Two Thousand Fifteen

Happy 2015! Here at the chateau on 12th Avenue we are so very classy that we let cats sit on the table. Actually, it's not that we let her so much, it's that she just does.

In what was surely an auspicious start to the new year, I spent New Year's Eve with some of my best friends, playing music and chatting until the wee hours. I had the pleasure of seeing my guy mingling with my bandmates and getting along famously with them, which was just lovely. In the middle of playing a song I'd look over and see him smiling at me... it doesn't get any better than that. Then my friend Holly turned up because she was en route to Victoria from Salmon Arm and had nowhere to party while in Vancouver. I'd felt some anxiety about telling her she could come, as the uptight side of me thinks it's kind of rude to ask friends to someone else's party... I should've remembered the Law Of Holly, which is that she knows everyone. Within minutes of arriving, she was chatting away with some other people from Victoria and I was chiding myself for being uptight. Midnight came and The night/morning ended with my guy and I eating at the Naam (a 24-hour vegetarian restaurant that's been in Kits forEVER) at 3am, and getting to bed by about 4...

Needless to say it was a lazy day yesterday, although we did manage to go running... straight to East Is East, where we sipped spicy chai and warmed our hands before plunging back into the cold crisp sunshine and buying veggies. My guy had bought a turkey and he was determined to cook it. Although I'd had my fill of over-rich holiday food I could hardly deny him when he wanted to make it for me, and thanks to his paper-bag method of roasting it the turkey was moist, tender and crispy-skinned. I was flabbergasted, since a) I'd kind of assumed he wasn't much for cooking and b) his kitchen is so tiny and overstuffed that you couldn't swing a cat in it, so I didn't think that much good could come out of it. Despite my sleep-deprived bossiness in the micro-kitchen and the aforementioned lack of space we managed to prepare roast turkey, quinoa tabouleh and roasted veggies and still be on excellent terms by the end of it! We watched the appropriately epic The Man Who Would Be King and sipped martinis, and life was good.

Today dawned grey and cold. I unclasped myself from my guy's side and went home, clutching my spare clothes, an accordion, and a bag full of various turkey parts to make into soup... not a very fun journey on the bus (not to mention squeezing into our local Korean grocer for some veg)! I had kind of forgotten what a farce it can be, making sure you have the right instruments, clothes, etc with you when you go to your lover's house, and then dragging them all home again... But I made it, and turkey soup is now packed into several mason jars, some of which will eventually make the journey back to my guy's place the next time I head over there.

Here's hoping that 2015 started as well for you as it did for me.

Chocolate Beet Cake

The chocolate comes from the theatre where I worked all summer.
Selling popcorn in the back, grabbing sodas and corn, the chocolate didn't sell
so I get three bars for less than the price of two, 72 percent dark
from where it sat for months, listening to me sing
hearing me laugh,
and tease my friends, and meet the audience.
Everyone's hungry before a show.

The beets come from the veggie box
I split with friends down the road.
I worked with one of them but he left us
We're still friends though
and every week he sorts through the vegetables and brings me half
Right now we are besieged by beets
so I looked up this recipe

The espresso came from Bill & Claire's gallery.
Fair trade, dark and delicious.
They gave it to me free but I bought pottery
so it balances out I guess.
We visited the old church where they make their art;
Caught them just in time before a road trip.
They believe in me; no matter how frivolous I am
they believe that my art can make a difference

Flour from the house we live in, Eve & I
belonging to friends who are on the road.
We make a mess, we prep, we pre-heat the oven;
a girlfriend arrives with wine
I read the recipe, Eve stirs and Margaret pours refills
I am foggy with sadness and yet I am full of joy.
And when the cake comes out of the oven I recognize the taste:
sweet, dark, earthy-rich.
My life tastes like this.

I miss you, I miss you, I miss
the idea of you.
But truth is, I have friends to laugh and cry with
and love will come.
This much I am learning:
Old hurts are patched over by new ones
New ones are made bearable by
good friends
red wine
and chocolate beet cake.

The Rhythm.

Every year I describe my summer job to people. And every year I tell them: "I have to live in a run-down old house with the same people I work with. It's a bit like a reality tv show sometimes. It's kinda nuts."
But the truth is, that's an exaggeration. It's not usually nuts, except in a good way. Like when your roommate speaks in a ridiculously bad English accent and you all break up giggling because it never gets old. Or when you turn up the volume on a cheesy Katy Perry song on the way to work in your stage manager's car and later you sing bits of it while dressed in a 19th-century costume. Or when you all rush outside the house because there is an ADORABLE  Grizzly bear cub across the road and even though you all know it's a terrible idea to get anywhere near a bear cub, you all have to see the baby close-up. * And then your roommate sneaks up behind you and snarls and you let out a huge scream because you thought it was Mama Bear.
There are two 20-somethings and two late-30-somethings; three girls and one boy, and we all snuggle up in the evening and crochet or play video games and watch "American Horror Story" or some super-hero action movie and laugh a lot and cook dinners together and do the Kitchen Dance as we all try to fit ourselves around each other at the same time.
Sometimes you all have a Junk Food Day on your day off, and you eat ridiculous amounts of sugar (even though some of you are trying really hard not to consume that sort of thing). You might even make Orangette's Chocolate Banana Bread recipe, if you want to make your roommates love you. It's loaded with sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips as well as three bananas, and it won't last long:

It's the rhythm of my days with these folks that make life up here so sweet. In past years there has been more drama, but even when things were difficult or tense, we found some kind of rhythm together. It could be the hardest part of this contract, living for 5 months with the same people you see all day at work, and every year I'm amazed by how it's actually the best part. 

* This is a terrible idea! We only went outside to see the baby bear because there was no sign of the mother and as time went by it became apparent that for some reason she had become separated from her baby and was nowhere nearby. Don't ever do this. 

Food Fail. (Warning: this post is all about vomit!)

Ok, so I'm no great chef. I love food, but I'm not the sort of person who spends hours in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove in order to nourish my friends. "Family dinners"up north in the summer- usually a roast chicken and some veggies or some other easily-ignored dish- are about the extent of it.
But you know, I usually think that I'm an acceptable cook.
Until I poison myself.

Luckily so far I have been the only victim. I have had some questionable dates, but I've never actually made anyone projectile vomit. As far as I know. This time I came home last night after a shift at the music school, cooked myself a healthy little meal, and... a couple of hours later I was pinned unhappily to the couch, watching the time get later and later, feeling the nausea building and building.

Well, we all know what happens when you get food poisoning. Something a lot like... this scene from "Team America: World Police", that's what. Good times.

The thing is, my body seems to feel that it's SO important to Get The Toxins Out RIGHT FREAKIN' NOW that I will literally throw up so hard that I black out. Which means that I get hurt. Today I have a very tender spot on my back from collapsing on the tiles at one point, my right knee is sore, and I have a small bump on my forehead from when I pitched off the toilet and came to face-down on the bathroom floor.
As I said, good times.

So what have we learned, boys and girls? Maybe... Don't buy the lamb patties from Buy-Low Foods. And if you do, cook them all the way through.
Ugh.

Quinoa Salad and the Fountain of Youth

Marcella: You know, when you started getting invited to your ten year high school reunion, time is catching up.

Martin Q. Blank: Are you talking about a sense of my own mortality or a fear of death?

Marcella: Well, I never really thought about it quite like that.

Martin Q. Blank: Did you go to yours?

Marcella: Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled.

-From Grosse Pointe Blank

When I first saw Grosse Pointe Blank, I still had 5 years to go until my own 10-year reunion. Now I'm well past twenty years out of high school! How did that happen? How am I nearly forty years old? How? 

I've had some sobering reminders of aging and mortality recently: a friend's mom is in the hospital; I'm working with a college student I've known since she was six years old(!); I went to a play last night and saw an actor I hadn't seen in about 20 years and dammit, he looked OLD! Which he was, compared to the last time I saw him. And it reminded me that I'm not getting any younger either. 

I think I look pretty good for almost-forty, especially since this year began and I've been losing some weight and getting healthier. On the one hand it's hard: I go into a wonderful bakery and I realize that there is NOTHING that I can eat. Not a sandwich, not a wrap, and certainly not a cake or cookie (I don't eat bread basically ever. And obviously no desserts either. Or pasta. I DO eat rice, even white rice, and rice noodles and sometimes tortilla chips because everybody needs a few vices. It seems to be working.) I order a cappuccino and get the hell out of the bakery fast. Mostly I don't go into 'em in the first place. On the other hand it's getting easier: eating well just feels better, and I can wear cute clothes I would have avoided only months ago. When I DO overeat, it's likely that I gorged myself on something like Kombucha and Quinoa salad instead of chocolate and potato chips. 

Ah, Quinoa salad. I started eating it this summer, as an alternate form of Tabouleh. Now that I live with my brother and sister-in-law I am shamelessly copying their salad ideas. Since they are both hardworking nurses they pack a lot of lunches, and quinoa salad is often a big part of those lunches. I started by filching a quinoa/cucumber/chickpea salad that pretty much accompanied me to every first aid class. And now I'm onto this one, which I like even more. Start by roasting jalapenos for about 20 minutes in some olive oil. I add grape tomatoes too, which makes the salad a bit more moist, but so yummy. 

 At the same time, cook a cup of quinoa then let it cool down. If you have the patience to wait that long.

Once the roasted peppers and the quinoa are at least room temperature, add halved grapes, feta, roasted salted pumpkin seeds, and parsley. (Or cilantro, which is what the recipe calls for.) Oh, I always cook the quinoa in Vegetable broth, which makes it taste wayyy better. Voila!

Then, if you can keep the kitten's head out of your bowl, you can enjoy your healthy lunch. 

eggplant is an unlikely friend.

I have always hated eggplant. It's right up there with zucchini for Things That Make Me Throw Up in My Mouth: mushy, slimy texture, uncertain yet vaguely unpleasant taste and confusingly tough skin. Why, then, does Afghan Eggplant, or Borani Banjan, make me feel so happy?

It's the flavours: a little curry and turmeric, garlic, and  surprising cilantro, all fused together in a rich tomato sauce. The eggplant becomes infused with all this, and its usually icky texture gives way to a pleasant softness. 

It's been a busy week, socially at least. One friend from out of town has just left, and two more are camped in my living room for the next three nights. I'm still catching up with my local friends as well after my 5 months of being away. So many wonderful people to see and catch up with, and yet I've been feeling a little needy and wistful the last few days. Partly it's not having work and yet spending a good deal of money because I want to have a good time with my visitors. Partly it's nervousness, because my next job requires more accordion-playing skills than I think I have. Partly it's that little voice that always harangues me when I am not working: You should be creating/practicing/writing/exercising...  It's failing to keep up my good eating habits, and not liking my hair, and feeling as if I failed some kind of Date Audition with the guy I saw a couple of times who has completely faded from my life, and... I know: neurotic enough for ya?

Being able to re-create this eggplant dish, which I've had at East Is East a few times, actually made me feel really good, because it actually tasted almost the same as it did at the restaurant, and that's a confidence-booster. Plus I was able to feed my hungry friends when they arrived after their 9-hour drive. They probably didn't feel as ecstatic as I did about eggplant and tomato, but I noticed that pretty soon their bowls were both empty. And my spirits rose. 

Let the (Beet) Chips Fall Where They May

Oh, hi there. Do you want to know where I am?

That's probably a good hint. Yeah, I didn't go back south for school. The person who was going to replace me couldn't make it, for various reasons. I didn't really want to go to school and the one course I'd signed up for put me on a waitlist I couldn't seem to get off of. The theatre company couldn't be happier that I was able to stay. I couldn't be happier to still be here. Win-win. This is one of the reasons why I'm happy to be here:

Meet Jack the Cat.

I am house-sitting again. House Number 4 this summer. Suddenly everyone's decided that I'm reliable (hah!) and I get to drift from one beautiful, funky pad to the next. It gets me out of the somewhat, erm, shabby rental accommodation that I'd otherwise be in, and although I love my roomies there, it's bliss to be on my own for a bit. Hey, I went from a 14-year relationship to living with 2 (very messy) room mates in Vancouver, to constantly sharing a house with 3 or 4 other people up here. It's high time for some alone time, if you ask me.

"Who sez you're alone?!"

We also ended our main season at work, which means that I get 2 days of this week (!!!), and only have to do one show a day except for Saturdays. I did the Shoulder Season (as they call it) 2 years ago and it was wonderful. Gorgeous weather, light schedule, less staff which means that those who stay get very close. I love it. Plenty of time to go on excursions, hang out with friends. And oh yeah, cook.

It's Zucchini Season around here, which means that everyone is in a flat panic. Even folks who love 'em get overwhelmed. Me? I hate them, always have. Memories of grilled zucchini with parmesan cheese can still make me want to gag. So why do I have not one, but three Sugar-Free Zucchini-Banana Loaves baking as I type this, filling the ground floor with their heady scent? Well, because the lady I'm house-sitting for gets a veggie box, as many do around here. And in the veggie box are beets (yum!), cabbage (yum!), corn (double yum!) and... you guessed it. Hence the loaves, the only way I can stomach squash. And the sugar-free part? Well...

Last week I had a birthday. I can't believe it was only a week ago, because it feels as if so many things have happened since then, but it was. I celebrated in a very low-key style this year, involving some close friends, The Dark Knight Rises, and Caramel Bacon Popcorn. (I wasn't sugar-free way back then in August.) I'm working on a list of 40 things to do before I turn forty next summer, and one of the things was to try and go dessert-and-alcohol-free for September. Sugar-Free September has kind of a nice ring to it, don't ya think? So the zucchini had to be used up, but the loaves had to be sugar-free. I found this recipe online, a great way to use up old bananas and the ever-present zucchini.  I made one loaf yesterday, and found that while I didn't really miss the sweetness, there was something... lacking. Today I put in the allspice, which I'd been missing yesterday, and added more applesauce, more banana, and an egg. Much better. Now the oven's heating up to 400 for Beet Chips.

With all this cooking, it's a good thing I'm getting out for some exercise! I ran 10k last Friday, and while it was great, the running I've been doing this summer has done a number on my poor feet. Plantar Faciitis, in both feet, especially the left one. So it's back to biking, at least for a while. Yesterday I biked 30k along a gorgeous, remote road that would have had my Ursa-phobic mother in fits. Luckily for me, no bears were spotted; the biggest wildlife I saw was a bevy of beautiful butterflies.

Today is for cooking. And sloth, something that a cat can always teach you about. Happy Fall!

Cookin' Something Up

We’ve been doing a lot of cooking around here. At the Theatre Royal, we’ve been cooking up a show. And at home... well, I’m kind of embarrassed at how much baking I’ve been doing. Completely unprecedented. 

This year, we’ve been cooking (and shopping) communally, which I love. Not only is it cheaper, but there’s something about coming home at 5:30 and making dinner together that helps ease the petty frustrations of our work day. We get our own breakfasts before we run out the door to head to rehearsals and shows, and lunches are pretty much always eaten at the theatre, so dinner is the main event. This year there is a tall twenty year-old in the cast and in my house, so I’m cooking and baking for an appreciative audience. Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying it so much. 

The first week I was here, I was craving sugar all the time. After a few days I realized that it was because I hadn’t had a drink since I got up here and I’d had an epic (for me) night of drinking the night before I left (making for a blurry and nauseous bus ride the next day, ugh). But I was chomping my way through treats at the general store every day and it was getting unhealthy and expensive. So I figured I might as well start making my own. I started with what was around the house. Orangette had posted a recipe for cream cheese pound cake that sounded simple and tasty, so I made that. Oh, and 3 fruit crumbles (1 for a co-worker who lives down the road, 1 for the theatre, and 1 for the house). A former roommate had left a bag of whole wheat flour so I used that and everything was a little hearty-tasting, but not too bad. The sugar cravings abated somewhat. 

A few days ago I used up the last of a jar of Kraft peanut butter making 9 tasty flourless peanut butter cookies (recipe on the jar). Needless to say, nine cookies lasted all of oh, ten minutes? Yesterday I begged a bag of all-purpose flour from Norma at the general store (she didn’t have any in store but she sold me a bag of her own stuff later). 

Today is our second day off. It’s still early in the season, so we aren’t mixing too much with the other employees in the park, the street interpreters and the like. Rehearsals on top of shows make us too tired to stay up late yet. There is a peaceful quality to our time off because we all just hang around the house in a sleepy way most of the day. The pound cake was almost gone. It was time to get out the baking pans once again. I made Orangette’s French Yoghurt Cake, and also a banana bread. The Yoghurt Cake is cooling on the counter as I write, and I can say that it is simple and delicious, just as the recipe promised, because I didn’t wait ‘til it was cooled before I cut myself a slice. Tangy, moist and lemony. 

The banana bread is just finishing up in the oven and I will be curious as to how it turns out, because I messed with the recipe a bit. Ground almonds subbing for some of the flour, added maple syrup (because why not?) and sour cream (ditto). It may be odd, but it’ll probably taste pretty neat. And if not, I bet there’s a certain twenty year-old roomie who’ll eat it anyway. 

Salad Rolls and Backsliding

Fortune showered us with balmy, sunshiney weather all the long weekend. It was sheer heaven. Then the grey skies came back, just in time for school. Know what else came back? Some very bad habits. Yes, the holiday weekend was just the lame excuse I needed to drink too much, eat bread, and start in with the sugar again. Sigh. Forgive me Lord, for I have been backsliding. Today I took control again. Sort of. I ate fruit, salads and nuts (good). I also ate some Red Velvet Loaf and a homemade icecream sundae (very, very bad).
Let us draw a veil over the whole sugary week and concentrate on the fact that I made salad rolls for dinner! From scratch!

Start with rice paper, which you can find in the Asian Foods aisle at any grocery store in Vancouver. Wet it in warmish water. Lay it on a flat surface and fill with veggies. (I chose beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, mint and cilantro.) You can add a protein, such as tofu, chicken or shrimp, but I kept it simple tonight. 

Roll up the wraps, then add another moistened sheet of rice paper and wrap that around the outside of your roll, to add strength. I am not too tidy at it yet, so my end results looked a bit like the Camberwell Carrot:

Vietnamese people would totally laugh at these.

So they didn't look perfect. So what? I dipped them in The Ginger People's Sweet Chili Sauce and declared them a TMP- Total Mouth Party. 

This cancels out ice cream- right?

Today I also had a really great workout (with my personal trainer! Haha!) and had coffee with some really lovely people. That, and the fact that school is so interesting and fun these days, has kept my spirits high on these grey days.

Now for the fortitude to get myself back on track in the eating department...

Soup!

Feeling a bit under the weather today, but glad to be back in school nonetheless. Here is a little health-in-a-bowl. It has been proven that just looking at this picture will make you start to feel better.

salad days.

I guess it's no surprise; in January, there are a lot of people switching to salads after the excesses of the holidays. Actually, I switched to salads during the excesses of the holidays, as my dad and his ladyfriend were in no shape to cook large dinners while battling seasonal bugs. Their deliciousness and simplicity delighted me- look! It's a meal in a bowl! (A healthy meal, at that.) And so, when I got home again, I started making more salads, and actually enjoying them. Here are some helpful hints for making a salad you'll actually enjoy:

• Choose a green that you like the taste of. I really want to like raw spinach, and I don't dislike it exactly, but I've finally realized that I don't love it. I quite like mixed greens, especially the mixes that come with some herbs, like dill, but right now what's really rocking my world are Romaine hearts. (Thanks, Dad.) Yes I know they're not as healthy as mixed wild greens, but I'm adding a lot of other veggies to my salads so it's not the end of the world. Romaine lettuce hearts are crunchy, sweet, and sturdy enough to sit at the bottom of the salad bowl and put up with whatever I put on top of them. 
• The more, the merrier. For me, at least, greens are just the jumping-off point in a salad. If I just have greens I'm gonna overload on dressing and the salad will be boring and unhealthy. It's all in the extras: add as many veggies (and fruits! Don't forget the fruits!) as you want. Carrots. Beets. Radishes. Apple. Pear. Celery. Cucumber. Fennel or Anise root (a lovely cross between celery and licorice). Not to mention the real reason we eat salad: so we can feel self-righteous while eating fun things like cheese, meat and nuts. Right now I'm loving my salad topped with pear, a sprinkling of blue cheese, and veggies like radish, carrot and beet. Mmmmm. 
• If you get creative enough with the toppings, dressing don't mean a thang. Salads used to be a vehicle for dressings when I (infrequently) ate them, and let me tell ya: I haven't found many dressings that I liked. But now, I usually just squeeze a little lemon on top of my salad, pour a tiny bit of olive oil over things to moisten them up a bit, sprinkle a little coarse salt and pepper, and Bob's your uncle. If I want to get really crazy I add a touch of apple cider vinegar.
• Get a mandoline. My dad gave me a cast-off one this Christmas and I promptly julienned my thumbnail with it because I reached into my backpack and... ow. But now it's home and I'm realizing just why people will risk losing parts of their digits to slice things with them. Anyway, mine has a safety thingy that you stick the veggies on so you can't cut yourself and believe me, use that safety thingy, because mandolines are wicked sharp. Here's the thing, though: they make your veggies look so lovely (either sliced paper-thin or julienned, depending on the blade you use) that you will hardly want to eat your salad because it's such a thing of beauty. And it's not just aesthetic- thinly sliced things are light, and that means that they will mix nicely with your greens rather than sullenly hanging out at the bottom of the bowl while you dutifully chomp your way through the boring stuff.
• They are a great way to eat a lot of healthy stuff in one sitting. I know,  I used to look at the Canada  Food Guide and go "7-8 servings a day? Really?!" But since I got my juicer and started eating salads, this may actually become a reality. 
• And finally, because a picture says a thousand words:

Couldn't you fall in love with one of these?

How to Make A Suprisingly Passable Beef Stew

Go to the supermarket the evening after your first day back at school. Marvel at the stupidity of a gigantic store that has no stewing beef. Make do with stirfry beef. Not as good. You will need:

• beef
• potatoes
• pearl onions
• carrots
• beef stock
• herbs
• leeks
• dark beer

Think ahead. You want the stew for dinner tomorrow. Chop the veggies the night before. Not the potatoes though. Blanch the pearl onions so their skins will slip off. Put all the chopped veggies in the fridge overnight.

Get up early next morning. Shake the beef in a bag with some flour, salt and pepper. Brown the beef and the veg with some oil in a pan. Cut up the potatoes. Put it all in the slow cooker, making sure you get all the good stuff out of the pan. Pour stock and dark beer over the meat and veggies. Look at the clock. You're doing well- still time for breakfast before you have to leave for school.

Move the juicer out of the way of the cooker. Somehow manage to get juicer tangled up with slow cooker. Watch in horror as the slow cooker tumbles to the kitchen floor, spilling beef, vegetables, and stock all over the place. Scramble to put spilled stuff back in the cooker as quickly as possible. Spend many precious minutes mopping up kitchen floor so roommates won't slip on greasy gravy. Discover that slow cooker is dented, so that lid no longer fits snugly on top of it. Sigh, and go for the hammer. Try and hammer pot quietly, so roommates won't be awakened. Give up and look at clock. Oh no.

Stuff some bread in the toaster and whip up a salad for lunch. Run to catch your bus.

Come home and find that one of your roommates has actually managed to fix the slow cooker and turn up the heat so that your meal is actually cooking. Think that you will try and be more patient next time this roommate tells you chapter and verse about her latest tv/ theatre audition.Go to the Vietnamese restaurant across the road because it's 3pm and your stew won't be done until 7 and salad isn't enough to get you through the mid-day.

Enjoy a bowl of beef stew late at night. It's kind of salty (you panicked because your last stew tasted of water, so you maybe put in too much stock and cooking wine, but it's better than watery stew). Think that you have a way to go before you master the art of cooking.

Managed to survive an unplanned trip to the floor and still taste okay!

13 Things That Were Great About Today... and 1 not-so-great thing

1. I called my sweetheart this morning while I was still lying in bed. I love doing this.
2. He mentioned that it was "all white" where he was. I got up and drifted over to the sitting room and lo! It was snowy where I was, too! Have I mentioned how much I love snow? Especially before and around Christmas?
3. My marks are in, and my lowest grade at the end of this term is a B+ (one class). All the rest are A's, A+'s or A-'s. Yes!
4. I actually went to my local library today...
5. ...where I ran into my musician friend Dave. Thereby assuring that there will be some kind of giggery or jammery in my future...
6. and I also now have a whole bunch of interesting books to read and movies to watch. For free. Love the library!
7. I dropped my stuff off at the laundromat, so now I have clean sheets and clothes.
8. I had the bright idea of calling my mom, so I had company for a great walk. Up the hill into Burnaby Heights, stopping in at all the interesting-looking delis and butchers and bookshops.
9. She was looking for some green peppercorns in brine, which I'd never heard of before. (Unless they were the famed "pickled peppers" that Peter Piper picked a peck of). And we were in one of those great stores that just has everything packed away on its teetering shelves, a fabulous mess of middle eastern and Italian and god-knows-what and I looked down and... voila. 
10. I asked at my favorite bookstore if they were hiring. And they ARE. And they have a giant cat. I have always wanted to work at a store with a cat.  So I might actually have some work for the new year.
11. We got back to my place after a 2-hour walk and made potato pancakes as well as chorizo sausages and sweet-sour cucumbers, accompanied by applesauce and sour cream. You know when a meal is actually all that you hope it will be? Yes.
12. This teapot. Which I bought at my favorite restaurant in the little town I live in all summer. So not me, with its flowers and froufrou. But somehow it pleases me deeply. It has cherries for feet! How great is that?  I am drinking orange spice tea out of it right now.
13. It is almost 7pm and I have a pile of new books to look at and movies to watch. How nice. 

1. My acupuncturist put some auricular acupressure beads into my left ear. Three of them. They're supposed to help with my foot and back pain and with calming thoughts. I'm supposed to rub them 3-4 times a day. But they hurt. A lot. Not only when I touch them but when I try to:

• wear a hat
• use my headphones
• lie on my left side to sleep
• ...and when I'm just sitting there minding my own business.

Given that my back gets sore when I lie on it, it seems rather cruel that yet another option (sleeping on my left side) has been taken away, at least for the next few days. Plus, how am I supposed to have happy thoughts when my damn ear hurts all the time? Has anyone else tried these? Are they supposed to hurt this much??

Hi. How's your weekend going so far? I am a bit embarrassed to admit that mine began on Thursday afternoon and is still going, but in a calm, reflective, restful way, not a four-day-party kind of way.
Actually, it really began with some hard work, as I decided it was high time I reclaimed my front door from the graffiti "artists" who clearly prowl my neighbourhood late at night with nothing else to do but tag my door over and over and over again:
 
A couple cans of red spray paint, some stick-on letters and numbers and a light head from all the paint fumes, and...

Isn't that nice? It probably won't stay that way for long, sadly. But I'm determined to stay on top of it this year.
My tiny attempt to make east van prettier was done. I was looking at a few days without work, homework or school, believe it or not. It was time to escape for the rest of the weekend...
There is someone new in my life these days.  We are still working on how to fit "us" into our busy and very different lives: School! Work! Kids! Exes! Friends! Family! Some people have been enthusiastic and accepting. Others hang back warily and wait to see how it's going to go and if it will last. There are a lot of things to figure out. But basically we try to keep things simple on the days when we can meet up. It helps that he lives in a beautiful neighbourhood. It's not close to where I live, but I'm learning to make the travel time enjoyable. We eat bread and cheese and stay in out of the rain, or brave the elements and head to the beach.

Today he went to work and invited me to stay and wait for him to return. I was determined to get outside for a while, but even a borrowed rainjacket was no match for the elements. By the time I got to the beach I was soaked through.

It was NOT a very smart day to leave my bus pass behind, but at least that forced me to get some exercise. And the almost-deserted beach was still lovely, in a grey sort of way.

I walked past cafes, stores and late-autumn roses, still blooming. Oh this mild climate of ours!

The leaves this year have been amazing:

Finally, I decided that the only sensible thing to do was to go back to the apartment, get dry, and spend the rest of the day reading and listening to music. But first, there was one more stop to make...

I'm not seeing this person because he lives so near this bakery, but it certainly IS an advantage. Tucked away unassumingly on the side of a building with a dry-cleaner, a coffee shop and a couple other stores, this place is a sort of bready heaven. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is one of the best bakeries I have ever been to. And their granola is without peer. Get yourself down here and check it out for yourself.
As I was buying their incredible lemon-rosemary loaf, I felt a drop of sweat begin its excruciating trickle down my lower back. Ugh- soaking wet and sweaty.  I slopped home. It is doubtful whether my boots will ever recover from this walk. But I do have some very nice things to snack on this afternoon.
Have yourselves a great weekend and stay dry!