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Of apples and gaming
Sep. 17th, 2006 09:02 amYesterday I met two lj friends in person, met another lady who is now an lj friend, picked oodles of apples, drove to and in Toronto, and roleplayed a fox mercenary cleaning up a possible plague ship while my compatriots fought a naval battle against pirates and won.
It was a good day.
Around noon,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sassy_fae, my two daughters, and I, piled into the car. We were heading to the urban homestead of urban_homestead and her husband gnolyn to pick some of their abundance of apples. This required me to drive to Toronto. Now, I have rarely done this; in fact, I don't think I've ever driven IN Toronto, though I've driven the highways near it once or twice. There's not usually a need, because Piet is much more experienced at driving those roads and I haven't been to Toronto without him in years. So, though it was stressful, it was something I needed to do just so I could get over my fear of it. (My old phobia about highway driving has long since subsided. There were a few years there where I would tilt my passenger seat all the way back and pretend to go to sleep, because if I had to see what the driver was doing I would white-knuckle it all the way there, which was not conducive to a good marital relationship. I made myself deal with it because, well, it's not easy getting places in Southern Ontario without driving on the highway, and I wanted my independence.) We got there without incident, stopped for a quick lunch at a local mall, then went on to urban_homestead's garden.
That place was the kind of treasure trove I know I could never create, but love to spend time in and enjoy when other people have created it. It had no lawn. There were three or four fruit trees - two apple, one pear, and I think there was a plum in there somewhere. Amongst the flagstone paths and trees, there were beans of several varieties (sassy_fae swiped some to dry and plant next year, with our hostess' blessing) Concord grapes, a couple types of squash, tomatoes (I have a bag of these in my fridge, too) Swiss chard, beets, chamomile, parsley, nasturtium, and at least a dozen other beautiful and edible plants. The apples are of two different types, but the one that makes up most of our haul is rather hard to define. It's tart enough to be good for cooking, sweet enough to be good for eating raw. The skin is a pale red striated with green, the texture firm and not too juicy, with just the tiniest hint of graininess. We got well over a bushel, I think, and have already eaten a fair number. More on that later.
Also in attemdance were my newest lj friend,anenomemama, and her older daughter. It turns out they're known to my good friend anidada through LLL. After we lightened the tree enough that it became possible to walk under it without hitting one's head, we were invited inside for a delectable almond angel food cake, some homemade cider, and some conversation while the kids played nearby. It was a lovely afternoon, which perhaps explains why we were so late leaving. A great thanks to our hosts for the apples and the hospitality!
We got slightly misdirected on the way back, but found the highway again without too much trouble. The drive home was uneventful, and both girls slept. When we arrived here, it was to discover thatanidada, nottheterritory, and their daughter had gotten here ahead of us. Thence followed a pleasant evening of apples, pizza, and piracy on the high seas of Calabria. It would have been perfect if my younger daughter had not been quite so adamant in her refusal to go to sleep. I think I like Elizabeth's infant habit of sitting up and grinning at everyone when she was sleepy, better than Claire's anger at the necessity of closing her eyes for a few hours. sassy_fae finally took her, walked her upstairs, and the timing must have been just right because she conked out on the way. Thereafter there was peace in our home, as the preschoolers were rather conked out in the back room.
We have to go to church this morning - it's been more than a month since we were there - so I'd better get a shower, get dressed to shoes, and clear away the mess in the kitchen enough to put the dishwasher on when we leave. (Yes, the sink was shined last night.)
It was a good day.
Around noon,
sassy_fae, my two daughters, and I, piled into the car. We were heading to the urban homestead of urban_homestead and her husband gnolyn to pick some of their abundance of apples. This required me to drive to Toronto. Now, I have rarely done this; in fact, I don't think I've ever driven IN Toronto, though I've driven the highways near it once or twice. There's not usually a need, because Piet is much more experienced at driving those roads and I haven't been to Toronto without him in years. So, though it was stressful, it was something I needed to do just so I could get over my fear of it. (My old phobia about highway driving has long since subsided. There were a few years there where I would tilt my passenger seat all the way back and pretend to go to sleep, because if I had to see what the driver was doing I would white-knuckle it all the way there, which was not conducive to a good marital relationship. I made myself deal with it because, well, it's not easy getting places in Southern Ontario without driving on the highway, and I wanted my independence.) We got there without incident, stopped for a quick lunch at a local mall, then went on to urban_homestead's garden.That place was the kind of treasure trove I know I could never create, but love to spend time in and enjoy when other people have created it. It had no lawn. There were three or four fruit trees - two apple, one pear, and I think there was a plum in there somewhere. Amongst the flagstone paths and trees, there were beans of several varieties (
sassy_fae swiped some to dry and plant next year, with our hostess' blessing) Concord grapes, a couple types of squash, tomatoes (I have a bag of these in my fridge, too) Swiss chard, beets, chamomile, parsley, nasturtium, and at least a dozen other beautiful and edible plants. The apples are of two different types, but the one that makes up most of our haul is rather hard to define. It's tart enough to be good for cooking, sweet enough to be good for eating raw. The skin is a pale red striated with green, the texture firm and not too juicy, with just the tiniest hint of graininess. We got well over a bushel, I think, and have already eaten a fair number. More on that later.Also in attemdance were my newest lj friend,
anenomemama, and her older daughter. It turns out they're known to my good friend anidada through LLL. After we lightened the tree enough that it became possible to walk under it without hitting one's head, we were invited inside for a delectable almond angel food cake, some homemade cider, and some conversation while the kids played nearby. It was a lovely afternoon, which perhaps explains why we were so late leaving. A great thanks to our hosts for the apples and the hospitality!We got slightly misdirected on the way back, but found the highway again without too much trouble. The drive home was uneventful, and both girls slept. When we arrived here, it was to discover that
anidada, nottheterritory, and their daughter had gotten here ahead of us. Thence followed a pleasant evening of apples, pizza, and piracy on the high seas of Calabria. It would have been perfect if my younger daughter had not been quite so adamant in her refusal to go to sleep. I think I like Elizabeth's infant habit of sitting up and grinning at everyone when she was sleepy, better than Claire's anger at the necessity of closing her eyes for a few hours. sassy_fae finally took her, walked her upstairs, and the timing must have been just right because she conked out on the way. Thereafter there was peace in our home, as the preschoolers were rather conked out in the back room.We have to go to church this morning - it's been more than a month since we were there - so I'd better get a shower, get dressed to shoes, and clear away the mess in the kitchen enough to put the dishwasher on when we leave. (Yes, the sink was shined last night.)
