Another year has come and gone

2010 is just a few hours away and I realise that I haven’t written anything for over a month, so it’s time to reflect.

December always tends to be a blur as there always just seems to be so much to do and often not enough time to get it all done. However, it didn’t seem to be so bad this year as it has been in previous years. Maybe we’re getting more immune to it, or perhaps we may be more organised or something!

The people I work for seem to have had a hard December, if you go by what has been said in the press. We seem to hear the same thing year in year out, so perhaps it is time to rethink the whole approach to how things are done in regards to the huge fund-raising and PR machine that rolls heavy at this time of year. People start to get cynical when they hear the same old sob stories each year, so it may be time to reflect on how things could be improved upon. Maybe instead of saying ‘we need more money to carry on helping in the way we do’, the approach just needs to be one of humility and gratitude, thanking everyone for their generosity in hard times, acknowledging that each quarter, loonie, toonie (or whatever donation given) is more than we started with. Any organisation that comes out with arrogant claims/slogans such as ‘Doing The Most Good’ or ‘We see things that most others don’t’ should ask themselves what those slogans say to the other groups and organisations who also tirelessly help those in need or in unfortunate situations. Those slogans and campaigns make me cringe and I refuse to be a part of them. If the money raised keeps going down then maybe it is time to ditch these campaigns and take a more humble approach with the public. I have had members of the public ask me why so much is being spent on some of the national advertising that has been undertaken and I have no answer to give other than sending their question ‘higher up’.

Locally, we did quite well. Our Moose FM Radiothon was down a bit on last year, but our kettles were up almost 40%. So, overall we are round about the same as last year, which is quite surprising given the economic climate of the past few months. I have no real explanation as to why this year was so successful, but we are thankful that it was. A lot of it is down to community spirit and the way in which many people from all walks of life get involved in helping us at this time of year.

After Christmas we took some holiday time and headed off to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan for a couple of nights. It was nice to get away to relax and have some family time together. Sometimes we feel that the kids get cheated a bit in the run up to Christmas.

2009 hasn’t been a bad year. There have been worse, there have been better.

Changes

There were some major changes that occurred in my life this year. First of all, in February, after much thought, I decided to become a vegetarian. This turned out to be a lot easier than I thought and I have felt healthier for it.

Secondly, we finally moved the group we gather with from the old location to a better location.  Overall the move has been a good one, although there is still much to be done. Everything takes time, but I believe we are headed in the right direction.

Family

It’s been a mixed year as far as family goes. Our kids continue to grow and flourish, and they keep us busy. It’s a joy to watch them grow up and develop their little pieces of independence, but it can be worrying sometimes as well.

We had quite a few family members come and visit this year and it was great being able to spend time with them. Being so far away makes those moments even more precious.

The one downer for our family this year was the passing of my granny, at 95 years old, in November. She led a full life and left quite a legacy of family behind. It gave me the opportunity to travel back ‘home’ to Orkney, which was nice, but it would’ve been better in other circumstances.

Highlights

There were some good highlights in 2009 as well. Those who know me well, know that one of the biggest was in September seeing U2 on their 360 tour at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. We have tickets to see them again in Toronto next July.

Another highlight was getting to meet Thomas Mathie, aka the Headphonaught. It was a hastily arranged get together for coffee and a yarn whilst I was over in Scotland for the funeral, but it was worth the effort. I’m really appreciative of the support I receive from my online community (many of whom I have never met face to face), one of whom is Thomas, and I look forward to meeting more of them in the future.

2009 Favourites

No old year reflection would be complete without some favourites lists, so here goes:

Top 5 Books read this year:

1. ‘Pagan Christianity’ – Frank Viola
2. ‘Irresistible Revolution’ – Shane Claiborne
3. ‘Enough’ – Will Samson
4. ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’ – Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Borrows
5. ‘Mozart and the Whale’ – Jerry and Mary Newport

Top 5 Movies watched this year (for the first time):

1. ‘Star Trek’
2. ‘Where the Wild Things Are’
3. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
4. ‘Earth’
5. ‘Burn After Reading’

Top 5 Movies watched this year (seen previously):

1. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
2. ‘Hoop Dreams’
3. ‘The Mission’
4. ‘On A Clear Day’
5. ‘Back to the Future (the trilogy)’

Top 5 albums purchased/downloaded:

1. ‘No Line On The Horizon’ -U2
2. ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ – Derek Webb
3. ‘The Knee Plays’ – David Byrne
4. ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ – Snow Patrol
5. ‘Flesh and Bones Electric Fun’ – Mutemath

Anyway, feel free to disagree with anything I’ve written here. That’s pretty much it for 2009. Looking forward to 2010. I’m not much of one for resolutions. There are some things I’d like to achieve. For one, I’d like to get my weight under 200lbs, which means I have about 25 to lose. The Wii fit board is helping me to achieve this. The other major thing I really need to do this year is to get my Canadian citizenship. I’ve only been eligible for 13 years! Getting this would save a lot of hassle any time I want to visit the USA. It would save some money as well in the long run. I like the idea of a 365 photoblog, but the last time I tried it I didn’t get beyond January. We’ll see how it goes this time! I’d also like to do more reading. This year I managed 25 books, but it would be great to get closer to 40 or more.

So, have a great New Year! Hopefully I’ll get beyond the one post a month here that seems to have been the recent output, but I’m not making any promises that I can’t keep!

The end of summer and other stuff

Summer is almost over and it seems that, weather-wise anyway, it has only just begun. The nights are getting longer and the kids go back to school in a week’s time, so I guess that fall is just around the corner.

I realise I haven’t blogged that much this past while, but there just doesn’t seem to be much that I’ve had to write about. I’ve got my passion for reading back again and that’s probably what I’ve done most of this past while. The new building, watching lots of movies, and holiday time have accounted for a lot of my other time.

The best movies (not all new ones) I’ve seen lately have included: ‘Inkheart’, ‘Stone of Destiny’, ‘The Mission’ (lost count of how many times I’ve seen this one), ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ and ‘Bottle Shock’.

Some of the books I’ve read recently, or am still reading, are: ‘Mudhouse Sabbath’ (Lauren Winner), ‘Pagan Christianity?’ and ‘Re-Imagining Church’ (both Frank Viola), ‘Five By Endo (short stories)’ (Shusaku Endo), ‘Bioethics – A Primer for Christians’ (Gilbert Meilaender), and ‘Wishful Thinking – a Seeker’s ABC’ (Frederick Buechner). I’m also hoping to re-read ‘The Hobbit’ (Tolkien) and ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ (Solzhenitsyn) before the year is out. If you are content with the way of the Christian Church in the west then don’t read the Viola books. If you yearn for something else or are upset with the status quo in the church then drop everything else and start reading them, but beware – they will mess with your mind and bring discomfort. I’m still working my way through what they have done to me as I have read them and they have really got me thinking about what the future holds as far as what I’m involved in presently in my day to day living and working.

I realised today that it is exactly 6 months since I ate meat of any kind. I can honestly say that I now have no yearning to return to eating meat. I am comfortable with the choice I made to become a vegetarian. Oh, and before anyone tries to convince me that I am dishonouring God, don’t bother – I’ve been through it with others on a number of occasions and it gets tedious.

Only three weeks on Wednesday and I’ll be making a pilgrimage to the Rogers Centre in Toronto for the U2 360 Tour. Counting the days!

Anyway, I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing that your summer is going well. If you’re on Twitter follow me and I’ll reciprocate. I’m wcs53. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I’ll try to update more often if I find anything worth sharing.

One week already

Butternut squash

It’s been over a week now since I stopped eating meat. So far so good. As I mentioned somewhere else, it started as something for Lent, but I am now resolved to it being permanent. I’ve lost a few pounds and I’m discovering food that I never knew I liked before. The above picture was tonight’s supper and, in spite of appearances, was quite delicious. It came straight from the pages of ‘Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies’.

Probably the only reason I didn’t do this sooner was procrastination or motivation. The reasons I am going down this particular path are mainly health and ethics. I feel healthier already and have been making sure that I’m not missing out on any nutrition or vitamins, and so on, that are necessary. I’ve researched the whole thing and come up with something that works for me. As for the ethics, I just don’t trust the whole food industry thing any more. This is something for everyone to come to their own conclusion on and I’m not going to get preachy about my ethical reasons for giving up meat, as well as cutting out as much processed food from my diet as I can. At this point I am still eating dairy products and eggs, but trying to make as much ethical choices as I can there.

I know it’s been only a week so far, but I don’t regret things as they have gone up to now. I don’t expect everyone to understand, but then I don’t understand everyone else, either. E-mail me if you are interested in any of my recipes, or send me some of yours if you have any good ones!

Season of Lent – Day 1

Lent - Day 1

All over the internet today people are writing about giving up this, or giving up that, and so on in recognition that today is the first day in the Season of Lent. Even Strombo mentioned Lent on last night’s The Hour. But it’s not just about giving up. In the intro to the above pictured book (Bread and Wine) the editors wrote the following:

…Lent is traditionally associated with penitence, fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. It is a time for “giving things up” balanced by “giving to” those in need. Yet whatever else it may be, Lent should never be morose – an annual ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures. Instead, we ought to approach Lent as an opportunity, not a requirement. After all, it is meant to be the church’s springtime, a time when, out of the darkness of sin’s winter, a repentant, empowered people emerges.

So, lighten up people! Enjoy the next 40 or so days. Whatever you may have given up is nothing compared to the the one whom we remember at this time, who gave His all. Maybe you’ll discover that what you have given up was something you didn’t need anyway, or perhaps was something that was holding you back from living life to the fullest.

On a personal note, I didn’t miss eating meat today. I tried out some phenomenal recipes from ‘Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies’ and also managed to bake a batch of oatmeal muffins. It might actually not be all that difficult to go without meat. Time will tell.

Some changes

These are the two books I am working through just now. Both are challenging in their own way and for reasons of change.

‘Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies’ is being read because on Wednesday I will be starting a meatless diet. For some people who know me that may be a hard one to swallow, but it is something I have been seriously considering for some time now. The main reasons are for health and well-being, but  there are also some ethical and environmental reasons for this choice. It was initially only going to be for the period of Lent, which commences on Wednesday, but I’m now moving towards the probability that it will be permanent. It’s a personal thing, so I’m not urging the rest of the family to join me on this particular journey. Also, if you do come and visit us in Elliot Lake, there will still be meat on the menu if you so choose.

‘Pagan Christianity?’ is challenging in the sense that it questions everything that the Christian church does and the origins of these practices. The present group of Christians that we lead/meet with only have five more Sundays in our present location – we close down the old on Sunday 29 March. We had hoped that the first Sunday in our new location would be 12 April (Easter), but that might not happen, due to some hold-ups with material/construction. Nevertheless we will still close down the old on 29 March. We are endeavouring to move towards a more Organic model of church and ‘Pagan Christianity?’ is helping to work out what some of that means.

It’s been a long journey so far, but exciting changes and challenges lie ahead. All prayers would be greatly appreciated!