Italian Wedding Soup, My Way

It is still definitely soup weather here in eastern Ontario.  We keep getting little snippets of snow and the March winds are certainly blowing.  Yesterday's walk was 'bracing' to put it mildly.

One of my favourite soups has to be Italian wedding soup.  Traditionally it is made with spinach and orzo pasta I believe.  However I have changed this to leeks and bowtie pasta.  After all aren't bowties more in keeping with a wedding than little rice shaped noodles?

It is a very simple soup to make, well the mini meatballs take a bit of time, but other than that, there's not much to it.

Ingredients:

1 litre carton of chicken soup stock(sodium reduced for the health conscious)
2 large leeks
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cups of water
1 cup of bowtie pasta



Meatballs:
      1/2 lb ground pork (turkey or chicken is nice too)
      1 large egg
      1 tsp ground black pepper
      1 tablespoon garlic powder

Add the water and chicken stock to a large cooking dish.  Bring to a boil.

Add the bowtie pasta to the stock, and stir occasionally.

Cut the leeks up into 1/4 inch slices.  Add to the stock.

Dice the onion, and mince the garlic.  Add to stock.

Put the ground pork in a bowl.  Add garlic powder, black pepper and the egg.  With your hands, mix all four ingredients.  Form little meatballs in your hands (about a quarter to a half teaspoon each) and drop into the boiling stock and vegetables.   Allow the meatballs to all cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.

A Sad Little Family Tale

I've traipsed through a lot of cemeteries in my genealogical research over the years.  The missus and I are both a bit odd, but we thoroughly enjoy a gander through a cemetery on a Sunday afternoon.  It is always fascinating to try and piece together a story just from the scant information offered on an aged tombstone.

One of the stones I ran across, was in the Chapman Valley Cemetery located a few miles from where I grew up.  It is the stone for Nelson Harrison and his young wife Nancy McRitchie.

Nelson was a great, great uncle of mine, brother to my great grandfather David Harrison, another individual I will blog about in the future.

I really don't have much information about Nelson, there are no tales that have been passed down through the generations.  All I have is the info from the tombstone and a little microfiche mention in the death certificates of the district and the following excerpt from another long distance cousin researcher.

From the notes of the late Charles McRitchie:

Nelson Harrison, born Jan 15, 1857 in Bentick Township, Grey County, Died Lake Muskoka, in Oct 1886.  Married on Dec 2, 1885 at Parry Sound Ontario to his 1st cousin, Nancy McRitchie, born May 30, 1858.  Nancy died Oct 28, 1886, just 7 days after the birth of their daughter.  Both were patients of the same Doctor at the same time, were nursed by No. 6 (this is the one of the Big Ten that I blogged about a week ago) who brought the baby home to live with them.

from the Chapman Valley Cemetery Records off the tombstone:

Harrison, Nancy Bartleman, b. May 30, 1858, d. Oct 28, 1886, w/o Nelson
Harrison, Nelson, b. Jan 15, 1857, d. Nov 26, 1886, h/o Nancy

The death certificate for Nelson is very short and to the point:

"erisipelas following gunshot wounds in hunting accident"

from the notes of CVB McRitchie: 

Nancy McRitchie, born May 30, 1858, died Oct 28, 1886, was married Dec 2, 1885 at Parry Sound, Ontario to Nelson Harrison, born Jan 15, 1857. Nelson died Nov 26, 1886 from blood poisoning, caused by being accidently shot in the knee while deer hunting on Oct 22.  Their issue: Nancy Nellie E. Harrison, born Oct 21, 1886.  

So to put the pieces of the puzzle together:

Nelson Harrison and Nancy Bartleman McRitchie were married on Dec 2, 1885. The only odd thing about this union was the fact that they were first cousins.  However that was not particularly uncommon 150 years ago in Ontario.  Ten months later their daughter Nancy Nellie E. was born on Oct 21, 1886.  The next day Nelson was accidently shot in the knee while deer hunting.  Six days later, the mother Nancy died, presumably from complications from childbirth.  Nelson lived another month and eventually succumbed to blood poisoning from his wound on November 26, 1886.  The new baby was left an orphan and returned to the grandparents, who apparently raised her.  Unfortunately, no records beyond her birth, have ever been discovered. Thus ends my sad little tale.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.

My First Teaching Practicum - What I Learned From Grade 6's

The following is something I wrote at the end of my first teaching practicum.  It was a note to the students and their parents, who endured AND survived my first feeble attempts as an educator.

October 25, 2006

Dear Parents and Students:

Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be a small part of your child's educational career.  Over the course of eight weeks, I have grown very fond of this class, and have learned a lot about the teaching profession and myself, in the process.  Some of the things I have discovered are:

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• If you listen closely, you can hear a grade six girl rolling her eyes.
• You don't even have to listen closely at all, to hear grade six boys
• Grade sixes love to chatter. (a simple sentence) Grade sixes love to chatter loudly. (a simple sentence with an adverb)  Lively grade sixes love to chatter.  (a simple sentence with an adjective)  Grade sixes love to chatter about the following: sports, last night's TV, boys, girls, makeup and many other things. (a simple sentence, using a colon)  Grade sixes love to chatter all day long. (a stereotype, but the TRUTH!)
• Screwdrivers and pliers have plastic or rubber handles because if they were wooden you might get splinters in your fingers.  (An actual answer on a test, after an eight week Science unit on Electricity).
• 31 recorders make a very loud noise
• "I don't get it." is the most annoying phrase a teacher will ever hear.  "Ya, but I still don't get it." is only slightly more annoying.
• Most grade sixes cannot write a sentence without multiple spelling mistakes, BUT they can spot a teacher spelling a word incorrectly, in the next classroom.
• "Line up and walk quietly to the gym," translated roughly means the same as "CHARGE!"
• Wall-sits bring the concept of creative cheating to a new level
• Cheating is acceptable in sports, as long as it is your team doing it.  Cheating is completely and utterly unacceptable and must be pointed out, at all costs, to the teacher, if it involves the other team.  From this analysis, we can conclude that the teacher either is, should be, or will be deemed to be blind.
• The first season snow is severe competition to teaching a lesson.
• Grade sixes are decent, caring, responsible individuals if given the encouragement and opportunity.

In three years time, should we meet in the mall, and you are a foot taller, and I don't recognize you, or your name evades me, please come over and say hello and tell me what is going on in your life.
                                
                                                                                       Yours truly,

                                                                                       Mr. H.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener

Jackie

She was only a tiny little black, white faced calf.  Dad was kind of disappointed that Brightie, our Holstein cow had produced such a miserable specimen.  "She looks like a jack rabbit", was Dad's comment.  Jackie, as she became known, soon made up for her puny birth.  A lively specimen, she ran circles around her bigger counterparts.  She had a friendly disposition and became the family pet.  Within the first month or two of her life, she made an unexpected visit to the house.  A neighbouring farmer, ever the practical joker, led her into Mother's kitchen one evening, just for the pure shock value.  She was never given the opportunity to become housebroken!

Jackie grew into a fine hiefer.  Money was tight and I'm certain Dad wanted to sell her as a yearling, but I think he sensed that this one was special.  So she was allowed to enter the herd as a brood cow.

In her sixteen patient years, she faithfully produced a healthy calf each year.  Two daughters went on to become brood cows like their mother.

Finally one fall, Jackie returned open, meaning she was not in calf.  This usually meant the trip to the great pasture in the sky, for a beef cow.  Usually we ended up butchering any cow suffering from infertility, for the winter's beef.  However, I think even Dad realized that we wouldn't be able to choke down a burger, knowing it came from an old family pet.

It was a sad day that we watched the old girl toddle on to the truck that would take her to market. Her pendulous udder swayed softly, her gentle face streaked with the grimy tears of the aged.

Some folks would suggest that cows are just stupid creatures, but Jackie had personality and we all loved her for it.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.

Another Snow Day

Well it appears we have been gifted with another 'Snow' Day at school.  I'm feeling pretty fortunate, to actually get paid for a day and not have to teach.  This is the second one we've had inside of two weeks, so I'm thinking my principal will probably give me some responsibility to look after the children who do walk to school.  But it will be a welcome break from my Grade 7's (none of whom will venture out, I'm quite certain).

Now it does put me a bit behind the eightball, as far as the musical end of business.   This was to have been our second last week of practice before the Lions Music Festival competition.  The kids and the teacher I'm replacing are both very set on getting the Gold Medal Shield for the district.  Unfortunately, Thursday is our music slot.   Perhaps I may be able to swing something on Friday morning, but that will require some careful skating with the other teachers and scheduling.

I got myself up early, blew the snow out of the driveway, so the bus wouldn't get stuck.  That was kind of a worthless effort, especially since it is supposed to rain most of the day now.

 Hopefully I will get some planning time in today.  It would be nice to have a week or two done ahead of me.  I have been too much fly by the seat of my pants over the past few weeks.  But it's kind of a shame I spent extra time at school last night, and all that time, prepping a unit test for Math at home.

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And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.

Punkinhead, Teddy and Rabbit

I wrote this a few years back, as part of a creative writing assignment for a university course.  The assignment was to discuss items from our childhood that we fondly remembered. 

Punkinhead, I believe that was his store bought name, was a favourite hand-me-down stuffed toy.  Whether or not he was new when my oldest brother loved him, I cannot say.  A rusty brown bear, he had an indelible grin etched on his hard rubber face.  While I thought he was wonderful, my daughters to this day, declare him to be scary!

Teddy, unlike Punkinhead, was mine from the start.  A gift from two spinster aunts, Teddy was a green and white teddy bear.  At least he was green and white when he was new, but as he was loved, he became more of a faded green and grey bear.

Rabbit was another gift from generous aunts.  It's funny I always assumed he had been a hand me down, because his hard plastic body was always very stained and aged looking as I remember him.  However in going through the old albums I came across this photo.  There sits Rabbit amid the other new toys and wrapping paper, obviously a Christmas gift for the little toddler, yours truly.  I want to say the tractor in the photo was mine too, but alas, I don't recall it.  Either it wasn't mine, or was destroyed before my days of recollection arrived.  Rabbit however did survive into my youth, although I don't recall ever seeing him since.

The toys were about a foot in height and stayed with me long after nursery days were over.  As most children have imaginery friends, so Punkinhead, Teddy and Rabbit became very real, if unseen companions.  While their physical bodies lay abandoned in the corner of a bedroom, their spirits roved the farm with me, listening to my childish prattlings and generally being an integral part of my boyish adventures.

I know the bears were somewhere in the house, into my teen years.  But a few years ago when my daughters were born, I asked my brother if I could search the farmhouse for them, hoping the next generation might get some further enjoyment from them.  Punkinhead appeared in all his dilapidated glory, but alas Teddy had disappeared.  Perhaps he'd gone to the Great Teddy Bear Picnic in the Sky, but I prefer to think he is just off wandering through the hundred acre wood with the little boy who loved him years ago.

And that is all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.

Student Poverty Video

A friend of mine is a part of this great little video, done to promote awareness of the fact that too many post-secondary students are drowning in debt, with little prospects of getting the jobs in the near future to reduce this issue.  He plays keyboards in the group and is studying music at Dalhousie University in New Brunswick, in eastern Canada.  Apparently Dalhousie suffers from one of the higher debt ratios per student in our fair land.

As the father of a university student, I am often second guessing the investment of education as well.  I know stats have over many years proven that degree-holding individuals have much higher overall life-time earnings than those without.  I'm wondering how this concept will evolve over the next few decades.

Right now we have all our universities crowded to their potential, with a huge percentage of undergrads, upon graduation, moving on to pursue post graduate studies.  Those folks used to be few and far between, and joined a very small and elite sector in society.  It is like, the BA/BSc has become the new Grade 12, and the MA/PhD is the new BA/BSc.   And while it is all fine and well for people to have become so educated, do we have the economic job base to continue this trend?  We currently have far too many degreed individuals waiting tables and other mundane jobs, just to pay back student loans and try to keep afloat.

So back to the video.  Have too many folks fallen prey to the notion that a university degree is the key to success?  My feelings are that there are too many young people out there, with no clear cut sense of direction to take educationally, who just fall into the trap of taking course after course in the hopes that something will ignite their passion.  The problem is that the wick is getting mighty expensive and there are people who probably could reach the same goal, but working for a few years thus amassing the money to tackle post secondary education, as opposed to casting about aimlessly, incurring debt rather than accumulating assets.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.