Intentional living
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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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Sit and remember
Memories are powerful. You could even say they are like a superpower (Meik Wiking in the Art of Making Memories goes so far as to say so). I tend to agree. If you take the time to focus, to nurture a happy memory, it can transport you back to the specific moment. The feeling of the moment returns. Puts a smile on your face. I am fascinated by the things that can trigger a memory. A smell triggering a fond childhood memory. A taste. The call of the loon reminding me of the cottage. A song making me want to dance like I’m in my 20s. Returning to a meaningful…
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Harvest Salad
I enjoyed my first harvest today. A little harvest. Fittingly. It’s been four weeks since I finished planting our smallest little garden, and I am amazed at how much bigger everything is. The plants are flourishing. Thriving. Thank you sunshine! My painted rock labels are now buried within the lush greenery. It has become my morning routine to check on the little garden at the side of my house. Assess the progress. Water if needed. Mound the soil around the potato stems. Weed. Inspect. Play in the dirt. Sniff the basil. Rather spontaneously, I picked a bunch of green lettuce and purple kale this morning. Small clusters, still young. The…
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Alone Time
Imagine you are in Florence. In the popular Uffizi gallery. Standing in front of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. It’s the one with the Goddess herself standing nude on a large scallop shell casually covering her unmentionables with her arm and flowing auburn hair. The painting is famous. People come from all over the world to see it, or buy a replica on a souvenir. There is generally a crowd gathered around the masterpiece. Necks stretched to get a peak. In this instance you are completely alone. The room is empty. Serene. This a moment in Stephanie Rosenbloom’s book, Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities and the Pleasures of Solitude.…
