Last of the Spuds

It was with a fair amount of regret that I dug up my last few hills of potatoes yesterday. They are now sitting in a bucket in the corner of my kitchen, waiting to be used up over the next few meals.

Luckily, we have lots of our other veggies left: with the mild September we are having, even our lettuce is still frost free and tasty. With caribou meat and wild berries in the freezer, and a garden out our back door, it's amazing how much less we're spending on groceries these days.

After dance class last night I spent some time rewarding my hard working potato patch with a big feed of of compost and horse manure, so it'll be ready to till and plant in the spring. Being an old farm girl, I'm already dreaming of next year's crops.

A Day at Granville Island with Lucca and Marigold

Eye candy
Hat shopping
Who knew there were so many different kinds of olives?
Pondering a purchase
Photographing the photographer

Souvenirs

I imagine that the airport security folks must get a chuckle when they x-ray my luggage. The souvenirs that I bring back from my trips almost always include food and rocks. Here's a rundown of the treasures that I brought back with me this time:
-rocks from Scots Bay (my collection of Scots Bay perfectly round rocks is becoming quite impressive, I must say)
-dragon's eye tea from Chinatown
-dulse
-dried soldier beans and Jacob's cattle beans (for making soups and old fashioned baked beans) and fresh shell beans for making succotash
-Gravenstein apples: once you've had a pie made with these, you'll never be satisfied with anything else. However, these are 'summer' apples - they don't store over the winter - which is why you'll rarely see them in a grocery store unless you live in an apple belt like the Annapolis Valley. My friend Ellen (of the Stirling Fruit Farms family) was appalled that I can't get this apple in the Yukon. Ellen is a master baker who has won awards for her apple desserts. You must try her recipe for apple dumplings!

Home

Here it is not yet 5 a.m. and I'm wide awake...still on Nova Scotia time. Or is it Ontario time? In any event, my body clock is rather confused and bewildered and it will take several days to settle it back down. Being in N.S. was hard - it's pretty tough seeing someone who all his life has been strong and vibrant suffer the indignities that come with Alzheimer's. But there were good times too -- visiting with my friends Ellen and Lucca (although by the time I got to Lucca's I was in such a daze from lack of sleep and worry that I was little more than a walking zombie!). Now it's time to settle back into the fall routine: dance classes, teaching piano, overseeing Jamie's homework, etc. There's the garden to clear out, the wood to stack, the fall berry picking to be done. Yes, it's good to be home.

Last night I had a delicious dinner with Peter and Luz, and I picked up my painting. I'm including a photo of it here, but it is sooo much better in person. I feel like I could sit for hours and watch the many layers reveal themselves to me. Although I have a number of prints, I've never purchased an original painting before (other than a small water colour I bought while in Greenland one year) so this was both an exhilirating and scary experience for me. Now the challenge is to get it home! Luz did a very thorough job of wrapping it though, so I think we're OK.

Vials in the Ocean

I'm reading a book called "The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet" by John Blofeld. His writing is clear and concise: his explanations are within the grasp of even someone like me, who has very limited knowledge of Buddism.

In the section I'm reading now, Blofeld compares all of us to vials of water in a vast ocean, or at least says we tend to view ourselves as individual 'vials'. In fact, he says there are no vials; they're just an optical illusion. Really, all that exists is the ocean. The cockroach and I are both part of that ocean. The beggar on the street and I are both part of that ocean. George W. Bush and I are both part of the ocean.

And therein lies the challenge for all of us. If we don't want to feel hunger ourselves, how can we walk past a beggar in the street without providing him or her with food? If we don't want to be inhumanely treated ourselves, how can we turn a blind eye when we know that animals and humans and the earth itself suffer inhumane treatment every day? If we don't want our own 'vials' cracked or broken, then what makes us think it's OK to crack or break the 'vials' of others?

Most of us were raised on words of "treat others the way you'd like them to treat you" or something similar. But somewhere along the way, many of us have forgotten this most basic of principles. If we all took a vow to adopt this one simple (well, maybe not so simple) tenant, think how changed our world would be!

Phew! What a whirlwind of a day yesterday. With a great deal of help from Roy, we got Iris settled into her dorm. We spent much of the day running around buying many of the things she'll need for her time there: a new computer (the lucky girl got a Mac Book - I'm envious!) and printer, storage bins for under her bed, all the little things like laundry basket and soap, toiletries, etc. She even has a little tv and dvd for her room....things someone had left on the curb but that work perfectly well.

Then it was off to Whitby to see Joe's family and pick up the rest of Iris' things: sheets, pillows, towels, etc. We got back to her residence at about 11:30 last night and I left her to get herself settled while Roy brought me back to his place to spend the night.

Exciting times for our Yukon girl. Her room mate had already moved in but wasn't around all yesterday, so she may or may not have met her last night. Today we'll see if we can pick up a final few things (although I'm not sure if any of the stores will be open, it being Labour Day) and then my duty will be done!