Tonight is the night!

My recognition service is tonight.

A service to officially recognize me as a Recognized Designated Lay Minister and to lift up the 18 years of ministry that I`ve completed so far. It`s taken a year for a church committee to work through my recognition process.

Today I am feeling thankful for the church and feeling disappointed in it too.

Hopefully tonight will be lovely.

Pentecost Picnic

Yesterday in the church we celebrated Pentecost with ribbons, music, fire, scripture and a picnic! About 130 people stayed for the picnic which was an amazing turn out. I bought 120 of everything (hot dogs, buns, plates etc.) and we ran out. That`s always a good sign. The weather was warm and wonderful allowing for egg relays, face painting, games, bocci and water balloon activities to happen. Everybody seemed to have a great time and my colleague said it was the best picnic he has ever been apart of. Yay!

Antique Shop

This is one of my favourite shops to visit. I always find wonderful things to bring home.

Hockey Town

Lucky Local Day!

In the market I found an incredibly amount of delicious local food....
onions
garlic
red peppers
yellow peppers
bok choi
spinach
mushrooms
carrots
baby potatoes
rosemary, dill and basil

In the butcher....
I bought two ethically raised chicken breasts and 10 pieces of bacon

I cooked dinner for Mom and we had a great feast. The smells coming from the kitchen were incredible.

What a lucky day!

TGIF!

The sun is FINALLY shining today! It`s been a long season of rain this year. My week off is going well. I am getting lots of rest, lots of house projects done and lots of time to reflect & plan my future worship services. Mom flies home today and will be here for the month. I can`t wait to pick her up. It`s been a long time.

Local Season Begins!

June 1st makes for a perfect day to begin a season of eating locally. I`ve been in the winter rut of eating lately and it`s time to get back on the bandwagon. My two favourite & inspiring books are ``Animal Vegetable Miracle`` by Barbara Kingsolver and ``The 100 Mile Diet`` by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon. I read them every year. Together they create perspectives and resources from the USA and Canada. A great mix!

The 100 mile diet, if strictly followed, requires participants to eat food that is grown & produced within 100 miles of their home. This includes every ingredient in a product. Exceptions are allowed if we state them in the beginning. So my exceptions are:
1. Any Fair Trade products including coffee, sugar, spices
2. Ethically raised meat and wild seafood or fish.
3. Social Life Amendment (Meal invitations with family & friends)
4. Travel

So today I began. I visited my local farmer`s market and I spent time in my garden.

At the market I found:
cheese
salad greens (a variety of Fraser Valley leaves)
rhubarb
potato's
two tomato plants grown by Kwantlen College`s Horticulture Students

In my garden I picked:
chives
lettuce
basil