The View From Here/Up For This Week

The View From Here/Two Poisons/Strawberry Shortcake Party
We had company this weekend and before that I was cleaning and caulking up a storm, so I haven't been near the internet for three days and am so behind! Sorry, everyone! And this week I'm getting ready to go on my trip to Fairbanks, which is so exciting and so daunting from so many perspectives. I'll write more about it this week, for sure.

Two kinds of poison for me this afternoon - the sun finally came out yesterday and today has been gorgeous, so I went out to the beehives and did some more swarm-prevention. Two very strong hives, one of which was beginning to remonstrate with my intimate attentions. I was working with a veil but no gloves (you're much more sensitive that way) and got just one sting - from a dead bee, I think - I was replacing a frame in the hive and a stinger apparently not attached to a bee caught my finger. Then, driving back toward town, I got caught behind the road-painters, of all things, going at 10mph! What should have been a 5 minute drive was a 20 minute drive - I was so relieved when they turned off.

You can see the 'wet paint' sign on the back of the truck, and the shiny yellow line in the road. And boy, did that paint ever stink! It made me dizzy. Interesting that both bee venom and whatever's in that paint would be considered poisonous and yet I'd rather have the beesting anytime and certainly regard it as a lesser toxin.

One of our favorite friends in town is Phil's ex-wife from long ago, his daughter's mom. Over the weekend, she threw (at the home of other good friends) a 'strawberry shortcake party' - we were all given strawberries from her overflowing freezer and instructed to make some goodies for a potluck dinner! Well, I made some strawberry-themed goodies and also a big green salad, almost entirely stocked with greens from our garden, without strawberries (since I can't have them).  It was challenging for me not to feel left out in the midst of all the abundance from which I'm barred, but making beautiful things and getting to indulge my creativity made up for the eating part.

Here are the greens from the garden:

Peppermint leaves front right for the strawberry soup and the first accidentally-harvested maca on the left...
And here's the salad itself:

I also made strawberry-peppermint soup. I used regular cream and yogurt because of the audience for whom I was making it, but ordinarily I'd use coconut kefir and almond cream, I think:

It was very well-liked. How strange that my 'irregular' way of making it is everyone else's 'normal...'

I also stuffed miniature peppers with home-made (homegrown) arugula pesto and drizzled with strawberry vinaigrette, and roasted:

'Drizzle' got sloshed around a bit in the truck on the backroads getting there - oh well...
I also made strawberry muffins (not pictured) with no gluten/dairy/eggs 'but despite all that scary-sounding information they taste really good' was the sponsorship they received from their intended recipient when I announced them like that! That's the prevailing attitude here - even as creative as I can be at making things, people are just not that open to the no sugar/dairy/grains/etc thing - and if they don't have to be, why should they, I guess? I just know that if anyone ever does start to notice food allergy issues, they'll know that they can come to me for help!

Up For This Week


I hope I didn't lose everyone immediately with my post about 'art and truth' on Friday! My mum told me over the phone that it was 'tangled' indeed. I'm hoping to get some more of my thoughts out about it here this week, hopefully with greater clarity also.

So much to think about re bees, and rather than try to summarize it in today's post, I'll try to get something out in more depth and clarity.

And of course, I keep hinting about my big trip coming up but have barely said a word about it on here! It merits a post of its own asap, if only to help me plan how I'm going to stay sane and keep my energy level for two weeks away from home in a place I've never been before, and how I'm going to feed myself under those conditions also!

And that will probably be plenty.
much love.