Wood for the good ol' fire
Beautiful clouds on cool, crisp eveningsThe heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.Psalm 19
At issue ultimately in reading Ecclesiastes is to come to trems with the frequently used - and very important - word hebel ("vanity," NRSV; "meaningless," NIV; "futility," NJB), which occurs thirty-seven times in this book (out of the seventy-three of the OT). The word itself means "vapor" or "breath/wisp of air" (cf. Ps. 39:5; Prov. 31:30; Isa 57:13).
I'm not usually one to write about politics as I don't follow elections as closely as others do. I do follow them and try to learn the different platforms and research a bit about the candidates who run in my riding. So when I receive mailings about platform policies and info pamphlets, I try to spend some time to read them.Dear Friends,I had to do a double take on the last sentence - "we much act now." After chuckling and then laughing out loud, I wondered how this pamphlet got past the many proofreading editors in the Liberal campaign (well, I hope they have proofreaders for this kind of stuff). For, what I think, is a nationally distributed flyer, you would think that someone would have taken the time to fine-comb through the wordy text to make sure there were no mistakes (I can hear the jabs now, "He writes similar to how he speaks").
Today our planet faces the most serious environmental crisis in recorded human history. The global scientific community is agreed that climate change is caused by human activity and we much act now.
Citrus "cooked" scallop appetizers. I usually don't like scallops, but this was delectable and I could not taste the fishyness that accompanies seafood. (sorry for the loss of focus)
It was hard to choose my favourite dish of the night, but I think this would be my choice as favourite. The combination of fresh mozzarella cheese, asparagus and truffle was fabulous!
This was a close second - butternut squash soup. I have a sudden craving for this as I write this.
My wife's favourite! This is duck's feet spring roll with duck meat and skin on different kinds of mushrooms. Delicious!
White chocolate panna cotta - amazing, considering we had a choice of hot or cold dessert. He gave us both!
After dessert appetizer! We were so full after the previous dessert, but the ultra blue cheese was extremely tasteful!Intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever."Frederick Buechner
"LUKEWARM PEOPLE give money to charity and to the church... as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right?" Chan, 67.This really hit home to me because the concept of giving and giving to God and the poor has been on my heart for some time. I was first convicted on my personal giving when I read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity where he writes in his chapter, Social Morality,
"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small... For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in our fear - fear of insecurity. This must often be recognised as a temptation. Sometimes our pride also hinders our charity; we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity (tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help."
Canals were everywhere. It seems every bridge you cross there was a picture worthy view
Not only were people getting in the way of Deb's shots, but water buses too.
Taking night shots off the Rialto bridge.
Alas, during the last night in Venice and in Italy, my Canon point and shoot decided to call it quits. Although finicky during the whole trip, it would not turn on until I actively started to search for a new camera at home. Maybe I should threaten it more. 
Waiting outside to see David - we couldn't take pictures inside the museum. Too bad because it would be worth it take pictures of David.
There are two replicas of David in Florence and here is one in the city plaza. Smaller and not made of marble.
The Duomo and the tower beside it.
We decided to climb the tower to take pictures of the dome.
Deb after the first level! It was a hard climb with a really narrow stairway.
We had the opportunity to take pictures at each level - I think there were 3 levels of rest and picture taking between the ground and the top.
At the top! There was a wire cage in case someone was thinking of jumping. It was a spectacular view despite the cage like feeling.
After the climb we went inside the Duomo to take pictures of the church inside. Of course, there were people getting in the way of Deb's shots once again. We had fun taking this picture because this guy took 5 minutes to review his pictures on his digital camera (Deb was joking of course!).
The Althea Rooms in Florence was great - very clean rooms, air conditioning and internet access! Deb updated her blog frequently when we took our afternoon naps. We decided to go with an easier schedule and not walk around as much in the heat. It was a much relaxing time at Florence than Rome.
The line at the Uffizi. Everyone seemed eager to get in.
Why did ancient art display nudity? My wife observed that by doing so it showed the artistic skills of an artist's ability to capture the realistic proportions of the subjects he was painting or sculpting. This picture was taken from the Vatican's museum since we couldn't take pictures at the Uffizi. I find it funny that sculptors took great length to display their artistic skill to sculpt a nude figure, but took the time to add a little leaf to cover the loins. There were works of art that had clothed subjects, of course, and a commentary mentioned that even how an artist paints folds in a garment can be his signature on a painting. 
The Ponte Vecchio, the famous shop covered bridge that was rumoured to even survived WWII German bombing due to Hitler's direct orders not to destroy it (another version being a commander in chief disobeying orders to destroy it). Both Deb and I took numerous shots of this bridge.
One of two replicas of David. The real one is in a museum which you have to pay to get into.
Old town Florence. Beautiful.
The Fontana di Trevi was easily the highlight of the day for me. I love hearing the sound of moving water and, if not for the people, it would be a really relaxing time.
Where's Deborah? It was fun to see Italian children visit the site with their school. I guess it is the annual school trip with parents and teachers doting and yelling at them to keep together and pose for pictures.
Deb taking a picture of a fountain within the Vatican museum courtyard. It was a feat to get pictures without people from tours getting in the way.
Unfortunately, some people are oblivious that they are standing in other people's photo shots. This made Deb upset (jokingly of course).
A lot of the more impressive artwork was on the ceilings. I can't imagine being a painter/sculptor on his back for days, weeks and months on end to do a painting or sculpture.
The Pantheon was my favourite site we visited that day. It was simply an amazing work of art and architecture. Right on top of the dome is an open hole that lets in the sole source of light (and also the rain). The structure is now used as a Catholic church and I caught several inscriptions making mention that the church is used to honour martyrs of the faith.
Ruins near the Memorial for the Unknown Italian Soldier and the Colosseum. 
The Colosseum is also one of my favourite sites. From afar it was already magnificent.
Once inside, it was surreal. It was one part eerie as some say many Christians died here as martyrs and another part fascinating as we stepped on ground that had so much history.
Near the end of the day, we went back to the Vatican to visit St. Peter's Basilica (in the morning, there had been a flood of people outside waiting to get in). "Wow" was the word that kept popping to my mind as we moved throughout the church. It was extravagant, marvelous, and almost over-the-top beautiful.
St. Peter's Square
The columns surrounding St. Peter's Sqaure
Deb waiting for people to clear so that she can take a clear picture of St. Peter's Basilica.
