No Turning Back!

The day was windy: a wind warning was in effect. But somehow the squirrels were oblivious to all this. They were still out running around! One little guy seemed relatively new to the game of walking on wires - he paused now and then as he followed his buddy across the icy hydro line, stopping to adjust his grip on the line, his tail waving madly for balance.














Would he fall off?! I grabbed my camera to take a picture, in case he did. (I have never seen one fall off a line...)














But no, he made it safely across... Tenacious? Or foolish? I'm not sure! But one thing is certain, once he got on that wire, there was no turning back! (At the first gust of wind, I probably would have stopped, frozen in my tracks!) Sometimes it's good not to have the time - or wisdom - to think too much!

1000 Posts?!

I find it hard to believe that yesterday marked my thousandth blog post! I guess, like everything else, it's a matter of beginning, taking it one blog post at a time... and being surprised when a milestone is reached!

How has blogging affected my life? Writing is now a focal point of my day. And I take a lot more pictures! Whenever I see something interesting, I take a picture to (perhaps) blog about it... (I have a lot of unfinished blog posts that never get posted.) Blogging has taught me to be more attentive to the details of my life. (And I take my camera with me wherever I go, just in case I encounter something "blog-worthy.")

What have I learned about blogging since beginning this adventure in February 2009?

First, that I apparently have a lot more to say than I originally thought!

Second, I've discovered a few "hot topics" in blogging. Gardening is one... According to Google Analytics, my most read posts deal with gardening. What to Do with Indoor Trees (from February 2011) remains my most read post with 599 page views. Next, with 208 page views, is Gardening in October (from October 2009). And my third most viewed post is Early May Flower "Catalog" (from May 2010) with 110 page views. Readers find these posts, even now, through a google search, sometimes looking for images.

Third, I've learned that BLOGGING IS A LOT OF FUN... In fact, it's quite "addictive." If I ever think of taking a break for a while, as some bloggers do, I get a "panic attack".. (As if my doctor suggested I give up MY MORNING COFFEE!)

I mean, I could live without coffee (or blogging) if I absolutely had to... but my mornings would definitely not be the same!

Stability

I am a very impulsive person, so too much stability seems BORING to me. Now that winter is here, part of me wants to buy a plane ticket and go... somewhere, anywhere... where the sun is shining and the sidewalks are free of ice!

But at the same time, I enjoy the benefits of stability: living in a predictable family, having predictable work and income, as well as predictable relationships with family and friends. I also have "promises to keep"... (Among them, doctors' appointments to take my mother to...)

Yet, as I reflect on many of the wonderful Benedictine principles that teach me so much, I struggle with the idea of STABILITY: "The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in community," Benedict wrote 1,600 years ago. (RB 4:78)

Could I be "stable" enough to live with the same people in the same place all my life?! I don't think it would have worked for me... I have too much wanderlust!

I read on: "The spiritual value of stability lies in commitment. Like everything else in monastic life, stability works best when it is wholehearted, without escape hatches or preserves of autonomy." (Benedict's Way, p. 52)

Perhaps my stability lies in my commitment to my family - which involves give and take. And which sometimes makes demands of me. So for me: "The spiritual value of stability lies in commitment. Like everything else in FAMILY life, stability works best when it is wholehearted, without escape hatches or preserves of autonomy."

My commitment to my family is wholehearted... But sometimes I need to "escape" and take a vacation...

But it does make me feel better, when I go off for a few days... that my mother waves me off with a smile: Have a good time!

(Her memory may, at times, be foggy, but her character hasn't changed: she also loved to travel in her younger days. So she's happy for me when I go.)

What a Difference a Day Makes!

The weather had been lovely all week...


















Terry had cleaned the ice off the driveway and the main roads were clear... I was out and about running errands. Winter didn't seem that bad.


















Then yesterday, we awoke to a world of white... again...














... icicles hanging from roofs.














The "mixed precipitation" (snow and freezing rain) continued all day, coating branches in white ice.

Of course, the roads and sidewalks are icy again, too!

Will I Have Enough?!

I started these (adult-size) socks a few weeks ago...














... using two batches of yarn left over from other sock projects.














The purple was left over from lacy socks my daughter made me.














(I don't have patience for doing such delicate work!)














The other yarn is left over from a colorful pair of socks I made quite a few years ago.














I tried to create a pattern with the two yarns, doing the top ribbing and heel in the purple, and creating stripes of alternating 3 rows (of purple) and six rows (of the multi-color yarn). I wanted to tone down the brightness of the red/yellow/blue/green.














I must admit that I'm surprised that I've made it this far.














I'm currently decreasing at the toe. The yarn is running low. So the big question in my mind is: WILL I HAVE ENOUGH of this yarn to finish the socks?! (And, if not, what color yarn should I add to finish them up?! I've been gathering together all my scraps of sock yarn...)














(Several hours later:) I can't believe it! I had enough... with a tiny bit to spare!

How Much is Enough?

Clutter is an inevitable part of my life - whether it's piles of papers on my desk, clothes draped over a chair, or a mess of ingredients on the kitchen counter whenever I bake or cook.

So I pause in Kathleen Norris's book, The Cloister Walk. She is describing the trees in Dakota. They are so rare that they stand out in the bleak landscape.

Comparing the inside of her Dakota home, with its "abundance of books and papers" to the simple beauty of a horizon with one tree, she writes:

A perfectly simple room, with one perfect object to meditate on, remains a dream until I step outside, onto the Plains. A tree. A butte. The sunrise. It always makes me wonder: What is enough? Are there enough trees here? As always, it seems that the more I can distinguish between my true needs and my wants, the more I am shocked to realize how little is enough.
(p. 296)

Poinsettia Joy!

It has been a month since Christmas...


















... yet the poinsettias continue to brighten my winter white world!

What I Hate Most About Winter!

It isn't the snow (which can be quite pretty)...














Or the cold...


















What I hate most about winter is that freezing rain turns sidewalks...


















...into glare-ice "SLIDE-WALKS".

(Fear of falling keeps me in the house!)

Browsing on Bank Street

Bank Street is a very long Ottawa Street that runs north and south for miles, from Wellington Street (where the Parliament Buildings are situated) in the heart of the city, right to the outskirts of town. One of my favorite shopping areas is Bank Street in the Glebe (an old Ottawa neighborhood near the Rideau Canal).














The buildings are old - and some of the names are, too, like the Glebe Apothecary (a drugstore)...


















... and the Glebe Emporium, where I occasionally buy pots and pans and other household items.














My daughter loves to shop in the Papery, a stationery store with many unique paper items.














We sometimes stop in at Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's, a toy store, with lots of interesting gift ideas, for children and adults.














It's easy to find one-of-a-kind gifts in other small Glebe shops, too... (like these cute winter hats for children - with animal faces on them - which are popular this year)...














And, of course, there are coffee shops and bakeries... (Why am I always drawn to the bakeries?!!)

When Reading Paths Intertwine...

Perhaps I read more in winter, when evenings are longer and I don't spend as much time outdoors. I rarely "plan" what I read... (which is why I have never joined a "book club" where everyone has to read the same book - then meet to discuss it...) But books come my way: sometimes I read about a book that tweaks my interest... sometimes I hear about one from a friend, then try to get a copy for myself.

Which is how I happen to be reading three different books at the moment! Two relate to Benedictine monastic life: The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century and The Cloister Walk. The other is Life with God, by Richard Foster, a Quaker, who has long been one of my favorite Christian writers.

How did I discover these books? My friend Janet told me about the first one - and I read about the other two.

But I find it interesting that some of the ideas I am currently reading are overlapping.

Just this morning, in The Rule of Benedict, I read Joan Chittister's comment that by beginning early morning Vigil prayer with the words "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise" (from Psalm 51), Benedict teaches us that "Even the desire to pray is the grace to pray. The movement to pray is the movement of God in our souls." (p. 104)

A few days ago, in Life with God, I had read: 'Through Scripture... God ... [whispers] down through the centuries: "I am with you!" ... Then... God [asks] a question that searches a person to the depths: "Are you willing to be with Me?" '

It is exciting to be reminded (twice!) that God not only sustains us: He is the initiator of our faith. In other words, it's not all up to us!

My Online Learning!

My parents had an encyclopedia that they used daily. Whenever they encountered a place or a word they had never heard, they would "look it up"!

I do the same - but using the internet! Recently I was looking up the name of an ancient city I had never heard of before. I discovered it was in ancient Turkey. Reading a bit more, I saw a reference to Celtic invasion...

Surely not the Irish Celts, I thought... But a few more clicks showed me that, yes, the Celtic culture had once expanded into Europe. In fact, in the 3rd century BC they had invaded the Balkans and parts of present-day Turkey. Moreover, Celts didn't originate in Ireland, but in present day Austria!

Where did I get the idea that ancient civilizations simply stayed put! That we are the first world travelers... (Well, apart from Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus, 1500 years later!)

(I have so much to learn!)

The Best Desk... is...

We have quite a few desks in the house. Here are what two look like...

















The others are no different!

















When I need a large work area, I usually clear off the dining room table...

















But Terry prefers...

















... the FLOOR!

(Teacher Tip: By the way, in case you were wondering about the best desk for children, studies show that they do better in school if they do their homework at the kitchen table, where they are near adults, so that they can ask questions easily if they don't understand!)

A Winter Walk on Bank Street

Terry and I like to walk on Bank Street in downtown Ottawa. Sometimes we fantasize about downsizing and moving to this old neighborhood...














(It reminds us of our single years, when we both lived in downtown Montreal.)














The neighborhood is changing - and there is an interesting mix of old and new buildings...














...with high-rises sprouting up all over. (Well, not really highrises! A city by-law prohibits the building of structures taller than the parliament buildings in the downtown core...)


















Terry could have stood for hours watching the excavation of this new building site... (Condos, perhaps...?)














The downtown area is convenient and popular with many... (including birds?!) But I'm not ready to give up my garden and move into a condo!

Children's Stories

I remember two books from my early childhood, my preschool years, before I knew how to read. One was The Bingity Bangity School Bus, which was a favorite of my brother's when he was two or three... (My parents read it to him so often that we all knew it by heart!)

The other was a book of bedtime stories... I don't remember its title or any of the stories in it. All I remember was the picture on the cover and how it frightened me! It showed a little girl in a nightgown sitting on her bed - which was floating down a river. Strange animals stood looking at her from the shore. I remember being frightened by the idea of being alone on a bed surrounded by water. And I felt sad for the little girl, so alone. How was she going to get back to land? Did she know how to swim? Only much later did I realize that the illustration was meant to be symbolic of the imaginary world the stories take us to... (Do children see symbolism? I certainly didn't! I must have been a very practical child!)

I was reminded of these books - and my childhood reaction to them - when I recently read the story a three-year-old narrated to her mother, who wrote it down and illustrated it... (The mother is an artist friend of my daughter's.)

Hmmmm. On first read, I was surprised! Interesting logic (and balance) here!

Chocolate Sauce Recipe

I didn't do much baking last Christmas: just whole wheat cinnamon buns and chocolate sugar cookies - which went well with ice cream. But something was missing: chocolate sauce for the ice cream!

















I remembered an easy recipe I used to make years ago. It was on the cocoa container... (Don't remember which brand.) I checked, but there was no recipe on the container I had. So I did an online search, and came up with a different recipe for chocolate sauce on the blog of David Lebovitz, an American chef living in Paris.

He calls it his "basic black dress" recipe - it goes well with everything.

It was pretty simple:

In a saucepan, mix together and bring to a boil, STIRRING CONSTANTLY:
1 cup (250 ml) water
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/2 cup (160 g) corn syrup
3/4 cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

Then add a handful, or more precisely 2 ounces (55 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, and stir till the chocolate chips melt.

















Refrigerate for several hours before using.

I didn't bring the mixture to a boil as the instructions said to remove from heat when it begins to "simmer" - perhaps I should have left it a few minutes longer. Then when I added the chocolate chips, I didn't chop them, so they didn't completely melt and the texture wasn't completely smooth. It was also not as sweet as the sauce I remember from my childhood. But if you like a thick chocolate sauce that isn't very sweet - this one is for you! It was easy to make - and gets thicker the longer it stays in the refrigerator.

Preparing The World's Longest Skating Rink

Ottawa is proud to have the world's longest outdoor skating rink, weather permitting! Weather permitting, the Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake (a man-made lake that is part of the canal system) are transformed into a skating rink that attracts thousands of skaters every winter.

I sometimes come by once skating begins, but I rarely see the ice being prepared...

















But this year I did. As we were driving by Dow's Lake, city employees were busy drilling holes into the ice that had formed... and pumping up water from the lake to create a thick, smooth surface. (I always wondered how they did it!)

















I have never seen them flooding the ice before. I wonder if they start at Dow's Lake and continue until they have flooded all along the 7.8 kilometer (approximately 5-mile) canal! The ice is already strong enough to hold the workers, but skating isn't permitted until the ice is strong enough for trucks and equipment to drive on it!

Work and Pray... Or Is It Pray and Work?

I have been re-reading Benedict's Way, and today am again pausing to consider WORK, one of the cornerstones of Benedictine monastic life. In fact, their motto, "Ora et Labora" (in Latin, "Pray and Work") highlights work, together with prayer.

"Idleness is the enemy of the soul," Benedict writes, and I agree... though I'm not sure why. Perhaps because, as much as I hate to clean the house or tidy my desk, I feel good when it is done. Perhaps because I've seen what trouble kids (and adults) can get into when they have "nothing to do." So, when they were young, we registered our children in swimming lessons, dancing lessons, and sports - to keep them busy. And when they were in high school, we encouraged them to get part-time jobs.

But Benedict also encourages prayer. What is the connection between the two? Is it similar to the connection between faith and works, the connection between what we believe and how we live our lives because of what we believe? One determines the other: Faith without works is dead, the Bible tells us...

At this time of my life when what I do is totally my choice, I sometimes wonder how I should be spending my day. A prayer in Benedict's Way is helpful:

God, you care enough about me that my work is important to you. You love all of us enough that there is inherent dignity in the labor of our lives. Remind me that I am your partner in creating the world you are designing - and that I am your partner in creating myself. Help me to cooperate heartily, and give me insight into the value of my work. Amen (From Benedict's Way, p. 49)

If our work partners us with God in "creating" God's world and at the same time "creates" us, it is extremely important. But we can't do it alone. "Every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God to bring it to perfection," Benedict wrote 1,600 years ago. (RB Prologue 4)

I guess that's it! We can't do it alone!

Four Years!

I retired from teaching four years ago. During my first month of retirement, I sorted through materials I had brought home from school, culling and throwing away quite a few boxes of papers... But I couldn't bear to part with it all, so into a basement filing cabinet the rest went... in case I ever needed it. (And I never did!)

I read somewhere that one de-cluttering one's life sometimes involved giving up dreams or plans. I didn't plan to teach again, but I wasn't willing to give up the idea totally either.

Perhaps it was the snowstorm that kept me indoors yesterday - perhaps I sensed that all this unused STUFF was bogging me down. In any event, I want to begin some new things... so it was time to let go.

In the end, I simply asked myself: Do you ever plan to teach again?!

No! The answer was clear... So down into the basement I went, filling box after box with paper, remnants of my previous career: copies of grammar and spelling exercises, stories and research projects. Eight or nine boxes later, I had cleared everything out.

















I wish I could say that the basement looks a lot tidier. It doesn't. But the teaching files are gone!






















I feel a lot freer, ready to move on! (But it took me four years to let go!)

Taking Winter Risks

In Newfoundland - I've heard - young men test their mettle in winter by jumping from one chunk of floating ice to another. (Do they forget that the ice is on the ocean?!) They actually try to see how far they can go, I've heard, walking on floating pieces of ice! (When looking to see if I could find a You Tube clip, I discovered that ice walking is popular in Sweden too!)

I've never seen that in Ottawa... But I have seen men of all ages risk life and limb to remove ice and snow from roofs...






















... like this man...

















...who presumably wants to prevent the snow from landing on someone!






















(Fortunately he didn't fall!)

Winter Sunsets

Winter sunsets are just as beautiful as summer ones...






















... even though they occur much earlier in the day.






















This one caught my eye as I was walking into the kitchen to prepare supper ... around 4:30 pm. (When supper is over, at 6pm, it is already dark!)

My Personal (Clothing) Style

I don't consider myself "stylish." I've always loved comfortable clothing. So, for years, I have worn jeans, loose shirts and (in winter) fleece pants and tops.

But - I admit - there are times when I get bored with my boxy "look"... (But obviously not bored enough to change!)

My daughter (who loves fashion) recently sent me this video clip entitled, Advanced Style - and I loved it! (Particularly the lady who said: Don't tell me, This is what everyone is wearing nowadays. I don't want to look like everyone else!)

What a (stylish) inspiration these ladies are! (But will they inspire me enough to change?! Probably not!)

Depending on the Kindness of Others

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." (Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire)

It is perhaps ironic that, on the day that my blog post mentioned parent-child relationships when getting old, I spent a large part of the afternoon and evening in the hospital emergency room with my 92-year-old mother. She struggles to maintain her independence, but her mind plays tricks on her. She isn't really forgetful. But she doesn't recognize herself in old family photos. Occasionally she says strange things like, What kind of mirror is that? It doesn't show what's really in the room. And often she misinterprets - or simply disregards - what people tell her. Shortly after returning home from the hospital, for example, she called me to ask if she could remove the splint they had put on her hand. Definitely not, I told her... But by morning, it was off.

We were at the hospital because a gouty knuckle had become infected, and - on the last day of the New Year's long weekend, when doctors' offices and medical clinics had been closed for several days, or perhaps even for the whole period between Christmas and New Year's - the hospital emergency room was the only option available for medical care. So the waiting room was packed.

As I sat there, waiting to see a doctor, reflecting on my blog post of the day, it occurred to me that the suggestions given were only useful if a parent could reason logically...

My mother, oblivious to the fact that the room had been full when we arrived and equally oblivious to PA announcements indicating the arrival of level 2 patients by ambulance, kept insisting: They've forgotten we're here. Go tell the nurse we're here.

No, Mom. They know we're here. They are busy, and we're not a real emergency...

But the experience - sitting there watching people come and go with crying babies, bound-up limbs, chest pain - reminded me how much we depend on the kindness of others. Often friends and family, but occasionally strangers... like a friend of mine who volunteers one day a week driving the elderly to medical appointments.

I watched an older woman leading a blind man. Her husband, perhaps? Another man assisting a woman (his wife?) from a car into a wheelchair, her hand in a sling. Had she fallen on ice?

Everyone was there with someone... I was strangely moved to see so much care and concern cramped in one room. It was a reality check for me to be reminded that no matter how self-sufficient we think we are, we can't always do it alone.

Blue Monday (Chocolate) Cake ... Or Cupcakes

It wasn't Monday - it was Saturday... But I felt in "need" of a "chocolate fix"! So I took out the recipe for the easiest cake I know: a one-bowl chocolate cake that my friend Channa calls her "Blue Monday" cake... for a rainy (or blue) day!

It can even be mixed in a square 9" baking pan - but I decided to make cupcakes, so I mixed the batter in a medium sized bowl.

First I blended the dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (or 375 ml) of flour (I decided to use all-purpose flour so I replaced 1/4 cup (50 ml) of the flour with 1/4 cup (50 ml) of psyllium)
• 1 cup (or 250 ml) sugar
• 3 heaping tablespoons (or 60 ml) of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cinnamon

When the dry ingredients were well mixed, I added the liquid ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon (or 20 ml) of lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons (or 75 ml) cooking oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 cup (250 ml) cold water, milk or sour milk

Mix well. Pour into baking pan or muffin tins.

The recipe makes 12 cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees F (or 175 degrees C) for 40-45 minutes for a cake or for 30 minutes for cupcakes.

Enjoy! (I did... without icing! It was delicious accompanied with vanilla yogurt... and an interesting newspaper article!)

It was also nice - the next day - with a scoop of ice cream and some homemade chocolate sauce!

I Need ... PATIENCE

From time to time I read bits of Joan Chittister's commentary on The Rule of Benedict and reflect on what the 1,600-year-old Benedictine Christian document can say to me today.

The words that jump out at me today are Joan Chittester's - not Benedict's. The theme is being patient amid hardships.

"We are a people without patience. We do not tolerate process," she writes. (Page 88, italics mine.)

So true! So true of me! I want to grow as a Christian wife/mother/friend/writer/ artist/woman of faith (and the list goes on...!) I want my children to have strong character, to find satisfying careers, to build strong families and strong faith. But growth is a process... (Their growth and mine!) It happens in tiny steps.

Do not despise small beginnings, the Bible reminds us... Process takes time... And I... I need PATIENCE ... as I take my daily (tiny) steps.

Lost in Translation

I once had a student who was a Mexican priest, in Canada for a sabbatical year of study. One day I was talking to him about his work. He told me that he was a priest in a mountain village, and that his parishioners were very poor. Part of his job involved visiting them in their homes, where he could see how little they had.

They would always offer me food, and I would always have to eat it, even though I often saw hungry children peering in through the door.

Was I eating the children's meal? I often wondered. Was this the only food they had?

But you had to eat it... I said.

Yes, they would have been very offended if I hadn't accepted their hospitality. And the motto of our religious order is: "Be as gentle as a dove and eat like a pig."

Eat like a pig?! I replied, somewhat astounded.

Yes, he nodded. Eat like a pig.

In English to eat like a pig means to eat a lot - as much as you can, I told him.

Oh no! he replied. In my language "to eat like a pig" means to eat whatever is put before you, without asking what it is. There were times I didn't know what I was eating. If I had known, I might not have wanted to eat it. But I followed our motto to "eat like a pig" and I didn't ask any questions. That was the polite way.

Lentil Soup

I decided to try another soup recipe from the (online) South Dakota Diabetes Control Program cookbook. The lentil soup looked interesting - and I didn't have to go out and buy any ingredients. I had everything I needed in the cupboard.
I won't repeat the recipe here - click on the link to it (and accompanying nutritional information) above. It was easy! I simply put all the ingredients into a pot and let it simmer for 2 to 3 hours.













The recipe calls for 2 cups of dry lentils. I added one cup each of orange and green, as I had both. I also used frozen broth I had on hand. After an hour or so, the soup started to get thick, so I added more liquid.














After several hours, it ready to eat. The tomatoes made a colorful broth and remained in large chunks (visible above).

When I re-heated the leftovers, I again added a little more liquid - plus some spicy salsa, about a tablespoon per bowl of soup! Frankly, I preferred it that way - not quite as thick, and a little more spicy.

Best Bagels

Ottawa's best bagels - in my opinion - are found in a Wellington Street bakery, the Bagel Shop. I used to go there weekly - to buy several dozen bagels for weekend breakfasts and school lunches. But in recent years - since discovering I was type 2 diabetic (and not having school lunches to prepare) - my visits have been much less frequent.














Recently I was back - for a brunch with former colleagues... teachers who worked together more than 30 years ago, teaching English to French-speaking army recruits at Canadian Forces Base St. Jean, Quebec.














(That we are still in touch is partly a Facebook "miracle"!)














After eating my breakfast bagel sandwich, before leaving...














I just had to buy some fresh bagels to take home!