Footnotes to a Conversation, May 17, 2021
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 seeds.”
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 parks and gardens. It abhors monoculture, is open to differences and challenges stereotypes. It can be a symbol for healing from emotional pain, physical injury and surviving through all life’s difficulties as it shows us how to be strong in the face of adversity. The dandelion thrives in difficult conditions, surviving the challenges imposed by humanity and emerging victorious on the other side.”
Food
Variety is the spice of life. Here are 20 ways to cook with carrots – and I guarantee you’ve never contemplated making carrot hot dogs before!
“At most Asian grocery stores, there’s a whole aisle dedicated to soy sauce—including everything from Chinese and Japanese brands that denote styles with names like “dark,” “light,” and “first extract,” to thicker, palm sugar–sweetened Indonesian kecap manis, to saltier Filipino toyo. Treating each of these bottles as if they’re interchangeable would be like keeping only one bottle of whiskey on hand at a cocktail bar.”
Moving Beyond Covid
“The challenges of indoor dining provoke new thinking in urban design, and how public spaces can be repurposed to serve communities coming together to share food. With the complexities of in-person gatherings, we should look to our imaginations in how we can enhance sharing food together with technology and virtual experiences.” What will this look like? Could it be more outdoor urban seating, communal fire pits, virtual reality-enhanced dinner parties?
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read EcoFriendly Sask that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew.
"What bird is that?" Find out on EcoFriendly Sask's free (and ad-free) nature app for Canada's four western provinces
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