8 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

Apparently a game of tag is being played and I'm "IT". Hmmmm ... there are many times I receive these types of things as an email and I ignore. Perhaps that could be random thing #1 ... but that wouldn't be in the true spirit of the game would it?

I am to post the rules ... and here they are as they were given to me ... "Each person starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their eight things and post the rules. At the end of your blog, tag eight people and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog." I am declaring now ... I probably won't tag anyone else ... because frankly ... I don't know 8 bloggers that haven't already been tagged ... and I don't think strangers would want me doing that. Can you tell that I'm procrastinating?

1. I AM ... highly phlegmatic ... and well procrastination comes with the territory! You all should consider yourselves blessed that I'm responding to this as quickly as I am! :)

2. I HAVE ... rafted the Nile ... and nearly died ... I have pictoral evidence! At least of the rafting not of the nearly dying ... thankfully the guides were guiding at that point and not snapping pics with the waterproof camera from a distance!

3. I MUST ... have a nibble of really good chocolate almost every day! I can skip a day but I get the shakes and can be a little irritable.

4. I CAN ... quote almost verbatim the entire movie "The Sound of Music" ... and a life long dream is to go to Austria and twirl about as Maria did on that side of the mountain while singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music."

5. I AM ... the youngest of 4 children and the only girl ... and I am not / was not spoiled. HONEST ... well maybe a little, but not nearly as much as my three big bro's would claim! ;)

6. I OCCASIONALLY ... (well ok ... fairly often) snort in the midst of laughter ... I come by it honestly ... it's genetic on my mother's side.

7. I ABSOLUTELY ... love Calvin and Hobbes ... I can still laugh out loud while reading old strips.

8. SOMEONE ... I would love to have dinner with ... (you know the whole anybody living or dead question) ... would be Corrie ten Boom. One of my heroes of the faith ... I would love to be able to pick her brain.

VACATIONS ...

are glorious things ... even if you stick close to home. I've spent a fair bit of time sitting in the lounge chair on the back deck reading. Some of it mindless (Grisham's "The Chamber") and some of it stuff that makes you think (Erwin Raphael McManus' "Uprising")

Have also been out and about along some local trails. The trillium's are in full force. And this weekend I even spotted the rarely found burgundy trillium.

And made it to the RBG for the tulips in the Rock Garden ... camera's battery frustratingly dying about an hour after arrival ... the one frustration of digital camera's! But I managed to get some nice shots ... both flora & fauna ... was startled by a rather larger Garter Snake sunning itself on one of the rocks ... it was at least 18" long and a good 1" thick! It slithered away quick enough.

And tomorrow it's the first MAJOR bike ride of the season ... Dundas Rail Trail here I come ... I'll probably be lounging again on Thursday to recoup! :)

SIGNS SIGNS EVERYWHERE ARE SIGNS

To get to work I drive up Hwy 20 to get to the LINC.

Each spring I drive very carefully

(well I drive carefully year round but that's not my point)

while craning my neck and squinting my eyes

looking for splashes of white on the escarpment.

I saw some early this week and I got my SIGN

I am no long NEARLY GIDDY ... it's full-fledged now.

So today at lunch I hit the wooded area behind the church.

Trilliums spread out far and wide.

I HEART SPRING!

JUST BECAUSE

One of the left-over flowers

from a women's meeting this week.

Lilies are a favourite of mine

UN

One of the choir songs for this season is one that I would call an "ouch song". Not the triumphant ... woohoo God songs ... but man is it powerful ...

For all the times I’ve been unfaithful
For every time I’ve been untrue
For every time I’ve been ungrateful
For all You’ve done and all You do

For when my pride has been unbroken
For when my soul has been unmoved
For all the praise I’ve left unspoken
When I owe everything to You

For when my heart has been unyielding
When my devotion went unproved
For all the days I’ve been unwilling
To take my cross and follow You

Please forgive me

Oi ... sometimes ... i can do all the "right" things when it comes to visible things and blow it so bad on the unseen things ...

Please Forgive Me (Travis Cottrell, David Moffitt & Sue C. Smith.) c. 2003 New Spring.

NEARLY GIDDY

It's true. I am ... nearly giddy ... but not quite really giddy. SPRING is here. Now I'm a good Canadian. I can enjoy snow. If it doesn't come in a wave of storms that need to be constantly shovelled out of my driveway ... but SPRING ... I love it....


.... stuff is coming up ... bits of bright in amongst the dull vestiges of winter. That's why I'm only just "nearly" giddy ... the REALLY giddy will come when there is more bright than dull.


"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush" (Doug Larson, Olympic Runner)


While there may not be slush in my shoes ... there's still some brisk winds blowing ... but I won't wear the winter coat anymore ... I'd rather be cold than admit I still need it. It's spring ... I shouldn't need it anymore ... right?

MY FUZZY TEACHER

You will probably see a fair number of pics of Calvin on this blog because:

A) he's as cute as the dickens, and

2) I actually learn stuff from him

When I take him for walks, he will often walk and look backward at the same time ... kinda like this pic (although my calling his name from behind with a camera in hand didn't really help him in his looking forward). I'm sure the fact that Calvin's a 15 lb ball of fluff who's been attacked on 3 occasions by a 60 lb evil German Shepherd plays a role in his walking habits. But, it can be rather frustrating for me the walker. It makes forward motion kinda tough some times.

I can pull a Calvin on occasion. Keep looking back ... sometimes it's at the rough stuff of life -- the regrets ... the coulda, shoulda's of life, but sometimes it can be at the good stuff too. And while reflection is a good thing from time to time ... it can also really hinder forward movement.

I suppose the lesson to be learned is the balance of when to reflect and when to push forward.