Leader of Men

giving thanks

Today was Canadian Thanksgiving, or as I like to call it, Real Thanksgiving Because Ours Came First, You American Copycats. And on this wonderful day, we Canucks like to express our gratitude for living in a noble country free of war, deep-fried Twinkies and Bill O'Reilly by chugging a few brewskis, slapping on the ol' snowshoes and braving the icy weather to bring home a few moose hides to hang in the igloo while we watch hockey and pop free prescription medication.

This year, however, I eschewed tradition and decided to cook myself a small yet arfully prepared meal of Cornish gamehen and asparagus. Experienced cooks may notice that the bird in the photo above is actually upside-down. This is because if you cook your poultry breast-side down, the juices settle into that meat while cooking and it results in a plumper, juicier bird. This is something I did entirely on purpose, and not all an excuse I read up on after it was already done.

I don't have any family in BC and while my lovely friend Mere invited me to spend Sunday evening with her own family, I ended up having to decline due to a horrible migraine. So Monday I was feeling rather mopey and missing my family quite a bit, even my brother. Somewhere - probably a Hallmark card - I had read that doing something nice for others was a good way to cheer yourself and decided to set aside my natural instinct to wallow in chocolate and self-pity and perform a good deed. While the gamehen was defrosting in the sink (not in my armpit as some Twitter comedians suggested), I hopped online to Kiva.org and within a few minutes, had completed the loans of three applicants in the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Mozambique. Now Jennifer will be able to repair bicycles for her rental business, Reynaldo will buy more wood for his carpentry services, and Armando will add more products to his food stand.

  
 photo from kiva.org

If you haven't donated to Kiva before, please consider doing so. It's wonderful to read about the applicants you're helping, and when your loan money is returned, you can send it back out to help more people. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. I posted about it in the Etsy forums and three other people made donations as well.

I may have eaten alone this weekend, but it tasted better than ever.

it's too nice outside to be blogging

It's been three weeks since I wrote anything here, which is pretty shoddy. But I have an excuse:

I live here. Yay me!

I also have another exam coming up in June. Maybe after that I'll have a life.

she's having my babies

Last weekend I picked up a little Sempervivens (otherwise known as hens-and-chicks) to add some green to my desk. The nursery had about a dozen different kinds but when I saw this variety called "Fuzzywuzzy", I knew I could not resist such awesomeness.

I potted it Saturday, and Monday morning I discovered it had sprouted about 15 little babies off the ends of its decidedly furry leaves. When they are a little bigger I will buy a horde of tiny pots, plant them, and train them to be my Fuzzywuzzy army.

    

 

houseguest and sushi

HB turned up in Vancouver for a few days last week, on his way from New Brunswick to Tofino. Since the Maritimes are not exactly known for sushi and HB had a hankering, we wandered over to Hi Nippon on 4th so he could restock his stomach.

 

Notice how there aren't actually any photos of sushi here. What can I say, I was hungry.

vintage ring boxes

One of my finds from Saturday's antique market: two vintage ring boxes, quite worn but still charming. One box reads "W.E. Watts Ltd, 25 St. James Street, Derby, Founded 1858", the other is unmarked. They look like leather but are some sort of light wood.

Moonstone and citrine rings from Leader of Men.

she finds seashells near the sea shore

Last spring, walking to work, I spied something peculiar in the gutter. I went over to take a look, and found a 10-inch long conch shell, a bit chipped and rough around the edges, but still beautiful. It was strange thing to find in a gutter on rainy morning in March. I mean, I do live eight blocks from the beach, but c'mon. That's a long way uphill for a seashell. I took it home, cleaned it up, and now it sits on my desk.

 

triptych: quail eggs

More experimenting with the new camera.

 

 

no rabbits were harmed in the making of this blog

I finally splurged out and bought a new camera the other day, so I took a few quick practice shots on a very unwilling subject.

He's pretty wiggly, so only his nose is in focus. But it's a cute nose.

a walk in the woods

Prior to my mangling. Courtesy of my friend Mere, who sneaks pictures of me when I'm not looking.

bruises make me nostalgic

My damaged knee is turning some wonderful colours. It makes me really miss the fall foliage back home in Ontario. As beautiful as the west coast is, the trees really tend to slack off in fall in the lower mainland. With the exception of the Japanese maples.

Just down the block from my place, an Acer palmatum var. dissectum is busy eating a lamp post. From the form I'm guessing it's an Inabe Shidare. The colour is so brilliant it almost hurts the eyes. It's like a giant stoplight at the end of the street. I may skulk down there in the dead of night and steal some clipping and try to grow my own little mini-stoplight.