There's a part of me that is happy the Olympics are over. Maybe now I'll get my life back! Yes, it was my choice to sit there and watch our Canadian athletes put in their best results ever, but it became downright addictive!
I think my favourite moment came yesterday as I sat on the couch watching Clara Hughes give a gold medal performance in the 5000m speed skating event, tears streaming down my cheeks. The look on her face when she registered that she had won was priceless! My worst moment came as I was cheering for Canadian ice dancers Dubreuil & Lauzon only to see Marie-France go crashing to the ice in the last seconds of their brilliant original dance. I gasped, stared at the TV screen in disbelief and marvelled at how quickly Olympic dreams can disappear. Did I mention the tears streaming down my cheeks there too?
As a non-athletic person, I stand in awe of all athletes who show such determination & dedication to their goals. I'm not a very disciplined person so I can't identify with what drives someone to push themselves in the way that Olympians do... but I certainly can appreciate it and thank them for 16 days of pure adrenalin!
On to Vancouver 2010!
PAX,
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Family in cyberspace...
My Oncle Joe just got a new computer.
I received an email from him yesterday via our family e-group. Seems fitting, since yesterday was the 7th anniversary of a Yahoo!Group that allows the direct descendants of Arthur à Johnny Savoie (see above photo: Arthur on left, Johnny on right) to regularly keep in touch despite the thousands of miles that separate us. Cousins, aunts & uncles are spread out over three provinces. Seven years ago, we began an experiment and over 3000 emails later, I feel as close to them as if I'd never left my home province.
Did I mention that Oncle Joe is 81 years old?! Father, grand-father, great-grand-father... he is the figurative patriarch of our fun-loving, musical Acadian family. And he continues to be the hippest octagenarian I know!
Way to go, l'oncle Joe!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Viewing pleasure...
I have recently discovered a place where they let you borrow videos and DVDs for free! It's called a "public library". :-) I used to think it was solely a book borrowing place, but I'm into my third straight week of discovering films & documentaries that I wouldn't have picked up elsewhere... Whether a documentary on American anti-war activist Eugene McCarthy, or a heartwarming film about a terminally ill boy, his mentor and the search for a blue butterfly, or a visual feast with photographer Jim Brandenberg as he is being Chased by the Light, I have been thoroughly challenged and entertained.
For those who may wish to follow this path, I offer this experience-based word of advice: the Library people prefer it if you return the video tape at the same time as the case. Apparently forgetting the tape in your VCR and returning it two weeks later gives them a bit of extra work. Ooops.
PAX,
For those who may wish to follow this path, I offer this experience-based word of advice: the Library people prefer it if you return the video tape at the same time as the case. Apparently forgetting the tape in your VCR and returning it two weeks later gives them a bit of extra work. Ooops.
PAX,
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Seven days...
It's been seven days... seven days since my last dairy product, yeast or fermented product, sugar, tomato or orange. I'm currently on a restricted diet to assess my sensitivity to certain foods. With testing, I showed a reaction to these products... so now I have to remove them from my diet and slowly re-introduce them, one at a time. I need to pay attention to how my body responds to this gradual reintegration.
I never realized how many foods include yeast! Much to my surprise, if I wish to decrease the overgrowth of yeast in my body, I need to avoid sugar. And fruit. And vinegars or cidars. And fermented products like cheese. And fungii. Does one eat a lot of fungii, you may ask? Well, I do enjoy my sauteed mushrooms. But not this week. It's been seven days...
Simple, but not easy. Years ago, I could not understand that saying. I do now. In so many ways. And it applies to this as well. It's simple to avoid certain foods, but it's not necessarily easy. What wouldn't I give for a bag of potato chips right now!!
Oh well, roasted dulse it is...
PAX,
I never realized how many foods include yeast! Much to my surprise, if I wish to decrease the overgrowth of yeast in my body, I need to avoid sugar. And fruit. And vinegars or cidars. And fermented products like cheese. And fungii. Does one eat a lot of fungii, you may ask? Well, I do enjoy my sauteed mushrooms. But not this week. It's been seven days...
Simple, but not easy. Years ago, I could not understand that saying. I do now. In so many ways. And it applies to this as well. It's simple to avoid certain foods, but it's not necessarily easy. What wouldn't I give for a bag of potato chips right now!!
Oh well, roasted dulse it is...
PAX,
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The best time...
WINTER IS THE BEST TIME (by David Budbill)
Winter is the best time
to find out who you are.
Quiet, contemplation time,
away from the rushing world,
cold time, dark time, holed-up,
pulled-in, time and space
to see that inner landscape
that place hidden and within.
Just a little gem I came across on this icy, windy, damp, dark winter night. Gratitude for my warm little home abounds...
PAX,
Winter is the best time
to find out who you are.
Quiet, contemplation time,
away from the rushing world,
cold time, dark time, holed-up,
pulled-in, time and space
to see that inner landscape
that place hidden and within.
Just a little gem I came across on this icy, windy, damp, dark winter night. Gratitude for my warm little home abounds...
PAX,
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Impermanence...
I saw a house come down yesterday. Literally. Abandoned since before my time on this street, this house had admittedly become somewhat of an eyesore. It sits on a piece of land that is being developed and, yesterday, in just a few moments, it was nothing but a pile of splintered wood & glass... and hopefully good memories.
Whenever I see an abandoned house, I often wonder what stories would the walls tell - if only they could. What joys and sorrows have taken root in the very floorboards of the house? What made this particular house, a home?
As I watched the obnoxious heavy equipment reach out and pull down the walls of this house, I noticed there were still curtains in the windows. And suddenly, a glimpse of a mattress being tossed about in the chaos. Was this mattress a source of restful comfort for someone, a sanctuary after a long, hard day? Did it set the stage for exciting sexual fulfillment? Or was it a focal point for lonely isolation and tears?
I continued on my way to work, and the message that came to me was this: impermanence. The things that make up my home may some day end up in a heap, being gawked at by strangers. The things that are truly important, God... love... family... friendship..., are well beyond the reach of even the most powerful heavy equipment.
PAX
Whenever I see an abandoned house, I often wonder what stories would the walls tell - if only they could. What joys and sorrows have taken root in the very floorboards of the house? What made this particular house, a home?
As I watched the obnoxious heavy equipment reach out and pull down the walls of this house, I noticed there were still curtains in the windows. And suddenly, a glimpse of a mattress being tossed about in the chaos. Was this mattress a source of restful comfort for someone, a sanctuary after a long, hard day? Did it set the stage for exciting sexual fulfillment? Or was it a focal point for lonely isolation and tears?
I continued on my way to work, and the message that came to me was this: impermanence. The things that make up my home may some day end up in a heap, being gawked at by strangers. The things that are truly important, God... love... family... friendship..., are well beyond the reach of even the most powerful heavy equipment.
PAX
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