the yak occidental

At the end of 2020 I read the oddly-charming One Woman's Year by Stella Martin Currey. It's an anthology-style book, focusing on her experiences  through the year one month at a time, January to December. For each month she offers an essay, most favourite chore, least-favourite chore, recipe, recounting an excursion, and all sorts of other tidbits.  Inspired by her work, I thought I might give this monthly recap a go here on the blog, adapting elements of her usual sections/chapters of life in rural England in 1953 to my life in 2021 in New Westminster.  Above: Beautiful, wintry Banff* in Alberta January Excursion: Facebook Marketplace Buys We've been very COVID-cautious in our household - haven't eaten at a restaurant or gone to a bar in nine months, and we spent Christmas alone. Our main form of going out has been to pick up Facebook marketplace finds. This has resulted in some pretty strange things for us - being in a suburb in Delta at 9:00 on a Friday night to p...

Presented without comment, here is a collection of quotes on the topic of style and clothing. Painting above:  Self-Portrait on the Border Line Between Mexico and the United States (c.1932) by Frida Kahlo “The Shigeisa was further to the northern end of the room, facing south towards me. She was dressed in layer upon layer of gowns in lighter and darker shades of plum-pink, with over this a rich damask gown. Her formal over-robe was of a reddish maroon figured silk, and the uppermost layer was a heavy brocade in a spring-shoot green, which produced a beautifully youthful impression. I was deeply impressed with the way she sat throughout with her fan shielding her face, and I must say I found her utterly splendid and wonderful.” -from The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon “She holds Ainsley alone responsible for the smoke, and seems to think that she sends it out of her nostrils like a dragon. But she never stops Ainsley in the hall to talk about it: only me.  I suspect she’s decid...

Running out of steam on at-home entertainment? Here are my best tips for at stay-at-home party for two. Above: Practical Magic midnight margaritas is THE best example of a small, stay-at-home party Long before COVID my spouse and I would frequently have parties...just with the two of us. Both of us are introverts and major homebodies, and we also really like to party (a contradiction, I know). If you're still not used to the having-fun-at-home thing, here is what we do to make a night extra fun with your significant other, roommate, or even just the fam you live with! Set a date Setting a time allows for prep and anticipation, much like a regular party--something to look forward to! Gives you time to get groceries and booze, prep your outfit, etc. Dress up It won't feel special if you're in your sweats. Take the extra half hour to put on make up, iron your shirts, dress up--whatever makes you feel and look special/different. Adjust the lighting It's not about romance, ...

Above:  Funny tarot episode on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2, Ep 4 One of my hobbies is tarot. A couple years ago I was inspired by this post by Benebell Wen about the possibility of a Tarot Depth Year . Like a lot of people who are into tarot, I get easily distracted by new decks and books, and prior to my tarot depth year commitment, I found myself merely skimming the surface of excellent tarot books and decks.  This idea of a depth year for my tarot practice seemed like a great step not necessarily towards mastery, but being satisfied and engaged with what I do have: breaking a bit of the perpetual cycle of consumption, and deepening my connection and experiences using resources right at my fingertips. I've done a tarot depth year in 2019, 2020, and now again for 2021. I'm sharing my practices here as I've found it to be quite successful in that I'm entertained, furthering my skills, and just generally enjoying this newish way of engaging with this hobby o...

Ever wondered what vegetarians eat during winter Holidays? Here's what we did this year. Painting above: The Fruit and Vegetable Costermonger (c. 1631) by Louise Moillon January sees a lot of people getting curious about introducing vegetarianism into their diet. Being vegetarian around the holidays can be tough for people who are starting out, so I thought it might be helpful to share what my spouse and myself actually ate this holiday season. NOTE: Despite having been a vegetarian for over a decade, I'm no evangelist, it's just a habit .  Also, none of this is sponsored. Christmas Eve Dinner Deluxe veggie burger bar! Since it was just the two of us per COVID guidelines, we made veggie burgers, but went all-out with the toppings including fried halloumi, baby spinach, quick pickled onions , banh mi pickles , two different types of home-made burger sauce, store-bought burger sauce, etc. It was amazing and worth taking like 20 bottles out of the fridge. Just served this wit...

Hopefully there will be a point in 2021 where we can entertain guests safely in our home again. Here are the rules for dining at my table. If you don't eat with gusto, the gastric juices are not going to work properly... You just won't digest your food properly. So don't eat meekly! Julia Child Between our recent move and generally not being able to see people for COVID safety, something I am particularly looking forward to in 2021 is hosting people over for meals at our new place. I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of butter. Most doctors feel you can have a little bit of everything. Julia Child Other than the new environs, I have further decided that in 2021 I will be instituting rules for dining at my home. There are a couple things that have brought about this decision: It is January, and often in January we hear a lot of talk related to diet changes, diet goals, and health. I find this both...

My goofy twin brother K actually introduced me to this little thought exercise coming out of 2019, and I noticed Canadian Living mentioned it in their January 2021 issue.  I'm sharing it here cuz it's a good way to review a rough year, at the very least you can use it for your back-to-work icebreakers or a journalling exercise. Here's mine for 2020: Rose - absolutely my sweet nephew D born in the summer. I will never tire of being an Auntie, and I'm so grateful that my sister and brother-in-law are such good parents. I personally think babies always give you hope, even if you don't want them for yourself! D is niece/nephew no. 3!! Thorn - I choose to be opaque here and not mention my actual thorn, but to offer a quote from David Whyte's Crossing the Unknown Sea   which captured the feeling of my 2020 thorn: "It's all right, you know, to support yourself with something secondary until your work has ripened, but once it has ripened to a transparent fu...

Music is at the heart of Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner  Do Not Say We Have Nothing  by Madeleine Thien. Update Dec 2021: The embed link for the playlist seems to be broken, here is the link to the playlist on YouTube To be honest, I actually didn't like this book that much, which I know is crazy given that it was also shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, as well as Winner of the GG80. There are quite a few  quotes  I enjoyed, but altogether it just didn't really do it for me. "Zhuli was in Room 103, following the magisterial Prokofiev up his porcelain staircases, when Kai entered without knocking. She ignored him: Prokofiev required all her concentration. Every measure brought her closer to the disgraced Russian, who had been accused by Stalin of formalism, his major compositions banned; yet in this room, Prokofiev was becoming flesh and blood while Zhuli herself was vanishing. From eighths to sixteenths then three times as fast, the notes chipped into one...