Day of Destruction

Woah, you'll never believe it. I wrote a great long post about the Day of Destruction last week, and just when I was about to post it... DESTROYED by the Internet gnomes. What could this mean? I'm creeped out.

The Day of Destruction was a fine, cold and cloudy yet not rainy Vancouver day. Bri, Mike and I set out to survey the "destruction" in Stanley Park after a winter of severe windstorms that toppled innumerable ancient trees. We began with a stroll along the seawall, that was cut short by the chain link barricade evidently set up to protect the City from liability. We could have scampered around it but instead elected for the inland path...The Path of Destruction.

There were many more trees over the path than I expected. At times you couldn't even really see the path at all. I didn't cry or donate money to the restoration effort, in fact, I feel kind of proud of "nature" for so easily making nearly impassable a human-made trail. Here's my mini rant: why are people so upset about these trees knocked over by the wind (might I remind you that wind is "natural"), but are not equally upset about the huge amount of logging that goes on in our province every day (might I remind you that large scale mechanized logging is NOT "natural)?

Our Day of Destruction continued with a sighting of a Danger Duck. We were very quiet and didn't get between it and its ducklings so although my heart was beating so hard I thought it would leap out of my chest, we were alright.

The Day of Destruction was going to conclude with a trip to Locarno Beach to see the set of a plane crash for the movie Passenger. But we decided not to go because it was kind of late. Our plans were DESTROYED!

A knitting post

In Yarn Harlot style, I have taken my partly knit sock out to the streets of the city. I predict that you will see more knitting pictures on this blog in the future, as I seem to have leaped full speed ahead back into this hobby.


I got quite a bit done today on the bus to Commercial Drive for the first session of filming our video "Downhill Both Ways" (we do fun things in planning school), then quite a bit more done as Max and I waited an HOUR for our other group member who unfortunately was the one with the camera.

Then I got quite a lot more knitting done on the bus BACK to UBC because the guy never showed up! We knocked on his door and he's like "oh, hi" and we're like "where the #*^% were you?" And he's like...

Okay, so this could go on and on. The short story is he had no excuse and is just extremely irresponsible and I can't believe I have to work with him!!!

*end rant*

So the sock. I love the sock so far, but am kind of mad at myself for spending so much on the yarn. It's hard to find cheap yarn in Vancouver with stores called things like "Urban Yarns" and "Homecraft Importers". These socks will hopefully end up being warm, comfy and stylish, but will have cost about the same as a pair of Smartwools, and taken hours more than it would to go to the store and buy them. But no need to become obsessed with money, it's fun, and gives me something to do while waiting AN HOUR in the COLD at Broadway and Commercial for a delinquent group member who never showed up! (oops, rant was over)

Back to (somewhat) happy things. Before I started the sock, I decided I should use up some of the big bag of yarn I already have. So I knit a dishcloth. Not just any dishcloth, but a HUGE dishcloth. I don't really know why I didn't start over when only a few rows in I realized that if I was going to make it square, it would be huge. Perhaps I figured if I took it all out that would be it; it would be another two years before I felt the urge to knit again. My roommates assure me that the dishcloth is very nice, and even though as it stretches out we have to fold it several times to be a manageable size, we are still using it three days later. Something very good has come of the huge dishcloth, however. I have learned a very nice texture, the "waffle" knit, and figured how to "K1 in next stitch in row below" after a very long time with Google and trial and error.

Here is the HUGE dishcloth (that has now evidently stretched in a strange way so it is much more rectangular than square), and a close up of the waffle pattern.

A perfect Saturday morning

I woke up and put the kettle on. I had a look at the weather out the window: cloudy but not raining. I got the paper and read the first couple of sections over cafe au lait and toast.

Equipped with my camera, binoculars and Peterson's Field Guide, I went down to the beach. I had a peaceful, soul-centering time observing what was going on. I saw a pair of Barrows goldeneye, about 50 red-breasted mergansers, a couple buffleheads and some mallards.

Also, to my pleasant surprise, I met Mr, and Mrs. Eagle's new eaglet! They have not brought him/her to the perch tree outside my window, so I didn't know they had a baby.

When I got home I was in the mood for some housecleaning, so our floor is now vacuumed and swept (at long last). After lunch I buckled down to some school work, which has been slow to start but that's okay. There is nothing hugely pressing and I'm having a very nice Saturday.

Iluminating parts of our life

I went to my first SCUBA club meeting at UBC last night, and came away feeling disappointed that I've let myself become so disconnected from the ocean and the natural world since I've moved to Vancouver.

A man from DFO gave a presentation about abalone at the meeting, and I thought about the abalone shells I have, and how I had such a wonderful time searching for them on an early summer day at Little Beach in Ucluelet. It may have been chance that I found some beautiful ones that day, but I have a feeling that I put my intention out there, and the shells presented themselves to me.

I have a huge ache in my heart for places like this right now. It has caused me to begin taking stock of what I am doing in life, where it is taking me, and if I am happy with this.

I was talking to my friend Eve about this tonight, and she thinks that with days getting longer at this time of year, we begin to reflect on our lives. The extra daylight somehow is illuminating parts of our life that have been unthought of, or in the shadows for a while.

Dear women

You know those days when it feels like your life is meaningless, you have no friends (even when you obviously do), and some things are so stressful and overwhelming that you cannot possibly handle them? You feel like you might cry at the drop of hat, you fight back tears at various points during the day, and when you get home finally can't hold them back any longer. And then you start your period the next day and none of these things are actually true. Why do we have to go through this?

Good for a girl who doesn't like beets

I just finished the last of the gallo pinto from last week, and my freezer is stocked with pre-cooked kidney beans. Today I decided to do something with the beets in the crisper. I bought them about a month ago with good intentions. They are cheap, local, and in season. They score a 3 out of 4, losing one point because I don't actually like beets. Or, I didn't used to. My parents tried to tell me they tasted like candy when I was a kid, and plop a bit of sour cream onto the pink hunks of boiled root vegetable. They were worse than broccoli. Far worse.

I boiled them up with onion, garlic, cumin, and tomatoes. First I sauteed the onion and garlic in oil, then added cumin (whole seed would have been better but I only had ground), and a bit of flour to thicken. Then I tossed in 3 chopped beets, and two chopped tomatoes (the recipe said to peel the tomatoes, but that just seemed like a waste of time). I added enough water to barely cover everything, and simmered for 45 minutes.

I recommend it. Tastier than just plain boiled beets, and pretty easy. It's also a good use of the squishy tomatoes that you forgot to eat last week.

Just so you don't think I'm freakishly strict about food, I'll let you in on a little secret. Last week, in Shoppers Drug Mart, I bought a few things that aren't healthy, cheap, local, or in season. I was driven by some serious cravings. Totally chemical and beyond the reach of the rational mind... I went home with a bag of all dressed chips (a big bag) and two (big) chocolate bars.

Hm, I think I'll have some of that chocolate bar right now...

Increase your molybdenum consumption

Kidney beans have become a large part of my diet since I returned from Nicaragua and began an "eating cheap and simple" kick.

I am currently boiling some beans, having decided to graduate from canned beans to dried. I dutifully soaked them overnight, removed the damaged beans, and rinsed. Somehow I thought it would take half an hour of boiling until they were tender. After an hour I decided to google my problem. It turns out an hour and a half is what you need.

I also learned that kidney beans are an excellent source of molybdenum. One cup of kidney beans contains 177% of your daily intake! Molybdenum is an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites.

Kidney beans also contain lots of fibre, iron, and protein. There are a few other benefits, but I don't want to bore my faithful readers so you can check out this website if you're interested.

I received some great tips on cooking with cabbage, including a postcard from Sheena. Thanks to you all. Now, anyone have tips on cooking with kidney beans? My repertoire is limited to "gallo pinto".

"We are now entering the UBC fog"

"...And the fog is getting thicker."

"...And still getting thicker."

This was the voice of my dorky bus driver today, one of the many foggy days we've been having lately. I enjoy the fog for its mystery and eerieness. It reminds me that the ocean is close by, and reminds me of Ucluelet where as a rule, it is foggy for almost the entire month of August.