My Favourite Cookbook

A creature of the Internet age, I have a shelf full of cookbooks that I rarely use. I really ought to just get rid of all but a handful, but somehow having them there gives me comfort, even though I've not cooked a thing from some of them.

There is one cookbook that I prize highly, though, not only for the delicious food it has directed me into making, but for the memories and associations it offers me.



The Rebar, for the unfortunates who know it not, is a wonderful funky, healthy restaurant in Victoria. To me, it epitomizes the entire West Coast ethos... fun, not taking itself too seriously, unafraid to try new things, yet respectful of life. When I lived in Vancouver, I made regular pilgrimages to Victoria's Bastion Square to eat there, and miss it badly now that I'm trapped so far away from my beloved West Coast.

When the cookbook came out, I bought it immediately and drew much solace from its pages. Although the recipes tend to be a little complex from the aspect of ingredients- I rarely have all the ingredients for a specific dish in my rather well-stocked larder- they are all worth the effort. The beautiful lay-out, the personable writing, the comforting feel of this book in the hand, and the many wonderful recipes make me pick up this cookbook over and over, even when I don't intend to cook a thing.

Comfort food, indeed, when just the cookbook itself is so satisfying. Pick it up and leaf through it next time you're browsing your local bookstore, and see if you aren't inspired by the best of the West Coast, as well.

Mission Aborted

Well, that was entertaining. I prowled the 'net and found a couple of blog templates I'd like to try, and plugged them in to see how things might look. One or two of them might have looked okay, but for the fact that all my text stayed orange. As far as I can tell, there's no way to change all the text at once... and I don't have the time or desire to change it all manually. So, for now... orange and black it is. (Good techie that I am, I saved the original template before I frigged around with it.)

Tedium Alert?

What with being so immersed in school right now, the only blog posts I find time to write seem to me very heavy. I've not posted anything light or crafty or even taken pictures for what seems like forever. My reality right now is very book-bound; it's extremely exciting on a personal level but learning COBOL, SQL, Java, computer architecture, and Fedora do not for good blog fodder make.

Yes, I'm a Blogger Without Obligation Or Apology, and I'm apologizing for possibly being tedious.

Another thing I find tedious is the layout of this blog. Now that I have just enough HTML to be dangerous, expect some major cosmetic surgery to the blog in the near future. This orange on black thing has to go.

This concludes tonight's random musings.

In Which Things Aren't As They Seem

Two very unexpected things were revealed to me over the last couple of days. It was really a lesson in trying not to form assumptions about situations, because whatever you're thinking, it's probably wrong.

The largest issue involves DH's children. His ex is at a point where she can wrap up her career, and is married to a lawyer in Europe. Since his law training is useless in Canada, and her career is at a point where she's pensionable, I (and everyone else) assumed that she would move to be with him. Of course, the big question here would be what might happen with his children... do they go with her or stay with us? As the archetypal evil stepmother, I was very much in favour of them leaving the country... although DH would have been dinged for support, I would have been much happier with the kids out of my life. DH, of course, being the good father he is, strongly favoured the girls remaining with us permanently. There were no ideal solutions for anyone.

I learned yesterday that DH's ex's foreign husband was selling his house and moving to Ottawa. I was gobsmacked... it makes no sense for them as far as money goes, but it's by far the better solution for the people. I asked DH if maybe it means his ex actually gave a damn about the kids, and he said no, she was probably pressured into it by her parents and friends. That makes more sense. It's a good solution; the right solution... but I didn't ever think it might happen. I feel... relieved.

A minor issue has been regarding a certain friend at school. We were in each other's back pockets for the entire first semester; travelling in a pack, as it were. Then in the second semester, he became distant and even hostile, repeatedly rebuffing my attempts at resuming our friendship. This last week we've not even made eye contact, let alone talked... I missed our friendship, was hurt by his behaviour, and completely did not understand what I'd done to deserve this treatment. Because, of course, this was all about me. Right?

He's let me know since that he was suffering from severe depression over the last few weeks. I knew he had a history, and considered it to be a possibility, but I didn't think it might explain everything about his behaviour. Of all the people at school, I know him best... therefore I was the one that he felt he needed to distance himself from the most aggressively. I don't think I could have got through to him by trying harder, but it makes me feel good for trying as hard as I did to get through to him.

So, it's been an educational weekend for me and my assumptions. I doubt I've learned any lessons here... old dog, new tricks and all, but perhaps next time I'll consider the possibility that it might not be all about me.

Stupid Dumb Boys

I am aware that men don't necessarily have the market on stupidity cornered, but you can't prove it by me this week. I have witnessed no fewer than four men of my acquaintance, both extremely close and not-so close, reap exactly what they sowed and then be all surprised and indignant about it.

One man in my life abused his body for decades with crap food and a sedentary lifestyle, mocking his wife's best efforts to encourage a healthier lifestyle. He's now diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and boy is he reading those nutrition labels carefully now. A little bit of that concern for his own well-being a few years back and he wouldn't necessarily be staring disease in the face.

Another man of my acquaintance didn't think money was a big deal... until his credit cards were all maxed and he couldn't even pay the interest any more. Now, money is a very big deal indeed to him, and will continue to be for years to come. A little needs/wants assessment and budgeting might have saved him and everyone else a whole lot of heartache.

A third little darlin' that I know thinks that skipping class isn't a big deal. Little does he know that he's now on his last strike... one of the classes he's persistently skipped has a "miss three and you fail" rule, but how would he know, since he's never in class?

The fourth story is not my story to tell... but I'm sure my good friend Raina could speak volumes about her stupid dumb boy. I feel your pain, hon.

I could scream with frustration at the actions of these boys around me. No, I'm not perfect, by any means, but some of these problems are so easily avoided.

My grandma has an analogy that I find amusing. She says that the brains of men are like waffles... they crawl into a hole, and then they crawl out and fall into another hole. The brains of women, on the other hand, are like a plate of spaghetti... twining all directions and all over the place at the same time.

Give me patience, Lord, and preserve me from the waffle-brains in my life.

Spring Semester, Ho!

I completely and totally rocked last semester, if I do say so myself... I even surprised myself with an A in Java, which meant I must have walked on water for that final exam. In Database I got the B that I expected... but that didn't stop the chair of our department from sending me a letter today, telling me that he thought I rocked, too. Very, very good stuff.

Second semester looks scary, and I'm only a couple of days in. However, I think I was scared for the first semester, too... every time I feel overwhelmed I'll log in and read my marks again.

I'd like to thank the anonymous smarty-pants who corrected my writing on the last post. While it's a perfectly valid point, and I did indeed mean "bated breath", rather than "baited breath" as written... dude, don't you have anything better to do than to anonymously nit-pick blogs? At least have the balls to offer your name along with your criticism.

(Had to laugh at the imagery of worms in my mouth, though. Nicely phrased, despite it all.)

Regretfully Back

I planned my trip so that I could spend the day at Le Nordik on my way to Wakefield... it was nearly 30 degrees that day so the spa was crowded and festive. It took me a good couple of hours to immerse myself in the peace and relaxation I sought, but after the second hot-cold-relax cycle I began to let my stress go.

About 1600 I headed up to Wakefield and checked into the Mill Inn. The handsome young man at the front desk upgraded my "basic" room to a divine suite overlooking the falls. I dropped off my luggage and went exploring...

A road out back led me to a cemetery where I had the opportunity to pay my respects at the grave of Lester B. Pearson. After prowling the small area, I allowed a trail that led to Gatineau Park entice me into the woods, where I climbed a nearby summit and enjoyed the hot breeze.

Descending the trail after a period spent spellbound in the woods (and very homesick for my lost house in the country) , I was charmed anew to see the inn and waterfall from the back-side. It looked very European and reminded me of my country walks around Bosnia. I went up to my room, grabbed my book, and wandered down to the lounge to sit outside, sip a local micro-brewery beer, and immerse myself in the book.

This set the pace for the weekend... it was rainy the next day so I read and nibbled all day long. The book was my constant companion for the two days... by the time I left yesterday I had read almost 700 pages. What an intriguing read... but I *am* a huge fan of Neal Stephenson to begin with. He's certainly not for everyone, though.

I enjoyed an outrageously beautiful and wonderfully delicious table d'hote meal the last night I was there... the food was presented so beautifully I wish I had my camera to capture every course before I destroyed it before eating. (Exhibiting signs of complete blogger idiocy, I completely neglected to bring my camera on my little get-away.)

All in all... a fabulous trip to a fabulous place. I will absolutely be returning there. I am still enjoying a few more days off before I return to school on Tuesday, and waiting with baited breath for my final marks from this semester. They ought to be published tomorrow... (I have four out of six (and they are very, very good) but it's the two I don't have that are the ones I worry about.

I'm Ready

I'm ready for the beginning of the new semester next week.
I think the coloured pens will make the course load just that much easier.

More importantly, I am ready for a couple of days of rampant hedonism.
My spa pack is all ready to go, (and yes, it includes chocolate and knitting) and so am I. A day at Le Nordik and two nights at the Wakefield Inn. I'll see you later! :)

Signs of (Crafting) Life

I've since finished the companion to that lone fingerless glove I teased you with ages ago.



I've also completed the lovely Whisper cardigan from the Interweave Knits Spring magazine.







I absolutely love this knit and am thrilled to have finished something so lovely. I wore it for my final database exam and I think it made me 5% smarter.

There's also signs of life in the sewing room.





Mum Janet's quilt is coming along nicely... I love how it's working up. The neutrals are so elegant and the top stitching in the high-sheen rayon is delicious. I'm sure she'll be delighted with it!

Gotta Get Away

I wrote my last exam today, and feel like pooling into a small blob of ooze on the floor. Oh, the sudden relief of pressure! (Not for long, though. I'm in school all summer, and classes resume 5 May.)

Smart girl that I am, I just realized I have a week off and not much to do with it. The first thing that crossed my mind was to dust off my passport and go south. However, there was no packages available to Mexico at all (what's with that?) (and I don't care about swine flu, before you say it.) The best offer I could find was a two-star hotel in Cuba, six nights for around $600.

I thought about it hard. Money's at a bit of a premium right now, what with not having a job and all, but a week off and exams finished required some sort of celebration. But do I really want to hang around an airport for two days to get there?

I "settled" for this instead. Two nights and two spa treatments at the Wakefield Inn in Quebec. It's almost as much as a week in Cuba, but there will assuredly be no cockroaches and it's only an hour's drive away.

I can't wait. :)

PS... I am TOTALLY not bringing my laptop.

"Nothing to See Here!"

To distract you from the fact that I have had no new blog content for ages, please go tour this site. I have been laughing continuously all evening over the entries... if you're a grammar weenie like I am, this is your kind of place.

Bringing Me Back To Reality

A thanks to all that sent comments remembering that today marks a significant passage for me; my last day as a serving member of the CF. I thought it would make me a little sad at the change; as good as school and my civilian life is shaping up, I loved my time of service and was so proud to be a part of something so (I think) important.

Honestly... I've had no time for emotional response. With two term tests this week (one in database, which I find very challenging), finals in another week and a beloved guest (mum Linda) coming out on Thursday, I have had absolutely no quiet time for reflection. I ran ragged all weekend, studying this, fixing that, doing practice tests, sewing, gaming... until my husband, catching sight of the fevered, frenzied gleam in my eye, ran me a hot bubble bath and gave me a massage on Sunday night "to bring me back to reality", he said.

Yes, he *is* a keeper.

Thanks as well for your comments on your favourite poets. I'll have to check them all out and see if there's not another personal "win" on the list.

Poetry Sunday

Spring

To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

I was never much for poetry , until I heard a program on CBC Radio One's Ideas on Millay. I fell in love instantly, and am given to reading Vincent out loud while in the tub, luxuriating in the sensuality of her imagery and the hot scented water. Hubby perhaps thinks I'm insane, but I need to speak her poetry out loud to capture the nuances.

I've lately been turned on to Yeats, too, by an episode of House, strangely enough. A young boy reads this poem out loud to his mother... it, too, captured my imagination.

Do you like poetry? Who is your favourite poet?

A Quick Update

So we're doing an oral presentation in English, worth 30% of our total mark. My partner volunteered us to do ours a full week before everyone else... hahaha. That's okay, I had nothing better to do this week then be a slave to PowerPoint. (At least the presentation is on Guild Wars (I know... how very very geeky) so the topic will be riveting to the other presenter and I.)

Oh yeah... term tests coming up next week, just a couple of weeks before finals. (ohmygod I can't believe we're that close to the end of the semester!)

Mum Linda flies out next weekend for a quick visit... I'm so afraid I'll be swamped with schoolwork but I'll do my best to clear some time in my schedule ahead of time. Maybe it's best I'm doing the oral presentation this week.

I am finishing off the last bits of administration that I need to do before I am released from the military. My last day as a soldier is 7 April... not sure if I'll celebrate or have a little cry or both. Not that I'm not loving being a civvie and a student, but that's a huge chapter about to be closed. More thoughts on this later.

I carved a bit of free time out last weekend and actually began Mum's quilt. The top is nearly pieced; I expect to begin quilting (as-you-go) this weekend. It's spectacular already... pics soon.

Must get back to my presentation. Anyone know how to knit more time?

CBC Cutbacks: Online Petition

I'm never sure how effective online petitions are, but I figure it can't hurt, might help.

I'm sure you've all heard the news about the massive cutbacks at CBC. If you're as outraged as I am, go here and let your tiny, insignificant voice be heard.