It's travel time!!!!

Bring on your maps and compasses, your roads on the wrong side and your scones, your backpacks and suitcases, your zip-off pants and guidebooks and i'll tell you that we are about to tame England once and for all!!! My intrepid travelling companion, Laurenski and I are on the cusp of an adventure of a lifetime (if we indeed can manage to make it out of the rental car parking lot without major incident!!! - more on that in a few weeks!). In just 15 sleeps, we will be ready to board our little flight to Edinburgh and to take on the Scottish highlands in the footsteps of William Wallace, Rob Roy and Mel Gibson lookalikes in blue war paint. Much time has been spent in garnering information on the various destinations we will be hitting - among them hopefully Hadrian's Wall, Stratford, Derbyshire (home of the home of the fictional Fitzwilliam Darcy - the eternal romantic hero), Oxford, Bath and London. After blitzing through England and seeing all we can cram and stuff in two weeks, we will once again be on our way, winging over the English Channel to gay Paris and all the sights and sounds that accompany that great European Capital. We are most excited to be priveledged to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and such... fun times lie in store! Then with the good old train, we head to the Motherland of tulips, wooden shoes and King peppermints to enjoy some good old family time and gezelligheid. We are both super excited and can't wait for what waits for us!! So many options and choices - kinda like those books i used to read whence i was a child "choose your own adventure!" Once we are done that whole whirlwind, we will be ready to settle down to regular life and attempt to assimilate once again into the workforce and the like, but our memories will live in our hearts and minds - oh boy, i sound way too melodramatic - gotta go now - probably that good old air at 4:09 am that is causing me to wax emotional...
Bon Voyage

Icing, High-Sticking and Bruises

Well, here at long last i am returned to the blogging world after an unexpected hiatus... caused by the interruptions of a thing called life. Yes and accompanied by a healthy dose of laziness! But here i am again - mostly to talk about a thing which is rapidly consuming a large majority of the Canadian population's interest. Nope, it's not the mating habits of harp seals or the peculiar camouflage techniques of the Arctic ptarmigan but rather that game which is known not as the "beautiful game" (i.e. soccer/football for the English amongst us) but ice hockey! Yep, it's the playoffs and so we are now immersed body and soul it seems in the armchair fan position. Currently, i am cheering for any team which is remotely Canadian - Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver, etc... though i suppose this really is rather ironic since most likely all the high scoring, bigwig players on the Canadian teams are likely American and vice verse for the American teams hence i should be really cheering for Texas or Florida or whatever other unlikely state that supports a hockey team (i mean, why in the world would there ever be hockey in Florida except for someone's brilliant invention of an arena with cooling fans and ice machines!). I enjoy watching the games now - i'm such an non-loyal fan i suppose... only coming on board at the last minute - i really should pick a team and be loyal to it and that's that - but i'm fickle and so with my fickle being, i cheer for whomever seems to be doing well at the time!
Anyhow, i digress - ice hockey is one thing - ball hockey is another world entirely. It was brought to my attention that as a ball hockey player - i have greater energy expenditures than the average NHLer. We are doing lots of running and shooting whilst ice hockey players have the great advantage of skates and being able to glide across the ice. Now, there are days when i glide - but it's usually due to tripping or the like - not a planned thing to be sure. But i'll argue that we are more tired - nothing at all to do with the fact that i am super out of shape and can't run worth beans and such. -Somehow i ended up in the face-off circle after yet another goal scored against us (i believe the score was no longer being tabulated after it reached the astronomical height of 82 to 0 or something vaguely similar to that!) and since i'm still not convinced which side i like to shoot on - i was playing with my lefty stick that night - hence i could only play well on the left hand side - if the puck dared to go over to the other side, i was lost! He was laughing at me since my stick seemed not to be on the right side but i won the face-off none the less! Yeah!!! I also managed to steal a few times from our opponents whilst whacking them firmly about the shins with my mis-managed stick. It's sure a good thing we don't really get penalties for tripping and such.
But all in all, hockey is fun. So bring on Hockey Night in Hamilton and drop the puck! I'm ready!

The Good Old Hockey Game!!

Well, all in the name of athleticism and health, of comradeship and socialization, i have joined a ball hockey team! I was asked by Carina, my roommate, if i wished to participate in such an endeavour and at the time it seemed like a spendid idea.... would help me achieve many things if not increase my athletic profile significantly. So there we were, two silly chicks, quavering in fear the evening of the first game, foolishly attempting multiple excuses to get out of their commitment but knowing deep in our hearts that we needed to do this crazy thing. We knew only a few souls at the gym and were surrounded by many others who appeared to be much more proficient at appearing to be expert hockey players. Both of us on the other hand hadn't played floor hockey since around grade five so any muscle memory that may have developed was definitely not in play anymore. We furtively peered around at our fellow team members and soon-to-be opponents, sizing them up and trying frantically to look like we knew what we were doing. We sadly lacked our own sticks and knee pads and so looked sorely out of place with bare shins and plastic gym stock room hockey sticks. I didn't even know what side of my body i was supposed to hold the stick on... was i a leftie or a rightie? I'm still not convinced that i've made the right choice but for now i'm sticking with the old rightie - seems the least awkward to me - that's what it's all about right? We ran onto the gym floor apprehensive about what to do and how to do it... where should we be? why is the other team scoring on us already only two minutes into the game? With our intrepid coach/organizer shouting out encouraging comments to the members of our team (most of whom had not played in many years either thankfully), our team replicated the Tim Horton's junior soccer leagues where all the players follow in a nice little clump behind the ball and don't spread out on defense. We have learned better since then but we still have lots of skills practise to work on. But to our shock and horror, it was the sad lack of physical shape that was the big problem. I experienced jello legs, a stitch in my side and complete breathlessness within the first 2 minutes of running around - how was i supposed to last beyond that time? But as all things in life should be - we took things a minute at a time, coming gasping off the court yelling "switch!" with the last remnants of breath in our lungs. We unfortunately lost our first game to the merciless score of 13-2 if i'm right (it's possible it was higher than that but i think they might have stopped counting at some point!). Our second game, last week, was a little better as far as skills goes and strategy - our team scoring right away 2 goals in the first few minutes (mine being one of them!!). Our opponents quickly pulled together and defeated us handily 11-2 but we did feel somewhat more into playing this time. So all teasing aside, it is a great exercise experience, we have met new people but we still have a long ways to go before the Women's Olympic hockey team is sending their scouts to watch our performances!!!

A Viticultural Experience

The whole gang!

Well, on Saturday afternoon, a group of intrepid girls set out for a little holiday to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a most wonderful and culturally enriched little section of good old Southern Ontario. The girls were most excited to be on an outing and to be able to enjoy each other's company for an afternoon. They piled into a vehicular conveyance and made their way at high speeds down the main highways in the direction of south. Much joy was had in the car partaking of vruchten hartjes and chocolates whilst a certain member of the group, no names mentioned, was tormented by the noxious odors of certain despicable black licorice candies courtesy of the ultimate favorite store in Grimsby, the Dutch store! However, once the pungent smells had been vented out of the car by some quick draw action on the automatic car windows, the situation improved noticeably. Soon enough, the car pulled into the extensive grounds of the Pellar Estate Winery and the females eagerly stepped out into another world. This was the world of sommeliers and flutes, of wining and dining, of bottles and corks and all things viticultural. The girls joined a tour hosted by a rather bulbous and rosy proboscused (proboscied?) fellow who seemed to have indulged in a little more than was good for him of his stock in trade. However, he did educate our heroines on the finer elements of wine making and tasting. He encouraged them to follow the five "S"'s - let's see if they can be arranged in proper order here!

• Sight - is it cloudy or clear, what colours can be seen in its liquid depths - seen by tipping the glass on its side (without spilling it!) and peering through it on a light background - does it have legs, meaning assessing the viscosity of the wine
• Swirl - involving swishing the wine around in the glass oh so carefully so that the wine does not slosh out the top of it - a feat which was difficult for some members of the group who tend to be a little on the clutzy side!
• Smell - inhaling deeply in the glass and trying to determine what other smells could be hiding in the wine - most of the group had difficulty overcoming the alcoholic smell and merely agreed with the guide when he suggested hints of honey or blueberries and the like
• Swish - a sip of wine is taken and swished around the mouth to expose all those tastebuds to the wine and to cleanse the palate!
• Spit or Sip - depending on how much wine the drinker is going to engage in - the options are spit - unnecessary in our books or sip - gently allowing a small amount of wine to slip through the teeth and sit in the little pouch behind the teeth whilst attempting to softly inhale some air to make little bubbles and enhance the wine tasting experience - a supremely hard thing to do without making a fool of one's self!

The budding viticultural experts!

Once a sample had been had of both a nice red wine and a very oily and foul-smelling ice wine(isn't that stuff supposed to be Ontario's best?), the group was led back up from the cellars into the real world in the gift shop (of course!!) where three intrepid members of our quintent partook of a wine tasting flight - seven little part glasses of different wines - after a little while, they sorta all ended up tasting similar and the girls realized somehow that they enjoyed white wine better than red, smashing all previous likes! Feeling nice and warm and giggly, with nice red cheeks, the fivesome departed the winery (with their lovely designated and feted driver) and went in search of some sustenance to slake their hunger. Some high jinks to work out the wine!

Life imitating art???

A fun time was had by all as they strode down the lovely quaint streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake and a wonderful lunch was gobbled quickly down by the hungry females. They then went in search of some sweets to finish off the experience and were lured in by the Cows icecream store to purchase delectable flavours of icecream which were enjoyed as they shivered their way back to their vehicle in the 3 degree air! Never a bad time for icecream!!! A wonderful drive home was a fitting conclusion to a hele gezellig dagje uit! Thanks very much ladies!!

A moment with a fine bovine!

Elijah and the mountain

I just would like to share a few thoughts from our sermon on Sunday evening. I unfortunately had to work a nacht dienst on Saturday evening and so missed the morning service but i was able to attend the evening service and was treated to a very wonderful sermon. We had Rev. Lankheet as a guest pastor and he spoke on the text of I Kings 19:1-18 about Elijah and his experience with depression and God's encouraging of his beleaguered servant and his subsequent call to service and action. The morning sermon mostly focused on the first 9 verses, while the afternoon service focused on the last half of the text where God has now encouraged and fed his servant and has now had him journey up to Mount Horeb aka Sinai where He gave the commission and law to his people so many years prior. There were several ways God could have spoken to Elijah but he chose to use a still small whisper to bring his message. Often times we look for a big huge thunderclap or writing in the sky to tell us what God is up to in our lives, but He often chooses to work through means we don't necessarily expect to bring His purposes to fruition. He mentioned that God is not a genie in a bottle, whom we can summon at our pleasure and command to do our bidding but that He is sovereign and almighty and will work in His own way. A line that kept coming up was "be still and know that I am God". So often in our lives, we get so busy and caught up with life and the things we think are important but don't take time to slow down and hear the still small whisper which tells us what we need to hear.

The other point that was brought up was that God chooses to use us to fulfill His purposes but He will ultimately work His plan in spite of us. This struck me as strange when i first heard it but i suppose it means that He is God and we are the servants, the ones He chooses and can use but doesn't have to. But the flip side is also this, that after He encouraged and supposed His weary servant, He gave him work to do and Elijah was not to just sit back and let God do all the work. He chooses us, chooses us to work for Him and chooses to use us for His purposes. What a joy to be a chosen one of God. May He grant us the ability to hear Him when He calls in that still small whisper.

Flying Giraffes and Marbled Peanuts

So what is on or in or around my little mind today? Well as you see... nothing too mature... just kinda goofy really, but it's fun to be that way sometimes, isn't it? I decided on a random title for attention seeking purposes and thus i am arrived at the present arrangement of words. Words... oh how i love them. To play with them, manipulate them and bend them to fit my purposes and ideas, is so fun! I was very blessed to have parents who raised me to love reading and literature and such... and so i keep reading, learning, doing crosswords (and the occasional Sudoku to which my friend Joyce got me addicted!) and reading the dictionary. Oh, okay, i'm not that crazy but i do have an acquaintance of mine who made it her goal to read a page out of the dictionary every day in order to increase her knowledge base (mind you, i'm not sure she made it much past acorn before the habit became old!). Reading stretches and works the mind and causes us to think outside the box. I have made it a point over the last few years to be more open in what i have selected to read, not merely content to swim around in circles in the same fishbowl of literary genre. Many many titles have passed through my hands and mind - Hardy Boys (who could not like them, those dashing heroes who always got in trouble at the end of every chapter - getting bashed on the head or tied up or the like - who could not like them!), Pride and Prejudice, The Black Stallion (not Black Beauty - just too sad for my poor little heart!), The Hunt for Red October, The Kite Runner, books by W.J. Vanderhulst, Scout, Brock and Bodie Thoene and their wonderful Zion series, A Walk to Remember (if you ever need a quick read that will make you cry!), Roald Dahl and so many others... But then there's all the wonderful books (i imagine they're wonderful) that line my shelves and make me look more literary than i actually am and which need to be read yet - not enough hours in the day it seems - someday hopefully i will get around to that.

But recently, hmmm, what have i read? I spent time enjoying Paradise Lost on audio cd. I fully believe i can write that title on my "read" list since it was unabridged and included all the words in the book. It was a fascinating story, detailing the creation of the world, the fall of the Devil and the subsequent temptation and fall of man and all the while, the threads of God's redemption plan woven right through. I realize that it is not all of a Reformed knowledge base but Milton's wording choices pleased my ears and tickled my literary senses. If you ever get the chance, give it a go sometime. Be persistant or do the audio thing, but finish it. A classic to be sure.

But then i also finished recently The Homecoming Man by Hugh Cook. He is not a long-dead British lad but rather a homegrown, Redeemer College associated author who writes of life as the child of a Dutch immigrant and his "homecoming". But it is also the story of his father's past, his history during the Second World War and the journey that he must make to come to grips with all of that and to find forgiveness. I cried when i read it - felt rather melancholy afterwards but realized the strong impact that our past can have on our whole lives.

I wonder what it is in my life that impacts me strongly now, what memories will live and form who i will be, who i already am? Sometimes i worry that my memory will not hold out for me - i fear already that i seem to forget really important things and remember inane little things like the way a certain thing smelled when i was young or the exact position i was in when something happened to me. I fear sometimes that i won't be a very good crime scene witness if ever i am required to do such a thing. I can drive down the same road twenty million times and not see something very obvious and along comes someone who has only gone there twice and they see the fact that there is an amazing tree or a wrought iron eagle that needs to have some sort of prank played on it or they see the obvious. Maybe that's the way it is with life, we need others around us to help point out the sometimes obvious and sometimes obscure things so we can appreciate things more. God did have a plan for how he meshed us all together, one part complimenting the other. Aaah, the master Designer at work, intricately weaving our lives together and creating patterns of beauty and richness. Uh oh, i now sound like the person who writes peppy little things for magazines and cards so i'll halt here and make this the ending of my babble. So i will end this little musing on literature and it's intellectual benefits and leave you to do your own reading of something more profound than this blog.

Thoughts on the sermon

Lukewarmity. That was the subject of our sermon this morning. Based on the text from Revelation about the church of Laodicea where the Christians were reposing in their wealth and refusing to be bold witnesses for Christ and for His gospel. A church whose members had lost their initial fire for God and who were now simply living a tepid and and substandard type of Christianity. The minister laid everything out so well this morning, explaining how John pulls in the aspects of life in that city - the fact that they were famed for their black wool cloth and how they had a medical school famous for its curative eye salve and for the wealth that was in the city due to good economics and the aqueduct which conveyed their water from its source in a hot spring to the city by which time the water was generally quite tepid. So many little historical details that make everything stick so well. I had to laugh when he reallys spoke to the kids and got into things talking about the bad taste of lukewarm water and how Christ was going to "spew them out" being translated literally as vomited out and the sound effects causing giggles to be heard around the sanctuary! And then applying it all to life and leading a Christian life had put me to thinking a lot. I know i fail in so many ways to uphold the name of Christ properly in my life and to live the life that He has called me to live for His glory. I know that i sit there in the pew convicted that my own life is lukewarm at best and whilst it has the appearance of wholesomeness (is that a word, if not, it is now!), it is indeed full of myself and not Him. I pray that He may work in me to root out the indifference and unwholesomeness there and allow me to be a clean vessel in which He can work and fulfill His purposes. I was to be a vessel for Him for whatever purpose He has for me!

TO Tripping

Once Upon a Time - so all great stories begin and so this tale begins... once upon a time - there was a father and a mother who were sadly in lack of something fun and educational to do upon a saturday morn. This was indeed a sad and desparate situation. However, to their great benefit, they possessed something which could remedy this dilemma without a doubt. They had an old daughter who dearly loved to create and be part of adventures. And she did not fail them now - she thought (for just a few minutes - her thought processes wheeled and whirred effortlessly) that she would take them to the capital city of their province. This was indeed an epic journey but one devoutly to be wished (a misquote of sorts from some sort of Shakespearean play somewhere along the line - my abject apologies to the bard himself). The mother in a wheelbarrow

So of an early hour of the morn, the trio betook themselves in the vehicular transportation of the day, Prunelope, along the highways and byways until they found themselves in the heart of the bustling metropolis. The sights and smells and sounds overwhelmed the simple country folk and they spent the first while just taking everything in whilst searching desparately for a place to situate their vehicle - a truly daunting quest to be sure! At last having secured a safe place for dearest Prunelope, the family betook themselves to the centre for cultural enrichment - the Art Gallery of Ontario (henceforth referred to as the AGO - a moniker which amuses the scribe of this tale to no end!). They were in the mood to see some artistic endeavours and analyze them and determine whether they were truly worthy of being placed in such an establishment. However, to their regret and chagrin, the AGO was under an intense period of reconstruction leaving the poor travellers with only a handful, a smattering of art pieces to be regarded. This truly was a grievous situation.

Nevertheless, our heroes entered the gallery and spent time perusing the sculptural efforts of Henry Moore and the limited supply of master works by painters old and new. The father stood in front of a certain painting examining it carefully and the daughter said to him "father, that's a Monet!". To which the father replied "oh really, it's good old Claude, eh? I think he's been framed." This remark produced groans of anguish, but also conveyed a rather indepth knowledge of the artist unbeknownst previously to the mother or the daughter and filling them with happiness that their paternal figure indeed was acquainted with the finer nuances of the art world. The mother happily spent her time comparing herself in proportions to the Rodin sculpture of Adam and was quite taken with the large size of the sculptures hands and feet, guessing them to be approximately a size "24" men's shoes. It was determined that Adam would indeed have great difficulty acquiring footwear.

The father and mother and daughter then proceeded to view the works of Emily Carr - a Canadian artist who worked largely amongst the native populations in British Columbia. She loved trees and forests and most likely was single-handedly responsible for the severe shortage of green paint in the area during her lifetime! The father, whilst in the midst(ooh, two "st" words in one sentence!) of a deep discussion as to the nature of a figure in one of the paintings had to be admonished by the security guard for gesticulating too wildly near the canvas itself and causing the silent alarms to be activated. Tsk tsk. Avoiding further encounters with the third kind, the family group finished perusing the exhibition and then proceeded to wander the city streets in an aimless sort of fashion attempting to blend in to the local culture and absorb the atmosphere of the city. They wandered here and there, creating weariness of foot and fullness of mind in such places as a costume shop (i so would love to have a costume party someday!), a glass exhibition with extremely intriguing glass pictures, Chinatown (where our heroes became dazzled by the countless bins of unidentifiable foreign dried foods - the daughter at one point scared that the bin contained dried baby birds due to a rather putrid smell but later determining that it was simply dried oysters. One can never be too careful!!) and Kensington Market.

The crepey man!

They partook of delightful culinary treasures such as a pesto sandwich topped with brie cheese, grilled chicken breast and tomatoes which was then lightly grilled to perfection, and a freshly made crepe with egg and ham. The crepe maker had a lovely little conversation with the mother about the finer points of creating perfect pancakes and the mother invited the chef over to her abode to make dinner one evening much to his delight! The family eventually came to the realization that their feet were dreadfully tired and were screaming for repose. So the long trek was made back to Prunelope who bore them safely home to their small town where they partook of a delectible dinner at a local chicken establishment (i mean that the establishment served chickens, not that chickens ran the place!) The father was unable to refrain from blowing his straw wrapper onto the lady behind the daughter much to her embarassment, leading to his ban from the restaurant swiftly and with all haste! The family at last reposed in their abode, having had their fill of intellectual, cultural and urban life for another year, or at least until the next time they were bored! And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Frozen Fotos

A few pics from my walk yesterday afternoon in the frigid air. I felt a bit covert since i walked over the whole frozen field and because all was nicely solid, i didn't sink in and i traversed the entire breadth of the open area without leaving so much as a footprint (minus the occasional holes where i would crash through weak areas on the icy surface but you catch my drift!!!)

A little thistle frozen in time

The Statue of Liberty incognito

Little soldiers on guard in the snow! (kinda corny eh?)

Guess who??? I played around with my camera for quite a while before the self-portrait thing actually had my face in the centre - the first few attempts consisted of my frozen fingers trying to position the camera correctly with minimal success and resulting in photos of the sky, my hair along, my mittens alone or just the ice in front of the camera itself. I'm sure passerbys on the road were wondering what was going on out there in the field. As a matter of fact, i am just considering now that perhaps i might have given a few people a bit of a shock lying there on the ground. Fortunately no good Samaritans had to trek out to see that i was still alive and not the victim of a random act of violence in the middle of a field!

Helen's birthday!!!

Well it recently was the anniversary of the birth of a wonderful friend of mine, Helen. She was very excited to celebrate the grand occasion of her 29th birthday - she's now in her 30th year and keeps on plugging!! We threw her a big old birthday bash last week and had over 20 people crammed into our little abode for a gourmet dinner of nasei (spelling??) and boerenkool and zuurkool and kroepoek and droppies (black morsels of disgusting putresence) and all manner of Dutch favourites. We were so happy to have so many people turn up and enjoy the evening with us. Thank you all for making it a great party! I still can't believe we had just enough food for you all and almost enough chairs!! Amazing! Helen, may you have a wonderful year and we'll have to get together once again next year to celebrate that milestone of ... dun, dun, dun (meant to be said sinisterly with a low voice tone!) 30!!!!

Karen and Helen

The gang's all here!!!

Father And Daughter

I cry whenever i watch this...

Thoughts and reveries

Hmmm.... where do i start and what do i write? What sort of thoughts will make their way to the murky surface from the bubbling depths of my mind? What will present itself as deep enough or important enough or silly enough to be written here? I have a lot of thoughts competing for the rights to be posted here but none are making their case strong enough to be released here. So i'll just blab on for a little while. First of all, i'm still glad it's cold. I might be the singular Canadian who is of that persuasion but i will say this - we live in a country that is considered a northern country - we have snowfalls during the winter and we have lots of stores who cater to our need to cover up our bodies and protect them from the chilly temps - hence we should have some cold weather to justify their existence and to harden ourselves to the elements - it makes us all stronger people!!! I know that there are those in my circle of friendship who would dispute this point hotly but i maintain that i enjoy the cold. I like to bundle up and to feel alive when the cold air hits my face. I especially like it after i've worked all day cooped up in a hospital sterile environment, my nose getting all plugged up cause it's so dry and airless and being unable to have direct contact with the natural world and then i am all bundled up and hit the back doors with my keys in hand and head out to my car and i am so happy with that initial rush of frigidity. I fully am prepared to admit that yes, i too become cold easily and appreciate our little warm fireplace as much as the next fellow, but i feel alive when i feel that cold. As per Calvin, it's the kind of cold that freezes your boogers!!! heehee!!!

Technogeeks extraordinaire!

As of Tuesday afternoon, Carina and I have officially joined the world of technogeeks extraordinaire! We had some nice gentlemen come to our house with their toolkits and pliers and clippers and wires and did some fishing around to hook us up to cable! We now have all sorts of fancy new things at our little fingertips. Things previously unknowst to us such as call display (no more phantom callers), call waiting (i don't like this but it is there), call forwarding, and best of all - highspeed internet! This means exciting things like Carina and I both being able to be on the internet at the same time, not hooked up to phone lines and such, able to watch tv with good reception and be on the phone all at the same time!!!! So i will be able to post lots of stuff on here and not wait about 14 hours whilst tapping my fingers impatiently on the desk and occasionally swinging my head in dismay at the slowness of our little connection line. So bring on your downloading files and your pictures, bring on your msn and facebook, bring on your phone calls and i will handle them all very capably and with utmost speed!

Too cute!!!

Just for your viewing pleasure... a friend of mine sent this to me and i thought i'd share it with anyone who would like a nice little picture!!! I'll not fawn over it too much but i thought i'd buck the trend of not blogging for so long and update like everyone else does. I'll stop horsing around now and let you enjoy.

Wanderings

"Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what i mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something."

LOTR Chapter 1

Bilbo seems to have hit the nail on the head with his little musing on his life. He has drawn a beautiful analogy to how we feel sometimes, inside, pulled in many directions but not really going anywhere. Spinning our metaphorical wheels in the mud and creating a lot of mess at times but not progressing, driving in any way. Not even sure of where to go and how best to proceed. I know that there is a plan and a path all marked out for us but somedays i feel like i don't even deserve to have that done for me. I ignore the author of the map and seek to find my own ways through the quagmires and tangles of life, often to no avail. And so, yes, here i lie, still in the same place after seven years, wondering what is to come and how to tackle things. I have desires to do so many things in life but don't seem to accomplish things. Yes, i know, i have travelled in a very real sense in many places and done interesting things, why can i not be content with that? Why must there always be something more? Something just beyond the grasp which entices and lures and even frustrates? There are so many things in this life which are wonderful, which God has created for us to enjoy which i wish to lap up, to soak in and to be a part of, yet the clock ticks ever onwards and i waste time doing silly things. Argh! I would like it to be said of my life that I served God and served Him faithfully. I suppose it doesn't matter how many classic books i've read or how many places in the world i've visited or how many friends i have, but if it can be said of me that i lived a life in step with my Lord, that is the ultimate accomplishment in life... and that not even of myself but only done through the Lord's having His almighty arm guiding me and leading where He would have me go. A bit like walking in the dark at times not sure where to put the next step but trusting your guide so implicitely that He would not lead you astray. Lead me Lord!

On the move again

Once again, the guidebooks are my daily bedtime reading, my dreams are filled with travel plans and my head is desparately attempting to organize some sort of schedule. Where in the world is the destination this time? The tentative plans for the moment are to head for the old world, for the head of the Dominion, to the fair isle of Engelande. My youngest sister Lauren and I are likely going to head over the pond to do some exploring and discovering and learning in May of this year. We are both quite excited about this prospect and can't wait to start making concrete plans. We have a few ideas about what to do and see but we hope to get together soon to make this all happen. So any good ideas y'all may have as to what to do and how to do it in the expensive land of England would be greatly appreciated.

Free Flying

Walking on a winter's morning

Quiet time

Footsteps muffled

Wind in the trees

Snow swirling lightly

Sun peering through the flakes.

The flock senses a change

A foreigner approaching

Interfering in the flow of the day

Take to the sky

Reel

Soar

Fly

Careen

And because one flies

All the others follow in a quivering group

A mass of black dots

Ebbing and flowing

Pulsing and undulating

Across a blue canvas

Following a random pattern

Landing here, then there

How do they know

Where their neighbour will turn?

A master is orchestrating this dance

In the sky on a snowy morning.

Surprise!!!

Once upon a time, there was a family. The family decided not to be at home, to ignore their oldest daughter when she came to grace them with her presence upon a lovely January morn. That family was rather silly to not be in attendance for this great event and so, thus, there were some dire consequences. The daughter, seeing that her arrival was not greeted with multiple hugs, kisses and other displays of affection, was put to thinking that perhaps she ought to ensure that in future there would be no such lapses in care for her. So she hatched a clever plan. Stealthily (i have no idea how to spell that word!!!) she gathered up the elements required for her little escapade. Dad's pants, a jean shirt, a winter cap, Lauren's pillow, a spare blanket, someone's winter boots and a little tuft of fake hair recovered from the play clothes trunk in the basement. All these items were cunningly fashioned into a replica man.
This man was then carefully positioned on the throne of the new bathroom (the adjective new being used loosely because it is now probably over 15 or 20 years old but that's the way it's always been referred to in this household). He held his own position remarkably well and decided since he would be there for quite some time, to start on the sudoku puzzle, joining the sudoku craze like half of the world! What a trendy fellow! And so he sat, and sat and sat (in the dark with the door slightly ajar to dismiss any suspicions which may initially have arisen). He was waiting for someone. And there came the first victim... Dad. He, alas, didn't scare too easily and he merely gave the daughter a phone call inquiring as to whether this was her handiwork or not. The daughter of course, firmly denied all involvement and was secretly glad inside that he knew it was her. For that meant that despite no one's being home, they truly did know and love her!
The second victim was not so fortunate or calm. The daughter had been on the phone conversing with her maternal figure and inviting her over for a cuppa tea. The mother assented and went to get ready to depart the homestead. Alas and alack, she opened the bathroom door and there was a mysterious presence in there with her! She screamed and proceeded to call the daughter back and create shrieks of terror and indignation on the phone. "You were lucky i didn't have to go to the bathroom any more than i did!!!" Hah, number two victim was a success. As was victim number three,the youngest sister. She likewise was alarmed and erupted with screams of fear as she discovered the man on the can. So the moral of the story is: Always make sure that you are home when the daughter visits to avoid any future surprises of a crazy nature.

Colorado Clips

Okay, so i've been home for over two weeks now and haven't posted anything. I know that's a bad thing... but what do you do when the poetic and bloggist muse has abandoned me in favour of warmer climates in the southern hemisphere of the world? I believe you might find her lounging on a beach chair with her mythical feet dangling in the azure blue waters of an obscure Caribbean island whilst the gentle zephyrs play with her golden locks and her treasonous eyes peruse the tranquil scene around her, the peace, the warmth, the knowledge that she doesn't have to work at all at the moment because those who normally would request her help are sadly unaware of her whereabouts.
Leaving our little muse in her beach chair, i shall proceed to speak of locales that have slightly different climates. Colorado, for instance. I made my sleepy way there on the 28th of December all by my lonesome. I managed somehow to remain awake enough to board the flight to Colorado and not to Barbados or other destinations (although it would have been significantly warmer, i just didn't pack for such an occasion!) I was met at the Denver Airport by Brenda and by Nancy's dad, Mr. Koning. They doggedly drove through weather that would give gray hairs even to a polar bear but finally managed to deposit us safely at Josh's Mom's doorstep. We were welcomed with open arms by the entire Koning clan and it was nice to see that they made it all in safely as well.

Friday morning saw a flurry of activity take place as we started working on the flowers and the dresses got last minute alterations and several other tasks were completed. Then we trooped off to the church to see what sort of decorating and food-serving opportunities there were. With lots of elbow grease, an occasional laugh and a large army of volunteers, the church was outfitted for the upcoming nuptuals. Then came the rehearsal during which we all practiced walking down the aisle to make sure we could do it without errors. We learn fast apparently cause then we were off to the dinner. Yummy shrimps made their last home in my stomach and then I was off on my own little adventure to pick my friend Joyce up at the Colorado Springs airport at 11 pm. Unfortunately due to the fact that Colorado Springs apparently has one of the worst snow removal crews, a normally 20 minute drive took me nearly an hour! Crazy even for a snow-hardy Canadian. But i found my aussie friend and was glad to see she arrived in one piece with her last minute plans. Friday night was spent at a hotel with Nancy, Brenda, Laurie, Joyce and myself all attempting to catch a few hours of shut-eye before the big day.

Getting ready for the big day!

Saturday morning - the big day was finally here! Nancy and her girls headed off to the hairdresser's to get fancied up and we sorta took over the place, snapping pictures and drinking tea and trying on the veil! Fun times! When we were all ready to go, the weather had finally cleared up enough for us to see some of those wonderful Colorado mountains (i'd post pics but apparently the computer's having indigestion at the moment and won't co-operate!). I kept teasing all the Coloradans that i didn't believe that they actually had mountains for the first day and a half that i was there since it was foggy/snowy and the peaks were hidden. But they emerged with all their proud towering majesty just in time! I love mountains. The last time i saw them was in the Alps in Switzerland and Austria. So awesome!!
Then we were off to the chapel to get married - or at least one of us was.... We got ourselves hoisted into our bridesmaids dresses and then a co-operative effort got Nancy all outfitted with wedding dress, running shoes and jewelry. She looked beautiful. Then pictures - smile, smile and smile some more! But it was all in good fun and we were happy to be a part of it all! The ceremony was at 2 pm and the bride wasn't late or early, just precisely on time! Nancy's nephews and nieces did a wonderful job as r0se-bearers and we didn't trip or fall or lose our bouquets or anything along the way. The ceremony seemed quick and then all of a sudden, Nancy was married!!! Oops, i should say Nance and Josh were married! Congratulations to you both!

Will it fit??Nancy looking radiant
The reception and dinner was lots of fun too... family provided a lot of special skits and entertainment and we were both amused by power-point presentations from both sides of the family. Extra entertainment was provided by the chocolate fountain!!! Fun times! Though i kept losing my bananas in the pool of brown delight! Oh well. By around 8 pm we had cleaned up and we were cleaned up. We were so ready to kick off our shoes and relax. We had a nice glass of champagne and lounged around at the hotel in a well-deserved break whilst Nancy and Josh headed off on their honeymoon to Hawaii!!

Sunday was church at 11:30 and then we did a little sight-seeing at the Garden of the Gods - a beautiful red rock formation. Made us feel like aspiring Ansel Adams' proteges! Lots of pics to be sure! And then New Year's Eve. We spent it at the hotel trying desparately to stay up to midnight but wondering outloud whether we shouldn't just celebrate Ontario's New Year so we could retire two hours earlier. Hmm.. we weren't too wise but stayed up to ring in the new year and then promptly went to bed only to get up around 3 am to head for the airport for our early morning flights. I said goodbye to the other girlies and climbed aboard a shuttle bus which drove me two hours north to Denver from where my flight was departing. And so ended another adventure - albeit a quick, whirlwind one, it was fun and made lots of memories. Hopefully i'll get the chance to come back and enjoy some skiing in good old Colorado.

Beautiful red rocks in the Garden of the Gods

Early morning musings

As i sit here in my nice desk chair, having been recently re-energized by a refreshing little pot of fruit after having indulged in far too many sugary substances over the course of the night, my mind is wandering and filling up with random thoughts here and there. Luckily I don't have too many holes in my head out of which to lose my deep thoughts which only come along on a rare basis and therefore are difficult to replace once missing. But here we are at the end of 2006 and peeking over the edge into 2007. In a mere 4 days it will be the New Year and i will be ringing it in the land south of our borders. Indeed, i will be attending and participating in my friend Nancy's wedding. By participating, i mean walking down the aisle in a fancy dress, keeping both of my feet on the ground and not managing to trip and embarass my poor friend who is marrying a nice boy from Colorado Springs on Saturday. I am excited to be going down there, to hopefully be supportive to her and to encourage her in this huge new part of her life. Congrats Nance! I wish you the Lord's blessing in this stage of your life. May you always walk with Him as your guide.
But now, as for my other deep thoughts, hmmm... they seem to have hidden round some cobwebby corner of my cranium and vanished from plain sight for now. Grrr... just when i thought i could wax eloquent at 5 am after an extremely busy night shift. Oh well, so much for impressing you all. I'll have to slink back into the ennui of mediocrity. I was recently told that i was a good writer. I hope for all of my dedicated blog readers that you do manage to derive some sort of entertainment from this little piece of cyberspace that i have staked a claim on.
This entry also goes out to my co-workers who have been dealing with so many frustrations and hardships in the last few weeks and months and despite it all, can still laugh and give awesomely good care to their patients. Short staffing, crazy mixed up patients, lack of supplies, lack of communication and many such things. But they develop strong relationships with the patients, win their trust in a very vulnerable time, listen to them, care for them, help their hurts, medicate their symptoms and provide such support that is so needed. There are times when i don't want to be a hematology nurse... but there are rewards too... just difficult to measure in quantifiable terms. Thanks girls for all i've learned in how to be a good nurse.
Happy New Year to all!!!

Christmas is in the air...

Well, i sit tonight curled up on the couch, having finally obtained another phone cord so that i can sit on a comfy chair to type my blog entries... and i am basking in the cozy warmth of our little fire place and am listening to Charlotte Church warbling away and am smelling the wonderful smell of a decorated Christmas tree.... wow, it's Christmas time again! How fast the year spins away and around and back again to this season. I was so glad to see snow the other day and to have some really cold temperatures...i know that sounds odd, but i love snow and cold (talk to me again at the end of January and i'm sure that i will retract that statement so fast your head would spin!!) I think listening to some carols, and singing a few of them together with friends the other night at our bake exchange, the spirit is finally starting to worm it's way into my previously numb little soul. I just am a little slow on the draw to feel Christmasy! I am now trying frantically to complete my shopping, coming up with some types of inventive Christmas gifts, making and writing cards (because i was raised a daughter of my mother and i can't buy cards!! I just can't... i've had them in my hands in the stores, but have put them down after wandering the whole store feeling guilty!!) and generally trying to get ready without going kinda crazy!!
I wish you all a Blessed early Christmas and peace in your hearts as you prepare your hearts for this wonderful time of year. Christ has come, the fulfillment of prophecies and the bearer of good news for all and forgiveness of sins. The best Christmas present ever!!!

A Cornucopia of words

A cornucopia of words outflow from my mouth and brain and thoughts onto the virtual page and create confusion and interest. Words which roll off the tongue with delectable sweetness and enjoyment. Words which inspire and excite and frustrate... so here goes nothing. This post goes out to my youngest sister who inspired this little adventure...
cornucopia plethora magnanimous frustration chrysanthemums keep the aspidistra flying pneumonia Sunfire transatlantic flights zip codes Clydesdales long distance plans msn SISTERS France vestigial emotional female Princess Bride humbug cookies sucking the liquor out of brandy beans chamomile tea Hunt for Red October me you oceans Eiffel Tower I love you! sucking the marrow out of life poetry Pride and Prejudice friends enemies creativity sunsets nasturtiums and i will buy a pickup truck and raise rabbits and she will cook them for me nursing needles Haiti the Netherlands the little boy with his finger in the dyke shish kebabs nasi sapphire blue baobab trees treetop walks brown cows confusion classic novels sleeeeeep chocolate new carpet smell gasoline cursive writing gingko lacy .... rooiboos scissors postcards from the edge Hamilton mawiage is what bwings us together today persay flowers the alphabet airline tickets passport stamps the number eleven fallen crunchy leaves asphalt green waves Moeder bakery smells hugs little kittens stamps contrails stupid fall fairs pizza fuzzy socks fun underwear vacuuming orchids life is good God Daddy swimming pools Christmas lights paperclips computers quilts pens my favorite things Kakabeka Falls as you wish alarm clocks sleeping in Mars bars silver jewelry ice cube math bar codes footsteps who am i? church pancakes firemen what am i doing here? rain hotel rooms film camping star light, star bright mailboxes freight trains cargo hold why? can i help you? The Spanish Steps cobblestones history

Midnight Ramblings...

What do i think about at midnight? at one thirty two? at three o'six am? my mind is spinning a little and my eyes are burning and my head is trying desparately to nod off and i'm not allowed cause that's not good... and i missed my little treasured nap this afternoon due to my own folly... so now i'm paying for it. Argh! I'm thinking of how clutzy i have been the last day or so... yesterday coming home from Fortinos i had an inkling that something was amiss, and indeed there was wrongness existing in my trunk for my bottle of Vim had uncapped itself and spread its cleaning power all over my trunk... Grr.. now my car smells like Vim on steroids.. my poor car doesn't have much luck staying clean with me around, last winter windshield washer fluid, now Vim and to top it all off, it now smells like onions as well since i had to cut up an entire bag of those tear-jerkers for our work bagged lunch. I'll tell you this much, i'm not volunteering to cut onions again next year, some other sucker gets to do that one!
Other clutzy things include dropping salt on the kitchen floor yesterday, forgetting to do a million and one things, scraping my finger on the paper towel dispenser and a multitude of other small things that add up to a mountain of odd things. Oh well, keeps life interesting and full of stories for others to smile and laugh about right?
I'm sitting here, trying to ignore the frantic little calls of the cookies helplessly trapped in the cookie tin on the counter in front of me, i suppose i really should be a nice person and release them from their dungeon but then this would create additional problems for my clothings which would then not be so accomodating to my figure. And so the cookies stay put... for now!!! Wish me luck in an hour or two when the calling gets really raucous and my stomach is pleading for some sustenance!!

Back safe and sound

Wow, what an afternoon for simply curling up in bed with a good book, a nice cuddly blanket and some nice quiet music on the radio! Yes, i certainly plan on engaging in said activities within the next hour as i have a little nap before beginning my night shift. But i am put to thinking that it has been an outrageously long time since i last updated this thing and hope that people don't think i have mysteriously fallen off the planet or something disastrous like that. Contrary to that belief, i am very much here, simply stuck in ruts that don't allow my creative or literary juices to flow well onto the virtual page.
I am for all accounts and purposes, back from Haiti well and in one piece. No disastrous floods this time, no late night encounters with cats pretending to be rats, no infections or upset stomachs, no crazy 32 hour shifts. But a lot of work and busyness none the less. Nicole and I worked together for 12 days in Haiti, assisting with the care of 18 children receiving surgery for hydrocephalus. It was a busy and sometimes very stressful time. Nursing in Haiti is all about adaptability, flexibility and being open to new solutions to problems. Being creative with resources is always a challenge but we managed somehow, probably because we had some experience in May to back us up.
But none the less, there were difficult moments. The two night shifts that we did, both in the acute post-op period, we lost a child each night. That was difficult. These kids, here in North America, would have been in ICU with constant monitoring and care and would have at least had a fighting chance. In Haiti, with the respirator lying forlornly in the corner covered with cobwebs and leaves, with no hi-tech equipment and limited training, we were forced to accept that we can't fix everything. We were face to face with death of little ones, whom our Father had called home earlier than what we would have hoped for, with frustrations that we could do so little. Yet, somehow, we are called to rest in the knowledge that God does indeed know what He's doing, what plans He has for us, too big for us to imagine or understand at the time.
Yet, we were granted the strength to keep going and were blessed with good health in general for most of the kids. A few spots of diarrhea, some intermittant fevers and two children requiring additional antibiotics rounded out our week at the hospital. On Tuesday morning, most of the kids had already left to head home for their recovery so it felt weird to enter the ward and not see everyone's smiling faces, not to hear Christopher say "good morning, i love you, how are you?" - the limited English that we taught him during his stay. I can honestly say i miss the kids and their faces and smiles. I am very glad we had the chance to work in Haiti again and to serve in even a very small capacity. Below is a photo of our team (minus the one crazy chick second from the left whom i have no idea who she is and she managed to worm her way into our photo, much to my chagrin!! I'll try to photo-shop her out of there!)

From left to right, myself, unknown Haitian lady (grr), great IV nurse, sister Genevieve, Gladys (our amazing Haitian nurse), Nicole, Nadine (our night nurse) and Carol, our co-ordinator.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot!!

How's that for mysterious little poems? I love that little rhyme. I don't know a lot bout Guy Fawkes Day but it has something to do with trying to blow up the Protestant British Parliament, i believe, by a group of Catholic fellows. I believe they tunneled underneath the buildings and nearly succeeded in this plot but were caught at the last minute. Interesting times!!!

Getting Well Roasted

I embarked on an adventure of epic proportions yesterday evening aided by my faithful friend Olive and her wonderful warm personality. It was a quest to ensure that our ever present appetites were going to be satisfied and sated with an epicurean delight. A journey with an uncertain ending and traumatic hurdles to be overcome along the way. What in the world could I have been doing? I was, for the first time in my life, no, not journeying around the world in barefeet or balancing a camel on my nose or seeking to conquer the Guinness World Record for blowing bubbles but in fact was trying to become one of the elite, those who can cook a roast well. Hmmm… okay, so it doesn’t sound too exciting, right? But indeed it was an adventure involving several frantic phone calls to my maternal figure who sought to fill me with wisdom and confidence in this hither-to unventured realm of culinary skill. I remarked to Carina that indeed I would be a hopeless mission nurse since overseas phone calls cost a pretty penny and I couldn’t be ringing up every time – “Mom, I grew some yams, how do I cook them?” or “Mom, I just bought a goat, how do I go about milking it?” African Telecom would love me, I would probably single-handedly get whatever poor nation I was residing in out of debt in a fraction of the time that all their finance ministers would have planned. Okay, maybe I should go. I might be eligible for the Nobel Prize for Economy or something equally exciting. Anyhow, all logic aside, I will say that after much stressing and pulling hairs and furrowing my brow, the roast did turn out all right and we had a good meal last evening. Thanks to my fan club and supporters who were so loyal and supportive to me and thanks to my manager and all my friends and to Billy and Suzie and the little girl down the lane who received one bag of sheep wool….

Destination Haiti

Destination Haiti
Bonswa s’ami mwen! Sak pase? Mwen bon, mwen grangou, mwen swef, mwen pas kapab pale Kreyol! That’s a whole lot of things in Kreyol that I will be saying or asking in the near future. I leave on another adventure to the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, on Friday morning, early! I have to be in Buffalo by 6 am! No, wait, I fly at 6 am, meaning I have to be there at 4ish. Insane!!! Nicole Dejonge and I hope to assist with the post-operative care of about 20 children receiving surgeries for hydrocephalus. I have never appreciated our North American health care system with all it’s flaws so much as when I returned from similar endeavors in May. Please be thankful that you have trained medical staff, that you have sterile conditions for operations, that there are ICUs and lots of medicine and IV solution and clean sheets and air conditioning and so many of the other things that we so easily take for granted! Hydrocephalus is fairly common here in NA as well as in Haiti but the big difference is that in Haiti there is next to no health care. So we go, to help out as best as possible, crossing cultural and language and skill barriers along the way and stretching ourselves to attempt to share a little of our knowledge and a lot of our love with the children of Haiti. Please pray for safety and strength and health as we are in Haiti, but most especially for the children who are being assessed and operated on. May God add His blessing to the labours of our hands!

As the Hart

As the hart about to falter

In its trembling agony,

Panteth for the brooks of water,

So my soul doth pant for Thee.

Yea, a-thirst for Thee I cry;

God of life, O when shall I

Come again to stand before Thee

In Thy temple, and adore Thee

O my soul, why art thou grieving;

Why disquieted in me?

Hope in God, thy faith retrieving;

He will still thy refuge be.

I shall yet through all my days

Give to Him my thankful praise;

God, who will from shame deliver,

Is my God, my rock, forever.

PH# 74, vs 1,7 based on Psalm 42

I love this song. Sometimes i don't know what to make of the words. I find this psalm quite often tumbling through my head in various snippets of the verses, in a comforting yet haunting melody and yet sometimes i struggle to make this my confession too. I don't always know where i am in my walk, i stumble so often, i fall into dry spells more often than not, but yet, i still have a hope in God. A trust that somehow He will make things right if i just would cling to Him as my God, my rock, my refuge. Strengthen the weary hands and the feeble knees of your servant.

Romin' thoughts

I can’t hear you. I have a banana in my ear
Te audire no possum. Musa
sapientum fixa est in aure

Passport to Adventure!!

When I arrived home this afternoon, much to my amazement and wonder, there was a pick-up notice on my shelf from Canada Post. What was I supposed to pick up? A love note? A huge cheque? A new pair of slippers? Alas, no love notes, but an equally exciting document. My new passport and for once I don’t look like a convicted mass murderer! Although I still look quite glum and remorseful, I think probably this time I only robbed a general store or something like that. The Canadian Government has outdone themselves in this department – the passports that we Canadian citizens are privileged to hold have a newly increased amount of security and anti-fraud features, including holographic maple leaves and a little Mountie riding across the page! Fun times! Aah, the wonders of a newly minted passport – where will I go to next? What adventures lie ahead? Whom will I visit or meet? Whilst I regret having to invalidate my old passport, I look forward to filling this one up with lots of stamps from interesting places. Anyone wanna go somewhere? I’m game!

A close call...

Count your blessings, and your moments, one by one. I had a good reality check this morning as to how fast things can change and how we sometimes take our health for granted.
There i was, merrily munching away on my bagel and drinking my apple cider, downing my vitamin and chasing it with my banana. A grand old time at the breakfast table, to be sure...
I finished my meal and put away my plate and sat down to finish my crossword puzzle and sudoko - what a wonderful way to start a morning, when all at once, my chest felt tight, my breathing felt rapid and i felt rather "odd". I pondered at one point what was going on and whether i was having a heart attack and how that would really rather suck since i was all by myself in the house and no one would even find me until late in the afternoon... yes, i know, crazy thoughts, but that's what was going through my head. At last, the feeling passed and I was left thinking "what in the world was that?". Aaah, but my body's immune system wasn't finished with me yet, it had more tricks up it's sleeve. My face began to feel hot and full - i kinda ignored it until it got to the point where it felt like it was gonna explode and was hurting - at which point i betook my self to the bathroom where i got the shock of my life to behold not my familiar face but a great glowing red ball, with white circles around my eyes!!! What was going on?? And then my arms started to feel funny - they turned bright red as well and developed hives and itchiness abounded. And then my legs turned purplish/white mottled colours and i was put to thinking that perhaps this wasn't so good!!!
I searched the cupboards frantically for any sort of anti-histamine but alas, and alack, the cupboards were bare and i didn't suppose Benalyn cough syrup would be an acceptable substitute.
Fortunately my dear mother was home and she came to the rescue with some Benadryl and some TLC. Thank goodness for modern medicine and Moms! A wonderful combination. But it sure left me kinda shaky - things could have been a lot worse, that was sure. I thank the Lord that He provided for me in such miraculous ways that I was able to recover from this reaction quickly and with no adverse effects. I think back now and after talking with some co-workers, it most likely was the multi-vitamin i was taking that caused the problems... but it sure was scary!!! How that all works, i have no idea, i was just blessed to have been spared any further reactions and reminded how we need to always keep ourselves ready for God to work His plans in our lives...

Planes, no Helens and Automobiles

Well, i would just like to share this with you all since it was an adventure in my life and it was kinda funny after I looked at it in retrospect and just so you could have a little chuckle at your blonde friend.... perhaps it was all that turkey yesterday that caused my brain to malfunction, who knows?? Anyways, i got up nice and early this morning, somewhere around the awful hour of 5:00 and got my little self ready for an airport run since today was the day! Helen was coming!! I grabbed a Timmy's cafe mocha to wake me up and put the tunes on and headed out on the road. I must confess that i didn't leave a lot of time for getting there but made it quite on time and parked and casually strolled into the terminal and promptly had to walk five miles since i was on the wrong end of things from where i parked. But nevertheless, there i was, all ready to greet my friend Helen and take her suitcase from her and to welcome her back to her home province of Ontario with a big smile and hug. Well, to my surprise and frustration, she never appeared.
And i waited and waited and i didn't know what to do. I wandered up and down the halls in a bit of a daze for a little while and finally came across a lady with a "can i help you?" badge on her shirt and i explained my dilemma and she said okay, i'll see what i can do. We had Helen paged overhead a few times, but as she didn't seem to be in the airport, that action was desparately ineffective!! Unfortunately, she couldn't do much since she was not allowed to tell me if Helen had landed "for security reasons, you see" No, i didn't see... if i need to locate someone, it's ridiculous if you can't tell me if she landed in TO at all... she might be in the air or in Bangkok or somewhere cozy waiting in an airport lounge cause she missed her flight... i was pretty frustrated. The attendent girl let me in the arrivals hall and we talked to the staff there but they again couldn't tell me anything either. They did nicely let me peer around the hall to see if my dear friend was there somewhere but alas and alack, she was not there. Now what???
I have to tell you that my brain was having conniption fits as it tried to best determine what it was to do next.... It's still hurting at the moment from all the mental calisthenics that it was forced to perform on very little sleep or nutrition!!!
See, i was in an awful mess cause first of all, i didn't have Helen's cell phone number. Secondly, i didn't have a cell phone with me to call her cell phone. Thirdly, it costs $3.85 to make a long-distance call from a payphone (what happened to a good old quarter?? Somehow between gas prices rising and the formation of the EU, i must have missed the price hike!!). So the next dilemma was who do i call? Okay, so i called Dad, and how did i call him with no cell phone and no change... well, i happened to be standing next to a nice lady who was waiting for her daughter to come in on the Harmony flight from Vancouver at 7:00 and i explained my dilemma to her and she called her husband over and he let me borrow their cell phone and i talked to Dad who unfortunately had no brilliant answers and so i hung up on him rather than stick these nice folks with a huge phone bill. They did their good deed for the day.
So no solutions yet!!! Hmmm... i called Carina, but alas she wasn't home cause i thought perhaps she could check on my computer in my in-box to determine if it was indeed today that Helen was arriving... cause i was having my doubts now. But alas, she was departed for areas of higher education already, leaving me with no recourse but to quickly hang up before the answering machine picked up and thus save myself that precious $3.85. For the other part of the dilemma was that i only had toonies in my wallet... no loonies... and the phone booths don't accept toonies... and do you think that anyone had a store open so i could purchase a measly stick of gum or a cookie to obtain some change? No way man, not in the bowels of the arrivals hall on the far end of the airport where i was hanging out. So that necessitated a trip all the way upstairs to the Departures hall where there was a significantly higher concentration of human figures from whom to beg change.
I changed a $5.00 bill for some loonies in the travel store which had just opened and finally got through to my mom who agreed to call Francine and see if she knew anything... again, i nearly got cut off cause i had to deposit an extra few quarters since the $3.85 only gets you one minute connection fee... insane!!! I kept thinking, what about first time visitors to the country, how do they function? Crazy!!!
So i hung up with Mom hoping against hope that she would indeed be able to determine what had occured... and then realized i had run out of loonies again and needed to again beg and borrow some coins from some individual.... i couldn't go back to the same lady again, she already thought i was nuts so i went to buy one of those delicious chocolate chunk cookies... however, there were frustrating people in the line in front of me who kept mis-ordering and screwing things up and i was like just get it right and get out of my way. The man kept wanting to put the ketchup packets in his pockets or in his luggage but the nice clerk lady kept telling him that he couldn't do that since security would have a fit if they saw that and that he was better off eating the ketcup then and there... I'm telling you that i nearly snatched those ketchup packets from him and squeezed them on myself so that i could stagger through the terminal feigning a large wound and hoping that someone would have pity on me and allow me to use their phone to call my parents... Fortunately, he finished up his business and allowed me to pay for my cookie and request lots of loonies from the cashier lady who was super nice and made me smile and made me happy. Thankyou lady!!!
I finally got through to mom again after having made my way all the way back to the barren arrivals hall and having no sight of my curly headed friend, called mom back and decided to head on home.
So the moral of the story is that you should always check the arrival dates on your friend's flights since if they're coming from B.C. and they tell you they are arriving at 6:22 am from Vancouver.. you should have put two and two together and realized that if they are leaving from Prince George on the 10th and arriving in Vancouver in the afternoon, that the arrival date is thence the 11th of October, not the 10th!!!
Hope you enjoy this epic saga of woe...

Shipwreck

I built a fortress

With a hundred thousand faces

I'll keep it safe

With a hundred thousand more

But these masks are wearing thin

As You draw me in.

I spent my time

On the empty and the fleeting

I spent my life

On much less that what I'd dreamed.

But I'm reaching out to You

To make me new

Cause I am just a beggar here at Your door

I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore

I come empty handed

Ready to see

Your life in me changing who I've been

To who I need to be.

You tell my story

As You sift between the pages

I feel redemption

In the space between each turn.

Could you take me in your arms

And tell it just once more?

Could You take me in your arms

And tell it just once more?

As I lie here...

As I lie here on my bed, absorbing the sunshine pouring in my window this fine afternoon, enjoying the breezes and the good sounds of Starfield playing on my speakers, i think i am happy! But so often, so often, i am mixed up and not sure about anything. I am worried about the future - lately the whole idea of 30 (which is slowly creeping up on me) is frustrating me. Where am I in life? Should i be further? Should i know more? Have i done well with the time allotted for me thus far? What am i to be doing in the future? Hmm.. yes, not just light little inquiries but genuine hard thinking posers that baffle me and cause me to go off in endless trails of thought until i am wound around myself and am no more sure of where i am than when i started. When i reach heaven, will God be saying "well done, good and faithful servant?" That is my prayer but i'm always scared (and i know that we don't live a life that is earning salvation, that's for sure, thank Him for that!) but did i do all i could with the talents I have been given? I think about this as i again ponder a trip to Haiti and another opportunity to serve as a nurse in a country with next to nothing. How do i fit into that whole thing? Is that the direction i am supposed to be heading in? Would be nice to have our life's paths laid out clearly in front of us - although I might be scared to see what comes... He always gives us strength enough for the day and that is His promise... and we are to trust Him for that - as is said in the Bible (can't remember where or who said it) , "Lord i believe, help me in my unbelief".