The exercise:
Write two haiku about: October.
The end of September has arrived. That seems... a little quick.
Boxes went quite smoothly today, even with me having to do the remaining work by myself. I finished off the harvest this morning, partly before Kat left for OK Falls and mostly while Max was with his grandparents in the orchard. After bringing him back home to have lunch with me, we played until Kat returned.
At that point we both expected it to be nap time. It was not.
So Kat hung out with him while I went to bring all the produce down to our house in order to put them in their various boxes. As I finished getting it all off the truck and onto the deck I came inside to grab something... just in time to see them disappearing into the bedroom for nap time.
I put all the boxes together, plus a couple of local orders, and then waited for them to be collected.
And now... only one more week to go.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Mine:
A fine month indeed -
how could it not be? For it's
home to my birthday
* * *
Fallen golden leaves
whisper secrets as short ghosts
in sneakers walk by
Monday September 29th, 2014
The exercise:
Write about: the challenger.
The end of the BC teachers strike also brought about the return of StrongStart, which is where Kat brought Max this morning. While they were there I finally got another haircut and ran a few errands in town.
This afternoon I started the box harvest, collecting zucchini and the bigger (heirloom, beefsteak, roma) tomatoes. Kat also took a turn, taking care of the cherry tomatoes before dinner. That just leaves me carrots, peppers, and arugula for tomorrow morning while Kat works and Max helps his grandparents pick Ambrosia apples.
Or plays nearby while they pick apples.
One of the two.
Mine:
You set them up,
I'll knock all of 'em down;
All these silly
Challengers to my crown.
I can't be beat,
I don't know why they try.
I will stand tall
Until the day I die.
Who is this chump?
He looks like a puppy!
I'd be more scared
Of a flailing guppy.
I start to laugh
But then hear roaring cars;
I'm on my back,
Counting the pretty stars...
Write about: the challenger.
The end of the BC teachers strike also brought about the return of StrongStart, which is where Kat brought Max this morning. While they were there I finally got another haircut and ran a few errands in town.
This afternoon I started the box harvest, collecting zucchini and the bigger (heirloom, beefsteak, roma) tomatoes. Kat also took a turn, taking care of the cherry tomatoes before dinner. That just leaves me carrots, peppers, and arugula for tomorrow morning while Kat works and Max helps his grandparents pick Ambrosia apples.
Or plays nearby while they pick apples.
One of the two.
Mine:
You set them up,
I'll knock all of 'em down;
All these silly
Challengers to my crown.
I can't be beat,
I don't know why they try.
I will stand tall
Until the day I die.
Who is this chump?
He looks like a puppy!
I'd be more scared
Of a flailing guppy.
I start to laugh
But then hear roaring cars;
I'm on my back,
Counting the pretty stars...
Sunday September 28th, 2014
The exercise:
Write about: hidden gems.
Back home safe and sound in Osoyoos. Good to be here.
Little time to waste though. Second to last boxes need to be harvested and put together tomorrow and Tuesday. Tuesday? Ah yes, that's also Kat's first official day of work, as she's going up to OK Falls to check out the learning space with her co-teacher and a group of their students' parents.
Wednesday sees Kat teaching a yoga class in Oliver to cover for someone who is away, Thursday is her first day with the kids, and then Friday... what's on Friday. Oh, right. I suppose we should get ready for this Saturday's farmers market.
I'm about ready to sleep now.
Mine:
The drive to Vancouver and back is a bit of a different experience now that we have Max with us. Before we'd make one stop for lunch and one more for gas and that was about it. Durations varied by how bad traffic was going into and out of the city, but we generally had a pretty good idea of what time we'd be arriving based on what time we left.
Now? We leave when we're able to get Max ready and into the car. We drive until it becomes obvious that he won't put up with being in the car any longer. If he's napping, we're driving. Always have food at hand in case we need to keep going through planned lunch or snack breaks.
Above all else, let the toddler sleep.
The car is still packed pretty tight, but now a fairly significant portion is devoted to things that could potentially keep him entertained while we're making forward progress. Lego, books, stuffed animals, empty yogurt containers, toys of varying shapes and sizes.
Green space well away from the road is golden. We'll stop and let him run around and find rocks and explore dirt and touch trees until he can be convinced to return to his car seat. Sometimes we'll have an idea of where the next one is, but mostly when it's time to pull over we just drive until we find something that looks like it will be suitable.
This leads to the discovery of places we would otherwise have no reason to visit, as we'd be too focused on getting wherever we're going. On the way home this afternoon we ended up taking a brief tour of the Skagit River Trail. Big beautiful trees, fresh air, water rushing over rocks, mountains reaching for the sky.
It was a break and a place we all needed.
I should mention that this journey was a fairly good one, as I feel like I'm giving the impression it was a bit of a nightmare. Max was basically entertained in the car (or sleeping) for the vast majority of the trip. But when those moments arrived when he'd just had enough, hidden gems like this one were absolute life savers.
Write about: hidden gems.
Back home safe and sound in Osoyoos. Good to be here.
Little time to waste though. Second to last boxes need to be harvested and put together tomorrow and Tuesday. Tuesday? Ah yes, that's also Kat's first official day of work, as she's going up to OK Falls to check out the learning space with her co-teacher and a group of their students' parents.
Wednesday sees Kat teaching a yoga class in Oliver to cover for someone who is away, Thursday is her first day with the kids, and then Friday... what's on Friday. Oh, right. I suppose we should get ready for this Saturday's farmers market.
I'm about ready to sleep now.
Mine:
The drive to Vancouver and back is a bit of a different experience now that we have Max with us. Before we'd make one stop for lunch and one more for gas and that was about it. Durations varied by how bad traffic was going into and out of the city, but we generally had a pretty good idea of what time we'd be arriving based on what time we left.
Now? We leave when we're able to get Max ready and into the car. We drive until it becomes obvious that he won't put up with being in the car any longer. If he's napping, we're driving. Always have food at hand in case we need to keep going through planned lunch or snack breaks.
Above all else, let the toddler sleep.
The car is still packed pretty tight, but now a fairly significant portion is devoted to things that could potentially keep him entertained while we're making forward progress. Lego, books, stuffed animals, empty yogurt containers, toys of varying shapes and sizes.
Green space well away from the road is golden. We'll stop and let him run around and find rocks and explore dirt and touch trees until he can be convinced to return to his car seat. Sometimes we'll have an idea of where the next one is, but mostly when it's time to pull over we just drive until we find something that looks like it will be suitable.
This leads to the discovery of places we would otherwise have no reason to visit, as we'd be too focused on getting wherever we're going. On the way home this afternoon we ended up taking a brief tour of the Skagit River Trail. Big beautiful trees, fresh air, water rushing over rocks, mountains reaching for the sky.
It was a break and a place we all needed.
I should mention that this journey was a fairly good one, as I feel like I'm giving the impression it was a bit of a nightmare. Max was basically entertained in the car (or sleeping) for the vast majority of the trip. But when those moments arrived when he'd just had enough, hidden gems like this one were absolute life savers.
Saturday September 27th, 2014
The exercise:
Write a four line poem about: the flash.
Went to the Vancouver farmers market this morning (because of course we did) and met up with a friend of Kat's there. They went for lunch afterward while Max and I came back here to eat and hang out and try to convince him to nap.
So he napped when Kat returned.
This afternoon I took a walk down to MEC and picked up a new jacket, pants, and sunglasses, all of which were pretty badly needed. Then we met up with another friend for dinner at The Reef, a very convenient two minute walk away.
We'll be making one more quick stop in the morning to visit another friend at his place before taking to the roads and heading for Osoyoos. This trip has gone by in a hurry.
Mine:
I didn't really notice
What she was wearing,
Then I caught a flash of red
And now I can't stop staring
Write a four line poem about: the flash.
Went to the Vancouver farmers market this morning (because of course we did) and met up with a friend of Kat's there. They went for lunch afterward while Max and I came back here to eat and hang out and try to convince him to nap.
So he napped when Kat returned.
This afternoon I took a walk down to MEC and picked up a new jacket, pants, and sunglasses, all of which were pretty badly needed. Then we met up with another friend for dinner at The Reef, a very convenient two minute walk away.
We'll be making one more quick stop in the morning to visit another friend at his place before taking to the roads and heading for Osoyoos. This trip has gone by in a hurry.
Mine:
I didn't really notice
What she was wearing,
Then I caught a flash of red
And now I can't stop staring
Friday September 26th, 2014
The exercise:
Write four lines of prose about: overdoing it.
Went shopping this morning to get Max some new clothes and shoes, because he seems intent on continuing to grow. Also picked up some groceries for ourselves and veggies for this evening's BBQ dinner.
We were going to make a few more stops but by then it was getting toward Max's nap time and everybody was pretty sick of the crowds and general madness of the city.
So we returned to our friends place and recuperated before they came home from work. Shortly after that two more friends arrived and we had a very nice dinner of chicken, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, onions, and garlic done up on the BBQ.
Max seemed to enjoy himself, and everyone else seemed to enjoy him too. Though by the end of the night he was obviously over-tired and overly wound up. Either that or he was drunk, but I'm pretty sure we kept him away from the wine...
Mine:
"I think that's more than enough, dear."
"One more, just one more, just a little bit more!"
"I think we've gone well beyond overdoing it now, dear. And... well, I should have known better than to let my five year old niece do my makeup."
Write four lines of prose about: overdoing it.
Went shopping this morning to get Max some new clothes and shoes, because he seems intent on continuing to grow. Also picked up some groceries for ourselves and veggies for this evening's BBQ dinner.
We were going to make a few more stops but by then it was getting toward Max's nap time and everybody was pretty sick of the crowds and general madness of the city.
So we returned to our friends place and recuperated before they came home from work. Shortly after that two more friends arrived and we had a very nice dinner of chicken, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, onions, and garlic done up on the BBQ.
Max seemed to enjoy himself, and everyone else seemed to enjoy him too. Though by the end of the night he was obviously over-tired and overly wound up. Either that or he was drunk, but I'm pretty sure we kept him away from the wine...
Mine:
"I think that's more than enough, dear."
"One more, just one more, just a little bit more!"
"I think we've gone well beyond overdoing it now, dear. And... well, I should have known better than to let my five year old niece do my makeup."
Thursday September 25th, 2014
The exercise:
Write about: the premium.
Safe and sound in Vancouver, happy to be with old friends again.
Having trouble staying awake, so I'll save anything more for another day.
Mine:
"That's the finest wine we carry, sir." The waiter wouldn't meet my eye when he said it, preferring instead to focus on the notepad in his hand. "I highly recommend that you try it."
"Really." I looked at the wine list again. "So you've had some yourself then?"
"Oh, no sir."
"No?"
"That is correct, sir."
A sigh escaped my lips but I managed to refrain from massaging my temples.
"And why is that?"
"Well, sir," he replied slowly, as though I were the slow one, "I couldn't possibly afford it."
Write about: the premium.
Safe and sound in Vancouver, happy to be with old friends again.
Having trouble staying awake, so I'll save anything more for another day.
Mine:
"That's the finest wine we carry, sir." The waiter wouldn't meet my eye when he said it, preferring instead to focus on the notepad in his hand. "I highly recommend that you try it."
"Really." I looked at the wine list again. "So you've had some yourself then?"
"Oh, no sir."
"No?"
"That is correct, sir."
A sigh escaped my lips but I managed to refrain from massaging my temples.
"And why is that?"
"Well, sir," he replied slowly, as though I were the slow one, "I couldn't possibly afford it."
Wednesday September 24th, 2014
The exercise:
Write about: the leaf.
It is lovely here. We're staying with a family who have a son that is attending the learning center here and the view from upstairs is amazing. They've been very welcoming and I, for one, am reluctant to leave for Vancouver tomorrow.
Kat was in training at the learning center for most of the day, so that meant Max and I had lots of time to play and explore. We went for a walk in the woods before lunch and ended up at a waterfall/fish ladder and he quite enjoyed throwing leaves into the water. I got him to stand still just long enough to get this shot:
This evening we joined Kat and her co-teacher, along with their principal and most of the local staff here, for dinner at the center. It's a beautiful space and everyone was so upbeat and friendly. Hard to imagine attending a regular public school staff dinner and getting that kind of atmosphere.
Anyway, watching Max for most of the day is very tiring. So I shall get this written and get my butt to bed.
Mine:
Floating on blue water,
In no rush,
No hurry,
A yellow and red leaf
Takes in the
Sights and sounds
Of life along the river -
Where black bears
Eat salmon
And lonely fishermen
Frown at their
Empty hooks.
Write about: the leaf.
It is lovely here. We're staying with a family who have a son that is attending the learning center here and the view from upstairs is amazing. They've been very welcoming and I, for one, am reluctant to leave for Vancouver tomorrow.
Kat was in training at the learning center for most of the day, so that meant Max and I had lots of time to play and explore. We went for a walk in the woods before lunch and ended up at a waterfall/fish ladder and he quite enjoyed throwing leaves into the water. I got him to stand still just long enough to get this shot:
This evening we joined Kat and her co-teacher, along with their principal and most of the local staff here, for dinner at the center. It's a beautiful space and everyone was so upbeat and friendly. Hard to imagine attending a regular public school staff dinner and getting that kind of atmosphere.
Anyway, watching Max for most of the day is very tiring. So I shall get this written and get my butt to bed.
Mine:
Floating on blue water,
In no rush,
No hurry,
A yellow and red leaf
Takes in the
Sights and sounds
Of life along the river -
Where black bears
Eat salmon
And lonely fishermen
Frown at their
Empty hooks.
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