Vignettes

Dinner

/ sweetsaraline

The stew slides out of the can with a schlurrrrrrrrp. It retains a cylindrical shape until I smash it up with a wooden spoon. Beige, orange, and brown cubes with rounded corners swim in a brown puddle. That’s the potatoes, carrots, and meat. The beef is made of highly processed hamburger meat, ground up again and again before being pressed into a shape.

I know that it is ready when the stew sizzles and spits.

I take the French fries out of the oven. I scoop some onto a plate and I dump the stew on top of the French fries. I set the plate down in front of my surprised son.

“My dad used to make this for me when I was a kid,” I tell him.

“Oh.” He pauses to take a hesitant bite, and then he says, “Did you like this when you were a kid?”

Cat tree

/ sweetsaraline

The most practical spot for a cat tree is in front of a window. Ours is in front of the big window in the living room. One of our cats predictably likes to sit on it to get a good view of the front yard. He watches the birds, the squirrels, the rabbits, the neighbourhood cats who come to sit on the railway ties bordering our garden bed. He watches the people walking by as they stroll down to look at the lake. Some of the people have dogs. If he’s lucky, he’ll get to see a duck, a wild turkey, or a fox. This is exactly what we envisioned when we put the cat tree in front of the window.

Our other cat likes to sit on it too, but he faces the living room so he can watch us.

Garden Star of the week: Roses

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Roses are popular with gardeners in several localities, and also with people who like the idea of gardening but don’t actually want to do it. Having them in bloom allows you to immerse yourself in an aromatory experience every time you venture out your front door, and yes, I did just make that word up, because what’s in a name, am I right? They’re beautiful, they’re edible, they’re world famous and have even been referenced by a little old playwright called William Shakespeare. And the best part about roses? Because of their famous sharp thorns, they’re completely squirrel-proof! And that is why the rose is our Garden Star 🌟 of the week. Congrats, roses!

The decorations

/ sweetsaraline

Picture a cemetery on a cold and sunny day in October. The sky is blue, the leaves are orange, and the headstones are sticking out of the ground like big, somber, grey popsicles. Now zoom in on my identical twin aunts. You can tell them apart when you see them, but not when you hear them both laughing at the same time. Today they are visiting my grandparents and they have supplies.

They decorate my grandparents’ headstone. The decorations are placed meticulously and thoughtfully. They stand back to admire the lavish display that they’ve created. My grandparents would love it. My aunts’ voices fade as they walk back to their cars. The sun puts on a show with dark reds, oranges, and yellows stretching through the sky, and then it fades, too.

The cemetery is quiet and dark. The wind keeps the headstones company. The sun returns and the sky turns blue again. The first mourners of the day come to the cemetery with flowers. They are startled when they see the plastic skeleton guarding my grandparents’ stone. As they take in the scene more, they also notice the rubber bats, the fake spider webs, the autumn flowers, and the pumpkins.

My grandparents really liked Halloween.

Cloud

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My husband sits in the backyard after a long day at work. The sun is hot. He shifts his chair into the shade. A light breeze swishes through the tree canopy overhead. A blue jay hops on the fence and twists its head to look at him before flying away again. A chipmunk ventures out and then dives into a hole behind a rock.

After forty-five minutes of peacefulness, the door slides open. I step outside. My husband watches as I walk across the yard, a thick and growing cloud following closely behind me. I sit in a chair next to him and the mosquitoes descend on both of us.