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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…
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Cottage time … and time again
I am floating, suspended in the deep green, cool, clean water. Drifting. My body relaxed, head back, ears submerged in the water muting out any sounds other than the quiet of the lake. There is no other body of water where I have passed so many idle hours. Lazing on an inner tube, extremities dangling languidly into the water. Plunging into its refreshing embrace on a hot day. Swimming leisurely along the shore. Little Straggle Lake. I have been coming to this little lake my whole life. Literally. My parents owned the cottage before I was born so my first trip was as a baby. My husband and I now…
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Memories of zucchini blossoms
My daughter really likes to cook and try new dishes. She’s always browsing for recipes. I suggested in the spring she find some recipes for zucchini. This slender green squash is apparently prolific, and I planted several in my garden. We would have an absolute glut. I may have been a tad optimistic. Cucumber striped beetles killed my zucchini plants. Gardening lesson number 1 for me. Truthfully the cabbage worms in my kale were lesson number 1. It’s a multifaceted lesson: many critters can wreak havoc on a garden and they specialize. These pests are the policy equivalent of subject matter experts. They zoom in, laser focused, on their area of expertise…
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Curbside visits in wine country
Vineyards make a beautiful scene. In any season. In the fall, the bushy leaves change from deep green to rusty and golden hues. In the winter, the rows of barren vines take on a minimalist look. A dark gnarly silhouette against the white snow. Each day I visited the Twenty Valley this fall and winter was special. Winery tours and tastings with friendly servers. A cosy fireside raclette. Even a brewery visit in the midst of the vineyards. I was looking forward to returning in the spring to see the changing landscape once again. I assumed I could return. Again and again. Whenever I wanted. How wrong I was. Three…
