Worms and Weekends

Jo Hunter Adams

Our hotel weekend was wonderful. 15th floor. Indoor swimming pool. Totally free luxury. The only downside was that Eug's iPod disappeared (fell out of his pocket?) while we were walking around the city. He loved that iPod so much it had it's own pillow in our bed.

And when we returned yesterday, it was time for a worm rotation. This is basically when I harvest compost from the bottom of the two worm bins, move the top bin to the bottom, and start a new bin. The idea is that the worms will work on the food in the bin below, and when food starts to become more scarce, they'll be able to move freely into the top bin. Theoretically, this means that you should be able to harvest the compost on the bottom without digging through worms. Theoretically. I was reminded that I am still a little freaked out by worms...

Eug and I also planted some of our Seeds of Change seeds yesterday. I tend to plant WAY to many seedlings, and find it totally impossible to say goodbye to the extras, so this year I'm trying to be different. I also kept all these melon seeds from our share, hoping that I can get them to germinate this year. I'm thinking of planting them outside and just waiting to see what happens.

On Miles and February Books

This weekend, we're using frequent flier miles to go away for a couple of nights. (mom, dad, I didn't know we could do this when I was booking your hotel.... sorry!) I wanted us to be able to get away one last time before May, but couldn't figure out how to do it without overspending. Enter my Delta miles (which are unlikely to be enough for a flight), and a totally fancy hotel. I love hotels (I love predictability and indoor swimming pools) and I'm hoping the next couple of days will help me finally kick my annoying cold.

Here's my February booklist:
A Blessing Over Ashes by Adam Fifield
The New Frugality by Chris Farrell
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
The Myth of a Christian Religion by Gregory Boyd
Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi
The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian

I'm not expecting great things of every book I read: I find that while I was taught to be critical, it's proving pretty helpful to try to get a good sense of the author's intention.

K'Naan and The World Cup

Jo Hunter Adams

We're still shuffling through the papers and other stuff in our flat, and I'm finding that just moving things around gradually helps eliminate some of the excess. I've never been so excited for recycling day (tomorrow is recycling for the Green Bins!); the recycling truck will never forget us...

These days it's also hitting me that I won't be home for the World Cup. Beyond that tinge of sadness, I'm hugely excited and proud that the World Cup is happening in South Africa. I wanted to put in a plug for K'Naan's World Cup Theme Song:


Imagine, during the World Cup, everyone is going to be listening to this song, listening to a Somali-- a Somali-Canadian refugee-- and enjoying the music. I wonder if, for a few weeks, the world can see K'Naan and think of Somalia? Somalia cannot be reduced to one western feel-good song, but maybe there's something to be said for one person, speaking in an international language, representing a new way, and helping us see something we couldn't see before. Here's to that hope!