We truly are a blessed people, to be loved so wholly by a God that cares so deeply. He cares about the big and the little in our lives, and for that I am so thankful.
As I'm sure all of you who read my blog know, our baby girl Jinx died very suddenly last Monday evening. It was a sad day for us, one that we will certainly never forget. Our poor boy Noah was searching for his sister all week, and was unusually affectionate with us the remainder of the week. The poor guy was already so shaken up that I feared the worst when we took him to his temporary home for the next 10 months. It was a blessing that we found someone to take care of him as everyone near and dear to us was either unable or unwilling to care for our cats while we do the Pockets of Change project. But still. I was apprehensive.
We took Noah to the man's apartment Saturday morning. His name is Eldon, and he lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. When you enter his place, it feels enclosed with old furniture against every wall, and dusty tapes stacked up across the shelves. JR FM taped on them, Eldon explains.
But when I really looked around, I noticed a few things. There was a lovely little deck with a large sliding glass door. Noah loves watching the happenings around him, and this deck will be perfect for that activity. The place was fairly clean, and Eldon was clearly happy to take in our baby for us.
Anyway, back to my story of God's care for us. We dropped off Noah yesterday, and the rest of our day went so horribly wrong there was little time for me to worry about whether Noah and Eldon were adjusting to each other at all.
So today we get to church a few minutes late, and the place is PACKED. We're talking no room down either row of pews that we usually sit in. Typically we would walk around the lower level looking. But I glanced up into the balcony and saw a spot so up we went. You have to understand that our church is HUGE. There are at least six separate sections in the balcony and more than that below. So who do I see collecting the offering in the section that never ever in the last two years would we have ever sat in?
Eldon.
Yup God is pretty cool. It was so encouraging to just see him there, and know that he not only comes to church on a regular basis but is obviously connected enough too as he takes offering. We had to leave before church was done to get to a support team building meeting on time. But Ryan and Jenn were sitting behind us, and Eldon must have noticed us talking to them. So he came up after the service and told them that Noah actually let Eldon pet him!! Praise God, my baby was there not even one full day and already was allowing a complete stranger to love on him like he loves to be loved. I am so thankful for that. And you know what? It all happened because I serve a God that loves me and loves these details that seem so insignificant to others but are so important to me. Can I hear a hallelujah and amen sister?!!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
A moment of quiet in a crazy day
I am having the loveliest of lunches right now. I am sitting on my deck, the sun is shining warm beams of light onto the left side of my body and my cats are frolicking in the yard. Is there a job out there that would require me to sit on my lounge chair in the loverly sunshine, watching my cats all day? I wish there was.
They really are the funniest cats to watch too. Whenever we open the sliding door for them, they leap over each other to get out as though we will only let one of them out and they both want to be it. They jump through the door and quite often explore the deck first to make sure it's all as they left it.
I've been sitting out here long enough now that they're done with that routine and are relishing their yard time. Noah is priceless to watch. He does a combination of sauntering and slinking. It's kind of an 'I'm an arrogant and proud cat' mixed with 'I'm a wild hunter cat, watch me catch something tasty'. He chases imaginary foes and if he knows you're looking at him, he'll pretend like he sees something a little ways away and go check it out.
Jinx is the more cautious of the two when it comes to exploring. But she is the cat that can actually catch things, while Noah just pretends to. She has been known to attack the odd bug or two, though neither of them would be good mousers.
I really do love my little babies. I am truly and utterly panicked about what will happen to them in one week. That's it. We have seven days to figure out what to do with our kitties for the next 10 months. Please pray that some kind-hearted soul takes them in for us and loves them as we do. They might not be everyone's favourite cats, but I want to have many more years of sitting on my deck, watching them chase invisible enemies through the grass and bask in the warm sunshine next to me.
They really are the funniest cats to watch too. Whenever we open the sliding door for them, they leap over each other to get out as though we will only let one of them out and they both want to be it. They jump through the door and quite often explore the deck first to make sure it's all as they left it.
I've been sitting out here long enough now that they're done with that routine and are relishing their yard time. Noah is priceless to watch. He does a combination of sauntering and slinking. It's kind of an 'I'm an arrogant and proud cat' mixed with 'I'm a wild hunter cat, watch me catch something tasty'. He chases imaginary foes and if he knows you're looking at him, he'll pretend like he sees something a little ways away and go check it out.
Jinx is the more cautious of the two when it comes to exploring. But she is the cat that can actually catch things, while Noah just pretends to. She has been known to attack the odd bug or two, though neither of them would be good mousers.
I really do love my little babies. I am truly and utterly panicked about what will happen to them in one week. That's it. We have seven days to figure out what to do with our kitties for the next 10 months. Please pray that some kind-hearted soul takes them in for us and loves them as we do. They might not be everyone's favourite cats, but I want to have many more years of sitting on my deck, watching them chase invisible enemies through the grass and bask in the warm sunshine next to me.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Come on in!
Hey ya'll,
Hmm, I think I've been reading too many posts from gals down South. I got hooked on a whole whack of blogs after Justin's friend recommended one on her blog about a year ago, and through her I've gotten to read others. Anyway, they're always saying 'ya'll' and 'gals'. It's cute.
OK, onto the post. I loaded some pix in my computer tonight and wanted to share them. I was feeling melancholy at work last week, and my desk was all neat and tidy and I wanted to remember my ADORABLE office. I love my office. I love the matching green things, the girly yet grown-up feel, and the mix of old and tattered [check out the tape on my desk and chair] with the modern and new. aka the AWESOMENESST computer screen and wicked Lucy look-a-like mouse my coworker Chris gave me for Christmas last year.
So come on in. Take a tour of my little corner of our office!
Here is looking in to my side of the office: the overview, if you will.
It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but my parents gave me a really cool painting of a guy reading a newspaper. I love it and it hangs on my office wall. Can you see it?
My Ikea green boxes and clock, and a photo I bought off the Globe and Mail site of Canada becoming an independent nation, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. A proud moment in our history, documented by a newspaper. I like to remember that when days are frustrating. News is imporant!!
The rub-on of the birds was my idea. It was gray and miserable out one day, so I went down to the Dollar Store and asked the lovely lady who works there what I could buy that would bring a bit of Spring to our office! I bought one just like this, and Chris loved it so much she bought one for my side of the office and one for out front too. Cool, huh? The hay bales are one of Justin's shots he entered in the Fall Fair this year. The colours and feel go so well in my workspace I just had to have it there.
Ha ha, look at how neat and organized my top desk drawer is. Chris found an old coin organizer for a till that I use for coins, elastic bands, memory cards etc.
See the Wonderwoman pencil? I LOVE that pencil!! Nancy gave it to me when we moved here - she found it in Junk Week - and I laugh almost every time I pick it up. She found it in Junk Week and said it reminded her of me, which is pretty cool. Thanks Nancy - best Junk Week find you had last year in my opinion! By the way, we always have tea lights lit in the office to get rid of the old musty office smell, hence the lighter, just in case anyone is wondering!
Behind my desk to one side of the window.
Behind my desk to the other side of my lovely big window, which I couldn't take a good shot of as the beautiful daylight was shining through.
Where I keep my notebooks for that week, my CP Style and spelling books, and a few comics. I have hung up comics all over the bathroom but I have a few on my desk wall too, that strip you can see in the picture is Calvin and Hobbes classics, and of course the Monsters Inc. dynamic duo.
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Drop by for a cup o' coffee anytime (as long as it's not Tuesday, or you WILL be turned away at the door!)
Hmm, I think I've been reading too many posts from gals down South. I got hooked on a whole whack of blogs after Justin's friend recommended one on her blog about a year ago, and through her I've gotten to read others. Anyway, they're always saying 'ya'll' and 'gals'. It's cute.
OK, onto the post. I loaded some pix in my computer tonight and wanted to share them. I was feeling melancholy at work last week, and my desk was all neat and tidy and I wanted to remember my ADORABLE office. I love my office. I love the matching green things, the girly yet grown-up feel, and the mix of old and tattered [check out the tape on my desk and chair] with the modern and new. aka the AWESOMENESST computer screen and wicked Lucy look-a-like mouse my coworker Chris gave me for Christmas last year.
So come on in. Take a tour of my little corner of our office!
Here is looking in to my side of the office: the overview, if you will.
It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but my parents gave me a really cool painting of a guy reading a newspaper. I love it and it hangs on my office wall. Can you see it?
My Ikea green boxes and clock, and a photo I bought off the Globe and Mail site of Canada becoming an independent nation, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. A proud moment in our history, documented by a newspaper. I like to remember that when days are frustrating. News is imporant!!
The rub-on of the birds was my idea. It was gray and miserable out one day, so I went down to the Dollar Store and asked the lovely lady who works there what I could buy that would bring a bit of Spring to our office! I bought one just like this, and Chris loved it so much she bought one for my side of the office and one for out front too. Cool, huh? The hay bales are one of Justin's shots he entered in the Fall Fair this year. The colours and feel go so well in my workspace I just had to have it there.
Ha ha, look at how neat and organized my top desk drawer is. Chris found an old coin organizer for a till that I use for coins, elastic bands, memory cards etc.
See the Wonderwoman pencil? I LOVE that pencil!! Nancy gave it to me when we moved here - she found it in Junk Week - and I laugh almost every time I pick it up. She found it in Junk Week and said it reminded her of me, which is pretty cool. Thanks Nancy - best Junk Week find you had last year in my opinion! By the way, we always have tea lights lit in the office to get rid of the old musty office smell, hence the lighter, just in case anyone is wondering!
Behind my desk to one side of the window.
Behind my desk to the other side of my lovely big window, which I couldn't take a good shot of as the beautiful daylight was shining through.
Where I keep my notebooks for that week, my CP Style and spelling books, and a few comics. I have hung up comics all over the bathroom but I have a few on my desk wall too, that strip you can see in the picture is Calvin and Hobbes classics, and of course the Monsters Inc. dynamic duo.
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Drop by for a cup o' coffee anytime (as long as it's not Tuesday, or you WILL be turned away at the door!)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Notes and stuff
Just going through all my Pockets of Change notes tonight. I've taken quite a few notes. It's hard to imagine what this whole thing is going to look like when it's done. It's like when I write a story, but on a much, much, much larger scale.
For an article, I take an idea like 'Council wants to build new pool'. Sounds simple enough. But I start by taking copious amounts of notes at said Council meeting. Then I pore over Council package for details, drawings, designs. Then I go through Council notes and Council package and come up with questions based on what I know, what I would like to know, what I think other people might like to know and what I suspect everyone knows but needs to be spelled out (like just how much those darn operating costs will break our tincy tiny budget).
Then I make a list of just about everyone I would like to talk to. In theory, I will talk to at least 10 people to get differing views, changed perspectives etc. Ideal candidates would be mayor, rec. co-ordinator, mom with small kids, man on street who already pays too much in taxes, senior who can't get to Chwk to excercise pool for therapy, other community pool person for what pool did for their town... This could go on and on all day. But you get the idea.
Then I actually try and reach said people, starting with the easiest (municipal staff and mayor) and working my way to the harder ones. So (again, in theory, this never seems to work in real life), I then look at all these well-organized notes with lovely quotes in them, and I assemble a masterpiece that tells a story, gives the facts, shows the opinions and is all summed up in under 600 words with a nice photo or graphic to boot.
Yup. That sure sounds like a nice way to do a story like that. What actually happened with this story was I heard it at Council, thought in my head how great all these ideas would be to do, then all of a sudden it was the next week, the paper was due in less than 24 hours and all I had was one interview with the mayor (done in the same interview with him for I think it was four seperate stories and some background stuff for future), and one interview with the rec. guy.
Anyway, all that to say it kind of feels like Pockets of Change is going in that direction. We have all these great ideas - tie it in with the millenium goals / tell the personal, the community and the larger scale picture stories / connect with readers on a real personal level while still informing etc. etc. - when in reality how can any one team accomplish all that?
Just some thoughts, as I pour over my POC notes and try to figure out how to write a bio for the website. It is not as easy as it seems. I've got several different versions that read very differently and I have NO IDEA how to make it sound like it should...
For an article, I take an idea like 'Council wants to build new pool'. Sounds simple enough. But I start by taking copious amounts of notes at said Council meeting. Then I pore over Council package for details, drawings, designs. Then I go through Council notes and Council package and come up with questions based on what I know, what I would like to know, what I think other people might like to know and what I suspect everyone knows but needs to be spelled out (like just how much those darn operating costs will break our tincy tiny budget).
Then I make a list of just about everyone I would like to talk to. In theory, I will talk to at least 10 people to get differing views, changed perspectives etc. Ideal candidates would be mayor, rec. co-ordinator, mom with small kids, man on street who already pays too much in taxes, senior who can't get to Chwk to excercise pool for therapy, other community pool person for what pool did for their town... This could go on and on all day. But you get the idea.
Then I actually try and reach said people, starting with the easiest (municipal staff and mayor) and working my way to the harder ones. So (again, in theory, this never seems to work in real life), I then look at all these well-organized notes with lovely quotes in them, and I assemble a masterpiece that tells a story, gives the facts, shows the opinions and is all summed up in under 600 words with a nice photo or graphic to boot.
Yup. That sure sounds like a nice way to do a story like that. What actually happened with this story was I heard it at Council, thought in my head how great all these ideas would be to do, then all of a sudden it was the next week, the paper was due in less than 24 hours and all I had was one interview with the mayor (done in the same interview with him for I think it was four seperate stories and some background stuff for future), and one interview with the rec. guy.
Anyway, all that to say it kind of feels like Pockets of Change is going in that direction. We have all these great ideas - tie it in with the millenium goals / tell the personal, the community and the larger scale picture stories / connect with readers on a real personal level while still informing etc. etc. - when in reality how can any one team accomplish all that?
Just some thoughts, as I pour over my POC notes and try to figure out how to write a bio for the website. It is not as easy as it seems. I've got several different versions that read very differently and I have NO IDEA how to make it sound like it should...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Feist - Mushaboom
I love the lyrics to this song, though the music video is kind of weird.
Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born oh
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh
But in the meantime we've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay
Old dirt road,
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old
I got a man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done oh
How many acres, how much light
Tucked in the woods and out of sight
Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap
On a little road barely on the map
Old dirt road,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Old dirt road rambling rose
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Well I'm Sold...
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Hey you sexy thing!
Justin and I went for coffee last night with a couple that has travelled all over the place. They packed up their lives and lived in Kenya for a year. Pretty cool. Then they travelled around Africa and Egypt and what-not, it was all very inspiring to hear about their adventure and see that, yes, they did survive just fine and brought home a pocket full of memories to boot.
We got some smart tips from them to steal for our trip. But one that stuck out was, "Lorene, WEAR A SKIRT!"
This is a curious piece of advice. Here we are, going to places with, you know, lots of dirt and garbage and the hot hot sun and perhaps wind and, oh, I don't know, I never quite feel comfortable in a skirt for about 35-40 reasons and do not wear skirts.
But, according to said couple, even if my legs are not all that and a bag of potato chips here, men who do not see legs elsewhere are going to think I am quite the item.
Hmmm. How 'bout that? Kind of makes you wonder. It's like that episode of '30 Rock' where Liz goes to Ohio from New York. In New York, she's considered not too skinny, disheveled, and not the top pick for a Friday night date. She goes to Ohio and suddenly she's being asked if she's a model and every guy is wink winking at her and all that.
But where we're going, this couple says it's less about the wink winking and more about staring. How rude. And I am very much absolutely not at all comfortable with this idea. So, I guess I'll be skirt shopping now.
We got some smart tips from them to steal for our trip. But one that stuck out was, "Lorene, WEAR A SKIRT!"
This is a curious piece of advice. Here we are, going to places with, you know, lots of dirt and garbage and the hot hot sun and perhaps wind and, oh, I don't know, I never quite feel comfortable in a skirt for about 35-40 reasons and do not wear skirts.
But, according to said couple, even if my legs are not all that and a bag of potato chips here, men who do not see legs elsewhere are going to think I am quite the item.
Hmmm. How 'bout that? Kind of makes you wonder. It's like that episode of '30 Rock' where Liz goes to Ohio from New York. In New York, she's considered not too skinny, disheveled, and not the top pick for a Friday night date. She goes to Ohio and suddenly she's being asked if she's a model and every guy is wink winking at her and all that.
But where we're going, this couple says it's less about the wink winking and more about staring. How rude. And I am very much absolutely not at all comfortable with this idea. So, I guess I'll be skirt shopping now.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
So much to do
You know the phrase: so much to do, so little time. That is definitely what I am feeling like these days. As we get closer to our trip, there seems to be more and more to do, to figure out, to make decisions on and to accomplish. And the more stuff I realize we need to get done, the more overwhelmed I become and the more I just want to ignore it all and make it go away.
Since this is my blog, I can do what I want with it. And what I want right now is to just dump out everything I can think of that needs to be done and that way I can see how much I have accomplished when I look back on it.
• Finding a home for our cats. This is one of the most important things we need to figure out. We haven't found anyone interested in taking them yet and time is running short.
•Fundraising - Chilliwack, Vancouver meetings in person
- letter writing fundraising
•Pack - that includes actually getting enough boxes too, and unloading all the junk we don't need, and loaning out big items like our canoe and barbecue
•Stuff that I need to research and buy:
- digital recorder
- sandals
- Justin's shoes
- backpacks
- travel insurance
- laptop
- clothing
Pockets of Change specifics
- write biography for the website
- figure out how I'm going to carry enough notebooks etc for interviews
- prepare myself for doing the interviews, asking the right questions, approaching with the right attitude etc.
Odds 'n Ends:
- write a letter of resignation
- Interview, write and layout our tourism guide
- put out a weekly paper from now until I leave
I am quite sure there are many more things to be done that I can't even think of yet. But that's a good start!
Since this is my blog, I can do what I want with it. And what I want right now is to just dump out everything I can think of that needs to be done and that way I can see how much I have accomplished when I look back on it.
• Finding a home for our cats. This is one of the most important things we need to figure out. We haven't found anyone interested in taking them yet and time is running short.
•Fundraising - Chilliwack, Vancouver meetings in person
- letter writing fundraising
•Pack - that includes actually getting enough boxes too, and unloading all the junk we don't need, and loaning out big items like our canoe and barbecue
•Stuff that I need to research and buy:
- digital recorder
- sandals
- Justin's shoes
- backpacks
- travel insurance
- laptop
- clothing
Pockets of Change specifics
- write biography for the website
- figure out how I'm going to carry enough notebooks etc for interviews
- prepare myself for doing the interviews, asking the right questions, approaching with the right attitude etc.
Odds 'n Ends:
- write a letter of resignation
- Interview, write and layout our tourism guide
- put out a weekly paper from now until I leave
I am quite sure there are many more things to be done that I can't even think of yet. But that's a good start!
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