Life and Random Thinking

Flooding in Australia and California

Posted on January 3, 2011 by dfolstad58

I thought I would add these two you-tube videos to my blog because they are reminders to myself to count my blessings, and remind me to remember others in my prayers. Always I need to remind myself not to have tunnel-vision.

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Arthur Conan Doyle

Posted on January 3, 2011 by dfolstad58

Arthur Conan Doyle I suppose the language is what attracts me to re-reading certain authors, such as Arthur Conan Doyle whose most famous fictional character for me is Sherlock Holmes. The use of vocabulary challenges me to expand my comparably … Continue reading →

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Oscar Wilde

Posted on January 3, 2011 by dfolstad58

Image by Kurt Magoon via Flickr

Once again I am re-reading some of Oscar Wilde’s plays. I am nearly finished and I enjoy how he turns a phrase with such wit. I should take the time to read more about his times, the society he observed but I suspect that beneath the silliness he was commenting on his times; the harshness of absolutes, forgiveness, all while taking a swipe at snobbery.

Lady Windermere’s Fan, An Ideal Husband, A Woman of No Importance are all plays overshadowed by his more famous The Importance of Being Earnest but I certainly enjoyed reading them and recommend them.

There are so many examples I could share that I will have to quickly pick just one to share:

From A Woman of No Importance:

Lady Hunstanton (LH): …. I think on the whole that the secret of life is to take things very, very easily.

Mrs Mallonby (MM): The secret of life is never to have an emotion that is unbecoming.

Lady Stutfield(LS): The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly, terribly deceived.

Kelvil: The secret of life is to resist temptation, Lady Stutfield.

Lord Illingworth: There is no secret of life. Life’s aim, if it has one, is simply to be always looking for temptations. There are not nearly enough. I sometimes pass a whole day without coming across a single one. It is quite dreadful,. It makes one so nervous about the future.

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Mona Lisa

Posted on December 28, 2010 by dfolstad58

Google image

Sunset or dawn ~ I guess it depends on your perspective. 2016 is facing it’s sunset but the 2017 year is fast approaching dawn.

winter scene along Okanagan lake

For some it has been a year of celebrations, graduation, new milestones and for an equal portion it has been a year of challenges, and disappointment. For most, I hope, it has been a year full of lessons, and real joyful times.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

As I begin each year I do so with the intent to do more. I will try to be more free with compliments and smiles, frugal in my complaints and criticisms.

I hope that I can embrace the new year with optimism to be a better friend, more understanding father, and that in a year from now I will reflect and know it was a year well-spent.

If not, I am normal, human and will keep trying.🐧

Leonardo da Vinci – Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.

Internet photo

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Christmas Memories

Posted on December 15, 2010 by dfolstad58

The season is upon us, Christmas season that is. I remember the Christmas on my grandfather’s farm when I was 10ish and the gifts that stand out (no not underwear) were a toy submarine and a flashlight. The submarine from my Uncle Julie (julius) was supposed to rise and fall in the tub just like a real sub when placed dissolving tablets in it. It never worked as advertised but for awhile I looked forward to bathtime. The flashlight was dead by morning. I must have laid for hours with my brother and we flashed the beams of light on the ceiling in the basement where we were stashed until morning. The lights were zoomed, spun, and battling on the ceiling until we fell asleep. It felt like we were awake all night but it was probably more like midnight.

When I was about seven years old I remember living in Quesnel and getting a wooden tobaggan. It went to use the next day, and I remember the year I received a crokinole board. Cool ! Sadly the sweaters, socks, and electronics I undoubtedly received have faded from my memory.

But Christmas cooking, Christmas trees all decorated, sneaking Christmas fudge, and family time opening our gifts in turn together all stand out in my mind.

The Christmas magic returns now to me with the simple events and activities with family. I look forward to quiet time with Susan, the happy task of making her smile when her neck is rubbed. The Christmas magic of hanging out with my son David, and my daughter Mandy is hard to compare. Even though now I tend to lose to them in whatever board game we play, I still look forward to it. Hopefully there is more snowmen in the future for me, more delicious turkey, and many more memories never to fade.

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Snow Flakes!

Posted on December 11, 2010 by dfolstad58

Right now skiers, snowboarders, and snow removal contractors are doing a happy dance! December 11, 2010 – 2:44 and white snow flakes are floating, swirling and dancing to earth. These are the kind of snowflakes that are light and fluffy. If you are outside and they land on your jacket you can see the beauty of their crystal shapes ~ each one different so they say.

Fluttering and falling faster and faster – it’s a real show! For an encore I will have to do my shovelling the driveway schtick.

But where would summer be without heat, and Christmas without snow? The homes that are festooned with coloured lights will look even more cheery tonight!