Movie Time!

I know, you're probably getting tired of me writing about homelessness, but I promise, this will be the last such post for a while...

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to see an excellent presentation at one of our local theatres. Maybe some of you did too, because I moodled about it last month. This Is Where We Live is a film by local film maker, Eric Rice, who visited people with experiences of homelessness in Edmonton's inner city. 

Eric interviewed them and came up with monologues from the stories they told -- which he took back to them so they could have the final say on what would be said. Actors were then hired to do the storytelling, and the result is an excellent and thought-provoking short film.

It will be shown on Zoom at noon MST tomorrow, and in case you're interested and available to watch at that time, the film maker has given me permission to share the link. I'm hoping to see it again myself. 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88223914789?pwd=UVBpdmNELzdsZU5vWGFFL3hrTkJ6dz09

For too many of us, homelessness is an issue, rather than actual people, but films like this help us to realize that losing our homes can happen to any one of us, that there's a fine line between living in warmth and security and living in a tent. All it takes is a divorce, a death, a disease, unemployment, or some other momentary or momentous misfortune -- and life changes, sometimes drastically. 

And as our temperatures plunge this week, it's time to give some thought to what we can do to help. A call or letter to local, provincial and federal ministries of housing has never been more important. As the panel discussion after the movie made clear, we need ALL levels of government working TOGETHER to solve our present social housing crisis.

I hope you'll consider checking out this film, dear readers. It's worth it.

Buy Nothing Day = Black Friday avoidance

I almost got sucked in this year. Almost. My inbox held a "Black Friday 15% off!" email from a company that I deal with on a regular basis for supplies, some of which are presently in need of replacement.

What stopped me? The words BLACK FRIDAY. To me, those words have become synonymous with the desire for too much. Excess. And now Black Friday is synonymous with my personal desire for less, not more.

Black Friday is the name of the consumer free-for-all that begins the day after American Thanksgiving, the day when many businesses offer consumers deals in an effort to move their profit margin ledgers from red into black ink for the year. And the more they make, the better they like it.

The problem is that many of the companies who use Black Friday sales strategies have bought into the idea that profits must grow year after year in spite of the fact that constant economic growth can lead to societal and environmental destruction, just like too much constant growth in the human body is known as cancer. Big corporations can offer discounts that small entrepreneurs can't hope to compete with, and the public buys in. Small businesses go bankrupt, the rich get richer, and I'm sure we've all seen coverage of Black Friday madness from the past. Now it's just moved online, and the stuff that's ordered online and rejected/returned too often ends up in our landfills.

It all breaks my heart -- this insistence on jumping from the Feast of Gratitude into the frenzy of consumerism. That's why I love Buy Nothing Day so much. It's a day to stop and reflect on all that we do have instead of all that we don't. To consider other kinds of gifts than the material ones Black Friday pushers want us to buy. To think about reducing our consumption for the sake of creation and future generations. To live simply, so that others may simply live.

I know that Christmas is coming. But this old poster from the now defunct Buy Nothing Christmas organization still makes me smile.

There are better ways to celebrate Christmas, for sure. If you want some ideas, I have many on my Simple Christmas Ideas page (click here). If I had the time, I'd revisit one a day for the next 31 days. But that ship sailed once (10 years ago, now how is that possible?), and they're still pretty relevant. Besides, I have many other things to do in the coming Advent Season that I love so much, including Simple Christmas Idea #12 for my kids.

But I'll start into it all by buying nothing on this Buy Nothing Day/Week. Join me? 

And I'll re-moodle this: 

Black Friday Prayer (2016)

How much did we pay
to see a new day?
It's a gift.

A breath of air? Free.
But we often don't see
it's a gift.

A life lived in peace,
the warmth of our beds,
the food on our table.
the roof o'er our heads.
all gift.

But 
through no fault of their own
many children have grown
to adulthood with
less than they need...
Still, some go out in haste
to add to the waste
of our earth
through insatiable greed.

Too oft we are told
"with the first one sold
the second is half price."
O God, help us see
that your best gifts are free
and settle for our given slice.

Remind us, O God,
that it's not for sale --
your beautiful creation.
It's already ours,
to be cared for and loved
and saved for the next generation.

Our sense of possession
was not your intention
because Everything is gift!

Teach us how
to remember it now 
and always.

+Amen

Angel seeks a home

When my mother-in-law was dying, she told me that she wanted me to have the angel that sat near her bedside. Knowing Angel meant something to her, I was touched. 

Angel is actually a large Christmas tree ornament with fiber-optic filaments that light up her wings in different, rotating colours. Every evening, Mom would ask someone to light "Angel", admire her multi-coloured splendor, and say her prayers. Knowing how much she appreciated Angel, I agreed to give her a home when Mom was gone.

But... Angel has lived in various corners of my home for the almost two years since Mom died, and I'm afraid she's not being appreciated here very often. I guess I'm just not a very sentimental soul when it comes to other peoples' keepsakes. Angel is much too big to sit atop the little Christmas trees that we decorate each year, and it's rare that I light her up for sheer appreciation's sake. 

So I offered Grandma's Angel to her grandchildren, but it seems no one is interested. And with our daughter moving home last weekend, the space where Angel used to sit (and gather dust) has vanished. So it's time to give Angel to someone who will truly appreciate her, perhaps as my mother-in-law did.

If you know anyone like that, or have other ideas of where Angel might be appreciated properly, please let me know!

Shadow's tenth winter

It's a marshmallow world out there, and Shadow-dog is not impressed. It's his tenth-eleventh winter already (well, he'll be ten years old at the end of January) and he's never liked snow much, being more like a cat than a dog in many ways. Cuddling is cool, cold weather is not!

Trying to get him to go for a winter walk can be a challenge, especially on grey days. And it's something of an effort, too -- first, to get him to come out of his cosy bed and make his way to the back door (liver treats sometimes help), then to get him into his boots, leash harness, and winter coat (over his cozy blue sweater). 

Then he stands there looking like he wishes he was back in the land of his ancestors (Havanese are descendants of the dogs that once belonged to Cuban royalty), and who can blame him? If I could teleport to a beach near Havana, I probably would.

Considering dog years, he's officially been a senior citizen for quite some time already, and honestly, there are days I can relate. His back end isn't as perky as it used to be when getting up off the couch, and I did something to my hip this morning while running to the bus. Ouch.

It's been quite a while since I've taken Shadow on a 5 km walk, as it's probably time to have mercy on his (probably) achy little body. But it's just not the same walking without him -- he's motivated me to get out and go for the past almost ten years. Suddenly my own walks are shorter to accommodate him. And would I go for a long walk without him? Only with a friend. Or maybe I need to start listening to Ebooks/podcasts to make solitary walks more interesting?

Shadow is less of a walking companion now, and more of a meditation buddy. He climbs out of bed to come snuggle with me every morning as I settle in for tea and prayer time. And perhaps that's actually more important at this stage... we're both getting older, moving toward the winter of life, Shadow and I. But we're still doing things together.

Thanks, I needed that!

How are you doing these days? 

Me, I've been feeling the weight of the world a bit too much.

So when my sister sent me this video this morning, I thanked her, and immediately decided to share it with you, too. Music has a way of lifting us up, and it's been too long since I've offered any here. Time to remedy that!

Have a happy day!

Let it snow?

My moodling for the past few weeks has mostly been in my head as I've been busy with the last of the garden produce and cleaning up before winter. 

The greenhouse is ready for spring, more or less...

(The last of the basil will be used in a tomato salad

for Lee's birthday supper tonight)...

Suzanna turned our big pumpkin into a wonderful

jack o'lantern...

He was baked yesterday for future soups

and Shadow's favourite --

peanut butter-pumpkin puppy treats...

The garden beds are empty

(Lee dug the carrots last weekend)...

and his brother, Louis, who is visiting,

helped me to dig and cover the last beds yesterday.

We finished at 4, and it started snowing at about 5!

And this is what I see today...

I'm grateful that the snow held off until the garden got put to bed... but I'm very concerned about all the homeless folks still living in tents in our city. Quinn and I were downtown yesterday, passing out the usual granola bars and toiletries, and the first of winterwear donations. Shelter spaces for outside folks were supposed to be ready for November 1st, but we've heard nothing yet about where our downtown friends are supposed to go.

My garden is happy under this snow, but people aren't. I've written my city councilors, but they're running out of funds. It's the province and feds who need to cough up some more support now, so Danielle, Justin, and friends will be hearing from me too... 

In the meantime, if anyone has cash donations for socks, gloves or long underwear (or some of these most-requested items) to pass along, I can get them to people who need it!