Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
- Pueblo Blessing
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Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006 - 1:26 a.m.
WARNING!!!! if you know me personally, you may read my diary, but if you do, you take the chance of hearing things you don't want to know, misunderstanding what I've written and being hurt by it. If you are unsure if it is ok to read, save yourself and me the grief and heartache, and ask first!!! Please note that this is a DIARY, ie my subjective feelings, hearsay, suppositions, and outpourings of ranting of the moment. It does not represent objective news, the whole of what I think of a topic or someone, or even a thought-out representation of any of the above. Keep that in mind. Thanks. * Here is a Diary Etiquette Read Me.
A Crazy Day
OK, well this has been a crazy day.
No I didn't get the other horsey photos inserted in yesterday's entry. I will try to add them here. It is simply a matter of html.
I DID get the third floor balcony painted, the second floor balcony scraped and vacuumed, and half the first coat of paint on the stairs and second floor balcony. I wish I could just tell the bloody tenants to vacate for two days til I get the stairs painted and i could do it in two days, instead of half the step 1coat, other half one coat, half the step second coat, other half second coat... so that they can go up and down the stairs. So long. ack.
I am getting old. I am all tired out from scraping, and my knees hurt hurt hurt. Scraping scraping scraping. But one must scrape if one is to paint.
The locksmith guy was here in the morning instead of the agreedupon afternoon. Thank god I was still scraping. $135 to change the latchplate of the lock (opens with a buzzer) that they broke. The guy said it would take someone totally smashing into the door full weight to break the metal like that. AGH. You'd think these people live in a flophouse. Or pay thousands per month, so I could afford $135 for half a door latch.
They condemned my garden.
Yes. That is a bummer.
They sent us a letter about two weeks ago saying that they had done soil samples and found metals 40-50 cm below the surface. Most veggies don't go that deep. They said that it was best to not eat the ripe veggies but that we still had access to our gardens and should care for them as normal.
And then today on the news they were talking about our gardens according to a neighbor. So I looked in the newspaper about 5pm. There was a photo of city personnel ripping out plants. I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
I went to the garden. It was locked. And every single plant that was not a flower was pulled out. Every single plant. All the veggies. All the perennials. I don't have any flowers. So I have a bare patch of dirt. They left the empty tomato supports. And two or three weeds. Nice of them. All my tomatoes, swiss chard, onions, chives, lettuce, beans, zucchini, spaghetti squash, chinese cabbage, and all the perennials: my rhubarb I brought from my grandfather's farm in Saskatchewan (he's long dead and even my uncle left the farm and is retired now). the strawberries I have been tending since 1996 from my mother's garden in Regina (she now lives in a little apartment in Vancouver), my oregano, chives. All of it. Every last root. As if I couldn't replant the rhubarb root I brought from Saskatchewan in my backyard: the new stems would be uncontaminated next year. Same with new strawberry plants growing off these ones, and the next year's berries. They trashed it all.
Without telling us. Not a letter. Not a phonecall. (they certainly phoned fast enough if we didn't pull out our weeds). Just that letter two weeks ago telling us to tend the gardens as usual pending further news. And then to find out from a neighbor via the media. Stupid fuckers.
Anyways, they have had community gardens there for at least 15 years. I waited 4 yrs on a waiting list, and now this is my fourth or fifth year with a garden there. And now, suddenly in the end of August they decide that the veggies are contaminated. They couldn't test the ground 15 years ago? They couldn't test it in the fall, or the spring, before people had bought all their bedding plants and seeds, planted and tended their gardens all summer and were ready to pick everything? Suddenly after 15 years we are going to die by eating a couple tomatoes or having an opportunity to transplant perennials that were dear to us??
The fuckers.
I have pictures but it is nearly 2am and I plan to be up in 6 hours or less. Tomorrow. It is so sad.
And the other crazy thing??
At about 11:15 pm tonight, (now that's redundant!) I hear a great crash and another smash and a crinkle tinkle... sounds like someone has thrown a patio door from the third floor, followed by a mattress and a set of dinnerware.
No, some idiot girl in an SUV missed the corner to turn (god only knows how that is possible... there is a four way stop there), and turned AFTER the street, onto the sidewalk between the corner store and the trees and parked cars. Hit one post holding up a noparkingdeliveryzone sign on the passenger side next to the store... it totally bent over and the sign flew all the way to in front of my place, a good 100 feet or more. And the car continued until it ran into a lightpost, and the light fell off onto the ground. Front of the car all smashed in. Side of the tree all skinned off completely. Not a sign anywhere of braking. Gasoline all over the ground.
Stupid weird girl. I mean really. "I was going through the intersection and missed the left turn so I thought I could drive on the sidewalk" she says. Um. Missed the left turn?? When you are at a fourway stop?? You don't brake when you are running over signs and careening against trees and brick walls of buildings?? She didn't seem to think there was any problem "look, I didn't run into anyone" she says... she just about squished the four people who own and work at the cornerstore since they were standing out in front on the same sidewalk she drove on and smashed down the pole. She careened by them without putting on the brake only about a foot or two from them. They were a bit freaked.
Anyways, beware of ditzy girls in femmey sandals who think that driving on the sidewalk in the dark is ok, instead of braking. Frightening.
The first ones to the scene were the firemen. The same effin city that pulled out all my garden is closing our firestation. Stupid effin effers. The firemen got there TWENTY MINUTES before an ambulance and police. They immobilised the bad driver's neck, they put stuff on the gasoline so it stopped running under all the parked cars. They checked that it wouldn't blow up. Yay for the firemen. They were on the ball, and the city wants to move them to the other side of the river, so our nearest firestation will be over fifteen minutes away. yay.
Anyways, it was a crazy day.
Wish me a less nuts one tomorrow, please.
And I swear I will try to find time to post pictures.
Of ripped out gardens.
Posts bent over.
Cars smashed into lamps.
Well, here are the horses, and me, one day late.
One could almost pretend that I can ride a horse. But the horse knew I can't.
hah.
me
wenchie
All images copyright 2006 Wench77
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previous meanderings - future past
Goodbye Michael. May your next life be kinder to you. - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Taking Care of Your Cows - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Saint Joseph robs the cradle and eats spaghetti - Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009
sticky notes and broken irises - Friday, Jun. 12, 2009
The FOODCOMMANDER - Monday, Jun. 08, 2009
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