Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

December 30, 1954 54 years later, 5 children, 5 children-in-law, 18 grandkids, 5 grands-in-law, 2 great grandchildren and 1 as yet to be born great granddaughter.

Phew! Quite a legacy, I'd say.

Christmas '08

Ahhhh....Just got home from our annual getaway at Pinewood Lodge. This has become a highlight of my Christmas holiday. This year we spent 3 days in the beautiful Whiteshell Provincial Park, cross country skiing, playing hockey, swimming and just hanging around. Every time I come home, I feel like I've been away for a week.

Christmas was lovely too. We had our own children here on Christmas eve and then had Christmas brunch with the extended family which is a new tradition that we started a few years ago.

Lovely, just lovely.

Here's my great-nephew Gavin having fun in the pool with his dad.

Some of our group of 20.No trip to Pinewood is complete without a few games of Monopoly.

Somebody wanted to view the house today. Christmas day.

Our agent wasn't able to contact us as we had our cell phones turned off and anyway, I would have said no way.

Is no day sacred anymore? I understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas but they must know that December 25 is a day like no other in our Western culture. I feel sorry for our agent because she's the one who had to deal with this today. She sounded tired when I called her.

I can't wait till we sell this flippin' house.

Advent: The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important

This advent season I am anticipating 2 extremely important events. One is the birth of my first grandchild. When Carolyn's "incompetent cervix" was first discovered ten weeks ago, the hope was for the baby to remain in utero until 30 weeks. We are at 30 weeks now and we are thrilled that everything is looking very good and that our granddaughter seems quite happy to remain where she is now.

The other important event that I am anticipating is the death of a friend. I suppose the word is usually used in a way that suggests looking forward to something good, like the birth of a child. Gerald's death is inevitable. Unless a miracle happens, this will be his last Christmas on this earth. I do not anticipate the kind of miracle where he will suddenly jump out of his bed, completely healed. But I do know that when his time comes, he will be in a place of joy and light, where there will be no more pain or suffering. Good for Gerald. He will finally be in a place where he belongs, where he will feel completely at peace.

Birth and death. Joy and suffering. Hope and loss. And in the middle of it all, we live and try to make sense of it all.

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.

If you'd like to read something that was published in the Free Press about Gerald, look here. For the website that several of his artist friends created on his behalf, click here.

Following in her mother's footsteps

That's my girl!

Poor Heath and Deborah Campbell. It seems that a local New Jersey grocery store denied a request from Mr. Campbell to include the full name of his son, Adolph Hitler Campbell on a birthday cake.

The Campbells are requesting people who disagree with their choice of name to "get their heads out of the clouds and have a little tolerance."

Fortunately, the local Walmart came to the rescue and complied with the request. I guess little Adolph was happy that he got his cake but I wonder what he'll think of his name once he learns the truth about the monster that is his namesake.

House Still for Sale

Yup. It's still for sale. Yesterday we got our first offer and we just couldn't accept it. I know this was the right decision and I feel good about it but still...

Wes has a feeling that it will be sold by Christmas.

I really hope he's right.

Busy cooking today.

Random Thoughts

I'm sitting at Alisha's house watching Gavin while she's at an appointment.  Gavin's crawling around like he's on a mission and is also becoming quite a ham.  I figured I'd have a busy morning with him.  Well, he's sleeping so there's really not much for me to do.  I hope he wakes up before Alisha comes home.  I'd like to spend a little time with him.

Yesterday I visited with an old friend, a second cousin actually, who is in Winnipeg visiting her daughter.  We figured that it was probably more than 30 years ago since we saw each other but it seemed that the years melted away as we updated each other.  There's something about family, even when it's "once removed", that makes conversation easy.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ella and her Winnipeg family.

Kristen comes home on Friday!  I am so looking forward to seeing her!  She's taking along a few friends, who will stay overnight and then fly home on Saturday.  She may  also be taking along some unwanted visitors-bed bugs.  Seems that some of the kids picked them up while in Vancouver.  I will be doing lots and lots of laundry before anything comes into my house on Friday night.  Yuck!

The house is still on the market.  We have had about 35 showings without an offer.  I'm usually okay with it all but it is getting tiresome.  I will be glad when things are settled.  Wes has a feeling that it will be sold by Christmas.  I hope he's right. 

I have stopped watching the news.  I am so sick and tired of the politics that is happening in our country that I cannot watch anymore.  This is no longer about the economy.  It is all about power and political posturing and I am sick of it.  

I am loving taekwondo.  There is no stress reliever like kicking a bag.  It has been about 8 years since I quit and I am amazed at how my body remembers what it is supposed to do.  I thought I had forgotten many of the moves but it has taken me only a couple of months to get back to where I was.  

We are still having our family dinners most Monday nights.  For the last few weeks after dinner we have been playing Christmas carols.  A piano, 2 violins and a cello.  That is music to my ears and a good way to end this boring, random post.

A New Blogger

Please welcome to the world of blogging...Carolyn, the wife of my son and mother of my as yet unborn granddaughter

The Quilt

I may not have been blogging much but I have kept myself occupied. This is the quilt top that Kristen and I started several months ago. I finally finished it today and hope to find someone to quilt it before too long.

I like it because it reminds me of Kristen; cheerful, random with lots of personality.

Still There

...but Dixie's getting jealous.

He Moved

Jed's been over for a week and a half. If his family is wondering how he's doing, let's just say he is feeling very much at home.

Thursday Thirteen

I woke up crabby this morning so I thought I'd better write a Thursday Thirteen of things I'm grateful for. Hopefully it will get me out of this mood...

1. The sunshine
2. A warm house, clean and clutter free
3. The music theory group- Chelsea, Tim, Sean, Micah and Joey
4. Playing Christmas songs with Chelsea and Tim (and Micah, if he ever comes home from PEI)
5. My kids
6. Wes
7. The "Artist Date" I had with Yvonne last week
8. My new slippers


9. Peppermint flavoured green tea
10. The butter keeper that I bought in Chicago
11. The soup sock I'm using to make stock. It is an amazing little thing.
12. Monday night dinners
13. Reading material of all kinds

In my very first post, back on April 13, 2005, I promised the following four things to myself and to my faithful readers.

• I will do my best to avoid spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
• I will post as frequently as possible or when I am moved to write something.
• I will try my best not to embarrass my children-even though that's almost impossible.
• I will not try to be too deep or profound. Otherwise, I may not write anything!

I think that I have been mostly successful in these 4 things. Blogging has been fun for me and I've met some interesting and funny people over the past few years through this blog. But I haven't posted much these last few months. I'm not sure why but I seem to have lost interest. Maybe my life is just too ordinary and mundane. I don't have many cute kid stories. My kids are all still cute to me but they're all taller than me, some are smarter than me (I won't tell you which ones) and they just don't do as many cute things as they used to. The international students often gave me good fodder for stories but they have moved back to Mexico and Brasil. The dog is still around and provides entertainment for us here but I haven't felt like writing about her either.

Reading my old posts recently inspired me to try to start posting more regularly again. I would not have remembered some of the things that I wrote about if I had not posted. So, my faithful readers (and I think there may be a couple of you left) I will try to post a little more frequently. This blog may bore you but then again, you don't have to read it.

At the very least, my grammar may improve if I write a little more. I lost the cord for my camera to download pictures so that has also reduced my posting options. Hopefully I'll find it before too long and you will see pictures from our recent trip to Chicago.

Tomorrow, I'll try a Thursday Thirteen or maybe a Thursday Three. We'll see.

Another Birthday

Happy birthday Eric!

This picture was taken last year so imagine Joey and Eric looking just a little older.

Halloween #2

For those of you who are scrambling today to get the costumes finished and trying to get something healthy into the tummies of your ghosts and goblins, take heart. One day you will be like me, trying to decide where you'll be going out for dinner tonight in order to avoid the trick or treaters who might come to your door.


Except for the birth of Kristen, Halloween holds few sweet memories for me.

I am SO GLAD I don't have to dress anyone up tonight, except for myself.

Halloween

Halloween is not usually the first thing that pops in my mind when October 31 rolls around, even though it's all around. For me, October 31 is the day that I can celebrate the birth of my fourth child. She's 20 today.

I keep reminding myself that she's 20. I can't believe that my baby is 20. I no longer have teenaged children. They are all in their 20's. Where did the time go?

Kristen is on the road today, travelling from Alberta to Vancouver with the rest of her "Outtatown" team. She's having a great time and I think that she will say that the year she turned twenty was one of the most memorable years of her life. I think she misses home a wee bit but she has always been very adaptable which makes being away a little easier for her than for some.

Happy birthday my schatje.

The Road Trip Continues

We left Chicago on Sunday morning and drove to Minneapolis. Chicago was amazing. We had a wonderful time. The Flemish house was the absolute best place for us to stay-beautiful, comfortable and in a very cool part of town. It was also within walking distance of downtown.

All we did in Minneapolis was to stay in a cheap, crappy hotel. I suppose we were spoiled by the luxurious Flemish house in Chicago but when the washcloth looks like Dixie got to it, you know you're in a cheap place.

We stopped at a lovely cafe in St. Cloud, called the the Meeting Ground. If you ever find yourself in St. Cloud MN, you must stop there. We also discovered an absolutely lovely quilt shop and happily spent some of our hard earned money there.

Now, we're in Fargo, at the Radisson. No more cheap hotels for us although this one is pretty reasonable, especially with my CAA discount. We'll go out for dinner in a little while and then tomorrow morning, it's back to real life in Winnipeg for us.

This has been a fabulous road trip for us. And we still like each other.

Pictures will come once I get the camera out of the car.

Day 2

Another lovely day in Chicago. I woke up at some point in the night, hearing rain and lots of it. By morning it had stopped and we actually saw the sun by late afternoon.

We walked to the Art Institute and wandered around there for a few hours. On the way back, we came upon this famous sculpture, "Cloud Gate" or more commonly known as "The Bean" or "That Big Shiny Thing in Millenium Park." It is very cool. One thing I like about outdoor public art is that you can touch it.

We passed by some places that I thought Tim

and Kristen

might appreciate.

This evening, for dinner, it was wine and cheese purchased from an amazing little shop that we happened upon called Pastoral Artisan Cheese. Mmmm.

We have walked miles and miles and enjoyed every minute of it. This is a great city and the people are incredibly friendly. Tomorrow should be another stellar day.

Our Road Trip

I could write about all the stuff we're doing but I'll let Michele do it for me.

We're Already Taking Pictures

Carolyn, baby and the 2 grandmas.

Must update. But what to say? Not much has happened around this place lately. I am looking forward to a road trip with my sisters to Chicago. The last time we went away together was about 12 or 13 years ago so it's about time, wouldn't you say?

I won't post anything for about a week but that's pretty normal for me these days anyway...

Bye!

Thanksgivng 2008

Most of the time, I find myself wishing that this house was already sold and we'd be preparing to move into something smaller. This weekend though, with 8 of Kristen's friends and another 20 or so for dinner, I was grateful that we have a house big enough for everyone.

When they saw this shower, the young people saw a wonderful photo op.

Happy Thanksgiving

50 things I'm thankful for, in no particular order:

a warm dry house on a cold wet day
family
friends
a big house that makes it easy to have 8 extra guests for a whole weekend
enough resource to be able to feed them all well
good food
wine
apple juice
socks that stay up
slippers
a yet to be born grandchild
peace
democracy
books and people with whom I can discuss them
music
the piano
this computer
laughter
my faith community
the ability to practise what I believe without fear of persecution
the opportunities to practise tolerance
new underwear
stuffing and gravy
hot water
good coffee
vacations
my bicycle
comfortable jeans
the dog
2 ovens so that we can cook a stellar Thanksgiving dinner for almost 30 people
the digital camera
my ipod
my most amazingly comfortable bed
a place to go when I can't sleep
the changing seasons
the people who lent us their mini van this weekend
wes. we make a good team

the dog cousins who always provide us with a good laugh

potable water

sisters with whom I who love to cook
the colours of fall
the saturday crossword puzzle
brand new babies
adorable toddlers
public health care
good, strong coffee
taekwondo
good health
a pain-free back
outdoor walks

What Did You Do this Weekend?

We had 8 of Kristen's friends here and these are some of the things they did...

Kristen was home for dinner on Saturday evening. Along with the other 29 people of Site 2, South Africa, she spent the weekend in Winnipeg in what she referred to as an Urban Plunge. She worked with an organization that has had a presence in Winnipeg's downtown for a number of years and it seems to me that Kristen and her new friends have already had their ideas and beliefs challenged. She told me that after spending time in this Urban Plunge, her preconceived notions of homelessness and the disadvantaged have changed. It is neat to see her willingness to learn and grow and to be open to having her thoughts and ideas challenged.

I asked her if it seemed strange, being home on Saturday night while everyone else in her group was together someplace else. She told me that it felt like they were her family, her community. I understood what she was saying and acknowledged that it was a good thing.

And I felt the apron strings unravel further.

It is all good.

A New Dream

When I joined a Taekwondo club about 10 years ago, I thought I'd get my black belt by the time I was 50. After 2 years, I had to quit for various reasons and so the dream fizzled out.

A few weeks ago, I met someone who had been a member at the club and told him about my plan, how I was one year beyond 50 and how I had never reached the goal. His response to me was, "Why don't you make a new goal for yourself?"

And that my friends is what I'm doing.

Tomorrow I start.

I'm a little nervous.

Who Doesit?

Most mornings when I come downstairs, this is what I find...

I don't know who is responsible but here are the suspects:

Wes

MeEric

Dixie the dog

Laughing and Crying

We had a wonderful time, celebrating Wes' birthday. Lots of laughter and joy. Old friends and new. He had the opportunity to do something crazy. How fortunate.

It was only a few days later that we heard some devastating news. A dear friend has just been diagnosed with a serious brain tumour. We are waiting to find out more but the prognosis does not look good. He is only 50 and should have many more years to live, enjoying his wife, children, grandchildren, extended family and friends.

If you are a praying person, please pray for Gerald. Pray for a miracle.

Happy Birthday Wes!

We celebrated a milestone in Wes' life on Saturday.

Watch the video to see what he did to usher in his 50th year!

Oops

We thought they were coming on Thursday night so imagine my surprise on Wednesday when the phone rang and it was Wes' dad, wondering if anyone was coming to the airport to pick them up.

They are both fine and have forgiven us.

Our home (Winnipeg) to Lockport, 23.8 km.
Average speed: 18 km per hour

Time in the saddle: 1 1/2 hours

We DID let a little rain stop us today.

I've been thinking about anxiety and growth lately. Both in the same thought, mostly because I thought I had "grown" enough to be able to deal with anxiety in a more healthy way.

Have I got a long way to go.

We have not yet sold our house. I knew it would not be as easy to sell this house as some of the other houses here in Winnipeg. I knew that. But in my heart I hoped, prayed, begged, that it would sell in days. What a testimony that would be! "We put our faith in God, knowing that he would take care of us blah, blah, blah..., and the house sold in one week! God is good!"

Well, that testimony's no good anymore as it's been almost 4 months and we have not yet had one offer. It keeps me awake at night. I'm beginning to feel anxious and I thought that I was way beyond that. If I go to the doctor and ask her for some anti anxiety meds, she'll suggest that I try non-prescription ways of dealing with it like meditation and exercise, which I'm already doing. But I still obssess. I just can't seem to turn my brain off.

I have faith that it will sell sometime but I'm tired of living in limbo, waiting for my life to start once this place is sold. I want to be able to live and enjoy life, even in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. I want to move forward, to grow and expand my brain but it seems to be stuck, like the needle on an LP player that stays in the same groove.

It's not just the house that's on my brain these days. It seems that I have begun worrying more and more about stuff that I have no control over. And at three o'clock in the morning, all of it seems to be insurmountable.

I thought I was further along in my emotional development. I thought I had more faith. I thought I could rise above these petty, relatively small inconveniences. After all, there are people who have no homes or possessions, have lost their families and friends and live where there is little to hope for. And here I'm obssessing about selling a house.

One day I will be able to look at this time in my life with a little more perspective. I will be able to see that even though things didn't happen the way I wanted, everything worked out. I'm hoping that new perspective will happen soon. Until then, I'll enjoy the days when I don't obsess and try to get through the days that I do.

Minnesota Bike Trip

Greatest Birthday Gift

My daughter-in-law Carolyn is one of those people who give a lot of thought to the gifts she gives. One of the very endearing things about her is the fact that she cannot wait to give her presents away and it is not unusual for me to receive something early.

So when Ben and Carolyn came by on Saturday with my birthday gift, I wasn't too surprised. A couple of bottles of wine and some delicious cheese. They knew that with selling the house and all, I didn't want anything that I would have to move. But the real surprise was in the card they gave me:

Yup. That's right. I'm gonna be a grandma, for the first time. Woo hoo! The whole family's thrilled!

Greetings from Minnesota

This post comes to you from the C'mon Inn of Park Rapids.

We've been here for a couple of days, enjoying the beautiful bike trails of Minnesota. Yesterday, we biked 18 km in Itasca State Park. It was only 18 because the day before, we biked 100 km which was stupid. We were feeling good and thought we'd go to the next town. We weren't thinking about the return trip. That was kind of stupid. Today, we'll try for about 50 km and see if our butts can handle it.

The weather is gorgeous, the biking trails are lovely, and the people are friendly. Everytime we pass people on a bike trail, they say hi.

We are trying to decide if we prefer biking on flat or hilly terrain. Going up the hills can be challenging but there is always the reward of coasting down. On flat terrain, you never get a break. You're always pedalling. We'll have to do a little more biking in order to discover what we like best. I do know that I prefer beautiful vistas and scenery. Today, we're off to Cass Lake because I have it on good authority that it is a lovely area to bike around. Stay tuned for pictures!

Cool is as cool does

I walked to the hair stylist yesterday and remembered the ipod. As I ambled down Henderson Hwy. I thought that I was looking pretty cool. Fancy Darfur bag over my shoulder and ipod earphones in my ears. They kept falling out but I discreetly stuck them back in every time.

At one point I came up to a window and thought I'd try to catch a glimpse of my cool self. Strange, I thought. The earbuds are sticking out in a strange way, not like anyone else's I've ever seen. I pulled them out and noticed that I had the L side in my right ear and the R side in the left.

I don't think I'll ever be cool.

Must write something...

For some reason, I have not felt much of a desire to post anything on this blog. Last week I was reading some of my older posts and was reminded that updating is a good thing.

All I can muster now are some random thoughts.

The house is not yet sold. I'm usually pretty okay with that but sometimes, it's hard not to be a little discouraged. On the positive side, it sure is nice living in a house that is always clean and tidy. I have always valued a clean and organized place but have not ever, until now, really been able to pull it off. They say it takes 6 weeks to form a new habit. I've been at it for almost 12 weeks now. I think that's long enough.

Kristen's the only one living here right now. Eric will be moving back to Winnipeg in a few weeks and will be staying with us until he finds a place to live. We may or may not be empty nesters in September.

We have an interesting catering job to do for a wedding on the weekend. The menu includes butter chicken, palak paneer and curried chickpeas. We did a successful test run on Monday for the family and the bride and groom. Now, if we can only figure out the amount of food we'll need for 100 people without having tons left over...

I purchased an ipod nano several weeks ago. Tim set it up for me and Micah downloaded a bunch of stuff for me too. Now all I have to do is remember to take it with me when I walk the dog.

This will be the last summer that we will have a pool. I'm optimistic that the house will be sold before next summer. Unfortunately, the weather has not been very cooperative for us pool owners, except for last weekend. It was glorious.

Profound Question for July...

...because that's the best I can do these days.

Who was the wiseguy who came up with the idea of having busses and bicycles share the same traffic lane?

If Gavin could speak...

“Well, yesterday with Auntie Linda was okay, I guess.

Tolerable.

She gave me a bottle. She gave me a few spoonfuls of peas but didn’t make me finish them because I think they’re gross. She read me a story, changed my poopy diaper, played that cause and effect game that I like so much-you know, I drop the toy, I pick it up. I drop the toy, I pick it up. She got bored of that after only 15 minutes. Man, I could play that game for hours. .

I got a little fussy and we played outside for a while and then I got tired and she tried to put me back to bed. Well, a little screaming from me and she took me right out of my crib again. She put me in the stroller and we went for a walk. I had a nice nap then too.

She kissed my head and my cheek-a lot but then again, I am pretty irresistible.

Yeah. It was okay I guess.

I think she’d like to do it again. I’d be willing to try it once more, I suppose. But not too often. I’d rather hang out with my mom and dad.”

Cute Kids

There are a number of people I know with young children and I am thrilled to hear/read their cute kid stories.

I have one of my own, except my cute kid is 21 and shaves on occasion.

"I know Gavin is family and all but that guy really is the cutest kid around. Like even if he wasn't part of our family, I'd still think he was that cute."

Because Alisha asked me...

Two names you go by:
1. Linda
2. Mom

Two things you are wearing now:
1. Canker worms (yuk)
2. Feminine earrings because I think my new haircut makes me look like a man

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Go out for dinner
2. Read

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. For my house to sell
2. For Dixie to learn a new trick

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Dixie
2. A canary

Two things you did last night:
1. Went to the Bomber game. Go Blue!
2. Slept all night.

.Two things you ate/drank today:
1. Pizza
2. Wine

Two people you've talked to today:
1. Alisha
2. Tim,

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Playing the piano
2. Going to the grand opening of Pollack's Hardware

Longest Car Rides you've been on:
1. Ontario to Winnipeg
2. Ontario to Florida

Two favorite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Victoria Day

Two favorite Beverages:
1. Coffee
2. Wine

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Tim
2. Joey

This Old House

It's been on the market now for about 6 weeks. We've had 7 or 8 showings but none of them have resulted in an offer.

I'm usually okay with that. I've always known that this is a unique house and that it will not sell as quickly as other smaller homes. And yet, all too often I find myself worrying and wondering.

A few weeks ago, Michele and I were talking with some friends and Michele said that she had a thought that popped into her head that was something like, "The timing will be just right." What was really neat is that I had almost the same thought the day before. The fact that we both had the same thought, almost word for word has been a real encouragement to me

So now, everytime I begin to worry and obsess, I remind myself that the timing will be right. I just hope that the right time will be sooner, rather than later.

I can always hope, can't I?

Well, it's dead. Totalled. Irreparable .

It's strange though. All I remember is being hit on the passenger side, which is where Michele was seated. But the worst damage is on the driver's side of the car.
I know it's only a car. I had no emotional attachment to it.

So why do I feel like crying?

Newest Member of our Expanding Family

Jaela Jacqueline Tena Smith.

You can read more about her on my niece's blog here.

And one photo of her adorable cousin Gavin. It's hard to choose which one to post but the cool dude one is one of my favourites. Gavin is about 5 months old now.

My Current Favourite Flower

Anemones. The white flowers look so cheerful, bouncing in the breeze.

And another thing...

When the police visited Michele in the hospital, they gave her information on Victim Services.

I guess because I was one of the drivers, I don't get the same treatment.

Right now, I'm feeling like a victim.

I Can't Believe It

I just spoke with my insurance adjuster and she told me that the guy who hit me is not claiming responsibility. What a jerk!

There were lots of witnesses but none of them gave me a name or phone number. I wanted to run across the intersection after it happened to get names and numbers of the people in the cars who were stopped at the red light but nobody would let me. I was in shock so I could not think clearly enough to ask someone else to do it.

So, now, it's my word against his.

I know how this will end. At the very best, I will be found 50% responsible, which is a likely scenario. At worst, I will be fully responsible. Most often the person turning left is the one charged because he/she has to make sure the intersection is clear. Well, I had the green left turn arrow and the intersection was clear until he blew through the red light.

And he seemed like such a nice young man.

A Much Too Eventful Day

On Wednesday, Michele and I were involved in a car accident. I think my car is totalled. We are mostly okay, except for Michele's broken ankle, my whiplash and a few assorted bruises.

We were on our way to drop off groceries for a rather large catering job on Thursday. Most of the groceries survived except for one litre of cream that exploded and the watermelon that was cracked and bruised. I was shocked when I saw the coffee tin with the huge dent in it too and realized that we were very fortunate to get away from there with only minor injuries.

The catering went very well as we had some excellent help-Joey and Chelsea who stayed home from school and Kim, who had a day with nothing planned. We couldn't have done it without them.

Michele is at home, resting with her foot up and learning how to use crutches. I am icing my shoulder and neck and today, I'll take it easy too.

And in case you're wondering, it wasn't my fault. I had the green left turn arrow and was proceeding into the intersection when someone in a small car (thankfully it was small) blew through a red light and hit my car.

Ouch.

And just a few more...

Taken from the 2nd floor.