Red Cedar

Spring continues to unfold around here. Daffodils, crocus, and the arrival of our bare-root fruit trees!

Last summer, Brian and I cleared a fairly large spot on one side of our property. It started when I recognized that the ocean spray (a beautiful native plant, also known as ironwood) had got out of hand to the degree that it was pushing the fence in front of our place over. Fences here are necessary to keeping the deer from destroying everything, so I began clipping and sawing and pulling. Pretty soon, Brian came to help me and he got really zealous about it. Turns out, he didn’t like the look of the overgrowth at the front of our place – and he really wanted some space for fruit trees. Within a week he had cleared it right to the ground. After that we got our machine guy to come and pull up the stumps and then we filled the whole thing with ten yards of garden soil which we supplemented by burying a bunch of guts and heads from the fish I processed at the end of summer.

We had hoped to plant trees in the fall, but I was a bit late to the party and got an order in for the spring. In the meantime I did plant some raspberries along the fence which are showing some signs of having rooted. There is already a single self-pollinating cherry tree on the boundary of this space, and by this weekend it will be joined by a couple of dwarf apples (gala and fuji), a multi-grafted plum and another cherry tree of a variety I can’t recall. We also took a gamble and ordered a fruit salad and a fruit cocktail tree to plant along the sunny wall of our house. These are multi-grafts with apricots, nectarines, peaches, and plums on them. I’m skeptical about these trees because I don’t think we have a warm enough climate for them (we are planting them in the most sheltered, warmest spot to compensate) but also because I haven’t been able to find any pictures of these trees in a mature state on the Internet, which makes me think they are a bit of a gimmick. I’m just approaching it as an experiment for $150. Will let you all know how it goes. The final tree I purchased is an espaliered multi-grafted apple which I want to plan on the outside of our fence where we have a big boulevard and lots of sun. The trick there will be putting some wire fencing up to keep the deer away, but if it works, I would love to put a couple more espaliered fruits in there next year.

It will be a few years before we get any harvest, but long-term commitments like fruit trees are a sign that we are fully settled into living on this island and in this home. Though we occasionally toy with communal living projects involving friends, so far nothing has really made a lot of sense to us, and we aren’t the kind of people to move simply for the “upgrade” in house or yard (especially after installing a sauna, and a songwriting studio!) So we’re definitively here, coming up on six years and not planning to leave anytime soon (this week is not only the covid-aversary but also the anniversary of closing the paperwork on the purchase of this house).

The last few days have gone by in a bit of a blur of work and I don’t even know what else. I got some workouts in, ran a couple of times, made some dinners. My workouts have been pretty intense lately so I’ve been sore a lot. I hope that means I’m growing more muscle (I’m pretty sure it does since my muscle definition continues to increase). Brian and I continue to talk about small add-ons for the home gym, and even though we are talking about going back to the local fitness center once we are vaccinated, we both prefer working out in the garage most of the time (I love going barefoot, cranking the tunes, and having the equipment all to myself).

In my union life this week I took a bit step back from my 20-year role as a union shop steward and let folks know that I’m not taking on any new cases. There were a lot of factors in that decision. The main one of course is succession planning, as I’m not going to be around forever and I need to get folks trained up to take over in the next few years. Truth be told though, I’ve also been feeling a bit exhausted with it all lately – underappreciated (by members and managers who I troubleshoot a lot of problems for), overworked, and a bit cynical about the process. Rather than get bitter I realized that it was time for a change, a turn towards mentorship and the bigger picture which I will continue to fulfill through my role as local president over the next two years. I have a few cases left on my docket, but once those are finished (or transferred to someone else) I will have a lot of my attention freed up for other things.

And that’s the week plus some sewing and violin-playing time! I look forward to outdoor gatherings around a fire in the very near future now that the health orders have changed, and am crossing my fingers that whole-community vaccination comes to us sooner rather than later. If you are subscribed to Comfort for the Apocalypse you’ll hear more from me later this weekend.

Despite the fact I have a decent job, returning to it after a few days off is always a bit of drag. There are just so many other things I would rather be doing than my job! And yet I am grateful to have had the time off last week to do some of them – play music, write, go for runs and hikes, and so on. I even got in some snowshoeing at Mt. Washington.

This week has been all back to business though with a full and busy week of work. I am nearing the end of my months-long staffing processes and pretty soon nine people will have permanent positions on our team. My process was also used by several other government departments to staff their teams (which is sort of not cool because it’s considered poaching from my process, but on the other hand it means that about 15 people are getting indeterminate positions out of a single process and that is for the greater good). Next week I have to spend a couple of days wrapping up the paperwork and then I am officially done with that.

I’ve been working on learning French for the last month, related to some workplace discussions about managerial ability and how I am hampered in moving up by having almost no second language skills. I’m not sure if it will go anywhere (like to full-time French language training), but I have been having fun testing my terrible French and taking online lessons lately. According to my progress map, I am almost graduated from “Entry” level to “Beginner”. From what I can tell, I have already surpassed everything I learned in high school French, with the exception of some more advanced verb conjugation. Since it’s work-related learning I mostly fit it into my work day, though I sometimes do a bit of practice quizzing on weekends to keep up.

It’s starting to feel like spring around here as evidenced by two things – I always cut my carbs way back around this time of year, and I want to sew all the new clothes for the season! This year, my desire to sew is fueled by the fact that I had to retire a lot of clothing last summer due to changes in my body size and shape – and now I have a small and not-very-fun wardrobe. Even though the temperatures have not moved beyond winter, the appearance of intermittent sunshine (not to mention crocus, rhubarb, and garlic shoots) are a reminder that I will want some new seasonal clothes soon. I started sewing a linen a-line dress this week, to be followed by a pair of mid-weight cotton culottes, and then we will see what comes next. I’ve been in a real sewing slump for a few months, and it feels good to have my interest piqued again, even if it is hard to find the time to get it done!

Of course I’m writing lots, pleased to have a daily practice back again, and Comfort for the Apocalypse up and running again with some regularity. I would like to find the time to delve into some of my essay subjects with more thoroughness but I have a lot of interests (and work takes up a third of my day) so I feel held back by that. Musically, I am practicing quite a lot these days and working on some stuff for Brian’s new album. I have a composition in the works, but as I put time into it I’m starting to hate it. Instead of becoming shinier, it feels dull – but I suppose that is part of the process. Mostly I’m learning about writing music and how to use notation software and I’m in the time-consuming phase of trying to figure it all out. I hope that once I find a process that works for me, it won’t be quite as painful.

I’m feeling really ready for a shift in the seasons, not to mention the vaccine roll-out to take hold. As much as I’ve been grooving on the home gym these last few months, I could use a bit more fitness sociality in the form of in-person classes and lifting weights with others at least sometimes. I am also looking forward to slightly-warmer weather for running. This past week I didn’t get my runners on once, and a lot of that had to do with feeling chilled all the time. At least that’s been my excuse. Will try to hit the road again this weekend and get at least a few kilometers of run-time in. Am also looking for any early opportunities to get the kayak in the water – even just for a paddle in the neighbourhood. Restless might best describe my state of mind right now!

But another weekend does lie ahead and with it the promise of some lying in and reading time, not to mention a walk with one friend and a run with another – I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone off screen this week, come to think of it. (And speaking of quarantine… I just noted that a year ago today was the last time I set foot in Vancouver – how I miss my city and its food!)

This week was *much* better than last; I made it to the finish line on some work stuff and my union AGM which was yesterday. Now I’m on holidays for the next week!

But to recap in a bit more detail – last week started with my birthday on Monday and a lot of pain in my left shoulder. I had chosen to work on the day, and so was feeling pretty sorry for myself – in pain, working, feeling every bit my 48 years as I plodded through the staffing paperwork, project work and so on. Pretty much all week I struggled a bit with the shoulder and feelings of overwork, and so I ended up taking a bit step back from exercise (down to two weight workouts and one run), spent more time in the sauna, and booked myself a massage. I was exhausted all week, but doing the right things to take care of that. Getting snowed in Saturday/Sunday only helped because it gave me the excuse to do little except read, sauna, write and hang out at the house.

So I started this week out with a lot more in the tank even though I knew it would be heavy work and unionwise (which it was – every day this week was full on). I still got overwhelmed at certain points, but my weight lifting and running came back online and I’ve so far done 2 runs and 3 strength workouts (1 more of those this afternoon), though I did notice yesterday how much stress was diminishing my heavy lifts.

Besides overwork, my stress these last couple of weeks has been mostly related to preparations for my union AGM which happened yesterday at lunch hour. There is quite a bit to get through at these meetings, budget to pass, finances to account for, elections and so on – and doing it all online makes it extra stressful (not the least of which because the polling function disappeared from the meeting yesterday and I had to ask people to vote by selecting the appropriate emoticon – thumbs up for yes, frowny face for no). I did run for one more term of office as president out of a sense of obligation, but let people know that it would be my last term and I’m going to spend the next two years training up our next president and transitioning out. I also said goodbye to a longtime exec member who retired yesterday which felt weird to do without the traditional presentation of the gift and party. Fingers crossed that by the time I step down, we can go out for drinks to celebrate my liberation!

Now that’s over, I have to get back to my more interesting focal areas – writing, playing music, and so on. I am mid-way through my essay for next Friday’s Comfort for the Apocalypse, and have some new pieces of music that I am learning to play. Because I have so much stuff I want to do right now (plus some household stuff I have to catch up on), a week off doesn’t feel like nearly enough time to get it all done, plus spend time relaxing!

Food lately has been so utilitarian. Neither Brian or I has felt much interest in cooking so I don’t have much to share on that front. Tonight we are doing a seafood pasta though, and I’m making a cardamom orange cake for dessert – it feels very fancy after a week of carrot soup and quinoa salads for dinner. I’m hoping to get some pressure canning done in the week coming up – last weekend I did can a ton of pinto beans which means refried beans for the next two years or so. Next up Brian has asked for maple-baked beans, which make for a great bbq side in the summertime. I’m also thinking of doing another round of soup – maybe chicken or beef vegetable base – it’s so great to have ready-meals on hand during weeks like the ones we just had where work sapped all our energy for cooking.

Brian is working part of next week and then we are taking a couple of days off together to recharge. He’s been pretty swamped lately also. Awhile ago someone asked why I would bother taking time off work when I can’t go anywhere. The person who asked is retired, so I think they forgot that work is depleting! Staycation is the most satisfying to me since my happy/relaxed place is when I have free time to write, read, play music or sew. International travel isn’t something we do, and I don’t feel the need to get away the way I did when I lived in the city.

Feeling a big sigh of relief and gratitude wash through me as I look forward to some “down” time 🙂

After a really sparky/energetic last week, this one turned out to be a bit difficult on a number of fronts and I am burnt out. Union people are angry, work is piling up, and a really good dog-friend died on Tuesday. It’s left me all a little bit fried. So instead of telling you all about that I’ll just share this video that my neighbours and I made last week – socially distanced (we recorded the music on separate tracks in our own homes).

I’ve got another few difficult workload days to get through, culminating in my union AGM next Thursday and then I am taking a week off. I am looking forward to that greatly. This time of year is a bit of a drag at the best of times, moody weather and government year-end combined, and quarantine is not the best of times!

My birthday is on Monday and I will be forty-eight years old. Brian and I are the same age from February until May, when he turns forty-nine which is only one year away from fifty. This week also marks my work anniversary of twenty-three years. I haven’t had exactly the same job all this time, but I have worked in the same field (Communications) for the same organization for almost half of my lifetime. By the time I turn fifty, I will be able to say half. Half of my lifetime will have been spent at one desk or another, in front of a screen, telling things to people about fish and fisheries or managing projects intended to distribute information about the same.

I’ve been thinking about my age this week, not because of my birthday, but because I’ve been asked more than once in the last few months if I want to learn French to advance my career. In the federal government, once you get to a certain level, no matter how well you do your job you must be bilingual to go further. I am fully qualified as a manager, for example, and yet I cannot be a manager without learning French because I would be responsible for managing people in a bilingual environment, where everyone has the right to work in the official language of their choice. Even in my work life now, I go to meetings where I don’t quite understand my colleagues because they speak too fast for my slow-French ear to pick up. Over the years I’ve tried to get language training, but it was never deemed a priority. Now that I’m senior in my career, it has become one and I wonder if I’m too old to become fluent in a second language, enough to pass the written/oral/comprehension tests within a year or so. It would require a lot of focus, for sure.

At the same time, I’ve been working through some music composition practice, and reflecting on music as just another language. Notes are, like words, abstract representations of a thought and there are rules about how those thoughts are put on the page. Because music is a language I learned from my earliest years, I can read a musical score just as I read a book. I pick up the music sheet, and “hear” the notes as I my eyes take them in. Sometimes music is too complicated for me to do this with, just as some academic texts are too difficult for me to comprehend. But it is all the same to me whether I pick up a book or a musical score – I understand what the author/composer is trying to convey. There is a part of me that hopes this language fluency between English and Music means that part of my brain is turned on and accessible for other forms of language learning.

Since the start of the year I’ve been in a really inquisitive phase. I am writing again, reading with great intensity, learning how to use musical notation software, and investigating approaches to language acquisition. I’m thinking about joining an academic seminar this spring, attending weekly Zen lectures, and listening to a wide range of violin music whenever I get the chance. I feel a bit like I did a few years ago when I started my Masters degree and had to read 35 books in a couple of months; taking in information from a variety of sources fuels my creativity in new and unexpected ways and creates a little buzz of excitement around learning and doing more! Though it’s not sustainable to remain in this state over the long term (in order to really focus on something, you need to pare back to do that thing well for awhile), in the short term it’s all kinds of interesting creative energy and that feels like the counterbalance I need to the winter/pandemic time we are living in.

As a result of all the thinking, reading, playing music, and writing – I haven’t been doing any sewing or weaving lately – and I’m choosing to be okay with that. It’s not for lack of desire, but there is only so much time in any week and there is very little “extra” time in my life. One thing I do continue to prioritize is workouts and runs. Not only do I need the exercise, but I am pretty sure that a part of what fuels all this energy and confidence is my powerlifting and fitness progress. I haven’t had any big gym gains lately, but I do notice small changes in strength and agility that I’m quite pleased with quite often. The Stronger by the Day program continues to deliver really great workouts that give me new challenges weekly while still maintaining a focus on the powerlifts. I’m really glad I signed up for that in December, as it’s put new fuel into my workouts and I have a very solid 4 day per week lifting commitment now (up from 3 days per week).

I look forward to birthday festivities this weekend, and especially cake! An old university friend moved into our neighbourhood last February and has started a baked goods business. We’ve been on his list for free treats as he’s been experimenting with recipes – and finally, have had a reason to put in a custom order. If you are on Gabriola, check out B’s Baked Goods – currently selling through Robert’s Place, and (soon) the Farmer’s Market. He also does custom orders and catering. I’ll let you know how the cake was during my next update here. Until then – have a good weekend all!