Miniota By Bev Peel
The following is a story that maybe a lot of people can relate to at this time of year.
By Alma Barkman: "In early fall I become a little paranoid about produce. If I try to sneak out the back door, a crowd of angry, red tomatoes demands attention or the onions are crying to be pulled or the corn stalks me every inch of the way or the cucumbers keep trailing me! Sometimes I have the overwhelming urge to run until I come to a desert spot where there isn't an ounce of vegetation waiting to be picked, frozen or pickled."
"And starve to death?" Friend hubby is aghast. His idea of a good autumn is to have cheeks bulging like a pocket gopher and a pantry as full as a squirrel's. If the root cellar is bursting at the seams and the freezers are both full, then he thinks it's time for winter. But not before he totes in several kilograms of flour and a few bags of sugar.
Noting our stockpile of grub, a friend once jokingly asked whether we expected terrorists to siege the city. I hadn't thought about that before, but when a blizzard struck a few years ago, I know I could have fed the entire neighbourhood until the snow melted.
What's hard to comprehend now that the family has left home is how the two of us are going to eat our way through this mountain of food! But with teenage grandsons around, it's no great concern. A half-gallon of chilled tomato juice seems to disappear in a couple of lugs on a hot day. Dill pickles vanish into the night, hidden somewhere in the depths of enormous Dagwood sandwiches. A loaf of homemade bread is not much more than an appetizer and canned raspberries just a nice topping for a dish of ice cream.
But more often than not, the two of us are sitting here alone when mealtime arrives. I'll look at friend hubby in his rocking chair and ask, "What do you want for supper? And he'll say, "I don't know. I'm not even that hungry.
Pocket gophers are like that. Their appetites are seldom equal to the volume of food they have stockpiled for the winter."
Hope this finds everyone getting their gardens cleaned up and will enjoy all that produce this winter.
"We are not stuck at home because of the pandemic, we are blessed to have a home."
Evergreen Place By Helen Martens
Hello to all our readers, I trust you had a good week.
With school having started with so many changes, I have been thinking back to my own school days. I remember the many songs we learned and the poems we memorized. This song we were taught to sing in the Elementary grades, and I wonder if anyone else remembers it:
"Manitoba, here we rise to greet you, Manitoba, our Home,
You're the bond that binds our great Dominion, East to West, from foam to foam.
You give to us from mines and forests, From lakes and from your fertile plains,
We will live in thy light, We will stand for the right, In the land where Freedom reigns,
For we all love our Manitoba, Manitoba, our Home so dear.
We will raise the strain of the waving grain,
Ring it out again, one chorus strong and clear."- Words and Music by Jonathan Hughes Arnett
I picked up last weeks Virden paper and took note of the cover photo. I want to congratulate my friend, Becky Flannery, for winning the Empire-Advance Back to School Photo Contest.
Our September birthdays at Evergreen are Penny Jones and Rose Higheagle. I live in the same building but seldom see them, so I wish you both a Happy Birthday right here.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, Harold and Lynda Spring were in Rivers watching four of their grandchildren play baseball. What a privilege!
This morning I noticed the big reddish-orange sun. Though the California fires are 1,290 miles away, the effects of it are seen here.
Now, here's to our window washers! Windows are washed twice a year at Evergreen, in Spring and Fall.Watching them, I realize this job is truly an art. The washers were so meticulous, they left no streaks on the window. To do such a good job they must have used new squeegees. They don't have to use a "swing stage" here, a ladder is all they need. Thank you to the two young men who made our world so much brighter this past week.
After a lengthy stay in the hospital, Irene Rowand is back in her suite. Best of health to you, Irene. Quote for the Day: "If you want more kindness in the world, put it there!" -FB/My Day My Way
