Just some holiday pics ...

Our Kayak Girl out on Hardy Bay ... a sunrise in Jasper ... group photo as we pause at Mt Robson ... and my personal fav - the world's largest water bomber at work over Galiano Island!!!

Got Thoreau??

I've had the experience of reading Thoreau's Walden, while sitting on a beach in the sunshine, watching eagles flying over head, listening to the surf roll in, and hearing the ravens arguing with one another ... What better place, or better way to hear the timeless words of one who, over 160 years ago understood in a clarion way, the importance of valuing what is TRULY IMPORTANT.

I've gleaned wonderful little nuggets from Thoreau ...

His observation of houses that they are simply a place where we eat and sleep is soooo true. Even though we've filled our homes with toys and trinkets and stuff - do we really need any of it?? Today watching the footage from Lebanon and Israel, it causes us to pause and consider that the most important things in life are those we can carry in our hearts and our arms ... each other, our partners, our children, our relationships ...

I also like Thoreau's comment that no matter how opulent a house is - it remains simply the front porch of the cellar !!

He goes on to muse that all you really need is a bed to sleep in, a chair to sit in, a table to sit at, and a stove to cook food over and keep you warm ... everything else is extra ... Admittedly a couch or sofa to crash on would be nice ... but ... maybe Henry David is right ... Maybe a simplifying of our lives and our society wouldn't be a bad idea ...

The final thought for today comes from the enjoyment Thoreau took in wandering up and down the shores of Walden, and crossing its waters throughout the seasons ... he describes in rich detail the inhabitants that share the pond with him, and the beautiful scenery that surrounded him ... I wonder if we have the courage and the vision to hear those words and to try to appreciate the simple things around us ...

An eagle circling lazily overhead is a stunning sight ... a robin hopping in our garden is beautiful ... and a young blue jay learning to fly in our driveway ... well, all of them are gifts from the hands of a generous and wonderful creator ... Maybe we just need to pause and say - "Thanks" once in awhile ...

Found amongst the ashes and debris ...

Yesterday, we spent the day doing some yard clean up ... it's been so warm and moist around here, the trees and shrubs have had a good season to grow, and so, after a long afternoon of hacking and cutting and sawing, there was quite a pile of stuff to go to the dump. Thanks to the loan of a friend's pick up, the kids and I managed to gather all the branches and sticks and twigs and take them out to the compost site on the north end of town.

While we unloaded them, my 12 yr old son S--, asked: "Where did they put the church after they dug out the foundation?"

I answered, "At the Old Dump."

"Weren't you going to go and look through it?" he asked.

"Yeah ..." I answered hesitantly, "but I never went ..."

We then finished unloading the pick up and headed back down the short gravel road. At the pavement we had a choice - left to go back home, or right to go to the old dump ...

We turned right ...

S-- and I climbed under the gate of the now closed and defunct dump and walked back in to where the debris has lain since it was dumped there in February ... It was startling to see how big and area is covered with what was once the Church and its contents ...

We walked over the debris field, we poked around a bit and identified a variety of things ... We found a dozen or more little shoes from the pre-school who had called the basement home for many years ... I recalled the article in the Winnipeg Sun, and the comments made by the little kids about where their shoes had gone ... I found some of them in amongst the ash and the broken brick and shattered wood ...

Then on top of the pile I found it ... my pulpit New Jerusalem Bible ... I bought it the summer of my ordination at a used book store in Stratford ... it cost me less then 30 dollars ... I had used it in Bella Coola BC, Port Hardy BC, Langley BC, and of late here in Minnedosa ...

There it sat at my feet ... it was charred, dirty, and more then a little water damaged ... it's cover and the first 460+ pages were missing - but much of it is still intact and readable.

I laughed ... tears welled up in my eyes ... and I tucked it under my arm ...

After six months of sitting here through the snow, the rain, the sun and the wind ... it had survived ...

It will never be used in worship again, but it survived the fire, the excavation and now the withering heat of a prairie summer ... I carried it out of the dump ...

I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but for now I'm just delighted to have found an old "friend" who has travelled along way with me ... I'll honour that journey somehow ...

For now I'll just cherish the gift ... and I'll hope I don't get in trouble for admitting to trespassing ...

The Fallen ... Heroes in Life, Not Death ...

They died in the service of our Country ...

They died too young ...

They join the ranks of those remembered in Ottawa on the Canadian Police and Peace Officer's Memorial, where their names will be engraved along with others who have fallen on duty ...

Their deaths are senseless, and are a reminder of how precious our freedom truly is.

They are OUR Heroes:
We shall NOT forget them:

IN Memory of:
Const. Robin Cameron, aged 29,
and
Const. Marc Bourdages, aged 26.

We remember their families, particularly their children, in our thoughts and prayers today and in the days to come.

The fallen have paid the ultimate sacrifice, their families will never forget ... nor should we!!

(...To Visit the website for the Canadian Police and Peace Officer's Memorial,

simply click on the title for this entry ... )

A Book Review ...

I am an avid reader ... in the last few weeks I've gotten back to reading the way I usually do ... (the fire and the follow up lead to a dearth of reading on my part ...)

Recently a friend loaned me a fabulous book about one family's experience running Chinese Food Cafes on the Canadian Prairies.

It's important to remember that almost every Prairie Town of any size had in the past a Chinese Food Cafe and a Chinese run laundry. Many of the workers who helped build the various railway lines stayed on and worked in the two areas left open for them: food and laundry. There is an irony that Chinese Canadians struggled to be, and to feel included in Canadian society, yet our forefathers who wouldn't let them be full citizens, who wouldn't let them join service clubs, who wouldn't let them participate in community events had no qualms about entrusting those same non-citizens to care for the intimate aspects of life like food and clothing ... It's a strange and ironic twist.

Even with a plethora of Chinese Food Cafes and restaurants across the country, the families who ran them lived a challenging existence. Often they were on the very margins of society. Looked to for food and service, but never fully fitting in. Their was a bittersweet existence. Every town had their cafe, but seldom do those who ran them appear in the history of the community.

But thanks to the effort of Janice Wong, the story of her family's journey from the West Coast to Prince Albert Saskatchewan, and the hard work her parents shared in running Wings Cafe and Lotus Cafe in that north town, are now recorded in a delightful book or memories, pictures and recipes.

Chow. From China to Canada: Memories of Food and Family (White Cap Books, North Vancouver 2005) is a delightful memoir of an important chapter in our collective history as told through the eyes of one who was there. Janice shares the story of her family, along with some of her family's favourite recipes in an easily approachable way. She tells of the challenges and the joys of being a Chinese Canadian on the vast Prairies, where they stood out, yet were an integral part of the fabric of each town.

Ms. Wong weaves her story with pictures and recipes that celebrate her heritage, and in today's multi-ethnic Canadian landscape remind us that in the past there were many ethnic groups who helped make this country what it is today.

If you've ever had a meal at a Chinese Cafe on the prairies, or hold memories of place like Minnedosa's Dominion Cafe or Lee's ... then this is a book worth picking up. Even though it is the story of one family's experience running one of those cafes, it has a universal message. It tells the story of a family who danced between many cultures - theirs, ours and the one we built together.

Ms. Wong tells a delightful and poignant tale of people who shared their talents and enthusiasm and most of all the food from their table with neighbours and strangers ... and we all know that when you've eaten together you are forever bound together as friends ...

If you want a good read and some absolutely wonderful recipes (both "Canadian" and traditional Chinese) then search out this book and buy it for yourself - your palate won't be disappointed, though your belt may need some loosening ...

Stop by for a coffee ...

Over at The Chipperfield Chronicles, I've been posting some links to some funky and funny web blogs that are worth visiting ...

Pop over and check them out ...

A couple of them are brilliant ...

http://chipperfieldcoffee.blogspot.com

enjoy.

Happy Canada Day !!!!

It's our Country's 139th Birthday ...

It's a good day to consider what makes this nations such a wonderful place to live ...

It's a good day to consider how incredibly wealthy we are as a people ... we abounding resources, potential and possibilities ...

It's a good day to give thanks for all those things and people and happenstance that make Canada an incredible place to live and work and play ...

Today is a good day to be a proud Canadian ... a member of one of the greatest nations on the planet. Today we need to celebrate the positives and leave the negatives behind ...

Like, Happy Canada D'eh !!!!