Allergy shots, and why they are frustrated.

Lefty and righty at .4 of vile 2 (of 4).

Job

If you know of a part time non-food related job that I can have/apply for for the school year please let me know. Momma's car is expensive and Momma needs money.

Some Things Are Fun. Some Things Are Not.

Things that are fun:

• going to see Spamalot with Mikey, Christy and Jenna
• getting off work early
• being done work for the summer
• seeing the Blazing Fiddles perform
• drives through the country

Things that are not fun:

• super itchy allergy shots
• cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
• rushing around like mad to get things ready for weddings (but weddings are fun)
• having your exhaust system come apart and need to get fixed on the day before you pay tuition and the day before you need to drive out to the wedding rehearsal
  

Still Rough, Still Learning

Rarely...

...will a new friend come around who can mean so much to you in such a short time, who can connect with you in such a deep and meaningful way and who shares so much of the same brain. Someone who knows how to care for and minister to you in ways you thought only existed in your head.

Happy Birthday Heather T. Van Harten. You've made quite the impact on my life.

Top 10 Useless USB Gadgets of 2005

Ah ha ha ha ha ha. I want all of them!

She Speaks the Truth

I Love Technology

I was on my way to Tom Carson's place via Google Maps directions. Unfortunately there was construction near the end of my route and I did not know what to do about a closed road that I had been directed to go down. So I pulled into a housing division to turn on my laptop and get Tom's phone number. When I turned Lappy on it picked up an unsecured wireless connection. So I brought up the map and figured out my own detour directions. Hooray for technology!

Photoshop

Mikey gave me photoshop. So while I have moments to fiddle I will learn how to use it. Here is an early attempt at pushing buttons....

Well, not at this very moment....

image from Natalie Dee

Wow!

10 years of Homestar Runner!

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

I've been thinking about gifts in relation to vocation lately. I guess its that time in my life where I have to think a little more seriously about that kind of thing. And I'm not going to lie, it makes me jealous of those people who are clearly gifted at one thing or some specific area. You know, the people you know who are going to be amazing teachers, musicians, lab researchers, etc. I am not one of those people. Not to sound conceited, but I have a wide range of gifts. A lot of you have told me that. I am thankful to have been blessed with every gift that has been given to me. But well, I feel a bit like a 4 year old with an Arc Welder - what do I do with them? Do I need to find a job that both serves the kingdom and incorporates as many gifts as I can stuff in there? Or do I have to start looking more specifically at the gifts/skills differential? I'm gifted with music, but I am not skilled in it. I love to sing, and I'm pretty good at it, but I can't play anything to the point where I could lead a band or worship team or something. So what do I do with that gift? Do I sing at church, do I continue to study voice, do I continue to write and keep doing gigs, do I get more serious and disciplined about it when I'm done school? Do I need to find a ministry position that lets me sing? Or what about the whole acting/drama thing? I've got skills there too, and passions, and gifts, though much of that has transferable skills to the arena of public speaking. Or the gift of healing and prayer...I would love to get paid to pray or what I really mean, is that I would love to pray for my vocation and to also be able to have rent paid and eat. So do I seek a job that fits skills and passions, and then find other ways to use the rest of the gifts? Right now it seems like God is really directing me towards the retreat/conference ministry stuff right now. That area looks to me like it would have the potential to utilize many of my gifts and skills along with the probability that the job would continue to change so much that many gifts would continue to grow. Just something I was thinking about.

Wahoo!

Its CITB Exec Team planning retreat weekend!!!!!

For Felix and Others Who Lack Imagination

The merchaun re-something'd:

Incentive

If you look inbetween my links and my archive you'll see a little postcard heading. There are three postcard spots. Those spots are for the three most recent additions to my postcard collection. So if you send/hand/give/mail me a postcard I will put your name on my blog and it will remain there until three other postcards have come in. And really, who doesn't want to be on LStew's blog?

The Merchaun

Once upon a time a bunch of us were at Kat's parents' cottage. Felix was part of that bunch. The bunch was swimming on Friday night. Katrina began to swim underwater for some time. Then...

Felix: Wouldn't it be funny if she didn't surface....
Laura: (thinking the most terrible thoughts of Felix)
Felix: ...because she was a mermaid?
Laura: (suddenly ceasing the prayers for Felix's lost soul) oh yeah, ha ha and a leprechaun.
Felix: (chortle)
Laura: Yeah, a lepermaid. Um, no. Wait. A merchaun. Yep, a merchaun.

And then we discussed the finer points of the merchaun; such as:

• having the mer-tail
• having a shell bra
• having a beard
• using a pipe
• wearing the leprechaun hat
• possibly wearing the jacket
• being under a rainbow
• being aware of where the gold is

I proceeded to tell everyone who came to the cottage about the merchaun, thereby elevating it to the status of urban myth. Then on Sunday, Josh decided to cover Katrina's legs with sand (via a lot of shoveling). Melissa and I chose to finesse the sand pile into a merchaun tail and Rachel captured it for eternity and thus you have merchaun Katrina with her tail, a glass of ale and stroking her beard!

Gpa Update For All (but mostly for stanska)

This is from an email written by my Uncle Peter:

I was in to see Dad and Mom tonight. To look at Dad now, especially with
>his long pants on covering the brace, you would not know there is a thing
>wrong with him. He looks better every time I see him. His eye has healed
>and he can put his left hand up to his mouth. (Two fisted drinker now!!)
>He can steady himself with enough weight on his broken leg that he can move
>from one chair to another as long as they are side by side. And his teeth
>are OK. Finally.


This is from an email written by my Aunt Margaret:

Jack and I had a short visit with Mom and Dad this evening. Dad has certainly made great strides in the last week. On Thursday he had a bath, got his hair cut and had a pedicure (no polish) -- all in the morning. He has much improved range of motion with his left arm and can make a good fist. Mom got a perm and a pedicure on Thursday morning also. They both looked good -- Mom seemed 'happier'. Dad tried sleeping in the bed Thursday night. First part of the night he couldn't seem to get comfortable. Mom gave him some more Tylenol and he slept the rest of the night! Dad says he doesn't know what she's giving him. (He's joking)

Huh.

Assuming the collection is entirely together (and it probably isn't), I have 274 postcards in my collection. If you donated to the collection pat yourself on the back right now. And if you're going somewhere, even if its southwestern ontario, pick me up a postcard for the collection. I think I should say collection again. Collection.

It started one summer around the age of 10-12 when my Mom decided that John and I should occupy ourselves during the hot months with new collections. She gave us both a 3-4 object head start. You may have made the connection that mine was postcards. John's was feathers. Mine 12-15 years later is at 274 and his...

schenectady: spending time with my aloe says:
hey, do you remember that summer when we had to collect things that one summer and you had to collect feathers?

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
yes

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
why did we do that?

schenectady: spending time with my aloe says:
mom made us.

schenectady: spending time with my aloe says:
do you still have yours?

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
ummm

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
gosh

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
Im gonna say no

schenectady: spending time with my aloe says:
my collection is up to 274

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
hahaha deeeaaaam

Handsome B. Wonderful says:
you got me

schenectady: spending time with my aloe says:
well you got me some of them...ha ha

A Lesson From the Cottage

Only older men and gas station attendants hit on me.

Thank you Dan, Thank you Jo.

Sometimes you start to leave your house for softball. Somtimes you remember when you get outside that part of your pitchers toe needs to be cut off your cleat. So you grab your keys and the cleat and head back inside to find scissors. Sometimes you head back out, locking doors behind you, only to get to the car and realize that your keys are on the kitchen counter and the last of the landlord's family has just driven away. That is when you love that you have friends like Dan who will come and pick you up for baseball and that its the first night since June that your other roommate is in town and that she's expected to make an appearance at the ball game. Which she did and she drove me home and let me inside our apartment.

Its a good thing that God allows idiots to have friends!

In case you forgot..

God is awesome.

Sometimes (the real life edition)

Sometimes when you're growing sweet corn the racoons like to eat it. Sometimes you put cage traps out to catch the racoons.

Sometimes you get racoons.

Sometimes you don't.



Sometimes you catch the neighbour's daughter's bunny that escaped 2 days ago. Sometimes.

Small Town Living

Last night after supper Mom, Dad and I took the truck and drove into town. We went to Balfour's Corner Store for ice cream cones. After we got the cones we put down the tailgate and sat on the back of the truck, on Main St in Brighton and ate our ice cream on a perfect summer night.

(John and the car were in Barrie)

Sometimes

Today's Poll

Today's poll comes to you from King St, between James and Wellington:

On a day like today, downtown Hammy-town smells:
	great!
	like the North end of a South bound neo-Calvinist.
	like my wedding day.
	a perfect mix of urine, garbage and diesel.
	your Mom.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

The World Is Going Downhill Fast

In Accra, Ghana, West Africa it feels like it is 87F.

In Hamilton, Ontario, Canada it feels like it is 116F.