Contemplations in the moonlight

I read this the other day on my friend Claire's blog. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and I hope she doesn't mind me re-posting it here. Enjoy.

I found myself thinking about the moon the other day. The moon always gets a bad rap for having no light of its own. A celestial second-class citizen, standing by just reflecting. I remember a science teacher somewhere back in my school days scoffing that men of old thought the moon was a light source when really it's all second hand illumination. But I was wondering the other day if reflected light is really so bad?

Sure the sun is fantastic and powerful and creates its own light, but it occurred to me that you can't look at the sun. It's there and you feel its influence but you can only glimpse it from the corner of your eye. It's so bright, but you can't really see if for yourself. The moon is reflected light. It doesn't control the seasons but controls the tides and you can actually look at the moon. You can sit there gazing at it, contemplating it. It's not enough light to get a sunburn, but it's enough light on a clear night to find your way.

And I wonder if we're a little bit like that with God. God is huge and awesome and knowable but incomprehensible. He's too much for finite minds. Maybe we're a little bit like the moon -- reflections of a light that's not our own. I wonder if that was part of God's intent in making man in His own image, giving us a version of Himself that we could stand to look at, something we could begin to comprehend? I'm reminded of the story in the Old Testament when Moses is on the mountain and wants to see God and God basically tells him "if you saw me, you'd die". And so God hides Moses in a space in the rocks, and covers him as He walks by and even that barest brushing past is almost more than Moses can stand. Like staring right at the sun only so much worse.

I know that I am not God, I cannot manifest light of my own. But I can reflect it, on a clear night.

It's Cottage Time!

IT'S COTTAGE TIME, IT'S COTTAGE TIME...THE SKY IS DRY, THE SKY IS DRY!

OK, it's been a while since I've posted and I apologize. I recently discovered that people DO read this and keep on the happenings in my life. However, since none of you leave comments...

Anyway, last weekend I went to my Aunt Penny & Uncle Cliff's cottage. I went with my sister Jo-Anne & my nephew Jesse. Uncle Cliff has always been my favourite as he's so hilarious! He kept us laughing all the time. Of course, Jesse took quite a shine to him too. It was a nice time to relax, do some reading, catch some movies, etc. The cottage is really nice...they've done lots of work to it to fix it up. They even have a huge 42" TV that Cliff fanangled from work for $100!!! It was used in their board room and has a few "burnt-in" images, but overall...a fantastic deal.

Last Saturday I met up with the family I used to babysit. Josh was playing hockey in London, so I went over to Western Fair Grounds to meet them. It was a little crazy to see them all grown up. Emily is turning 15, Josh is 12 and Ashley is 10. They are such great kids. I used to love babysitting there...they were really cute and well-behaved. I remember teaching Emily who the Beatles were when she was about 1.5 years old. he he. Cute.

On Sunday I headed down to see my Aunt Peggy. I hadn't seen her since her heart surgery a few weeks ago. I'm glad I went. We had a 2 hour visit. Then I went over to my parents. My mom was babysitting Madison so I got to see her too. It was nice to have a mom-cooked meal and she even sent me home with a piece of pie!

I'm going to see Paul Brandt in October. I'm looking forward to that. He's one of my favourite country artists. I took my sister Jo-Anne last year for her birthday and we both loved it. This time I'm going with Char, Jo-Anne & Nick. It's at the Norfolk County Fair. Lookin' forward to it!

Globe Trotting

My friend Simon & his wife Claire are leaving in September to travel around the world. Can you imagine? They sold their house & cars, quit their jobs and are leaving in September. You can check out their adventure at http://www.threeappleshigh.ca/abroad/ I'm so jealous!! I'm sure they'll have the time of their lives! Have fun guys.

Star Struck

Last Thursday night Char & I were checking The Clog & Thistle in Ingersoll (on the recommendation of Bob, our Harley pal) The atmosphere was really cool but the service was horrific. The waitress was totally disinterested in us as customers and didn't say a word when she brought the food. However, after sitting there for about 10 minutes, my evening perked up considerably.

Four people walked in and I believe one of them was Christopher Plummer. Unfortunately, they were seated behind a room divider so I couldn't tell for sure. When we were finished, I did the rubber-necking walk by to "go to the washroom". I was convinced it was him, Char was not.

When we walked outside, I said "well, it still makes for a good story to say we think we saw Christopher Plummer." Then we saw a fancy red convertible sitting right in front of the restaurant. I was sure that was his car....'til I saw the decal on the back that said "Cowgirls of America". Um, ya...maybe not.

OK, so maybe it wasn't him. We got in the car and started out of the parking lot when we saw another fancy car sitting there with a driver sitting there reading the paper. That was enough to convince me that it was, indeed Captain Von Trapp inside. Although I did have to drive by once more for Char to see the driver through the dark windows. :)

note: This was my second time seeing Mr. Plummer. A few years ago I saw him at the Toronto Film Festival, but there's something exciting about randomly running into him in INGERSOLL!

Holiday Weekend

This weekend wasn't a long one for me as I worked on Monday. I didn't mind though...there's never much going on and you get paid lots of money. We even played a game in the evening!

On Friday night I headed down to my Grammie's. At some point I must've mentioned that I like spaghetti because she had some ready for me when I got there. We hung out and she told me some old stories...like the time Grandad agreed to buy a duck from a co-worker "for Sunday dinner". When the duck arrived, Grandad was working and Grammie had to deal with a LIVE duck until he got home to take care of it. He was annoyed and said the duck was supposed to be "dressed" when he got it. Well, being from England, Grammie had never heard that term before and wondered what he was supposed to be dressed for? ha ha ha .

On Saturday, I headed over to Connie & Steve's to hang out in the pool with Madison. She had just taken a week of swimming lessons and I can't believe the difference in her! Before she didn't want to leave the steps, now she's JUMPING in. She basically went from jumping in to the steps and back to jumping in...all afternoon! It was really nice to spend the afternoon in the pool and with Madison. After the swim, I headed out to Mom & Dad's for a steak dinner. Mmmm, yum. BBQ steak is my favourite food and Dad picked up a few steaks at the butcher shop the day before. It was gooood.

On Sunday I headed to the church I grew up at. It was really weird to see people I've known most of my life...and they're getting old! Of course, time stands still for me :) In the afternoon I babysat for my brother & his wife while they went to get a puppy. The kids were lots of fun. We did everything from make window stickers to pretend camping! I had to laugh when we went to see the chickens. Josh was commenting on how big they've gotten. (the last time they saw them they were fuzzy little chicks) He said "they used to be like 2 marshmallows stuck together". Ha ha ha. Josh always makes me laugh.

In the evening, we had a bonfire at the farm. It was so nice for everyone to get together. It was Jesse's first campfire and the other kids really liked the hotdogs & marshmallows. Of course, when the puppy arrived, it was VERY exciting! I have to admit she was pretty cute. An 8 week old Beagle, her name is going to be Daisy.

Heat Wave

Since Sunday, there has been an oppressive heatwave. Temperatures have been hovering around 36°C and with the humidex it feels like the mid-forties!! (speaking of humidex, what is it? If it feels like it's 42°C...why isn't that the temperature? any thoughts?) Anyway, it's been hot. My house is not air conditioned. In fact, it is more like an oven. Thank goodness my brother-in-law Nick gave me their old one and installed it for me. WHEW! Jodi & I have been hibernating in our respective bedrooms, staying cool.

On Sunday, my nephew Jesse turned ONE! We had a delightful little party with family, food and Winnie the Pooh everywhere! It is so cute to see all the cousins playing together. Josh (5) is very big-brother-ish to Jesse...quite adorable. I will post photos soon.

Thanks for all your prayers for my Aunt Peggy. Last Thursday she had angioplasty and it was very successful with no complications. I went to see her that night and she looked great and was joking around. The nurses said she was their star patient that day :) She is now discharged and staying with my cousin Esther.

I have found a new musician that I LOVE! As you know, I like to share new things I'm passionate about, so check out Xavier Rudd. http://www.xavierrudd.com He's from Australia and is like a Paul Simon/Dave Matthews/Jack Johnson with a little didgeridoo thrown in. I'm hooked! I've downloaded all three albums onto my i-pod and enjoying them while I work. Sweet.

Speaking of work...if anyone has any great ideas for a new career for me, let me know! After the CHUM layoffs a few weeks ago, I've felt vulnerable. The television broadcast industry is changing dramatically and I'm not so sure I want to be involved anymore. As of January it's going to be so depressing to come into work...it will be so empty here. The more I think about, the more I welcome the change. I just need to figure out what that change will be. :)