[2022-07-23] Saturday Synopsis #1
Today, I start a new series in Jenesis called Saturday Synopsis—a weekly summary of interesting things I've discovered in the past seven days (mostly). This might include topical recipes, interesting businesses, uplifting stories, inspiring quotes, new music and a photo of the week in my visual. I hope you enjoy it.
Zucchini season
It's zucchini and tomato season. This week, I inherited three zucchini and a bowl of cherry tomatoes from my sister. One zucchini went into Chunky Monkey Zucchini Banana Muffins; this isn't a new recipe, but zucchini season is new this week, so I'm sneaking this one in. But I also tried two new recipes today: Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal and Sautéed Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes. The former is gluten free and could easily be made vegan; it was excellent: not sweet, lovely soft texture, delicious with banana slices. The latter was delicious, as the tomatoes, onion, olive oil, garlic and seasonings made a luscious sauce supporting the star vegetable.
Magic cleaning solution
I recently came across a recipe for a magic cleaning solution. It works extremely well, especially in situations where you can rinse away any soapy residue, such as the bathroom. Combine 2 cups warm water, ½ cup baking soda, 1 cup vinegar, and ½ cup dish soap. [Addendum: you can use as little as 2 tablespoons of dish soap for a less soapy solution.] Mix it in a large pitcher or bowl, as it will foam up as soon as you add the vinegar (or add it very slowly). Feel free to make half a batch. I put my solution in a squeeze bottle because I found that the baking soda can clog up the straw in a spray bottle. I use the solution for many cleaning projects beyond the bathroom; however, I use a little at a time, as the soap in the solution can be difficult to rinse off. A little goes a long way.
Philanthropy
The Ottawa Citizen published an interesting article yesterday: 'A non-judgmental space': Ottawa Trans Library offers good reads and a place to gather. Tara Sypniewski opened the Ottawa Trans Library in the city's Hintonburg neighbourhood. The article explains: "The library consists of a lending library of books on trans themes and issues and a free library of non-trans books. There are four sitting areas and a free coffee station. There’s only one rule: Be respectful of others." Sypniewski has funds to lease the storefront at 1104 Somerset Street West for two years and to buy more books. She carries books that deal with trans themes and hopes to add transphobic titles as well. "'You have to know where these ideas come from and how they still get circulated. I’m a librarian. I don’t believe in censoring things. That’s the way knowledge is accumulated and acquired,' Sypniewski said. 'You read and you think.'" I love Sypniewski's statement that knowledge is accumulated when we read and think. I also love this quote: "'When you plant a seed, you never know what will happen.'"
Action and hope
To help reduce plastic waste, I recently designated a knapsack for my grocery and produce bags. The push toward reusable grocery bags was hastened by the removal of plastic carryout bags from many stores, including Farm Boy. And, with my daughter's encouragement, we've gone one step further by choosing reusable mesh or cloth bags for our produce. Instead of using one of the store-supplied plastic bags when I pick up some apples, I reach for a mesh bag in my knapsack. As further incentive to use reusable produce bags, Bulk Barn launched its Sustainable Sundays program in April. The store gives customers who use reusable containers and cloth bags on Sundays 15% off their purchase of regularly priced bulk products. Our choice to opt for reusable grocery and produce bags may seem insignificant when considering the tremendous amount of plastic waste, but I believe there is value in individual action. Indeed, I was encouraged by this quote from historian and author Howard Zinn in James Clear's weekly newsletter from this week:
To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
Quotes: kindness, children
I read so many great quotes in a week—including ones from a friend who sends me inspirational sayings in response to my blog posts—that it's difficult to pick only one favourite quote. This week, I select these two recent additions to my compendium of quotes:
Some of the kindest souls I know have lived in a world that was not so kind to them. Some of the best human beings I know have been through so much at the hands of others, and they still love deeply, they still care. Sometimes, it's the people who have been hurt the most who refuse to be hardened in this world, because they would never want to make another person feel the same way they have felt. If that isn't something to be in awe of, I don't know what is.
~ Bianca Sparacino
Children don't say, "I had a hard day, can we talk?" They say, "Will you come play with me?" Read it again. Really hits home.
~ Lawrence Cohen
I have tremendous respect and admiration for people who have faced a difficult life and yet are kind and nurturing to others. And I never considered that when a child says, "Will you come play with me?" they may have had a rotten day and just want to experience someone's loving presence.
Music: Solsbury Hill
One of my favourite songs is Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill." Though the song isn't new to me, I didn't know—until my daughter told me last Sunday—that it's mostly written in 7/4 time, an unusual time signature. To Mel's ear, the 7/4 tempo creates a circular feel to the music. Music writer Andrew Unterberger wrote in Billboard: "The 7/4 stomp of 'Solsbury Hill' is one of its indelible and striking features, that feeling of a beat missing in every measure giving the song a constant sense of struggle—and subsequently, of endurance." Gabriel has said the song is about letting go, about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get.
Photo: Service dog in training
This week's photo is of a service dog in training. Several such dogs were on hand at the Kanata Farmers Market this morning. Most were being trained as service dogs for an individual and therefore could not be petted. But two dogs, including the beautiful yellow lab in the visual, were being trained as intervention dogs, which meant that they could be petted. They will be trained to interact with people in need of support, such as individuals or groups that have experienced trauma.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.
