Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
Sept. 11th my landline died and my internet was very spotty except late at night and VERY early in the morning. Second time this year - last time was early June after a nasty storm. I contacted the customer service guy who had helped last time and he was out of the office for a week. OY! A neighbour very nicely gave me the 1-888 number for Telus and I was able to phone them on Sept. 14th. A very helpful individual let me know a tech would be out in two days to fix the problem. The tech did show up on the 16th, and long story short, my lines worked fine, but there was a problem at the Telus building downtown, and what my working lines were attached to needed replaced (and should have been replaced when this happened in June!). Everything is functioning properly again. Having no online connection for days made me extremely happy I'm someone who has a variety of offline hobbies and interests, even though so much of our lives are online (by design) now.
The Telus tech finished early enough I was able to start the paper deliveries on the 16th. It was a good trip until I returned to Mirror. I parked beside the grocery store - took the papers in and and walked right back out to see my truck rolling backwards down the street. I chased after it, but wasn't able to reach it before it crashed into one of the County Shop doors. Thankfully there was no one around so no one got injured. Damaged the truck too, but thankfully it was still drivable. Sigh...
Then life got WORSE! The morning of Sept. 28th I was scraping frost off the windshield when the truck started going in reverse again on me! It ran into the next door neighbour's 5th wheel. Thankfully it didn't damage the motorhome, but did MORE damage to the truck - broke a window, bent the frame, back window loose. I took it to my brother-in-law as he's a mechanic and he said he'd see what he could do.
Brother-in-law called me Sept. 29th and I went over to hear the bad news - basically the truck was unfixable in many respects without extensive cash outlay, and the transmission was toast which is why it was pulling those runners on me. He bought it off of me for parts, and now I don't own a truck. I certainly was NOT planning to declutter that from my life! So so sad. He did assure me that if I ever need a vehicle (because something has happened to the car) he has one he can lend me.
On Oct. 1st, when I went back to get my belongings out of the truck, my brother-in-law told me he plans to fix the truck for my niece to drive! While a part of me feels better about that, another part is still quite devastated I couldn't keep it for myself as losing the truck has felt like Dad died all over again.
One plus to this whole terrible situation, was that the money from selling the truck was enough to cover the cost of replacing the brakes in the car so I was able to get that done Oct. 7th. Winter tires were put on the same time.
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Word of the Year: Hobbit (Comfort / Cozy)
September 19th I did a new Celtic Wheel of the Year reading - just to make life a bit easier for me, I did it for the next 2 years. So the card for this new year is the left one in the middle, and the current year cards are the inner circle - with the Autumn Equinox (first card) at far left.
Celtic Year 1 theme: Hibernation & Regeneration (earth, action - rest/recharge/downtime)
Autumn Equinox: Make a Move (water, action: keep moving forward)
Celebrations:
My rug hooking neighbour gave me a small bag of lettuce and a small bag of onions from her garden on Sept. 14th, and then some more lettuce on Sept. 21st. And on Sept. 24th she gave me 3 large ripe tomatoes. And this week she gave me some carrots (from her sister's garden).
Another neighbour lent me 4 DVDs to watch in Sept. as a thank you for updating his resume. There was a Steve Bell concert, a Malcolm Guite and Steve Bell concert, a Gordon Lightfoot concert, and "Take Me Home: the John Denver story."
My next door neighbour to the north knocked on my door Sept. 25 and asked if I had any spare freezer space as their freezer had died! I did, and was able to store some of their frozen food - which I still have! They haven't asked for it back yet!
Mirror is now getting curbside recycling pick ups. The blue bins were dropped off Sept. 26th. They're HUGE so this could be an interesting process. Our first pick up is Oct. 13th. In theory, this should make my life much easier as I won't have to drive my recycling to the drop off location for our county. The bins are so large, that my rug hooking neighbour refused one as it's almost as tall as her and there's no way she could manhandle it to the street. I offered her space in mine if she wants.
When I was out delivering papers on Sept. 30th, I received 4 free bell peppers in Bashaw, more free wire hangers in Clive, and 8 free books in Mirror!
I finished watching season 9 of "When Calls the Heart." That's the last season I could watch for free on the Global TV app so I requested season 10 from the library - it arrived last week and I hope to start watching it this weekend. I watched some Hallmark movies on the Global app on my ipad and Josh Johnson's weekly comedy sketches online for laughter and stress relief.
I watched more YouTube videos from Hannah of Real Vintage Doll House - she's such a hoot. I enjoy her videos that include her partner, who is an antique train enthusiast, as they are so adorable together. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwNFrjeeJqI is a new favourite of mine because it's nice to have someone take care of you. Another reason I really enjoy these videos is that many really fit into my whole comfy, cozy Hobbit theme for this year. I thoroughly enjoyed this interview she did with a 100 year old veteran - he was delightful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tORTpdfyeeE I think I will need to start saving money so I can join her membership - even if only for a month or two so I can access some of her other videos and resources. At the moment, I'm now watching July 2025 videos.
I published two more comic strips in the paper and posted them online. Both are repeats from previous years.
Recently Completed:
Since the last newsletter...
I haven't completed anything, but I've still been creative every day and I've still been taking my many baby steps in different areas of my life.
In Beth's Kitchen:
I ended up making my 2nd loaf of peasant bread into French toast Sept. 12th. Then I made more tomato soup - got 5 cups.
I picked the last of the rhubarb Sept. 12 (as frost was threatening) and after I cut it up, discovered I had almost enough for another pie! Sept. 13th, I cut up 4 apples from my neighbour's tree that had landed in my yard, and that gave me just enough filling once I added them to the rhubarb. I wasn't going to make pastry in the food processor again, but I did for ease. Overall, pastry is still not working for me so this pie ended up with quite the "rustic" look. Since it's just for me to eat, and I'm not entering any contests, I'll call it good and tackle my pastry problems another day.
I did use a smaller pie plate which helped. And even though the pastry didn't roll out properly, it was my flakiest attempt so far! And, the filling ended up sitting for twice as along as the recipe said as I was wrestling with the pastry so the filling set this time! The recipe called for 1.5 cups of sugar and I only used 1/2 cup and it was more than sweet enough. I guess I am getting better (even if it doesn't feel/look like it)
Sept. 14th was a very cold dreary day, plus my phone/internet issues weren't resolved, and I felt like I needed some cozy comfort, so I baked a loaf of peasant bread. My best loaf yet!
I also don't think I shared where I got the recipe yet. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqnyXBU2js
I had some (old) Bisquik in the house so decided to make some biscuits Sept. 15th. Another failed attempt. Oy! Now, they weren't a complete failure because they aren't hard or tough, and they did taste good, they're just really flat and solid. I'm going to blame the age of the Bisquik for this failure.
Sept. 20th I made another batch of tomato soup - this had 1 pepper, 1 onion, lettuce (from my neighbour) and some fresh basil blended with the tomatoes. While it would be easier to have had the tomatoes all ripe at the same time, and get the mess in the kitchen over with at once, these small batches have been working out much better for my energy levels so the task is getting done. This time I got 6 cups of soup.
Later in the day, I made pancakes with the remainder of the Bisquik mix and that took another box out of my cupboard!
Sept. 22nd I cut up the larger carrots (about half of my total carrots) and cooked them in the large electric frying pan. This year I was introduced to the concept of oven boiling potatoes/root veggies and I've been using the electric frying pans to create the same effect as it's quick, very easy to clean up, and there is no threat of a pot boiling over! I blended up the cooked carrots and got just over 7 cups of puree for pies/baking. I froze 6 cups - because my life works better when the prep is done ahead - and made the rest into a carrot pie (used an Impossible Pumpkin Pie recipe).
Sept. 26th was quite the day in my kitchen. I mixed up a loaf of peasant bread - decided to start experimenting with the recipe. You know me...have to play at some point! I added the last of my Italian spice mix and some grated cheese.
While the bread dough was rising, I made another batch of tomato soup - this one had lettuce, baby beet greens and 1 cup (because I grabbed the wrong jar from the fridge) of chopped onion and miscellaneous spices (using up more dribs & drabs from the cupboard). I ended up with 6 cups of soup.
Then, because the dough was still rising, I pulled out all the jars of dandelion syrup that were still downstairs in the fridge - I started with about 5 pints (?), and after I boiled it all down to thicken it (that didn't work, but it did concentrate it) I was left with 1.75 pints. I'll use it to make dandelion (hot) tea this winter.
After that, when the bread dough was on its second rise, I mixed up a batch of cinnamon buns - used 2% milk that was left from other baking, and I used the chopped rhubarb and dried diced banana. I'm not sure if it's because I was doing too much at once, or some other reason, but I only managed to get 10 buns this time!
When the cinnamon buns were finished baking, I put the loaf of bread into the oven. The smell was delightful! And, all that happened before 10 AM! (Clean up took me two days!)
Sept. 28th I mixed up another loaf of herb & cheese peasant bread. First rise ended up well over an hour longer than planned as my day went completely sideways. Thus it was baked much later in the day than I thought it would be. After it cooled, I popped it into the freezer.
Oct. 3rd I decided to stuff the peppers I'd been given, as well as the lone (orange) bell pepper I had on my plant. I used a nut "meat" recipe I had recently found that was different from the ones I've used before. I did have to make the odd ingredient substitution, but overall, I was happy with it. I had some extra "meat" so made two patties out of it.
Then I pulled out the impossible pumpkin pie recipe again, and this time I made it with my homemade applesauce as an experiment. It worked better than I expected so I'll certainly make again, but I think I'll need to drain the applesauce first as there was just too much moisture.
I had a bunch of ripe tomatoes so made another batch of soup on Oct. 6th. Added onion, 1 sweet pepper, and two tiny hot peppers, fresh parsley & basil, and miscellaneous spices. Ended up with 6 cups.
Yard & Garden:
We received another 1/4 inch of rain Sept. 10th and the rain on Sept. 11th didn't register.
I lost my landline and internet connection Sept. 11th so didn't know till the morning of Sept. 12th that we were under a frost warning! It was only 2C when I dashed outside at 6 AM and covered the garden produce and hoped that I was able to save it.
Everything seemed fine when I took the blankets off later in the morning. I made sure I covered everything that night as it was very frosty Sept. 13th!
I brought in all of the carrots Sept. 18 & 19th - quite a few small ones, and surprisingly quite a number of large carrots. Overall, much better yield than the previous two years so couldn't complain.
I was out for about an hour early on Sept. 20th. Dug up the entire beet bed and there was 1 (ONE!) tennis ball sized beet. That was it for my beet crop this year! Disappointing. I dug about 5 lbs of potatoes. The potatoes I planted closest to the house didn't really produce at all, but the potatoes in the plant pots sure did!
After I sorted through the beet greens, I ended up with 4 cups of baby greens and 10 beets the size of a large marble. Still a pathetic yield, but better than I originally thought, and considering our wild and crazy weather, amazing that I got any!
I spent an hour outside Sept. 21st and dug up the rest of the potatoes (had to pull a lot of quack grass/weeds to get to them!). I ended up with about 10 lbs, and the best potatoes were the ones that grew from a bunch of potato sprouts I'd just thrown in the ground for a lark! I had hoped for a bigger harvest - most hills only had 1 larger potato under them - but again, weird growing season so harvesting anything is a bonus.
I spent an hour out in the garden on Sept. 22nd and planted Egyptian Walking Onion bulbs in different spots around the garden - hopefully they come up next year and then I won't have to worry about onions, as I discovered this year that in addition to the pearl onion sized bulbs on top, they also have a good sized onion underground! BONUS! I also planted some "winter onions" - which should be the absolute last of Dad's old seeds.
I pulled the corn plants - they never got taller than 1.5 feet and didn't even produce a baby ear on them! So that was a bust. I pulled the dead pea vines too. Planting the pea seeds really close together was a successful experiment, as was planting the peas inside tomato cages for more flexibility.
I went out Sept. 23 and planted the rest of the Egyptian Walking Onion bulbs in select spots in the garden. I also dug up 4 of the plants by the house to get the onion - they were a pretty good size! I'm just so excited about the possibility of actually getting onions in the future without having to purchase onion sets.
As temps were to drop significantly, I picked my 2 small watermelons Sept. 25th. I was going to pull out the vines when I saw a 3rd watermelon that wasn't ready to pick yet so left them. I also picked a small handful of rhubarb! After I chopped it, I had about 1/4 cup. I had been covering various plants every night since our frost Sept. 12th, whether they needed to be covered or not (just in case!)
We got quite the frost the morning of Sept. 28th - it was below freezing! That afternoon, I went out and pulled the tomato plants from the garden itself. I put the plant pots from around the labyrinth in the garage for winter. And, I emptied 1 of the rain barrels.
Oct. 5th I picked the chocolate mint, parsley, sage, rosemary, oregano, and lavender to dry. I picked the last strawberry in garden on Oct. 6th. That just left the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, watermelon, basil, and grapes along the south side of the house to harvest.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Since my last Letter, I completed a 1,000 piece puzzle
UFO (UnFinished Object) Update:
As part of my Hobbit year, I make sure that I let go of (or put away, or finish) at least one physical item per day, and delete at least one computer file (or old email, or tab closed) per day. Some of my bigger highlights so far...
- LOTS of old magazines (saved because I didn't read them at the time, or saved because I did read and wanted something from them????), old magazine/newspaper articles, as well as old photocopies and printouts sorted and the bulk tossed into the recycling - I'm no longer in the place I was when I saved them (with my health, business, or other areas of life) so they could all go. OR, even more surprisingly, I have added/incorporated whatever they were about into my life somewhere along the line.
- more items used up from the freezer and cupboards, and as I subbed ingredients in recipes for what I have on hand. This also allowed me to start rearranging my pantry cupboard.
- more open tabs on my computer looked at and closed - even ones for creativity programs/classes I was supposed to have "lifetime" access to that I can no longer access!
I was able to open the sales quite a number of days in September and early October. Met some delightful people, and sold the odd item. I also sold Dad's old extension ladder to a friend - it wasn't my plan to sell the ladder (not because I didn't want to, but because I was focussing on the house contents, not the garage per se) so that was a nice bonus.
Physical Activity:
Rebounder: I've been doing 10 minutes of the health bounce, four times per day. I haven't missed a day at all!
"Mystery activity” I’m still doing this DAILY!! I haven't missed a day!
Works in progress:
Currently, I'm working on...
- Era of the Dreamers journal - almost daily as I've been recording my outside activities in the garden.
- personal smashbook for DAILY journal writing as part of my connection to Spirit, my Guides, and my inner Wisdom.
- mini collages - at the stage where I have a whole bunch more bits and pieces that need sorted before I complete more.
- making 3 journals (from Sketchbook Revival session) - stalled for now
- painting (18-20?) ceramic Easter egg people from Gramma's craft kits (acrylics) - on hold
- UFO crochet project (not food) - on hold
- my next small hooked rug
- I have my 13 inch round canvas that I started in Lou's program last year (that I got kicked out of) and I'm trying to decide what to cover it with.
- Kiala Givehand’s 7 Books in 7 Days course: ideas for books I want to make on the back burner for now.
Featured Products for Sale:
This is a great time to get back into routines, so I have my hour long Love Your Body Yoga Class (suitable for beginners and all levels) available in digital format for $20. If you would like to experience this class, please email thechautauqua@gmail.com.
I have inspirational card decks, journals, chapbooks, musical CD's and more for sale that would make gifts and stocking stuffers. Please contact me at thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone 403-352-3837 to make a purchase. Or visit 4910 47 St, in Mirror, AB. Items are also available for sale at Amy’s Bakery on Main Street in Delburne, AB, and at Pharmasave, Main Street, Clive.
I offer $50 Distance Reiki/Energy Healing sessions. I’ve been an Kundalini Reiki Master since 2023. Energy healing works great from any distance and I've sent Reiki healing as far away as Queensland, Australia. Please, contact me to set up your healing session.
"I have been suffering with Long COVID for over a year and have tried every healing modality in the book to get my energy back. Beth has been gifting me with healing Reiki energy for quite some time now and I have, for the first time in over a year, started to feel like myself again. Much of my weakness has dissipated, and the dark cloud that I have been stewing under has lifted. Thank you Beth. ♥️" - Carla, Esthetician, Nova Scotia
Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to share with anyone you think might enjoy it.
Beth
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