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Year in Review
It’s been a year since my first post when I created this blog. Perhaps it’s my government policy training that compels me to look back over the year to assess progress and identify highlights….or simply remember what I did! I started out by setting goals for myself, including trying new things and travelling more. The year took an unexpected turn (for all of us) so expectations needed to shift. My ‘highlights’ below were not necessarily planned at the outset, yet I feel better for them. I was fortunate to have time to: Become fully acquainted with the natural surroundings and hidden gems on my local paths and trails (even the…
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An autumn hike bookended by wineries
“You see that path over there?” our friendly server walks to the large window in the wineshop and points to the vineyard below. I follow his gaze out the pane of glass to a wide path that intersects the vineyards at Vineland Estates and ends at a dense cluster of red, orange and yellow trees. “There’s an entrance to the Bruce Trail there.” My husband and I were picking up a few bottles of wine at Vineland Estates, and hoping to combine it with a short hike on this sunny October day. The winery staff was super helpful in pointing us in the right direction. This short section of the…
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Thanksgiving traditions
We generally have a family gathering at Thanksgiving. If my Mom is hosting, she would ask us to say one thing we are thankful for before digging into our feast. Sometimes it was to identify something we are thankful for about the person to our left or right. Does this tradition sound familiar? I admit some years I was not always a fan as my hot plate of food cooled in front of me. Like a lot of things, you don’t realize you miss it until it’s gone. Last year a dozen people crowded around my dining room table, while this year a couple gourds sit in the centre of…
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Green tomatoes
In the height of the summer, I had a dream about tomatoes. My tomato plants had reached Jack in the Beanstalk proportions. As much as I strained up on my tippy toes, stretching my arms, I could not reach the top. That’s right, we had so many tomatoes, they perpetrated my dreams. In my garden, the tomato plants did not reach epic heights but they steadily grew taller, bushier and produced plenty of juicy tomatoes. I harvested the tomatoes as they turned from green to pink. This apparently is the best time to harvest a tomato to allow the fruit to finish ripening indoors (something about hormones emitting a gas…
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Travel Mode
I studied the vending machine for several minutes before inserting my coins and making a selection. Each button had a series symbols made up of letters from the Korean alphabet. Concentrating on each block of symbols, I haltingly pronounced each segment. Very slowly. My lips could form the sounds, but my brain did not comprehend the phrase. Until one fortuitous word. The first two blocks were identical, followed by a basic vowel. 코코아 Like Grover’s word of the day on Sesame Street I carefully joined the three syllables. CO – CO – A “Hot chocolate!” my feet did a little excited dance. It was revelation. For me. Because it was…
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Solar energy and AC/DC
“That’s how AC/DC got its name,” my husband says confidently though I can’t be sure he’s not joking. We are standing in front of the hydro meter on the side of our house with the sales manager from the company that will be installing our solar panels. She has just explained the installation of an inverter that will change electricity from DC current into AC current and send it to our breaker panel. After the visit, I mention this to my daughter and she adds her learnings from grade 9 science, “AC stands for alternating current and DC is direct current.” Now I am impressed. But still sceptical about the…
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Lessons from a board game
We have been playing Pandemic a lot. The board game that is. It was a Christmas gift. A thoughtful gift, as we enjoy playing board games as a family, but a few weeks into 2020 it felt a little too much like Jumanji. The game is unlike any we played before. Not because Robin Williams jumped out of the box (though that would make me a smile) but because it’s not a typical competitive game. You don’t compete against each other. Instead, we play as a team. My husband, daughter and I cooperate. It’s a welcome change (and I am not only referring to the board games we play). Rather…
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Happiness two ways
“It’s 1992. I’m in Genoa on the hunt for pesto.” I tell my family. “We can’t find the restaurant in our guidebook so we ask this man for directions.” “And it turns out he is the owner,” my daughter rolls her eyes. “I know, I know Mom. We’ve heard the story, like a thousand times.” Fair enough. In my defence, we are eating spaghetti with a zesty pesto I made with the Genovese basil from my garden. With the fragrant plates in front of us, it was the perfect setting to reminisce about my youthful backpacking story. My family was forced to travel along with me. Granted the story is…
