Spots of Green

Does it ever feel as though your life moves in a cyclical process as opposed to a linear movement?

I have officially exceeded the amount of time between degrees...that sentence sounds unnecessarily complex. In other words, it's the longest amount of time I have spent not in school. Since I was 5 years old of course.

I thought I would never want to look at another syllabus again, and yet here I am dreaming of another field of study I might like to pursue:

Horticulture.

I want to grow plants.

Pretty ones.

Delicious ones.

Aromatic ones.

An irrational dream to have at December's doorstep. Or is it...

Here are some exciting ways that I've assembled to beat the winter blues and spread a little happy green.

1. The ever faithful, Houseplant. I currently have 8 plants that I am tendering, although they say you can never have too many.

2. Terrariums. My sister, mom and I have attempted these and failed. Although I believe there is hope for YOU. If you are uncertain what a terrarium, and would like to know, is click the link.

3. Forcing bulbs. I always like this idea, but have yet to bring it into being. I'm thinking of taking the easy way out and buying bulbs that don't need the chilling process, and can be planted immediately, such as the Amaryllis and Paperwhite Narcissus.

4. Planning your spring garden. This usually just increases my impatience, but it can provide sparks of creativity. My new house has a backyard that has 3 raised beds, in which I feel much good can be accomplished.

5. Lastly (but not really because I'm sure there are lots of other great ideas out there), I suggest buying cut flowers for your table. I know they die really fast, but during a particularly dark shade of blue they can provide a bright spot of warmth and inspiration.

Jennie Attempts to be Technological

After the sad realization that playlist.com had decided to cater only to American subscribers, I decided to search the web for alternative methods of forcing music down people's ears.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I came up with Streampad...which is a decidedly frustrating device for a simple girl like myself, but it works...sort of. Please let me know if there is a far easier, less time consuming alternative out there in the vast world wide web.




Jordan Klassen (Go To Me)

Go On

Autumn is on its way. Despite the favourable temperatures this past week it is clear summer is coming to an end in the subtle changing of leaves and the crisp early mornings.

Ahh September. The month of new beginnings.

Some of Jennie's Autumn news:

1. Moved to a lovely little house with a spiral staircase and an attic nook where I can hide away from the world when need be.

2. Bought a coffee plant. I aspire for it to eventually grow beans.

3. Bought a dining room table which oddly felt like my biggest adult decision yet.

4. Turned 25 years of age. Ah, quarter of a century, you cause great reflection on the meaning of life.

5. Listened to some great bands.

I dedicate this lil' song to my friend Laura who has embarked on an exciting new journey.

I'm reminiscing my west coast holiday by listening to some Fleet Foxes.

Ahh, holidays..you were good to me.

A lil' Update

Alas, I have not been a consistent blogger as of late.

Some rather noteworthy events have occurred which I neglected to share, mainly:

1. My niece turned 5 months old.

2. My dating relationship turned 5 months old.

3. I went to Toronto and was in awe of Niagara Falls, strutted my stuff down Yonge Street, rode on the subway, braved the glass floor at the CN tower, peaked my head in the CBC broadcasting headquarters (I tried to get a glimpse of Jian Ghomeshi but to no avail), and yes dad, made a trip to the sky dome. I also attempted to speak Russian to Yuri's parents, and ended up calling them a "goat".

4. I celebrated the wedding of my dear friend Charis to her darling Rick.

5. I am attempting to grow my first eggplant.

6. I went kayaking for the first time and did not die or fall out.

This evening I was walking in downtown Winnipeg. In the midst of gentle rain, fresh green leaves, and the hurried pace of people on sidewalks this song began to play on my ipod. It was an illuminating moment. "The cup that was empty is slowly filling up."



"country it was taken, land dug up
families were broken, spirits were crushed
the language that was silenced, is now free to be passed
the cup that was empty, is slowly filling up"

"I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us. We don't have to rely totally on experience if we can do things in our imagination. ... It's the only way in which you can live more lives than your own. You can escape your own time, your own sensibility, your own narrowness of vision."
-Excerpt of an interview with Mary Oliver

Went for a hike

"We need the tonic of wildness... We can never have enough of nature." -- Henry David Thoreau

It was an exciting day at the nursing home, as we had the West End Cloggers come and perform some special dance numbers.

In case you are not familiar with clogging, as I was not, I have included a you tube video. The majority of the residents who I invited to attend were not familiar with the clog dance. "Fogging? What's that?!" I resorted to explaining the event as "women dancers"...which incidently helped to increase the audience numbers.

NOTE: The West End Cloggers are not young, agile men, but rather women in their more formative years. I was personally quite impressed with their moves...

Don't Hesitate

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.” ~Mary Oliver

Energy

Along with the sunny weather and warmer temperatures, my energy is slowly returning! What a wonderful feeling to return home from work, and feel like I could do something other than sleep. Not that sleeping is bad...I'm a big fan of sleep...but there are other things in life that I enjoy.

Things like...my beautiful baby niece! Check out this video clip of her cuteness...

Things like...thinking of what seedlings I wish to start in my indoor garden.

Things like...Going for walks for reasons other than catching the bus.

I have mono. It kind of sucks.

Right now I feel like I could sleep forever.

I am mollified to know that the past couple of weeks of feverish sick days have an explanation.

Fish Heads: To the doctor who diagnosed me in 5.8 seconds with scarlet fever without doing a throat swab, and got me to take penicillin (which I found out later I am allergic to...).

Flowers: To the nice doctor who took my blood and did a proper throat swab, and discovered that I actually have an untreatable virus.

Fish Heads: To the cars that don't slow down whilst driving through puddles. I like taking showers, just not from the spray of your speeding vehicle.

Flowers: To the tentative arrival of spring.

Flowers: To the cute boy who brings me chocolate and vitamins.

Flowers: To the compassionate coworkers who care about my well-being and force me to go to the clinic when I have a hideous looking rash.

Flowers: To the empathetic family who loves me even though they forgot to tell me that I have an allergy to penicillin.

Flowers: To having a week off to sleep and read, and reflect on the beauty and joy in life.

New Beginnings...

Where it's at...

I had such a restful weekend after a bout of sickness, that I decided to celebrate with a dance party. In my bedroom. Just me and Katy...

"boom boom boom."


Nursing home quote of the week:
Elderly male resident remarks, "If I were 10 years younger, I'd marry you."

This is why I work at a nursing home...the daily ego boost is pretty spectacular.

My Dandylion

Chloe Anika was born! A precious baby niece for me to cuddle, play with, and read stories to.

Best Workout Songs

The other day CBC Radio 2 asked listeners what their favourite music is to work out to. I have been attempting as of late to go to the gym and get into some sort of shape, so this has been a perplexing question for me. What music do I best jiggle and jump to?

Here is a list of some of my recent top fav's to pound the ground to:

1. Dog days are over - Florence and the Machine

2. Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio

3. You Make my Dreams Come True - Hall + Oates

4. Float On - Modest Mouse

5. Arc of Time - Bright Eyes

6. Gimme Sympathy - Metric

7. King of Spain - The Tallest Man on Earth

8. 1901 - Phoenix

9. Sprawl II - Arcade Fire

10. This Thing About You - Miracle Fortress

Honourable Mentions:
The Rural Alberta Advantage, Black Eyed Peas, Anberlin, and Pink.

Cyber friends, any music that you love to groove and move to? I would love to add some new tunes to the ol' ipod! Please share!

Confession: I hate thinking of titles

1. I had four different activity options scheduled for this evening (which is a pretty intense smorgasbord for an introvert), and honestly I didn't really feel like doing any of them...and then when they all fell through I was left feeling slightly disgruntled.

I suppose this is the result of the completion of a very busy time during which my alone time was vastly limited, and I am now experiencing something akin to having one's stomach stretched when they eat large amounts of food, and then in the proceeding days regular meals cannot stifle the hunger pains...

2. Two of my plants died over the Christmas break. It is slightly depressing to arrive home and discover decomposing plants on your desk.

3. I'm making a lot of spelling mistakes tonight. Misspelled words are a personal pet peeve of mine.
Ah well.

Ring the bells that can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
Leonard Cohen

Thanks Leonard. I feel better now.

4. Last night my brother, sister, Chuck and I watched "The Social Network". The dialogue was fast-paced and witty. The logical (generally offensive) eruptions from the main character were well placed. The computer jargon was clearly over my head. But I enjoyed it nevertheless.

5. I'm trying to "force" tulip bulbs. Tulips are my favourite flower ever since I was given a tulip bulb in grade 2, planted it in my front yard, and it bloomed every year despite the hungry deer and my dad's lawn mowing.

6. I played Clue with my siblings this past week. I have a general aversion to board games.I prefer word games such as Scrabble, Balderdash, or Apples to Apples. However my siblings are all logical, left brained creatures, and I am left in the dust whenever they play strategy games such as Risk or Settlers of Catan, etc. Anyway, I decided to face my board game fears and play a game of Clue. Clue is relatively gentle, no countries are dominated in this game, just plain, old-fashioned murder. The game began in a normal manner until Lindsay decided to take a "stab" at guessing who-done-it. As she pulled out the cards, and looked flabbergasted at what was in her hand, I slowly came to the conclusion that I had two of the three cards that she had just guessed, and that I had forgotten all about them, despite the repeated suggestions that Mr. Green had done it in the Living Room. The murder that is.

Whoopsie. At least I tried.