Amy Jo Ehman - Musings from the Field

Virtual Book Launch, Literally

10/16/2020

Despite all your preparation, thing go wrong, right?

On Tuesday, we did a technical test run for my virtual book launch of Thelma: A Life in Pictures. But yesterday, when I connected via zoom, my audio showed up but not my video. Baffled, I rebooted my computer, which worked ~ with 1 minute to spare 😳

So, thankfully, I showed up at my own book launch 😃 and thanks to all of you who came, too. Thanks to McNally Robinson bookstore in Saskatoon for organizing and managing the event. And super thanks to Joanne Paulson for co-hosting with me, 'cause zooming with a friend is way more fun than zooming alone.

Joanne's grandma was photographed by Thelma and is featured in the book, so her participation was personal and heartfelt ♥

I've got to be honest, it feels strange launching a book in covid times, with NO personal contact or a roster of book-promoting events. But it's also a time of intentional and sincere connections via social channels that hone our relationships and our gratitude. Thank you!!

If you missed the book launch, you can watch it via youtube by tapping the screenshot image below. I hope you enjoy connecting as much as I did.

Thelma's Sherbrooke Portraits

10/13/2020

Today I delivered a copy of my book Thelma: A Life in Pictures to the Sherbrooke care home in Saskatoon. Thelma's husband Jim spent his final years there with Alzheimer's disease. It was a special place to her. She came every day to eat meals with Jim and appreciated the caring, encouraging, joyful atmosphere that put a smile on the faces of its residents.

Thelma saw the grace and spirit in those aging faces and wanted to capture them in photographs. She asked permission to take their pictures and it was granted.

Such tender and compassionate portraits... Her photos remind us that everyone has gifts to share no matter the age or infirmity. The creative spirit flows through each of us to the best of our ability. That is when we are truly happy.

This is Thelma's message. When all feels lost or hopeless or sad, doing something ~ even a little thing ~ for ourselves and for others is our saving grace.

Alice Turner and Child, 2001 by Thelma Pepper

Thelma has Arrived!

10/2/2020

Oh that new book smell... After a year of gestation, my book Thelma: A Life in Pictures has arrived in book stores! I spent an hour this morning at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon signing some 60 copies. By the time I left the store, it was already on the shelf, sitting next to my two previous books ~ Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens and Saskatoon: A History. Welcome to the world Thelma ♥

New Book Launch!!!!!

9/24/2020

My new book Thelma: A Life in Pictures is hot off the press and will be arriving in stores soon. So you're invited to a book launch!!! Virtual of course.

It feels a bit odd to launch a new book with no in-person encounters and no roster of events for a month of getting the word out. But life as it is requires that we do things differently and make the best of it. The great thing about a virtual book launch is that folks can join from anywhere in the world. That's big!

The book launch for Thelma is set for Thursday, October 15 @ 7 pm (Sask. time) hosted by McNally Robinson Booksellers on its online platforms Zoom and YouTube. You can get the watch details from their website by clicking the image below 👇

Please join us! I would love to see you there ♥

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Finding my Scandinavia

9/22/2020

I only know one Swedish word but it's a good one. Fika. Fika is a cultural institution. A coffee break. A pause in the day. A time to slow down, enjoy good company (including your own) and (usually) a sweet bite to eat.

I first had fika (fee-ka) while visiting a friend in Stockholm three years ago. At the time, I did not know I had Swedish heritage. I have since discovered that I have Swedish genes through my paternal grandmother's grandmother. In other words, through the female line.

Foreseeing a long cooped up covid winter ahead, I have decided to embrace my inner Swede. Warm quilts, flickering candles, winter walks and, of course, fika.

Today I made a fika favourite ~ kannelbullar ~ Swedish cinnamon buns. Since they are best on the day made, I gave most of them away. Fika is for sharing, even in pandemic times. I feel more Swedish already. Note to self ~ October 4 is National Kanelbullar Day ☕️☕️

"How do I get back to that?"

8/27/2020

Somedays you wake up and find yourself smiling back at you...

Thank you Julia Peterson and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix for publishing this feature article on my local food passion as a writer, eater and advocate. Julia touched on my two previous books Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner & Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens, as well as my current writing project on the history of wheat. Tap the picture 👇 to read the article. And eat local!

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Easy as Pie

8/23/2020

I've been making pies and thinking about the saying "Easy as pie." Why do we say that when so many people find pies difficult to make?

In pioneer times, pie was the go-to feed-a-crowd dessert. Pastry requires just a few simple ingredients and can be filled with almost anything. It's as easy as... pie!

The fact is, there's more to pie than the recipe itself. Pastry is technique pure and simple, and practice makes perfect. The trick is to keep all ingredients chilled and to work the dough as little as possible. Never knead pie pastry.

I got apples this week from my brother's farm at Craik (where I grew up). Today we made three apple pies ~ my husband cutting apples, me rolling and assembling. They are now in the freezer waiting for a special occasion.

I also made a rustic berry galette for dinner tonight with a mix of blueberries, saskatoons, haskap, raspberries and a bit of rhubarb. Proof it's always easy to fill a pie, no matter what the season.

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Field Stones

8/17/2020

So you're driving down a country highway and see this. Do you pull a u turn to take a look? Of course you do, because this is a vestige of our pioneering past and testament to the hard work and perseverance of those first farmers.

What is it, you ask? These are millstones which were used to grind wheat into flour. They stand on Highway 5 at the town of Buchanan. The plaque gives the early town history but provides no insight into who made or used these millstones. You can see by its shape that the one on the right was never completed.

As a farm girl, bread maker and fan of all things wheat, I had to get my picture taken with this relic of days gone by when prairie living required self sufficiency in all things, including our daily bread.

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What's in a Cover

8/10/2020

Whew. After a marathon four days of page proofing, "Thelma" is off to the printers. Now the wait for an honest to goodness book to emerge...

For several months, I've been sending the publisher possible images for the cover of the book. But in the end, he picked a photo I had not considered in my own little pea brain. But it's brilliant!! Don't you agree?

This is Thelma as a little girl, captured by her father's lens, doing what she has loved for all of her 100 years ~ reading a good book.

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The Best Birthday Gift

7/28/2020

Today is Thelma's 100th birthday and what a birthday present!! Saskatoon's new art gallery Remai Modern announced it will stage a major retrospective of Thelma's photographs in the new year, from February to August 2021.

The Remai illustrated the announcement with this image of Thelma's called Evangeline's Mother, 1993. Click here to see the full announcement on the Remai Modern website.

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