I’m a book collector. But I like reading my books too, albeit slowly and steadily. I finished three great non-fiction books this fall and if I did New Years Resolutions, I would determine to spend more time reading. These are the books I plan to read in the coming months. VIOLENCE by Slavoj Žižek Popular … [Read more…]
The kids got pyjamas for Christmas. An unnecessarily large tag had to be removed from the inside of the top so the kids could wear their new outfits comfortably. I don’t normally pay much attention to tags, but as I tore these out, I noticed the instructions to wash in English, French, & Spanish: wash … [Read more…]
Our family attended our church‘s Christmas Eve candle lighting service. It was packed and glorious. We had sat in the second to last row so I could get back to the camera for a minor role I contributed to the tech team. By the start of the service, so many rows of chairs were added … [Read more…]
Over on my Zaak Watches Movies by himself blog, I’ve reached the 700 movies milestone. I started the blog about four and a half years ago when I was living in Guatemala as a way to practice writing but also to write about the values I drew from film. The reviews were longer and far … [Read more…]
I heard this phrase twice yesterday with overdone Australian accents: “A dingo took my baby!” Both times, the comment was followed by laughter. This bothers me for two reasons. First, it is a statement that is copied from pop culture in order to elicit laughter; a “TMI” or “Oh no you di’n’t” kind of phrase … [Read more…]
I expressed this carnal dilemma on facebook last night: Zaak thinks an iPhone is terrific, found an ideal monthly plan, has his wife’s permission to get one, but still can’t list enough reasons why he “needs” one. He guesses he’ll just keep his money. Not surprisingly, I got 15 comments. I’ll get to those in … [Read more…]
Both of my upper eye lids have been twitching regularly for the last 2-3 weeks. According to a coworker, it’s due to stress and lack of sleep. This is confirmed by internet research. I find it remarkable how my body is telling me very clearly that I am being subjected to too much stress and … [Read more…]
BC Lions QB Travis Lulay celebrates winning the Grey Cup yesterday. Winnipeg Blue Bomber QB Buck Pierce does not celebrate losing the Grey Cup yesterday.
Co-housing requires consensus, patience and coloured cards BY SHEILA PRATT, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM NOVEMBER 27, 2011 EDMONTON —When it comes to making group decisions, Zaak Robichaud faced the ultimate challenge — how to get more than a dozen families together to come up with house plans they all liked for a new co-housing project in Calgary. It … [Read more…]
Our cohousing design is aimed at building relationships so that I will know my neighbours so that I cannot ignore their needs so that I build my capacity for empathy and compassion so that my life will not be lived selfishly so that I can look myself and my maker in the eye. From an exercise we did during … [Read more…]