Memory Lane, Rotini, Group of Seven

Went through some old pics.

I should elaborate on why I'm doing this. This is the first time that I've had my own camera, computer, and Internet connection since well before student housing. So we're going to go over some Student Housing memories.

This statue stood at the front of our house for the entirety of my two year stay. You'll notice that he's missing an arm. I won't be the one to call this statue "creepy" because of his difference, especially considering the nature of my work. But what isn't captured in this image, and which might be called creepy, is that he at one time had a female counterpart, and her missing appendage was her head. While a missing arm isn't much to take notice of, most humans require a head to survive. Creepier still, for the first stretch of my stay, the boy's arm and the girl's head were laying next to them. Then the arm and head disappeared. Then the girl. No one ever spoke of this.

 During the Extend-a-Family Summer Program, this past year was the first to receive fanny packs. It was enough to earn our team the name "The Fanny Pack". A girl in the group decked ours out to be a bit more vibrant. You'll notice my pack lost the "W" in "Crew" on it, reducing me to a member of "The Fanny Pack Cre"

Here is a tupperware container full of snow peas from last years garden. Crazy to think I've moved twice since then, and gardening season is still not on the horizon.

 Here is a baggy of string beans from the garden.

My personal record breaking seven sunflowers. Indicative that good things are coming.

After the jiffy pots I left out in the sun were wrecked, I threw them into the garage, believing nothing could have survived. I left them in there for months. After going in for an unrelated reason, I saw that something had sprouted despite hardship and neglect. I fostered and cared for it, wishing to honour its resilience, believing that there may be some meaning behind that which could persevere without resources or support. It... turned into this.



 

 My giant zucchini. Pen for scale.

 Nice little passive aggressive note left by one of my roommates. I visited the place recently, and not only is this note still up (long past its scribe has moved out) but there are two other notes of a similar nature alongside it.

 But to be fair, her's an image of what is below the message.

Our landlord once threatened us, that if we did not move our dishes from the sink, that he would put it in a bin. I remember kind of having the impression that this meant he would throw our dishes in the garbage, but he literally meant a bin on the floor. This strategy backfired when my other roommates just saw this as a viable option and started leaving their dishes on the floor alongside the bin. I'm... finished with this stage of life.

Maybe I will add these images to that old "Gallery" blog I've not used in a while.

 I have an awesome calendar this year. Usually, I just get a free calendar from somewhere (last year was from Central Fresh Market), to acknowledge the passing of time. I have a calendar on my phone, where I keep all my schedule information. Not going to check my literal bedroom wall for that when I have something in the palm of my hand no matter where I go. But I can at least be bothered to flip the page on a monthly basis to give my room a sense of seasonal relevance.

I got a Fairview Mall gift card this year, and even when I'm struggling financially, I have sort of a policy that gift cards need to go toward something frivolous and less practical, or else they lose their gift appeal and reveal the ugly truth that they are only cash with a set restriction on where you can spend it, with a cut of the profits going to the company that chose to limit your options.

Anyway, I went to Calendar Club (how do they survive past January?) and looked at the different themes. I was considering a wildlife one and a castle-themed one, before I hit the Group of Seven calendar.

The Group of Seven is a collection of Canadian artists. Now, while I know I'm not the biggest advocate for Canadian contribution to the creative arts (especially when it comes to writing), this calendar gives a depiction of each month by different members of the Group of Seven, even managing to include a piece from each member. They just produced enough landscape work to make this possible. So now I have a stylistic rendition of each month put on my wall. Always stylish, always time-appropriate.

I've grown a real fondness for rotini pasta. You know, that corkscrew shaped pasta. I've always considered pasta as one of the more frugal food options, but really, the popular name "spaghetti" is only one size of a specific shape of noodle. For a while, I've been breaking strands of noodle in half so they could all fit in the boiling water at once, or waiting for one end to go limp so the other could go limp, ensuring one half would be over-prepared. With rotini, there's no need to break strands, as the pieces are small enough to land in a traditional pot, you can easily stab each strand with your fork and place it in your mouth without saucy strands falling on your chin,and sauce collects better on those corkscrew ridges than on regular pasta strands.

And if that's kiddy, than I guess I'm re-experiencing my childhood. I take supplements for vitamins D (all Canadians should do this) and B12, as well as taking Melatonin. My vitamin D is citris flavour, my melatonin is chocolate, and my B12 is Peppermint