Happy Birthday to ME!

Friday after school I had actually left on time so when I thought I wanted cookies that I can only get at Healthy Planet I thought, why not! And then when I pulled into the parking lot I thought, I want a Roots sweatshirt. I popped into Roots, and they had a light pink sweatshirt with a half zipper and a collar, not a hoodie, so I bought it and thought, happy birthday to me. Next I walked into Healthy Planet and they had gluten free Jamaican beef patties which I had mentioned to Ken as missing just the night before, so I bought one (and the cookies) and thought, Happy Birthday to ME! So far, the weekend was off to a great start.

Saturday morning when I finally got out of bed and came downstairs in my new pink sweatshirt, Ken had set out all of my birthday cards and gifts. Alice and Fiona, with help from Ken, got me a new hair dryer. Kate, with help from Ken, got me a new lap desk for my computer. (Kate helped herself to the old one!)

After that, Fiona and I took Milo for a long walk. Fiona wanted to take pictures for an art assignment and many pictures were taken. It was pretty gray this morning, but no rain, so we'll take it. The sky is pretty fun to take pictures of when it's cloudy. I took a bunch of pictures too.

Ken and I had talked about leaving the house around 11 to head downtown, but Fiona was in love with our photography adventure, and I wasn't doing a great job of watching the time, so we didn't leave to go downtown until some time after noon. Our first stop though was Choko-Mocko and then it was off to the Distillery District.

We walked around Bergo - I think our favourite store? They sell a lot of stuff, and it is fun. I loved this Periwinkle Chrome Piggy Bank, but I will admire it from afar as $420.00 isn't in the budget for pigs in my piggy collection!

I love how cooperative my kids are to take pictures with me.

Ken too!

We love the treats, the open air walking between shops, the people, the activity, a little dog we met named Beans, the art instillations, it's just a fun place to go!

Next we popped over to the St. Lawrence market. We hadn't been in ages. It's been so long the girls don't remember it at all. We walked through to the new north building which houses a Farmers Market on Saturdays. The girls didn't love the crowded south building. By the time we made it to the north building everything was winding down. We got there at about 2:45 only to realize it was closing at 3 so we pretty much missed the farmer's market. Ken did find himself an Easter Eggnog so that was fun. And he also bought a large measuring cup which he had wanted for a while!

Then we drove up Mt. Pleasant and then north on Yonge Street almost to York Mills to a restaurant called Riz. It's a gluten free Chinese Restaurant and it's very yummy!

We almost made it through the day without losing our minds...almost. Dinner got a little tense, but was still yummy and good.

After we got home Alice and I took the dog for a walk. It was a nice walk.

Alice hid behind a tree.

My Soma chocolates! 

After that I chatted to Suzanne on the phone and then I took Alice and Fiona to shopper's drug mart. My birthday offer from PC Optimum was 20,000 points if we spent $50 in Shoppers Drug Mart. That translates to $20 to spend. The girls and I had no trouble at all spending the minimum amount! After that it was home, a little tv watching with Ken and then to bed. 

It was a busy full fun day. I loved my birthday fun! I'm so thankful for my family. We're all far from perfect, but we're here for each other and we do love each other! Happy Birthday to ME!

A Weekend

This weekend wasn't exactly typical, but it was typical in that we're busy a lot. Friday night Ken and I took Alice and Fiona to the temple. The temple was rededicated on Sunday March 23rd, and this is the first time we've been back in the temple to do temple work since October 2023. It was so nice to be in the temple, our temple. And Fiona loved her first time doing baptisms. Alice and Fiona were each baptized for eight deceased family members. Alice and Fiona both felt the spirit and felt good in the temple. Alice wanted to stay and Fiona asked when we could come back next. We had a really lovely time.

Saturday morning, Ken and I walked the dog. There's been a freezing rain warning all weekend, we're not in the path of the ice this morning. And we managed to walk the dog before the rain started which was very nice.

After the walk, I took Fiona shopping for a gift for Aubrey. Gift and a few other things acquired, we popped in back at home. Then I dropped Fiona off at her party and went to Choko Mocko for treats. Then it was back home to pick up Alice for our shopping extravaganza. Ken was tasked with finally repairing the sink in the powder room bathroom. 

The Hudson's Bay is liquidating - there will be six stores left. Three in Ontario and three in Quebec. It's weird. The Hudson's Bay company was founded on May 2, 1670. The company was originally founded as a fur trading company. The history of the company is long and complicated. The company now is department stores and department stores have all been dying a slow death. The last few times that we were in the Bay before today, I thought, how is this place still in business, so I wasn't really surprised. 

After the shopping extravaganza I walked the dog in the rain, it was a cold wet walk. The pooh sticks bridge was still open when I went, but I wondered for how much longer.

Fiona had fun at Aubrey's party.

And then, Kate and I went to the Symphony. It was a beautiful program. The star attraction was Angela Hewitt a Canadian pianist. She played the Mozart Piano Concerto No 21 in C Major. The first piece on the program was an overture by Anton Reicha. It was a delightful piece. The last was Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony. Neither the first or last piece were familiar to me but both were very enjoyable.

The concerto was deeply satisfying to hear live and in person. Walking to school - when I was at the University of Lethbridge, I wore out my tape of Mozart's piano concertos, one of which was the one in C Major. I was so happy listening to it. After receiving a standing ovation, she played an encore. She spoke for a few minutes before she played. She spoke about loving being back in her home town. She played with the TSO 40 years ago. She played the Goldberg Variations 50 years ago for the first time and for her encore she played the aria, which is the opening theme. It was so so beautiful. The ending was magical. She played the last chord and didn't play the resolution for the longest time and then she held her hands there holding the entire Hall. No one moved a muscle until she lifted her hands. It was brilliant. Watching her face when she performed, it was pure joy. I loved where we sat, row E on the right side. I could see her face perfectly. It was such a special night.

While Kate and I were at the symphony, Ken took the girls to Playdium. They had lots of fun.

Today was church of course. Ken walked the dog in the morning. Fiona and I walked the dog in the afternoon. And Kate got some very exciting news. She's been hired to work for elections Canada for the federal election. She's 16 and speaks French and was one of three high school students hired. She's so excited, and we're so excited for her.

I also brought the bass clarinet home for Kate to try. I recorded her playing Happy Birthday for her Uncle Jon - it's his birthday tomorrow. She could play it really well, no surprise as she's a great clarinet player, but felt the hand positions to be too much of a stretch for comfort. I'm not disappointed in this, because quite frankly it's a pain to lug home lol.

All in all it was a fun busy weekend. I wish I took more time to blog. I want to preserve all the memories of everything, but that's ridiculous. I can't. But I will probably never stop wanting to remember everything. This time with the girls, they're at such amazing ages and stages right now. I love our life together and I'm so thankful for it.

Temple Re-Dedication

Today was a special day. I was up late last night sewing white handkerchiefs for the Hosannah Shout. It was an absolute labour of love. When the temple was originally dedicated in 1990 my YWs leaders made us/bought us little white hankies. I wanted to create an heirloom for Fiona and Alice too, so I did. They are not the most beautiful, but I hope that they will save them and when they see them they will remember watching the dedication, and be reminded of the specialness of the temple.

It's been so neat going to the open house twice for me, three times for Ken, Alice and Fiona. Watching Fiona confidently walk through the temple during the open house, watching it feel like her temple, that felt really special. I was grateful that Kate came with us, and wanted to walk through the temple again.

Today, the whole dedication service was just beautiful. There was a choir - very small, of youth/ysa, Terri-Ann my friend from Orangeville directed the choir. The talks - two youth speakers, Ken Shoesmith, the Temple President and Matron, Elder Daines, Elder Holland, they were all so uplifting and inspired. The music was beautiful. What was really special to me, the General Authority 70 that spoke Elder Daines he talked about the Hosannah Shout and it being a joyous exultation, and blessing of blessings that is exactly what it felt like. It didn't feel weird, it felt blessed. It reminded me of doing the Hosannah Shout during covid. One of the ancient definitions of Hosannah is "God save us". This felt very poignant thinking back on covid.

Going to the rededication, I was walking all around down memory lane. I couldn't find a journal entry from the original dedication and that a little bit broke my heart. I did find the original invitation to the open house and the ticket to the original dedication and of course the handkerchief so that felt like something.

This is the dedicatory prayer offered by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

Our holy and merciful Father in Heaven, Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Father of Thy magnificent Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and Father to each of us here in mortality, we bow our heads and would bend our knees in reverence and gratitude for the blessings of this day.

We have gathered this hour for the rededication of the Toronto Ontario Temple, where we declare over its door that it is a “house of the Lord.” It is where we pledge “holiness to the Lord,” where the principles, doctrines, covenants and ordinances, flowing from Thy plan of mercy are available. Here we also find the justice demonstrated in vicarious work performed for our deceased who did not enjoy the blessings of the gospel in their lifetimes.

Today we remember and pray for our beloved President and Prophet Russell M. Nelson. He loves temples and has had the prophetic, visionary foresight to aid in hastening the Lord’s work through the unprecedented construction of temples. We thank Thee for him and ask a blessing upon him and his beloved counselors. We ask a blessing upon the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, and all other general and local leaders of the Church. Bless all of them in helping people come to the temple, and bless them to encourage the gleaning of family names that will sustain temple work across the globe.

Please bless the temple president, the matron, their counselors and assistants respectively, and all who serve in any way in the temple. May that service bless all of them personally, bringing the spirit of this edifice into their homes and marriages and families.

Bless the youth to be clean and worthy to carry a temple recommend proudly. Bless the young men who are able to serve and the young women who choose to serve that they will come to the temple, receive their ordinances and covenants and take that Spirit into the mission field. Bless all those patrons who are of marriageable age that they will take comfort and find encouragement, moving toward that goal.

Now, Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and with the power and authority, virtue and keys of the holy apostleship in the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I rededicate the Toronto Ontario Temple unto Thee.

I rededicate the entirety of this beautiful building, including all that was renovated and reconfigured. I bless the temple grounds and ancillary buildings. I bless the baptismal font and rededicate it for the use and blessing of so many, especially the youth. I bless the space where initiatory ordinances are performed and the wonderful promises given there. I bless the endowment rooms with their beauty and comfort. Especially bless us all to understand the doctrine taught in the endowment rooms, for it gives meaning to the experiences that will accompany it. I bless the celestial room that it will be a place of beauty and rest, symbolically representing our coming into the rest of the Lord. I bless the sealing rooms whereby Thy hand, working through Thy mortal ministers, will perform the sacred sealing ceremony, binding families on earth and in heaven.

We bless the carpets and curtains, the altars and pulpits, the windows and walls, hallways and instruction rooms and mechanical systems, all these that contribute to the sacred temple experience. And, Father, please protect this holy temple from any damage by nature or defilement or vandalism at the hand of man.

Lastly, and perhaps most important of all, Father, we rededicate ourselves on this delightful day of rededication. Each one of us is here by virtue of a temple dedication recommend. Whatever our circumstance in life, we pledge our best effort to improve, to be more kind and clean and to remember that Christlike behavior should be evident in those who take upon themselves His name.

Father, our hearts are full and our faith is strong as we have dedicated all aspects of the temple mentioned and unmentioned today. We have done so in the magnificent name of the Lord Jesus Christ, He who was the Babe of Bethlehem and the Child of Nazareth, He who was the Good Shepherd, who went after the lonely sheep that wandered, He who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all our hopes and dreams. We pray that we can give something to Him, because He gave everything to us. This is our dedication prayer today, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Dear Heidi...

 Dear Heidi,

We all know that memory is a funny thing. My memories of being young and going to the zoo have you in them. I remember having a family zoo pass that said "I belong in the zoo". I remember cross country skiing with your family at the zoo one winter, one of the only times I cross-country skied. I remember riding on the monorail with you. I remember a cute boy in a different car and the flirting through the window. I don't remember if he was flirting with you or with me, I just remember giggling. I want my memories to be whole, complete and accurate. I want the pictures in my head to be proven with pictures in an album. I want to find a journal entry proving my memories true. But I don't have any proof, just a deep feeling of nostalgia that I still belong in the zoo.

We have taken our girls to the zoo many, many times over the years, and I think we've had a zoo pass more than we haven't, but that might be inaccurate too. Tuesday was a good but sad visit to the zoo. I'm not done going to the zoo, I'm sure I won't ever be done going, but trying to go as a family is proving more and more of a challenge, so Tuesday's visit, the expiration of our current family zoo pass was fun and great but also sad. I thought of you. I thought of all the memories over the years. 

Maybe the next time you come here and visit we'll go to the zoo together and make a new memory in that place, one with pictures and maybe I'll write a blog post so I can prove the memory later. But for now on this last visit for a while I wanted a keepsake. When I saw the green sweatshirt I knew this was it. 

I'm so grateful for you and the memories that we have in so many places over so many years.

Dad's 85th Birthday

It's a little weird saying that this is his 85th birthday when he passed away when he was 78. He will never be 85, but he's also 85? Do birthdays exist in heaven? I kind of want them to, or at least my mortal mind wants that tradition to continue in some way.

This year was special. 

It's funny to me, funny strange, when people older than me still have both their parents alive. It makes me curious, like 'how did you do that' curious. I didn't feel particularly young to lose my Dad, but everyone's life path is so different. I'm forever grateful that I had him here on earth for as long as I did. Long enough to meet and love his granddaughters for a little while.   

This year was special because of a hockey game.

Utah was awarded an NHL team in April 2024 when Ryan and Ashley Smith bought the Arizona Coyotes. The team is now called the Utah Hockey Club. The team name is being called temporary, but who knows. 

At some point Jon or Andrew noticed that there was a game in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 10. The match-up, the Utah Hockey Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a plan was born. I wanted to go, I really did, but it wasn't meant to be. (I really want to go in July to say hi to Marcus and goodbye to Seth.)

So instead I watched the game in the basement, well most of it anyway.

It was late. I didn't make it until the end, but it was a fun game. I texted my siblings during the game, and wore my Dad's sweatshirt and just felt so happy and grateful for my family and for my hockey loving Dad. Happy Heavenly Birthday Dad!

(**I woke up to find out that the Maple Leafs won the game, which made it an extra happy birthday to the old man.**)

Swan Lake

When Emily told me that she was going to Swan Lake when she was here, and asked if I would like to come, yes was the obvious and easy answer. I grew up being taken to the ballet by my grandmother and hadn't been to the ballet in years. She bought six tickets in total. Alice, Kate, Lauren, Phoebe, Emily and I were to go. Fast forward to Saturday, and after visiting the temple open house together, Alice wasn't feeling well at all. Emily's Mom Phoebe wasn't feeling well either. Kate and I met Emily and Lauren and the four of us went. 

Kate and I had been to the Four Seasons Centre a year ago when we went to the opera with Andrew. I was excited to see the ballet and be here again in this beautiful place. Emily bought the cheapest tickets, which disappointed me a little being so very far away from the stage, but now in hindsight knowing that two tickets were wasted, I'm glad we didn't spend more money. 

We sat in the very back row on the very top floor. We were on the 5th floor and took the elevator up. Taking the elevator felt so weird in a theatre, but it is such a big theatre. But goodness, I was grateful that we didn't have to climb all of those stairs. 

Kate and I took the GO train and I might have told Kate that I wasn't excited to go, because I wasn't, I was tired. I told her that I figured that I'd change my mind when we got there, like I did when we went to the see the Planets at the Symphony and thankfully I was right.

Kate and Lauren sat at the other end of the row from Emily and I. I felt sad that they were so far away, but it was okay, I'm glad they were together at least. I remembered to bring my opera glasses so that made me happy. (A story for a separate post!) I used them for the first half and gave them to Kate to use for the second half. It was fun to look through the glasses and see all of the detail on their beautiful costumes and see their facial expressions.

I enjoyed the ballet. Not going to lie, it did at times feel a little long, but the dancers were amazing. The precision, the excellence, the passion, it was all so evident and so beautiful. The music was so beautiful too. Listening to the oboe and the clarinet, the flute, the harp. It was so beautiful.

But, my favourite moment of the night was before the curtain rose. We sat in our seats, the lights when down, the announcements and land acknowledgements were said, and then the orchestra began to play. I knew right away that they were playing O Canada and jumped to my feet and started to sing. Within a few bars everyone was standing and so many of us were singing. 

The backdrop to this is the politics of the day, specifically Trump and his repeated attacks on the sovereignty of Canada. He's accused us of having a loose border, of drugs and illegal immigrants pouring in from our country to his. (The opposite is true, especially illegal guns entering Canada.) He's imposed tariffs and threatened tariffs. He's repeatedly said that life would be better if we were the glorious 51st state. He's called our prime minister the governor. It's been so much, too much.

So at the ballet, standing up and singing loudly and proudly for our nation, with everyone in that hall, it felt healing and glorious. There was spontaneous applause when the crowd realized what was being played, and long and sustained applause at the end. It felt like a gift and I'm so grateful I was there for it.

TSO - The Planets

Oh my goodness. Going to the symphony tonight was magical. 

There's a program you can enroll in once you turn 15 called Soundcheck. I had Kate sign up last year as soon as she could and we've been to a couple of concerts. When I saw that The Planets were on deck I told Kate we should go, that she should look for tickets, and she was excited. 

When she first got a notice that there were tickets we didn't move fast enough and we missed them. She was so upset. I didn't realize how badly she wanted to go. I was a little bit not excited because it was a school night and I don't like being tired. So when a few more seats became available, we bought two and goodness am I ever glad we did. 

The first two performances were works by Thomas Ades, a British born composer. I enjoyed the first piece, more than the second, a piano concerto. It wasn't until I looked at the program a little more that I realized that the man conducting the orchestra was in fact the composer!

The second half of the program was The Planets. I've listened to the whole work before but I'm most familiar with Mars and Jupiter. When the music started I was so happy that we were there. By the time we got to Jupiter I shed a few tears. But the end of the performance did me in. 

Neptune is the end. And the end is a choir off stage that slowly fades into silence. The conductor held his arms up in the air for so long. He kept us there in the magic of the sound of the silence as the music faded into oblivion. It was transcendent. 

I am so thankful for music, for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and for getting to go tonight with my favourite 16 year old.