Some October, when the leaves turn gold, ask

me if I've done enough to deserve this life

I've been given.  A pile of sorrows, yes, but joy

enough to unbalance the equation.

When the sky turns blue as the robes of heaven,

ask me if I've made a difference.

The road winds through the copper-coloured woods;

no one sees around the bend.

Today the wind poured out of Canada,

a river in flood, bringing down the brilliant leaves,

broken sticks and twigs, deserted nests.

Go where the current takes you.

Some twilight, when the clouds stream in from the west

like the breath of God, ask me again.

Barbara Crooker

ABC Wednesday
The letter is N, today

N for Narcissus

I have just tucked in dozens of bulbs for spring, planting them in drifts to make a beautiful picture of yellow waves, tossing in the spring breezes with welcoming nods of their golden heads.  Nice picture to imagine as we say goodbye to autumn and head into winter......

But speaking of winter, my favourite Narcissus is the Paper White, which for all my life has meant Christmas to me.  On my last stop at Knapp's plantland the paper whites were not yet on the shelves, but a kind helper went into the storage room and brought me two dozen bulbs.  I will pot them on December 1st (along with the help of the White Rabbit who visits on that day..) and will look forward to them being in bloom for Christmas Eve.

Lots of other references to "Narcissus", including Ethelbert Nevin's lovely recital show piece for piano........

And of course the poor sad fellow of Greek Mythology, who fell in love with his own reflection in the waters of a spring, ignoring Echo, the nymph, who sat by enticingly.  He pined away and died, and the flower that bears his name sprang up on the spot.

For more great Ns visit here at ABC Wednesday with thanks

to Roger, Denise and all the Nice helpers who come around to read your posting.

A Little of This and a Lot of That

This afternoon casts gentle hints that we may be coming 

to the end of our incredible Indian Summer weather.

There is a faint chill in the air that wasn't there this morning when I 

was out being diligent in the garden,

moving great clumps of coreopsis and rudbeckia 

and planting in their place lilies and spring bulbs

The week has flown by, each day dawning with the crispness of fall

and then, by noon, warming the valley with wild, rich

colours, blue sky and sunshine.

On Wednesday I spoke with a gentleman in India

(who had called me on behalf of Telus)

and he informed me it was 29C there in the city where he lived.

We were only a little behind, - on my front porch

the thermometer read 26C.

As a result of this call my daughter and I are going to have an

encounter with Smart Phones!!!!

For Charles and I a little minimum flip phone was adequate,

and my daughter took over her Dad's phone when he left,

so she could keep track of me.

Now that we are into a new contract time  I took the plunge, and ordered a

clever phone that does all sorts of amazing things, hoping that she

would be happy with this new challenge.

These men from India who work for Telus have a way about them

that is quite encouraging........

A week ago, at this time, we were just arriving in Langley and 

transferring luggage into the Motel.

We had arrived after traveling the Coquihalla, a high pass

across the mountains that I first encountered on a train when

I was taking our first born to the hospital in Vancouver.

In the middle of winter.  When the snow frequently halted one's train journey

at the height of the pass, as it did at that time!

This time I was traveling with the same first born and his wife,

but times were not as fraught and I was able to relax

and take some wonderful pictures of this high country.

We came home along the Hope Princton Highway, where the scenery was 

equally as spectacular and brought back so many memories of the times

Charles and I traveled this road in early October to attend School Board conferences.

We stopped for a break at the spot where the Dewney Trail touches the Rest Area

Lovely quiet woods

and then off to travel the Old Hedley Road leaving Princton

It is so beautiful along this back road as it winds along the water

but unfortunately we ran out of memory on the camera, and the card we had

purchased at Langley was too small and rattled around in the camera,

so we just relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful, familiar drive.

Besides talking to the 'man from India' on Wednesday I made
a really humungous and delicious stew,
so the next day I stashed away a dozen small beef pies in
the freezer, and I'm going to have one for supper!

And it's just about time....certainly time for Happy Hour.

I leave you with one last gorgeous picture that arrived in my mail box today.

M is for Memorial

ABC Wednesday
October 8th, 2014

The letter is M, for Memorial

I have just returned from New Westminster where I attended

the unveiling of this poignant statue

commissioned by the City of New Westminster in memory of

the thousand men from the Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles

who marched down Columbia Street on the 1st of October,1940, 

on their way to embark to Nanaimo for winter training

and thence overseas for five long years.

Claude Dettloff, a news photographer, captured 

the march in an iconic picture that became

famous all through North America, and from which the artists,

fashioned the sculpture.

            

It was a wonderful and rather emotional experience.

First came the pipers and the drums.....

Then the dignitaries, 

 and the servicemen, who valiantly remained standing without a twitch

all through the speeches and presentations

the small boy, now eighty, was present with his grandchildren

and helped to unveil the statue

 

 The artists, working on the project

My husband's two brothers marched that day in 1940 with the Regiment.

Neither of them returned to the hills of home

and sleep in Canadian War Cemeteries in France and Holland.

Here is Tom, second behind the 'Daddy"

Gordon is a few rows behind, and in the adjoining file, not visible.

Tom's daughter was there on Saturday, and I was accompanied by family -

it was a time of poignancy and pride among a wonderful gathering

of young and old.

Have you seen this picture?  It hangs in our living room, a gift to

Charles from some of the children.  Greatly cherished.

For more interesting Ms visit here at ABC Wednesday, with

Many thanks to Roger, Denise and Multiple helpers.

L is for Lemon

ABC Wednesday
October 1, 2014

The letter is L, for Lemon

Found ubiquitously on Used Car Lots and in Dealers' Show Rooms

and viewed by all with Tongue in Cheek!!!

For more takes on the letter L visit here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Denise, Roger and all Loyal helpers.

It was a busy week, - here, there and everywhere

but now it's Monday again and a brand new week 

with sunshine and showers

forecast and nothing terribly pressing.

Oh well, is anything really very pressing anymore?

When I came home from church yesterday, and after I had had a bit of lunch

I stretched out on the couch where the sun's rays were warm and bright (with the cat)

and picked up Anne Lindbergh's 'Gifts from the Sea' which I had put out to re-read.

And I remembered when I had first read it, back in the 50's.

What an amazingly wonderful time it was!  Family, husband, community,

 a new orchard, sheep, great quantities of friends

 - veterans on a DVA project, poor but excited with a new life.

All of us squashed into tiny houses which was all we could afford to build at the time. 

And the children! Big ones at school, small ones at home.  

Charles so fantastically busy, and life stretched on forever and ever....

That is when I really appreciated 'Gifts from the Sea' - 

when each day was a great kaleidoscope of

fragmented activity and distractions,  

and there seemed little or no time for meditation or inner stillness.

 And yet when I look back at what I was reading and the opinions I remember having, 

it couldn't all have been a domestic mishmash....

Now it is a time of great nostalgia,

 and quiet moments of reflection and meditation are an important part of my life,

 - in the music I play, the books I read (and re-read), the photography of still life I indulge in, 

-  an hour spent spinning, my time in the garden. 

As I read Anne Lindbergh's words 

and follow her search for simplicity and stillness

 I think about centering and contemplation 

and I think perhaps I have reached that time in my life when this is a possibility.

But it comes at a price.....

And I still have all that 'STUFF' to dispose of

 before I can truly live the pure and simple life......

but more about that later!

Is there anyone who would give house to this lovely pot my sister
bought for me, years and years and years ago....

K is for Kiwi

ABC Wednesday
Sept. 24, 2014

The letter this week is K - for Kiwi

So, what can I tell you about KIWI???

Well, it depends upon which Kiwi we are talking about - shall we start with the fruit!

Native to China, the fruit was first called 'yang tao' but was changed to 'Chinese Gooseberry' by the New Zealanders who began cultivation on a commercial scale, exporting to California where the fruit was re-branded as the Kiwifruit, after the Kiwi Bird (more later).

About the size of a hen's egg it has a fibrous, dull greenish-brown skin and bright green or golden flesh with rows of tiny black edible seeds.  The fruit has a soft texture and a sweet but unique flavor and grows on a fast growing woody vine in most temperate climates with adequate summer heat.

The vines require vigorous pruning, similar to that of grapevines, and the fruit is borne on one year old and older canes.

Firm kiwifruit ripen after a few days to a week when stored at room temperature, but should not be kept in direct sunlight.  Faster ripening occurs when placed in a paper bag with

 an apple, pear, or banana.

Would you like a recipe?  I found this delightful recipe for chocolate covered kiwi popsicles at Bare Foot in the Kitchen (a blog) and it sounds easy and fun to make - and tempting....

You are going to need six large kiwis, peeled and cut into 1/3 to 1/2 inch rounds, a cup of dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup of coconut oil and some popsickle sticks.

Slice the kiwis into rounds with a popsickle stick in each one and place on a tray lined with wax paper (or parchment).  Freeze for AT LEAST four hours, and up to 48 hours.

In a glass bowl melt the chocolate and the coconut oil over a pan of simmering water, and then dip each frozen kiwi into the melted chocolate - the chocolate will harden within a few moments of being dipped.  Eat immediately -  or re-freeze what you don't eat immediately!  A good way to get chocolate along with your vitamin C.......

Another Kiwi is the wingless bird, for which the kiwi fruit was named, and there is a marked resemblance, at least in shape.

During the Second World War there were many boys from New Zealand 

stationed in Canada with the Commonwealth Training Program, and a few I came to know.

They were affectionately referred to as 'Kiwis".

They had a wonderful accent to our Canadian ears and lots of expressions that 

soon became familiar to us.

Great was either 'choice' or 'cracker'

'Crikey' or 'Crikey Dick' expressed  surprise

'Get off the grass' meant go away, or calm down

and of course everyone has heard 'G'day mate' and 'Good on ya!'

I have heard Charles say 'I'll have your guts for garters' - no doubt

picked up from Kiwi airmen.

'Like a box of fluffy ducks' indicates happiness

and if you were 'On the pig's back' all was well and good.

'We're home and hosed'  meant successful and safe.

For more K's visit here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Roger, Denise and all Kool helpers.

The first day of Autumn, and still Summer lingers with us.  

A warm day and I spent the afternoon in the back garden, reading, 

and then finally stirring myself to gather up the 

great leaves of the squash and cucumber and pumpkin that I planted,

 and alas, had only a very meager harvest.  However, before the lovely leaves

 began to shred and dry they made a wonderful show at the edge of the deck.

And the nicotiana perfumed the night so intensely that the scent wafted 

through the open window, along the hall, and into my bedroom

However, I am now with Rilke, and his words about Autumn. 

I think that I have posted his poem before, 

but perhaps not this particular translation by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann.

Lord it is time.  The summer was immense.

Lay your shadow on the sundials

and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full;

give them another two more southerly days,

press them to ripeness, and chase

the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one anymore.

Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long time,

will stay up, read, write long letters,

and wander the avenues, up and down,

restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.

The grape harvest is not yet underway here in the valley,

but the orchards are busy with apple pickers and the alders and the poplars,

 high in the hills, mark the creeks they edge with gold.

I have determined to spend this coming week in the garden.

Those beautiful but ubiquitous yellow daisies have more or less taken over

even providing fierce competition for the Chinese Underground Railway

and the bright orange lanterns they festoon their

stations with.

I hope to move the daisies to another spot (not yet determined)

to make room for the lilies which suffered under the great growth and 

shade of the hazel nut tree this summer.  I think that this side garden

is going to end up being a haven for hostas

with the poppies and the delphinium also moving elsewhere.

Well, all these plans for the garden add a great

deal of enthusiasm to life

and I am not yet ready for the pile of books,

the easy chair, and my knitting!!

By the way, I didn't get to the Pepper Festival, but spent the morning yesterday
helping to provide coffee to fifty or so
Anglicans who were on a rally, visiting South Okanagan Parishes,
and the afternoon playing the organ at a funeral
for an old and dear friend I used to play hand bells with, but I heard
the music that sounded throughout the town
and it was hot and peppy!