Joan of Arc

Here's a song that has been on high rotation in our car for a couple of weeks. I was talking to a friend recently about real female heroines, as opposed to the helpless ignorant (but beautiful and pure) women often portrayed in fairy tales. Here's an interesting perspective on one strong female in our history. I love the poetry of the song. Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc As she came riding through the dark; No moon to keep her armour bright, No man to get her through this very smoky night. She said, I'm tired of the war, I want the kind of work I had before, A wedding dress or something white To wear upon my swollen appetite. Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way, You know I've watched you riding every day And something in me yearns to win Such a cold and lonesome heroine. And who are you? she sternly spoke To the one beneath the smoke. Why, I'm fire, he replied, And I love your solitude, I love your pride. Then fire, make your body cold, I'm going to give you mine to hold, Saying this she climbed inside To be his one, to be his only bride. And deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc, And high above the wedding guests He hung the ashes of her wedding dress. It was deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc, And then she clearly understood If he was fire, oh then she must be wood. I saw her wince, I saw her cry, I saw the glory in her eye. Myself I long for love and light, But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?

End of June

Today marks the last day of school for many of our small friends. A momentous day indeed! It is a gloriously sunny day today and sunny is on the forecast for many days to come by the looks of it. Looks wonderful, but also a little scary...some rain interspersed in there would be nice too. Today is also cause for celebration because I finished chapter four of four total chapters of my thesis. There's still lots to do yet, including introduction, conclusion, bibliography and many many revisions, but it is definitely a milestone to be this far. And finally, the painted daisies, the peonies, the lilacs, the bachelor buttons and the scarlet runner beans are all in bloom.

I'm so glad God has a creative mind and made the world beautiful, not just functional and practical.

In Which Two Great People Get Hitched

I love

I love little baby ducks, old pick-up trucks, slow-moving trains, and rain I love little country streams, sleep without dreams, Sunday school in May, And hay And I love you too. I love leaves in the wind, pictures of my friends, birds in the world, and squirrels I love coffee in a cup, little fuzzy pups, bourbon in a glass, and grass And I love you too. I love honest open smiles, kisses from a child, tomatoes on the vine, and onions I love winners when they cry, losers when they try, music when it's good, and life And I love you too.

Political Unrest

Do you know what's going on in Iran? Does anyone really know what the truth of what's going on there? If you think of it, pray for the people there. It's a scary scary world we live in. Yahoo News Report Thousands rally for, against Ahmadinejad's regime in Tehran Shared via AddThis Pictures More Pictures

Coldplay meets Taylor Swift

This is about the most beautiful piece of music I've heard in a while. For the record, we're huge Coldplay fans. They've got some really thoughtful, well-orchestrated music. Viva La Vida and the latest album as a whole is no exception. Taylor Swift, on the other hand...well let's just say the original of this song makes little sense. [Big gripe starting] It's called Love Story, but its main characters are Romeo and Juliet. I hate to break it to you, Taylor, but Romeo and Juliet do not live happily ever after, they die. Also, she talks about being a "scarlet letter." Do you know the reference that comes from? A book written in the nineteenth century by Nathaniel Hawthorne about a woman who commits adultery. Suddenly the "love story" doesn't sound so cute and innocent hey? [/ok, ok, gripe ending]. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. That said, "Love Story" is a beautiful sounding song, and the two songs combined and played by piano and cello (a fantastic musical match)...it's gorgeous.

Festlighed

This weekend was busy. We went to a stag (B did), a stagette (K did), a wedding, a family photo shoot, and a shower. And got lots of family visiting time in there too! The wedding was one of the best I'd ever been to. It was small, relaxed, friendly and beautiful. It was a perfect day for an outdoor wedding. The wedding and reception both took place at the bride's parents' house. There were around fifty people there, so you quickly got a sense of who everyone was. The reception was in the afternoon and we just all hung out together after the meal. The bride and groom seemed really relaxed and had time to chat with everyone. Finally, the decorating was fantastic. Attention to detail, anyone? Lovely. I've said it before, A&C, but I'll say it again. We're excited to hang out with the two of you lots in the coming months. Sunday was another stinking hot day. Central Alberta needs.rain.badly. Badly. Things are pretty crunchy and dust. But it looks like rain is in the forecast for this week, thank God. We spent the morning doing decorating for another wedding and then headed out to some friends' acreage where B did another photoshoot. We have lots of really great memories of this family in years past and it was great to see them again, however how briefly. We're so proud of the kids...in the years since we've moved to Calgary, they've grown up to be really neat young people. And then starts another week. We've got lots to pack into the week too, before we head back to Central Alberta for another weekend of wedding. It's going to be Awesome. One might even say Legendary.

Clafouti, anyone?

Yesterday I made an experiment dessert and tested it out on the women from Bible Study. It was called Cherry Clafouti and I got it from Simply Recipes. This was the first time we've purchased cherries this year. I managed to resist the urge to just eat the whole bag of them raw. The colour of cherries and cherry juice is almost as good as that of cranberries. Almost. A lot of juice gets splattered when you de-pit cherries. Especially when you're using a chopstick to de-pit. I am a fairly freckled person to begin with, but I added to the collection with some lovely purple freckles courtesy of the cherries. Too bad we didn't get a picture of the finished product. It didn't look quite as good as the recipe picture, I think because we cooked it too long. It was supposed to be a baked custard-like dessert, tasting of cherries and almonds. I think I need to buy a bag of cherries just to eat soon. But I thought it was a little early for cherries yet. I wonder when BC cherries will be ready?

Den Første Gang Jeg Så Dig

We borrowed a CD by Kim Larsen from K's mom a while ago, and recently found it again. It came from our family in Denmark, and is a great collection of Danish children songs. We've tried to find it to buy a copy for ourselves, but it is hard to come by. Since K is working with Danish all the time she is able to pick out some of the translations, and they are fun. Anyways, here is a sample of the music, hope you enjoy, even though you won't understand the lyrics.

Firsts

This weekend was one of firsts. First rhubarb crop of the season harvested. It was put to good use in a combination with some strawberries for a crisp for our small group. My favourite dessert. Ever. First time seeing the town of Okotoks' namesake. The Big Rock. An erratic dragged by the glaciers all the way to the beautiful rolling hills of southern Alberta (see the picture above). What a wonder to admire. We decided that this is something worth showing family visiting from abroad. ...And the reason we were even near Okotoks is because we got to be a part of another first. The first high school graduation in the family for some dear friends. Thanks for inviting us, friends. And congratulations again, J! First tomato on the vine. Our tomato plant has decided to brave all the snow/sleet/rain/hail/being-hauled-inside-and-out and begin to set fruit. Cause for celebration indeed. First "game" of tennis of the season. B and I are enthusiastic occasional tennis "players." Players and game need quotation marks because 1) Neither of us know the rules of the game -- well B does sort of, but I really don't have a clue and 2) Both of us, and especially me, have to focus so hard on getting the ball over the net and still within the tennis court, that you can't actually call what we're doing "playing" a tennis "game." We just work on hitting the ball back and forth at each other. But man do we have fun. :)

To Do This Summer/Why I love Calgary

It's another beautiful beautiful day in the city of Calgary, which got me thinking about all our plans for this summer, and how much I love Calgary in the summer. It's hard to choose whether to go camping/hiking all summer (one of our favourite things) or to stay at home in Calgary and enjoy our garden and alllll the things going on here. So, following is a combined "to do" list on the subjects. - Finishing my thesis by the end of July. - Four days in Jasper National Park, camping. - Shakespeare in the Park - Calgary Farmers' Markets-- multiple times please - Stephen Avenue at lunch time, on breaks from working at the Glenbow - Our birthdays - Road trip to Glacier National Park (we love Montana, Grandma Marci!) - J&M's wedding - A&C's wedding - Riley Park, just wandering, or watching Cricket-playing - Calgary Folk Music Festival (though I'm not sure we can afford to go this year...) - Running a 10km race - Siebenga 80 years in Canada Reunion - July 1st in Prince's Island Park - Gardening. :D - Nose Hill Park (perfect for biking, and walking, and flower-discovering and picnicking)

A Venture into Calgary Green Space

Speed Bumps: to make you slow down and enjoy the scenery

Saturday night we went for a walk in Riley Park, Kensington and along the Bow River.

It was so neat to see all the different ethnic groups, the families, the young people, everyone out enjoying the beautiful evening.

And why not? Calgary's green spaces are something we should be proud of.

It's a beautiful city.

And it's going to be a good summer enjoying the whole spectacle.

Plum Tree blossoms. It's a good year for fruit trees, to which trees all over the city attest .

A beautiful green VW van. I heart Volkswagens...

A Church downtown, just off of the Bow River pathways Sandstone arch near Prince's Island Park

On Such A Sunny Morning

My favourite thing these days is sitting on the front step in the morning.

Eating breakfast

Enjoying my hot cup of coffee

Doing my devotions

Discussing the day with Brent

Examining the growth of our plants

And this morning we had the added bonus of chatting ever-so-briefly with some church friends on their way to kindergarten-- --Well, the kids were. The driver/mum was just delivering them. :)

I think the time between about 6:30 and 8:30 is the best time of day during the summer.

(And yes my toenails are embarrassingly pink)

Garden update

This morning, when the sun was shining so brightly, I got up with great intentions of doing some yoga before work...but it was a morning to be out in. So, I dug manure into the zucchini bed and the place allocated for the peppers. I planted eight marigolds, and six zucchini plants. And watered the whole works in with plant-starter fertilizer. Our tomato has its first blooms. Our scarlet runner beans are finally recovering from frost damage. The whole world smells like Mayday blossoms. And the sun is still shining brightly.

Plants and Music

I find I have to search out and be mindful of cheerful and joyful things these days. It's easy to remain caught up in my cloud of gray sadness and wonder about what-ifs and should-have-beens. But if I count my blessings and measure plant growth, it forces me to dwell in the now and the dependable future.

So, without further ado:

Yesterday a friend dropped by with a tomato plant. What better gift for aspiring vegetable gardeners? We spent some time discussing the pros and cons of fertilizer, how to build a coldframe with a thermostat and the probability of Calgary remaining frost free for the rest of the season (I would say chances are not great). Nevertheless, we're going to plant the tomato out and take our chances.

And in addition to a happily accepted plant, we're so blessed by the friendship of said tomato-givers, with whom we have a symbiotic plant-babysitting relationship as well as a mutual appreciation for things growing, green, outside, natural, rural... (and the list could go on). I am always astonished and blessed by kindred spirits.

Today our four new albums came. So far we're listening to the Once soundtrack. It's the perfect balance of melancholic and joyful for my mood right now. Then we're going to listen to Jimmy Rankin of Rankin Family fame. Slightly less melancholy but still far from fluffy or bubble-gum cheerful. The world is a serious place. And again of friendship. At the same time as our cd parcel, we received a card from friends I've known as long as I have memories, who just wrote to say they cared. We are indeed blessed.

May Planting

Our Garden This Year, in List Form: Seeds: - Spinach - Beets - Scarlet runner beans - Swiss Chard [yet to come] - Nantes carrots Transplants: - Scarlet Runner beans - Sunflowers [yet to come] - Peppers - Zucchini - Forget-me-nots - Basil - A happily-received tomato - Marigolds Growing: - Rhubarb - Tulips - Shasta Daisies - Jacob's Ladder - Lupins - Yarrow - Lamb's Ear - Columbine - Lemon Thyme - Day lilies - Tiger lilies - Lily of the Valley - Campanula - Delphinium - Irises - Rudbeckia - Painted Daisies - Dianthus

Not Quite Snowing

Monday May 18th and we have rain-that-thinks-snow-might-be-a-good-option. But the rhubarb is growing in its red and green glory. God knew what he was doing when He gave us spring and green growing plants. They give us hope.

Five Good Things

1) We put in a cd order for FOUR new albums that should arrive by the end of the month. Ray Lamontagne, Leonard Cohen, Jimmy Rankin and the Once soundtrack. 2) My rhubarb plant finally made its above-ground appearance the day before we left for California and is now looking healthy and strong. 3) We have four cheerful tulip blooms in the front flowerbed. 4) The new Star Trek movie was great. I could have gone right back into the theatre and watched it again. 5) The sun was shining very brightly when we went for a walk this morning.

Guiding Me

I woke up with this song in my head last week. Not that I don't believe there's a God. I sure as heck do. But he describes well a gritty dark but honest perspective; one that is very familiar to me right now. David Gray is one of those singer/songwriters who knows where it's at. Him and Leonard Cohen and Martyn Joseph come to mind right now. Ain't No Love Maybe that it would do me good If I believed there were a God Out in the starry firmament As it is that’s just a lie And I'm here eating up the boredom On an island of cement Give me your ecstasy I'll feel it Open window and I'll steal it Baby like it’s heaven sent This ain’t no love that’s guiding me Some days i'm bursting at the seams With all my half remembered dreams And then it shoots me down again I feel the dampness as it creeps I hear you coughing in your sleep Beneath a broken window pane Tomorrow girl I'll buy you chips A lollipop to stain your lips And it’ll all be right as rain This ain’t no love that’s guiding me This ain’t no love that’s guiding me No it ain’t no love guiding me No it ain’t no love guiding me No it ain’t no love guiding me This ain’t no love that’s guiding me This ain’t no love that’s guiding me On winter trees the fruit of rain Is hanging trembling in the branches Like a thousand diamond buds Waiting there in every pause That old familiar fear that claws you Tells you nothing ain’t no good Pulling back you see it all Down here so laughable and small Hardly a quiver in the dirt This ain’t no love that’s guiding me

¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.