Monthly Archives: December 2014

Christmas Past

Posted in Thoughts by

For the first seventeen years of my life I lived in another country. I celebrated Christmas differently. The weather was rarely frightful, and if there were fires it was outside in the fireside where they cooked large meals in big pots. Snow was seen only when the television stations decided to go off air.

December was always a busy month, from parties to service, Christmas to Old Years Night (as we called it), it was a never ending bustle of activity. A Christmas concert, caroling, a dinner for folks in the neighbourhood, services, practices, performances…

I don’t really have a favourite memory because everything was always delightful. I just remember being very glad that it was December, that Christmas was coming, that school was out for the term, that I would get to stay up until midnight on Old Years Night to greet the new year.

As I look back on those days, the memories that stand out the brightest – playing games in the “bottom house” or watching the sun rise over the Atlantic, or hitting a triangle as we moved from house to house, belting out Christmas songs – always had one thing in common, one set of people, my family.

I’m happy for Decembers – past and present – because it’s always the time we do things together. For me it’s always the most wonderful time of the year. For family and Decembers, I am thankful.

On Time

Posted in Poetic, Thoughts by

I grow older.

The year changes old to new.

Months fly by in seconds, minutes, hours and days.

Time marches forward, leaving memories of moments in the past.

Sometimes I wish I had more.

Or sometimes that it would end.

Most times it creeps by unnoticed,

Until one day, without warning, time is spent.

This Year in Books

Posted in Bookish by

To date I’ve read about 38 books, some were ok, others were great, most were enjoyable. I love receiving books as presents – or gift cards to buy books, or used books, or just take me to a book store on a shopping spree!

I thought I’d share a few books I’ve loved this year.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers – I know you’re an adult and you’re probably thinking, children’s books? Really? But listen, do me a favour and go to a bookstore, pick up this book, read it, and then judge me.

Love and other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan – I really enjoyed the writing style and the protagonists’s mind. I also liked that it dealt more with family relationships.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – Another brilliant E. Lockhart story. A bit of a mystery and a bit of a suspenseful read, with a lovely little twist in the end.

Conversion by Katherine Howe – Present day and past storied intertwine as Katherine Howe writes about the Salem Witch Trials and a case of – what seems to be – mass hysteria at a girl’s boarding school.

God in my Everything by Ken Shigematsu – This was a good read for me, it’s about building a rule of life in our busy lives and I felt I needed to read some of the things in this book. It’s a super easy read too, and features an adorable story of a chipmunk as an illustration on giving.

What If? by Randall Munroe – You don’t have to love science to read this, or even know much science. This was a super fun and interesting read, and I definitely learnt a thing of two. By the way, it has the bonus of being the book you should probably be reading if you want nerdy guys to talk to you.

I’m in the middle of reading a few more books which I hope to finish by the next month. If so, I’m sure I’ll be adding a few more books to the above list.

 

Year in Music: Spotify

Posted in Geeky, Media, Social Media by

If you’re like me and haven’t received that Spotify email that tells you about your Year in Music, you can check it out here: www.spotify-yearinmusic.com

This is actually great because I was wondering what my most listened to tracks were this year. According to Spotify I listened to Pop and Contemporary Christian Music mostly, which makes sense as I didn’t start using Spotify to find new music until recently.

It also said that the top artist was Lorde – though, if Ms. Swift didn’t pull her tracks from Spotify it might have been her. Blank Space anyone?

The top track played was Coming Home – Part II by Skylar Grey followed by Love is On the Radio – Mr. & Mrs. F mix by McFly. I was surprised to see Tessa Violet on the list, but I suppose I listened to Just Right a bunch of times when it came out.

They then have a Play it Forward playlist which is a selection of songs for you based on your tastes this year. I think they did a great job curating the list for me, I started listening to it and I think it suits my tastes.

What’s your year in music like?

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On repeat: Jesus, Born on This Day by Mariah Carey

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Well that’s interesting…

Posted in Thoughts by

arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention

One of the most overused words in my vocabulary is the word interesting. I know this because I use it many times a day to describe things that might (or might not) be interesting to me. So I’ve decided, time to shake my vocabulary up a little, here are some other words that I promise to use in the place of interesting.

engrossing | fascinating | riveting | gripping

appealing | enlightening | absorbing | compelling

intriguing | engaging | astounding | immersing

enthralling | entertaining | diverting | stimulating

And if I find something that isn’t interesting, or only mildly so, here are some words to use for that.

dull | tedious | insipid | pedestrian

ponderous | monotonous | drab | flat

laden | stodgy | jading | jejune

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On repeat: Baby Boy by for King and Country

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