works.

it's cold. well cold for london. below zero for almost a week now, and no signs of warmth until the weekend. on my lunch break today i took the opportunity to go for a walk and grab some lunch. 

it's cold. so i was wearing a ski jacket, a hat, a cowl, and warm gloves. i also had snow boots on my feet. there's nothing particularly special about this, except that i was going to come face to face with one who had none of this. 

i went to my favourite sushi restaurant (even typing that sounds pretentious) and after purchasing my meal and diet coke i sat down and started on my current bible study - james by beth moore. it is one of those that hits you upside the head. james' central message is that faith without works, is dead. that is, if we truly have faith, if we are in obedience to god, we will be showing this in how we live out our lives. we will care for the poor and the widow and the orphan. we will seek justice for those who need it. we will be the hands and feet of christ.


to say the least. it is getting to me. i live a very comfortable life. and while we tithe and give and serve, i know that i rarely step outside my comfort zone and engage with those who aren't like me. when i do, it's almost always in 'safe ways,' through church, or volunteering with a charity.  if i'm honest, the homeless make me feel uncomfortable. i'm ashamed to admit that often times i look away, just not wanting to make eye contact, not wanting to acknowledge that there is a gulf, an ocean, between us in terms of money and social status. ugh. i loathe even writing that. but it's true. that is the state of my sinful heart. 

so back to lunch, i was walking to the post office, i needed to get there in the hour i had. i didn't make it. at the corner i had made a decision between two post offices, equidistant from my office. for no particular reason, i chose one, probably because i am most familiar with it, but really, a post office, is a post office, right? as i was purposefully striding down the street, warm in all my winter gear, i was suddenly confronted with a guy sitting on the very cold pavement. he couldn't have been much older than myself, and i think he was probably younger. and we met eyes and i smiled, he extended an old coffee cup for change, and i said that i was sorry. and as i passed i got a check in my spirit. i could do something about this. but i didn't have any change. i tried to argue with god about it, i had no cash, we're on a tight budget at the moment (although, clearly i had money for lunch!), i'm now fifty yards away. 'turn around and offer to get him a sandwich.' and so i made a u-turn. and if i could describe the feeling inside my chest, i would. but i can't, except to say, i thought my heart would burst, i could sense above all, that today, i was supposed to walk down this street, at this particular time and encounter this man.

'excuse me, sir, i don't have any cash on me, but could i buy you a sandwich?'

'oh love, that's so kind, what i'd really like is a coffee,' he said in a garbled scottish brogue (difficult to understand at the best of times), 'a lat-a'

'pardon me?'

'with LOTS of sugar, a lat-a, with lots of sugar'

'oh a latte?'

'yes with lots of sugar, bless you.'

there is a starbucks about 60 yards down the street, this street is filled with people just like me, busy, well-dressed, business people and university students, i'm almost sure that most of us would have enjoyed to eat and drink during our lunch break today. 10 minutes and £2.50 later, with a fistful of sugar packets i returned. we chatted for a minute, i asked him if he had a warm place to sleep and from what i could understand (again, the scottish accent is difficult to decipher at times) he said he'd met someone earlier who was referring him to st mungos. i wished him good day, that i hoped he could keep warm. i walked down the street, dressed in my warm coat, into my warm office with tears stinging my eyes.

i don't tell you this to ask for praise. the feeling in my soul today, knowing that i was serving one of god's precious children was more than enough. i tell you this because it's cold here in london, and it's cold in much of states and canada. it's too cold to sleep outside at the moment. if you see a homeless person who you think might be sleeping rough, please contact your local homeless agency, in london you can contact st mungo's.

i asked god to open my eyes to need this week, to show me where i could make a difference, how i could put my faith into action, today i got a task i'm particularly good at, i bought a cup of coffee. with LOTS of sugar. 

wordless wednesday: winter wandering

cycle.

i don't really know where i've been except to say that this august has flown by and it's been non-stop the entire time.

it's been good though, making me re-evaluate how i want to set up patterns of work and play and how to make life easier. there have been a few breakthroughs regarding how to make the most of the moments we are offered. maybe, i'll get back into a posting routine and share a few of those thoughts.

but first. really the reason i was mia for the first half of august is that the olympics were on - normally a distraction that can be mediated with television and screaming wildly - it's a completely different experience for it to be HOSTED in your hometown.

let me just say - i am SO SO SO proud of this city we call home. there was nothing but goodwill and generosity and truly joyful spirits around this part of the world for two weeks. it was so great that i'm very much looking forward to doing it all again in a couple weeks time for the paralympics. london was on show for the entire world to see and it was fun to be part of it. even in small ways. travel around the city was fantastic, the vibe and excitement was palpable and really, olympic spectators are amongst the nicest of sportsfans...

it was a great pleasure to be able to experience a few events in person, a kind friend gave me a ticket to the diving, which i'll re-live in a future post (you see i really am serious about getting back on the blog). but first, it was the men's road race. the truth is, i live with a cycle-fanatic. i'm not even exaggerating. i believe that our summer vacations will hence-forth be scheduled to coincide with the tour de france, it's just so fun to watch from first thing in the morning! and given that le boy has spent no less than eight months looking for just the 'perfect' new bike (still as yet, undecided...) you can appreciate that really, we're cycle-mad. to have this event in our own backyard (literally) was beyond incredible.

we met up early on the saturday morning with a couple of friends from around town and cycled (how else to get to the route?) to richmond park, the favoured cycling destination in greater london. i'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

august.

it's been a week of catching our breath. the kind that you never feel finished. i mean really, how is one supposed to complete anything with hours of olympic coverage to catch up on? i miss my childhood summer holidays - it's the only time i remember having absolute freedom to watch tv for hours on end, how can a parent really say, stop supporting your country and go outside? plus it was usually 35 outside and humid and really midday and outside was less attractive, to everyone.

but now, i'm working and depend on sneaking peeks online during the day and using catch-up player in the evenings. it's a bit bizzare to live in the same city as the olympics. and it's great. plus it's bringing friends back to us for a week, so in my opinion, it's amazing!

this weekend will be spent assembling IKEA dressers (yes!) and organizing the last of our clothes. i can definitively say that  we officially have too many workout clothes. it's crazy. insane-crazy. i'm not sure i'd be exaggerating if i said that fully one-half of the combined wardrobe was workout gear. i told you. insanity.

we'll also celebrate our first anniversary - but that deserves it's own excitement. and post.

last week we started off the olympics with a viewing of the road race. there were high hopes for a british medal that just weren't to be, but it was great to get out and see the excitement of the cycling community, in a place we so regularly enjoy. le boy kept saying, "it's just so weird to see them cycling on my cycle route..." i'm going to diving on tuesday with a friend, and i'm so excited! and we're hoping to catch some more live events over the next week.

july recap: 

spiritual:

• i've kept up with the nehemiah study and LOVE it! such a great dig into the old testament, it has been a blessing on my summer. 
• memorisation has flagged a little, with travelling and a bit of laziness, but neh 2:18 has been a great scripture to think about regularly. 

mental: 

• completed three books in july, each of them such wonderful reads that i believe the deserve a little post all their own. but if you've not yet read the following, download them to kindle, rush out to buy them at your local bookstore, or click on over to amazon...beautiful, inspiring reads, each of them.
• a visit from the goon squad - jennifer egan 
• state of wonder - ann patchett 
• gilead: a novel - marilynne robinson 

physical: 

• i wanted to be active everyday of our vacation - this was easily achieved in the hot (but dry heat) california. not so easily achieved in ontario where our days were packed from morning to night and the humidty was almost oppressive. it reached over 40 one day, that did me in. 

creative: 

• plane crochet - a nice little basket for my knitting in the front room 
• diy around the house - pillow covers sewn, spray painted picture frames, lots of painting in a small room, dreaming up finishing touches 

::august intentions::

spiritual: 

• finish out the nehemiah study strong 
• pick up the last of my bible-in-a-year-two years plan and get to work on finishing it 
• memorise three scriptures 

mental: 

• reading 'the art of fielding' by chad harbach and finding it absorbing. 
• read something else 

physical: 

• i will admit that i've started weight watchers - and it's working! i've lost 4.5 lbs! which feels really, really good. i'm using the online plan and think that it might be the key to some success for me. i realised that really, i'm already so active that i have to change my eating habits (particularly that cheese as an afternoon snack habit)
• my trainer has me on a new four days a week strength plan and i would LOVE to actually hit the gym consistently four days a week - i'm looking forward to some serious strength gains this month! 

creative: 

• finishing the drapes and bits of home-dec sewing that are languishing (on my kitchen table no-less) 
• finishing off decorating the spare room and 'lounge' ie family room 
• begin my autumn knitting project. i realised that i needed to get going if i wanted to actually be able to wear it come the cooler weather - which here, is sadly, just around the corner

enjoy august friends - i just love the meaning of the word - to inspire awe and admiration - i am hoping that this month does just that for all of us! 

weekend plans.

this weekend i will:

• host dinner tonight for a few good friends, i prepped much of it this morning. i'm doing a lentil & tomato salad from ottolenghi's plenty, this broccoli & bacon salad by jamie oliver, and bbq'd sausages and chicken with our new favourite (and spontaneously created by me last week) sauce: tomato ketchup,  worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar.
• meet some old girlfriends for picnic (hopefully) lunch - haven't seen these girls in years! 
• buy a new sewing machine, mine has bit the dust and it's time to replace it!  
• go to the movies with my guy 
• sew a slip cover for a bookcase-cum-sidetable 
• enjoy a free day while le boy is in an incredibly long cycle race, luckily he doesn't ask me to attend as well 
• go to evening church and enjoy the late evening light on the walk home 
• listen to podcasts 
• chat with the fam 
• read more of my current (and excellent) book: canada by richard ford 
• block my recently completed cardigan! 

happy weekend. 

friday confessions

• i don't always change the water cooler bottle when i know it's close to empty. i already change it about twice as much as anyone else because my office is across the hall. i know, it would be nice of me to change it every time, i'm working on it. 
•  i bought new shoes on my way to work this morning. but they are pretty shiny gold-bronze, and they are supposed to "tone my legs" while i walk - i'm a sucker for advertising. does it make it better that they were on massively reduced?

• i'm officially banned from the banana republic/gap website i can barely control myself - case in point: two (!) pairs of skinny jeans and a skirt - but again all reduced - shocking to think i used to buy full price! 
•  for the second friday in a row i've started the day with a massage - it seems less luxurious when i also mention that the therapist literally digs his elbow into my thigh - none of this relaxing stuff - unless by relaxing you mean pushing yourself as hard as you can into the bed to make it hurt less :) healing is officially painful. 
•  i had sushi for lunch, I wasn't organised enough to make my lunch today - but man the sushi was good
•  i've missed the gym twice this week - i'm telling myself it's because the knee is sore and needs a rest - really i'm just a little bit lazy 
•  i've become slightly obsessed with doing my nails, by which i mean, paying someone to do them for me 
•  i'm still trying to figure out how to get to the steam room at the gym this weekend, i think of it as a poor woman's spa. 
•  it's really cold here right now, actually really cold. i self-soothed this morning with a starbucks hot chocolate. it was yummy.

:posted on the go:

and a partridge in a pear tree.

i'm a bit behind, but here goes.

we decided to spend christmas just the two of us. we've had an enormous amount of travel this year, and with money short and limited mobility due to surgery six weeks earlier, we just wanted some time to be at home and be together. we are so glad we did! we realise that this probably won't happen very often and actually, sharing our first christmas together, just us, was such a special time.

to say this year's christmas was catagorized by food would be an understatement. we basically ate our way out of the house.

but shall we start at the beginning?

christmas morning was wonderful. we woke up and had our coffee in bed while we opened our stockings. santa was oh so good, bringing cute note cards, a 'keep calm' mug and a book i'm so glad to read - the meaning of marriage by tim keller - love it already. knew that i would!

christmas morning church is a tradition that we started last year, reasoning that with overseas family we might be frequently travelling during the period, but we'd always be able to find a local church. this year it was special to worship at our (new) home church and enjoy a church filled-to-the-brim with small children, oh so excited about christmas. we remarked that it was a fantastic way to remind ourselves of the reason for christmas - christ - and we hope to keep this tradition alive in our family!

we returned to begin the preparations for the feast and open our under-the-tree presents. it was a year of abundant blessings, our offerings were small, our hearts flung open, our bellies were FILLED.

i set to preparing the dinner that ended all dinners. and once it was all in the oven. we headed out for a walk.

prawns on a bed of winter greens with horseradish cream - i substituted prawns for scallops in the recipe, mainly because my fishmonger was all out on christmas eve, but we liked it so much it's getting a second chance at a birthday dinner in six weeks time!

king of his castle.

roast partridge, pheasant and guinea fowl - why go traditional when there's only two mouths? this was stunning and seemingly more appropriate and still an enormous amount of food!

the very best roast potatoes - use goose fat, it changes everything. and i'm not exaggerating at all.

for dessert we had lava cakes, i wasn't thrilled with them. partly they didn't end up as chocolate lava in the middle, partly the oven decided to stop working in the middle of them baking and partly we were just to filled with food to appreciate anything. lesson learned, in future, i'll go for a pre-cooked, light dessert!

the evening was topped off with watching the classic - national lampoon's christmas vacation, love it. and then suffering from a serious case of 'christmas-itis' we went for a midnight walk through our neighbourhood. it was so lovely to see houses lit up and trees in bay windows and the streets completely quiet, save our footsteps and the jingle bell on the collar of the cat that tried to follow us home.

twenty::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

i mentioned that i was changing out our curtains the other day. the old curtains were intended to match a purple wall - which is no longer purple. and really, the flowers weren't really our style anyway. i was looking for an inexpensive option (remember, we're on a budget). inspired by pinterest to go with drop cloths and yes, i'm a little behind the times, i realise this was cool about two years ago, but i didn't have a flat to decorate two years ago...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Brie on Pinterest

i dispatched le boy to our local diy store - he's definitely making friends with the owner! and he returned with two drop cloths of 12'x12'. we've got one of those drapery hanging systems which has hooks and eyes - i wasn't really looking forward to the sewing, but determined to make this experiment work! as it turned out once i'd washed the drop cloths and looked at the whole system - that i could wiggle the hooks through the drop cloths without any sewing - a big bonus is that drop cloths are already hemmed! 

here's a before: 

and here's a few afters...taken at night (darkness is falling at about 6pm these days...)

the next afternoon le boy and i took a walk around the neighbourhood and our local park.

can i pause for a moment and just say how blessed we feel to live in our neighbourhood? there are families with children everywhere! which might seem normal for a neighbourhood with a park, except that this is london and generally children are nowhere to be seen. the park has a small pond/lake, a couple of playgrounds, a track and field area, enormous playing fields, three sets of tennis courts, a mini-putt and a fantastic running/cycle route - we LOVE it.

on the way back i asked le boy to go in ahead and draw the curtains, i wanted to ensure they looked good from the street side too! and in the process i took a few shots of our lovely house. oh how we love it!

where's le boy?

the wrought iron:

our red door:

 

and the gate: 

the beauty of the morning::{september}

composed upon westminster bridge, september 3, 1802

Earth hath not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

- william wordsworth

it is semptember now. and for me again, the beginning of a new school year. i am always in the cycle of academic life. it feels like a new year today. the grey and rain that's crouched over the city this week has lifted - it was the most beautiful of mornings. the neighbourhood slowly waking. eating eggs with le boy at our kitchen table. toast and jam. devotion time. coffee. sunlight streaming through the windows. i searched september in the poetry foundation app - and found this wordsworth poem about this city on a morning just like this one - indeed in two days time, two centuries ago.

as in july, i'm setting goals for the month of september. resolutions? intentions? intentions. it seems much more manageable to intend to do something for the next month. 

:intentions for september 2011

-  blog three times a week 

- daily devotions with le boy
- walk across the bridge daily (alas, waterloo, not westminster)
- meal plan
- rest

september holds so much promise.

heatwave.

summer arrived in london this weekend! it's duly leaving tomorrow, but for now, i'm enjoying it. this weekend was filled with great things - a wonderful bridal shower that i'll blog about just as soon as i've got the pictures (suffice it to say, my honeymoon suitcase is well stocked!) and....


an evening picnic in a relatively deserted park eating absolutely delicious fish & chips with our hands while watching the most stunning sunset.

 

observing those queuing for wimbledon tickets in wimbledon park.

 laying in the grass, enjoying the sunday paper, a good book, the sunshine and napping.

it was a perfect weekend.

re-cycling.

the phrase - it's like riding a bike - it always strikes a little bit of fear in me. and when i've not sat on a bike for a while, i always wonder, is it true? will i just remember? 

i recently bought a new for me bicycle from a friend. but this wasn't any old bike, this is a road cycle, a *real* bike. with drop handles and gears in the brakes (i didn't even know that's how they were made!) le boy, is a keen cyclist. he's so keen, he's a spin instructor. i'm the kid who rode my bike everyday of the summer, and who rode in uni because i didn't have a car. since then i've ridden here or there, but most often as part of tour of a foreign city. or if i'm honest, on a spin bike at the gym. but spin bikes don't topple over and bike tours are generally made for anyone who's ever been on a bike.

le boy was exceedingly patient. i was worried i'd come off and ruin my image of the reasonably fit, up for anything fiance. luckily that didn't happen. he adjusted my seat to just the right height and showed me how to take off the front tire. most importantly he taught me how to use those funny gears in the brakes. and then, he let me loose on richmond park. and it was decidedly FUN!

road cycles sure do go fast! and while i'm not really sure about those drop handles, i did enjoy the gears in the brakes. and feeling like i was going a million miles an hour when it was probably only 20...i may have just found a new sport to enjoy, and le boy is hoping that he's now got a new cycling partner. and while he had to say this, apparently, i'm pretty alright on the bike...which is big praise indeed!

so, yes, it turns out that riding a bike, is just like, well, riding a bike. i just need to get some more comfortable shorts now...

home-making.

well, we've found a flat! it is without a doubt, the biggest stressor that was on the pre-wedding list...getting married, eh - a piece of cake. finding a suitable flat, in the right area, for the right price, in a renter's city like london? the potential for tears was enormous.

the process actually began months ago - what was our vision for how we'd use the space? and then what kind of space would we need to achieve that? ultimately le boy and i wanted a place where we could be hospitable - dinners and lunches (breakfasts even?), a place large enough to host a bible study group and parties - gotta be able to throw a party - a place with the space to host overnight guests or short term visitors.

and then we asked - if we hope to do all of this, what will we need to feel able to do this? two bedrooms, a large dining area, a lounge, a functional kitchen, a garden with space for a dining table and some gardening (!?). and then for being really picky - a particular part of the city, close to our good friends, near a park, within 10 minutes of public transport, easy on the street parking, a dishwasher, a washer (AND DRYER), a ground floor flat, a place we could see ourselves renting for the longer-ish term, a terraced house. yep, we were PICKY. but the picky-ness was initially driven by our desire to be hospitable. and so we took these requests in prayer to god - and we've been praying for a flat with our 'dream' list for months. and wouldn't you know - we found a place with  every. last. thing. !!!

so what we'd anticipated to be a nightmare, was actually, a very simple, very blessed process (did i mention that we only looked at ONE flat?).

in our excitement we scheduled a trip to IKEA for a scouting mission. we sat on couches, laid on beds, discussed bookcases and shelving and decided that 930 pm is too late for a family of six with four children under four to be traipsing through the kitchen section (i think it's reasonable to say that babies might be a ways off...). but we've made some decisions about what we'd like to start off with and we've passed the all important IKEA test: can you make it through without fighting? apparently yes - which is basically enough confirmation that i've found my lobster...


for the first time ever i left ikea without actually buying a thing - which must be some kind of record! this is what the sky looked like as we left. we are very blessed indeed.

an engagement - part deux.

and now for all the pictures....




an engagement - part duex from Brieanne Barton on Vimeo.


song: for the love of god - andrew peterson
photography: jay butcher photography
styling: j&b originals

an engagement.

we had the joy of meeting up with a friend of mine from a previous job, who moonlights as a photographer for an engagement shoot last month. the proofs are in and we are thrilled! it was an incredibly fun day with lots of laughs and jay did such a great job of capturing the feel of london.

 

photography: jay butcher photography

going.

i am endeavouring to engage in the practice of lent. it is a season that speaks deeply to me. it is a time that i have often been blessed by extended bible study, prayer, and reflection. it is my sincere hope that this season is also fruitful as i meditate on the significance of christ's sacrifice and the ultimate celebration in the christian year - easter. i am hoping to post a reflection daily on my lent page, also found on the header above. on wednesdays i'll be linking up with walk with him wednesdays on a holy experience. i invite you to join me. 

lent 22. 

isaiah 6

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” isaiah 6:8

as a child and teenager attending christian summer camp i sang the song 'here i am lord' no less than a few hundred times. it was a tried and true favourite of most staff members, and many campers. it was the perfect speed for communion time on a sunday night, with the lights low and small faces lit up by flickering candlelight. in the bible we see again and again as the lord calls out and asks who can i send? and time and again we see people say - send me, god.

the chorus of the song reads:

here i am, lord. is it i, lord?
i have heard you calling in the night.
i will go lord, if you lead me,
i will hold your people in my heart.

i remember singing that song with enormous conviction as a teenager, but not really appreciating what it could mean, what i was committing myself to. at the time i was probably thinking it meant that i might go and work in a developing nation, that i needed to study to do so. i was probably thinking it had something to do with where i was going to study. and one night particularly i can remember singing the song, sitting cross-legged on the worn wooden floor of the camp chapel, my back against an old bench, the others leading worship with me taking harmonies, i can remember feeling very much like i was in that space that summer to love on the teenagers i was working with, to hold them in my heart.

and so i suppose what i've now realised years later. is that going sometimes means 'going' i did work in a developing country and study a subject that was related. i've also lived and worked abroad for the majority of my adult life. but, i've put down roots, i've made friends and god has blessed me with a great and loving community. a community that is filled with people, who's joys and sadnesses are my great gain to share. i am still learning how to hold them in my heart. what i've realised is that we are part of an apostolic church, a church that is sent into the world to preach the good news of the cross. and sometimes going, means staying right where you are.