Canada Votes 2011

Tomorrow is election day!

I cant tell you how excited I am about the potential for a real change in canadian government and hopefully a turnaround of voters who have come to feel that their votes don't count. Voters who have learned that if they are going to vote they had better do it strategically or in effect vote against the leader they dislike most instead of voting for someone that they want representing their interests and their country on the national stage.

I love my country and I love voting, making my mark. The truth is that for all the democratic jostling of our political system, we are a GREAT country but I want to help us be better still. This is why i vote.

Canada is one of the heaviest polluters by population in the world, we have a deficit in our national retirement plan that threatens quality of life for our entire population, we have racism along the lines of language and reserve boundaries, classism between our urban and rural population, pressure cracks in our canadian healthcare system, and a history of miserly international aid.

All of these issues that float under the sightlines of our international reputation are not things to be ashamed or afraid of, they are opportunities to be resourceful, to lead by example, to really astound the world with our potential. I believe in canada and I think we should be champions in far more than international olympic hockey!

We constantly compare our country to the united states, but the comparison weakens us. Its not enough that we have healthcare, that doesn't equate to the superior attitude i sometimes witness by canadians towards our greatest trade partner to the south.

We also can't be fairly compared to other european nations that are so much smaller physically and larger by density than we are. They have developed systems of efficient transit, and resource management out of necessity.

Our diverse and sprawling nation, is its own challenge, an example of this is the fact that we have 2 official languages and 6 official federal parties. We need to balance our tradition of accommodating difference with the importance of working together, choosing a government and not leaving those elected to their own devices until the next election.

A good friend told me that he sends handwritten letters to his government because the weight of one such letter is so much greater than emails and signatures on petitions. I think as a nation we owe it to our country and to the success of our economy, to our families, to our future selves who will be the benefactors of the choices made in parliament today to be involved.

The federal government belongs to us as citizens, it is our responsibility and our legacy. We are the ones who give them the power. If we don't remind our politicians who we are as individuals how can we expect them to see us as anything more than a number.

Voting is just the beginning.

Voting is the LEAST we can do for the love of our country.

Dreary Schmeary!

SO:

I had a little revelation recently.

I have NOT Been taking enough pictures of my city.

I have not been treating it the way i did seattle and i am guessing that has something to do with the fact that i always compare and prefer that souf of the border city to the one i must definitely now start calling my own.

The winter here is a time for hibernation.

For most people.

In fact, for me it is a bit of a tedious balance between being uninspired in my usually challenging and inspiring full-time career, and being swamped with long and vibrant nights at my part-time evening job at the fantastic local theatre 'the cultch'.

You can read the interview they did with me just before i made the switch from volunteer to actual employee on the cultch blog here:

http://blog.thecultch.com/2010/08/volunteer-profile-meet-kiki-hastings/

I want to hibernate, the dark and the rain make me linger home on mornings when i know i should have already left for work, and equally keep me at work longer because i know i'll have to face the elements again when i do leave.

I've decided that i'm going to relish the last few months of winter by doing a little more winter exploring... i'm going to endeavour to

- go out snowshoing with some friends (finally!)

- Have a cheese fondue valentine making night

- Make blood orange and spice winter sangria

- take long exposure night photographs of this city's year round greenery and only take sepia daytime photos. Grey is depressing.

Thank goodness for vitamin d capsules!

Being the butcher

http://vimeo.com/7192517

I watched/listened to this talk from 43 folders about a year ago. Its something that i've come to really honor in my own fledgeling career.

The key tidbit is this:

'You can't take a course to learn all the skills and become an expert at something, you can't become the butcher with 30 years experience, until you ARE the butcher with 30 years experience.

I also liked how Ira Glass of This american life put it, let me paraphrase; Its nice to be recognized as being good at what i do now, the radio, but its not like that happened all of a sudden. For a long time i really sucked at it.

So, yes, its been almost 2 years since i've started work in my chosen field, and i'm still loving it.

I got to repair clock springs on a kaiser euphonium today, and repad 2 clarinets.

I got to playtest some mouthpieces and i learn every day little things, like 'i like deep cupped mouthpieces'.

So in the interest of constant improvement, i think its important that i start to post some of the great experiences i'm having in my life/work that are in fact related to the work i do.

My new years resolutions this year were almost entirely career centric:

1: play all the instruments i repair

I have copped out on this for too long and already after just a week i'm feeling so much more comfortable and learning so much more quickly what impact adjustments actually make, what 'feel' means, and i'm getting over my stage fright and building an embouchure. YAY!

2. Get the Buffing Room up and running.

This year i had several projects that would have benefitted immensely by having buffing equipement available. I am the one who would benefit most from this, i need to make it a priority.

3. Learn to do Removable French Bell Conversions

This is such a cool/lucrative thing to be able to do. Luckily i have a plethora of french horns that are inactive and some time before may that i can spend learning this.

4. Research and Publish relevant articles in trade magazines about the decorative/craft elements and history of musical instruments.

I have my pitch in the outbox waiting for me to groom it a little more before i send it to SNAG, but i'm also planning some spin-off articles that are loosely woven around the chance i have to spend time with Jason DuMars this year and learn about him and his saxophone engraving.

5. Learn Chasing and REpousse and some engraving

I would like to build a bit of a business making decorative bell wreaths for large brass and i guess some other brass as well. I'm trying to think of a jewellery/craft object i could make and sell to develop the skills i'll need to do intricate work. I feel like this is a great focus for my creative self, it even incorporates my love of radial symmetry and hammering. :)

P.S. Sweet 'Naked Lady' engraving no?!

So here's to a great year! 2011, lets make music together!

'S' Cookies taste like christmas to me!

Mina on Soumalinen!

I am now a finn citizen and although my attempts to learn language are in fits and starts there are things that i feel i do truly connect with in the mother culture.
I love 'S' Cookies.

My mummu used to make them for me when i was little, and then my mom and i attempted several versions before we finally came to a version that satisfied and was measured in cups and not grams, including one batch of 'z' cookies which were a memorable accident.

I thought i'd share the memory and the recipie here. I took this last batch to work and its the second year in a row, becoming a tradition?!

I think i'll be making a second helping of these for my christmas day feast!

You will need:

150 g butter 1/3 lb...

125 ml sugar 1/2 cup

3 eggs

175 ml sugar (yes, more!) 3/4 cup

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp of baking powder

650 ml flour or 2.5 cups

Cinnamon Coating:

3 tbsp. sugar per 1 tbsp. of cinnamon=cinnamon sugar coating

Whip eggs and sugar. Whip sugar and soft butter. Blend the two. Mix flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Add it to the butter/egg/sugar mixture. Roll some of the dough at a time into half inch thick rod and cut into 4 inch long pieces. Dip pieces into sugar/cinnamon mixture and form them into letter S. Bake at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes.

Note: Kneading the dough with your hand is encouraged.

are you CRACKERS?! why yes sir, i beleive i will!

I spent today slaving salivating over a hot stove.

On the menu:
Bison Meatballs with Corsican Mint, Miniquiche Muffins,

and most impressively: Whole wheat Crackers!

I made them from the bicycle ground whole wheat flour i bought at the market back in june from the flour peddler at the vancouver wednesday farmers market. Its chunky and too coarse for cakes or cookies and i hardly ever make breads… so i chose it for some seriously nubbley crackers.
Used some flat beer from my refrigerator as the binder in the mix rather than water to give it a little punch.

I’m pretty happy with these although i know that the next time i’m making them with more ‘toppings on them. these are a little plat.

Also, today was the day that i learned to really appreciate the need for twist top wine bottles. How else can you simultaneously drink a bottle of red AND use it as a rolling pin!?

Last night was so GREAT!

I worked the cash at bar B1 at the stadium last night and had THE BEST time!

I was remembering faces, drink orders and helping people out left right and centre, making chitchat and garnering some tips on top of it all.

We shared our tips out so it didn’t turn out to be that much after it was split 6 ways, but heck, last night gave me confidence that i could more than do that at a real bar and be successful.

Mixed drinks be damned. I’ll learn as i go and skip bartending school. maybe i’d barback for a while to get my feet wet, but it would be super cool to do more work in this industry.
I had 5 hours of FUN!

'plotting' continues

i spent much of today (the part i didn’t spend sorting worms from my fresh compost mulch) re-arranging yet again as things have bloomed and spread at their own paces.

I am not sure why somethings are just killing and others are sort of stopped, but i’m trying to pay attention to the rythms of the plants as we go. My cherry Tomatoes are absolutely rocking house. So many flowers, soon i know i will be flush with little balls of sunshine!

Found a new planter on my way home today and i had built one the other day so i was able to spread my pepper plants into the bigger of the two to keep them out of the way of slugs.

I have resolved my slug issues at least with the bigger stemmed plants like squash by cutting the bottoms out of plastic containers and putting them around the stems and a little into the soil. I think because the plastic is a little jaggedy they don’t go up and over, or at least they haven’t yet and its been a few weeks.

I’ve seen some flowers on my biggest squash plant and am hoping the trend continues on the other four!

strawberries are getting busy and i’ve moved them up into the windowboxgarden where they get more consistent sun and they have more area to droop… go everbearing!

my beets now take up a whole 2ft section of the garden and should get lots of sun. its too bad i waited to figure that out until now, but at least i’ll have them in the fall… same with the chard, looking forward to some winter greens!

Pepper plants look well and are shiny green.

The big topsy turvy planter is surprising me by growing up along the outside edge of the ‘planter’ bag.. but it too is flowering now.

i put in a section of carrots today and popped a couple radish seeds in between the cucumber plants to take up the room around those roots as they grow. I don’t love radishes but i can appreciate them for their practicality.

scarlet runners are all flowery so soon there will be beans.
sor of wish i had grown sweet peas instead of wax beans. next year or maybe even edamame?

i replanted my cilantro and dill because they got weird and stringy and never filled in. i have them in a planter where the roots will be more concentrated and where i can keep a better eye on them so they don’t flower out.

i also razed and replanted salad mixes in the box and reclaimed the old strawberry pot for spinach. i would eat spinach all the time i don’t know why i have let that tarry. soon i will.

anyway, i’m content that i am done mucking about for the next few weeks. hopefully my next garden task will be to pick!

-love kiki!