cast your eyes on the ocean

The ever calming sound of waves crashing on the shoreline is a sound I could listen to on a daily basis. Perhaps it's a sound I should listen to on a daily basis.

This week provided a sampling of grad school with my first batch of assignments to mark and the early stages of research for a grad-level sized paper.

a kind of heart ache

I really miss it. I see pictures of students who are in England now, and my heart aches. I long to be there again. Perhaps my real regret is not being able to share it with someone really close to me for the whole time. Don't get me wrong - it was wonderful to have mom there for a week - but for those other weeks...

I see people who are constantly travelling with others, whereas my journeys and explorations were often solo. Discovery the beauty of creation on my own, with no one to share the joy.

But I'm home now and have others to share other travels with. This is where I am. This is where I learn to be content. This is where I count the many other blessings which have been showered upon my life.

And perhaps some day I will go back.

the swing of things

the title of the video says it all

I have completed the first week of the final semester of undergrad and the future holds a lot of written pages by the end of April. 3 seminar presentations, 1 midterm, 3 quizzes, 1 performance review, 1 4 page paper, 2 8 page papers, and 1 20 page paper. My ambition is to remain positive, to see all of this as a a welcome challenge and as preparation for grad school, especially since I am officially a TA, not just a Departmental Assistant, this semester and will grading alongside my writing and reading.

Reading. I've actually been enjoying the assigned readings so far. Tolkien's Silmarillion, various articles by David Lodge and R.B. Kershner regarding literary theory and criticism, a short story by Ruby Wiebe, who is known as the author of the dreaded novel study in grade 11: Peace Shall Destroy Many, selected contemporary novels such as Haroun and the Sea of Stories and In the Skin of a Lion. And on the side, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, one of John Le Carré's spy stories which I have started now for the third time. Oh what fun it is to ride on the sleigh which is getting closer to the edge of a sheer cliff, the Cliffs of Insanity.

It's great being a student. :)

need space? have books!

I always need more space on my bookshelf for the books which are growing in stacks on the floor in front of the double-shelved bookshelf. Here is the solution I came across today:

i can only imagine

Post no. 1 for the new year - it's only a week late.

No, this is not about to be a review of the past year, as it was rather quite eventful. Although, I do have to mention a few things which have had an impact on my life: England (obviously), the passing away of my oma, ending a long-distance relationship, and beginning my final year as an undergraduate student.

These holidays have been filled with all sorts of delightful things: skating, visiting many, many friends, and generally spending time with family, (although I didn't do any of the baking I said I would…). Grad school applications are almost completely finished, and I am on the brink of a new semester.

The challenging task of this year is to put all concerns in the hands of the One who controls all things, and not getting caught up in the cares of tomorrow. Here's to putting all things to prayer.

falling in love with poetry

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves - goes itself; myself it speaks and spells;

Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;

Keeps grace; that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is -

Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men's faces.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

haunting the halls

A lengthy silence.

A filled summer.

A new school year.

A final year, begun with a vengance like the blaze of a summer sunset over the Atlantic ocean.

A year which promises long days and full evenings, but brightly coloured patches in all of the work which sometimes seems to overwhelm.

A year which will result in growth, carefully crafted, though it sometimes takes the evening light to appreciate the delicate lace of a weed.

a collection of images

Here is where I would like to share images and memories of the trips I have taken. Despite, or in addition to, being an English major, I share my mother's love of (though perhaps not passion for) photography, and try to capture the memories in order to share them through pictures.

England: January-April 2011
In 2011, I was given the opportunity to study in Oxford, England for a semester with a whirlwind visit to Scotland for six days. Below are links to various photo albums to commemorate the trip which range from Charlbury, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, London, and more. 
overseas and faraway [i]
a pair of fine eyes [ii]
topsy turvy tower of london [iii]
all the world's a stage [iv]
pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there? [v]
to be or not to be [vi]
bridging the gap [vii]
dancing with daffodils [viii]
food for a rambling fancy [ix]
not all who wander are lost [x]
you'll take the high road, and i'll take the low [xi]

Halifax, NS: August 2011
Options for ending a summer delightfully: a) end it in holidays, b) have the holidays on the east coast, or c) know that the year of a long-distance is over. My summer: d) all of the above.
on the bonny banks

the fruit of the field

Today, the kids and I met up with a friend at the local strawberry festival in Stouffville. The day started off grey and looked rather threatening, but the sun came out just as we were about to leave. For such an active and well-established festival, we had never heard of it before, and so we (well, for sure I was) were really excited to go see what it was all about. Imagine a small fair, all along one street, with various vendors selling their wares stationed along the sides, all calling and beckoning for your attention.

The boys weren't entirely convinced that this was a good place to go to until we came across a slide - the bouncy castle type of slide - where rides were unlimited. Yes, the free activities at this festival are definitely a perk: a slide, bouncy tree castle, wall-climbing, obstacle course, a cookie in the shape of a strawberry which you could slather with icing and sprinkle with red coloured sprinkles to satisfy the sweetest of sweet teeth, and, the pièce de résistance, a free pony ride. The only free item which I hesitate to be entirely enthusiastic about is the whistle, given by our neighbour across the street who was at one of the booths.

Of course, you can't leave a strawberry festival without having a bowl of ice cream with fresh, locally grown strawberries.

A quick stop on the way home at the local fresh produce stand brought home plenty of strawberries to feed an army of kids. 16 cups were made into pies, the remainder is sitting in a bowl (rapidly diminishing), and a quart is safely stashed away.

(we sort of, kind of, matched on purpose. i started the trend, though ... just for clarification)

Pie for dessert tonight. I think, after this weekend, I'll have satisfied my craving for strawberries. At least, for the time being.