Happy Halloween

The girls know their Auntie is about to tromp around the globe and they are acutely aware of my sorrow over not being able to see Africa on this excursion. They decided to bring Africa to me instead and came over dressed as a itty bitty elephant and a wittle zebra. They were deliciously adorable and it took everything in me to not squeeze them to bits.

Typical -- Avery pissed off and Peyton just hanging out. 

The cutest little elephant I have ever seen. 

Pretty Peyt.  

These girls are just too much some times. Most times. 

Gah! I just love them.

I know there are too many pictures here, but I just couldn't resist!  

Aren't they sweet?

...

I love my husband. I love him for many reasons, but this little note I found on the computer when I came home from work this morning shows just one of them. The note was absolutely necessary and I got frustrated even with the warning. Oh, he knows me so well that husband of mine. 

Eshlas,

This is the new operating system OSX Mountain Lion. It will run slower for a little while; especially when opening programs that haven't been open yet. Plan for it to take longer. If you find you are feeling frustrated then count backwards from ten and go from there. Please refrain from throwing or stomping the macbook. I would imagine that iPhoto will take the longest due to the thirty thousand pictures you have on it. Please be patient and don't say that this machine sucks.

Thank you,

Irk

A few things not to panic about.
-The scrolling has changed direction. Move your two fingers on the track pad up to scroll down and vice versa
-Microsoft word no longer is support by this operating system but documents can be opened with "pages"
-We will have to download Skype again

Music Monday

Hello Mondains,

I have to admit, sometimes it gets to me. If you have never heard of or read the book "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" I highly recommend it. I remember my father reading it to me as a child. I didn't remember what it was about but I did remember that it was sad. I read it this past year and I very much connected by its insight, pace, and descriptive qualities. The most powerful description that I remember is the narrator talking about a "depth of sadness" that could be scene in a certain people group's eyes. As soon as I heard that term I knew it. I knew it in the sense that I had always known it but now it had been identified; the best kind of learning.

I see the depth of sadness every day. I see it in the eyes and actions of the people I serve. I hear it when I speak with their family members. I watch it take hold of others who endeavor to serve those in need. I feel it within. Pain is complicated and it does not wait to be introduced.

Some days it gets to me more than others. It is always present but most of the time I understand that I can only provide opportunity and I cannot control other people's decisions. This thought keeps me in line and gives me the desire to continue. I provide opportunity.

This is Neil Young and these are his songs Needle and the damage done and No more performed on Saturday Night Live.


Neil Young-The Needle And The Damage Done-No... by f838349870

Until next time...

EO

P.S. If you like I Heard The Owl Call My Name then I suggest your read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. These three books are almost like a trilogy written by different people in three different cultures. They each compliment each other brilliantly. A little warning though I heard the owl call my name is the most hopeful of the three, the other two are downright depressing.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend! 

*** *** ***

Music Monday

Hello,

Today is a follow up day. I said a while ago that I would find out more about the genre of dubstep as I have been interested in it for a while. I did some research. Apparently:

Dubstep started in the UK club scene back in the mid to late 90's. It is dance or electronica music characterized by it's use of low frequency bass "wobble" and repetitive drum beats. When it started it was mainly just instrumental remixes but gained popularity in the UK throughout the 2000's finally becoming very popular in the late 2000's and in the past two years in the US. Dubstep is also known as Grime but there are a couple distinct sub-genres. The one that most of us in North America would know first is called "brostep" this is bass and drum fused with heavy metal such as heard from Skrillex and others. Another popular variant is "chillstep" which usually features a much more mellow sound and usually a female voice.

Dubstep's influence is widespread today being incorporated into many different genres from pop to dance to heavy metal.

Here are a few artists who are credited with starting or developing the dubstep scene:

Benga-  One of the first artists credited with developing the dubstep sound. This song is a hit from the mid 2000's.

Plastician- An artist credited with the development of dubstep in the mid 2000's.

Skream- Now a dubsted producer. This song definitely gives you the distinct bass wobble of dubstep.

Now the piece for resistance. This is Flux Pavilion with Bass Cannon.

On second thought I need to provide two warnings:

1) If you happen to be my mother you probably will want to opt out of listening to this as you will only ask "why would anyone want to listen to that" after it is done.

2) If you do not have a speaker system with a sub-woofer you will not understand. If you do have such a device, crank it up to eleven and let the soothing sounds of dubstep concuss you.



That's all for now. Until next time keep your steps dubbed.

EDO

a little project

Knitting inspiration has been lacking so I decided to try my hand at sewing. I've had my eye on a pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Homemade Beginnings and have decided that it is time to make it.

I started by cutting strips of various widths. It was tough cutting up such beautiful fabric... I have been saving some of it for something wonderful. I passed up a few of the fat quarters, but came back to them deciding that there is never a time like the present to make them into something beautiful.

After cutting for days and weeks (you know, a few strips here and there) it finally came time to sew the strips together. I did this today before work and I must say, it is always fun to see things come together. My quilt will look nothing like the one in the book aside from the fact that it is predominantly blue. Mine will have much less variety -- I have fewer fabrics than the original. But I'm excited to see how it turns out none-the-less.

After sewing my strips into even longer strips I rolled them all up so they can wait until I have time to work on the next portion of the project.

I'm a little worried that I don't have enough strips cut... or that I have too many. I can't be sure how many are required until I have actually tried to assemble to quilt.  I can always cut more and I guess I can always make a pillow if I have too many.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

TMI

This will probably be too much information for many of you so feel free to stop reading now. Consider this a fair warning.

When I turned 25 (in January) I started noticing my body changing. These changes were gradual, or at least they started that way, and I didn't really notice anything until June.

I've never really cared about body hair. Anyone I ever played sports with can attest to the fact that I did not (and still don't) mind living life on the hairy side. I'm not bothered by body hair (and Erik doesn't mind too much either... double bonus!) so I just leave it if I'm feeling lazy. Take the current state of my legs, for example, I think the last time I had them waxed was in August. (I can almost hear some of you vomiting, but I'll press on anyway.)  I've had my legs and armpits waxed many many times since grade 11 and that helped reduce the amount of hair I produced. My hair became finer and lesser and it was wonderful.

Then came my 25th birthday and a slew of what I can only imagine are hormonal changes. My body hair has started growing thicker and more coarse than ever before! As I said before, I didn't really notice any changes until June when the weather warmed up and I started paying attention to such things as grooming and presentability. Ugh! That was unwelcome. So I turned 25 and got extra hairy. Big woop.

That wasn't the only thing that changed.

I only have two "normal" bras (bras not of the sport variety) as I tossed all my others when I decided to purchase brassieres that actually fit. My two over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders (haven't heard that one in while) are identical but for the size of the cups -- one is a bit bigger than the other. The reason for this is simple, when I went to purchase my second brassiere I necessitated a slightly different size than I had previously. No biggie.

I didn't realize it at first, but since that blessed day in January when my body decided to play tricks on me I have been gravitating towards one particular bra. At first I attributed it to the annoying clasp that I keep needing to re-bend into place on the one. This was a nuisance so I assumed I was just avoiding that bra. It wasn't until June that I realized I liked the smaller bra because it actually fit better. A lot better. It went from being "yeah, I can still squeeze into this" to "yeah the ladies feel better in here".

The ladies are shrinking. 

In the four weeks Erik was gone for fishing the change was outrageous. So outrageous, in fact, that it was the first thing Erik commented on when he saw me again.

I've started fitting into clothing I haven't fit in years. The dress I wore to Joel's wedding, for example, wouldn't even zip up at the chest in the years between Zac's wedding and Joel's wedding. At the time of Joel's wedding it was a tad loose (I wore the same dress to each of their weddings... five years apart). 

I am back to the size I was in high school! I know that may not sound like a huge size difference, but it is incredible actually. The seem tiny even though I know they aren't. I can't even wear my one bra because the girls don't even fill half of it. Interestingly, my overall weight hasn't changed in this time. It has just been distributed differently and the bulk of it now sits lovingly around my midsection.

At first I was worried -- I thought something may be wrong with me because my chest was shrinking so incredibly fast, but I have been diligent and have been checking for lumps and bumps and there are none to speak of. I'm chalking it up to hormones... or age... or something. If it is hormonal, it hasn't effected me in any way other than physically, I don't think. I haven't had any emotional lability that I know of.

Have any of you experienced anything similar? Ever?

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a cozy weekend!  

*** *** ***

0410

What am I doing up at 4:10 AM? I have no idea. After tossing and turning in bed for the past two hours I decided to have pity on my poor husband and to vacate the premises. So, I am now sitting in our freezing cold living room (why didn't I remember to grab my slippers?) staring out the window.

This may be the only time I ever say this but I wish it was snowing right now. There is nothing more cozy than staring out the window watching the snow fall. Though I guess this is most true when there is a fire crackling away, a cup of tea steeping, and some knitting clacking on the needles. Or a baby to snuggle.

For now, the stillness of the early morning hour is lovely enough for me.

not-so-happy

Lindsey and Adrian took the girls to Edmonton for two weeks. They just came home on Sunday and I got to spend a little time with the babes while Mama went for an oil change and something or other. I don't think the girls were too happy to be left with their now stranger-of-an-auntie.

I hate to admit it, but they were both crying within 15 minutes of Lindsey being gone -- they realized their Ma had abandoned them and left them with me, someone who looked and sounded a bit like her, but didn't smell right.

What do you do when you have two tiny screaming children?

Well, if you're me, the first thing you do is snap a quick picture. They were a bit comical really, they have completely distinct wails. Avery's lungs are definitely more powerful and she was just giving 'er. Peyton seemed to be screaming in solidarity to her sister.

L'il P quit crying as soon as I snapped the first photo. The clicking of the camera seemed more interesting than whatever her younger sister was screeching about. Aves just kept on hollering.

How do you actually calm two upset little ones? Well, I piled them on top of each other and rocked/bounced them until they both seemed content. Poor Avery is bigger so she had to support her sister's weight. She didn't seem to mind though -- they're close like that. I eventually had the two of them suspiciously inspecting me.

And they went back to loving me and smiling. Phewf!

Aren't they just darling?

Locks of Love - Part Two.

In January of 2007 I cut my hair and donated it to locks of love. Well, just yesterday I did the same thing.

I decided that my hair was too long for traveling. How often will I really be showering?? And that long raggedy mess would surely irritate me to no end. So, I decided to cut it to a more manageable length. I didn't want it too short, but my desired length would have meant I was cutting 8 inches off -- just 2 inches shy of the minimum for donation. With that in mind, I decided to chop off a few extra inches because if you're that close then why not donate it??

11.5 inches later (just to be safe).

I liked it better yesterday. After the hair dresser did it for me.

I liked it less this morning. After my shower I tried my usual hairstyle... letting my hair air dry. And let me tell you, it did not look good. Frizzy and awkwardly kinked/wavy. It thankfully fits in a ponytail so that is how I am currently sporting it. Maybe I will be adventurous and try "do my hair" tomorrow. 

Music Monday!

Hello Mondains,

Here we are again another Monday. As I sit here I have been listening (or trying not to listen) to a car alarm that seems to have been possessed by an evil spirit. It has been going off for about two hours now. Sometimes it sounds like a real alarm but for the most part it sounds as if someone gave a giant toddler a giant penny whistle and a 500cc injection of caffeine at the same time. I just stepped outside and found out that it's my neighbors Chrysler making all the noise and it could also resemble a remote key-less entry double beep noise streamed rapidly together with a fluctuating pitch. Strange but true.

Now to the music! This is a song called My body is a cage by Arcade Fire. I like the song but what really catches me is the video that I have posted with it. It is a fan made video that takes clips from the movie "Once upon a time in the west" and patches it together. I am struck by how well the song and video correlate. In fact it was so much so that I had to watch the movie and I am thankful that I did because it was also fascinating and well done. Though the artists don't know that they did, I am happy for this collaboration between mediums.

My Body is a Cage from JT Helms on Vimeo.

Coincidentally the main theme of the song that of the body being a cage is not a new idea. It has been around for centuries and is repeated in many different religions and philosophies. Most notably the Christian gnostics of the second century. Gnosticism is based on the idea that matter is evil and the way of salvation is through knowledge ("gnosis" is an ancient Greek word which translates into the english "knowledge"). It is interesting to me that this idea would spring up in such away again. Interesting.

Until next time, keep the one you love on the dance floor.

EO

Here is ye ol' wiki link for Gnosticism

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a peaceful weekend! 

*** *** ***

:: right now ::

I don't know if you like SouleMama, but if you do, you will probably recognize this.

 Right now, I am...

:: watching the leaves on the tree across the street change colour. It is happening so fast I think I actually saw another one turn yellow (ok brown) just now. 

:: staring at a pile of laundry that needs to be folded, a pile of fabric scraps that need to be sewn, a pile of buttons that need to be put on almost-done-knitting projects, and at a pile of cards that I meant to send last year. 

:: thinking I should really follow through with my ideas a bit better. 

:: hoping to find some inspiration so I can get those needles clacking again. 

:: hearing the hum of the dishwasher. I love having a dishwasher. 

:: wondering where we will be a year from now. In Kelowna, I'm sure, but where will we live, what Erik will be doing, what our lives will look like? 

:: feeling grateful for a weekend full of family, friends and food. 

:: wishing that the sun I see streaming into my neighbours windows would shine in mine. Sadly we have no direct sunlight. 

:: planning a weekend away with my girlfriends. 

:: waiting for some lovely fabric I ordered from Hawthorne Threads to arrive. 

:: anticipating making some of these. I think it's time for Mama and me to have a craft date. And wouldn't my nieces look darling in those?

:: deleting photos from the computer. Maybe it will be a little less overwhelming to put them into photobooks now. Or when I'm done purging my massive excess of photos... I think it's going to be a long process. 

:: smelling the beeswax candle burning on the table beside me. 

:: feeling irritated by the hair that has been shed all over my floor. We are adding to it quicker than I can rid my house of it!!

:: sipping on some tea. 

:: wishing my dear niece a happy birthday. I cannot believe she is nineteen! 

:: begging time to slow down just a little bit -- I'm not ready to leave yet. 

:: stressing just a wee bit about planning our trip. 

:: getting very excited about traveling all the same. 

:: wishing you a lovely Thursday afternoon where you are!

text message

My husband received this text message from my niece this morning.

Hey so I locked the bathroom door somehow... My morning has been full of stuff like this... But I can't get it unlocked. And I need to leave for school. Is it ok if I leave it locked? Maybe you can try get it unlocked.

Oh Jessica, what are we going to do with you?

<><><>

My mind is far too busy to form complete and articulate thoughts. I feel as though our trip is sneaking up on us -- there is still so much planning to do! We are keeping our itinerary bare, but there are still so many decisions we need to make and things we need to book. Scotland needs to be booked in full before we go. I need to have a chat with Lynnagin about Australia (or many chats rather). I have a couple friends who have traveled around South East Asia that I am hoping to meet up with. I have to make an appointment at the travel clinic to see if we need any vaccinations. We need to decide what to pack and what we still need to buy (which seems like so many things).

We are leaving in 10 weeks.

My dear friend, Milena, is due in 8 weeks so I am essentially a write off after that. I plan on spending as much time as possible with her and that little baby.

My family is taking a trip to Mexico in 6.5 weeks so I really only have 6.5 weeks to finish up our planning and most of our decision making. Oh boy. 

Music Monday

Hello Mondains,

I'm back, at least for the next couple of months before we leave for our grand adventure.

I've got some good music in store and hopefully some enjoyable useless knowledge you'resofondof.

For today, this hour, this very minute, I think that you should enjoy this:



Beggar in the morning by the Barr Brothers. An excellent track. In fact I had this in my head the entire six hours it took me to ride my motorcycle to Spokane, WA from Kelowna. No joke, the e-n-t-i-r-e time.

Until next time keep your belts loose and your triggers tight.

EeyOh!

it's official.

Flights are booked. Semi-world Tour -- here we come!

Want a rough outline? If not, stop reading here.

We have decided to see South America and South East Asia. Well, parts of both as it would be impossible to see everything. We are also doing a little stop over in Scotland to visit some dear friends of ours and then, when my loving husband comes home, I will be making my way to Australia to visit Lynn and to travel around a bit (money depending).

Oh! Before I continue I feel it important to announce that I received a Leave of Absence from work!!! I applied for it thinking it would never (and I do mean never) happen. But, this means that at least half of our family will have work when we return to Kelowna. I am so relieved! It takes a weight off my shoulders and gives us a guaranteed income for when we get home (Erik is leaving his job before we go). My manager approved it yesterday and since then I have been doubly excited for this trip.

Back to the rough outline.

South America
- Nine Weeks.
- Fly in and out of Lima, Peru.
- Hoping to see Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.
- We are predicting that most of our time will be spent between Peru and Ecuador.

Scotland
- Two Weeks.
- At a bit of an added cost we decided to fly through Europe rather than Asia.
- You see, we have good friends in Scotland and we would love to see them.
- Flying into Amsterdam and taking a ferry (probably) to Scotland.
- Maybe a few days in Amsterdam before heading to Kurt and Erin's.
- Maybe a road trip to Ireland. 

South East Asia
- Thirteen Weeks.
- We haven't thought about this one much. I'm hoping to meet with a co-worker who lived there for a while.

*At this point, Erik will return home to go fishing in Alaska and I will continue on solo. 

Australia
- Three weeks.
- That's a long time.
- Stay at Lynn's.
- Maybe travel alone a bit.
- Maybe convince Lynn to travel a bit with me.


As I have said before, and I'm sure I will say again, any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Doesn't it sound exciting? I can't believe it is actually happening -- we are actually leaving on this grand adventure. It is surreal and, like my trip to Africa, it probably won't hit me until part way through the actual trip. I am so excited though!

Leaving December 20, 2012. 

Many more updates to come.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend!  

*** *** *** 

Picture us buying tickets for our grand adventure. 

True Story. 

Erik's Baby

Erik's "moe-moe-bike", as Sawyer affectionately calls it.
Erik's baby, as I much less affectionately call it.
Erik's pride and joy, as he would probably call it.

His Honda Shadow.
His motorcycle.  

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. It is obviously so much fun to ride on, but there a couple things I am not too pumped about.

First of all, it is so unsafe! I trust Erik implicitly, but it's the other yahoos on the road that I'm not so sure of. And not just the yahoos, but unexpected road conditions (gravel, an unseen bump, etc etc). You have a lot less time to recover a mistake on a bike than you do in a car. And the implications of an accident are much more serious if said accident happens on a bike rather than in a car. Yes, you can ride as safe as can be and can take every precaution to remain that way, but there are so many elements out of your control and so much less grace when on a motorcycle.

Secondly, let's be honest for a moment, the motorcycle is a toy. A very expensive and, as previously mentioned, very dangerous toy. But we already talked a bit about the danger so let's move on to the expense. Wowza is that thing expensive. I knew it would be, but Erik had some blinders on when he made the decision to purchase the bike. There is insurance, gear, maintenance, licensing, etc. And all for a toy.

I have made some rules in light of the dangers associated with motorcycles. Erik can only ride it if he is wearing no less than jeans, his riding jacket, close-toed shoes, and his helmet (obviously). This has come down from his riding pants, riding jacket, riding boots, and a full-face helmet. I do not ride it unless I have close-toed shoes, jeans, a leather jacket, and the full-face helmet. When it is 40+ degrees out this can get quite hot. My stomach turns when I see people riding motorcycles in shorts and tank tops though! It is so irresponsible. 

All of that being said, I love riding with Erik. I'm never scared, but I'm always aware of what could happen.

We took the bike to my family reunion in August. I wouldn't recommend six hours on a seat that is 8 inches by 12 inches and hard as wood, but it was fun none-the-less. Erik has gone on a couple trips to Washington with it as well, but we have mainly stuck close to home. We have had a few couple-hour cruises around the Okanagan. The insurance has expired so the bike will be wintering at my parent's house, but we did go on one last cruise with Kevin and Mandi on Saturday. I think it would be fun to go on an actual road trip with them next summer. Mandi has her own bike so I will have the freedom to jump from Erik's bike to Kevin's more comfortable cruiser throughout the trip to give my derriere a bit of a break.

I am surprised I didn't tell you about the bike sooner. It is Erik's pride and joy. He's quite disappointed that he won't get to ride it for another 9 months, but I think he will be a little bit preoccupied for most of that time. Traveling the world has that affect on you.