Wanderlust and Words

Aging  “Me first, I’m older” was an unexpected perk when they started rolling out the Covid vaccine. Age hopefully brings wisdom, but it also brings aches and pains, grey hair, and age spots so I particularly enjoyed this poem from Home Body by Rupi Kaur .  “give me laugh lines and wrinkles  i want proof of the jokes we shared  engrave the lines into my face like  the roots of a tree that grow deeper  with each passing year  i want sunspots as souvenirs  for the beaches we laid on  i want to look like i was  never afraid to let the world  take me by the hand  and show me what it’s made of  i want to leave this place knowing  i did something with my body  other than trying to  make it look perfect”  Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder “Gardeners in Singapore are dazzled by the dandelion and desperate to get hold of its seed s.”  Monique Martin is exhibiting her hand-made dandelions in Saskatoon. She says, “The dandelion is a silent protest that is heard worldwide on sidewalks, in park

“We live with mystery, but we don’t like the feeling. I think we should get used to it. We feel we have to know what things mean, to be on top of this and that. I don’t think it’s human, you know, to be that competent at life. That attitude is far from poetry.” – Mark Strand   Local News   Join Fair Trade Saskatoon for a talk by Tamara Stein on Fair Trade, Quinoa, Communities and Markets: The View from Bolivia from 12-1 pm, May 12, on Zoom.  Books  In my day-to-day life, I don’t give much thought to women’s equality. I live on my own, have my own income, and travel as I will (pre-pandemic!). And yet, women are discriminated against in so many subtle ways, from only testing new medicines on men to only recognizing male achievements. I am thoroughly enjoying reading Writing Wild: Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World  by Kathryn Aalto and discovering some amazing women writers and their perspectives on the natural world.  On Chapel Sands: The Myster

Local News  I plan to try some of the cleaning products produced by Nikihk , a local Indigenous company that got its start distributing household cleaning kits to First Nations communities to prevent the spread of Covid. They have 7 different cleaning products, 6 of which include scents of plants and herbs which are significant in Plains Cree usage.  The Saskatoon Public Library is offering an archival slideshow on Saskatoon homes from sod houses to boom-time mansions from 4-5 pm, May 6, on Facebook and ongoing on YouTube.  Food  I’m going to give tea-flavoured rice a try. Here’s a recipe for green tea rice with loads of green vegetables .  It’s time to start adding fresh herbs (from Bergamot & Basil ?) to your dishes. Here are 17 ways to use mint – from mint pasta to mint julep as well as a spicy herb and noodle salad and a lemon thyme and leek tart .  Anas Attasi, author of Sumac: Recipes and Stories from Syria , wanted “to show the world a side of Syria they hadn’t seen before

Women  In 19th century Great Britain, the artists and scientists were expected to be men. And yet, women found a way to contribute. Margaret Rebecca Dickinson produced a remarkable collection of dried plants and detailed wildflower watercolours that became a valuable addition to a natural history museum’s collection. Do take a look at her work as we wait impatiently for spring flowers in Saskatoon!  Our Bodies, Ourselves was first published 50 years ago. It was influential in the lives of so many women , myself included.  Food Equality  Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger by Katie Martin is aimed at people working in food banks who want to improve the system: “ What if our success is measured not simply by the pounds of food we distribute but by the reduction in people who need our services? Or the number of people who are connected to additional services? Or the number of people who make fewer trade-off decisions between paying for food, rent, or medicin

“We live with mystery, but we don’t like the feeling. I think we should get used to it. We feel we have to know what things mean, to be on top of this and that. I don’t think it’s human, you know, to be that competent at life. That attitude is far from poetry.” – Mark Strand  Local News  Saskatoon’s Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op is accepting orders for wooden garden boxes.  Jane’s Walk Saskatoon is organizing virtual and/or self-directed walking tours for Jane’s Walk 2021 on May 1.  Bread   A depression and a dictatorship in Portugal shaped its bread , transforming local grains and loaves to a nutritionless industrialized product. “Just as it is intertwined with Portugal’s political and economic history, bread has also mapped human progress and it survives as we survive. Bread can be as fragile as our own democracies, as Portugal’s grains have proven. I only hope that after years of austerity, the country looks towards a brighter future, full of much better bread.”  Travel  The new

“In Just-spring when the world is mud-luscious the little lame balloonman whistles far and wee and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it’s spring when the world is puddle-wonderful” – e e cummings   A Taste of Spring  What food symbolizes spring for you? For me, it’s probably fresh, locally-grown spinach (and rhubarb). By winter’s end, I’ve had my fill of root vegetables (I do try to eat local) and am longing for greens. But in other parts of the world, spring may be something else entirely – mangoes in Mexico City , kumquats in Greece , or fresh goat cheese in Provence (Oh, yes, please!). And each of these foods has a history and a story to tell that surely influences its flavour.  Another early spring crop is radishes, but they’ve never been one of my favorites. I’m planning to try the roasted radish lemony chickpea pasta in this set of 12 unusual radish recipes , but I’m not so sure about the cinnamon ice cream topped with radishes.  Creativity   I’m always fas