Can't stop myself!

I can't stop ordering books. I just ordered 3 from QPB (The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End and a book that was bundled as a selection with WWE). I also ordered a grab bag from Subterranean Press that will send me 12 random books from their catalog. Plus, I ordered 2 booksets as a gift from Amazon. And yesterday, those bastards at QPB send me a new catalog taunting me with the new Michael Pollan, a cookbook by Deborah Madison and Steve Martin's autobiography. I really want to buy them. I must stop. I can't stop.

Farmer Girl

I have tomatoes! They are small and green (the largest is slightly bigger than a golf ball), but there are eleven of them all told and I am thrilled!



And apparently, I also have another crop. Last summer we got a new porch, steps and walkway in front of our townhouse. Nearly all of my planting were destroyed, so, among other things, I planted a flowering spirea shrub next to the steps. Early this spring, I noticed another plant beginning to grow in that area. It looked like it might "be something" (gardeners will understand), so I let it grow.Perhaps, I thought, Grant put some wildflower seed there.

Fast forward to our two week holiday and then our return. I walked up the stairs, and suddenly, I knew exactly what that mystery plant was.



You see, way back in October, I had a small pumpkin sitting on my front porch. In time, said pumpkin began to collapse and I moved it to a patch of dirt next to my steps. Same patch of dirt where my spirea plant would eventually call home. Now, it shares it home with a giant pumpkin plant, already boasting several flowers.

I am reluctant to remove it. I hope it won't hurt the spirea, but even so, I can't resist the idea of growing pumpkins in my front yard! I will have to warn the neighbours, though.

Off the Back of the Boat: Trent-Severn edition

Oh black water

River water is mottled green and black. It reflects the granite rock, the thickly forested banks and the shadows in between as it meanders through the landscape. It only becomes blue when it widens into a lake. Even then, the blue sparkles in the sunlight so it becomes nearly more gold than blue. Our boat cuts through the current, rarely moving faster than 10 km. We often encounter other vessels, but the overall feeling is that we are insulated from the world. It is astonishing to realize that just beyond that bridge or that road, is actual civilization; although the shores are dotted with cottages of every shape and size, it doesn't actually feel like a people-place. It is the river and it is itself alone.

Our journey is one that were we to drive would take us two and a half hours to complete. Instead, we will reach Bobcaygeon on our fourth night of travel and return to Penatanguishene on Sunday night. Along the way, we stay overnight at the locks. Often we are the one of a few boats. We talk to the people we meet; sharing our destinations and plans. We stock up when we reach the towns along the way; trading our shiny coins for goods and food. I find myself appreciating the determination it took the native people and the European interlopers that followed them in navigating these waters. Grant and I have charts and GPS to find our way along this natural river and man-made canal system. We have helpful government employees to help us through the many locks and lift systems we encounter. I try to imagine making this trek without those things; not knowing what is around each river bend; portaging my canoe and all my supplies past the waterfalls and rapids; battling the mosquitoes without the benefit of Deet. The mind boggles.

We have beautiful weather, for the most part. In Fenelon Falls, we are surprised by a thunder shower that sweeps its way across the lake faster than we expect. We are drenched as we struggle to put up our canvas covers in the wind. While crossing the largest of the lakes we meet, the waves pound across our bow and we are soaked again. We lose a canvas bag holding a hundred dollar electric cord that hangs from our bow, and nearly lose one of our kayaks before making the decision to turn into a haven from the waves. We are shaken, but have learned from the experience.

Our trip takes a shorter time than we expect, and we return to familiar waters for the second week of our holiday. But the river has caught our imagination now, and we will follow her again-- perhaps to her end.

Hello again!

I am home, albeit briefly. We have laundry to do, email to catch up on and errands to run. Oh, and golf. We have golf, too. Then we will sneak out of town on Thursday morning back to the boat.

I have a entry to write about my wonderful holiday, but more importantly, I must now go pay iTunes so I can watch Dr. Horrible. Yes, I must pay. Didn't Joss realize I was going on holiday???

Adieu, adieu to yieu and yieu and yieu

Not to Europe this year, but we are off nonetheless. Despite the ridiculous cost of gas, we are taking a two week holiday on the boat. We will be cruising up the Trent-Severn river system, just taking our time and relaxing.

Hope you all have fun with your new (and not so new) beebs, your movie-watching, your abs and your stimulus checks. Twinnie, when I get back, we will talk about you coming for a visit. And Helen, please give my love to Cary.

Bye for now!

Cheese please

I did it. I made something that actually resembles cheese with my own two hands. Yes, my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it. A cheese bomb. There are curds and whey everywhere; I will never recite "Little Miss Muffet" without having flashbacks. In fact, I have practically a gallon of whey, which I suspect is not quite the thing, and only a tiny bit of cheese. But it looks and tastes like mozzarella. And I learned a lot by just diving in and taking a stab at it. Next time, I predict more cheese and less mess.

Yay for me!

Oh, Canada

Yesterday was Canada Day. We haven't attended any of the events for a couple of years, since we always seemed to be traveling on that particular day. But this year, we trekked on down to the park for speeches and cake cutting. As always, I watch from the sidelines as the husband performs his various civic duties. This year, before the speeches and photo ops and cake, there was a Citizenship Re-affirmation ceremony. A petite Chinese-Canadian judge in formal black robes led the crowd in the oath, both in English and French. I did not participate.

I am not a Canadian citizen. I could be, easily. I have lived here the required years for application. Becoming a citizen would mean I could vote in elections here. It's odd to live in a country for nearly 10 years and not participate in the elective process. Heck, I can't even vote for my own husband! But I haven't applied. One reason is the paperwork. Canada just loves her paperwork. And I am lazy. But the real reason I haven't applied is what occurs at the end of the process. The very thing I witnessed yesterday: the swearing of the oath.

Here it is:

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

Pretty simple, actually. It is significantly shorter than the oath for the United States, with no vow to serve in case of war, etc. But, it requires that I swear allegiance to the Queen. I am uncomfortable with that.

I realize that the British monarchy, and the monarchy of the Commonwealth that Canada is part of, is merely a figurehead. I have no argument with the Canadian form of government, but I am American, god dammit! And we don't swear allegiance to any king or queen or emperor or whatever. We swear allegiance to an idea, a concept. Okay, we swear allegiance to a piece of paper. But we can change it. We made it. We don't swear allegiance to someone just because of who their parents and grandparents were.

I just can't do it. There is some talk that the Canadian oath may eventually be altered to remove the bit about the Queen, but until that day, I think I will have to let my husband win elections without my vote.

Edit:

Just for clarity's sake, I am not comparing the Canadian or US Oath of Citizenship to the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is the U.S. Oath:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

The U.S. oath is decidedly more militaristic, not to mention the gratuitous mention of God. But the first part of it definitely supports my point. As a citizen of the US, one is required to renounce and abjure allegiance to princes and potentates, etc. I realize that most Americans never swear that particular oath, for that matter, neither do Canadians, which is why they rarely think about the Queen as their head of state.

I also want to assure anyone who isn't a US citizen that I would completely understand why they might not want to take the US oath. Renouncing your fidelity to your birth state might give one pause.

Yeah, I am taking this all far too seriously, aren't I?

Anybody got some carbon off-sets I can buy?

I promised content, didn't I? Soon. And yet, while many of you are writing significant entries of world import, I am not.

School ended on Thursday. As soon as was humanly possible, Grant and I were in the car, speeding our way north to the boat. Actually, we were in a truck, a truck of the monster variety. The damn thing required a handle so I could hoist myself into the passenger seat. Why, you might ask, was I hoisting myself into a monster truck (seriously, the beast is almost too big for our driveway) instead of our pretty red Altima? Because some lovely person decided to key said Altima, and it is in the paint shop getting repaired. Luckily, our insurance gives us a replacement rental and Grant went to go get it on Thursday morning.

Grant: I would prefer a slightly larger car than the Toyota you gave me last time, if possible.

Rental Guy: Well, your insurance only covers a mid-size vehicle, but let me see what I can do.

Types into his computer.

Rental Guy: Hmmmm, it appears we don't have any mid-sized cars at all. Let me show you what I can give you.






Grant: I'll take that.

So we drove what is quite possibly the biggest gas guzzler available up to the gas guzzler we keep on the water. It was not a proud day for the environment.