“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on? “All of them at once,” said Bilbo.” Tolkein, The Hobbit

And so, I bid you a good morning!  I finally saw The Hobbit last night with a friend who, though had already seen it with his son, accompanied me to the 3 hour movie to see all of the spectacular 3D visuals of middle earth.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  It only made me dizzy in a few spots which is a vast improvement over the Cloverfield debacle of 2008.  One of my favourite parts of the story is the stay at Rivendell.  Partly because 2 years ago, I stayed there.

That’s right.  I found a portal to the magical place of respite and wonder.  I found clarity and comfort there and was renewed to continue on the adventure of faith.  Now, my portal took on the appearance of a westjet flight, but was still magical in it’s own way (3 seats to myself!)  It was a gorgeous place in the mountains full of deep magic where I fell in love with God and life again after some very weary years.  Now, when I need to rest, I simply recall the feel of that place and the wind as it blew through the trees down the mountainside.  Someday I will return there, but right now – “I’m on an adventure!!”   Where is your place of respite?

Today I have a bunch of random reflections from a week that has been very jumbled.  So, today, a jumbled blog post.

Merry Christmas!!  For those following the orthodox church calendar – may you enjoy your festivities!  Sometimes I think it might be kind of nice to celebrate now, extending the season for just a bit longer into the new year when one can focus a little bit more. There’s something magical about Christmas that causes more contemplation and allows for possibilities of forgiveness and connection.  I ended up going to The Meeting House yesterday morning and someone led a guided breathing exercise.  It was a great reminder of our need to pause, reflect and rejuvenate  before getting to the ‘heavy lifting’ in life.

Last night at The Commons  we watched a clip from Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.  This looks like a wonderful movie about death, grief and life following grief – all set in a magic toy store.  Brilliant!  I’ve heard really good things about it…now to try to find it. We had communion and had a time of reflection on forgiveness which was particularly meaningful given the crazy, broken week that had been experienced previously.  It was so healing to say and receive the words “you are forgiven” as we shared the bread and wine together.

Kale – a new healthy choice?  I had some kale and bean soup last night and have discovered that in addition to being a delicious ingredient in soup, it is so beneficial from a health standpoint.  It helps lower cholesterol, and has all that fibre, vit K, A, C and lots of iron thrown in there too.  Must try more recipes with this yummy member of the cabbage!

The search for winter boots is still on.  With this plate in my ankle, it’s proving to be quite difficult to find boots that allow for movement while still keeping my feet warm and dry without making my foot go numb.  I think the days of cheap shoes are gone.  Maybe I’ll try MEC and see what they still have in stock.

Is it possible for me to keep a plant alive?  I got a beautiful flowering Christmas cactus from a friend and I think I’m killing it already. Anybody know the proper care of a Christmas cactus?  I know there’s something about light training it and not giving it too much water…  we’ll see what happens.