Still Going Strong!

I thought the bean harvest was over, but, boy was I mistaken! This morning I noticed lots more pretty white flowers! I guess our lovely September weather has encouraged my bean plants to keep producing!
You can even see some tiny beans, already forming! If the weather holds out for a couple more weeks, I will be able to harvest these babies! Yummy! I foresee a stir-fry in my future!

A Philosophic Mimi Moment

Without a nap, life is like a long journey through a hot, dry desert!

The First Day of Autumn!

Oscar is enjoying those last warm rays of sunshine for this year. Isn't he cute?

I Have Finished the Colourful Ripple!

This was so much fun to do! Each row was different (and colourful!) and I was able to use up a lot of left over yarn that was cluttering up my craft room. It worked up quickly too!

Here is a closeup.
I still have yarn left over.
Think I'll make another one of these.

The Ripple Afghan is Finished!

I finally finished the ripple afghan for my bed. It was a very easy pattern, but it took me a long time to complete it. I think it was a bit boring - I usually like a more challenging pattern! But it turned out very nice. Now I can take a nap without disturbing the whole bed. I can just throw this over me and be toasty warm! Mimi taught me that! Thanks Mimi!

The Night of the MRI!!!

I had an appointment for an MRI last night. I say, "last night" because it was scheduled for 1:30am. I know that sounds like a crazy time, but the MRI department is open 24 hours. So actually my appointment was this morning. But I hadn't slept yet, and therefore it felt more like last night. The hospital is strangely quiet at that time. Not too much happens at 1:30am and that is a good thing! Signs led us down the halls to the MRI department. It was a very long walk!

The staff at the MRI department asked me a gazillion questions, mostly about operations I had had in the past and if I had anything metal implanted in my body. They also wanted to know if I was claustrophobic. That's when I knew I would be in trouble! Nightmares of waking up in a hospital bed encased in a plaster body cast, images of being locked in the trunk of a car, the feeling of being paralyzed - and now they were going to put me into a machine, like a long tunnel with no escape. Was I claustrophobic? You betcha!!! Would I ever be able to get out?

When they were finally convinced that I had answered all of their questions, they showed me into the MRI room. The machine was an huge, imposing, grey monster. It practically filled the tiny room! A narrow 'bed' was attached at one end. I was told to get up onto it and put my head in a tiny 'head' space and my shoulders against the parts that held my head in place. It felt hard and unnatural. They propped my knees up with a sort of wedge-shaped cushion. My left leg was already going numb and tingly. Then they gave me a pair of bright, yellow ear plugs because the noise inside the machine would be very loud. Oh, great! Confined to a narrow tunnel with no escape AND subjected to loud noises at the same time! How would I be able to stand it? I thought I would get to listen to some nice music or something. Even Muzak would do! I was handed a round bulb-shaped thing on a cord and told that I should squeeze it tightly in order to alert the technician if I experienced any discomfort or problems. I clutched the device tightly in my left hand as close to the bulb as possible. What happened to the person who was going to talk to me while I was going through my torture! I guess at 1:30am there are not too many people around who have time to sit and chat. That's when I realized that I would be alone in that grey room with the imposing grey machine tightly locked around me! And what would constitute discomfort? Would they stop the test if I felt as if I couldn't breathe and wanted to get out as quickly as possible? Should I squeeze the bulb if my leg went into spasms? I guess I should have asked, but I was, for once in my life, speechless! They tested the machine - not so much to see if it was working, but to give me a chance to experience the sensation of being inside it, having it move around me and having it make noises as it sliced my body into nice, neat photographs. Then they stopped the machine and brought me out to make me think that it would be easy! See? I had nothing to fear! But I am skeptical and I feared the worst.

"Are you ready to begin?" The technician asked me. I heard my voice say, "Yes", but I am sure I didn't say that! The machine was already calling the shots! It was speaking for me! "I'm not ready", I wanted to scream! "I'll never be ready!"

"Okay, then", said the technician from the safety of his 'control' room behind the glass. He started the machine, raising my bed-like thing high off the ground, "I will be able to talk to you through the speakers. So let's get started". Even if I had wanted to I wouldn't have been able to get off the bed now! It was too high! I was stuck! "Whatever you do, don't move", the technician warned me! My life passed before my eyes!

The 'bed' moved me far into the bowels of the machine! I had said, "Yes!" Or at least a voice that sounded like mine had said "Yes". OMG! It was too late! The test was about to start! And just as the machine started to engulf me, I felt a tiny itch on the tip of my nose. It was just a tiny itch. If I could have scratched it, it would have disappeared in a second. But I couldn't move! I couldn't reach it with my hand or any other part of my body. I tried to blow it away, but it just kept on itching! The voice from the speakers said we were going to start! The machine started to grunt and groan and make 'popping' noises. It sounded as if I was caught in the middle of a war zone. Bullets were flying past my head! I couldn't duck them and had to trust that the machine would protect me. Another series of bullets and another set of whirs and groans. And all the time the itch on my nose got worse! My legs started to feel as if they would go into cramps at any time! More bullets! OMG! I think one of the bullets must have hit me! I could feel it in my leg! It was a hot, searing pain. Oh. That's right. This was the pain that I was there to have diagnosed. But my feet started to get cold. Maybe it was a bullet! Was I dead? No, I could still feel that damned itch! The voice started to tell me that the next part of the test would last three and a half minutes. Oh, no! Another itch was starting on my right shoulder! And now there was one on my right hip! The wedge thing under my knees made my legs go to sleep! Was the three minutes not over yet? They seemed to go on forever. How long is three minutes when you are being tortured in a small, dark chamber? It all became clear! This was an alien abduction! They were conducting their tests. I would have to check to make sure they hadn't taken one of my kidneys if this 'test' was ever over! IF! It was going to go on forever! More bullets! More itches! More cramps! I moved my big toe between whirs and groans and bullet blasts. I hoped they wouldn't see me. But they were aliens! They would see everything! I hoped they wouldn't be angry at me for moving and take a few other vital organs while they were at it - as revenge. It was getting hot in my contraption! Had I used up my air supply? I couldn't breathe anymore! The itch on my nose had eaten a huge hole in my face! The cramps in my legs would surely paralyze me for eternity! I thought I couldn't stand it any longer. I would have to squeeze that bulb! But my hand was holding it so tightly that rigor mortise had set in! "Get me out of here", I heard the voices in my head scream! "I can't take any more!" And suddenly there was silence! Was the three and a half minutes over? No! A half hour had passed. No more bullets flying past my head. No more whirring and groaning. The bed was moving. It was moving me out of the machine! I could see the light at the end of the tunnel! "Are you okay?", a voice asked.

"Okay? How could I be okay? I've been shot at, my kidneys have been stolen by aliens, my left hand is numb and my legs are paralyzed! And I have a hole in my face!"
I would never be okay again! But the itch on my nose was gone! Oh, miracle of miracles! The itch was gone! My head was dizzy and I had to get up slowly, but get up I did! I got dressed in record time and made my way to the waiting room, where my dear husband was patiently reading a magazine. I 'ran' for the exit as fast as my gimpy leg and cane could carry me! I was free! I wasn't paralyzed! And I still had my kidneys! And my itch was gone! But I wasn't taking any chances!
"I want to go home as quickly as possible", I said. And that is exactly what we did!

September Beauty!

Meow! My owner made another quilt for me! This one is gorgeous! Look, she spread it out on the loveseat in the solarium, just for me. I love it! This calls for some serious face washing. Meow! Don't want to get the quilt dirty - or do I? No, I guess I'd better not! But now I need to take a nap. Meow!

Ahhhh! There now! That's the ticket! Yawn, love Mimi

Pleasant dreams, Mimi!

Now back to my quilt. I call it "September Beauty". Why, you ask? Good question. I made it as a sample for a beginner quilt class last spring. I think I called it "May Beauty" back then. I was planning on using it to teach a beginner class at Ann's Fabrics, but unfortunately no one was interested in learning to quilt just as the weather was starting to get warmer and it was time to work in the garden. But now there are at least three people signed up for the course and I will be teaching it starting next week. The pattern uses Rail Fence blocks alternated with solid fabric blocks. This course is four weeks long. I don't think that it would be possible to finish a full-size quilt in such a short time. Even I couldn't do that! :-) This one is 59"X47" (120cmX150cm). Without the borders it could be used as a baby quilt or wall hanging. As is, it makes a nice throw for when the weather gets cooler. And yes! It will get cooler - sometime! Although I am not promising anything!

At the Franklin Club

We had dinner at the Franklin Club tonight. Here we are in the clubhouse. I know we are all smiling, but the evening was kind of sad for me. You see, this was our last dinner together. Tomorrow the girls are going back to Japan. It's been a great month! We've had lots of laughs and good times and I know we will have many memories! I came to love these girls as if they were my own daughters! I will miss them. But who knows! Maybe our paths will cross again one day. I want to go to Japan in the future and see the country that turns their children into such wonderful, caring and polite young adults. I want to meet the people who respect each other and their environment. And I want to see all the sights, taste all the foods and experience all the customs that the girls have told me about. Most of all I want to see the cherry blossoms in spring time. One day I will do all that! But for now I wish them a safe journey home. Followed by a lifetime of health and happiness. Best wishes for your future, my Japanese daughters. I will never forget you!

Ten Things You Will Probably Never Hear Me Say!

Yesterday I saw myself in a full-length mirror. I thought it looked as if I had lost some weight. My clothes seemed to hang on me. So today, when I was at the doctor's office, I asked her to weigh me. How incredible is that? I actually looked into a mirror and then asked to be weighed! I don't know what got into me! All that started me thinking about a list of things I would probably never say. So here they are!!!

Ten Things That You Will Probably Never Hear Me Say!

10. Let's leave all the lights on and waste some electricity.

9. Let's join a gym and get some exercise.

8. Oh goody! Another medical test.

7. No Mimi! You cannot sleep on my bed or eat off the kitchen table!

6. No more chocolate for me thanks. I've had enough.

5. Where's the vacuum cleaner. I feel like vacuuming!

4. What? Cake for breakfast? No way! That can't be good for you!

3. No thanks! I already have enough fabric!

2. Is there a full-length mirror around here somewhere? I think I want to look at myself.

1. Does anyone have a scale handy? I want to see how much I weigh.

Niagara Falls

Great Day! Lots of sunshine! High of 25C. Lots of cool water spray from the falls. Look! We're soaking wet! But it was fun. We stayed late to watch them light up the falls with beautiful coloured lights, from the top of the Skylon Tower! Got home late. Happy, but exhausted!

A Delicious Japanese Dinner

Our guests cooked us a traditional Japanese dinner tonight. They found the recipes in a cookbook that I had bought a long time ago. I had never made any of these recipes, because I didn't know where to find all the ingredients. But they went to the St. Lawrence Market this morning and found everything they needed. In the afternoon, we went over to my daughter's place and they cooked up a storm! The menu included Miso soup and Nikujaga, which was a meat and potatoes kind of dish. I was surprised that this would be a traditional meal - it sounded so Canadian, but they assured me that this is something every mother knows how to make. It was delicious! They also cooked up some Tofu Steaks. Very delicious also, especially with the Seven Spice and Soy Sauce. Yummy!

Bounty From the Garden!

There are beautiful ripe red tomatoes and a couple of plants which bear huge, golden fruit, which is especially delicious!
We have been eating lots of fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. It has been a bumper year for tomatoes. I think the weather has been just right. We have never had such a high yield on our plants! We eat tomato sandwiches, tomato salads and tomatoes in just about everything else that we eat! Each day brings another bowl full! They are ripening faster than we can eat them. I think I will be making some tomato sauce soon.

Tuberous Begonias

These begonias provided us with beautiful blooms and colour all summer long. I plan to dig them up and store them for next year as soon as we have our first frost. But it is still hot and humid out! And fall seems like a long way off.

Art Exhibition in the Distillery District

It is always interesting to see an art exhibition, but this one was especially good because my daughter knew the artist, Lillan Rosendal. She is on the right and is known for her exquisite watercolour paintings! The show was held down in the Distillery District.

This area had originally been the brewery of the Gooderham and Worts Company. Since 1837 they produced whiskey and beer, making it the largest distillery in the British Empire at that time. Gooderham and Worts closed its doors around 1990, after 170 years of business. The area was later restored and today it is the only pedestrian village within our city. The forty plus buildings house various galleries, artists' studios and workshops, restaurants and boutiques. It is said to be the best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America.

We decided to stay in the District and have dinner at one of the outdoor cafes after the art show closed. This is the first time I had been down to this area and I was pleasantly surprised. The whole place had a very European feeling about it - probably due to the old stone buildings, cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes.

Special events like festivals, art shows and musical performances are held here throughout the summer months. I plan to return next summer and will make note of some of the interesting happenings taking place then.

My Amigurumi Menagerie

Cute, aren't they? I made them from the books Keiko sent me. All the instructions are in Japanese, but I have no trouble 'reading' the graphs. These little critters were a lot of fun to make.

Who was Here First?

Canada is a mosaic of peoples. We come from every corner of the world. We speak every language, worship every religion and practice every culture. But what about the people who called this land home long before the first 'white men' came? Our aboriginal peoples. We decided to visit Petroglyphs Provincial Park today. This is a very special park. Here native culture is evident in the form of rock carvings. This site is considered profoundly sacred by Aboriginal people. They use this area to pray, fast and conduct ceremonies. These rocks are thought of as a living body, possessed with spirit. We could actually feel the spirits as we entered the building that has been erected to protect the rock carvings from acid rain and other erosion. We took no photos because the Native peoples have asked that visitors not take photos while at the site since this would weaken the spiritual powers of the rocks. After a visit to the rock site and a short walk to a newly built visitor centre to learn more about about the park, we had a picnic lunch.
On our way to the picnic area, we passed a beaver lodge in a pond beside the road. No beavers were visible at that moment, but we did have other nature sightings. A white-tailed deer walked out in front of our car as we made our way to the picnic grounds. He quickly went back into the forest when he saw us. But soon we came across another young buck, eating the low green vegetation. He was much more friendly and posed for us, so I was able to get a photo of him. Cute, eh?
We also encountered some red squirrels who were not happy that we decided to sit at a picnic table in their 'backyard'. They chattered at us as we ate and one even went so far as to climb to the highest branches of a tall pine tree and throw pine cones at us! Needless to say, we didn't stay long! All in all it was a worthwhile and interesting day. On our way home, we decided to go out to a Japanese restaurant for sushi.
We went to Little Tokyo and ordered the bento boxes. There was way too much food, so we put it into containers and brought it home with us. We will eat sushi for breakfast tomorrow morning! It doesn't get much better than that, folks! From a native spiritual world to a restaurant serving sushi - we came a long way today.

A Few Hours at Rouge Beach

It's amazing how a few hours of nature's solitude has the ability to rejuvenate us. We spend the morning at Rouge Beach. There were only a few people there, even though the weather was hot and sunny. It was very quiet and peaceful on the beach. We all welcomed the silence to re-energize ourselves. A group of sailboats floated on the lake in front of us. The only sounds were those of the waves, washing up onto the sand. Occasionally a gull would screech, as gulls often do to tell each other the latest news. A gaggle of geese flew low over the water. They glided in on air currents and made a few short goose sounds before landing a short distance away. Happy children's voices could be heard from the water's edge as they tried to outrun the waves. Some regal swans swam amongst the reeds in the wetlands and a tall, white heron flew to within a few feet of us to feed on the tiny fish along the water's edge. Fishermen were everywhere, trying to catch that one big salmon or trout of the summer! The only sound that brought us back to reality was that of the occasional train as it raced across the rails high above us - off to Oshawa, Kingston or Montreal! We could only imagine! Everything was peaceful and soon we were all dozing in the shade of a few huge willow trees. After a couple of hours of relaxation we were rested, energized and ready to take on the world! But we were also hungry! So it was off to McDonald's for lunch. Nature at our doorstep and fast food only minutes away. Wow! Canada - what a country!

A Conversation With Mimi

Me - "Hi Mimi."

Mimi - "Meow! (Yawn!) You woke me up!"

Me - "I know. I know. I just wanted to tell you that I had a CAT scan done yesterday at the hospital."

Mimi - "A CAT scan? What is that? I'm a cat. I could have done it for you!"

Me - "It's not what you think it is, Mimi. But thanks for offering. It stands for Computed Axial Tomography - CAT or CT. With this test, hopefully the doctors will be able to find out what is wrong with my back and why me leg hurts so much."

Mimi - "Doctors, Shmoctors! Why do you waste your time with them? You would be better off licking whatever hurts. That's what I do and it works! What can a doctor do that is better than that? The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."

Me - "Oh, Mimi! That's very Voltaire of you!"

Mimi - "Who?"

Me - "Voltaire - He was a French writer and philosopher in the early 1700's. He was very smart and witty! You just quoted him!"

Mimi - "Meow! I did? Oh! Smart and witty? A philosopher? Well I guess two great minds think alike! Now can I get back to my favourite spot in the solarium? You are cutting into my nap time, you know."

Me - "Okay, my sweet kitten. Nice talking to you. Happy dreams!"

Two Flowers Among Many!

We took a drive downtown today to check out the location of the ELS school and other tourist sites. It was nice and quiet downtown because today is a holiday - Simcoe Day. No traffic and very few pedestrians. We ended up at Allen Gardens. The flowers there were magnificent!

Ribfest!

We took our Japanese daughters to ribfest today. It was sort of embarrassing - kind of like a big redneck party - no place to park - lots of food - lots of beer - loud country music - people dancing and singing in the aisles - games - rides - too many people and too many baby strollers. What more could anyone ask for? Oh, well. At least I didn't have to cook tonight!