Bring your heartstrings with the bells

Basia Bulat's concert Friday night was intensely energizing, from the moment she bounded onto stage alone, charango in hand, to the unequivocal encore call by a small, fervent audience at Dublin Street United Church. Videos of her studio performance illustrate her intensity and quirkiness, but on stage she clearly feels in her element. Gone is her expectant shyness, if not her uncertainty. She gives the impression of driving her band almost as hard as she does herself. It bleeds into the longing lyrics and racing rhythms, evocative of an itinerant lifestyle. Under scattered blonde bangs, piercing eyes and smile plead for her audience to connect. And we do.

Evidently she had just returned from a solo European tour, because this seemed to be her first performance reunited with the four band members. She apologized for using the audience as guinea pigs on a few songs, but it was wonderful to see an artist in process. She works hard and leads a restless, breathless life.

Eccentric instrumentation was one of the things that first drew me to Bulat's music, and the live performance was rich with it. Her band members' primary instruments were viola, ukelele, double bass and drums, while she shifted between her signature autoharp, acoustic guitar, piano, dulcimer and the peculiar charango, a diminutive Bolivian lute. But it is the energy of her music, rising above undeniable sadness to carry you on a vivid voyage. Eventually the music ends but does not release you. Pumped and hearty, you stride into a night that feels new, vibrant and endless.

Canister heaven

My birthday treat to myself was to organize some pantry shelves in the kitchen. The main problem was that, since I went gluten-free, my baking supplies have proliferated (because I keep experimenting with flour blends) to the point where I can't see anything. Small packages of unidentifiable powders accumulated. Is that cornstarch or tapioca flour? Millet or amaranth? I had to sort through everything to figure out whether I had fresh dates, cranberries or sunflower seeds. Consequently, I haven't bothered to bake as often as I would like. This presented a particular challenge as I've begun considering how to improve my diet. Food preparation is high on the agenda to replace processed foods. Fortunately this matter also placed high on the list of big messes to tackle as part of 6 Changes.

All my life I have been collecting spice jars, traditionally occupying the wooden rack Dad made for me long ago. I have a lot of emotional attachment to those jars. Unfortunately the collection does not make efficient use of limited kitchen space. My plan was to find a more compact system for storing condiments and use the shelves for bulkier baking supplies.

Yesterday morning I went to Canadian Tire to buy new canisters. Coincidentally they were on sale and Danny chipped in, so I brought home a lot of containers. Last night, after the rest of our day's outings, I dug into the mess for two hours. Most of the herbs and spices went onto three handy magnetic strips. Flours, nuts, dried fruits and other baking supplies went into the new canisters. This freed up an entire large kitchen drawer which formerly contained grotty, impenetrable tubs of ingredients. I still need a handful of containers for a few more substances which will fit on another shelf.

I still have some cleaning to do today. The kitchen floor and table are a mess of spilled quinoa and other detritus. Now I have a large collection of small, motley, homeless spice jars, most of which will be discarded. A few of the pottery ones are too nice to throw away, so they must be washed and then I'll figure out what to do with them.