A true Christmas Miracle story in Elmvale Acres

Over the Christmas season I visited my local nail salon. I love this little place, it is a family business, they make excellent vietnamese tea and coffee and I always learn a lot about culture, politics during my treatments. This time I had a new beautician. My nail tech Anna (not her real name) who was doing my pedicure was chatty and pleasant, she had a pierced tongue, a young child and a dog and clearly enjoyed her work. We exchanged pleasantries about dogs and the weather. Anna was young with a one year college diploma and I did not expect much in the way of a deep or profound conversation.

This is a very unusual nail salon. I almost always have a deep and meaningful conversation but I was sure that this time would be an exception. My server was pleasant and wore clothing a little too tight and expressed some unsophisticated opinions. As I moved on to have my nails done, I was the only customer in the shop. Ling was doing a complex french manicure Anna told us an amazing story.

She had two other girls saved some 75k over a period of years and build and founded an orphanage in Vietnam. Ling who is Vietnamese had tears in his eyes and I was speechless. She was not wealthy, nor particularly well educated but was moved by the plight of abandoned babies.

She then revealed that she and her husband have similar plans for an orphanage in Africa. They gather donations, never really advertise and somehow the miracle happens. Her husband came in to have coffee with her. He was a very young, modern looking man but not wealthy. He was teaching ESL in a local school to adults.

What struck me was the modesty and yet the immense scale of what she had done all on her own. While many of us who are in more fortunate positions whine and complain about the state of the world, Anna and her friends all of whom are of modest means actually did change the world, one baby at a time.

"Why don't you tell the world" I said to Anna, excited by her mission and very excited. Anna told me that her mission employed a widow lady who otherwise would be destitute and she runs the orphanage. Anna does not want publicity, it is known to a few. She does not want it to be too big. Anna went on to say that she does not tell people what she does and few suspect it, but decided to share it with me.

I found myself thinking of the Christmas story. This was announced to a few shepherds, it was a very low key event, much like Anna's miracles. I left the little salon with pedicured feet and pretty snazzy nails but also with my heart warmed and my spirit tremendously humbled.

Das Rheingold

Yes I attended my first ring opera two weeks ago. I heard the metropolitan opera stage Das Rheingold. Robert Lepage designed a stage that was spectacular. Many of the singers were suspended and the stage itself allowed them to walk vertically at times. This was particularly good for the god of fire and trickster loge sung beautifully by tenor Richard Croft.

Wagners Ring series is like the Lord of the Rings, there are no cute arias but rather motifs. The opera begins with the Rhine maidens suspended and flapping their flippers singing about the gold when the gnome Alberich sung by Eric Owens appears. He steals the gold and makes a ring (sound familiar) that will give him great power.

Wotan, the chief of gods sung by Bryn Terfel has problems of his own, the giants Fasold and Fafner are demanding payment for constructing Valhalla. Wotan promises his daughter Freia to be wed to one of the giants as payment. Freia is horrified and her mother Fricka sung by Stephanie Blythe intervenes.

The entire opera is like reading a Tolkein novel, you enter into a world of gods, dragons, rings and promises and giants. The giant Fasolt sung by Franz-Josef Selig sings a very touching aria about the fact that Freia gave him light in his dark world.

There is a fantastic scene where Wotan and Loge enter the realm of Alberich, the land of the Nibelung far beneath the earth. You hear the clamour of hammers and anvils as they mine gold for the greedy Alberich who has enslaved them because of the ring.

This was my first taste of a Wagner opera and I loved it. Far from being entertained, or charmed (although I was thrilled by the staging) I was carried away to a land of mythology, with magic fruit that bestowed youth and vigor (I want one), the god of thunder, Donner (brother of Freia who swung his hammer and hit the stage causing lightening to explode in a thunder of music and brass!), Wotan, gnomes under the earth, giants and a magic ring.

I can't wait to hear the ride of the Valkeries in the next HD production. What a joy!

Don Pasquale ..comic genius

Where else can you hear world class singing, follow stage antics, chases and patter songs like you have never heard before except in Opera.

Don Pasquale is one of Gaetano Donizetti's comic operas. Anna Netrebko, usually a more tragic singer is hysterical in the role of Norina, the femme fatale who teaches the greedy Don Pasquale a lesson he will never forget.

Netrebko masterfully sang her part while dancing and laughing and plotting with her brother Dr. Makatesta sung by Mariuz Kwiecien. Netrebko was hysterical as the demure nun straight from the convent, with pink stockings!!

John Del Carlo sung the role of Don Pasquale. His facial expressions, trembling lips, heart palpitations and comic affect were magical. His patter song with the doctor was astonishing. I have never heard a bass sing with such clarity diction and coloratura~ (in the base clef)

The opera danced merrily along and was immensely entertaining. James Levine himself conducted the orchestra, arguably the best opera conductor in the world.

What a treat! Well done metropolitan opera.

Training for a purpose

Everyone knows that it is far more motivating to do something if it has a purpose. We look forward and we plan and we anticipate. I enjoyed the planning of many of my vacations.

For some reason, this lesson did not apply to me and my fitness. I bike and had a vague goal of getting faster or fitter but that is too watery and nothing really happens. This season, that has all changed.

I am working towards goals. My first goal is a week long race training camp in Cuba. There will be a lot of heat and a lot of hills so by February 27th I had better be ready. I am engaged in Cyclo Club which is a complete training program and believe me it is hard. The spin classes nearly kill me and the yoga left me crying for mercy. This is a good thing!

After Cuba, I will likely go to France in May for more biking to prepare for the Rideau Lakes tour in early June. Biking is like everything else, you need to have a focused and specific goal. France of course depends on whether or not I can secure some good working contracts to earn the euros to make it possible!

My goals are as follows: to lose a few more lbs and to increase my weight bearing strength and aerobic capacity. This is not achieved by treadmills but by specific neuromuscular routines that involve spinning in higher and higher gears at the same speed and giving your heart precious little time to recover. Tough but it works. At the end of my Cyclo Club workouts I am spent but feel I have accomplished something.

Having specific goals in mind has made cycling even more enjoyable for me as I now happily work on pedal techniques such as bullwhip and popcorn. I am also more aware of my upper body and go to the gym to increase my upper body strength and flexibility.

Years ago in a job interview (which I got) the interviewers were a little dismayed that all of my hobbies are physical and one handicapped interviewer asked what would I do if I were in a wheelchair. I gave a sensitive answer but the truth is,despite my intellectual interests, I would not be able to exist without the immense pleasure that my physical activities provide.

On to phase 1 of my training plans!

The Bicycle as teacher

I have had a great 2010 cycling season. My bike has taught me many lessons of life. It is hard to believe that a machine can do this, but it does!

For many of my longer rides, there is a support van or a sag wagon. While these are advertised as wagons or vans to help you if you are tired, to me they are the vehicles of last resort, reserved for the infirm, the aged or the out of shape.

On the Bon Ton Roulet tour, I made the fatal mistake of stopping for lunch and having a few glasses of cool white chardonay wine made by the Blue Heron winery where I had stopped for lunch. The scenery was glorious, the wine cold and the lunch service very slow. I had a mere 30 miles to ride and a few hills and I scoffed it off enjoying the moment.

10 miles after, I started to slow down and came to a halt at the last rest stop. There was a hill and I had no more energy. My legs had become like stone trunks with no power whatsoever. Reluctantly I hailed a sag wagon.

The lady was a pleasant middle aged woman who was very kind. I was mortified. I made sure my bike was hidden by others and I slouched to make sure NO ONE I KNEW would see me. I kept shaking my head and apologizing. The other cyclist was thrilled with the ride and very chatty but I was simply devastated at my terrible performance on that day. I missed an opportunity because I was so focused on my lack of energy and shocked that this could happen.

Life is funny. I seriously considered going on but because of the wine, dehydration and plain fatigue I simply could not do it. There are times when my body says enough. I am learning to accept it.

In fact, I have learned a lot about my limitations this year with the bike as my teacher. I have learned, that I need to eat while I ride. No fuel=no power.
I have learned that I love to ride, but I also need time to enjoy what is around me. In the bon Ton tour, I stopped for a swim on several occasions. I have learned that it is not the destination that counts but the journey. The destination on our tours were always an anti climax, with the journey, the climbs and the scenery being more impressive. One of our days while cycling in Mennonite country, I had a yearning for Mennonite baking and lo and behold..there was a Mennonite horse and buggy and a stand selling fantastic baked goods!

I have learned that it is important not to overlook small things. One day on the tour before an enormous hill, there was a little girl advertising Kool aid. People were not stopping. I stopped and insisted that others stop too, threatening to jump in front of their bikes if they did not. The little girl was about 9 years old and had decided on her own to offer Kool aid to the bikers. She sat me down in her yard with a plastic table and chairs and poured me a glass of watery red kool aid. We chatted about school and sports and Canada and I thanked her and biked on. Sometimes we can get too focused on the unpleasant tasks (in this case the HILLS) and forget the joys and beauties around us.

I have learned that while going fast is a lot of fun, it is more rewarding to encourage others.

I have learned that my bike is not a horse and I don't need to carry an extra sweater, lunch options, a full tool kit, a full first aid kit, extra drinks a corkscrew and three extra inner tubes just in case! I am learning to be more of a minimalist on my rides and learn more about self sufficiency. The bike is an exercise in zen minimalism and the fundamentals of trust in yourself, in your fitness, in your abilities and in the way you interact with your world.

The bike is a great teacher because when you are riding, it is really just you and a splendid machine. There are no engines, no supports, just you and the road. You feel light and unburdened by things. You find yourself dwelling on what is present and your tensions, your worries seem to vanish like the road behind you. I love the quiet of my bike. I don't hear roars or hums just a steady whir of my feet on the pedals. I love the colours that I see, the grasses, the barns, the trees and the fact that I can go anywhere with my bike. My bike teaches me that limitations are in your imagination and that you really can think outside the box. A car is limited to the road, with a bike, you are limited by nothing but your own level of fitness.

Horror on the front page! Allo Police!

A few years ago, our Quebecois neighbours would go to the local depanneur and pick up a copy of Allo Police. Allo Police contained lurid and sensationalistic stories about crime, murder and mayhem. Everyone knew Allo Police as not a serious journal and it never pretended to inform, only to satisfy curiosity.

I subscribe to the Globe and Mail and wonder with the recent coverage of Russell Williams whether or not the former Allo Police writers were contacted!

As all of us are, I am dismayed and shocked at the revelations of the Russell Williams case. There is no redemption in this story and no shred of humanity to be found except the heart wrenching pleas of the terrified victims before Williams brutally murdered them.

What is the purpose of reporting these horrid details? Is it to frighten people? Is it to further traumatize the families? The reporting of this story does nothing to honour the victims. Instead it plays on their final words and horrible ordeal.
If the story does not honour or even respect the victims and their families and has no redeeming value whatsoever why report it?

Surely our national newspaper has not sunk to the sensationalism of the now defunct "Allo Police"

Harper and the Chilean mine rescue

Like many around the world I was transfixed by the saga of the trapped miners. I cheered and cried when they emerged. I was moved when I learned of their fortitude, courage and tremendous spirit.

I was most impressed by the President of Chile's attitude and speech tonight. He did not merely fly in for a photo opportunity, he was there with his people. His speech was remarkable, he spoke of the rescue as a miracle and that God was using this to bring his people together. He was proud to show the world what Chile could do, but also he spoke at length of the miners and what they taught the country and what they taught him. They taught him about courage, and he promised that he would improve the conditions of labourers in the country. It was a remarkable speech.

At a time when in Canada we have tasted defeat because of our own small minded attitude towards the world, Chile and the attitude of their President was like a shining star. The miners have much to teach us.

I doubt if our Prime minister Harper could ever have the strength of character and courage shown by the President of Chile. I doubt if Harper could ever learn from what the miners have shown to the world.

No, if the mining disaster had happened in Canada, Harper would have blamed the Liberals. He would have annoyed so many other countries that the world would not have shared their expertise as they did with Chile. Had the miners survived the political squabbling, he would not have spoken with the families, nor sung the national anthem (Remember he wanted that changed?).

Let us hope and pray for the sake of our country, that we learn from Chile.