pause for a perk
gratis
winter 2013
moon over downtown Edmonton - Dave McNabb
"It's a bottomless pit," she said aloud. No one heard; the kitchen was empty
save for the dog. "Elvis sang 'a blue Christmas without you' and that's just it.
Good thing Canadian Tire sells blue decorations now."
She laughed. "It's been six months and I still expect him to put the sugar pot on
the table in easy reach of the teapot."
She thought. "Walkers shortbread: I use to put that in his stocking with some
of those wee chocolates from the market. I'm so organized - here are last
year's Christmas receipts. The sheepskin coat - gone to Bissell - $695; pyjamas,
$49; 4 movie passes, $36; cookbook, $45; Christmas tree and stand, $84. What
do I do with this? It's a bottomless pit, this grief."
The dog barked as the neighbours' sheltie went past the window. The dog's
breath was a cloud. "That young couple next door are pretty busy with the wee
babe and a dog too. They might like shortbread just like he did, after a dog
walk - who am I kidding, who doesn't like shortbread?"
She started a list: shortbread. "Okay, maybe wee chocolates too. I like that
vendor." Chocolates. "I'll leave them for the neighbours with a Santa card and
my name."
"Cold night. Glad I took the coat to Bissell. They could use more." On the list:
$695 cheque for Bissell. Pyjamas for the women's shelter; movie passes for the
shelter, too - those kids would like movies. $45 to the food bank. $84 to
Alberta Wilderness Association.
"Well! That was surprising. I have a bottomless pit of grief. Last Christmas was
rich and full. This year is empty as a pocket."
She looked at the list. "And I'd give it away in a heartbeat. But if I can't give
away my grief, I'll give the love. It all starts with neighbourliness."
An Old Man’s Winter Night
All out of doors looked darkly in at him
Through the thin frost, almost in separate stars,
That gathers on the pane in empty rooms.
What kept his eyes from giving back the gaze
Was the lamp tilted near them in his hand.
What kept him from remembering what it was
That brought him to that creaking room was age.
He stood with barrels round him -- at a loss.
And having scared the cellar under him
In clomping there, he scared it once again
In clomping off; -- and scared the outer night,
Which has its sounds, familiar, like the roar
Of trees and crack of branches, common things,
But nothing so like beating on a box.
A light he was to no one but himself
Where now he sat, concerned with he knew what,
A quiet light, and then not even that.
He consigned to the moon, such as she was,
So late-arising, to the broken moon
As better than the sun in any case
For such a charge, his snow upon the roof,
His icicles along the wall to keep;
And slept. The log that shifted with a jolt
Once in the stove, disturbed him and he shifted,
And eased his heavy breathing, but still slept.
One aged man -one man -can't keep a house,
A farm, a countryside, or if he can,
It's thus he does it of a winter night.
~ Robert Frost
perk: become more cheerful, lively, or interesting.
With the Christmas season upon is, it is very
important to be aware of our sugar intake, as
it can suppress the immune system during a
somewhat stressful (happy stress is stress
too!) time of year. Here is a recipe for my
favourite healthy holiday treat that is a great
option for keeping your energy and mood
steady!
Christmas Cake (grain-free, sugar-free, gluten-free!)
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped medjool dates, seeds removed
1 cup walnut pieces
juice of one orange
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
2 tsp. all spice
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of sea salt
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius or 350 ° Fahrenheit.
Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square cake tin.
Place the orange juice, dried fruit and nuts into a saucepan, bring to
the boil, cover and turn off the heat.
Place the bananas into your blender or food processor and puree.
Sift in the coconut flour and add the mixed spice, salt and vanilla,
mix until combined. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
Add the teaspoon of soda into the dried fruit mixture and combine.
Add the dried fruit and nut mixture to the banana mixture and stir
until the fruit is evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin. Level the top. Bake for 40
minutes, cover with foil and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove
from the oven. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before flipping onto a
cooling rack. Allow to cool prior to cutting. Enjoy!
wholeheartednutrition.ca facebook.com/wholeheartednutrition
For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to
live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Nelson Mandela, July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013
North American author Parker Palmer addresses Mandela’s
sentiment in his own context:
It is true that we are all in this together. It is equally true that we
spend most of our lives in “tribes” or lifestyle enclaves - and that
thinking of the world in terms of “us” and “them” is one of the
many limitations of the human mind. The good news is that “us
and them” does not need to mean “us versus them.” Instead,
it can remind us of the ancient tradition of hospitality to the
stranger and give us a chance to translate it into twenty-firstcentury terms. Hospitality rightly understood is premised on the
notion that the stranger has much to teach us. It actively invites
“otherness” into our lives to make them more expansive,
including forms of otherness that seem utterly alien to our way of
life. Of course, we will not practice deep hospitality if we do not
embrace the creative possibilities inherent in our differences.
Healing the Heart of Democracy - The Courage to Create a Politics
Worthy of the Human Spirit. Parker J. Palmer
St. Paul’s United Church
11526 - 76 Avenue
December 19 7:30 pm Longest Night
walk the labyrinth
December 22 10 am Advent IV
December 24 Christmas Eve
5 pm Family Service
8 pm Candlelight service
Dear Grace,
I have a friend who always gives me extravagant Christmas
presents. It worries me. One year it was a designer bag, once it
was a bouquet of roses every month for a year, another was a
certificate for a day spa. I love these gifts, don’t get me wrong,
but I am uncomfortable. I can’t reciprocate and I feel like a charity
case. I know it’s the thought that counts, but her thoughts are
bigger than mine. What should I do?
- Feeling Obliged
Dear Feeling Obliged,
Unfortunately giving often becomes synonymous with exchange.
In the grocery store we exchange money for goods; in the city we
pay taxes for snow clearing; choirs sell chocolate bars to purchase
music. School classroom gift exchanges usually have a dollar limit
to ensure equal value. Giving of this nature is quid pro quo, this
for that, a sense that gifts must be equal. That is not the same
thing as giving from the heart.
Christmas presents were meant to be gifts from the heart:
symbols of affection, respect, or gratitude. The Christmas gift
tradition comes from the Wise Men who brought gifts to the
Christ Child. The magi were acknowledging and celebrating
something magnificent and important to them: God’s presence in
the world, in the baby Jesus. They weren’t expecting anything in
exchange.
There are two possibilities about your dilemma.
First, the more difficult thing. Is it about asserting power and control? Do you feel manipulated? Are you a “bought” friend? Changing a friendship of that nature begins with “You are my friend and
I value you. We are equals. Please stop buying me things and let’s
do things we can both afford.”
Alternately, your friend may simply like to share. Is she generous
in all parts of her life? Generosity may be an expression of who
she is, not a requirement for you to respond in kind. Celebrate her
generosity with a “thank you”. Enjoy the gifts.
(Grace invites your letters and questions.
Send them to deargrace@mail.com)
Deep peace
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you:
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace to you.
traditional Gaelic
Fill the 9 X 9 grid with letters so each column,
each row, and each of the nine 3 X 3 grids contain
all of the letters from the word BIRTHDAYS.
dawn at Robinson Farm, Lamont County - Earl Reaburn
perk is published as a community service of St. Paul’s United Church, 11526 - 76 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 0K7 www.stpaulsunited.org