Latte Art??

What's are you trying to make? An owl? Terry asked when I handed him a cup of coffee.

What do you mean?

Have you started to do latte art?

No. I took a look...














It did look like an owl!














It was created by the two spouts pouring espresso coffee into the cup half full of milk!

Accidental latte art!

The Power of ... Gratitude

Not long ago, I read a review of a book by Debbie Macomber entitled One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity.














Intrigued, I ordered the book online.

In the first chapter, Debbie mentions the Quaker practice of keeping gratitude journals - daily writing lists of things they were grateful for. After reading about it, she herself started to do the same thing, in a little notebook she nicknamed her "Ode to Joy."

She later came across some some astonishing scientific findings about the power of being grateful...

• Researchers at the University of California and the University of Miami discovered that "people who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer illness symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded troubles or neutral life events...

• ... participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress over a two-month period toward their most important personal goals - academic, interpersonal, and health based - compared to ... their control group..."

She also mentions that a professor of bioethics observed five positive results of being grateful:

1. "...Just fifteen minutes a day focusing on the things you're grateful for will significantly increase your body's natural antibodies."

2. "...grateful people are more focused mentally and ... less vulnerable to clinical depression."

3. "... healthier blood pressure and heart rate..."

4. "...grateful caregivers are healthier..."

5. "Recipients of donated organs who have the most grateful attitudes heal faster."














Hmmmm... Maybe I should give it a try, too!

Discovering SADHU SUNDAR SINGH

I bought a book a while back that I am only now beginning to enjoy. (It has been sitting on my bookshelf for years...)

I've heard it said: "When we are ready to learn, we will find a teacher."

This must be my time!

The book, Devotional Classics, is a collection of excerpts from famous Christian writings through the ages (edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, two university professors).

It has excerpts from Christians I have never heard of, as well as many whose names are familiar. Hoping to fill in the pieces in my knowledge of church history, I purchased the book....

Leafing through its pages today, my eyes caught the name Sadhu Sundar Singh. That is a name I have never heard of - but from my years of teaching immigrants, I recognized Singh as a surname of people from India who are of the Sikh religion... So I was intrigued: A Sikh Christian?

Sadhu Sundar Singh (1989-1933), was a young Sikh who embraced Christianity after he discovered Jesus - much like Saul of Tarsus did in the New Testament - through a vision.

A fervent young man, he had been avidly anti-Christian, destroying Christian writings. In his religious quest, he decided to kill himself - unless God intervened. If God wanted him to live, he reasoned, God would have to stop him. After three days alone in his room praying, he gave himself (and God) a 5 am deadline. But at 4:45, to his surprise, Jesus appeared in a vision. (Surprise, because he had been expecting one of the gods of India!)

His life changed: He became an itinerant Christian minister, and was last seen on the road to Tibet.

The excerpts from his writings found in Devotional Classics come from the book, With and Without Christ. They show a learned, sensitive man. I'd like to share a few:

It is very difficult to explain the deep experience of the inner life. As Goethe has said: "The highest cannot be spoken." But it can be enjoyed and put into action. This is what I mean. One day, during my meditation and prayer, I felt his presence strongly. My heart overflowed with heavenly joy. I saw that in this world of sorrow there is a hidden and inexhaustible mine of great joy of which the world knows nothing, because even those who experience it are not able to speak of it adequately and convincingly.

Elsewhere, he compares God-seekers to insects:

As some insects with their antennae feel their surroundings and distinguish between hurtful and useful things, so spiritual people, through their inner senses avoid dangerous and destructive influences and enjoy God's sweet and life-giving presence...

Intrigued, I am now adding the books of Sadu Sundar Singh to my list of books to read... Like so many books I'm hunting for these days, they may be out-of-print!

City of Surprises

Looking at my pictures of the Big Apple, I was reminded of a few surprises I encountered - surprises I photographed in order to remember...

Like the many police on horseback on downtown streets...














They always seemed happy to let tourists take their pictures...














I was surprised at the name of this fashion boutique: Acne... (I have since discovered that this is a Swedish store. Intrigued, I checked online to see what acne meant in Swedish... and it means the same as in English!! Apparently, when they first opened, people - understandably - thought they sold skin care products.)














Somewhere down the line, I guess "acne" has lost its negative connotation!














I was surprised that the lovely-looking blond woman sharing a bench with us outside the NBC Building was actually a model on a photo-shoot. She was pushing a baby carriage and carrying several colorful shopping bags. (I first noticed her because she looked so perky and fit - so unlike how I felt right after having a baby... When my kids were infants, I remember feeling overweight and tired - from sleepless nights... And I don't think I wanted to go shopping for new clothes until I lost my "baby weight"!)














When she got up and started to walk away, a photographer with an impressive-looking camera took pictures of her as she walked among the crowd. Later she and the photographer - as well as an assistant - stopped to watch a bus-load of singing seniors...














... who were advertising a new TV show...














The most dangerous things I saw in NYC were these metal doors on the sidewalk in front of many old buildings - open to receive deliveries.



















It was so tempting to look up at beautiful tall ...



















...and unusual buildings - that I had to keep reminding myself to look down - or I might accidentally trip and fall in!

We laughed at some of the sights we saw - like this palm tree carried for several blocks over someone's shoulder!



















Or the M&M's Store on Times Square... It was always full of tourists!














It was possible to buy favorite colors by the pound...














But the biggest surprise to the both of us was that we were able to keep up with someone much younger... as we pounded the pavement hour after hour... for three days... seeing the city on foot!

A Day Without Water

One of the things we - in Canada - don't appreciate enough is our abundance of clean water.

With the continuing construction down the street - and refitting of sewer pipes - we have experienced several brief shut downs of our water system, as pipes break and leaks need to be repaired.














But two days ago, we received a mailbox message: The water will be turned off from 8 till 4 on Friday. So today, we sit and wait (at 7:45 am) and wonder how we will manage.














A pitcher of cold water in the bathroom replaces the tap...

Pots full of water are sitting in the kitchen.

There will be no showers until the water is back on again. I'm a little anxious...

When I was a child, we didn't have running water in our home in Hay Lakes, Alberta (population: 300), or in the village of Kingman (my second home) ... My parents had to pump water by hand and heat it on the stove for my bath... I took drinks from a dipper in a pail of water (shared by everyone in the household). Getting the water we needed was a daily chore... just as it still is in many parts of the world.

But in the years since then, I have become accustomed to having water - as much as I want - at my fingertips...

Sometimes it's good to remind myself that being able to turn on a tap and get clean water is a luxury! Clean tap water became the norm in European and North American cities in the 20th century... in the last hundred years.

I'm spoiled - I take it for granted. I have never had to haul water into the house daily as my grandparents and parents did (until they moved into the city).... To them, water was a precious commodity.

Days like today remind me how lucky I am.

Traveling with Garmin

I bought my husband a new traveling companion for Christmas...














Garmin...

But Terry doesn't really trust her... We are both good map readers - so for years I have been his navigator as we crossed cities, states and provinces...

But last summer we had an unnerving experience. We arrived in Montreal, tired, late at night and headed for our hotel near the airport. We could see it as we exited the highway... but we drove right past it! We couldn't find an exit to the hotel from the road we were on!

We kept driving until we saw a ramp back onto the highway. Back we went, this time returning to the hotel from the opposite direction. Again we exited, and (again!) were unable to find the road to the hotel. Again saw it beside us as we drove past...

This time, instead of going back to the highway, we continued on the road we were on (a ring road that circled around near the airport) - but still couldn't find a sign indicating the street we were looking for. Finally we stopped at a coffee shop and asked for directions... Following them - and going in what appeared to be a totally different direction - we finally managed to get to our hotel!

Time to get a GPS - I thought... So I did, as a Christmas gift for Terry.

We finally tried it out on our recent trip to New York City, and it was wonderful! We especially appreciated it as we approached the city - with our hotel address entered as the destination. Garmin led us to the Lincoln Tunnel, and we emerged in Manhattan about two blocks from our hotel. It quickly got us off Manhattan island when the time came to leave.

I don't want to stop reading maps - I like to see the big picture. But Garmin is invaluable in showing how to get somewhere by the most direct route, or where to find the nearest gas stations, shopping areas, and restaurants!














I'm awed that such a small device can provide so much information!... (How does she do it?!)

Ground Zero

One of the most emotional places I visited in New York City was Ground Zero - where New York City's twin towers stood before 9/11. Now a massive construction site, it is best seen in this aerial photograph posted nearby...














I had visited the twin towers - New York's tallest buildings at the time - when I was in my 20s. I remember looking up - and noticing they seemed to be moving slightly... (Or was that because someone had told me they needed to be a little flexible to endure strong winds?!) I also remember how dark it was on the sidewalk beside the buildings - the massive structures blocking the sun's rays.














In the days following 9/11, I had heard stories of how the neighborhood pulled together, helping each other.

I remember hearing how a little church across the street became a hub for volunteers, a place where residents and volunteers could drop in for solace.














There it was! St. Paul's Chapel - an old church that became a makeshift center for volunteers who came to help with cleanup operations.














The chapel is full of pictures, letters and banners sent by well-wishers from around the world.














I didn't know that the church was the oldest in continuous use in the USA - or that George Washington, in fact, had worshiped there.














It is still a vibrant faith community.














Near the church, another museum has video tapes and photographs that tell the 9/11 story and its impact on the community...

For me, it was hard to listen to the stories of survivors and family members of those who died. After nearly a decade, it is still too fresh and real in my mind - too emotional - to take in.