Haloranch

I have free time and nothing to do. The devil, wielding my hands, has forged this: Nothing. Not a damn thing. Some things even the devil won't touch.

What a glorious day outside. The sky is endlessly blue and a few remaining golden leaves shimmerin the breeze and catch the early morning sun. (Well, mid morning. I don't get up that early on Saturdays!) I stop and watch as seven stately Canada geese float slowly down the creek. They belong on the water, where their ungainly land-clumsiness is hidden. Today, under the clear sky, the creek itself is a crystalline blue. It's much easier to see it now that the leaves have fallen. Its bright colour is enhanced by the tall golden-bronze grasses flaking its banks. It couldn't be more picturesque. The fall gardening cleanup is waiting for me, but it will have to wait a bit longer. I have coffee to drink and a treadmill to walk.

A 31 pound box of salmon was delivered to my office this afternoon. Hans caught some huge salmon in early September on a B.C. fishing trip and we knew that eventually, after it was processed and frozen, it would be delivered to our door. Unfortunately, our door's hard to find standing as it does on an acreage. Our mailing address is the same as friends who live 15 km away. Not wanting to take the chance of having our salmon delivered to our faraway friends, or anonymous people in between, we chose instead to have it delivered to my office where I was the envy of everyone who spied the box. This evening, I unpacked it. There is barbeque style hot smoked, which gives the salmon a moist but cooked texture. Then there's lox style cold smoked. This is my favourite. It's very moist and almost sushi in style. Ideally it should be sliced very thinly but I can handle eating a thicker chunk of it. This is soooo good with cream cheese and capers. There's also candied salmon....