January 17, 2014 Friday

Had I known that I was going to go out and shovel, I might not have got up and did Fat Burning with Denise Austin.  Not sure what happened there, over achiever I guess.


2 Corinthians chapter 4 - vs 16-18 only  About keeping your eye on a goal that isn't visible.  I think its why we have been talking about supporting our faith and that faith of those around us lately.  The prize is eternal life, not like this life, better in ways that you haven't imagined yet.  This is a short life, that I think God gave us to enjoy, but why, knowing it was impossible for us to live a perfect life?  Then He gave us Jesus to forgive us for all the mistakes we make, so we can still have eternal life with him.   He REALLY loves us.


1974 On this day- something you can relate to maybe-  My car wouldn't start, not unusual as I drove a lot of beaters in my life.  Waynette lived with me in Birmingham at the time, so being the great friend that she is, she drove me to work and picked me up.  Because I had no wheels, that was the only entry on that day, I rarely stayed home.  When you are single and 27 you always find some where to go, come to think of it....things haven't changed that much for me,  I still go out a lot.


Parenting - I have always had a very active social life, unlike my mother.  Mom was/is not as social as I am.  My daughter, on the other hand, is also very social, and our social lives quite often cross paths.  I think it is healthy to have friends and also that you are judged by the friends you keep.  What do you think of your children's friends?  I think back to school days with Nicole and some of the friends that she chose.  Her one teacher told me she thought Nicole was going to be a lawyer, she was always defending someone in class.  All of Nicole's friends were good choices, and have become great adults, that I know of.


<sup>Vancouver:  Vancouver is likely to follow state law on pot businesses.  Planning group will hold a hearing on matter Jan. 28. 


Enjoy the day!  Make it Memorable!</sup>

January 16, 2014 Thursday

I found a stationary bike thing and think it will come in handy for a little extra cardio on those days that I miss exercising in the morning.  Tomorrow will be a good day for that as I will be going to work.  It is just the pedal section of a bike that you can put in front of a chair and pedal.  I found it for mom at a garage sale and its getting dusty.


Colossians chapter 1 - Thanksgiving and prayer.  This is about praying, always, for one another, to encourage each other in faith.  The study guide suggests to pray on your knees as a great privilege.  It reminds me of the hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus"  ie: "What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer".  Prayer the world's best wireless connection.  I received a t-shirt from my brother and sister for Christmas with this saying on it.  I love it.


1968 - On this day, my girlfriend had a wig party.  Oh such fun. We tried on the long straight black hair, the short blond curly one, but my favorite, and I bought it, was a spiky red wig.  It actually altered my personality.  My fiancée Don thought it looked good, but said I turned into a witch when I wore it.  Funny, none of the Tupperware, home décor items, French bras, or other home party items did that, it must have been possessed. 


Parenting - There is a young lady that was in the youth group at church when I was the youth director.  She admittedly needs a lot of attention.  Daily, she posts pictures of herself on facebook.  She is a beautiful girl, I just wish that somehow she would know that her humor and intelligence, her sense of righteousness and her penchant for stirring people up are so much more HER then that pretty face.  I would have never made a good runway mom. 


Vancouver - Hey!  BNL is playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theater on Friday night in Vancouver.  Want to go?


Enjoy the Day!  Make it memorable!

January 15, 2014 Wednesday

Made the bad decision to not exercise today, maybe get something in later.  Trying to force myself to go to the Y and get on the treadmill.  Everyone needs a kick in the butt sometimes.


Matthew chapter 6 - Do Not Worry.  So hard to do, but this from Jesus himself telling us to trust in God to take care of us.  Our problem might be that he doesn't provide on the grand scale that we have come to like.  I, personally, don't know anyone that doesn't have food and clothes.  If I did I would do something about it, not leave them naked and hungry.  In "our" world this might not seem relevant, except the worry, which is probably about our grand scale upkeep.  I do believe that God provides, - through us if necessary.


2012 - On this day, it was Sunday and the evangelism board had coffee hour, and I was helping with communion and later that day had boards and council.  Not bragging, it is what you do if you belong to any club, group, organization, career, or whatever.  Church is what I have done for a long time.  Recently, some changes have been made and I have not been participating in the extracurriculars that I used to.  I still attend church every Sunday and I still attend activities and studies, but I have stepped down from leadership positions.  As in anything that you have done for a long time, it leaves a void.  I am looking to participate in more charitable and outreach projects.  Getting a slow start, but I will get there.  A change is as good as a rest.  (Who said that?)


Parenting - I love when my daughter and I sit and talk.  I enjoy her company and love her outlook on life.  It also helps her to open up after a few drinks.  I would hope that you can sit and talk with your child, and listen, that's the most important thing.


Vancouver:  a little more background and then maybe look at whats current:

Ecology[edit]

The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally temperate rain forest, consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder, and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage).^[56] The conifers were a typical coastal British Columbia mix of Douglas fir, Western red cedar and Western Hemlock.^[57] The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the British Columbia Coast. Only in Elliott Bay, Seattle did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred, and on the southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach. The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there.^[58]
Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and from points across the Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree, the Japanese Maple, and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias, azaleas, and rhododendrons. Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Douglas Maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from the 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees.<sup>[59]


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!</sup>

January 14, 2014 Tuesday

Pilates for Dummies.  I like the long rests between moves because she is explaining to the newbies.  I am a very lazy exerciser I think.


Psalm 4 -  I like the last line " In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety".  I usually don't have trouble sleeping.  In general, I am a happy, peaceful person that enjoys everyday, loves the people around me, has accepted my place in this world and give God whatever I can't deal with.   I know that is easier said then done, pray on it.


2000 - On this day, I called my friend Chris, her Mom died.  Now there was someone worth knowing.  She was born in Bulgaria,in 1903  but was never Bulgarian, she was Macedonian.  Lived in a village and married her husband, a wonderful man, Sotir Anastas ,  and had her first son there and then moved to Toronto Canada.  I wish I could tell you the year maybe around  1930.  They opened a restaurant on Bloor St and lived in the apt above the restaurant.  She had my good friend Xana (Christina) there in Toronto and another son George to go with the first son Ted.  She never spoke English, but somehow told me her history in Bulgaria, about the Turks and the Greeks over running the land that I don't believe has been called Macedonia for a long time.  At one time it was the largest country anywhere and much is owed to their civilization.  Her name was Velika.  She made the best bread EVER!!  God bless you Velika!  Rest in peace.


Parenting - I do lose sleep over somethings.  When my daughter went to college, I went to a few seminars with Nicole, that explained how to choose a college and finance the education.  I flunked understanding that process. I thought they said that with scholarships (which she had) and help from the government for lower income families, and what I paid, which was a lot, that we could manage her college tuition.  As many are, she is burdened with huge debt from her six years of education and it seems unsurmountable.  Before you send your child off to any college, ask more questions then I did about financing.  Does she live home rent free now?  yes.


Vancouver :  This does seem like a great place.  Here is a bit move background:

Geography[edit]

Further information: Bodies of water in Vancouver and Lower Mainland Ecoregion

23 official neighbourhoods of Vancouver (local usage varies)

Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. The Strait of Georgia, to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. The city has an area of 114 km² (44 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground, and is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.^[51] Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island.^[52][53] The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver (as is the city of Vancouver, Washington in the United States).
Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park, which covers 404.9 hectares (1,001 acres).^[54] The North Shore Mountains dominate the cityscape, and on a clear day, scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcano Mount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and Bowen Island to the northwest.^[55]


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!

January 13, 2014 Monday - again

Started the week with Rita, a little conga never hurt anyone.  I believe she is from Puerto Rico and I noticed a lot of these moves are reminiscent of loading boats, as in pulling the rope and lifting arms up and down.  I would guess a lot of ethenic dances reflect things that happened in peoples lives.


1 Thessalonians chapter 2 - Here Paul is writing that he is sorry he can't be with the people of this country to help them build their faith.  He sends Timothy.  The faithful grew in number.  A story is also related by the author of todays study, that when an African village was invaded by Mussolini in 1937 and the missionaries were run off, the number of believers grew to be 10,000 because of the few remaining that shared God's word.  You don't have to be the head of a church to share the Gospel.


1997 - On this day, we had a spaghetti dinner for the youth group.  Not just any dinner.  Maybe you have done this one.  You make a menu that includes everything from food to utensils, napkin etc..  You list it in a foreign language, or now just say your spell check screwed up and everything appears without rhyme or reason on the menu.  They have to pic 3 items for each of the 5 courses you serve. The result is they could pick a fork, napkin and glass of water for the first course.  You clear after every course, so they don't necessarily have utensils for their spaghetti or ice cream.  It's messy, but fun.  Try it, I even pulled this one on friends at a dinner party.


Parenting - It is fun to have private jokes with your child, not mean behind the back things, but shared silly memories that only the two or three of you experienced.  They are very bonding.


Vancouver - ok a little more background :

Twentieth century[edit]

The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant labour movement. The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia.^[42] The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at the Cumberland coal mines on Vancouver Island.^[43] Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province.^[44][45] After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on the On-to-Ottawa Trek,^[45] but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near Mission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression.^[46]
Other social movements, such as the first-wave feminist, moral reform, and temperance movements were also instrumental in Vancouver's development. Mary Ellen Smith, a Vancouver suffragist and prohibitionist, became the first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918.^[47] Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921, when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today.^[48] Canada's first drug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal Minister of Labour and future Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. King was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the Asiatic Exclusion League led a rampage through Chinatown and Japantown. Two of the claimants were opium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting opium dens as well as Chinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes was soon passed based on these revelations.^[49]
Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929, the population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193.<sup>[50]


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!</sup> 

January 12, 2014 Sunday

A day of rest.  If you say you shouldn't make food because you are resting and you go out and eat and make someone else work, how does that work?


Matthew chapter 3 - Baptism, the day we celebrate Jesus being baptized and remembering our own baptism.  It is important, it is the day we invite the Spirit into our own life or the child we are standing up for.  I don't think it makes it impossible for entry into heaven, but I think it makes it a lot easier, like having a membership card.  Please consider yourself a member anyway, Jesus left his name at the door for you.


1990 On this day, I wish Marty were still around to tell this story.  He loved Toto, they were soul mates.  Mark was working the boat show at Cobo hall and the kids,  Marty and I decided to have pizza for dinner and then watched tv until Mark got home, late and asked what we had for dinner.  Marty said " we left you a whole pizza on the table."  Mark looked and didn't see anything till he found the empty pizza box under the table.  The dog had eaten an entire large pepperoni pizza and was laying next to the table looking like only a guilty dog can.  Who else has a "my dog ate it"  story?


Parenting - That joyful moment when they are showing pictures on the big screen in the front of the church during servicem of the youth gathering they had been at - and there's your daughter with a unicorn head on.  Fortunately you couldn't tell it was her, but I think most people knew.  I love my daughter.  Blessed be the joyful for they shall bring joy.  He didn't say that, I did.


Vancouver -

Incorporation[edit]

The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie, and gave the city its name in honour of George Vancouver.^[32] The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt.^[33] Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911.^[38]
Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898.^[29] One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened the first Woodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades.^[39]
The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city;^[40] in fact the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in the city. While some manufacturing did develop, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s.<sup>[41]


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!</sup>

January 11, 2014 Saturday

Aerobics - after looking out at the "soggy,foggy" mess outside, I decided the only way to improve my disposition would be to workout.  Did some aerobics and then rewarded myself with yummy French toast. (home made, not frozen).


2 Peter chapter 1 - building your faith progressively.  To believe in something you need to study it and understand it.  In baptism you received help in both believing and understanding, by receiving the Holy Spirit.  Then through life, you build and deepen your faith by practicing, like exercising.  Nicole pointed out that some people think that they choose to believe in God, where we believe that God has already chosen you.


1988 - On this day, a very pleasant memory.  Cold winter day, Nicole was 3 and we spent the day on the couch reading.  We always started with Beatrix Potter, the 12 book set.  At 3 she would tell me that I skipped something if I missed a word, she had most of them committed to memory.  I always have a book (nook) open, maybe today I will revisit Peter Rabbit, wish I had a kid here....Nicole?


Parenting - I think reading to your child (and I hope it is not a lost art) is good on so many levels.  First of all you are usually close to the child, lap or arm around etc.  snuggled.  Then there is the melody of your voice, crooning the words on the page, not the correctional "mother" voice.  The sharing of a common interest and delight in a pleasant or exciting story.  The new dimension of being in another place together in imagination.  Ah, very pleasant.


Vancouver -

Early growth[edit]

The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California, to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on the Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon, bypassing what would become Vancouver.^[29][30][31] Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities;^[32] the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McLeery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of Musqueam in what is now Marpole. A sawmill established at Moodyville (now the City of North Vancouver) in 1863, began the city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in the Port Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill at Brockton Point, but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Gore Street. This mill, known as the Hastings Mill, became the nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s.^[33]
The settlement which came to be called Gastown grew up quickly around the original makeshift tavern established by "Gassy" Jack Deighton in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property.^[32][34] In 1870, the colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a townsite, renamed "Granville" in honour of the then-British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Granville. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884^[35] as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of Port Moody, New Westminster and Victoria, all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the Confederation in 1871, but the Pacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s.<sup>[36]


Enjoy the day!  Make it Memorable!</sup>