The Ultimate Playhouse

Jeff and I are excitedly anticipating the birth of our new niece any day. Last week, I was searching for some small sewing project ideas for her and happened on this fabric playhouse:

Photos from Made By Jill

It's made to fit over a dining room table like a giant table cloth. The front door flaps open and all the fruit and vegetables are attached with velcro so they can be "harvested". I think this is the most adorable playhouse I've ever seen. Now back to my search for that small sewing project...

Strong To Save

I'm not partial to patriotic or militaristic hymns (you'll never catch me humming Onward Christian Soldiers!). American composer Dan Forrest has reset "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" (the Naval Hymn) so beautifully that I have been listening to this over and over and over. The orchestral accompaniment is particularly lush and wonderful. If you listen closely, you'll notice that this version slowly builds to the most amazing apex but ends quietly, with the characteristic Forrest restraint that I love so much. This video was taken at the dress rehearsal of this piece's first performance. You can read the lyrics here. 

Dilbert and Customer Service

Jeff here. I think Wally's approach might curb all the interruptions I get each day.

 Have a good weekend!

Proud

Our cousin-nephew Spencer made a short film for a competition within the local school board. This is what "success for all" means to him.

Terrible Child

When I talked to my mom yesterday, she said that nights in central Saskatchewan are still around -10 C and there is at least a foot of snow covering their entire front lawn (no green to be seen yet). Because I am a terrible child, I'm going to show my sympathy with this photo. It's the lilacs in our garden. They're blooming.

I really like Saskatchewan but today I'm preferring BC.

Birthday Gift

What birthday gift do you give a good friend who is the self-proclaimed King of Carbohydrates? A crown (presented on a velvet pillow) of course. 

Good Idea or Just Good Marketing?

One of my friends sent me this picture with the question, "Do you think this would really work?". It's allegedly a regular old planter spray painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.  Jeff's not convinced and I'll admit, the photo does look a little enhanced.  I'm still intrigued and think if it works, it could be an interesting way to light up our otherwise dark front walk. Maybe it's worth a can of spray paint to experiment?

Photo from Rugged-Life.com

I Sing Because I'm Happy

This video is thirty years old but features one of my favourite gospel hymns sung by one of the best lyric soprano voices of this generation. I'm not usually a fan of opera singers trying their hand at gospel but this particular piece lends itself to the lightness that was the voice of a young Kathleen Battle.

Dilbert and Stress Management

Jeff here. Stefanie is swamped with a big consulting project she took on this week. Here's how work stress unfolds in Dilbert's office.

Have a great weekend!

Color

I have not been feeling all that creative recently (hence the lack of Creative Monday posts for the past month). En route to Victoria on Saturday, I read an article by my hands-down favourite Canadian stylist Margot Austin which included photos of her summer cottage in PEI.  I don't usually like yellow but I adore Margo's headboard makeover. The colour is fittingly entitled "Lullaby Yellow".

Photo from Margot Austin via Canadian House and Home

The Holy City

Jeff and I spent yesterday in Victoria at the memorial service of my longtime piano teacher. It was a celebration of life and of music. The service ended with "The Holy City". After the service, I was reminiscing with a group of people I grew up with in church and this piece came up in our conversation.  "The Holy City"  was such a part of our church growing up years that even the non musicians among us remembered it well (and the musicians in our group still knew all the words by heart). We all agreed it was part of the soundtrack of our childhoods. And the person we were remembering was the person we associated with it most.

This version is not as incredible as the one we heard yesterday but is meaningful nonetheless. The lyrics are found here. 

Dilbert and Guidelines

Jeff here. Stefanie once worked in a cubicle. She really likes this one.

Have a great weekend.

My view Wednesday...

... included camellias. I always love the week they're in bloom. 

The Music of Living

I see the world and live life through music. The same is true for Jeff. Part of that is in the DNA of who we are, and part of that has been nurtured. We're both very lucky to have grown up in families and church communities that nurtured this. 

Yesterday, my piano teacher passed away. The legacy of nurtured music she leaves behind is immense and the many memories of her contributions to church and community music pouring in this week have been inspiring and wonderful to read. Music teachers usually teach their students notes... she taught me that talent is something God entrusts us with to share with humility. She taught me that listening makes us better not just in music, but in all areas of life. She helped me discover the great joy that is found in making music with others (far more joy, it turns out, than being a soloist!) and she taught me that approaching music (and all of life) needs to be with the whole self and the right attitude. I have been able to choose a life filled with music, in part, because of her teaching, and this has been a gift bigger and more meaningful than I can ever express.

It's usually most appropriate to play somber and quiet pieces of music for memorials. Today, I just can't. The gift of music is something to celebrate and be immensely thankful for. So today, I remember someone who nurtured the gift of music for me by singing Dan Forrest's celebration anthem, "The Music of Living".

Giver of life

Creator of all that is lovely

Teach me to sing the words to your song. 

I want to feel the music of living

And not fear the sad songs

But from them make new songs

Composed of both laughter and tears.

Giver of life

Creator of all that is lovely

Teach me to dance through the sounds of your world. 

I want to move in rhythm with your plan

Help me to follow your leading

To risk even falling

To rise and keep trying

For you are leading the dance

Giver of life

Creator of all that is lovely

Teach me to sing the words to your song. 

Spring Rush

I wrote yesterday about the bad part of our Sunday afternoon walk. Here was the good part.

Skunky

Jeff and I took an extended Sunday afternoon walk out in the sunshine this weekend in Bowen Park. It was lovely... until we caught a rather unpleasant whiff in the air. T'is the season for skunk cabbage.

They might look harmless but they stink. REALLY stink. We agreed that the recipe for this particular stink is 3 parts skunk spray and 2 parts sauerkraut. Not the kind of thing you want to hang around very long.

Let it Shine

This morning, the lesson in my age 3-4 Sunday School class is about the Great Commission. Whenever I teach, I search for kids' songs that fit the story. I was thinking through simple songs this week and couldn't come up with anything until I remembered this one- probably one of the first songs I ever learned myself in Sunday School.  I'm not sure we'll get to this level of gospel but it's a classic that us adults probably need reminding of today as well.

Dilbert and Sanitation

Jeff here. This one speaks for itself.

Have a great weekend!

Big Delivery

A rather ominous delivery arrived in our city two weeks ago.

Marked "United States Air Force", these missiles started a cyclone of rumours. The most prevalent rumour was that the missiles were headed north of Nanaimo to Nanoose Bay, site of the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges, where the Canadian and US navies collaboratively test fire torpedoes. Local forums and media were on fire with public outrage... until one observant fellow noticed that the rail line used for this train is only serviceable for a few kilometers.

It turned out those missiles were arriving to nuke Godzilla.

(The new Godzilla movie has been shooting here in Nanaimo for several weeks.)

Blooming

What else is blooming? Magnolias, hyacinths, daffodils. It's full-on spring here.

My View Wednesday

You know it's REALLY spring with the plum tree blooms and the bees start buzzing. This was actually our view Monday afternoon in 20+ degree weather.

Pet Friendly Travel

Jeff and I are big fans of WestJet. If you haven't seen this promotion video posted yesterday, you need to check it out:

For additional entertainment, read the comments on youtube (amazing how many people fall for these things) or watch the April Fool's video from last year. And way to go WestJet! We love a corporation with a sense of humour.

Passion Music: Tying it Together

It's no secret that I really like the modern hymns written by Stuart Townend and Keith and Kristyn Getty. Yesterday in church we sang The Resurrection Hymn- it's become as essential for my Easter as "Christ The Lord is Risen Today" and "Low In the Grave He Lay". The first Getty hymn I heard was "The Power of the Cross" at Easter five years ago at a church in Minneapolis. I was so touched by this hymn that when I got home, I set out to find everything else written by the Gettys.

While listening to this piece again morning, Jeff remarked that it ties together the entire Easter story and would be a great conclusion to this year's week of Easter music. So here it is, sung by the Bob Jones University Singers, conducted by Craig Courtney (a great composer in his own right).