Remembrance Day

One of the responsibilities I have here in Fernie is as Legion Padre. This involves a few different things but generally the biggest task list falls on and around Remembrance Day. I am blessed to be able to participate in school assemblies as well as the various Remembrance Day services. I'm not gonna lie, this is a lot of work. There are people to contact and organize, sermons and addresses to prepare etc...yet it is worth all of that effort.

Why? Because Remembrance Day is important. For a long time people have been willing to serve their country even to the point of giving their lives for that cause. This is something to cherish and of course, to remember. Yet often we don't! Less and less people care about Remembrance Day except as it gives them an extra day off and so I include a brief portion of my message today to give us all something to do to ensure that the importance of Remembrance Day is not lost.

When the children ask us what is the point of Remembrance Day – rather than giving them a brief answer let us bring them to a service, let us walk them to the Cenotaph and let us tell them that we take Remembrance Day, and every day to remember and be thankful for those that laid their all on the line for us. 

Lest we forget! 

Halloween 2012

As I am taking a brief break from a not so brief paper this will be a brief blog.

I handed out candy this year to 40-50 kids who all came in big batches and had some really great costumes.

I myself dressed up for part of the day as well and that was fun too.

I have a black cat and always think that I should be able to pose her in the window as a decoration but she won't do it.

Happy Halloween!

Says it all

So, I was at a meeting earlier this week and we needed a bit of a devotional and I read a few verses from the Bible and pretty much let it go at that as quite often the Bible says it better than me. Here's what I read:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:16-21

This also reminds me of the song Wonderful Cross which was written by J. D. Walt, Isaac Watts, Chris Tomlin & Jesse Reeves and incorporates an old and well-known hymn with some new music and a new chorus. One of the verses says "love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all". 

I think that sums it up pretty well.

Recipes

I really enjoy baking and cooking and do both fairly regularly. From a baking perspective I'm known for my frogs and my chocolate cheesecake and from a cooking perspective my lasagna and chicken skewers. However, I like to cook more than that and for that matter bake more than that. So, sometimes I go looking for recipes, the recipe search is also brought on by a frantic realization that I need to have something made for that day and I am trying to figure out what I can make from what's in my cupboards.

The frantic searches have shown me that I can bake pastry but also that I should avoid plain custard. The more relaxed searches have introduced me to all sorts of fun recipes but more, they have shown to me how to be creative with recipes. I have learned to read a recipe, take it apart and put it back together again the way I want it. Sometimes that means the recipe stays exactly the same, but more often it means that I change something to suit me. It also generally means that my recipes don't come out the same way twice but hey, that's half the fun.

How are you creative with your recipes?

The Hobbit

Well, it doesn't feel right to let today go by without a shout out to J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. Today is the 75th anniversary of its publishing. I first read this book in grade 4 and have read it many times since then. I still have my original copy of the book which is very battered and bruised after so many years, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. It is considered to be one of the highest selling books of all time (along with its sequel The Lord of the Rings) and with a movie coming out about it soon those numbers are sure to remain high.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian author whose faith wove through everything that he did, including the writing of his famous books. However, he was also against the concept of his novels being viewed as allegorical. No matter what else though, I love the books and it was through his books that I first got into the fantasy genre.

So this is it, my shout out to a great book, written by a great author and it concludes with an encouragement to read the book, or read it again if you've read it already. There's always more to find!

Hobbies

Sometimes a hobby can be a hard thing to maintain. Now, I obviously don't actually count reading as a hobby as it is both mandatory as well as optional in my life. Not to mention that I think everyone should read a few books a year, no matter what their view of reading is, but I appreciate that I'm biased.

For me, hobbies would include...movies, needlework of varying types...hmmm...is Facebook a hobby? If it is then we can toss that in there too. The rest come and go and aren't really hobbies at all. Hobbies (for me at least) require a certain amount of discipline, okay, not Facebook, but the other ones, and especially needlework. I tend to start a project and then it takes me forever to finish it. So, I am trying to be more dedicated to my hobbies. I put down the book for awhile and pick up the cross-stitch. I put down my work after hours or on my days off and pick up the knitting needles.

Work is still the priority and the siren call of reading will always be there but hey, maybe I can actually finish my list of scarves and blankets that I want to get done and, even more remarkably finish the cross-stitch I'm working on (picture below - can you see what it's becoming?).

I will say though that there is one thing that is never hard to put down....my housecleaning...sigh...back to the dishes I go :).

Intense

Gotta figure that intensives are called that for a reason...and they live up to the hype. I had two weeks of intensives in Winnipeg and it was a heavy duty couple of weeks, however, it was great. I stayed at the college and that was really nice. The rooms were decent, the staff were very helpful and the food was good. It also made it really easy to get to and from class and even to and from church on Sunday. I had many reasons to be thankful I was staying there.

The classes I took were Jeremiah and Shakespeare and both were extremely informative. There are those that might wonder how Shakespeare could be of any use and to them I would recommend taking this class because that question is answered there. Both of the classes elicited great discussions and really got you thinking. The teachers were very nice and always helpful. The work was hard and you had to be on your game which got harder and harder as the weeks progressed due to huge brain fog that was happening by the end but it was worth it (I think).

Above and beyond all of these things though was the people. I got to see a bunch of family and friends as well as attend the corps I had gone to for my second year at training college and that was amazing. I really enjoyed those conversations and the opportunities to see and talk over things with mentors. I went to some of my favourite Winnipeg restaurants...okay all of my favourite Winnipeg restaurants. Man alive, this was a great, exhausting, educating couple of weeks and no matter how tired I am now, or how many times I have to try and preserve the brains leaking out of my ears I am glad that I went.

Vacation

Vacation takes many different forms. Some go all over the world to visit sites or to sit on a beach, others visit family, sometimes it`s about staying home and relaxing in your own environment. I have done some of all of that and this particular vacation involved going to see friends and family. One of the things I love about my current location is being this close to the home town I grew up in.

I'm not going to give a play by play of my vacation don't worry about that. I used the time to pick up some things I needed, to go to bed early and to simply enjoy not having to be anywhere for any given time. More importantly I used the time to get together with friends and family. I got to eat some great food too at various dinners.

I love Swiss Chalet dearly and so I went there multiple times for food and enjoyed every single bite. In Edmonton I went somewhere called Lazia`s and highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for somewhere to eat. In Calgary I got to eat at my favourite steak house - Cesear`s - and savoured every single bit of steak that I put into my mouth....man was it cooked to perfection. A few other places were squeezed in - Harvey`s, Earl`s, things like that and so all in all I may have rolled back to my house rather than drove.

Shopping was also a large part of my vacation and I wandered up and down malls and streets into stores and up to kiosks and booths. These days I only shop like this maybe once a year so it was quite the treat and I find myself happy with all the purchases and enjoyed the walking.

When I got home I had a very upset cat who will now not leave my side...gonna be hard on her again soon enough.

Ahhh.....love vacation

Madeleine L'Engle

Maybe I should write my blogs on books or authors as I seem to always have something to say regarding that and heaven knows I read enough to have a source...we'll see.

On to today's topic - Madeleine L'Engle is perhaps best known for her Wrinkle in Time or Kairos series which is what I have read of hers. The books are not difficult to read and yet contain some fairly complex aspects. As she combines (well combined I guess would be more accurate) simplicity and complexity with grace, so too did she combine science and Christianity. Many people would say that those cannot be combined and yet she proves that very obviously false in her books. Along with those that cry out that science and faith cannot be combined there are people who will say that her theology was wrong and we should not read them. However, what I have personally found in her books is an overwhelming story of a God who loves his children and the impact even one small life can have on an entire world....even if we don't realize it.

Love and grace are evident in her Kairos series for sure as are many quotes from the Scriptures. Those stories also promote that every person has a place in this world no matter how different they may seem from their family, community or town, and that every person has a part to play. Her emphasis on our inter-dependence on each other is a good reminder for me that we all really do have an impact no matter what we may think through our lives.

Let's always remember Psalm 139:13-16 (the rest of the Psalm is also a really good one for those down days):
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because  I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when  I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

So, check out Madeleine L'Engle, just because she first appears to be for children doesn't mean you won't get something out of it.

Lost but not really

Okay, this isn't a philosophical post at all in case you were worried.

As some will know I have only been driving for a short period which means I did not drive around Calgary (let alone Edmonton) for any time before getting commissioned and heading out west. So, I went out today to visit a friend for supper and got excellent instructions and directions....and yet. All of a sudden I realized that I was in no way shape or form following what they had told me so I pulled over and made a call to find out what was wrong.

What was wrong? Where had I gone astray? I'm not actually sure, but what I do know is that while I may have gone astray it turns out I was actually only about two blocks from where I needed to be. It was a pretty funny phone call that resulted in the words - not lost at all.

One Year

Well, I've been an officer for a year and an officer in Fernie for a year! Okay, technically I didn't arrive until the middle of July but I was still the officer here as of July 1st and as I'm away from here this year on the exact date of my arrival last year, I celebrated my anniversary on July 1....did you follow that sentence? What a year! I still can't believe that this town is my first appointment. Every single day I am blown away by the beauty of this place and am reminded of the glory of God's creation.
This has been a year of learning. I have learned some of the ins and outs of policies and procedures, I have started to learn what to keep with me and what to let go...and I have learned that killing ants can be a full time job.
All in all this has been a good year and I can say with complete honesty that I bet next year's going to be even better.

Friends of Christ - Congratulations

Tonight was the commissioning and ordination of the Friends of Christ session for The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda territory. Just wanted to give a big shout out to them as we shared a year of training college so....

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I know you guys will be amazing officers and do great things in service to the Lord

Read Your Bible

Anyone else remember that Sunday School song (sing it with me now) - Read your Bible, pray every day, pray every day, pray every day. Read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow. And you'll grow, grow, grow, and you'll grow, grow, grow. Read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow. The words are not complicated and neither is the tune and for that matter, neither are the concepts involved in the song. Read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow...simple instructions. We so often complicate it all. I think the best instruction I ever received was to read the Bible - don't go to the commentaries first, don't decide where the information is going first, just start by reading the text. I'm not disparaging commentaries by any stretch of the imagination, they are valuable tools and I enjoy using them, but really if you don't read the Bible first, the commentaries are not going to mean as much. It's sort of like allowing movie or book reviews to determine your opinion of the actual thing.
So there ya go, there we go - read your Bible, spend time with God in prayer and you'll grow, grow, grow.

Puppy Interruption

I always tell people that it is interesting to work and volunteer in a Thrift Store.That you just never know what you're going to come across and often what's going to happen. Today at our Thrift Store we had one of those moments.

It was break time this morning and I was back there as well grabbing a quick snack when all of a sudden a little puppy dog came straight into the break room and was on her way to keep going when I whistled her back. She went back out and I presumed that her owner was in the store and she was heading out to them, but that wasn't the case. So someone picked her up as she was without a collar or leash and I took the puppy and headed out to see if we could find her owner. Our next door neighbour is the local pet supply store so I headed over there thinking that if that wasn't where the dog had slipped the owner maybe they would know who she belonged to as she was obviously well cared for. Before I could even open the door a lady came running out hugging me, hugging the dog and generally happy her dog had been found safe and sound and delivered into her arms.

It was a tiny little thing that anyone would do but she was thrilled and it made my day to make someone happy with such an easy task. The little dog was adorable too and once again I want a puppy. So, there ya go...you just never know what'll happen in the Thrift Store.

Lord of the Rings

There are many excellent and edifying novels out there in the world. It is to the world of classics that I am pointing specifically here, and despite them being fiction they have much to teach us. 1984 is a great and disturbing story, Lord of the Flies calls us to question our essential goodness or lack there of. Then there are those such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and the works of Austen that speak to the behaviour of people and help us look back on a time in our history. I could list others of course and may in another post because I'm all about the reading, but today I want to focus on The Lord of The Rings (LOTR) trilogy.
First - some back story. I read The Hobbit for the first time in grade 4. Reading was the only part of school in which I excelled and one ambitious teacher had me do my book study on The Hobbit so I wouldn't get bored with the book list in her class at that time. Well, I loved it. Not long after that I went to visit my father in Newfoundland and he owned the LOTR series which is essentially a sequel to The Hobbit. Apparently, I stole his books when I returned home to Calgary and never returned them, but I don't remember that...what I do remember is loving those books and loving them ever since.
LOTR is the ultimate battle of good and evil. It explores our ability to withstand temptation and the consequences that come when we don't. The books speak to the ability of every single person (no matter how small) to be able to do great things. They take us into the very heart of darkness and allow the light to explode from within knocking the darkness back. I really cannot recommend these books enough. They are well worth the time and energy to read and, while the movies are also great, the books bring a great deal of depth and insight that is understandably missing from the movies.
So, if you're looking to expand your knowledge of classic novels, or just like a good read, or for that matter, enjoyed the movies then read The Lord of the Rings novels. May I also recommend The Hobbit and his other works, but don't delve into The Silmarillion unless you're a devout fan, it's not for the faint of readers. I haven't even gotten through it more than once. As a point of interest, J.R.R. Tolkein was devout Christian man who helped to influence C.S. Lewis to become a Christian although he didn't always enjoy Lewis' allegorical tendencies (Chronicles of Narnia are also good reads). Okay, that's enough book recommendations for now.

Pets

I have always had a pet. I actually don't remember a time where I didn't own a pet. I had Juliet the cat, Trixie the dog, Lucy the goose, Bullroarer the pigeon and of course my current tormentor - Little B. In and amongst all of these were Charlie, Kip, Nabob, Boo, about a zillion different birds of varying types, various hamsters, and fish...I've had it all when it comes to pets and a few pretty unusual ones. I enjoy having a pet to play with and torment and whatnot. There's the simple joy in a dog, the quirkiness of cats, the soothing views of fish, and, well, I don't know why I wanted hamsters.

Right now, as I mentioned, I have a cat. I've had her for 12 years now and she never fails to do something that makes me laugh. At this time we have another cat in the neighbourhood who is wandering around and driving my cat nuts as she tries desperately to get to it and as I watch her zip around the house trying to keep the other cat in sight I have to laugh, as well as keep moving so she doesn't damage anything...cats! It's also nice to have the company around the house - she always meets me at the door.


I think a dog is next on my list but only if I'm ready for the commitment. A dog takes a lot more work than a cat. I miss the fun of playing fetch with a dog and the forced walking experience. Not to mention that after 12 years it'd at least be a change which is always good. Or, maybe I'll  get a puppy and a kitten to cover all the bases. Nothing until Little B has passed on though as she's earned the right to rule her house.

You just never know

I am a nerd! Not a big nerd, but I definitely am one. I can discuss at length why the X-Men movies were disappointing with the exception of First Class. I have seen every Star Trek movie and almost every episode of every Star Trek series (that almost is what keeps me from the big nerd level). I love to read sci-fi and fantasy novels and enjoy most shows in those genres as well and I have LOVED the series of Avengers movies that have come out (not the first Hulk, the second one). I've always been this way and plan on continuing to be a nerd in my own small way. However, this can be a good thing as you just never know what's going to be useful - even on a Sunday morning.

I had two young boys in my service today and one of them did not want to be there at all which is fine because hey, I remember times when I really didn't want to be in church either. However, this little guy left church glad he had come because not only did we sing songs about soldiers and battles, BUT the sermon contained.....THE AVENGERS!!! It didn't before I got up to speak on Sunday but when I started talking about a movie the boy spoke up to say he had just seen The Avengers and so I used that to illustrate the point that no matter what happens to us we need to keep on doing good for people just like The Avengers - albeit for a different reason.

So, being a nerd has it's good, socially usable moments...who knew. More importantly, God will use us to get the message across in a way that people will hear.

It's My Birthday

I love my birthday (other peoples too) and so far have no problem with getting older although, someone saying I was no longer a spring chicken recently kinda threw me off. However, I enjoy being young and having a day to celebrate and I hope that I enjoy the celebrating when I'm not quite as young. Fortunately this year many good things have coincided with my birthday. Last weekend my father and his wife were in town along with another officer and we had a great weekend. I got some ice cream cake and a new iPod and it was a good time. This weekend I also have family in town - my second parents - and am really excited to see them and to play with their dog.

Conveniently - and not planned - my birthday has fallen on the day I usually take off and so I have been able to relax and get my house ready for some amazing company. In a little bit I'll go out for some supper and then back home to finish my day of relaxation. I love those days that are primarily about opening a good book...or three....or four....well who's counting anyway, and I love that it happened on my birthday as that's a present in and of itself. There was even a bit of sun this morning to make it perfect.

And, there's still more ice cream cake to enjoy!

Did It!

Well, I managed to finish the April photo challenge of one photo a day...it was a lot of fun. It was also fun to see how others pictured the exact same items on the list. There were items on the list that would seem very basic, something that should be the same across the board and yet we would find different ways or things to take pictures of. It is something I would definitely do again and would recommend to others to do - and do it in a group so that you can see the different shots that come out.

Time is incredible

So, a friend of mine with an amazing blog is celebrating her 3rd anniversary blogging (I highly recommend you check out this blog, it's excellent), and I thought that is incredible...then I got curious - well how long have I been sort of blogging. Turns out it's just over 5 years which surprised me as I thought it had been less than the 3 years of the above blogger. That's insane! I admit the regularity of my blog posts has been somewhat questionable but in some way shape or form I have been writing on this website since March of 2007 and here is a link to my first post. Truth be told I find the fact that 2007 was 5 years ago pretty surprising. Even more so, if someone mentions the early days of this new millennium it still takes me a minute to realize that's over 10 years ago.

I read an earlier post about how annoying my cat was and, well that hasn't changed at all. She still purrs loudly in my ear, she walks across my keyboard and the only difference is that I didn't have a laptop when I started to blog.

I know that the reality of the world is that time travels in a linear fashion with one second lasting exactly the same amount of time as the next. However, we also say "time flies when you're having fun", and refer to going so slow as to be moving backwards...or maybe people only say that to me. So it's really no surprise to me that I'm confused about time. Just a little note at my own expense :-).

Fun Place

One of the great things about living in Fernie are the fun and unique little shops and restaurants they have here. There are not many major chains here and that leads to a great atmosphere here. Here's a photo of the window display in one of them today. I thought it was very fun and it is certainly eye catching. Every day I do see a reason to be grateful to be serving here and to have been granted this amazing town to live in....even in a great window display. God is Good!

Creative Exercises

I remember hearing a speaker a few of years ago who spoke of using both sides of our brain. He encouraged us to try and be creative, and do things differently...even something as simple as holding our toothbrush with the other hand when brushing our teeth. He told us that even something as simple as that helps us connect the left and right sides of our brains better so that we are more open to creative thinking. I really wish I could remember who the speaker was - I'll have to look in my records.

Now, admittedly at the time I thought "well, I already use either hand to brush my teeth", but that has more to do with the fact that I broke my right arm 3 times then any creativity. What I really took away from the presentation was that creative exercises are good for the brain. For me, they help me think outside the box and keep my mind open to various solutions and angles.

Right now, I have two of those creative exercises on the go. I'm doing a photo challenge for April - one of those deals where they give you a list of things that you need to take pictures of, one for every day. Well, in some ways this can be very easy but it can also be fun to try and find unusual or different angles to shoot from. The other thing I'm doing is the book - Wreck this journal. It's a journal that has pages of instructions that you follow in no specific order or format. These are providing me with a fair amount of entertainment and laughs - good times!

Confidence

There is nothing so confident in appearance as a contented cat surveying their realm. You see, a few weeks ago I got an electric blanket and Little B adores this blanket when it's turned on. She gets on the blanket, stretches out and there is something about the set of her head that states - this is my land and I suffer you to be here with me. Everything about a cat, or at least my cat, in this instance is about confidence, even arrogance.

Cats are known for getting what they want through this confidence and I think that can easily carry over to people as well. Now, I'm not advocating arrogance by any stretch of the imagination, but if we take a cats confidence down a couple of levels to healthy confidence I think a lot can be accomplished.

All people have worth, all are loved by God and in fact he plans our days long before we take our first breath (Psalm 139). This is a reason to hold our heads up high, to remember that we have worth and that yes, we can accomplish what we set our minds to. We can also have confidence in God - confidence that we serve a God who loves us, who desires what is best for us and who will walk with us through all the valleys in life...confidence, not always a bad thing...in moderation of course, and certainly not to the level of my cat. Now, I have to go and try to get some space for me to sleep in.

Following Progress

How do you track your progress in things? I, for example, am a bit of a nester and can be followed around a house or other locations by looking for the little piles of books from place to place...until you find me and the book I'm reading at that moment.

Progress like that is easy to track and in that particular case kind of funny. However, sometimes it is harder to see where the progress lies. There are those who give up on weight loss because it seems to them that they aren't changing in any way. What about people who are trying to give up an addiction and feel the same strength of craving every day? Progress in those situations and many more can seem so very hard to track.

I have never been someone who enjoyed journalling - just not my thing. Yet it was continually suggested to me as a way to work through issues. So I thought I'd try it and ya know it sort of worked. I don't journal regularly, only when the problem is ongoing or weighing particularly heavy on my heart. A benefit to journalling is that I can go back over the previous entries and I can read the progress - how the problems have changed or been resolved and so on. It may seem like there are always challenges, well, okay, there actually are always challenges but it's nice to see the progress too and to know that they are changing and progressing.

Arrested

Well, I know typically you wouldn't expect an officer to be arrested, but, it finally caught up with me...okay actually nothing caught up with me but I did get arrested. We have here in Fernie - Griz Days. Takes place for 3 days over a weekend and there are a whole ton of events for the weekend. One of the events that occurs on the first day is that a variety of people from around town are arrested. We are asked in advance and we are required to raise bail money and so with the help of some great people in town I was able to raise my bail and get out of jail at the end of the day.

Then Saturday it was pretty quiet in the store but around town there was lots going on and of course Saturday night was the parade. Well, actually not of course as my understanding is that in prior years it was on the Friday but this year it was on Saturday. Luckily for me the parade passes right outside the Salvation Army building and so I had a very convenient place to watch from. Unfortunately it was raining and quite cold out but the enthusiasm was still high.

Oh, I should also mention that while I was in jail I was given an opportunity to repent of my ways but then they let me out so... ;) Just kidding of course I repented.

Fernie Winter

So you could ski down my front yard right now...I'm thinking it might be a good place for me to start and see if I can remember how to ski. I can honestly say that I have gone a long time without seeing this much snow. In Winnipeg there is a healthy amount of snow and the big problem there are the drifts...Calgary doesn't generally get very much snow during the winter but it gets the wicked cold of Winnipeg as well. Fernie, well, it hasn't gotten as cold as Calgary and Winnipeg generally do but the snow is out of this world.

I've been trying to learn how to take pictures of the snow falling with my camera and I'm getting there.

It looks like I'll have plenty of opportunities for practice while I'm here.

The picture I have here is looking out onto my front yard and you can see by comparing it to the tree that the snow pile is quite significant.

I am liking the winter here so far. The snow adds an unusual element for me but one I'm sure I can get used to. And so I sit here - looking out at the white snow against a dark sky and thinking just how blessed I am to have a home to sit in.

Travel

I love to travel. To plan out what to pack, and it does not matter to me whether I'm travelling all the way to Australia or to Calgary - it's all fun. I will say there is generally more excitement for the farther away trips though. Here are some of the places I want to go...I've listed them by number but after the first two they aren't in any particular order. It will depend on prices, scheduling and so forth.

1 - New York, New York

2 - UK & Ireland

3- Egypt

4 - Israel

5 - Russia (St. Petersburg & Moscow primarily)

6 - Calcutta, India

7 - Montreal, QC

8 - always to see friends and family wherever they are

9 - mainland Europe (too many countries that I want to see to list out)

10 - Hong Kong

I could go on and on. I mean Dubai, Thailand, Mt. Rushmore, Boston, Hawaii - well you get the idea. I am excited to see the many places and sights that this world has to offer. Where do you want to travel? or where have you traveled? Heck, even the inconveniences can be fun - so long as you don't miss your connection.

Technology

I like technology! I enjoy computers, the ability to chat with friends and family no matter where we are and the speed of it all. I'm not an early adopter by any stretch of the imagination but I like to know what's out there and how it might be used. Yet even with a good and open mind to technology I get to the point of thinking "whoa, how did we get here".

I was at the store the other day and picked up a Blu-Ray as a bit of a treat. Much to my surprise the price for this item, a fairly recent move, was only $13.00. Despite my youth my thoughts started to go in this direction..."$13, how is a Blu-Ray that cheap, they used to be so expensive, no matter how old or new the movie. What about DVDs, remember when they first came out? Forget DVDs even I remember my first VHS..." Well, you get the idea. As I was having these thoughts I stopped myself with the question of "Come on Kyla, how old are you? Not old enough to have this thought process" (yes, I talk to myself and respond, it's a thing).

This whole process was just a couple of minutes where I apparently aged 30 years but nonetheless it did get me thinking just how fast things move these days and how much more important it is to savour the small stuff. Well there ya go, a Blu-Ray movie that made me all philosophical and stuff ;)

Helloooo Mountain Winter

Cold? Pffft this isn't cold! That is a typical prairie dwellers response to the cold. Really we are out to prove just how tough we are and just how much we can take. This is an understandable attitude in some ways as it comes from a region of the country that gets down to the -30's, 40's and one memorable year into the -50's. We bake in the summer and freeze in the winter and are proud to do it. However, you need to respect the cold too as it is very dangerous and so despite our cavalier attitudes prairie people also have excellent winter gear.

Here in Fernie, historically, they have had milder winters (not by much) than what I'm used to but a TON more snow. Well, this year, as with many other locations we have experienced unusually high temperatures and more rain than snow. Well, on Saturday that started to change. The snow arrived, brought the cold with it and no one can dispute their right to do so. It has been quite the experience for me. In some ways a fascinating one as I watch it fall continuously and in others a nerve wracking one as I drive in some sketchy conditions.

I may be used to the cold and know how to deal with it but the cold and the snow? That's new and exciting in many ways. I have discovered yet another beautiful side to Fernie and it just may convince me to head on up to the ski hill....well maybe ;).

In the mean time here's a hello to the mountain winter with no expectation of good bye anytime soon.

Calgary Downtown

My home is now in Fernie, BC. However, I was born and raised in Calgary though so I will always have some ties to the city. There are many friends and family here for me and I enjoy getting together with them and so in some ways Calgary is also my home....in some ways.

On this particular jaunt to Calgary I ended up wandering around downtown with my cousin who is a bit of a photographer. I also took my camera as I am not even close to being a photographer but I enjoy taking pictures nonetheless. On top of that was the location. I have spent many hours that evolved into years downtown and love it there. I like the buildings, statuary, and of course the memories I have there. Calgary has a very distinct skyline and downtown is a big part of that.
It was a great afternoon and I enjoyed some time with my cousin (as always). So, a few pictures of home before I head back home :).

2012 Goals

So, I'm not against New Years resolutions and in some ways would encourage them. Of course I also figure that you don't need the New Year to improve yourself or your life, but it is a convenient time of year to set some goals. So, I have latched onto this time of convenience to set a few goals for myself.

1 - Read my new book which is a collection of many books - The Collected Classics of C.S. Lewis

2 - Get healthier - not necessarily lose weight or go on a diet or anything but just get healthier in some way or another...hopefully many ways.
With this goal it's not that I won't do those things but I might do others
like exercise and things like that...just in general be healthier.

3 - Arrange my courses to continue my education - who knew that I could like school (well some of it :D ).

These three are pretty much my goals for the year. I didn't want anything too big or crazy but just a few goals to keep me moving forward and make sure I am always trying to do better.