Sounds That Soothe My Soul…Part 2

So, my friend and I went to Toronto to see Genesis on their promotional tour of “Abacab” in the summer of 1981 – luckily, my best friend and her boyfriend lived in TO, and were able to meet us and guide us through the massive transit system to our destination at Exhibition Place.  I remember the concert ticket price being $30…a fortune at that time (I was making $3.00/hour at the camera shop).  The only things I really remember about that concert was the crowd (40,000 strong), the noise, and seeing how tiny Phil Collins looked from the nosebleed seats!

Genesis "Abacab" Album Cover...

I was still keeping the record store busy – in addition to Genesis, I was heavily into Fleetwood Mac, Bryan Adams, Chicago, Hall and Oates, Dan Fogelberg, the Steve Miller Band, and Olivia Newton John.  I dabbled in R & B – the Pointer Sisters, the Commodores, the Jacksons, and Stevie Wonder.  I bought Rick Springfield’s album because he was cute, and I liked “Jesse’s Girl.”  A boyfriend introduced me to Steve Winwood’s music – whenever I hear “While You See A Chance,” I always think of him.

When I went back in school in 1982, my musical tastes expanded further.  My Broadcast Journalism class used to party with the Radio Broadcasting kids – they played all the best music at their shindigs!  While continuing my love affair with the Police (“Roxanne” never fails to take me back to my college days), I discovered rockabilly with the Stray Cats!  I love dancing to rockabilly music!  Men at Work from Australia was a favourite, as well as the J. Geils Band, and Joan Jett.  I remember one of the radio guys being enamoured with the Clash, and one of my classmates, who loved everything Devo.  I saw Murray McLaughlan for the first time at a Loyalist College “Pub”, and Maritimer Matt Minglewood too (my boyfriend spent most of that pub in the washroom – he had eaten some bad hamburger for supper!).  Local Belleville acts played as well: Lee Aaron, and Bentwood Rocker.

Stray Cats Record Cover...

In late 1983, my boyfriend (later husband, later ex) got a job at a brand new country radio station in St. John’s, Newfoundland – I really didn’t enjoy country music at the time, but I soon got to like what was called “New Country.”  We moved to Moncton, New Brunswick in 1984, where he was music director for another country station.  One of the perks of being in radio is getting free tickets: the first concert we saw in Moncton was Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.  What a show that was!  In the 12 years we lived there, we also saw Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Alabama (twice), the Rankin Family (Anna, who was two at the time, slept through their concert!), Prairie Oyster, Michelle Wright, Terri Clark, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Jason McCoy, Paul Brandt, George Fox, Dwight Yoakam, Martina McBride, Alan Jackson, and Reba McEntire.  We got to go backstage and meet several of the performers:  everyone was really nice!

Kent, Reba and I - ca. 1985

My husband would also bring music home from work – since he worked in radio, we never had the radio on when he was home.  I would listen to tapes or albums instead.   One CD he brought home was John Hiatt – I absolutely love him!  Another one I still play is a tribute to Neil Young – his songs being played by various Canadian bands.  I discovered some amazing Canadian musicians who I probably wouldn’t have run into, like Cassandra Vasik and Jim Witter.  By attending events such as the East Coast Music Awards, I started being exposed to many of the very talented regional acts in the Maritimes: Melanie Doane, Rob Thomas, Ron Hynes, Barachois, and Gordie Sampson. 

After my marriage broke up, I moved to Saint John in 1997.  A friend turned me on to CBC Radio One, which played a lot of Maritime artists: Modabo, Hot Toddy, Madrigal, Charlie A’Court, John Campbelljohn (excellent steel guitar player), Rawlins Cross, Vetch, and Isaac and Blewett.  We saw Isaac and Blewett at the Saint John Arts Centre one time.  They performed on folding chairs set up on a small riser (about 6 inches tall).  During the break, Jim Blewett’s chair leg slipped off the riser, and he sunk to the floor (he wasn’t hurt).  Upon Tim’s return from the lobby, Jim related the story of his misfortune:  “I fell off my chair, man…” (Jim really talks like that!).  Tim’s deadpan response was, “Guitar okay?”

The Boys from Hot Toddy and Isaac and Blewett...

The Saint John Jazz and Blues Festival introduced me to many of the above artists, and other greats such as Matt Andersen (I thought his head would bounce right off his shoulders!), J.P. LeBlanc (one amazing guitar-playing kid!) and Fred Eaglesmith.  At home, I used to put a CD in my kids’ ghetto blaster in the kitchen, and rock out while I did my Sunday cooking/chores!

About five years ago, I started to get into folk/roots music – my boyfriend at the time was a big fan of the ’60’s: Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, etc.  Since then, I continue to listen to my old favourites, while adding new ones: the Be Good Tanyas, Meg Hutchinson, Joel Plaskett, Michael Kaeshammer, Howie Beck, and the Deep Dark Woods, to name a few (thank you Rich Terfry and CBC Radio 2).

My Favourite Be Good Tanyas Album...

Jim and I have revisited our seventies roots twice in the last couple of months at tribute concerts: one of Supertramp, and one of Queen, Jim’s favourite band of all time!  It was fun to see him singing along with all the songs…

Last Saturday night, Jim and I attended a Rose Cousins/David Myles concert at the Imperial Theatre.  Both are very talented and personable singer/songwriters.  It’s obvious that they love what they do.  I realized that I really haven’t taken enough time to enjoy music in the last couple of years – I have been too busy with “busyness” (and being bombarded by our teenagers’ “music” – Lady Gaga and her ilk!).  I have resolved to make time for music in my life again…I need it!

Sounds That Soothe My Soul…Part 1, The First 20 Years

Music has been an essential part of my life for as long as I can remember…it is as crucial to my existence as food and water…without it, I would not be the person that I am.

My father sang throughout high school and university, in church (he was a Methodist minister) and at home.  He sings bass in the Saint John Men’s Chorus, and has performed as part of the chorus in a couple of local operas.  Dad prefers music of a classical or religious nature (his solo version of “They Call the Wind Mariah” is one that sticks in my mind), although he has done a few show tunes, and occasionally enjoys listening to more popular fare such as Kenny Rogers or John Denver.  Mom bought him a guitar when we were kids, and he taught himself to play.  I still have tapes of us singing “What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Dad - late 1970's

My mom’s father was an excellent organist (I remember him playing the theme from “The Sting”)…we used to stand around the organ at Christmas and sing carols.   Mom and her three sisters grew up playing saxophone or clarinet in high school band.  Mom loved music enough to want to major in it in university, but only lasted a year before homesickness sent her back to her parents.  She had “perfect pitch” – I think that’s why I find it so difficult to tolerate off-key singing.  Mom’s musical tastes were a lot broader than Dad’s – along with classical favourites such as Vivaldi and Debussy, she liked Simon and Garfunkel and other early folkies.  In the 1970’s, she discovered Roberta Flack – I always think of Mom when I hear “Killing Me Softly.”

Mom - Late 1960's

I began picking out tunes by ear on our piano at age three, and started formal lessons with Miss Goldie Roe when I was five.  Miss Roe was elderly, and one of the sweetest women I’ve ever known.  Lessons were a dollar for an hour, which was quite a bit of money for my parents in the late ’60’s.  I remember that Miss Roe had broken her wrist at one point, but wrote left-handed in my lesson book the pieces I was to practice – I still have those books, complete with the pretty stickers she gave me each week.  My lessons stopped the summer we moved to Canada – we sold the piano because it was too big to move (I was halfway through the Second Grade of John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano)!

My First Grade Piano Book...

Our first home in Canada came with an old pump organ, but it didn’t work very well.  I borrowed my dad’s guitar and taught myself enough chords to be able to sing songs I liked.  My parents bought me a recorder, and I learned to play that too – it wasn’t my favourite instrument.

About 1970, I saw an ad on TV for a compilation disc put out by K-Tel: “22 Explosive Hits.”  That was the first album I ever bought – it had the techno song, “Popcorn” on it, and several other classics.  I listened to it over and over again on my mom’s stereo – I was delighted to find it again in her record collection after she passed away.  Over the next few years, I would save my paper route and babysitting money, and go to “Sam the Record Man” and buy albums on sale (some of it was total crap!).  I would put on a record and dance to it, all by myself…I always played the whole album…I never had any respect for people who skipped songs!  I went to all the school dances in junior high – I loved Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business”! 

My First Album Purchase...

Once I got to high school, I joined the school band – my parents bought me a flute, which took me a good week to learn how to get a sound out of.  I never was a very good player – had trouble narrowing my airstream enough to hit the high notes!  I loved the social aspect of band though – we got to travel around and perform.  Our conductor, Mr. Williams, was quite comical to watch, but very committed to his work!

When I was about fifteen, I had my very brief “hard rock” period – I bought Kiss’s double album – “Alive”, and played it all the time for a few months – my parents probably wanted to throttle me…

Kiss "Alive" Album...

After high school, one of my first jobs was in a camera store in the mall, which happened to be right next door to the record store – there was a very cute boy who worked there (he had an earring – the classic “bad boy”) – I was smitten!  My record collection grew considerably after that!  I was buying mainly pop – Bryan Adams, the Police, Billy Joel, and Elton John.  In 1981, I went to my first rock concert – a friend and I took the train to Toronto and saw Genesis with 40,000 other people at Exhibition Place – a scary experience for two teenagers from Prince Edward County!

To be continued…

“Girly Things”…

Recently, one of my single dad friends was looking for ideas for “girly things” to do with his daughter, who was coming to visit for the day…it made me start thinking about what that term even means…

My dad used to cook breakfast for us every morning.  I remember a couple of times we made pies together.  He also took us tobogganing, built us a go-cart and a treehouse, and took us fishing.  He taught me how to throw and catch a softball.  When I was eleven, he taught me how to drive our 1948 Ford farm tractor!  I’ll never forget the yell he let out when I “jumped” the front by letting the clutch out too fast (considering I only weighed about 60 lbs at the time, it was amazing I could push it in at all, let alone let it out slowly!).  We planted seeds in the garden, and picked apples together.  He encouraged us to climb the horse chestnut tree in the back yard.

Uncle Mal, Grandad, and Dad Doing Dishes...

My mom would put stuff back together after my dad took it apart.  She also painted the exterior of our two-storey house!  In addition to sewing a lot of our clothing, she used to design and build furniture too.  She taught me to cook and bake, and how to drive.

I have three daughters, a stepdaughter, and a granddaughter – I should be an expert on “girly things.”  Our downstairs kids’ bathroom is a mess of ponytail holders, hair dryers and straighteners, and nail polish!

I’ve always told my girls that there are only three things men can do that women can’t:

1. Father a child.

2. Pee standing up (we can do that too, but it’s messy).

3. Show somebody their Adam’s apple.

My children know that there’s no such thing as “girl toys” or “boy toys.”  Hope wanted a firetruck for her fifth birthday, and we got her one (she also had lots of baby dolls).

Instead of thinking of “girly things” to do with your daughter, why not come up with activities which will strengthen her self-esteem, and her bond with her dad? 

1. Take her to the library.  Show her some of your favourite books when you were a kid – she might like “The Hardy Boys.” I did!

2. Take her for a drive to a place you like – tell her why.

3. Take her to a movie that both of you will enjoy – Pixar has come out with some excellent 3-D movies lately.

4. Play computer games with her.  Jim and Brianna play WOW together.

5. Go to the park and swing together.

Hope on the Swing...

6. Go for a walk on the beach and look for pretty stones or shells.

7. Think of an art project to do together – maybe a present for a grandparent.

8. Take her to the driving range or the batting cage – my niece, Taylor, goes golfing with my brother.

9. Cook or build something together.

10. Teach her to do something you’re good at.

11. Go to a concert or a play together.

12. Take her to a go-cart track, and let her drive.

Kaylee and Hope at the Go-Cart Track...

Your kid doesn’t care if you do “girly things” with her…she just wants to do stuff with her dad!

Uncle Neal and Cousin Caryn on the Unicycle...

Waking Up From a Long Nap…

I’d been asleep for most of 36 hours, laid low with the worst flu I’d had in decades.  My man lay beside me, sharing the misery.  Downstairs, two of the four children also suffered (another had been stricken earlier in the week, the fourth had yet to be afflicted).  Medications and ginger ale were the only things most of us ingested.  The sounds of toilets being flushed was constant (that and ringing phones!).

Canada Dry Ginger Ale...

I woke up this morning with no appetite, but craved my morning tea – the pain in my gut had finally subsided.  I plugged in the electric kettle and filled my infuser with Ceylon Special and brown sugar, pouring the water into my mug once it was boiled.  I finished loading the dishwasher and started it.

Ceylon Special Tea...

Seeing the sun outside, I decided to take my seedlings out on the deck for some much-needed light.  Making several trips, I transferred the three large pots and 12 egg cartons from the back kitchen.  I was pleased to see that some of the tomatoes had made an appearance, as well as cauliflower and a couple more kinds of flowers.

Broccoli and Cabbage Seedlings...

In the midst of my labours, I heard a strange beeping from one of the electronic devices in the living room…didn’t have any idea what it was – electronics is “not my department.”  I would ask Jim about it when he woke up.  Coming back into the kitchen to fill a bottle to water plants with, I noticed the light over the stove was out – weird, Jim had just replaced the bulb last week!  Also, the dishwasher which had been running only minutes before was now silent.  That’s when I realized the power had gone out…

I called the power company, entered our phone number, and learned that it was a “planned power outage” expected to last 2-3 hours…so much for catching up on Facebook and writing my blog!  I picked up my tea and a pile of magazines I hadn’t gotten around to reading, and headed out on the deck with the dog.

As I perused “Woman’s Day,” I was struck by the inanity of most of the articles – in my humble opinion, having “cute boots” does not lead one down the path to happiness.  There were some good recipes though…

Woman's Day...

I was distracted from my reading by a knocking/rubbing noise around the end of the house – it sounded like trees banging, or some animal trying to build a nest.  I went down into the yard and took a quick look, but could see nothing, so I returned to my chair.

Two crows landed at the bottom of the back yard near the fence – Jake watched them intently.  Closer to the house, a robin also appeared on the lawn.  Jake decided he was going for that bird – he was off like a shot!  Unfortunately, my egg carton full of future pepper plants was a casualty of his doggy exuberance – it lay upside down on the porch, soil and seeds completely emptied from its dozen compartments!

Jake...

A lesser woman would have been in tears, but being of sturdy (stoic) German stock, I picked up the egg carton, refilled it with new soil, planted more pepper seeds, and returned it to its original place on the deck.

By then, the power had come back on…I read a particularly beautiful blog post by my friend, Jane, (http://planejaner.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/starry-sky-a-glitter-with-infinity/), checked my e-mail, and perused the 300+ updates from friends on Facebook (I didn’t miss much!).

Tomorrow, my routine will return to normal…

Rooting for the Underdog…

At our house, we love the sitcom “Big Bang Theory.”  On last night’s episode, Leonard told his girlfriend, Penny, that he loved her…Penny seemed shocked at his rather premature confession, and replied, “Um, thank you.”  Poor Leonard…it took him two years to “get the girl,” and that’s how she treats him?  Move on, Leonard…you can do so much better than that…

Leonard Drops a Bomb on Penny...

I’ve always rooted for the underdog…there was even a cartoon called “Underdog” when I was a kid!  I could watch Charlie Chaplin’s “The Tramp” movie over and over, and I love Rowan Atkinson as “Mr. Bean.” (one of my favourite skits is when someone mistakenly picks up his credit card from the counter, and Mr. Bean tries desperately to get it back without being detected).

Mr. Bean at the Checkout...

I’ve been an “underdog” most of my life…I’ve always been smart (modest, too!), but “pretty” and “athletic” counts for more in junior high…my thick glasses kept me out of the “pretty” category, and I was always the last one picked for sports teams (coordination was, and still is, a big issue for me).  My parents didn’t have the money to buy me the “cool” clothes, so I didn’t fit in that way either.  I ended up doing things kids in junior high don’t normally do:  I used to write plays and make my little brother and his friends to perform them in the back yard (whether they wanted to or not!).  I started a weekly community newsletter for our little village of 150, “Rednersville Review,” and produced it for two summers – I got a story in the local paper out of that. 

When I hit high school, I played flute in the school band, but that was the extent of my social interaction with my peers (except for a couple of close friends).  At 16, I opened my first business, “The Candy Bar.”  I ran it for a year-and-a-half…I made no money, but had a great time, and ate a lot of candy!  I also met my first serious boyfriend, who I ended up moving in with a couple of years later (BIG mistake!).

Wendy the Candy Magnate...

In college, I took Broadcast Journalism: after my 6-week internship at an Ottawa radio station, I realized that I could never be an objective reporter…I was always sympathetic to the underdog.  I remember coming home devastated every night by what I had witnessed at work during the day…there was a guy who, after a court-ordered child support settlement, was left with $5 a day to live on!  How was that fair?

The Subjective Reporter...

In the early ’90’s, I was given my first paid opportunity to “root for the underdog” – a job as assistant to the Fundraising Coordinator for a regional Children’s Hospital.  I spent the next ten years working for various non-profit groups – I loved it!

I also joined a local residents’ association which was trying to prevent a pool hall from opening in our Moncton neighbourhood…we were unsuccessful in that, but we did get the city to do something about lead in our neighbourhood’s drinking water, a problem which they had known about for almost fifty years…

After moving to Saint John, I joined the planning committee for the Saint John Women’s Conference.  At a “getting to know you” event, I discovered that I shared a common trait with one of the other committee members: neither of us could make piecrust!  Later that evening, when discussing the theme for the conference, it was decided that “Piecrust and Power: Women Together,” would be an excellent theme.  A month or so later, I was at the mall, and saw a book on sale called “The World of Pies.”  I picked it up, thinking it would make a great door prize for the conference.  When I brought it to our committee meeting, my co-chair suggested we try to get the author of the book, Karen Stolz,  to actually come to the conference!  People thought we were crazy!  I sent a letter to the book’s publishers – they advised that Karen lived in Austin, Texas.  After several phone calls, we had our answer: Karen was coming, and her publisher was footing the bill for the trip!  All we had to do was get her a hotel room for the night…Karen came, and we had a lovely time…

World of Pies book...

In 2001, I started a community newsletter for West Saint John, called “West Side Story.”  Many residents of the West Side have felt that other areas of the city have received more attention than their neighbourhood (they’re probably right!).  So those “underdogs” were thrilled to have something just for them!  I ran the paper for five-and-a-half years on a shoestring, until the shoestring broke!  People loved it, but I wasn’t making enough money to feed my kids…

After years of being an underdog, I realize that I let other people’s expectations of me dictate my own feelings of self-worth…that’s wrong!  Give me a cause – I will continue to “root for the underdog,” but I am really a “top dog!”

Spring is Sprung, The Seedlings is Riz…

A week ago today, I took the day off from the bookstore to plant my indoor seeds…I basically planted them and forgot about them (didn’t even water because the soil was quite wet).  On Friday, Jim mentioned that some of them had sprouted!  Off I went to the back kitchen to peek at our “new babies.”

First to make their appearance were the vegetables that I remember being “hard to grow” when I was a kid: broccoli and cabbage – I planted a full egg carton of broccoli – everybody in the family likes it.  The Chinese cabbage is also up, as well as the purple Brussels sprouts – who knew that the plants would be purple too?  I’m hoping the cool colour will make the kids want to eat them, but I only have one child that I know of who even likes the green version (Hope). 

Top: Chinese Cabbage and Green Cabbage, Bottom: Broccoli

A few of the flowers, stock and zinnia, are also starting to come up.  No sign of any of the nine varieties of tomatoes I planted…I’m really looking forward to seeing them.  I have a 2-litre ice cream container full of crushed eggshells that I’ve been saving to scatter around the tomato plants once they’re in the garden…it will hopefully keep the slugs out of there…apparently, it’s like crawling over broken glass for them.

The lettuce is coming, but the herbs are a no-show so far.  I can’t wait until we can just pick fresh basil right out of the pot!  I love pesto!

Lettuce/Tat Soi

One of the other big pots has the greens in it, which are growing nicely, along with the Bull’s Blood beet greens – the 5-colour silverbeet chard is just starting to poke through the soil.  Jim is a big fan of beet greens, as am I.

Greens/Chard

Yesterday, I carried all 12 egg cartons and the three big pots out on to the deck to get some sun (Jake actually left them alone!).  After being out there all day, I noticed that there had been some growth, even in those few hours – neat!  It was quite windy, and the soil got fairly dry outside.  I took one of the kids’ water bottles (one with a valve), and carefully sprinkled each section with a small amount of water…a mistake I made last year was keeping the soil too wet – it actually started growing mold – that was gross!  I’m still trying to find a mister to use…I’m worried that my watering can will displace the soil too much or knock down the tiny plants.

In my usual Monday morning rush to get out the door, I didn’t have time to take the plants outside today…maybe I’ll be able to do that tomorrow…

The Schedule in My Head…

Most people who know me would say I’m pretty relaxed…but I have a secret: under this laid-back exterior, there’s a person who gets very anxious when things don’t go according to the careful plan she has laid out in her head…

With seven people in our family, a schedule is pretty much the only way to keep from going insane.  Every member’s practice, medical appointment, birthday party, dance, play, or concert is logged on a giant calendar on the side of our fridge, as are school holidays, and vacation days from work.  Our lives revolve around this calendar – it is checked before committing to anything, and meals are planned around who is going to be home for supper that night.

Calendar...

The schedule is going to be even more important over the next couple of months – we have two daughters in cheerleading (two different teams), and they’re going into competitions – this means extra practices.  One daughter is going to Quebec on a school trip.  Our son is on the tech crew at school, and they’ve been working every night getting ready for the spring production of “Beauty and the Beast.”  Book sale season is starting in May, and we will be travelling to other New Brunswick cities in search of stock for the store.  There are lots of concerts coming up that Jim and I would like to go to as well, and we’re planning a weekend getaway trip sometime this spring.

Our two cheerleaders holding Brianna's team's banner...

I spend weekends doing laundry, getting groceries, and cooking for the week ahead – by the time I sat down in front of my computer last night at 9:45 p.m., the only thing I’d “accomplished” yesterday was getting groceries and making lasagna for supper (which was pretty awesome!).  We spent the rest of the day running kids around (and we did see a great movie in the afternoon – “How to Train Your Dragon”).  My brain was totally fried, and the blog topic I came up with yesterday morning seemed lame and unimportant – I was mad at myself for not taking the time to do my blog, which is one of the favourite parts of my day!  My daughter called me a “slacker” for missing a day, and I felt like one!

Jim doesn’t get my commitment to routine – he pretty much takes things as they come.  He admits that he sleeps better now that he goes to bed about the same time every night – he used to be awake until all hours, and then drag himself out of bed in the morning to go to work.  Jim also eats a lot better than he did when he was a bachelor – he usually has a hot meal (with vegetables) on the table by six o’clock, and leftovers for lunch the next day, instead of fish sticks and fries at 8:00, and fast food for lunch.

Jim and Jake Chilling Out...

However, Jim’s the one who talks me down from my tree when my self-imposed “schedule train” runs off the tracks…”Does it really matter if the laundry isn’t done today?” “Why don’t you stay home from the bookstore and get those seeds planted if that’s what you want to do?” “Let’s just barbecue tonight!”  I’m so glad I found him!

I changed my plan today – I slept until 9:30 a.m.!  I took the time to set my newly-sprouted seedlings outside.  I made myself tea, and toad-in-the-hole for breakfast.  I played on Facebook for an hour.  I helped Jim and Anna wrap and beribbon 4 dozen Rice Krispies squares for the bake sale at Brianna’s cheerleading competition this afternoon.  After they left, I put the first load of laundry in and started this blog post.  It is now 1:15 p.m., and I’m still sitting here in my jammies!  I’ll keep the washer and dryer going, and eventually, I’ll make it into the shower…we’re going to Jim’s mom’s tonight for his sister’s birthday dinner – now THAT’s important!  The rest of the laundry can wait…

The Birthday Girl on New Year's Eve...

Tomorrow night, I’ll see my granddaughter (and her parents) for the first time in almost three weeks – I’m looking forward to that too!

Elise, Just Hanging Around...

I don’t think I’ll ever give up the schedule in my head, but, with my family’s help, I’ll try to stop being so anal about it…

Connie’s Dream…

Last week, my Aunt Connie sent out an e-mail out to our whole family…it detailed an amazing plan to purchase an abandoned house in Florida, move it to the beach and fix it up together as a getaway spot for family gatherings.  Connie’s fantastic plan involves everyone taking a year off work, and going south to complete the project.  She calls it a “pipe dream”  (the words “crazy” and “delusional” have also come up!), but several of my cousins seem quite gung-ho about doing it…she has assigned Jim and I to be in charge of the garden (I also make great homemade bread and brownies!).

Connie's Dream House...

If anyone can pull this off, it’s Connie…she’s been playing tag (and winning) with breast cancer since 1997.  She’s a wife, mother of two, and grandmother of one.  Connie has jumped out of an airplane, and written and published a book (which she kept secret for four years, until it was about to come out – http://bit.ly/cQ7Wt1).  She rides on the back of my Uncle Neal’s motorcycle, and beside him in his classic car.  Connie is now on the speakers’ circuit, delivering her powerful motivational message to groups.   Her picture is beside the words “can do” in the dictionary.

Uncle Neal and Aunt Connie...

I think it’s a great idea in principle…I’m excited about the idea of working together with my cousins, their mates, and their children – everyone has their own special talents.  I’ve always enjoyed living in old houses – new houses are boxy and boring…

I hate to be a wet blanket, but my issue is with the LOCATION of the project – Florida: 

1. I don’t like hot weather, hurricanes, mosquitoes, or snakes. 

2. My kids complain about living 25 minutes away from their birthplace in West Saint John…imagine the noise if we moved 1800 miles away!  It would be a long and expensive commute for Jim’s kids, who go back and forth between our house and their mom’s every week.

3. I would miss my granddaughter – her dad will never leave New Brunswick, and I’m doubting he’d let us “borrow” baby Elise for a year.

So, here’s my proposal:

Jim and I already live in a huge, old farmhouse, which we rent – we hope it may come up for sale in the next few years.  It sits on two acres of land with several hundred feet of frontage on the beautiful Hammond River.  Beside it, there are 20 acres of land owned by my landlord and his brother (some wooded) – lots of room to pitch tents, park motorhomes or build more houses close by.  We have two full baths and two half baths…

Our House...

We could all work together on fixing up our house (it’s in pretty good shape, but needs some cosmetic work – hardwood floors redone, new paint inside and out, etc.).  Jim’s a good handyman, but he’s short on time – he commutes to work for two hours every day.  The vegetable garden will be planted in the fenced back yard soon.  I hope to plant flowers out front too, but will have to figure out how to keep the deer out of them (our resident herd numbers about 18).  When we’re not working, we can read in the hammock, canoe and fish on the river, watch the birds, jump on the trampoline, or go for a walk.  We can barbecue on the deck for supper in the summer time – not many bugs, and it rarely gets over 85 degrees here.  The nearest town, Quispamsis, is only ten minutes away – it has everything we need: good schools for the kids, groceries, banks, drug store, dollar store, liquor store, movie theatres, and restaurants.  There’s a classic car meet every Tuesday night of the summer in Saint John on the Boardwalk.

Doesn’t that make you want to pack up your car and come?  New Brunswick is a great place to live – I’ve been here for 26 years, and never want to leave…I’m sending a link to this post out to my family by e-mail…we’ll see how they react to my idea…

My Girls – The Succulent Bookworms…

One of my Internet friends was having a bad day yesterday…since she lives on the opposite coast, all I could do was reach out to her with a supportive e-mail…it made me realize how important “touchable” friends are…

My “touchable” friends are the girls in the book club I’ve belonged to for the last seven(?) years.  “The Succulent Bookworms” was formed by some customers who met in the tea bar at The Feel Good Store in Saint John (Anne, owner of the Feel Good Store, was instrumental in organizing the group, and the first meetings were held in the tea bar).  Our members are all female – aged from early 30’s to late 40’s.  Coming from various backgrounds, all are strong, capable, educated women who love to read GOOD books (I’m not talking about Danielle Steel here!).  Membership in the club is at the disgression of the existing members…if we like you, you’re in…if we don’t, we’ll “wish you well.”  Funny thing – everyone we’ve “wished well” in the past has had circumstances arise which have prevented her from attending another meeting (one particularly obnoxious woman’s husband was transferred to Halifax, another decided that California would be a great place to live!).  One of our member’s husbands has wondered aloud if we could be witches…

The Feel Good Store window...

We meet every 6-8 weeks, usually at somebody’s house.  We eat our faces off (potluck – often themed from whatever we’re reading), drink a lot of red wine, and occasionally, we talk about the book!  One of the girls suggested we have T-shirts made which say: “The Succulent Bookworms: The Drinking Club With A Reading Problem.”  Discussions are, for the most part, spirited but civil.  A lot of times, members agree about whether they liked the book or not, but not always.  We usually talk about a lot of other things too.  Most of the girls share similar values – liberal politics and a respect for nature and the environment.  No one is particularly religious, and four-letter words are commonly heard at our gatherings – sometimes they are necessary to make one’s point!  It was no surprise when we discovered that our menstrual cycles had synchronized… 

Red, Red Wine...

One of the best things about our book club for me is that I get exposure to modern fiction, which as an antiquarian bookstore owner, I know almost nothing about.  It is because of book club that I discovered some of my favourite books ever: Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance; Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveller’s Wife; and Lawrence Hill: The Book of Negroes.

When we read “Alice in Wonderland”, members came in costume to a “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.”  In a bar later that night, someone tried unsuccessfully to buy one of the girls’ costumes, a life-size playing card she had made!  We went to a sushi restaurant the night we discussed “Memoirs of a Geisha” – not being a big fan of sushi, I opted for the delicious tempura!

Memoirs of a Geisha...

A few years ago, a member complained that it seemed that everything we were reading at the time involved dismemberment of some kind.  She was right, but that didn’t really influence our book choices.  Shortly after that, a local publication had a contest to come up with the best opening line for a novel…our Succulent Bookworms group entry won Honourable Mention: “Oddly, the subject of dismemberment never came up.” 

We support each other outside the book club as well: birthdays, marriages, births, illnesses, breakups, and death are all instances where we’ve stood by our fellow Bookworms.

Our next meeting is tomorrow night – I’m really looking forward to it!  I haven’t been to one for quite a while, and I’m missing my girls!  Sometimes we need that sisterhood…

Pickin’ and Grinnin’…

When I tell my kids that I had my first job at age 10, they look at me like I have two heads…my best friend, Angela, and I used to pick raspberries for a German couple in Rednersville, Ontario.  Every other day in the summer (as long as it wasn’t raining), we would put on old long-sleeved shirts belonging to our fathers, old jeans, and running shoes.  We would spray ourselves with insect repellant (paying special attention to our wrists and ankles), and off we would go to the berry patch.  Mrs. W. would provide us with wooden quart baskets to collect the berries in, and show us where to start.  We picked red, blue and even a rare type of yellow raspberry – it was extra sweet, but there were only a couple of bushes of those.  Blues were my favourite…they were the size of our thumbs, tasted good, and filled up the baskets faster than the reds!  On a good morning, I could pick 10 quarts, which earned me the princely sum of $1.50 (which seemed like a lot when my weekly allowance was 15 cents!).

What we called "blue raspberries" were probably "loganberries"

The next summer, I cleaned up!  They were paying 25 cents a quart to pick strawberries at a farm down the road, so I did that in June, and picked raspberries in July and August (my brother and I also started splitting a paper route that year, and I was babysitting too).  At home, I loved to pick peas and green beans (my mom let us sell the beans at a stand by the road – we had lots).

Jeff and I Not Working...

Prince Edward County is known for its apples.  In the fall, I picked apples at the orchard across the road – Greening, McIntosh, Cortland, Ida Red, Northern Spy, and Red Delicious.  Apples were worth 50 cents a bushel, but one had to climb on a rickety ladder to pick them…that wasn’t my favourite job!

Apples...

I picked every summer/fall until I went to college.  That summer, my brother got me a job on the market garden farm he worked at – I would work with Jeff and three other men (our boss, Nicky, his brother, Danny, and Jeff’s school friend, David).  David used to come and pick me up on his dirt bike.  I would climb on, put on my helmet, and hang on for dear life as he flew off down the road!  I always arrived in one piece!  When we got to Nicky’s house, we’d pile in his truck, and drive out to the fields (which were about a mile from his house).  He grew tomatoes, green peppers, corn, and potatoes mostly.  We would spend all day in the field – I learned how to “hold my water,” not wanting to go off and pee at the side of the field in front of four men!  At lunch, Nicky would pull his cooler out of the truck – it was always packed with bread, cold cuts, and lime rickey (which was a great thirst quencher!).  We would pick tomatoes right off the plants, wipe them on our pants (they weren’t organic), and slice them right on to our sandwiches!  I still remember the way they tasted!

Cap from Canada Dry Lime Ricky...

My brother had terrible hay fever…I can still hear him sneezing multiple times whenever we had to pick corn!

Jeff in his work clothes...

At the end of the day, we’d load up the truck with the crates of whatever we were picking that day, and it would be put in cold storage until Market Day.  I wish I still had the muscles (and the tan) I built up that summer!

Sometimes, we’d get to go to the Kingston Farmer’s Market with Nicky – I loved chatting with the customers.  One particular Saturday afternoon, Danny had gone off somewhere and not come back to the stall.  Knowing his brother’s penchant for alcohol, Nicky figured he was off on a bender, and we left without him (50 miles away- I have no idea how Danny got home!).  Nicky didn’t put up with any nonsense (he worked at the cement plant all night too – I don’t know when he slept!).

Today, I still love to pick anything going…I go every year to pick blackberries.  I’m looking forward to harvesting from my own garden this summer!