Wendy's Journey

Final post

2011-09-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

"Retirement" Party

2010-07-24T07:50:00.001-07:00

A grand cross section of the people Wendy touched through her professional and personal life gathered Monday night, July 12, to celebrate a life well lived. And live it she did, right up to the last moment. Wendy would have loved her ‘retirement party’. There was lots of good food, something to drink, lots of interesting people to talk with, and it was held in one of her favourite places (the Museum) and in the Whale Hall (another of her favourite places).

There was lots of laughing and fond remembrances and not too many tears. I couldn’t have asked for a better or more suitable send off. My heartfelt thanks to the staff at the New Brunswick Museum for making this happen so quickly. There was a short formal program, but most of the evening was spent reminiscing and remembering. And thanks to all the people who showed up to share their memories.

I’m sorry I’ve been so slow in writing this, but words escaped me this past little while and I found staring at a blank screen slightly depressing. Here are a couple of photos taken by our friend, Jim Robertson, from Red Deer.

Sisters Diane and Joyce, me, and my sister, Beth.

2010-07-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 9, 2010

2010-07-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

Arrangements for Wendy are being handled by Fundy Funeral Home (www.fundyfuneralhome.com). they have published her obituary and have set up a place for condolences and connections to the Canadian Cancer Society and The Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Many thanks to everyone who has sent emails of condolence or remembrance. It is comforting to know how well remembered she really is.

Harvey

Thursday, July 8, 2010

2010-07-08T04:04:00.001-07:00

just one more chat
just one more hug or kiss
one more anything

A Celebration

2010-07-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

A celebration of Wendy's life will be held at the New Brunswick Museum on Monday, July, 12, 2010, between 5pm and 8pm. Join us in honouring Wendy's life.

Harvey

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

2010-07-07T00:28:00.000-07:00

I'm saddened to report that Wendy died at 3:45 am, ADST on this day in the Saint John Regional Hospital, Saint John. New Brunswick. I offer my grateful thanks to the staff at the Oncology Department, the Emergency department, the Neurology Ward and the Palliative Care Unit for their timely, compassionate and professional care of Wendy during these past two and a half years.

Wendy has stipulated that there be no funeral. Her remains will be cremated and a celebration of her life will be held at a later date. I will announce the date, time and place in this blog.

Although Wendy had cancer, Cancer never had her. She would not let it dominate her life or determine her course. For every moment of pain and despair she found a moment of light and joy; for every limitation, an open road to speed along; for every setback, a lifetime's worth of hope.

Anyone wishing to do so, may make donations in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society, and for you lefties out there, The Stephen Lewis Foundation. Failing these two, any donation in her name to any community based arts support group would also be welcome.

Wendy Martindale

August 1, 1952 - July 7, 2010

Update, Tuesday, July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Wendy was moved into Palliative care this morning. A much better place for her with more attentive care. She had several Grand Mal seizures this morning, but medication has stopped them. She remains unresponsive, but we talk to her and read poetry.

Local friends can visit her at the Saint John Regional Hospital, 3B North 62.

Harvey

Update, Monday July 6, 2010

2010-07-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Wendy was unresponsive to touch and sound this morning. The Palliative care doctor suggested a move from neurological ward to the Palliative care ward. Otherwise, Wendy is breathing well, has good blood pressure, and is in no discomfort.

Harvey

Another setback

2010-07-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Wendy fell out of bed this morning and hit her head. She's in hospital now with some cranial bleeding and is not doing very well. Over the past few weeks she's been geting progressively weaker. She had a CAT scan today and it showed very little change in the metastises in her brain and a recent chest X-ray showed little improvement in the cancer in her lungs.

She is resting comfortably and being looked after by compassionate professionals.

Harvey

Namaste Irwin Barker

2010-06-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Canadian stand-up comedian Erwin Barker died yesterday. Erwin was an early inspiration to me in my cancer journey, thanks to an interview with Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio in 2008 and a subsequent documentary. (See Blog entry of Feb. 1, 2008)

Irwin had been diagnosed with cancer and was expected to survive for only a short time. He felt strongly that while he had cancer, “… cancer doesn’t have me.” He continued to work as a writer for the Rick Mercer Show and performed in several fundraisers for the Cancer Society. Fully aware of his condition and the likely outcome, he continued to do what he loved to the best of his ability.

He was on the positive side of any prediction and I thank him for his example.

Namaste
Wendy

Retirement

2010-06-19T16:29:00.001-07:00

To the extent I get to plan these things, my retirement date is sset for August 1, 2012 which is also my 60th birthday.

A bunch of us baby boomers at the museum took one of those pre-retirement seminars last year and we've been talking about succession planning at work. Jane has agreed on the date; retirement event at the Lily Lake Pavilion, Rockwook Park, Saint John, NB, date to be determined.

In celebration, I had my summer pedicure at Inn on the Cove this week while enjoying the beautiful view of the Bay. This time it's bright pink to go with my pink "Gloria Vanderbilt sandals.

Thanks to Jack Hill, this blog's unofficial photographer.

Cheese and Chocolate

2010-06-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

My taste for chocolate and cheese went down over two years ago when chemo treatments first began. With this recent hiatus on chemo treatments my interest and taste for these two foods has returned, which is excellent as we have re-discovered that Costco has a great cheese selection.

Thanks to L. for the Callebault Chocolate from Alberta. (And Yes, I shared.)

Wendy

A Break

2010-06-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

I finished the tenth Radiation treatment yesterday (Thursday). It will take ten days to two weeks for the 'biological effects' (the technician's term) to stop. So we have a couple of weeks to relax. No appointments, no doctors or technicians. It almost feels strange not to have to get out of bed and rush off to an appointment. I'll have to be careful in the sun as the treatments sensitize the skin. But this is the summertime along the Bay of Fundy and sunny days are a premium. Later in June we'll be meeting the Dr. B, who will have consulted with the Radiation Oncology Specialist to determine where we go from here.

I'm continuing to work from home and making sure I'm getting afternoon naps.

We're looking forward to guests this weekend and once again feasting on seafood.

Wendy

(Typed by Harvey)

Radiation Underway

2010-05-26T08:08:00.001-07:00

I've gotten started with radiation treatments - four of ten planned treatments are finished. Because they are whole brain treatments, a moulded plastic mesh mask was made on my first visit. The radiation therapists slip the mask on over my head each time and use it to line up the beam.

My sister, Joyce, was here for a visit on one of the first WestJet flights into Saint John from Toronto (for now they operate only seasonally). It was also the first time we had great weather when she visited (snow storms and fog have been features of previous visits). It was nice to show her around while everything is so green and we enjoyed lobster and scallops, too. Comet loved the extra attention and the long walks.

Wendy

More lemons, more lemonade

2010-05-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Those side effects I talked about in my previous entry morphed rather suddenly into dizziness and headaches this past week or ten days. A rather dramatic crumple to the floor at work on Thursday, accompanied by losing consciousness briefly, led to a meeting with some paramedics from the ambulance service after concerned staff had phoned 911. When I explained my condition and that I had a scheduled CAT scan, they let me get to the car by wheelchair (they wanted to put me on the gurney). My thanks to the museum staff for their ‘heads up’ actions after my collapse.

Back home, I contacted the Chemo room. They seemed concerned that my CAT scan wasn’t scheduled until Monday and after a flurry of phone calls we got an appointment for Friday morning. Since it was evident that I needed a wheelchair to get around, we corralled our friend Jack to drive us to the Fortress of Healing. For all that we were wedged into the appointment queue for a CAT scan, we were home shortly after lunch. CAT scans only take ten minutes.

Later Friday afternoon Dr. B called with news that the scan showed some spots on the back part of the brain which affects balance. Our hopes that this was just another side effect or an inner ear infection were put aside. She pointed out that this was “another level of seriousness”. They start radiation therapy next week and I’m making arrangements to work from home for now. I’m taking a medication for the dizziness.

Fortunately, most of the house, except for Harvey’s office, is on one floor. We’ve rented a wheelchair that I’m slowly learning to maneuver around the house. I can get from the bedroom to the living room and dining room and my office quite handily. Harvey bought some cordless phones today so I’ll be able to contact him when he’s busy in his office (where the computer is located) or I can wander around with a phone in my hand.

Wendy

Celebrating International Year of Biodiversity

2010-05-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

As my unplanned celebration of the above, I’m adjusting to doing many, many things consciously rather than unconsciously due to my numb/tingly fingers and toes, a side effect of this chemo drug. I’m making like a coyote, a species I greatly admire because it is highly adaptable and a trickster figure, and learning to adapt. This could be extremely frustrating but instead, I am trying to view it as an interesting learning opportunity. This works at least some of the time. (“Holy cow! That’s interesting.” is becoming a new mantra.)

Changes include:

Numb toes, resulting in poor balance. This is a scary one, because if I fell I could damage vertebrae in my neck which are weak because of bone reduction due to radiation treatments. Because of the balance issue I have to really focus on walking when I’m walking; not being distracted by the shop window displays or the lady in the pretty red jacket, not thinking I can pull something out of my bag or have my hands in my pockets. (Harvey frequently reminds me to walk with my hands and my arms swinging.) I’m also thinking of using a walking stick for support. This will be another new skill I’ll need to develop. Of course, I have the walking sticks my father Herb made out of attractive pieces of wood, as well as an antique hackberry stick my friend John salvaged.
Numb/tingly fingers effect everything I do with my hands, which is a lot. (Think about this for even a short period of time during your day and I suspect you will also be amazed). Keyboarding (we used to call it typing.) of course, and I’m learning the skill of two rather than ten fingered typing. Voice recognition software would be an option if this was permanent, but it should (knock on wood) go away when I’m no longer receiving this chemo drug. I’ve discovered that sometimes emails are better answered by telephone and you have conversations with people too, which is wonderful. Doing things at work in chunks – we know that switching tasks frequently is not a good thing. It also works better for my fingers if I spend time doing emails, then make some phone calls, then working on the keyboard to draft documents.
Finding the balance between allowing people to help and remaining independent, often without knowing until experience teaches me where this line lies. People don’t mind helping, whether it’s taking a staple out of some papers I need to photocopy or a clerk waiting patiently for me to extract change from my wallet. A little humour and saying ‘thank you’ are also important.
I learned to wet my fingers to separate the pages of the newspaper. I’ve mostly given up carrying breakable things or I use two hands. Harvey even carries my morning coffee into my office for me. The original owner of this house had many handgrips put into the tub and shower and I’m using them.

I can already see that some of the adaptations work better than my old habits, and thus can be adopted permanently.

In the spirit of the coyote.

Wendy

Numb Fingers and Toes

2010-04-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

The side effects of the Taxol have gotten worst after each of the last two weekly treatments. The numbness in my feet is affecting my balance and my fingers are quite un-dextrous. I've reached a point where I'm not sure if I'm gripping something hard or not hard enough. I could easily drop and break something. I have trouble picking things up, dealing with buttons, taking the lids off things, plus they are rather painful.

Thanks to an email from Pat in which he said he feels like he types with his elbows, I realized that one accommodation I could make at the keyboard is to use two fingers. I learned to touch type in High School - in the days when as a female you didn't reveal this skill unless you wanted to work as a secretary - so now I'm retraining my not very nimble fingers. Hunting and pecking is slow, but I make fewer mistakes.

After my every four weeks appointment with Dr. B. today, the decision was to reduce the Taxol dosage in hopes that will make these side effects more manageable.

Awkwardly
Wendy

(typos are all Harvey's)

Deer Tricks

2010-04-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

We imagine the Rockwood Park deer will collect the $3 in change along the Park trails and recruit a friendly human to attend on their behalf. They'll be prepared for any new tricks before other attendees even have a chance to try them.

Deer - 1
Humans - 0

Harvey has suggested that a few recipes for various venison dishes might slow them down for a while.

Wendy

Fusion or Con-Fusion

2010-04-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

Eight of us went back to St. Andrew’s this week to sample a student inspired meal at the College. With students from Canada, Mexico, and Chile the menu promised tastes from these three cuisines. I was hoping that some of the Chinese students would bring their tastes to the evening but that was not to happen.

I am usually energized by the enthusiasm of the students at the Lady Dunn venue but that seemed missing Thursday night. There was no spark, few smiles, and a lack of understanding of our dining culture.

Empanadas

Meat filled pastries are a staple of many cultures and empanadas are found throughout Central and South America. My disappointment with these was not in the pastry but in the presentation. Suddenly two plates of empanadas appeared, each containing four pastries with neither a side plate nor serving utensil. I realize these are meant to be eaten from the hand, but the phyllo was soggy and hot enough to make it difficult to handle. Tasty, but difficult to eat.

North and South Breads

Bread baskets and plates of dip appeared without side plates, which we had to request. The flatbreads were dry and the dried tortillas were indescribable. The hummus was dull and lifeless. (Hummus is made with lemon juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes!) The corn-Guajillo dip tasted more like a squash puree with none of the sweet spicy heat expected.

Beta Beta Beta Soup.

This roasted red pepper soup was a delight to my eyes and from the first spoonful, made me smile. It was a perfect balance of spice, heat, and roasted red peppers with a delightful crunch from the pepitos. Full marks.

Pescados

Billed as a hot and cold fish dish, it lived up to its name. Poached sole was placed over a small mound of quinoa in one corner of a square plate and in the opposite corner was a piece of halibut ceviche. Joining the two corners was a trail of wonderfully spicy salsa. Full marks for taste, creativity and presentation.

Silvestre Sorbet

A very pleasant palate refreshing sorbet based on Margarita flavours. Crystalline sugar sprinkled over the top added a nice touch and mimicked the salty rim of a margarita.

Tortiere-Carnitas

The strangest of the evening’s dishes was this combination. The tortiere was a mound of ground beef, pork and veal that was strangely dry and tasteless. Deconstructing tortiere should have included the gravy made by the meat juices, potatoes, onions, thyme and savory and other spices, and don’t forget pastry. Tortiere is a pie. Fusion could have added some heat or spiciness.

The Carnitas was a pork puree wrapped in a tortilla. It had a very strange mouth feel for a meat dish – more like a pate than the pulled, braised pork shoulder which is common. Again there seemed little flavour in the concoction and no condiments to make up for that lack.

Neither meat dish was hot.

The lack of vegetables was a strange touch. Potatoes and corn are endemic to South America and would have balanced the meal somewhat.

Maple Poached Pear and Leche Nevada

A pleasantly refreshing dessert of poached pear, Maple Ice Cream, and “Snowy Milk” nicely presented.

Dulce Trio

We finished with Candied Orange Peel, a candy made from beans, and Empolvado candy - interesting sweet treats that were new to us and a nice finish to the meal.

I don’t want to seem overly critical about the meal, but students are there to learn and the best learning comes through real experience. Sometimes that means falling flat on your face. It’s one thing to cook a meal for friends and a completely different experience to cook in a restaurant. I know the pressure is tremendous, but the rewards are exhilarating. I’ve enjoyed the experiences we’ve had at the Lady Dunn Dining Room over the past two years. I won’t let this dampen my enthusiasm for the wonderful meals we’ve had there and the fun we’ve had meeting the students and teachers. Don’t give up experimenting and don’t quit just because someone critiques your efforts. And, for goodness sakes, don't lose the enthusiasm.

Harvey

Special Places II

2010-03-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from that 1980 field trip. Taken by Will Pearce. My goodness, don't I look young?

Special Places

2010-03-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

It has been my privilege to have lived, worked in or visited almost all of Canada. My job as an interpreter of natural and man-made landscapes allowed me to get an often intimate and personal knowledge of the people and stories of these places. Between work and holiday travel, I’ve been from Iqaluit to Rondeau Provincial Park, from Cape St. Mary’s to Tofino. Of all the eye-catching, breathtakingly beautiful places I’ve seen, three remain deeply embedded in my memory.

The prairies are a landscape of sweeping vistas, gentle hills, huge skies and endless horizons. But every once in a while a river cuts through this landscape and creates what I’ve called “inverted landscapes”. These river valleys are more ‘bounded’ landscapes and often oases of green amid the browns and yellows of the prairies. Three of these inverted landscapes call to me: Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park World Heritage Site, and Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park.

.

Dry Island is southeast of Red Deer, on the Red Deer River, near Three Hills. (Yes, there are three rather prominent hills.) Even knowing you’re close to the place, it is always a bit of a surprise as you top a little rise and the valley opens up in front of you. You literally go from the photo above to the one below.

Dry Island. That’s the Red Deer River.

Shortly after 9/11 the Red Deer and District Museum opened a traveling exhibit about Grenfell Hooked Rugs. The curator, Paula Laverty, who lived across the river from the Twin Towers, flew out the following week for the exhibit installation and opening. These were tumultuous and scary times so Wendy and I took Paula to Dry Island to give her a feeling for the Great Plains, a part of the world she was visiting for the first time. It was a beautiful fall day and as I recall it, we had a great day. I remember being embarrassed at the thirty “Watchable Wildlife” signs the park had erected - I had written every one.

-o-O-o-

Wendy and I worked for Alberta Recreation and Parks in the early eighties. In the fall of 1980 the Visitor Services Planning group took a field trip to southern Alberta. We visited Dinosaur Provincial Park World Heritage Site on that trip. Like Dry Island, you reach the park almost by surprise. Suddenly there is a whole landscape, mysterious and almost mystical, spread out at your feet. Perhaps it’s the badlands with their hoodoos or the way the landscape changes with every rainfall. Perhaps it’s the strip of green along the river. It’s called Dinosaur because a phenomenal number and variety of late Cretaceous fossils have been discovered here. It was declared a World Heritage Site because of this and has attracted paleontologists from all over the world since the nineteenth century.

Wendy and I were there just after a thundershower. That’s the best time to go fossil hunting. The torrential rains wash away the soft bentonite clays exposing the much harder fossilized materials. We found a small hoodoo capped by a fossilized turtle shell.

At the time I was envious of the planners working on the park. It was and still is a challenging place to interpret to visitors. I’ve been lucky enough to work on two interpretive plans for Dinosaur as a consultant, first with Reid Crowther in 1985 and again in 2002 with Robertson Weir. One evening Anna Roberson and I walked the road in the closed area and experienced the badlands at dusk. As the sun went down behind us, the badlands glowed pink, a deer ran up a hill, and a coyote howled. Truly, Dinosaur is “Like no other place on earth”.

-o-O-o-

On the same trip in 1980 we went to Writing-on-Stone. Leaving Lethbridge, there is a tiny pyramid shape on the horizon. That shape is the Sweetgrass Hills of Montana. These massive granite intrusions were exposed by millions of years of erosion. On the Canadian side of this border is Writing-on-Stone. The park is located on the Milk River, part of the Mississippi River system. You could put a canoe in the River here and not need to pull out till you reach the Gulf of Mexico. Most Canadian rivers drain into the Pacific, the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans. It is the Milk River valley that allowed American Whisky traders to sneak into Canada and ply their illicit business. There was a NWMP post in here for years.

Aside from the stunning beauty of this spot, there are petroglyphs and paintings on the rock faces that are estimated to be over three thousand years old. The top of the cliff on the opposite bank of the river is a known vision quest site. It is a place of immense spiritual power.

We had lunch in the hoodoos that day. It was the middle of November, but the sun was warm and out of the wind it was very pleasant. Will Pearce, our boss and leader, took a great photo of me standing on a hoodoo. It was a perfect day. It was at this place on that day in 1980 that Susan Sawyer, our historian and a great friend at the time, looked at me and said “You’re sweet on her, aren’t you?” I was. I still am.

Writing-On-Stone is another place I got to know well as I worked with Robertson Weir in 2002 to write an interpretive plan for the park.

There are many places I love, but not many that make me wistful like these three.

Happy Easter to all.

Harvey

March Update

2010-03-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

At my monthly appointment with my oncologist this week, Dr. B advised that the new chest x-ray looks about the same as the last one. This is good news as the treatments seem to be holding the cancer at bay. We will continue with weekly treatment as long as this is the case and I’m able to tolerate the side effects.

Wednesday is treatment day and seems to come around very quickly. My system does seem to be settling down with no nausea and Harvey is pleased that I’ve gained a pound or two in the last month. The major new thing is numb fingers (my toes were numb before) which means bad handwriting and some extra proofreading when at the keyboard. (Harvey is typing this for me, so he’s responsible for that.) Suzanne is keeping my hair buzzed, which looks much better than the fine stuff which had come back in various lengths and heading off in all directions.

Wendy

Caregiver

2010-03-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

What a loaded word – caregiver. It has an infinite possibility of definitions, actions, and sometimes inactions. (There are times when the best action is to do nothing.) Aside from harping about drinking enough water, driving hither and yon, and suggestions about taking things a bit easier, my care giving is mostly about trying to find food choices that Wendy can eat. That is particularly frustrating for someone who has absolutely no interest in eating and whose favourite foods no longer taste ‘right’: and for someone who loves to prepare food. I’ve been making lots of soup from my own stock to ensure low sodium content and encourage liquid intake.

To get around our frustration, Wendy has deemed playing UPWORDS (a game similar to Scrabble but you can build the words up as well) one of my care giving duties. Wendy is very good at this game and customarily trounces me. I suspect the endorphins released as the result of winning makes her feel better for a while. Of course, if I let her win she would suspect my deception and be angry or disappointed with me, so when we sit down to play after dinner, the competitive urge rises and cutthroat Upwords ensues.

I’ve gotten somewhat better at this stupid game and can even see some strategic moves if I’m lucky enough to get the right tiles. My win rate is still half of Wendy’s, but it is an addictive and compelling game that fills an hour or so with brain-challenging activities. Studies indicate that such mental exercises help prevent Alzheimer’s.

Plan for the future, but write in pencil.

Harvey

PS Harvey has been on a winning streak and the number of games each of us has won is currently very close!
W

PPS: She’s just won two in a row on last minute scores of over thirty points.
H.

Continuing Treatment

2010-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

We saw Dr. B this morning. She said the new chest xray done today looks ok. So we'll continue this weekly treatment with Taxol for a couple of months, monitoring the symptoms and how it is working.

My fingers as well as my toes are a bit number. I find I have to do some extra proofreading of stuff I do at the keyboard. And while I don't have much of an appetite for food, which is quite odd, I am able to eat ok. This may be the new normal for a while.

Wendy

Deconstructing Caesar Salad

2010-02-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

A while back while preparing for a small dinner party, Wendy decided that we needed a salad. I jump at any food request Wendy makes these days. We had a nice head of romaine in the crisper and that immediately suggested “Caesar Salad”. A search through the fridge and pantry gave me everything I needed but anchovies. It was too late to mount a shopping expedition so I had a second look at the Caesar dressing recipe.

It’s really just a mayonnaise (one of the basic ‘mother sauces’ of French Cuisine) sharpened with extra mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and anchovies.

Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
250 ml. extra virgin olive oil.

In a large bowl mix the yolk, lemon juice and mustard with a whisk. Slowly begin to add the oil a few drops at a time. Egg yolk is an emulsifier: it joins a liquid molecule to an oil molecule, so you need lemon juice or vinegar to complete the bond. As you whisk, the sauce becomes pale yellow and has a nice sheen. One egg yolk will easily emulsify a cup of oil, but don’t push it too hard until you’re experienced. Mayonnaise is mild and creamy.

If you add a couple of finely grated garlic cloves, the mayonnaise becomes a Sauce Aioli.

But most of us buy Mayonnaise in a nice jar at Superstore or Sobey’s. It’s a heck of a lot easier and less frustrating. (Just wait until your Mayonnaise breaks or separates at a critical moment.) Here’s a quick and dirty Caesar Salad Sauce.

½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar, or one you like.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.
1 cup grated fresh Parmesan Reggiano cheese.

Because the store-bought mayo is already an emulsion, it will readily mix with these ingredients and make a tangy, sharp sauce. You can adjust the flavour to suit your taste. Let the sauce sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to meld the flavours.

Lightly oil slices of French or Italian bread and toast in the oven until they are crusty. While still warm, rub both sides of the slices with a garlic clove. When cool, cut the bread into nice sized cubes.

I had nothing to replace the anchovies, so I left them out. I did have some hot smoked salmon. I filled each salad plate with romaine and gave each plate a squirt of the dressing. I then layered on the croutons and sprinkled the greens with freshly ground Parmesan (the real stuff, Parmesan Reggiano), some croutons, and the salmon. The acid tanginess of the sauce went well with the salmon.

Everyone loved the salad and I was commandeered into making it for Christmas dinner.

A Dessert Presentation

2010-02-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

Wendy mentioned that some of our ‘constant readers’ had requested a recipe or two. I have to admit that my cooking skills have not been tested much these past few months with Wendy’s taste buds being sorely affected by her treatments. When she thought that an evening of dessert and Monopoly with Jack and Suzanne and Dale and Lynn was just what she needed, I was challenged to make an interesting and healthy presentation.

During the summer Wendy goes off to various places and picks fruit and freezes them for later consumption. While rummaging in the freezer an idea came to mind. Strawberries, blueberries and rhubarb (courtesy of Dale and Lynn's garden) all came to hand and the whole dessert concept became Memories of Summer (with apologies to President’s Choice).

Remember that these fruits have been frozen and when they thaw they will give up juice, become soft, and will lose their shape.

The centerpiece of this is the rhubarb. Be gentle.

Jellied Rhubarb Compote

1 kg (2 lbs) rhubarb, cut into one inch pieces
2 oranges, zest and juice
250 ml honey, sugar, or maple syrup
2 packets Knox gelatin

Mix rhubarb, orange juice and zest, and sweetener into a pot and heat gently. You are trying to get the rhubarb to give up its juice and mix with the other ingredients. Cook until the rhubarb is soft. Prepare the gelatin according to the package directions and add to the hot rhubarb mixture. Stir well.

Prepare nine ramekins. Fill each ramekin with the mixture and put into the refrigerator to cool until set.

Blueberry Compote
(this is a good recipe for tart fillings or a cobbler base too)

1 litre blueberries
250 grams sugar
24 grams cornstarch (a scant tablespoon)
1 tspn cinnamon
¼ tspn nutmeg
¾ cup cold water

Mix sugar, spices, cornstarch and cold water in a pot over medium heat, bring to a boil while stirring. When thickened, pour in blueberries and bring back to a boil. Cool.

Strawberry Sauce

2 cups frozen strawberries
½ cup sugar (or less according to your taste)
2 tspn cornstarch

Thaw the strawberries before starting. Drain off a half cup of juice and mix with the cornstarch.
Put the berries and sugar in a pot and heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook gently until the berries are cooked and the liquid is thick.

To serve Memories of Summer:

Gently turn out the jellied rhubarb compote onto the centre of a dinner plate. Spoon blueberries and strawberries on opposite sides of the plate. Place a dollop of ice cream or a fruit sorbet at the top of the plate.

Enjoy.

P.S. A shortbread cookie would go well with this.

Kids' Guide to Museum

2010-02-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

Although I haven't talked much about work in this blog, I have been able to continue working part-time during treatment.

I wanted to share this newspaper article about one of the projects I've been coordinating. This Kids' Guide was developed with the assistance of a group of Grade 4 and 5 students from a nearby school, to highlight their favourite parts of the Museum and enable other kids to act as tour guides for their own families. The students are very proud of the resulting booklet, which features their art and writing. I think the final product exceeded everyone's expectations, and it is now available to visitors as part of their regular admission.

Wendy

New Treatment Underway

2010-02-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

Weekly treatments with the new (to me) chemo Taxol got underway today. In four weeks I see my oncologist, Dr. B, to assess how it's going. The chemo nurse says if it's effective and depending on the side effects, it can sometimes be continued indefinitely, like the bone strengthener I receive intravenously every 4 weeks.

The nurse feels that the oncology docs here really keep up to date, going to conferences, involved in clinical trials, reading, etc. Says if this ever happened to her Dr. B is who she'd want, and she's not the first person I've heard express that. Her view is that Dr. B doesn't give up easily, as long as you're on board, which is my impression too.

Apparently one of the most common side effects of Taxol is achy bones, especially the large ones in the hips and thighs. There may be increased tiredness as treatment goes on, of course hair loss, but perhaps less effect on the digestive system than some of the previous treatment.
We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.

Wendy

Trying New Treatment

2010-01-27T03:56:00.000-08:00

After 6 chemo treatments with Cisplatin, Dr. B has found that my lungs are a little worse than before we started it in August. So we're trying another type of chemo, Taxol, with treatments weekly. We'll have to see what side effects I experience, but she says it shouldn't be as hard on my digestive system.

My blood counts have been a bit low, so had a transfusion last week and won't start the new treatment until next week when they should be better.

I am hoping to continue working part time through this treatment, as I've been able to do with the others. Continuing to continue!

Wendy

Book Club Anniversary

2010-01-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

Our book club has been going for a year now and we are still having fun with it. We have taken a different approach; instead of reading the same book each month and discussing it, we establish a theme. At first, someone volunteered to find, read and review several books on that theme, but that quickly evolved to everyone coming with a brief review of a book they had discovered and read. Always followed by discussion about other things we’d read and recommended and an exchange of books we’d brought to pass along. (Particular favourites of these have been Blessed are the Cheesemakers and The Guernsey Literary Society.)

These have been our themes thus far:
Novels about place – Northern Ontario
Novels about place – Montreal (English and French in translation)
Novels about place - Newfoundland
Mystery by a Canadian author
Novel about rural Canada
Canadian novel featuring a body of water
Canadian cookbook or book about food
Biography of a Canadian
Historical novel by a Canadian

Topics for 2010 have yet to be determined but possibilities include:
Favourite book of 2009
Canadian humour
Book about health/wellness
Poetry
A Canadian road trip
Canadian novel pre-1960
A Canadian author looks at elsewhere in world
A novel of work/the workplace

Other suggestions welcome!

Wendy

Summer Jobs

2010-01-07T18:48:00.001-08:00

A conversation at our New Years’ Day Open House got me thinking about my summer job experiences while in high school and university.

We were talking about the summer I spent assisting my father set up and open the first incarnation of his used bookstore. We cleared an outbuilding on the farm, he built and installed shelves, and decided which books he could bear to part with. I moved them from the house – from shelves, cardboard boxes under beds and precarious piles. Then organized by categories of our devising, shelved and priced them, and waited on the customers who found us, including neighbours, folks out for a drive in the country, and other booklovers.
Retail not for me, but retained enthusiasm for used bookstores and reading.

Other summer job experiences included:
Working as a live-in mother’s helper in a suburban Toronto household.
I recall commenting in a letter to a friend that I could see what was in it for him, but wasn’t sure what she was getting out of it.
Housewifing not for me (in case I didn’t already know that), introduced to bagels.

A summer working at a small factory contracted to making wiring harnesses for Ford, being a member of the UAW but without the high wages for which the auto industry is known. Only worked for one day on the line, then moved to a giant stapling machine, which with explosive bursts of noise stapled plastic clips to some sort of spline. Also worked in the office which overlooked the shop floor, making labels for parts for the new model year, and in quality control, where completed harnesses were fit onto a test board so the lights lit up in sequence.
Assembly lines not for me, but getting up early ok.

Writing a grant application for Opportunities for Youth, a federal job creation program where the potential employees could propose a project (this was the 70s), presumably with the agreement of the potential employer. I don’t think it was my main selling point, but I recall making the argument that white Anglo-Saxon farmers’ daughters, the potential employees, were a minority group. The project did receive funding, although I got another job and my sister worked on it.
Grant writing may be in my future.

Summer job recollections, anyone?

Wendy

Read and Recommended

2010-01-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

10 books I’ve read and recommended in the past year:

The Outlander, Gil Adamson
This first novel by a Canadian author has not received the attention its quality warrants.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A story told through letters. Thanks to Anna for passing along her copy.

How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built, Stewart Brand
How buildings evolve and what/how we might learn in order to build better.

Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones
A story with a memorable setting about the power of reading.

The Mummy Congress, Heather Pringle
A journalist becomes fascinated by the researchers and academics who are fascinated by mummies.

The Bishop’s Man, Linden MacIntyre
Improved by having heard the author read and answer questions as part of the Lorenzo series.

Banishing Verona, Margot Livesey
Another unexpected find that has been widely circulated.

Champlain’s Dream, David Hackett Fischer
An excellent new biography about one of the most influential figures in Canadian history.

Undertow, Thomas Rendell Curran
One of a series featuring a police inspector working in St. John’s after WWII.

Gilead, Marilyn Robinson
An aging father in failing health wants his young son to know him through his recollections.

Wendy

Additional Experience

2010-01-02T04:24:00.000-08:00

Jane correctly pointed out that a new experience missing from my list was becoming a blonde. (See June 1, 2009 post.)

I've discovered that blondes wear shorter skirts, trendier glasses and have little tolerance for clothes that are now two sizes too large.

Wendy

New Experiences

2009-12-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

A recent conversation about the possibility that one can get a little too comfortably settled at this stage in one’s life led to this list of some new things I’ve tried this year (in no particular order).

Attending a Corb Lund concert in celebration of Harvey’s 65th birthday

Creating a split ash basket following traditional methods and pattern.

Acting as local tour coordinator and event organizer,

Trying delicious new ingredients including gouda cheese from PEI and wine from Mott’s Landing Vineyard

Seeing the mouths of the St. John and Kennebecasis rivers on a three hour cruise aboard the Voyageur II

Becoming a Cancer Connections volunteer, providing telephone support to matches from across the country

Finding the perfect painting of Reversing Falls, by Lynn Wigginton, for the large wall in our living room

Making the adjustment to working part time on a fascinating variety of projects

Helping create a piece of ephemeral rock art on the shore on the Bay of Fundy

Starting a book club where each month we each read a different book, on an agreed theme

Wendy

First on the Dance Floor

2009-12-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

Harvey accompanied me to my staff Christmas party last evening, held upstairs at the curling club. The perfect size for our group, with a view of the action on the ice and a dance floor. After a delicious buffet dinner, complete with chocolate fountain, and many door prizes, our d j was ready to go.

This was a new innovation for our Christmas parties, and the organizing committee, of which I was a member, found Vince the d j in the Yellow Pages. After I persuaded Harvey that as a committee member I should initiate a move towards the dance floor, others happily followed.
A good time seemed to be had by all, although some knees may pay for it today.

Wendy

Wendy left out that the dj was playing pretty insipid Christmas music to begin with. But when this song blasted out of the speakers, some primal urges stirred deep within me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6UJZtCz1-c

For a minute or so we had the dance floor to ourselves, but Wendy, ever the trendsetter, got all the dancers up on the floor. I'm sure the knees will be better with a massive dose of Vitamin I (ibuprofen).

Harvey

Irwin Barker Update

2009-12-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

After mentioning Irwin Barker in my last post, I wanted to check up on him. I first heard about his cancer story in a January 30, 2008 interview with Shelagh Rogers on CBC, which I wrote about in a post on February 1. Barker had been diagnosed with a rare terminal form of cancer the previous June; his doctor had given him 12 months to live. He later did a documentary on CTV about his first year of cancer treatment, and has done performances, including cancer fundraisers, about his cancer experience. He says "cancer can't penetrate your spirit or your creativity...whatever creative gift you have...unless you let it."

It's now been over 2 1/2 years since his diagnosis and he describes it as being "at bay but not in remission". He notes that its "a difficult path being positive and realistic at the same time...it's tough to get that balance".

Here's a thanks to Irwin Barker, who has certainly been one of my inspirations over the past two years.

Wendy

Cancer Terminology

2009-12-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

The other day a dear friend referred to me as a cancer survivor, and I realized that I'm not very comfortable with this term. That's partly because I'm not comfortable being defined by cancer. As comedian and comedy writer Irwin Barker says "I have cancer but cancer doesn't have me." As we all have, I've survived lots of things; growing up on the River Road, a 4,500 km. trip across the country in the Isuzu with Harvey, the dog and 2 aged cats, my own cooking the years I lived by myself, etc.

And while I know for a lot of people the term cancer survivor is one they feel very positive about using, it doesn't seem to fit my experience. Being still (again) in treatment for a cancer that was Stage 4 when diagnosed, as my oncologist says "at some point it will be life threatening." We're working on making that point as far away as possible - but none of us will get out of here alive!

Wendy

A Culinary Adventure

2009-12-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

Wendy, ever the optimist, had made dinner reservations some weeks ago at the Lady Dunn Dining Room. Based on her earlier chemo schedule, this should have been the Thursday a week before chemo, not the Thursday a week after chemo. Since we had enlisted Jack and Suzanne to drive and Wendy was feeling better (that means we could actually talk about food without her turning green) she insisted we go. Jack and Suzanne pulled up promptly at the appointed hour and we were on our way to St Andrews.

For those not in the know, the Lady Dunn Dining Room is the service area for those taking the Culinary Arts course at the New Brunswick Community College in St. Andrews. It’s one thing to know how to cook and to serve, but it’s a completely different kettle of fish having to do those things in real life. (Read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential for an insider’s view of life in a busy restaurant kitchen.) Like the course at Red Deer College, the students put on a darned good meal with attentive service for a reasonable price.

This meal was buffet style which gives the students the opportunity to prepare some things ahead of time, to do some fancy presentations and to make a ton of fabulous desserts. The buffet was set up in the kitchen and we got to tour the facility and talk with the students and their instructors. The student bus person took us on a quick tour, pointing out the various stations and what was available. She dropped us off at the soup station where Jack and I had rock crab soup and Wendy had mushroom soup. Before leaving, we stopped by the bread station where a variety of interesting artisanal breads were being offered by a man who obviously loved bread making. Soup was good! The bread was to die for.

The cold table had wonderful salads, a beautiful gravlax (delicious too) and capers the size of olives. I think Suzanne and I could have made a meal out of the gravlax alone. It was nearly perfect. Next up I sampled a pepper and onion stir fry with couscous and chili sauce, mussels with curry and mussels in the French style. Yum.

Around a corner we found roast beef (a small slice) and turkey, pommes Dauphin, potato puffs, and freshly prepared scallops in a cream sauce.

For dessert I tried a couple of chocolate based squares, but was far too full by then to truly appreciate them. Wendy forced me to finish off her dessert choices too. Tough luck for me! Jack was into the chocolate fountain, a chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. He did not test the carrot cake, which may be a first for him. Wendy had more bread. In fact, the baker offered to give Wendy and Jack a bread selection for breakfast, which they surreptiously slipped out in a plastic bag under their coats.

The students as well as the diners seemed to enjoy their evening. When Wendy requested herbal tea, it appeared that our resourceful waiter dipped into the students’ own supply to bring her some. The three young ladies who created all the cheesecakes made a tour of our tables as the dessert course wound down. We left satisfied and very happy with our experience. On the way out, Wendy decided that the baker was the “Bread Whisperer” .

I really enjoyed the enthusiastic young people working to establish themselves in a demanding and unforgiving career. Fortunately for them, their chef is not like Gordon Ramsay at all. (To tell the truth, I had a moment of longing seeing the young people working in the kitchen.) We now have the email address for reservations as well as the schedule for lunches and dinners next term, so we certainly plan to return.

Whenever the four of us go to St. Andrews, it’s either raining or snowing for some part of the trip. This time it rained a bit, but the full moon appeared on the way home and we had a great conversation about how much we like New Brunswick and the wonderful friends we’ve made here.

Harvey

Christmas Myth Debunked?

2009-12-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

Harvey has always maintained that he makes his fabulous chocolates only for me, and that I persist in sharing them with others.

All the various chemotherapies I've sampled thus far have changed how chocolate tastes to me - and not in a good way. In fact, I still have my birthday chocolate from months ago.

So as we were starting to think about Christmas preparations at our house, I suggested that if Harvey does make chocolates only for me, he probably shouldn't do them this year. Some of you may breath huge signs of relief to learn that chocolate preparation is proceeding as it normally does. Perhaps made all the more flavourful because Harvey timed his chocolate purchase to take advantage of the Seniors' Discount!

Wendy

Canadian Cancer Society

2009-12-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

The CCS has done a lot of great work over the years helping people in the myraid of ways that people need help when confronted by this disease. Whenever we've needed help, information, or support, they've been there with support groups, books, pamphlets, meetings and a friendly face.

Jimm Simon, a friend and colleague Wendy and I have worked with, is President of the CCS (it's a damned small world, isn't it?) and sent me a link to the new marketing campaign.

http://www.fightback.ca/

And I came across this a while back and it made me smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

This is just a short shout-out to all the CCS staff and volunteers for their great work and dedication.

Harvey

H1N1 Shot

2009-11-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday afternoon I got a call from the Oncology Department, letting me know that I could come in to the hospital on Monday morning for my H1N1 shot. However, Monday turned out to be the day that they were just switching over to a new computer system, so proceedings were considerably delayed. My arm is rather sore, but glad to have the shot before my immune system is lowered again from the chemo this week.
Wendy

Chemo Continuing

2009-11-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

Dr. B has decided to do three additional rounds of this chemo, in order to get as much mileage as possible from this drug. However, my blood counts are a bit low, no doubt due to the cold, so she's delayed the next treatment until next week. The chemo nurses said at the start that delays aren't unusual with this chemo.
Trying to deal with this one patiently!
Wendy

dismay

2009-11-13T06:01:00.000-08:00

In today's Globe and Mail (Nov. 13, 2009) there was a dismaying article about how frequently women with chronic conditions (MS, Cancer and so on) are abandoned by their husbands and lovers. The corollary to that is that men with similar conditions are not so frequently abandoned.

For my brave, cheerful, thoughtful Wendy:

24th September, 1945

The best sea: has yet to be crossed.
The best child: has yet to be born.
The best days: have yet to be lived,
And the best word that I wanted to say to you
Is the word that I have not yet said.

Masim Hikmet, from Poems to Priaye from Prison

Harvey

Treatment Again

2009-10-29T02:10:00.001-07:00

Spent much of yesterday at the Fortress of Healing for chemotherapy treatment. My reading material for the day was Julie and Julia, which inspired the movie. That led to phoning Harvey to suggest he get some leeks when he went shopping. The resulting leek and potato soup is delicious, as was the borscht he made last week. His Ukrainian friend said, with tears, that it is "just like my mother makes."
Some of the chemo nurses hadn't seen my blonde persona until yesterday. They agreed that it looked good but were very amused when I reported that as a blonde I needed to shorten some of my skirts. My hair is gradually coming back - maybe 3/4 inch of very fine gray brown - not enough to keep my head warm.
I have a CT scan coming up and then Dr. B will know when this chemo is working, in which case we'll continue with more treatments.
Wendy

Birthday Celebration

2009-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Last week (October 20) was my birthday, and not just any old birthday, but my 65th birthday. I’m now eligible for various pensions and a seat outside the coffee shop in the Mall with all the other old farts. Bah, humbug!

Birthday week began on Sunday evening when Wendy asked if I wanted to know what was going on this week. What good is a surprise if you know about it? I, of course, said no and just went along with the flow. Monday (the 19th) I went to a reception at the Museum announcing the formation of the New Brunswick Geopark, Stonehammer. That was fun and a chance to meet some new people. After we all went out to a quick dinner at The Ale House. We, means Dale and Lynn, Carol and Gerry and Wendy and I. We managed to get our meals and back to our cars within the time limit imposed by Wendy (tour organizer extraordinaire).

Next on the agenda was the Imperial Theatre and a concert by Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans. Corb’s music and poetry is definitely “Country and Western” but he has a great sense of humour (see “The truck got stuck” on YouTube) and a strong sense of place. The band was set up for a typical bar setting - they played a couple of nights at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto later that week. The instruments were too loud and they drowned out Corb. On the other hand the rowdy crowd (not your typical Imperial Theatre crowd) knew all the words anyway. All in all, a great evening. Gerry and Carol stopped by the house later and put one of the posters for the tour in my mail box. Thanks for that.

I woke up Tuesday morning to a gentle chorus of Happy Birthday from Wendy and a variety of gifts from Wendy, Comet, Ginger and Simba. Many books – hurray- a new mug, and most shocking, a beautiful, hand crafted wooden chair made by a local craftsman. I have encountered chairs made by this craftsman in a variety of places and every one I’ve sat in is disarmingly comfortable.

That evening people showed up to celebrate my birthday and to reinforce the fact I was now sixty five. Sigh. Thanks to Dale and Lynn for the muddler that Dale made on his father's lathe and to Suzanne and Jack for the bottle of Pernod. It's open already. Yum. Wendy got me an ice cream cake which everyone enjoyed.

Wednesday, Heather and Debbie Marshall, friends from Alberta, arrived after getting lost in Saint John several times. We gave them a city tour and they shared Wendy's admiration for a place which has its major tourist attraction, Reversing Falls, next to its major industry. Stops included the Martello Tour, a Frenchy's and Misty Harbour Seafood for lobsters. We had the rest of the ice cream birthday cake for dinner.

I did manage to stretch out my birthday for three days, which I thought was pretty good. Not as good as my friend Dianna who, if my memory is correct, managed to stretch her birthday out over seven days.

Thanks to all who brought or sent their birthday wishes, and especially to Wendy who organized a great time and managed to hide a chair right under my nose in the house for several months.

I've already enjoyed my first movie at the seniors rate, Where the Wild Things Are. Off to the mall to hang around with the other old guys and ogle the girls.

Harvey

Thanks for the Veg

2009-10-16T02:12:00.000-07:00

After a low key Thanksgiving at our house, we set off on Wednesday afternoon for our last weekly trip of the season to pick up veggies at Chestnut Acres. We've enjoyed the weekly drive, which includes 2 short ferry trips, especially over the last few weeks as the leaves have been turning their bright colours.

This week's bag was filled with potatoes, carrots, lettuce mix, green onions, beets, parsnips, butternut squash, garlic, parsley and turnip.

It has been a challenging vegetable growing season for Jodi and Andrew, and we appreciate the results of all their efforts. We'll be thinking of them on Saturday as they complete their harvest. And as the winter months unfold, no doubt we'll be looking forward to the earliest of the fresh greens right from our own neighbourhood.

If fresh organic vegetables every week interest you, check the Chestnut Acres website, where they will probably be accepting new subscribers in March.

Wendy

Reading Suggestions

2009-10-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of novels I read recently and recommend:

The Outlander, a first novel by Canadian Gil Adamson. Set in what is now Alberta in 1903, the protaganist is a young widow who is on the run after killing her husband, pursued by his twin brothers intent on avenging his death. Unique characters she meets along the way transform her journey. Continues to a strong ending when I was afraid the author might cop out a bit.

Mister Pip, by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The theme for this novel is the power of stories to transform, with a teacher who "taught us how to imagine the world" using Dickens' Great Expectations as his major tool. It's from the perspective of teenage Mathilda, who lives in a community on a South Pacific island shattered by conflict.

Wendy

This Week's Treatment

2009-10-08T02:48:00.000-07:00

After my appointment on Monday, Dr. B gave approval to proceed with chemotherapy yesterday. She's planning 4 rounds of this one (this is the second) and then a CT scan to assess the effect. The summary of Monday's review of my experience with side effects was "It's no walk in the park, but you're walking in the park." which I thought was a pretty good line.

Harvey has come down with the nasty cold that has been making the rounds here. Expect we will both be laying low this weekend, but have a good supply of reading and viewing material.

Happy Thanksgiving
Wendy

Basket Weaving

2009-10-06T12:34:00.001-07:00

Here's the basket I created in a recent Museum workshop, with the assistance of instructor Darryl Paul. Made from black ash strips, following a traditional pattern. Photo courtesy of Jack Hill

Busy Weekend

2009-10-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

After Wendy’s bloodletting Saturday morning, (in preparation for a Doctor’s appointment on Monday) we went off to the Kingston Farmers’ Markets with Lynn and Dale. It was a perfect, sunny fall day and Lynn brought her camera to capture landscape views. We eyed the goods at the market, purchasing some really good sausages, carrots, onions and apples.

Instead of heading straight home we went to Brent Rourke’s “Barn” in Bloomfield. Brent is a meticulous woodworker who produces wonderful Shaker boxes, among a variety of wonderful and beautiful items. Dale, an amateur woodworker who has inherited his father’s tools, was inspired by the professional set up in the Barn.

They had some food at the Barn, but no place to sit and enjoy a meal. Wendy, still reveling in having an appetite, suggested we proceed to the Inn at Evandale where we’d had a good meal on another trip. Despite frequent stops in dangerous places to facilitate Lynn’s landscape collection we made it to the Evandale Ferry and across the St. John River for lunch. The day was gorgeous and the trees displaying perfect fall colours with whole hillsides a riot of reds, yellows and greens.

Sunday was a gloomy, wet day and, of course, the day we had booked a boat tour along with a bunch of Museum folks. Inappropriately, it was a three hour tour (no the boat wasn’t named “Minnow”) and Wendy kept breaking into the theme from Gilligan’s Island. The view of Saint John and surrounding area from the Kennebecasis and St. John Rivers gives a totally new perspective on our city. The size of Grand Bay, the body of water that flows out through “Reversing Falls”, is quite astonishing at water level. It is much larger than it appears from the shoreline. Development along the shores is increasing at a very rapid pace and many of these new homes seem to be large for the sake of being big. I suppose if you pay a lot for a lot, the house you build has to reflect that cost.

Randy Miller, the Museum’s Curator of Geology, gave us interesting information about the visible geology along the shoreline. Gary Hughes, Curator of History and Technology, provided us with some fascinating history of the river, settlements, mills and the steamboat era. Interestingly, Dale’s father’s first job was Freight Agent for the last two riverboats on the St. John River.

Eagles, loons, cormorants, mergansers and a great blue heron cooperated by letting us spot them. The Captain added some of his own anecdotes from fifty years on the River and brought us safely back to the marina. A comfortable indoor seating area protected us from the elements and passengers were inquiring when the Museum would arrange a next trip – a spring outing seems likely.

It was a great weekend, topped off by Wendy beating me by only one point in UpWords.

Harvey

Treatment Adaptation

2009-09-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

The nauseau predicted from the new chemo treatment I started last week didn't occur, but my stomach was queasy and diet limited. White toast, bananas, organic carrots and chicken broth with noodles, supplemented by the occasional bit of cheese.
By Wednesday when we drove out to the Peninsula to pick up our week's veg, I was finally starting to feel better. Harvey, ever willing to accommodate my oddities but noting that "I could cook anything you want", somewhat reluctantly agreed to my plan to stop for dinner at "the Irving" on the highway on our way back into town. I thought surely I could find something on the menu that I could eat. Worst case I'd have a different version of chicken noodle soup! It worked, and for the first time in days I was able to eat a meal that necessitated using a knife and fork. Amazing how much better that made me feel.
Continuing to take pleasure in the small things -
Wendy

Trip to Prince Edward Island

2009-09-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

With promise of another sunny weekend, Wendy felt the need to hit the road again. We’d heard that Stan Rogers – A Matter of Heart was a terrific show. At least it wasn’t Anne of Green Gables. Wendy phoned and ordered the tickets and we took off. This time, along with the bread we remembered cheese and other lunchables.

With Comet navigating from the back seat we made it to Confederation Bridge in just over two hours. Rather than make a beeline for Charlottetown, we took a trip along the Northeast shore. It was a pretty drive, marred only by the lack of open restaurants and far too much tourist attention focused upon a certain red haired orphan. There was much mention of ‘green gables’, ‘shining waters’ and ‘kindred spirits’, and even a gaggle of Japanese tourists to complete the cliché. We managed to find The Cheese Lady and sampled some lovely Gouda cheese. It made a great lunch with bread and veggies, and of course we brought some home with us.

Unable to make contact with the Bed and Breakfast that claimed to accept pets, we took our chances and found a nice spot on the north side of Charlottetown with lots of lawn to throw the Frisbee for Comet. Note: PEI residents seem inordinately fond of maintaining vast expanses of eye-blasting green lawn. You can only imagine my horror.

We had an early dinner and made it to the Confederation Centre in plenty of time. The show was presented “Cabaret” fashion in The Mack, a small theatre across the street from the Legislature, just a block from the Centre. We shared our table with a couple from Quispamsis and a couple from Calgary. The two women were sisters with family connections in PEI. I sometimes forget how open and friendly Maritimers can be. We were laughing and talking like old friends after introductions.

The show is a dramatization of Stan’s songs by four singer/actors accompanied by keyboard, guitar and fiddle (but the player was definitely a violinist of the highest training). While I remembered most of the songs (I declined to sing along mostly) I had forgotten just how good a poet Stan Rogers was. And his songs are timeless and relevant – surprising to think that Tiny Fishes for Japan was written almost thirty years ago.

We enjoyed our evening a great deal. They managed to make us laugh, cry, feel sad and joyful, sometimes all at the same time.

And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken
And life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.

In the morning, coffeeless and feeling mildly grumpy, we headed out for breakfast at Smitty’s. Fortified with lots of coffee and a rather leaden helping of French toast we set off to find shopping opportunities. We went downtown and explored a bit, mostly browsed through two used bookstores. Wendy treated us to ice cream cones from Cows before setting off to further adventures.

Our next goal was PEI’s only winery. Travelling along the south eastern coast we had a lovely drive through forest and agricultural land. It’s potato harvesting time, and more than once we smelled the scent of hot oil and cooking potatoes as we passed a large industrial building with the name “Cavendish Farms” or “McCain’s” on the outside.

Rossignol Winery has a really nice selection of whites and reds as well as some fruit based and one maple syrup based wine. They make a very nice Marechal Foch as well as some other reds blended with a Baco Noir and Chardonnay. We ended up with nine bottles including a white that will go nicely with seafood. Looking forward to sharing our wine finds with friends.

Before leaving the winery we let Comet chase the Frisbee for a while. He hasn’t lost his touch at all. Back on the highway we followed the shore up to Montague before heading west and back to the bridge.

This was a very successful trip. We recommend the Stan Rogers show and if you can put together a group, all the better. It runs until September 26. Charlottetown is a great little city with lots of history and several good used book stores. And if you have some time, the countryside is scenic and there’s lots of history there.

Harvey

Next Step

2009-09-11T03:53:00.000-07:00

After reviewing the CAT scan done last week, my oncologist, Dr B, concluded that the chemotherapy drug I've been getting hasn't been as effective as hoped. So she is switching to another drug; its an older chemo drug which is platinum based, given on a 3 week cycle. I won't lose my hair, but it's likely to cause more nausea than the chemo I've had so far. The other major potential side effect is damage to kidneys, so keeping up my fluid intake will be very important. (Mother figures are hereby authorized to nag about this if they feel it necessary.)

The first treatment is next Wednesday, so getting mentally prepared for a new/different range of side effects.
Wendy

Second Annual Labour Day trip to Grand Manan

2009-09-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

With the weatherman’s promise of a sunny day we set off in the fog (way too early for my taste) for Black’s Harbour and the ferry for Grand Manan. Comet, ever vigilant to our every move, wasn’t entirely certain he was to accompany us. When he was certain, he loudly proclaimed his jubilation with barks, squeaks, and howls. We arrived in plenty of time for the Grand Manan Ferry. Oddly enough, as we approached Black’s Harbour the fog disappeared and the promise of a beautiful day manifested itself.

On the water by nine-thirty, we took Comet up to the upper deck where dogs are permitted and I’m sure he believes is a much better place than sitting in the vehicle area. It was cool and breezy, but a nice ride. We spotted a minke whale, one of the small species. Halfway across the Captain pulled a surprise fire drill for the crew and when that was done a lifeboat stations drill. We slowed down and suddenly there were two zodiacs dancing around the ship. I inquired of a crewman if these were the crew who had screwed up, but he assured me that messing around in zodiacs was ‘a helluva lot of fun’. The zodiacs followed us, and sometimes led us into Grand Manan.

We headed to the northern tip of the island where we went bird and sea mammal watching at The Whistle for a while. Of note were a flock of immature eider ducks and a Gray seal. We drove to the bakery and got some great bread and treats. We stopped at the Anchorage Provincial Park for lunch and discovered we’d forgotten cheese and butter for the bread. We blamed each other and ate what lunch we had anyway. Wendy threw a stick on the beach for Comet and took him for a walk on the “wheelchair accessible” bog trail at Great Pond, where they got their feet wet and muddy.

We visited Southern Head and peered cautiously over the cliffs there, watched birds and the other tourists, went for a little walk and headed back to the north end of the island. We took a side trip to Dark Harbour, which may be the only harbour on the West side of the island, and stopped at Castilia Marsh to check out the birds.

The shadows were getting long by then and there was a feeling of peace and of the day ending. As I watched a work boat work its way back to port the opening lines of Gray’s “Elegy in a Country Churchyard’ flitted through my mind.

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

I could have spent the rest of the evening there, watching this corner of the world slip into night. However, home beckoned and we finished our break and got back into the car. We had some shopping to do. Wendy never passes up recycled books or clothes.

On the trip home we sat on the deck again with Comet. He seemed uncertain and sat beside me on the bench snuggling. Every kid on the ship, save two, came up, asked if they could pet Comet and then proceeded to make a big fuss over him. He, of course, ate it up. Then women started stopping by and petting him, telling him how smart, cute, and perfectly adorable he was. Wow! I think I have found the perfect way to meet attractive women. We had great chats with several women from Toronto who thought Comet was the ideal dog, and I’m sure would have stolen him if I didn’t have him on a leash. He even had his picture taken twice.

We watched the full moon coming up as we headed home, early enough to have a supper of bread and cheese, feed Comet and the cats, check our email and head off to bed.

Truly a great day, thanks to sister Joyce for this birthday present for Wendy.

Harvey

Treatment Update

2009-08-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Had chemo treatment #6 earlier this week. It seems to have effected my appetite more this time, so am looking forward to feeling like eating again.

I'm booked for a CAT scan this week and then see Dr. B the next. She'll decide based on the results whether to continue with additional chemo, probably 2 more rounds.

Wendy

Hurricane Bill Dunking

2009-08-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Bill passed by the coast of Nova Scotia; we had some rain and some higher than usual waves, some wind, plus a lot of lead up on the news. The cruise ship scheduled to stop here on Saturday cancelled its voyage from New York rather than brave the rough waters.
My emergency precaution was putting some water into the bathtub Saturday night before we went to bed. Good thing I didn't fill it up because sometime during the night, Simba, the black and white cat, fell in. Both our cats are fascinated by water coming out of a faucet and Simba especially likes to sit on the edge of the tub to watch. He must have dipped a paw in and slipped, or reached down for a drink. The water was deep enough that all four paws and his tummy all were wet. No damage except perhaps his dignity. Harvey obligingly cleaned up the wet spot and listened to Simba's tale of woe.

Wendy

Auction Action

2009-08-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

My enjoyment of auctions stems back to the days of attending Saturday night auction in Jarvis with my father. Initially my mother may have encouraged this, thinking I might have a moderating influence on his purchasing, though I don't recall that was the reality.

Yesterday I spent part of my day at Kevin Bond's auction at the Seniors Centre in Hampton. Several estates were sold, with some good quality furniture at very reasonable prices.
My purchases:
* a little armchair that, as Kevin noted, looks like something Doris Day might have sat in
* a mink cape which closes with a giant fur covered button
* a fox stole complete with head in back and paws in front, with an A. J. McIntyre Furs, St. John, NB label
* a maple rocker/glider with glider footstool, made by L & L Woodworkers Ltd. in Shediac Bridge, NB, perfect for our knotty pine panelled rec room.
And all for under $30, including lunch at the concession operated by the Seniors.

When it was time to leave, several auction going gentlemen assisted in getting my purchases into my car. One decided that the rocker wouldn't fit without being deconstructed, but another shared my conviction that it could be done. We were eventually able to fit it into the trunk, protected with Comet's blanket from the back seat and secured with my collection of bungy cords, for a safe journey back to Saint John.

Wendy

Searching for the Elusive Winery

2009-08-17T04:54:00.001-07:00

Saturday August 15 was just about the hottest day I’ve experienced here, certainly the hottest day this year so far. Wendy had clipped an article from the Telegraph Journal about the Mott’s Landing Winery and decided this was a good day to make the journey. It was sinfully easy to convince Suzanne and Jack to join us. Jack even volunteered to drive.

We got onto Highway 102 and followed the Fiddlehead Route (Route des Fougeres) up the St. John River Valley. It’s not really the Fiddlehead Route, but the River Valley Scenic Drive is marked with stylized Fiddlehead signs.

Our first stop was MNO pottery. The shop was closed, but we found Darren and Alex at home, just getting ready to go to a wedding. We admired the wedding cakes they’d made, covered with brilliant green and blue buttercream icing and decorated with floral and fly tieing motifs.

Next stop was the Inn at Evandale where we had a wonderful lunch. The food was plain, but well prepared and they used real food. Real beef, real chicken and real ham for the sandwiches, not slurried meat and thickeners stuffed into a bag, The Inn has recently re-opened and they are spending money in positioning themselves as a resort. They are building a swimming pool beside the Inn. A number of boaters had stopped for lunch, but a group of motorcyclists drove on by.

We drove by David Eastwood’s pottery and then had to back up to go visit. I’m glad we did. Wendy found a beautiful yellow/orange lidded bowl and then bought me a wonderful mug with a whale for a handle. Suzanne found several pieces that appealed to her and dug out her chequebook.

Finally, we got back on the road and began to look in earnest for the Gagetown Cider Company. They make lovely apple wines and non-alcoholic ciders. This involved a trepidatious journey along a side road (yes, the dreaded side trip!) but Wendy’s fearless navigating got us to the place. We purchased wine for later refreshment and continued our journey.

Back on Highway 102 we followed the signs to the Gagetown Ferry (still working, hurray!) which was waiting to whisk us across the river. Wendy’s only direction to the M’LW was a newspaper article written by a wine expert, but someone not well versed in giving directions. We encountered a badly made handwritten sign pointing us to the winery. We followed the sign. Enroute we stopped at the Anthony Flower Historic Site for a quick visit. Mr. Flower was the only son of a wealthy English businessman who emigrated to Canada in 1812 where he become a farmer and painter. His reasons for emigrating were never discovered. A young man who’s headed to Dalhousie this fall provided us with a well presented tour.

Back on the road, we followed Wendy’s directions until she became unsure of herself. We retraced our steps back to the intersection with the sign, checked with a local, found that we were indeed on the right track and set out again. We simply hadn’t gone far enough. When we finally found the place we were treated to a friendly welcome and samples of four wines. A rhubarb/strawberry rose we’re having with our next turkey feast, a rhubarb that will go well with pork, a robust red to accompany red meat, and a very robust red that would be great with spaghetti sauce. We bought more wine.

We headed back across the Gagetown Ferry and into Gagetown to see the sights. Lots of middle-aged bikers in town. It was way too hot for biking and our air-conditioned Element was far more comfortable. On the way back we stopped at a roadside stand and bought a dozen corn and very tart apples.

The drive along the River Valley is full of spectacular scenery at nearly every turn. This has been a particularly wet summer so things are intensely green. With the sun in the past two weeks late crops are coming along rapidly. Too bad the sun was late for the blueberry crop. We had a great day, lots of laughing, lots of seeing things, and thanks to Jack for driving all those very winding roads.

We had Chestnut Farms organic vegetables in a salad, buttered corn on the cob, cheese and crackers, and pear cider for dinner. Wendy pronounced the corn probably the best she’d had outside Haldimand County. We were full and happy by eight o’clock.

Harvey

Julie and Julia

2009-08-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the cinema last Sunday afternoon to see “Julie and Julia”. The story in a nutshell is that a modern young woman, a writer by inclination and training working in a dead end job, is encouraged by her husband to take on the project of cooking all the recipes in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (524 recipes in 365 days) and blog about the experience. Running concurrently is the story of how Julia Child became Julia Child.

Meryl Streep as Julia Child is flawless. She presents Julia’s fearless enthusiasm with such panache, you’d swear she was Julia. Julia’s experience at the Cordon Bleu Paris School of Cooking (my alma mater, so to speak) was spot on with endless hours of chopping, slicing, dicing, julienning, and cisler-ing. It was also a wonderful picture of post-war social mores (wives didn’t work and mostly took hat making courses to fill the empty hours) and how perfectly boring it was for Julia who had worked in some undisclosed capacity with the OSS (in China) during the war. I don’t know where they found all the short actors, but Meryl looked every inch the six foot two that Julia commanded.

Stanley Tucci as her husband was a man ahead of his time. He encouraged Julia to pursue her dream and as Julia’s husband loved her to distraction. They must have been a formidable couple.

Julie undertakes an impossible task, especially in light of the tiny Pullman kitchen she was working in. Although she becomes somewhat obsessed with the 524 recipes in 365 days, she perseveres and accomplishes her goal.

Julie and Julia never meet or talk to each other.

We enjoyed the film and felt it a worthwhile excursion.

Harvey

Locavoring

2009-08-16T04:08:00.000-07:00

For the last two weeks I've been helping myself to blueberries on various rocky outcrops. We didn't have the right combination of rain and sun to get a great crop like last year, but I've enjoyed fresh berries every morning with my cereal and put a few litres in the freezer, as well as baking muffins and blueberry lemon loaf.

Harvested a small crop of gooseberries from by bush in the front yard. Still have to figure out what to do with those.

And we are enjoying our weekly supply of fresh organic vegetables from Chestnut Farm, which now includes new potatoes in addition to carrots, turnips, beets and assorted greens.

Wendy

Duck Pond Beach Labyrinth

2009-08-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

The completed labyrinth

Walking in the same footprints out

Here’s the description of our Bay of Fundy creation for the Victoria and Albert Museum World Beach Project, open to anyone, anywhere, of any age. Building on the universal experience of making patterns on beaches and shorelines, the opportunity is to make a creation of stones and then submit your photos to the project site. For more information go to http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/lawty.world_beach/

Where
Duck Pond Beach, looking toward Split Rock. Near St Martins, New Brunswick, Canada, on the spectacular shore of the Bay of Fundy. The tides on the Bay are the highest in the world, fluctuating by up to 30 feet.

When
Sunday, August 2, 2009
A perfect summer day, after more than our share of rain and fog.
This work was created about 2 hours before low tide, on a portion of the beach where the sand is hard packed by the tide.

Who
Created by Dale Peters, Lynn Wigginton, Harvey Smith, Wendy Martindale, accompanied (but not assisted) by Comet the border collie x, all of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Photographs by Dale, rock selection by Lynn, Harvey and Dale, design by Wendy, chocolate sustenance by Harvey

What
A simple stone labyrinth, created with a single line “drawn” in hard packed sand and outlined with rock from above the normal tide line. The rocks here are wonderfully varied and colourful; this region of New Brunswick has a complex and diverse geological history which has attracted study since the 1800s.
A large rock already well embedded in the sand was used as the stepping off point. Pieces of driftwood were incorporated at the entrance and central point of the labyrinth. The pathway enclosed by rocks was given texture with a driftwood branch.
After completion of the labyrinth, it was energized by walking around its exterior several times. Then, each in turn, we entered the labyrinth, journeying to its centre and back. On our first journey, we agreed to place our feet in the footsteps of those who had preceded us. We then experienced sharing the labyrinth journey by entering it one after another and negotiating our passage through it.

Why
The labyrinth is a metaphor for a journey. Although often confused with a maze, which may have many possible paths with some meant to confuse, in a labyrinth there is only one path to the centre and back.
Examples of labyrinths appear in many cultures, in a variety of forms and media. They are often constructed on the ground so that they can be walked, in group rituals or for private meditation. The earliest representations known are from the Greeks. Medieval labyrinths in the 12th and 13th century were incorporated in the floors of large Gothic cathedrals, with Chartres perhaps the best known example. Walking these labyrinths is thought to have been an alternate to a pilgrimage for those not able to travel to holy sites and lands. Turf mazes were constructed in ancient Britain and stone in Scandinavia, the latter often by fishing communities.
There has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth symbol, with one pioneering example at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The Wikipedia entry for labyrinths provides a good starting point for more information, including reading references and directories to labyrinths.

Wendy

Why
The labyrinth is a metaphor for a journey. Although often confused with a maze, which may have many possible paths with some meant to confuse, in a labyrinth there is only one path to the centre and back.
Examples of labyrinths appear in many cultures, in a variety of forms and media. They are often constructed on the ground so that they can be walked, in group rituals or for private meditation. The earliest representations known are from the Greeks. Medieval labyrinths in the 12th and 13th century were incorporated in the floors of large gothic cathedrals, with Chartres perhaps the best known example. Walking these labyrinths is thought to have been an alternate to a pilgrimage for those not able to travel to holy sites and lands. Turf mazes were constructed in ancient Britain and stone in Scandinavia, the latter often by fishing communities.
There has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth symbol, with one pioneering example at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The Wikipedia entry for labyrinths provides a good starting point for more information, including reading references and directories to labyrinths.

Chemotherapy Update

2009-07-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

Spent a good chunk of yesterday at the Fortress of Healing, otherwise known as Saint John Regional Hospital. Had the usual wait before seeing my oncologist, who advises that we'll do 6 rounds of chemo and then she'll order scans again to check the response.

This was followed by chemo #4, which takes several hours while I sit in a comfy chair reading a book. Yesterday's was The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey, which I recommend (also recommend her Banishing Verona, which led me to this one.)

Part of this treatment is a steroid taken by pill on a cycle the day before and several days after chemo. The after is 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours, which means setting the alarm to wake up at some odd hour for 2 nights, and having a snack because the medication has to be taken with food. Fortunately I don't think 2 days is long enough to make this into a habit!

These treatments seem to have gone quickly with #4 already. It helps that the symptoms haven't been as severe as the first round - just have to remind myself that doesn't necessarily mean it's not working as well.

Wendy

Three Days of Sunshine

2009-07-12T08:50:00.001-07:00

Although it's raining today, we just experienced three consecutive days of sunshine!

Anna and her Girl Guides were back in town as their final stop before heading home to Alberta. While the GGs shopped Uptown, we had a great visit with Anna, including lunch of salad with 6 kinds of organic greens, courtesy of our first week's supply from the farm, with strawberry shortcake.

I spent some time reading trashy novels on the deck. And yesterday Jack and Suzanne joined us for a mystery excursion - no one other than the tour guide moi knew where we were going. Our itinerary included a shopping stop at The Barn economusee in Bloomfield, lunch at the Bavarian restaurant in Knightsville, stopping to smell the roses at Corn Hill Nursery, ice cream cones in Sussex and a visit to the soap shop. It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was bucolic.

Wendy

A Day at the Lake

2009-07-05T04:18:00.000-07:00

Our reading group spent a relaxing afternoon at the cottage on Washamedoak Lake, thanks to by one of our members. Continuing our focus on Canadian novels, our theme was novels of rural Canada. Deborah provided a definition of rural Canada, from a book of essays edited by Wayne Grady, former editor of Harrowsmith.

Books presented and reviewed were:
Since Daisy Creek W. O. Mitchell
The Rhinestone Button Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Relative Happiness Leslie Crewe
The Birth House Ami McKay
Red Dog, Red Dog Patrick Lane

Not completed but also discussed were Thomas H. Raddall's The Nymph and the Lamp, and River of the Brokenhearted by David Adams Richards. Made available for loan were Luna and Gates of the Sun by Sharon Butala, as well as Broken Ground by Jack Hodgins.

Several poems from the vegetable series in Lorna Crozier's The Garden Going On Without Us were shared.

Radishes

Radishes flip their skirts in the wind
like a line of chorus girls
throw them over their heads.

If they were singers
they'd be the Andrews sisters.
If they had jobs
they'd be nurses who drive
red sports cars after work.

Every spring you put up with
their flirtations
for the crunch between your teeth
the quick surprise
of rain and fire
they've saved all season
just for you.

A delicious lunch was shared and an eagle spotted overhead. (There were no further bird sightings once I remembered that I'd brought binoculars.) Comet greatly enjoyed the outing, which included almost sufficient stick throwing.

Next month's theme - Canadian novels related to bodies of water. Reading suggestions welcome.

Wendy

Happy Canada Day

2009-07-02T04:31:00.001-07:00

Hope you enjoyed Canada Day, as we did. The rain held off, a relatively rare occurrence here lately, except for a brief shower in the late afternoon - and then the sun came out!

I spent some time lounging on the deck - my very Canadian reading material was a recent Maclean's and new biography of Champlain.

In the evening we entertained with strawberry shortcake followed by fireworks viewed from the deck. We can't see the low ones from here, but enjoy the sounds and any that go up into the sky. After his years on the pyrotechnic crew, I think Harvey appreciates the view from this distance - although there was some talk that next year we might watch from the roof (or remove trees on neighbouring properties).

Three month old baby Eve enjoyed her first fireworks display, although I think she was actually more interested in our cats, who certainly found her fascinating!

Wendy

Late June Update

2009-06-24T02:46:00.000-07:00

Third round of chemo on Monday. So far so good - side effects seem to kick in after a few days, so won't plan much for this weekend. Also saw my oncologist, Dr. Burnell, who feels we'll need another round or two before she can tell if it's working.

Picked up our first strawberries of the season at City Market yesterday. With the rain we've had they are quite large but not very sweet - some sun now would really help, which I think is still in the forecast. Week after next we get our first shipment of fresh organic vegetables - we again this year bought a share in a farm on the Kingston Peninsula which is doing Community Supported Agriculture. Week 1 bag will include things like leaf lettuce, green onions, herbs, tatsoi (a neat little Chinese lettuce), beets with greens. We'll continue receiving what's in season for 20 weeks.

Our friend Anna arrives next week from central Alberta with her group of Girl Guides for 10 days in southern New Brunswick, starting and ending at Rockwood Park in Saint John. It will be great to have a visit with her.

Am still getting used to catching sight of a blonde in the mirror!

Wendy

Reversing Falls Bridge

2009-06-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

We finally took possession of the painting “Reversing Falls” by Lynn Wigginton last week. It’s been hanging in the New Brunswick Museum as part of an exhibit for the past six months. The exhibit was the summary of a research project on the development of Saint John, entitled Saint John: An Industrial City in Transition. This Community Research Alliance Project was a multi-year initiative, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, to document how Saint John is attempting to reshape its economic base, protect and conserve its natural environment, and sustain its cultural life. University of New Brunswick Saint John faculty, New Brunswick Museum curators, and individuals from other community organizations worked with student researchers to address a wide array of specific topics, with the commitment that the resulting findings would be shared with the community in ways beyond traditional academic papers.

As project artist, Lynn worked with selected researchers to respond to what they had discovered and present their findings in a series of 12 significant paintings. She commented that, “as I worked collaboratively with the researchers to document and interpret their findings through my paintings, I was challenged to experiment and innovate artistically. It is my hope that the paintings create important visual links to significant local research in natural science and the humanities. I also hope that these panoramic views of Saint John will encourage people to appreciate the city's marvellous setting.”

It was difficult to choose only one of the large paintings (100 by 150 cm) for our living room. However, there was only so much wall space and we agreed upon “Reversing Falls” as our choice. (To see the other paintings in the series, go to http://www.lynnwigginton.ca/ and select CURA.)

Many thanks to Jack Hill, this blog’s unofficial photographer, for transporting the canvas from the Museum to our house in the back of his Element. Thanks also to Regi Mantin for her care in hanging the painting.
Most of all, many thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate the painting’s arrival at its permanent home, as well as the summer equinox, at a gathering last Friday.

Harvey

June in Bloom

2009-06-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

After chemo treatment #2 on June 1 and some minor ups and downs that week, by last Monday I was feeling good, with two weeks until the next treatment. Still getting used to catching sight of a blonde in the mirror!

Saturday was the annual barbecue which the breast cancer support group holds in the lovely backyard of one of our members. Last year Harvey made blueberry cobbler for me to take - a huge hit, with the consensus being I should bring it again next time, and that it would be perfect with ice crea. That's what I did, and no one else brought any sweets so we could focus on cobbler.

Yesterday, King's County Studio Tour brochure in hand, we headed upriver with Lynn and Dale. Made a number of studio visits - several also have gardens worthy of a tour - and found a spot for our picnic along the way. Came home with some goat's milk soap and a pretty new mug.

We're looking forward to our weekly vegetable deliveries, which should begin before the end of the month, and fresh local strawberries.

Wendy

Lemon Lavender cookies

2009-06-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

This recipe is based on a 1-2-3 cookie recipe, measuring ingredients on a scale.
Set oven at 350 F

170 grams white sugar (1)
340 grams butter, room temp. (2)
510 grams all purpose flour (3)
1 large egg
juice and zest of one large lemon
5 ml vanilla
25 ml dried lavender (about 1.5 tablespoons)

Cream butter and sugar
Add egg and beat
Add lemon juice and zest, vanilla and whip until incorporated
Add lavender and mix well.
Add flour gradually until it is all incorporated.

Spoon out 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls (I use a small ice cream scoop), place on cookie sheet and press to between 1/2 to 1/4 inch high. Bake until cooked - about fifteen minutes. This recipe should make about 40 cookies depending on how large you make the cookies.

Have fun
Harvey

The Wig Experience

2009-06-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

For this trip through chemo, Wendy decided that, while hats were wonderful, she would be open to new experiences and try a wig. So Friday morning we made the journey to visit the Hair Prosthesis Lady.

Wendy had her ideas about what she wanted (hot pink as proposed by the Smith men had already been nixed) but the catalogue offered a stunning variety of hair colours and styles all displayed on attractive models. Wendy prefers short hair and was looking for a colour that did not mimic her own – she thought silver. There were not many wigs that you could call ‘short’ mostly because the strands of ‘hair’ have to be long enough to cover the net foundation to which they are knotted. We also soon discovered that some styles didn’t suit Wendy’s face.

Some of the grays and whites looked quite strange on Wendy. The very attractive red (a deep mahogany colour) looked odd. One silvery white wig with a bit of a mullet was quite attractive. The Hair Prosthesis Lady fussed about with it, teasing and brushing to make it look even more attractive. I could see that Wendy was not fully convinced this was the right one, so we soldiered on.

Finally, we came to the moment. Out came a wig. Wendy rolled her eyes, but the Hair Prosthesis Lady smiled and put the wig on Wendy. Wow! Despite the flinching and the hesitation, Wendy looked in the mirror. Her look went from mild distaste to questioning with denial. She looked at herself from every angle. She asked for reassurance and looked again. Then she smiled. The cut and shape of the wig and the colour were perfect for her facial structure and colouring. But she had exposed her dirty little secret ….

Wendy was a closet BLONDIST!

The blonde Hair Prosthesis certainly changes her appearance. The Hair Prosthesis Lady trimmed the wig and shaped it slightly (she is also a licensed hairstylist) making it even better. Going blonde is such a cliché. Even my mother did it. Wendy was worried about becoming a blonde, even if for the next six months or so. Colleagues and acquaintances have almost all done a double take when first encountering a blonde Wendy; one friend encountered in a checkout line had to ask who she was.

So I’ve shared my one and only true blonde joke.

Why are blonde jokes one liners?

So brunettes can remember them.

Scroll down to the previous entry for a look.

Harvey

Two Blondes

2009-06-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Unofficial Blog Photographer Jack Hill

Searching for a Wig

2009-06-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Good Vibes Abound

2009-06-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jane and everyone else who created "Good Vibes" for me at Homeport B & B yesterday. It was great to feel the positive energy from everyone who was able to drop by, and others who sent them along.

Harvey and I enjoyed chatting with everyone; he was able to meet a number of people he's heard me talk about (good things only) and vice versa.

Harvey's contribution to the goodies was his lemon lavender cookies - Toby's cream cheese and cherry sandwiches were another crowd fav. And the photo collection Rose and Cheryl assembled was fun - including a few embarassing moments I didn't realize had been captured (as well as the ones I was aware of!)

For those not from Saint John, Homeport is spectacularly located overlooking the Harbour. We were in a new space sensitively built to connect 2 historic homes, with a great view of the gardens and harbour - and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. Ralph and his staff are always great hosts and ambassadors for Saint John, and yesterday was no exception. You can find out more at www.homeport.nb.ca

Wendy

Newspaper Article

2009-05-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

If you really want to read the article in the previous post, simply click on the picture and it will open in another screen is a readable size.

Harvey

Uncommon Type of Breast Cancer

2009-05-27T02:51:00.000-07:00

Not sure how readable this will be - recent article from one of the medical columns the newspaper publishes on the type of breast cancer I have, which fortunately is not common. Charming headline!

One of the reasons I've volunteered for the peer support program with the Cancer Society is that they match you with people who have gone through a similar cancer experience, and this inflammatory type is rather rare. I've finished my training, after attending a workshop in Moncton on Saturday, and have forwarded all my information to be included in the national database, so that they can make matches. Something I hadn't realized is that they also provide support for caregivers through this program, which is a great service.

Wendy

Thirst Quenching Rhubarb Punch

2009-05-27T02:47:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe from the Harrowsmith Cookbook, Volume 1

Rhubarb Punch
3 lbs fresh rhubarb
16 cups water
6 cloves
1 1/2 cups honey
Juice and pulp of 3 oranges and 1 1/2 lemons

Combine rhubarb, water and cloves and simmer for 10 minutes
Strain
Add honey, oranges and lemons.
Serve chilled

David Slabotsky
Richmond, PEI

Chemo Update

2009-05-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

In checking my notes, discovered that the chemotherapy drug I'm getting this time is the one I would have received if I had met the criteria for the clinical trial last year. Harvey is assessing what effect it has on my appetite and how things taste, and I'm trying to drink 2 litres a day.

Had a couple of not so good days, but now seem to be in the rebuilding phase before the next round. Although my hair looks rather lifeless, it hasn't started to disappear yet. Predictions are that will come next week!

We've enjoyed fiddleheads and fresh rhubarb, and the lawn has been cut for the first time. The rhododendron in front of our kitchen window is in full bloom and the cats enjoy watching the bumblebees it attracts.

Credit: Photo courtesy of roving photographer Jack Hill

Another Bend in the Road

2009-05-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

When I went back to see the surgeon this week I was expecting to be scheduled for surgery for the local recurrence he'd biopsied. However, Monday was my regular three month follow-up appointment with my oncologist. Everything seemed ok, but she sent me for a chest xray, as this is something she's been monitoring.

Two days later I got a call to go back to see her. The xray showed that there's cancer in my lungs; as she says "that's another level of seriousness". I don't have shortness of breath, which is the typical symptom, but a dry cough which has persisted since the cold went away a few weeks ago. (I attribute no shortness of breath to all the breath work we do in yoga.)

Anyway, I will be starting a different type of chemotherapy on Monday; yesterday got a pic line put in my arm again so it can be given that way. This chemo is every 3 weeks; after 2 or 3 rounds she will know if it is working and if it is, a total of 6 or 8. Have been reading about possible side effects - what seems most definite is that I will lose my hair again in a couple of weeks. Thought briefly about a wig this time, just for something different, but then remembered the people I've talked to who found them hot and itchy and ended up not wearing them as much as they expected.

I've also seen the radiation oncologist and surgeon this week - they won't treat the local recurrence in the breast area until after the chemo is done. As the surgeon pointed out, it does provide a very visible way to assess if the chemo is working.

Continuing to continue!

Wendy

Singing Along

2009-05-02T03:41:00.000-07:00

Last evening I participated in a Sing-Along Sound of Music screening at the Imperial Theatre. No one of my acquaintance shared my enthusiasm for this social outing, so I went on my own - costumed as The Lonely Goatherd. Fortunately no photos extant.

Costumes were varied and included;
several Marias, assorted cute Von Trapp children, a Captain, nuns, Baronnesses, girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, roses (with raindrops), kittens (with whiskers) and a brown paper package tied up with string.

In addition to having various songs stuck in my head, it left me thinking about other costume experiences.
Least successful - wearing my 1980 dress for success gray suit (which still fit after 20+ years) complete with bowed blouse, sensible leather pumps and little pearl earrings - and no one recognizing it as a costume.
Least functional - a girlhood skating costume party which I elected to attend as a Christmas present, attired in a very large gift wrapped cardboard box. Fine until you fall on the ice and can't get up without assistance.

Costume recollections, anyone?

Wendy

More Lemons

2009-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

When I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon earlier this month, he was concerned about some reddish splotches which had recently appeared along my scar. He made an appointment for me to come back for a biopsy. I just got the results, which are positive. One might think this is a good thing, but one would be wrong!!
Anyway, this is a local recurrance and likely will be treated with additional surgery. I have an appointment with him next week, so I will know better then what's next.

Damn!

Happy Easter

2009-04-10T09:01:00.001-07:00

My Peeps in the Globe and Mail

2009-04-05T04:44:00.000-07:00

This photo of artists Suzanne Hill, Andrew Keirstead and Lynn Wigginton ran a week ago Saturday in the Business Section of the Globe and Mail, in Paul Waldie's weekly column on charitable giving. The focus was the Professional Visual Artists Fund, established with the Greater Saint John Community Foundation with profits from artist supported fundraising events.

I've had the fun of being involved in organizing two of these, Art & Artifacts (24 artists create works inspired by items in the Museum's collection) and Whodunit? (50 artists, 50 works of the same size, all available for the same price - buy and find out who created it.) Plans are underway for Whodunit Reloaded, coming this fall.

Considerable enjoyment has been derived from the fact that this story ran in the Business section. I was at a museums conference at the time and was able to share it with colleagues from across the country.

Wendy

Medical Update

2009-03-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

It's my week of appointments; saw the physiotherapist, who feels I've regained full range of motion and strength in my arm after surgery. She's recommended a compression sleeve as a precaution when flying, to prevent lymphedema (painful persistent swelling of arm which can occur as result of removal of lymph nodes).

Also saw my GP, who recommends continuing a part-time schedule at work for another three months, with some increase in hours as I continue to build up stamina. My mother figures will be pleased to know that she stresses balance and moderation.

Today is my monthly bone strengthening treatment. I'm armed with recent issues of The Walrus and Macleans since it takes several hours and one wouldn't want be dependent on hospital magazine selection.

Quite cool this morning so not much progress on the snow melting front, but the sun is shining.

Wendy

Lots of snow

2009-02-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Roving Photographer Jack Hill
Shovelling Credit: Harvey Smith

Our house after the most recent snowfall on Monday. It has melted some since then; rain is forecast for today and then more snow. Nothing better than more layers of snow covered icy crust.

Wendy

No News- Good News Part 2

2009-02-22T03:39:00.000-08:00

Made my way over to St. Joseph's in the middle of a snowstorm this week for my mammogram (seems like it should have a different name when they only have to do one!) Anyway, it was fine and I have my appointment to go back next February.

We're having a weather pattern of days which feel like spring - like yesterday - alternating with blizzards. Another is forecast for tonight. But the days are getting longer, and when the sun shines it really melts the snow.

I've recovered from the cold that is going around (knock on wood) but appear to have passed it on to Harvey. He was feeling so miserable that he let me help shovel the driveway the other day!

And we've become addicted to another word game, introduced to us by Dale and Lynn. It's called Up Words - played like Scrabble except that you can also build on top of words by changing them into new ones.

Wendy

Reading Group

2009-02-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

As winter entertainment, we've started a reading group which recently had its first gathering. To make it guilt and anxiety free, it's not a book club where we all read the same book each month. We have a theme, novels of place, and each month one or two of us will read and report on novels which are rooted in a different part of Canada. February was Northern Ontario (notes below) and March is Montrea.
If anyone in the Saint John area is interested in joining us, please let me know.
Wendy

Novels of Place

A quality of good novels is that they pay attention to place.
Noah Richler
This Is My Country, What’s Yours? A Literary Atlas of Canada

Northern Ontario
Canadian shield, rock outcrops, thick forest, clear lakes, swamps
Resource based, one industry towns, masculine, tough, gritty
Loners, eccentrics, escapees, places to come from
Long distances, takes forever to drive across
Isolated, marginal, far from the mainstream
Dangers of getting lost, cold, blackflies, long snowy winters
Beaver, moose, loons, great blue herons
Canoeing, cross country skiing, hockey
Small cities with relatively short histories
English and French but limited aboriginal presence/contact

General Fiction

Crow Lake
This award winning first novel is set in a small farming community in northern Ontario and narrated by Kate, the family’s only daughter.
The Other Side of the Bridge
Mary Lawson

Three Day Road
Boyden, who has some Ojibway ancestry, worked on reservations in northern Ontario and spends time there regularly. His first novel’s principal characters are 2 Cree snipers returning after WW I.
Through Black Spruce (No one had read yet)
Joseph Boyden

Summer Gone
David Macfarlane
This first novel by a prolific magazine writer and columnist, set among the islands and lakes of cottage country, centres on a divorced father and his son. One of the most memorable things was a description of cigarette smoking so vivid it almost made me want to try it.
(This one is clearly set in cottage country, which doesn't really meet our definition of Northern Ontario.)

The Retreat
David Bergen
An urban family spends the summer of 1973 in a compound outside Kenora, where the mother is under the spell of its leader and an unhappy 17 year old gets involved with an aboriginal boy.

Bear
Marian Engel
A spinsterish librarian/archivist heads north from Toronto to catalogue a bequest, housed on an island in the vicinity of Sault Ste Marie, and meets a tall dark haired stranger.

The Line Painter
Claire Cameron
A road trip novel. A 30ish woman whose boyfriend has died suddenly tries to leave her grief and guilt behind. Heading from Toronto to Vancouver, her car breaks down, leaving her stranded by the highway in a remote part of northern Ontario. She meets locals, has a close encounter with a bear and demonstrates her lack of woods smarts before completing her journey.

The Dominion of Wyley McFadden
Scott Gardiner
Another road trip novel. This time the destination is Alberta and the goal is quixotic. A girl mysteriously emerges from the woods and is picked up by a Toronto self-styled urban trapper; we gradually hear his story and eventually hers. More than half of the book is set in northern Ontario.
First novel by the author of The King of Canada

Lost Girls
Andrew Pyper
Two teenage girls have disappeared from a small community just beyond cottage country. There are no bodies and the Toronto lawyer protagonist is assigned to defend their high school English teacher, the presumed murderer.

Young Adult

The Sundog Season
John Geddes
First novel by this journalist who grew up in a small mining town in northern Ontario. A new police sergeant arrives in town, takes over as coach of the 13 year old narrator’s hockey team, and rumours circulate in this portrait of small town life.

The Maestro
Tim Wynne-Jones
A boy escaping from a bad home situation in a small hamlet encounters a recluse, modeled on Glenn Gould, who changes his life.

Science Fiction

Hominids
Humans
Hybrids
Robert J. Sawyer
Neanderthals are still among us in this trilogy, which begins at the Neutrino Observatory in Sudbury.

Mystery

Forty Words for Sorrow
The Delicate Storm
Blackfly Season
By the Time You Read This
Giles Blunt
This screenwriter grew up in North Bay, which he thinly disguises as Algonquin Bay for this series featuring relocated Toronto policeman John Cardinal. Of particular note in these well plotted and paced mysteries is his treatment of Cardinal’s wife, who struggles with mental illness. His fictional location bears many similarity to the real thing, in setting and street layout, although all names have been changed.
Blunt’s newest novel, No Such Creature, is not part of this series.

The Tenderness of Wolves
Stef Penney
This debut novel begins with a murder in an isolated community on the shore of Georgian Bay in the winter of 1867.

Author to Watch
Tristan Hughes
Revenant and other novels set in Wales
Born in Atikokan, interviews indicate his next novel will be set in Northern Ontario

Resources

Bibliotravel.com
Northern LIT Awards, Ontario Library Service North
CBC Radio North – Read Northern Ontario
Talk by John Geddes at Nipissing University, “Cold Towns, Hot Novels: A Writer’s Thoughts on Northern Ontario in Contemporary Fiction”

Portraits of Saint John

2009-02-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Reversing Falls Lynn Wigginton

A new exhibition which just opened at the Museum includes 12 panoramic portraits of Saint John painted by Lynn Wigginton. You can see them at the Museum (general admission is free throughout the month of February) until April 26 or on her website www.lynnwigginton.ca/ and click on CURA.

Wendy

No News - Good News

2009-02-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Had the 3 month check-up appointment with my oncologist this week; nothing new to report, which is good.

Harvey dug us out of yet another snowstorm this morning so I could get to the hospital for my bone-strengthening treatment. There is no room to shovel any further snow, and the folks who own the house next door, which is divided into apartments, seem to have given up on trying to keep the driveway cleared.

My part time work schedule of 20 hours per week is going well so far - we review it again in early March.

And I've agreed to be a Reach to Recovery volunteer with the Cancer Society - that's their one to one support program, which I found very helpful - and will be receiving some training for that.

Wendy

Book Report - In Defense of Food.

2009-01-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollen
Key Points
Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants

Eat Food

Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food
Avoid foods that contain
o Unfamiliar ingredients
o Unpronounceable ingredients
o More than five ingredients
o Contain high fructose corn syrup
Avoid any food product that makes health claims
Shop the peripheries of the store and avoid the central areas
Get out of the supermarket.

Mostly Plants
There are an astonishing variety of traditional diets, some low fat, some high fat, but always built around whole foods
Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
You are what you eat, eats: industrial meat production is bad for animals and for the creatures that eat them. Cattle fed on grains sicken and require antibiotics. Meat has naturally occurring Omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated Linolic Acids (which are very good for you) but the only souce of these nutrients is green leaves, i.e. grass and other browse.
Buy a freezer and purchase PASTURE fed animals in bulk.
Eat like an omnivore
Eat well grown food from healthy soils.
Eat wild foods, including wild animals if available.
Take supplements
Eat like the French, Italians, Indians or Greeks
Regard non-traditional foods with skepticism
Don’t look for the magic bullet in traditional diet.
Have a glass of wine with your dinner.

Not Too Much
Pay more, eat less. Cheap, industrialized food is low in nutrients
Eat less: 3 meals a day is plenty
Do all your eating at a table (a desk is not a table)
Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
Try not to eat alone
Consult your gut.
Eat slowly
Learn to cook or plant a garden.

I highly recommend this book for its thoughtful analysis of what constitutes food (as opposed to nutrition) and how industrial food has removed us further and further from healthy diets. Yoghurt is a simple product - milk and a bacterial culture - but look at any container of yoghurt in the dairy case.

Joining the CSA in 2008 was prescient; we're sticking with them and hoping to increase our green leafy ingestion.

I read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by the same author while spending long hours in waiting rooms this past spring and it's a good read too. It's just that "In Defense of Food" offers some solutions to the Omnivore's dilemma.

Buy this book if you can afford it or borrow it or get it from the library. It could change your life.

Harvey

Undecorating

2009-01-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

In the two weeks it's been up, Ginger has not achieved his ambition of removing ALL the ornaments from our tree. It was once fairly evenly decorated, but now quite top heavy as his favourite targets have been hung higher and higher.

Tonight I'm undecorating it, but will he help? He's a cat, of course not!

Wendy (and Ginger)

Top Ten - 2008 Movies

2009-01-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

On this list because I saw them, or saw them again, in 2008. Some on big and some on small screen.

Into The Wild
See previous post

Mamma Mia!
Wonderfully ridiculous and ridiculously wonderful.

The Court Jester
My favourite Danny Kaye movie

Gosford Park

Juno

The Stone Reader
Thanks to Joyce for this unexpected find at the Caledonia Public Library

The Stone Angel
And then rereading the book, which I appreciated more than the first time decades ago.

Charlie Wilson's War

Wordplay
Another library find, documentary about people who design and solve crosswords

Richard III
The version starring Ian Mckellern

Wendy

Top Ten - Looking Ahead

2009-01-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Poor blog, so neglected over the holiday season.

Everyone is doing Top 10s at this time of year, so here are 10 movies and books I'm looking forward to in 2009.

Marley and Me
Even though we know it will end in tears

Milk
Will it play in Saint John??

Doubt
With the amazing Meryl Streep

Champlain's Dream, David Hackett Fischer
New biography, excellent reviews, gift from Harvey

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
Another Christmas gift from Harvey

The World in 6 Songs, Daniel J. Levitin

The Great Karoo, Fred Stenson
Author of The Trade, the quintessential fur trade novel, and what could be more Canadian than that.

The Sealed Letter, Emma Donohue
Wonderful reading as part of the Lorenzo series

The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway

The Gift of Thanks, Margaret Visser

Wendy

An Anniversay of Sorts

2008-12-21T05:53:00.000-08:00

It's just about a year ago that Wendy and I trepidatiously got off the elevator on the ninth floor at St. Joseph's Hospital and were introduced to the world of cancer. We both knew what news was coming, but reality had yet to sink in (for me at least). The stunning speed with which appointments were made, tests were conducted and decision were arrived at, both impressed and depressed me. I was impressed because all the horror stories of waiting m0nths for care were brushed aside. And it depressed me because it emphasized the severity of Wendy's cancer.

So, we've made it this far. It's been a long year with many ups and downs. Another Christmas to celebrate. This year with many friends (nine for dinner on Thursday), lots of food, and a damned fine reason to celebrate. As much as having Cancer sets you apart, people have reached out in so many ways that it has given me pause to stop and think more than once.

We know Wendy's journey is not over and for that I am grateful. For every tear I've shed this past year there's been a smile, a belly laugh, a moment to cherish, a memory worth keeping.

Thanks to you all for your support this year.

Harvey

Night of the Giant Lobsters

2008-12-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

One day, right out of the blue, Wendy announced that she felt like a feast of lobster. Now, even for people living close to the source of lobsters, they are still an expensive proposition, but ever encouraging of Wendy getting back up to "fighting weight" I told her it was a good idea. One phone call later she lined up a couple of dinner companions and then headed out to Misty Harbour Seafood. I was unable to attend because I was awaiting the arrival of some people to remove the oil tank from the garage as the last act in the saga of switching from oil to gas.

Wendy returned with the largest damned crustaceans I have ever seen. Apparently, the downturn in the economy has curtailed expensive business lunches and dinners and the price of lobster has fallen dramatically. Even the lobster fishermen were angry at the prices, to the point where they had a one day work stoppage to protest the $3.50 a pound they were receiving. Misty Harbour had a sale on late Saturday and Wendy bought two 5 lb lobsters at $6 a pound.

Even using the largest pot we owned, we could only cook one at a time. Feeling slightly guilty for the poor Lobster fishermen, I cooked the monsters. Since they were going to be supper on Sunday, I slightly undercooked them, cooled them down and put them in the basement fridge.

On Sunday I heated the lobsters in boiling water for five minutes and served half a tail and one claw to each diner. To be truthful, one of the giant claws would have served as a meal, but lobster is meant to be enjoyed. Especially with some lemon butter. To balance the meal we served steamed carrots and potatoes on a side plate. It was wonderfully messy with lots of laughing and sounds of blissful consumption.

My thanks to Jack Hill for the lovely photo. Yum!!

Harvey

Seasonal Smells

2008-12-04T03:11:00.000-08:00

One of the December scents at our house is the delicious, sinus clearing smell of fresh curry powder. When empty jars began to arrive, complete with little notes saying "Feed Me!", Harvey knew it was time to make another batch of his Lucky Elephant brand curry powder.

Although my preference might be to have the house smell like chocolate all the time, it wouldn't be as special that way. That rich smell does permeate the place at this time of year, when Harvey, in Christmas elf mode, creates a batch of his chocolates. He normally makes 6 to 8 different kinds, using the best quality available of white, milk and dark chocolate. Some, like his version of FerroRocher, recur every year, but there's always at least one new type. Last year's Cod Cheeks are being repeated, while the new entry for 2008 uses vanilla beans from Mexico, thanks to his sister Beth.

No problem remembering to take deep breaths here this time of year!

Wendy

Retreat at Villa Madonna

2008-11-21T04:08:00.001-08:00

Participants in the recent retreat for women living with breast cancer, which drew almost 60 women from across the province. It was a great experience.

Photo by Shasta Merlini, Fredericton

Left Arm Liberation

2008-11-21T03:47:00.000-08:00

Water consumption in Saint John probably spiked yesterday morning, when I had the first shower after removal of my PIC line. No more having to wrap my arm in saran covered by pantyhose - although I have to say that does pretty much work.

When I discovered that the bone strengthener I'm getting every 4 weeks can be given intravenuosly (it doesn't damage the veins the way chemo drugs can), I asked my doctor if it could come out, and she agreed. So that saves our health care system the weekly expense of getting it cleaned and dressing changed.

Also had a helpful consultation with a physiotherapist, who says I have good post-surgery range of motion in my arm and shoulder, but has given me a few specific exercises to help get the last bit back. She also confirmed the kind of adjustments I've been making in order to do yoga while protecting my neck.

Wendy

Too Much Squash

2008-11-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

While joining the CSA was an excellent idea, we are occasionally inundated with vegetables. In the past couple of months squash has appeared (sometimes 2 of them) very regularly. Here's a couple of good ways to dispose of squash.

Squash Soup

1 squash cut into cubes
1 onion diced (cisler in French)
1 heaping teaspoon Lucky Elephant Brand Curry powder or ground cumin (if you use cumin add 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper).
1/4 cup white wine
butter
1 liter chicken stock

sautee onion in butter till soft, add spice and stir till fragrant.
Add wine and reduce.
Add squash and stock and simmer till the squash is soft.
Blend till smooth and creamy.
Add more stock, milk or cream to achieve the consistency you like. There's plenty of soup for four people as a meal with salad, bread, crachers and cheese, or six to eight as an appetizer.

Squash Tarts
1 package 2 or 3 inch frozen tart shells (or make your own)
one squash, diced
one medium onion, diced finely (cisler)
2 or 3 strips of bacon, diced
teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
1.5 cups tomato juice (Or a cup of tomato sauce)

Blind bake the tart shells.

Saute the bacon bits until they are nearly cooked and have given up their fat.
Add the onions and cook till soft in the bacon fat.
Sprinkle in the thyme and stir till fragrant.
Add the squash and tomato juice and cook till the squash is soft and the tomato juice has reduced. If the juice reduces before the squash is cooked, add a small amount of white wine.

Cool the Tart shells and squash.

Heat the oven to 375. Fill the cooled tart shells with the cooled squash mixture and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve as an appetizer or as one of the vegetable courses. There is easily enough filling for a dozen generous tarts.

Harvey

Feline Foundlings

2008-11-11T04:16:00.000-08:00

My father Herb shared Mark Twain's affection for companion animals of the feline persuasion. As Twain said "A home without a cat -- and a well-fed, well-patted and properly revered cat -- may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?"

Sister Joyce, who shares her home with three inherited cats, forwarded the newspaper ad below, written by Herb. She recalls that Silver Shadow had a new home the day after the paper appeared, and plans to plagiarize the next time she has to find a home for a stray.

FREE!
"Silver Shadow"
a short-haired kitten of some sophistication who has fully recovered from her operation (which she does not wish to talk about) plus all the needles known to the ingenious veterinary fraternity; and now wishes to get on with her life. She is not above chasing a styrofoam ball down a spiral stairway or playing 'footsy' with a swinging C-cup. She enjoys quiet times by the fireplace or long rambles in mouse country; and has been described as "warm, affectionate and a-political". This side of omnivorous, she favours Hewitt's 2 % and the celebrated Purina mix commonly called "Meouw"...but is open to further suggestions.
She seeks a secure position with an upper-class family who claim their own tartan or an international equivalent. All expenses have been paid by a reluctant local philanthropist.
For A Consulation,
Please Phone

Wendy
AKA Staff of Ginger and Simba