June 27, 2009
Lovely local strawberries!
I think I’ve mentioned before that Alan and I are having a smoothie bar at our wedding reception in March. We love smoothies, and a large number of our friends don’t drink alcohol, so we thought this would be a nice treat for them, as well as a way to personalize our reception. If we bought all the produce and ingredients for the smoothies retail, this would be a costly measure, so we’re going to try and pick as much of the fruit as possible ourselves. My parents have a couple of huge freezers where we can store the fruit, and we live in the fruit belt of Ontario.
Strawberries are the first Ontario fruit of the season, and they are lovely. Mom called the other night and had picked some berries for the reception, and I was starting to feel like a big slacker. Since we moved to Hamilton, Alan and I haven’t really found any of the local fruit farms or farmer’s markets, and so I hit the internet to find a good you-pick in the area. I called around, and picked the place that was nicest to me over the phone. The farm I picked was Josmar Acres and they were lovely! They were well-organized and friendly, and the strawberries! They are so great! I was able to pick a flat of berries in a very short time.
It was a lovely morning. I left home around 8 am, and was home before 10:30. The farm was about half an hour away on the back roads, and I got to smell fresh-cut hay and see pretty farm land. When I got home, I washed and froze the berries on cookie trays and then transferred them to freezer bags. It only took a few hours, and maybe next weekend there will still be some berries to do up some more.
I remember strawberry picking in my childhood feeling like a chore. I’m not sure why any more.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Life, Projects |
June 26, 2009
It’s hard to think of where I’d be if it weren’t for the teachers who have inspired me throughout my life. I have countless relatives and friends who are educators, and I’ve always wondered what exactly it is inside them that pushes them into a life dedicated to passing on their knowledge to others. I know that there’s bad teachers who are just in it for the perks of teaching, but they are few and far between. A good teacher — the right teacher — changes lives. I know this from experience. Sometimes it’s just a little affirmation, someone telling you that you are indeed good at this. Sometimes it’s simply being there for a kid through a tough time. It’s more than a job, and I think it’s also more than a career, it’s a way of life. There are simply some people out there who have to teach.
My mom is a teacher, and she retired from teaching this week. I know that she will continue teaching in so many different ways; it’s something that’s inside you and it doesn’t just go away. Anyways, Mom and Dad are going globetrotting this summer to mark her retirement. They’re going to Japan, then New Zeland, and then Australia, all before October. She taught at the same school for decades, and I know how much of herself she’s put into her students. I know how much I’ve learned from her, how much I’m still learning from her. She’s even going to help me with another quilt.
I want to write a lovely, beautiful piece about how great I think teachers are, but I’m finding that I’m at a loss for words. Anyways, just be sure to appreciate the teachers in your life. You wouldn’t be who you were without them.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Life |
June 20, 2009
Last night, Alan and I went through our closets and dressers and purged mightily. We tried on clothes we haven’t worn in a while to see if they still fit. We tossed aside items we knew we wouldn’t be wearing again. We threw out clothes that were ripped or ratty. It was cathartic and refreshing. In total, we filled two garbage bags of clothes for donation, and a second bag of items to be thrown out.
Also, it was fun. Alan and I haven’t had the opportunity to hang out much this week so we got to talk about what was going on and what we wanted to do for the weekend.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Life |
June 15, 2009
Futurama is coming back for new episodes starting in 2010!
(See? It’s real! It’s even confirmed!)
Bender and the crew are coming back!
How wonderful is it that I get to see Bender, Leela, and Zapp Brannigan again? I always felt that this show had more stories to tell. The DVD movies were a good start, but I love the original episodes even more, and I’m looking forward to seeing episodic Futurama again. Also, David X. Cohen’s teasers about exposing the evils of Twitter and the iPhone make me think that the show could be as good or better than it was six years ago when it was cancelled.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Pop Culture |
