Quaint Little Hometown

As beautiful as Stefanie is :), I am definitely getting tired of the "no trespassing" discourse, so here's something to vary the scene; shots of my new little town...
It has quite the history, of which I haven't had the opportunity to delve into yet. For any historical info or local legends, you can get a wealth of information from my neighbor/ old classmate Jordan. He'll even add a few of his own, which are always more interesting than the bare facts :)

Mom and I took a look around "downtown" yesterday; it's got a great selection of snippety wine shops, high-falutent antique stores and even some useful shops... A little jazz-themed cafe called "Zooma Zooma"

And finally, the scene today: snow and LOTS of it :)

A Short Dissertation on Property Rights

with Ms. Stefanie F. B.


Hmm, is that a no trespassing sign I see up ahead?

Never mind, someone has taken care of it.

And her parents have called me a bad influence?

Sit back, children, and listen to the story of three intrepid explorers. Our story begins on, just after the first ice age, but not quite before the extinction of the great animal branta canadensis, the second day of the month December to be exact.

‘Twas bitterly cold, and the wind whipped the frozen waters into a roiling cauldron of foam, but that wouldn’t daunt these brave heralds of the west.

The first was Sir Ferdinand Magellan; the Jordanian Harbour was a mere stop from his trip around the world.

Under the commission of His majesty King Manuel of Portugal, Fearless Vasco DeGama was quick to follow.

Snorri Sturluson, native to these wild lands, was the historian and poet of three. [S]he wandered along, muttering strange words like “Gylfaginning” and “Skaldskaparmal”; perhaps it was the momentous creation of yet another myth.

Entering enemy territory

The three were besought with dangers:

Hostile natives

The great beast lay stretched across the shore; valiantly conquered, no doubt in some fierce battle. Our brave explorers tiptoed by with pinched noses...

'Twas desolate land they'd found; rocky and lifeless. The very wind carried whispers of death, and the waves echoed a ceaseless refrain of peril. The intrepids christened the place "Jordanian Harbour", and having pitched the flag for Spain, Italy and Portugal, happily continued their travels to brighter vistas...

The Changing Scenery

Here's the two minute update on the last four months in the VD home: we've moved! The fair town of Dundas is left behind, and the vine-filled, watery expanse of Vineland remains largely unexplored.


















A few pictures of the "Twenty Mile Creek" will give you an idea of the scenery. (Out here, every stupid store, street and creek is named after a number!)





























































I haven't included pictures of the nearby LAKE :) :) That will definately be nice in the summer, when we can swim to our heart's content.















The house is nice (a wee bit too nice in Dad's opinion :) The only downside is my room, which has been systematicly vandalized by a small child and a crazy adult. LOL, maybe there really was a disturbed person... There will be again, if we don't do something about it :S













This is a familiar scene for anyone who's ever moved...















As is this :)
Matt has a few pictures up on his blog too.

Same-Sex "Marriage": A Second Chance

For those of you who aren’t aware, on this coming Wednesday, (Dec. 6) Parliament is holding a vote considering re-opening the same-sex marriage debate. RestoreMarriage.ca encourages you to phone or email your MP –you can find specifics here. As well, they have a petition that is filled out very quickly. Please pray for our nation’s leaders, that they may again be a terror to evil works and not good!

“Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
“Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.” Psalm 2:10-11

The Unthinkable

Here's a quiz; which of the next four headlines is actually true?

• Al qaeda Allies with the World Zionist Organization
  
• Havana, Cuba Hit with Heavy Snow and Ice; Tourists Complain of Ice in Hot-tubs
  
• Hilary Clinton Appointed Campaign Manager for Cheney '08
  
• Long-time Anti-blogger Matthew V. Joins the Blogging World

It's a tough call, so I'll just give you the answer; my brother has a blog!!! Check it out here, and be sure to comment; I'm hoping popular demand (and a little blackmail) will keep him with us :) Oh, and ignore the URL --Matt's a bit dislexic :P And this just came in --Stefanie now has a blogspot blog.

Another “While I’m Doing Homework” blurb…

So we’re in the middle of a move. And I’m head over heels with essays, exams and history and all that good stuff –couldn’t tell you what today’s weather is looking like, but I do know about the Orange Order’s activities in 1845. So practical for day-to-day life --what I’d like to know is; how does one make coffee within a scavenged house? It’s a big question…

It’s 3:30pm. Time for coffee! Amazingly, there are some lonely grounds at the back of the freezer. But alas, the filters are absent; and no paper-towels are to be found (no self-respecting Dutch household has those anyways). Toilet-paper? No thanks. But neither is there any instant coffee, and the urge is getting stronger. So I boil the water and pour the grounds directly in. But those grounds aren’t settling; they’ve formed a sort of mud. Ah, the answer I’ve been looking for: a clean dishcloth. I repour the coffee through that, but half is spilled across the counter –no problem, we can compensate for that in milk. Finally! A finished cup! I set it on the floor (no chairs left at home, of course) and reach for the half-can of cold Ravioli. It’s labeled Cheese Ravioli with Meatballs; but the cheese is dubious and the ingredients cannot claim a speck of meat. I’m hungry though, so I eat it with gleeful anticipation of that coffee. I stand up to toss the can, and promptly kick the coffee over… Back to the Orange Order :)

Conference Pictures! Well, sort of...

This is thoroughly embarrassing; twice now I've promised conference pictures and yet they've never showed. The temptation crosses my mind to "forget" about it... but no, this draft won't let me.














And because nature sometimes needs some help... Before the dams:














And after: (Left half; girls', right; boys')










































I have 1 picture of the girls, and 3 of the guys... yet somehow they've managed to flub up each one of them!

A Conclusion --well, sort of :S

This blog ought to be called “While I’m ‘finishing’ homework :S” Alas, the subject is more interesting to me than my current term paper.
Once again, thanks all for your input! It’s amazing how all that you’ve said aligns so closely with what I’ve seen in the past few days, Coincidence? Rather, Divine Irony. I’m struck with God’s wisdom, timing and recurring humor :)... A few prime examples:

• A continuing-long-past-closing-time conversation with a co-worker regarding Greg Koukle’s “Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air” –love the title, watch the presentation
  
• A (relativist) friend of mine’s inability to declare murder immoral while remaining consistent with his personal beliefs
• My professor’s admission that there is no liberal basis on which to prohibit polygamy (and consequently, other sexual sins including pedophilia!)

This is appalling! They’ve removed every ultimate standard (or possibility of such), have opened the floodgates of unrestrained immorality, while simultaneously acknowledging the consequences of such! One can see the results of this already within Canada:

• The Government has winked at polygamy in Canada: witness “Bountiful”, a polygamous community in Creston Valley, BC, and the theory that “Canada’s law banning polygamy [is] unconstitutional.”
• Attempts to normalize paedophilia is gaining acceptance in Canada (see theinquiry.ca). Or look at this site. A warning, it’s disturbing!

So, with your help, I’ve tried to dig up some rebuttals, as well as reputable backing for them.

Firstly, homosexuality is “natural”; as natural as sin is:

• “Homosexuality… is not innate… Such an object choice is acquired behavior; there is no inevitable genetically inborn propensity toward the choice of a partner of either the same or opposite sex." (Charles Socarides, Homosexuality: Basic Concepts and Psychodynamics, International Journal of Psychiatry 10, 1972: 118-25) and more scientific proof
  

Homosexual marriage will harm Canada (as seen in “Marriage Under Fire” by Dr. Dobson):
1. The legalization of homosexual marriage will quickly destroy the traditional family.

• Destruction of the sanctity of marriage
• The ultimate goal of homosexual lobbyists IS to destroy marriage ie. “Abolish Marriage: Let’s Really Get the Government Out of Our Bedrooms.” Michael Kinsley
  

2. Children will suffer most

• Instability; studies assert that homosexuals cycle through anywhere from 300-1000 partners in a lifetime
• One dad and one mom is still the best –confirmed by more than 10,000 studies
  

3. The practical ramifications: indoctrinating schools, collapse of health care and social security, the end of religious freedom

Bible Believers offers a clear, blunt synopsis on the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality.
But this post is becoming horrendously long... :S As Ralph, Ethan, Mark, and others have clearly shown; same-sex marriage is only a symptom of the greater plague –relativism, and ultimately the wholesale rejection of God. The onus is on relativists to provide a “replacement” for the standard they’ve discarded that they may limit the evil they’ve occasioned, the onus is on them to provide a foundation for “rights” when they acknowledge no wrongs. What is left for us to prove? God’s terrifying justice and His complete forgiveness.

The AntiThesis

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12

At McMaster, this battle is so clear. Monday especially highlighted this --it was a day of extreme opposites. To give a quick sketch;
My third class, Philosophy of Law and Government, dealt with two subjects; same-sex "rights" and feminism. Her lecture was simply a flood of liberal, amoral theology and our class sat by and absorbed, like a sponge soaks up scum.
That afternoon held a one-to-one meeting with my religion professor regarding my less-than-compliant exam. Despite earlier worries, I was happily surprised –she was helpful and understanding and I was even able to share my testimony with her! The meeting was challenging as well: she pointed out many faults in Dutch circles, and left me with the challenge to learn Greek. And yet, she is a progressive scholar and consistently questions the authority of the Bible!
On my way from the meeting to a lecture, I met up with a Jewish/Zionist friend from work. As such, he tends to have a hyper-phobia of anti-Semitism and often complains of discrimination. We had a minor disagreement over one of his company slogans “in Sod we trust”, and another lady started cursing me to him. They walked off together, the discriminated now exuberantly discriminating...
But the day ended happily enough in a blessed conversation with a friend of mine :)
Where is this all going? To today: I have had yet another reprogramming/lecture on homosexual marriage, and I cannot sit quietly by.

So, if you haven’t read any of the above (it’s awfully long, sorry :P) help me on this one; how is homosexual marriage wrong and destructive, both morally and socially? Some questions that I struggle with personally;

• Canada is no longer a Christian nation. Is it right, then, to force Christian morals on a nation that doesn’t recognize the basis of the same?
• Is there conclusive proof of the necessity for a one-dad-one-mom family?
• How does one respond to the “it’s their right to choose” argument?

Win a Boy

Well, you could spend the dollar... or you could climb into the vending machine itself and take your choice. And that is just what Robert Moore did today; you can read it at The Daily Mail.

This is all quite reminiscent of some most embarrassing situations my own mother had to face (by the creation of one family member, unnamed) of which include:

• falling into the fountains at York Mall while reaching for the pennies at the bottom
• getting his hand so stuck in a gumball machine that the store manager had to be called...

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree --my best wishes to Jen :)

Ah! Sweet Fraternal Love

So Matt (my brother) and I were discussing Pythagorus tonight... Pyth. had this idea that everything; the world, objects, people, etc. is made of the abstract idea of "number". Matt says, "I know what your number is! 'Zero'; nice and round, with nothing in it..."

On blogging...

"This is the personal and private property of Ruth V. It is where I pour out my private and most intense emotions... I hope you enjoy it."

Matt and I were talking about the ideosyncracies of blogging tonight... I hope no one ever thinks that this is indeed, an accurate reflection of my person. Why blog? I sometimes wonder the same :)

A Vision Glorious

The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace forevermore;
till, with the vision glorious,
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.

Samuel J. Stone, 1839-1900

Can't wait till that day!

It was a beauorgeous, end-of-the-summer night. The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving a lamp-lit wonderland...


Ok, so we haven't quite mastered no-fuzz fotography

--haha, tree hugger :P--







There's lots of life along the lake... This was a bit funny; those are all ducks lined up, roosting.


This (trumpeter, I think) swan swam across the lake TOWARDS us --just a wee bit odd for a wild animal. Territorial? Or maybe just vain... would have been a male either way :P

And the explorers

Southern Gentleman Meets Western Cowgirl

But neither has much to say... :)

These are the two littlest darlings in my life: Phillip and Holly. You can see the rest of the story at Curt and Jen's blog.

Struck by Viking

I had the most fascinating history class yesterday –about Vikings. Can’t help but share it with you...

Our tale begins in 800AD, shortly after their infamous relatives, the Vikings from Vique, looted and plundered England and North Europe. Despite wealth gained from these escapades, Norway and Denmark still lacked the resources needed to maintain extensive herds of animals. Thus, another group of Vikings set out in search of brighter, greener pasturelands.

Over the next 300 years (800AD to 1000AD), the Vikings skipped from island to island, happily killing forests, trees, and anything else that happened to get in their way. The semi-final leap from Iceland to Greenland was almost accidental; a certain gentleman by the name of Eric the Red was banished from Iceland on the small charge of… murder. He discovered and set up camp in Greenland. But despite its wistful name, Greenland proved to be far from ideal, and Eric’s dear son Leif once again went exploring. He landed in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland (another misnomer; the land was forested.) And here we have the historic first European settlement in America.

The “happily ever after” doesn’t apply to this story though; the network of settlements gradually dwindled to nothing. No one knows for sure why; some say hostile natives, climate change, and disease played a part. It’s too bad, really; I’d love to claim Viking blood :)

A few cool facts about the Vikings:
-They didn’t wear horns on their helmets :(
-The term “Viking” is widely misused (including this post.) Viking actually refers to the plundering Norse and Danish. The correct term for the explorers is “Norse Voyageurs”.
-Despite Christopher Columbus receiving widespread credit as the first European to set foot in the New World, Leif Ericson was 600 years ahead of him. Isn’t it odd then, that Columbus had such a time convincing his contemporaries the earth is round?
-The first Caucasian born in the New World was a boy named “Snorri”.

Soon I will be able to upload to my heart's content :) :) :)

Someday in the near future (due to the insistant forces around me), I will be buying a USB stick and will therewith be able to post pictures... pictures... pictures. Until then, these will have to do. I thought they were splendiferously fun :)

Goodbye Kitty

In the wake of the conference and all these fabulous accounts being posted I really ought to post something of the same... a bit of the dreamy aura of campfire, the gritty competition of the sports, the bond of well-treasured friendships... or perhaps, something of the beauty we found in NewYork. Not today though, and not quite yet. In the meantime, perhaps this will give you a bit of a laugh; it was sent by my dearest (and only :) sister, Laurie.