from the berry patch

I thought I'd have to go to UBC to pick blackberries because the park has the biggest stash. There's a thatch of blackberry bushes in the alleyway a block away, so I thought I would check out if those were ripe before heading to UBC. They hadn't been picked over at all, so I picked what I could from the road (they're in an empty gated lot, but there's a house next to it, so I tried to stay off their driveway). While I was picking, a security guard for the build site on the other side of the alley strolled by and we got to talking. She said the university building down the street had a huge number of blackberry bushes nearby, so I thought I would go see about those. If I can avoid going to UBC I will. I didn't have to go very far before I hit an enormous thatch, with many big, juicy ones hanging over the fence. I assessed the thatch, picking along the way, and decided to go back another day with sturdier shoes, pants and gloves (those prickles hurt like a mofo). Just as I was going to cross the street, I noticed the most tempting bush beside the sidewalk, so I topped up my container and then headed home.

After a quick wash, I froze a bunch on a cookie sheet with waxed paper and later transfered them to freezer bags. I have just one and a half freezer bags worth with a small container in the fridge for immediate eating, but it only took about 20 minutes to pick that much, so I'm pretty certain there will be more. Now I just need to find enough recipes or uses for the things to make this effort worthwhile.

Also today, I managed to start piles of stuff to give away. The clothes were easy to decide on mostly, but I have a lot of T-shirts that I don't necessarily want to show up in Value Village or some other for-profit thrift store, but don't want to keep, so may put them up for grabs somehow. I wanted to make a blanket out of them, but I don't think that's going to happen and I can't rationalise moving them around.

I need to figure out how to not spend large amounts of time curled up on my couch, thinking. My anxiety is adding to my worry.