End Of October Already?

I can't believe my last post was in June; where did the time go? Here we are in October, exactly two months away from Christmas. Time really seems to be flying at warped speed the older I get.

Barbados Grand Kadooment 2013

Anyway, it was quite the summer with a trip to Barbados. It was an enjoyable time; two of my daughters took part in the Grand Kadooment parade in a costumed band. I, on the other hand, having no costume or wishing to have one, decided to "jump" with the band that requires none and brings up the rear. It was so much fun and the next few days, my calves attested to dancing for a number of hours along the parade route.

The garden survived my absence with the help of my daughter who was house/cat sitting and a neighbour. The veggies I planted in pots did well but if I do this again, I will need a sandier soil as some of the carrots were bent every which way; still delicious and 100% pesticide free. Beets and hot peppers were fine but I won't buy a mature bell pepper plant again; it was not the best return on investment but that could be due to inconsistent watering (someone confessed:). I did notice it was a thirsty plant. The biggest producer was the cherry tomato; up to last week it was full of tomatoes. Picked some and lost more because of the cold weather setting in and the garden needing to be cleaned up. If only we had a few more warm weeks. I will plant this type of tomato next year. In all, I harvested enough from all the plants to share with neighbours. The garden has been prepared, cushions and décor put away and chairs stacked for the winter.

Another year almost over. Have we done what we promised to do? Remember those New Year Resolutions? I have not accomplished all I set out to do but I continue laying the path. I had some detours and I major, unexpected but lovely right turn which I am over the moon about. It's not too late to review promises made to ourselves. What I have learnt is life is not always a straight path, there will be bends, detours, U-turns and sometimes a particular path is a dead end and I have to regroup. I'm trying to ensure I don't stop and become disillusioned but learn from the hiccups and move on. At times this is easier said than done but what is the alternative?

Will keep you posted.

She Did What?

Going through the checkout line in a supermarket is usually quite unremarkable. There is the occasional hitch if an item scans at a higher price that we thought it was or we have to identify a strange looking vegetable for a cashier so she can determine the correct code. They scan; we pay and off we go.

I have seen cashiers lick their fingers to make sure they were giving the customer correct change, that no bills were stuck together. A nasty habit indeed but today, I saw a cashier do what I thought I would never see a cashier do, she spat into a box at her feet. That action was so unexpected and disgusting, I automatically recoiled and my visitor, who was purchasing the items already on the conveyor belt, looked at me as if to ask if he had really just seen what he thought he had seen.

We wondered if she was so comfortable spitting in front of a line of customers, what the heck would she do when no one was around? Upon returning home, I decided to call the store to let them know what I had observed. They asked me for her name. Well guess what? In wanting to get the heck out of that store, I never looked for a name tag neither did I ask for the spitter for name. What I do know is that although I like to shop at that store for its fresh fish and exotic fruit, I can honestly say, today was my last day shopping there.

Will keep you posted.

My Vegetable Pots

A few weeks ago, strolling around yet another garden centre looking at plants for which we had no more garden space, my neighbour and I were seduced by a section of mature vegetable plants. The size of the plants, the fact they already had tiny green balls and we won’t have to wait weeks to harvest, as we would for the seedlings we had recently planted, confirmed the deal. We paid $12 each for a tomato plant (my neighbour) and a bell pepper (me). The pots had a built-in cage for support so we were set. They would do well on the patio.

Bell Pepper

My neighbour grows vegetables. I am more of a perennials (flower, shrubs and trees) kind of gardener but I used to have space for a few vegetables, usually tomatoes, beets, hot peppers and herbs but over time, that space was taken over by perennials, quelle surprise! I have a number of pots in my backyard that I fill with colourful annuals. This year, I decided to plant them with beets, carrots, hot peppers and tomatoes and I still added some flowers for the colour I can't do without.

I started this post talking about the mature plant purchased for $12. When I mentioned to my neighbour that I could go to the farmers’ market and purchase a whole lot of bell peppers for that amount, she reminded me that I can’t beat the joy of walking into my yard, picking a pepper and knowing it’s as fresh as it can be.

That’s one of the joys of having a kitchen garden. I  try to forget the very wet year I discarded my tomato plants, filled with green tomatoes, after a major slug infestation; just too many slugs for my comfort level. I also remember the year a few chili pepper plants produced so many peppers, I was about to run out of neighbours, friends and co-workers to give them to and had so many in my freezer, I was still using them well into the next year.

Fingers crossed that my vegetables will do well in pots. At least I know for sure the bell pepper won’t be a problem. Take a gander at that pic.

Will keep you posted.

What’s The Matter With Some Christians?

As I listened to Ugandan gay rights advocate, Frank Mugisha being being interviewed on the The Current on CBC Radio, I became sad and then angry at the tale he was telling about LGBT people being persecuted in Uganda.

I was sad that in 2013, we are still spending so much time and effort to malign and ostracize LGBT peoples. The anger came when I learnt the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, supported by evangelicals, was back in the news after it did not pass in 2011. Why are Christians promoting homophobia? What bible do these people read? Do they know the life of their Christ? Where does Jesus advocate that LGBT people should be targeted, ridiculed, tormented and even killed in his name?

Every morning I get up and make decisions to ensure I have a productive day. I think about what to eat, if I should I go for a walk, do I need groceries, which part of my business needs my focus, should I cut the grass and do a little gardening (or rake or shovel), should I go for coffee with my neighbor or dinner with a friend. At no time have I ever hopped out of bed and thought today would be a great day to set my sights on people  trying to live their lives, who have no bearing on my life and go out of my way to harass them by picketing, writing nasty comments on social media and supporting groups and politicians to ensure their lives are a living hell.

I became angry at this type of malicious behavior by Christians which serves to make others question what Christianity is about; I cannot imagine any sensible person being drawn to such people. If you call yourself Christian but do not live by the following command from Jesus Christ, you need to stop calling yourself Christian. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." It appears this is not a suggestion but a very clear directive and there are no exceptions.

If you believe in fairness and allowing people to live their lives without fear of persecution and death for who they are, it’s worth listening to this interview and to follow Frank Mugisha on Facebook and Twitter to keep abreast of his activism, quest for justice and the latest on the Ugandan bill.

Will keep you posted.

A Sunny Spring Day

Tulips and Forsythia

Hooray, Hooray, the first of May... some of you may know the rest of this ditty but I'm not about to add it here:)

Spring has been a long time coming; well, not the actual season which arrived as scheduled just the warmth associated with it. I was able to wear my cold weather gear, on my early morning walks, well into April without breaking a sweat.

There is nothing like a warm, sunny spring day to reawaken my spirit and make me  feel absolutely alive and ready to tackle outside projects, whether cleaning up the back garden, scrubbing the birdbath, cleaning out the little pond or putting out the patio furniture; not that I am about to do any of that today except the birdbath. I felt sorry for the birds trying to have a bath in soggy leaves.

Let’s hope we have seen the last of the cold days since this has been an unusually cold spring. Now is the time to enjoy the spring blooms; the beautiful tulips and daffodils, the bright forsythia, the new shoots and buds and the birds visiting the yard. Almost time to bring out the patio furniture and garden accessories and visit garden centres to see what I would like to put in this year, whether old stalwarts and/or newbies.

A sunny spring day is like a tonic and today I'm having a double dose.

Will keep you posted.

Compassion

It’s a week since the Boston Marathon bombings. We feel for those killed and injured and we hurt for their families and friends.

There were outpourings of grief, anger and compassion. We all grieved for the sufferers.  Anger, understandable in such circumstances, drove too many to direct their wrath towards perceived enemies before the facts were known.

The compassionate did not stop at grieving. They did not let their feelings of revulsion at the bombings hold them back. They stepped up and helped where there was a need. They were the first-responders and ordinary citizens running to the injured and frightened while others were running from. The compassionate exhibited courage.

The compassionate also wait for facts to become known; they see the perpetrators and not their religion nor their ethnicity.  They show empathy.  The compassionate did not take to news feeds in droves to write the vilest comments about killing and bombing who they perceived to be enemies. I stopped reading comments on various posts as I could no longer stomach the lunacy some of us thought was a good thing to commit to the internet for posterity. 

The compassionate reflect on the history of targeting groups and the bile unleashed that could not be undone. They, although concerned for the suffering of their fellow country persons, remember that daily, in other parts of the world such as Syria, bomb blasts are a way of life and their compassion extends to all.

We would do well to be less angry and to embody the meaning of compassion.

Will keep you posted.

Dressed Alike

"Sisters"

We had stopped at a favourite restaurant, Fisherman’s Pub in Speightstown, Barbados for a bite. About to head to our tables, I heard someone say, “I had to come over and say hi to my sister.”  Looking around, I came face to face with a woman dressed exactly like me, down to the style of our sandals.

We know showing up at the same event and meeting a mirror image is something women dread but who could feel horrible on a beautiful vacation day, in a restaurant on the beach with family and friends, looking forward to enjoying lunch? 

My “sister” and I introduced ourselves and realized we were on vacation from the same country and lived in neighbouring cities. We found the hilarity in our situation and had a good laugh, captured by one of my daughters (I am on the left).

The next night, family and friends met in Oistins for the fish fry, dancing under the stars and karaoke. Who should we run into but my “sister” from the previous day but this night, we were not dressed like twin daughters of a doting mother.

Will keep you posted.