20 April 2010

spring has sprung.







for the beauty of the earth





 
for the glory of the skies


for the love which from our birth

over and around us lies


Lord of all, to Thee we raise



this our hymn of grateful praise.






13 April 2010

on naming a bike.


the Good Old Days are a thing of the past.



having run the full gamut of biking joys and woes, i am, as of yesterday, the proud owner of a brand new bicycle.


its name is The Zephyr.



upon deciding that i'd soon be purchasing a bike of my very own, i immediately began wracking my brain for name ideas. i had thought "The Mistral," but, as we all know, that is a cold northern wind blown across France and over the Mediterranean via the Côte d'Azur, and for some strange reason, it leaves something to be desired, namely warmth. an infamous bone-chilling wind, albeit poetic, is not quite inspiring enough for a shiny new bike.

i also happened upon the name "Hesperus." i decided to look up its origin, and i'm rather glad i did. the name itself had come upon me suddenly yesterday morning, and i hadn't been able to shake it from my memory. i knew i'd heard it before, and that it must be of some literary substance and worth. indeed, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a stirring poem on an unfortunate seaworthy vessel of said name. nevertheless, "The Wreck of the Hesperus" isn't a particularly appealing fate for my new vehicle of choice, nor shall the "reef of Norman's woe" be on our list of destinations this summer.

...i've sufficient bike crashes to my credit already. 
[no use getting norman involved.]



so, here it is, complete with 21 gears and a bell. we've plenty more miles to spend together! put a light westerly wind [a zephyr, curiously enough] behind us, and we're off! ok, well, where i live it's more like a 40mph blow-you-off-the-road sort of continual gust, but that's where the old "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow" comes in, right?


let the adventures of Anne and her Zephyr begin.



04 April 2010

anne-girl.

if you thought Anne of Green Gables [and Anne of Avonlea] were exceptionally quotable movies, read the books!

i just finished reading Anne of Green Gables this evening, after slowly perusing it for the past month or two. while it isn't flashy or demanding of binge-reading, it's effortlessly lovely. i have 5 or 6 continuing volumes on my bookshelf, of which i intend shortly to begin the next! i've read parts of some of them, and the whole of one or two... but this time it's straight on through until i'm finished with them all, no matter how long it takes me.

i am somewhat abashed to proclaim that heretofore i had never yet read straight through my copy of Anne of Green Gables... and i received it from an aunt at Christmas 1990. [p.s. that was 20 years ago] incredible! i've missed out! i thought i had the movies so well-learned backward and forward that i had no need to read the book... and that very reasoning kept me away from it for years, in favor of lesser known titles. well, as Solomon said, "to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven;" and this happened to be my season for Anne! i couldn't have enjoyed it more.

there is something so sweet about these books. the movies are so very endearing, but the viewer of a film can only see to a certain extent, and only based upon one person's interpretation. the reader, on the other hand, can see with even greater clarity through use of their own imagination, as well as tasting, smelling, hearing, and well-nigh touching the lovely scenes through the written page. oh how i love books. and these in particular. they engage the reader in the beauty of the setting and the thoughts and ideals of the characters, not merely just by a quick-moving story. i do love a good adventure story, but there is something so deeply satisfying, and peaceful, and winsome, and wholesome, about savoring bits here and there from a thoughtfully, lovingly written book such as this.

i've come to love the simple delights in Anne's countryside just as much as she loved them. perhaps soon i'll go through this first volume again and write down a few of the most quotable quotes. for now, here's the last bit of the last page.


Anne sat long at her window that night companioned by a glad content. The wind purred softly in the cherry boughs, and the mint breaths came up to her. The stars twinkled over the pointed firs in the hollow and Diana's lights gleamed through the old gap.

Anne's horizons had closed in since the night she had sat there after coming home from Queen's; but if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it. The joys of sincere work and worthy aspiration and congenial friendship were to be hers; nothing could rob her of her birthright of fancy or her ideal world of dreams. And there was always the bend in the road!

" 'God's in His heaven, all's right with the world,' " whispered Anne softly.


-page 382, Anne of Green Gables
by Lucy Maud Montgomery

03 April 2010

what easter is really about.

long before the world's creation, You chose a people for Yourself
You knew the times and places we'd be born
though we'd chosen separation, You already had a plan
to reconcile Your children through the cross

look, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins!

thank You thank You for Your love that saved us Jesus
thank You thank You for the cross!
with our hearts on fire and our hands raised high
we're singing thank You thank You for the cross
thank You thank You for the cross!

Yours the life that transformed history, Yours the truth that sets us free
we stand before You now on holy ground
overshadowed by Your glory, held in everlasting arms
Your life and death turned everything around

look, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins!

thank You thank You for Your love that saved us Jesus
thank You thank You for the cross!
with our hearts on fire and our hands raised high
we're singing thank You thank You for the cross
thank You thank You for the cross!

You have rescued us, bought us with Your blood, thank You for the cross!

[by kathryn scott // check out her whole album "i belong"]

01 April 2010

ciabatta!

oh it turned out so lovely! it takes significantly more time than regular french bread, but it's absolutely worth the extra effort.


handle it ever so gently! it's wonderfully soft and bubbly.


after letting it raise for about 3 hours, you're ready to pop it in a hot oven.


let it cool for as long as you can stand it...


then slice and enjoy!

i think this bread got the highest ratings from my family so far... 
...second half of the batch to follow tomorrow.