They’re here!

250 Minus 40 Tour CDs are finished and waiting for me to pick it up in Saskatoon on November 7th! We’ll mail pre-ordered copies after that.

In the meantime, my friend Janina is sending me 26 copies in the mail to sell around home in the next week.

We’re still offering free shipping until November 15th.

You can also pick up any or all of the tracks at IndieHeaven:

Coming soon: a documentary about our Minus 40 Tour by Ray Lacusta on the Saskatchewan Community Network program 15 Minutes of Fame! The application has been accepted, Ray wants to make a few changes to the video, and once he’s satisfied we’ll get into the line-up!

100 little things, 1000 gifts

“Gratitude is a huge theme in the Bible. I try to be thankful for the 100 little things that go right in a day instead of focusing on the 3 or 4 that go wrong.” A. J. Jacobs

Driving home on Thursday, I listened to “Ideas” on CBC Radio One. The topic was the Dead Sea Scrolls, and one was A. J. Jacobs, who experimented with one year of “living biblically” by following every command in the Bible. Among the things he learned was the importance of gratitude.

This reminded me of Ann Voskamp’s Gratitude Community.

It’s not Monday, but today I will begin. “A List of a Thousand Things, beginning with #1.” It takes eyes to see, Open Eyes to notice the good things that are all around.

1. For his touch.

2. For my brother Jeffrey.

3. For Jeffrey’s fiancé Nadia.

3. For my brother Tom and his wife & their 3 kids.

4. For my sister Jaime, her husband, their 4 kids.

5. For my sister Starla.

6. For my parents.

7. For a warm place to live.

8. For options and possibilities.

9. For friends who love me.

10. For food to eat.

… to be continued …

 

Canadian Thanksgiving, Taiwan, 1993

I rediscovered a couple of pictures today, which I thought would be interesting to post, considering the season. The snow is falling, falling, falling on this day in Saskatchewan in 2009. But 16 years ago, I was in a large sub-tropical island, feeling about as nationalistic as a Canadian expatriate can feel on a holiday from my country of origin.

My former roommate Crystal and her new (at the time) roommate Katrina hosted the meal at my former home in Rei Feng. We were joined by my roommate (at the time), Allison Brown, and fellow Canadians Jeff Kirkpatrick and the Hoy family – Tom & Catherine, Clara & Hilda.

We had fowl, but my untrained culinary eye did not detect ahead of time that these two skinny birds were not turkeys but …

… ducks!

This year I’ll be celebrating in Calgary.

music & hospitality

I thought Bryan would be shorter. He’s tall. Much taller than I expected.

 

We had never met in person before. I first read about him in the print version of Faith Today magazine (in an article by another friend I have never met in person—Emily Wierenga). I liked his ministry model, so ‘googled’ him and found a website, a blog, and a site devoted to his ministry model, CSA (Community Supported Arts).  After browsing and reading quite a bit, I sent a message and we started corresponding. We exchanged CDs. I purchased a membership and started receiving his deliveries of new songs every three months. I was a guest artist on two deliveries. I have used three of his songs in my church. When he did a concert last year just up the road in Drake, I wished there wasn’t already something on my calendar that day. When he was planning his current tour, I agreed to host him in Duval. Little wee Duval.

 

So on Sunday, I picked Bryan up in Regina after church and my brother Jeffrey and I hosted a house concert, with a potluck beforehand. It was a most wonderful evening. We intended to have it in the old United Church, but it ran out of heating oil at the last minute, so we relocated to our place, the old school. It was cozy, but there were enough people to make for a rousing, inspiring good time.

 

On Monday I drove Bryan to Lanigan where I handed him off to a Patrick from Nutana Park Mennonite Church. We had such good visits about music and ministry and some of our favourite authors, like Wendell Berry. I’m soooo glad we finally got to meet in person and I hope he can come back to Duval again someday.

 

Bryan wrote about his visit already, complete with a couple of pictures: http://smalltallmusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/surrounded-by-art.html