Minter Gardens

Today a girlfriend of mine and I went out to Chilliwack to visit Minter Gardens. I've never been there before. It was a good day to go. It was sunny, but there was a breeze and some clouds as well. It was absolutely beautiful. Here are some photographs I took:

I enjoyed the visit very much. I took so many photos the battery on my phone died! I would highly recommend the drive. Although the admission price is a little bit expensive, once you get inside, you quickly realize why.

I would like to return again, maybe when different flowers are blooming, to get a different perspective.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Comparative Religion Seminar

I have been thinking for a little bit about returning to school. I haven't been in school for quite some time. So instead of jumping in over my head, I thought I would ease into it.

I found this website that offers college course dvd's that I can listen to while at home that are provided by college professors. There are no tests or assignments and I'm not being marked on anything.

However, there is 12 hours worth of lectures that are now coming my way. I would like to complete this "course" or at least finish the lectures within four months.

If I can do that, and survive, I think I'll be okay to proceed to the next step in my returning to school.

I picked Comparative religion as I have 3 college credits (1 course) on comparing religions already and found it interesting when I was taking it.

I will keep this blog open so that I can detail my progress.

Well, wish me luck.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

August 8th: The course arrived tonight. While I am excited about this challenge, I know this will prove rather interesting. I can already see how this may be a good cure for my insomnia. I'll keep you posted on how I am enjoying this course.

August 17th: I completed my first lecture tonight. I enjoyed it. I think the professor is interesting. He is a former baptist minister who continued to study different religions during his professional career. He also discussed personal biases which he said we should keep in mind. His examples are great and there are visuals of different philosophers who have tried to define religion. I never thought of it, but it is rather hard to define!

August 18th: I completed my second lecture tonight. It is interesting. However, tonight may not have been the best evening to work on it. I fell asleep during the last two minutes of the lecture. It's still interesting the links he makes to judaism, islam and christianity and buddhism and hinduism.

August 21st: I completed two lectures today. I also re-visited the tail end of the second lecture for anything I may have missed while I fell asleep. I fell asleep after my first lecture, but managed to finish it prior to that. I found the second lecture far more interesting. It was a lecture about space and sacred objects. I also learnt that I, a non muslim, will never be able to enter Mecca. The professor also changed clothes for the second lecture and was more intesting to look at. He had been wearing mostly brown clothes prior. However, this time he had a blue shirt and tie on, my favourite colour. Sometimes it's the small things that make you stay alert! PS- Tonight I finished two more lectures. My husband joined me for one of them but fell asleep shortly after settling in. The lectures tonight were about different religious people: saviours, sages, priests and other clergy people. The second lecture ended with a discussion surrounding women in the different religions and how in the last 50 years their roles within religions have expanded in some religions and in others they remain the same. There is also a discussion that Catholic priests and the vow of celibacy has only existed for approximately 1000 years. Very interesting!

August 28th: I just finished lecture 13. It has been a struggle to stay awake, I'll be honest. However, I keep going over what I miss. I am enjoying the lectures and am learning a lot. I am even learning more about Christianity and Luther. I am glad I picked this!

October 13th: It has been far too long since I have picked this up and worked on it. I enjoyed the lectures so much tonight, I stayed awake for two of them. I am now on lecture 16th. The last two seminars touched on the issue of sacrifices. I am looking forward to completing many more of these.

October 18th: I have just finished lecture 18. It is quite interesing. Example the religions Islam and Judaism do not share the Christian belief in Original Sin. I am quite enjoying it this time.

October 22nd: I finally completed this course today. I have enjoyed this and even learned a few things I didn't know before. I have also learnt that a full time academic course is not in the cards for me at this time. However, I would like to take another of these courses. I will look through the catalog and see if there is anything else I would consider taking.

Wading in the ocean

After work my husband and I went for a picnic dinner down to the beach. There's a special spot where we like to walk. Mind you, we haven't done it for a while. However, tonight was a good night to go. We went for our walk but then coming back to the car, we decided to go and wade into the ocean, just up to our knees though.

My husband has a fear of going any deeper in and I still had my work pants and shoes on. I haven't waded into the ocean since I was a kid. What a great way to cool off from the walk.

The water was a bit colder than I expected, but it was so nice to have the sand between my toes. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

It reminded me of being a kid again, which we all need to do sometimes.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Food challenge: Pho for Two

My father's tastes in food are pretty simple. However, today he suggested we do lunch together: pho. Pho is vietnamese noodle soup. It's one of my favourite meals out. It's rather inexpensive and comes with a bunch of fresh herbs and veggies (cilantro, bean sprouts, jalapeno peppers, limes) and comes with a variety of meat choices. I usually take the rare sliced beef, but there are others: tripe, shank, beef and chicken balls. So I took him for his first experience with Pho.

He seemed to like it and even asked if we could go out again and try a different type. I started him with rare sliced beef because it's the most mild. My husband is invited next time as he can try some of the different meats.

I forgot he likes coffee, which he ordered. I never even thought they wouldn't have regular coffee. He gets a glass full of ice and a little pot full of coffee. He tries the pot and it's way too strong and undrinkable. As the waitress grabs his finished bowl, he asks if there's cream. The lady decides to help him fix his iced coffee drink. It was mixed with condensced milk and once it was mixed with the ice, it was much more tolerable. I don't think he'll order it again.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

End of month update: July

Can't believe it is the end of July already. Well, it hasn't been the best of months but it hasn't been the worst either.

I completed these challenges this month:
-2 alien movies in 24 hours
-Cooking with couscous
-Moroccan dinner
-Referendum voting
-Camping (okay this one failed)
-Manicure
-Chilli cheese dog
-Poutine
-Aldergrove lake

I would have liked to complete a few more challenges this month but time has a way of moving so quickly, it passed me by.

There were several challenges I enjoyed this month: cooking with foods I wouldn't normally cook with, and trying foods I wasn't a fan of. However, at least I know now more about what my likes and dislikes are.

Thanks for reading
Lynn

Aldergrove Lake

I haven't been to Aldergrove Lake for at least 15 years. When I visited there then, I thought the lake was a bit of a puddle. However it offered some outdoor recreation in Langley.

Today I went there for a walk. Partly to remember a bit of my youth and because I hadn't been in there in so long, it was like visiting there for the first time all over again.

What an interesting park. There is a parking lot at the top of the hill that is rather small. So I parked there and walked down the road. It was a bit eerie being the only one there. The sound of the leaves rustling and the sound of the air cannons in the distance as they fought off the birds was a bit eerie. Mind you, I may have been a bit jumpy. It was nice to be the only one there in that I was not rushed.

Just before the lake, there was a lovely picnic area:

It would be nice to come here for a picnic one evening. Across from the picnic area was a nice bridge:

I stopped for a while to listen to the creek. It was very peaceful. As I made my way to the lake area I took a picture:

There is no longer a lake in Aldergrove! They covered it up. Judging from my memories of it being a puddle so long ago, it was probably a good idea that this was done. I think the park is a bit nicer now because of it. I plan on visiting the park again very soon.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Poutine

I didn't have the healthiest dinner tonight. However, I got to try something I have never eaten before: Poutine.

It's fries, cheese curds and gravy. Heart attack on a fork.

I was not the biggest fan of this one. Luckily I got to share this dish. The cheese did not get goopy as I thought. It actually cooled the fries down. As the whole dish cooled, it got rather mushy. I don't like mush.

I won't be doing this again.

Thanks for reading

Lynn