My Busy Life (ha!)

Emily and Jessica and I went with Alison and Fiona to an interdenominational prayer service at the Legislature in Edmonton on Saturday. It was supposed to be a non-media event, because it was about the whole gay marriage thing, which our government seems determined to push through. Ha ha. Try again. We saw camera crews from three different news networks there. The thing I hate is that they always seem to target the folks who have no clue what they’re talking about, or if they do, either have no logic whatsoever, or come across sounding like fanatics. The one guy interviewed a man wearing a large crucifix (I assume he was Catholic); on the back of his coat he had stapled a piece of paper with the symbols for male and female intertwined on it. Later I saw another crew talking to a bunch of kids who looked like they were maybe 15-19. I didn’t see the news that night, as we do not have TV, but they probably skewed it, and pasted little clips together to make us sound like lunatics. Anyway, the service was interesting, mostly led by charismatic preachers. There was a fair amount of singing, lots of prayers (through which people shouted, “Yessssssss!” frequently), and some responsive Psalm readings. All in all, it was different than we’re used to. But I know God hears the prayers of all His children, and it’s not necessary for me to be comfortable with their methods.

After that, we had lunch at Tim Horton’s in St. Albert, then went to West Edmonton Mall in the city. I guess Alison Fiona and I spent the most time at Tall Girl there. I love that store, don’t have to worry about things not being long enough for me! :-) Emily and Jessica, who would probably both swim in the clothing in that store, took off after a while to shop elsewhere. Then we went to Fabricland, where Emily got remnants for her Medieval project. After that, we wandered through the Mall, mostly looking around and people watching. They have a new sea lion act in the aquarium there, which replaces the dolphins they had until recently, so we watched for a bit. Finally, we brought the girls home, and then drove back to Neerlandia.

I forgot to mention, the roads were pretty nasty. We had had freezing rain, and then snow, so part of the highway was very treacherous. Alison and Fiona had been out the night before, and they said it would have been faster to skate home than drive. Hopefully the warm weather will last until all the ice is off the roads before freezing again.

I’ve been in bed all day, sick. All I can think of that could have made me sick is the cup of decaffeinated coffee I had last night. I have heard of people getting sick from caffeine, but decaf? Must be something else. X-S

I suppose I’d better go out to help Mom. Just about every day these last few months, we have had to thaw out our sewer pump-out. We think the pump must be sending just a trickle of water through the pipes, which freezes the pump-out pipes solid. Then we have to run garden hoses from the water heater in the basement out to the field to thaw it out. Stupid system. And it appears to be my turn. gnnnrrrrrr.

Oh, and tonight is Young People’s.

"Axtertope"

At lunch Esther was telling us about an animal (or “aminal”, as she says). It is called an “Axtertope” (don’t ask me how to spell that!), a ferocious animal that lives in “the woods”. The first place Esther ever saw one of these remarkable creatures was at the Zoo in Edmonton, she tells us. When questioned as to its features and characteristics, she described him as having “orns” fur, blue eyes like her own, and human ears, only hairy.

La Soif by William Bouguereau

Early Cosmetics Class

This afternoon I came upstairs for a drink, and saw Esther sitting on Mom's lap. When I went over to talk to her, I noticed something on her face. It was sort of pinker than her skin, and was smeared all over her forehead and nose. Then I looked a little closer. "Mom!" I said. "She has concealer all over her!" It turns out she got into my box in the bathroom and dug out my concealer stick when Mom was having a nap. Mom was mystified as to what the substance on Esther's dress, hands, and face was. I went and had a look, and sure enough, the concealer stick was turned all the way out, and the whole thing looked kind of mangled and smeary.
Conclusion: I think I need a padlock on my box. :-/

(i am thinking with ever-increasing anticipation of being in an all-adult house for a while. maybe i don't mean that. they are sweet when they're not being bad)

Nobody

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

-- Emily Dickinson

I picked up a set of these tins for my room at Alison and Fiona's place. I want to paint and decorate in these colours.

This is one of Rebecca's latest works of art - entitled "The Teacher".

nother qwiz

Pinkertonsnook: hey laura! thanks for visiting.... ok, lesse.... i will think of some questions for you..... hmmmmmm....... but you have to post em with ur answers on your blog!! ;-) :D hehehe...

1) What's ur favourite supper? (a description, plz, not "Pot Roast") ;-)

My favourite supper is Indonesian. It is Nasi Goreng (rice with spices, shrimp, and finely chopped vegetables) with Sateh (pieces of marinated chicken or pork broiled on skewers) and Pindah Saus (peanut sauce), and Gado Gado (slightly steamed vegetables), Atjar Tjampoer (pickled vegetables), and Kroepoek (fried shrimp crackers). Mom makes this for special occasions, and sometimes she also makes Bami Goreng (long flat noodles with shrimp, bean sprouts, and vegetables). For the more adventurous among us, there is also Sambal Oelek (red chili peppers ground with salt). Mmmmmmm.


2) As a child, what was your most-used imaginary/play name OR: What is your "dream name" (if you could choose any full name possible) :-)

I really don’t know. We used to play “house” or “wedding” or “school” a lot when I was a kid, and my name usually reflected what I was reading at the time (I was never noted for originality :-/).
I think I’m happy with my name, but there are lots of more beautiful/exotic names out there (just can’t think of any at the moment).


3) If one of your family members (or someone really close to you) was diagnosed with cancer would you shave your head or cut your hair to raise money to help them, or to make a wig?

definitely. (there might be a *sniffle* or two, though ;-))


4) Would you rather live: a] in a city, b] in a smaller town, c] on an acreage, d] out in the boondocks with loads of space, or e] on a sunny beach in a breezy lil house ;-)

my first choice out of the above would be e) a sunny beach in a breezy lil house. If that were not an option, I’d pick the city.


5) upon being presented with the opportunity to be a model (runway or otherwise) for a day, would you try it? :-}

oh yeah!

Love is . . .

The last three evenings our congregation has been having meetings with Mr. David Meengs, a missionary/teacher in India. He spoke mostly on conflict resolution, which is his field in India, where he counsels in churches and colleges. His organization, Biblical Counselling Trust of India, publishes a small magazine, the Biblical Counsellor, every ten days. He writes the English, and then his staff translates it into the various Indian languages.
He is a fascinating man doing fascinating work. Absolutely not your typical learned missionary.
Anyway, we have had several interesting evenings of his teaching. On Thursday, his topic was evangelism and Biblical hope, on Friday, repentance, anger, and forgiveness, and tonight, he spoke on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the passage on love.
One of the things that struck me most this evening was what he said on the part, "Love is kind." His definition of kindness was so broad, it's really opened my eyes. I'll try to reconstruct a bit from my notes.
Kindness is being sweet and gentle to others in the face of adversity and personal trouble. It is showing respect and honour for our neighbours. Kindness is being nice, the opposite of being nasty. The respect we must show to be kind is on a level with love itself (i.e. Eph. 5:33: "Each of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband"). Kindness is protecting others from outward danger, and rebuking them with love in private. Kindness is following the example of Jesus, who "will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets" (Is. 42:2).

Your ideal Middle-Earth parents are Aragorn and Arwen! They are the king and queen of Gondor, which makes you a prince or princess. Not too shabby, huh? Youll get to take over the kingdom someday. Look at you, all heir-to-the-throne-y! Oh, did I mention that you are gorgeous? Your Middle-Earth mama is practically a supermodel, while your Middle-Earth dad managed to turn heads at eighty-seven years old. You've hit the genetic lottery, my friend! Your last name is Telcontar and you live in the city of Minas Tirith.
Your Middle-Earth mama is Arwen Undomiel. She is an elf but gave up her immortality to be with your dad. If you do something bad she will probably lower her head in sorrow and shed a tear or two, which, although it may not be her intention, is major guilt tripping. Through Arwen you are related to Elrond and Celebrian (your grandfather and grandmother) and Celeborn and Galadriel (your great-grandparents). She is also a link to your uncles Elladan and Elrohir, who spoil you rotten.
Your Middle-Earth dad is Aragorn. Since he became king he has been going by King Elessar, but he has a lot of other names too. He is an amazing warrior and will teach you everything he knows. Some dads play football with their kids - your dad gave you your first sword at the age of three! Aragorn is the disciplinarian, and since your grandfather Elrond raised him he is very stern when necessary. Just behave yourself and you should be fine.

Which Lord of the Rings couple would be your dream parents? Pictures and longish answers.

February 21

will be my first day of college! I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be so different to be in school again; last time was in grade 4. I’m also looking forward to staying with Alison and Fiona. I have to go out there sometime and decorate the room they are kindly letting me use. I have no idea what colours or style to use right now. My room here at home is shades of blue and cream. Any ideas, folks? I only have to be in it for 6 months, so I could go nuts and do something I never would otherwise. :-)

Just before Hester's wedding