bountiful

Trips home, even though the idea of them stresses me out, are always better than I think they'll be. I mean, parts of it are bad, like seeing how my hometown has been ruined by greedy municipal officials (you'll never convince me the town council and mayors don't get kickbacks for some of the stuff they allow to happen) and seeing my relatives' health degrade. But the good parts, like just being with my parents and, if I'm lucky, extended family, are worth any of the bad. This weekend I managed to get a couple of things marked off my "to do" list this summer, including:
- go to Osoyoos and eat fruit
- walk in grass barefoot
I probably should have done "look at stars," but I didn't. There just wasn't much incentive to be out when it was dark. Even with the real and imagined stresses of life in the city, stuff just seems easier at my parents' house. I feel less crazy. At least for now.

This morning, early morning, my mom and I picked stuff from the garden for me to bring back. My parents' garden is significantly smaller than it was when we were kids, when it was filled with tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, cucumbers and corn almost exclusively. They've altered the harvest now that we're out of the house, choosing more long-term fruits/vegetables like melons, squash, potatoes, lettuces and rhubarb to go with the other stuff. The diversity means a couple of plants of each, cutting down on the likelihood that the plants will produce. Still, Mom complains that she doesn't know what to do with some of the stuff because they have so much, so it is with only slight pangs of guilt that I clean out sections of their garden.

The haul is pretty sweet. From their garden I brought back:
- one green squash
- four nearly ripe tomatoes
- one kohlrabi
- bag of carrots
- two cucumbers
- three bags of cut up rhubarb
I also went to the fruit stand this morning to pick up some nectarines (white and yellow), yellow plums and a few peaches, and to the shop for four pounds of blueberries (cheap!). I've got to get to eatin', or figure out how to make this stuff into things that will last a while.

Still nothing on the home front, though I'm starting the walkabout to try to find places that are renting. I'm trying not to think about what happens if I don't find a place in my preferred area. Living in Marpole is like living in another world. Guh. It gives me anxiety.