Maud asked.
“That’s odd. I didn’t see anybody and I’ve been here all afternoon.” the lady replied.
Maud shook her head at the strangeness of the situation. She had to have seen Gene and Sarah. They would have run past this very spot if they were going to make it to the path. If they had run the right way. Perhaps they had not found the path and had hid in the trees. Maud looked away from the woman as if she expected to see her two friends walk out of the trees any minute. Everything was peaceful and nothing was moving. Still this lady must have seen Jimmy belting past.
Maud looked back at the lady and noticed for the first time the very odd style of outfit the woman was wearing. It looked old. Like something Granny Louisa would wear. Her boots were heavy and very worn and Maud had not seen boots like those in a long time. Yet this lady could be no more than thirty-five. She smiled at the lady and said, “It looks like you are doing well with the gooseberries.”
“Yes, they are plentiful this year. My daughter helped me to pick them. She is around here somewhere,” and the lady scanned the clearing as Maud had done only seconds before.
“Have you got a daughter with you?” Maud asked in surprise. Surely one of these people had seen Gene or Sarah or Jimmy for that matter.
“Yes, but she doesn’t like to pick berries and often wanders away when I’m busy,” the lady answered.
A voice from far away called on the breeze. It was Gene calling Maud from the direction of the path.
“I’m here,” yelled Maud turning in the direction of the voice. “I had better go and let them know I’m all right,” she said as she turned back speaking to the lady again. Only no one was there. Where the lady had been standing, was empty. Maud felt a cold shiver pass down her back. Her heart was pumping very fast now. She was scared. She turned toward the voices that were still calling to her and began to run.
Maud slowed and snatched a quick look over her shoulder to see if he was coming, but there was no sign of him. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t following.
They reached the turn in the lane and slowed down to investigate the front of Gene’s dress.
“Gene, your mother is gonna skin you out for messing up your new dress,” said Maud ruefully. A big splatter of lemon dribbled down her chest.
Sarah bent over breathing heavily. “So much for a nice picnic,” she panted.
“Maud did you get mother’s plate? It’s bad enough that she’s gonna be mad at me for the dress but if I lost that plate I won’t be able to get the bike for a month.”
This was true. Gene’s family only had one bike for all five children to use and sometimes Gene’s dad would use it if he decided to go fishing, which meant that if Gene got in trouble it would be ages before she could get the bike again.
“Don’t worry Gene I got the plate. I even managed to wrap it in the cloth before we had to run.” Maud answered proudly.
“Did you see which boy threw the cow patty?” Sarah asked standing up slowly.
Gene and Maud shook their heads no. They had been sitting on a big flat rock by the edge of the brook about to start eating a nice lemon meringue pie when the first cow patty had been lobbed through the air from behind some pine trees on the other side of the brook. It had landed right in the middle of the pie splattering it all over poor Gene just as she had been about to cut it and serve it on plates. There had followed a hoot of laughter and then more cow pies had come flying threw the air in quick succession. Not wanting to be hit with something so fowl, they had scrambled to their feet throwing everything into the basket and sliding what was left of the pie into the water of the brook, dodging cow patties as they worked. Then they had started running, gaining the nearby lane in only seconds.
Maud had wanted to head for the main road and go home but she had been behind the other two and they had turned up the lane towards the dreaded Kitty Casey’s Hill and The Farm. Kitty Casey’s Hill had been the home of the infamous Casey Family. Maud wasn’t supposed to know but she had heard her granny talking about it to her mother. Kitty Casey had cut her throat fifty years ago from grief when her daughter had died of diphtheria. People said the old place was haunted and Kitty Casey would never find rest until a cure for diphtheria was found. Maud, not wanting to be left alone with a mad cow pie thrower, turned and followed the other’s in their bid to escape.
“I bet that was Jimmy Davis. He is always up to no good.” Sarah said with a frown.
“Well it did sound like his laugh.” Maud answered.
“We can’t go back that way or we’ll be dodging cow patties again.” said Gene.
“Now what are we supposed to do?” Sarah asked plaintively. “We can’t just stand here waiting for him to leave. He’ll just come after us again if we stay here.” They stood there looking at each other questioningly.
Maud thought about Kitty Casey’s Hill and the path beyond the old place that would lead them back to her father’s vegetable garden. It would work but she hated to pass that old place. The old house was gone now but the foundation could be seen through the grass, and rose and lilac bushes grew amok beside the old lane that had lead to the house when it used to be occupied. She had been through there a number of times with her father on their way to the berry picking patches on this side of the ridge but she always felt like someone was watching her. It was ridiculous of course because nobody was there and hadn’t been there for fifty years or so. Still it gave her an uneasy feeling. The problem today of course was that it was their only way to get home unless they wanted to brave Jimmy and his aim with the cow patties.
She was just about to tell her friends about the old path behind the Casey’s place when a cow patty came flying through the air and hit her square in the back. Maud yelped and grabbed Sarah’s hand since she was closest to her and began to run again.
“Come on Gene, I know a way to get home.” she called as she thundered up the lane away from Jimmy and his missiles. “We’ll follow Dad’s path behind Casey’s old place that leads back to our garden. It’s not far.”
All three girls ran quickly up the lane and veered up what seemed to be an old path. They passed a broken gate which was attached to a fence that leaned precariously and was grayed from age. Maud could hear Jimmy crashing though the trees behind them. Obviously he had found a place to cross the brook and was now in serious pursuit of them.
Maud let go of Sarah’s hand who was now partly dragging her along. Gene was right behind her but Maud was beginning to slow and she pressed her fist into her side where a stitch was starting.
“I can’t run for much longer,” she yelled.
“You had better keep going or Jimmy will get you.” called Sarah over shoulder.
Maud felt herself slowing down as Gene passed her.
“Go Gene, the path is beyond the old outhouse. It’s just left of the old foundation.” Maud had stopped now. The stitch in her side was hurting so much she couldn’t run anymore.
Gene turned back and said, “Let me take the basket. At least you can run easier without it.” She grabbed hold of the basket and Maud let go. Another cow patty landed at their feet between them. Where was Jimmy getting all the cow patties? Gene screamed and took off running again. Maud jumped into the bushes and felt her foot give way beneath her. She looked down and saw leaves sliding beneath her feet. A branch of an Alder tree whipped her face and for an instant she couldn’t see anything and then everything stopped.
She was lying on her back in a thicket of Alder bushes and the damp musty ground was sloping away from the old lane that lead to the Casey’s old place. She could see the lane above her head and behind her now. She heard the pounding feet of Jimmy as he belted after Gene and Sarah. For a moment she stopped breathing in case he might hear her and turn to come back to pester and terrorize her. Gene and Sarah would outrun him if they reached the path because not many people knew about the old path and with Jimmy being from the North Side, he probably didn’t have a clue about the old trail.
Maud’s shoulder hurt and her ankle hurt and her lip was stinging from the Alder branch that had whipped her face as she fell. Gingerly she put her hand to her mouth and it came away bloody. She sat up and looked around her. If she let herself slide down the slope she would just be getting into thicker brush. That meant that the only way out was to go back up the way she fell. She rolled over on her hands and knees. Nothing seemed to be hurting too badly. She slowly made her way up the bank to the edge of the lane where she had been running only moments ago. Very carefully she peeked out through the branches of the Alder bushes and peered up the path. Jimmy was returning back the way he had come. She ducked back into the Alder patch and waited, hardly daring to breath. Jimmy passed by muttering to himself.
That was good. He obviously hadn’t found the trail that the girls had taken. She watched until Jimmy was out of sight and slowly she got to her feet with the aid of several branches and pulled herself up the last few feet of the bank to the lane above. She brushed herself off and surveyed the damage. There was a mud streak down the side of her arm and her ankle felt stiff. Her shoulder would probably be bruised tomorrow but otherwise she seemed to be o.k. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her lip.
It wouldn’t do to stand here in the lane. Jimmy might come back looking for them if he thought they were hiding in the trees. She slowly walked up the lane toward the old Casey place. The lane got steep here and that’s why this place was called Kitty Casey’s hill.
It was quiet here with just a slight breeze whispering through the upper branches of the Spruce trees which surrounded the clearing that marked the garden which once had been tended so dutifully. Gooseberry bushes had grown high enough to dwarf the foundations of the cabin that had once stood in the clearing. The foundation was still there but grass had grown so that you had to look hard to find it. Maud walked toward a gooseberry bush so that she could make her way past the foundation to the old outhouse that leaned forlornly. She always wondered why the outhouse had been left when the old ruins of the house had been burned. It had been her father who had told her that Patrick Casey had returned years later and had burned the house to the ground. He had been a bitter old man by that time and had not wanted any part of the old place. So much sorrow here, Maud thought.
She was just walking past the gooseberry bush when the head of a woman came into view. The woman was picking berries and startled Maud so completely that she tripped but caught herself before she fell. The woman looked up and then standing said, “ Oh, hello. I didn’t realize anybody was here.”
Maud recovering from her first shock, said at the same time, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize anybody was here.”
They both grinned at each other. Maud couldn’t understand how this lady could not have seen Gene and Sarah being chased by Jimmy only a few moments ago. Perhaps this strange woman had entered the clearing just moments after Jimmy had retreated down the hill.
“I’m just looking for my friends who ran this way a little while ago. Did you see them?” Maud asked.
“That’s odd. I didn’t see anybody and I’ve been here all afternoon.” the lady replied.
Maud shook her head at the strangeness of the situation. She had to have seen Gene and Sarah. They would have run past this very spot if they were going to make it to the path. If they had run the right way. Perhaps they had not found the path and had hid in the trees. Maud looked away from the woman as if she expected to see her two friends walk out of the trees any minute. Everything was peaceful and nothing was moving. Still this lady must have seen Jimmy belting past.
Maud looked back at the lady and noticed for the first time the very odd style of outfit the woman was wearing. It looked old. Like something Granny Louisa would wear. Her boots were heavy and very worn and Maud had not seen boots like those in a long time. Yet this lady could be no more than thirty-five. She smiled at the lady and said, “It looks like you are doing well with the gooseberries.”
“Yes, they are plentiful this year. My daughter helped me to pick them. She is around here somewhere,” and the lady scanned the clearing as Maud had done only seconds before.
“Have you got a daughter with you?” Maud asked in surprise. Surely one of these people had seen Gene or Sarah or Jimmy for that matter.
“Yes, but she doesn’t like to pick berries and often wanders away when I’m busy,” the lady answered.
A voice from far away called on the breeze. It was Gene calling Maud from the direction of the path.
“I’m here,” yelled Maud turning in the direction of the voice. “I had better go and let them know I’m all right,” she said as she turned back speaking to the lady again. Only no one was there. Where the lady had been standing, was empty. Maud felt a cold shiver pass down her back. Her heart was pumping very fast now. She was scared. She turned toward the voices that were still calling to her and began to run.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Snow
Winter is here.... I might as well face it. (sigh) The whole world has turned white.
While I hate the frigid temperatures that come with living in the Northern part of Canada in winter, there is something that is undeniably spectacular about living where you get an eighty degree temperature spread between winter and summer. Daughter #2 is hoping that she will have a clear evening for Halloween and Daughter #1 doesn't care, she is having her friends over for a night of scary movies and snacks. For Hubby and I, we are satisfied to spend the evening apart, one to watch over the trick-or-treaters, while the other watches over the movie-watchers. I'm not quite sure what Daughter #1 has in mind for scary movies.... but I expect I won't get a wink of sleep. Daughter #2 has been diligently working on her costume and intends on being a dead teacher! I'm not certain as to how she will accomplish this and I'm not sure if this is some kind of comment on school. Her creative ideas are interesting though.
Right now the snow is coming down slowly and I look out the window and there before me is a picture that takes your breath away. The quintessential Canadian winter scene greets me.... evergreens reaching for an opaque sky with loads of snow built up on the branches and more falling all around. These are the kinds of days that beg for me to go out and catch a snowflake on my tongue. A ramble through the bush with a camera in tow is probably just what I need.... problem is Hubby and I have been caught off guard. I need to truck out to the storage shed and find all the winter gear. Boots, jackets, hats, scarves, and mitts, are all necessary items if I want to ramble in comfort.
Hubby and I got our first winter shock with our drive to Fort St. John yesterday. We left our house here in the river bottoms with no precipitation at all but going up the cut backs on the Bear Flats Hill, where the highway cuts back and forth to rise some 200 ft, we ran into snow enough that Hubby had to shift the truck into 4x4. FSJ was white. I'm still fighting the almighty sock and so I was wearing Crocs and bare toesies inside.... thank heavens Daughter #2 had left a pair of socks in the truck, I was able to put those on and suffer the early winter snowfall.... still it was not the best footwear for 3 inches of snow, I assure you. Never mind... I'll just have to get out my Bean boots.... and some warm woollies today if I intend on a trek through the bush.
Though this snow is not likely to stay I do believe that winter is here and Jack Frost is just starting. Might as well tuck in I guess. Stiff upper lip and all that... I'm off to find some socks before I ramble with my camera.
While I hate the frigid temperatures that come with living in the Northern part of Canada in winter, there is something that is undeniably spectacular about living where you get an eighty degree temperature spread between winter and summer. Daughter #2 is hoping that she will have a clear evening for Halloween and Daughter #1 doesn't care, she is having her friends over for a night of scary movies and snacks. For Hubby and I, we are satisfied to spend the evening apart, one to watch over the trick-or-treaters, while the other watches over the movie-watchers. I'm not quite sure what Daughter #1 has in mind for scary movies.... but I expect I won't get a wink of sleep. Daughter #2 has been diligently working on her costume and intends on being a dead teacher! I'm not certain as to how she will accomplish this and I'm not sure if this is some kind of comment on school. Her creative ideas are interesting though.
Right now the snow is coming down slowly and I look out the window and there before me is a picture that takes your breath away. The quintessential Canadian winter scene greets me.... evergreens reaching for an opaque sky with loads of snow built up on the branches and more falling all around. These are the kinds of days that beg for me to go out and catch a snowflake on my tongue. A ramble through the bush with a camera in tow is probably just what I need.... problem is Hubby and I have been caught off guard. I need to truck out to the storage shed and find all the winter gear. Boots, jackets, hats, scarves, and mitts, are all necessary items if I want to ramble in comfort.
Hubby and I got our first winter shock with our drive to Fort St. John yesterday. We left our house here in the river bottoms with no precipitation at all but going up the cut backs on the Bear Flats Hill, where the highway cuts back and forth to rise some 200 ft, we ran into snow enough that Hubby had to shift the truck into 4x4. FSJ was white. I'm still fighting the almighty sock and so I was wearing Crocs and bare toesies inside.... thank heavens Daughter #2 had left a pair of socks in the truck, I was able to put those on and suffer the early winter snowfall.... still it was not the best footwear for 3 inches of snow, I assure you. Never mind... I'll just have to get out my Bean boots.... and some warm woollies today if I intend on a trek through the bush.
Though this snow is not likely to stay I do believe that winter is here and Jack Frost is just starting. Might as well tuck in I guess. Stiff upper lip and all that... I'm off to find some socks before I ramble with my camera.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Bucket List
A friend sent me a bucket list via email today. The idea was to tick off anything that you've done and then answer the questions and send it back to the person who sent it as well as send it forward to a bunch of people so they can get to know you better. I did it and then started to think about what actually would be on my bucket list.
So here goes....
1. Go on a trip to Peru
2. Go on a trip to Scotland and Cornwall
3. Bicycle around the loop of Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, and Hudson's Hope
4. Lose 80 pounds
5. Become a Master Spinner
6. Write a really great book and have it published
7. Spend two weeks camping on a beach in good weather
8. Own a house boat and live on it on a Northern Lake
9. Spin and weave for a whole year with no obligations or distractions
10. Canoe the Peace from the head waters to the tail waters
11. Drive to Inuktituk then kayak the Arctic waters.
12. Take my girls and spend a summer traveling through Newfoundland
13. Go on a cruise up the coast of B.C.
14. Go on a cruise to Hawaii and then back again.
15. Learn to drive a standard.
16. Own a horse and buggy and actually drive it.
17. Manage to go into the MRI machine without panicking.
18. Sleep in a tree house.
I've shot a gun and gotten supper with it.
I've snared a rabbit and had to beat one over the head when it didn't die as it was supposed to.
I've had my ears pierced I've had my knees pierced and my head in four places when I had to live in traction for two months.
I've had more surgery than I wanted.
I've camped in every situation you could think of from the smallest tent... to the biggest RV
I've been from one end of the country to the other. I've lived in the biggest city in Canada and I lived in a community of 300. I've even driven a standard (I was learning) in the biggest city in Canada.
I've sung in front of hundreds. I've danced in front of hundreds.
I've graduated from three different institutes.
I've watched many sunrises and just as many sunsets.
I've sung to the Aurora Borealis and they have sung to me.
I've lived with cowboys and Indians not just played them.
I've lived on a forty-five foot yacht. I've watched a whale look me in the eye and had dolphins follow in my wake.
I've watched someone die and I've watched someone be born.
I've watched a lamb be born as well as a puppy and a kitten.
I expect to see an alpaca born at some time.
I've flown on several planes from the very small to the very large.
I've been in the U.S. and England and France and Canada
I've swum in the ocean and a lake and a pond, and a river, and a brook and a indoor pool and an outdoor pool.
I've body surfed.
I've been buried to my neck in sand.
I've been on a ferry.
I've kissed in the rain, and made love in the rain, I've danced naked in the rain.
I've even danced naked in the snow.
I've been on a ski doo, and a Harley, and a dirt bike, and a scooter.
I've fallen overboard.
I've taught someone to swim.
I've been to New York and went to the top of the World Trade Center... yes that one.
I've fallen over a cliff.
I've had babies.
I've miscarried.
I've swung on a gate.
I've been pulled over for drag racing.
I've had too much to drink and sat with my head in the toilet too.
I've seen love bloom and hate sour.
My favorite colour is plaid.
I've almost frozen to death. Really!
I've watched the moon rise and then set.
I've sung kareoke and then run for my life.
I've cut my own Christmas tree.
I've eaten bugs.
Never smoked or even tried and there's not too many who can say that!
Never done drugs other than those prescribed.
I've broken a bone.
Been stung by a hornet.
I've eaten ice cream without my hands.
I've walked up a mountain and carried a 40 lb pack.
I've lived without T.V.
I've gone off into the unknown and not had a safety net.
I've lay in a cargo net hung in the upper canopy of trees.
I've seen many things that have taken my breath away and heard things that have sent a chill up my back.
Held someone's hand while they watched their loved one being buried.
Been pierced by profound beauty.
Helped a homeless person have a meal.
Watched someone dig in the garbage for the french fries I just tossed away.
Had my purse stolen.
Fallen asleep sitting up.
Been stretched.
Been in a truck so big you could drive under it.
Been to Niagra Falls.
Had a snow wash.
Got married and am glad.
I've loved, laughed, and lived.
I can't think anymore.....
So here goes....
1. Go on a trip to Peru
2. Go on a trip to Scotland and Cornwall
3. Bicycle around the loop of Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, and Hudson's Hope
4. Lose 80 pounds
5. Become a Master Spinner
6. Write a really great book and have it published
7. Spend two weeks camping on a beach in good weather
8. Own a house boat and live on it on a Northern Lake
9. Spin and weave for a whole year with no obligations or distractions
10. Canoe the Peace from the head waters to the tail waters
11. Drive to Inuktituk then kayak the Arctic waters.
12. Take my girls and spend a summer traveling through Newfoundland
13. Go on a cruise up the coast of B.C.
14. Go on a cruise to Hawaii and then back again.
15. Learn to drive a standard.
16. Own a horse and buggy and actually drive it.
17. Manage to go into the MRI machine without panicking.
18. Sleep in a tree house.
I've shot a gun and gotten supper with it.
I've snared a rabbit and had to beat one over the head when it didn't die as it was supposed to.
I've had my ears pierced I've had my knees pierced and my head in four places when I had to live in traction for two months.
I've had more surgery than I wanted.
I've camped in every situation you could think of from the smallest tent... to the biggest RV
I've been from one end of the country to the other. I've lived in the biggest city in Canada and I lived in a community of 300. I've even driven a standard (I was learning) in the biggest city in Canada.
I've sung in front of hundreds. I've danced in front of hundreds.
I've graduated from three different institutes.
I've watched many sunrises and just as many sunsets.
I've sung to the Aurora Borealis and they have sung to me.
I've lived with cowboys and Indians not just played them.
I've lived on a forty-five foot yacht. I've watched a whale look me in the eye and had dolphins follow in my wake.
I've watched someone die and I've watched someone be born.
I've watched a lamb be born as well as a puppy and a kitten.
I expect to see an alpaca born at some time.
I've flown on several planes from the very small to the very large.
I've been in the U.S. and England and France and Canada
I've swum in the ocean and a lake and a pond, and a river, and a brook and a indoor pool and an outdoor pool.
I've body surfed.
I've been buried to my neck in sand.
I've been on a ferry.
I've kissed in the rain, and made love in the rain, I've danced naked in the rain.
I've even danced naked in the snow.
I've been on a ski doo, and a Harley, and a dirt bike, and a scooter.
I've fallen overboard.
I've taught someone to swim.
I've been to New York and went to the top of the World Trade Center... yes that one.
I've fallen over a cliff.
I've had babies.
I've miscarried.
I've swung on a gate.
I've been pulled over for drag racing.
I've had too much to drink and sat with my head in the toilet too.
I've seen love bloom and hate sour.
My favorite colour is plaid.
I've almost frozen to death. Really!
I've watched the moon rise and then set.
I've sung kareoke and then run for my life.
I've cut my own Christmas tree.
I've eaten bugs.
Never smoked or even tried and there's not too many who can say that!
Never done drugs other than those prescribed.
I've broken a bone.
Been stung by a hornet.
I've eaten ice cream without my hands.
I've walked up a mountain and carried a 40 lb pack.
I've lived without T.V.
I've gone off into the unknown and not had a safety net.
I've lay in a cargo net hung in the upper canopy of trees.
I've seen many things that have taken my breath away and heard things that have sent a chill up my back.
Held someone's hand while they watched their loved one being buried.
Been pierced by profound beauty.
Helped a homeless person have a meal.
Watched someone dig in the garbage for the french fries I just tossed away.
Had my purse stolen.
Fallen asleep sitting up.
Been stretched.
Been in a truck so big you could drive under it.
Been to Niagra Falls.
Had a snow wash.
Got married and am glad.
I've loved, laughed, and lived.
I can't think anymore.....
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
It's Only Going To Get Worse
It's really hard to get out of bed and it is only going to get worse. It is dark... just plain dark in the mornings now and it is really hard to get out of a nice warm bed that feels oh so cozy when there are no birds singing and no sun shining. The girls grunt when I call them and the only one who is enthusiastic is Tootsie the wonder chicken herder. We all eat breakfast like we are zombies and then slowly the sky lightens. The last of the stars twinkle and the sky looks pretty but cold... oh so cold, in that metallic blue that no one has a name for. As the sky lightens we perk up... but I know that that blue which I love will come later and later every morning until it's midmorning before there's light. This morning all the grass has a serious coat of frost and it looks almost like feathers sticking up out of the ground. It is pretty in a very cool kind of way.
I've always wondered why school couldn't start at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. I know my whole family would be a lot better off if we had that extra hour to wait for dawn before getting our carcasses out of bed. Think of it... 10 - 4 instead of 9 - 3. Oh happy day if that would ever happen. I would rather stretch out the work in the evenings rather than in the mornings. I'm up in the evenings anyway and I usually wake up by 8 a.m. even in the winter, so 10 - 4 would work a whole lot better for me and I'm not alone in this. Unfortunately I cannot make the time of school different and so we fumble our way through mornings in a fog bank.
This morning, the deck is covered in really cool frost that swirls and twists in feather like patterns.
This is one of those odd mornings where there is fog that has been locked down into the river bottoms but every so often the fog rolls in over the land a little further. That is probably why there is more frost this morning than is usual. Still all the fog and frost makes for a lovely morning even if it is a little on the dull side.
So there it is, as we make our way down into the depths of winter, I begin to see that I have to stop procrastinating and start getting work done whether I am awake or not... there is no time to lose. I'm off today now that it is actually morning, to spin, card, and do what needs to be done before it gets any worse!
I've always wondered why school couldn't start at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. I know my whole family would be a lot better off if we had that extra hour to wait for dawn before getting our carcasses out of bed. Think of it... 10 - 4 instead of 9 - 3. Oh happy day if that would ever happen. I would rather stretch out the work in the evenings rather than in the mornings. I'm up in the evenings anyway and I usually wake up by 8 a.m. even in the winter, so 10 - 4 would work a whole lot better for me and I'm not alone in this. Unfortunately I cannot make the time of school different and so we fumble our way through mornings in a fog bank.
This morning, the deck is covered in really cool frost that swirls and twists in feather like patterns.
This is one of those odd mornings where there is fog that has been locked down into the river bottoms but every so often the fog rolls in over the land a little further. That is probably why there is more frost this morning than is usual. Still all the fog and frost makes for a lovely morning even if it is a little on the dull side.
So there it is, as we make our way down into the depths of winter, I begin to see that I have to stop procrastinating and start getting work done whether I am awake or not... there is no time to lose. I'm off today now that it is actually morning, to spin, card, and do what needs to be done before it gets any worse!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Trippin' On Home
What a busy weekend! I was really glad to get home yesterday afternoon. Last night it was so nice to crawl back into my own bed. I just lay there and thought, there's no place like home. I had a great sleep. Sleep is an amazing thing. All weekend sleeping in a hotel meant for me that I wasn't really sleeping my best and so if I don't sleep well I don't function well. By Sunday I was starting to function in a red mist which means that I was not really thinking straight and I was getting angry about it. On top of it all I still am having dizzy issues which more and more I'm convinced is due to problems with my ear which is having shooting pains and a dull ache. Dizzy spells took the crispness out of my step. So after a weekend of serious fatigue, I am glad to be back in my space, with all my comforts right at my fingertips.
I did manage while I was away to knit a fair bit on a lace glove. I was happy to see it progress as well as it did. I am at the point where my lace glove will soon need fingers.
It was made with a Rideau Arcott fleece and then dyed with Avacadoes. The yarn is a lovely ecru bordering on peach colour. Sadly though I have managed to break another one of my rosewood needles. So today I have to have a look through my Knitpiks catalogue and see if I can order more along with a really nifty needle protector. I made it to a very nice wool shop too while I was away and of course spent money on yarn. That's just too easy to do. Two yarns were brought for a component of my level three homework. Later this year I will have to spin several different commercial yarns and so I picked out two commercial yarns that I would like to duplicate. One is a novelty yarn with a thick single and a thin single. The other yarn is a four ply silk and merino worsted weight yarn. Both are lovely. I look forward to spinning them.
The conference that I attended was interesting and for the moment that is all I am prepared to say about it. I will have to take some time and ponder the things that were said both officially and in chit chat with other attendees. It certainly has given me much to think about.
Being the latter part of October means that winter is so close you can feel it breathing down your neck. The drive back from the conference only reminded me that snow is coming in the near future. The days are grey and dull even the grass is lifeless. There is a darkness to the days and so I begin to think of Christmas. On the drive home yesterday I saw my first Christmas lights in the window of a store that we passed by as we drove along the highway. Christmas must become something to enjoy instead of something to dread in our house. Last year Christmas was not what we would hope for with Hubby hurting his back and the daughters not interested in anything other than their books. I have decided that Advent will be a time of preparation with one Christmas thing going up each day, so that by the time the actual day arrives I won't be dead from the exhaustion of decorating.
It feels like only a short few days ago that I looked out my window and saw sun and warmth in abundance. So with winter hard upon my heals I am off for a day of spinning on my woven jacket commission.
I did manage while I was away to knit a fair bit on a lace glove. I was happy to see it progress as well as it did. I am at the point where my lace glove will soon need fingers.
It was made with a Rideau Arcott fleece and then dyed with Avacadoes. The yarn is a lovely ecru bordering on peach colour. Sadly though I have managed to break another one of my rosewood needles. So today I have to have a look through my Knitpiks catalogue and see if I can order more along with a really nifty needle protector. I made it to a very nice wool shop too while I was away and of course spent money on yarn. That's just too easy to do. Two yarns were brought for a component of my level three homework. Later this year I will have to spin several different commercial yarns and so I picked out two commercial yarns that I would like to duplicate. One is a novelty yarn with a thick single and a thin single. The other yarn is a four ply silk and merino worsted weight yarn. Both are lovely. I look forward to spinning them.The conference that I attended was interesting and for the moment that is all I am prepared to say about it. I will have to take some time and ponder the things that were said both officially and in chit chat with other attendees. It certainly has given me much to think about.
Being the latter part of October means that winter is so close you can feel it breathing down your neck. The drive back from the conference only reminded me that snow is coming in the near future. The days are grey and dull even the grass is lifeless. There is a darkness to the days and so I begin to think of Christmas. On the drive home yesterday I saw my first Christmas lights in the window of a store that we passed by as we drove along the highway. Christmas must become something to enjoy instead of something to dread in our house. Last year Christmas was not what we would hope for with Hubby hurting his back and the daughters not interested in anything other than their books. I have decided that Advent will be a time of preparation with one Christmas thing going up each day, so that by the time the actual day arrives I won't be dead from the exhaustion of decorating.
It feels like only a short few days ago that I looked out my window and saw sun and warmth in abundance. So with winter hard upon my heals I am off for a day of spinning on my woven jacket commission.
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