This morning I am sporting a sunburn from Rib Fest yesterday. We went again with our friends Ross and Dara, and had a good time hanging out in the beer garden, eating some truly authentic BBQ, and listening to live bands for a few hours. I didn’t eat much, and I was trying to be careful about too much sun but forgot to take a hat to cover my face. It’s not really that bad, but I’m kind of feeling it today.
Our summer thus far has been kind of sucky. My year hasn’t been all that great either. I’ve suffered some debilitating side effects on a medication, which had me off work for a few weeks. I am now off the medication and go back to work tomorrow, just in time to get ready for term start. I’m just trying to get back in the hang of things. But there’s other things that are really hurting right now, including a recent diagnosis of a family member having something that will be similar to what Dad went through, and I’m already struggling with that. On the other hand, Dad used to tell me I was strong and I finally believe it. I’ve had a weird life of loss and hurt and still manage to at least try rise above it all. I tend to get kind of silent and strong in these struggles, except letting in a handful of people I’ve known for a long time and truly trust.
Morgan is my best friend, of course, and I appreciate and trust his steady love. I think Dara has grown to be a great friend; she is so sweet and I’ve known her for years. Feels good to finally have found a really good adult friend, and her boyfriend has known Morgan since junior high, so we’re all pretty close and I feel I can rely on them if ever needed. But, even saying that, I still tend to hold things inside and not just go gabbing about hurtful things all the time. And here I am venting on the blog, but writing is good therapy sometimes.
I think right now just the tiniest things help, like a summer that feels like summer. We’ve mostly had a cool and rainy season so far, but that’s nothing to complain about when I think of the extreme heat back east and down south. Lately though, and for the next week or more, we are forecast to have more sun and heat. I’m hoping my garden picks up a little; the plants just need more sun. Some things like my mojito mint and parsley are doing great, but the turnips are questionable. The beans are definitely getting tall but no actual beans yet, which is weird.
Anyway, with just about a month left before term start (and Classic Wow!), we’re trying to get a lot of activity in. Next weekend is our annual “Southern BBQ” where I bring to my Canadian friends such southern things as okra, good cornbread, and so on. This year I’m making Mississippi pot roast, which is not too traditional but did originate in the South a couple decades ago. I got the recipe from my southern cousins, so it must be a thing. It is just so easy to make and tastes so damn good. I have kind of gone off my vegan diet as for some reason lately I’ve had a loss of appetite and so many things do not sit well with me anymore. Things I used to love don’t taste good at all. It started with that medication I was on (I think). I find that simple food (raw veggies and fruit, the occasional meat) sits okay with me, but I do want to go vegan again once I start feeling back to normal. I also just can’t stand cheese anymore. The meat I do buy is local and raised humanely without farm factory, antibiotics, or hormones, which is pretty standard in Canada if you know where to buy meat. I’ll also grill some bbq chicken and corn on the cob.
Then in August we have some of Morgan’s family coming the first weekend to spend a couple nights here before our camping trip on Salt Spring Island. I am so looking forward to going there. It’s just a ferry trip over to the island. I have never been there–only have ferried to Vancouver Island, which is beautiful. I really got turned into Salt Spring from watching a few videos filmed there by Rising Appalachia (my essay on the band and Appalachian memories is here). We’ll be camping for three nights and four days at a privately owned site. I think we have reserved four or five sites so far.
“Harmonize” is set on Salt Spring Island! The video is a story of older traditions (sailing, seed collecting, fishing, blacksmithing, even courting in a young romance).
The next weekend after that we’ll still have some family visiting. Then it is just a couple weeks before term start. I’m trying to take a few more vacation days leading up to Labor Day weekend. Then, you know, fall. My favorite season! I hope before then to have some super exciting news, but I’m still trying to figure out if all the pieces to it are going to fall through.
The featured image of the Salt Spring harbor is by No machine-readable author provided, Tawker assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). CC BY 2.5