It's All Greek

This is Thanasi from Theo's Greek Kouzina at the City Market downtown (which is inside City Hall for the winter). This man (along with his mother's excellent recipes) is the reason my son was saying "tzatziki" and "hummus" (which he pronounced "yummus") long before he'd ever tasted ketchup or mustard.

- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Chilly Seats

Another photo from my commute. Want to have a seat?


- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Pretty Tree

I pass this lovely tree every day on my commute to work. In all seasons, I admire its beauty.

Ice Castle

This year, Edmonton is home to a an incredible Ice Castle, and we finally went with Leo's best friend, Khaled and his mom, Narmin. My photo of the day is this one, looking up from one of the many passage ways inside the castle.



Here are some other photos I took that day/evening. (It was actually about 4:30 when we got there, but it still gets dark quite quickly here.)

Khaled and Leo were so excited to go in.

The Ice Castle from the outside.
The outside doesn't capture the enormity of it.

Entering...

Khaled and Narmin

Testing the strength of the icicle pillar

The lights inside the ice were so cool at night.

Narmin and Khaled on the slide

Leaving

Best buds waiting for dinner at Rodeo Burger

- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Vino

A look, through my glass, at my Beloved draining his glass.


- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Return to the Ice

It's probably been almost a decade since I've been skating, but I did it. My son was too scared to join me, but hopefully seeing Mama lace up will embolden him for next time.



- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Greetings

This morning, our family served as greeters at our church for the first time. Leo was very eager. He would see somebody at the curb and hold out a bulletin for them. Now, when at the curb, the congregant was still ~30 feet from the door, and once at the door, they still had a flight of stairs to climb to get to where we were. But, oh, Leo was ready.

The bulletins also contained envelopes for the special outreach offering, and the envelopes kept falling from Leo's bulletins. So we had to teach him how to hold the bulletin so they wouldn't fall out. He then proceeded to tell all of the parishioners how to hold the bulletins, and he wouldn't let go until they were holding it properly. My friend Agnes has been attending that church for 80+ years and told me she'd never known the proper way to hold a bulletin until Leo showed her.



- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

Snowy Playground Selfie

After spending New Years Eve traveling and New Years Day recovering, my child and I needed some time outdoors, so off to the playground we went.

"Mommy, will you play with me?"
"Of course!"

So here we are, riding a big yellow bumble bee to Toronto.



- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).

2016 Reading Challenge

Back in 2011, I gave myself a reading challenge. I asked Facebook friends to suggest 10 novels to me, and I promised to read at least one from their list. I read about 35 novels that year, in addition to a few works of non-fiction. It was my last truly great reading year. I've probably read many more books each year since, but I don't think "Good Night, Gorilla" and "Harold and the Purple Crayon" read a bazillion times each is quite the same thing. So I am due for another good reading year, and I decided to give myself a new challenge: in 2016, I plan to read only books by non-white and/or non-western authors.

Now, my reasons for doing this are varied, but primarily, I want to be especially mindful of listening to voices and experiences different from my own. Neuroscientists, using brain imaging technology, reading fiction increases empathy in the reader in that it can improve the reader's ability to put themselves in another's shoes. With all that is happening in the States around race and after a year of living in another country and experiencing life as a non-native-speaking foreigner, I feel as I need to take on this challenge.

I am starting this challenge reading the book by my dear friend, Rev. Sandhya Jha, Pre-Post Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines. This passage also sums up why I am taking on this challenge.

In addition, I plan to post a photo a day in2016. This is my photo for January 1.




- Posted from my phone. Please excuse typos (and inadvertent autocorrections).