Sydney, Australia - booked!!

 

Plane tickets booked for Sydney, Australia! House sitter confirmed. Next up: itinerary and accommodations for Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. Going that far, we might as well stay for 4 weeks.

Our nephew Spencer is getting married in the Royal Botanical Gardens. We'll probably stay at either Bondi or Bronte Beach & will definitely check out a performance at the concert hall at the Sydney Opera House. Melbourne looks fun, too - and maybe the coastal drive between the two cities.

Expensive plane tickets, but on the upside - more travel points for another trip next year.

Staying Bondi Beach Hotel for the first 3 nights while we recover from the long-haul flight. Then, a day train to Melbourne.

November - Full Pizza Moon

When the moon hits your eye like a big Pizza Pie, it's November!

Okay, officially known as Beaver Moon, but this past November, a Full Pizza Moon! Rob hit a milestone birthday, and people came to celebrate.

Although I wanted to throw a big party at the club Rob insisted on something smaller at home. Art and Chris came down from Sudbury for the occasion, and we also invited Dave and Therese, Kaarina and Mike, Liz and Darcy, Wendy and Raymond, Amita and Twincy, Alex and Penny, Rob and me.

So Alex made pizzas and it was a feast to behold. A pro-oven that brings temperature up to 800 degrees and dough made ahead for 16 pies. Chronicled on Insta @alexpizzapies   Some of my favourite combinations were pesto, pistachio and Fior' di Latte; basil, mozzarella and tomato (classic margherita); chorizo and mozzarella and mushrooms.  All so yummy!

What a fantastic night! After wonderful dinner, we had Rob sit in a chair and we toasted him with stories. Some gentle teasing ensued. Art talked about high school Bridge classes, Darcy some tales about being college roommates, Liz about the time he returned pasta to a kitchen in Priano. Alex talked about memories growing up and I  talked about how lucky I was to have him by my side for nearly 50 years (gasp!!).

Good cause to celebrate, and so happpy we were able to honor him in style.

Persian Epi

Laura picked a Persian theme for our Epi get together on Wolfe Island, inspired by Samin Nosrit's favourite recipes as published in NY Times. 

The weather remained sunny and unseasonably warm for our fall get-together, but this was also perfect fare for autumn's blustery days. The colours, scents and flavours sang at the fall table.

I viewed a few You Tube videos from Nomadic Village, a nostalgic view of Persian cookery over open fires, with roosters crowing in the background and fresh herbs cut from nearby gardens. Aside from some plastic containers the scenes could have been from centuries past. Fresh ingredients, clay pots, slow cooking.

How can you not love the ingredients of a Persian meal? Pomegranates remain one of my favourite fruits. Break it open and a hundred red jewels appear. Walnuts and pistachios, banged or crunched to open their shells. Rose petals! Fresh herbs! Such aromas and colours and tastes.

Rob and I were to contribute pickles, snacks, cocktails, and dessert. Laura took on the Fesenjoon, Barberry Bread and Tahdig, while Kaarina prepared the Spinach and Cilantro Soup, Beet Yoghurt with Herbs, and Sherazi Salad.

I've not prepared many Epi desserts but the Persian Love Cake looked spectacular. Shopping for our ingredients in Toronto took Rob and me to Yorkdon Mews, a new corner in Toronto we hadn't yet explored. We enjoyed fantastic kababs at Taftan Traditional Persian Cuisine and then went shopping at Alborz Supermarket, where we picked up rose petals, rose water, Ajil (Persian mix of seeds and nuts), Liteh, Tokmeh (pistachio), and Barberry Lavashak.

Here's the menu and links to recipes for our Persian feast:

Lunch

Spinach-and-Cilantro Soup With Tahini and Lemon Recipe

Beet Yoghurt with Herbs

Barbari Bread

Liteh (pickles)

Barberry Lavashak (fruit leather)

wine pairing: Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé

Cocktails & Snacks

Ajil (Persian mix of seeds and nuts)

Tokmeh (pistachio)

Persian Nougat / Mohammad Saedinia

Pistachio

Dinner

Fesenjoon

Tahdig

Salad-e Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) Recipe

wine pairings:  Erath Oregon Pinot Noir OR Beaujoulais Villages OR Willm Gewurztraminer Reserve

(the Alsace Gewurtz was the majority favourite; Beaujoulais nice and fruity; Pinot Noir a great sipper)

Dessert

Persian Love Cake

Cinammon and Cardamom Hot Toddy

Kathy

My sister Kathy died on October 12, 2024, at her home in Kitchener, ON at the age of 61. I was by her side and had been for several days. She was suffering so much, I was grateful when she passed. 

I have been thinking about her every day. 

At her Celebration of Life, I kept searching the family faces, really expecting that she was there somehow, somewhere. 

These past few years we would call each other and spend hours on the phone talking. I would get to Kitchener and we'd go out for lunch. One trip she treated me to a mani-pedi. I so wish we had more time ahead to spend together.

It was the very end of August and I realized we still hadn't celebrated her birthday together. When I'd called to wish her Happy Birthday she'd been coughing, and on our latest call her voice was so faint I had a hard time hearing her on the phone. I had such a strong urge to see her, so Rob and I drove to Kitchener to take her out for lunch. Much gratitude I listened to that urge. When she opened the door, we could see she wasn't well. She didn't want to talk about it, but we learned it was cancer. 7 different kinds, all at once. 

I was next to her when she passed 6 weeks later, again a strong urge not to leave her side. It was Thanksgiving weekend but I decided to stay with her in Kitchener rather than head elsewhere... there was no point in going anywhere as she would be all I could think about anyway. So I stayed, and I am truly thankful I was there.

<Spouse of the late Daniel George Emery (2008). Loving Mother of Dan, John, Eric and Chris. Cherished grandmother of Nicholas, Destiny, Skylar, Serenity, Terry, Mercedes, John Jr., William, Autumn and Araya.
Great-grandmother of Daniel, Marilyn and Lincoln. Sister of Diane, David, Michael, Alex and Patrick. Will be greatly missed by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Predeceased by her parents, James and Marion Bickers, son, Steven Emery (1987) and granddaughter, Brooklyn (2015)Kathy Adrianna Emery (nee Bickers) was an amazing wife, mother, sibling, daughter and friend. She led a full life. She was recognized as an unsung hero for her volunteer efforts in the community and worked as a chef and later, a tattoo artist. We all admired her strength and courage as she faced life's challenges. Kathy passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family. 

We will miss her every day.>

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I shared the following at her Celebration of life on November 1st:

When life got tough, so did Kathy. She found out this past August that she had seven different types of cancer, and started making preparations. Finalizing her will, choosing the cemetery, thinking about how she wanted her graveside service.

I’m certain Kathy would have been pleased we chose the Day of the Dead to hold her service and Celebration of Life. Kathy was a very spiritual person, not a religious one. She didn’t want a Christian burial, and wanted something unique. And, if we could’ve pulled it off, there would have been sword swallowers, fire breathers, and a white horse to escort the companion urn to the Columbarium. A trained raven would have dropped a stone onto the urn in the niche, and then flown into the trees above to watch over us all.

As I’m sure Kathy is watching us now.

Kathy was such a very determined and courageous person.

She chose to die at home. This wasn’t some romantic notion, she knew exactly how hard things could get, because she helped her husband Dan die at home in 2008. When our mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, she stayed by her side and looked after her, too.

This time it was her sons’ turns to look after Kathy. Daniel, Eric and Chris you did your mother proud. In her last days she said how much you had really come through when she needed you.

I don’t want to just talk about how Kathy chose to meet death, but how she chose to live.

As a little girl, she & I looked after our younger brothers. This is back in the days of cloth diapers, when our mom would cut the corners off the plastic milk bags to make waterproof covers. Kathy also loved animals, and is often the one seen holding the cat or patting the dog in family photos. She was a true nurturer.

When she was a teeenager, she fell madly in love with Dan. And stayed in love with him the rest of her life.

In the early days, Dan would come around on his motorcycle and Kathy would hop on the back of the bike and they would ride off on their adventures.

She loved each of her five children so much. Daniel and John came along when she was still in her teens. When Stephen was stillborn, she was devastated. Chris and Eric were born when she was in her twenties, almost fraternal twins to their older brothers. Later, when Chris and Eric were in grade school, she volunteered in their classrooms.

Kathy earned a living working as a chef, but preferred to cook for family celebrations like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

She loved being outside in nature, whether in her garden, on the beach, or for a walk in the forest.

Did you know Kathy was awarded an Unsung Hero award? She became a community activist in a program designed to reduce neighbourhood crime, and was recognized for it at an Awards dinner.

Kathy recently shared some of her happy memories with me. The times she spent tattooing at community fairs with Dan, and later her sons. The people she'd met there. The times spent with her family in Goderich and later, Port Burwell. And Kathy spoke of her adventures with Randy, too, travelling to the Smoky Mountains and attending an underground wedding in Hamilton at a Masonic temple.

I wish she could have continued her adventures in good health. Unfortunately MS made her less active than she would have liked. She was grateful for the Ocrevus infusions she received twice a year because they gave her such renewed energy. So she would time the treatments before holidays, planning her family feasts and celebrations when she would have the strength to enjoy them fully.

As the Memorial card says, Grieve not for me. Remember the best times, the laughter, the song, the good life I lived while I was strong.

Kathy Adrianna, you live in our hearts.

Hunter's Moon - October 2024

Moon full, waning, new, waxing.

The full moon was on display as I was driving back to Toronto from Kitchener. Being a passenger in my brother Dave's car I could stare up at the sky. We'd spent the day dealing with the business end of my sister Kathy's death: funeral home paperwork, witnessing her cremation, ceremonial arrangements, banking, collaboration with celebrant. Seeing the beacon in the night sky was a comfort.

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LAST DAYS

Things are

    changing; things are starting to

        spin, snap, fly off into

            the blue sleeve of the long

                afternoon. Oh and ooh

come whistling out of the perished mouth

    of the grass, as things

turn soft, boil back

    into substance and hue. As everything,

        forgetting it's own enchantment, whispers:

            I too love oblivion why not it is full

                of second chances. Now,

hiss the bright curls of the leaves. Now!

    booms the muscle of the wind.

Mary Oliver, 12 Moons