Pocketful of Memory Cards

On Casorso Hill about half way up, you'll find Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Cemetery.  I drive past it occasionally when I want a change of scenery on the way home from the east end of Kelowna.  Set in the heart of vineyards and orchards, it is a lovely spot to spend eternity.  Since it's Easter I thought I'd pop by this morning and take a photo to post here.  One thing I love about Easter is how many different religions come together at this time of year beginning with the pagan religions that celebrate the arrival of Spring at the Vernal Equinox.  Practitioners of the Baha'i faith end their nineteen day fast and celebrate their New Year on the Equinox.  The Jewish festival of Passover , falls on the first Full Moon following the Equinox, as does the Buddhist New Year . Good Friday and Easter Sunday are celebrated by Christians on the weekend following passover and  Orthodox Christians celebrate a week later.  Hindus celebrate Vi...

Last week I had a thought.  Well, I had many thoughts but this particular thought was about the New Year.  Why is the New Year in January?  Shouldn't it  be in the spring when so much of the world is being renewed be it through plants, through new life in the form of birds and animals, or the re-birth of deities? Turns out that once upon time, when we followed the Julian Calendar we celebrated the New Year on March 25. We changed to the Gregorian Calendar in the late 1700's because if I recall correctly from my research, the date of the spring equinox eventually became quite inaccurate.   I wish I could find the link that explained the reasoning behind the change of the New Year celebration to January 1st, but I deleted my history yesterday, and darned if I can find the site I was looking at.  So this long winded pre-amble is my lead up to telling you that today, with less than twenty-four hours until the vernal equinox and what I recall the Bah...

In my ideal world there is one day a week, when I don't do laundry, or grocery shop, vaccum or clean out the litter box, or waste time on Facebook and Pinterest .  That day is called the Sabbath in many religions and no matter what your beliefs, a day of rest or a day to spend time with family has to be a very good idea.  Now that I've completed my writing course I am in house cleaning/organizing/de-cluttering mode.  The thought of a Sunday (or any day) free of housework guilt, and time spent with the ones I love is motivating me to get things done. Today I spent most of the day deep cleaning the kitchen.  Four pets and three people who have a tendency to walk through the house with their shoes on brings in a lot of dirt.  I didn't take a photo of the finished product, but if you're curious it looked pretty much like this post from last June. I also spent some time working on my Blurb photo book from our drive along the Oregon Coast in Septemb...

6.  I'm grateful for my daughter who when asked "Would you make me breakfast?" replied "What would you like?" 7.  I'm grateful for the website Flickr that allowed me to look at these stunning photos of Ramadan giving me a window on a world I know very little of.  Do check out the link and select Slide Show on the right to spend a few minutes in wonder. 8.  I'm grateful for yet another sunny day.  Hello vitamin D! 9.  I'm grateful I live in a democratic country where we can speak our minds without fear of retribution. 10.  I'm grateful for my first full night's sleep after almost three years of tossing, turning and pain.  Thank you Dr. Goldberg!