Sometimes progress comes slowly

As Mac and I have been working around the house this time round we've seen progress, but its been slow. We are almost finished painting the living room. Most of the blue on the walls had been done before, but we needed to get the ceiling patched up before we finished it up. So the blue was finished and Mac's been working on painting the trim/baseboards/crown molding/doors white with oil paints. Its a messy and time consuming job, but someone's gotta do it and Mac only bought one oil paint paint brush. Once he gets the crown molding done (that's all that's left) and we set the room a bit in order, I'll post a picture. It looks sooooooooo good! I can't wait until we pull up the carpets and expose the hardwood floors underneath.

I've been working outside mostly (when my shoulder will allow it). Those who visit this blog have seen my initial attempts with a veggie and herb garden. I'm please to announce that I haven't killed any of the plants yet! In fact they are all showing signs of growth. The tomato plants have strengthened and don't wither with the threat of sun anymore (they need tonnes of water after they are first planted), and the peppers, cucumbers, zucchinis and herbs have all been growing. I've even been able to pick and use some of the basil, dill, parsley and cilantro. Its been very exciting. But its also a slow process -- especially with the veggies. I want them to grow quicker than they are, but i will need to be patient. Never the less, for this week at least, i have a green thumb :)

Another project i've taken on is the front patio area. It will be a fabulous place for us (and guests) to use. We found a patio set with chairs and an umbrella for a smoking deal on craigslist.com. But there is a challenge -- before the area will be usable, the overgrowth of the bushes around the patio needs to be tamed. And as I'm working i'm finding that when the bushes are cut back to acceptable levels there is actually some bare ground! My goal is to get all the trimming done this time around. Then next time we're down I'll buy some flowers to put into the patio and bring some colour other than green. I am also planning on buying a citronella plant -- hopefully its smell will deter the mosquitoes! But this process is taking so much longer than I had anticipated -- which isn't overly surprising. I've never done this before, so I'm on a learning curve. In one week i'm moving from gardener to landscaper!!

We also got a new fridge today. The old one had a steady (though slow) leak in it. So we found a really good deal and got a new fridge. Its not quite as large as we had hoped (the cupboards were built snugly around the old fridge so we were limited in how tall it could be), but it is quite wonderful! When the fridge got pulled out there was a huge build up of mold and mildew caused by the leak. But while the guys who brought the new fridge got the old one out and worked on bringing the new one in, Mac and I were able to clean the floor -- I'm shocked at how clean it came actually!

So things progress around here. Our common theme of late is .... progress comes slowly! But thankfully, though things move slowly, they are moving ahead. (And speaking of moving slowly, still no word on the visa.)

It's Only May

And already Hollywood elites are threatening to move to Canada if McCain wins the presidential election. This year's hissy-fit has been thrown by Susan Sarandon. No surprises here. She and her husband, Tim Robbins, have been patriotically anti-US...I mean critical of the US for years. You would think a patriotic American would stay in country and fight the good fight to win back their country and try to legislate their morality. Isn't that what politics is? But these are Hollywood types and commitment is not a defining word for them.

My real question is this. Why do you say such things? No one is going to the polls thinking, "If I don't vote for Barack Obama, Susan Sarandon may leave the US" (or maybe they are!!) It just shows the utter arrogance of these people to think that I care where she lives. Who knows, maybe enough people who don't care much for her type will show up in November to wish her a fond farewell. But then again, Alec Baldwin has yet to move and GW Bush's second term is almost over.

Laying Down Roots

Well we are still waiting on our visa interview to get me into the states. Patience is wearing thin at times, but still we wait. Currently, we are hoping that I will be summoned for around July 9th. I have to be in Montreal for meetings then anyways, so if it would work to come on that day, it would be absolutely perfect!

But in the mean time I have decided to lay down some roots. We're going to be in the states for most of the summer, and what is better in the summer than veggies from your own garden?? Jewel had a veggie garden laying fallow, so yesterday I went in, pulled the weeds (had to be careful here... poison ivy is a common weed), dug up the lillies that were spreading into it like weeds, turned the garden soil with a shovel and in the process found a root system that i'm not sure what it was from (there are many options back there), and at last planted a veggie garden :) We're hoping that we'll start having ripe veggies by the end of June when we start receiving guests down here.


On the far left: tomatoes and a hot pepper plant.
In the middle: red and yellow bell peppers and two more cayenne plants.
On the right: cucumbers













Same stuff, different angle -- you can see the tomato plants better here.















These are my three zucchini plants. Beside the garden you can see a lilly that has planted itself between the wood edging the garden and the cement walkway.










I was a little ambitious space-wise. I realized after i had everything planted the first time that there was absolutely NO room for my herbs -- especially as Zucchinis are HUGE plants (the tag said they need to be 6 feet away from any other plant!!). So I took over a small garden beside the house and turned it into an herb garden. Mmmm can you smell the dill, cilantro, oregano, basil, mint and parsley?





For the most part everything is really tiny right now. The dill i can start harvesting already and i found a small cayenne pepper (see left) on one of the plants, but on the whole we have a ways to go right now. For the next week while we're still here i'll be making sure its well watered, and attacking any weeds that dare to make an appearance. I will also likely make a chicken wire fence around it. There are a LOT of wild rabbits in the area. So if i can protect my new garden from them, it would likely be a good idea.

So again, I am following in the footsteps of my father, who love to grow veggies (especially tomatoes) in the backyard. Let's see how I do!! My mouth is already watering for my very own vegetables that I grew!

ps. Rather than being a "Red Neck" I am currently a "Red Low-Back". While somewhat derogatory today, the term "Red Neck" had to do with the sun burns/tans/colour that people got while working out doors. Well my neck is fine, but my back ... it didn't escape unscathed! I didn't even think about the hot sun yesterday (other than to enjoy it). And while I tan well, I need to be careful at the beginning of the sun season. Well I forgot to "spiff-up" with sunscreen and am now sporting a burn on my shoulders (i was wearing a tank top) and on a good chunk of my low-back where my shirt was riding up when i was bent over and kneeling. I will spare you the picture of that one. I do find it rather ironic that my neck barely got any colour when both of my shoulders got burnt (and it was well exposed) but my lower-back got nailed. I'm a "Red Back"! Starting a new trend??

Refinishing.... finished!

So one of my recent projects is now finished. I refinished an old dry sink (antique) for Mac's parents. My dad and both grandfathers and a great-grandfather all work with wood, so I was hoping it might be genetic. Here are some photos, I think it turned out pretty well :)


These first few pictures are "in progress photos". As you can see, the dry sink used to be an awful green colour -- Late 60s/Early 70s green. It really wasn't hard to figure out why they wanted the unit refinished. It was just plain ugly before!

























Here's the inside of the cabinet -- untouched by the stripping agent to give you a really good idea of the colour.











Here you can see SOME of the layers -- 60s green, over tourquoise, over cream, over some sort of finish.










Ta da! The new piece -- can you believe this is the same thing???

There seems to have been 2 different types of wood used to build the unit. The wood on the drawer fronts, around the doors and the top sides seems to be a lighter wood than the stuff on the rest of the unit.








I promise its not black. Though it looks very dark in these photos, especially this one.

















This gives you a better idea of what the colour actually is.












And once we got it to Mac's parent's place, it was very shortly put to use -- a dry bar.
















I didn't strip the shelves inside, just gave them another coat of black paint and then a clear gloss coat over top of everything.








Not to "toot my own horn", but I'm so pleased with how the unit turned out. There were a few places the paint just would not come out of the grain of the wood, but over all, it just turned out so wonderful!!!

Illegal Immigration

This morning Mac was listening to a video on the internet focused on Illegal Immigration. Protesters chanted "No Racists, No Bordered, no Minute-Man supporters.." Over and over again. And while I feel for those who have fled horrible situations to come to a place that is safer, I find myself tiring of the debate to make "legal" "illegal" immigrants. I have to wonder, if I was living here illegally and there was a vote/law whatever that would give amnesty to illegal immigrants, would i be accepted as an illegal immigrant? Or is my skin the wrong colour? Perhaps I have grown overly cynical on this topic, but as someone who is trying to enter into residence in the States LEGALLY, I find all this frustrating! Reform the immigration legislation -- that is definitely necessary! I can't even begin to tell you all the waste that is in the system currently. Its a long drawn out process and I can't help but think there must be a way to streamline it. Or maybe I just want the US government to work on my schedule.

If they provide amnesty for illegal aliens, what are they going to do for the rest of us who had to pay money not only to apply or immigration, but to go to a special doctor for an incredibly invasive doctors appointment (or so I've heard), pay for residences in two countries, have had to put off dealing with family stuff because they couldn't be in the country when necessary.....? Or do we not matter because our skin colour or country of origin means we have the resources to go through this process and for it to take a long time isn't a big deal???

The issue here at hand here is instant gratification. While there are many who have immigrated illegally because of war and other atrocities, and I do feel for them. But they can claim refugee status and have LEGAL status in the US. Others are here because they have families here, or because they want to make more money to send to their family back home in __________, or because the grass looks greener on the US side of the fence -- there are millions of reasons as to why people would want to move to the states. Me, I want to live with my HUSBAND, where he can work and where we can help support his parents for awhile. That is no more or less noble than any other reason. Yes I could just hop the fence and never leave the States, but I'd rather have the freedom to cross the border whenever I want, without fear of one day being barred from entry because they caught up to me. And good things come to those that wait. Why on earth should people be allowed to have citizenship in a country when they want it -- and just because they skipped the process to get in legally??

Bottom line. Countries have borders for a reason. Some may legitimately have no other choice but to flee their country. But most have the luxury of making the decision whether they are going to enter the States (or Canada, as there are thousands of illegal immigrants in Canada as well), by legal or illegal means. For those who are legitimate refugees -- let's welcome them with open arms. But to all those who made a definite choice to skip the process --- get in line with the rest of us who want to enter the States.

No Fathers Needed

The UK has declared that fathers are not a necessary part of the family, or put in medical term, they are simply sperm donors. So how do I as a Christian respond to this? Do I keep silent as many on the Religious Left demand? Does the Church hunker down and take a contrary view to this style of family planning even though the state approves? Do we continue to mythologize Genesis 1-11 and further discount Adam and Eve seeing them as two 'people' instead of God's first family? Now that this is law in the UK, does the Church come under legal exposure when it calls for repentance from this lifestyle?

I find it extremely peculiar that a woman's right to abortion is enshrined while a child's right to a father is denied. This seems to be a continued path down the lane of human selfishness as humans continue to give God the finger. But hey, that's what rebellion is all about.

News From South America

This is rather exciting. The terrorist organization FARC has been devastated after a cross border raid by the Colombians. You see, the Colombians captured some laptop computers with valuable information leading to the systematic raiding of weapons depots, money sources, and supporters. Now the FARC leader "Karina" has been captured. Hugo Chavez has lost a major ally in the region...an army of agents provocateur are no longer active in Chavez's hegemonic activities. Of course, I am sure that FARC will have its apologists claiming that the terrorists provided 'social services' for the community thus were good...kinda like Hezballah, losing sight of the groups endemic racism and murderous ways.

This is Troubling

As the climate warmed from 1950-1999 (it has since cooled for the past 10 years), the population of Polar Bears doubled. Armed with those facts, the USA has declared these white bears threatened. As the euphoria subsides, there are two troubling facts that the average person will need to prepare for. First CO2, a naturally occurring gas that is necessary for life on the Earth to survive, is legally listed as a pollutant by the USA. Second Polar Bears, now that they are threatened by s0-called man-made global warming, will be the impetus for multiple lawsuits.

How so? Now that CO2 is a pollutant which causes global warming and the bears are now threatened by global warming, any emission of CO2 can be challenged in court under US environmental laws. That means any new project or product or baby (that's hyperbolic) must now do some environmental impact study for its carbon output and how it will effect the polar bears. Sadly, it is the poor who will suffer as food prices continue to rise and shortages will ensue as production is slowed.

Fact or Fad? Part II

I did not plan to do any sort of follow up on yesterday's post, so please indulge me. I recently read Brian McLaren's new book, Everything Must Change. He is very much an 'incarnational' water carrier. I walked away from the book troubled by the conspicuously absent Jesus. In summary: McLaren sets the stage for the whole of humanity incarnating Jesus because we have Christ's example of what is good living and where we find that life we find Christ. Crudely stated, Jesus came 2000 years ago as the prime example and now we are to incarnate that example. I could not help but ask, "Is that all there is?" The Holy Spirit and Christ's second coming are given lip service, and it is difficult to discern just how they act in his narrative.

This type of thought gaining ground but the foundations of it are purely modernistic. The assumption that the betterment of the world (or in Christian terms, the movement of God's Kingdom) is human prerogative, comes straight out of the Western Enlightenment. Government programs and scientific progress under gird this movement which is theologically argued from an immanent God position, or God can be seen working in history and within the rules of the natural realm (ie time and space). God is somehow made subject to his creation. Thus, if God wants to act, He will not intervene supernaturally (also Enlightenment thinking), rather He limits his activity to the natural. So, we 'incarnate' Christ for that is the only way He works.

After the 2oth century, I don't think I want to subscribe to this view. If progress is measured in humanity's efficient killing of one another, the 20th century was truly the most progressive. That seems contrary to the Gospel. Government programs and scientific advance have a place, but the evidence of evil cannot be ignored. McLaren rightly points to systemic evil, but then calls for a new system that will be administered by corrupt humans. He never deals with the individual heart because to do so forces one to see the Kingdom of God as exclusively residing in the Church. That is, only the Church has the answer for the evil that lurks in each of our hearts. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that allows us to do any sort of good, and it is the return of Christ in power that will ultimately quash the ongoing rebellion against His sovereignty.

Fact or Fad?

I have been thoroughly confused by a religious term over the last decade. The concept in question is "incarnational". Roughly described, we as Christians are Christ to the world or, the Christian Church incarnates Christ today. I don't think I am wrong when I say this is a stronger concept than representation or, the Church simply represents Christ in the world. I have come to the meager conclusion that this 'incarnational' ministry idea is flawed. I am not Jesus and the incarnation was a one time event. Indeed, scripture talks of Christians as ambassadors which means full representation, but it does not lend itself to incarnation.

I think this flawed view of 'incarnational' ministry stems from an historical weakness in our understanding of the Holy Spirit. Whilst we cannot dismiss the importance of Christ (we are Christians for a reason), we cannot divide the Trinitarian reality of God. Paul says we are 'Spirit People' endowed with gifts for ministry and this witnesses to Christ. This is a better analysis than 'incarnational' as the individual remains who he or she is, identified by the Holy Spirit as being in Christ before the Father... and not absorbed into the One (whether it be the collective incarnated Church or the abstraction of believer-as-Christ).

Gas Taxes

Much to my chagrin (I was going to say surprise, but this is Canada), Canada has been making windfall profits on the backs of the working class as the price of gas increases. CTV News just did an article on how the government was reaping exorbitant profits from taxes on gas per liter AND price. The justification was the increased funds for infrastructure...OK, but should the government force people to eat dog food in order to pay the government taxes on a fill-up of gas? Sadly, in the midst of all their backslapping, Ottawa seems to have no person standing for the average person. Remember this, the next time you buy gas the government is making more per dollar spent than the oil company.