A little self-examination here....

I was not kind about the contents that were sent to me by a lay preacher to prepare into a Bulletin for today's church service.

I, who have been so long an Anglican, was derisive of the pedestrian 'cross-talk' between leader and congregation, - the lack of meaningful prayers and the beauty of the words found in the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

I, who am smug about the prayers and phrases that are a part of my inner being

 as I indulge in meditative prayer.

I, who am unaccepting of this new Emerging Church which attempts to 'redefine itself through an intense engagement with the surrounding secular world', blurring the boundary between religion and the broader society by entertaining the question of the very existence of God and the divinity of Christ, and becoming yet another social activist secular group.

I, who feel impatience with the secular world who deride the 'old' churches and
fail to see the love and charity that has always been at their centre, the core of Christ's gospel of love made manifest and honoured in the community and the world, despite the human failings within.

I listened as this Scottish lay preacher told of always riding in the front seat of a two decker red Glasgow bus when he was a child , and of the words on a bilboard sign that was at the edge of the road the bus traveled.

IF YOU WERE TO BE ARRESTED TODAY FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN, WOULD THERE BE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONVICT YOU????

I sat at the organ and asked myself this question.

The answer was humbling, and opened my mind to many thoughts for me to ponder.

In light of the recent Rapture rapture, I figure I might not be one of those transported!!!!!

And speaking of the Rapture, I read today in an eMo from Barbara Crafton

a reminder of the heart break and  devastation felt by those who truly believed in 

the expected Rapture and staked their lives and futures on it,  and I was moved to compassion.

ABC Wednesday
May 18th, 2011

The Letter this week is the Regal R

R is for Rigadaun  by Andre Campra, - could be a wonderfully majestic wedding piece.

Here it is played by Diane Bish, organist extraordanaire, on the Sibermann organ at Ebermunster Abbey in Ebermunster, France.

Diane Bish starts the video by talking about some of the unusual features of this organ, but then plays the Rigadaun spectacularly - both the music and her wonderful talent and style are quite splendid.



For more wonderful R interpretation visit here with thanks to Denise Nesbitt and her great helpers.

Wildlife at Ginty's Pond

The sun only visits at random intervals this May, but last Tuesday he dropped in for a few hours and Charles and I took advantage of the warmth and brightness and the faint spring breeze to go on a little safari and investigate the wildlife at Ginty's pond.

Down the road, a left turn at the highway and then again when we came to the road to the Upper bench, across the little bridge that crosses Keremeos Creek and we stopped to see how the water was flowing.

We passed fields of Dandy-Lions and Mama Cows and their calves having breakfast.

through those modern perpendicular orchards  with lovely, bright 

pollinizers at the ends of every fifth or sixth row

(aside -  terribly efficient but not very romantic)

along the road that spans the upper end of Ginty's Pond

and around to where the bullrushes grow and the wetlands are home to

all sorts of wildlife.

We looked for turtles, sunning themselves on the logs, but none were there.

No frogs on the lily pads, but down at the end of the pond

we spied a family of raccoons, the parents being very large to our way of reckoning

and probably they have made their home there for many years,

unmolested and well fed. 

Across the way two nesting geese were enjoying the water and the warmth of the sun,

although Mother Goose gave us fair warning not too come too close.

Father just looked majestic and aloof, as he floats along in the background.

A pair of wood ducks slipped along the edge of the pond, - this father not only being

majestic, but also most handsomely dressed in harlequin colours

A last look for signs of bloom on the lily pads

we cast our eyes on the snow clad mountains to the north

and ended our morning outing talking to an old friend who is

spending his retirement mornings lending a hand at 

Kobau Park.

We drove into the yard to find our great grandson  on his

fire-engine red birthday tricycle, 

delighting his Grandma and Grandpa.

What a lovely morning!

I waken this morning, just after five.  When I open my eyes the sky is blushing a pale rosy pink, through the north window,  beckoning to me to come and see the early a.m. show.

I don't stop to dress, - sometimes these events can be quite transitory, and so I am out on the deck in my  nightgown, gazing in delight.  The whole bowl of the sky is a misty pink, - a few scattered raindrops fall, and close by in the west, a perfectly arched rainbow frames the whole confection of rosy sky

 and a valley awash in apple blossoms.

I skip down the steps (did you know that 86 year old ladies can skip when inspired to do so????) and move across the lawn, trying to gain distance, but I am such an amateur, and cannot contain the whole rainbow, although I do remember advice I have been given and focus on something closer

before moving in to snap the lens.

Very soon it all began to fade, and by the time I turned to come in the sky was once again a sulky grey.

It was so lovely while it lasted, and I wished I had more camera skills, - 

but oh, my dear, you just had to be there!

Last night's storm with its rain and great gusty winds has moved on;  the sky is clearing in the west and the air is still, so early in the morning.  I take my coffee on to the deck and the fragrance of the apple blossoms  is sweet and faint from the orchard.  They are out in full bloom this morning to celebrate the day of anniversary, - sixty-six years since we 'pledged our troth'.   Young and eager and as fresh as the apple blossoms that proclaimed the day in the wartime song, our song,  - 'I'll be with you in apple blossom time.....'

Just days before Charles had sailed into New York Harbour to bands and balloons and streamers, returning from Europe.  It was a bittersweet homecoming as he left his two brothers buried in France and Holland, and it would be fifty years before we returned to bring plaques, embedded with stone from the hills of home, to their graves.


Occasionally the old ardour surfaces;  occasionally life is a little tempestuous;  but on the whole we have settled quite nicely into being ancient and nostalgic; filled with memories and gratitude for a life well lived, a love well preserved, and a family well loved.

ABC Wednesday

The Quaint and sometimes Querulous letter this week is Q

Q is for Queen

Here are some pictures of our own beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second.

All, I am afraid, courtesy of the Internet, although Charles and I once were at a garden party at the Lieut. Governor's digs in Victoria where the Queen was Guest of Honour.  But we weren't introduced, and pictures were not allowed.  It is too bad, really, - we would have had a lot to talk about, being of the same generation and it being at a time when we both had rather rowdy teen-agers......

the marriage of Elizabeth and Phillip Mounbatten

her coronation

masquerading as an English Rose

and one of Wordsworth's beautiful daffodils

but this is the picture that makes me smile and evokes a delightful personality. 

as well as being steady-as-she-goes!

Long May She Reign.

For more quizzical Q's wander over to ABC Wednesday here

with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and all her helper.

In the evenings why am I not reading, or knitting, or making cookies, or flipping through magazines and getting inspired??

I'll tell you why, - I have become addicted to Texturing!

The pictures come from the camera looking quite gorgeous (well, most of them, - the ones that don't are quickly deleted), - but my imagination drives me to experiment with textures, and I think ' what would this flower, or tree, or person look like with a Serendipity texture?  Or one of the new Zen creations that I stumbled over while surfing the net.

Sometimes I think they are great, - more often than not I am wary of my judgement , - but in any case it is great fun....

The pretty tulip above somehow escaped from the garden and ended up down by the pasture fence, so this morning while I was inspecting the latest Chinese Lantern Railway sub-station I went and snapped a picture of this lonely little tulip in amongst the dandelions.

Shortly after a strong whirly wind came up and snapped the stem of this tulip, and also two of the pink ones in the garden, so I brought them in and put them in the old white teapot with the broken spout, and took a picture of that, too!

Here is the bouquet, untouched, straight from the camera. 

and here it is all gussied up with fancy textures......

Am I frittering away my time?????

or am I just not very good at it yet (sigh)

Happy Mothers' Day 

to all who have the delightful task

of loving and enchanting children

...........and the fairies all ran away with their clothes

Charles Sims


and blowing their noses and cleaning their ears and seeing that they don't eat worms and such stuff.

A River Stone

The Elephant's Ear

wears pink blossoms,

tucked discreetly

Texturing

Two bits of spring in the deep woods and along the Green Mountain Road.

using Kim Klassen's Sweethart and Luminous

ABC Wednesday

The letter of note this week is P

P is for Penticton, our closest small city, located in the Okanagan Valley

 just over the hill from the Similkameen

In the midst of spring blossoms

a place of blue skies, blue waters and blue hills

 orchards and vineyards

fun and frolic, floating down the river channel

the historic SS Sicamous, which plied the length of Okanagan Lake in early days

 festive summer streets

beautiful sandy beaches to laze on  and swimming to cool off

Munson's Mountain with its famous Penticton sign,

 warm in my heart because it is where Charles and I became engaged almost 70 years ago

 a lake tug from bygone days

A wonderful place to visit, - do come and see us!

More great P's at Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, here.