[2022-10-08] Saturday Synopsis #12
Story of the week: Quilts for survivors
This week, I learned of a Facebook group called Quilts for survivors, which offers quilts to survivors of Residential Schools and other traumatic events. It was started by an Indigenous mother, Vanessa Grenier, of the Missanabie First Nation in Ontario. She writes on the group's website, "I have a passion for quilting and believe that a quilt is love sewn together to bring people together." She is joined by quilters from across Canada who craft full-sized blankets, which are sent to survivors of Residential Schools and survivors of trauma. As reflected in the Facebook group, "These quilts are a symbol of support, respect, and love."
Quote of the week: Life is amazing
This week's quote of the week—a poem, really—comes from L.R. Knost, founder and director of a children’s rights advocacy and family consulting group and Editor-in-Chief of Holistic Parenting Magazine. I've quoted Knost before (You get stronger, Respecting children, Today's top 10). This week, she posted on Instagram that a news station asked permission to use her poem "Life is amazing" in its intro. This is her beautiful verse:
Life is amazing.
And then it’s awful.
And then it’s amazing again.
And in between the amazing and the awful
it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing,
hold on through the awful,
and relax and exhale during the ordinary.
That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing,
amazing, awful, ordinary life.
And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.
Song of the week: Friends of Mine
I love the harmonies of Little Big Town, evident as always on the group's 10th album, Mr. Sun. Released in September, the album includes the beautiful "Friends of Mine" with its chorus:
Everyone knows that in life sometimes
The wind blows the rain in your eyes
I see your cup filled with kindness
Raise you a glass full of wine
Take courage friends of mine
Recipe of the week: Chocolate Date-Caramel Cups
For Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's tomorrow, I wanted to make a dessert that everyone could enjoy, including those who avoid gluten. I found a promising choice in the Bon Appétit recipe for Chocolate Date-Caramel Cups. A thin chocolate base is topped with lightly roasted pecans, coconut and sesame seeds, topped with a caramel-like filling made from pureed dates and kosher salt, covered with another thin layer of chocolate and topped with more pecans, coconut and sesame seeds. They were relatively easy to make (and will be even easier the second time around, now that we've gotten the hang of them with today's test run). The combination of flavours in this sweet-salty treat had me exclaiming that they were greater than the sum of their parts.
Video of the week: Cat in the window
As fall settles in, with its penchant for cold, rainy days, I took inspiration from the cat in this short video, hanging out in the window, watching the world go by.
Photo of the week: Sibling laughter
During our family dinner at Willard's Hotel in Upper Canada Village last Sunday, Shane made Mel laugh numerous times. I tried to capture these moments of brother-sister hilarity, snapping 20 photos of the pair over the course of dinner. Unfortunately, most of the photos were slightly blurry given the low light and the fact that one or both of my kids were moving—Shane, as he enthusiastically told his stories, or Mel, as she chuckled in response. They say you should discard blurry photos, but the one below makes me smile, so I threw the rule book out the window. I love seeing the satisfaction on Shane's face as he makes his sister laugh as much as I enjoy seeing Mel in stitches. These are the precious moments of life.
