How Does Your Garden Grow?

A backyard harvest

In a large field? Or your apartment balcony? Or maybe grocery store shelves?

When I was little, my family had a little garden plot behind our garage. I'm sure none of my friends even saw it. We had some tomato plants and peppers, but the thing I remember most was the massive rosemary bush. I remember convincing my mom to get me a little 2'X8" garden box once. I was going to plant carrots. That never happened, and I sort of lost interest in any sort of gardening, but for the last month, I have had the song "Oats, Green Beans, and Barley Grow" stuck in my head. It poses an important question: Do you or I or anyone know, how oats, green beans, and barley grow? Nope. Not in any sort of detail at least. I don't think it has much to do with stamping and clapping, as the song suggests, but I thought I would do something about it.

I picked up from the library (and quickly finished- it's not a difficult read) City Farmer, by Lorraine Johnson. It is an interesting book exploring different aspects of farming in the least expected place: anywhere there is land. Usually we feel edible plants must be found outside of the city boundaries. Picture pumpkins growing in New York. It just does not seem to jive well with our concepts of urbanization. However, Johnson argues that cities are some of the best places to grow your food.

First of all, it's where the people are. Sure, those people can go to grocery stores, and there will always be some need for that, but home grown food is so much tastier, healthier, and gives us a connection to our health.

Second, there is a community. Gardening is a lot of work, and goes by much more quickly if you are doing it with friends. Schools are major part of urban development, and gardens on school land provide educational opportunities.

Possibly the most important argument for urban agriculture is the amount of land available. At first it may seem disguised, but the stats reveal a lot. About one third of Detroit is abandoned land. My favorite passage from this book is one that describes the amount of land available in Vancouver, BC. A man named Michael Levenston calculated out how much of its own food Vancouver could grow. He took the amount of land available, adjusted it (for example, not everyone is going to want a garden in their backyard, and some land is too shady), and approximated yield. What he found is that Vancouver can produce a surplus of vegetables for their population. Crazy.

Johnston suggests just plant something. Anything. It doesn't have to take up your whole yard, or even part. It could be as simple as a few potted herbs or a tomato plant. It is weird to be thinking of gardening this time of year in Nova Scotia. There is no green in sight, except for stop lights and green painted houses. Everything is a gloomy white, but soon spring will be here. It's worth a thought, though.

Picture by Lynn Szwalkiewicz. Creative Commons Copyright license, some rights reserved.

Statistics taken from City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing by Lorraine Johnson, 2010.

My Coming Year: Front Page News

I stopped in a local coffee shop this morning on my way to school (a rarity for me... especially before an 8:30 class) and the Metro newspaper on the table caught my eye: "Mothers rally for midwifery" read the headline.

In Canada, midwives are covered in the government funded healthcare, which is sort of bittersweet in my opinion. Midwives=good. Government healthcare=bad. I digress... in Halifax, they seem to be lacking. Currently, the IWK [local hospital] has suspended all the midwives because of a labor shortage.

At this point you are probably wondering why on earth I am writing about midwives.

A year and a half ago, when I graduated high school I was utterly lost. Since I had grown up in the suburbs of west Houston I was supposed to go to university, but had no idea what I wanted to study or do afterwards. I like science, I like heath, I like babies, but I really did not want to be a nurse. I wrestled with such a range of jobs: linguist, statistician, and yes, even owner of a bed and breakfast. Then, through some late nights scouring the internet for ideas, it struck me: pregnancy massage therapy. Ever since then, everything has come together beautifully. I really can't explain it. Since I can remember, I have had a great sense of awe for pregnant women, and something that cannot be described in any other way but a passion to serve them. I'd just not known what to do with it until then.

Yes, I am at university studying mathematics. I do like math after all, and a degree is handy, but I have had a very interesting experience here, because unlike my fellow math students, I have no intention of having a job in this field afterwards. There are some math subjects, like analysis, that you would use constantly in employment. Others, like cryptography, you would use if you somehow got a job with the CIA. So while my fellow students are filling up their schedules with analysis, I fill up with game theory and cryptography (also useful topics, but not the kind that get you employed). I have also taken Biblical Hebrew, Nutrition, Anatomy, and History of Scotland, and I have loved it.

However, through all of this, I have been itching to start with the massage therapy. When the opportunity came up in November (three days before the class started...) to get my postpartum doula training, I jumped at it.

To be continued...

Joy and Simple Gifts

My birthday was earlier this month, and before I left for Calgary, we had a discussion here about what sort of cake I wanted. My friend, Catherine, and I had grown up with our birthdays one day apart, and we always had red velvet cakes (at least as I recalled at the time. Photographic research since has shown Catherine always has the red velvet cake, and occasionally I'm a copycat). But in any case, that's what I was after. Mrs. Gina was busy at the time with various things, so I opted for the box version, and began to hunt for Red Velvet Cake. Sobey's didn't have it. And there ended the hunt, because I don't have a car, so getting to grocery stores is a little complicated.

I ended up having a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, which is basically a red velvet cake without being red, and I had a lovely birthday. My friend, Jenna escaped residence life and slept over, and we watched an "inspirational Christian sports movie," aka Facing the Giants. I got generous gifts from all the kids (including one of Andrew's picture books. :) talk about generosity) and spent some time that night thinking about the last 19 years. What a gift in itself.

Then, a week later, I went out for supper with Jenna, and she surprised me. She had been to Starbucks earlier that day, and lo and behold, they have Red Velvet Cupcakes!!! So she got me one. Isn't it incredible how the most simple gifts are sometimes the best? The cupcake and I had a photo shoot before it got devoured. Starbucks, I'm willing to sell the rights to the photos. ;)

Sunshine

So I'm back at school. Things have been really dreary around here, weather wise. The first day I was back, I was awfully jet lagged. I was also home alone for about 24-hrs, and had no visual human contact (just phone) so I had a little bout of depression. I was discontent and moody and just fussy at life.

Needless to say, things are a better now. I'm a little concerned about how I'm going to be once I'm out of school, because I don't seem to do well when I'm not busy. However, I suppose I'll be busy enough- just no vacations! :P

I have signed up for six classes (another symptom of my love of school) and one of them is a correspondence class in Anatomy through the school. It's quite simple. Read the textbook, take online quizzes, take open book midterms and finals, yes. I will do well. Especially since it is mostly a review from biology. Plus I'm motivated because the subject area interests me. I don't know how someone could take this class with no interest, just for the A for example, because it's all individual reading of a huge textbook. But alas, I like that sort of thing.

My friend Jenna is taking it with me. We had planned on taking it together this summer, but it fit into her schedule now, so here we are, in the Dal McCulloch Museum surrounded by stuffed birds. She's reading the course outline, and I'm writing on my blog about my new friend.

See, the McCulloch Museum is connected to the science department here at Dal. It's full of stuffed birds, from ducks to bald eagles. There are also conch shells and aquariums. This is where Sunshine lives. He's quite shy, but this is probably the quitest room in the school to study, so I've spent a couple hours now, watching him flutter about. He gives hope that winter will end soon, with his neon yellow glow. What a cheery fish. :)

Picture by Nathan Drupert, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/4108981273/ Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, Non-derivative Licence.

April Showers

I love Texas rain... I really do. It's one of my favorite things. It just pours, and the sky is as dark at noon as it is at 8:30 pm. It makes for sleepy days, for sure.

However, after 36 hours of Texas rain, I start to feel a little like Noah. I can't imagine what he did with his time... played lots of chess with Mrs. Noah, I'm sure. Not only did it rain for forty days, but then the boat rocked around for another hundred and fifty as the waters receded and the Grand Canyon was carved.

Hm... we're in a break of the weather. It's still cloudy, but the rain has paused for a moment. I wonder if the rain ever paused in the flood, and they wondered if it was over...

Our pool is green and has overflowed, the drains are clogged up with mulch so the gutters are backed up onto the patio, and the street is nearly covered over.

In one week this is going to be one green city.

New Year's Resolutions

I am back in the frigid tundra. I kind of missed it a little. I'm not sure where I want to be, but anyways... that's not the topic at hand.
The topic is New Year's Resolutions.
It's curious how successful resolutions are. How much impact do they really have on our behavior? They are really just the first step- identifying goals. This is also the easiest step. It's hard to follow through and change our behavior. Nevertheless, here's my first step:

1. In the coming year, I'm going to have a lot of changes. In under a month, I'm moving down to Texas to stay with my dad for several months. Then I'm moving out to Nova Scotia. I don't want my environment to negatively shape me. I want to remain strong through the changes and grow from them, rather than compromise my morals as I have seen college do to some of my friends.

2. I want to make a stronger effort to do my devotionals. I have two books I want to go through, I want to finish reading through the Bible, and I want to find a church community in Halifax. I want to make God a bigger priority

3. I want to find a healthy balance between schoolwork and socializing. I can easily see myself getting wrapped up in school and not meeting many people. I am introverted, but I also get lonely, so I want to join a couple clubs and figure out how to prioritize my time.

4. I want to continue on my 101 in 1001 list. For this year I want to take a picture every day, just to practice. I also want to continue the reading I've done this year. I like that I made an effort to take the time to do that, and would like to continue. I want to finish my quilt in January.

5. I want to make a bigger effort to listen and be supportive rather than self-centered.

Merry Christmas!

Hey guys, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. It's hard this time of year to relax because there's always something to do. Just remember to savor the time with family and loved ones, and remember the reason for the season. Whether you're in four feet of snow or in a tshirt, I hope you have a marvelous day! I am in Texas until the 30th, when I will resume my regular blogging.

First Snow Pictures

I took Ziggy and Lacey outside to get some fun shots in the snow. Not many turned out, as I am still trying to figure out how to deal with the lighing issues that snow creates, but here are a couple good ones.

And some not so good ones (so you can see the fun we had). If anyone knows how to fix this dull, seemingly underexposed look, let me know. It may have to do with ISO. If you'd like the settings that the picture was taken under, let me know.

Update:
I messed with the histograms (somehow?) a little, and liked the effect. Then I cropped the last one, so here's the updated version:

I Haven't Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

I've just been reading like crazy. Anything and everything. Here are my current library check-outs (plus Vanity Fair). Fatal Misconception is a non-fiction on the shifts in social demographics after the introduction of contraception. Me, Myself, and Bob is the biography of the inventor of Veggie Tales. Classics for Pleasure is a series of essays on famous classics. I don't plan on reading it all- just the ones that interest me. I like to see what other people's opinions are on what I'm reading, and they usually have some excess background knowledge or insight that helps me develop my own opinions. Finally, the Redemption of Sarah Cain is the idea for a wonderful movie, Saving Sarah Cain. It's a novel about an aunt of orphaned Amish children, and how all their lives adjust once she gains custody. And it's by Beverly Lewis, which is generally a good thing. :) I also finished I Chronicles two nights ago, and so I'm working on II Chronicles. In small group we're reading Crazy Love.

I've also been taking some beautiful pictures of the fall. Calgary is so beautiful this time of year- especially when the temperature decides to stay up! Keep your fingers crossed, because we haven't had snow yet! Here's one of our window ornaments. I loved how the leaves in the background matched the wings, and the sky further exaggerated the blue.

Encounters with Nature

kiki meets a bee (the bee is that blurred smudge)

mama duck with babies

other ducks

look what we found on our walk!

pretty flowers beside our house

Also, today I was walking through the University. It's usually hopping with rabbits (no pun intended) but I saw three on my brief walk. One was soooo cute. There was a grassy patch with a bush behind it, and it had stretched out in the shade. It looked up at me as I slowly walked by, and then nuzzled its head between his paws and closed his eyes. He seemed to be enjoying the springtime!

Stormy Days

It has rained for 10 days straight. I think I would have rather died in a flood than wait 30 more, but it's not pouring; it's like a hazy drizzle- for ten days. It's a cold, drenching rain (It's currently 8 degrees C outside). Plus, I found out my car leaks under the dashboard on the passenger's side, so each day after school, I have to mop up that day's puddle. Today, Kassi's car died, so we had to hook up the jumper cables- I'm sure more than one person driving by laughed at us as they saw two girls trying to find the battery in my car. However, after a couple calls her her boyfriend and some consulting of my driver's ed manual, it's running.

"Matt?"

However, there is a blessing in the rain.

Our gross, brown Calgary is... GREEN!

Everything is so beautiful! There is this bush next to our kitchen window that I thought was dead, only to find it coated in dainty white flowers. The hanging flower pots that my mom planted are so cheery, and the apple tree is gorgeous! Here are some pictures from this afternoon. Ignore the gross weather... it's worth it!

The "dead" bush (far and close)

Hanging pot
The other treeThe apple treeThe apple blossoms close up

The Tale of the Evasive Piano Teacher

Finally, the long awaited news! I have been tempting you all about it since February, and it's now come together enough to share.

Back in February, I was looking around for a piano teacher, and called one of the University profs to see if she knew any masters students who would be willing to teach me. She asked me to come over to hear my level (Canadian music level systems are so simple, but I don't know mine since I've never had a Canadian teacher before), so we met one afternoon, and talked about my interests and learning style. I played her one song from my Pride and Prejudice soundtrack book, and she said she would teach me.

My first lesson was supposed to be in the beginning of March, but because of the Calgary Music Festival, she was busy through all of March and into April. Then she got sick, but finally, we had a lesson. I was disappointed at all I had forgotten (I know how to read music, but had forgotten a lot of the theory {scales, tempo vocabulary, and dynamics}), but it's all coming back. Plus, there's a lot more that I've never learned on perfecting my finger strength and hand positioning (which is, to put it nicely, is sloppy).

Anyhow, that's what's new with me. That and spring is FINALLY here!!! No joke this time- today it rained for the first time since I got here. So exciting. My Narcissus have bloomed, and they are so cheery, looking at the sun. And naturally, with spring comes a haircut, so I no longer have long hair, but it's easier to care for short, and a lot of people have said that it looks good.

Piano/Rose Picture courtesy of Roddyrotton. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roddyrotten/8362745/ Attribution, Noncomertial, Non-derivitive Licence.

Narcissus Picture by myself. Creative Commons licence: Attribution, Noncomertial.

Spring Hast Sprung in Canada

This last weekend has been gorgeous! Saturday it was hotter in Calgary than in New Braunfels, TX. Right now it's 12 degrees C out (54F) which is perfect for going out in pants and a tshirt after the winter we've had. On Sunday I went for a walk with Mom and her boyfriend to the Bow River, and it's starting to brown up on the hills. Almost all the ice is gone. Upon return, I checked our "garden" and the bulbs that I planted last autumn are sprouting.

Also, an update on Kim. She's noticibly improving, and even she noticed today at lunch that she could drink out of a straw. Thanks for your prayers! I have an English paper to write, but I plan on doing a post on I Samuel, II Samuel, and The Bean Trees.

Merry Christmas!!!

I was talking to a dear friend one day, and they asked, "In Canada, do people make a big deal about "Merry Christmas... Happy Holidays... whatever?" I didn't rightly know what to answer. I don't ever remember what I did answer. I had not really noticed, but after that I started to pay attention.

The first time I noticed anything, was when I was driving home from school and was looking up Charleswood, into the bright Southern sun and I saw a bus drive by. Rotating between the Route 20's was "Merry Christmas!!!" My mouth dropped.

Next, I noticed the transition music between classes was Christmas themed- not just winter themed.

Then the assistant principals interrupted our math test in Santa hats to wish us Merry Christmas and give us York Mints.

The only "politically correct" message that stood out, was from the school newspaper, and I have a hunch they were being satirical:
"The staff of the Advocate fish you a hairy kiss moose and a hippo nude beer!!! (Please have a completely non-offensive, politically correct observation of this diverse and celebratory portion of the year, kids. This greeting is void where prohibited by law.)"

Merry Christmas!

What I've Been Up To

When I started this blog, I thought, "You know, 10 posts a month would be ideal." It doesn't look like December's going to make it.

I do have some good ones planned though. I would like to write an entry on: "Merry Christmas" in Canada. Our Christmas tree, and the death of. The school newspaper's front page article, written by yours truly, that came out today. Three of the Christmas presents I've made (I won't say more about them till after Christmas, since two of the recievers read this). Our English lesson on poetry. Chances are, they won't all get written.

Even now, as I sit here on my last day of school, sipping my tea and looking forward to the next few weeks of freedom, I don't especially feel like writing. I would like to leave you with a thoughtful poem though. Hopefully I'll write in the next few days, but if not, Merry Christmas!

"And is it true? And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?"
[Sir John Betjeman]

The End Result

I told you I was donning the Christmas apron!

And they DO smell amazing!!! We have some extra ones that we don't have enough lace for, so I'm going to tie a string to one and stick it in my car. They smell like Garden Ridge!!!

Something New

Since we were little, Courtney and I have made ornaments through different things, and received them as gifts. There was a artist pallet from when I took art classes in Kindergarten. There were pony bead and pipe cleaner candy canes. There was a very pregnant bunny wearing a pink maternity shirt that said "Baby's first Christmas 1991." There were Santas and stars, Jesuses and angels. But when we moved, we left all our ornaments in Texas.

We really can't remember what happened exactly. There were some things that wouldn't fit in the truck that had to be left, but we may have accidentally sold them at the garage sale, or left them in the attic without realising it. In any case, my mom was pretty upset when she realised. The little clay nativity that I had made in that same art class was gone. The etching of an angel, and tinsel (probably for the best there- we'd had that tinsel since before I can remember, and it made your hands smell metallic).

Last night I was blog cruising, and I found this. So today after school, I did my Christmas shopping (nearly finished everyone!). While at Market Mall, I got two cookie cutters to use (we left those too) and on the way home, stopped at Safeway. I got Cinnamon, glue, and apple sauce, and while mom is out at Barry's (aka, "the edge of the world". He lives in the opposite side of Calgary), I'm donning our Christmas apron and making ornaments. I thought she would like it, because the sentimental attachment she had to them was that Courtney and I had made most of them, or they reflected a period in our childhood. I made two batches, and they're setting right now. I'll put pictures up when I finish, if they turn out decent. My only doubts lie in our "rolling pin." I guess we left that too, so I'm improvising by finding the longest uniform cylinder I can find- a Thermos.

It also saved us a fair share of money. The ingredients cost just $15, and we have left over cinnamon and apple sauce. Buying Christmas ornaments is so expensive. It looks just as pretty to have cinnamon-smelling ornaments that mean something!

Happy Remembrance Day

In Flander's Fields

by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

PS My debate went well. I'll be posting all that tomorrow.

September Beauty

So, we had our first snow the other day. You wouldn't be able to tell though, since it was a "Texas snow," as I like to call it, meaning it never accumulated- just fell. However, as I write this, it is hailing. This picture was taken about two minutes ago.

However, this morning was beautiful. I would know- I had a 45 minute Bio class before school started. Granted, I was still waking up after all you Katy people were sitting in your desks...

Here are two pictures: the first I took on my walk to school this morning, and the second I took after I got home when I was walking into my house. I like the second one a lot. I looked up and thought, "Wow, that's beautiful." Then I remembered I had my camera and figured I'd share the joy with you guys.

"...where they found a road leading into the heart of acres of glimmering beech and maple woods, which were all in a wondrous glow of flame and gold, lying in a great purple stillness and peace.

'It's as i the year were kneeling to pray in a vast cathedral full of mellow stained light, isn't it?' said Anne dreamily. 'It doesn't seem right to hurry through it, does it? I seems irreverent, like running in a church.' " (Anne of Avonlea, pg. 376)