Exploring Glen Stewart Ravine

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

The last few months of the shelter in place with the people in your own household was challenging and rewarding experience. On one hand, we were with each other all the time without the help of our village and on the other hand we got to spend all this time together that I always felt we were missing out.

When some of the restrictions lifted it was nice to enjoy the warm weather which worked really well as some of the first areas to open for public use were golf courses, open space parks and trails.

We have some great friends and family who made plans / did the research to figure out where to go and what to see (Nokiidaa Trail, Moccasin Trail and Wahoosh Falls) and then finally got out of my energy rut and found Glen Stewart Ravine and knew we had to check it out.

Glen Stewart Ravine is a lush, deep forest albeit short trail walk in the middle of the city is pure magic. There are number of streams, downed logs for seating and lots of shade.

There are a few different entrances (Beech St, Glen Manor Dr and Kingston Rd), we came in from Kingston and there were a few 100 stairs to make it down. We managed to see the cute stream (pictured below) and then found a cute shaded area to eat lunch (pictured above).

The middle of the trail is the entrance from Beech and it literally looked like we were in Hawaii!

The trail is not stroller friendly so keep babies in a carrier and leave the bikes/scooters at home. The air is fresh and the way the sun pours in through the trees is amazing – you’ll just wish the trail was much longer :)

Our first ever garlic scapes

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I am a HUGE fan of garlic. The aroma and the smell and even how they look get me very excited. I am definitely that person who sees a recipe asking for 2-3 cloves but add 8-10 instead LOL!

So last summer, after closing up the garden I realized that I wanted to expand into new herbs and veggies. And on a whim, we received some backyard garden garlic from a co-worker and right before the 1st winter storm we planned 6 cloves!

So these cloves have been in the garden since NOVEMBER. And we won’t actually know if the clove have turned into actual bulbs, but we’ve already reaped some harvest from the labour: scapes!

Now if you haven’t heard of scapes before it’s because they are very rare and hard to find at your regular garlic stores. They are usually the first produce found at farmers market and aren’t in season for very long.

We only got 5 scapes at the first harvest, but they were ahamazing! We grilled them with a little bit of EVOO and salt. They tasted really fresh, consistency of asparagus and onion with a hint of garlic.

I will definitely plant more garlic next year just for the scapes!

Book Review – What I know For Sure

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

A few weeks ago I finished the book “What I know For Sure” by Oprah. I really enjoyed reading it. It felt like I was reading the journal of an older sister or mentor. I felt like taking pictures of every paragraph or sentence of paragraph that gave me that “aha” feeling. I soon realized that I’d be taking more pictures than actually reading and appreciating the book.

I was never an Oprah fan. Well I wouldn’t say I am now either. I do watch the occasional Soul Circle video on Instagram and listen to an episode of her podcast here or there. I don’t think I would ever go to her live talks though (just because I am not the biggest fan of concerts and large audience events). But when a smart, successful, creative, mindful, ambitious, knows-what-she-wants-and-goes-after-it woman immortalizes her experiences and thoughts into a book – yep for sure I’ll be all over that.

The book is all the wisdom Oprah gained from when she was very young to her current age. Life lessons, inspiration, revelations and thoughtful trinkets. It’s the kind of book that I’d want to buy (yep I borrowed it from the library) and fold page corners, highlight and bookmark so much of this book because the advice is relatable and genuine.

Here are a few lines that I want to share:

On reading…

I now consider reading a good book a sacred indulgence. […] What I know for sure is that reading opens you up, exposes you and gives you access to anything your mind can hold. […] Reading gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.

On Resiliency…

The only way to endure the quake is to adjust your stance.

On Gratitude…

What you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.

On doing your life’s work…

I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.

Check out the other books I’ve ready in 2019!

Fall back into Action!

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

“Soar, eat ether, see what has never been see; depart, be lost, but climb” // Edna St. Vincent Millay

I love September! Fresh start, crisp mornings, new recipes, tall boots, beautiful fall photography :)

September has always felt like the start of a New Year of Learning. And although I no longer am in school or formal education, it’s important for me to remember that I should continue to grow and learn. I try to do this as often and as easily I can by: doing new things, reading books, listening to podcasts/Ted Talks or simply by changing my perspective to understand a topic more deeply. I often forget that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed or confused some days. It’s on those days that I need to take a time to rest and recover but also not forget to keep my goal in mind and continue to scale that mountain.

I am taking this this upcoming month to fall back into action! I want to get back into good routines and stay focused. I put together this checklist to keep me motivated and ahead of my goals as we move into the colder months!

How to be a good mom? (it’s not what you think)

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Who agrees with me that we should rename mothers day to Mother Figures day.

We need to be more understanding to the people who don’t have a mom, to the people who’s relationship with their mom is strained at best, to the people who dread this day because it makes them feel inferior, to the people who’s dad’s, grand parent, step parent, foster parent, aunt/uncle are mother figures, to the mom’s who just want a moment of quiet without the feelings of guilt and definitely to the mom’s who don’t think they are doing anything right (when they are actually doing everything right!)

If there is anything I’ve learned in the almost 5 years of being a mom is that it’s a thankless job. It’s both exhilarating and anxiety inducing. It’s a job where you have to be flexible and ready to change to keep growing and build something real. It’s a job where you have to remain calm when everything is chaotic. A job where transparent communication are critical to success. A job where you have to lead with love (especially on the days you want to punch a wall or throw your coffee mug at a window).

But with all that said it doesn’t take a certain type of person, certain type of pregnancy, birth experience or even a certain type of upbringing to be a good mom.

To be a good mom you just have be a good human.

So if you are a good human or you know a good human who deserves a treat (mom, mom figure or non mom) hopefully you can find some inspiration below :)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Book Review – Ishmeal

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I recently finished reading Ishmeal. Which is actually an accomplishment because I started it January 2018. But I stopped reading it, just around the time I ended my mat leave.

I was recently listening to a podcast where the guest was talking about how to read more books and he said that its totally okay to “quit so you can start”.

I couldn’t have agreed more. I’ve stopped many books. I mean for me, reading as an adult… is not school, I am not going to be judged if I didn’t finish a book, there is no essay requirement and definitely no quiz. I always give a book the benefit of the doubt and try to read 25 pages or so. But, if the book hasn’t peaked my interest I’ll stop and move on to another book. The best thing about choosing to stop reading a book is that it’s not final. You can always begin reading that book again. Which is exactly what I did here.

This book essentially is about how the earth is being destroyed by humans. So the premise of this book really appeals to me. It was written in the early 90s and the entire story (well 95%) of it takes place as a conversation between a gorilla and a human.

The conversations take the reader through different times of history from Adam/Eve (i.e. “the beginning”) era through to the 90s. The reader is meant to understand why humans believe the earth was made for them, that they are above the law of community and how they have not figured out a way to live in harmony with other creatures on earth. The author describes several cultural myths and biases that seem to give humans the “excuses” to rule over the earth and continue agricultural domination.

The book tip toes around primitivism and other extreme view points to help save the earth and allow humans to live in community with other species on earth. The book has a good message to humanity, I just couldn’t get behind the some-what-extreme solution provided.

A few of the important points I will take with me after reading this book:

humans belong to the world (not the other way around)
if your know something important share it with 100 people if they feel the message is also important they should share it with 100 people (and so on and so forth)
history should be re-examined so we can continually learn from our past

Check out the other books I’ve ready in 2019!