Late Winter Snow Storms

At this time of year - with lengthening days and warmer sunshine - I make the mistake of thinking that spring is here. In fact, I happily dismiss winter as "over" for another year...














(Anyone who reads this blog regularly may suspect that I am not a fan of winter! And they would be right!) In fact, for 10 years I lived in a city where it only snowed once in that time! (An event that sent everyone home for a "snow day"! I think even city buses were cancelled!)














But it snowed again this week! After 30-plus years in Ottawa (Canada), you'd think I wouldn't be surprised, but I was... Enough is enough!














Perusing through some pictures I took last year, I discovered that we had a late-February snowstorm last year too!














In fact, after last year's big snowstorm on February 28, 2011, we had snow storms again in March...














Not once, but twice! On March 6, 2011 and again on March 10, 2011...














There was so much, in fact, that Terry even needed to use the snow blower!














So, as I contemplate the reality that winter isn't yet over, I take solace in the flowers I got on Valentine's Day, which are (thankfully!) still blooming.














They add welcome color......














... to my discouraging white winter world!

Some Thoughts on Change...

My winter reading "treasure hunt" (where one book I am reading refers to another... so I begin to read that one, too...) has led me to a book entitled Seeking God by Esther de Waal. I came across the title when Kathleen Norris (in The Cloister Walk) casually referred to it as a book that changed her life! (So of course I had to get it!)














Seeking God was originally written as a Lenten Study in England, so I find it fitting that I am reading it during Lent... It was also written at a time when Esther de Waal was experiencing changes in life: her four sons were leaving home and she had become an "empty nester." What would she now do with her free time?

(Is it co-incidence that this book has come into my life at a time when I am reflecting on change, wondering how to spend my free days in retirement? I have been asking myself: Should Terry and I downsize our home? Should we move? How should I be spending my time?)

When do we make changes? I ask myself. Given that change is uncomfortable, what gives us the impetus to do it?

The answer comes from within - suddenly, surprising me: Change is uncomfortable... But I make changes when NOT changing is MORE uncomfortable!

Yes, that's it! I left my studies in Vancouver when I couldn't bear to continue any longer... My mother (reluctantly) left her home in Kelowna and moved more than 2000 miles (more than 3000 kilometers) to live near me when she realized she could no longer manage alone.

So as I reflect on changes in my own life, the book has its own wisdom to share. What do I learn?

First, this struggle with change is NATURAL... "Life seen as a journey... is an idea as old as man himself... But we cannot think of life as a journey without accepting that it must involve change and growth." (p. 69)

Second, we need to be ATTENTIVE: "It is important that we too know how to read our own history, to see the turning points, the moments of change, the unfolding of God's plan for us at each new step of the way." (p. 73)

Third, change involves LIVING IN THE PRESENT: "As my sons leave home and the house becomes emptier... I must let them go in freedom, both for their own sakes and for mine, and I must try to turn this newly found space in my life to good account and not simply fill it with busyness to cover up the void. I must live in this moment,... realizing that unless I am what I am there cannot be any growth." (p. 75)

Fourth, willingness to embrace change is AN ACT OF FAITH: "The spiritually mature adult knows that he or she does not have full control of the world; that can be left in God's hands... as we grow and change we must never forget that we are the creatures and God the creator, and it is through him that evil is to be changed to good." (p.76-7)

Finally, " the journey is based on that Gospel paradox of losing life and finding it." (p. 78)

As I read all this, I wish I could see it all as clearly as the author... I read and reflect... and I stumble on (not sure where I'm going!)... IN FAITH!

Crocheted "Cuffs"

They look a bit like mitts or gloves, but they don't entirely cover the hand..


















I saw them in a recent Canadian living magazine, and the instructions are also online...














So I had to try them!














They were quite quick to crochet... But one ended up bigger than the other!! (I guess I didn't pay enough attention when I was making the second one, which is a little smaller but fits better!)

What to do?! Make two more, trying to match the sizes of the first two? Or take one apart and try again to make it the same size as the other...?! (An example why - for me, anyway - when making a pair of anything - I need to do both at the same time, stage by stage!)

Hmmm... Maybe I'll take both apart and simply use the yarn for SOCKS!!

Psalm 151 ?!

I love to read the introductions to books. In fact, I sometimes prefer them to the books themselves! In the introduction the author often gives the reason for writing the book, which I find fascinating in itself.

I was recently reading the introduction to the Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible when I came across a reference to Psalm 151... Really?! I always thought that the Bible had 150 psalms! Reading on, I discovered that, as Bible researchers study old texts (some of which are only now being discovered or translated) as well as Bibles from other traditions - such as the Ethiopian Coptic and Greek Orthodox churches - they are discovering new things that existed thousands of years ago, but were somehow "lost" to European and North American translators.

I find this fascinating, as one of my interests is trying to capture a sense of the vast history of our Christian faith. Now I know that this kind of study isn't everyone's "cup of tea"... but if you are interested, here is Psalm 151... and here is some information about it...

Is It Spring?!

It's only February... but it feels like spring...














The sun is shining...














Snow is melting...














(But I'm still waiting to "break free"...














... when the ice at both ends of our street melts and I'll be able to safely walk around the block again!)

IS IT SPRING?! I wondered all week, as I switched from boots to shoes... and wrote the blog post above...


















But last night we had a big snow storm...


















And we're back to winter again!

February Fun in Toronto

Toronto visits are regularly punctuated by breaks for coffee, ice cream and other delicious food.














Our last visit included an outdoor pre-Lenten ceremony of burning last year's palm branches to make ashes for Ash Wednesday...














... after the service at one of Toronto's oldest churches...














...the Church of the Redeemer, on Bloor Street.


















It also included a visit to the Sky Dome where we viewed an indoor family fun fair...














... (through a window high overhead).


















We ate many memorable meals, including a leisurely brunch at Madeleine's...














There were so many delicious pastries...


















... that it was hard to choose.














In short, we had a lot of fun...


















... before heading back to Ottawa's ice and snow!

Escaping Winter

I wanted to get away from the ice and snow.


















Fantasizing about a week in Palm Springs (with my cousin and his wife) or in Dallas (with my brother), I mentioned the idea to Terry.

Okay, he said. I'll take you away from the ice and snow for a few days...














So we drove South...















... to Toronto...














...where it snowed!

(Okay... the whole truth: After a few hours it melted!. Toronto is only a five-hour drive away, but - thanks to Lake Ontario - it has a totally different climate!)

More... Socks?!!

Are you knitting another pair of socks? Terry asks as he passes my chair...














Yes! More socks! (And this pair's for me!)


















It was the picture on the yarn label that attracted me to the yarn when I bought it a few years back...














I'm sure the cheerful colors will brighten drab winter days!

Winter Garden

Several African violets are blooming in my sunny indoor "winter garden."














And the other day, the afternoon sun was so strong that I moved the peace lily to the window ... to give me some shade!


















Does that mean that spring will soon be here?!

Understanding Ulster

Here in Canada, I have always puzzled over the conflict in Ireland. I never really understood why - as I was growing up - there were bombings in Ireland... Was it never properly explained to me in school? Was the situation too complicated for me - someone who has never lived there - to understand? Spending 10 years in Israel taught me that political situations have nuances that are hard - if not impossible - for newcomers to fully appreciate... We assume that everyone views the world as we do... And it is a mistake to assume that hearing an explanation means the problem is really understood...

So today, as I continue to read the 1100-plus-page book, London The Novel (a book that spans the history of the city of London... I began it over a year ago and I'm about half way through!) I come across an interesting conversation between a father and his young son. It is the era of Shakespeare, over four hundred years ago. Father and son are discussing British colonialism. The British are sending out ships to explore and trade in many parts of the world. Trading companies are being established in India, Africa and America, among them the Virginia Company in America... (The Mayflower, with its band of Puritan settlers has not yet sailed to North America.) So it happened a long, long time ago...

Among the the settlements being established by the British - four hundred years ago - is one in Ulster, Ireland... This part of the British Isles was once a colony like Canada! I am shocked to discover that the root of the problems in Northern Ireland is so old!

Once I finish this book, I'll have to look for another one that details the history of Ireland over the past 450 years. (I have so much to learn!)

What Are Weekends For?

I am slowly reading through The Rule of Benedict, a modern commentary on the 1,600 year old rules that govern life in a Benedictine monastery. Much of what constitutes the "walk of faith" - or living out one's religious beliefs from day to day - is timeless.

But today, what jumped out at me (as I was reading the rules for Sunday prayers) was a comment made by Joan Chittister, the book's author and a Benedictine nun:

"The idea of Sabbaths that are fixed and solemn is for the most part gone in North American culture. Our Sundays are spent in hectic activity designed to make us relax by drowning out the pressures of the rest of the week with the inane uselessness of the weekends." (p. 109, italics mine)

Inane uselessness?! What flashes to mind are weekends spent doing laundry for a family of five, cooking, cleaning - in short, doing the things that two working parents and children involved in school and after-school activities never have time to do during the week. Far from being useless, the weekend is essential - if we maintain the busy lifestyle that is normal for so many. During those busy years, weekends were essential for my sanity! And they were an important bonding time, as our family shared work - and activities - around the house.

I do agree that we don't know how to "rest" on the Sabbath... And as for following the injunction of the 4th commandment: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy - I try to keep it, but I still struggle to understand what it really means.

Neighborhood "Action"

In our quiet neighborhood, anything out of the ordinary brings out the kid in many of us who live here...














The kid who must check it out!


















Why else would I be photographing the tree cutters next door?


















Or Terry go over to watch them work?!

Reversible Double Knitting

I recently took a class in reversible double knitting. I had seen reversible mitts and scarves and wondered how they were knit.

For most dramatic results, it's best to choose two colors that are very different.














Everything has to be done twice, in both colors...














The stitches are even cast on alternating between the two. Then they are knit in such a way that both sides look like the "right" side of the garment (the "knit" side) with the purl stitches hidden in between.














Knitters who are really adept can knit across once using both yarns. But beginners like me find it easier to go across each row twice, once in each color, slipping the stitches in the second color. Like everything else, it requires practice...














It's tricky but the end result is really pretty! One side is one color - the other side has the same design with opposite colors.














This, my first sample, will probably end up being a trivet or a "mug-rug."

Winter Exercise

I really miss walking outdoors now that ice and snow are here. Having fallen on ice four or five times during my adult life, I'm reluctant to do much walking outdoors. So my winter exercise routine includes driving to Curves three times a week and doing the circuit of body strengthening machines there...














... and riding my stationary bicycle at home...














... while I watch podcasts of Joyce Meyer teaching. (Time flies when I watch her programs on the computer! Lots of food for thought.)

Learning To See in a New Way

I enjoyed sketching and painting when I was in my teens...














Recently, in the basement, I came across these two portraits I painted back then (in oil). At the time, my passion was painting faces... and horses! Now I want to learn to draw buildings, and scenery, using pen and ink...














... like this framed picture I picked up in a second-hand store. But I have so much to learn! So I signed up for a drawing class, the basics. Our first class was spent, not drawing, but beginning to learn the tools of the trade - pencils - and what they can do. We practiced creating different shades, as we will be drawing in black and white (and shades in between).














It's harder than it looks!














I've decided to do a little "homework" and try to draw this (colored) picture of a plate of food that I tore from a magazine. After my initial attempts - and discovering how difficult it was to determine which shades to use, I decided to photocopy the picture in black and white!














That should make my practice easier!














I think we'll be discussing perspective in our next class, but I hope she touches on how to create different textures too! (Or is it simply a matter of trial and error?!)














I feel like a child learning to hold a pencil properly! But I guess we all have to start at the beginning.














It's fun to try new things. Now I'm viewing my world in a different way (... in black and white and shades of grey).