The Harvest is In

After listening to a call-in radio show on sweet potato vines and strange things unearthed in the garden, I decided to pay attention to what I may find in two of my front garden urns whilst removing said vines and other annuals to plant mums.

I pulled out the vines, found many long roots and decided to dig deeper.  I removed as much soil as I could and started feeling and digging around the urns with a small garden fork.  Imagine my surprise when I uncovered a regular size potato and a few smaller ones.  In one urn, I couldn’t get the potatoes out intact as they were growing in the decorative curvature of the urn so I had to break them up to remove them.

Seeing my fancy front yard urns are great for showing off the vines but offer no room for tubers, I have already decided to plant sweet potato vines in my backyard pots where they’ll have plenty of room to get as big as they want. I am already imaging the yield a year from now. Talk about being optimistic.

You shall reap what you sow and sometimes what you didn’t realize you sowed.

Will keep you posted.

Music Hath Charms to Soothe a Savage Breast

As I listened to an interview on a radio show about the effect of certain tracks of music in that person’s life, bittersweet memories flooded over me on how I was affected by a piece of music.

When my marriage started falling apart, my three daughters were still very young. Only the eldest had started school so my days were very busy taking care of them, cooking, baking, doing laundry, cleaning and running out for groceries.

At night, however, it was a different story. After putting the girls to bed, I had loads of time to think about my dying marriage. I would sit on the couch eating ice-cream and dwell on the behaviour of my straying husband. I would wonder what was wrong with me that he would want to be out pursuing other women instead of building a strong bond with his wife and little girls. I pondered what I could do differently to change things. I would sit there feeling sad, dejected and defeated wondering what was to become of my children and me.

During this bleak period, I heard Gloria Gaynor’s song, I will Survive. I was so inspired by those lyrics that I bought the album. I would sing along and dance around the apartment. So after feeling for a long time like something the dog rolled in, bit by bit I started to feel good about myself and to think clearly about my future, a future that did not include my husband. I started planning my exit. He decided we should move from the apartment to a townhouse where I stayed for nine months before finally moving into a townhouse in a new area with my girls.

I realized now I had to go through that dark, self-pitying period in order to understand I had the inner strength to rise above what I had no control over, i.e. my husband’s behaviour, and look for solutions to move forward with my life.

It’s been many years. My girls are now adults pursuing professional careers. They were raised with lots of love and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Sure there were rough patches but in the end, the four of us survived and I like to think Gloria Gaynor, belting out I Will Survive, inspired me to take control of my life. 

I still have the album.

Will keep you posted. 

Banana Candy - My Little Addiction

Help! I am popping these green-end banana candies like they`re going out of style. What is it about them that makes me go against my better judgement and eat so many? I can`t seem to help myself.

Banana Candy

Okay, I can bypass them when I go to the store and I`ve tried. I don`t know if you`ve ever eaten this candy but they are sooo good. They`re not too sweet, have the right dusting of sugar, the colours are a nice light yellow with one green end, the texture is soft and chewy and the taste, divine. No icky aftertaste, no gaudy colours, not too sweet and no residue getting stuck in my teeth.

Early morning walks to stay fit and healthy and eating this candy with abandon are definitely not compatible so I`ll try to control my candy addiction. First thing after eating this last batch, I promise, not to go cold turkey, but to buy fewer and keep them out of sight (having them in a jar on the bar is not helpful).  I'm not banishing them from my life,  just being sensible. Everything in moderation.

Some love candy corn, others love jelly beans but I LOVE banana candies.

Will keep you posted.

Time Flies

The older I get the faster time goes by or so it seems. Here we are in September. The better part of the year is behind us and in no time it’ll be Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and another new year will be upon us.

As a child, Christmas and any exciting event I looked forward to appeared to take forever to come around. I remember how long it took for the school year to end and the long vacation to start. Oh how I lamented that whatever I was waiting on was taking just too long.  If only I were not in such a hurry to move time along but that’s the child’s way, anxious for time to fly.

Thinking about time flying is a good time to take a look at my goals for the year, see what’s on track and what needs to be readjusted or carried into the new year.

Morning Walks – Still part of my routine but done infrequently during the summer months when it becomes hot very early in the mornings. I`m back on track now that cooler mornings are here.

Volunteer –   Did this for a few months at a food bank. There was a change of management, I followed-up but did not hear from them.  Looking into volunteering with teen mothers.

Once a Month Family Dinner – Started off great but missed a few months. We have decided to consider picnics we attended on a Sunday in July and August as family dinners just not in my home. Works for me.  Looking forward to getting together in the following months.

Learn Father’s Family History – Thought this would be an easy task working with my Aunt Millie, my father’s sister. Sent off a list of questions with a SASE to make it easy for her but she called to say she cannot remember details like before. I didn’t want her to be stressed about it so asked her to disregard the request. She gave me the name of the plantation from our past so I hope to use this information to help with research in the archives.

Maintain my Home – Easiest goal to keep going since I like a neat home. Closets do get out of whack only because there’s too much in them.  I`m also maintaining my garden.  Just need to spend more time sitting and enjoying it.

Socialize with Girlfriends – Apart from spending more time with my neighbour such as going to the farmers’ market every Friday morning, I’ve not seen much of my other girlfriends this year. Something we lamented. Just couldn’t seem to get everyone together to go to ribfest  or other events.  We definitely have to work on this.

Meet a Nice Man for Companionship – Although someone from my past is visiting and I like his company, this is not the relationship I expect to have so I continue to keep my options open as well as my eyesJ

Say Yes More Often – The best kept goal so far. I went to a picnic I hadn’t attended in 20 years and had a lot of fun. As well as a similar but smaller one and also had a good time. Attended the CNE after approximately 25 years and went on rides although not crazy ones. Went to the lake, walked by the river, and attended a few events at a cultural centre 45 minutes away. Tons more fun saying yes.

Travel at Least Twice – For business and pleasure – Travelled once for pleasure but expect the business portion to be accomplished next year.

Grow My Business – There were a few setbacks that had to be overcome. Complete changes were made and I can say although I was mad about what transpired at the beginning, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the technology is current and I am very happy with the results. Had a successful party and launch and looking forward to great things.

Will keep you posted.