Hazelnuts - my favourite!

Hazelnuts have always been my favourite nut.  At Christmas, when we had a bag of mixed nuts, I would be the one to eat all the hazelnuts in the bag.  And hazelnuts with chocolate - the best!  I remember when I was a kid and we were at the lake, my Mom showed me the wild hazelnut bushes, and we picked some.  I was amazed that we could grow them here.  :)

A few years ago, a group called Out of your Tree was formed in the city.  Its purpose is to make sure all fruit from local trees are harvested.  Many people have fruit trees in their yards but never pick the fruit themselves, which means that it falls to the ground and attracts wasps - a lose, lose situation.  There are also lots of fruit trees on city land, and usually they don't get picked either.  Probably people assume that you can't pick them because they are city trees.  Out of your Tree has done a lot of research, and discovered that it's permissible to harvest from city trees, which is great!  So through this site, and their facebook page, arrangements are made to pick city and personal trees - 1/3 goes to the owner of the tree (should they want it), 1/3 is donated, 1/3 is for the fruit picker.

I put a random post on the Out of your Tree facebook page indicating that I would be interested in any extra apricots or hazelnuts.  I was excited when someone responded saying that she would let me have some hazelnuts from the bush in her yard.  I assumed that I would be picking, but she had done the harvesting and handed me a small bag.



The hazelnuts are small, which I remembered from when I was a kid, so probably it's a bush of the wild variety.  One the left, you see what they look on the bush.  They are encased in a fuzzy covering which is easier to remove when the covering is dry.  One thing I'd forgotten was that the fuzzy covering is prickly, and sticks in your skin like tiny thorns.  Next time I would wear gloves when I peel the covering off.  The uncovered hazelnuts in shell are about 1/2" wide.  They need to dry a bit more, but when they are ready, I'll have to think of a special way to use them - definitely with chocolate.  Maybe hazelnut bark?

Knitting as Meditation

Knitting as meditation. I've often considered knitting a contemplative and meditative act. Especially if I am just knitting, as opposed to knitting while visiting or watching tv or attending a meeting. Knitting helps my mind to focus, to pay attention to what's going on around me, but also lets my mind rest. It sounds contradictory, but that's how it is for me.

I lost my Mom this spring. She had been suffering with a debilitating condition for some time, and I got a phone call from my sister telling me to come as soon as possible. I managed to get a flight for the same afternoon, and had about fifteen minutes to pack before the cab came to take me to the airport. I madly threw things into my duffle bag and left. Death can come quickly, or not. In my Mom's case, she lasted four more days after I got there. We spent hours with her every day, just being there, and talking to her when she was awake, telling her how much we loved her.

We didn't want to be loud while she was resting, so we each had something quiet to occupy us during those times. In my case, my sister-in-law very kindly gave me some sock yarn, and allowed me the use of her 2.75 mm double-pointed needles. I had been in such a rush while packing that I hadn't thought to bring anything with me, so this was wonderful. I have my favourite sock pattern in my head, so I cast on using the soft black alpaca yarn, and began knitting a sock. It was easy to pick up and put down as needed, and helped me feel more centred and calm, and more present. I'm not saying that I didn't cry and feel awful, but that knitting motion helped me move through this time, this loss.

I finished the socks the day of the funeral. There's no doubt that wearing these socks will make me think of my Mom. I miss her a lot, but she's no longer suffering, and that is a blessing.