Never say never

Well, 2023 has come and gone and here we are in 2024. It was a good year for us with travel and new and old things to keep us entertained. We are fortunate in our friendships and we just returned from a wonderful visit with relatives in Vancouver.

While I was there I made an interesting discovery. There aren’t many foods that I don’t like but brussel sprouts is pretty high up on the list. I’ve always found them bitter and I ate them if I could completely cover the taste with something else. Since folks generally serve brussel sprouts with turkey dinners, I found gravy and cranberry sauce did a good job of masking the taste. When my cousin suggested we have brussel sprouts one night for dinner I said they weren’t really my favourite. She told me she hadn’t liked them either if they were boiled but they were good roasted and I should try some.

I was willing to give them another try. Turns out she was right. I enjoyed them and even went back for a second helping. I’m always on the lookout for ways to increase the cruciferous veggies in my diet and I was pleased to have found a way to cook the sprouts that were not only palatable but delicious. When we got home and Richard did the first grocery shopping of the year, he bought a bag of brussel sprouts. He cooked them up as instructed and again, they were delicious. From now on I’ll be looking for them in the grocery store and whenever I see them, I’ll buy them. I’m not sure why adding brussel sprouts to my diet delights me but it does. Maybe it’s knowing that long standing tastes can change for the better or maybe it’s one of those very small things that I’ll be looking for and savouring in 2024.

The second thing that falls under the ‘never say never’ category isn’t quite as positive. I remember when I first taught high school we went cross country skiing almost every weekend during the winter. We also skied after school in the parks and golf courses around Calgary. There was always abundant snow and it was easy to get out for an hour or two. I haven’t had the motivation to get out on snowshoes or cross country skis for years now but that’s a different issue.

We flew home from Vancouver on New Year’s Eve and drove directly to our friends’ house for snacks and fireworks. They very kindly invited us to share the evening with them understanding that we would have very little food in the house. They live in a lake community on the south side of town and the community puts on a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. We thought about going to the lake to watch but then decided to stay inside and watch the fireworks from the kitchen window instead. The fireworks display was short and beautiful. We didn’t have to go anywhere; we simply stood at the window with the lights off in the warm kitchen and watched. Now, that’s my kind of fireworks!

Not being as young as we used to be, and feeling no compulsion to stay around until the stroke of midnight, we left for home around 10:30. We walked out of the house and into the rain. Yes, RAIN! This is Calgary. It’s December 31 and, regardless of how lovely warmer temperatures feel, it just shouldn’t rain in the winter here! It wasn’t just a case of ‘can’t make up my mind to rain or snow’ either: it was a hard pounding rain. It should be cold and snowy at this time of year. Cold kills pine beetles and other creatures that we haven’t had to worry about at this latitude before. Snow lands on the glaciers and in the mountains and fills up our rivers in the spring. While I don’t particularly enjoy freezing my butt off, I don’t have to go to work and can get what I need when the weather warms slightly or when it’s not dumping snow. I couldn’t help but think that this coming summer we will, again, have a serious and prolonged forest fire season. Our snowiest month is usually March so there’s still time to replenish some of that ice and water in the mountains. I wouldn’t mind getting some of that snow now.

Anyway, the world bumbles along as do I. The sun is shining in an almost cloudless sky and the temperature is slightly below freezing. Odie is sitting beside me on his perch, head tucked into his back feathers having a nap and my tea cup is empty. Odie probably deserves his own post but that’s for later. Right now it’s time to make another cup of tea and smile at the memory of brussel sprouts and fireworks. In 2024 I’ll be savouring little nuggets such as these. May you also find small things each day that make you smile.