Maggie Turner: Page by Page

I have decided to record here some of my experiences and thoughts on the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Grandbabies will remember this time from the perspective of childhood, isolated from their elders. We won’t see them during this time, and it will be along time before we see them again. I hope this will allow them a perspective from a senior family member. The media has lots of stories for posterity, and as interesting as those are, they are chosen for drama value, and highly geared to a profit structure. What is written here has no agenda other than sharing one old woman’s perspective, mine. As Ontario moves into the first stage of lifting restrictions during this pandemic, I am mindful of my age and Attila’s health. The experts tell us that the the virus will continue to circulate and affect people until the species reaches “herd immunity”, either by reaching approximately a 70% – 90% infection rate, or by developing a vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus. IF I were in my thirties or forties, or even younger, with no significant health issues, I might welcome the easing of social restrictions. After all I would not be likely … Continue reading →

In the late 70s, I was in hospital for surgery and recovery. My hospital stay was in city hospital. In that city there was a large residential institution for people with severe, very severe, mental deficiencies. I was one of the lucky few to have a semi-private room during my recovery, and to share it with a very nice woman. Next door to our room was a ward room, with I think, four patients, all women. One patient from the large residential institution was in the ward room, recovering from a sterilization procedure. The other women were local residents in the city. My roommate and I could hear all that transpired in the ward room. The woman from the residential institution was the object of much attention, none of it kind. The other women discovered that her stitches were itchy, and goaded her to scratch them, laughing uproariously when she scratched at the healing wound. She laughed too, thinking she was “one of the girls”, and was pleasing people. By the end of the day she had opened the surgical wound. The wound was stitched back up and redressed. Thankfully the hospital staff moved to her a private room. I … Continue reading →

The weather seldom gets me down, here at Mist Cottage, but Saturday morning’s snow surprise unexpectedly affected my mood. After our Friday night walk in a blizzard, which I enjoyed, the two inches of snow on the ground on Saturday morning had the opposite effect. And the continuing cold and cloudy weather is making the uphill climb a bit more difficult. I am getting there though. And warmer weather is on the way by the end of the week, albeit cloudy and raining, but warmer. The garden is bursting into many shades of green, which is beautiful, and adds cheer to the dreary light of day. Nothing for it though, but to keep busy! Years ago Attila gave me a dehydrator, for Christmas I think, or was it my birthday, oh well, it was a welcome gift. A project that has long been under consideration is to dehydrate carrots. So yesterday our 3 pound bag of carrots was peeled, then sliced into 1/4 inch thick medallions by the food processor. The medallions were blanched in boiling water for 3 minutes, removed from the heat, drained, then plunged into cold water, ice water is best but we don’t have ice, so … Continue reading →

I am sitting in my easy chair, gazing at my computer screen, where I can see my reflection as I type. There I am, sunlight and shadow playing across my face, as the branches of the tree outside the window wave in the breeze and share their delight with me. And I amazed at how rich I feel, breathing freely, smiling at myself, at my good fortune in this moment. How good it is to be alive. Here we are, almost mid-May and a Polar Vortex has descended upon us! Tonight the temperature is supposed to dip to -6C, so it will be interesting to see if those wee radish plants make it through the night tonight. The radish plants lasted right up until mid-November last fall, but it may be harder for young seedlings to hang on through frigid temperatures, than it is for established plants. If I remember, if we don’t get the predicted snow overnight, I will mist the radish seedlings with 20C water in tomorrow morning, that might help. Although it is quite cold, it is bright and sunny this morning, but the weather people say it will cloud over by noon. A heavy frost has … Continue reading →

Yesterday we ate the last 500-ml jar of Canned Coleslaw. We love it. So today we made another batch. Attila chopped the vegetables. I got out all of the equipment, washed the jars, prepared the lids, and got the steam canner going. I measured out all of the ingredients for the syrup, this time reducing the sugar significantly, as Attila found the first batch a little too sweet for his taste. Me, well, it is hard for me to imagine anything with too much sugar! Now we have another six and half 500-ml jars cooling on the counter. I am still experimenting with tattler lids with these batches of Canned Coleslaw. The first experiment was 100% successful, but I am not sure about this batch. Tomorrow I will be able to tell if the jars sealed. If the seals fail, no problem, all the jars will go into the refrigerator, and will be eaten within six days time! I turned the heat off in the house, on Sunday afternoon, it was so lovely. It has not been turned back on, but since we are expecting snow by Friday, I think we are going to be needing it again. Last night … Continue reading →