Simple Moodlings

Simple Moodlings n: 1. modest meanderings of the mind about living simply and with less ecological impact; 2. "long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering" (Brenda Ueland) of the written kind; 3. odds and ends inspired by life and the thoughts of others

Recent Blog Posts

Monday Music Appreciation #22 -- Smile
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I've always loved this beautiful melody, sung by Nat King Cole. If I'm not mistaken, my parents had the recording when I was small, and another version sung by The Lettermen.It wasn't until I worked at a jazz event at the Winspear that I learned that the originator of Smile was none other th...
Published at Simple Moodlings
Sunday Reflection: Harden not your hearts
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Demolitions continue...Today's reflection is brought to you by Psalm 95.Today the psalmist invites us to harden not [our] hearts.Tall order in a world that says otherwise.The world's voice encourages hardness.Compete.Overcome.Win. Rise to the top.But if we are to listen to Cre...
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Simple pleasures -- Friday, chai day
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The first time I ever tasted chai, my friend Mina's mom, Mrudula, made it for me. Who knew how good black pepper, cardamom, ginger, and other spices could be when steeped with Taj Mahal tea and scalded milk? Some years later, Mrudula shared her masala recipe with me, and ever since, whenever I've...
Published at Simple Moodlings
Monday Music Appreciation #21 -- Nella Fantasia
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Warning: the first time I heard Nella Fantasia from this Sarah Brightman album, it brought me to tears. And I'm pretty sure I've moodled about it before, but it deserves to be appreciated again, in my humble opinion.Nella Fantasia is a piece of music that was composed for the movie The Mission by...
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Sunday Reflection: A Prayer for Christian Unity
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The Icon of Mercyfrom the Taizé CommunityA lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher”, he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all ...
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What a housing emergency means
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Yesterday, Mayor Sohi here in Edmonton declared a housing emergency in an effort to bring all levels of government together to come up with housing solutions. A good step, but there's a long way to go. At this point, it's anybody's guess as to whether other government officials will actually show...
Published at Simple Moodlings
Encampment stories
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The start of this year has been brutal for our houseless sisters and brothers in Edmonton. Not that life isn't brutal for them all year round, but for the last few weeks, it's been particularly bad as the Edmonton Police Service and City of Edmonton cleanup crews decided, in the days before Chris...
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Sunday Reflection: One good word for 2024
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Happy New Year, friends!A symbol of 2024's word of the yearEvery year since 2003, I've tried to keep a special Word of the Year in mind, a touchstone of sorts to hold me steady when life becomes challenging. My word for 2023 was Appreciation, and there definitely was lots to appreciate. (Don't wo...
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Jump on the bandwagon!
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Last December... almost the same today.This morning, the Edmonton Police Service and City cleanup crews took down a homeless encampment (they've been doing it for weeks) in spite of the fact that there is a court injunction in place until January 11th to protect our homeless folks if there aren't...
Published at Simple Moodlings
On the Feast of the Holy Innocents
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Warning: this is not a happy Christmas moodling.Remember the Bible story (a dream version of which I shared yesterday) about King Herod sending soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the babies two years of age and under so that the promised Messiah could not unseat him as king? Today is the day ...
Published at Simple Moodlings