Hockey Day in Canada

Yup, they have a whole day honoring the fun sport of hockey. Jim and I watched CBC coverage off and on all day Saturday. They really were having a blast all over the country. Hockey fever and Olympic fever are rampant!

We can do all things with the Lord's help

Heard this verse again today and it always speaks to me and is meaningful in many different ways. God has a purpose for all of us, the young and inexperienced (like Jeremiah) and the older folks with much more life experience.

The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am too young."

7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am too young.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.

12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."

13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a pot that is boiling," I answered. "It is tilting toward us from the north."

14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.

16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.

17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

I'm no Rachael Flatt

The US named it's Olympic figure skating team today. Jim and I were inspired to go skating at Comcast arena. As you can tell, I was clumsy after approximately 25 years off the ice. At least I didn't hit any little skaters or fall down!

Jim on the other hand got back in the ice skating mode very quickly. He kept lapping me! Had a lot of fun, we hope to go back often!

Brother John's Movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival

John is at festival with Meni, Romey, the folks and cousin Diana. Folks babysitting but I know that Dad is getting a few movies viewed!

Here's the writeup from the website. There is a trailer on the website too but very adult content. Movie is coming to about 900 theatres in March.

I Love You Phillip Morris
USA, 2009, 100 Minute Running Time
Additional Countries: France
Topics: Black Comedy, Crime, Gay/Lesbian, Romance, Slapstick
Programs: Best of the Fest, John Schlesinger Award
Language: English

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor are madly in love in this deliriously daring and hilariously entertaining story of a con man (Carrey) continually breaking out of jail to be with his man (McGregor). Unlike anything else you will see this year. From the writers of the deliciously subversive Bad Santa.

Filmmakers expected to attend: Directors Glenn Ficarra, John Requa; actor Ewan McGregor

Praying for the Haiti earthquake victims

I am also praying for the rescue workers already there. World Vision our sponsored child's agency says that they already have a presence there of about 370 workers and that they have been there for 30 years. Their advice of what to do to help is pray, give money and sponsor a child from Haiti.

I understand that the US is sending troops to help out. Wonderful!

Vancouver Olympics preview

Spent a wonderful long week-end in Vancouver. Took the skytrain all over the city and saw several of the Olympic venues including the Richmond Speedskating Oval, BC Place (opening and closing ceremony location) and Olympic Village. Pictures are of downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park.

By the way, best part of the week-end - we actually found tickets to an Olympic event - we're going to the Norway-Sweden men's hockey game!

God Rock Cafe

Found this place just around the corner from work. This is an outreach program which runs a shelter right above the cafe and provides a Christian based drug and alcohol treatment program. They have concerts and other entertainment weekly. I was deeply touched by their enthusiasm and their desire to change lives.

If you are in Everett, consider giving them some business! The food is delicious and all proceeds (after operating costs) go to the services they provide. The place is staffed solely by volunteers and they gladly answered my many questions without being preachy.

God Rock Cafe
2918 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA, 98201
(425) 339-8581 - Venue Website
"We are a non-profit volunteer based venue for all genres of christian music and offer rockin' food and espresso, classes and workshops. We are often used for business meetings and are a Wi-Fi hotspot as well. All of our events are for ALL ages, making us a safe place for families, a rockin' venue for teens and college students as well as a drug and alcohol free alternative to the bars and night clubs. We promote sobriety and continue to foster an environment to nurture and grow the community in Everett. Here you will find awesome cups of Java, a great alternative atmosphere, food you can't resist and bands that will rock your socks off!
Tags: family, rock, kids, college, cafe, punk, indie, metal, concerts, food, all ages, adult, events, venue, shows, teens, espresso, grunge, hang out, drug-free
Venue Type: Non-profit
Neighborhood: Riverside
Hours: Monday-Thursday 7am-7pm Friday 7am-10pm Saturday 7am-7pm (Open Later for Events) Closed Sundays"
Creator: GodRockCafe

Greyhound Pets Inc. on KOMO News

The adoption frenzy continues as more tracks close. AZ recently shut down their greyhound track and more closures are scheduled. Moira, our director says that ABC is also wanting to do a story on GPI. Hope this publicity leads to lots of greys being placed in loving homes!

Here's the story:

Sunday drive in search of snow and eagles

Drove Highway 20 AKA North Cascades Highway to Howard Miller Steelhead Park where we saw eagles and an eagle nest last year. This was also near where we saw an elk herd several years ago. No snow and no critters but had a great hike (OK, easy walk) into the Skagit River.

Call Center Blues

Just found the blog of my favorite author JA Jance. Her most recent entry is copied below had me LOL as they say in computer speak. I should amend that to say that it also brought back some painful call center memories!

By the way, there is also a recent entry about mammograms and the new guidelines. Bittersweet and humorous in spite of its title - OOPS! Rant Warning!!!! Not Funny. I put a link to her blog in the lower right column of my blog. Enjoy!

"Call Center Blues
The East Coast is having the kind of pre-Christmas snow event that we had last year. So far, in Seattle anyway, our owning a personal snow plow seems to be having a very salutary effect as in No SNOW! But I know lots of people's holiday is going to be blown to pieces by having guests who don't make it at all or who don't make it at all and gifts--especially gift baskets--that also misfire due to weather related issues. So now a word about call centers and the people who work there, including a daughter who works in one.

She thinks of the days leading up to and following Christmas as a particular kind of hell.

Let's begin by saying I have my own challenges with call centers. I'm aggravated beyond words by the cheerful voice lady who demands a dozen different pieces of information so she can send me to the "right" attendant, but then, after I've repeated the information over in over at ever increasing volume, she sends me along to the "right attendant" without sending along any of the information I already gave her. So it's easy to be mad as hell before you're even put in the queue to wait on interminable hold along with probably hundreds of other people listening to toneless, clangly music that doesn't blend well with the Mozart sonata I'm trying to hear on my end of the queue.

Let's be clear. The person who actually answers the phone isn't in charge of the pre-recorded announcement. She didn't create the answering system that takes my information and then sends it into the ethers without a trace. She didn't establish the hiring and staffing policies that determine how many people are on the job at any given time, and she most CERTAINLY isn't in charge of the weather! She's not stupid--as she's been called, and she's not doing her best to destroy every irate customer's holiday season, either. Her job at the call center is the right one for her at the moment, because she can leave it behind when she turns off her phone and walks away. As a widowed mother with a four year old, she needs that--a job that stays on the job when she goes home to be a mommy.

Christmas comes along on the same day of the year EVERY SINGLE YEAR! Those of us who dither around and don't do our ordering in a timely fashion are . . . well . . . late! And even when we order on time, there are still unforeseen circumstances that cause difficulties. The people who answer the phones--finally--really are there to help us. Yes, I find myself yelling at the babe with the unfailingly cheerful voice because she doesn't usually pay any attention. But when I finally reach the human at the far end of the queue, I take a few deep breaths and put on my own unfailingly cheerful voice.

After all, it might be a good idea to remember why you're ordering all those presents in the first place. Put a little holiday cheer in your voice to say nothing of the milk of human kindness. And if your presents don't arrive until the 26th or even the 29th--as ours did last year--I can assure you, it isn't the end of the world. After all, I'm still here, aren't I?"