Vancouver Vancouver

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Some snaps from riding around the city today on my bicycle. I am so grateful bikes were invented! Brilliant contraptions!
1. A close comparitive in loveliness with snowflakes are the falling petals of white blossoms in our yard
2. Streets lined with blossoms
3. Bright pink leaves and our street now (which was grey and bare when we moved in...)
4. & 5. Don't the majestic mountains make a striking backdrop for the city?!
6. My bicycle posing in front of a painting of Vancouver

Wedding catch up

Miriam and Fred were married in November last year at their home on 'Froggy Farm' up in the sunny coast hinterland. I went to primary school with Mim (and proaby hadn't seen her for 10 years or so!!) so it was wonderful to catch up with all of her family and friends again and meet Fred too. It's amazing how much and yet how little changes as we grow up. I do enjoy relating to grown-ups now like Mim's parents as a pretty-much-grown-up myself. I posted these pictures back in November but it was a busy time and I never got around to posting more. I have been looking through the pictures again recently and some of them need sharing! (The last few black and white ones which were taken in the (very) dark were done so by adjusting the ISO levels on my camera to compensate for the darkness. This is often frowned upon but you may like to read Why I like High ISO here.)

I also still plan to post more pictures of when my beautiful friend Catie was married in December, but those pictures are safe and sound on mum and dad's computer in Australia. Hopefully they will arrive here in June when my dear friends Catherine and Lisa come to visit. Woohooo! Also very much looking forward to being hosts to Andrew and Izac chatterton in May too. Spaces in the Newington Nook Bed and Breakfast are filling up quickly, so if you were thinking of coming to visit, Vancouver really is the place to be this spring (summer, fall AND winter...) so call to make a booking or email me today about our exclusive deals on offer for friends and family (wink wink nudge nudge).

 

Cristo ha resucitado!

En verdad, esta resucitado! (Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!)

This morning we had a beautiful celebration at church; a big breakfast, lots of flowers, clapping and hip swaying, joyous singing, processions and tears of joy. The branches and crosses in the sanctuary which have been bare for the past few weeks were draped with colourful fabric. We all brought flowers to adorn the cross and poured out on to the street after the service. The pictures of course don't do justice to the atmosphere of celebration and thanksgiving. The building was full and this was certainly a wonderful culmination and fulfilment of the waiting and sacrifice of lent. Those first words are in Spanish. People were encouraged to share this greeting with the congregation in their native tongue, not that Spanish is mine but I like the idea of idea of it...






Poor old Joshua missed it all as he stayed in bed soothing his man cold (which apparently Canadians haven't heard of... if you're also unfamiliar with this life-threatening illness this clip explains it well.)

Here are some other signs of spring and resurrection which have been appearing around our neighborhood:




The outside photos were all taken on my walks around our neighbourhood, there are some little tomato seedlings in egg cartons on our window sill, pretty pale pink carnations Josh bought from an entrepreneurial man on the street and those purpley tulips came up in our front lawn all on their own. I do love spring and celebrating Easter during springtime has given it new significance. May the JOY and HOPE of the Resurrection affect how you and I live every day of the year!

Pesach

Last night we celebrated a Pesach (Passover) Seder Meal with new friends. This is our 3rd celebration and we hope to keep it an annual tradition wherever we are to enrich our experience of the Lenten season. If you're interested I've linked to some documents I wrote explaining it a little. I spent most of yesterday cooking and preparing food: hommus, baba ganoush, pita wedges, quinoa tabouli, beetroot salad, roast lamb and gravy, haloumi, matzah (unleavened bread) and baklava. I felt like it was a wonderful evening, I hope our guests did too. My darling husband was kind enough to spend most of this morning washing-up.

• Table of Symbols: explains the significance of actions and symbols used throughout
• Haggadah: this is the liturgy we follow. Versions of these have been passed down for hundreds of years. We adapted this one from a hard copy version my family used many years ago.
• Passover Explanation: this is a personal explanation about why we choose to celebrate this ancient festival and it's significance for us as Christians.

Here are some childrens drawings of the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples. I think leading this craft at Sunday School with the children a few years was actually what got me thinking in part about this beautiful, ancient, God-given celebration and it's significance for me and us today.