Well, it turns out, I did neither (see previous post). Before I even logged off of the computer, Stefanie asked me if I wanted to go for a walk and as it turned out, that was exactly what I wanted to do.
We wandered up the street. Other than the house next door, the lots are all empty. They have the beginnings of paved driveways that end abruptly in a pile of dust and dirt just five feet onto the property. The trees are tall and beautiful and are interspersed with the unmistakable red bark of the arbutus trees that pepper the coastline here. Ok, that's it for my poetic writing.
We saw an older couple at the top of the first little hill, sitting on a rock and drinking beer. He was throwing rocks as far as he could and they were laughing and happy. As we walked past they were both saying "battah-battah-battah-battah-suhwwwiiiinnnggg battah!" We exchanged pleasantries and once we were out of earshot, Stef and I speculated that they were sitting there dreaming about the house they are going to build on that lot.
We meandered up and down the hills and talked about life, love, God and nature. I told Stefanie that this was so exactly what I wanted to be doing and that these kinds of walks totally feed my soul and make me happy. We turned around and planted ourselves on a rock looking out at the view and sat there talking and baking in the sun.
The property in front of where we were sitting dropped off in a steep cliff so that the lower branches of the tallest trees were at about eye level for us. I pointed to the tree directly ahead and said, "Dear God, please send us an eagle that will swoop down behind us so we can hear it's wings and have it land on that branch right there. Sincerely, kt."
About 5 seconds later a robin swooped in and landed on the equivalent branch on the tree beside the one I pointed to. ST and I looked at each other in surprise.
"Dear God, good job! Now, please send us an eagle and have it land on that branch right there. Sincerely, kt."
The "sincerely, kt." made Stef and I both erupt in giggles.
Again, about 5 seconds later another robin swooped in and landed on the branch below the one I was pointing to. ST and I looked at each other again in amazement and we laughed.
I need to point out here that it wasn't like these were two robins of many. These were the only two robins to have landed in these trees the whole time we were sitting there.
"Dear God, excellent job, thank you! This time I want you to really blow my mind and send us an eagle to that branch right there. Sincerely, kt."
We giggled and waited. After a minute or so, I said "I guess sometimes you have to wait to get what you ask for". We sat and talked and after another few minutes all of a sudden Stefanie exclaimed, "Oh my God, look over there!"
Over to our right and behind us a bit, an eagle was swooping in. It stayed to our right though and landed in a tree a few lots away. We figured that was the eagle that God sent us, so we decided to walk over there. It took us a minute to find the eagle in the tree but we did and it wasn't alone. It was in a nest with at least one other eagle.
We stood and watched it for a while. It swooped out of the nest and flew right past where we had be sitting and then curved back around to come back to it's nest. It flew in a tight bend around a tree and we heard a loud snap! It had a rather large twig in it's talons and was flying back home. We watched it do this another 2 or 3 times. Each time we were in awe and thankful to be watching such an amazing thing.
We walked back up the hill and found the rock that the couple had been sitting on. It was the perfect rock for two so Stef and I sat down on it. To the left of my foot, one of them had arranged 4 twigs into a square and I pointed it out to Stefanie. My gaze shifted more to the left and I noticed more twigs in shapes. It spelled something. I love poo too.
We laughed and laughed and reframed our impression of couples in their 50's.
We sat there for a while longer and finally headed back to the house. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful afternoon and I am so glad that Stefanie suggested it.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Pender Harbour
This is going to be a short post because I really should not be sitting in front of a computer right now. I am up in Pender Harbour with my sisters and some friends and everyone is out on the deck right now listening to Dane Cook. The view is spectaular and the weather is perfect; warm but not hot, cloudy but not overcast.
I am having a great time and am just now trying to decide how to spend my next half hour. I could open a beer and go join the gang on the patio or I could pour a glass of red wine and grab my very delicious book and curl up on a comfy chair.
I think I just made my decision - I added adjectives to only one of those options, I think that means something.
I am having a great time and am just now trying to decide how to spend my next half hour. I could open a beer and go join the gang on the patio or I could pour a glass of red wine and grab my very delicious book and curl up on a comfy chair.
I think I just made my decision - I added adjectives to only one of those options, I think that means something.
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Links to really cool things.
While perusing the interweb today, I came across some very cool things that I'd like to share.
These are really beautiful pictures of the earth taken from space. Incredibly humbling and awe inspiring. There are three in a row that I find particularly breathtaking. They are about halfway down the page starting with the dust storm over the Sahara Desert. Truly magnificent!http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/the_sky_from_above.html
Next we have classic photos redone using Lego. I am impressed that someone had this vision and carried it through to the finished product. Very fun to check out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/sets/72157602602191858/detail/
A Cooptown follower and fan sent me a link to this Youtube video of an animated cat trying to come inside. Very cute and funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4
or watch it above!
Well that`s it for today!
kt
These are really beautiful pictures of the earth taken from space. Incredibly humbling and awe inspiring. There are three in a row that I find particularly breathtaking. They are about halfway down the page starting with the dust storm over the Sahara Desert. Truly magnificent!http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/the_sky_from_above.html
Next we have classic photos redone using Lego. I am impressed that someone had this vision and carried it through to the finished product. Very fun to check out.http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/sets/72157602602191858/detail/
A Cooptown follower and fan sent me a link to this Youtube video of an animated cat trying to come inside. Very cute and funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4
or watch it above!
Well that`s it for today!
kt
Friday, 6 June 2008
Caterpillar
I was watching a movie a couple of nights ago and there was a caterpillar in one scene. It was in the foreground, crawling along a branch and I had a total body reaction to seeing it.
You see, I had completely forgotten that caterpillars exist. Living in the city, you just don't see them. I grew up in the burbs and caterpillars were everywhere. I have a picture of me at 5 years old, cupping one in my hands. I remember walking to school in the mornings and collecting them in empty coffee tins. We'd add grass and twigs and leaves and hope that they would be happy in their new home.
I started to think about city life and what other things are different about living away from the suburbs. Here's what I came up with;
In the city we don't have crickets chirping or frogs croaking. We have less spiders and they are much smaller than their suburban cousins. We have less lawn mowers mowing and by the time you notice them, they are quiet, since lawns here are so tiny. Instead, we have the sound of shopping carts being pushed down the lanes and alleys by the homeless people. I also see skunks on a regular basis which I don't think I ever saw in the suburbs.
As I write this, I can actually very faintly hear a lawn mower in the distance. I can hear a seagull cawing and someone coughing. Later this afternoon my downstairs neighbour will practice his trumpet and I will be grateful that he is kind of good at it.
The movie I was watching was Into The Wild and the caterpillar was only in frame for a second or two but in that short time, I realized that life in the city is very different than life in the suburbs in more ways than I generally think. I felt nostalgic for simpler times, for the days when caterpillars were just a part of my everyday life.
By the next morning, I had forgotten my nostalgia and was busy living my city life again. I came home from having breakfast with girlfriends and as I put my key in the door, I glanced to the left and there on the wall beside me was a fuzzy caterpillar. I stopped short and stared at it in awe. I gave it a little pet and thanked it for being there.
Some might say that because caterpillars were on my mind that I was more likely to notice one in my vicinity but I like to think of it as a gift from God. A fuzzy, little, brown and yellow gift from God.
You see, I had completely forgotten that caterpillars exist. Living in the city, you just don't see them. I grew up in the burbs and caterpillars were everywhere. I have a picture of me at 5 years old, cupping one in my hands. I remember walking to school in the mornings and collecting them in empty coffee tins. We'd add grass and twigs and leaves and hope that they would be happy in their new home.
I started to think about city life and what other things are different about living away from the suburbs. Here's what I came up with;
In the city we don't have crickets chirping or frogs croaking. We have less spiders and they are much smaller than their suburban cousins. We have less lawn mowers mowing and by the time you notice them, they are quiet, since lawns here are so tiny. Instead, we have the sound of shopping carts being pushed down the lanes and alleys by the homeless people. I also see skunks on a regular basis which I don't think I ever saw in the suburbs.
As I write this, I can actually very faintly hear a lawn mower in the distance. I can hear a seagull cawing and someone coughing. Later this afternoon my downstairs neighbour will practice his trumpet and I will be grateful that he is kind of good at it.
The movie I was watching was Into The Wild and the caterpillar was only in frame for a second or two but in that short time, I realized that life in the city is very different than life in the suburbs in more ways than I generally think. I felt nostalgic for simpler times, for the days when caterpillars were just a part of my everyday life.
By the next morning, I had forgotten my nostalgia and was busy living my city life again. I came home from having breakfast with girlfriends and as I put my key in the door, I glanced to the left and there on the wall beside me was a fuzzy caterpillar. I stopped short and stared at it in awe. I gave it a little pet and thanked it for being there.
Some might say that because caterpillars were on my mind that I was more likely to notice one in my vicinity but I like to think of it as a gift from God. A fuzzy, little, brown and yellow gift from God.
Monday, 2 June 2008
Shopping Spree
So much fun!
To me, shopping sprees are something you would see on 80's television. They aren't something that happens in real life to people who aren't guests on The Phil Donahue Show. But yesterday, I got to go on my very own shopping spree.
Luckily this wasn't one of those crappy, timed ones, where you get to keep everything you can grab in 2 minutes. I was able to take my time, and take my time, I did! I think my shop lasted almost 2 hours.
The reason for this shopping spree was just really good timing. I have a Shopper's Optimum card and have been collecting points for 5 years now without ever cashing them in. For those not in the Shopper's Optimum know, they have a reward system where you collect points for every dollar you spend at Shopper's and then they have reward levels. You can cash in points and get free stuff. It takes a lot of points to be able to really cash in.
Here I'll give you a low down of the levels.
3,500 points - save $5
7,000 - $10
15,000 - $25
30,000 - $55
40,000 - $75
75,000 - $150
I was very close to the 75, 000 level when they announced that this weekend they were doing a promo where if you have 40,000 points they will bump up your reward to $100 and if you have 75,000 points they will bump up your reward to $200. Since I was so close to 75,000 points I went shopping and stocked up on a bunch of necessities that I would be buying at some point anyways; Deodorant, moisturizer, sun screen, lint roller, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
That got me up to the highest reward level and on Sunday, I went for a 2 hour shopping spree. My goal was to get things that were fun and frivolous. I also wanted to be sure that I would only get things that I would really use and enjoy. So I spent the entire time in the cosmetic department and it was so much fun.
The most boring things that I got were a nail polish and a Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar and even those aren't that boring. The most fun things I got were lipsticks, eyeshadows (in the most fun colours), blush, moisturizers, primers and a brightener.
It's so fun being a girly girl!
And to top it all off, tonight I am going to see the Sex and The City movie!
To me, shopping sprees are something you would see on 80's television. They aren't something that happens in real life to people who aren't guests on The Phil Donahue Show. But yesterday, I got to go on my very own shopping spree.
Luckily this wasn't one of those crappy, timed ones, where you get to keep everything you can grab in 2 minutes. I was able to take my time, and take my time, I did! I think my shop lasted almost 2 hours.
The reason for this shopping spree was just really good timing. I have a Shopper's Optimum card and have been collecting points for 5 years now without ever cashing them in. For those not in the Shopper's Optimum know, they have a reward system where you collect points for every dollar you spend at Shopper's and then they have reward levels. You can cash in points and get free stuff. It takes a lot of points to be able to really cash in.
Here I'll give you a low down of the levels.
3,500 points - save $5
7,000 - $10
15,000 - $25
30,000 - $55
40,000 - $75
75,000 - $150
I was very close to the 75, 000 level when they announced that this weekend they were doing a promo where if you have 40,000 points they will bump up your reward to $100 and if you have 75,000 points they will bump up your reward to $200. Since I was so close to 75,000 points I went shopping and stocked up on a bunch of necessities that I would be buying at some point anyways; Deodorant, moisturizer, sun screen, lint roller, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
That got me up to the highest reward level and on Sunday, I went for a 2 hour shopping spree. My goal was to get things that were fun and frivolous. I also wanted to be sure that I would only get things that I would really use and enjoy. So I spent the entire time in the cosmetic department and it was so much fun.
The most boring things that I got were a nail polish and a Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar and even those aren't that boring. The most fun things I got were lipsticks, eyeshadows (in the most fun colours), blush, moisturizers, primers and a brightener.
It's so fun being a girly girl!
And to top it all off, tonight I am going to see the Sex and The City movie!
Friday, 23 May 2008
A break, a dent, a blip.
My car window got shattered today. A seemingly random act of vandalism. I like to imagine that it was a spinning karate kick in the air that took out my driver`s side window. Only because it would mean that my window went out in a blaze of (someone's) glory.
It happened at work and it just is what it is. The police don't really care, it just adds another number to their stats. Campus security shrugged and told me to call the non-emergency police line. As an afterthought, she wrote my name on a scrap of paper to put in their files.
My dear friend Emily was a rock. She took care of cleaning away the broken glass for me while I called ICBC. They also didn't care....at least the recording I listened to didn't seem to care.
Luckily the weather was lovely and I would have driven with my window rolled down anyways. Emily and I shared a blonde moment when I said I wonder what would happen if I tried rolling the window up and Em told me to try it and see. We both stared dumbfoundedly for a few seconds when nothing happened and then Emily clued in, "oh yeah, it already is up." (am I allowed to make blonde jokes? I never know.)
We took my car directly to a repair center. They vacuumed up the glass and did a beautiful job of taping up my window. I was able to make an appointment for tomorrow to get it repaired.
I had been doing a great job of staying zen up until I was told they could put plastic over the window for me. I had a moment though where I turned to Em and said "Now I am one of those people with a plastic window." When I mentioned to Lisa that I had a plastic window, even her initial reaction was "you can take the girl out of Surrey but you can't take the Surrey out of the girl." (I am pretty sure Lisa and I are allowed to make Surrey girl jokes)
To be completely fair, I need to tell you that the plastic/tape job is wonderful. At first glance it isn't remotely obvious that my window is not just a window. It`s much nicer than the safeway bag and silver electrician`s tape I had been imagining.
Now, the crappiest part of all is that it is going to cost me $312 to repair. Three hundred and twelve dollars and I didn't even get to witness the stunning scissor kick that took it out. That's a lot of money for absolutely no reason. Makes me feel like that much more of an adult. I`d like to shake the teenage boy (because come on, we all know it was a teenage boy who did it) and teach him the value of a dollar.
No one was injured, nothing was stolen, and all said and done it`s just a window in just a car. I can choose to get upset or I can choose to let it go. It sucks that I am out $312 but it won`t break me, it`s just a dent in my bank account and in the grand scheme of things it`s just a blip on the radar.
It happened at work and it just is what it is. The police don't really care, it just adds another number to their stats. Campus security shrugged and told me to call the non-emergency police line. As an afterthought, she wrote my name on a scrap of paper to put in their files.
My dear friend Emily was a rock. She took care of cleaning away the broken glass for me while I called ICBC. They also didn't care....at least the recording I listened to didn't seem to care.
Luckily the weather was lovely and I would have driven with my window rolled down anyways. Emily and I shared a blonde moment when I said I wonder what would happen if I tried rolling the window up and Em told me to try it and see. We both stared dumbfoundedly for a few seconds when nothing happened and then Emily clued in, "oh yeah, it already is up." (am I allowed to make blonde jokes? I never know.)
We took my car directly to a repair center. They vacuumed up the glass and did a beautiful job of taping up my window. I was able to make an appointment for tomorrow to get it repaired.
I had been doing a great job of staying zen up until I was told they could put plastic over the window for me. I had a moment though where I turned to Em and said "Now I am one of those people with a plastic window." When I mentioned to Lisa that I had a plastic window, even her initial reaction was "you can take the girl out of Surrey but you can't take the Surrey out of the girl." (I am pretty sure Lisa and I are allowed to make Surrey girl jokes)
To be completely fair, I need to tell you that the plastic/tape job is wonderful. At first glance it isn't remotely obvious that my window is not just a window. It`s much nicer than the safeway bag and silver electrician`s tape I had been imagining.
Now, the crappiest part of all is that it is going to cost me $312 to repair. Three hundred and twelve dollars and I didn't even get to witness the stunning scissor kick that took it out. That's a lot of money for absolutely no reason. Makes me feel like that much more of an adult. I`d like to shake the teenage boy (because come on, we all know it was a teenage boy who did it) and teach him the value of a dollar.
No one was injured, nothing was stolen, and all said and done it`s just a window in just a car. I can choose to get upset or I can choose to let it go. It sucks that I am out $312 but it won`t break me, it`s just a dent in my bank account and in the grand scheme of things it`s just a blip on the radar.
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