He is Risen Indeed!

Because He lives...

I can face tomorrow.

Wishing you all a most blessed resurrection Sunday!

 

Surely...

Surely, surely He hath borne our griefs, 

And carried our sorrows, 

Surely, surely 

He hath borne our griefs 

And carried our sorrows

 He was wounded for our transgressions

 He was bruised, 

He was bruised for our iniquities 

The chastisement, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.

 Those are the lyrics to a song from Handel's Messiah.  

The words come from Scripture...
Isaiah 53: 4,5

They carry the message of Good Friday.

Jesus Christ came to earth to demonstrate His love for us...

by dying on the cross for all the people of the world.

I have heard 'The Messiah' played through our speakers quite often lately.
I have enjoyed the beauty of the music...

...and been touched by the words.

 This evening a local choir and orchestra will perform Handel's Messiah.
I plan to be in the audience...
while some near and dear to me are in the choir. 
It will be special...
and meaningful.
And fitting...
for Good Friday.


 

it is summer...or is it?

Well...the grands seem to think it is!  

We have enjoyed a few beautiful spring days...
with sunshine and warm temperatures.
 It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have the first wiener roast of the season.  

We sent out the invitation...

and those who were free...

came.

 Some came barefoot and in shorts...

...and Maggie brought her chair with protection from the sun!

While the rest roasted their smores...

 

Lucy was raiding the marshmallow bag.

No it is not summer!

But it was certainly nice to be outdoors last night.

The weatherman tells us it will be very warm for Easter Sunday.

We might just be having our Easter dinner on the patio this year.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

it is spring...or is it?

With Easter just around the corner...

and the grands itching to decorate the 'Easter egg' tree...

...we decided to do just that a few days ago!

It didn't really feel much like spring....

...as the wind whipped those eggs around.

But they got the job done.

 An hour or two passed...

and it was winter once again.

Just briefly though.

When we see what kind of weather the rest of the country is putting up with...

we will gladly take a passing hailstorm or two.

 

A little hail in the spring flower bed...

...is a nice touch.

The weekend has been beautiful...
so nice for getting outdoors to work and play.
Or eat.

The neighbour brought us salmon on Saturday.
We popped it on the grill...

...and enjoyed dinner on the back patio.
The patio furniture is still packed away for the winter...
but we found a wee table and two chairs.
It is spring!
(I think.)

'tis the season for paska...

We began the season a little early over here this year...

 with the grands.

They came for a sleepover...

and thought paska for breakfast was a fine idea.

And it was!

There are those who heard it was paska season...

but had no idea how to bake paska.

And so they came to our paska cooking class at Lepp Farm Market last night.

They'll be baking paska before Easter...

guaranteed.

Maybe even tomorrow!

Marg demo'd Ellen's paska spread for us last night...
since Ellen couldn't make the long trek north from Seattle this time.
She did a fine job, Ellen!

And since paska is part of our Easter fare...

we cooked up a traditional Easter meal for the class last night.
We had baked ham with mustard sauce...
scalloped potatoes...
coleslaw...
and pluma moos (cold fruit soup).

And paska...of course.
Just in case you feel like adding paska to your Easter menu this year...
I'll leave you the link to the recipe we used last night.
That would be...
Lovella's famous paska recipe.
Try it.
I think you'll like it!

Have a great weekend...


 

the weekend that was...

The plan was to head into the city on Saturday...

if the weather would co-operate.

In the end we decided to ignore the weather and went despite the rain.

My brother Bill had not done any sightseeing in Vancouver since Expo 86...

and his family had never toured the city.

We rode the Skytrain from Surrey to the waterfront...

...and by the time we arrived the rain had let up.

We walked the deck at Canada Place... 

...where Jessica and Andrew posed for some good all-Canadian souvenir pictures.

From there it was off to Gastown...

with its old-fashioned steam clock

 ...and a statue of Gassy Jack after whom the area was named.

The skinny building on a triangular lot is an historic landmark.

Called Hotel Europe...

it was built in 1908.

We had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory...

the first of the chain to open in Canada...
right at this location in 1970.

On the street nearby...

we took in a free outdoor bag-pipe concert.

I'm sure it had a lot to do with St. Patrick's Day.

From there...
we strolled to China Town...

a popular tourist destination.

We could have been back in China...

judging by the merchandise for sale and the language spoken.

But then again...

the streets looked rather deserted compared to those of Shanghai.

Maybe going to the city on a damp and dreary day was a good idea!
Most people chose to stay at home.

When the skies cleared just a little...

we decided to ride the sea bus across the harbour before leaving the city.

It was a good way to see the skyscape of Vancouver.

In the evening we all met up at my sister's for a BBQ...

cousins, uncles, aunts...

and anyone else connected to the clan.

My grandgirlies found spots at the table right next to Andrew...
my nephew from Iowa.

They took a liking to him!

Maggie plans to marry him one day...

so she confided to her mommy.

Family reunions are where cousins and second cousins become friends...

...and older cousins watch out for wee ones.

Thanks, Emme!

And the teeniest one of the clan...

gets passed from lap to lap!

My niece, Lauren had a wee baby boy two weeks ago.

We ended the weekend...

with a baby shower for little Lennon Joseph.

And that was the 'weekend that was'....
of family getting together...

in the city and the country...

 around one table or another.
It was all good! 

the green, green grass of home...

 Just minutes ago...

I went out and took a photo of the lush green pasture behind our house.

After a week of  heavy rains and grey skies...

the sun came out and brightened things up.

 

 My brother, two nephews and a niece returned to Iowa today...

after spending five days here.

They left before the sunshine arrived.

Sorry about that! 

We had some good times without sunshine though.

I'll fill you in on some of those another time.

My 'prairie sister' is here for another few days...

and so we are making the most of her visit...

visiting wool shops and quilt shops and such.

The lawns are need of another mowing.

The first blooms of spring have sprung.

 

And the Christmas angels are singing their choruses among the heathers.

Somehow fitting...

as I hear Handel's Messiah playing through the speakers.

 Hubby is practising the bass part for a Good Friday choral performance of Handel's Messiah in our community.

Hope you had a wonderful Monday!

chilliwack...a cash mob story

Chilliwack made the news again last week...

when it was revealed that two of the ethnic restaurants in our town had received racist e-mails. 

While the RCMP were investigating a possible hate crime...
the community as a whole rallied around the targeted businesses.

A 'cash mob' was organized by several local residents...
an initiative that encouraged locals to flood the two targeted restaurants with their business last Friday.
And they did!

Between the Bay Leaf and Shandhar Hut...
an estimated 1,500 people dined on Indian Food in Chilliwack last Friday.
That number is simply amazing and way beyond what the organizers had hoped for.  
In the end it turned out to be a 'good news' story.

  We have eaten at the Shandar Hut in the past...

and have always enjoyed the food and the wonderful people that prepare and serve it.

We hope to dine there again in the future.

We wish both targeted establishments all the best!

My brother is visiting from Iowa this weekend.

He has fond memories of his favorite ethnic restaurant in this town from his childhood.

Canton Gardens...

has served Chilliwack for over 100 years.

Originally they were located in the  historic Royal Hotel...

the one I told you about in yesterday's post.

We will be paying them a visit this weekend...

for 'old times sake'.

Have a great weekend...

more chilliwack news...

The  Paramount Theatre has been a fixture in our city since before my time.   Going to the movie theatre wasn't something that happened in my childhood home...so I never paid much attention to our theatre until I was in my late teens.  Then I went on occasion...to the likes of Ben Hur, Nicholas and Alexandra, Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, and the Poseidon Adventure.  Historical, educational...productions based on real life events.  It was a grand old theatre...with a large balcony...back in the day.

(photo credit Ian Meissner)

On Sunday we drove through the old part of our city...and got a bit of a surprise.  Oh, we knew it was coming...just not when.

The forever fixture is being demolished.  Where the theatre once stood...were a few concrete walls, some steel supports and a pile of rubble.  We pulled into the parking lot behind the building...and thought for a moment we were at a drive-in theatre.  Cars were coming and going...parking for a time just to have a look. Some had their camera.  We visited with those who were parked next to us...and reminisced.

 

(photo credit ~  Chilliwack Museum)

When the Paramount Theatre first opened on June 9, 1949 it was billed as being 'completely ultra-modern, including the modern miracle of air conditioning, soft restful spring chairs, sound installation and a popcorn and candy bar in the lobby.'  It accommodated six hundred and eight people on the first floor with another 292 on the balcony level.  It had a sloped floor and high screen and it was boasted that even the shortest theatre-goer would be able to see over the tall lady with the high hat in front of them.

On November 3, 2010 the Paramount Theatre closed its doors for the last time.   After 61 years...it could no longer compete with the new multi-plex theatres on the outskirts of town.  Landmark Cinemas donated the theatre and the property to the city of Chilliwack.  Though it seemed like a generous gift at the time...it was soon discovered that to refurbish and restore the old theatre would would not be the fiscally responsible thing to do.  The tax payers would not say 'thank-you'.  Last summer our city council voted (6-1) to demolish the old building.  So now we will  have to wait and see what the future holds for that site. 

Though The Paramount is gone...we have our memories.  And some even have theatre seating as a souvenir...complete with popcorn stains and old chewing gum.  The seats were given away...in sets of four...by way of random draw from all who applied.  My name was not in the hat...though I considered it throwing it in.

 

We carried on past the demolition site...and went for lunch at another lovely old spot in our city. The Royal Hotel has been in business for over a hundred years...and served up wonderful Chinese food back in the day. For many decades I had not entered the building...but in the recent past we have been there for lunch several times.  The Royal Cafe is under new management...and is a nice new/old place to go.

Thanks for joining me today on a tour of my historical hometown. 

 

chilliwack ~ in the news...

Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the 2nd largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and recreational areas...lakes and parks. (That according to Wikipedia.)

Chilliwack is known for its water.  Not only is there water rushing down the mountains...in creeks, rivers and waterfalls...but we have had the best tasting untreated drinking water in the country.  Maybe even the world...they say.  That all changed last week.

I ran the tap for a drink one afternoon...and caught a whiff of chlorine.  I dumped the glass of water...and went to the computer to do some research.  Sure enough, as of that day Chilliwack water was being chlorinated.  It seems the 'powers that be' have dictated that our city will add bleach to its water supply...just to prevent anyone from ever getting sick due to water borne bacteria in the future.  We were willing to take that risk.  We do not want bleach in our water.  We have no say...it seems.

Water has been the big news story over here this past week.  Not all news is good news! 

 

There are a few other things making the news in our community as well. I'll take you downtown one of these days.