Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Post #2029: Foolproof fruit
Stone fruit season came early to BC this year – cherries! nectarines! peaches! apricots (and soon, plums too ). Now, I know that we all dream of the canned fruit the way your grandmother or father used to make (it was my grandpa who did all the canning) – the perfectly sliced peaches and apricot halves floating in golden sugar-syrup, ready to be doled out after dinner as a dessert…. but I just don’t can that way (or use fruit as a snack). In fact, I try to do as little as possible when it comes to putting up for the winter – and that means no perfectly sliced or pitted peaches. When it comes to fruit that can easily be stirred into plain yogurt or oatmeal, and sometimes added to pancake batter – it really doesn’t matter what it looks like – it just has to taste like fruit (not sugar) and come in bite-sized chunks. What follows is my foolproof fruit recipe – I use this every year to put up enough for a jar per week in the winter. Yesterday I put up 40 of those jars which means I’ve got some more work to do in the near future (applesauce probably, perhaps some kind of plummy jam). You can adjust this to the actual amounts you might use:
2o pounds nectarines or peaches
2 cups of water
2 cups of honey (or more to taste)
spices (I use about 15 anise stars for the nectarines, 10 small cinnamon sticks for the peaches)
Wash and rough chop fruit, leaving peel on (discard the pits) . Throw it into a big (very big) pot with the honey, water and spice – bring to a boil on medium temperature, stirring every once and awhile. Ladle into jars and process (12 minutes for 1/2 pints, 20 minutes for pints). This recipe will make 12 1/2 pints plus 8-12 pints (depending on how much fruit comes off the pit) – so plan on two full canner batches.
And voila! Much fruit to put by without too much effort – it’s even better when your partner cuts the fruit for you beforehand (thanks Brian!)
Post #2028: A simple woodshed and a shower in the woods
This week at the cabin has seen much work – a woodshed (mostly) finished this morning, a bunch of trail (and beach) building, a wash station set-up for our outhouse, and a small shower platform in the woods. The woodshed above represents the first time that Brian and I have successfully worked on a building project without arguing – *and* ended up with a finished project that is level, mostly square, and won’t fall apart in six months. I am fairly thrilled by this fact alone and we’re already talking about whether or not we could build a small bunkhouse (100 square feet or less) on our platform behind the cabin. Not this year of course, but maybe next? We’ll see.
Post #2027: Arrival at a conclusion
We have now been at the cabin-in-progress for four days, with another three ahead of us before we return to Vancouver. This is the longest stretch we have spent on this property in one go.
Each day I have meditated, jogged, kayaked, walked, worked on the property, and gone swimming. This afternoon I spent the two hottest hours of the day at a swimming hole created by Brian and our friend Will – thus giving us a “private” beach covered in lovely native grasses, solomon’s seal, and wild mint (photo above). Also, I have seen water snakes, frogs, osprey flying overhead, deer, rabbits, and many signs of other animals since we have been here.
In the last year I have sometimes wondered if the cabin project is worth it, worth going back to work full time to pay for it, worth giving up other experiences for. After floating around on the lake with our friends this afternoon, another fabulous meal, another day of watching the sun go down over the hill – I can honestly say yes. Yes, it is worth it and all the work ahead will be worth it too. We have been incredibly lucky to find this place within reach of the city at a price we could afford. Each moment we spend here is a taste of more to come – and in particular I look forward to more time with friends in this place.
It is quiet at the moment, with friends gone to bed, or out fishing – and I am grateful for that also. A moment to myself in the evening hum of crickets, birds, and the odd passing car on the main road.
Post #2026: More knittery
Enough about me – here’s a quick post about what I’ve been knitting in the middle of the heatwave – worsted weight hats! Cause, you know, nothing says summer like wool crafts.
Seriously though – I am enjoying this first experience of knitting in the round. Thanks again to Tin Can Knits for the Barley pattern. The first version of this (above) I missed the instruction that said to switch to double-points on the decreases and couldn’t figure out why it was so hard to finish 🙂 I am currently working on a second version, and have to the appropriate DPNs for it, but have now dropped two stitches that need fixing before I continue.
Oh well, live and learn. The Yarn is Sweet Georgia, mostly from Party of Five (Rusted) which I ordered in the wrong weight for another project (the fingering weight version should arrive today via Canada Post) plus some leftover from my last scarf project – this worked out perfectly because now I’ll have a hat to go with the Reverb shawl I’ve got planned, as well as one to go with the Wheat Scarf which I’m thinking will become a Christmas gift.
We’re heading out to the cabin this afternoon and I’ve got four knitting/crochet projects in my bag. We’re only going up there for a week, but I’ve got supplies to make things for a month! I pretty much only want to swim, knit, and read for the next eight days.
Post #2025: Discovering a new quirk
I’m having a profound-realization day since discovering that there is actually a condition know as Reverse Seasonal Affective or Summer-onset Seasonal Affective Disorder.
A few years ago, I identified a particular kind of cyclic mood issue that seemed to show up mostly in August, and carry through until September – hallmarked by extreme anxiety and even thoughts of suicide (I stress here – thoughts! not actions) that always seem completely incongruous to everyone else’s great summertime joy. Because it generally came on towards the end of summer, I always thought it had something to do with seasonal transition, some childhood trauma issue about school starting or the end of time at the lake – who knows.
But this year, Vancouver’s summer was early and June has been unseasonably hot (July temperatures), and I have found myself increasingly agitated, anxious, and upset for no discernible material reason. Yesterday (spent at home in East Van where temperatures were in the mid-thirties) I experienced a spike in those feelings that left me miserable for most of the late afternoon and evening. Because it was so acute (up until yesterday the symptoms have been just a bit there) it was easy to identify as identical to the pattern I normally experience later in the summer – leading to an ah ha! moment. What if my cyclical depressive/anxious episodes were more linked to the days of sunlight and heat than to a particular month or stage of summer? And what if then summer came a month early as it did in Vancouver this year (normally June is off and on which means that July is the first month of all sun. This year June was been blistering hot with almost no rain.)
So this morning after a long meditation, I Googled and discovered that not only is there a summer-version of SAD, but it is characterized by extreme anxiety (versus winter SAD which has a main symptom of lethargy). In fact, pretty much every symptom listed for summer SAD (except the weight loss dammit) is one that I experience to greater or lesser degree after about a month of true summer. I also have the genetic predisposition (family members with major mood disorders), and a lessening of emotional symptoms when I spend time in cool places (like my air conditioned office).
Issues with Internet self-diagnosis aside, I am pretty sure that this is the root of my emotional stress in the warmer months and I feel oddly better to know that there is a diagnosis for this quirk of mine. The worst part about this has been feeling out of sync with everyone else and not knowing why. Turns out that only about 1% of the population gets summer SAD (compared with 5% for the winter version), making it pretty rare, and also meaning that many people who have it don’t realize that they have something a bit more diagnosable than “summertime blues”. Unfortunately there isn’t a ton of treatment options except medication, nor is this a well-understood phenomena. For my part, knowing that this is *something* at least gives me some ground to work with in my self-care and meditation practices.
I’m interested to hear from others out there who might have some experience with this and what works for you in dealing with it? At the very least your experience might help me feel less freak-like 🙂
Red Cedar 