Elections

I swore I wasn't going to follow the election. I was going to boycott the media until mid-May but I can't help myself. I'm a junkie. I do love this country and I do care about its future. I don't think Harper is a good fit for the kind of Canada I want to live in. Sadly though, I'm in one of those ridings that is rabidly Conservative so my vote is really just a "Hey, I don't want you for my MP!" shout out. Maybe someday, but this guy does so well every election it may not be in my lifetime. He is one of the more silent of the silent 13 though. Except when he's apologizing to a Supreme Court Judge, or resigning from a Commons Cttee for inappropriate comments. But, nevermind. Your mileage may vary and I respect that. That is one thing I have noticed in this campaign. A very real and frightening lack of respect for differing views. Reminds me a bit of some recent American elections :(
Laughs are few and far between in this campaign so here's my contribution. It's non-partisan and even 'politically correct'.


While walking down the street one day a 'Member of Parliament' is

tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems
there's a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you
see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is
have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose
where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes
down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the
middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing
in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with
him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake
his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich
at the expense of the people.


They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and
champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who
has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They're having such a
good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where
St. Peter is waiting for him.

'Now it's time to visit heaven.'

So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls
moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now
choose your eternity.'

The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never
have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would
be better off in hell.'

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down
to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a
barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and
putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't
understand,' stammers the MP. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a
golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne,
and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of
garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning...

Today you voted.'

Community Walk

This one was fun! I've used Google Maps alot to find my way around different places I've visited.  I took a virtual tour of the Jack the Ripper sites in modern day London using Google Maps. (I know, dark but fascinating still). I've used Google Earth for quite awhile as well,  (exploring the ocean and the stars was great fun).  I love things like this so I found Community Walk very interesting as well. I'm glad this was included in the 23 Things because I've always thought GIS and on-line mapping was dry, boring and statistical and it's nice to find out I was wrong.

Bookmarking and Widgets

I like Diigo. I admit I'm slow to embrace new technologies but I liked Diigo almost immediately. Just being able to find a page at home that I have bookmarked at work (and vice versa) makes this a great tool! All the other add ons are like icing on the cake. ;-) Up until now I'd have to send myself an email with the URL. Won't have to do that anymore.
I'd already added the Countdown gadget to my IG page. Tried to countdown to my retirement but it only goes to 999 days and ...oh dear...I'm tearing up again.
I'm not counting down to the end of the Thing program because that will also be the end of my vacation. And I'm not going to torture myself by going there...

Social Networking

Okay, something I'm familiar with. I have a Facebook page. I rarely remember to check it. I don't have very many friends but I have lots of requests from people I've never heard of asking to be my friend. I must be old school because I don't get it. You don't know me but you want to be my friend?? Am I being too literal?  I also don't play any of the games on Facebook. Some people really enjoy them but I'm not one of them.  I seem to spend most of my time on Facebook tweaking my settings because Facebook keeps changing the rules and assumes I want the world to see ME. I don't hate it, but I'm not really a fan either. I do check other facebook pages though for news and traffic updates (Global Saskatoon for instance gives good traffic reports). And I had never gone to the library facebook page before this week either. I think it all just operates outside of my 'sphere of consciousness' (for lack of a better phrase). I'm not terribly social so social networking isn't high on my list of places to go, do and see. And who the heck is Catlady and why does she want me to join her on Plaxo (whatever THAT is)?  Once a month without fail I get that email.  Apparently she's waiting for my response.
Twitter...never going to happen. I did my homework and created an account. (My password is weak, it's ALWAYS weak, how else am I going to remember it?). None of my preferred user names were available so I'll forget my user name within the hour anyway. I don't like Twitter. I don't like reading tweets. I don't like the thought of having to count characters and trying to compress my thoughts.  That's why  I don't text on cell phones. Okay, I don't HAVE a cell phone but if I did I wouldn't text. I texted once on my son's phone to see what the excitement was all about. How do people do this while they are driving???


Twitter must be where I draw that line in the sand. Or else I'm just having an exceptionally cranky day. ;-)

Vidh

"Widow (n) - An Indo-European word linked to the Sanskrit vidh, meaning to be empty, to lack."

Vidh A Book of Mourning by Phyllis Nakonechny is the best book I have read in years. I highly recommend it for anyone who has dealt with or is dealing with grief and loss. I just felt in awe after reading this book. Phyllis wrote a series of small 'essays' after her husband died of cancer but you don't have to have lost a spouse or partner for this book to resonate with you. Over and over throughout the book I had a "Yes that's it" moment of something I had experienced when dealing with my own grief after losing Mom and Dad. This following excerpt was one of those "Yes, that`s it!" moments....

    I sit under a great pine. It is cool here. The light of the July sun filters through the spaces between trees, yet its heat cannot reach my heart.

    Perhaps the beauty of words.

    I turn to the book of poetry I have brought with me. Since your death I have not been able to read. I have been unable to focus. Still, I refuse to accept this loss and carry a book with me always.

   I flip from page to page.

   The words stay flat, inert and empty.


I really don't feel I can do this book justice with this blog. If you read only one book this year let it be this one. It left me so grateful she had written it and so grateful I had read it.

A quick search on the 'net brought up these other reviews for this small yet hugely powerful book.

"This paean of love and loss speaks to the depths of human dignity and the eternity of love and loving. Exquisitely written by Nakonechny, Vidh - A Book of Mourning is at once a celebration of the human condition and a reminder of the importance to the human spirit of memory as a way of triumphing over the deepest losses." Jurors, First Book Award, Saskatchewan Book Awards***

"I wanted to tell you how much I have loved your book and how utterly wonderful your writing is. I wept all the way through, sometimes for sorrow, sometimes for joy and often just moved that someone can write what I feel. I have lost no great loved one, but I had an accident eight years ago in which I lost a lot - two years in hospitals, paraplegia and half a leg, and my accustomed life. The loss of walking on the earth is the greatest loss I can imagine. The grieving never seems to end, because I'm reminded of it every time a friend comes by or I see people walking past my window. That's all, just thank you and I will never let that little book go."Joy McCall***

"I sat alone on Thursday night and read your exquisitely evocative book. It is a book for all who love or have loved someone. When I put the book down, I was enriched. The insights I now embrace have revealed a kind of dawn for me. I am indebted to you and I am honoured to be so. Thank you doesn't seem to be enough and yet it is all I can say."Wendy Swann***

Thank you for writing Vidh…. I have not seen such powerful grief expressed on paper… I have said many times that our society does not allow people to grieve and we are so uncomfortable with those who have suffered a great loss. How wrong! How Sad! I know I will be giving many copies to friends in the years to come .Joanne Balint***

Photosharing

I'm a sucker for sky pictures. Probably because I live in Saskatchewan where we are all sky. Flickr is a great site for pictures. You can really spend alot of time there. Later this week I think I'll try editing some photos as suggested in Optional.
If I ever use this site or one like it for my personal photos I would definitely make them private. There's too much of me on the 'interweb' already.

Photo by shawnsolo.

Recent work on my house..

My youngest son has started a new contracting business. (He wanted to work for himself). He does amazing work. Luckily for me, he honed his talents on my house. I have some beautiful custom rooms in my little home and I thought I'd share some of them with you.
We converted one of the bedrooms into a laundry room. This is the only room in the house that I've remained ambiguous about the paint colour. I don't HATE it like everyone else around here does but I haven't embraced it either. I think it's a good laundry room/spare room colour. I love the custom framework around the window and how he hid the dryer vents over the washer and dryer.

This next room is MY room. I'm surrounded by books and things I love, I have my TV, DVD player, CD player, laptop and a comfortable chair. I LOVE the colours in this room. He built the shelving.

Next up, my kitchen. It was horrible. I'm too embarassed to put up a before picture. But now, it is incredible. We kept the cupboard frames, Allan built the doors and drawers, moved the sink, added a dishwasher, installed the countertop and backsplash, added undercupboard and over cupboard lighting, a valance, soft close doors and drawers, pull out pantry shelves (built the pantry as well). And I LOVE the colours.

AND, last but not least I have a new bathroom. I LOVE this bathroom. I love the colours, the custom trims, the flooring, the lighting, the bathtub....everything. It was finished while I was away on a trip with my sister. The boys took the pictures and when I got back they had the big reveal. I've since added accessories and towels.

Now, I just have to pay for all this..and then retire. ha!

My oldest son, Bryan, a wonderful graphic artist is creating a website for Allan's business. He's come up with his logo and business card.

Anyway, I feel blessed. And wanted to share. :-)