Jour 9 – Day 9; Tree of Heaven

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Happy Easter! 

Today is Jour 9 – Day 9 of my blogging assignment to myself. If you want to read the previous posts, and I hope you do, then go to that blogging assignment category on my blog’s right side.

When I was a youngster I looked forward to Easter Sunday morning because it meant hidden Easter Bunny treats.

The bunny apparently was a silent visitor (like Santa) on Easter Sunday and he left a trail around the house of jelly beans. (perhaps the birth of my sweet tooth)

My brother, James,  and I would flit around in our pj’s, accumulating our stash of jelly beans, small chocolates and the inevitable solid chocolate bunny each.  Mom and Dad were watching over us and would give one of us tips where to look if either one of us was getting too much of the chocolate. ♥

Then off to Sunday service at church, chocolate on our breath.

Sundays also included time spent visiting with Baba (grandma). Baba and Guido were from the Ukraine and Easter had many special traditions for me because of them. ♥

Happy Easter memories includes the painting of easter eggs and dyeing them with Baba.

I would sit at her kitchen table, and make easter eggs. It began with a white boiled egg canvas, little bowls of dye.

I would paint designs of melted wax onto the egg to symbolize food, health, prosperity.  Designs like wheat, flowers and in my case hearts, and my name of course. 🙂

Baba’s was the best but she made us feel like we did a wonderful job also.  I miss her.

More information here on the history of Pysanka – Ukrainian Easter Eggs

My eggs were simple and I always put the year on them.  Today these eggs are priceless remembrances of those times with Baba, and simpler days in my youth.

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Today’s Quote from Ronald Reagan

who talked about celebrating Easter and Passover was deeply associated with freedom and American values.

“The generation of Americans now growing up in schools across our country can make sure the United States will remain a force for good, the champion of peace and freedom, as their parents and grandparents before them have done,”

“If we live our lives and dedicate our country to truth, to love, and to God, we will be a part of something much stronger and much more enduring than any negative power here on Earth.”

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Tree of Heaven 

In 1994 Stuart McLean began Vinyl Cafe, a radio broadcast that he recorded live as he travelled the width and breadth of Canada.

He visited small towns and big centres from the Atlantic Ocean to Whitehorse, Yukon Territories and to Vancouver Island on the Pacific Ocean.

He visited my small town of Penticton and I booked our seats six months in advance, my family and eight close friends lined up in the 12th row of the auditorium. What a lovely October evening that was.

It was fantastic heartwarming evening,  a show of Canadian music, Stuart’s monologue and two of his original stories.  He told clean stories of humor, featuring Dave who owned the Vinyl Cafe and somehow despite his best intentions ended up in awkward fantastical situations.

I encourage you to enjoy a heartwarming show picked for this special weekend.

Slow down and enjoy a simpler form of entertainment. 

 

I hope you will invite your loved ones to join you,  lean back and  relax and listen like Canadians have for decades with Stuart. 

This is my Easter gift to my blog friends wherever you are. You make blogging special for me. I am grateful to you.  Enjoy the video.  

– Hugs, David

 Tree of Heaven

This is a wonderful story about Dave, a seed, and it has a special connection to New York city which is explained at the end.  

 

 

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Jour 8 – Day 8; Look Fear In the Face

More Life and Random Thinking

Welcome ! Today is Jour 8 -Day 8 – I am filing these posts away under my category: Blogging Assignments.

Big thank you for visiting today. Some readers like the quotes, others the musical choices,  I hope there is something you will like in my post today.  – David

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Word of the Day – Antithesis 

Meaning: A person or a thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.

Synonym: reverse, contrast, opposite

In a sentence: Love is the antithesis of selfishness.

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skateboard amy purdy“If your life was a book, and you were the author, where would you want your story to go” – That’s the question of Amy Purdy. 

 

Quote of the Day:  

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.

You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt, You learn by Living; Eleven keys for a more fulfilling life

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Leadership for non- Adults:

Not sure if you saw the Lego Youtube that Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau did as a message to children about the Virus situation –

If you would like to check it out – click here.

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Musical Link

– I thought this seemed appropriate today, and no one does it better than the classic – Stand By Me, Ben E King (1961)

When the night has come, and the way is dark,
And that moon is the only light you see.
No I won’t be afraid, no I-I-I won’t be afraid
Just as long as the people come and stand by me.

 

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Jour 7 – Day 7, There’s a Hole In my Sidewalk

To begin

Welcome and a couple pictures of life from today in my little city.

Just thinking out loud:

My Life in Five Chapters – Portia Nelson;   I memorized this one page “Five Chapter” lesson (poem?)   It is about self-discovery, and I think almost every person who reads this thoughtfully will find it applicable.  Now I will have to refresh my memory so I can still tell it.  🙂

Who hasn’t fallen in a few times before walking around the hole in their sidewalk?

I am wondering if anyone else has read it.  Here’s a link. 

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Quote –

today’s quote is from a poem by William Cowper, named “Mutual Forbearance”, I won’t quote the entire poem, but if you want to read it after reading my excerpt below, click here.  It’s quite the poem, but I shall say no more.

The kindest and the happiest pair
Will find occasion to forbear;
And something, ev’ry day they live,
To pity, and, perhaps, forgive.

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ttl sherlock holmes words ratiocination

Word of the Day – Ratiocination

Definition

1 : the process of exact thinking : reasoning 2 : a reasoned train of thought

About the Word

Sherlock Holmes was the ultimate logical reasoner in pop culture until Mr. Spock came along. When the first of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey, Jr. was released, a form of ratiocination was used in several of the reviews. We can see ratio and rational in ratiocination; they share the same Latin root that means “computation” or “reason.” There’s also the verb ratiocinate and the adjective ratiocinative.

Inspired by this internet page, here.

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Musical note – I have a confession.

Yesterday I could not get the CUP SONG out of my head, and so today I looked on Youtube for tutorials on how to do the cup movements, there are lots of them.

If you are like me and you have listened to this song a few times (or sang it in your head), here’s a challenge for anyone willing, it won’t take long, there is just about 6 steps!  – two or more of you learn the movements also.

My favorite version is still the one from Day one of these blogging assignments aka Birinci gün

So simple to do – see below, ONLY 60 seconds long.  Now I have to find a cup !  Thanks for visiting – David

 

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Jour 6 – Day 6; Sunshine on My Shoulder

Beautiful blue skies today, temperature reached 18 Celcius, 

people were finding spots to suntan, and picnic outside. I was out enjoying the day. Thanks Mother Nature. ♥

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Today’s post – Jour 6 (Day 6)

will include a Word of the Day, Quote, and a musical note to end on. 

Thanks you each one for visiting.  Try to use the Word of the Day if you can when you comment on the post.

Day 6 is a continuation under the category: Blogging Assignments. – Take care, David 

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Word of the Day – Scoundrel

 A Noun Meaning:  a dishonest or unscrupulous person, a rogue

Synonyms: Rascal, rogue, good-for-nothing,  cheat, swindler, charlatan.

In a sentence: He was a thief and a scoundrel. 

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Quote –

Women are made to be loved, not understood. (Oscar Wilde)

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Musical Note – 

When I was about 14 years old, grade 9 I guess and my parents surprised me with my own record player.  I was pumped, and they gave me my first album, which was one by Elvis Presley.  One of the songs was Always on My Mind.

Elvis sang it well, but I believe it was Willie Nelson who wrote it, and his version is classic.

And maybe I didn’t hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
I guess I never told you
I am so happy that you’re mine
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

 

 

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Photos from my Weekend

Mother Nature has been moody 

in my little city the last few days.  We have had wind, and cloud, sun and rain, we have had even hail and snow (it didn’t last long).

I was out riding my bike when it started snowing

so hard I had to stop and put on glasses as I couldn’t see with the flakes going into my eyes.

I took a two-day hiatus from posting and today my post will be some photos from the weekend.  I hope you enjoy them, and the captions when you click. – David

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Day 5 – Tag 5- Challenge Accomplished

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Day 5 – Tag 5 –

I made it!  Congratulations to people who take on much longer challenges than mine which was just to Blog five days in a row.

I am feeling grateful to the bloggers who stop by and leave comments, so many excellent blogs of all types – travel, health, thoughtful, insightful, entertaining, humourous, travel and so on.

I know a few of my blogging friends have even read all five of my posts this week, thanks very much !

FYI – I am categorizing them under Blogging Assignments, if you want to read all five.

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Word of the DayTwaddle

Meaning (noun): trivial or foolish speech or writing; nonsense, rubbish, balderdash, gibberish, claptrap

As in: “he dismissed the novel as self-indulgent twaddle.

Meaning (verb): talk or write in a trivial or foolish way.

As in: “what is that old fellow twaddling about?

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Quote of the Day – 

I always pass on good advice.  It is the only thing to do with it.  It is never of any use to oneself. – Oscar Wilde,  An Ideal Husband

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Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

But there’s one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me
Won’t defeat me, it won’t be long
Till happiness steps up to greet me
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn’t mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Crying’s not for me
‘Cause I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I’m…

 

A Song to Start your weekend – Thanks again for visiting – David

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