Essence of Wild Ginger

Thomas Toad's Surprise Visit

2011-08-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

Toad discovered Thomas Toad while mowing the last of our yard this afternoon, just before a thunderstorm hit, and brought him to visit me for a few minutes.

The magic button — Make Everything OK

2011-08-05T06:18:00.001-04:00

The magic button — Make Everything OK

Works for me!

How Miss Leona Combsley Got Her Name

2010-09-24T09:27:00.010-04:00

Leona enjoying a piece of fresh peach in the front yardSeptember 6, 2010

We don't eat our chickens and don't permit anyone else to eat them, either. When our hens get too old to lay eggs we don't value them any less than before, as they have earned their right to retire and live the good life among friends until they die a natural death. So when a neighbor stopped by on July 1st to ask if he could buy a chicken from us to keep his one remaining hen company (stating that he had finally killed a fox that was eating his hens), I was suspicious. The price of chicken in the grocery stores here is quite dear, even for stewing hens, and not only did I not want to relinquish one of our hens to an uncertain fate, I did not want to set a precedent for selling chickens. So I smiled and told the neighbor, no, we won't sell you a chicken but we will loan you one to keep your hen company. He said something about planning to eventually eat his hen. (Aha!) I told him to bring ours back when she was no longer needed. I also mentioned that we would come to visit her in the meantime to see how she was getting along at his place. Toad picked out a hen for him to take and I made a fuss over her, telling her that we would miss her but she would be back home eventually. The neighbor, Leon, undoubtedly thinks we are crazy for caring about a chicken, but that's okay. Off he went, carrying the red hen in a bag, leaving us to worry about her. I half expected to hear from him that another fox (uh-huh!) had taken her but fortunately I was wrong. A few weeks later, July 29th to be exact, he brought her back to us and told us that he had killed and eaten his chicken. (Double Aha!!)

How did we know that he brought us the same hen? Well, as it turned out, Toad had chosen for him a red hen with an unusual characteristic so that we would recognize her. Her comb is straight just above her eyes but then leans forward. She also tends to lay less than perfect eggs, a bit soft-shelled, due to her advanced age. Leon had called us about purchasing some eggs a few days after borrowing our hen and had mentioned the soft shells that the one we loaned him produced. (She really was only good as a companion to his hen.) Little wonder that he returned her so soon. And was she ever happy to get home! She could hardly wait to tell her sisters about her adventure.

We have about sixteen red hens, all of whom look very similar to one another and, until now, all unnamed (unlike the silkies and aracaunas). Due to her differences from the other red hens, her unusual leaning comb and her could-have-been-fatal experience with neighbor Leon, I dubbed her Leona Combsley--Miss Leona Combsley, to be proper.

Here is Miss Leona Combsley, safe and happy at home, in photos I took September 2nd.

Miss Leona, see how her comb's leaning?

Miss Leona Combsley

Not Leona (obviously)

Who I Write Like!

2010-07-14T21:06:00.003-04:00

I write like
Douglas Adams

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Well, well, well! I am flattered! LOL

Of Mussels & Morals

2010-02-14T12:23:00.023-05:00

A few days ago Toad and I were faced with a moral dilemma that I still don't know if we resolved satisfactorily. While Toad was outside clearing snow from the drive and the car, a guy we had never met before, with two small children in his car, drove up and asked him if we wanted to buy some fresh mussels. Caught offguard, Toad failed to say "No, thanks", as I wish he would have done. Instead he told the guy, Daniel, that he would ask me and started toward the house. Daniel followed him inside, bag of mussels in hand. Now, I had never eaten a mussel up to that point and had no desire to do so, but I thought that Toad must want to try them since he brought the guy in the house. I fumbled around, unsure what to do in the situation. I felt somewhat committed to buying the mussels since the guy was right there with them, and yet I really didn't want them. Not only is the thought of eating mussels distasteful in more ways than one, killing them to do so seems morally wrong as I am certainly not dependent upon them for my survival and it was therefore unnecessary to kill them. My motto in life has always been live and let live, whenever possible. In addition, I knew that if we spent $10 dollars on that bag of mussels we would have an even harder time stretching our meager food budget through the remainder of the month. Toad, however, enjoys eating some foods that I do not, things such as liver and sardines and cretons, and I didn't want to prevent him from eating mussels just because I didn't want them. (Later Toad said that he had not eaten mussels before either, which surprised me considering the diversity of foods he claims to have eaten during his lifetime. The only food I have ever known him to dislike and refuse has been cantaloupe. Weird, huh?)

I'm fairly sure that it was obvious that I didn't want to buy them, as I kept asking Toad if he wanted to eat them (to which he replied "I don't know", most infuriatingly) and even told Daniel that I had never cooked them before and didn't know what to do with them. Undeterred by my reluctance, Daniel said that they are good boiled in beer for about five minutes, although they could also be cooked in water. Toad finally asked if we had enough money to pay for them and that was that. My pride welled within me and I felt compelled to say "Yes" so as not to appear as pitifully close to broke as we actually are. I handed over to Daniel a ten dollar bill, the only bill I had, in fact, and he handed over a good-sized bag of mussels, smiling and stating again that they were fresh. He left quickly, anxious to get back to his children, who had been honking the car horn throughout this exchange.

Toad and I looked at one another, and at the bag of live mussels, in dismay. Alright, we had purchased them--the deed was done--and now we had to do something with them. They appeared to have been cleaned and debearded, which caused us to think that returning them to the ocean was not an option. Their fate had been sealed: they were to die soon, to be food for the decomposers either directly or after being eaten by a go-between first. It would be morally wrong to *waste* them (as if all living flesh isn't eventually wasted by death) by not using them to provide nourishment to someone higher up in the food chain. Giving them away to a neighbor was an option but a poor one, we felt. We would look foolish for having bought them in the first place, with no desire to eat them and no experience with preparing them, and we would have squandered ten of our last few dollars. So that was out. They had to be cooked before anyone in our household could eat them, and once cooked there was no good reason why they shouldn't be consumed by Toad and me, rather than by Dudley, Sadie, the cats or anyone else here. We should get our money's worth and, in the process, meet the challenge of killing and cooking these doomed creatures. Nevermind that my stomach turned at the thought of eating them, in the same way it turns at the thought of eating other technically edible invertebrates such as worms and insect larvae. Just as surely as their fate was to die, my fate was to kill and consume them. I had, after all, made the decision to buy them, even if against my better judgement. As the saying goes, I had made my bed and now I must lie in it.

I started the grim process of dealing with the mussels by looking up recipes that sounded halfway palatable and that involved ingredients we had on hand. We had no beer to boil them in, as per Daniel's suggestion. Most of the recipes called for a sauce, usually a tomato-based one. We did have a couple of cans of tomatoes in the pantry. Hmmm. The next step was to clean them and make sure that they were debearded, which they apparently had been. The recipes all called for cooking the mussels before putting them in the sauce, and mentioned that if they didn't open after being boiled (or steamed) to throw them out as they were dead before being boiled alive. Oh, how I cringe at the thought of inflicting pain on another creature in any manner, and boiling one alive seems particularly barbaric to me. That's the main reason why I don't prepare lobster. I try to live by the Golden Rule, you know.

The prospect of the mussels having something wrong with them, as in not being fresh despite Daniel having stated that they were, made me even queasier than I already was, so when I opened the bag in the kitchen sink and saw that some were already open I panicked a bit. Toad was no help, having no experience with cooking mussels. I had him take the mussels to the neighbors across the road for their opinion, risking the humiliation in order to achieve, hopefully, some peace of mind. The neighbors pronounced them fit to cook and eat, and told Toad that they knew Daniel. Toad and I had figured that he was a local guy but it was reassuring to have that confirmed and to know that he could presumably be trusted. The neighbors also told Toad to make sure that the water was boiling rapidly before adding the mussels and that they liked to eat the cooked mussels fried in butter. So that is what we did with the first half of the bag of mussels. The next day I boiled the remaining mussels and added them to homemade tomato sauce, which I served over pasta.

It was upsetting to find that several of the mussels had extended threads in an effort to escape the bag and find a better environment in which to live. Via the threads they clung together in their desperation, in their desire to remain alive. Prior to dropping the poor creatures into the boiling water I apologized to them and thanked them for dying to provide nourishment for us. I still felt (and feel) guilty as hell, though, and did not, could not, enjoy eating them. I did eat my share, however, as a matter of principle. Lying in my bed, so to speak. And so I met the challenge presented by the purchase of the mussels. I fulfilled their destiny and my own as it involved them. It pained me to see the open shells with the dead bodies within, particularly those who had extended their little feet. Those I could not bear to eat. Those I made sure to place on Toad's plate. I know that it sounds odd but even now, days later, I feel as if there are little hard lumps in my stomach and gut, each lump a little mussel body. They don't belong there, physically or mentally. They belong in their natural habitat, siphoning the water and living their little lives. I wasn't the one who removed them from that life but I am the one who killed and ate them. I'll do my best to avoid this happening again. Toad and I both are practicing saying, "No, thank you".

I documented the demise of the mussels for posterity.

the bag of mussels

within the bag, some are open, some are not

one of the open mussels

a closer look at two individuals from the bag

waiting to be boiled alive

just minutes after being immersed in boiling,salted water; shells open as if gasping for life

mussel corpses, most still attached to the shells that could not protect them from death by boiling

shells with bodies removed; only adductor muscles give evidence to the tissue that once lived within

the boiled bodies, sans adductor muscles

butter for frying and flavoring the bodies

boiled bodies being sautéed in butter

Mussel Meal One: buttered (more of an appetizer, really, if a person finds such things appetizing)

Day Two: boiled bodies simmering in pasta sauce

Mussel Meal Two

By the way, Dudley benefited from the boiling of the mussels by having the juices, the milky water left after the animals were removed, used to flavor his dry feed. The chickens will benefit from the calcium shells once they are crushed and mixed with their feed. All parts of these mussels have been or will be consumed and their nutrients used. That thought gives me some comfort.

I suppose that many people wouldn't think twice about cooking and eating mussels, yet here I am still pondering what I felt that I was obligated to do and what transpired. It's a curse, this empathy and reverence for life to the point of agonizing over the deaths of a bag of mussels, yet I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope that I'm never so inured to death that I breeze through a decision to kill or otherwise harm another creature. There is already far too much of that in this world.

Irish Toast

2010-02-11T10:31:00.006-05:00

John O'Reilly hoisted his beer and said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life, between the legs of me wife!'

That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, 'I won the prize for the best toast of the night.'

She said, 'Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?'

John said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.'

'Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!' Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John's drinking buddies on the street corner.

The man chuckled leeringly and said, 'John won the prize the other night at
the pub with a toast about you, Mary...'

She said, 'Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself. You know, he's only been there twice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come.'

Five Minute Management Course

2010-02-07T11:08:00.001-05:00

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, ‘I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.’
After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, ‘Who was that?’
‘It was Bob the next door neighbor,’ she replies.
‘Great,’ the husband says, ‘did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?’
Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest apologized ‘Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.’
Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, ‘Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.’
Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out.
The Genie says, ‘I’ll give each of you just one wish.’
‘Me first! Me first!’ says the admin clerk. ‘I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.’ Puff! She’s gone.
‘Me next! Me next!’ says the sales rep. ‘I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.’ Puff! He’s gone.
‘OK, you’re up,’ the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, ‘I want those two back in the office after lunch.’
Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4:
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, ‘Can I also sit like you and do nothing?’
The eagle answered: ‘Sure, why not.’
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5:
A turkey was chatting with a bull. ‘I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree’ sighed the turkey, ‘but I haven’t got the energy.’
‘Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?’ replied the bull. They’re packed with nutrients.’
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.
Moral of the story:
Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

Lesson 6:
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly
dug him out and ate him.
Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keepyour mouth shut!

THUS ENDS THE FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

an oldie but goodie

Dudley Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

2010-02-03T16:08:00.006-05:00

As the bitterly cold weather continues (it was minus 25C when we woke up today and is currently at today's high of minus 8C), Dudley gets by with a little help from his friends--and heaps of straw.

Dudley and friends01Feb10

The chickens get the benefit of his body heat, too, so it's quite an example of mutualism. Toad snapped this photo for me, but reports that by the time he readied the camera the chickens had moved from the top of Dudley, anticipating the feed and water. He says that often when he opens the door to the shed he gets to see Dudley snuggled deep into the straw, blanketed by chickens. Hopefully one day soon he can get a photo of that idyllic scene for me.

Feed Store Cats

2010-02-02T09:23:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we braved the bitter cold to get to the feed store on behalf of Dudley and the chickens. The store is actually a trailer with bags of feed inside, open for business on Mondays and Fridays. With the extreme wind chill making it painful to be outside, these farm cats found a relatively warm place to bask in the sun, out of the wind, where they could keep an eye on things.

A True Friend

2010-01-30T10:20:00.001-05:00

Progress on the Home Front

2010-01-29T20:04:00.010-05:00

I'm still in the land of the living and feeling a little bit better. Saw the doctor nine days ago and was told to stop the blood pressure medicine and return in a week. Did that and about five days later started to feel a little less dizzy and nauseated, but still feel crummy with headaches and constant nausea and frequent dizziness. Thursday I had a follow-up visit and he felt that my blood pressure is good enough to continue without meds for a month and then return to see him. He's also ordering a brain scan to see if I have a brain, ha ha. I guess he wants to rule out a brain tumor. I don't think it's that. I asked him if it could be an inner ear problem and he said yes, but that hopefully it is something we can treat instead. Amen to that. I'm feeling a bit better but, as Toad says, am not yet ready for the Olympics.

Have you seen the tv show Hoarders? I've been watching episodes of it and find that they help me feel more motivated to get off my ass and work in the house, even if I can only accomplish a little dab of organization or cleaning. With the sickness I haven't been able to do much, but I have had two decent bouts of getting-stuff-done in the last three days. Wednesday I worked in the bathroom and got 90% or so of my toiletries organized into baskets on shelves. I also got Toad to help me hang my large round antique mirror over the sink. It's great to finally have a mirror other than the shower door or a hand mirror, and I think that it looks rather classy.

Beginnings of organization in the bathroom29Jan10
Thursday (yesterday) was my doctor appt and shopping day, so that pretty well drained me of all energy. We had to get Toad a new computer mouse, buy a few groceries, and get the car licensed for New Brunswick. My Ontario plates were good only until the end of this month and New Brunswick law stipulates that residents' cars must be registered here within a couple of weeks of being brought here. I had been nervous about driving the car with the Ontario plates on it, but now I don't have to worry about it anymore. Yay! Today I pushed myself to work in the kitchen and was able to better organize the pantry and the area under the sink. I also put away several things that were cluttering up the table. It is not finished, by any means, but it's an improvement. I've been good about keeping the dishes washed and the stove and counter clean. It hasn't been easy. Oh, I also made (and helped) Toad hang a framed art print in the living room today. Considering my dizziness and nausea I've been doing fairly well, I think.

Cat & Mouse(Owl & Toad's old mouse)28Jan10
When my son was here over the holidays I enlisted his help with putting up my magnetic knife holder, my wall shelf (over the stove) and my spice racks. What a difference those things made in the kitchen! One day I managed to get Toad to put up a peg-type coat rack on the wall by the back door to help corral his jackets and hats. A couple of weeks ago I hung simple curtains in the living room window, using white flat sheets and clip-type brass rings. So little by little I'm getting things done that help create some order in the house. It's a good feeling. Creates hope and helps chase the blues away.

Our kitchen stove "before"02Oct09

Shelf above stove29Jan10
If and when this dizziness and nausea goes away so that I can think more clearly I want to get going on my photo scanning project. I have an area set up to work on it. I just can't think well enough to get going. I feel like I'm not operating on all cylinders, if you know what I mean. I'm more forgetful than usual and just have a feeling that something is wrong in my head. I get confused easily. It's scary. But every once in a while I have a moment of clarity and get an idea to follow through with. Hence the bathroom shelves and baskets the other day and today's organizing efforts. Before I start scanning photos and documents I need to have a good labeling system in order to organize them. I've muddled up the labeling of my digital photos stored on my computer and dread having to go in and rename the files once I find a system that works for me.

When we went to the doctor nine days ago he put Toad on an antibiotic to help clear up his persistent wracking cough. He said that when a cough lasts several weeks like that it won't go away on its own. Toad is doing a lot better now, still coughing sometimes but not so frequently or so hard that I feared he would rupture something inside. He has one day of antibiotics left to go. In spite of everything he has continued to take care of the animals and keep the woodstove going. He's a trooper.

Toad & Foghorn (with peg rack in background)23Jan10

Foghorn Leghorn23Jan10
We haven't had to use the woodstove all the time, which has been a help in terms of Toad's efforts and our firewood supply. Often we let it go out because the house is too warm! What a wonderful change from those miserably cold winters back in Mattawa! We have had unseasonably warm weather here according to the locals, who get a look of wonderment on their faces when they talk about the weather. Today, though, we have had a lot of blowing snow, technically a blizzard, we hear on the radio, and starting tomorrow are in for a cold snap. We'll have cold temps but sunshine. I'm looking forward to the sunshine.

Baking bread sounds good to me. I've been wanting to bake bread since we got our stove and in November bought a big bag of flour and some yeast in preparation for the day I actually do it. My excuses have included my poor health and the state of the kitchen table (i.e. clutter). If I can get as much done in the kitchen tomorrow as I did today I should have the table available for a work surface. The big bag of flour is sitting right there in one of the chairs, begging to be opened and used. I can almost smell the bread baking....ahhhhh.

A friend wrote today and mentioned that she is re-reading Stephen King. I had to give him up years ago and, in fact, left behind my complete collection of his books when I sold the house. I find that his writing upsets me, especially the way he writes of animal torture. I can't take it. I've been avidly reading every book by Alexander McCall Smith that I can lay my hands on. I own a few of them, bought secondhand, and the library book mobile has been supplying me with the remainder. Another good read that I requested and picked up this month is The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. After reading it I watched his Last Lecture--Achieving Your Childhood Dreams on YouTube, absolutely spellbound by this man. Heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. I also read Joseph Boyden's Through Black Spruce recently and was quite impressed and pleased with it. I still have four or five books to read before Feb 12th when the book mobile comes back to our village. They've already notified me that they'll be bringing me five more books from the wish list I gave them, so I had better get cracking!

Speaking of books, I have quite a few in my living room. Getting them organized and shelved attractively (to me, at least) gives me great joy. Here is a small pocket of joy in one corner of our living room.

Joyful corner of living room19Jan10

Well, I need to quit looking at this screen now. I've been concentrating for too long and was already dizzy and nauseated before I started thinking and writing. Working in the kitchen so intently this afternoon pretty much did me in and now this screen is giving me a headache. I bid you adieu.

Asked at the climate summit...

2010-01-28T23:06:00.003-05:00

No Tapeworms In My Stomach!

2010-01-22T11:47:00.016-05:00

Created by Oatmeal

Cute quiz--love the lipstick on the *female* tapeworm!--but horribly misinformed with regard to tapeworm anatomy, reproduction and habitat. Anyone who has studied tapeworms knows that these parasitic flatworms have a scolex with hooks and suckers (no mouths or eyes), are nearly always self-fertilizing hermaphrodites (no separate males or females), and live in the host's intestine (not the stomach), where they absorbs nutrients through their body surface (tegument). The tegument, by the way, protects the tapeworm from being digested by the host's intestine. The scolex is used only for attachment to the intestine, so that the worm itself does not get passed with the feces--only the mature proglottids with fertilized eggs get passed.

See for yourself:

Life cycle of pig and cattle tapeworms, Taenia solium and Taenia saginata

Life cycle of cat and dog tapeworm

Life cycle of fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium sp.

It's too bad that this quiz and the creator of Tickles Tapeworm don't strive for accuracy before they put their work online because these could have been fun tools for educators to use to help students learn about tapeworms. As it stands, they spread misinformation and are useful only as a caution, which is my intent in this post.

Whale or Mermaid?

2010-01-18T11:59:00.007-05:00

Recently, in a large city in France ,

a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman

appeared in the window of a gym.

It said, "This summer,

do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle-aged woman,

whose physical characteristics did not match those of

the woman on the poster,

responded publicly to the question

posed by the gym.

_

To Whom It May Concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins,

sea lions, curious humans.)

They have an active sex life,

get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.

They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves

with shrimp.

They play and swim in the seas,

seeing wonderful places like Patagonia ,

the Bering Sea

and the coral reefs of Polynesia ..

Whales are wonderful singers

and have even recorded CDs.

They are incredible creatures

and virtually have no predators

other than humans.

They are loved, protected and admired

by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.

If they did exist,

they would be lining up outside the offices

of Argentinean psychoanalysts

due to identity crisis.

Fish or human?

They don't have a sex life

because they kill men who get close to them, not to

mention how could they have sex?

Just look at them ... where is IT?

Therefore, they don't have kids either.

Not to mention,

who wants to get close to a girl who smells

like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:

I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age

when media puts into our heads

the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I

prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner

with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of

chocolate with my friends.

With time, we gain weight

because we accumulate so much information and

wisdom in our heads

that when there is no more room,

it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.

So we aren't heavy,

we are enormously cultured,

educated and happy.

Beginning today,

when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think,

¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨

received in an email today...thanks, Kim!

Still alive and kicking

2010-01-14T16:07:00.011-05:00

What can I say? I'm still alive and kicking, although not very hard. A lot has happened that I haven't recorded for posterity but the urge to write a bit has struck again.

Today we made our home safer by putting a new battery in the smoke alarm in the living room (and testing it), plugging in our new CO detector (with battery backup) in the living room by the front window and testing it, and by getting our new fire extinguisher out of the box and setting it in the living room, ready to be mounted onto the wall as soon as we get the right screws for it. I bought the 9V batteries for the smoke alarm right before Christmas but hadn't gotten around to putting one in the living room smoke alarm until today. I bought the CO detector/alarm and fire extinguisher in Portland, Maine, on my birthday and resolved to get them ready for action on my return home. Unfortunately I was ill and unable to even remember to take these safety measures until this afternoon, but now they are done. When I locate my smoke alarms that I brought (new) from Indiana five years ago I'll get Toad to put one in each bedroom and the front hall. I think that there are 3 or 4 new ones to put up. At the moment I can't get to the place where I think they are due to this dizziness.

Toad and I have been watching some videos lately as we both recuperate. Tuesday we watched Silk, one of three DVDs I borrowed from the book mobile in early December. It was very slow but okay, I guess. Afterward we watched one of my all-time favorite movies, a Dutch film called Antonia's Line, which is anything but slow. I highly recommend it. Toad had not seen it before and I had not seen it for a few years, since I lived in Indiana. A good friend had borrowed from the library in Indianapolis and had recommended it to me. It is a remarkable film!

Yesterday we watched Simon & Garfunkel, the Concert in Central Park, the second DVD from the book mobile. It was terrific! I can't believe how young they were and how beautiful their voices were together. Today we are going to watch the third DVD from the book mobile, since tomorrow morning I have to return all three and the six books I borrowed. The third DVD is a French film titled C'est pas moi je le jure! (It's not me I SWEAR!) which has English subtitles. By the time the book mobile gets to our area most of the DVDs have been picked over,,so these three were the only ones left that interested me. In November I borrowed one DVD Polytechnique, which we enjoyed very much, although it seems wrong to say we enjoyed watching such a tragic story. It was, of course, a very sombre and violent film, but the events it portrays are important parts of history and deserve our attention, our remembrance. We watched the DVD just a few days prior to the 20th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre, which made it even more poignant to us.

I received notices from the NB Library Service that tomorrow I'll be able to pick up three books and one DVD that I requested in December. The DVD is The Weatherman, starring Nicolas Cage, a movie I first watched with Emily during my visit with her in September. I really like it, even though Kyle says that he and James didn't like it. He brought me James' DVD when he came to visit for the holidays and said that James didn't want it back. By that time I had already received word from the library that the DVD was on the book mobile for me to pick up in January, so I will go ahead and get it. I'll probably watch it again for a third time. Toad and I watched it while Kyle was here and I don't think that Toad liked it nearly as much as I do. Too bad.

I'll talk about the books another time. We are getting ready to watch the DVD now.

Some Experiences With Acadian Food

2009-09-29T14:44:00.013-04:00

During my early April trip to the Bouctouche area in search of a home for us I was intrigued by a dish listed on the menu of the B&B: Râpée. What I was served was a sort of potato pie and, to be honest, I did not like it. It tasted even worse than it looked. It looked and tasted burnt.

Much as I love potatoes I couldn't eat more than a bite or two; I took the remainder back to my room with me in case my stomach pangs eventually overruled my taste buds, but I ended up throwing it away, painstakingly wrapped to disguise it for fear that the maid would think that I was insulting Acadians by dissing their food. Later during that trip I heard of another Acadian dish called poutine râpée, not available on the B&B menu but said to be really tasty and much better than poutine québécois. I decided to wait to try this Acadian dish with Toad, if and when we moved to the area, which postponed a possible second gustatory disappointment. Our realtor had cautioned me to be sure to get fresh poutine râpée because if it is not fresh it is not good.

A week or so after our move Toad and I made a trip to the Service Canada office in Richibucto and found, also in the mall, a bakery called Cook Nook. We were exhausted and hungry, as we often are, and had been hoping to get a sandwich; we were dismayed to see only sweets and breads on the menu. The bakery has four small tables along the side windows that presented a welcoming spot to rest and have a goodie of some sort. We noticed two women being brought some unusual-looking spherical food and asked the waitress what the dish was. That was our first experience with poutine râpée in the flesh, so to speak. It turns out that the Cook Nook makes a limited amount of poutine râpée every Thursday and it is available first-come, first-served until they run out. We had had the good fortune to find the bakery on a Thursday, at lunchtime. Lucky us! We both enjoyed the dish, especially Toad. Not only is the poutine râpée tasty, it is fairly inexpensive at $2.75 a serving. Since that Thursday we have gone back to the Cook Nook several times for a bite and to buy baked goods or dried legumes from their bulk food section.

If and when we get a kitchen stove and once again have an oven I hope to try my hand at making a version of poutine râpée, modified a bit as far as the filling goes. I'm not really keen on salt pork. The recipe I intend to use as a base is here, along with some history of the dish. It is potato dumpling with salt pork filling, floured and simmered for 2 to 2.5 hours in salted water. The potato dumpling is made of mashed potatoes mixed with grated potatoes ("râpée" means "grated"). Last Thursday when we were in Richibucto for a medical appointment we stopped in at the Cook Nook and I took a few photos of Toad's poutine râpée for posterity.

The third time that we ate at the Cook Nook we split a different kind of Acadian poutine that my sweet tooth and I really enjoy: Poutine à Trou (recipe here). This is a dessert dumpling with a hole in the top ("trou" means "hole") full of goodies; diced apples, cranberries and raisins are placed in a pastry shell that is folded around them to form a ball, a hole is made in the top and the dumpling is baked. When nearly baked, brown sugar syrup is poured into the hole to make the dumpling nice and juicy within yet not soggy. Yum! These I will definitely bake for us when we get an oven! Here are photos of my scrumptious Poutine à Trou at the Cook Nook last Thursday.

And here are a few photos of the bakery itself. Their pies are delicious and are much in demand, as is their bread, in the Cook Nook and in the area co-ops. I highly recommend this bakery and feel very fortunate to have it fairly nearby.

Phillip Toledano photo essay: days with my father

2009-09-27T12:40:00.002-04:00

Not everyone has (or had) a father they love and admire as much as Phillip Toledano did his, but most of us can still appreciate the bond between these two men and the beauty of the images and the prose found in the photo essay days with my father. I was moved to tears.

Swollen Knees

2009-09-21T10:53:00.001-04:00

Mattawa Royalty: Princesses and Queens in Stitches

2009-09-20T11:03:00.021-04:00

At the end of May, during the stress and mayhem of looking for a new home, I had a lovely respite one Thursday evening in Mattawa when I attended the first Blue Sky Stitcher's Ladies Night Out. It had been a busy week, for in addition to arranging the details of the move and the mortgage I had managed my final PEP Talk the evening before and had attended my last MWRC board meeting that Wednesday as well. I was meeting myself coming and going, as the saying goes. So I was very weary on the evening of May 28th, and, to be honest, not looking forward to getting dressed up to attend the fundraising event. But I had promised to buy a ticket from the organizer, and had parted with $10 for it, and some social conscience or whatnot within me prompted me to support the group with my presence as well as my ticket money. It was to be my last hurrah in Mattawa, as I would not be in town for Voyageur Days or any other event. I went.

I went alone, taking for granted that I would see familiar faces to join. As it turned out my friends were either working at the event or were sitting in groups with their friends and their tables were full. I have always been somewhat of a loner and never minded attending anything alone, so I found a seat at the back where I could rest and observe the festivities. The size of the audience was a pleasant surprise. As you can see in the photos there were a lot of women enjoying this night out with the girls, all of us given tiaras at the door and treated like princesses.

My friend Princess Jeannine

Princesses Jeannine and Ginger

view from the back of the room

view from the front of the room following the auction (note basket on table), when most of the crowd had left

Initially we were entertained by a musical family who played and sang while we selected our choice of several tasty-sounding desserts and tea or coffee. And then there was a great build-up to one of the main events (the other being the auction): a 'fashion show' was in store for us, one kept so deliciously secret that we were forbidden to photograph it. Accompanied by pop music selections 'appropo' to each model's outfit, local 'girls' (men in drag) danced and cavorted along the aisle runway as the emcee described their clothing and accessories. I recognized two of the models, but had to ask the woman next to me (a local) who a particularly cute model was. It was my insurance agent, Pierre/Pierrette! Hahaha! He was gorgeous and gregarious--quite a wonderful queen of the night! The fashion show certainly turned what could easily have been a blah event into an evening of revelry and did wonders for my worn spirit. The auction (too rich for my blood) followed the fashion show; many lovely items were up for bid, with the money going to support the Blue Sky Stitchers.

Displayed around the room, but with the majority behind the area where I sat, were dozens of beautiful quilts created by members of the Blue Sky Stitchers. I took photos of several of the quilts and other handiwork, and have shared some of them here. Click on images to enlarge them.

There were two very specially crafted items which were lovingly displayed to us by two of the princess stitchers and then placed in the entry for the rest of the evening (see photos). These items were stitched in honor of a member of the group who passed away from cancer several months ago.

This needlepoint is to be displayed in the hospital chapel

I'm not sure where this angel quilt will be permanently displayed

Here in New Brunswick we still are not settled into our house so I have yet to get involved with any volunteer or social organizations. I miss the occasional outings I had with friends back in Mattawa, but have a lot of good memories from my three years there and look forward to seeing my friends when I return to Mattawa for a visit (and to pick up my car) in a few weeks.

Bathroom Poem for Those of Us With Septic Tanks

2009-08-25T10:45:00.002-04:00

Those of us with septic tanks,
Would like to give a word of thanks,
For putting nothing in the pot,
That isn't guaranteed to rot.
Kleenex is bad, cigarettes too,
Feminine products are taboo,
No hair combings please - use the basket.
There's a very good reason why we ask it.
With your kind cooperation
We'll keep our tank in operation!
--Author Unknown

Actually, these are good rules to follow for any septic or sewer system.

Beauty

2009-08-10T15:36:00.010-04:00

The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you'll soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you wisely invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.
--Frank Lloyd Wright

Here and below: a tiny bit of the beauty found along the road near my home09August09

Sometimes I can barely control my urge to photograph every leaf, flower, insect and tree I encounter on my walks, as I find them all so beautiful individually and in combination with their surroundings. I want to preserve them all just as they are, to give them the immortality afforded by a photographic image, such that it is.

My compulsion to preserve the beauty of life, whether plant or animal (including but not favoring human) is often overwhelming. I love to photograph people alone and in groups, but especially when they are with someone they care about and in a situation that many would consider commonplace, such as while chatting after a meeting. When I cannot control myself any longer I go up to them and ask if I can take their photo together; I have yet to have anyone refuse me this pleasure. Until I get the photo I feel a burden, a worry within me that if I don't take their photo they may never have their photo taken together, that it is my responsibility to provide each of them with this "proof", this evidence, of their relationship at that moment. I know that I'm not expressing my feelings as well as I would like, but I want to convey the need that I feel to take their photo and to give each of them a copy of the photo so that they might, like me, see the beauty and feel the joy that emanates from them and from me at that moment.

Perhaps I am just high on life at these times, or perhaps I'm suffering from OCD. Perhaps I feel unable to just "be" without a purpose, to live in the moment and enjoy the experience and accept the ephemerality of it. Or perhaps I fear that I won't be able to remember what I have seen without the photographic image to stimulate my memory. I don't know. It is probably a combination of all these reasons that produces my compulsion to create photos that preserve slices of life, beautiful life.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
It's loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
--John Keats

I want to help keep the beauty I see from passing into nothingness, to preserve the loveliness of the plant or animal or human face as it was when I experienced it, for its sake and for mine. As long as I have the image it will live, if only in my memory; as long as I have the image I will be able to remember and appreciate its beauty. Years ago I read a heart-wrenching story by a mother whose young son was terminally ill. Each moment with him was precious to her. She poignantly wrote of an image of him standing before her that remains vivid in her memory: "My heart took a picture."

What happens to the pictures our hearts take when our memories fail us?

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I look at my photographs I remember the beauty of the moments in which I took them, and my spirits are lifted. I am rich in photographs and in the memories they invoke, memories that too often elude me unless prompted by the images.

Some people would be bored with this life...but not me!

2009-07-25T19:31:00.005-04:00

Wild roses in the drainage ditch by our driveway

Nothing exciting to report. No big adventures on the beautiful beaches. Sometimes life is the other kind of 'beach'. Naw, it isn't that bad. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather, I guess. It's been raining here most of the day and I've been fighting a sinus headache, so haven't accomplished much. I did fix us a decent meal a while ago (a really tasty macaroni salad and marinated steaks) and did dishes today--twice! I'm trying my best to stay on top of them. I also unpacked three medium-sized boxes of kitchen stuff and found homes for most of the items. I'm still so exhausted from the move that I can barely function. Any exertion, no matter how small it seems, still requires a long rest, so it is taking me a l-o-n-g time to get things done here. It also doesn't help that I don't want to unpack much until I get some painting done and furniture rearranged. So it's slow going. Poor Toad is having as hard a time as I am, or maybe an even harder time. He sleeps a lot more than I do, and is sleeping as I write this. But then, it's a sleepy kind of day today.

Wildflowers in our front yard/meadow: buttercups, vetch, daisies and clover

This afternoon Toad managed to cut out more of the nasty living room carpet and I helped bag the pieces to get them ready for the garbage pickup early Monday morning. Nearly half the carpet is up and out now, leaving bare plywood with stains but still looking less horrible than the carpet. We are going to paint the plywood floors with porch and floor paint and see how that looks and lasts, and may get a couple of inexpensive 5x7 rugs for the living room. I can hardly wait to get the walls and floor painted so that I can add books to the bookcases and put some pictures on the walls! I haven't yet decided on the living room wall color, but we chose a darkish brown--sort of a milk chocolate color--for the floor. It's supposed to be self-sealing. We'll see. With all these cats and Sadie we have to have something that will stand up to spills and hairballs and "accidents" and be fairly easy to maintain. Hopefully it will be a dry day tomorrow and I will feel up to starting the floor painting. I'm going to have to do it in small sections due to my tendency toward fatigue and the necessity of cordoning off the painted area so that the cats don't get into it. I'm going to try putting wire cages over the newly painted areas so that air will circulate but cats won't. Wish me luck with that! The paint is supposed to dry for 48 hours, so it will take several days to paint the living room floor. Hopefully it won't need two coats!

Wildflowers in our front yard/meadow: common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

This evening I'm just sitting here catching up on some blogs that I follow and looking at ideas for decorating and for organizing stuff in the bathroom and kitchen--dreaming. Occasionally a car passes or Toad snores or one of the cats wakes up and decides to walk across the room. Otherwise it is very quiet here, save for the soothing droning of a fan, which is a relief for my aching head. I may have to give in and take something for this blasted sinus headache, but I don't like feeling all dried out from the over-the-counter sinus stuff. I've been making do with hot tea or broth every couple of hours to steam my head a bit.

Tufted vetch (Vicia sp.)) in our front yard/meadow

Some people would be bored with this life, but the older I get the more content I become with living quietly. To live within our financial means required the huge upheaval that got us here to our own home in New Brunswick, but now we can unwind and monkey about at our own pace. We are finally able to feel at home and able to do, or not do, as we please. I don't know, maybe this will get old after a while and I will long for more excitement, but for now I am quite content. Life is good.

Dudley and Foghorn roaming in the backyard meadow

Life's a Beach!

2009-07-22T18:12:00.012-04:00

We survived the move! Hurrah!

I've been busier than a one-armed paperhanger since April, making trips to find and buy us a house and then arranging for and going through the move. The move itself was fairly traumatic--it was the first time I've paid for "professional" help. I wasn't ready (there wasn't enough time)and the movers were rough with my furniture and boxes, no matter that I paid them a LOT of money to load, transport and unload it. I hope to never move again, but if I end up having to move it certainly will not be with the "help" of this moving company. Moving day was pretty much a nightmare. I had to leave a few hours after the movers left in an attempt to get to the house before they arrived. I couldn't make it in time (one driver vs. two), and so they were here about three hours before me--long enough to unload the furniture and place it fairly randomly in the house and throw clothes and loose stuff all over the place. As our realtor said when she arrived that evening to see me, "What a shitty job!" I had them unload most of the boxes into a storage unit I rented about six miles from the house so that we would have room to move around in the house and get some painting and floor work done before bringing home and unpacking the boxes.

I stayed at the house, exhausted, for a few days (during which it rained the whole time) before heading back to Ontario to pick up Toad and our creatures, and to deal with things that didn't make it onto the moving van. The hot weather in Ontario made doing anything more difficult, but we did our best to clear the house of our stuff and get what we wanted stored in the car, which I left with a friend and will retrieve in a few weeks. With the help of our good neighbors, who we were sad to leave, we got Dudley, six hens, four roosters, three degus, six doves, two cockatiels, one lovebird, two frogs, two turtles, seven cats, one dog, one desktop computer and monitor, one laptop computer, sundry tools and miscellaneous items, one purse, one bag of important papers, one exhausted Toad and one beyond exhausted driver (me) into the truck and on the road by 6:43pm eastern time. And off we went on our great adventure!

It took me 29 hours to drive Toad and our family of animals here from Ontario--29 sleepless hours, since we had to keep the air moving through the truck at all times in order to keep the animals alive. Everyone lived, thank goodness, and we arrived at our new home in New Brunswick on July 1st--Canada Day. Since then we have been recuperating and getting some necessary paperwork and renovations done. We're too exhausted to paint and fix the flooring, which needs to be done before we unpack very much, but eventually we'll get it done. I figure that I have the rest of my life to unpack. Now it's time to relax and recover from the trauma of the move.

We've explored a bit but not as much as we would like. We love the beaches here and living near the ocean where the air is fresh and clean. I still can't believe that we live so close to the ocean now and can be there in two minutes whenever the mood strikes to go! Sadie really enjoys the beach, too. She romps in the water like a little child! Here she is:

And then she found a Frisbee! Oh, joy!

The amount and variety of seafood up here is amazing. The people are very friendly and open. This was a good move for us. Our animals are happy. Like us, they have all settled in and are enjoying life here. Dudley roams about the backyard or lies by the shed, happy as a pig in you-know-what. We are keeping the roosters separate from the hens, so some days the hens roam the yard and other days Foghorn is free to roam. Eventually we'll arrange for all of them to have yards with chicken wire to protect them from predators, but for now this arrangement is working. Peedy and Tula are in a cage in the shed, and Popper is in his own cage in the shed, as we don't have the house arranged to provide a place for them where the cats can't get at them. They enjoy the fresh air and being outside in this glorious weather.

So far we have had a new roof and trim put on the house (all but the eavestroughs, which will be put on any day now), a 6' x 10' back deck built, and had an antenna installed on the new roof to provide Internet access. We were without Internet for a month and suffered some withdrawal, but not as much as I thought we would. We were just too tired to even miss being able to go online. The only problem I had was with trying to do online banking and bill-paying, but the library Internet served for that until we got online at home. Our Internet is actually faster here than it was in Mattawa, which is great.

We are getting more work (including lots of insulation!) done on the house soon. Toad has done a bit of plumbing inside and is working on making the closets more functional. We have made many trips to the hardware store already, and are just getting started. I'm monkeying around in the house, doing little things and getting ready to start painting, starting with the living room floor. After I paint I can get serious about unpacking, but I can't push myself too hard.

After I recuperate a bit more and get more settled into the house I plan to apply for work. I don't know what I'll find, if anything, due to the economy tanking so badly. I've gotten so used to not working that I sort of dread doing it again. Maybe if it's the right job for me I'll feel better about working. I could certainly use the money--the move was expensive and just about maxed out my credit card. So I do need to find a job, unfortunately. Otherwise I just might turn into a beach bum, ha ha.

We are moving!

2009-05-30T18:11:00.005-04:00

It's been crazy around here for several months as we looked for a house we could afford and fretted over the amount of rent and heating fuel we pay for a house that is only warm in warm weather. I won't go into details here about ignorant landlords and other troubles we've encountered, as these have been eclipsed by some good fortune that has come our way at long last. Not monetary fortune, unfortunately, at least not in the sense of winning a lottery or being given a bucket of money. No, our good fortune has been to find a house we can afford and to actually buy it! No more rent--just a mortgage payment that combined with taxes and insurance is far less than what we have been paying to the insensitive pricks who own the property where we live in Ontario.

Our house (and boy, is it ever wonderful to be able to write those two words!) is in beautiful New Brunswick, very near the Atlantic coast--less than two miles from the ocean! We have 39 acres with lots of trees and a fair amount of privacy, although we do have neighbors in view unlike here in Mattawa, so we can take Dudley and most of our chickens and live the way we want to live. The house is a bit small, considering the amount of stuff I have to put in it, but I'll manage somehow. It has three small bedrooms, a good-sized living room and a kitchen with quite a few cabinets with room on top for baskets and other pretty storage containers (and cats!). We are having a new roof, fascia and veranda put on, as well as a new deck on the back, so the roughness of the outside will be smoothed out quite a bit, especially after we finish the veranda and deck. Eventually we will enclose the veranda, but for now we'll leave it open.

I have a lot of packing and stacking to do before the movers come, so I need to get back to it. The adrenalin is flowing, thank goodness, so I am able to do what needs to be done. I can hardly wait to get through this move and be able to relax at home or at the beach (!) with Toad and Sadie. I have the rest of my life to unpack and redecorate. Life is good.

Snapdragon Time

2009-04-22T12:46:00.003-04:00

I just wanted you to know I have entered the snapdragon part of my life.

part of me has snapped ...

and the rest of me is draggin'

The Real Meaning of Courage

2009-03-26T15:16:00.000-04:00

What's the meaning of courage?

Is it to fight a bull in a bullring?

Is it to drive a formula 1 car?

Is it to fly a fighter into combat?

Is it to practice free fall parachuting?

Is it bungee jumping or white water rafting?

Is it to gamble your salary on a coin toss?

Is it to insult the doorman in a bar?

Is it to insult your boss?
Bullsh!t.....that's nothin'.

THIS is COURAGE!!!

The Effect of Chance Encounters on the Pattern of a Person's Life

2009-03-08T14:19:00.011-04:00

Decision-tree

I have been a great fan of Alexander McCall Smith's writing since reading his work for the first time. The book of his that came to my attention (found in a book sale) and quickly won my heart was Tears of the Giraffe, from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Series. Since then I have been able to obtain (through the local library) several of his other books and have thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. I have been unable to get my hands every book he has written, which is sad in some respects, because my longing to read them all is so great. Yet it's also a bit satisfying in that I haven't read them all yet--I still have something to look forward to. Several somethings, including all his latest books.

Anyway, several months ago I visited this author's website and was invited to sign up to receive newsletters from him, which I did. Every once in a while he takes time out of his busy schedule to write a newsy letter for his fans, describing his activities and progress in writing and publishing new works. Two days ago I received his latest newsletter, in which he mentioned that he had finished the last few episodes of his online serial novel Corduroy Mansions, which can be found in the Daily Telegraph in print or as an audio podcast (read by Andrew Sachs).

Yesterday I started reading the print version of Corduroy Mansions in the Daily Telegraph and was hooked from the first chapter. I spent the evening reading chapter after chapter, making my way through eighty of the one hundred chapters. Today I finished the remaining twenty chapters, and was left wanting to read more about the delightful characters and their lives. In his newsletter AMS notes that he hopes to continue this series. I hope that he does. While reading yesterday I was moved by this poignant passage in Chapter 42 that effectively describes reflections on life that I often think about, and have discussed with friends and family:

The pattern of one’s life could not be changed by a chance encounter in the parking place of the Mermaid Inn. And yet, it could – lives, even our own, could be changed by such apparently insignificant events, and Barbara knew it. An apparently throwaway remark by one person could send another in a direction that would have profound consequences for what they did. "Why don’t you write poetry?" one young schoolboy had said to another young schoolboy – the sort of thing that boys used to say to one another in more literate days, and the sort of remark that might have no effect on the world unless . . . unless the boy to whom the suggestion was made was none other than the young Wystan Auden. Perhaps a similar boy had said to another small boy called Horatio, "Why don’t you go to sea?", and the juvenile Nelson had replied, "Yes, why not?"

So, in less elevated circles, we might toss a coin as to whether or not to go to a party, decide to go, and there meet the person whom we are to marry and spend our lives with. And if that person came, say, from New Zealand, and wanted to return, then we might find ourselves spending our life in Christchurch. Not that spending one’s lifetime in Christchurch is anything less than very satisfactory – who among us would not be happy living in a city of well-behaved people, within reach of mountains, where the civic virtues ensure courtesy and comfort and where the major problems of the world are an ocean away? But had the coin fallen the other way – as coins occasionally do – then that wholly different prospect might never have opened up and one might spend the rest of one’s days in the place where one started out. Or one might pick up a newspaper abandoned in a train by a person not well trained in those same civic virtues, open it, and chance to see an advertisement for a job that one would not otherwise have seen. And that same job might take one into the path of risk, and that very risk may materialise and end one’s life prematurely. Again the act of picking up the paper has consequences unglimpsed at the time, but profound nonetheless.

Profound, indeed. I often reflect upon the whys and hows of my own life's pattern that has so far resulted in my being who I am and my living in northern Ontario with the Toad rather than living in totally different circumstances. Chance remarks and encounters have played a large role in my life, shaping my experiences and choices all along the way. My decision to go to university, my decision to major in biology rather than something more practical and lucrative, the way I met each of the men I married, the way I found the jobs I took...all these life-changing events were shaped by chance remarks and encounters. For example, I once met a pair of women sitting in front of me at a basketball game who overheard me talking to my boyfriend (my future first husband) about needing a job and turned around to offer me a job working for them. That job and the people associated with it is a story in itself.

The story of how Toad and I met in the first place also revolves around chance remarks and encounters...and look at us now. In 2004, while I was bemoaning some frustrating experiences with forced attendance at churches during the last few months of my son's Eagle Scout quest, a friend at work mentioned that I might be interested in attending the UU church, which she had done once or twice but had decided to not pursue. In addition to wanting to help my son through his 'religious' ordeal forced upon him by his scoutmaster, I was lonely and searching for stimulating connections with others. So my son and I visited the UU and discovered that we knew several members there already (UU members are very low-key and not at all evangelical, thank Dog). We attended two or three times together, enough for my son to complete his scoutmaster's dictatorial church attendance requirement (even though he was most unhappy that my son attended the UU), and I chose to continue going to the Sunday services.

One of the UU members, a joyful atheist with a bawdy sense of humor, was quite friendly and sat with me when I first attended the UU alone. We bandied jokes and puns and quickly became friends. After a few weeks there was an important event at the UU on a Sunday evening and my friend invited me to go to a local pub afterward with him and several of his UU friends. There I met two incredibly fascinating men, and we became fast friends. Three months or so later one of these men convinced me to become a member of an online discussion forum he was heavily involved with. I joined it in January 2005 and there I met my Toad. By March we were so emotionally involved that I wanted to meet him in person rather than stick with emails and phone calls only. In early May I drove to northern Ontario to meet him face to face. We were married in mid-August. And here I am.

Just as we follow links during our online activities, we can move from link to link to link in our lives, and in doing so we choose our own path. Some links break after we visit them and there is no going back. Others lead to a variety of choices that each, in turn, branch out into even more links to choose from. When we stray from the path we are on we create a new path for ourselves. My path has led me from Indiana to northern Ontario. Financial circumstances keep us here for the time being, but who knows what link will take me to another place. Perhaps I'll encounter a job opportunity that will link me to another location. Who knows?

Ginger

My Philosophical Toad28January09

Show of hands

2009-02-22T18:35:00.005-05:00

We've been pretty much snowed in...again. I had a meeting in town last Thursday, four days ago, and had a hard enough time driving the snow-covered roads during yet another snow storm to get there. Driving home was quite nerve-wracking, as I frequently couldn't distinguish road from roadside due to all the snow, which was still falling. I stuck to the middle of what I thought was the road and, thankfully, met no oncoming traffic during my five-mile drive home, but the experience was harrowing. At least I had the snow tires! Under all that snow is ice, so without snow tires I couldn't drive on the roads at all. One good thing about it snowing, other than the beauty of fresh snow, is that it is warm enough to snow. It's been brutally cold here this winter, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 44C and staying very cold for days at a time, so the minus 6C temperature outside right now (on the way down to minus 16C tonight, with colder temps forecast for tomorrow) is relatively balmy. Sheesh.

A frequent sight at our house this winter21Feb09

Our expensive, relatively new (purchased December 2007) snow blower doesn't want to start when it is cold outside, even when warm enough to snow! Toad has to monkey with it to get it going, sometimes putting it under a tent with a heater. He couldn't get it going Friday but finally got it started Saturday afternoon and blew the snow out of the driveway in case we needed to drive anywhere in a hurry. There is still something wrong with the engine, it surges over and over (I know very little about engines but can hear that something is wrong), but at least it worked long enough for Toad to get the worst of the snow removed by dark yesterday.

Our driveway is a sheet of ice. Literally. See for yourself. It's been that way for several weeks. Ten days ago, on Friday the 13th, I had an appointment to get the windshield replaced on the truck, in preparation to have it inspected as part of the process to import it to Canada (unlike me, it is still a visitor here for now). It had no snow tires on and hadn't been driven since the winter weather set in due to the tire situation and to the fact that it had problems starting last fall. It started, thank goodness, since I suspect that the solenoid needs to be replaced yet again (I bought one in Indiana when I drove the car down to pick up my son for semester break, along with snow tires for the car). Although it started, it would not move! There was no traction, and the wheels had sunk into the ice beneath them. Neither of us could push hard enough to move the truck. Merda! The garage had to send out a tow truck to pull the truck back a few feet so that I could drive it. The mechanic was horrified by our sheet-of-ice-driveway and carefully drove the truck out of the drive and onto the road for me. At that point there was no snow cover to provide even a bit of traction. Now there is snow, which makes navigating the icy driveway a bit less risky, so there's another benefit of having snow. I had two snow tires put on the truck while it was at the garage and was able to make it home okay. Driving the winding, icy roads to get to the garage, though, was harrowing. The mechanic followed me all the way in the tow truck to be sure that I made it there alright. He's a good guy.

There's other stuff going on, and a lot of stuff not going on, in my life these days but now is not a good time to go into it. I've been in quite a funk. Perhaps I need a change of scenery. Or weather. Or something. I'm still trying to get it sorted out.

The Difference Between a Toad and a Toady

2009-02-08T13:07:00.014-05:00

Toadie's T-shirt

Toad and I are always a bit amused and more than a bit dismayed whenever a well-meaning friend addresses him as "Toadie"* (see below) or "Toady" as a sign of affection. Apparently they don't understand the negative connotation associated with this term. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a "Toady" is "one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors: sycophant", with "parasite" listed as a synonym. Hmmmph! The etymology is given as a "shortening and alteration from toadeater". How horrible!

Here's more, from The Free Dictionary:

Word History: The earliest recorded sense (around 1690) of toady is "a little or young toad," but this has nothing to do with the modern usage of the word. The modern sense has rather to do with the practice of certain quacks or charlatans who claimed that they could draw out poisons. Toads were thought to be poisonous, so these charlatans would have an attendant eat or pretend to eat a toad and then claim to extract the poison from the attendant. Since eating a toad is an unpleasant job, these attendants came to epitomize the type of person who would do anything for a superior, and toadeater (first recorded 1629) became the name for a flattering, fawning parasite. Toadeater and the verb derived from it, toadeat, influenced the sense of the noun and verb toad and the noun toady, so that both nouns could mean "sycophant" and the verb toady could mean "to act like a toady to someone."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Needless to say, Toad doesn't much care for having his name besmirched by adding a y or an ie to the end and thereby changing his image from that of a perfectly wonderful creature to one of a sycophant! However, even the marvelous, lovable Mr. Toad of Toad Hall has had the same unintentionally insulting nickname used to address or refer to him at times, so my Toad is in good company.

My Toad28Jan09

Mr. Toad

I love them both, warts and all!

*By the way, as a noun the word Toadie is not spelled correctly. The correct spelling is Toady, with the plural being Toadies. The verb forms for those who fawn and flatter are toadies, toadying, and toadied. (Being toadied has another meaning for me, speaking from personal experience, but that is indeed too personal to discuss here. ;0 )

The Book of Negroes

2009-01-29T11:48:00.001-05:00

I finished The Book of Negroes two days ago. It is a very good read, all about slavery and man's inhumanity to man, as you might expect. But what was especially interesting to me was the emphasis on Black Loyalists and how they were treated by the Brits. The only flaw that I noticed, and felt quite keenly, was that all whites are portrayed as awful human beings while all blacks are not--just some of the blacks are, and most of those have excuses made for them--they had to do what they did to survive. All whites are portrayed as weak or evil or pathetic. Even the abolitionists are described unfavorably. So that put me off a bit. Otherwise it is a fascinating work of historical fiction, obviously quite well-researched by the author.

The CBC has a good interview with the author, Lawrence Hill, here, in which he discusses various aspects of his book and how it relates to Canadian history.

Thoughts on a cold Saturday afternoon

2009-01-24T14:30:00.009-05:00

Miss Sadie20Jan09

Sadie and our cats have been moping about the house since Beau's departure. Poor Sadie started limping yesterday, holding her left foot up and giving us sorrowful looks. Toad has felt her foot, leg and hip and found nothing wrong. She doesn't cry out when the foot, leg or hip is touched. We suspect that she may be expressing her sadness either at the loss of her brother or as an empathetic gesture because Toad and I are so sad, or both. Hopefully she is not injured physically. The cats have all been keeping a low profile, except for the Owl, who romped about a bit this morning, getting into mischief.

A couple of people who know the guy who claims Beau is his dog (Digger) and took him from our yard this past Wednesday say that they are fairly sure that Beau is not chained up outdoors. I don't know anyone who knows the guy very well, but have heard from two people now that he is a "good guy". I hope so, for Beau's sake.

I wanted to go by the guy's house and peek about yesterday when I was in town helping at the high school, but as fate would have it three things stopped me from doing it. The main stopper was that I was asked to give a friend a ride home from the school, so couldn't very well say let's go look around this house on the way home--word would get around that I was stalking the guy's house, which I suppose I would be doing. Second, the temperature was dropping quickly and ice was already formed on my car when I left the school yesterday afternoon and I had to quickly fill the car tank lest ice crystals form in the gasoline (it happened in our 5-gallon gas can!) and screw up the car engine. Third, a painful reason, was that during my stint of helping at the school my lower back seized up and I had a horrible time even trying to stand and get my coat on and get to the car, let alone clean the ice off and get out to pay for the gas in the station. I needed to get my friend home and then get home myself as quickly as possible to take ibuprofen and try to get some pain relief. I'm fairly sure that the type of chair I was sitting in for much of the day at school is the cause of my back muscles seizing the way they did. I have to be very careful to not sit on hard surfaces such as bleachers or hard chairs because of my back, and the chairs in the conference room we were in are hard plastic. I've digressed, though, from my excuses for not checking on Beau's house yesterday. Or today.

With my back spasms and general feeling of crappiness and lethargy I haven't been able to do much at all today aside from prepare and eat a bowl of cereal and sit here in my chair with a pillow at my back, hoping for some pain relief via position and ibuprofen. It is very cold outside (minus 21C), so we have the car battery in the house to keep it warm enough to start the car when needed. The house is quite chilly despite the wood stove, the oil furnace (still awaiting the repairman who will replace the burner motor), and the insulation and plastic that Toad and I have put around the windows inside. There is a draft coming from somewhere. I have on two shirts and a jacket, two pair of pj pants, three pair of socks, house slippers, and am wrapped in a sheepskin--and I'm still chilly! My nose is as cold as a dog nose.

Yesterday evening I started reading The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill, and am just about ready to get off this computer and lose myself in this novel. I'll have to re-read the first seven pages, which is as far as I made it last night, because I was in such pain that I can only remember a little bit of what I read and that it was so good that I didn't want to stop reading. I actually fell asleep while reading, sitting in my chair, and didn't go to bed until Toad roused me at 2AM when he got up to put more wood in the stove. If I can find a comfortable position, with the help of more ibuprofen and perhaps a heating pad, I'll be spending the rest of this cold Saturday in bed with my new book. Escapism isn't all bad. It gives a person a chance to heal a bit so that life's challenges, both good and bad, can be met with renewed passion and energy.

At times like these I want to keep in mind these inspirational words:

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.--George Bernard Shaw

Goodbye to Beauregard

2009-01-22T10:36:00.016-05:00

We had a sad evening, night and are now having a sad morning. Beauregard, the collarless dog we found in the street in town last October and reported to the bylaw officer, the dog no one looked for and who settled in so readily with us, the dog we quickly came to love dearly, was taken away yesterday by a guy who claims to be his owner. I was away in North Bay when it happened. Toad was doing chores outside, with our sweet Sadie and lovable Beau playing in the yard as they always do whenever one of us is outdoors. Toad came in the house for a few minutes. When he went back outside Beau was gone and didn't return when called. He sometimes would go to visit Sheba, our neighbors' dog, and then return (Sheba, likewise, visits us frequently), so Toad wasn't worried. When he didn't return after an hour or so Toad walked to the neighbors' house to fetch him. Beau hadn't been there. Now Toad was worried. After a while he got a phone call from a guy who drives the recycle truck, telling him that when he drove the truck past our house he saw a dog he recognized as his, opened his door and the dog jumped into the truck with him. Off they went, not saying anything to Toad at the time. This guy calls the dog Digger. I don't know why he finally called or how he got our number, but at least he did call. Toad was so shocked and grieved that he can't recall much of their conversation, other than the guy telling him that 'Digger' appeared to have been well fed and in good shape, and that when he drives the recycle truck by our house in two weeks he will stop and talk to us. When I got home and heard the news I talked to our neighbor to see if he knew who this guy is and learned his last name and that he lives in town and that he is a "good guy". The neighbor surmised that 'Digger' had slipped his chain (!) and collar to escape and run loose, which is how we came to find him, all panicked and desperate to get in a vehicle on Main Street last October 4th.

We are heartsick, having come to love Beau so much. He is a big lump of a dog, very loving, very easygoing. He loves us, too, and woke me every morning by putting his front paws on the bed and sticking his big face into mine, wanting a hug. Soon after coming to live with us he began lying on the sofa, something no one is allowed to do--not even us! He was so amusing and so obviously comfortable that I couldn't bear to ban him from it. Every time I look at the sofa now I grieve for Beau. We hope that he is indoors and comfortable, not chained outside in the cold. He hates the bitter cold so much that he didn't even want to go out during that cold snap, and when we insisted that he go out to do his business he immediately headed under the porch to get out of the wind. I have a feeling that he is not a house dog, even though he was when he lived here, because he did pee on our kitchen floor fairly often, next to the table leg, and occasionally pooped on the entry floor, as if he hadn't been housetrained. That was the only problem we had with him. He was doing better, though, learning (albeit slowly) that he was supposed to do his business outdoors. He was good with the cats, who quickly accepted him and would even lie next to him on the floor. Whenever he came in the house he always headed straight for me to greet me, no matter what room I was in. His absence has left a big hole in my heart. I hope that he is safe and happy where his is now.

He was slow to catch on to things that Sadie knew--like asking for a treat or when to expect a bit of food to be handed to him--but once he caught on he had that new behavior down pat. When Sheba comes to visit, often daily, she expects a treat and Sadie immediately learned that the thing to do was to accompany Sheba to the kitchen, where the cookie jar is, and a treat would be forthcoming. Beau finally caught on and so there would be the three of them, waiting expectantly for a treat. I had started making them sit before handing out the treat, and whoever sat best got the first treat. Beau learned that very quickly. Just yesterday, the last time I saw him, Sheba had come down and there they were, so cute, all lined up on the kitchen floor, sitting without being asked to sit yet, looking at me with those big expressive eyes. So I asked them to shake paws and they did--first Sadie, then Sheba, and then Beau raised his paw to shake, too! We were all so happy with this new game of "trick for treat"! In North Bay yesterday I bought three special treats to give them for our next group treat session, and drove home thinking of the next trick to work on. And then arrived home to learn that he is gone. There won't be another treat session with him included. I was so upset last night that I had to take a sleeping pill. This morning all I can do is write and cry. I know that I should be happy that Beau and his owner are reunited, but I miss him and am worried about him.

Sadie & Beau enjoying our walk09Oct08

Beau ambling along09Oct08

Sadie & Beau running on our walk09Oct08

Beau & Belle07Nov08

Belle Whispering to Beau07Nov08

Beau in the Snow16Nov08

Sofa Boy Beau23Nov08

Sleeping Beau-ty Uncovers Sofa23Nov08

Sound Asleep!23Nov08

Beauregard20Jan09

Beauregard lounging on the living room floor20Jan09

Our Sweet Beauregard on his way to see me in the kitchen, my last photo of him20Jan09

Martin Luther King Jr.: "I Have A Dream"

2009-01-19T21:14:00.004-05:00

Remembering Dr. King today, the holiday commemorating his birthday.

August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial

WOO HOO!!!

2009-01-19T19:57:00.004-05:00

WOO HOO!!! I'm finally landed! We just got home a little while ago from our big trip to Sudbury for my immigration interview at 1:00pm. Had to stop in North Bay on the way to get photos taken...again...and ended up being just a few minutes late. No matter, we had to wait a few minutes for the interviewer to get ready for us. I now have my official permanent resident document and will be receiving my PR card in the mail in a month or so. It's good for five years. I can hardly believe that I'm finally landed! We had no lunch, so by the time we left Sudbury my blood sugar had dropped and I could hardly stand to drive, but we had to get to North Bay before Burrow's closed in order to get chicken feed so we couldn't stop to eat. It was starting to get dark and I don't see well to drive at night due to the glare of oncoming headlights, so I continued driving to Mattawa. We stopped at Myrt's for a celebratory meal before coming home. And now here we are. Got my pjs on and am sitting near the wood stove, full as a tick and quite relaxed and sleepy.

After three long years of frustration, expense and worry it is such a good feeling to be landed...and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Free at last! Free at last!...

Winter Poem

2009-01-17T14:04:00.004-05:00

WINTER POEM

It's winter in Northern Ontario
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.

Oh, how I love Northern Ontario
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Northern Ontario
I'm frozen to the freakin'' ground!

Who is your role model? Take this quick test...

2009-01-03T20:31:00.005-05:00

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???

Try it without looking at the answers......

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the calculator....)

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....

5) Add the digits together

Now Scroll down ...............

Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein

2. Nelson Mandela

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. Helen Keller

5. Bill Gates

6. Gandhi

7. George Clooney

8. Thomas Edison

9. Ginger, author of this blog

10. Abraham Lincoln

I know....I just have that effect on people... ;)

Why all the hate mail smearing Barack Obama?

2008-11-20T21:41:00.001-05:00

I am having a hard time understanding why people are sending hate mail smearing Barack Obama, our President-elect, when he has not done anything to deserve it. Let's give him a chance to show what he and his administration can do before badmouthing him. I admire him for not lowering himself to the level of those who smear him and believe that he truly wants to unify our country and make it better for every citizen. He certainly has his work cut out for him. Let's give him our support and help him in his efforts. That is what people who love America will do.

A few minutes ago I sent the above paragraph to a relative in Mississippi who persists in forwarding hate mail to me--racist and otherwise derogatory remarks and "jokes" that are offensive and unwarranted. The relatively mild one that triggered my response this evening was an old Osama bin Laden joke in which he sends the White House a coded message--370H-SSV-0773H--that the President and all his advisors, the CIA, and the FBI cannot figure out but that a leader of another country can easily decipher. The Conservatives have brought this "joke" out of mothballs and made Barack Hussein Obama the stupid President and ex-POW McCain and staff the brilliant ones who easily see that the President is holding the message upside down. Already Obama is being ridiculed for not capturing bin Laden! Sigh.

In a short preface to my message I pointed out that George W. Bush is the rightful butt of that joke and the one who failed to capture bin Laden.

Whether my words will have a positive effect on my relative is yet to be seen, but I just cannot condone the sending and receiving of hate mail by not speaking out against it. With the knowledge comes the responsibility.

Teach peace.

Time flies when you're having fun, and even when you're not

2008-11-16T12:54:00.045-05:00

Up and down, up and down, goes the merry-go-round of life, up and down, round and round. Beneficial things happen, calamitous things happen, pleasant thoughts and feelings occur, dark and/or anxious thoughts and feelings occur and sometimes linger about. Life sometimes has me, to use an eloquent Toad expression, up and down more often than a whore's drawers in a lumber camp on pay night. My life and moods tend to lurch about, with more downs than ups--perhaps more analogous to a roller coaster with a fast, steep ascent (high) followed by a series of precipitous drops punctuated by short, level or slightly rising intervals every few feet.

Since my trip to the U.S.A. in early July the number and frequency of ups and downs seem to have accelerated, creating a nervewracking series of mood swings as my mind careens from one activity to the next, then off to a third and back to the first... I'm easily distracted and often amazed at how quickly time has passed--it seems as if every three days it's Friday again! Just a couple of hours (it seems) after I have cleaned up the kitchen and sat down to either work on one of my projects or try to relax, on my way to the washroom I spy a stack of dirty plates and a cluttered counter and stove. How does that happen??

I've been very unsettled since my return from that extremely stressful journey to and from my hometown. There has been a lot going on. The excitement and turmoil of the American presidential campaign and election, for which my absentee ballot never arrived (I had to find a write-in ballot to download and then pay over $13 to express mail my ballot to Indiana to get it there on time), was unsettling in itself. I have worried a lot about my children as they adjust to their new living situations. Toad and I have scoured mls.com many times looking for a house that we can afford that is not too crappy and have both experienced a lot of stress associated with this house hunt. We have both had health problems that I won't go into here. The husband of a good friend died suddenly, a grim reminder of what is in store for us all, although not necessarily suddenly. Another good friend had a seizure, quite unexpectedly. My truck is once again having problems starting, which I'm convinced is the solenoid...for the third time. I just had this solenoid put on, at triple the cost here compared with the cost in Indiana a few years ago, earlier this year...or was it last year? I can't remember. Time flies, remember?

On top of all the above, and more, I've had a very stressful time with respect to renewing my passport, which expired today, and my application for permanent residence, which requires a valid passport to proceed. I'm still waiting for the new passport to reach me, assuming that it has been, or will be, issued at all--I had to mail my current passport to the USA passport center in Philadelphia with my application for renewal, as there is no overnight delivery service to a post office box, which is the only address available for the passport center! It's been very stressful, considering all the other problems and delays I've experienced with my application for permanent residence. The whole process is so frustratingly slow! I can't find some things that I have either mislaid or someone else has moved. One of those things is the adapter for my new camera's memory card, which I need in order to download the photos. To get another one involves a trip to North Bay and an extra expense that should have been unnecessary. Each time that some new stress is added it gets harder and harder to cope with the anxiety and despair/depression that result. Up and down ... down ... down.

In "up" times I get creative urges that often lead me to propose an idea or join or help start a new organization. During the longer "downs" that inevitably follow the commitment to this new venture I alternate between (or sometimes combine) anxiety and depression/despair over my ability to fulfill expectations placed upon me by myself and/or others. The upside of this drama is that I can and usually do get a lot of creative, worthwhile work done. The downside of this drama is that the mental and physical anguish can and usually does incapacitate me for long periods of time throughout the day(s) prior to each event for which something is expected of me. I turn to books for relaxation and when I'm too cranked up or down to read Mahjong sometimes helps by giving me a focus.

So what's going on now? Well, during a brief manic period last year at a Friends of the Library meeting I proposed creation of a free monthly public education program to draw people to our local library and provide an entertaining, free venue for teaching an eclectic mix of topics while promoting local businesses, artisans and individual community members. This was my baby, my vision, and, while it involves the support of other Friends of the Library members as far as providing refreshments and some of the door prizes, the responsibility for its success or failure rests on my shoulders. The program has been quite successful; the presenters have all done a fine job and have garnered publicity and goodwill in the community, the audience has enjoyed and learned from each talk, and the library is gaining more publicity and enrolling new members. I've worked hard to not only set up and publicize interesting presentations, but to add fun touches such as refreshments (with drinks served in china cups), door prizes, a display of library books with a theme that complements the talk, lots of photos, a newspaper article to document each talk, and thank you cards with photos for the presenters. I've been putting together a scrapbook of publicity flyers, my newspaper articles and photos that I've taken at each presentation. It is hard, but rewarding work.

After the initial organization was accomplished for the first talk the public education program has been fairly simple (not easy, but simple) to run. As long as I have speakers lined up (and they show up!); as long as I have created and posted flyers and have advertised in the Upcoming Events section of the local paper; as long as FOL members bring goodies and make the coffee (not my strong suit); as long as I've obtained or arranged for at least one nice door prize to give away; as long as at least some of my photos turn out; as long as I get the article written and submitted with a suitable photo; as long as I get the photos printed; as long as I get the thank you cards written and enclose at least one photo--the one that was published with the article; as long as all these things take place the program runs just fine. It doesn't take up all of my time, however. Not even in combination with my role at the women's resource center. No, I had a bit of room on my plate for more. And during another manic episode a couple of months ago I took on another worthy cause.

As an animal lover and activist I worry about all the homeless animals left to fend for themselves, especially in cold weather. Toad and I have rescued/adopted several wonderful cats and dogs from the Mattawa area and North Bay. Rufus (who died of old age in February 2007) and Sadie both were adopted from the North Bay and District Humane Society. When Belle and Puddlejump needed a home in North Bay many years ago Toad took them in to spare them going to the humane society. When Toad and I moved into this house in the Mattawa area we rescued an abandoned mother cat and her three kittens, increasing our cat population to eight (counting my boys Tommaso and Spunky, both rescued from the streets of Columbus IN). A year after we had her spayed the mother cat left and never returned; we still have the three "kittens". In October of this year Toad and I rescued Beauregard from the street in downtown Mattawa. We have been told of, and seen, other animals in this area that desperately need a home. There is a great need for someone, some organization, to help homeless animals in this area find food, shelter and a loving family, to work toward affordable spay/neuter services, and to provide public education to encourage people to adopt rescued animals and to properly care for their pets. So when notices began appearing in the newspaper announcing formation of a group to start an animal shelter in Mattawa Toad and I were interested in showing our support for this cause. And you know how it goes, there are always too few people willing to do the work needed to start up and run an organization, no matter how worthy the cause. After telling myself that I would NOT volunteer to take on responsibilities, that I was just going to go to the organizational meeting to show my support for the cause, I found myself raising my hand when the call came to form an ad hoc organizational status committee ( I call us the ahos :D ). My anxiety/despair level escalated dramatically as the roller coaster car that I inhabit (metaphorically speaking) plummeted down a steep grade and swerved from side to side. I know little or nothing about how to set up an organization in Canada. I hate dealing with bureaucratic red tape and filling out forms. What the hell was I thinking??

Once again I had allowed my heart to overrule my mind, to muzzle all my objections and ignore my misgivings, and to volunteer for an undertaking sure to be a tremendous amount of work, a huge responsibility, and a monumental source of anxiety and despair. So for the last two months I have spent many, many hours on research and have agonized over how to make sure that I have all the information that we need to make informed decisions about how to proceed. It has been hell. Following days of preparation for last Thursday night's general meeting, at which I was to present what I had learned so far, I was drained. I still had to create the flyer for this month's public education program, get them printed and post them. Friday I worked for many hours to get the flyers made and posted, vowing that afterward I would take the weekend "off". So far, so good. Except for searching for easy, inexpensive craft ideas to make for the upcoming Christmas Craft Sale at the end of this month, to benefit our animal-shelter-in-the-making.

I'm not the handiest person when it comes to making things, although over the years I have attempted various craft projects. My creativity is more of a mental, conceptual sort, such as thinking up ideas for educational programs and implementing them. In junior high I took Spanish instead of Home Ec. Never did learn to sew worth a darn, despite a sewing class thirty years ago (I made big pajamas for my little daughter) and very infrequent attempts to make a wearable garment for myself or one of my children. I recall making a white and blue, seersucker, polka dot nursing gown while pregnant with my son, and wearing that gown for months and months. I also made a print dress for myself, finished except for attaching the waistband to the blouse. While in university I taught myself the rudiments of knitting and crocheting, and managed to produce part of a knitted sweater, a complete (Yay!) crocheted rug, and a few latchhook rugs from kits back in the 70's. I also began a cross-stitching project nearly thirty years ago that still needs to be finished. That's how crafty I am, although, in my defense, I have been quite busy with work and children and school and multiple volunteer activities for most of my life. I've contributed to society in ways other than making crafts. Surely that counts for something. My tendency toward perfectionism, increasingly poor eyesight and memory, and lack of discretionary income to cover craft supplies and equipment all combine to cause me to avoid jumping in to the handicraft pool now that I am unemployed. Many of the women I have met in this area sew and quilt and/or make crafts, and they often encourage me to join them during their twice-a-week get-togethers in town. I had actually dug out my thirty-year-old cross-stitch project, debating whether to take it to one of the sewing group meetings for advice and help (I have no idea now how to make the stitches), and had located my old sewing machine (the foot pedal thingy is rusted from someone peeing on it), thinking that I might sew a bit, but I haven't done any more than that. I'm still in the thinking stage. That's how crafty I am. But now... now I feel the need to make a craft to donate to our animal-shelter-rescue-in-the-making's table at the upcoming Christmas Craft Sale on November 29 and 30.

Saturday I spent several hours looking for easy, inexpensive crafts to make for the fundraiser, things that won't look too childish or amateurish and that I can actually make, given my level of expertise in handicrafts. I came up with three ideas, very simple ones, but all three require basic sewing skills. Two of them may be possible to stitch by hand, if my sewing machine no longer functions or I can't figure out how to work it after all these twenty-plus years of ignoring it. I have decided to at least make one simple catnip cat toy (please don't laugh...oh, go ahead...I'm grinning like an idiot myself) to see how it goes, with plans to make several to donate if all goes well. Making them by hand will definitely limit how many I can make, given my level of talent and eyesight, but if I have to, I have to. I have some fabric to use. All I need to buy is some fresh catnip to mix in with the stuffing. The directions call for mixing catnip with white uncooked rice, but I'm hesitant to use rice due to concerns for what will happen when the toys get wet. I don't know. I'll have to think about that a bit more. In the meantime I can get started making the fabric bags, leaving a hole to funnel in the filling.

Already I have another idea brewing, actually two ideas, but am trying to contain myself until I least produce one cat toy. One of the ideas is to have a "bean bag"/cat toy toss for kids at the craft show, beside our table, with the bags to be tossed into the mouth of a cat face. The cat face could be painted onto plywood, around the mouth hole ("mouse hole" with a lisp?) and mounted on a stand, with a backdrop to control where the missed tosses end up. Or the cat face could be made from a bucket with attached ears, eyes, nose and whiskers--the bucket hole being the cat's mouth--and the bucket tipped on its side at a 45-degree angle or so. I'm thinking that we could charge a toonie for three tosses, with the prize for getting at least one bag in the mouth (and we could manipulate the game to ensure that each child would win) being one of my awesomely-crafted catnip cat toys to take home for their kitty or to donate to a rescued kitty if they don't have or know a cat to give the toy to this Christmas. Having the toss game would make buying the cat toy a bit more fun and would give us a chance to encourage kids to think about being good to cats, to realize that cats like to play, too.

The other idea I'm considering involves a bit more work on my part but may be doable. I mentioned that I had come up with three ideas for crafts to make and was going to try the cat toy. One of the other ideas is to sew a simple washable fleece "cat mat" pad with batting as filler or perhaps, if I can find and afford it, with a layer of some kind of thermal material. I could ask my sewing friends for advice as to how to keep the filler from bunching up--some kind of stitching to hold it in place, maybe? If I could make a few of these and some catnip cat toys of matching or complementary material we could sell them as a set. It sounds good on paper but the reality of me making such an item is questionable. Doable, but questionable.

The third idea I chose to consider making is a cute pin cushion into which I could stick several straight pins and market as stocking stuffers. It's a thought. But my first attempt at making something will be the catnip cat toy. I need to be able to pull that off before tackling anything more complicated. heh.

What else have I accomplished this "off" weekend? SFA...other than watching a movie with Toad Friday night (we finally saw Borat), reading half of the library book I checked out Thursday eveningThree Day Road by recent Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden, doing dishes/kitchen cleanup duties, and making another batch of kickass pumpkin bread. Such indolence.

Winter has come to Mattawa. We have several inches of clean, white snow now, and Dudley & Friends are closed up in the barn. It's dark by 5 pm. The dogs and cats are all sleeping more than usual, even though Puddlejump has developed a taste for my tea--several times a day I see her head in my big teacup, which I leave on the coffee table for her (I have photos but they are trapped in my camera until I find or buy an adapter for the memory card). Toad keeps the basement wood stove burning, a constant but critical chore, so that so far the house is warmer than in our previous two winters here when we tried to get warmth from the oil furnace. He lights the living room wood stove to get the chill off in the cold mornings. Hopefully we have enough wood for the winter. We both have more than enough to keep ourselves occupied this winter. Life is good.

Do Not Swallow Chewing Gum!

2008-11-04T17:14:00.004-05:00

Those poor, poor young women--see how they strain!

Beauregard Adopts a Family

2008-10-27T11:03:00.011-04:00

Beauregard04October08

We have another dog! On October 4th we went into Mattawa to pick up my blood pressure medicine at the pharmacy and there was a lab/shepherd mix wandering about on Main Street, going from one side to the other and stopping in the middle of the street, looking for someone. People were shooing him away from them as they walked or got into their vehicles. We feared that he would get hit by a car. I put a dog biscuit in my pocket after I parked the truck but we didn't see the dog as we crossed the street to get to the pharmacy and I hoped that he had located his owner. We went in and got the medication and a newspaper (my pep talk article was published) and when we came outside there he was, wandering back and forth again, trying to get in a truck with some guy who shooed him away right in front of us. I gave him the biscuit from my pocket and a woman came forward, relieved to find us paying attention to the dog. She was quite worried about him and had been watching him wander about but couldn't take him because she lives in an apartment. She pleaded with us to take him home with us and notify the town office Monday to have him picked up. She insisted that I take a $5 bill she thrust forward to help pay for his food. What else could we do? He had no collar on but obviously had had one until recently. I got a leash out of the truck and Toad fastened it around the dog's neck. He got in the truck with us and lay down to rest. All the stress of being lost or discarded had worn him out. He rode well and was very well-behaved in the truck.

When we got home he was fine with Sadie, who was very anxious about us bringing home another dog, as you can well imagine she would be. We kept him on the leash in the house until it was obvious that he was no threat to the cats, several of whom came out to investigate this new person. He checked out the house, ate some of Sadie's food and then lay down to snooze a bit. We let him go out without a leash to pee, staying in the front yard and watching him explore a bit, and he came right back. He's made himself at home. He, Sadie and Toad went outside again (no leash on any of them) to check on the chickens and Dudley and to see how our new guy gets along with them. He got along fine with the chickens but Dudley scared him! haha We decided to name him Beauregard, calling him Beau and having a lot of regard for him (big groan, I know).

The following Monday (October 6th) I left my name and number at the municipal office in Mattawa in case someone called to report him missing, but so far no one has called or posted any ads about Beau. That Saturday, one week after we found him (or he found us), with no ad for him appearing in the weekly newspaper, I bought him a collar. He was so happy when I called him to me to put it on him that he laid his big head on my lap and then raised his paw to shake mine. It was so touching that it brought tears to my eyes.

Beau is fascinated with Dudley, who dislikes him and all other dogs, which is probably a good instinct to have for a pig. When Dudley was lying down getting his belly scratched Beau crept up and sniffed Dudley's butt, then his stomach and legs and finally his face. It was quite amusing to watch. I don't know how Beau could stand to smell Dudley's butt, as Dudley has the most foul-smelling gas that I have ever had the misfortune to experience and dog noses are so much more sensitive than those of us humans.

The fourth morning after we brought Beau home with us we heard a long siren-like noise right outside the bedroom window, a sound we had never heard here before. Toad jumped up and headed downstairs for the door and I looked out the window, not knowing what to expect. From the lower righthand corner of the window I could see Beau sitting on the end of the veranda, howling like a wolf! It was so strange! When Toad opened the front door Beau came inside and seemed to be just fine. Later that afternoon I took a cardboard roll, put one end to my mouth and called out "doo doo doo DOO doo doo!" the way I used to do when I played with my beloved Trixie long ago. Beau immediately began that same mournful howl that he had given that morning! Sadie chimed in with sharper, yelping barks. We made quite a chorus!

Beau continues to do very well here. He's met and endeared himself to both of our neighbors and plays well with Sheba, our closest neighbor dog. The only problem we have had with him is his tendency to go exploring, enticing Sadie to accompany him on what must be wonderful dog adventures but are worrisome risks to our human way of thinking. We tried leaving him and Sadie in the big pen the first time Toad and I both had to leave home and returned to find Sadie still in the pen but Beau on the veranda! He had apparently jumped onto the doghouse and then over the fence. Since then we have begun leaving both dogs in the house, Sadie loose as usual but Beau in a large dog kennel to keep him out of trouble. He has adjusted to the kennel quite easily. We have only had to leave him in it three times todate; the rest of the time he has the run of the house. The cats are intrigued with him and like to tease him a bit to get him to jump up and begin to chase them, which is why we don't dare leave him in the house unsupervised. He loves to accompany Toad and Sadie to the barn to do chores, and he loves to go for walks with us along the road. He's a good boy.

Never a dull moment...

Sadie checking out her new brother04October08

Beau meets the feisty Puddlejump, first feline to satisfy her curiosity04October08

Toad, Sadie, Puddy, Beau and Baby04October08

Beau and our lovable Tommy04October08

Tired Beau, sacked out on the living room floor of his new home04October08

The World Is Too Much With Me...

2008-10-20T12:50:00.009-04:00

Why I have not been blogging much lately....

"THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US; LATE AND SOON"

THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
--William Wordsworth

from My Medicated Life

from My Medicated Life

from MedlinePlus

A Class Act

2008-10-17T21:50:00.002-04:00

Senator Obama has such class. And wit. This is a joy to watch.

Dudley's Daily Delight

2008-10-09T16:53:00.012-04:00

With the cooler temperatures this time of year Dudley has been craving carbs (I know the feeling!). We are no longer able to buy feeder bread from the bakery due to new rules that reduce the bakery's liability by requiring all unsold bread to be compacted rather than sold as feeder bread. Apparently the prospect of humans eating this bread, getting ill, and suing the bakery brought this on. We were told that the compacted bread is now shipped off to a company to be used in making dog food. Bummer for Dudley, our chickens and who knows how many hundreds or thousands of other animals that benefited from the feeder bread. During the summer it wasn't so bad because Dudley had plenty of tender grass shoots and other plants to supplement his piggy feed, but as Fall approached and the nutritive value of the grasses dropped (I believe that they produce far fewer carbohydrates in the Fall but am no expert on this subject)Dudley felt the pinch. He grew a bit more svelte but also a bit more anxious to get more food from Toad and me, and began coming down to the veranda steps to ask for a treat whenever he, ever vigilant, noticed that we were outdoors.

I tried to put myself in his situation, facing a long, cold winter in an unheated barn, dependent upon body fat to insulate me, and felt great empathy for our boy. To give him a tasty yet filling treat that would be somewhat affordable for us I spread some peanut butter on a slice of bread for him. It was his first time to experience the wonder of peanut butter. He was surprised when I placed it before him and gave a small jump backwards, and then cautiously tasted the peanut butter. The look on his face was so gratifying! His enjoyment was so obvious as he carefully licked the peanut butter from the bread, savoring rather than gulping it, repeatedly smacking his lips as he endeavored to loosen and swallow every bit of peanut butter. And do you know what it tasted like to him? More!

He was so delighted by this new treat and so ready to taste it again that I returned to the kitchen to prepare another one for him. He savored the second one just as much as he did the first one. I told him that he could have two just this once because of the expense and the number of calories, and since that day Toad and I have provided Dudley with one peanut butter delight each day. As he has grown more accustomed to the treats I notice that he now tears off pieces of the peanut-buttered bread to chew on. Here he is enjoying his daily delight on October 5th: Buon appetito, Dudley! (click image to enlarge)

Our Dudley

Colorful Signs of Fall in Our Neck of the Woods

2008-09-23T15:00:00.013-04:00

I took these today during a walk along our road...

Good Times and New Friends in Calvin Township

2008-09-21T16:39:00.012-04:00

Calvin Jam 20September08
Yesterday evening the Toad and I drove over to Calvin Township again for their monthly jam session, our second time to be there. During the break we learned that some of the regular musicians and singers were at a bluegrass event in Bonfield, so the stage was more bare than usual. That certainly didn't result in a lack of good music! Several local musicians were there, very talented folks who played and sang many old country western songs, including several written by Roy Payne. Roy Payne himself was there! He picked and sang several songs, mainly his own but also some by his friends Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. Roy is from Newfoundland but moved to Mattawa several years ago and is quite the local celebrity--and rightly so! I had heard him perform one of his songs at the Golden Age jam a few weeks ago but last night was a much better treat, as the setting was much more intimate and he was able to participate to a much greater degree, playing and/or singing several songs throughout the evening. He honored a request for his The Little Boats Of Newfoundland, which is a very moving song. And when he introduced and sang his I Wouldn’t Take A Million Dollars For A Single Maple Leaf the whole room was enthralled. At the end of the jam he joined several other performers in leading us all in a heartfelt Amazing Grace.

Bileau, seated on the stool in the first and third photos, brought me to tears with his rendition of Give My Love To Rose during the first half of the jam. During the break we had an interesting conversation after I complimented him on his performance, and he told me that he sings that in honor of his late wife, Rose, who died in 1985. After eighteen years alone, during which he raised their two daughters, he found a lady friend who had been widowed. I met her later, and it was sweet to see this happy couple enjoying life after the heartbreak of losing their spouses.

As before, the coffee and food were plentiful and delicious, available to all for the price (paid or not) of a donation. I learned that the sandwiches and baked goods are brought by some of the women. When we found a seat, arriving a bit late but not later than most of the musicians, I introduced myself to the other couple at our table and made a new friend, Liz. Liz was very friendly even before the break, during which I eagerly chose a salmon sandwich from the platters, hoping that it would be as good as the ones I had there last month. It certainly was, so I went back for another one. When I returned with it Liz leaned over and asked if I liked the sandwich. To my vigorous nod and "Yes, it's wonderful!" she smiled and said, "Thank you." She was the one who had made the yummy salmon sandwiches as well as the very tasty egg salad sandwiches! Before the break ended she got up and brought the Toad and I each another salmon sandwich, beaming in our joy at receiving them. Because fewer people were there than had been anticipated (due to the Bonfield gig) there were six leftover sandwiches; Liz gave the Toad and I four of them to take home with us, reserving only two for herself and her husband. She also very kindly wrote down the recipe for me for both the salmon and egg salad sandwiches, giving me some unwritten tips for ensuring a high degree of yumminess. I can hardly wait to make some at home. I'm looking forward to seeing her again, especially since she and her husband live in Mattawa. She enjoyed looking at the photos I took and asked if my camera was the kind you can use to put photos on the computer. I told her that it was and that if she wanted a copy I could email them to her. From what I gathered from her she would appreciate some help learning how to use a computer, as theirs, purchased to allow her to compile her many recipes and patterns, is still in the box. If I can find her I will be glad to help her out. Not that I'm an expert, by any means!

In the last fifteen minutes or so of the jam I snapped a few photos. Unfortunately I didn't get photos that included all the performers. By then several musicians had already left. Also, it was difficult to take photos without causing a distraction in an otherwise delightfully low-key evening of music. As yet I don't know the name of everyone in the photos, but recognize them all as having performed either there or in Mattawa the few times we've been able to attend a jam. One fun-loving little woman, seen front and right in the last photo, hammed it up and sang two funny songs that we've heard her sing at the Golden Age--her signature songs, so to speak: You Can't Tell The Difference In The Dark and Out Behind The Barn. A good time was had by all!

Roy Payne

Some of the jammers: Roy, Irene(?) on harmonica, Colleen, and Bileau (seated)

Sandy

Roy

Roy joined Colleen in singing one of his songs (Greg picking, right)

Amazing Grace finale

Amazing Grace

Fall 'n' Hopes

2008-09-21T11:31:00.016-04:00

Today is the last official day of summer, which is a bit hard to believe since the weather has been autumnal for the last few weeks. I have been reluctantly accepting the onset of Fall for quite a while and was dreading the prospect of moving more than 20 miles in chilly (and perhaps snowy) weather. I don't dread that anymore because our hopes of moving before the return of warmer weather have pretty much been dashed. Tuesday we went back to see the house up north in the Timiskaming Shores region, spent a couple of hours walking in town and having lunch, spoke with some very nice, helpful residents there, decided to throw caution to the wind and make an offer on the house despite the drawbacks, met with the realtor again and did, indeed, make an offer on the property. Toad signed the offer. We all knew that it would be rejected as too low and expected the bank to come back with a figure to continue the give and take process of negotiation.

Throughout the night and next day I struggled with a sense of foreboding, afraid that we were making a terrible mistake because even though the house and property met three of our criteria (walking distance to town, minimum amount of living space, and a place for Dudley and the chickens), it needed a LOT of work and financial investment to get the basement dry, replace the roof, do cosmetic work inside and out, reduce dependence on fuel oil, and actually move in. Toad isn't physically able to do more than maybe ten percent of the work on the house and we don't have the money to hire anyone to do it for us. I can do a bit but not much. I would have the bulk of the moving (helping to load the moving truck, driving the loaded moving truck, getting hired help to unload it up there & staying overnight, driving back for another load, helping to load the truck again...) on my shoulders, leaving Toad in Mattawa to tend the animals. I figure that it would take four or five trips to get everything moved, maybe six considering the firewood, over a three week period. Ideally I could/would clean and paint and do as much as possible at the new house before returning for another load. It would be a huge effort, one I would like to think that I could do alone but which is not very realistic. It would also involve a huge expense, considering the rental of the moving truck for three weeks, the gasoline for six trips, hiring help to unload the truck, etc. Toad would have to come up for one trip to ready one of the outbuildings for Dudley and the chickens. So much to plan and do!

The more I thought about the wet basement and oil furnace and our financial situation and the likelihood of bitter, snowy weather for the move, the colder my feet got at the prospect of continuing the negotiations for the house. So when I got home from book club/Friends of the Library on Thursday afternoon and learned that the realtor had called with word that the bank had rejected our offer without making a counter offer I was relieved. Had the picture been rosier as far as being able to afford to do what needed to be done for all of us to be safe, dry, and warm I would have encouraged Toad to make another offer. I let it drop instead. Friday he called the realtor back and told her that we would let it rest for now but would she please keep us in mind if something suitable came up for sale, knowing what we want and can afford. She noted she believes the bank wanted to deal with someone willing to make a first offer of $44K (perhaps planning to get at least $50K) but we cannot, as that would leave absolutely no money for the necessary repairs. If we take out a $50K mortgage it has to be for a house that needs only cosmetic fixes.

We have since checked mls.ca listings a few times to see if anything new has been put on the market in our area, but the results are discouraging to say the least. So our hopes of moving before winter into a house we can afford, a house we would be free to do with as we pleased, have fallen with the advent of Fall. It's not all bad, though. We do have firewood, hopefully enough to last the winter. We have great neighbors on our road. We have an increasing number of friends in the area, meeting more and more interesting, welcoming faces all the time. I have my volunteer work with the Friends of the Library, running a successful public education program. Life could be much worse for us. As long as we don't have to use any of what is left of my savings, and as long as Toad can get pre-approved for a mortgage again in January, we may be in a better position to find a house with a bit of land next Spring. By then I just MAY be landed and thus be able to have my income be included in the calculations for mortgage pre-approval. And by then I just may have a part-time job that would help boost our income a bit. To that end I need to get a work permit without waiting to be landed first.

It helps me feel better about not getting the house up north when I look at the basement photos that I took last Tuesday. See for yourself.

stairway off kitchen, leading to wet basement

wall between house and garage, outside leads to raised bed septic

a closer look at that wall

a closer look at the SE corner along that same wall

room divider between stairs and wall between house and garagenice storage possibilities but note the wet bottom!

other side of divider

opposite wall--outside faces highway, north end has sump pump (beyond washer & dryer)

sump pump area needs major repair

hot water tank (rented) & fuel oil tank (fairly new)

oil furnace (fairly new)

oil furnace, stairs, dividerbehind stairs is north wall, with breaker boxes

south wall, outside is back yardnote cart for holding wood

broader view of south wall, note old well pump (?) but house now on municipal water

Restless Thoughts (and Reckless Actions?)

2008-09-14T13:46:00.026-04:00

We are thinking of moving to a more affordable house, preferably one that we can buy with our meager income. Several weeks ago we met with a mortgage broker to see how much of a mortgage Toad could get pre-approved for, so we have that information now. He had acquired a credit card in his name at the beginning of the year in order to establish some credit (he had paid cash for everything since 1978!) and after several months of using the card he has built up a good credit rating. I am still a persona non grata here in Canada as far as the government and the mortgage institutions are concerned, so my excellent credit rating does us no good here. Without being landed I cannot even get a mortgage, even with Toad. It is frustrating, especially since the small down payment and the legal fees will use up all the rest of my savings--the proceeds of selling my home in Indiana. I have a lot of misgivings about investing in property that will not be mine legally. Should anything happen to Toad I would be left destitute and homeless.

Nonetheless, we have been searching mls.ca often and diligently, hunting for a house with a bit of acreage that would allow us to keep our boy Dudley and our chickens. The ideal property would be at or under $50K, just on the edge of town, within a reasonable walking distance to a grocery and library, near a well-maintained road, have at least 1200 sq. ft of living space, have at least one outbuilding already in place for the chickens and Dudley, and not be dependent upon oil or propane for heat. We love the Mattawa area, and have several good friends here now, but the property values are quite inflated here and there is nothing in our price range that would be at all suitable. There are a few places in our price range farther north (gulp!) that we have been investigating.

Thursday we took a road trip north to see two houses that met all or most of the criteria. One place had 1.1 acres and was fairly nice inside but far too small at 760 sq.ft and no garage for storage or parking; it also had no place for the people--just a rotten outbuilding so moldy that it needed to be torn down and rebuilt. The second house, a bank repo, had nearly 6 acres, a simple 1-car garage (floorless), a rough shed, and 1200 sq ft of living space; it needed some work inside and a roof, but the room layout was appealing. The biggest problems with it was the wet basement, the oil furnace, the highway noise (big transports whipping by often) and the view from the front--a gaudy-signed, sloppy-lotted business. Toad says that the house was well-built and structurally sound. The wet basement is a huge bummer and the worst obstacle. We have no way of knowing if this problem could be corrected without costing an arm and a leg. It's possible that improving the outside drainage could stop the seepage, and we could get a trencher and do the work ourselves, but what if it didn't? The furnace is not very old, which is good in one way but bad in that it is oil and oil prices are exorbitant. We had resolved to avoid oil heat if at all possible. It is doubtful that natural gas would be available in the area (the real estate agent didn't know but wasn't encouraging) and we would not have the money to replace the furnace AND the roof. The view could be modified by erecting nice trellises in front of the windows facing the eyesore business. The highway noise was not noticeable inside and after walking about outside looking at the grounds I hardly noticed it. One of the nicest features of this old farmhouse is that there are two big rooms upstairs that are unfinished but perfect for my library of books and my teaching supplies, as well as for storage under the eaves. The upstairs could easily be closed off during the coldest part of winter to keep the heat downstairs. The full basement, if dry, would be perfect for a small workshop and crafts area as well as storage. The laundry area is in the basement already and there is a clothesline up for days when using the solar dryer isn't practical. Too, too bad that the basement is wet! I didn't get any photos of the basement, unfortunately, but did take several of the main and second floors. Here are some views of the upstairs:

view upstairs

potential library and study on second floor

storage under eaves

more storage under eaves

Paint and new windows is really all that are needed upstairs. There is some kind of insulation--Thermafiber Insulating Wood Blanket--visible tacked up under the eaves:

I don't know if the upstairs is totally insulated or just partially. It would bear a much more detailed examination to find out IF the basement situation is not as bad as I fear.

The kitchen cabinets are deplorable but could be redone over time. The kitchen walls need attention. The living room is okay as is except for the carpet, which needs to be taken up. Hopefully the floor beneath is plank like that upstairs and could be painted. Same for both bedrooms. Most of the windows need to be replaced, although at least three of them are newer ones and are in good shape. Here are a few more photos of the main floor, which also includes two enclosed, sunny porches.

sunporch leading to kitchen

sunporch leading to kitchen, view 2

kitchen seen from sunroom door

kitchen wall, sunroom door, doorway to living room on left

kitchen window wall, door to sunroom entry

doorway between kitchen & living room

living room

living room

living room

sunroom 2 off living room, with wood stove

sunroom 2 off living room, door to outside

wood stove end of sun porch off living room

sunporch off living room, view from wood stove end

short hallway from living room to washroom, stairs (on left), linen closet and 2 bedroomsbedroom two in view, windows look out at backyard and inner sideyard

bedroom one, windows look out at backyard and tree in highway sideyard

hallway as seen from bathroom door, stairs on right (not in photo)lead to second floor

living room as seen from hall

Back to the living room, to view walls, doorways and windows...

living room, viewed from sunroom 2 doorway

living roomI like the cornices!

living room

living room

living room

Now for a few outside photos:

front view of house, from road

space between house and garage, note solar dryer (a.k.a. clothesline)

sunporch off kitchen has ramshackle outer porch attached as entry

back of house with bedroom windows

side of house as seen from highway edge

closer look at sunporch off living room

backyard as seen from highway

road in front of house and driveway

house, garage and storage shed

clothesline, backyard, highway signs in background

view of yard to left of house and outbuildings

We need to go have another look at the house, especially after all this rain, and get some photos of the basement, check for mold, and examine the yard drainage more closely. Stay tuned.

Massacre of the Innocents

2008-09-07T09:41:00.015-04:00

The good old days with chickens in the front yard30July08

Foghorn and Schmoos in front yard24June08

Until now I have been unable to write about a terrible tragedy that occurred here three weeks ago this morning. While Toad and I (and Sadie) lay sleeping in the early hours, probably just at dawn, a predator managed to get in the outdoor enclosure with our sweet little laying hens and brutally slaughter four of them, leaving two badly wounded. We did not hear any commotion and did not learn of the attack until Toad went out to do his usual morning check on everyone. I will never forget how grim his face looked when he returned with the news.

One of the wounded still lives and may recover. She couldn't see for a while but now she can. She's isolated in a cage by herself and has been laying eggs since three days after the massacre, bless her little heart. We think that the perpetrator was a raccoon due to the nature of the attack--it ripped the heads from their poor little bodies and just left them there. So senseless. The other hens and the roosters who claimed them were naturally distraught after the attack. One terrified hen ran and hid so well that we didn't find her until the following day, trying to set and find some comfort in that instinctive act.

One of the innocent victims02Aug08

At dusk on the evening of the massacre Toad carried all the hens and Foghorn, who had returned to the pen, no doubt warily, to the barn to help ensure their safety. He couldn't find Lawrence of Arabia, the other rooster, and we feared for his life, but he turned up the next day. He is now in the barn with the others. With a vicious predator on the loose everyone has to be locked up. Everyone but some of the roosters who are loosed every morning when Dudley opens the barn door and greets the day. The hens are in two large pens within the barn. I am sure that they miss being able to run free outdoors, exploring and pecking at foliage, insects and worms. We sure do miss seeing our little schmoos, as we call the silkies, and our one remaining old red hen as they roamed about the front and side yards. And we miss Foghorn standing on the top step of the veranda surveying his kingdom, or leading several hens around the yard. The yard is so bare now, so lifeless without the chickens there.

Foghorn with his harem in the front yardSee how he watches over them!30July08

Another view of Foghorn with his harem in the front yard (Rusty Rooster in background)30July08

Looking back we should have seen this coming. We had been fortunate in not having a predator find our chickens before that awful morning. What we did not heed was a warning that preceded the massacre by about a week. I haven't had much experience with chickens until the last two years but Toad has had a lot of experience with them and after the attack said that he should have anticipated it after Rusty Rooster, one of three roosters who voluntarily moved down from the safety of the barn to be with the hens in the outdoor pen, disappeared. He was the third rooster to have come down from the barn and had just begun to be accepted by Foghorn and Lawrence of Arabia, had just begun to be allowed to sleep in the coop inside the outdoor pen. Prior to that acceptance he had walked back to the barn every evening at dusk to sleep there. We had feared for his safety in walking up there alone and were cheered every morning to see him back in the outdoor pen. He was missing for about three days, returned for few days, and then was gone again and we have not seen him. We had hoped that he had roamed a bit far and would return again, and grieved his loss when we realized that someone must have killed him. Now I know what should have been obvious--whoever found and dispatched poor Rusty had learned of the presence of our chickens and would be looking for the rest of them. We should have secured them all at that point and perhaps could have averted the massacre. Instead we ignored this warning and put everyone at risk, hoping that no predator would come around.

Toad, Foghorn and Rusty Rooster in the front yard30July08

Lawrence of Arabia in front yard24June08

Sadie has been very watchful and anxious since the attack. She had slept through it, as she generally sleeps on the floor by our bed and we had the ceiling fan going as well as an air cleaner that we had recently set up near me due to my allergies having flared up. Sadie is such an intelligent dog that she quickly assessed the air of grief, the movement of her chickens to the barn and, undoubtedly, the scent of the raccoon and the blood around the outdoor pen. She has been patrolling the area often and has frequently chosen to spend the night outdoors. Twice she has wanted out after dark and has chased someone off the veranda. When we checked to see what was happening we found evidence of some creature, probably the raccoon, having gotten into stuff on the veranda--the first time was a bucket of eggshells destined for the compost, the second was the tub of Dudley feed which has a lid easily removed by an intelligent raccoon. Now we have to weight down the lids of all three feed containers. Apparently whoever is causing the mayhem and mischief is still hanging around. Hopefully it will not get into the barn or attack the roosters during the day.

Sadly, also, Dudley hardly ever comes down to the front yard anymore. He used to be here frequently, lying about under a tree or shrub, often accompanied by some of his beloved chickens. Now he comes only to make a deposit in the driveway each day and then meanders back to the barnyard. As I said earlier, the yard seems bare and lifeless now. I miss everyone.

Dudley and hen by the veranda29June08

Dudley under the European White Poplar in the front yardLet Sleeping Pigs Lie14Aug08

Need a hug? Here you go!

2008-09-05T20:08:00.004-04:00

I could use a hug right now. Could you? Click the play button and claim a virtual hug for yourself.

Belly Dancing in Bonfield

2008-08-18T16:41:00.019-04:00

Yes, as the title states, I witnessed and participated in belly dancing in Bonfield. Actually the festivities took place Thursday, August 14th, in a church hall in Rutherglen, but it was hosted by Friends of the Bonfield Library so it counts as Bonfield. The belly dancing was one of two featured events during their Ladies Night Out fundraiser, the other featured event being an auction of goods and services donated by sponsors. Here you can see the four belly dancers and the auction items on the table behind them.

The Ladies Night Out event was spectacular! At the entrance each of us selected a colorful numbered paddle to hold up during the auction and also deposited our ticket stubs into a basket for the door prize drawings. We were invited to examine the items slated to be auctioned, all painstakingly grouped into wonderful collections of items (such as ceramics, a satellite radio, a large wooden memory box, a birdhouse, etc), services (such as personal training sessions or massages), chocolate and books. The room decorations were elaborate and the tables were laden with marvelous treats: platters of fruit, platters of mouth-watering pastries ("Turkish Delights"), saucers of artfully-arranged teabags, colorful napkins, beautiful china cups and saucers, Friends of the Bonfield Library bookmarks advertising their events for the year, ribbon-bedecked menus, and elegantly-wrapped centerpieces: baskets of either chocolates, candles, or lotions and other little luxuries. The centerpieces were to be auctioned at each table at the end of the evening--I won the bid on a basket of chocolates, as Liz outbid me on the lotions and I abstained from bidding on the candles (not with all these cats!). In the centerpiece I won was a wineglass, many beautiful, clear, blue stones, a seahorse stirrer, and several Ferrero Rocher chocolate sweets.

The centerpiece I won (minus most of its chocolates, thanks to Toad), my sachet, and one of the menus I was given at the end, when I asked who baked the treats

The thoughtful organizers made sure to provide sugar-free treats for those who were diabetic. Servers provided either coffee or hot water for tea, and later invited us to partake of a refreshing Persian drink (Sekanjabin?) . At the end of the evening we each received a festive sachet to take home with us. You can see a bit of our table and some of its finery in this photo of one of the belly dancers:

The Mattawa group was given the long table in the back of the room and had a good view of all the dancing. When the dancers made their entrance to music the whole audience felt the spirit and was enlivened. It was marvelous! I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of the belly dancers. You can see from the faces of the audience that we all had a wonderful time!

After dancing for us for quite some time, the belly dancing instructor, Susan, had us all stand and taught us how to do some basic moves. Her three students helped by coming around to us to check our progress and to demonstrate the moves again. Here is Susan dancing with one of the event organizers, Chris Kerr:

Chris and Susan

A good time was had by all!

A Jam Good Time in the Calvin Community

2008-08-18T14:21:00.016-04:00

Saturday evening the Toad and I went to a jam session at the Calvin Township Community Center, which is about ten miles or so from our home in Papineau Township. I had learned of this event while posting flyers for the August P.E.P. Talk in Mattawa. A woman came up to the bulletin board just as I had finished posting(after rearranging several other flyers to make space for mine) and was looking for a spot to post her flyer. So I helped her find a place and asked what she was promoting. She told me a bit about this jam session and that it was supported by donations. It sounded like it could be fun, so I planned all week to go to it, weather permitting. Saturday was a lovely day, so that evening I persuaded a reluctant Toad to get cleaned up and go with me to the jam session. Since I learned of them a few months ago I have wanted to go to the jam sessions held in Mattawa at the Golden Age Club every Wednesday evening, but for one reason or another we have not gone yet. This was a good opportunity to find out how jam sessions go in this area of the world.

The jam session at Calvin started at 7pm and we got there just as it was about to start. There was an attendance roster to sign at the entry and a donation box. We made a donation and signed in. There were about twenty-five names on the roster ahead of ours, so the turnout was pretty good. We learned that we were the only newcomers, other than several of the musicians, when one of the men stepped up to the microphone and welcomed us (we stood up and waved and nodded). The woman sitting to my right leaned over and asked where we lived, as it had been implied that we were new members of the Calvin Township community, and I told her that we were visiting from Papineau Township, where we rent, but that we are hoping to buy a house in this general area if possible. She was very friendly, and told me of a house recently up for sale that we might want to check out.

We had chosen seats at the back of the room and so were near the kitchen, a washroom, and a table with a huge coffeemaker and about three dozen mugs. Very handy! The coffee was very tasty, which was great as neither the Toad nor I drink much coffee and don't like it to be too strong or bitter when we do drink it. Tea was also available if you asked at the kitchen, as I found out when from time to time someone would be served a cup of tea. I was so happy with the coffee, though, that I stuck with it.

There were several musicians in the front of the room, with a good variety of instruments: several guitars, a bass, a mandolin, and a harmonica. I couldn't get them all in the photo, but here are at least some of these very talented musicians.

The music was fantastic! Early on in the evening Toad leaned over and said, "Aren't you glad I made you come to this?" What a kidder. He was certainly glad that we didn't miss this good music, good company and good food! After an hour or so there was a rest break for the musicians and an opportunity to meet them and other people as well as to sample the bounty of sandwiches and baked goods that some of the women had prepared and set out on the table behind us. Just before the break a small woman with a remarkable voice had come out of the audience to sing and boy, could she sing! Hearing her made me want to hear her sing lots of songs made popular by Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline. I especially wanted to hear her sing "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels", so I asked the man who had introduced us at the beginning if I could make a request. He said yes and told me that her name is Nikki (not sure about the spelling), so I talked with her for a while and was happy to hear that she knew the song; she just had to check to see if she had the lyrics with her.

During the break Toad and I also talked with two of the musicians, both of whom turned out to be from down South (Toronto and Windsor) and were up here for the weekend visiting a friend who lives in Calvin Township. Fantastic singer/songwriters. One of the guys, Andrew Kerth, noted my "American accent" and told me that his girlfriend, Janet, was from Alabama but had no distinctive accent as she had lived in several areas of the States while growing up. I went up to meet Janet, who plays bass, and had a good chat with her about some of our experiences living in Canada.

Andrew Kerth, Terry (mandolin), and Janet (bass)Ruth (harmonica) and Sonny (seated with guitar)

Before the music ended for the evening Andrew sang another of his original songs, Wishing Well, that was very moving. He had told me that I could find him on YouTube doing cover songs but that he hoped to add some of his own songs, so when I got home I looked him up and found, to my delight, several of his original songs, including Wishing Well. Listen to this:

Andrew, Janet, Terry, Terry's wife, Ruth (harmonica), and others were staying with Jackie (guitar) for a sort of musicians circle/retreat, and so, unfortunately, won't be in this area very often. We were just in the right place at the right time to hear them jam.

Ruth and Jackie

Some of the other musicians and singers are local, however, and we plan to go to other jam sessions to hear more of them. There are an amazing number of talented people in our area! Tonight in Mattawa we hope to hear Nikki sing the Kitty Wells song I requested Saturday evening, as there were just so many musicians and singers there that there was no time for her to get up a second time. She told me that she and Sonny go to jam sessions every Monday at a church in Mattawa, so we are planning to check it out this very evening! Hopefully the next time Toad will bring and play his bongo drums instead of just drumming on the table. Alas, I can only play the radio, so I will just have to keep clapping and singing along. :D

photo taken during second half of the session

Jackasselope Spotted At Mattawa Area Residence!

2008-06-29T18:53:00.001-04:00

Toad discovered this creature by the woodshed and shot it with my camera today. Until seeing the photo I had never seen a jackasselope, and will no doubt have nightmares after viewing it.

It's so ugly that it's almost cute. But, hey, it splits wood! And it attracts black flies, drawing them away from other living creatures.

Who couldn't use one of these?

Itipini Community Project & Mthatha Mission

2008-06-29T11:21:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.youtube.com

Itipini Community Project

clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com

There are several people I see regularly around Itipini who are about my age. It is impossible to look at them and not think about the wildly divergent paths our lives have taken since 1982. Often they have a child (or children), many have HIV, virtually none has a high school diploma, none has a formal job, and all live in tumbling-down shanties that barely deserve the word. As I’ve gotten to know them over the months, I’ve realized many of them are also quite talented, funny, intelligent, and hard-working, and, really, not all that different from me.

What’s been different, of course, is the opportunities available to us by virtue of where we were born and where and how we were raised

I had access to supportive parents, good schools, and an economy that produced opportunities like this one, among a whole host of other advantages. My peers in Itipini had almost none of that

clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com

My high-school English students

clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com

Noncedo

Mthunsikazi

Nonzuzo

Luleka

Nonhlazo

Ayabonga

Lindiwe

I've been following Jesse Zink's blog Mthatha Mission for many months. When I ran across the video today, which incorporates some of his photos, I put the the video and Jesse's excellent blog together to share both with others who may not know of the work being done to help the people who, by accident of birth, live in the Itipini community outside Mthatha, South Africa.

Travel Alberta To See These Unique Attractions!

2008-06-27T10:14:00.002-04:00

TravellingAlberta.com offers one-of-a-kind oil sands vacation packages

Edmonton, Canada — As the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) embarks on a synchronized propaganda campaign aligned with the Province's "rebranding" of the tar sands, Greenpeace has launched its own website to counter the greenwashing.

TravellingAlberta.com is a tongue-in-cheek travel site that uses humour to communicate a very serious issue to Canadian and international audiences about the destructive nature of the world's largest industrial development. The website showcases showcases some of the unique attractions that await travelers to Alberta: Black sand beaches, toxic lakes and clearcut forests. Until now, this kind of vacation destination was merely the stuff of science fiction; but now, it can be experienced first-hand.

"We thought we'd help the province and CAPP with their "rebranding" campaign by bringing Alberta's newest tourist attractions to the world's doorstep. Any visitor to the Alberta tar sands can see the pollution, smell the sulfur, taste the toxins and hear the air cannons — we're saving them the trip," says Mike Hudema, a tar sands campaigner with Greenpeace.

"Premier Ed Stelmach and CAPP can spend 25 million dollars of tax payers' money trying to cleanup the image of the tar sands, but this development is still dirty, ugly and foul. That money would be much better spent cleaning up the tar sands themselves, rather than just the global image."

But while a real cleanup of the area is still a way off, the current state of northern Alberta offers a rare treat for the seasoned globetrotter who's craving something new. A seemingly endless expanse of bitumen-laden sands — coupled with the powerful scent of oil from refineries wafting through the hazy air — makes Northern Alberta a truly one-of-a-kind destination. As the long weekend approaches and families make their summer vacation plans, TravellingAlberta.com offers these adventure tips:

* Diversion surfing: Catch a wave, Alberta-style, and join Big Oil in taking advantage of the nearly 92 billion gallons of water diverted from provincial rivers each year!
* Animal sightings: Moose playing in tailings ponds, loons drenched in tar and ducks sinking in oil: it's not everywhere that you can see some of Canada's most prized wildlife in these unique settings. Hurry though! They're going fast!
* Tailings sailing: Come enjoy the vast lakes of toxic water, so big they're visible to the naked eye from space! Chase that horizon, but be careful not to capsize!
* Fun in the sun: Forget Cancun, Alberta is sizzling! Boasting more greenhouse gas emissions than Canada's three other most populous provinces combined, it's really heating up out here!

Greenpeace will promote the website internationally, calling on visitors to share the site with friends and to write Premier Ed Stelmach, Travel Minister Cindy Ady and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand they put the brakes on tar sand development.
TravellingAlberta.com

Memorable Merriment From The Divine Miss M

2008-06-23T22:35:00.000-04:00

The 1985 appearance of the Bette Midler on the Johnny Carson Show is one of my all-time television favorites. Over the years I've often thought about her hilarious rendition of "Fit or Fat (Fat As I Am)" and wished to see it again. Through the combined miracles of the Internet and YouTube my wish came true this evening, when I found this gem:

Fit or Fat (Fat As I Am)

Fat as I am.
Who wants to see a diva fat as I am?
I get mistaken now for Lainie Kazan.
How is it that I'm fat as I am?

Fat as I am.
The camera's gonna add a ton to my can.
This is the way they say Godzilla began.
How did I get as fat as I am?

"Try it again."
All of my friends say I should diet again;
That all my fans are gonna riot again.
"Look what happened to Liz."

All of my sins
are not as numerous as . . . all of my chins!
I could audition for the Doublemint twins.
No one in the biz is as fat as I is.

Ah, but what's a career
when you put it next to knackwurst and beer?
They could park a DC10 on my rear.
God knows I got the gas!

There goes the chair.
But to tell the truth, I'm too fat to care!
I ate a meatball off the floor right over there.
Ah, you don't give a damn
when you're fat as I am!

--Bette Midler, from Mud Will Be Flung Tonight!

Priceless!

Release Our Activists

2008-06-22T11:18:00.001-04:00

Release our activists

A Day To Celebrate Old Culture With New Friends

2008-06-21T20:48:00.018-04:00

The biting insects are still here and swarming about in huge numbers, and we have had rain every day for weeks, so I haven't been able to do much more in the garden. The seeds we have managed to plant are sprouting nicely, though. I had hoped to plant more beans and some squash today but it didn't work out. We've had thunderstorms today since 3pm. Very unsettling weather.

One of several overflowing rain barrelsYellow on edges and side is pollen!

Hens taking shelter on the veranda during the thunderstorm

This Sugar Snap Pea Loves The Rain!

Today was National Aboriginal Day and the summer solstice, so the local aboriginal community planned a celebration called One Nation, One People and invited everyone to attend. The invitation was primarily by word of mouth, as many things seem to be in this area, and my friend Jeannine called Thursday evening to invite us to go with her and her husband. A lot of people in this area have native backgrounds or strong connections to native peoples, but I have had little personal experience with the local native culture so this was a wonderful opportunity to be introduced to it. Jeannine and I met through the book club/Friends of the Library group. The Toad and I just met her husband Elmer a few weeks ago at the first P.E.P. Talk at the library. They are both from this area and know a lot of people, many of whom are their relatives in one way or another. Anyway, Jeannine wanted us to go with them today so that she could introduce us to people there and spend some time together. I didn't take very many photos, as I'm not sure that the people encourage it, but did get a few good ones to share.

We had a good time--the weather was breezy and sunny, the food was delicious, the native ceremony was beautiful, and the demonstrations of native handicrafts were very interesting. We met a man who builds birch bark canoes the traditional way--no metals or modern adhesives! People were weaving baskets and making bows (as in bows and arrows). People were singing and playing music on stage--but not native music, as you might expect. They were playing old country-western songs! The only native music we heard were the two songs that were part of the ceremony. One People, One Nation was held at Explorer's Point, a very scenic area at the junction of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers. The Laurentian Mountains are in the background.

Part of the ceremony: the first song

The second songJeannine (in red shirt, white hair) drumming

My friend Jeannine with her drum

Jeannine and Elmer

Toad and Jeannine admiring handmade canoe artistry

detail of craftsmanship inside canoe (cedar lining)

We also spent time in the town museum, though not nearly long enough to appreciate more than a small fraction of the history and displays it contains. The National Aboriginal Day event was scheduled from 11am to 3pm. With all the rain we have had lately it was unlikely that the weather would be clear but it was--right up until 3pm when the rains began again. The thunder and lightning began as we drove home.

So no gardening today, but hopefully I can do a bit tomorrow if the insects aren't too bad. Toad really has to keep working on the firewood, as we are woefully behind in getting it split in time to dry properly before winter. I've been stacking the split wood, which is good exercise, during rare times when the insects have let up a bit. Firewood, garden, mowing, housework, cooking, volunteer activities--there's always a lot to do!

Firewood Central: Our Work Cut Out For Us

At the moment we are both "under the weather", feeling the effects of the storm on our joints and muscles. It is a good evening for reading, possibly something that starts with, "It was a dark and stormy night...."

Open Season on Canadian Water

2008-06-20T19:43:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.cbc.ca

Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites

Lakes are in B.C., Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, NWT and Nunavut

Bush pilot Doug Beaumont and environmentalist Jim Bourquin fish on Kluela Lake, downstream from the planned dump site for the Red Chris gold and copper mining project in northwestern B.C.

16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland

Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.

Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas."

That means mining companies don't need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.

"What Canadians need to know is that this year, from March 2008 to March of 2009, eight lakes are going to be subject to being put on Schedule Two, which is just about every mine that is going ahead this year is looking around, looking for the nearest lake to dump its waste into.”

Un. Frickin. Believable!

Time for this government to fall! C'mon, Dion, DO SOMETHING!

I'm Voting Republican

2008-06-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

Brilliant!

Ups and Downs and Minutia of Life

2008-06-15T23:41:00.004-04:00

The past week just flew by! A lot went on in our lives, much more than the usual day-to-day business of living. My life used to be a lot like this, so busy that I could hardly keep up with work and volunteer activities and my children's needs and more, but since the kids left home and I retired and moved to Canada to marry the Toad my life has slowed down to what feels like a snail's pace.

Living a simple life in this rural area limited my contact with other people to the once or twice a week trips to Mattawa for groceries or prescription refills or the odd thigamajig from the hardware store. Once a month we drive to North Bay for feed and items not available in Mattawa or for Toad to see his doctor. So in general we don't get out much. And we like it this way. It's a good thing, too, given the escalating price of gasoline. It is hard to cut back on driving when we've already cut back to this limited number of road trips.

I do get out more than the Toad does, however. In February 2007 I attended my first monthly book club meeting at the library and joined the Friends of the Library, which meets at the same time; the two go hand-in-hand. In May 2007 I became a member of the Board of Directors for our local women's shelter and started attending the board meetings that take place every month except July and August. So twice a month I have regular contact with people besides Toad and our neighbors.

As I grow older and more reflective (and I have a lot more time now to be reflective!) I have noted that my two greatest strengths are my imagination/creativity and my generosity. Much of the time I have a tendency to be depressed to different degrees, but once in a while I'll have a good day and will come up with imaginative ideas regarding some aspect of my life. When I worked at the lab I enjoyed creating visually pleasing, educational, and wacky displays for the hall bulletin board just outside my office/lab door. Many times I transformed the large display case off the library into a marvelous educational showplace with a theme of my own choosing, incorporating features such a little waterfalls and sound-activated items that moved when viewers knocked on the window. I wish that I had photos of all those displays.

As a charter member of the Sierra Club group in my area of Indiana I was pleased to be able to plan and publicize educational programs for our monthly meetings--finding speakers, designing flyers, writing ads for the media and doing whatever else I could think of to boost attendance and make the programs more enjoyable for everyone. I recall coming up with the idea of serving refreshments immediately following each program, which not only helped boost attendance when advertised ("refreshments served" has a welcoming appeal for people) but also provided a social atmosphere for mingling with other attendees (and usually the grateful speaker) to continue the discussion. As it was my idea, it fell to me to implement it by procuring the refreshments prior to each program. It was fun and rewarding to be able to express myself and help others at the same time.

So early this year when the Friends of the Library began to discuss how to boost library attendance I immediately drew on my experience with the Sierra Club and my displays at my former job and suggested that we host a monthly educational program for the public that would take place at the library and would be designed as entertaining, informative, interactive presentations connecting the public with our library and our local businesses, artisans, and other community members. I came up with the name P.E.P. Talk which I think has an appealing, jaunty quality to it; P.E.P. stands for Public Education Program. My mind raced with ideas for presentations and displays and the format--from how to arrange the seating to refreshments to adding a door prize to creating a blurb to advertise to using china for the coffee and being as environmentally conscious as possible...so many exciting images and ideas to capture and implement!

As it turned out I helped choose the first presenter, wrote the publicity ad that appeared in the local newspaper and ended up being the one who posted the flyers prepared by the library staff. A fellow Friend of the Library (FOL) member and I put together a display of library books related to the topic of the presentation and moved the tables to create the seating arrangement, a table for the presenter to use in the demonstration, and a place for the refreshments. Two FOL members brought china cups and saucers. I offered to bring iced tea. Another FOL member purchased (with monies the FOL had made from fundraising--book and bake sales) the coffee, sugar, and cream as well as a gift certificate from the speaker's business that we had decided would make a good door prize when combined with a book (I had stressed that having both symbolized the connection between the public (winner), library (book), and business (gift certificate) that was the basic concept of the P.E.P. Talks I had envisioned. As the presenter was demonstrating food preparation and planned to provide samples to the audience FOL did not need to make or buy any cookies or other edibles to serve as refreshments for this first P.E.P. Talk. I did, however, buy and donate hard plastic "highball" cups (was too busy to figure out how to get enough tea glasses), iced tea and juice to serve. And when the FOL member who had volunteered to bring napkins failed to show up another FOL member bought some as a donation. We all pulled together to get the refreshments set up invitingly. The china cups were quite elegant. I supplied my red woven tablecloth to give the refreshment table some pizazz.

The upshot of all these efforts was that on May 28th we hosted our first P.E.P. Talk at the library! It was very enjoyable for everyone. I was asked to start the program and introduce the presenter, which I did in my informal goof-ball way; I also pointed out the library book display, coordinated the door prize drawing, advertised the June P.E.P. Talk topic and speaker, and invited the attendees to help themselves to the coffee, tea and juice. During and after the presentation I took photos, although it was difficult to get a good shot of the overall group due to the layout of the room. Fortunately there are people in this world, and at the library, who enjoy washing up and are quite efficient at it. As the program wound down and people began to tear themselves away from chatting with friends over coffee, and while I was still snapping photos, there were a couple of people behind the scenes washing up the china and coffeepots (we had decaf and regular). I did help clear away some of the things, including the leftovers of what I had brought, and I helped re-shelve the library books that had been displayed and move the tables and chairs back to the locations they were prior to the event.

When pitching my idea for P.E.P. Talks I had emphasized that it is very important to line up presenters for subsequent months in advance of the current program so that the topic and presenter for the next program can be announced at the current program. I wanted the second program to be on gardening, as this is the season, and the other FOL members generally agreed, so I made the arrangements with a woman who has moved and expanded her garden shop to be our June speaker. I wrote the publicity blurb and sent it off.

This past Monday I worked out permission to write up an account of our May P.E.P. Talk for the local weekly newspaper. I called the editor to find out how to submit articles and photos, how many words I'm allowed for the article (200-300), and to get the deadline for submitting in time for it to get in the weekend paper. The deadline is Wednesday at 4pm, so Tuesday I worked hard writing the article and choosing one photo to submit with it. That was difficult, as I had several good photos documenting different aspects of the event--the presentation, the question and answer session, the audience enjoying their refreshments and chatting, the door prize winner with her goodies, the overall scene. In the end I chose one of the presenter's two staff members demonstrating the food preparation, which was the featured topic of the evening. It was clear, light enough to show up well, good of the two people in it, and featured the business. I wrote the article in what I consider an old-fashioned, folksy way that I hope others besides the Toad and I appreciate, wanting the writing to be entertaining and informative so that those who were there will smile at the memories evoked and those who did not attend will understand what they missed and want to attend future talks. I submitted the caption for the photo, a byline for me, and the title I came up with for the article and asked to use for subsequent write-ups: Your Monthly PEP Talk!

Celine and Debbie demonstrate preparation of chicken wraps and parfaits

Wednesday morning I reviewed my work and then submitted it to the newspaper. What a relief! The weather continued to be far rainy and muggy and insecty to work on the garden so I stayed in and relaxed, just cooking a bit and washing dishes. Wednesday evening we received a call from the daughter-in-law of Allan Rogers, the man who had been Toad's roommate when he was in the North Bay hospital last February. Toad is quite a talker and is wonderful at putting people at ease and getting them to laugh, even when he is ill. The two had swapped military stories--they were close in age and learned that they had been in many of the same places overseas, just at different times. Well, Allan and Toad really hit it off. Several days after Toad was discharged we made a trip to North Bay to visit Allan. He was so happy to see the Toad! He was going to be transferred to the Sudbury hospital in two days for treatment. We told him that when he got out of the hospital and was feeling up to company we would come to visit him at home. He appreciated that, and had me write down our phone number for him. When his daughter-in-law called Wednesday evening it was to tell us that he had died and that she thought that we would want to know that, along with the visitation hours and time of the funeral Friday. Toad had met this woman, the daughter-in-law, several times during his hospital stay, as she worked close by and came often to see her father-in-law. We spent a somber evening, thinking about Allan's death. Thursday, yet another rainy day, we planned the two-hour trip to Burk's Falls to attend his funeral and assembled our dress clothes and shoes.

Friday morning we left home shortly after 8am, as the funeral was at 11am and we didn't want to rush since it was raining hard here in Mattawa. We took the back roads to Powassan and then the highway south to Burk's Falls. The closer we got to Burk's Falls the more the skies cleared, so that it was a beautiful sunny day when we arrived there. There was a gloriously refreshing breeze blowing that combined with the sunshine to lift the spirits and provide a splendid atmosphere in which to celebrate Allan's life and see him laid to rest. Allan's family members were happy to see the Toad, and told us that the only times he had laughed and had any enjoyment during the months he was in the hospital were during the week he and Toad shared a room and reminisced. He had had a very rough time of it, and although he finally was able to go home to be with his wife and devoted dog, and to die at home, he was unable to speak and was never up to having company. But he kept our phone number, his link to the Toad and happier times.

After the funeral we were invited to the senior center to meet with Allan's family, see some photos of him as a young man, and have a bite to eat. We did not go to the cemetery for the burial, as the family's grief is overwhelming at such times. Instead, we walked about, enjoying the sun and breeze, as we waited for Allan's family to arrive at the senior center. Afterward we stopped by the public library for a quick visit before driving to the cemetery to see Allan's grave. The small cemetery is in a lovely, quiet area out in the country. After paying our respects we then headed home, drained.

The weather had begun to turn hot and muggy after the funeral, and by the time we got on the road it was miserably so. When we reached Powassan again we bought chicken feed, ten seed potatoes, a few more packets of vegetable seeds, and gasoline for the car. We arrived home in the late afternoon, shed all the hot dress clothes and turned on all the fans. Sitting in front of a box fan while periodically wiping face, neck, arms and legs with a cold wet washcloth is about the only way to endure the heat and humidity on days without much of a breeze. I had purchased a delightful little book at a book sale and this seemed to be an opportune time to read it aloud to the Toad. So Friday evening we read part of I Remember, an autobiography by Herbert Stitt, a retired railroad man who, at the time he wrote the book in 1983, was eighty-six years old. Reading aloud takes much longer than reading silently, so I am happy to be reading this book aloud and prolonging the moment I reach the end of it. The book is fascinating, well-written and full of information about trains and history as it touched the life of the author, including both world wars and the Great Depression.

Saturday we went to town for a few groceries, some medicine for Toad, and to pick up the local newspaper and see my first article in print. With great anticipation I opened the paper and there it was, just as I had written it--no editing--and with the photo quite clear. I am so proud! I had already decided to make a scrapbook with promotional flyers and my photos of our P.E.P. Talks and will be sure to include the articles as well. Can you hear the thumping as I pat myself on the back? ha ha

It was raining off and on again Saturday (yesterday) and very muggy. The biting insects were out in full force. So we couldn't do much with the garden. Saturday afternoon I monkeyed about in the kitchen, cleaning and rearranging stuff on the counters to make it (hopefully) more pleasing to the eye. We use powdered milk, and I finally got around to putting it in a see-through plastic bin that makes it much easier to get to and measure without spilling. It also is mouse-proof. You would think that with seven cats living indoors there would be no mice in the house but that is not the case. Whoever put the kitchen cabinets together and left off any backing that would have sealed them against mice should be shot with a ball of their own shit. Mice come in, play, eat, crap, and sleep, safe from the cats unless we leave the cabinet doors and drawers open all the time. So all food except for that sealed in jars or cans has to be in an upper cabinet or on the counter.

Today (Sunday)it was not raining and there was a strong breeze. Yay! We could hardly believe our good fortune! We took advantage of the opportunity to work in the garden, hand-tilling and planting most of the day. I had to mow the grass inside the pen before we could get started. The whole yard needs to be mowed after all the rain we've had, but a person can only do so much. I did mow several swaths in front of the house before and after mowing inside the pen, and much later mowed more of the front yard and the area near the closest woodshed, where Toad splits the wood. But the main focus of the day was on the garden. The sugar snap peas are peeking through the earth and the tomatoes are doing well, but there was so much more to get planted!

While in Mattawa Saturday morning we asked a friend for some discarded tires he had lying about so that we could use them in our garden to plant in. He was pleased to be rid of them, as the disposal fee per tire at the landfill is $5. We could only fit three into the trunk of the car, so will have to go back in the truck to get the rest that we need. They have water in them from all the rain and that complicated matters when loading them into the trunk of the car. It is very hard to get all the water out of a tire! So they still had quite a lot of water in them when they were placed in the trunk. Not good. Anyway, we put black plastic down in one section of the garden and placed on top of it those three tires plus an old one from the car and an old one we found last year. Toad filled four of the tires with old hay and some earth and the seed potatoes that he had cut up Friday evening to "scar", planted green beans at the far end, and planted swiss chard in a large container. The plan is to control weeds by putting black plastic around the beans once they sprout and emerge.

Tire Garden, a work in progressPotatoes in 4 tires by fence, more tires & squash yet to come

Green Beans in U, Swiss Chard in Container

Meanwhile, I hand-tilled and weeded a good-sized area and planted the rest of the corn. I also extended the corner section that I'd worked on and planted last weekend a bit more and planted the four green pepper plants--boy, were they happy to get out of their container! Likewise, I extended the planting area near the gate, in front of two tomato plants, and planted the last four marigolds.

Corn Patch Adjacent To Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas Beyond

Peppers Added To Tomato/Marigold Corner

Green Peppers & Beefsteak Tomato

Newly Added Marigolds In Front of Tomatoes, Peas To Left

The garden is really starting to look like a garden now. We have more seeds yet to plant but, as I said earlier, a person can only do so much. When the breezes stopped and the deer flies came to join the remaining black flies that had begun swarming around my face it was time to pack it in. We cleaned up the garden, I mowed for about five minutes, and then we retreated inside for baths and pain relievers for our aching backs. Nap, dinner, called my dad to wish him a happy father's day, and several hours of reflection and writing later, bed.

Sad News

2008-06-09T22:57:00.004-04:00

Minerva died today. We had just put her, Millie, Pebbles and Timmy outdoors in the tub for the summer on Saturday so that they could enjoy the sunshine. She was swimming about yesterday when I took this photo of their summer quarters. The turtles had shade and their water was not too hot for them.

We don't understand what caused her death, although she had been acting strangely in the house for a few weeks, not wanting to eat much. We thought that the change of scenery and the sunlight would make her feel better. It's so sad to lose her. You can read Minerva's story here. Rest in peace, Minerva.

Heat, Humidity and Biting Insects: Yes, I would like a glass for my whine!

2008-06-09T20:37:00.010-04:00

What happened to pleasantly warm Spring weather? We've had cold and snow, then maybe one good day followed by rain, rain, rain and then hot summer temps. Geez. I have to cover up outdoors due to the mosquitoes and flies (I've been bleeding from black fly bites!) and UV rays, so I'm extremely hot -- and I don't mean sexy hot, either.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning I finally began working in the garden, spending several hours each day hand-tilling the ground just inside the fence, planting tomatoes and corn and generally soiling myself. So far I've managed to to plant all sixteen tomatoes, four corn and twenty-two sugar snap peas. I also planted eight marigolds among the tomatoes. All that work looks so puny and insignificant when I survey it, yet it gives me a real feeling of accomplishment. There are still squash and swiss chard seeds yet to plant, as well as more corn, but I've had it for now. My back, hips and neck are still screaming in agony. Saturday night I ached so much, despite ibuprofen, that I couldn't get to sleep and ended up reading most of the night. It was nearly dawn when I finally made myself turn out the light and rest my eyes.

The plan is to garden inside the pen, safe from chickens and Dudley, and to tie the peas and tomatoes to the fence for support. The corn is to be in the middle of the pen, along with the squash and swiss chard. Try to ignore the weeds, please, as you view the fruits (and vegetables) of my labors so far:

One long row I hoed...so farSugar snap peas, Ultra Sweet tomatoes & Marigolds

Two of the eight Ultra Sweet tomatoes

Four Beefsteak Tomatoes & Six Marigolds

Sunday afternoon I nearly died while trying to mow the rest of the yard before it rained, all decked out in my long pants, boots, long-sleeved shirt and hat, flies and mosquitoes biting my face. All of a sudden I could hardly breathe, the air was THAT close! I stopped the mower by the veranda and called out to the Toad that I had to go inside NOW. He had been stacking wood and was just coming out of the woodshed, as it was stifling in there. No breeze whatsoever. It was as if a heavy pall came down upon us and nearly crushed the life out of us. I managed to take a cool shower and then lay in front of a fan, and then finally began to recover. Scary. Poor Toad felt better after a bath and the fan treatment, too. I'm just so glad that I got all the tomatoes in the ground before this hit. They love the humidity! You should see me--I have insect bites all over my hands and face from planting them and mowing yesterday. Itchy, itchy black fly and skeeter bites. Bah!

The Toad and I were pretty much incapacitated by the heat, humidity and bugs today, too. No breeze. Even Toad, who doesn't complain about the bugs eating him alive like I do, came in from feeding the chickens and Dudley and complained that the bugs were all over him. I stepped out onto the veranda once and had to come back in after only a few seconds. There must be some kind of pressure system over us because the air is heavy and we can hardly move. We each have a fan blowing directly on us, the birds have a fan on them and we have yet another fan in the living room to help the cats and Sadie live through this. Everyone is sluggish. It just might be starting to let up a bit, though, as the feeling of despair is starting to lift a bit. I've just been messing around on the internet today and staying as still as possible most of the time in order to survive this heat.

Our hot dog Sadie is lying in front of her fan. Since yesterday morning the cats have been lying about, stretched into semi-circles here and there all over the house. I was just talking to the Toad about poor Dudley not having a fan, so he's going to hook up an old fan to turn on during the day near Dudley's bed in the barn. Wish I had thought of it sooner.

The chickens are pretty subdued in this heat most of the day, too, except for my favorite rooster Foghorn. Saturday when I started hand-tilling the soil he came in the pen with me, watching, and then followed along scratching the newly-tilled areas hunting for insects and worms. When the time came to plant the sugar snap peas I had to shoo him out and close the gate. Sunday as I continued hand-tilling he stood outside the fence watching me, obviously wishing that he could come in and forage again. Sorry, Foghorn.

View from my front door: Foghorn surveying a sleeping Dudley from the veranda, Sadie in foreground08June08AM

This morning I learned that Sunday my hometown in Indiana experienced an unexpected downpour of rain--twelve inches in 24 hours--and horrendous flooding after a dam gave way north of it. Lots and lots of flooded homes and businesses. Even the hospital had to be evacuated and is closed indefinitely! My niece's house was flooded and her husband and their two dogs had to be rescued. What a heartbreaking mess all those people have to deal with in the heat and humidity...with more storms forecast for tonight...and most without flood insurance, as they don't (or didn't know they did) live in a flood plain. So awful.

I just HAD to try this....and am I ever glad that I did!

2008-06-06T18:25:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago my friend Lynda in Tanzania posted Malva Pudding Recipe (You just HAVE to try this one!), tempting readers with a photo captioned "Such a simple looking pudding - but don't be fooled ! It's spongy, almost honeycomb like texture & sweet, syrupy sauce is out of this world delicious ....." My sweet tooth has yearned for this dessert since the moment I read those words.

Well, this afternoon I made my first Malva Pudding and I have to say that it is just as delicious as Lynda claimed it would be! Here is my Malva Pudding, before and after the sauce was added--I had to get the before photo quickly as the sauce is poured on as soon as the pudding comes out of the oven.

Before Sauce
After Sauce(Note bubbling as the hot, sweet sauce percolates down through the cake to create a pudding)

Of course I had to get the after photo quickly, too, as the desire to cut into the warm pudding was overwhelming. We ate our Malva Pudding warm, mmmmmoaning with delight at its rich, sweet taste and light texture.

This Malva Pudding recipe is easy to follow. The only difficulty I had was making the conversion from metric to American units. It helps to know that 5ml = 1 teaspoon, 15 ml = 1 tablespoon, 100 ml liquid = roughly 1/2 cup, 200 gm sugar = 1 cup, 150 gm sugar = 3/4 cup, and 150 gm flour = 1 & 1/4 cups. I mixed all the ingredients in my food processor and the batter was very, very smooth, and a little pink due to the strawberry jam. Yum! I baked it in a large casserole dish with a glass lid.

So Lynda, as usual, was right: Malva Pudding is so delicious that you just HAVE to try it! Anyone with a sweet tooth will love it. Check out Lynda's blog for recipes for many other tasty dishes.

A Father Goose Tale

2008-05-30T20:33:00.022-04:00

We live on a very rural, gravel road with dips and rises, a road cut through a forest and bisecting a stream that leads to one of the two lakes that can be seen from the roadside. The two lowest-lying areas are wet and marshy on either side of the road and have proven to be handy portages for Canada geese families traveling by foot from one lake to another. Why drag the goslings through the woods and underbrush when there is a clear path most of the way?

Yesterday I saw two pair of Canada geese, one pair at each portage site, both pair in the vegetation alongside the road. Well, today on my way to an appointment in town I encountered one pair of geese shepherding eight little goslings down the road. How sweet!

(Click images to enlarge)

When Father Goose began to feel threatened by my car he slowed down while Mother Goose continued walking with the babies, moving them toward the opposite side of the road, the side they would eventually exit on. I crept along, not wishing to alarm the geese yet needing to get into town. Father Goose slowed down even more and spread his beautiful tail feathers as a warning to me.

When I persisted in following him he stopped and bent his neck at me menacingly. His message was clear: Back off! His threat display was a treat to witness, and his valor in protecting his family was heartwarming. I know how aggressive Canada geese are when they have little ones so I kept a healthy distance away when I stepped out of the car for a couple of photos, didn't tarry long outside the car and even rolled my car windows up enough to prevent an attack from that angle.

We made a humorous procession, I'm sure--Mother Goose with six goslings by her side, Father Goose walking much more slowly several yards behind his family and stopping every few seconds to "gooseneck" and make threatening displays, and me in my car, creeping along slower than Father Goose, waiting for the family to reach their destination and get off the road.

Time passed. I needed to get going. What to do? I honked, hoping to speed up the geese a bit. Mother Goose nervously moved their brood to the side of the road, the goslings looked confused and Father Goose grew even more angry and menacing at the intruder on HIS road.

After the mother and babies left the road Father Goose refused to budge from his position in front of my car. For another quarter of a mile he walked ahead of me, crossing back and forth in front of my car, goose-stepping and making menacing displays while I trailed behind him, slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a position yet thrilled to witness, and be part of, this fierce display of bravado. It would have been so easy to have run over the valiant guy; another person may have done so, but not I. No, I let him lead me far away from his family, let him bully me into driving extremely s-l-o-w-l-y, let him fulfill his role of protector and maintain his dignity at the expense of my own.

When we reached the beginning of the downhill slope past Bob and Jude's driveway, the point at which the field of dreams comes into view, Father Goose finally decided to take wing. Off he flew, circling back to rejoin his family.

Coming home after an afternoon of errands I had forgotten about my encounter with Father Goose, but was quickly reminded when I came upon TWO pair of geese accompanied by their young: six with one set of parents and three with the other.

Once again a Father Goose slowed to force me to slow down and allow all the others to proceed safely. I was in no hurry and didn't mind creeping along at a goose's pace, but was amused at his goose-stepping and occasional goosenecking displays of protectiveness. Long after the other geese left the road at the entrance to the lake he continued to lead me up the road for at least an eighth of a mile before taking wing and allowing me to pass.

Goosenecking

Goose-stepping

Sights and encounters like this remind me of how wonderful it is to live where wildlife still make their home and raise their families. These geese, the mother fox with her three or four kits that we see occasionally near the entrance to their den in the field of dreams, the sandhill cranes that we look so forward to seeing each year in the field of dreams and in other fields as we drive along the back roads, the silly little partridges we see alongside the road, the woodcocks with their funny walk, the deer we see in the fields...all these and more (including the one black bear and two moose I've seen in our area) bring the Toad and I an enormous amount of joy.