Almost All Set to Go

I'm trying to get everything under control for my trip to N.S. tomorrow. I'm meeting my two brothers there so that we can scatter our dad's ashes on the farm. I have to say I'm not ready for this yet. He only died in October and it just feels too soon to be saying the final good-byes. But the plans are all made so I will do my part.

I also have the job of disposing of my parent's furniture...again, not something I'm feeling ready to do. However I fear that the longer it stays stored in the garage, the bigger the chances are of it getting water damaged or ruined in some other way. Most of the furniture isn't worth anything anyway but there are a number of antique pieces that should be taken care of. I still haven't decided if I'm going to ship some of them back to the Yukon...the cost is rather prohibitive but I might just bite the bullet and do it anyway. I'd like to keep the dining room table and chairs (I have many good memories of meals around that table), my bedroom dresser, and a couple of other pieces. I think Roy will take the kitchen table and chairs and if no one else wants anything I hope to find a charity that can make use of the rest.

Apart from everything else, I hate to leave the Yukon right now because it's prime gardening season. None of my kids are gardeners so I'm afraid my poor plants will not have a very happy week. Below is a photo of some of my greenhouse plants waiting patiently by the family room door to be let out. I have been promised the greenhouse will be built this week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be all set up when I get back.

A Week in the Life

Holy Hannah it's been busy around our place lately! The kids have been keeping me hopping. Alan has been cramming for his music school audition, and the night before last we spent a fair bit of time working on it. I played a simple 12-bar blues chord progression on the piano while Alan improvised over the top of it on his guitar. It was quite fun playing with him. Then we moved on to some sight reading...he had to play a bossa with some tricky rhythms. Last night he recorded some of the audition on DVD and the rest he'll do this week-end. Then it will just be a wait and see game.

Iris is really putting a push on to get her driver's license. She's still not comfortable with my standard transmission so we've been using Joe's truck, which is an automatic (hope you don't mind Joe!). She's graduated to downtown driving and the next step is to start working on parallel parking. She is catching on fast though and hopefully she'll have her license before she returns to university in the fall.

And Jamie has been involved in a play that his drama class has been working on all term. Iris and I went to see the performance last night: it was pretty entertaining. Jamie played one of the king's sons and had to wear tights. They were VERY tight and he said to me afterwards that the whole time he just kept hoping he wouldn't get 'a boner'. Yes, that would have been rather embarrassing. His other little problem was that there was a rip in the seat of those tights, so the whole time he was on stage, he was moving carefully so as to not to show his backside. I couldn't figure out why he was walking in such an odd manner....I only found out afterwards what the problem was.

Yup, just another typical week in the life of our household.

Follies 2008

I've been asking Iris for some photos of this year's opening performance of the Frantic Follies, but she's been so busy she hasn't had time to download any of them. However here are two that someone else posted on her Facebook page. This is before...and after...opening night.

A Strange Beast

The internet is such a complicated invention. Blogs in particular allow a person to learn intimate details about another, things that 'pre-world wide web' would only have been revealed after a face to face friendship had developed over a period of time. Part of me finds this aspect of blogging disconcerting. I'm a fairly private person myself, am generally careful what I write on my own blog, and at times I feel I'm invading someone else's privacy by reading their blog. It almost makes me feel ashamed of myself sometimes, although that doesn't stop me from reading on.

I regularly follow the blogs of several other Yukoners. Over the last few days, I have learned that the toddler of one blogger has been having seizures. To my knowledge, I haven't met this woman, yet in a strange way I feel I know her. I've been saddened by her miscarriage and overjoyed when she reported that she was pregnant again. I've enjoyed the original music she writes, performs and posts on-line. And I've chuckled at the antics of her little girl. Now, just as I would a friend, I find myself worrying about this blogger and her family and praying for her little girl to get better. I want to offer to help, but what person in their right mind is going to accept help from a stranger? What a weird situation for me to be in and what an odd beast the internet is. Has anyone else ever experienced this sort of thing?

There's Got to be a Better Way

There's been a revolt in my household. All my seedlings, destined for a new greenhouse that has failed to materialize at this point, screamed quite loudly this week that they were no longer content in their tiny pots. So over the last few days I've been transplanting them into large pots and have been lugging them outdoors each morning to harden them off, bringing them back in each night. With close to 30 tomato, cucumber, zucchini and winter squash plants, this is proving to be a rather time consuming task. I'm thinking there must be a better way and if I can find the right materials, I may turn the upper deck off the family room into a makeshift greenhouse.

I continue to try to reach the man who promised to build a proper one for me, but no luck. I understand that these guys are extremely busy at this time of year. I just wish they'd be upfront and tell me if they're too busy to take the job instead of making promises they can't realistically keep.

As far as the garden goes, I planted some potatoes tonight along with the broccoli and brussel spout plants. With the kind of fickle weather we have at this time of year, the latter really shouldn't be planted just yet, but they too were getting too big for their pots and I was too lazy to transplant them into larger 'interim' containers. I did buy some crop cover though, so in the event of frost I hope this will save my green babies. I must say - it feels so good to be gardening again.

As Promised

I've had a request from Fawn for the recipes that I mentioned in my post earlier today. So, here they are. The first one is from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven cookbook. The second was one that I just made up, based on my previous knowledge of veggie burgers. I've made numerous versions over the years using beans, nuts, oatmeal or other grains, but this one is with rice and just a few other ingredients. While it's simple, I hope you find it tasty.

Black Beans in Mango Sauce

1 1/2 T. olive oil
2 c. minced onion (recipe calls for red onion but I didn't have any so just used regular cooking onions)
1 T. minced garlic
1 3-inch jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1 1/2 T. minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 t. cumin seeds
1 1/2 t. salt
About 6 cups cooked black beans
6 T. fresh lime juice
2 large ripe mangoes, finely chopped
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Minced fresh cilantro (optional, but I love cilantro so I put it in everything I can)
Lime wedges

Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add 1 3/4 cups of the onion, the garlic, chile, ginger, cumin seeds and salt. Saute over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the black beans and about half the lime juice. Saute for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Stir the remaining lime juice and about half the chopped mango directly into the hot beans. Grind in some black pepper, cover and let stand for about 15 minutes to let the sauce develop.

Serve topped with the remaining onion and mango and some minced cilantro and lime wedges. Good with rice. Serves 6-8 people.

Veggie Burgers

Combine in a bowl:

2 cups of cooked brown rice
About half a cup each of grated carrots, grated zucchini, finely chopped onions, finely chopped broccoli and whatever other vegetables (finely chopped) that move you at the time.
2 or more cloves of minced garlic
Handful of sunflower seeds
2 large eggs
Soya sauce
Freshly ground pepper

Put in the refrigerator for about half an hour, then shape into patties. Fry a few minutes each side in a frying pan to brown, and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. If you want, top each patty with cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking. You can eat these in hamburger buns with the usual toppings or simply on their own as part of a larger meal. Makes about 10 patties, depending on how thick you make them and how many veggies you have added.

Re-visiting Vegetarianism

For several years at the beginning of our marriage, Joe and I were vegetarians. An extended trip to India/Nepal convinced us that the last thing we wanted to do was eat meat, for a whole variety of reasons. Then kids came along. With the hectic life of working full time and rearing three little ones, it seemed that we barely had time to throw a pork chop in the oven let alone do menu planning, yoghurt making, bean soaking or any of the other time consuming things that I thought were required of a vegetarian diet. Then Joe started hunting, so we were eating alot of wild meat like caribou, moose, and wild sheep. We at least knew it was organic and that the animals had lived good lives.

Fast-forward a generation: Iris has decided she no longer wants to eat meat. She was never much of a meat eater anyway, but now she wants to eliminate it from her diet entirely. So I am finding myself pulling out my old recipes and coming up with new ones. Some things of course we never stopped eating: Cuban black beans, dahl and rice, a variety of other Indian recipes, Mexican food, stir fry, salads, etc. but I'm starting to add new favorites to my list: for instance, yesterday I made vegetable patties along with black beans with mango. Eaten with brown and wild rice, both were easy and delicious.

I'm not sure if it's because I have more cooking experience or if I just have more time, but vegetarian cooking doesn't seem to be the time-consuming process I once thought it was. Of course this time I'm not so hung up on having to make everything from scratch: now I think it's OK to sometimes use canned beans instead of always soaking and cooking my own, and organic yoghurt from the bakery is probably just as good as anything I would make.

Jamie, who's a big meat eater, isn't terribly impressed with all this. For him there's some chicken defrosting in my fridge for tonight's dinner.

Gardening Puzzle

Hmmm...I wonder if someone out there can help me. My zucchini plants are starting to blossom, but there's not one female flower among them. All males. I purchased the seeds from Vesey's - they're called Summer Squash Golden Dawn III - a hybrid yellow zucchini. Upon closer inspection I noticed that my winter squash (Bush Delicata) also only has male flowers at this point. I keep pinching them off, hoping that I'll eventually get some female ones, but has anyone else had this problem before?

These plants are more than ready to be transplanted into a greenhouse, but as yet the fellow who is to build me one hasn't shown up. He was supposed to start last week but I've not see or heard from him.

Mini-Holiday

Back home, after a couple of days in Vancouver with my youngest. I had promised him a trip to see a Megadeath concert on Friday night. It wasn't my cup of tea but my oldest son met us at the gate and they went together, along with a couple of Alan's friends. I went off to have a meal and a chat with Lucca. Afterwards I met them again at the gate, where Jamie was all smiles. He claimed it was the best experience of his life, in spite of his sore neck from all the headbanging.

Saturday we spent at the Vancouver Aquarium and just wandering around downtown, stopping to eat several times (I think in total we had six meals that day!) It's such a treat to have so many food choices. Below are a few photos of the day. 1) one of the many jellies we saw. They are so beautiful; 2) Jamie in an underwater bubble; 3) still a little kid at heart; and 4) one of our new friends.

Week-end Recap

I've just put Lucca on the plane and am now looking back fondly over the past several days. Today was a good ending to a great week. After a breakfast of eggs bennie (Jamie somewhat reluctantly helped; he later redeemed himself by presenting me with a pizza with the word Mom on it) we dropped Iris off at work - her first Frantic Follies rehearsal of the season - and Lucca and I went for a walk along Miles Canyon. It was a gorgeous day: so warm that I wore a sleeveless top (and I might add, a beautiful necklace that Iris gave me this morning). Lucca, not yet acclimatized, was still bundled up in one of my old jackets.

Back home, we grabbed a bit of lunch and Alan phoned from Kelowna to wish me Happy Mother's Day. It was good to hear his voice and know he had arrived that far with no problems. Then it was time to pull out the old photos of our university days and do some reminiscing. Next, a simple dinner and then it was off to pick Iris up from work and go to the airport.

Below are a few photos of the day. I'm also including a couple of photos from the dance performances. Unfortunately I don't have one of me in my flamenco costume.

Spring crocuses
A bundled up Lucca

Gnarled tree

Sheriffs in "Indestructible Sam"

Adult Jazz - "Let the Good Times Roll"

Peep Show at the Yukon Arts Centre

I thought things went pretty well. I remember my steps, I had fun dancing and in general I was happy with the outcome. Then I met up with Joe, Lucca and Iris after the show and they commented that they could see my underwear on stage!! Apparently the skirt I wore for the jazz number, already short and skimpy to begin with, crept its way up as I danced. By the end of the piece it was apparently rather higher than a decent girl (and her husband) would wish for. So now Janet Jackson and I have something else in common apart from our first names: costume defects!

And Then There Were Three

Two of my boys are leaving me tomorrow. Joe is heading down to Toronto for the next six weeks to take some courses at U of T. Alan is taking a slow drive down to Vancouver, with stops along the way to see some friends. Jamie and I will meet up with him mid-month for a concert. Last night Joe cooked a big farewell feast - delicious! We had quite a houseful. I was late for dinner because of a dance dress rehearsal. What a disaster that was for me!! In one number I got dizzy on stage during a turn and lost my balance; then lost the steps for the next few counts. After that I never did really get back in the groove. In another number, I just plain forgot some of the sequences. So this morning I'm madly walking through them all in my head.

Lucca, Joe and Iris are coming to opening night tonight. I hope I don't make a complete fool of myself.

It's been great having Lucca here...busy, but great. Yesterday we took ourselves off to the spa. She had a facial and I had a pedicure. Unfortunately, that pedicure got ruined last night after I danced in wet shoes (I had washed them earlier in the day and they didn't dry in time) and the wet black shoe polish seeped inside them and stained my pampered feet. I was not amused. Ah vanity!