Pears in September

A month now... I guess if there was one title for the past month, it would be: PEARS. We have a pear tree, and it was loaded!!! I gave away so many pears, to people who gave them to other people. I took them to church, work, neighbors and barbecues. I started getting worried that people would see me coming with more pears and hide! I made pear jam, chutney, crisp and sauce. I still have some but they're rotting. I think I have my mother's issue with throwing away food that's not rotten yet. Wait until it's rotting, I say! My compost heap is FULL of pears; our compost pickup guys got a big load of rotting pears last week.

The pears, incidentally were very delicious. It's not just because I think so; others told me so as well. I'm glad we have a pear tree. Not sure if I'm ready for it to be so industrious next year. But having to use up the pears before they rotted (some of them at least) made me get to work trying out new pear recipes.

I realized even more that I love cooking and baking, especially when it's something that comes from my own back yard. Oh to be a chef. I need a break from telling people how to eat. I would rather cook for them and make them pay me for it. People do better when you make healthy eating convenient, than when you tell them what to eat and what not to eat.

It's September... I remember the melancholy song "Wake me up when September ends." Not sure what it's about but it reminds me of Chicago in the fall. Grey Saturdays with wind blowing leaves across the sidewalks, and remembering what it's like to need a sweater after the long summer. I miss Chicago and all that that time in my life represents. Now I'm rambling because I'm tired!

My parents are coming up this weekend. We're busy cleaning; it helps knowing that by Thursday night the house has to look presentable. Daunting!!! After nearly 3 months in our home, it's still pretty messy!

Oh, and laundry NEVER ends. I was convinced that when I was single, it was all I could do to take care of myself. Now I'm married. ;P Having kids is out of the question! How do people do it?!?!?

Ah well, I hope it's not another month before I post again!

What would you do if you met yourself as another person (ie, Jill, meet Jill.) Would you have much to talk about? Would you like that person? Would you believe what they said? Would you want to hang out? Unless I freaked out and ran away, I think I would ask her how she was feeling. Would I get the truth? Then maybe I'd stand back and ask myself if her thighs were really all that bad. Maybe I could give her some hair and clothing advice, since I could see her from the side and back. Hanging out would be interesting. We could discuss all our insecurities and not feel judged. We could compliment each other without being narcissistic. Then we could do all the things we love to do, because they would be exactly the same! Hmmm... maybe I should clone myself.

My Garden; then and now pictures

My first ripe tomato. I won't pick it until it's reallllly red!!! Anyone want to come help me eat them?



Onions
Tomatoes

Carrots

Well, it's been two months since I last posted. This house has kept us pretty busy and tired. But it's coming along! And of course we have to watch the Olympics every night! Of course...

Work has been very busy! Our company keeps growing and hiring new staff is something that lags behind a lot. No real complaints though. I take the commuter train to work now that we live 2 blocks from the station. I am blissful at how much better my commute is now than before... The commuter train is above ground and goes through a big wooded part of Toronto that I guess is protected because it's quite convincing that you've entered the wilderness. I can stare out the window, or read a book, or do my makeup if I'm running late, or take a nap with my mouth hanging open, and wake up to the passengers across from me looking slightly embarrassed.

I guess I'd better go take some pictures of the house and garden as the look now. I'll post them right away. *cough*

We bought a house!

It's a semi-detached. I call it half a house.
Our lovely back yard. This was taken on our first trip to check it out.
Finally, a vegetable garden.
I think I look quite flexible here.
Garden photos, in no particular order. My sister came, we had a great weekend.
Back at the apartment I had started a few seedlings.
Random instertion- our one year anniversary, and the flowers Pete got me.



We closed and got the key on our first wedding anniversary! We'll be moving in by the end of the month, Lord willing. Right now we are waist-deep in renovations. We spend hours upon hours inside Home Depot and Rona... trying to find what we want amongst mind-boggling options. It's hard to pick up one tile and know how it would look all over a room. However, we've made many choices, and the tiles are going in. Last weekend was spent in the garden with my sis and hubby. Ahh... my glorious vegetable garden. It's tantalizing because we still live a good 30-45 min away from it (in traffic), so I only get out there on weekends. But it's not like I need to water. The weather took notice of my poor neglected garden: it's been raining every other day, practically.

we took a trip...

the mewer wanted to come too.
this is the house we bought. just kidding!!!
a great tree.
an awesome big waterfall in a park in pennsylvania. and my tiny husband.
weeeeeee...
yes we were there! we kept driving around but couldn't find dunder mifflin.
paula and adam

I am taking the Canadian RD exam tomorrow. Somehow, I am pretty apathetic about it. Lately being a dietitian has seemed very wrong and unrewarding. The nagging thought that I wasn't cut out to be one keeps persisting.