Here’s a quickie posting and hello.

Two things I ought to mention:

 1) I really adore the cucumber that hangs outside my bedroom window. I sleep in a basement room, and the plant hangs down into my ‘dug out’ window. This is the loveliest cucumber, and I regret that it’ll soon have to be picked. But what can I do? Use it or lose it.  Well . . .  lose it either way, I suppose, but eat it as a bonus. Feels so savage.

2) Tonight I’m off to Ashbury College to attend a Q & A plus signing with Chef Michael Smith. He’s just released a new cookbook called Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen. This book is meant to contain 100 of his favourite recipes, which makes me wonder what his other books contain, and whether he’s allowed to do repeat performances of meal ideas. Can this be the ‘greatest hits’ of Michael Smith, and are these really his favourite recipes, and if so – why? And why weren’t they included before?

It’s like a mystery to unpick. But mostly I’m looking forward to sampling the appetizers and listening to this very tall man speak. He says that food is about creating stories. So I’m hoping he’s got some great stories to tell, considering all the food he makes.

I’m excited for tonight. Super cool! Plus it will be my first review for the Ottawa Writers Festival pre-festival line-up. Awesome.

And a few things I’ll ramble on about:

3) I have started taking my vitamins again. It’s this weird personal battle with me – what to do, don’t want to do anything, hate to acknowledge there was ever a problem, and mostly I just want to move on. But I’m part of a large community of women who have fought through cancer one way or another, and when I hear about someone’s reoccurrence it’s so sad (horrible) for them, and completely unnerving for me. This is not the reminder I want, yet it happens, and it says: ‘Keep going Catherine, you lazy butt . Keep fighting this!’ But nevertheless, it happens and then shocks me out the treatment depression. Treatment depression. Sorta like  no-job depression, or not-yet-finished-writing-this-damn-book depression. I have the horrible tendency to do nothing when things fall into a slump. And it takes a lot of effort (or a wake up) to get me moving that ambition once again.  It also takes a lot of effort to be in the slump – cause mentally no one likes to feel stagnant. Horrible stuff. So starting with little things like taking my vitamins and signing up for the local yoga class and visiting  Awakeing Potentials for a session . . . slowly I’m making things better, to become better. I really like better. Or ever more – awesome. I love awesome. And the steps make me feel proactive. Being proactive gives me hope in all areas of life.

4) I’ve started eating scrambled eggs. Free range, preferably vegetable grain fed. For some reason I can suddenly stomach the cooked up puffs of yellow. All other eggs are still not welcome, but scrambled I can handle. It’s a good change.

5) Next week Zsolt and I should be going to Tremblant for a little autumn revelling and family-time. Plus, I’m bringing my laptop and feel intent on locking myself away until this next chapter is finished being forged. Maybe we’ll find a canoe and take to the water?

And this, ladies and gentlemen, has been the ‘I just got up and have all these things on my mind’ list. Brought to you by English Breakfast tea and dried cranberries, which I’ve already finished eating.

Have yourself a wonderful day. I think the weather in Ottawa is outstanding. Ten points to Ontario for having a lovely climate this late into September. Bonus points promised if it lasts into October.