Tag Archives: writing

Made squash soup

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I made a big batch of squash soup today. It is just cooling now so I can put it in containers and freeze it.

Two years ago, I bought three acorn squash plants from a local market. However, when the squash appeared, they weren’t acorn squash. Last year I bought plants from a roadside stand along a country road. But when the squash appeared, they weren’t acorn squash. This year I bought three plants from a garden shop. Thankfully, they turned out to be acorn squash. I have a ton of them.

You wonder why I insist on acorn and don’t use a different squash for the soup. But the acorn squash has it’s own flavour. The recipe I use is from the Butchart Gardens website and everyone who eats it loves it.

What did you get from your garden this year?

Tomatoes are coming….

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The tomatoes are coming fast this year. They grew so strong in the early summer that most of them pulled the tomato cages over or crumpled them onto the ground. Some of the plants were more than five feet tall. Not that we had a great summer, started cool, hot for about 3 weeks in July, then cool and rainy for another three weeks.

Yet here they are, ripening like crazy. I buy most of the plants from a very kind man who grows and sells tomatoes every spring. I always promise to bring the pots back, because that saves money on both sides and re-uses the pots. These tomatoes will be simmered until thoroughly cooked into a sauce. It has amazing amounts of flavour, much better than the spaghetti sauce you buy in the store.

What do you do with all your tomatoes?

Problem solved!

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I developed a sciatica problem in October, and have been fighting it ever since. My GP gave me pain meds, and after 4 visits I managed to twist his arm enough to get an X-ray. The bones in my back were severely compressed. Too many car accidents? Maybe.

At any rate, I gave up on physiotherapy and chiropractic treatments after 15 such sessions. Now I’ve got acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, and an inversion table. Have you ever seen one?

I hadn’t either until we did some research. Here’s what mine looks like. You just strap yourself in and turn the table upside down!

🙂 Not really. You put your feet on the bottom bar, so your ankles are locked in when you pull the lever toward yourself. Then you press the button to start a low-level vibration against your back, and turn the table so it is leaning slightly back, with your feet a bit higher than your head.

Yes, you can use a higher gear and go back farther, but I was reluctant to go to that extreme. I use it three times a day and things are improving dramatically.

I realize it isn’t a pretty addition to my bedroom furniture, but it’s helping tremendously. Now I can get back to writing Book Eight, of The Last War series. Yay!!

Following the Colours

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We took a short trip through the province of Quebec to follow the colours. We started in Montreal, drove to Quebec City, over to the Eastern Townships, then west to Ottawa. In some areas the leaves hadn’t changed much, and a few areas had already passed their brightest colour.

We were following the trail of old memories, from Montreal, to Quebec City, North Hatley, ending in Ottawa. Here’s a cow staring at me from the nearby field. I stared back.

I started the trip with a sore back, and ended it with severe bronchitis and sciatica pain down my leg enough to disable me. I’m hoping for some answers soon, after multiple trips to the physiotherapist and chiropractor. Fingers crossed.