Hello,

It's been a weird couple of days, confusing and trying to think. Thankfully a few things resolved themselves so I didn't have to continue worrying about them for now. And I'm so thankful for friends like Hannah =)
I've been on a search for a good sporran, belt, and buckle for this summer. There are two cheap but nice ones on ebay (cheap is good so I have left over for the belt and buckle and maybe some reeds...everything related to piping is so expensive!) but I'm not sure...one is grey rabbit fur with a silver cantle and one has an unusual pin clasp and is black leather. Or maybe I don't like either.



I've been really challenged lately about how I use my time. Both priorities and just doing different things. Hopefully it will actually change.

Love, Cait

This song has been stuck in my head. By Sara Groves.

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

I can tell by your eyes that you're not getting any sleep
And you try to rise above it, but feel you're sinking in too deep
Oh, oh I believe, I believe that

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

I believe you'll outlive this pain in your heart
And you'll gain such a strength from what is tearing you apart
Oh, oh I believe I believe that

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

When some time has past us, and the story is retold
It will mirror the strength and the courage in your soul
Oh, oh, I believe I believe,

I believe
I believe

I did not come here to offer you cliches
I will not pretend to know of all your pain
Just when you cannot, then I will hold out faith, for you

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

Juno

This movie is so good it deserves its own post.


Granted, I've only seen it (twice) on the airplane, where it was edited, which is probably a good thing. Christian reviews on it were very mixed, some saying the bad outweighed the good, some saying it was very refreshing. The latter is definitely the impression it left me with.

Basic plotline is Juno, 16, gets pregnant and after going to an abortion clinic (that scene is really cool; before going in a protester says "your baby has fingernails!" which surprises her and then inside, noises of fingernails (tapping, filing, scratching, etc) are heightened and she runs out) decides to have the baby and adopt it out. She wants the family to be perfect but eventually the husband tells her he's divorcing his wife and Juno is devastated but decides to give her the baby anyway (how much the wife wants it is one of the best parts of the movie). It's also the story of her and Paulie (her best friend/the baby's dad/later her boyfriend; kind of backwards...).

I'm not sure what I liked about it so much. Partly what she has to go through and deal with, which is obviously really hard (there's more to it too). Both times I was teary when she actually had the baby; it's just like...wow. I don't know. Anyway, really depends on the person; you could hate it or love it, but I loved it.

Cait

P.S. If you want to see all the Venice photos, they're on facebook.

Pregho

Venice was magnificent. Flying by myself was fun, especially being upgraded to business on the flight there. I went up to see Dad, and he had told the crew during the briefing what seat I was in so they were all really nice. Also at the hotel I talked to some of them. Tuesday afternoon we took the bus to Venice itself (about 20 minutes) and walked around til about 11 PM. We went to a museum type thing; the Doge's palace, which was cool, and to San Marco plaza with all the pigeons, and wandered around little alleyways with glass, lace, and mask stores and restaurants. We had dinner and gelato and went back to Venetia Mestre. In the morning we got breakfast and went back to Venice for a couple hours (had pizza, got the masks, and walked through an old church) before getting back to the hotel and leaving for the airport again. Everything was so picturesque and beautiful. And fresh and green! The weather was chilly but refreshing, and quite damp.

Real pizza =)Random posters in Venetia Mestre
Daddy's on the left =P Arriving back in Dubai.
Coffee bar for breakfast. I loved it because people just came and drank their coffee standing at the counter, talking or on the phone, before going to work. And when you walk in everyone (even the customers) all say "bonne giorno!" Another cool thing is that it's not like India where it's obvious you're a tourist, and people start talking to you in Italian. And if you don't have to say much you can fool them for awhile, heh. Just say pregho. Kidding, but they say that ALL the time, like the all-inclusive polite courtesy word.
breakfast


YUM. I got one of the huge black licorice ropes. Those of you who only like the red kind seriously miss out. We had fish and pasta for dinner. An elderly Greek father and son were at the table next to us and toward the end started talking to us and we ended up getting gelato together and directing them back to the plaza.
Yes, she was in my purse the whole time; don't laugh.

Flight to Venice (these are in really randomized order, sorry)
Playing guitar and singing opera. He was awesome and a great singer. And sang to me =D

Mask shop...the stalls were cheaper but these places were handcrafted and gorgeous. I ended up getting one in a shop (not this one) and it's beautiful.

He was playing the violin on a bridge corner overlooking one of the canals. The violin was very high pitched and clear and he was playing Speak Softly Love from The Godfather which is a lovely melody.
Gelato =)


Gondoliers waiting
San Marco Plaza with all the pigeons




I was moved up to business class on the flight to Venice which was very nice. All the stewardesses were so sweet! The captain helped us get to the bus to Venice (the hotel was in Venetia Mestre which is basically just the mainland right across from it).
This is a snack. And the orange juice was fresh; I had a ton.
I want a house right on the water! They were all SO beautiful and cute.
Everywhere (even in Venetia Mestre) there were little balconies and flower windows.
The doge's palace, which we went into. There was a mural which was the largest oil painting in the world. That place was huge. (no photos inside)
Gondolas! The gondoliers sing sometimes and call out to each other when coming round corners. They're extremely expensive so we didn't go on one, but rode a vaporetto (water bus or taxi) around the island.

If I could live anywhere, for no other reason than just the place itself, it would be Italy. Even the 48 hours trip was amazing. Now I miss Venice AND India.
Anyway, was a very nice trip with dad, and it was cool being on an actual jet that he was flying and not just a private plane. I started giggling every time he did the announcements =P

God bless
love,
Cait

news

I have happy news =)
...but don't know if I want to tell you all collectively, as that often makes it not seem as special or comes across as bragging.


School has given me a lot of work lately, catching up from India and being sick, and trying to get ahead (but I'm done now), plus have tons of music work now, having practiced pipes for the first time in ages and also having to do with the news I alluded to but don't feel like writing on a blog of all places. Whatever.

Kyleigh took these awesome photos of Sunny. She's a very demanding kitten, and meows constantly when she wants to be held. It's very hard to cuddle a cat while running around the room trying to get ready for bed, but there's no quiet if I don't!


Hamlet was...mediocre. Not really worth reviewing. That said it was "Hamlet for Kids" so it's only fair. I would have much preferred a Shakespearean troup to a goofy comedy version including music. Ophelia looked the part but only kind of acted it =P


Will be taking tons of pictures in Venice.
Sorry about the new word verification thing; I was getting tired of deleting spam comments.

with love,
Cait

P.S. Two of the Eisley girls and their little sister were in a music video by Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and it's finally out. A bit mean but funny. Here.

joi-opaque

Good evening,

Krystal and I have finished our first projects! We've also picked our next pieces.

You can see them on here. Joi-opaque is a combination of each of our favourite words, plus a mistake, but it's not without uncoincidental meaning, as it relates to both of our art pretty well. Look closely at her interpretation of my 'telescope eyes,' you'll see more at second glance.

Daddy has been talking about a Venice flight this month that looked open and it turns out there are 100 seats free so I'm going! Yay! It's Tuesday - Wednesday next week. I'm old enough to fly unaccompanied so awhile ago Dad asked what my top choices would be to travel when he has a reasonable layover, and Italy was one of them. Japan was first but a 30 hour round trip for a 30 hour layover isn't really worth it.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have a cat again. Sunny is so darling and comforting. And a pain =P as all cats should be.

Having really liked Ocean's 11, the second two were disappointing. 12 was ok but I didn't finish 13. Random comment there.

We watched Amazing Grace last night. It's a really good movie. Wilberforce's motivation was incredible to me - and how hard he worked while being so physically unstable his whole life. Definitely something to look up to. And his wife was awesome!


love,
Cait

Surge2 Post I

Hello everybody,

We’re back! India was...pretty awesome.

Now I’m going to be terribly clever and make something like three different posts in reverse order so you can read them in order instead of backwards. So...if you see post I, II, or III without the others, you can assume it's blogger doing it's weird thing because I'll post all three at once.

All in all I just have to say I’m incredibly thankful I went, and am dying to go back. I’ll take every opportunity possible next year and am disappointed the time conflicts with our trip to the states this June! I was blessed so much by just being able to serve, and learned so many things through the whole experience. It’s completely different from anything I’d seen or been with or done before.

Cait.

Random things from the week –

- Kevin day

- Ch-ch-ch-CHUTNEY

- auto rickshaws and lots of motorcycles!

- cows all over the roads

- all the hand games we all played

- 'HAIRGEL' – Isaac’s comment on what he missed most on the trip

- Ice cream – Kevin’s substitute for hair gel

- 'I’m leaving if I can’t eat cow here.'– Sonja at McDonald’s

- 'Oh my gosh, look at the white person!' – Fiona

- Mani putting her hair in an afro

- drinking tea while painting up on a ledge

- the verbose dog

- so many beggars.

- usually we girls all sat on one side of the dining room and the (half as many) guys sat on the other. One morning Elaine, Kyleigh, Sonja and I were on the other side so they called us "Alan, Kyle, Solomon, and Ken." Kevin being on the girls side was called Kevina for the rest of the week. What was great was how quickly he answered to it!

Surge2 Post II - Photos!

Kevin and the wooden egg -

Saying good bye - Elaine, Paul ('Chutney'), Arun
VBS - David and Goliath
Mani with an afro!
Isaac in the airport, modelling Hannah's jacket -
Pretty bangles -
Moo.
One night Fiona and Elisabeth washed our hair with the faucet on the roof. Heavenly clean hair!
Kevin with ice cream hairgel -

Breakfast the first morning - I loved all the jeans and flip-flops.New dining room after debris was cleared but before cleaning and painting -


Dining room completed with mural - View from my favourite window...Fiona used the flowers on the lattice to make the stencils for the walls in the next photo.
I painted the verse which Elaine wrote out.
Along the opposite wall -
Pre - washing, scraping, and painting kitchen -
Finished kitchen -
Midget Isaac (David) and Elijah (random Israelite) when they did VBS -
Kevin and company -
3 wheeled auto rickshaws -
Sonja and I tired on the last day...our "finished!" dinner -
I can prove I ate with my hands all week! Was hard, but we all did it.
Kids from VBS -
In the airport -
Kyleigh and Paul Uncle -
Kevin!

I'll probably get more photos eventually.