Month: July 2025

  • Foooood

    I have a lot of food right now, just by the nature of having brought a lot home with me.

    Today I had three meals ready to go (I work from home today, so I prepare things): oatmeal with blueberries and yogurt for breakfast, chicken dinner, and salmon pasta. The last two could be for either lunch or dinner. So I had the salmon pasta for breakfast because I really wanted it then, and chicken dinner for lupper (late lunch). I’ve just eaten the oatmeal for dinner I guess.

    The salmon pasta was with fettuccini with butter, parsley and fried zucchini. I didn’t finish it. There’s still two slabs of zucchinis, some crumbs of salmon and 6 noodles in the bowl in the fridge.

    Chicken dinner is left over from Mum making it on Sunday night. I have portions with the plan of adding gravy when I warm it up. But since I was at home I made a sandwich with the chicken (open-faced), and fried the potatoes. Then some green beans, and I had some wee tomatoes from my tree to use so I made tomato/cucumber salad as well, with basil and lemon/olive oil dressing.

    Oatmeal is oatmeal, just I put maple syrup on it, too, along with the blueberries and yogurt. I remember there being a slurrrrrping noise and then it was all gone. There is a matching one of these to take with me to work tomorrow, with blackberries instead. Such yum. Much health.

  • My Weekend

    By Lindsie

    I went to my parents’ house this weekend for a pretty routine summer visit / restock fresh produce. I drove up on Friday night after work, supper, dishes, and a nap. I also had to pack. Which, I am pretty good at packing now for a weekend in Duncan; or an overnight in Vancouver; or a 15 day cruise. Or anything really. I used to make lists and sub-lists, and then a master list, which I fun but time consuming and I can just wander around my house now and through things into a bag. As long as I have the non-replaceables (medication; passport; prescription glasses/contacts) I’m not too bothered. (That’s a lie. I’m quite bothered if I forget a thing. But in theory (and in practice on a couple of occasions) I can just buy or go without if needed. In this instance I forgot the square plug-in part of my phone charger, but that’s actually not a big deal because Mum has a lot at her house and I borrowed one there.

    When I arrived, Dad was outside and stared at me in my car like some stranger had just driven down the driveway and parked in his garage. I, in turn, stared at him like I was inspecting sasquatch.

    “Who’s that!” he enquired.

    “Who are you?” I replied. It’s one of our classic bits.

    “OH it’s Lindsie!” he finally realized. And I, noting that he was not, in fact, sasquatch, felt confident in removing myself from my car.

    Saturday was busy. I got up early and put on my laundry (busy AND exciting, I should have said.) Then when that was hung out on the line, Mum and I went for a shop. Winners, where we found what we were looking for a and only just a few things extra. Walmart (same). And the dollar store. We had lists and found everything. Then a stop at Thrifys because Mum needed to buy a peach and one or two other things that were in the flyer, including liverwurst, which Mum is confident in purchasing with me present only because I am allergic to it.

    Saturday evening was BBQ salmon dinner and Bonnie and Scott came. Mum and Bonnie were in Disneyland earlier this month, and we got Bonnie’s perspective on the trip (I’d had Mum’s summary already) and also some ballet technique exercises.

    Also I found a reeeealy old bottle of Riesling in Dad’s wine storage and, after a controlled experiment discovered that it was really tasty. It went well with the salmon.

    There were no plans on Sunday, and me and Mum went for a swim at Maple Bay, and then for a little walk. And then naps. And then chicken dinner. with corn and caesar salad and potatoes. And then I helped Mum organize the bookmarks on her browser. Around 7pm when we would usually have our phone call we sat out in the pergola and chatted in person.

    Then today (Monday) I came home after filling my car with as much fresh produce as was available. And eggs! I almost forgot to take eggs!

    The end.

  • Burritos

    There are frozen burritos at Save-On. There haven’t been frozen burritos (at least the ones I want) in the stores for at long time. There was a production shortage? Maybe? Someone said that, so I sortof stopped looking, but there were some there on Saturday morning when I was at the Save-On Foods at [redacted – my burritos].

    I haven’t had a frozen burrito for three years almost to the day. You might be wondering: How can I remember something so mundane? Well first off, Hi, I’m Lindsie, nice to meet you. But second off. There are extenuating circumstances surrounding the event.

    Trigger Warning: COVID.

    When I got COVID in early July 2022 I had two frozen burritos in my freezer. They were probably Reisers brand, as that is the brand I prefer over The Other Brand, and the beef and bean flavour (e.g. the flavour that doesn’t contain cheese). (Note that I think I’ve seen “vegan” burritos in this three years since I said I haven’t had frozen burritos, but I don’t feel those count.) At the time I would have purchased a bulk bag of them: 12 to a bag, though maybe it was a box? Twelve individually packaged ones to a box. I’ve experienced both, though now I think, it was The Other Brand that had the bag.

    Either way.

    I remember I had two left because I had COVID, and I had taken an inventory of food in my house after taking the test to make sure I could survive not leaving the house for a week or five days I was supposed to quarantine for. Or, as it turned out, the two weeks before I could physically move enough to leave my apartment. Whatever.

    I probably remember i had two burritos because I was calculating when to eat them, or whether to eat them. Two days into knowing I had COVID I stopped wasting energy on making myself regular bowl-sized portions of food because I couldn’t eat them, and I didn’t want to eat any of the leftovers. I remember making a big dish of rice pudding and eating it in custard cup-sized portions that I couldn’t finish.

    I don’t remember eating the first of my last two burritos, but lots of protein and easy to prepare: I would have been glad to have it.

    The worst of my days with COVID was the Tuesday of the second week. This came probalby after a weekend of maybe thinking I was starting to feel better ( you know, COVID). But on that Tuesday, I felt bad: as in, not comfortable in any position, and most of the day spent curled up in bad (where I had been spending a lot of time before that in various reclining-sitting positions on my bed or on the couch).

    There was a point in the afternoon where I realized that I hadn’t eaten all day, and the thought was that food is necessary to live even if I don’t want it. But what was there to eat that I could even stomach when I didn’t want to eat? Luckily, there was that one last frozen burrito.

    I remember waiting for it to warm up in the microwave. I sat on the armrest of the couch, uncomfortable and having a hard time being upright, thinking to myself, This Isn’t Good.

    I ate the last burrito lying down on my side? Feeding it into my mouth sideways? Halfway through and that was enough. I moved the plate away from my face, picturing waking up with it smashed into my cheek or something. (Hehe)

    I maybe slept then, or watched/listened to the TV shows I would have had streaming – Coronation St for when I was going to sleep for sure. I don’t remember what I watched when was awake. Maybe nothing; it was a bad day and concentrating on a plot might have been too much. I would have had my curtains open to let in the light, which is nice, maybe even the window open for fresh air – Yes, in July. Yes. My laptop would have been open beside me on the bed. Close to my face: if I wasn’t wearing my glasses so I could eventually sleep I can’t see far enough if I have to adjust the volume or change to the next episode.

    I did sleep at some point, and when I woke I finished the bit of burrito, glad I didn’t have to get up to make something else; still not hungry but needing to eat. Also: imagery of baby chicks who eat at their lil trough, then sleep right there, ready to eat again when they wake up again. (Hehe.)

    Later, when I was better and looking to get them again, the Great Burrito Shortage must have been happening. Probably – like lots of things in 2022. I wondered if that maybe was a good thing – if maybe eating them again might be triggering, or if I might have lost a taste from eating them while I was sick, as happens. However, I’m pretty happy to have found them again, and not too much more expensive than they were before(burrito miracle). I bought two.

    P.S. I laughed mabye waaaay too much when I was relating this whole story to Mum this evening during our phone call. She was just quiet in a “uh that’s not really funny?” sort of way. To be fair, I found it all very hilarious at the time, so.

    P.P.S. On the day after this bad day I started getting hungry again for very specific foods. I had a list ready when Susan asked at three and she delivered after work: oranges, ketchup chips, and yogurt. I went though the whole bag of chips very quick and I was a little concerned– but then I remembered how I hadn’t eaten anything for about a week at that point so if ketchup chips was all I wanted, it was ketchup chips I was going to have.

  • July 16, 2025

    ”Meeting Art, July 16, 2025.” Ball-point pen on printer paper. Collection of the artist.
  • Hair

    Part 1 – Everyone Likes My Hair.

    It’s been nearly 15 years since I chopped my long hair into the now normal shortie way that I wear it now. Fifteen years as of sortof the end of August coming up. Facebook will remind me of the exact date when it happens.

    Not a terribly grand thing to celebrate but I remember it. Also it came up in conversation lately where I don’t remember the exact context but there was a comment on my hair being short, and my response was “Well it’s been like this for a decade so I’m used to it now. More than a decade! A decade and a half!”

    Speaking of comments on my hair, there’s been an evolution on the compliments I get. Thus:

    1. At first I got a lot of compliments about how good it looked from people who knew me with long hair: the immediate drama of the Great Chop. So anyone who knew me at the time, or anyone who I knew ever. How Bold!
    2. Following this, is compliments from friends and acquaintances who never knew me with long hair, commenting on how my hair well suits me. Nice.
    3. I also get compliments from complete strangers, or semi-strangers. E.g. the woman who lives in my building who I see walking around the neighbourhood all the time who never smiles at me or makes eye contact but occasionally has a great hat. I held the side door of our building for her the other day and she commented on my hair. “It’s very low maintenance!” I exclaimed, happy for the interaction. But she had nothing else to say after that, even though we had a whole set of stars to walk up together.

    Part 2 – Another Anecdote Related to my Hair.

    My stylist (not the Original Chopper, but a new one) cuts my hair so fast but we manage to have a good catch-up chat anyway by talking really fast. I almost forgot to remind her about my dance recital after my last cut, but I turned back just before leaving the salon and told her how to get tickets. She was able to attend and found me after the show with a bar of vegan chocolate. (Cute context: She’d offered me a choco-treat during my cut but I had to decline due to dairy and she was all “OH NO! No chocolate??!” but I was like “VEGAN CHOCOLATE!” and she was consoled and promised me some next time.)

    Lindsie With Long Hair Circa June 2008
  • July 2, 2025.

    “Meeting Art, June 25 2025” – pencil on printer paper – private collection