Summer Tales...Gardening and Harvest

There was a child went forth everyday, 

And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, 

And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, 

Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. 

The early lilacs became part of this child, 

And grass and white and red morning glories, and whte and red clover, 

and the song of the phoebe bird, 

And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink - faint litter, 

and the mare's foal and the cow's calf...

-Walt Whitman-

Gardening is an important part of my upbringing.  Digging in the soil shaped my character. As a child I understood where my food came from and the hard work, skill (and sometimes luck) that it took to get the food to my plate. My family did not farm but I grew up in a farming culture and shared in their toil and labours via our large family garden. Watching things grow still excites me.  I am passionate about giving my children the opportunity to experience their natural world so I painfully drag the whole family outdoors in the chilly spring for a healthy session of digging, mulching and seeding in our backyard.  

Ling Family Garden 2011: 

Su Yee, Auntie Kelly, and Kevin turned the soil and planted our little garden this spring.

Before we knew it the plants had sprouted...

Yellow Zuchinni Squash! A couple more weeks and we were grilling this on the barbeque. 

 The strawberries were a hit with Su Yee as they were readily available to pick in the patio pots. It took some convincing to get her to wait until they were truly red before she plucked them off! She would wander out into the backyard on her own to check the "beh-wies" often bringing in the green ones too :)

Spring...Flowering chives

The Hardy Kiwi vines finally produced a ton of tiny berries this year. 

They are fussy plants that need lots of attention which I never have time for so I have never seen berries. 

This was pure luck...warm weather, water, bees perhaps but not because of my help.

 The berries taste just like kiwi's once fully ripe. 

The raspberries produced a HUGE crop this year. It produced fruit right into September on canes over 6 ft tall. Su Yee and BaBa regulary went missing at breakfast and were found in the raspberry patch eating just as many as they were picking. 

 I love the birds that visit our little garden. This bluejay eluded me for three days. 

I could hear him but never caught sight of him. Finally a picture...even if it is a bit fuzzy.

 Favorite summer time friends...Dragon flies! 

They are the fastest most fearsome mosquitoe hunters in the wildwest. 

We had huge swarms of dragon flies in the yard this year...yes this is code for a ton of mosquitoes!

Before we knew it everything was ready to harvest. 

Su Yee loved discovering things to eat in the garden. I hope this will someday translate into an intimate respect and knowledge of how food is grown and arrives on her plate. 

  Sand cherries were so sweet we could eat them right off the bushes. 

 Su Yee loved to pick and eat the cherries. 

Thankfully she is old enough to remember to spit out the pits! 

 Tea time..Mint, Spearmint and Lemon Balm

 Kevin planted our tiny apple tree just last year. This summer the boughs were full of delicous apples.

Su Yee really loved exploring and finding all the treasures in the garden!

 Pure joy...seeing our daughter smile with accomplishment after picking an apple for her snack! (Hmm...that is one messy cherry face!)

Summer Tales....GNomeo, GNomeo Where For Art Thou?

This is Norman the Neighborhood Travelocity Gnome

He arrived to our address in the dead of night. How surprised we were to find him, at 5 am, on our doorstep looking longingly out across our street. It is not everyday that you find a Gnome on your doorstep. 

The most perplexing thing about Norman's arrival is that the night before I had been telling a girlfriend that I found gnomes (especially the garden variety) to be a little disturbing. My grandparents had garden gnomes in their garden and as a child I thought they were really looking at me with those beady little eyes. I had also (a week prior) watched the children's movie Gnomeo and Juilette with Su Yee, which confirmed my suspicions that they were indeed watching me. Add up all of my childhood fears, the movie, and the fact that I was superduper tired and you would understand why I greeted our guest by  slamming the front door, screaming "it's a GNOME, a GNOME" down the hallway waking up my poor husband to come and save me from this small intruder.  Further to this, we live beside a public walkway and have endured fartbombs in our mailbox, knockknock ginger, and other "practical jokes" for the last ten years. I have been left just slightly spooked by all the stuff that we put up with on a regular basis. The first thing I did was look for the hidden camera....there was none. 

Turns out that Norman is a true Travelocity Gnome. His travel goal written nicely on a laminated tag on his ankle. He was to travel down our block between houses 100 - 144; preferably changing locations under the cover of darkness. 

Norman and I had a heart to heart over coffee in the backyard so that I could face my fear head on. It was agreed that he would hang around for a little while and travel with our family this summer. Su Yee liked Norman right away calling him "Gnomeo" instead of Norman.

Norman went to the lake. 

He experienced the lake culture of sunny mornings and rainy afternoons and survived the hailstorm outside (just a few paint chips!). 

Every now and then Norman would join us for a movie. His favorite movie quickly became Gnomeo and Juilette for obvious reasons...

 ....she is such a beautiful Red!

His stay with our family was extended but hopefully we showed Norman some good western hospitality. He made new friends at our house who will certainly miss him.

Kiss, kiss, hug, hug...Goodbye!  

That night very late Norman left us for another adventure a few doorsteps away.
He will be dearly missed by all!

Summer Tales...AUGUST 2011: Higher, lower and NO!

One of the only questions that Su Yee answered in the affirmative all summer was to do with swinging. 

MaMa: Do you want to go higher or lower?

Su Yee: HIGHER, Yah, willy HIGHER!

Hmmm, Patrick is 6 ft tall and she is over his head...I think that is plenty high for a baby swing!

1st Tetter-totter ride...I think she liked it! 

Higher or lower? HIGHER!

"No" was Su Yee's favorite word this summer. Almost all the questions are first answered with healthy NOOoooo...followed by a pause to really think about what we (the adults) were asking. Patrick once tried to fetch out whether she was really listening or just reflexively answering "NO". He asked a string of questions to which she responded "NO" ... except for the last question;
BaBa: Do you like to say "NO"?
Su Yee: "YES"!  with a big smile and a giggle. 

This picture is noteworthy only because she was so terrified of the water when we first met. Now she no longer wants MaMa's help or reassurance and happily swam by herself. We will need to enroll in swimming lessons soon! 

Our little fish...just don't get her eye's wet! :)

I wished I had recorded her buying her first treat at the lake all by herself. She is very good at remembering the stepwise instruction...pick out the sucker, remove the dollar from pocket, place it on the counter, look up at the clerk expectantly with those beautiful dark eyes. She was so serious! She took the change put it in her pocket and said thank you to the clerk. She is working so hard at being like the grown ups she hangs around with! 

Summer Tales...See Y'all Later

We have known our dear friends Murray and Sherri for a long time.

Quite awhile ago we used to get together for prayer and fellowship on a weekly(ish) basis. This made for a special kind of friendship; one that has a pretty firm foundation. Now we wait all year to see them for a few short hours! Murray attained a professor position at the University of North Texas so they are a long way from "home". We are blessed that Murray's job brings him back to Canada to do research each year and that they still have a ton of family in this neck of the woods.






What I love about our visits is that the conversation just kind of picks up where we left off each year despite the great distance and time that could easily divide us. Much has changed in each of our families lives but some things have remained the same...like Murray's undying love for the CFL (especially those Roughriders!) and that after taking a big break, Sherri is restarting her sewing business August Blues Slipcover Studio. Sherri is a very gifted craftsman (or craftswoman)! I simply miss the company of these two terribly during the year.

They now have two beautiful boys who during their visit enjoy playing with Kevin's old stash of cars.




















This year's visit was blessed with lovely weather, lunch outdoors and a ride in Patrick's old car...1967 RS Camaro.

These little guys were pretty thrilled to get a ride in our old red car with it's big rumbling engine. 

I am already looking forward to our visit with Murray and Sherri next year. Until then it's a simple "See y'all later - eh!"

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival 

中秋节

"Then we thank the moon for bringing us together and send it our secret wishes....this night of the mid-autumn moon festival" - Grace Lin-

We quietly celebrated the Moon Festival early so that Patrick's parents Hai Piao and Peng Jan could be present.
 


Family time that evening included a homemade supper followed by some time at the park to swing and slide. Even Jan got in on the fun and had a "swinging" good time! 

Once home, Su Yee dressed in her special clothes and new Jade pendant (gift from Nie Nie and YeYe) and helped us all read Grace Lin's book "Thanking the Moon Celebrating Mid-Autumn Moon Festival".  

MaMa prepared the round cups of tea and set out the Mooncakes that Nie Nie and YeYe brought from Toronto. 

Eating mooncakes, sharing family time, expressing gratitude, and admiring the full round moon at harvest time are all part of Hakka tradition for the moonfestival. (http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/middle-autumn-festival-custom.htm)

 Jan can also remember setting free floating lanterns as part of her family traditions.  I hope to encorporate lanterns into our future celebrations once Su Yee is a bit older. In honour of Hai Piao's longstanding love for martial arts ( a former Tai chi and WuShu Kung Fu master) we ended our adult family time off by watching a Jackie Chan movie! Quality time for sure! 

I love Grace Lin's "Thanking the Moon" book. It has helped me to quickly understand the significance of this holiday to chinese families and distilled down the tradition so that it is manageable for our North American lives. I still have a lot to learn about chinese customs and cultural practices but I am thankful that Patrick's family is there to help. Someday I hope to have a big picnic inviting our family and friends, setting up glowing and floating lanterns, eating mooncakes and pomelo's, reciting some chinese poetry or song, and admiring the fullness of the autumn moon. Until that day I will cherish the time we had just to stop for a moment, give thanks for our blessings and enjoy some quiet time with family over a hot cup of tea and sweet mooncakes.

Summer Tales...Shoes to "Mig"

Couldn't resist posting this one as she does this quite often and thinks it is very funny. No coaxing necessary...BaBa and MaMa's shoes are simply irresistable!

MaMa: Su Yee what are you wearing?

Su Yee: "hoo's!"

MaMa: Are they too small, too big or just right?

Su Yee: "Too MIG!"...followed with a shuffle and a giggle :)

Summer Tales...JULY: HAILellujha we survived!

This July we had hoped to spend ten days at our cabin in Prince Albert National Park. Our weather for Day 1 was cloudy, hot and muggy with the usual predicted thundershower later in the evening. Our first clue that something was amiss should have been that we enjoyed a wonderful meal outdoors...bug free? Not a single mosquito, horsefly, or wasp joined us for dinner on our back deck. The air was warm and still. Somehow the bugs must just know when to take cover. We wish we were just as smart! Around 7 pm the epic storm hit. Winds blew violently, a flash flood of a river washed past our cabin and spilled over into the park along with hail of all sizes! It ranged in size from dimes to softballs and swathed through the lakeland area causing a lot of damage. The winds whipped around suspiciously and later it was confirmed a tornado touched down in a field an hours drive outside the park near the town of Big River. 

Here is a quick video from inside our cabin. (So thankful for the roof over our head!)

All the neighbors came out to assess the damage and comfort one another. The cars, windows and shingles took a beating in this storm. The damage is still being assessed and repairs just starting to happen.  

Overloaded drainage system finally starts to reduce the lake 
at the bottom of our street.

Good idea!

Missing...One big paved road, two sidewalks and a park! The water was ice cold...and yes some one pulled out a canoe and floated across the park right out into big lake!

Big Beauties

Brrr...Cold!

Shortly after the park drained the public health authorities closed the main beach for three days due to sewage contamination (a pump lost power and couldn't keep up with the fast water flow...ewgh). We experienced a second thunderstorm at 1 am which lead to several lasting power outages. Feeling a bit vulnerable we decided to take a hike back to the big city for the rest of our vacation.