Skip While You Can!

I don't have a lot of memories of fun SILLY times with my mother... I'm not sure why. But one memory that sticks in my mind is the two of us walking down Mitchener Hill in Red Deer. We were going to church. (I was probably 8 or 9 years old...)


















Let's skip, I said... And we did!


















My mother - in her mid-30s at the time - and I hopped from one foot to the other... in our Sunday dresses and Sunday shoes. Then we laughed and laughed at the fun it had been. (And I laughed because I didn't know my mother knew how to skip!)

The memory of that FUN is with me still.

Now, as we walk oh-so-slowly together...


















... I wish we would have skipped more...!

Skip while you can!!

The Ash Trees Have To Go

One of the saddest scenes in Ottawa these days is the sight of city crews cutting down up to 1000 trees in Andrew Hayden Park, near my mother's home.














The problem is an ash tree infestation...














I saw them cutting trees and hauling them away...


















But when I got there with my camera a few days later, all I could see was stumps...














... and saw dust...














... and open spaces...


















... reminders of where the trees had been.

Accepting Others (Without Trying To Change Them)

For so many years, as a teacher and a parent (a different kind of teacher), I have worked to help people "improve"... improve their writing, improve their English, improve their lives... And, to be honest, at the same time, I have constantly been trying to "improve" myself - through books I read and classes I take. I'm all for self-improvement and lifelong learning!

So I am really challenged when I read (in Seeking God) Esther de Waal's comments on Benedictine hospitality, welcoming others in the same way that we would welcome Christ:

"... if we are really to receive everyone as Christ that means that we must respect each as made in the image of God and not of ourselves... Unless I am careful I am tempted to manipulate the people in my life (and here this is not simply the guests but my own family, my friends and colleagues, even casual acquaintances). I find I batter them with my demands, or force my own expectations upon them or so influence them that they feel bound to act in a way that they know will please me. I have in fact failed to accept them as they really are. I have not been content simply to be alongside them in their littleness and their weakness, their frustration and their depression. Perhaps I have tried to improve them or organize them for their own good... I have judged them and stifled them..."

Helping people "improve" (as teachers and parents need to do)... while, at the same time, not judging or stifling them is a fine line to walk! But I must admit, the people I enjoy the most are those who appreciate me as I am, without trying to change me!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

My daughter recently reminded me of a dessert I used to make when she lived at home: Black Bottom Cupcakes. (So of course I hunted out my old recipe and made them again!)

They are really a combination of chocolate cake and cheesecake. (Delicious!) Joan, our school secretary, introduced the staff to them when she made them for potluck lunches. They were so good we all wanted the recipe!


















This online recipe (on the All Recipes website) is exactly like the one Joan gave me (above) except that it calls for 1/3 cup of oil for the chocolate cake batter whereas hers recipe calls for 1/2 a cup. I made a few changes as well, replacing the vinegar with lemon juice, because I prefer the taste. I also added a dash of cinnamon to the chocolate cake batter.

Instructions: Mix up the chocolate cake recipe; then, in another bowl, mix a container of cream cheese with an egg and 1/3 of a cup of sugar (or less, to taste). Add chocolate chips to the cream cheese mixture. The recipe I use calls for 1/2 a cup but the online recipe calls for a cup. (I throw in a generous handful or two.)














Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chocolate cake mixture into the bottom of a muffin tin lined with paper cups. Then add about 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.














They look great - and taste amazing!

St. Benoit du Lac

Terry and I recently took a day trip to two monasteries in Quebec. On the first part of our day we visited a Benedictine abbey in Lake of Two Mountains near Montreal.

After lunch we drove by bus to a second Benedictine monastery near Terry's home town of Sherbrooke, Quebec. Although we often come to Sherbrooke - and even took a train ride near the abbey a few years ago - we never thought to stop at Abbey of St. Benoit du Lac.














It was good to be back in the rolling hills of the Eastern Townships.














Every time I come here, I marvel at the beauty of the scenery.














The monastery overlooks Lake Magog.














It is a spectacular building!














Here is the foyer...


















And here is the long corridor that leads to the church.














We wandered around the grounds...


















The monks have a farm and orchard. They sell apple products, like apple cider, as well as cheeses of various kinds.


















I bought several packages in their gift store. (They also have an online store.)














We enjoyed the beautiful, tranquil setting...


















I'm sure we'll be back!

Visit to an Abbey

One of my "goals" these days is to expand my horizons...














So when I heard about a day-trip to several Benedictine monasteries, I signed up!














The first, an abbey near Montreal, isn't very far. It's called l'Abbaye Sainte-Marie des Deux Montagnes or the Abbey of Saint Mary of Two Mountains.


















Encircled by a developing community on the St. Lawrence River, it is still a peaceful place, offering a sense of tranquility. They do offer accommodations to guests who desire a quiet retreat. We noticed several staying there. (There was a time - in my busy working days - that a weekend retreat in a quiet place like this would have been a welcome change!)


















The abbey is cloistered, so the nuns don't leave to work elsewhere. In fact, most of them don't talk to visitors.














We had to TRY to talk quietly - and in some parts of the building - observe silence. (So counter-culture!)


















We heard the sisters sing their noon liturgy - psalms and prayers in Latin. I did study Latin in high school and again in university. But I didn't understand anything!

It's hard for me to imagine spending a lifetime cloistered in a quiet building like that!














In the abbey gift shop I bought chocolates made in a Trappist monastery in Northern Ontario. (I had no idea that there was a Trappist monastery in Northern Ontario! My trip was full of surprises!)

Lost the Wheat - DIDN'T Lose the Weight!

The current diet best-seller Wheat Belly presents an intriguing theory: namely, that wheat, especially genetically modified varieties, is the problem behind North America's weight gain woes. The book's subtitle - " Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health" - suggests that eliminating wheat from our diets will cause us to lose weight (and for type 2 diabetics like me, help correct high blood sugar levels).

Looking for a "quick fix" and a magic "key," I decided to give it a try... In fact, I started an online food journal to annotate my experiment.

But after a week of wheat-free eating, when there was absolutely no weight loss and my blood sugar levels did not take the nose-dive I was hoping for, I stopped.

So - back to square one - as they say. The real key (I guess) is to eat carbs in moderation (cutting back not just on wheat, but on all sugars and starches) and to walk at least 45 minutes a day, preferably a short walk after every meal. My doctor suggested this 7 years ago when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and it seems to work.

(I am disappointed! I was looking for a quick fix!!)